🔖Little Black Book #12
Indulgences of a Woman About Town.
Welcome back to The Navigation’s Little Black Book - the diary/directory offering recommendations and encouragement for spending your money, time and energy mindfully, with insights on what this Valleys girl is up to in the big smoke.
In case you missed the invite, or are debating whether you’ll hop aboard for the ride, there’s still time to join me, and fellow readers looking to for an added creative spark this year, on a 24 week meander through The Artist’s Way. We’ll be allocating double the time to work through this 12 week course, in a bid to avoid overwhelm or to-do list overload for something that is supposed to be fun and zesty, not yet more admin.
Read more here for further details - especially if you’re totally new to The Artist’s Way, created by Julia Cameron to help students unblock creativity - or click below if you’re ready to dive in and upgrade your subscription to join!
👗 Wearing
This month I'll kick off with the topic of size - and how it means absolutely nothing at all, and also that you can make of it what you will.
I recently picked up a summery graphic tee in size XS at the exact same time in the exact same shop as a thin-knit jumper in an XXL. The former allowed for a slightly closer fit with it’s ‘boyfriend’ style, but still with plenty of room and a longer length than a standard tee I might usually buy in an M. The latter allowed for a more relaxed, comfier look (and feel) than was perhaps the brand's intention, but was by no means "too big" for my body.
The internet is full of memes about what it means for a woman to leave the changing room with an item in the size down from what she would anticipate, compared to when her usual size - or woe betide even the size above - does not fit, and the impact that will have on the rest of her day, and indeed mental state.
Let's not give that power to arbitrary numbers and letters on those little tags. Let's keep that power within ourselves to know which pieces, in whatever size, make us feel good and let us present ourselves in a way that feels comfortable and true.
In case of interest, that graphic tee was this fun strawberry garm from Anthropologie, and the jumper, here described as a wool-blend top, is not available online via Anthro but is still available direct from Selected Femme (though I only paid £16 for mine!).
Both were bought at a discount on account of a voucher linked to Reskinned Clothing, which works not just with Anthro but a whole host of high street brands. If something is still wearable, send it off to be upcycled/re-sold, and in return receive a voucher for the same brand to use on a future purchase.
I had previously sent off an Anthro dress from about ten years ago, that I hadn't worn in perhaps three of those years, and instead picked up two pieces at a discount that I've already been enjoying wearing.
💄 Applying
In my box of birthday delights last month was a little pot of Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream and I'd been saving it for this month's jaunt to Canada as a luxurious holiday treat.
It did not disappoint.
Rich and creamy yet smooth as you like, this was a balm for my skin on waking after poor jet-lagged sleep, while also acting as a pre-sleep aid for a face that spent the days bearing the sun, wind, the incredible splash-back of Niagara Falls, and a lot of wedding (guest) make up!
More details from the trip to come, but right now I'm continuing to relish this cream since my return, and would recommend a little pot for your holiday toiletry bag.
🎁 Gifting
'Twas Father's Day this month, which often feels like a festival of toolbox merch, football themed cards, and those aprons that proclaim the wearer to be King of the BBQ.
Tempting as these are, gifts I opted for this year for the fatherly figures in my life included coffee beans from Paddy and Scott's, whose commitment to fair trade and creating opportunities in new ways makes them the gift that gives elsewhere too. On a visit to Kew Gardens at the tail end of May I also picked up some honey and bee-related gifts for an avid beekeeper (though was tempted by the bar of honey chocolate myself) plus some garden scatter seeds that will hopefully sprout some kitchen herbs - good for people and bees alike.
There was also the birthday of a little one in my life, and I kept the nature theme for his gift with a cute board book that asks Why Do We Need Trees? Plus, a fun washable colour-in placemat with a Peter Rabbit design, which I am hoping will supply hours of distraction at dinner (on the go or at home) that might mean his parents get a few moments of their own foodie pleasure.
🥗 Eating
Now I must kick off this month's eating section with a special mention of two pals I enjoyed a tasty Korean dinner with at the start of June, and who are loyal readers of
. They've been known to quote lines, compliment interviews, and on this occasion were keen to know more about The Artist's Way.Over crispy pieces of soy-fried chicken and steamed kimchee dumplings, an endless beef bibimbap, plus chorizo kimchee bokkumbap and seafood udon noodles at Kimchee, we ended up deep in a meandering conversation of community, diary keeping and journalling practices, and how these themes have shown up in our lives in different ways at different times - and what they might mean in future, for us and future generations.
The three of us used to work together and pre-pandemic our days would be full of interesting conversations, both about the work we were doing and related policy chat, as well as the politics of our personal lives. Now we see each other just once every few months, for dinner, and there is a temptation for catch ups to follow the flow of each taking a turn in the spotlight to do a whistlestop tour of all our latest updates. But when the food is good, and the conversation is easy, what a pleasure to settle into chat that feels more whimsical and yet more meaningful, embracing having new things to learn about each other, even nine years after that first tea break.
Cheers to you, Callum and Christian - and I hope you recovered from the spice!
Elsewhere on the foodie front, the carrot cake at North London's Jolene was criminally good. Frosting like you've never tasted, perfectly complimenting soft, nutty sponge. This slice kept me company as a late Sunday breakfast through an hour or so of reading and journalling - and I still had to take a little of it home for an afternoon hit of sweetness. Delicious and delectable.
🎭 Visiting
Toronto! 🍁
More in next month's meanderings essay, but I'm just back from some time in Canada for a two day Sri Lankan wedding, and around that some sightseeing, shopping, surprise sunbathing, and walking and eating in equal measure… or actually, the latter probably takes the edge.
As such, the London visiting report is a quiet one this month, but I've my eye on a few exhibitions and am keen to make the most of summer in the city, so stay tuned for July's installment.
📚 Reading
The reading session that carrot cake kept me company with involved catching up on a stack of London Review of Books (which for now I have paused my subscription for, succumbing to reading overwhelm) and I loved this piece about women writing to each other from across the iron curtain during the Cold War.
Through a range of schemes, formal and informal, women from the USA and USSR connected with each other through the lost art of letters, learning about each other’s lives beyond the propaganda of their respective leaders and news headlines, diving into topics of work and family and relationships and education, treading carefully not to be accused of revealing state secrets.
Miriam Dobson's piece on Alexis Peri's book charting this tale of correspondence was an enjoyable reflection on the particular connections between women, and more than that, the power of connection between humans when we allow ourselves to be open to something or someone 'other'.
On the book front, having been on my TBR list for a while, this month I finally read Guadalupe Nettel's Still Born. I started it on a Sunday afternoon, and by the following evening was already around 100 pages in, so compelling was the writing, with depth, nuance and, I can only assume, care in the translation.
A tale of two friends, with different approaches to motherhood, and how they think of the children in their lives, it tracks their difficult journeys in different ways, and centers around a very special little girl, and in other ways, a special little boy.
Themes peppered throughout include feminism, mother-daughter relations, societal expectations, and - wait for it - brood parasitism.
The book is set is Mexico City, and though I’ve never been, I found it to be a really evocative read, conjuring up vivid imagery of busy streets, huge hospitals, and the perfect apartment for a woman alone, with a quiet balcony on which to enjoy a glass of wine or a G&T.
It could also be set absolutely anywhere.
I don't think this read will be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're in for confronting decision-making, female friendship, tackling societal norms, and holding it all in a Fitzcarraldo jacket, it's probably a winner.
This book was also the May pick for Dua Lipa's Service95 book club, and so after I finished reading I tuned into the interview she'd recorded with the author. It was interesting to learn the back story of how the book came to be, and how Alina, the protagonist's best friend, was in fact based on the author's best friend, to whom the book is dedicated. Although I now know more about the inspiration, it’s a story with characters that'll stay with me for a while.
Anything to share from your Little Black Book this month? 🔖
I’ll be back next week to kick off our journey into The Artist’s Way!
… don’t forget you get a free book when you do 📚
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