Good Things October

re-discovering my style, hyper fixation meals, new condiments and Autumn lipsticks.

Good Things is a series where I share all the Good Things I’ve done, eaten, watched, worn, and read in the month. ENJOY!

This is my first email roundup of sorts. I love reading these posts from other people's newsletters, so I thought I would give it a go myself. Initially, I didn’t think I would have enough to write about because, real talk, my life is often a lot more boring than it might be perceived. If there were someone to crown a rot day queen, it would be me; when I am not travelling, life at home is very slow and chill. It’s an opportunity to sink into routine and softness, and October has been all about that.

Good Style

Cardigan, faux leather jacket, suede mix bag, leopard print boots, lace skirt.
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Chocolate brown and burgundy are everywhere, and I love that for me, because I love these colours, but truthfully, my style has felt non-existent for a few years now. When my mental health is in the pits, my sense of style is the first to go, and so this year and last has been a practice in re-discovering what I love. This time of year makes getting dressed easier; layering allows for dimension in looks, and a good coat always makes you look put together.

I styled this look for a job with Next, my first fashion collaboration in a long time, and honestly, it felt so out of my comfort zone. That said, I loved how everything came out. It felt like a very me look, which is sometimes hard to achieve when social media encourages everyone to look the same. I loved this layered lace skirt styled with this gorgeous cardigan and this insanely good bag, which feels very 90s!

photo taken by @mooez

I also ordered this asymmetric blazer, which is completely missing from my wardrobe. The fit on this piece is so good; it gives the look an edge and allows it to be multi-styled in a way that perhaps a standard blazer wouldn’t. I styled it with chunky gold earrings from Lucy Williams x Missoma and rings from ASOS.

Good Eats

October has been an excellent Food month, starting with a trip to Lisbon, which completely blew me away. My last visit to Portugal in 2014/15 left me quite underwhelmed when it came to food, so I was happy to have wiped the slate clean in Lisbon. Everything we ate was unbelievably good; there’s a whole post on that here, should you care to read it.

Food in Lisbon that altered my brain chemistry.

Lisbon was my only trip this month, which meant lots of time spent cooking at home. This is one of my favourite seasons for home cooking. The ‘ber months’  always deliver when it comes to comfort and satisfaction. Is there anything better than eating a massive bowl of soup with rounds of buttery bread? I think not.

For breakfasts, I’ve been loving more filling, warming meals like this eggs in purgatory (Shakshuka’s Italian sister) with lots of basil and Parmesan to top and a generous sourdough slice for scooping. Nigella has an excellent recipe, but I tend to make it without following exact measurements.

Soup is on rotation in the house atm mostly my ‘please heal me chicken soup’ made with a rotisserie chicken (basically carrots, onion, celery, good stock and lots of herbs) and this BBC good food roast parsnip soup!

Another thing I’m entirely hyper-fixed on is this egg drop curry from MOB. This has to be one of the most comforting, easy, filling and tastiest midweek meals I’ve had in a long time. To be honest, MOB is a total lifesaver for inspiring dinner ideas when I can’t for the life of me think about what I fancy. Their videos are so good, and almost every recipe I’ve made of theirs has been top-notch.

This tomato chilli jam has been going on EVERYTHING. It’s especially good slathered on a cheese toastie to go with the aforementioned soups above.

And this Mama da Costa XO sauce from Delli is just outstanding for topping on top of roast chicken and rice for an easy mid-week dinner.

For food, we tried Abuelo’s Cafe, a new brunch spot in Marylebone that I think is just stunning. Coffee shops are aplenty in London, and many of them look like carbon copies of each other. This place sets itself apart with a unique, chic, and stylish design and an interesting Aussie-Latin Menu. I ordered the "a little bit of everything plate," which was so good—especially the homemade vanilla fig jam!

Good Telly/ Reads/ Listens

To be honest, we have been entirely glued to a series that I never in a million years thought I would get into: The Walking Dead. Firstly, I am 10 years late to the party, and secondly, apocalypse, zombies, and violence are literally the last things I would typically choose to watch . My sister somehow convinced me to start it after months of persuasion, given that I did enjoy The Last of Us, another post-apocalyptic series, which is actually back for season two this month. Anyway, 11 seasons later, I’m now also watching the spinoffs; at first, the gore is hard to get to grips with, but the themes around society, community, and morals are what I found to be so interesting. My sister and I have had phone calls at length discussing the themes of each episode, and it’s easy to see why the franchise is as popular as it is.

When I’ve not been watching The Walking Dead, I’ve been loving watching early 2000s rom-coms, which have randomly been on Channel 5. Last weekend, it was Bridget Jones's Diary (the original), and this week was What Women Want. It’s so funny watching films you haven’t seen in years; they bring on so much nostalgia and also introspection. It’s hilarious that we were convinced Bridget Jones was fat. In what world?? Rewatching What Women Want reminded me of how hideously toxic work culture is for women (and still is), but I have to say I did enjoy singing along to Cristina Aguleras's ‘What a Girl Wants’

When I am not rotting on the sofa watching zombie apocalypses, I am thoroughly enjoying digging into substack reads. One of my favs at the moment is Katie Stone’s Into the Fridge series of her newsletter Plant Based. This is one for us nosey girlies, what better way to see into someones life than through the lens of their fridge. I loved reading Anna’s feature on this but is it weird to admit I have fridge FOMO? It’s chaos in mine, I have far too many condiments am I the only one?

Things I have been loving listening to lately are Spill, my friends Billie and Sasha’s podcast which is such an easy, funny, down to earth pod. They have just launched season two. I also really enjoy Liz Moody’s podcast which is a wellness series that doesn’t feel preachy but inquisitive.

For music I am fully in my my chill vibes era. Neo Soul, Old School R&B, Chill, Jazz mostly. Here is what is on repeat on my Spotify at the moment.

Good bits and bobs

My living room has an ugly eyesore of a radiator and I’ve been desperately searching for something to cover it. Turns out most covers are equally as ugly, however I did find a complete steal on Facebook Marketplace with two of these unique wooden covers. I’m thinking of painting them burgundy what do we think?

Another bargain homeware find was at a Lisbon flea market where I got a couple of these gorgeous fine china plates and an entire matching platter for €12! My ceramic collection has grown so much over the years. I’ve made a habit of buying at least one thing from a place I visit to add to the collection. It is such a special way to remember a place and it means having unique pieces for when I host.

As well as moving into autumn mode in my wardrobe I’ve also done the same with my lipstick. I found a couple of old favourite Mac lippies that I’m loving.

Mac Chilli Popper in lustreglass and Mac powder kiss in burning love which pair perfectly with this lipliner from Victoria Beckham Beauty, it’s on the spenny side but I think its gorgeous quality and really offers bang for buck.

Now that summer is over, I am working overtime to get my hair back to a good state. As an avid swimmer (swimming 3-5x a week), my hair has been through it, and it’s finally time to start taking care of it. I’ve recently started oiling my hair twice a week with rosemary oil and masking it with this OUAI hair mask. This stuff is a lifesaver! I’ve just finished this pot, and am about to repurchase; it leaves my hair so soft and manageable - my favourite way to use this is to slather in on before going in the sauna, post-swim. It’s unreal! So there we have it. Everything Good About October. The countdown to the end of the year is on, and Christmas is around the corner. Can we actually believe that?

See you next month for my next Good Things Roundup.