WHAT ARE WE LIVING AND LOVING FOR AT THE MOMENT? THE JONES & CO GIRLS SHARE THEIR INSIDE TIPS ON WHAT’S HOT AND NOT!
What is floating the boat of our creative director Jennifer Sampson this month?
What I’m eating:
Homemade jam. Blood oranges are in season so I’ve made a few batches of blood orange marmalade. I love it swirled through Jalna Greek yoghurt with Urban Beehive honey and toasted slivered almonds. Yum. My favourite jam recipe that I use is this one by Frank Camorra. I will say soaking any citrus for at least 24 hours before is a game-changer. My top tip: you never need to use as much sugar as the recipes say you do, so taste as you go.
We’re also devouring wood-fired pizza at home. Santo and Mary do a phenomenal at-home or event pizza service. We celebrated my mum’s 80th birthday this month in the Blue Mountains and even though we were limited to 20 people in NSW (thanks COVID!) we love having these guys at our family milestone parties! Fresh ingredients with crazy amazing blackened and air-ated crusts. They will travel, so if you live in NSW, hit ‘em up!
What I'm reading:
I just finished One Day by David Nicolls which is from a few years ago but I really like the way he writes and it’s an easy read. The reviews on this one online are a little polarizing but I recommend it if you enjoy Sally Rooney’s writing also. Don’t dive into the reviews too deep as there are many with plot spoilers. David Nicolls has quite a few novels to sink my teeth into now which I’m excited about.
My ten-year-old son is loving The Odd Ones Out by James Rallison who rose to fame on YouTube, he is ripping through it, any young fan of his channel won’t be disappointed with this endearing read.
What I'm buying:
Still linen everything. I really thought after last summer that I would be done with linen (or reach critical mass of 90% of my wardrobe consisting of it). But, alas I’m now buying matchy-matchy linen separates that make you feel like you are wearing PJ’s all day from here and here
What I'm watching:
A real contrast in style and substance this month with two much talked about series centering on 20-30 something women. Emily in Paris and Insecure. If you haven’t watched Emily in Paris yet, ah, don’t bother. Touted as the new Sex in the City from its creator Darren Star, the whole tired series feels like an extended 10 part version of the scene when Carrie treads in dog poo in Paris. A perfect looking Lily Collins is lovely but she has nothing to work with here, from dated storylines to fluffy dialogue full of cringeworthy hashtag references. Fizzle.
On the polar opposite is Insecure which I LOVED. Once you get through the first episode or two (which feel a little forced and pilot-y, quite removed from what the series becomes by season four) creator and lead Issa Rae stars as Issa Dee who is a flawed and utterly gorgeous LA local finding her way in the personal and professional, basically just figuring it out. It’s racy, warm and fresh. As the series evolves the characters deepen and you fall in love their own evolution and growth. Gorgeously shot in and around LA, the soundtrack is soulful and pure perfection thanks to music consultant Solange Knowles. I’d much rather Issa’s eye-poppingly cool LA wardrobe than Emily’s overly wrought Paris ensembles any day too.
What I'm listening to:
I’ve been listening to lots of home podcasts (nothing new there) like Home Truths from LivingEtc (fantastic English publication) and Design time from Domino (another trailblazing home mag). My favourites are interviews with two design juggernauts: Abigail Ahern on Home Truths and Kelly Wearstler on Design Time.
For any mum of sport-obsessed kids, a mum friend, also of all boys, turned me onto Against the Rules with Michael Lewis (writer of Moneyball, The Blindside and more). In this podcast, Michael interviews referees and coaches to explore fairness and inequality but it’s really about much more than only sports and has some great take aways about the life lessons kids learn playing team sports, especially in Ep 1, “Ref, you suck!“
