right now..

I'm in bed with the new frankie magazine (two weeks early thanks to my currently-a-melbournite friend Rachel) and a peppermint tea in a country road mug. I'm a mug snob. I'm listening to the rain, and looking forward to my dinner date tomorrow night with my friend Olivia. I'm recovering from last night's sugar-induced coma, which came on after taking these cookies to book group (the one with books, not the one without). Last night was short stories. I adore short stories, but struggled to articulate what exactly I liked about my favourite collection - 'not her real name'  by Emily Perkins, apart from reiterating that I just love her writing! Miranda July's 'no one belongs here more than you' was popular and well received, and there was lots of talk about her very cute short film. After a couple of wines a certain attendee accidentally kissed her ex at the end of a text message. What ensued was deep analysis of why this wasn't ok, how they most definitely weren't on "end a text with an x" terms and whether we preferred our kisses capitalised or not. There's nothing worse than a texty-sign-off-kiss from someone inappropriate; I think the infamous "going down" column in sunday magazine said it best when it declared something along the lines of 'going down: overzealous x's at the end of text messages - stop kissing me!'

On Sunday morning I made a coconut and honey loaf with those confit oranges. I undercooked it (see it's kinda gooey under the oranges there?) then burnt it slightly in the recipient's oven, so I might give it another go and write about it properly at a later date. On Monday I attempted a Moroccan feast but failed slightly in that the lamb shanks really could have done with another couple of hours. So again, I'll spare you the details. They were still tender, and the fennel, olives, chickpeas and saffron made for a tasty meal anyway, but I dished up too  much couscous, the lamb didn't fall off the bone, and the fatal mistake? Overindulging on pre-dinner snacks. When will I learn?!  

The weekend is looming, and thank goodness for payday. My stockings have holes in the toes (friends of mine since third form will know this is nothing new) so I'm eager to invest in a new pair, even though they'll just be the cheapest the supermarket has on offer. New camera batteries are also on the cards, so expect some photographic goodness before Monday. Weekend goals include: making fresh pasta, not staying out 'til 5am, tidying my room, working off the two slices of tarte tatin I indulged in on Tuesday night (thanks to a flatmate who really really wanted to get his butterscotch sauce just perfect...), and purchasing the new Arcade Fire album - this song being my sister's current favourite. Actually, I'm going to do that right now. Night! x.