Things That Help Me Be More Human.

Hello!

It's been a minute.

I'm not sure how it's the 1st of March already, 2020's been zesty so far!

I don't have an exact reason as to why I haven't posted anything in a while, I was thinking a few things like that this blog is a bit self-indulgent and like does it serve any purpose. But also I don't have any set agenda like and I suppose it's cool to throw my thoughts out there into the black hole that is the internet. So yeah, quite existential-related thoughts, but good things to think about and leave simmer away in my head!

So with that in mind, I've decided in this blog post I want to share things (music/books/food/people/etc) that help me be more human. This blend of stuff has really impacted me recently and they all motivate & inspire & encourage me in so many different ways.

I hope there's something here that you might like, and please do give me a shout if you have any recommendations for me! (You probs know the Insta and email at this stage lol)

Wooo here we go.

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Music & Podcasts

"Heard It In A Past Life" - Maggie Rogers: I'm going through a Maggie Rogers phase in my life at the moment. Do I want to be her, do I want to marry her, or do I want to be her friend? Yes to all of the above. You know those albums that you listen to and you're instantly transported back to a certain time in your life? Yeah, this album will always bring me back to this time in my life atm. Absolutely stunning. My favourite songs are "Say It", "On + Off", and "Fallingwater", but the whole album is brilliant, it plays gorgeously from start to finish, no need to skip anything.

"Without Fear" - Dermot Kennedy: This album will always bring me back to like December 2019/January 2020. He has such a way of writing, painting these images, expressing these emotions that you can just feel as soon as you listen to the album. Again, I'm not sure if I want to be him, marry him, or just be his friend. I can't really say much more, I think his art speaks for itself. Listen to his stuff and you'll understand straight away. My favourite songs are "All My Friends", "Rome", and "Redemption", and everything else. So stunning.

Recent faves:

- "Boyfriend" - Mabel

- "To Die For" - Sam Smith

- "This Is The Place" - Tom Grennan

- "Physical" - Dua Lipa

- "New Me" - Ella Eyre

- "Birthday" - Anne-Marie

- "Time" - Jack Garratt

I'm Grand Mam: I honestly don't even know where to start, like if you're from Cork and you haven't listened to this podcast yet, what're you doing with your life hun? This is going to sound so cliché but like you're wetting yourself laughing one second and then the next second you're bawling crying, and that's while you're listening to every episode! Don't get me wrong, I love those nutrition podcasts and the fitness podcasts etc, but tbh I'm Grand Mam is the only podcast I actually keep up to date with hahaha, it's too good to miss any episode! PJ & Kevin I love ye, please don't ever stop what ye're doing cos I'm obsessed.

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Drinks

Clever Dripper (and filter coffee en général): She's gone pure notions and got a Clever Dripper, it's a way to brew coffee and it's so gorg. It's really easy to use as well, but the only thing I wasn't mad about was that you have to use a single-use paper filter to brew coffee in it (we're tryin to be as zero-waste as possibly, hunny), but I found compostable coffee filters in Twig in Clonakilty, I haven't tried them yet but I love them already haha! And I got the Clever Dripper in O'Neill's in Skibbereen, I actually want to live there, absolute gem of a place! And West Cork Coffee beans of course, delish.

Tea Pigs ginger tea: I love this tea for so many different reasons. I'm actually a big fan of herbal tea, I love mint tea the most I think. Sometimes I'm not feelin a coffee, the caffeine doesn't make me jittery but sometimes it makes my brain a bit funny hahaha, so in those cases I love some tea. These tea bags are compostable and the packaging is recyclable so it's a gorg zero-waste moment, and this tea always makes me feel good, nice and zesty.

Coffee: My recent go-to coffee order has been a cortado with oat milk, I just think it's so stunning. I had no pictures of it, so this pic is an oat milk flat white from Pink Moon! Again, if you're from Cork and you haven't been to Pink Moon yet, what're you doing with your life? Absolutely delish coffee and food and the atmosphere is always amazing because of everyone there.

But yeah a cortado has been my vibe lately, I just think there's something cool about it.

Also, one of my favourite things to do is be in a café by myself and completely zone out, like either reading or looking out the window etc, I just find it helps me get out of my head and I'm really chilled out afterwards.

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Watch / Look @

Galleries & Museums: There's something so cool about strolling around an art gallery, you can kind of leave your life behind and just experience whatever's there, the art, textures, colours, shapes, it all blends into a nearly out-of-body experience, or is it just me? The Crawford Art Gallery and The Glucksman are my faves. There's so much involved in art, like the installations, the themes, all the people involved, etc, I just think it's a fascinating world that once your toe is dipped in at all, then you fall more and more in love with it.

Keith Haring: I've always been interested in Keith Haring, but it wasn't until last year that I really threw myself into his work and discovered a real appreciation for him as an artist and as a person. He was an American street artist, lived in New York for most of his life, and he died when he was only 31. There are so many things I want to say about him and his work, last semester I had a semiotics module and I actually wrote an essay on Haring (haven't gotten the essay back yet, but it was actually so good, even though I say so myself hahaha), he managed to create so much joy in his short life, and he inspires me endlessly.

Bon Appétit: Their YouTube channel, the people, just everything about Bon Appétit, I'm obsessed! I've done a few 'Which Bon Appétit Chef Are You?' quizzes and I always seemed to get Brad, Amiel, or Alex (Delany) which I'm 10000% happy with. I'm not a brilliant cook by any means, but I've definitely picked up load of tips from all the different chefs and their approaches to food and cooking, ugh I just love them all. Without a doubt my favourite YouTube videos so far have been when Claire made Ben&Jerry's and when they all did latte art.

Also, Andy, if you're reading this, I want to marry you. Thank you. That is all.

And, I actually died when I saw this pic of Andy with some Keith Haring in the background. I couldn't cope. I died. Also, I messaged him on Instagram once and he replied, like he knows that I exist so we're basically married now, that's how it works yeah?

Recently watched:

- Brokeback Mountain

- Derry Girls

- God's Own Country

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Books & Notebooks

"What I Know For Sure" - Oprah Winfrey: My mom got me this book for my birthday and it was actually a gorgeous read. A bit cringey sometimes cos she keeps repeating "What I know for sure..." in every chapter, like c'mon Oprah gurl we get it. But to be fair I was really inspired when I was reading it, she's so knowledgeable and wise, it's definitely a book that I'll re-read again and again.

Crotch Magazine: This magazine is so stunning. I got the 2nd issue of it, I think they're just after publishing a 3rd issue. It's just so beautifully done, they explore so much, like masculinity / femininity / what it means to live / sexuality etc, and François if you're reading this (lol) I love you.

"To Shake The Sleeping Self" - Jedidiah Jenkins: I got this book for Christmas and oh my god it's just brilliant. It's a true story of Jenkins cycling from Oregon to Patagonia to find himself and just get out of his routine and comfort zone, and it's just so eye-opening and beautifully written. I'd love to do something like it sometime, but I don't know if I'd have the courage to do it. Definitely read this even just to escape from your own world for a bit, it really is such a gorgeous book.

Badly Made Books: This post really is full of the best bits of Cork, isn't it? Again, if you're from Cork and you haven't been to Seán's shop in town, then like what've you up to, hun? I really can't explain how stunning it all is, it's its own form of art. You can't really get it until you like actually hold a notebook or diary in your hand, the paper just feels so gorgeous, how he does it is actual magic.

Will I ever have enough Badly Made Books, I don't think so. I have a notebook for workouts & exercise stuff, one for coffee (thank you, WCC!), one for learning Turkish, and one to plan out stuff for Erasmus woooo!

And my best friend must've read my mind and got me a 2020 diary which is the only reason I'm mentally and physically on track this year haha.

Honestly you just have to see for yourself the absolute magic of everything BMB-related.

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People

Okay so I don't know these people in real life, but I follow them on Instagram and they all inspire me in different ways, I'd really recommend checking them out, or at least stalking their profile for a while lol.

Lauren Singer - Queen of zero waste, so creative and informative, and proves that being more zero waste is so accessible, you just have to be prepared and plan ahead.

Lucy Biggers - Producer, host, and all round brilliant human. She radiates joy and her appreciation for life in general is just infectious. Lucy is friends with Lauren Singer and I actually die whenever they're together, I wanna join that girl group ahaha.

Rob Greenfield - Incredibly informative fella, he did an interview with Lauren Singer in her shop (click here for the link) and he's just so interesting, his approach to life is really cool, and he makes you question things that you've always taken for granted.

Nathaniel Drew - He has a brilliant YouTube channel where he ponders life and is in search of mental clarity. Incredibly inspiring person and how he approaches his work / art / life is just fascinating and he puts himself across in a really cool way.

Dave Coast - Hi Dave I know you have a gorg boyfriend and dog, can you please adopt me please and thank you. Literally half of the camera roll on my phone is Dave's Insta or blog ahaha, either a cool recipe, something workout-related, or else just cos he's absolute goals. He's basically the human I want to be, that's literally all I can say. I'm obsessed.

Jedidiah Jenkins - Author of "To Shake The Sleeping Self", he's just such a fascinating character. He has a really balanced approach to life and everything he says is beautifully put together. He's the type of guy you want to go camping with and talk about the meaning of life while looking at the stars.

Kevin Carnell - Insanely inspiring human, he's got such a cool attitude to life, self-love, self-acceptance, and so much more. He's so open and not afraid to be himself, I'm definitely trying to take a leaf out of his book.

Marie S'Infiltre - Oh my god I'm literally just after finding this woman's YouTube channel and I have actually never laughed so much in my life. Her videos are in French (so it's good for your French!) and oh my god she's just absolutely crackers. She's mad like. I hope I'll bump into her when I'll be in France ahahaha, what a legend.

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Okay I think we're done! If you're still reading this I think you should get an award or something, because I'm barely reading this at this stage ahahaha. Let me know if there's something in this blog post that you like or if you've found something new! And if not, then sorry, sure look c'est la vie huh.

Okay I'm actually gonna shut up now. Thank you, lovely person, for reading this and I hope you have a gorg week / month / year.

Love ya,

Darragh

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