Bye-bye to the book ban and hello to assorted frivolities
A day late, but still delightful!
For a moment on the weekend, I fancied myself as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. We had a German lunch of wursts, cabbage rolls, and pork belly with friends in the Adelaide Hills and then one pal suggested going to her partner’s auntie’s house. The aunt was away, but we had permission to wander around her yard. Or, in Georgian-era speak, ‘take a turn about the garden’.
We strolled across the immaculate front lawn, down the side steps to a courtyard with a fountain which gazed up at a patio that looked like something out of a design magazine. Then down a winding path to a Japanese garden, up a gravel path past kangaroos grazing in the neighbouring field, and back through a lawn surrounded by autumnal trees and bushes. This place had hosted a wedding, and I could see why. Like, stop it. It wasn’t only one beautiful garden. Around every turn it changed and there was another spectacular area to wow us.
I’m on a mission right now to recapture my weekends and this felt like progress. I did do some work on both days, but it was greatly reduced from the past few months. I’ve had this huge urge to constantly push with my writing career and I need to pull back. Enjoy life. Experience things so I actually have things to write about. Achieve more but do less.
Long may it continue! See you next week. xx
News
1. This ABC story about publican Les Cameron and the outback town of Terang is marvellous in a number of ways. Firstly, it tells of Les’s initiative to not so much make money from his pub, but offer it as a space for writers, musicians, and other artists to creative and share their works with the town and turning it into a hub of creativity. Then there’s the way the story strolls from one local person to the next, helping the reader to get to know the town through its colourful characters. The way the webpage is laid out is the perfect medium for doing this – as we scroll, we’re fed a mix of short quotes and longer text interspersed with collages and slideshows of photos and videos. It really does make for an atmospheric story. Fab stuff.
2. Thank goodness sanity has prevailed in Sydney’s Cumberland City Council – the ban on books showing same-sex parents has been lifted. I’m not sure what those voting for the ban thought they’d achieve. Even if they think LGBTIQ families are a thing that shouldn’t exist, they do. Children see them out in the community. These books are only reflecting what already exists in real life. How about they focus on things that actually harm children, hey? BookLife Publishing has made the book at the centre of the row (Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig) free to download from their site here. Purchasing it from various outlets or borrowing/requesting it from the library would also throw some support behind the book, if you feel so inclined.
Reviews
1. If you admire any of these items, I’ve got a treat for you: cosy mysteries, ’80s nostalgia, or Angela Lansbury. The treat is, you might have guessed, an ode to Murder, She Wrote over at The Guardian. If there’s one wily gran I love more than the Golden Girls, it’s Jessica Fletcher. I still want to be her if I ever grow up. Well, with fewer murders piling up around my ankles. Anyway, enjoy.
2. I finally caught up on watching The Way We Wore, a three-part doco about the history of Australia’s fashion scene, released November last year to ABC iview. Narrated by Celeste Barber (famous for her send-ups of posing celebrities), it strikes just the right tone – poking fun, but also in-depth and, at times, moving.
It was fascinating to see a summary of political events that influenced significant twists in the trajectory of our fashion industry, the beginning of Australian Fashion Week in 1996, and how much of an influence our country’s wool industry has had. The section reminiscing about now-closed fashion magazines from past decades was, of course, a highlight for me, as well as the evolution of luxury department store David Jones and chain stores like Cue, Sportsgirl, and Country Road. Plus, surfing brands Billabong, Ripcurl, and Quiksilver, which, I much admit, I haven’t really thought about since I was a teenager and it was practically mandatory at school to be toting one of their backpacks (I couldn’t swim, but I sure as heck had a sky-blue Billabong bag in high school). I was also pleased to see so much screen-time devoted to the emergence of Indigenous labels and models and interviews with their key players. Highly recommended for when you want to watch something light yet pithy.
3. A friend encouraged me to try MCoBeauty’s Glow Up pH Powder Blush in Rosy Pink (available from the likes of Woolworths, Big W, and Chemist Warehouse). I’ve tried some of the brand’s eye make-up lines before and been quietly impressed, although they haven’t stuck as one of my firm favourites. This blush could turn that tide. I’m usually dubious about non-cream blush, but this one brushed on easily without leaving my skin parched. While I’m skeptical about the whole pH-balanced, morphing-to-a-tailored-colour-to-suit-your-skintone marketing scheme they’ve got going on, I found the rosy pink hue hella flattering, so I’ll be rocking it all winter and probably into spring as well. This gets my official stamp of approval.
What I’m Feelin’ Right Now
Trying some of those stretches and flexibility challenges with a wooden rod
Kimchi mayo on potato fritters
Cross-stitching an adorable little pixel people scene
Dinner at a restaurant where the décor is full-on maximalist mania
‘End Of An Era’ by Dua Lipa
Light blue nails
Do a nighttime walking tour
Lying on the couch eating Jersey caramels and reading thrillers
A quirky patterned raincoat
Giveaway
Last week’s giveaway, Funny Story by Emily Henry, was won by Jodie Fitzsimons. I’ve emailed you, Jodie!
Giveaways are taking a mini break this week.
Playlist of the Week
Atmospheric songs for dance routines that'd slap so hard:
I definitely relate on the recapturing weekends front. I feel like all I do is get home from work, write, go to work, and the cycle continues.