Shit I'm loving lately №3

a fortnightly round-up of what to watch, read, eat, listen to, and get absolutely obsessed with this week - curated by yours truly

ANDREW GARFIELD ON CHICKEN SHOP DATE. Aaand I could quite happily leave my fortnightly round-up there tbh, but I have 60+ followers now (👋!!) and standards to uphold so, soldiering on…

I’ve once again submitted to a total (and embarrassingly enduring) guilty pleasure of mine. Yes, I’m talking about the relationship scammer genre. While many women love a good crime drama or rom-com, I am obsessed (I repeat, OBSESSED!) with romance scams. I positively gobbled up the Sweet Bobby podcast by tortoise media and adored Dirty John—both the podcast and the Netflix show (which is one of my favourite series ever; not just the storyline but AMANDA 👏🏻PEET’S 👏🏻 WARDROBE 👏🏻)—and this week, I raced through a brand new contender: FAKE. The best part is that I started it knowing little more than that it was about a female journalist (another favourite topic of mine and played perfectly by Australia’s Asher Keddie), but when it became clear that we were very much dealing with scammer territory, I was IN. Hook, line, and sinker. I simply didn’t expect it to be this good, but, dear reader, it was. It was SO good. I raced through the entire 8 episodes in two days.

Also, Heartstopper is back for season three, baby, and with it returns my belief in love. This show is so disgustingly sweet you need a gastric band fitted afterwards, but in terms of comfort television that makes you feel like a warm, cosy, cinnamon bun, it’s 10/10. I also have an embarrassing crush on Kit Connor (I know he might look 12 in some lights but he’s 20, ladies. And may I also introduce you to THIS if you haven’t seen it already).

We’re also gonna give The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix a go as our new eating-dinner-watch—is it any good, anyone?

Best article I read this week? Easy. Alanna Duffield’s homage to curtains; the 90s hairstyle popularised by Leonardo DiCaprio, Nick Carter, and David Beckham (aka everyone’s favourite nostalgic crushes). With a blend of humour and sarcasm that spoke to my soul, Alanna brilliantly explores the cultural impact of what she calls, and I quote, 'the greatest hairstyle white men ever achieved.' No truer words have ever been uttered. This was the post I didn’t know I needed until I read it.

I also finished Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (mama, does this mean I made it on Substack!?) and loved it. Not as much as Normal People or Conversations, I will admit, but a gorgeous story all the same. And, god, have I missed her writing—beautiful in a way that only Sally Rooney can achieve. I sincerely hope she decides to lift her TV ban because I think it would make a brilliant mini series.

And obviously Paul Mescal’s interview with GQ (and, even more enthusiastically, the pictures accompanying it which I saw someone on X describe as ANTM-coded and just yes). 

One Direction bandmates share memories of Liam Payne on The Cut. I harbour no shame in the fact that I woke up, saw this news (broken unceremoniously to me on Spotify by a podcast titled Liam Payne’s Life, Death, and Controversy), and cried my eyes out. I’m six months pregnant and hormonal as hell, but I also grew up in love with One Direction and found Liam’s death so heartbreakingly avoidable and tragic. It’s a reminder of how fleeting life is and how, no matter the fame or success, the human experience is fragile and often riddled with struggles we may never fully understand. May he rest in peace.

Liz Gilbert on Marie Forleo’s podcast felt like 75 minutes of nourishing soul food. What I found most fascinating was Liz talking about how there is no sociological measurement data in which married women with children outperform single women. But for men, it’s the exact opposite. I’ll drop the quote in verbatim because just ugh: 

“The actual facts are that women who do not have children and are not married, live longer than women who are married with children. They earn more money, they are healthier, they are less likely to die of suicide, [...] less likely to be victims of homicide, less likely to die in car accidents, less likely to suffer from alcoholism and drug addiction, less likely to report themselves depressed and anxious, and are more sexually satisfied than women who are married with children. There's not a single way that you can measure success and well-being on any cultural or sociological scale in which single, unmarried, childless women do not outperform women who are married with children. And the opposite is true of men, [...] married men outperform single men.” 

And if that doesn’t say everything we need to know about the power of womanhood (and, thereby, the overall detrimental effect of the entire male species), then I don’t know what does. Men, quite frankly, do not deserve us. 

Next up, I have always unashamedly loved James Blunt (Back to Bedlam was the soundtrack to my childhood summers) and his recent appearance on The High Performance Podcast was down-to-earth, self-deprecating, and genuinely funny. A remarkably likeable guy, despite the public hatred.

Also Megan Fox on Call Her Daddy because I have so much respect and time for women that have clearly done SO MUCH mental and spiritual work on themselves, and Megan is that woman. I found her heartwarmingly open and honest about her experiences, and so sure of herself that it was easy to overlook the slightly more “woo” aspects of her character. I’ve never particularly liked or disliked her, but this made me really warm to her—especially when she happily ran through the surgery she’s had done which is still abhorrently rare in media, but refreshing to hear.

Pretty much any and every picture or GIF I see of Nicholas Alexander Chavez on X (thank you, algorithm), but especially this one, this one, this one, and this one.

I’m obsessed with getting my home to smell like The Ivy lately, and these Airwick Spring Rose home fragrances are hitting the spot.

These heatless hair curlers make me feel like Angelina fucking Jolie at 7:30 in the morning. Worth every penny and super comfy to sleep in.

Saoirse Ronan in these photos because she is giving multiplatinum face card.

This incredibly poignant distinction between bed rotting and bed marinating:

The fact that Justin Bieber is likely releasing new music soon.

And Nicola Coughlan for this ELITE energy:

• 📚 Good Material by Dolly Alderton

• 📚 House of Beckham by Tom Bower

• 📽️ Sweet Bobby on Netflix (obviously)

• 📽️ Disclaimer on Apple TV

• 🎙️ Mel Robbins on The High Performance Podcast