LUSH Aqua Mirabilis.

I really wanted to like this product, but today when I opened up the container I'd been storing it in to see it had, well, come alive, I had to toss it out.  I'm looking at the date now on the packaging and see that I've had for exactly a month and a couple days.  Maybe these just aren't meant to last that long since they are made from "fresh" ingredients.  Maybe my bathroom has poor ventilation (it does).  Or maybe it's a combination of these things in addition to me not bathing regularly enough (tale as old as time).  What's nice is it was only about £6 so I'm not out a bunch of money.  And I did like the results.  But I guess Lush body butters just don't fit my "lifestyle."

Do you have any body scrubs you recommend? I'm in the market for one that won't go moldy on me.

LUSH Aqua Mirabilis £5.95

LA recommendations.

So dunno if you know this or not, but I lived in Los Angeles for nearly two years.  During my trip back to the States, I popped over there to see some friends and have a couple days of summery vacation.


For breakfast I revisited an all day breakfast café near USC with my friend Natalie.  If you go to Jacks N Joe, get their Hawaiian bread french toast (yes).  I was also partial to the Pudgie Elvis pancakes.  As per American standards, the pancakes are huge and they come with three, but if you're polite, you can just order a single for a couple bucks less.



Natalie was then kind enough to chauffeur us out to Santa Monica where we did a little pampering at Elegant Nails.  It ticked all the stereotypical boxes of being run by a group of middle-aged Asian ladies, most speaking broken English but super pleasant all the same.  Then to undo my first pedicure in half a decade, Natalie and I walked along the beach to Venice and back.  So. much. walking.



Then for the creme de la creme, Real Food Daily for dinner.  It's a fully vegetarian/vegan restaurant and I am eternally grateful for Nat humoring me by going.  This is probably my favorite restaurant in LA.  I went here with friends, when my mom would visit, by myself.  Everything is so goddamn delicious.  And I get so full from food I don't feel guilty about.  What a gem.  This visit I had the special caribbean quesadillas (from their website: Island coconut lentil puree, baby spinach, caramelized onions, pepperjack cheese, toasted whole wheat tortilla with coconut cilantro crème, mango salsa, guacamole, grilled plantains).

Family.

I've found myself missing my family the past couple weeks since I came back from my month spent in the US.



One of the first few evenings I was in Indiana, my mom and I collaborated on these vegetarian butternut squash enchiladas, a recipe I came across on How Sweet It Is.  Looking at these at 2am on an empty stomach, not very helpful.



The main purpose of my trip was to celebrate my sister's graduation from high school.  Yes, I recognise that we look alike.  I hear that happens sometimes when you have the same mother and father, weird right?




Missing my family is not something I'm used to.  I of course love them but family has never been a crazy big part of my life like I know it is for many of my friends.  The four of us are just very independent so it's weird in a way for me to look at us so "connected" by these photos.

Updated hair.

I mean, admittedly, it doesn't look that different.  But when I was back in the US, I went for my (now annual) hair cut.  The stylist that I go to does my hair, my mom's, and my sister's so it's plainly a family affair.  But I also love the dedication she puts in and the result I get.  I'm also a bit of a guinea pig for her.  Over the years she's made me red, brunette, platinum blonde.  And now sort of a strawberry blonde.

On the left you have the remnants of a September 2011 platinum blonde and a February 2012 chin-length bob cut.  As you can see, the dye still won't cling to my damaged, bleached out ends.  So whether I want to or not, I'm gonna be rockin' the accidental ombré.

Cinematography in Submarine.

I love this film because___

Star Wars.

Jean-Luc Godard.

Welsh scenery.

(500) Days of Summer.

Ingmar Bergman.

Summer Finn.

Ramona Flowers.

Framing.

Wes Anderson.

Anna Karina.

Fish tanks.

Images screenshot from Netflix.
Video review coming soon.