feb - march bits
a strange time to be living in
My friend and I decided to check out The Housemaid. She had a buy-one-get-one offer on a luxurious cinema experience, so we splurged (despite being half off, the price did jolt me) and spent our Friday evening watching the film in plush seats with popcorn and soda (included in the tickets, thank goodness). Cheese-caramel and Pepsi for her, salt-caramel and Sprite for moi.
I thought Amanda Seyfried looked gorgeous, and her performance was the only thing I could take seriously those two hours. All I’ll say is some books are better off not being adapted for film.
Speaking of, I finally finished a book I’d picked up a while ago, Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan (3/5 — great writing for the most part, but generally quite boring), and have begun reading None of This Is True by Lisa Jewel. It did pull me in right at the start, which is a good sign (sadly, it was a bit of a drag by the end — another 3-star read).
I saw something on Tiktok the other day that inspired me to make sticky toffee pudding. I can be a little lazy when it comes to trying something new in the kitchen, so I was rather pleased with myself for following through one Saturday evening. Having all the necessary ingredients and tools helped. Living next door to my parents meant I could pop over and borrow a few bits — dates, a scale, and measuring spoons.
I used this recipe. At first sight, it looked pretty great. I let it cool before I cut myself a piece. It turned out incredible — fluffy, moist, and perfectly sweet. I decided to scrap the actual toffee sauce (but I did add a handful of roughly chopped pecans to the batter). I felt the cake was rich enough on its own. I sliced up the rest and put away a box for Mum and Dad. It’s been my sweet treat (paired with tea, of course) the last few days. Yum.
I’ve felt a little numb this past week. I’ve also been torn between feeling privileged and grateful for the safety and normalcy where I live and annoyed by the anxiety and disruption we continue to face. Instagram and Tiktok have, at times, been an absolute nightmare.
PMS crept in midweek, so I’m not surprised by my emotions being all over the place. Either way, I will adapt because that is what I do at the end of the day. I'm just counting my lucky stars that I have family around me, which has been a comfort in the midst of recent events.
Going on walks around my building has been a respite. Truthfully, I’ve been bored out of my mind. This afternoon, I drove to a coffee shop and indulged in a turkey-cheese danish and an iced latte. I did bring my Kindle but ended up on Substack. There’s nothing like stumbling upon two to three great posts (and reading them in a row!) to restore joie de vivre in me.
It’s nearly 5 pm on a Wednesday, and I’m sat at the spot I frequented throughout my unemployed era a year ago — a bakery located inside a food hall. I realized I hadn’t been here in a while. I ordered myself a vanilla latte. There’s plenty of seating, but I willingly grabbed a table nestled between two occupied tables.
I’ve been spending a lot of time at home lately, so being near strangers — hearing their voices, feeling their presence — is soothing. It smells like melty cheese and freshly baked bread in here. I’d come with the intention of working on this post and reading, but I’m a little distracted, in an exhilarating way.
Over the last few days, I’d been flipping through samples on my Kindle, eager to purchase my next read, but nothing seemed to click. Until the sample I checked out earlier today — The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet. It’s historical fiction, which is a genre I have not read in a long time, so I’m really excited to get into it.
I’ve recently watched a bunch of shows and movies that I wanted to highlight. We’re all aware of how difficult it can be to sit through something new without going on your phone, or putting it off and resorting to rewatching a comfort show. So this made me happy.
That’s all for now. I hope all’s well wherever you are.
See ya later.
great read😘