Brooke's Bookshelf: January 2023 Vol. 2

Brooke’s Bookshelf: Read and Watched This Week

Books:

Cultish: The Language off Fanaticism (Non-Fiction) by Amanda Montell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The name speaks for itself :)

Station Eleven (Fiction) by Emily St. John Mandel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Directly following a real-life tragedy on the stage of Shakespeare’s King Lear, a flu-like plague emaciates the world of humanity, leaving only 1% of humans. Written in 2014, it was a wild read in today’s landscape and an inventive imagination of how the lives of a few characters would play out.

Goodbye, Things (Non-Fiction) by Fumio Sasaki Minimalism by a minimalist. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 ⭐️ A guide on Japanese minimalism

Priory of The Orange Tree (Fiction) by Samantha Shannon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A stunningly Sapphic high fantasy standalone epic about women coming from different corners of the earth to save creation from an evil dragon. Perfect for fans of Game of Thrones, Bridge Kingdom and Thrones of Glass. Cannot recommend the audiobook enough for those who (like me) struggle with names and places.

Television:

The Flatshare (tv) on Paramount +: a limited series adaptation of the book. I read the book this time last year while on vacation. It’s a really sweet fictional romance about two people who share a flat, but never interact with the exception through sticky notes in the kitchen. Their own storylines evolve into interesting stories until one day they intersect.

Studio updates:

I added some printable gridpaper to our digital resources! For $2.00, I created an e-doc that allows you to sketch for 13 mesh by either printing or marking up on your iPad. I also share my favorite pens and inexpensive paint for sketching out on canvas.

What I’m stitching:

“The Fountain of Youth” sign— a playful addition to a bar cart, tea cabinet or skin care dresser tray. I used Blue Chip, True Blue and White by Silk & Ivory (by Brown Paper Packages)

Still tinkering away on my “Taking A Disco Nap” pillow.

New recipe I tried:

I made some lavender, lemon, honey syrup to elevate simple sugar cookies! I resused an old maple syrup bottle from my friends’ wedding to house this elixir for future recipes. Would be delicious in more baked treats or cocktails like a Bee’s Knees! It has since been a lovely addition to even just hot water or tea.

Mind you, I am no recipe expert and often cook or bake from a feeling instead of proper instruction/culinary science.

I simply juiced one lemon and added it to 1/4 cup of water in a pot to boil. Added 1/4 cup of honey and waited for it to disolve, mixing as it heated. Turned down the heat so it was no longer bubbling and added two spoonfuls of dried lavender buds. You can find these in the spice section at your grocer.

Mixing every 30 seconds to a few minutes, I allowed the conconcion to simmer and infuse. After about twenty-five minutes of simmering on low, I strained the mixture and added a few spoonfuls to my sugar cookie batter. I then jarred the rest for later use.

Once the star shaped cookies were baked, I made some royal icing and drizzled some icing on half of the cookies— the other half were left bare. This was a really fun activity that I was able to share with my neighbors as Mr. Oceans and I dropped off a batch of cookies for each of our neighbors in our building. Ann and David in particular enjoyed them :)

Mood board:

Sharing with you a mood board I created for a creative direction class this time last year. It still resonates so much with what inspires me today.

Favorite songs of the week:

Flowers by Miley Cyrus— My least favorite part about reels on social media is how quickly new music is over played, but I still love this self-love anthem!

Regret Me by Daisy Jones & The Six — We finally have music to reflect the fictional 70s band written by Taylor Jenkins Reid! Series based off the book Daisy Jones & The Six comes out March 3rd on Amazon Prime.

Star by Allah-Las — Easy breezy modern psychodelica jam

Favorite quote this week:

“I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.” - Mary Oliver

Currently Coveting:

Dieux Skin’s Instant Angel Moisturizer and Forever [reuseable] Eye Patches by Charlotte Palermino— sadly they are not yet available in Canada and are on my list when I go back to the States.

Sustainable tip:

Repair! Did you know that companies like Patagonia have wonderful repair options? While borrowing one of my puffy jackets, my friend Sheila kindly swapped out my galactic duct tape (I often duct tape my jackets together… but with gold or fun tapes…) for a matching bison patch. You can hardly see it if you weren’t looking for it! Not only can you bring in your jackets for repairing, you can also buy items second-hand that their team has made anew.

Another option is seeking makers like my friend, Ellen! She uses patchwork and embroidery techniques to jazz up various garments. Ellen also dyes a myriad of found clothing using a range of botanically derived dyes—- like avocado pits!

You can find her as @stryker_made on instagram

Adding to my bucket list:

Learn to knit something that isn’t a scarf or blanket! I stitched many a beanie in high school and a pair of leg warmers in middle school, but with many loved ones having babies in the next year, I’d like to take the leap and expand my horizons.

Favorite colour of the week:

I don’t know what this gorgeous jade-y green is, but I looooovee it!

Gratitude of the week:

Locally made sourdough bread

Walks along the water with friends

Yummy candles like this gorgeous one I bought locally last week with notes of lily of the valley, violet, white rose and peony. (Available in Canada). I think 2023 is my year of candles.

Out of my comfort zone:

While I am not seeking to pursue minimalism at it’s purest form, having moved a lot and lived in tiny spaces (650 sq. ft. apartments), I am finding that the process is much lovelier when there is less to move. I also have found over the last few years that cluttered spaces give me extreme anxiety. As someone with many hobbies, minimalism is difficult to acheive, but perhaps medimalist is where I’ll exist.

Taking a few cues from Sasaki, I will be…

~Donating more books to my local Little Libraries, use my new library card and downloading e-books in lieu of collecting tomes that I won’t return to.

~Donating unused art supplies to friends, a local school or program

~Seeking second-hand shops! Thankfully, I am already quite paired down in the wardrobe department, however, there are several “dressy” items I have collected over the last ten years that no longer suit our PNW aesthetic. While I will be keeping some for special occasions, I have been researching local second-hand shops, including a new outdoor gear consignment shop to trade-in or cash out.