These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things

I wouldn’t say no to a crisp apple strudel

Now that I’ve given you all an earworm (my favourite - ahem - recording of the song is Leslie Odom Jr’s), an explanation as to the completely off-piste strategy I’m following this week. (Can you call it off-piste if you’re the one who set up the piste? Anyway…)

Dark hot chocolate and reading time in Society Cafe; bliss.

Like every other blogger (Substack is just the 2023 form of blogging, right), I like to use the turning of the calendar year as an excuse to talk about some of my favourite things I’ve acquired (and experiences I’ve had) during the year. By doing it in mid-December, I hope it’ll help anyone who still has last-minute presents to buy. I’ll leave it right until the end of the year (excitingly, New Year’s Eve is a Sunday - a newsletter day - this year) to do the round-up of books - I often end up reading something fantastic during the Christmas period - but I don’t think they’ll come as a surprise to regular readers (hi, regular readers! It’s lovely to have you here!). 

1: Going Out

Camp Wildfire is always one of my favourite weekends of the year; I’ve realised that as I’ve now been for half of the years it’s run I can properly claim to be a ‘veteran’ on camp. It’s a place where I’m more confident and outgoing than I often am in my day-to-day life. This year a few of us went straight from kite-building (so wholesome!) to voguing (not so much). I want to give a special shout-out to the drag workshop I did at camp this year - potentially the single most empowering hour of my year. If anyone knows of anywhere in Bristol where I can do more ‘drag king’ stuff… hit me up.

Living my best life, in a forest in Kent.

This was also the first year I’d made it to Tŷ Newydd, Literature Wales’s writing centre on the Llŷn Peninsula, since Covid. I had a wonderful week there talking about food, and writing, and food writing, with a group of absolutely lovely writers. A booster jab for my creative soul. 

I’ve also loved getting to know Bristol - it has loads of cute coffee shops, bakeries, pubs, and restaurants. In particular, I’ve become a bit of a frequent flyer at the Pie Minister restaurant, which feels like a real ‘evolved to my true self’ moment.’ They do 2-for-1 cocktails all day, every day, and I’m just saying: if you’ve never paired a 

Negroni with hot crunchy pork crackling… you’re missing out. 

2: Staying In

I had a few cocktail nights with ‘the girls’ before I moved (I’m yet to host in my new place!) and Caroline Chambers’ jar-garita became my signature drink. It was fun to try different jam and citrus combinations (lemon curd - not a jam, I know - and lime juice was a particularly gorgeous drink). Warning - if you’re having a proper session, make them weaker, lest your friends trip up the stairs on their way home… (she was fine!). 

To make my furnished rental flat really feel like mine, I invested in a gorgeous quilt from John Lewis (a similar one in tones of red). It’s not a ‘weighted blanket’ per se, but it is lovely and heavy, so super cosy for those times when I want to be ‘cold and made warm by a blanket.’

I also got some velvet cushions from M&S in tonal colours - they look much more expensive than they were, so I’d highly recommend to any of you who want to refresh your spaces in the new year. 

Finally… Hollister sweatpants, for putting on when I get home from a dance class, or I’ve showered after a workout, but I’m not ready to put pyjamas on. I can’t quite believe I’ve become an Abercrombie and Hollister customer this year - as a teenager I couldn’t shop there, and made a ‘thing’ out of it, making my own ‘so lol’ and ‘aberzombie’ appliqué T-shirts… but you know what, we all contain multitudes. 

3: Turning It Up

Taylor Swift was my top artist on Spotify this year, again. Of course she was. 1989 was my entire personality when it came out in 2014, and the Vault tracks are just wonderful. I went to see the Eras Tour film with some friends last month, and it made me even more impatient for next year, when I’ll get to see it in person, in one of my favourite cities. 

A new favourite of mine this year was Noah Kahan, and I think he’s entirely to blame for Spotify saying I should live in Utah. I also listened to tonnes of Lizzy McAlpine and Grace McKenna. Here’s a link to my current always-on playlist, if you like the sound of that:

To turn it up in a more metaphorical way, a brand new red lipstick, thanks to the style inspiration provided by Claire Imaginarium (TikTok) and Madame Tartempion (Instagram). Lancôme’s L’Absolu Rouge lipstick in ‘French Touch’ is a gorgeous red, which I think might be as close to ‘universally flattering’ as it’s possible to get. To go with that, I’ve been doing minimal face and eye makeup, and letting the red lipstick shine by itself. 

4: Calming Down

I’ve gone even further into my identity as a ‘bookish’ person this year, having had a targeted ad online for Oh Reader Magazine and immediately taken out a subscription. It’s a US-based, but not American-centric (although it’s always fun to see the Barnes & Noble ads), quarterly magazine all about the bookish life, full of long-form articles and gorgeous artwork. Their slogan ‘for the love of reading’ is completely appropriate. To give you an idea, the current, winter 2023, issue features a piece about being the only English-language reader in one’s family, a defence of slow reading, and burnout recovery through reading, among others. 

For similar vibes over audio, Books Unbound podcast has been a joy to discover this year; I used to watch Ariel Bissett on YouTube years ago so it’s been lovely to catch up with her and co-host Raeleen Lemay. To go with the podcasts, this has been the year I’ve got into using noise-cancelling headphones; specifically the Soundcore Life Q35s (big squishy over-hear headphones; fabulous in the office and on long train journeys) and Liberty 4s (wireless earbuds; my best friend for day-to-day out-and-about). 

Lastly, to go with those, I’ve been obsessed with my Yeti Rambler insulated mug; wonderful for keeping tea hot for hours. Unlike most other insulated mugs, this one is dishwasher-safe, 

Wild card: my first tattoo.

I had been writing ‘survival is insufficient’ from Station Eleven on my left hand since the scary week before the first lockdown in March of 2020, and I made a promise to myself that, when I figured out how, and found the right person to do it, I would get it tattooed on my forearm. When I saw Olivia Channing’s art on Instagram, as a resident artist at Glitch studio here in Bristol, I loved the style of her art. As a nervous first-timer, I also liked the fact that she uses a simple handheld needle, rather than an electrical tattoo pen/machine, with the noise and vibrations that come with those. 

And I love the finished result!

Speak soon,

Lily

PS: The Amazon affiliate links above only work to give me commission if you click through from the Substack app or website, rather than directly from your email program. Other ways to support this newsletter include liking, commenting, and sharing it with a friend who you think might like it. Thanks in advance!