Joining in with this R.E.P.O.R.T thing
I saw Cady Heron wearing army pants and flip flops, so I bought army pants and flip flops. (And I'm a sucker for any of these round-up type posts)
Back in my Parent Blogger days, I used to partake in a little trend of sorts of writing up Snapshot posts. There were a group of us who did them, checking in each month (or at least most months), on where we were with different things, what we’d been watching, eating, liking, lamenting over, you get the drift. While my old blog has been removed from being hosted online, it is something I’ve got a record of that not only showed my then-audience recommendations and updates from life, but also is somewhat of a time capsule. And I am a sucker for a time capsule.
In the most recent email I received from Aisling Keenan’s (The Outfluencer) Substack, which I really like, she writes about a R.E.P.O.R.T format hailing from Jenny Claffey on Instagram, which pretty much does something similar, except with a bit more of a fresh take. If we can go along with saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then surely my also adopting this format for a post on what exactly it is that I’d recommend to my fledgling readers will hopefully be seen as such!
So, what is it that I have to report on?
Reading
In the last week, I’ve just finished two excellent books that were very different but both wonderful reads. I am probably the world’s last person to read Nora Ephron’s “I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman”, given that it came out in 2006 and has had some re-releases since then, and she’s Nora Ephron, but alas, it has indeed taken me this long. The book was given to me as a very thoughtful gift from my boyfriend, who has been listening to me giving out about how I feel terrible about my own neck (for very different reasons to Nora) and I got to read it cuddled up on a very comfortable sofa, with a beautiful golden retriever at my feet, as well as one trip to a playground where I felt I had to put it away because I was laughing out loud at several parts.
The second was a very different book, the newest in Andrea Mara’s collection of “Oh christ, there’s another thing to worry about” domestic-noir books. Andrea used to be one of my fellow Blogger Mammies and has gone on to be an incredibly successful crime writer in the last few years - not only has one of her books (the absolute page-turner “All Her Fault”) been taken on by Peacock to make a TV show, but they’ve got Succession’s Sarah Snook in it! Her latest novel, “Someone In The Attic”, has had me overthinking every creak my house makes since I’ve read it. I absolutely flew through it, unable to put it down and loved the twists and turns - even when I thought I’d guessed right, the final twist threw me for just how deep things went.
Online, I’ve been reading a lot of tweets about elections and keeping an eye on Gavan Reilly’s spreadsheets for the last few days, but I have also had some time to read some pieces on here.
Louise O Neill’s piece on “Men Are Trash (And Other Lies About Dating)” was an wonderful read which looked at why maybe, just maybe, it isn’t that life on the dating apps is a hellscape, but rather that it is all about the perspective you’ve got when you’re on there, dependent on what you’re looking for. I may disagree with her in that my very brief forays onto dating apps over the almost two years that I was single were always ending in deleting them in a huff and feeling terrible about the state of the planet, but I am thoroughly enjoying reading about her escapades of dating in Paris!
Liadán Hynes, whose book “How To Fall Apart” was extremely helpful to me in the earliest days of the breakdown of my LTR, has a Substack of the same name, and this week wrote about burnout and how most of the time, we can’t just relax and not do the things, because all of the things need to be done anyway regardless of how burned out you are. Well worth a read.
Finally, this piece caught my attention - I’m on the lookout for more writers about chronic illness/chronic pain, and came across this account recently - BurntOutBabe has a really evocative piece called “My Body Is My Battleground” which has really stayed with me over the last few days.
Eating
I have recently learned to make my own pesto and am now unbearable. But god, it is so good, AND it got the mark of approval from the pesto-mad ten year old who is VERY fussy about his food, so clearly, I must be doing something right. I’m not saying next stop MasterChef, but I’ve come a long way from the girl whose Home Ec food was rarely edible.
I also recently discovered the absolute joy that is the Dunnes Stores Simply Better Salted Caramel Sablé Biscuits. Which means they’re absolutely not allowed into the house because they are TOO good and I make excuses to make more cups of tea just so I can have another and then bam, all nine in the pack have vanished in far too short an amount of time. If you have better impulse control than I do, I highly recommend picking up a packet of them, and I apologise for the addiction that may follow.
Playing
All the Taylor Swift, obviously. There is something so cathartic about driving along the M50 in the rain scream-singing along to “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” which I am extremely excited to see live in the Aviva in two weeks.
The performance of Noah Kahan and Kelsea Ballerini at the American Country Music Awards, mixing their songs “Mountain With a View” and “Stick Season” - both songs I listened to a LOT when I was going through a rather rough period - has put a smile on my face as they go together so beautifully.
Obsessing
Like the rest of the world, seemingly, with Bridgerton. I was slow to pick back up on Bridgerton after Season 1, I’d watched it with everyone else back in lockdown but then I think the big life changes that were happening in March 2022 coincided with the second season coming out and I decided that perhaps someone who was already crying at the sight of people getting married in Married at First Sight UK (the worst choice of a comfort watch) shouldn’t focus on the show with all the riding and the focus on the importance of marriage. However, my love for Nicola Coughlan did not wane, so in anticipation of her season, I recently picked back up on both Season 2 and the Queen Charlotte season. I loved BOTH of them. Full of absolute soundtrack bangers, gorgeous dresses, witty one-liners… I’m two episodes into Season 3 and am VERY excited for more Colin/Penelope story.
(As an aside, the way that Nicola Coughlan has centred much of her platform while promoting this season of Bridgerton around talking of the plight of the Gazan people who are facing the horrors of genocide, and is making sure that this is getting attention in the American media in particular, which tends to have a much more “both sides” angle if not purely slanted towards the Israel lens, is incredible. She has been warned about, and clearly seen, other actors who have spoken up losing work and being blacklisted from Hollywood, yet she is out there with her pin, and raising the conversation. She is using her powers and her platform for good, and it has made me love her even more.)
Recommending
This could also go in the Eating category, but the Aldi Lemon Sorbet is DIVINE. A recent discovery of incredible, wonderful sourness. If only the warm weather could come back so that we could enjoy it without being bundled up warm in fleeces…
Treating
I’m headed to see Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour in the Aviva Stadium in less than two weeks. To say I am beyond excited is an understatement. I saw her play Croke Park during the Reputation Tour which somewhat kickstarted off my proper-Swiftie-ness (I’d always liked her stuff, there was a LOT of Tumblr sharing of song lyric images back in the day, but wouldn’t have considered myself a MASSIVE fan), but now I am the person that lovely cousins buy “Swift-tea” mugs for at Christmas. Folklore got me through the dark dark days of grief and isolation in 2020, when I would drive around West Cork (county-wide lockdown felt like freedom at that point!) with it blaring, sleeping child in the back of the car. I’m going with my boyfriend, my brother and his girlfriend, so it should be quite a lovely experience - and this time without the major drama of having to source accommodation because for once, living in Dublin, on the Dart line, really does pay off!
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I quite liked this format for rounding things up, and am considering doing it as a semi-regular addition on here - it’s a nice way to share book recommendations, weird bits of YouTube I’ve been going back to repeatedly, and probably rave some more about iced treats if we ever get a Summer. I’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to, what you’ve got to report, and any recommendations I should add to the pile - leave it in the comments below!