I can’t say that I’ve thought much about Game of Thrones since its finale. What I did do immediately afterwards was order George RR Martin’s Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before a Game of Thrones. Here’s what it’s not: a prequel to the ASOIAF books. To me, it does not read like a novel, at all. The narrative conceit is that it’s a history book about the Targaryen dynasty assembled by an archmaester. In fact, it reads precisely like historical non-fiction … except it’s all about a made-up family in a made-up world.

As a lover of the historical non-fiction genre, this was right up my alley. If that’s not your jam, your mileage may vary. It’s a big honker of a book too – over 700 pages long. The first 50 pages or so had me worried because they are almost a word-for-word repetition of Martin’s The World of Ice & Fire “encyclopedia” history of Westeros, which I already own and read. If you have that book, you will know the broad strokes of the Targaryens’ reign; Fire & Blood adds a ton more detail and colour to the story. What I did not realize until the end was that it actually stops 5 or 6 kings before Aerys the Mad (the last Targaryen king before the ASOIAF timeline kicks in). So now I am wondering if this is going to be a two-parter history. Par for the course for Martin, I guess.

You might expect that this is a book which only GoT fanatics obsessed with Westeros minutiae might truly enjoy. I don’t count myself in that category, but as a history nerd I was totally engrossed by it and loved it. It’s basically a fantasy retelling of European history, focused primarily on the British isles. My favourite part of the reading experience was trying to figure out what real-life counterpart(s) each Targaryen king was based on; in most cases, each character was a mish-mash of several real kings, with events depicted in the book having been inspired by various (predominantly Plantagenet and Tudor) English kings’ lives. That’s my take, anyway. I don’t know if Martin has ever confirmed his sources of inspiration.

After reading Fire & Blood, I was in the mood for more history, so I re-read David Starkey’s Crown & County: The Kings and Queens of England, A History from my library. It’s an enjoyable, easy read though it felt rushed in places – what I basically wanted was a separate biography of each monarch, especially the Plantagenets. For reviewing the highlights, this hit the spot.

Then I decided to do the same with French kings … only to quickly realize that books on French history are much harder to come by than English history. Most royal biographies focus on the Bourbons (Henry IV through Louis XVI) which is all fine and good; right now, it’s medieval history I’m most interested in. There is a shocking lack of recent biographies on the Capetians and the Valois as a whole. I ended up ordering John Julius Norwich’s A History of France, which was broader in scope than I strictly wanted, but a great read as always – JJN is one of my favourite historians. My only complaint is that the book turned out to be much shorter than I was expecting (a relatively slim 400 pages), and a lot of the medieval history was very lightly touched on.

Let me take this chance to make another plug for Maurice Druon’s Accursed Kings series about (the Capetian) Phillip IV and his progeny, another likely source of inspiration for George RR Martin. This book has it all: political scheming, murders, adultery, sorcery, 13th century courtroom intrigue. And it’s (largely) based on real life events, which is fascinating. I basically want to read the non-fiction version of this series, and really delve into all of the details. Someone write this book, please. I am currently re-reading Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror, which is an excellent resource on the 14th century in Europe (predominantly France and England).

In non-historical fiction news, I also started but have yet to finish Normal People by Sally Rooney. This book came with a lot of hype but, for some reason, I didn’t connect with it enough to keep at it. I didn’t hate what I’ve read so far, but it’s meh. I’ll probably push myself to finish it at some point.

What have you been reading lately?

Monochrome

I love a good monochromatic look. The key to making it interesting, in my humble opinion, is to layer different textures for visual interest and “depth”. This outfit, for example, is all about subtle details. I love how the gauzy dress overlay contrasts with the textured sleeves. The lace-up shoes are also a little snazzier than your average pair of black flats. I wore these on my commute, then ended up switching to patent leather metallic grey pumps at work because I could not resist the extra bit of monochromacity (not a word, don’t care).

Notes: Rick Owens dress (secondhand, $133); YSL blazer (thrifted, $10); J. Crew necklace (thrifted, $10); Napoleoni shoes (thrifted, $6).

Weather Reversal

Ok, so here’s the thing you need to know to understand this outfit: mornings lately have been cold here. (I may also be turning into wimp as I get older, ahem.) But by midday, the temperature rises and it becomes quite warm. (Did I mention that I am a wimp at both ends of the scale?) This outfit was designed for temperature swings … and also because I love this coat and have missed wearing it lately. As it happened, I ditched it by about 10:30 but it was fun while I wore it. The rest of the outfit held up just fine for the rest of the day. It’s mostly made out of linen (both the tunic and the pants). The piece de resistance was, of course, my beloved Rafael necklace.

Notes: Cartonnier coat (thrifted, $21); Eileen Fisher tunic (thrifted, $8.50); Lida Baday pants (thrifted, $4.50); AGL flats (consignment, $67); Rafael Canada necklace (thrifted; $8); Anthropologie bag (swapped).

Cozy Friday

Last week, I came down with a terrible, horrible, no good cough which turned out to be bronchitis in the end. I had a pretty miserable go of it for most of the week, but after 48 hours of antibiotics, started to feel somewhat human again. Just in time for Friday, which was nice. (I usually start feeling worse, not better, before a weekend. Sigh.) I put some real clothes on for the first time in 2 days, but went with the most comfortable option I could find in my closet. This Ayrtight dress feels like pyjamas, honestly. The relaxed silhouette of the oversized Chevalier blazer from Wilfred works well with the drapiness of the dress. Not a bad effort, all things considered.

Notes: Ayrtight dress (consignment, $45); Wilfred blazer (thrifted, $6); Cole Haan shoes (thrifted, $10); H&M belt (retail, can’t remember the price from a decade ago).

After my original post on my FabFitFun subscription, one of the most frequent questions I received was “is it worth it?” After the first box, my answer was “yes” but I promised I would give an update with future boxes. Well, I received my Summer 2019 FabFitFun box recently, and here we go.

To recap, I paid for an annual subscription of 4 boxes (it was not gifted, and these posts are not sponsored) which set me back about $330CAD including shipping. This works out to about $80CAD, give or take, per box. That represents my frame of reference when deciding if the boxes are worth it or not. As an annual subscriber, I have the option of selecting a good chunk of the products in each box, which I appreciate and consider (for myself) a good trade-off for the upfront financial commitment to 4 boxes.

Here’s what I received this time:

As always, I do appreciate the presentation.

I believe this was a “mystery item” which was one of the customization options. My experience with the Dr. Brandt under-eye cream thing I got in my last box was meh. Having tried this luminizer primer, I have to say I am much happier. I don’t typically use primer, but I like how this one goes on and how it works with my Jane Iredale powder foundation; it does seem to make my skin look smoother. Retail value: $24+ (all prices given in USD).

I was super excited to try this Coola make-up setting spray with SPF. I like sneaking in SPF whenever I can. I’ve heard some people complain about the smell of this product (and question its efficacy) but I like it. On days when I know I’m not going to be outside very long, I use this in place of my Biore sunscreen. Retail value: $36.

I just cut my hair (long pixie for the win!) so these Invisibobble bands aren’t much use to me. I will probably see if they work on my daughter, who has waist-length hair. Retail value: $16.

This shower cream/body cream duo from Sol de Janeiro was my top pick for the box. I adore the Acai cream I received in a mystery box last month, so I was pumped to try to famous Bum Bum cream. Since I’m still using the other jar, I haven’t opened the Bum Bum, but I have tried the shower cream and it’s a-mah-zing!! Love the scent, love how soft it makes my skin. I would be happy with a SdJ product in every box, to be honest. Retail value: $45.

This was a product that everyone received, and it’s meh for me. My feet need help, but a foot mask is simply not something I can get excited about. I’ve tried this one once, and had no adverse reactions, but also experienced no extraordinary results. I’m not sure I’ll get much use out of it. Retail value: $32.

Another meh (also came standard in all boxes). I love my Mario Badescu facial sprays, and this product probably won’t replace them. But I will probably get some use out of it – I took this to the office to have on hand during the work day. Retail value: $26.

I don’t use mud masks, but I am intrigued to try this. My biggest concern is a possible allergic reaction. I don’t think I need brightening products but maybe this will just be a nice moisturizing mask. Note that this was another product included in all boxes. Retail: $36

This was a customizable option, and I chose it because I didn’t like any of the alternatives more. That being said, it looked more appealing to me in the stock photos than IRL. It’s much daintier than I was expecting, which is not really my jam. The quality is lower end costume jewelry – along the lines of what you’d find at, say, Target or H&M. Retail: $52 (inflated, IMO).

This was the final customizable option, and I am very pleased with it. I love the aesthetics of these bowls (white and blue colour scheme, Japanese-inspired prints) and I find them handy to have around the house; you can use them for display, for storing trinkets, and for dinner parties, etc. To be honest, I wouldn’t spend the retail cost to buy them new, but they are a nice addition to the box. Retail: $39.

Overall, between the SdJ stuff, the primer, the setting spray, and the bowls alone, I feel like I got my money’s worth from the box. Quality-wise, everything seemed quite good with the possible exception of the necklace. It seems to be a trend that there is an item that disappoints in every box; I will definitely be more cautious with jewelry options in the future (same as with bags, based on my last box).