What a month it has been! Thank you for bearing with me during my biggest launch yet, for Leading Lady. I’m typing this from Amsterdam, a city that my love grows for each day. It’s “such a fairytale city,” as my friend Sarah describes it, and also has the best. shops.

It is amazing to be somewhere different, and to have time to myself while I explore. Monkey is here on a conference, and I just tagged along, pounding out some work in the AirBnB in the morning, and treating myself to a city adventure in the afternoon, just me and my earphones.

• Feeling creative? Victoria’s guide on how to write 10,000 words in a weekend takes you through all the necessary steps to get that novel going!

• Kitty is my go-to girl for dreaming lavishly, and I love this particular vignette on making small strokes on that canvas.

When our desires feel as far off and uncertain as The New World to an early explorer, how do we keep the wind in our sails? FOUR WORDS: BIG CANVAS, BABY STROKES.”

• Reading list time! Candice Benbow has compiled this #LemonadeSyllabus of works celebrating black womanhood to accompany Beyoncé’s latest.

• “Quitting is not a sign of weakness.” Why Being a Quitter is More than Okay

• Time to go through and do ALL of these suggestions for a girls night in. (plus, discover some new bloggers to follow!)

• “You are the product of the expectations of your friend group” so here’s how to start building your tribe right now!

• quite the comprehensive list of ways to spring clean your life

• and in case you missed them, some favourites from Heroine Training: How to Choose Which Habit to Tackle Next, How to Get the Most of your Awesome City, and My Alter Ego, Princess Xandra the Bold

What have you been reading (or writing!) lately?