IN DETAIL

favourite read

An arrow to the moon

A fairytale turned modern day Romeo + Juliet-esque love story. I truly, genuinely enjoyed reading every word of this. I think it was meant to be young adult, but honestly, it was profound and deep in its portrayal and writing.

TOPIC obsession

Embroidery

I have been going down rabbit holes in watching the most beautiful pieces of embroidery pop up and be created. I have all of the embroidery floss, the hoops, and now the fabric. I am about to embark on trying my hand out at it. Even if I fail, it is still a worthwhile endeavour to learn a new skill and to be creative with a new form of art.

FAVOURITE WATCH

Ludwig

Think: Sherlock Holmes meets Monk meets Classic British Dry Wit. I really loved the series and was rather sad it ended with only 7 episodes (I could have watched a hundred of them). I am quite eager for Season II to be filmed, and I hope this is the beginning of a very long, and wonderful TV series that I can rewatch over and over again.

OOTD INSPO

A scarf as another layer

Hear me out! It sounds silly but I never thought about taking my scarf and instead of wrapping it traditionally around my head like a mummy, I could simply fold it and let it peek out underneath a blazer or a jacket as an extra added layer and punch of colour. Brilliant.

I also started going down a scarf-styling rabbit hole of sorts, and am excited to take scarfs and use them as layers around my waist, or to incorporate them into my wardrobe in less conventional ways.

FAVOURITE purchase

A rashguard by Heidi Merrick

Have you ever seen anything cuter than this?

And it keeps your whole upper body protected. I think it was meant more for surfers (I do not surf), but I do spend a lot of time as of late in the sun, swimming (we are teaching our son to swim), and this is such a chic, stylish way to stay protected under the harsh UV rays of the sun.

You could even just pull jeans on and wear it as a top!

LOVING LATELY…

Somersby Non-Alcoholic Cider

I have never been a big drinker. I think I had a small phase in university (who didn’t) where I tried drinking but it just isn’t my thing. That said, I also avoided 0% alcoholic drinks until I was offered this one at a party (someone else who didn’t drink, told me all about it), and now I am hooked. I love the fresh crisp taste of the pear flavour mixed with apple, the after taste of something fermented (it is a cider after all) and that it isn’t as sweet as soda.

Typically at parties, I take water or a soda. Both are boring, and the latter is always too sweet for me.. but this one is just the right amount of sweetness (I could even go down to half of the sugar content, to be honest), and it is refreshing. Like an adult pop, for adults who don’t imbibe.

Best Kid purchase

Beaverbot tool

This clever device lets you cut cardboard and shapes in such a simple, and perfect manner. It is rather loud though (my partner complained that he thought a truck was coming through), but my son has been having a blast cutting things out and thinking of new creations with it.

Art supplies I can’t wait to try out

Ecoline brushes

Watercolour.. MARKERS???

Who knew this was a thing. Certainly not me. I have been trying with watercolour pencils, and actual watercolours, but this marker business takes it to another level for me. How clever! And they are ridiculously easy to use, and don’t smell at all.

(Yet another artsy endeavour I hope to take up once winter hits… I am entering my grandma era and I could not be happier.)

Huge tech move I made recently

Galaxy Z Fold 7 Phone Switch

I moved on from the iPhone.

After almost a decade with them, I am cutting all ties, frustrated with the limitations of it (I think they deliberately slow down the phone and manufacture falsely planned obsolescence with each update you install on it), and I am moving to a more open-code-friendly phone.

If you haven’t held, or touched one of these IRL, give it a whirl. It is the first phone that made me think – FFS, the iPhone is a dinosaur!

I will write a little memo on my switch from iPhone to Samsung (it wasn’t all roses and sunshine), but the 3 main benefits that made me switch:

• easier customization of what I wanted on the phone itself
• a mini tablet screen (it folds out.. so ingenious)
• multi-tasking windows (I can have up to 3 screens open, so I can see my tracking numbers or security codes AND enter them in the app or use it on a call without constantly doing this stupid flipping between apps)

Wardrobe envy

Green + Pink vibes

How delicious is this closet? I love the magazine (?) covers on the wall, I am not a fan of shoes in the house (even storing them), so that icks me out a little, but the rest of it is just so vibrant and fun. How could you NOT want to get ready in the morning?

The light blush pink + dark malachite green + magenta pink is just perfection.

Whimsical style accessory

Vegetable dangly bag charms

Aren’t they fun? Like having a farm stand on your purse. Goes perfectly with the summer vibes of this straw purse I have, and gives me something to fiddle with while I wait in line.

GOAT eyelash curler

Kevyn Aucoin

GOAT = Greatest of All Time

I have a funny story.. so I thought I was buying this eyelash curler to try it out, and when I got it, I was amazed at how comfortable and perfect it was for curling my lashes to their maximum potential.

I went to go put it in my beauty cabinet as my main curler, and to use the other one I had as a spare when I traveled (I am trying to minimize the time it takes to pack a basic suitcase, and to never forget something), and I thought had a Shiseido eyelash curler when in fact… IT WAS ALSO KEVYN AUCOIN.

I feel like this seals it. I had what I thought was another brand, when in fact it was the same one, and I bought it again, if only to reconfirm how amazing this curler is.

I will never use anything else. They will get donated or given to others who have more prominent eyeballs (?) that stick out, because this one is perfection.

QUick wardrobe fix

Jean pins

I have (of late) been buying a size larger than my actual size, so that I can decide to take it into the tailor to have it custom-fitted to my body, but also, just to feel comfortable.

So I bought my jeans at a size larger, to have it be comfortable around my legs, and be less sausage-encasing-esque, only to realize that the waist was a smidge too large (it would need two darts to take it in).

To resolve this issue quickly, I simply got these jean pins that you can attach to make your jeans a smidge wider or tighter at the waist, without any tailoring required. It is so clever!

(Of course, the waist looks a bit wonky, but this is a good interim fix until you decide to make it permanent, or if you happen to gain weight, you can simply use the other jeans button instead.)

Another good deed

APOPO.Org

This charity is brilliant.

They train a very specific, intelligent large rat (wait, hear me out) that can sniff out tuberculosis samples a lot faster than a lab technician can, OR easily find landmines that have been left behind in countless, stupid and unnecessary wars and devastation in the same of capitalism, so they don’t blow limbs off people or kill them.

As the rats are very light-footed and tiny, they don’t set the landmines off and they can be safely deactivated and retrieved.

Little Bun is very excited to sponsor one and loves getting their email updates.

MANIZHA – БЕГИ (BEGI)

The full song is here but the video is only a clip of the screen grab above which is here and INCREDIBLE.

 

A juicy tee that gives back

Wear the peace

..though sometimes I read it as “we are the peace”, which is also fitting.. came out with these beautiful fruit printed tees and hoodies. I chose the strawberry one which looks both beautiful and sends a strong message.

Every purchase helps not just with continued awareness, but with a matching donation.

Getting a good Night’s rest

Moulded Sleep Mask

In my younger days, I have tried sleep masks. They have NEVER worked. I have always hated having something around my face, pressing down on my eyeballs.

Enter: The moulded sleep mask, that gives you space for your eyeballs, is soft and comfortable, adjustable and lets you sleep on your side comfortably with it.

I also got some airflow-friendly earplugs to drown out my partner’s snoring, the kind where it muffles the noise but doesn’t plug my ears with silicone tips.

Want more?

Here are all the previous months’ posts…