The basics #7

From my backyard one evening.

Hello friends. I think we all feel like the world is mess right now & I trust you’re getting your info from reputable sources so all I’ll say is my heart is probably a lot like yours, heavy. Let’s leave it at that ok? On to more banal chat….I’ve been plagued with hormonal headaches, the kind bordering on migraine. Last week I decided, with my doctor, to stop using any kind of HRT or natural hormone help for 3 months to take my body back to its normal state so we can get a good read on where I am before moving forward with a procedure or more permanent HRT. And my body is saying FUCK. THIS. SHIT!! I had been mainlining Panadol & neurofen before switching to a migraine medication. It works a treat on the migraines but makes me feel sick. Bodies & health are such a trip aren’t they? Any moment this week where I haven’t had a headache or felt like trash I’ve really made a point of acknowledging how good & nice it feels to be pain free. I think good health is something most of us take for granted so I’m trying hard to not do that. So because of all this fun hormone crap there were a few nights I put myself to bed at 730pm, one night I slept for TEN HOURS!!!! I can’t remember the last time I felt so rested!!! This is probably a bit boring so let’s just get on with the basics shall we?

COOK: I have been really enjoying bringing back the Sunday roast. This was a tradition in my house growing up & I kept that tradition once I had my own family but over the last 12 months it went from being a weekly dish to once every so often. This week I made a roast chook, my favourite, the week before roast lamb, everyone else’s favourite. I’m wondering if I should do beef this week or just stick with chicken? I go all out & make Yorkshire pudding every time. I use a recipe from Jamie Oliver & they are really good.

EAT: I’ve been making little containers of trail mix to snack on at work. I put pistachios, salted fava beans, dried strawberries, pumpkin seeds & sour watermelon raisins in, it’s really yummy! I’m wondering what else I can find in the hidden depths of my pantry to add in. I’ll do a little deep dive in there over the weekend.

READ: I finally finished Who’s That Girl by Mhairi McFarlane. It was a slow burn & by the end I was thoroughly invested in the stories & characters. You’ll see in the book stack photo below what books I’ll be dipping into over the next few weeks. I’ve already started Fibre Fuelled & CANNOT wait to read Once There We’re Wolves.

WATCH: I finished Nashville (on Stan). It was both really slow but also rushed if that makes sense? The last ep of The White Lotus aired & you know what? It was disappointing. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it was letdown. I’ve also gone back to Rosehaven (on ABC iview) & 8 out of 10 cats do countdown (on SBS) because neither of them demand too much from me but offer laughs & comfort. Winning combo don’t you think?

LISTEN: Over the weekend Tim & I had a conversation about our desert island discs 9the 5 albums you’d take on a desert island) because he walked in while I was listening to the Louis Theroux ep of that podcast. Of course I had to play a couple of mine over the weekend- Fleetwood Mac’s, Fleetwood Mac album is top of my list ( I love Rumours also but this is their best album) & because I could not pick a fave Waifs album I chose was their double live album, A Brief History. Maybe cheating because it’s actually two but I’m allowing it. Tell me your 5 desert island albums! And in case you were wondering what my other 3 are they’d be- Nirvana MTV Unplugged, Pearl Jam Vitalogy & then for fifth I can’t choose between The Doors Morrison Hotel or Ball Park Music’s Happiness & Surrounding Suburbs….hard right! Also, this weeks episode of the Chats10Looks3 podcast named “I wish I’d looked after me teef!” had me laughing so much. I bloody love listening to people crack each other up. This weeks episode of No Filter with Pandora Sykes was a good listen too.

BUY: sorry friends but I’m going to be super predictable & say I bought books. Shocking right?! All of the books in the photo are ones I bought except Semi Gloss, that is a library book I picked up when I borrowed another cook book (a million eye rolls for being even more predictable). I pretty much buy books or skincare, nothing else of interest. I got a few from the op-shop & a few new. Here is my current bedside stack. There were two stacks but that’s just silly so out the old stack back on my shelves.

BEAUTY: let’s talk brows. I have never cared about my brows until I realised they were disappearing & suddenly I cared A LOT! My friend Honae told me about this MCO product & I’ve loved it but then my two brow pencils ran out so I decided to try the MCO Brow Fill & Set. It’s good, gives you brows that stay put all day long. There’s a crayon end that you use to fill in all the gaps, & you could totally just stop with that, but there is also the tinted gel end that gives you more colour, thickens the hair a little bit (not as much as the more brows, that is fibre type thing that really does make you look as though you have thick eyebrow hairs) but then sets them in place. It’s almost like a laminated brow look. Kinda. I thought I’d take a photo to show you (sorry to have photos of my head two weeks in a row!) but after I’d taken the photo realised I should have given you a before shot too so took one the next day. Here is before I’ve done my brows or lashes-

And here is after-

Better right!? I don’t wear any other make-up but I do my brows pretty much daily & wear mascara most days too. I just feel a little put together & I think I look less tired too when I have my brows drawn on. I know someone will ask what mascara I’ve got on, it’s a newish one from Stila. It’s taken me a few goes to get the hang of it but I think I’ve figured out the weird brush now. I’ve been trying a few new mascaras lately so maybe I’ll do a whole post on them because some are cheap , some are not cheap & some are not good & some are really good. Interested?

PONDER: It’s been an absolute delight to have some clear, blue sky days. I cant tell you how lovely it was to walk laps of your block with my neighbour & our kids, to not be be working outdoors in the rain & to see spring coming before my eyes. I’ve been wondering if kids moods are affected by the weather like ours, or maybe just mine, is. All I know is that having the rise earlier & set later feels so good, it’s as if it’s pulling me out of a slump, pushing me towards the light. I’ve never felt so in tune with the seasons as I have these last few years. Nature is just magical isn’t it?

DO: only what you can. We can’t have all out burners firing at 100% all the time so turn some down if you need too. The world doesn’t end. The family survives & maybe you get a little space & rest.

BEST: Here in WA vaccinations opened up to 18-29 year olds at the start of this week so that means my older boys are eligible. They’ve booked in for their shots & now I can rest a little easier knowing soon they’ll be protected as best they can be. I’m also really proud that my vax hesitant boy did his research, listened to the right people & decided to do it.

WORST: This week, let’s not dwell on worsts. The news cycle has been full of worsts so I’ll not add mine to list. I hope that’s OK?

I’m thinking maybe next week I’ll give the basics a break. I never meant for it to be a weekly post when I first started but then I started enjoying writing every week & having a place to share things so here I am 7 weeks later. This week I feel like it’s maybe too repetitive or boring. Once upon a time I would have felt like everyone else was living more exciting lives than I am but I actually think we all live very repetitive, small lives filled with ordinary things & moments because mostly that’s what we like. I know I’m quite happy living that way. You? Also, I’m sorry that I’m a bit of a downer sometimes. I don’t mean, nor want, to be but I also am quite shit at pretending that things are always good. I might spend some time adding some pages I’ve been meaning to write. I want to add the podcasts & newsletters I subscribe to to the blog roll page I have & maybe make a skincare master list of all the things I’ve used & like. What do you think? Or maybe I’ll just come & talk nonsense like always. We’ll see. Take care & I’ll talk to you soon xxx