To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.
- Arundhati Roy
I’m flying home tomorrow… again! Then to Sicily on Sunday. Of course I am thrilled about both, just less so about the plane trips. Air Travel is entirely exhausting.
Here are three tips that make it easy (er):
1. Wear the softest, most comfortable clothes you own.
What I usually wear on plane journeys are actually intended for sleeping in, but they pass as acceptable to wear in public (in my opinion at least…). Oysho seem to nail that ‘looks like clothes but feels like pyjamas’ thing I’m crazy about.
Just before my flight home last Christmas, Lucy gave me a gift of these slipper socks from Oysho (aren’t they cute?). They are twice as warm as regular socks, which is important since planes always tend to be freezing.
2. Try to get some sleep.
Even if it’s a daytime flight, sleeping makes the journey seem much shorter and more bearable.
A good neck pillow is a must – I love this one by Muji – and although I always feel pretentious putting on an eye mask, they really work by tricking you’re brain into thinking it’s night-time.
Let ear plugs deal with the noise. If you’re already thinking about a soft blanket, I’m right there with you. I just use a scarf from Zara- unfolded it’s huuuuge. Build a jersey cocoon around yourself and hey presto, cozy-town central. Population: one.
3. Pack a picnic.
We’ve talked about this before. Honestly, this is the best advice of all. This time I’m making a cous-cous salad and packing Bateel caramelised-pecan dates (my favourite) as a little treat.
I’m not even going to tell you to drink lots of water. Everyone says that. (They say it because it’s true).
Happy flying!
This gender-reverse fairy tale series by Yudi Chen is awesome.
Pictured: Cinderfella; The Little Merman; Rapunzel; Beau and the Beast; Little Red Cap.
Get stuck. Stay in one place your whole life. Always order vanilla even though the menu is four pages long. Become the type of person who sends back lattes. Save up your money for a plasma TV instead of a plane ticket. Talk a lot about things you know nothing about. Have an affair with someone you don’t even find attractive. Refuse to forget your ex. Make it impossible for yourself to do anything without remembering that you used to do it with them. Hug your knees under the sheets and think about how safe you felt when they held you at night. Remind yourself daily of how empty you feel. Find new ways to make yourself sad. Get drunk all the time. Consider no Saturday night, national holiday or extended happy hour complete without a vodka-induced breakdown. Graduate college but keep drinking like you’re still in it. Notice that cheap beer tastes watery and stale when you drink it alone but drink it anyway. Look at old Facebook photos wasted and wonder where everyone went. Never drink. Never do anything that could potentially be “bad” for you. Treat your body like the temple it is and say no to carbs, yes to wheatgrass, go to bed at ten sharp and turn down cake on your birthday. Take fifteen different dietary supplements. Monitor carefully. Succumb to nothing. Miss out on everything. Compare yourself constantly, to everyone. Allow the standards of image-obsessed, age-obsessed culture to make you feel decrepit at 25. Scroll through skinny girls on Tumblr feeling wistful and inadequate. Pull at the skin on your hipbones, stomach, and underarms in the mirror. Sigh a lot. Sigh all the time. Don’t fall in love with anyone or anything. Put an impenetrable wall between yourself and other people. Add a fire-breathing dragon and eight yards of barbed wire. Be suspicious of everyone’s motives. Hold grudges long after you’ve forgotten what for. Fall in love with everyone and everything. Run after the next best thing like it’s a bus you’re perpetually late for. Throw your heart into every other stranger’s hands and be genuinely surprised to be hurt. Refuse to learn. Refuse to ever learn
(via Baby is a Sinner)
Clever, clever people at Eyescream and Friends, Barcelona.
Eyescream is a ‘shaved’ ice-cream imported from Taiwan (it’s texture is somewhere between sorbet and ice-cream). It was a challenge to introduce it to the European market because, in their own words, this ice-cream is not very attractive. They found a way to bank on the ice-cream’s ugliness by creating a monster character for each flavour and adding sugar eyes.
I love everything about this.
The days are getting hotter here and as we wait for the approaching end of term, each one feels unbearably long. It driving my kindergarten class (and consequently, me) cray-zee.
This song has become my quiet place. If, when everything gets too much, I can listen to this song and just breathe for a few minutes, it feels as if something has been restored. And I’m ready to go back in there and teach those kids like, well like it’s my job.
This is an awesome thing Lucy and Marie did for my birthday!
The night before the big day, they snuck down to my apartment and taped black plastic (from bin liners) to the sides of my apartment door, creating a giant ‘pocket’ on the outside. Then they filled the cavity between the door and the plastic with 100 balloons and a ‘Happy Birthday’ message.
As I rushed out the door to work on the morning of my birthday, 100 colourful balloons cascaded on top of me! It was the coolest thing!
I never thought I’d say it while living here, but this might have been the best birthday EVER!
They also made me my favourite chocolate brownies even though they have both given up chocolate for Lent. They couldn’t even lick the spoon! That. is. love.
Thank you girls so much xx
I turn 27 on Sunday and I’m okay with that. Totally okay with it. I’m definitely not going to freak out like last year! I’ve come a long way…
Here’s are some things I’ve done at some point in the last year that mean I’m finally beginning to act like an adult:
I could have made a list of things I’ve done that mean I’m still acting like a childish fool, but that would have taken a lot longer!
Anyway, happy birthday to me and my sister, Fiona! Cheers to another year of sometimes acting our age and sometimes acting our shoe size.
Forehead kisses; tight hugs; hot showers; waking up in the morning and feeling like you’ve had enough sleep; the first bite of a meal when you’re really hungry; flannel sheets; hammocks; drinking from the hose; listening to stories of how people met; finally peeing after ‘holding it’ forever; boarding the plane; picking up something that turns out to be a lot lighter than expected; peeling dried glue from your fingers; people who help you to park; being on someone’s shoulders; when the person you’re meeting is even later than you are; picking things up with your feet; when the metro doors stop right in front of you; drinking whiskey from a coffee mug; Electric staplers.
I’m currently on the lookout for a new pair of glasses. The last time I went into an Opticians, they first pair they presented to me were the same ones I already owned. Weird moment!
I don’t know why but I always veer towards tortoiseshell and quite like this pair.
And Ellie’s are from Lookmatic, that site everyone seems to be talking about. I love how you can try them on virtually before you buy!
Glasses have to be the hardest things to buy – after the first couple of pairs, they all start to look exactly the same.
Any tips for me?
If I’m making you a cocktail, I’m probably trying to impress you. If I make you this particular cocktail, I’m really trying to impress you. Maybe I’m even trying too hard. This could be the cocktail equivalent of coming on too strong.
There’s chilled lime wedges and fresh rosemary involved. You’ve got to make homemade Rosemary syrup in advance. People like Fiona might think that’s no big deal but it still takes time and patience and a little planning. All that effort might give away how you really feel.
We are not supposed to show people how we really feel about them. We are supposed to ‘play hard to get’. The only reason we play these silly games is because we think the person we like doesn’t like us back, and we’re trying to trick them into eventually liking us. I say forget that! In love and in cocktails, allow yourself to be open and vulnerable sometimes. It’s better for your soul. Are you with me?
Here’s the recipe. (Oh and it’s unbelievably delicious)
Homemade Rosemary Syrup
What you’ll need:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Here’s how:
Combine all three ingredients in a pan over medium heat, allowing the sugar to dissolve. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Remove the rosemary and allow to cool. Store in an airtight jar/ bottle in the fridge.
Rosemary-Lime Cocktail
This cocktail doesn’t have a fancy name, because it’s already fancy enough on the inside.
What you’ll need:
Homemade Rosemary syrup
Vodka
Lime wedges
Sparkling water
Ice cubes
Here’s how:
Fill a glass with ice. Squeeze some lime in. Pour in equal measures of vodka and rosemary syrup. Top with sparkling water. Stir. Drink. Repeat.
(Recipes via Joy the Baker)
This mug make me laugh.
(Have you seen the Freudian movie, A Dangerous Method? Nothing has ever disturbed me more than Keira Knightly’s performance as a hysteric Russian patient.)
In case there was any question as to where I stand on the Tea vs. Coffee debate…
It fills your stomach when you’re so sad that you can’t consume anything else. Truth.
via Tea for One SVP
Kaitlin Aas, closing the Hussein Chalayan A/W 2013 show.
Mind effectively blown.
So I became a vegetarian for a month. No biggie.
Times when this was hard: that time we went to Fuddruckers and I ordered an extra-large side of mashed potato, forgoing the main event.
Times when this was easy: the rest of the time
Vegetarian-friendly recipes that make this an easy thing:
Tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons
Nectarine Pizza with Basil and Balsamic
Roasted Pear and Chocolate Chunk Scones
Peach, Tomato and Mozzarella Crostini,
Notice how the majority of these recipes contain cheese. Now, giving up cheese was another story entirely.
Is little t turning into a food porn site? Maybe…
€5 has been donated to UNICEF Ireland for the completion of this ‘thing’. Click here if you too would like to donate online.
Last month, I was all about the deets (I’m watching New Girl so much I’ve started talking like Schmidt and people are starting to notice…)
via We Wore What
By deets, I mean details (or Schmidt does). Details like waffle-knit beanies, monochroming, faux fur, rolled-up sleeves, polka dot socks, oxblood toenails, that bowling jacket (WANT!) and jewellery that’s on the tough side of pretty.
I may have made up the word monochroming. Spellcheck seems to think so.
via Cupcakes and Cashmere, Le Blog de Betty, We Wore What, Pancake Stacker, Fashion Toast, Because I’m Addicted, The Sartorialist and Sincerely Jules
Usual dose of leather. If I had a penny for every time I posted a picture including a leather garment of some description, I’d be rich. Like fill my petrol tank to the top rich. Sorry peeps. Peeps and deets. Yeah! It’s bad.
via Sincerely Jules and Stockholm Streetstyle
Seriously, could Miroslava Duma be any more adorable?
As always, more on pinterest.
