10 Loves #7

1.    It’s been a bit of a month for music hasn’t it? Honourable mentions include the indisputable work of art that is Beyoncé’s LEMONADE, and Chance the Rapper’s amazing new album. I can’t wait to find the time to give James Blake’s latest masterpiece a listen too.

2.    My pin collection…Be jealous. 

 

3.    Obama’s final White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech. Did I mention I’m gonna miss this guy? You can watch him slay here. #NerdProm

4.    Journaling…There’s something about keeping a journal I find so romantic, yet I have never been able to keep one going for a substantial amount of time. Having recently gone through some of my Grandma’s diary, which she’s written in every single day since she was about 7 she reckons, I’ve been inspired to give it another go. 

5.    Shakespeare…this month saw me watch King Lear at the Royal Exchange on the 400^th anniversary of this dude’s death as well as book tickets to see Macbeth at the Globe in July. I’ve been very lucky to have seen loads of different Shakespeare productions, including Hamlet twice, and haven’t seen a bad one yet. You really can’t beat the Bard.

6.    Movies I watched this month included Midnight Special which I highly recommend (I have weird crush on Michael Shannon now) and Lost In Translation for the faffilionth time. 

7.    Ruby Tandoh’s article (which I mentioned in my last post) about what lies beneath the ‘Wellness’ industry.

8.    Donald Trump pretended to be his own publicist and you can listen to it here.

9.    Rudy’s Pizza…I treated myself to some Neapolitan Pizza and loved every second. Me and my friend got a margarita each and shared a garlic bread. It induced some MAJOR flashbacks to the time me and my sister went on a day trip to Naples just to eat at the ‘world’s greatest’ pizza place. No regrets. 

10. Hamilton is coming to London next year and me and my friend didn’t freak out on twitter at all.

Ladies who Rock

Joni Mitchell…all hail Queen Joni. She was the first singer songwriter to completely blow me away. If you’ve never listened to her, stop reading this and get to Spotify. I’d recommend starting with songs like, “California”, “Chelsea Morning”, and “Clouds”. Once you’re initiated, go ahead and listen to the masterpiece that is Blue from start to finish; my sister got me an original copy of Blue on vinyl for my 21^st birthday and I reached peak Joni.

Ella Fitzgerald…I challenge anyone who says her Christmas album Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas isn’t the greatest festive album of all time

Billie Holiday…she could sing my phone bill and I swear I would still get chills.

Jenny Lewis…so it turns out I low- key like country music?

Beyoncé…every album of hers has further confirmed my love and admiration for her. She was once criticised for not speaking out about racial relations in the US, but has any reasonable person got a single argument against her since Formation?

Taylor Swift...I was sceptical at first but then came Red, shortly followed by Lena Dunham becoming friends with her, and the rest is history.

The Staves…the folk girl gang.

Nina Simone…she’s an absolute hero who weirdly nobody seems to talk about. Her performances were always amazing and she could say so much by saying so little. I’d highly recommend watching What Happened, Miss Simone? if you want to know more about her. 

10 Loves #5

1.    Hamilton…I’m late to the party but I’m partying hard. My love for Lin Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece knows no bounds. I’ve begun finding ways to slip the story of Alexander Hamilton and his amazing/tragic American life into every conversation. What I would give to be able to get my hands on some tickets! Guess I’ll have to keep singing along to the soundtrack myself until then.

2.   Flowers…aside from the overnight snow storm of last week, which we won’t talk about (snow in March. March), we’re beginning to see the first signs of spring! What says spring more than filling the house with flowers? But really I need no excuse.

3.    I Low-key need this T Shirt in my life

4.  Dog Walking…I’ve begun walking my dog every morning; the sun on my face feels like the equivalent of a morning coffee…speaking of which…

5.   Coffee…my taste buds have recently woken up to the wonders of coffee and, I’m not gonna lie, I feel like a new woman who could achieve many many great things.

6.    JohnOliver…I’ll let this speak for itself

7.   Iggy Pop and Josh Homme…my favourite musical collaboration for yonks. Their album isn’t out until 18^th March, but if their singles, Break into your heart, Gardenia, and Lust for life are anything to go by, we’re in for a treat.

8.   This banana loaf recipe from Jamie Oliver…this mid-afternoon treat is nothing fancy, but it hits the spot. My nearly 2 year old niece is crazy about it, and I baked one for my mum for her recent birthday- it was gone in a day! They can’t get enough.

9.    Christine has started vlogging…I’ve been following her youtube channel and gorgeous instagram for so long that her vlogs feel like catching up with a friend. She is so cool, you won’t regret watching over your breakfast. Plus she lives in SoCal. I’m *SoJel*.

10. This lengthy interview with President Obama…is worth getting to the end of if you have a spare 20 minutes (or hour if you’re a ridiculously slow reader like moi). It gives an interesting insight into his foreign policy decisions, and reflects on how history will view some of them.