A birthday Substack for all of you to enjoy
Also, a recap of my last two weeks, both reading related and not reading related
Hello everyone and happy birthday to me! (nearly, it was on Thursday.) I took the day off work but it was in fact deeply unrelaxing as the night before I’d gone to work drinks, had too many work drinks, got a Bolt home, left my phone in the Bolt, and then had my phone stolen. RIP to both me and my phone, but maybe it was a fitting way to see 25 out and 26 in?? Doubtful but maybe x
What I’ve been reading
I’ve been reading quite a lot this past couple weeks, beginning with Saltwater by Jessica Andrews, which had been on my list for a long long time. It follows a young girl, as she moves from Sunderland to university in London, struggling to find her place, and after graduation escapes to Ireland, reconnecting with her mother, and the family whose history raised her, as she makes sense of her true, ever changing, identity. Like Milk Teeth, it was very much vibes over plot, which here is a huge compliment. I can’t believe I held out quite this long to read it, because it was such a joy to pick up. There was very clever, nuanced writing on mother-daughter relationships, which I loved, and also a lot of writing on SE London, which I also loved!! 5 stars from me, no notes, review below.
After that I read The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. It publishes at the end of September, and I was very excited to get it in the post because it sounded like the kind of weird little horror book that I’d enjoy. It was good - it’s all set in a health resort that’s just a little bit too perfect to be true, in Poland on the eve of World War One. It definitely did take me a little while to get into; it was a slow start, but once I got to the final 100 pages or so, and to the crux of the novel, I didn’t want to put it down. I think if you read Mona Awad’s Rouge and enjoyed it then this would be up your street - although less surreal, it’s very much the same kind of vibe. And as ever, you can read the full review below!
Finally, I’m now reading Sable Yong’s Die Hot with a Vengeance, which I was sent all the way from the US, and which I’m liking a lot. Yong was formerly beauty editor at Allure, and it’s a collection of essays on beauty and vanity from her. They’re not too heavy at all, they’re funny, relatable, and feel like a conversation with an older sister (I think - I am in fact the oldest sibling so maybe it sounds like a conversation with me, except wiser x)
Other stuff I’ve been up to
This week you might notice I’m missing out cooking, watching and listening, and that’s because although I have been listening to Gracie Abrams and watching Douglas Is Cancelled*, as a result of my phone being STOLEN I have no record of what I’ve been cooking, even though I did take some really nice pictures. So we’re going to lump it all in this section instead.
*This has had very mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it and thought that Karen Gillan CARRIED it. It’s only four episodes so if you can watch it you should - although my pet peeve throughout those four episodes was that they kept calling Hay Festival, The Hay Festival, which was incredibly grating and also not realistic - surely somebody in the production team knew that?? It’s like calling Glastonbury, The Glastonbury Festival - nobody does it. Anyway, rant over, let’s go back to what I’ve been up to.
I feel like it’s been a jam packed couple weeks and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Let’s start with the obvious - it was my birthday! Phone stealing aside, I had a lovely lovely time and felt very loved lol, I also ate some incredible food at Gold, a restaurant in Notting Hill that I’d never been to but would absolutely recommend for small plates bliss, and Forza Win in Camberwell, which I have been to before and will absolutely go to again. Pictures below!! The pasta at Forza was lemon pesto with stracciatella and it was delish.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8f343b1-d21e-49f9-b22f-17806281f90b_1440x1800.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3b2692c4-cbca-4ad4-b838-767d3b37ff44_1440x1800.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F046e332f-e581-480a-a4e0-3f24743b8c47_1440x1800.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60eb3d6e-3dbe-46be-8d86-42f602328b28_3024x4032.jpeg)
Last week I went to Dinner for One Hundred’s singles event as well, which was SO MUCH FUN. I’m very much off apps at the moment because I think they’re soulless and pointless (sorry apps fans x) but I love events and stuff because they’re a fun story more than anything, and this one was great!!
You were sat with somebody different for each course, apparently based on your star sign - the first course was your least compatible, the second was a random match, and the third was your ‘perfect’ match. All the girls were sat on one side of a long table, and all the boys on the other. This was fun, because it meant you could debrief in between courses, and if a match was going particularly badly, we could jump in and save anyone. Mine were great (save the middle man who was disappointed that I didn’t work in tech and said he didn’t go to dating events, only networking ones, lmao,) but the person whose number I got and who I think I’m now going on a date with actually wasn’t someone I was paired with at all! So even if you weren’t sat with someone you fancied, there was still hope. Last time I told you all about the Thursday run club me and a friend went to, and while that was -2/10, this was a strong 8 I think. Will keep trying different events and keep you all updated, you’re welcome x
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdd24f08e-3fd6-4f2c-8a7c-29f1758e8161_1170x1463.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3f32f0d4-044c-477d-8ca0-e432b77d9e9a_1170x1463.jpeg)
On a less dating heavy note, I did the Seven Sisters walk with a friend last weekend as well and really loved it. I’m such a fan of a long walk, and while this was STEEP (and also very hot, I got very sunburnt,) it was beautiful and I couldn’t stop taking pictures. Then today, me, my sister and my mum went to the Anya Hindmarch ice cream pop up. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s running throughout the summer and there are multiple different ice cream flavours based on household brands - some are wackier than others, but they’re all very cool. I tried Perello Olives, Filippo Berio Pesto, and Maldon Sea Salt - before settling on the sea salt to get. There were also flavours included Heinz Baked Beans, Branston Pickles, and Sarson’s Malt Vinegar, but I wasn’t feeling brave enough for those today. I do want to go back though, especially as they have a soy sauce flavour which I reckon will be incredible, but which was sold out today.
And then after that I headed to the Aesop Queer Library, an installation offering complimentary books by LGBTQIA+ authors and allies, which was on this weekend only. I did queue for about an hour to get in, but they brought us chocolate, rosemary water and free samples in the queue, which was lovely, and I headed out with Elvin James Mensah’s Small Joys, which I’m sooo excited to read. A great weekend all in all!!
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feedf623f-7607-4bec-ae65-f476c5ce24eb_3024x4032.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb487264b-d968-4a8c-a26f-0ce4302ada51_3024x4032.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7655f8d3-2655-48b4-9fa4-0ca8e13c8306_3024x4032.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc18a59b8-2a29-440a-886a-d9f1cbcbf3a6_3024x4032.jpeg)
Anyway, that’s my very long update for all of you, see you in a couple weeks!