Five things I loved this week....

I'm hoping that this becomes a regular feature here, just to share with you a few things I've been enjoying each week. It's never too late to act on my New Year's Resolution of being more grateful right?

Lucius - Wildewoman

Fan of Haim, CHVRCHES, or Sky Ferriera? Then this Brooklyn based indie pop quintet is bound to be your summer soundtrack. Their light, vintage-soul sound evokes memories of hot, lazy summer days so it’s no wonder their festival schedule this summer is packed.

The vocal harmonies of front women Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, work brilliantly together – so much so that it’s almost impossible to work out which one is singing when! They continue this by performing in completely matching outfits (even down to the hairstyles!)

Annoyingly I’ve just missed their European tour, but they’ll be back at the end of the summer for the End of the Road festival.

Check out their NPR Tiny Desk Concert to get a feel for their infectious energy!

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

In the wake of her recent nomination for the Bailey’s Prize along with the Pulitzer Prize win, I decided to revisit her classic The Secret History. 

A tale of epic proportions, heavily influenced by ancient greek literature, involving an intriguing investigation into the murder in the prologue. With all the frivolity of the Famous Five, and the depth of a Greek Classic – there’s nothing not to love. I was glued to all 629 of the pages!

Tartt’s literary skills shine through, so it's no wonder that The Goldfinch has been sweeping up literary prizes this year. After all it has been ten years in the making!

The King’s of Summer

After premiering at Sundance in 2013, this feel good coming of age film made me long for hot, summer days! If you like the cinematography of Wes Anderson, and particularly enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom, this is certainly one for you.

The touching friendship of Patrick and Joe as they leave home to build a house and new life in the woods, following their adventures along the way. Although pegged as a comedy the film’s not packed with as many laughs as I’d originally hoped, but charming performances by the young actors, and the endearing spirits of Joe and Patrick make it a highly enjoyable watch.

Little Paris Kitchen – Rachel Khoo

After a friend raved about Khoo's smoked fish pie, I couldn't resist buying this as a little early birthday present for my mum. So far we've tried out the dulce de leche and apple filled brioches, which were delish! (Expect a blog on them soon). Her little anecdotes peppered throughout the book make it entertaining to read, and every single recipe makes my mouth water. 

The beautiful illustrations (by Khoo herself!) add to the charm of the book, and I certainly can’t wait to try out a few more of the recipes. It’s certainly made me excited for the French cuisine I’ll undoubtedly be enjoying next year…

Home

It's been almost four months since my last visit to Edinburgh, so it's exciting to be back with the family (even if it is just for a flying Easter visit)! I've arrived home to discover that my bedroom's been redecorated, so gone are the days of Harry Potter posters adorning the walls, and welcome to my significantly more sophisticated room. 

I'm just enjoying home cooking after months of halls food, the fact that I've finally got a double bed again, and all the Easter eggs we've had this weekend! The simple pleasures, eh? 

We all scream for ice cream!

In celebration of Charlie's birthday the only appropriate place to go on a rainy Wednesday afternoon in February was to Morelli's Ice Cream Parlour in Harrods!

As always when it came to order I made a panicked decision and just went for the Piz Macaroni, solely because I was told it came with a giant pink macaroon… It was definitely the right decision though, with the raspberries stopping the whole thing from being too sickly, and I even smugly saved that super-sized macaroon until very last!

Everyone else went for the Chocolate Brownie Sundae, which I was slightly sceptical of until I discovered it came with hot fudge sauce... Judging by the silence whilst we ate, I'm guessing it was pretty good as well!

An action shot of that delicious looking hot fudge sauce! 

Although on the slightly pricey side, Morelli's is definitely a great spot to celebrate any special occasion. I am certainly already trying to find an excuse to go back!

You can find Morelli's on the second floor at Harrods.

Winter Wander

Nothing beats a wintery walk through Edinburgh wrapped up in a trusty woollen coat. Having spent the majority of my time at home snuggled up beside the fire, eating too much, we decided it was time to get out the house and make the most of finally having some sun!

Coat: Zara  Jeans: ASOS  Boots: ASOS  Beanie: Accessorize  Snood: Topshop  Bag: Vintage

The beanie was a little sale purchase from Accessorize and has been keeping my ears toasty for the last few days. I like to think the skull adds something to my (minimal) street-cred… Paired with this snood borrowed (read: stolen) from my sister, I was for once appropriately garbed for the cold!

This little bag is probably the best 10€ I've ever spent, from a tiny vintage shop in Paris. Originally intended as a birthday present for my sister, when the time came to hand it over I couldn't bear to part with it!

Since heading back to London, (not quite) ready to face my exams, I already miss the relaxed days of mooching around with my family, sitting round the fire every evening. But there's always something exciting about returning to the hustle and bustle of life in London!

Deliciously Disturbing: American Psycho

80s synth-pop, Matt Smith, and a musical adaption of one of my favourite books of all time, what more could a gal want?

I had this kind of morbid fascination with Bret Easton Ellis' masterpiece, finding myself intrigued at the prospect of hearing the innermost thoughts of a serial killer, and although found myself pulling a grimace on a train whilst reading that scene with the rat, there was something deliciously disturbing about the whole thing.

Now the film was another story - I just hate blood and gore. It's one thing reading it on the pages of a book, but seeing it acted out on the big screen was just too much, so I was one slightly skeptical viewer when we headed to the Almeida Theatre.

Safe to say I was certainly wrong to have been apprehensive! Director Rupert Goold decides to focus on the internal thoughts of Patrick Bateman (Matt Smith), with all the murders being portrayed through clever scarlet lighting and music, rather than any actual blood! Smith has the wonderful ability to appear strangely emotionally vacant whilst still making the character completely believable.

Also, rather unexpectedly, the play was filled with deadpan humour, which only added to the continuing relevance of the satirisation of the material culture surrounding us. As much as we might want to cast aside the consumerism from the 80s, this production simply reminded me of the omnipresence of the 'it-girl' culture, having next season's handbag or shoes, or having been to that hot new eatery before anyone else, that seems to be particularly prevalent with the rise of social media.

Aside from the particularly ridiculous music and dance number about the intricacies of the business card, that was certainly worthy of the laughter it produced, the soundtrack was fantastic. The score mixed songs by the Human League and Huey Lewis and the News along with original compositions. Matt Smith's rather monotonous singing voice actually worked incredibly well, perfectly fitting Bateman's vapid character. However, for me the real star of the show was Bateman's secretary, Jean (Cassandra Compton), whose singing was one step above the rest of the cast.

Tickets may have sold out at the Almeida, but if you find yourself free one morning at 11 it's definitely worth queuing up for a day release ticket. Alternatively, undoubtedly there'll be a transfer to the West End in the works so keep your eyes peeled and grab tickets for this at the first possible opportunity.

We are always the same age inside

So it's only apt to enter the blogging world with the New Year and start with a list of my aspirations for the next decade (or maybe just year) of life…

1. Start a blog

Well I'm apparently in the process of doing that! But seriously, I like writing,  I waste too much time online, and buy far too many clothes, so what better way to harness this than start a blog?

So far going fairly well...

2. Make the most of living in London

This time next year I'm going to be gallivanting around Paris, so I need to make sure I tick everything off my London list before then! From now on, every weekend  I'm going to aim to do one thing I can only do in London. First on my list: a trip to the Almeida Theatre to see American Psycho.

3. Read more

This is something that has definitely suffered since I started uni - after a day spent reading in the library the last thing on my mind is curling up with a book. But with aspirations to work in publishing, I should really make more of an effort! I've just invested in a Kindle so hopefully playing with my new gadget will encourage me to delve into a novel slightly more regularly…

4. Kick my  cheese addiction

The first step is admitting it right? Those that know me can vouch for this one. The way to my heart is not generally sweet (although I am partial to a good GU cheesecake if anyone's listening). Since I started working on the cheese counter in a rather famous department store, this addiction has piqued.

But it's now at a dangerously worrying level. I recently caught myself buying 'Good Cheese' magazine, something which even my colleagues found amusing... There's seriously a whole world out there for those who are equally obsessed with cheese, but it's not doing much to my already minimal street cred (or my waistline for that matter).

5. Drink more coffee

This is what everyone in their twenties should do right?! I feel like the key to success at this point in life is doing everything with a cup of coffee in hand. I'm one step closer to achieving this having been given a Nespresso machine for my birthday, so I'll get back to you in a couple of weeks when I'm inevitably completely wired and hopefully one step closer to being Carrie Bradshaw....

6. Stop shopping

This is a hard one for me. My tiny room is stuffed to the brim with clothes I don't need (but promise I still love!) so I am vowing to spend more time trying to make the most of the clothes I already have. There must be millions of combinations I've yet to find within my wardrobe and now's the time to embrace them. This way I might just end up with a bit of spare cash to get my sisters slightly better birthday  presents than last year... (Although let's be honest I will always be a shopaholic!)

So here we go, I hope you enjoy my musings. Bon appetit!