Five Things (29)

Posted in My New York, Thoughts by

Hello, it’s been a while. I have had so much going on and no energy. So what have I been up to in the past three months – well… in the words of Rhianna, work, work, work, work, work, work. But here are five non-work things (told in pictures).

— Thing One —

I spent most of my Thursday – Sunday nights watching all of the forty new Hallmark movies (and quit playing my Xmas bingo cards halfway through). Here are my top 5 of the season. I really appreciated that Hallmark broke the template on many of these to the point where I could have done with a few more minutes of the stories.
While this started off as irony, it morphed into something to remember my mom by, and it was a welcomed reprieve from the busy days when putting something on and shutting down was necessary.

— Thing Two —

I set up a Christmas tree — it’s a tiny one, but I did it. I’m a little proud of the tree, even though it’s a bit sparse (ha), but it makes my office look adorable and works as a great background. I did play with the idea of getting a real tree but ultimately decided against it – selecting, transporting, and taking care of one was not something I wanted to do. This tree is also not sponsored by the Target birds.


— Thing Three —

I had a plan to handcraft my Christmas presents, and this was a mock-up of one of the things I was planning. However, it didn’t come to fruition (see early comment about shutting down), so if you were one of six to receive one of these, think of it as a limited edition. I have a bunch of yarn and my goal is to make gifts for next year instead.

— Thing Four —

I finally made it out to the Bryant Park Christmas shops again. They expanded the shops (not sure if they had that last year) so there were a lot more things to see. I suggest spending two nights at the shops to get a really good look at all the things – I might have gotten more things if I had more time to browse.

I will add here, in case it seems like I only worked and watched movies, but I did manage to find some time to hang with friends. I counted at least 10 events between October and now that were just friend hangouts so, yay for friends and fun to keep me sane through this busy time.

— Thing Five —

Spotify Wrapped happened, and it was not surprising at all. But, I’ve started using the DJ more, and have picked up a few new songs that I won’t have normally listened to, so maybe next year will be different. Here are my top artists/songs and podcasts for this year — I absolutely recommend all of them!

~*~

Bah! Hambug! Now that’s too strong, ’cause it is my favorite holiday. But all this year’s been a busy blur, don’t think I have the energy to add to my already mad rush just ’cause it’s ’tis the season…

The Waitresses; Christmas Wrapping

5 Mysteries Set Outside of the US

Posted in Bookish by

It was a slow summer socially, but a lot transpired for me to have enough material to share in therapy for the rest of the year! It’s been that kind of summer. I did have a lot of time to catch up on my reading though, and I decided to finish reading some mysteries set outside of the US by authors that were not American. Without further ado, here are five recent reads that I recommend:

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Zimbabwe) is set in Botswana. The story follows Precious Ramotswe who uses her inheritance to start a detective agency. You meet a lot of interesting characters along the way as this first novel in a series explores her past and future. I know there’s a series on Max, and it’s on my list of things to watch.

A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao (Fijian Indian Australian) is set in Fiji. After an embarrassing professional fumble, Akal Singh was relocated to work in Fiji. When he is assigned a case of a missing indentured Indian woman, he is faced with the harsh realities of indentureship and the racism of the British colonizers. This part of the story felt very familiar to what happened in Guyana with indentureship, and having not explored that history outside of what I learned in school I found the historical aspect of the story fascinating (and difficult).

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (Japan) is set in Japan. If you’re familiar with the And Then There Were None plot and love that kind of story then I highly recommend this. It’s a fresh take on that story and kept you guessing on the why and the hows all the way through.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (Australia) is set in Australia. It has a wild title but it was a fantastic read. Everyone in the Cunningham family has killed someone and Ernest takes you through all the deaths as well as the circumstances. He does all of this while trying to solve the most recent death, as he’s trapped in a ski resort with his family (most of whom want nothing to do with him). This book had me in a chokehold from the beginning, and while I had a good guess as to who the murderer was, it kept me locked in until the very end.

The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker (Switzerland) is set in Switzerland. It’s a mystery within a mystery. A writer goes to a Swiss hotel for a writing retreat and gains inspiration for his novel from the real mystery of Room 622 – a seemingly non-existent hotel room. What might have been a dry story about banking turned into an intriguing story that kept me glued to the book until the very end. I think I read this one in a day!

Five Things (28)

Posted in Bookish, Crafty, My New York, Thoughts by

What happened to September??

— Thing One —

One thing that I did for the first time ever – seeing a WNBA game in person at Barclay Center (my first time at that venue). I had an absolute blast at the game. While not a sports fan in general, watching a game in person is always thrilling and I always leave with an understanding of why sports fans are the way they are. Liberty won their match that night, and as of writing this, they are playing in the finals!

— Thing Two —

I finished two craft projects, the first is the blanket below – which came out so beautifully, and which I gifted to a neighbour. The next was the scarf I’ve been knitting, I finished the pattern but I may want to repeat it a few more times to make it longer, I’m still deciding.


— Thing Three —

I saw three movies recently, Barbie (at the end of August), A Haunting in Venice (which was so different than the source material!) and You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. I would recommend each of them to different audiences, but all were great.

— Thing Four —

I went out to four dinners with friends in September. We went to Lil’ Frankies – get their Spaghetti Limone, Jongor BBQ – sweet cocktails and amazing BBQ, Tea and Sympathy – always a fan, and always a fan of their sweet shop next door, and Tacombi – the location we visited had these cute little coatracks at each table for your coats and bags!

— Thing Five —

Five books mysteries that I’d recommend (including some read in September) are, The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto, Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective by Katie Siegel, The Mountains Wild: A Mystery Maggie D’arcy by Sarah Stewart Taylor, and The Manners and Monsters series1 by Tilly Wallace.

~*~

1. Not a single book, but I read the entire series in August and September and it was quirky and I loved it.

… I’m free and I love to be free, to live my life the way I want… to say and do whatever I please.

Lesley Gore; You Don’t Own Me

Five Things (27)

Posted in Ballet, Crafty, My New York, The Telly, Thoughts by

August was unexpectedly busy?

— Thing One —

My car’s AC died during the first heatwave of the summer. I knew there was a small leak so I expected it, but it came earlier this year than last year. When the mechanic looked over the car they told me that there was a large leak and they would have to dismantle part of the car to fix it. So, I decided to buy a new car.

I have been thinking about buying a new car for quite some time now1 but this AC situation was the tipping point. I crowdsourced people’s experience with buying a car2 and decided to go with a car broker. We spoke about what I wanted and decided to go with a Rav4. This ended up being a stress-free process for me and I would highly recommend using a car broker if you can! The new car was delivered to my driveway five weeks after my AC died, and I didn’t step foot into a dealership. Now I’m ready to drive long distances, and also trying to learn the new tech.

— Thing Two —

Earlier in August I went to see Alvin Ailey in Bryant park. They had a pre-show dance class which I sat out because it was on the other side of the park from our blankets. The show was great, but being there reminded me of all the times my friends and I watched movies in the park during the summer. We’d spread out our blankets and bring our dinners, then we’d hang out together until the sun went down and the movie started, it was an amazing bonding time and I’m sad I let that go3. I think I’ll try to do it once or twice next year, for the experience and for the fellowship.

— Thing Three —

I finished two crocheting projects which means I only have the scarf I’m knitting and the blanket I’m making for my neighbour left to complete.

Last month I finished a headband which took me about four hours to make, and then a blanket which started out as a project to finish some yarn I already had, only to end with me purchasing three more skeins of yarn and taking me 35hrs to finish!

— Thing Four —

Later in August I went to see a documentary following Alex Honnold as he climbed Ingmikortilaq in Greenland. This time, instead of being solo he had some scientists for part of the journey and his rock climbing friends for the rest. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how they shot the documentary, were there drones? Who did the sound? I have so many questions about the production!

Overall it was a great experience, we were on an incline in Central Park and the screen was at the bottom of the incline which created a natural stadium seating so seeing the screen was not a problem! I don’t know why I don’t hang out at Central Park more, it’s really beautiful there4.

— Thing Five —

The rest of August was pretty busy, I think I had more events closer to my home for the first time since I moved. I felt as though I was finally building a community close to home. I hope September carries on with more of the same. Here’s to the fall, the PSLs, the cozy decor and friendships5!

~*~

1. Five years ago my car stalled over a wintry President’s Day weekend and left me stranded for the night (thankfully with friends nearby).
2. Facebook has its uses.
3. It’s really surprising to me at times how much I have to intentionally step out of wanting to be alone.
4. Except for the rats that came out at night while we were walking back to the train.
5. And no more crazy encounters that leave me slightly traumatized.

August slipped away into a moment in time, cause it was never mine…
Wanting was enough… to live for the hope of it all cancel plans just in case you’d call.

Taylor Swift; August

5 “Rules” for Picnicking

Posted in My New York, Plateful by

Whether it’s the beach or the park, summer picnics are one of my favourite activities! The trunk of my car has a permanent picnic blanket and a frisbee – I am prepared. But there are five rules I live by when hanging with friends outdoors:

Two per blanket, even if the blanket can hold four

(Or one if it’s a two-person blanket) Not only does this give you some space for your food, but it gives you the ability to lie down and relax without invading your friend’s space and it acts as a buffer between you and the other people in the park (especially if this was a movie in the park situation).

Chopsticks are great for grabbing food if you don’t want to use your hands

I absolutely love using chopsticks to eat my snacks. While picnic food involves a lot of finger foods, using chopsticks to hold them lessens dusty or sticky fingers.

Coolers are great, but insulated lunch bags are easier to navigate if it’s a crowded space

I think coolers are great for large groups, but my summer picnics are generally small groups of friends (or sometimes just one friend) which I generally prefer. Taking snacks in lunch bags with ice packs keeps things cool and fresh and takes up very little space and travels well on public transportation.

Double up the use of big containers by putting saran wrap between foods to layer them one on top of the other

When I wanted to take a charcuterie board to a picnic hangout and I didn’t have a lot of small bowls to hold the different cheese and crackers, I found that layering them all in one big bowl was so helpful. You can also make your spread in the bowl, then it’s just a matter of taking it out and laying it down.

Bug Spray

Is it just me, or has there been a lot of bugs this year? Let’s just say, no matter where you’re picnicking, a little bit of bug spray or similar things goes a long way.