Nice Life Reminders something GOOD for the weekend

02: Something GOOD For The Weekend

November 30, 2019
Dolly lamb

It’s time to talk about things to do on the weekend! Because the weekend is now!

So let’s do that …

Something GOOD For the Weekend

Something GOOD to do

Go to a second-hand book shop or op shop and have a jolly good rummage about. Buy a book from a section you would not normally choose from and while away some time soaking up its pages from under a blanket or in a nice spot in the garden/park.

There is absolutely no reason to give in to the rush-rush-rush we’re encouraged to sign up for. Fly in the face of busy-ness and have a bookish loaf today.

If you do this, please comment below and tell me what book you got! I am so nosy about that kind of thing!

Something GOOD to watch

Pasta Grannies! Have you watch this series on YouTube? It is exactly what you’d expect, grannies making their signature pasta dishes. Gosh they look delicious. The dishes, I mean.

Last night I was at Readings and I realised they’ve also released a cookbook. So that’s going straight to the top of my Wishlist. Maybe it’s a good weekend to make pasta, even? I think so.

Pasta Grannies

Also? Six of the best films about poets.

And? The new series with Kirsten Dunst — On Becoming a God in Central Florida — is now on SBS On Demand.

Kirsten Dunst

Something GOOD to buy?

Apart from that Pasta Grannies cookbook? Well clearly we’re about to tick over into the month where those of us who celebrate Christmas are buying a LOT of things for people who are not us. So with that in mind, let’s buy ourselves a thing. Because it’s not December yet!

How about some of these beautiful bath salts from local geniuses Murphy and Daughters?
Murphy and Daughters bath salts

I love these giant totes from Hairoo.  (Below)

Hairoo tote

In related news, Billie Eilish launched a kids range but it sold out so bugger. Unhelpful. I love how green and comfy and made-for-every-kid it is though.

Something GOOD to read

I have been doing so much reading because I started my Creative Writing unit at Curtin University this week. We’re learning more about the art of the short story, which I am loving so much. I was a bit of a dunce when it comes to understanding story structure and elements, but I know better now!! I also hadn’t really read many short stories since high school, to be honest.

One of the stories I really loved reading this week was The Swimmer by John Cheever. You can give it a sneaky listen here, if you have tired eyes or want to read while you do the dishes/weed the garden. It’s read brilliantly by the Irish writer Anne Enright. They made a film of the story too. It’s on YouTube to rent and stars Burt Lancaster.

Also on the reading pile are short stories from Helen Garner, Virginia Woolf, Chekhov, Ian McEwan, Thea Astley, Raymond Carver and John O’Hara. To name but a few! I am doing learning, people!!! (Do you have a favourite short story I should read?)

Internet-wise I loved reading about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s reading habits, Alison Roman’s non-fancy dinner party ethos and this Little House on the Prairie themed Thanksgiving.

PLUS? These guys are tidying up the cool sneakers you don’t wear anymore and giving them to homeless folk.

AND? Vogue editor Anna Wintour urges us to buy garments that will last generations.

“I think for all of us it means an attention more on craft, on creativity, and less on the idea of clothes that are instantly disposable, things that you will throw away just after one reading,” she said.

“(It’s all about) talking to our audiences, our readers, about keeping the clothes that you own, and valuing the clothes that you own and wearing them again and again, and maybe giving them on to your daughter, or son, whatever the case may be.”

Possibly she’s not talking about yoga pants and such, but I love this sentiment.

The Swimmer

Something GOOD to cook

I have saved lots of recipe to my notes this week … and then I updated my IOS to Catalina and it tried to eat all of my notes and disappear them. No matter though. I managed to save half of them (BEWARE CATALINA the NOTE-EATING monster!)

On the to-cook list is:

Basque Burnt Cheesecake – recipe here.

Marion’s Thai Turmeric Chicken Rice – recipe here.

Priya Krishna’s Bombay Toast With Roasted Aloo Gobhi – recipe here.

Kylie Kwong’s Chilli Sauce – for Christmas gifts! – recipe here.

Basque Burnt Cheesecake

Bombay Toast
Thai Turmeric Chicken

(Golden food again. I can’t help myself.)

Something GOOD to listen to

After last week’s Something GOOD, someone ace got in touch to recommend the podcast Dolly Parton’s America. So that is TOP of the list for listening this week.

Another ace podcast I have been listening to is The Way I See It. Have you caught that one? “30 of the world’s sharpest minds chose a work from MoMA’s collection – how do they see it?” There are quite a few episodes. This one, for instance, features astrophysicist Janna Levin talking about Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night and it taught me more about why stars twinkle. (You can catch this ep wherever you listen to your podcasts.)

Not to be too buried in the stars and fictional characters, I’m trying to understand what the heck is going on with the impeachment proceedings and its cast of what seems like thousands of characters. I’m listening to Buzzfeed News’ Impeachment Today podcast and it’s helping. I am taking lots of notes.

Eight audiobook classics written and narrated by women.

Dolly Parton

Something GOOD to make

Why not make a Where The Wild Things Are Christmas stocking? I did and it changed my life. Excuse squiffy old photos from before I knew how to take proper photos!

Where the wild things are Christmas stocking

Someone/s GOOD to follow

Sotheby’s – to get a squizz at everything from space photography to Star Wars memorabilia to gems to amazing artefacts and artwork.

Space photography

“Gemini 4 Pilot Edward White floats in zero gravity while conducting the first American spacewalk, photographed by fellow Gemini 4 astronaut, Command Pilot James McDivitt. He wears a specially designed spacesuit; and the visor of the helmet is gold plated to protect him against the unfiltered rays of the sun. White remained outside the spacecraft for 21 minutes during the third revolution of the Gemini-4 mission.” – via Sotheby’s.

Something to revisit

Little Women. Read it again because the new film is coming out soon!

And this Michel Gondry clip from Kylie that I just saw on the telly and was reminded of how much I love it.

Jam-making! Jam is good for gifts, isn’t it? Yup. How about PINEAPPLE JAM?

And here is a poem. Because poems are GOOD too.

Daisy’s Song by John Keats

I
The sun, with his great eye,
Sees not so much as I;
And the moon, all silver-proud,
Might as well be in a cloud.
 
II
And O the spring- the spring
I lead the life of a king!
Couch’d in the teeming grass,
I spy each pretty lass.

III
I look where no one dares,
And I stare where no one stares,
And when the night is nigh,
Lambs bleat my lullaby

Hope your weekend is lovely!

x Pip


PS – I just launched a new e-course! It’s half sold out already so be quick if you fancy joining in. I did not expect it to sell so fast, to be honest. Thank you, future students, for the vote of confidence!

PPS – Subscribe to my updates via email if you fancy. Or don’t. That’s fine too. (Subscribe box is on the home page of my blog!)

 

6 Comments

  • Reply MissK December 5, 2019 at 12:18 PM

    Your Podcast recommendation reminded me of The Open Ears Project, a podcast where people both in and out of the music industry talk about their favourite piece of music,and then they play it at the end.
    https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/open-ears-project

    • Reply Pip December 6, 2019 at 7:50 AM

      Oh thanks so much for this recommendation. I’m going to add it to my listening list. x

  • Reply Kylie December 3, 2019 at 11:27 AM

    Hi Pip,
    thank you for another great little list of weekend goodies 🙂
    I made that cheesecake yesterday and it me tell you it is deeeelicious! Everybody said it was the best cheesecake they have ever eaten! I’ve been baking the same cheesecake for almost 30 years! I found the recipe in The Age Good Weekend magazine in the very early 90’s (can’t tell you exact date, but you could buy a 2brm house in Albert Park for $200 000 when it was published!!!), it’s very good, but the Basque Burnt Cheesecake is better. It’s lighter (you don’t feel it sitting in your tummy hours after eating it!) and much easier to prepare.
    Anyroad, I just wanted to say thank you Pip for recommending it. Yum! Have a lovely day 🙂

    • Reply Pip December 5, 2019 at 9:06 AM

      Okay I am so making that this weekend. THANK YOU for the recipe test, Kylie. You have inspired me!!! x

  • Reply Susan, Mum to Molly December 1, 2019 at 7:58 AM

    Hi Pip, thank you for your blog. I love reading it so much…

    It is very hard to avoid the rush, rush, rush for us with our babies the age & stage they are (and at this time of year!) – but I did run away from home all by myself last weekend and all I did was read, eat, sleep, repeat. It was bliss.

    I went to the Blue Mountains (where we were in the clouds!) and found a second-hand bookshop and bought Pema Chödrön’s “The Wisdom of No Escape – how to love yourself and your world”.

    Susan x

    • Reply Pip December 5, 2019 at 9:07 AM

      Hello Susan! Aw. Thank you so much for reading and for sharing some of yoru life too. your weekend in the mountains sounds amazing. I am keen to go away too, but I am thinking it’s coming into the busy time … I might wait until Autumn. xx

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