Welcome to another Weekly Balance post! Let’s take a look at the last seven days, what I’ve been thinking about and what I’m recommending to you guys from this week.

What I’m thinking about…

Restrictions easing. In Ireland, some of our COVID-19 restrictions are easing over the next few weeks, and like many of you I’m sure, I’m feeling a mixture of nerves and hope. Nerves, because we’ve been through three ‘lockdowns’ and waves of COVID-19 infection here, and I for one don’t want to see a fourth. Hope, because our vaccine programme rollout is picking up, with lots of hard work going on day and night on this, and the more of the population that are vaccinated, the better our chances of getting out the other side of the pandemic. So I guess what I’m trying to say here, is that all feelings are valid on these upcoming changes. You can look forward to meeting up with family and friends while simultaneously feeling a bit anxious about it. You can feel that hope and that fear and continue to move forward. We’ve spend almost 18 months living through a global pandemic, and during much of that time we’ve been told to stay home, not to socialise, to limit our movements. And of course, we will need to continue to be careful over the summer and thereafter – hand hygiene, wearing a mask where recommended, keeping our distance, etc. So it’s going to feel weird to be able to cautiously meet people again, go to the shops, move outside our county. I guess my take home message here is stay safe, yes, but stay hopeful too.

What I’m reading…

This week I finished the latest novel by one of my favourite authors Beth O’Leary – The Road Trip. In short, I loved it, just like I did her first two books The Flat Share and The Switch. The Road Trip is the story of Addie and Dylan, who meet on a summer abroad in Provence, France, and quickly fall intensely and completely in love. Fast forward two years year, and their relationship has ended, when we meet them travelling separately to a mutual friend’s wedding in Scotland. When they meet on this road trip, and due to a series of unfortunate events end up travelling to the wedding together, what will happen?

The book quite satisfyingly unravels Addie and Dylan’s story by jumping back and forth between their past and present – from France to their relationship after that perfect summer, to present day travelling to the wedding, and back again. The supporting characters to the story, Addie’s sister Deb and Dylan’s best friend Marcus, plus a stranger they give a lift to the wedding, add comedy and depth to Addie and Dylan’s relationship, and make for a really enjoyable, drama-packed road trip adventure. The Road Trip was exactly the book I was hoping for when I saw the new release from O’Leary and I’m already excited for her next on!

As always, let me know what you’re reading in the comments below, I’d love to hear! I’m currently reading Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. And by the way, the May Book Club pick is Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – if you’d like to join us just head over to my Instagram page to see the details.

What I’m listening to…

Here’s my top podcast from this week.

Awards Chatter: Some of you guys will have seen me post about this podcast on my Instagram, and that’s because it’s my latest listening obsession. Awards Chatter is a Hollywood Reporter podcast, hosted by Scott Feinberg, which takes the form of deep dive interviews with the many famous actors, actresses, writers and more, of Hollywood. This week I listened to episodes with Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, and Andrew Garfield. There are literally hundreds of interviews on the podcast so it will be keeping me company for a while yet. I literally only listened to this podcast this week hence the lack of further recommendations – it’s that good!

What I’m watching…

This week I absolutely devoured Big Little Lies on NOW TV – I know I’m very late to the game watching this show but as the book is our May Book Club pick I was keen to see the TV adaptation, particularly as a big fan of Reese Witherspoon. In short, I’ve now finished Season 1 and have moved to Season 2, and I LOVED it! Well worth a watch for an absorbing, dramatic show that covers a lot in a very short space of time.

And that’s a wrap for this week gang! If you want to get in touch, you can find me @theirishbalance on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I hope you have a lovely week ahead folks – remember, stay informed with the advice from your local health authority regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask, keep your distance and be kind!

Ciara x