100

It's here, my 100th post. I've been waiting for a while to write because I wanted it to be a special one, one worthy of triple figures. So, in an attempt to make this space slightly more personal, I decided to introduce myself. Here are some of my most interesting facts...

I live: In Dublin's fair city. Slap bang in the middle. My view looks like this, I'm a lucky lady. But I'm not an Irish lady.

When I'm not reading books: I'm probably reading books. I'm in the thick of a PhD on nineteenth-century Christmas literature.


Do I get sick of Christmas? Certainly not. I spent this summer in Brooklyn, and I have to admit that sitting outside and melting in the hottest temperature I've ever experienced with a trusty Christmas book in hand was peculiar, but I'll always love Christmas sun, rain, snow or shine.


My most recent excursion: was to Berlin. In fact I only got back a couple of days ago. I went to visit to German friends who tried to get me to converse with locals in German for their personal amusement. My mouth really can't do the sounds, the only word I can say convincingly is 'lecker' after an afternoon sipping coffee and munching lebkuchen. 

Some of my favourite bookshops: would have to include The Gutter bookshop in Dublin's Temple Bar; Waterstones - the London Piccadilly branch where you can get lost among books; Magma in Manchester, purely for cover design; and in New York I spent a thrilling afternoon in McNally Jackson Books and fell in love with Spoonbill and Sugartown Booksellers in Brooklyn, they also have a black and white resident cat who lounges around on the book tables.

I have no pets: because I don't know how long I'll be in one place for, but I do have a plastic fish called Father Christmas who I keep in a glass of water on my shelf, and share an imaginary puppy called Big Ted with my boyfriend.

This is Father Christmas, I think he's sleeping.

Other than reading and tending to the needs of my fake pets: I like photography, design, travelling, avocados with fresh lemon juice, yoga, ballet, and making lists. I also play the ukulele, am addicted to sticky text markers and enjoy films, lots and lots of films. I'm interested in integrating great design into academia, because critical analysis should be nice to look at. 

The last film I saw at the cinema was: Chico and Rita. Tonight I will go to watch a festive screening of It's a Wonderful Life - ho, ho, ho.

I'm passionate about: kindness, keeping things simple and smiling. 

One of the first books I loved was: I Capture the Castle by Dodi Smith.

Once: I spent three hours in the bath reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. My skin was so wrinkled afterwards but I smelt amazing and my mind was enriched.

My favourite word in English is: bespoke.

I look like this (the bag fits everything in, even if it is almost as big as me)

And I'm thankful for the internet because of these inspiring people/places

sandra juto

even cleveland

hearblack

my funny eye

my new roots

le project d'amour

for me for you

So there it is, post 100, and what a pleasure it was.

Kait

Christmas List

One of my favourite writers. Sylvia's Journals are not just for Christmas, they're for life.

Babies 2010

This weekend I watched a stunning documentary by French director Thomas Balmès, 'Babies'. I think one of the most beautiful things about this film is that there is no narration, no subtitles, nothing but images. Taking four babies from four different corners of the world: Namibia, Tokyo, Mongolia and San Fran, this film effectively shows the differences and similarities between life (not just baby life) in each location and culture, and it really makes you think. I love it when something as simple as images without words can make you think and break down the barriers of understanding foreign languages, it really is fascinating. Plus there are lots of cute moments in there, my particular favourite was when the little Mongolian chap was taking a bath and a stray goat came to take a sip of the water. Continuing with this theme, there are some amazing interactions between fearless babies (sometimes fearless naked babies if you're in Mongolia) and goats, cows, cats and sharp toothed dogs having their fur pulled, having baby fingers stuck in their mouths, and not biting back.  And if that's not enough, the Namibian baby has some intense dance moves going on too. Watch the trailer here.

Christmas List Begins

Christmas is the perfect time to make a long list of all the books you want to read in the New Year, or all cosied up over the festive holiday. This lady's new one makes it to my list...

Eating and Reading

There's nothing cosier than drinking tea and reading a book when it's raining and windy on the other side of the window. What's your perfect accompaniment to reading? A cup of chai and a few biscuits would definitely be my top choice, the digestive being my preferred crumb. Ouissi Gresty's new fabric-design book combines my two loves in one: books and biscuits. This set of pages will help you to craft your very own set of felt biscuits, not forgetting the stylish union jack biscuit tin. But be warned, however realistic they may look (especially that pink wafer...wow!) they're strictly for decorative purposes only. Don't get confused.

Match Point

One of Woody Allen's most beautifully shot films, I watched Match Point (2005) last week. A film of entrapment, lust, obsession, deception, and crime; it wasn't what I expected. It was better. Is it just me, or do all the character's seem very two-dimensional and cardboard-cut-out in Allen's films, apart from when they give into some form of illicit lust? That's when you see the real person come out. I think one of the saddest things about this film is that some characters never achieve this release, they are trapped in their own, 2-dimensional worlds of blind obsession and social position, remaining oblivious to it all.

I think I need to start writing....