I’ve been pretty good about packing so far. Especially with clothes - I’ve made it a point to only keep items I wear and love, and which absolutely fit me. Anything I used to wear and love but which no longer fit I have thrown away or put in bags to resell and give to charity. Dresses, shoes, bags and trousers. No problem at all. It feels like shedding layers and making way for new things. It feels like a deep cleanse and it’s been wonderful so far - a chance to be honest with myself and just let go of things, material things, which are just things.

And then… a problem.

Last Friday, I decided to sort and pack all my underwear and makeup. Socks were no problem: I threw out all the ones with holes in them or which were starting to wear thin and threw all the others into a box.

Ditto bras - anything I haven’t worn in over a year I ditched.

When I got to panties, though, I started to become sentimental.

About panties.

I know.

I’m the kind of girl who actually likes nice underwear and buys it and wears it, so I had accumulated quite a few pairs. And so even though I haven’t worn some of them in years, I started having trouble with getting rid of them. But I forced myself to do it and I threw away all the stuff I didn’t need in the end.

Except one.

There’s a pair of red knickers with Snoopy on them which I bought in Denmark when I was 17. I never wear them but I just couldn’t find it in my heart to throw them out. I tried three times, then fished them out again.

So I guess the moral of this story is, um, if you find yourself plunging your arm into a garbage bag three times to retrieve a pair of old knickers, you should probably go with your gut and keep them.

• Sal’s post about Manufactured Discontent gives us one more reason to love her.
• Kirstie Alley calls out Letterman for making fat jokes about her. Which makes me want to hug her.
• The awesome Rachel Rabbit White talks about more manufactured shame - this time aimed at our vaginas (NSFW).
• Gala Darling writes a great guide to making your period suck less.
• Sarah Von shares some wonderful advice for us gals (and guys!) with non niche blogs.
• I can’t get enough of this tumblr.
• An editor shares his tips and as a former sub-editor, I have to agree.
• Is there hope for books?
• A visual compendium of notable haircuts in popular music <3
• Can you get high on sounds? Totally.
• Check out this beautiful, delicate art cut out of leaves.

I am a design junkie. Whenever I walk into a house, my mind mentally strips each room of furniture and paint and re-designs it. When Hannah sent me a video of the house I’d be living in in Dublin, immediately I began to pick out wall colours and bed sheets.

One of my dreams is to buy a run down, fixer-upper house and do it up really nicely. I’d love to start my own interior design company. To me, porn is sites like Apartment Therapy, design sponge and Desire to Inspire.

When I moved into my flat almost two years ago, I went crazy. I designed our kitchen/living area to look like a Parisian cafe (and it totally does!) with dark wood, chrome, black leather and art nouveau posters.

When I lived in my parent’s basement, my room was painted red and gold and there were cushions everywhere.

And yet, I’d never actually picked up a paintbrush and painted a wall. So that went onto my Bucket List.

And so, when I decided to turn my second bedroom into a double bedroom I knew there had to be colour and I knew I was going to be the one painting that wall…

I did it! In just over an hour. And let me tell you, if you’ve never painted a wall - do it. It’s therapeutic; meditative, almost. To be so focused on one repetitive physical task, to pay so much attention to details like masking tape and making sure your floor is covered in plastic to avoid spills and stains.

Then step back and admire your work. Oh, and go for a nice, bold colour. White doesn’t count.

Right now, I’m a bit obsessed with Dublin. It’s understandable, I think. Since I was a wee kid I’ve wanted to move away from Malta and now the time has come and it’s all I can think about.

Isn’t it beautiful?

My life right now is a flurry of boxes, suitcases and goodbyes. My life is in the process of being packed into boxes and sorted into two categories: stuff I can’t live without and stuff I can leave behind.

Let me tell you, it’s not easy. There’s so much sentimental value attached to some of my things that it’s difficult to let go. I’m lucky enough for my parents to have offered me a part of their garage where I can keep some boxes with things I’m not taking to Dublin but which I can’t stand to throw away - like so many books! I’m only taking 10 with me. But I’ve always been a bit obsessed with my books, so I wouldn’t be able to give them away.

Having said that, I sorted through my winter clothes today and came up with two big bags of stuff I don’t need anymore. It feels so wonderful to shed all those clothes I no longer wear and make space for the things I love (and for new stuff, ahem).

And this evening I get to take on a new challenge: paint a wall, which is one of the items on my Bucket List. Will let you know how that goes. Fingers crossed it turns out alright. I’ve armed myself with a stack of newspapers, groundsheet and many many videos on the topic.

Today also marks my last day at work. By the time this is posted, I’ll only have four hours left at the office. I feel sad to be leaving such a great team of people, even though it feels good to be going back to student life. But emptying my desk and realising that last Sunday’s newspaper was my last ever made me all sentimental.

Either way, here’s to new beginnings.