Summer, is that you? June supposedly heralds the start of summer but in San Francisco that means foggy skies six days out of seven. This is the one time of year when I feel a pinch of envy looking at the tweets and Instagram posts of friends back home, especially as Britain seems to be holding on to its current heatwave with a steadfast grip.
Having said that, there have been some sunny days this month, and plenty of Little Things to bright up June, including…
Blogging about: Triathlons and my irrational fear of open water, and the pleasures and occasionally mild perils of owning a vintage car.
Watching: This month was all about the cinema for me (hello, MoviePass!) and I took myself to the pictures several times, for The Gospel According to Andre to reminisce about my brush with ALT, Ocean’s 8, because I’m all about supporting all-female casts, and Adrift, due to a weird fascination with drama at sea. Notorious RBG restored my faith in humanity a little, and Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist reminded me how much of a badass Vivienne Westwood is. I’m also several episodes deep into The Staircase (he totally did it, right!?) and watched the film Revenge at a recent movie night, which was beautifully shot, if very gory. As if that wasn’t enough, this weekend I finally got around to watching Pixar’s Coco, and predictably bawled like a baby.
Making: An effort to be patient.
Buying: British magazines (yay!) two months out of date (boo!) because the newsagents here seem to take ages to get international copies in stock.
Reading: A book on fashion curation, and Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, which was thought-provoking to say the least. I’ve also just finished A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, which a gripping antidote to all the non-fiction I’ve been reading lately. I’ve also been lapping up every article about the outfits from Ocean’s 8, with this one from Broadly being a particular favourite.
Listening to: Janelle Monáe perform live at The Masonic in San Francisco. M and I saw her a few years ago in London and it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. This performance didn’t disappoint – her outfits were divine, her dancers were flawless and the crowd was energized – I almost lost my voice from singing along.
Wearing: All the colours of the rainbow, in celebration of Pride weekend.
Eating: Brunch with gal pals, watermelon and feta salads, poke bowls, and homemade apple and cinnamon bread.
Enjoying: Flexing my creative muscles and teaching myself new skills. Adjacent to the new skill thing, I went paddle boarding this month (my fourth time ever) and enjoyed it so much that I’ve already arranged to go again next weekend. I also refuse to give up on getting over my fear of climbing. M and I went again this month but the walls didn’t have many beginner options, so I (literally) didn’t make much progress.
Looking forward to: Using my manual SLR more this month, and seeing our friends who are visiting from Vietnam.