28TH APRIL

I sat at the kitchen table for a short while this morning, writing down a few thoughts before making breakfast. There's something about those early hours, the quiet, the sense of a world largely still asleep, I want to see more of them. I sat and I wrote and I realised that my hand cramps up far too quickly in these days of working entirely on a computer, never needing to write by hand. I need to get back in practice, I used to write pages by hand, notes in lectures, essays in exams, writing down my thoughts before falling asleep, now I can barely get through three tiny Moleksine pages.

The remains of a cake made on Saturday was wrapped up on the table, the smell of the orange syrup coming through the foil, the last pieces ready for us to have after dinner tonight. On Saturday there was Margot Henderson's roast chicken with lemon roast potatoes, wilted watercress and too much wine, tonight there will be Molly's roasted cauliflower with fried eggs. The orange and Campari cake to finish came with ice-cream and dessert wine on Saturday, tonight it will be plain, a cup of tea alongside. All so good, all linked to things that were on my mind in the last week. Margot Henderson shining in this video; Molly winning a James Beard Award, celebrating almost 11 years of Orangette, such an inspiration to so many, such well deserved recognition; that cake coming from a cookbook given to us as a wedding present by friends whose wedding we will be at this weekend.

GOOD FRIDAY

Easter weekend is the only time I wish my public holidays were automatic days off rather than bundled up with my annual leave. It's nice to have lots of days to play with but sometimes it feels hard to be going to work when everyone else is staying at home...

But, the weekend beckons and it looks like the weather isn't going to be too terrible so here are a few links to get it started:

These dreich Spring days are making me want this coat

Some reading for the weekend

I wish The Paris Review for Young Readers was real

Twelve Triangles just opened and I want to check it out very soon 

Bakery 47 and Mary's Milk Bar are collaborating for Easter

I've been listening to Electrelane again recently...

JUMPING IN

A year or so ago I had a conversation with a friend about writing, about magazines, about where we get our information, what's available, what's missing. I talked about Rookie and how good it is, and how right, and how awesome Tavi Gevinson is, and, how I thought there was room for a version for us, for women who wish Rookie had been around when they were teenagers. Of course, I thought 'that's an amazing idea, we should start that and it will be incredible' and in reality I did what I always do and popped it into the folder of unrealised ideas in my head and went to sit in an office to look at spreadsheets. Clearly I am not Tavi. But, thankfully, a group of women must have had a similar idea because yesterday they launched The Pool with music from John Hughes films and a Friday Night Lights recommendation. I like it already.

Speaking of which I was at home stuffed full of cold for the last two days and decided to finally start watching Nashville almost entirely because of my love for Tami Taylor. I'm now 10 episodes into season one and firmly hooked.