Sunday Selections

I’m so excited to be writing my first post in my Sunday Selections series! Tomorrow’s the start of a fresh new week and if you’re looking for some inspiration to begin your week right, I hope you find a little something somewhere in here.

WATCH: The other night I watched ‘Before Sunrise’ (1995), a movie that, strangely, I had never seen before. The story follows Jesse, a young American, and Celine, a beautiful French woman, as they meet on a train whilst travelling in Europe. Drawn to each other and intrigued by possibility, they decide to disembark at Vienna to see where the night takes them, knowing with all probability that this will be their one and only night together. I adored this movie for so many reasons. Firstly, I love watching movies that are set in a place that I’ve been or is nearby to where I live and Vienna is only a stone’s throw away from Germany. Secondly, I thought it was just brilliant that these two people seized an opportunity, took a risk and made the most of every minute of their time together, discovering each other and a new place at the same time. Shouldn’t we all do more of this?

READ: I have just finished Edward Rutherford’s beautiful and sprawling novel, ‘Paris’. Fittingly, I purchased my copy at the famous Shakespeare and Company book store in the beautiful 5th arrondissement in Paris. After falling in love with Paris over Christmas time, I became so interested in this great city’s vast and tumultuous history. Hungry to know more, I found this delightfully long novel (800 plus pages) hiding in one of the rickety old bookshelves of this incredible institution. (Can you believe that this was the old haunt of Hemingway, Joyce and Fitzgerald?!) I savoured each page of this novel as it took me on an incredible journey from the story of Notre Dame and the Knights Templar in the Middle Ages, the tumultuous time of the French Revolution and the terror of the Nazi occupation of Paris. Impeccably researched, this book deserves a special place on my bookshelf.

COOK: These Cacao Fudge Bites dreamed up by the super-talented Heidi, dietitian and author of the amazing blog, Apples Under My Bed look irresistibly good. My mission now is to hunt down the quality ingredients she always uses in her recipes-not always an easy thing in Germany!

MAKE: I think this would be a beautiful present idea and if I were a little more crafty I would like to give it a go!

DREAM BUY: I’m super excited to start my new job at the end of this month and if money were no object, I would just adore this Work Satchel by UK-based Hard Graft to carry all of my work necessities around in. Made from hand-stained, vegetable-tanned Italian leather, it’s hard to resist such a beautiful artisinal product, even if it does cost £450. On to the wish list it goes.

BUDGET BUY: I love the colour of this lipstick from & Other Stories and I think it’s the perfect spring shade. Lucky there’s a store right around the corner from me.

GO: Ben and I are planning a little trip to Istanbul over Easter this year, a city I’ve been desperately wanting to visit for some time. Whilst everywhere else in Europe becomes needlessly expensive around this time, Turkey, which is largely Islamic, is looking pretty affordable in comparison. This beautiful selection of photos by Lonely Planet is transporting me there while I plan our visit.