Wednesday, it’s that time of the week that the fun and relaxation of last weekend feels like a distant memory and this coming weekend feels an age away. Also, I have been reliably informed from someone at BBC radio Berkshire that, apparently, you feel your ugliest at 3.20pm on a Wednesday?
But here are some sweet songs and pretty videos for the last hump/ugly day in March!
Julia Holter – In the Same Room
Lord Huron – She Lit A Fire (From the album Lonesome Dreams)
The sun has finally appeared for us in the UK. Shorts and flip flops are out – hopefully for a long, long time! Here’s a few suggestions on how to spend these lovely sunny days…
Do:
Lie in the hammock
Grow strawberries (they are literally impossible to kill off…)
Go to the woods, pick some pretty leaves and put them in vases at home.
Find a beach, any beach.
Get a group together and play cricket or rounders in the park.
Listen:
BBC Radio 6 – always the best and randomest summer tunes (+amazing festival coverage when it all kicks off!)
Interesting article about house plants providing a healthier living environment (ps. And click here to find a brilliant ‘complete guide’ to buying house plants!)
If you’re stuck for things to do this weekend (and happen to be in London) pop your head in the Nordic Bakery for a Scandi lunch.
All of us more than a little addicted to the Voice UK!
We’ve definitely had our fair share of rain recently here in the UK. So rather than getting bored indoors (and moaning a lot like I do) – here’s a few ideas on how to spend your rainy days.
Do:
Learn a new instrument! Ambitious but will keep you occupied for many of rainy days and nights.
Go through your wardrobe chucking away all those clothes that you never use – and drop them off to your nearest charity shop (when the rain allows)
Plan where to go on your summer holidays!
Drink lots and lots of tea
Watch:
Luther – I spent a rainy bank holiday Monday watching season 1 of Luther (I may or may not have finished it all in one day…in my defence it only has six episodes… Yeah, that’s still quite a lot!)
Reruns of Grand Designs
A film Midnight in Paris (Owen Wilson makes you appreciate the rain – even if you’re not in Paris!)
Listen:
Give in to the melancholy of falling raindrops and dark skies with tunes from Bill Callahan,Leonard Cohen and Ryan Adams
Go:
To the cinema in the middle of the day
Outside! Don’t let the rain stop you but go for a walk, get drenched and have a hot bath when you get home.
Hoping you’ll have a happier rainy days and that the sun will eventually come out too!
The super Sara Louise sent us this little picture – thought it would make you smile as much as it has us! In our weeks worth of wandering, we have happened upon the interesting & lovely and thought it would be fun to share with you:
Today I have been listening to the Australian band ‘Husky’ on repeat and then, by some crazy coincidence, Wikipedia informed me that April 19th, 1770 Captain James Cooke first sighted the East Coast of Australia, my homeland AND April 19th, 1984 , my birth year, ‘Advance Australia Fair’ was announced as the national anthem.
I think you’ll agree there is nothing else to do but talk of Australia and listen to ‘Husky’.
So that is exactly what I am going to do.
I miss the sun.
I miss the food, hot chips with chicken salt, Jacaranda creamed rice, lamingtons, meat pies and Golden Gaytimes.
I miss the accent.
I miss making lots of freckles.
I miss burning my feet on the road cause I’ve decided to go to the corner shop barefoot. (Not going to lie, whenever any says barefoot I literally imagine a bears foot… chuckle.. don’t judge me.)
I miss the sea water in my hair.
I miss the sand.
I miss sausage sizzle.
I miss family and friends.
I miss Heartbreak High. Drazic = Dreamboat
Anyway, feel free to join me in my Husky listening!
P.S. Turns out that what I thought were trucks being loud next door is actually thunder, I love thunder, YES!
As is volume three of the delicious kinfolk magazine, celebrating food, friends, simplicity… Ahhh.. http://www.kinfolkmag.com
I couldn’t quite find the right veil on my wedding day, but a little too late I found it here (amid a million older wedding related delights): http://www.bhldn.com/shop%5Fthe%2Dbride%5Fveils%2Dheadpieces/mantilla%2Dveil
Wise and witty prescriptions from the good doctor: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seuss-isms-Dr-Seuss-Dr/dp/0001720341
It was my delight to find this (a little late to the party I know, as it was released a few months ago) but combining some delicious childhood nostagia with the brilliant Wilco… could a video get any better than this?
The band partnered with King Features to create the first hand-drawn Popeye cartoon in more than 30 years. In the video, a cartooned Tweedy strums his way into the heart of the lovely Olive Oyl. Despite Popeye and his nemesis Bluto’s best efforts, he gets the girl, and dancing by all follows. Hooray… A treat for your eyes and ears!
We found this first listen to the magnetically soulful Alabama based four, ’Alabama Shakes’ who make music that makes your soul swell and your feet stomp ”…bringing together the ghosts of James Brown and Carl Perkins into an unabashed celebration that shows music rooted in the past need not just be a dry archeological exploration” Michela Hann (The Guardian).
The three of us at tracks of foxes aim to share with you some crafty projects we’ve been putting our hands to, some adventures we’ve been spending our time on, we also thought we’d share with you some of the stuff that fills our stereos, book shelves, screens and tummy’s on emotional days, hope you might identify with some days like these.
Pan Tol and daughter, Math Sreylen, southern Cambodia. Photo copyright Tearfund/Ralph Hodgson
Today, 8th March 2012 marks international womens day, which has been observed for over a centuary, serving to raise awareness and galvinise action for the equality and emancipation of women. We enjoy much more liberty than our great granmothers thanks to the women who have gone before us ensuring our future is bright and full of opportunity. So on a day like this we celebrate women, the achievement and brilliance of the sisterhood, and are also mindful the unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women’s education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men. (Preach over..) So today, lets here it for the girls!
Listen:
a little selection of the best women songwriters singing about love, loss, anger, liberty, montherhood, beauty, faith, weakness & strength
Ani DiFranco: Sorry I am
Emmylou Harris & Lucinda Williams: Greenville
Lauren Hill: Zion
India Arie; Beautiful
Cat Power: Hate
Melissa Etheridge: The weakness in me
Erykah Badu: The Healer.
Watch;
“Amelia” A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, and directed by the amazing Mira Nair…
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Share:
Here is a video to watch, share and generate action for all women, that will ensure a bright future for our daughters and granddaughters because although a celebration today is also a rallying cry. It’s a time to ask ourselves big, important questions about how a woman’s life really compares to that of a man’s. And not just here; but all around the world. Because although impressive life-changing advances have been made since that momentous day in 1911, there’s still quite a way to go.
