points of interest

I wish I didn't have the prospect of a day at work tomorrow looming over my head as I fall deeper into a nighttime black hole of blog discoveries and general creative inspiration. It's always the way, isn't it? Still I thought I'd share some of the things that are occupying the most of my brain space.

Just back from my few days in Lake Garda where I easily fell into a routine of browning my skin in the sun, doing lots of reading, sitting on the deck at night with 4 squares of milk chocolate Rittersport and a thermos flash of coffee whilst working my way through my reading pile. Managed to finish Tales of the City which was enjoyable though must have dated a lot as every other cultural reference whizzed right over my head. I also read Sputnik Sweetheart by Murakami after having enjoyed Norwegian Wood so much and it was good but containing too few descriptions of noodle dishes or mundane Tokyo routines for my liking! On the other hand I started Easton Ellis's American Psycho after being too chicken to start after buying it two years ago and can't put it down. I haven't actually reached the violence yet (or make that The Violence) so this may change but I find myself surprised by how hilarious it is in parts. The bolshy dialogue between Bateman and his Wall Street friends feels to vivid in parts, you can almost see the testosterone producing plumes of smoke from the pages. Holidaying with my Family was strange as it's not something I've done in about three years but that it was with my Dad's side made it more unusual as I never go away with my half siblings who are much younger than me. So quiet moments of reading and taking myself off for an afternoon of cycling and a solo lunch nicely balanced with messing about on pedalos in the water and shacking up with them in a twinbeds at night.

I feel like I'm in quite a good space healthwise at the moment, and I suppose 'my fitness routine' isn't something I'd delve into usually but after Patrice's morning bike rides  inspired me to implement some kind of regular exercise into my life I've been on a roll and thought even mention it may influence one of you. I've been going for early morning swims and runs for the past two weeks and did a couple of circuits around the Lake this week too. It's amazing how quickly you can build up stamina with running. I went from being able to do about 7 minutes at an absolute push just a couple of weeks ago to spending the most rewarding hour going for a nighttime run this evening. It's also worth mentioning that I've noticed my skin really reaps the benefits of running and I urge you to go for early morning runs for some thinking time too.

Other things on my brain- these amazing blogs which are solely responsible for that previously mentioned black hole of blogs and thoughts. http://ensuiteblog.blogspot.com/ http://thankyouok.blogspot.com/

http://www.intelligent-----clashing.com/ Good for Haw-Lin esque pictures, interiors , glimpses into what to eat and where to shop in Tokyo etc. I could ever so easily spend hours, hours I tell you scrolling through these blogs alone so good luck staying focused and not veering off into an uncontrollable link clicking rampage.

After watching the clip for Sofia Coppola's upcoming release Somewhere  for about the millionth time (I know, you and me both) I was reminded of Stephen Dorff's appearance in the music video for Everytime for Britney Spears. This is turn lead me to wonder why I don't listen to this song every single day as it's possibly one of my Britney Spears favourites and it should be cherished. And while we're on the subject of Somewhere you can download the beautiful 'I'll Try Anything Once' by Julian Casablancas which you may recognise as the demo version of You Only Live Once by The Strokes here.

Do vent/offload any points of interest that have been cluttering your brains too. Songs you're listening too, meals you've been cooking, colour combinations you've been wearing, a cool quote you've read this week?  My Dad always said 'sharing, caring.' when I was little. He may not realise his phrase which started with a undertone of sarcasm has now become a fully fledged family mantra, something I noticed this week.