Baby Proofing

We've reached the baby proofing stage with Ray. This bottom shelf in our kitchen used to be home to half empty bottles of booze and random bits of pottery. Now that Ray can reach his little hands in I had to change things up and now it houses my collection of cookbooks. I've never kept them all together like this, it's so much better!

Only now we are moving house this weekend, so it's time to pack them all away again, along with everything else to be shuttled across to our new, bigger place. We've lived in our current apartment for four and a half years, and now that there's three of us we have well and truly outgrown it.

Books for the Little Ones

I've always loved giving books to kids as presents, and now I love receiving them for Ray. There are some blimmin' awesome childrens books around right now. Here are some of my favourites.

This Moose Belongs to Me, by Oliver Jeffers. We received this one as a gift from a sweet friend. Ray's a little young right now to appreciate this quirky, lovely book, but I've been enjoying it!

Amazing Babes, by Eliza Sarlos is an introduction to a whole bunch of incredible women, some of whom I'm ashamed to say I'd never heard of. I bought this for my niece Evie, and must get a copy for Ray too.

Lost Sloth, by J. Otto Seibold. I bought this one for my godson Oscar. I was cracking up as I was reading it in the store so I had to get it.

And finally, this is clearly not a book, but how cute are these lil' tooth pouches for gifts for kids? Made by the super talented Evie Barrow, you can buy through her etsy store.

Boys with a dress on

Hello friends! Thanks so much for the lovely comments on my last post, all those kind words mean so much. Tiny Dugong and I are still hanging in here!

My good friend Phoebe's Mum kindly sent me this fantastic surprise, a book that Phoebe wrote years ago when we were both in primary school. Phoebe and I go way back, we used to tell people that we met when we were 'in our mummies tummies', but then we found out that our parents ran into each other when Phoebe's mum was pregnant with her, and I was a few months old. Then Phoebe was born, and we've been BFFF ever since!

In primary school Phoebe and I would wear shorts under our skirts, then at playtime we'd whip those skirts off. We were pretty cool. We were friends with some funny older boys, and when one of them put my skirt on we thought it was the most hilarious thing that had EVER happened. I laughed and laughed...

Milkbar

I love the look of this colourful new book Milkbar: A Photographic Archive Vol 1, by designer and creative all rounder Eamon Donnelly. This type of corner shop is called a dairy in New Zealand, but if you move to Australia and tell people you're just popping out to the dairy then you'll get some funny looks.

These photos are all come via Eamon Donnelly's new website The Island Continent, where I have just spent a ridiculous amount of time. It's quite something.

June – August Books

I'm just a tad late with this reading update, I nearly skipped it altogether seeing as I've fallen so far off the wagon with my self imposed reading schedule. But I've read some good stuff in the last few months, so I'm just going to plow on ahead and share them with you all.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman I read for my Book Club, and it's not the kind of book that I'd normally read. Set in ancient Israel, it tells the stories of four women living during the devastating Jewish massacre on Mount Masada. I struggled to get through this book, and only learned that it was based on true events once I'd finished, which kind of blew my mind and made me appreciate the incredible story.

What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt was also a bit of a slow starter for me. I read the first third not really feeling involved in the story, only to then get completely sucked into it. I couldn't stop thinking about this book, and found it fantastically disturbing. It totally got under my skin – in a good way!

Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman is so hilarious and easy to read, I worried that I was churning through it too fast and that none of her amazing insights were sinking in. I also felt at first that it was an entertaining read, but she was preaching to the converted, so I wouldn't learn anything new from it - this was also wrong! I really recommend this book to both women and fellas who are interested in modern feminism (so that's everyone, right?)

Lastly, Role Models by John Waters was lent to me by a lovely pal with excellent taste in books. Each chapter is devoted to someone who has inspired Waters, my favourite was the chapter on his friendship with Leslie Van Houten, a member of the Manson Family. I also enjoyed the stories about some of his seedier acquaintances, and how Waters seems to be at pains to stress that he finds them quite feral too, as though he needs to prove to the audience that though he may mix with some unusual characters, he himself isn't quite as disgusting as more conservative readers might think. Although I doubt that anyone with a conservative outlook would end up with this book in their hands.

Slime Square

This has been added to my 'Books I Want' list: The Forty-Deuce: The Times Square Photographs of Bill Butterworth, 1983-1984.

I love anything to do with New York in the eighties. I know that in reality it would have been pretty sleazy and grimy back then, but that just adds to the nostalgic glamour! Street photographer Bill Butterworth captures the characters of Times Square in gritty old school New York (including a young Vincent Gallo). It's a pretty seedy underbelly, but his subjects are shown in a positive way, instead of focusing on what is most likely some pretty depressing realities. The book features quite a few boob shots that I've chosen not to share here - sorry pervs! You can see them, and more over here instead.

March-May Books

There are a lot of books out there that I would like to read, so at the start of the year I set myself a pretty realistic goal of reading at least two books a month. All was going well for the first couple of months (you can read my earlier post on January-February's reading efforts here), but then along came Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 - a mammoth of a book, which I carried around with me for over a month, because that's how long it took me to read, and because I needed to have it with me at all times in case an opportunity to read a desperate few pages came up. I may have ended up a bit moany about how long I was carting this thing round, because I offered it to a friend to read and she declined due to the bad impression I'd given her of my time with it. I feel bad about that because it was actually great to read such a long book for a change. You really get into the brain of the thing, and grow so familiar with the characters. Not gonna lie, it is a weird tale, but I loved Tengo and Aomame, the main characters of the book.

I also ploughed through The Hunger Games trilogy, which after 1Q84, was a breath of fresh, large type set air. And the books were so light to carry round! While I was reading I was pretty preoccupied with who I would cast in the next films, especially the role of Finnick Odair. My dream for this part is a young Jude Law, but that's not going to happen and I can't think of any actors at the appropriate age that would do. Any ideas?

I also read The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes, which was for my Book Club. It's hard to squeeze those book club books into my new reading schedule, but this one was fairly slim so I made it! This was an excellent book club choice actually, easy to read, and lots of discussion points. Highly recommended book club fodder!

Jan-Feb Books

At the start of the year I was so inspired by this post by Mallory I decided to try and read at least two books every month this year. Maybe this seems like I'm aiming low but I'm not a fast reader, so this has been enough of a challenge for me! I've managed to stay on track so far though. Here's what I've been reading this year.

The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides

Because they are both set in American colleges I was hoping this would be similar to The Secret History (which is my fave book ever and everyone should read it). It wasn't all that similar, but still an enjoyable read, although I didn't really love any of the characters.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer

I loved Everything Is Illuminated, and I loved this too. I wanted to read it before the film came out, but I then I saw the trailer for the film and found it so off putting that I will be steering well clear of it!

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë 

Another one I wanted to read before seeing the film, though last year's Jane Eyre film adaptation looks wonderful. And I loved reading this… until I had about a quarter of a way to go and it seemed like it was taking me forever, "WRAP IT UP BRONTE, I'M ON A SCHEDULE"!

A Visit From the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan

After finally finishing Jane Eyre I managed to squeeze in A Visit From the Goon Squad in record time! It helped that I had almost 10 hours in planes and airports during my recent travels, so I got a lot of reading done then. Looking back I think I'm the most excited about this book. Though I was pretty into all these books while I was reading them, so it's possible I only feel that way because it's the one I most recently finished. Anyway, it's a good start to my new 2012 reading regime. I'd like to share what I've read every couple of months, as a way to keep myself motivated. And if I don't, well, lets just never mention this again :-D

A bit of Alex James

Seen via Miss Moss, I am loving these photos of Alex James from the Aubin & Wills spring lookbook. I'm a little bit infatuated with Mr James after reading his autobiography A Bit of a Blur. I love music biographies and his is one of the best I have read. It's such a great read, and quite surprising following his life from rock star playboy to married country gentleman and cheese monger.

I've also been swooning over this behind the scenes video of Alex and Irina Lazareanu, larking about in London and the country side and stuff.

Christmas Prizes

I did rather well for myself – present wise, this last Christmas. I must say my 'Books I Want' post really paid off! And I was absolutely thrilled to recieve this Pentax camera – a lovely and unexpected gift from Mr Meet-Cute. I'm picking up my first 3 rolls of film taken over the Christmas break later today. Fingers crossed they turn out okay!

All the books

When Mr Meet-Cute asked me what I wanted for Christmas I was all "ummm, aaaah… I'll make a blog post about it!" Then I started thinking about all the books I'd like, though I'd also like lots of free time to read them in (hurry up hols!!) Perhaps you or a fellow bookworm need some Christmas/holiday reading inspiration? Here is what's on my 'to read' list.

Funny Lady books:

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling & You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead by Marieke Hardy

There's something so relatable about Mindy Kaling. I've been enjoying her blog and am sure to enjoy her book too. Same goes for Marieke Hardy's writing in Frankie, and her book sounds hilarious.

 Bossypants by Tina Fey & The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman

These have both been out for a while now. I guess I've got some funny lady reading to catch up on.

Then Again by Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton is such an icon, but I really want to read her memoir for the stories about working with her friend (and ex) Woody Allen.

 Crafty Books:

Make Hey! While the Sun Shines by Pip Lincoln & Design Sponge at Home by Grace Bonney

Crafty home inspiration from a couple of super blogging ladies.

Great Fiction:

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides & 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami 

Two novels that would be perfect for holiday reading.

Photography/Music/Coffee Table books:

Autumn De Wilde's book Beck is beautifully designed and has a foreword by Michel Gondry.

George Harrison: Living in the Material World by Olivia Harrison. I bought this for my sister for her birthday and it was quite hard to part with. The dvd of the film the book accompanies would also make a great gift.

And then, how is this for a gift wrapping idea? Would be perfect for a mix of books, cds and dvds.

Cheeseburger wrapping paper. So delicious. More info here.

I'd love to hear your reading recommendations too. Or are there any books you're dying to get your hands on? Let me know bookworms!

Bookish

Don't you just love checking out people's bookshelves? They tell you so much about a person. These are my sisters books and it's pretty obvious what her interests are - music, art and fashion! It's her birthday today, so I just wanted to say: Happy Birthday Loulou Blue!