Do you have a must-read book?

My friend Maayan just lent me a copy of An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, which she's been raving about since Christmas. It got me thinking about my must-read books - I have two. They are...

Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed.
I read this around about the time Tony and I got engaged. I remember carrying it with me everywhere while we were on holidays in Sydney and reading bits whenever I could. To me, it was a really empowering book but I've since found that it's a book that divides people, they either love it or are totally frustrated by it.

Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche by Haruki Murakami.
I remember hearing about the Tokyo subway gas attacks when I was in school and this book is a fascinating and chilling account of what happened that morning, according to the people who were there. Each chapter of the book is someone's memory of the event, until it switches to focus on people who used to be involved in the cult that orchestrated the attack 

I'd love to know if you have a must-read book or two. I hope you can share yours.

Photo: Cheryl Strayed on the Pacific Crest Trail

Desktop: Gal Dente

Jorja Boon-Kriesel and Jessica Johnson are the creative and hungry women behind Gal Dente. They're working together to style food in bold new ways and create their own recipes too. The friends met at Dinosaur Designs, where they both work, and today they share how they squeeze truffle hunting road trips and intricate photo shoots into their busy working lives.

Weekend links

Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day? We always do something small and silly, and on Sunday we're going out for freakshakes! I don't know whether to be excited or scared ;) I hope you've had a good week. Here are a few things I've been collecting for you, have an excellent weekend:

Best kitchen ever.

Cute idea - a coffee table dinner party.

An airport with an incredible history.

Happy Chinese New Year.

Bookmarked for bake off.

I'm getting this for my niece (she loves to draw).

Have you seen Larry David as Bernie Sanders? Tony is obsessed.

This pic is from the Andy Warhol Ai Wei Wei exhibition at the NGV. Have you been? We went last month and I'd love to visit Melbourne again!

Earthing down

I've graduated from succulents, and it's exciting. I never thought I'd write about gardening but here goes.

When Tony and I moved to Canberra, our friends Sophie and Tim gave us three plants for our new apartment. On moving day, nothing felt nicer than putting them out on the balcony. The place immediately felt a little more lived in.

We had a tiny tomato plant, a strawberry plant and some herbs (thyme and basil) and have since added parsley, coriander, a fruit salad plant (!) and some mint. Everything is growing really happily and we've been able to cook with things too. Our tomato plant is like a beanstalk, it's huge and new tomatoes appear every day, which is super exciting.

So far having a few edible pot plants has been manageable and really encouraging too. I love tending to them as soon as I come home from work. It's lovely to be outside for a little while and notice what's changed. My friend Sophie calls this earthing down.

Next on my list is a dwarf lemon tree. We bought one right after we got engaged a few years ago, but couldn't work out who was doing what, so it died!

A big brave change

When someone dear to me passes away it sparks a revelation about how they lived, which is why I was so intrigued by what my friend Kate decided to do shortly after we lost our friend Erina. 

I met Kate and Erina when I was fresh out of uni, we worked together for a few years on a current affairs show based in Sydney. Now Kate lives in Wollongong with her partner Lucas and their two little girls, Grace and Sophie, and she’s just started studying to be a personal trainer. It’s a pretty big shift from being in the media, and I couldn’t help asking how losing Erina prompted the shift, and how it’s going so far.

Weekend links

Are you a Chloë Sevigny fan? This great story about running into her at dinner popped into my inbox the other day. I hope you've had a good week. I'm catching up with friends this weekend, which makes me feel like Canberra is becoming my home :) It's going to be beautiful out, so I'm hoping to ride as many places as I can. Just a handful of things to share this week, catch you later:

Love this local flower bar.

A pantry that you can actually find things in.

Sandwiched in.

A super simple Valentine's Day breakfast that would make a cheery every day treat.

Motherhood: a post script via Ann.

And I love the concept of forest bathing.

P.S My big work project launched on Monday :)

Riding home

The very first time I rode home from work, I took a wrong turn as soon as I left the office. It made for an eye-opening ride home, past corner shops I'd never seen before and through heavy traffic. But now I'm beginning to enjoy the little surprises that come with cycling.