It’s my favorite week of the year: birthday week. I’ve never been one of those people who squeal about their birthdays years in advance and demand that many different celebrations be organized for them, who expect special balloons as they age and feel deeply, truly hurt when not everyone is within a radius four miler remembers it being their “special day”. I’ll admit, though, that I’m tickled with a bit of childish excitement as the dates on the calendar turn towards my dedicated day of forced joy. It’s mental muscle memory, isn’t it? Because it was the most exciting thing of all when you were little, knowing that your birthday was coming up and that one day would soon come exclusively for you.
Different now, of course. Maybe I’ll manage to do something “all about me” sometime on November 28th, but mostly I think I’ll be plowing through work (it’s the busiest work time of the year) and maybe, if I have time, studying Vestiaire, the platform second-hand luxury clothes, to see what else I can buy that will be completely and utterly unsuitable for me. (Honestly, this beloved thing has taken a very ugly turn since then Vintage post. I’ll let you know soon, but it’s safe to say that my purchases so far have been 80% a complete waste of cash.)
Before we get to Thursday, though, we have my pick of recent “five favorite things” and boy is a strong turnout this month. At least four of the five things have made me squeal (embarrassingly) with joy, and the remaining favorite, the least favored wave of trash, has still made me feel pretty content with life.
Historically, these favorite posts have been YouTube videos, and I have no intention of changing that now that I’m moving the blog to Substack: you can read a little about each favorite if you scroll down past the video screen, but for full energy, maximum enjoyment experience, click the play button and relax for a comfortable conversation:
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This is the thing I can’t stop talking about: Disney’s adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s book, Rivalswhich is as brilliant as any television can possibly be. It’s worth a whole separate post and I’ll talk about it, but in short: it’s just unapologetically outrageous, bold, sexual, and nostalgic with some of the best acting I’ve seen in years. Danny Dyer (I know!) takes the thespian cookie as Fred-Fred and Nafessa Williams (as Cameron Cook) is just the craziest and most brilliant antidote to 1980s misogyny, beating men at their own game to the last scene.
Oh my gosh, I’m beyond excited to try to write about this – the costumes! The music! Everyone does “the Birdy song” at that garden party! LADY IN RED! I just haven’t enjoyed anything on TV so completely and so thoroughly in a long time. I’d go straight back and watch it again, just to look at Aidan Turner smoking in the bathroom/driving angry/kneeling naked in front of his wife. I’ll be back with a more exhaustive list of things I like, fear not.
To be quite honest, it’s not sexual renaissance at all, really – this woman is very well, eh. accused before it even starts, but that’s a minor point.
Anyway, as I said last week, not one for Aunt Maud as she recovers from her hip operation, and not one for your child’s fourth year primary school teacher for the end of her term, because that in many places is “ rousing’, but what a conversation starter!
It seems trivial to talk about boots after we’ve done two festivals, but I really really like these slouchy leather boots I bought from Arket. Soft, supple leather and a comfortable, non-threatening heel but with a pointed toe that looks smart and polished. I bought them before I put them on Rivals but actually now they realize they have a distinct 80’s vibe!
Watch the video to see them in action. You can find them online here* – I wear a UK6 and find them true to size. No zip so be careful with the calf width!
More TV, this time with Cate Blanchett and a story that has a twist so HUGE I dare not say much more in case it spoils it for you. I didn’t really like the first three episodes of Disclaimer, to the point of almost giving up, but Please stay with him till the end. Everything then makes sense.
Honestly, if you’ve seen it and I say “Kylie’s boob” then you’ll know the exact scene that almost made me delete the whole thing. It was so incredibly creepy. But then so absolutely smart when you thought about it again from the last episodes! Well done. I’ve seen very mixed reviews for this, but I can only think that the bad ones came from people who abandoned ship before the tipping over…
Latest favorite: Aveeno’s Rich Oat Balm. At the time of writing this is £6.60 on Amazon (here*) and I can’t imagine it ever being much cheaper. This is – unsurprisingly, considering the name of the product – a rich balm that feels instantly soothing and soothing, but manages to feel as robust and consistently hydrating as a much more expensive face product. The texture is wonderful. It’s great for travel because it doesn’t have a heavy container, and while it definitely leaves the skin well-oiled, there’s no greasy residue. It is an excellent, intensive treatment for dry skin in winter.
So, I’m off to start something new on TV. An hour every night, that’s the time we’ve been given, TV dinner in front of the fire! This is 44, etc…
