Audio books - an introduction

Do you listen to audio books? I'm normally a podcast listener but every now and then I love having something longer that I can really settle into - especially if I'm travelling lots or home alone.

Finding one you like though, can be a little bit tricky. It took me a little while to adjust to being read to but I've since listened to lots of great audio books, and really respect the special craft that is reading books out loud. Right now I'm listening to Helen Garner's latest book Everywhere I Look, and it's excellent because she reads it herself. Here are two more audio books read by their authors:

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

As for fiction, I often listen to books that I've been meaning to read but never got around to or use it as a way to try out new authors. Here are a few I've loved in the past:

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (which my friend Kristy recommended. It was a lot of fun)

And one more thing - I use BorrowBox from my local library, which I think most Australian libraries have. It's not the easiest catalogue to navigate but I've found and reserved lots of great titles for free.

Pretty new things

I went shopping for winter clothes on Saturday and came home with a spotty scarf (on brief), a pepper grinder I've been admiring for ages and some bright wrapping paper. While I'm not so great at wearing colour, having a few colourful things around the house always makes things that little bit cheerier.

Clothes-wise I tried on lots of different things but didn't find anything that was hands-down great, and so I've decided to change my approach. Instead I'm going to save so the next time I see something I really love, I can buy it.

Also, I have a little goal in mind. I've never been camping (I came close last year only the weather got in the way) and would like to save for a little tent, so I can try out super short camping trips with Tony. I might practice here first to see if like it :)

I hope you're having a lovely long weekend. It's back to work for me on Monday but I've had a super relaxing weekend and am ready for it.

Long weekend links

I might be a hand pie convert because despite the funny name, they're much quicker to make than a proper apple pie and just as yum. These ones are apple :) I hope you have a lovely long weekend ahead. Tony's working in Wagga and I'm babysitting my sourdough starter, which is as silly as it sounds. I'm going to read lots (I'm midway through this book, it's really fun), make cookies and find a few new winter things to wear to work. See you next week!

Sometimes only giant (choc chip) cookies will do.

A fun radio interview with Joy the Baker (from 25 minutes).

Inside the mind of a master procrastinator.

Goose down mittens.

Fran Kelly has a song for you  via Laura.

A short guide to email sign offs (so guilty of 'Best').

A super sweet mini-wallet.

The cautionary tale of Mama Chill.

Another excellent podcast recommendation from my friend Sean - The Rhino Hunter.

And this: 'By the way, he's really good at swimming.'

Winter in Japan

Today my friend Ebony shares what she loves about winter in Japan, and there are so many great things. Ebony is behind Hello Sandwich, a super colourful and inspiring design and craft blog that's had so many excellent off shoots. There's a cult Tokyo guide, the sweetest craft book and lots of exhibitions too. Every now and then I have to send her a message to say - Sandwich, you're living the dream! I am stoked to have her on the blog today to share what a Japanese winter is like:

Yummy weekday dinners

Do you know what homemade dinners mean? More chances of taking leftovers for lunch the next day and therefore more time to sleep in. Yay! I've shared a few of these recipes before but here's what we've been making again and again:

Super quick (as in faster than take away)
Apricot and balsamic chicken
Eggs in purgatory puttanesca style

Minimal effort (and really satisfying)
Roast tomato and garlic pasta
Creamy tortellini with prosciutto and peas
Seared broccoli soup (which is extra good if your friend brings you special garlic dip all the way from Sydney to slather on your bread)

Tony and I both cook but we've recently worked out that some days suit us better than others. Tony prefers not to cook on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, ahead of his teaching days. I never feel like cooking on a Friday, which is a big deadline day for me and having Monday off makes it feel like it's still the weekend. We loosely divvy things up that way with a back up meal in the freezer or a big batch of something that we've cooked on Sunday, which brings me to..

Extra yummy Sunday food
Vegetarian lasagne (Tony makes the best one from this book - sadly it is not online)
Spaghetti bolognese
Pumpkin soup (My Ruth Reichl obsession continues, I use a very easy recipe from this book)
Homemade pizza and an extra big batch of pizza sauce to freeze for later or have over ravioli
And bread for the week (half of which I'm sure gets eaten hot with lots of Nutella)

P.S A fun podcast about what to cook when you really don't feel like it plus Nigella's quick chilli which was recommended to me this week as I admired someone else's lunch at work. I haven't made it yet but let me know if you do!

Weekend links

I'm looking forward to a rainy weekend, it sounds extra cosy to me. I have my woollen socks at the ready, plans to make comfort food like pumpkin soup and banana bread, and a coffee date with my friend Sally who is visiting with her family. Just a few things to share this week, I hope you have a yummy and restful weekend:

Sunday best.

Do you meal plan?

Lena Dunham turns thirty.

Kitchen Cabinet is back.

A pretty winter dress.

An annual cold-weather treat.

An excellent interview with Helen Garner from last year's Sydney Writers' Festival, via my friend Sean.

And I've been going through The Sporkful archives and thought this episode with Margaret Cho was especially great.

Lunch break escapes + other good things

This morning I made a simple plan. I would leave my desk at one and walk up to the local shops to buy the latest issue of Lunch Lady. And I stuck to it. I listened to music, saw the sky and breathed in the fresh winter air. I found my magazine, bought myself a yummy (pay day) lunch and called my friend Marina on my way back to the office.

For the last little while, I've been paying close attention to the small things that help make any day nicer. Here's the list so far:

Clean hair

Leftovers for lunch (or dinner)

A lunch break spent outside

A made up bed (so I can flop on it after work)

Chocolate macadamia moon balls

A nighttime bath

Listening to podcasts (while I get ready for work, on lunch breaks, while cooking and taking the aforementioned bath)

Coffee out

Baking for no reason

Favourite songs

Checking in with my sister

Present planning

Are there tiny things you look forward to, or do to make sure every week is a good one?