I am so ready for the year of the Snake to be over; these last few weeks have been a ride, and not in a fun way. More like a stomach-turning rollercoaster. I am very much looking forward to the long weekend, y’all. I may also just need a vacation – not to go anywhere, but to hide in bed and unplug my brain. Do you think ye olde IT advice would work in this application … turn it off and on and hope that fixes all the bugs? LOL.
Like pretty much everyone else on the planet, this week I’ve been obsessing over Bad Bunny’s Superbowl half-time show. I was not familiar with the man’s game, but damn! My Spanish is extremely rusty these days, but I love Latin music (though my musical references are pretty old, lol!) and it was hella fun to see such a beautiful, heartfelt celebration of Puerto Rico culture. It’s so strange to me when people complain about not understanding lyrics because that has literally never made a difference to my enjoyment of music. My iTunes library (I told you I’m old) includes songs in Spanish, Italian, French, Arabic, and a bunch of other languages — needless to say, I am fluent in exactly zero of them. Music is one of those things that transcends language, imo.
I read an interesting book this week – Butter by Asako Yuzuki. It’s described as a “cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story.” I don’t think that really captures the book’s true vibe. It’s not a thriller or a mystery. It’s a slow-paced psychological character study (of several female characters, including the killer, the journalist, and the journalist’s best friend) and exploration of female friendship, misogyny and society’s surveillance of women’s choices and bodies, fat shaming and diet culture, foodie culture, female sexuality, and so much more. The prose is accessible and not dense, but the story takes its time to unfold, so be prepared to linger with it. I really enjoyed looking at these themes from a non-North American perspective. Lots of food for thought – not pun intended.
Be forewarned, though: reading this book will make you very hungry. There are many, many descriptions of food, and they all sound incredibly tasty. [Also, heads up: there are many discussions of characters’ physical appearance and body weight, along with references to dieting, so if that’s triggering for you, proceed with caution.]
Last week, a super nice follower sent me a link to a Poshmark listing for a Liz Claiborne raincoat in the same rainbow madras print as my fave dress (except it’s the pink/orange/yellow colorway), and I immediately jumped to take a look. I am obsessed with that particular collection that Isaac Mizrahi did for LC (late 2000s, I think) and have been slowly collecting various pieces over the years. Well, I made an offer and it was accepted … so now I have one more item to add to the collection. The coat arrived this week and it’s amazing. Amazing quality, amazing condition (NWT), and so fun!!
Do you guys have any Valentine Day’s plans? My husband and I don’t usually go out of our way to celebrate – mostly because we’re not big “special occasion” people, and also because our dating anniversary is a few days later, and we’re more likely to do something to mark that. If we remember it, that is. After 18 years, that’s not always guaranteed. The good thing is that we’re both equally forgetful and lazy, so there are never any hurt feelings 🙂
Have a great weekend!
I’ve read Butter as well. I thought it was interesting in terms of society having a lot of opinions on women’s bodies, although it’s not a book I recommend. Reminds me of something I read “women’s bodies are every one’s business but their own.”
That def resonates!