My Favourite Things 6

Six months of sharing my monthly favourites. I don't think I really knew just how much I would enjoy curating these come the end of each month when I began this little project back in January?! However, I'm finding the experience quite cathartic and I think this series works in tandem with my things that make me happy lists. I'm all about celebrating the good in my life no matter how much bad may turn up at my door...like a human equivalent of the 'this is fine' dog. That's me.

In June, I was coveting a few Netflix shows, a new t-shirt, and a couple of little adventures out of the house.  

13TH 

I recently watched Ava DuVernay's Academy-Award winning documentary, 13th. Clear, informative, heartbreaking, 13th made for informative and important viewing. Multiple activists, academics, public figures, etc, are featured in this film that discusses 'the intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration' in America and, therefore, I left the documentary knowing much more about chunks of history, particularly between the 70's and the early 00's, that I hadn't educated myself on. I'm going to go away and continue that education.

Find it on Netflix. Watch it. Share it. Speak the names of all of the people let down by the system, let down by politicians, let down by us. 

 

FYNE COURT 

Towards the start of the month, I packed up a cool bag or two, threw some of my favourite people in the car, and headed for the first picnic of the year. We held this one at Fyne Court, a local National Trust place, and had a really sweet couple of hours. We ate tiger bread sandwiches, took photos of all the beautiful flowers and watched as Poppy excitedly bounced around the woodland. It was also great to see Lyzi, my bff.

If you want to see more photos from the afternoon, you can check out my Fyne Court adventure post.  

NEW ARCADE FIRE

Arcade Fire are back! June saw the release of 'Everything Now', with its Abba / Send Me On My Way / Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You vibes, and 'Creature Comfort', with its punchy percussion and dazey hook that wouldn't have at all sounded out of place on their last record. I'm digging the new stuff so far so I'm looking forward to seeing what the fifth record is like in full. 

I wrote a post on 12 Arcade Fire songs you should listen to a few years back that you can check out if you're interested. I'll update it and clean it up a bit when I have some time on my hands. 

ANIMALS

As I mentioned in my last TBR post, I felt compelled to pull this book off the shelf, after two years of ownership, following a recommendation from a friend. Animals exceeded my expectations entirely. My review will be with you in a week or so but, for now, just know that it ended up with a high rating. 

THEATRE EVENING

Back in February, as shared in my Favourites from that month, I went to a retirement party where I, for whatever reason, decided to drink alcohol for the first time in six years. Whilst I was drinking said alcohol, one of my best friends messaged me asking if I would like to go to the theatre with her in the summer and, me being tipsy, I said 'yeah sure, I'll take two tickets'. Naturally, I awoke the next day, checked my messages and spent the rest of the afternoon wondering 'why am I like this?' but the recklessness paid off. 

The other week, I found myself throwing a bowl of carbonara down me before rushing to the doors of the Bristol Hippodrome to watch The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Pals, it was worth the carb-heavy indigestion! I absolutely loved it. The staging was incredible and Scott Reid put in a mind-blowing performance as Christopher. I came away from the theatre, as I always do, wishing I made more time to go and watch more shows. They're touring up and down the UK over the next few months and I highly recommend going to see it, particularly if you enjoyed the book. 

ORPHAN BLACK S5

Orphan Black returned to Netflix this month with its fifth and final season and, whilst we are only three episodes in as I write this, this season is shaping up to be a goodun. What can I say? I'm still in awe of Tatiana Maslany and Kathryn Alexandre. I still want to be Felix's BFF. I still want an Alison and Donnie spin off. If you've yet to hop on the OB bandwagon, consider doing so. 

If you aren't even sure what it is about, here's a little synopsis: 'A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl that looks just like her'. Hop on board, pals. 

THE END WE START FROM 

As soon as I found it sat on my doorstep, this captivating novella didn't leave my hands. My Twitter timeline had been full of buzz for The End We Start From and, in my opinion, rightly so. You'll find it in a book review post soon. Until then, you'll find it on my 'favourites' shelf on Goodreads...This was a five star read!

Pick up a copy if you're already intrigued or wait a little while for my review. Either way, I doubt this compelling little book will disappoint.

FATHER'S DAY JAUNT

Father's Day cropped up on us and we decided to celebrate it with a Sunday Roast at one of our favourite local pubs. We took extended family and family friends and made a long summer's afternoon out of it. I'm still thinking about my dessert - honeycomb chocolate brownie with beer ice-cream. Hnggg. 

It was Poppy's first time inside a pub and she did extremely well so she was treated to a little woodland walk post-food. I, however, treated myself to a Southern Comfort and a bag of crisps. I do not do lengthy walks on hot days and neither should you.  

 OITNB S5

Orange is the New Black also returned this month and, whilst I was a little dubious before starting it due to the issues surrounding season 4, I actually really enjoyed it. This season picks up exactly where the last season finished off and it was incredibly tense throughout. I love Kohan's storytelling and I feel like this season perfectly balanced the wider socio-political issues with the personal issues of the inmates. Told over the space of a few days, I found myself binge watching episode after episode and I felt a bit bereft once it had reached its climax. Engaging stuff. 

MONKI TSHIRT

I placed a Monki order for something to wear to my birthday do next month but I couldn't resist adding this 'Power to the Ladies' tee to my basket. I've been wearing it with my loud vintage shirt and leggings as trousers because I literally give no fucks. 

Fight me. 

+ THINGS OF NOTE

•  Blair did an excellent book thread on books that she felt weren't discussed enough
•  Alice also did a book thread full of her favourites
•  Cayleigh shared a video on her creative crisis and I found it entirely relateable
•  Why Daphne du Maurier was Britain's mistress of suspense
•  Sarah shared some tweets about her current writing process and it made me want to follow suit
•  I recently started following Liv's booktube channel and it is great!
•  Independent Bookshop Week ran from 24th June - 1st July! If you didn't get the chance to celebrate, there's always plenty of time to go out and support local indies! Give Books Are My Bag a follow for info on future campaigns.
•  Bethany (who basically lives in this 'Things Of Note' section now) shared a speech she made about her ideal cooked breakfast and it was fascinating.

+ JUNE BLOG POSTS

•  my monthly things that make me happy list
•  shared a book review & tbr for the month 
•  i went on an adventure to fyne court and took you with me
•  hauled a couple of secondhand books 
•  caught up with my may favourites

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And those are a few of my favourite things! What have you been enjoying lately? If you'd like to, you can scroll through a selection of my other favourite things.

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My Favourite Things 5

Another month has passed me by and with it came both sunshine and storms, both literally and metaphorically. How poetic! The more astute among you will note how late this is. Time got away with me, ngl. My June favourites will be up next week but, until then, let's cast our minds back a little.

In May, I was coveting a refreshing beverage, an old bit of clothing and time with the floofs. What were you enjoying last month? 

ROSE COLOURED BOY 

If April was all about Hard Times, May was all about a dizzy mix of Told You So and Rose Coloured Boy. The latter is a bouncy track that is perfect for hairbrush singalongs, due to its punchy pick-up-in-a-couple-of-listens lyrics and The Go! Team style screams. If it were 2005, my MSN personal message would definitely be, 'I've forgotten what was left of the optimist in me'. That, pals, is high praise. 

I need to listen to the album a little more before I declare further favourites but, for now, I'll continue my 3 song loop. 

SUMMER SHOES

After a spell of hot weather took us by surprise in early May, I went in search of some summer-friendly shoes. I'd been eyeing up clogs for a fair few years, but couldn't stretch to a pair of Hasbeens, so I took to the internet to find a pair that I could even vaguely afford. I eventually settled on the Low Wood Brown Oiled Nubucks from Lotta from Stockholm. I'm not one for tan, usually, but I figured it was a colour that went with most others and they had Lyzi's approval.

I've worn them several times over the past two months, styled up with a smock dress and pair of jazzy socks, and I am really loving them. They're comfy and easy to walk in and they let your feet breathe. If you're looking for a clog-related bargain, Lotta have a great sales and seconds section for you to peruse! Oh, and they also have a line for littles and a Vegan line too. 

CUT TO THE FEELING

Carly Rae showed up last month to announce the true start of summer with fresh-out-the-oven banger 'Cut To The Feeling'. Just when we all thought Carly Bae had swept every little strand of delicious pop from the E.MO.TION floor, she comes out with this offering that Pop Justice referred to as being 'epoch-defining and pivotal in our understanding of the human condition'.

What a woman. What a song. 

CHAI CONCENTRATE

I found myself at a local food and drink market one weekend and ended up returning home with a bottle of this chai concentrate from a company called Henny and Joe's that are based in Bath. 

I've been spooning this stuff into tumblers of cool apple juice and jugs of milk in order to stay refreshed in the warmer weather. It is so good! They use 100% natural ingredients, have won multiple awards, and their products are also Vegan friendly, so everyone can hop onboard the bandwagon. 

THREE DOG DAYS

On one of the sunny afternoons, we let all three dogs hang out together and cause chaos for a while. We strolled down to the beach, had a lengthy game of catch and then returned to laze around in the sunny garden. Poppy spent about 90% of the time playing kiss chase with Woody. Jessie thinks they're both ridiculous. She is probably right.  

VINTAGE SHIRT

My Wrangler shirt saw a lot of action during the month of May, especially when the weather wasn't entirely sure what it was doing, so I thought that it was only right that I shared it with you. I picked this jazzy little number up from Chinese Laundry in Goodramgate when I swanned off to York back in February (check out my guide to York if you haven't already) and it has been a staple in my wardrobe ever since. 

Everyone has their 'thing', right?! Some people like shoes. Some people like bags. I like shirts that look like they've fallen out of your eccentric-aunt-that-disgraces-herself-at-family-gatherings' wardrobe. 

TASKMASTER S4

Taskmaster is one of those shows that unites my entire family in the living room whenever it is on. Each week, the celebrity contestants are set a series of bizarre and comedic tasks that they have to complete individually in hopes of scoring points against their fellow competitors. The results are usually quite something. 

It's creative, light-hearted and I have decided I want to be Lolly Adefope's friend. Check it out on Youtube or wherever. 

GRANDMA'S CAKE!

Grandma makes a great Victoria Sponge. I like to eat it. I can't expand much further. 

Although, bit of trivia for you, she recently had to bake an entire cake just for my consumption because she made a meat-based bet with me and lost. If you're going to make bets with OAPs, make them worth your while.

FAMILY TIME

I caught up with my Dad's side of the family at the start of the month which meant holding a baby post-poo whilst her Dad got the changing gear, and setting my Grandma right when she got me mixed up with my Uncle Allan. After hiring a car at Bristol Airport, just don't ask, we drove up to Swindon for some BBQ food, a lot of gooey brownies and cuddles with my cousin's two littles. It was great.

I came bearing Aristocat-shaped gifts because, at the age of nearly 25, I decided that my Disney toys would have a much better life with the girls than me. It was like the ending of Toy Story 3. Very emotional indeed. I gave Ava a couple of the bigger Marie toys and, luckily enough, I found a little dinky one in my stash that was the perfect size for Annabel's little 6 month old hands. I got a really sweet text from my Aunty the other day to let me know that Ava has been taking her cats around with her everywhere so my good deed was well-received. 

WRITING MY POEMS DOWN

I decided to pull my most beautiful journal off the shelf and write up the poems that I've written so far within its pages. It has made me realise just how much I would love to physically hold a collection of my own poetry in book form one day. This journal, for those wondering, came from Anthropologie, like everything else that is beautiful in the world. 

+ THINGS OF NOTE

• This thread on acts of kindness was really wonderful

• Black Heart Creatives released a new collection of Twin Peaks inspired acrylic jewellery

• Bethany has started a podcast where she interviews her friends, entitled 'Hello Friend' - including an episode with Alice off Twitter where they talk summer reads

• This thread on the origins of magical realism was insightful 

• Harriet shared 8 easy ways for influencers to support small businesses

• my beautiful friend Ella started a Youtube channel for her arty vloggy videos

• Chloe is saving for a trip to NZ. You could help her if you fancy one of her ridiculous portraits...
• Laura finally got to experience her second wedding in Cyprus and she looked beautiful

+ MAY BLOG POSTS

• my monthly things that make me happy list

• a book haul ft. three new reads 

• shared some uber cute photos from a sunny puppy walking adventure 

• more book reviews & a tbr

• how to understand poetry

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And those were a few of my favourite things in May! What have you been enjoying lately? If you'd like to, you can scroll through a selection of my other favourite things.

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Book Haul feat. Linda Grant

Last month, I took myself up town for an hour or so just to get out of the house. A lot of the time I feel fatigued and sore but there does come a point where I just need to see new faces and fill my face with bakery pastry, y'know?! I went round the charity shops in the hopes of finding summer clothes that I could afford but, naturally, I came back with two books instead. 

In May I bought two secondhand books, one by an author I have read previously and one that I picked up on a whim. 

surfacing by margaret atwood (1972)

Part detective novel, part psychological thriller, Surfacing is the story of a young woman who returns to northern Quebec, to the remote island of her childhood, with her lover and two friends, to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her father. Flooded with memories, she begins to realize that going home means entering not only another place, but another time. As the wild island exerts its elemental hold and she is submerged in the language of the wilderness, she discovers that what she is really searching for is her own past.

I read Atwood's Oryx and Crake back in 2014 and enjoyed it, calling it a 'sobering study of human arrogance'. However, I have yet to read any of her other novels, despite also owning The Handmaid's Tale and being 50% sure that I read Cat's Eye in Sixth Form, so when I saw this on the shelf for a mere pound I thought I'd buy it and save it for a summer's afternoon. 

Since Surfacing was only her second novel, it'll be interesting to see what her writing style was like before she was renowned for her piercing speculative fiction. A fair few things grab me about the plot, the wild setting in particular. I'm going to try and read this soon. 

upstairs at the party by linda grant (2014)

In the early Seventies a glamorous and androgynous couple known collectively as Evie/Stevie appear out of nowhere on the isolated concrete campus of a new university. To a group of teenagers experimenting with radical ideas they seem blown back from the future, unsettling everything and uncovering covert desires. But the varnished patina of youth and flamboyant self-expression hides deep anxieties and hidden histories. For Adele, with the most to conceal, Evie/Stevie become a lifelong obsession, as she examines what happened on the night of her own twentieth birthday and her friends' complicity in their fate. A set of school exercise books might reveal everything, but they have been missing for nearly forty years. From summers in Cornwall to London in the twenty-first century, long after they have disappeared, Evie/Stevie go on challenging everyone's ideas of what their lives should turn out to be.

Linda Grant was on my radar due to her latest novel, The Dark Circle, being on the shortlist for this year's Bailey's Prize for Women's Fiction so when I spied this on the shelves I decided to see what it was about. Obsession, talks of a campus, a story told over several decades, I'm all over it. 

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I love a little secondhand bookshopping - so therapeutic and it makes book buying accessible to me. What books have you bought or rented from the library recently? If you'd like to scroll through all of my book blog posts then you can. Or, alternatively, you could just flick through my book hauls instead.

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This post features affiliate links. If you buy the books through the links I've provided I'll receive a 5% commission to put back into the blog. 

Fyne Court, Somerset

  A couple of weekends ago, I bundled one of my best friends, my family, Poppy, and a picnic, into the car and had a sweet couple of hours at Fyne Court. 
  We took a stroll around some of the grounds, ate picnic food, got stuck behind a tractor for way too long and cooed at Poppy being cute and small. It was pretty wonderful. 
If you're in the area, Fyne Court is a nice little spot to hold a picnic with friends and family. They have all-ability walking trails, including ramped access, play trails with build-your-own dens and you're allowed to take dogs providing they're on a lead. 
It was a great way to slow my mind down a little, as it seems to be running at 100mph right now. It was also great for Poppy to meet her dogmother, Lyzi. They enjoyed lots of snuggles and I'm pretty sure Pops tried to go in for a fair few snogs!   
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Remind me to spend more afternoons like this, please. It was so needed.

I have blogged lots of little trips over the years and you can scroll through all of my other adventures. 

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Book Reviews feat. Chibundu Onuzo & TBR

My reading was horrendous during the month of May because my mind was, and still is, elsewhere. I'm finding it even harder than usual to focus which really takes the piss because my chronic fatigue only allocates me a tiny window to actually absorb information at the best of times. I'm hoping to pull myself out of this malaise by making sure I spend more time focusing on things that I'm passionate about and less time feeling petrified at the state of the world. 

In May, I read one book. Lets see what I thought about it, eh.

READ. 

welcome to lagos by chibundu onuzo* (2017) 

FINISHED: 11/05/17 | PAGES: 368  | ISBN: 0571268943 

Deep in the Niger Delta, officer Chike Ameobi deserts the army and sets out on the road to Lagos. He is soon joined by a wayward private, a naive militant, a vulnerable young woman and a runaway middle-class wife. The shared goals of this unlikely group: freedom and new life. As they strive to find their places in the city, they become embroiled in a political scandal. Ahmed Bakare, editor of the failing Nigerian Journal, is determined to report the truth. Yet government minister Chief Sandayo will do anything to maintain his position. Trapped between the two, they are forced to make a life-changing decision.

A novel of disparate people with disparate ideas, Welcome to Lagos is a tale of many things - friendship, redemption, political shit storms - but mostly it's about being courageous, whether that's real pained courage in the face of hardship or feigned ass-saving courage when things don't work out the way they were supposed to. The intensity of Lagos as a city, and the common desire of each individual in the group to find a better life for themselves, engulf the novel and carry it to its climax. However, I wasn't completely taken by this novel. 

Whilst it was well crafted, and clearly written straight from Onuzo's heart, I wouldn't really rush to re-read it. I think, as a reader, I can sometimes be quite plot driven and I didn't feel like the story took me on the adventure I necessarily wanted at the time of reading. That said, I'll keep an eye out for what Onuzo writes next. 

RATING: ★★★

TO BE READ. 

I'm making it my business to focus more of my time on things that I'm passionate about (such a novel idea) so that means more reading! In the interests of reading a little more, I'm pulling a few books off my shelves that I feel like I could easily sink my teeth into. 

carol by patricia highsmith 

Carol has been sat near the top of my to read list since I acquired it back in November. It comes highly recommended and I fancy a nice bit of queer romance to pull me out of a slumpy few months. The edition I have is also a floppy paperback which is incredibly satisfying. 

animals by emma jane unsworth* 

Animals has sat on my shelves minding its own business since July 2015 and the other day I felt compelled to pull it down after book maven Alice mentioned it in her Twitter books thread. It sounds as if it could be really funny and lord knows I need a laugh right now! (edit: I have since finished this and loved it.)

THE POISON TREE BY ERIN KELLY 
Mystery thrillers are usually an excellent way to slide yourself back into reading because they tend to be all-absorbing. Alice and Bethany raved about The Poison Tree on the Hello Friend podcast and I thought it'd be a good way to ease myself back in. Stephen King even likened this to du Maurier's Rebecca, one of my favourite books of all time, so that fills me with hope.

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I'm all set for a much better reading month! 

As always, if you have a bit of spare time, you can stick around and scroll through all of my book blog posts. Or, alternatively, you could just flick through my book reviews instead. 

Links to books are affiliate links. If you don't fancy any of these books but would still like to use my link to purchase some books with, please use my general Book Depository link. Thanks, pals! Books marked with an asterisk were sent to me by the publisher for an honest review. 

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