It’s cold, drizzly, dark, windy and generally completely miserable. With another couple of weeks until payday still to go, things are looking bleak so I’ve pulled together some ideas to get you through the rest of the long ol’ month!
Snuggle up with a book and enjoy listening to the rain outside, order a large glass of red and settle into a seat at your local cinema and watch one of the great movies out at the moment or enjoy cooking up a healthy, New Year friendly meal.
A GOOD READ
It’s taken me a while, but i’m finally almost finished The Goldfinch. At nearly 800 pages it’s a mammoth commitment but boy is it worth it. I’ve also got the new book by first time novelist Lucy Foley, The Book of Lost and Found, next up on my list. Recommended to me by a friend, it bills itself as a love story spanning three timeframes from the 20th Century and I can’t wait to get stuck in. If you’re after a shorter read, learn how to be Parisian chic with How to be a Parisian: Wherever you are (a VERY funny account for all Francophiles like myself) or laugh along with Lena Dunham’s memoir Not That Kind of Girl.
Station Eleven has been reviewed exceptionally well so I can’t wait to start this book about a modern take on an apocalypse, where a travelling theatre group survive and roam the country performing Shakespeare to the remaining survivors. Ian McEwan has always been one of my favourite writers so his new offering The Children Act (a present from my fellow literature lover of a father at Christmas) is also a must read.
A GOOD WATCH
All of these incredible films (above) are out now at the cinema (with the exception of Selma releasing on 6 Feb) and I can’t recommend them enough. If you’re a lover of incredible acting, fast paced tempo, music and jazz, book a ticket for Whiplash now.
Selma chronicles Martin Luther King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. An absolute must-watch – pre-book now.
Birdman is an insane, intense and incredibly original film that focuses on the comeback of actor Riggan Thomson (played by Michael Keaton) and is probably the best film about the theatre that’s ever been made.
The Theory of Everything is the astonishing story of the life of one Mr Stephen Hawking, featuring a truly life-changing performance from Eddie Redmayne and the equally brilliant Felicity Jones – both nominated for Oscars for their roles.
GET COOKING
I’ve been getting into my healthy alternative recipes this month, trying to swap out carbs for vegetable alternatives – such as this insanely good cheese toastie from Tess Ward that uses cauliflower as a ‘bread’ rather than actual bread. YUM.
I was also lucky enough to get some great new coffee table books for Christmas. I currently have my nose pressed in my favourite blogger, Mimi Thorisson’s first cookbook ‘A Kitchen in France’ – an absolute delight of a book featuring exquisite photography, gorgeous personal recipe writing and delicious French foods. The Kinfolk Table book is also brilliant for dinner party inspiration – possibly the prettiest book to exist, it interviews people from around the world (to Brooklyn locals, English countryside residers alongside residents of Oregon and Brighton) on their recipes for dinner party success. The perfect book to leaf through with a cuppa on a weekend morning.
LMNH x
