It’s been three months since Kim-Joy lifted the hearts of the nation with her sweet smile, creative cakes and kitsch clothing on ‘The Great British Bake Off’.
And while she continues to delight on Twitter with photos of her beautiful baked goods, we’d be lying if we denied having a Kim-Joy shaped hole in our lives. So we spoke to the ‘Bake Off’ finalist about what is bringing her joy this January – turns out she loves RuPaul and fluffy socks, a lot.
She also finds the positives in what can sometimes be a gloomy first month of the year. “Christmas and New Year’s Eve aren’t big days for me, so I don’t have a come down in January,” she tells HuffPost UK.
“And being a baker, hanging out with a hot oven a lot of the time, I tend to prefer colder weather,” she reflects. “So January is just perfect.”
Here’s what’s bringing Kim-Joy happiness this month.
1. Baking
“This is first on the list, of course,” she says. “I love creating new recipes and design ideas. Being able to do this for a living makes me very happy.”
2. Couple Time
“Spending time with my partner Nabil is important – this isn’t in any particular order, he’s just as important as baking! We’ve spent quite a lot of time together recently playing co-operative games on the PS4, which I love. We get annoyed at each other sometimes, but we’re a good team overall. And he helps me with my baking – I couldn’t do it without him.”
3. Fluffy socks
“I think my biggest skill is knowing how to be as comfortable as I can possibly be. Shoes are a no-no, unless they’re absolutely necessary. I take them off on the train, in taxis, whilst waiting for an appointment – and I never eat a meal whilst wearing them. I bake in fluffy socks and pyjamas all the time. Some people may find it strange, but being comfy brings me joy every single day.”
“I bake in fluffy socks and comfy pyjamas all the time – some people may find it strange, but being comfy brings me joy."”
4. My Writing-Craft-Laptop Room
“I’ve recently decluttered my spare room upstairs and turned it into a little craft haven for me – it’s a place to write recipes and do art when I’m away from the kitchen. It’s so nice to have my own creative space, and to utilise a room that was previously filled with stuff we weren’t using.”
5. Kindness
“I have received so many kind messages on social media and I’m touched that people take time out of their day to write to me. Some even draw me! I feel very lucky.”
6. Seeing Friends
“I’m lucky to have really supportive friends. I have some who live nearby, and I also have university friends who live a bit further down south (I’m in Leeds). We still all keep in touch and I’m off to Cambridge in a few days to meet up with them.”
7. Art
“I’ve been doing more drawing and painting since sorting my craft room. I still don’t feel like I’m very good, but I enjoy it and that’s what matters.”
8. Watching RuPaul’s ‘Drag Race’
“Season 4 is currently on and I look forward to watching a new episode every weekend. I just find it very uplifting. I even put on old episodes in the background while I’m baking.”
9. Peace And Quiet
“We live next door to a farmer and he owns cows, chickens and a horse. Our house overlooks his farm, so our view is just endless fields. It’s very quiet. I love to just read a book, relax and soak in the silence.”
10. Having A Roof Over My Head
“We take this for granted, but it definitely brings me joy to have a place to go home to every day – and where there’s nice food in the cupboards.”