April and Autumn arrived with a flurry of changes, a bit of a "we are quarter of the way through 2019" existential crisis-just being honest here and thus things were a bit chaotic and busy but in the best kind of way. Though I definitely found myself reassessing self-care and the like midway through the month and I am glad I did. Anyway, you may have noticed my 'favourites' post has been given a bit of a makeover. Partly because the idea of just a post full of 'things' felt a bit gross, partly because I want to mix things up and try something new. Yeah, so April wrap-up, let's dive in...

Five Things I Loved:

*Spring x Ali Smith: Another blissful homage to all the things I love about Ali Smith's work. And one of my extremely generous friends sent me a signed copy which I am still not over. Read my musings about the book and Ali Smith's genius in general here. 

*Exfoliating Swipeys x Go-To: Who is surprised to see these here? Nobody? Thought so. I use these three times a week-as directed to give my skin a bit of a szush and a brighten. Unlike other acid products I have tried, these don't feel overly harsh or abrasive. In fact, they're incredibly gentle and a treat to use. Myself and my face love 'em.

*Lonely Lingerie: My love of Lonely lingerie is well documented around these parts. I love everything about the brand; from their inclusiveness when it comes to sizes, the diversity in their advertising+social media imagery, to the genuinely lovely experience of going in store to browse and purchase. Not to mention the quality of their garments and the care+detail in each piece. I've already decided I need some of their swimwear in my life next Summer. Anyway, recently I treated myself to the Maeve bra and Odette. Both quite different designs, both incredibly comfortable and supportive to wear. I think I'm going to get another colour of the Odette because it is that comfortable too.  

*The Act (limited series on Lightbox): Omg this series. Who remembers the viral Buzzfeed article about Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard? I remember reading it equal parts fascinated and horrified so when I saw that Hulu had made a new series re-enacting Gypsy and Dee Dee's story, the same feelings returned. The women are portrayed by Joey King and Patricia Arquette, the latter who is unrecognisable as Dee Dee and gives an incredible performance. The whole show is a psychological mind-maze and leaves you feeling uneasy and unnerved. I'm not going to lie. It's such a good watch though. I highly recommend it. 

*Love+Fear x Marina: Last year was the year of rediscovering Lana Del Rey and 2019 seems to be the year of rediscovering Marina, formerly Marina and the Diamonds. Her new double-album debuted in full this week and it is heaven. Handmade, ha I am so punny. I feel like this will be my new go-to at work when I want to zone out.

Five Good Things:

-Solo Outings: Long weekends are my fave because Auckland clears out and it's quiet and blissful everywhere. It's usually these times that I try to go a bit off the grid myself and I love it. So for my solo-date arvo I went to the Auckland Art Gallery and visited the Guerrilla Girls exhibit which I loved as well as Pacific Sisters. Both are free entry and well worth the look. The gallery is free to NZ citizens too, you just need ID to get in. I followed it with coffee+a bit of a Ponsonby Rd jaunt to acquire the latest The Gentlewoman and groceries (less exciting tbh) before heading back home. Utter. Utter. Bliss. 

-Between Two Books x Stylist Magazine: The lovely Leah, one of the co-founders at Between Two Books asked me if I wanted to share a book recommendation for this article and I was so honoured+excited to be included. To the point I sent screen-shots to people who were like "?? Sophie, risque book cover-I am confused". Anyway, I am still proud as punch to be a part of this so if you want to see my review, it's the one about Eve's Hollywood x Eve Babitz and you can read the whole article here.

-Reassessing Self Care: Ah self care, you really slipped to the backburner didn't you? And it showed. I always, always know now that if I don't prioritise this my mental wellbeing suffers. I become unsettled and tired and it gets ug-ly. So mid April I made some changes. I have pamper Sundays-that's just one thing. I've also reinstated daily (ish) diary writing. Ok some days it is just a bullet pointed list but I try to not dwell on it-so long as I write something. I've also been reading a lot because that also falls to the wayside when I am feeling 'eh' and going for walks and talking to the professionals, well professional. Yep.

-Meeting Zoe Foster Blake and trying all the Go-To bits: I've already yammered on about Go-To's arrival in NZ but when the email came through about an in-store event celebrating the brand and bringing skincare queen+writing wordstress Zoe, I was in. Side note: Zoe is just as lovely and sparkly and perfect-complexiony in real life. It was a good evening w/ my girl Lucie-who also let my disorganised self raid her makeup bag. Thanks Luce, you are the MVP. I also got to hang out in the Beauty Lab and try all the Go-To things. Well, most of 'em. I particularly loved the Face Hero and the Very Useful Face Cream. 

-Music: I'm about to sound like a right luddite but my new phone plan came with free Spotify Premium, which I used to have ages ago and my god. Game. Changer. I am sure 99% of my phone usage now is Spotify. Go ahead, laugh at me. I have two playlists of my own I rotate fairly heavily but I also dabble in whatever the heck I fancy and whatever my friends recommend to me. New discovery: Two Door Cinema Club. I love 'em. Also loving all the throwback 00's music playlists-for the memories and the cringe-inducing moments c/o my tra$h tastes. I love it basically. 

Books I Read In April:

/ Daisy Jones & The Six** x Taylor Jenkins Reid, review here.

/ Spring x Ali Smith, as above.

/ Notes To Self x Emilie Pine: Gut-wrenching, honest and incredibly enlighening prose. Read it and prepare to weep. In the best way.

/ The Audience x Peter Morgan: I don't read plays all that often but I wanted to read this one so I could decide if I should go see this at the ASB Theatre here in Auckland. I am a major The Crown fangirl and noticed that some of the dialogue from this play closely mirrors scenes shown in the series. Particularly exchanges between Churchill and the Queen. Anyway, now I want to see this so fingers crossed I can make it happen.

/ Three Poems x Hannah Sullivan: What is it with me and reading books that are emotionally heavy? These poems made me cry. Dang it Sullivan. In all seriousness-read, beautiful work.

/ The Built Moment x Lavinia Greenlaw: A volume that deals with loss and grief and rebuilding. Exquisitely written, as is the norm with Lavinia Greenlaw. I love her writing. 

-What have you loved during April?

**Review Copy