Lately, I have been trying my best not to let my mood follow the drop in temperature. I have employed lavender bath oil, Oodie, extra candles, flannel PJs, heater, electric blanket, copious amount of mulled wine, curries and apple pies. So far, those things have been helping, but you guys… it’s not even officially winter yet! I worry…
On another note, you might have noticed the blog was down for almost a week recently. Instead of admitting that it’s due to my lack of technical skills, I will blame it on Mercury Retrograde because heyoooo…
More This and That…
🥘 ━ We went to Aina’s house and were served the best Arroz Negro paella I have ever eaten, which prompted me to buy all the ingredients to make it at home but instead of cooking it, I made Tamilnadu prawn curry (twice) and Keralan fish curry, which Fafa said didn’t taste anything like his mom 🙄. We also had 42 degrees Pinot Grigio at Aina’s house, which was delightful.
🌿 ━ One weekend, we went to Seddon to try a breakfast place recommended by a famous West Melbourne blogger (it was terrible – both the food and the service). We also went to an artisanal grocery store and got a few unusual things, including Dukkah, a middle eastern condiment of herbs, nuts, and spices. I have added it to my pumpkin seed bread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar regime.
🧆 ━ Other food highlights this month: weekday Pepperlunch dates with Fafa, and dinner date with Liz at Indonesian restaurant Dpenyetz where we bitched about life and ate chilli crab. We hosted our neighbour with Srilankan food (bought, not cooked). Fafa and I also went on steak night Tuesday at Barkley street, Doo dee Paidang and had delicious hot pot at Chef David.
🌄 ━ We paid $25 each to enter The Other Art Fair at the Meat Market for me to realize that sometimes (most of the time) I don’t understand art.
Love and Found
📚 ━ I got French Milk by Lucy Knisley from a secondhand bookshop in Seddon. It’s a travel diary by a comic artist who lived in Paris for six weeks when she was 22. I devoured the book in a few hours while continuously thinking about how different our lives were back then ━ by my calculation, we are of the same age. I can’t help myself from checking the library to see whether they got her later books to see how her life is these days. I also read We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz and got confused about the ending – and I am not alone.
🍽️ ━ Another book-related topic, I went to Sam van Zweden’s EATING WITH MY MOUTH OPEN book event at Harley and Rose and had a beautiful dinner of pickled mackerel, blooming onion and dutch carrots ━ I tried all for the first time. I spent hours feeling happiness hearing Sam talk about her book to being surrounded by writers and people who love to write and love the writer and books. I also met a blogger I followed on IG but was too shy to tell her in person.
🥕 ━ Side note: Sam had Dutch carrots tattooed on her, which prompted me to spend hours browsing Dutch carrot tattoos.
📺 ━ I watched the latest season of Elite, Lies and Deceit, and The Lincon Lawyers during the stressful period at work—I recommend both. Fafa also tricked me into watching a few Love, Death & Robots episodes. I am hooked, so don’t tell me anything yet, as I still have more episodes of the show to watch. I am also unnecessarily invested in the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trials because of the theatrics and high-quality memes that come with them.
Read, Watched, and Browsed
📺 ━ Grey’s Anatomy season 18.
New Sections
okay, you guys, I am adding new sections to NoNe. The first one is inspired by Mindy Kaling’s blog, which I only recently discovered about the things I bought and loved. The second is of house updates, just because. I am also thinking of reinstating the woo-woo section, maybe starting next month.
💸 ━ Oodie, I got one for me and one for Jik.
🏡 ━ We finally did hardcore (to us) gardening and weeded the hell out of the mini jungle mess on the side of the house. We also got a few artworks for the home, including a print of Amsterdam houses (we hunted down the last piece in IKEA Springvale) to the unplanned purchase of a Japanese-influenced art print by Vincent in the Rose Market. We also installed blinds and added a green sofa, a yellow carpet and a birds of paradise plant to the entrance cum library cum sanctuary.
Browsing History
Can you learn to be happier? 🫶 Journaling Is Scientifically Linked to Happiness 🫶 Creative Ways to Start Your Morning on a Good Note 🫶 How Languages Reflect a Culture’s Idea of Happiness 🫶 ‘I’m a Wellness Psychologist—These Are My 5 Secrets to Happiness’ 🫶 Practical Ways to Improve Happiness
Tiny Joys
TV dinner styled apple pie with ice cream on top 🧡 Coffee walks with my two colleagues 🧡 Srilankan food 🧡 Heattech socks Fafa got me 🧡 Godiva milk chocolate 🧡 Bag of Bacon at Mills Market Fitzroy 🧡 Come Dine With Me 🧡 Podi Dosa 🧡
Meanwhile, on Kulture Kween:
I pondered whether I could love Melbourne like Japan, listed the best chai spots in Melbourne, and shared a lil’ somethin’ about Srilankan Seeni Sambol buns and my disappointment for Indonesian restaurants while finding zen in Babinda Boulders swimming hole in Cairns.
Time Machine
Read more about last year’s happenings.
Thank You, Next!
This weekend we are returning to Atlas (for the fourth time) for the Srilankan menu – which reminds me to write an overdue post about my favourite semi-fine-dining restaurant in Melbourne.
Next week, I am flying to Sydney and then to Fiji. My best friend and I are finally executing the girl trip we have been discussing and planning endlessly during the two years of the pandemic. Then back to Melbourne for another dinner date with Liz, this time in Aru.
I am also excited about several EWF events I will attend mid-month after two years of hiatus.
Happy Gemini season, guys! Stay tuned, stay cultured! 🌈 ━ KK.
Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.
