LAGOM - November 2023
5 summer drinks + salads recipes, DIY room mists and Violette_FR
Hello, hello!
While we are still looking for a few days of consistent sunshine in a row, the end-of-year holidays are near. Meanwhile, we found it apt to help you prepare for the long-awaited outdoor gatherings, either as a host or a guest. We have an exciting selection of colourful, non-alcoholic drinks to keep you hydrated while joyfully mingling, and a curation of bright, fresh salad recipes to nourish your loved ones (and yourself!) from the end of Spring bounty. We are also sharing our favourite DIY mist spray combinations, perhaps a homemade gift for later, and we reviewed the Violette_FR best seller Boom Boom Milk for optimal skincare, now available in the southern hemisphere.
So yes, for those who are into it, Christmas is happening in 24 days. As every year, the tiring repetition of the hyper-consumerist culture debacle, from the recent Black Friday sales, Cyber Monday, to the end-of-year rush, always to satisfy the meaningless, eternal hunger of the capitalist machine. We stay away from the trap, as best as we can. By changing our perspectives, we focus on what is useful to give, what makes sense, prioritising living experiences over consumerist “stuff”. It is our strategy in life, and our gift to you, to inspire you to create and enjoy.
5 non-alcoholic drinks to keep you hydrated this summer
Incorporating herbs and plants with skin benefits is one way to quench your body's thirst with additional benefits. Here, we prepared five straightforward drinks sans the alcohol or hard-to-acquire ingredients that will add sparkle to your happy hour or create space for incorporating tea rituals during the summer months.
DIY room sprays. A guide
Life these days seems to move a mile a minute, and so, scenting your atmosphere is an opportunity to steal a moment of self-care in order to centre ourselves and focus on what it is we are hoping to achieve. This is our guide to creating DIY room sprays, what you need and essential oil blends for various states. Mists should be sprayed all around an environment, your linen. Yourself. Shift the energy of your rooms, your mind.
Boom Boom Milk by Violette_FR
If you want to simplify your beauty routine, we might have a solution. Boom Boom Milk is the multi-functional milk spray of Violette_FR, the French brand now available locally through Mecca, and suitable for the face, body and hair. It is easy to use, freshens the complexion and is effective. Discover why.
Fresh salads now
Sometimes, rarely, the sun shows up here in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and on those warmer days, we are keen for fresh, bright food. As we are hopeful the weather will keep brightening, this month, we curated for you sunny days salad recipes (or simply for when you crave tons of fresh greens). Pick your fav between the buckwheat mushroom salad, pasta salad with pan-fried tempeh, taco salad, potato salad with or without lentils, falafel salad bowl, lentil and tempeh salad with tahini dressing or this gluten-free tabbouleh with yoghurt dressing. There is one for any taste. All are quick to make, take around 15 minutes to assemble, and are loaded with nutrients. You’ll also find tons of sides and dressing ideas to enjoy!
Amandine's edit
Two weeks ago, Trace and I went on a bus trip organised by Object Space to visit some of the buildings designed by architect Rewi Thompson, including the Otara Mall Fish canopy. Here, we visited the Fresh Gallery, which had Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho’s collection, Te Whare o Uenuku, on display. Illustrations, moving images and sculptures, Huriana’s artwork is an interpretation of their dream for takatāpuitanga, the queer community, a space of love, belonging, warmth and safety. Colourful, powerful and of substance, it is a show worth visiting. On display until the 20th of January 2024.
My colleague Deb shared this social housing project presented in the architectural magazine Detail. The apartment complex, designed by Catalan architects Peris + Toral, encompasses a total sustainable approach, responding to its climate context, with natural materials, low-tech solutions and simple design features, keeping the price per metre square low without compromising quality. The architectural response is a group of bright, open-plan, and modular apartments with communal courtyards, giving the inhabitants flexibility to appropriate the space easily and entertaining social activities. A cool reference to be inspired by here in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.
At the studio launch of Francie and Cecilia Fox, a woman was wearing the coolest (and most effective) earrings, Eat The Rich, designed by Māori artist Fluff, aka Azure Skyes Ellis. Afterwards, I browsed her Instagram page and immediately loved everything. Fluff creates all kinds of jewellery and (soon) clothing. Her work is vibrant, unapologetic and radical. It resonates and fits into daily activism—for me, to wear something that seems casual, like a t-shirt or earrings, but has a strong message, difficult to miss, and will spark, at least thoughts, at best, conversation and action. I got three pairs of earrings (some for the style, some for the message). It is also the occasion to support a local indigenous artist who designs and makes here in Aotearoa and was brave enough to speak up for herself facing creative robbery. Her cut-off date for Christmas gifts in Aotearoa, New Zealand, is the 19th of December.
Trace's edit
Jessica DeFino deeply understands the medium of beauty and its roles in expression and identity. A former contributor to The New York Times, Vogue and Vice, The Unpublishable—her Substack is what you would expect from an original, offering up unique perspectives, industry analysis and commentary of the beauty types that exist to promote ideas of inadequacy to sell more product. Each month, there are two issues of The Don’t Buy List; recent favourite reads include The Kids Cosmetic Market Is Not Right, The Legal Case Against Beauty Filters and When War Sells Serum. If any of that resonates, subscribe.
Much of my and Amandine's wardrobes—our home consists of second-hand finds, and we've shared our favourite websites before. However, this weekend, we went offline and participated in the Grey Lynn Car Boot Market, which is so popular now there is a spillover site. There is something very satisfying about re-homing your possessions—whether that is ceramics or diving equipment, knowing that other people will find a use for these items you no longer have. There is also something hugely satisfying in finding those items that have been on your wish list for so long. Regular readers will know that I have a public Etsy list where I have saved–mostly mid-century modern pieces for the home, some of what I already own and other items I'm most likely purchasing come Summer '24. Have a click around, and maybe you’ll avoid a trip to the mall.
The holidays are a time when we often reassess everything. Where we are and how we feel. What we want and do not want for ourselves. If you are feeling stuck or stressed, follow Elaine So, I have forever. Her Instagram posts are the kind of content we should all be consuming on the Internet—like this post on our relationship to freedom, providing a starting point for important self-communication. Private online sessions are available to book via her website.
Thoughts, questions, you can always direct reply to these emails.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Tracey Creed & Amandine Paniagua
