Last month, when I documented my monthly favourites here for the first time, I didn't know if I would do it every month. Like today, last month's favourites also went up on a Friday. A Friday on which Shane and I were so tired and groggy that we decided to take a nap at 6 p.m, only to wake up at 9 a.m the next morning. That's when we found out that while we were "napping", you guys swarmed in and broke this website.
For reasons I will never know, my January favourites turned out to be one of the most popular posts on this blog.
But I was still not sure if I'd do a favourites post this month because things have been crazy busy here and I haven't even had the time to finish the book I've been reading.
However, by the beginning of this week, I had a list ready so let's get right into it.
TV Show - Backstrom
Shane watched the first episode of it on his own and wouldn't shut up about it. So I watched it once with him and wouldn't shut up about it. So The Bromance watched it once with us and now, he won't shut up about it either. It's a comedy series involving an ailing police officer who also happens to be an asshole. And when I say comedy, you should know that I'm talking about inappropriate humour that we tend to enjoy. This show is not for everyone but if you enjoyed, say, South Park, then think of this as a mellowed down version of it. That said, I must warn you that it gets kind of stagnant pretty soon because at the end of the day, it's almost like House but in a police setting instead of a hospital.
Youtube - Saturday Night Live
I used to watch them every now and then but this past month, both Shane and I (and Meenal) have been binge watching their episodes. I think it started with Melissa McCarthy's Sean Spicer Press Conference Sketch, which then led to her Barb Kellner sketch (that one gave me a Texan accent for weeks) and finally, did you watch Benedict Cumberbatch's sketch that went up yesterday? No?
SNL cracks me up all the time.
Movie - Talvar
In 2008, when the media reported 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar's murder, followed by branding it the "2008 Noida Double Murder Case", I was a 16-year-old single child who slept alone in a bedroom adjacent to my parents' and was aware that if I screamed out in the middle of the night, my parents would probably not hear me. I watched in horror as the case was handled with sheer negligence by the Delhi police, and how the media pranced on it to dissect a 14-year-old's "character".
When I watched Talvar, I could remember the details scene by scene. I could remember seeing the exterior of this famous Noida 2 bedroom apartment. I could remember the scene where Aarushi's body was carried away from her home. I could remember the interview Nupur Talwar gave with NDTV. I could remember the press conference in which a senior police officer kept getting her name wrong.
When I watched Pink the other day with Meenal, I felt that a movie with such a great message and potential had fallen into the wrong hands and had been overdramatized to fit the stereotypical Bollywood audience. There's no such nonsense in Talvar. Things have been meticulously documented in the movie and I'd say it's a must watch.
Podcast - 2 Dope Queens
Meenal introduced me to this podcast a few months ago and I started listening to it this month. And as of today, I have binged every single episode they ever released. Even Meenal hasn't been able to catch up. They have a very unique style and this podcast is unlike any other that you may have come across. Both Jessica Willams and Phoebe Robinson are comedians who host stand up comedies with the guests they invite on to their show. All the episodes are recorded live during performances before an audience. This is something you need to experience to understand what I'm talking about.
Hair care - It's a 10
Speaking of Jessica Williams and amazing hair, I've been using this miracle leave-in product for almost a year now and I'm very happy with it. As the name suggests, it does 10 things for your hair after you shampoo and condition it. So this can be your all-in-one serum, heat protection, detangler, frizz control spray, yadda yadda yadda. I've also noticed the added shine to my hair every time I use it. I swear by this product.
Face Mask - Don't Look at Me
A lot of you asked me about this face mask when you saw my Instagram story. I think the best way to describe this product would be by sharing the description the company already has - "packed zingy lemon juice to tone your complexion, Tunisian neroli to brighten and organic silken tofu to soften you up in all the right ways. A dash of rice syrup and grapefruit oil will have you coming back for more of my scrubby, softening skincare goodness"
Ever since I read about it on Natasha's blog last August, I've been meaning to get my hands on this product. I'm very happy with the results and what I especially like about Lush face masks is that they're handmade in the stores and you have to refrigerate them the way you'd preserve face masks that you make at home.
Coffee Mug - Valentine's Special
If you've read the Valentine's special post from last week, you might remember that Shane got me this mug for Valentine's. Exchanging corny mugs on Valentine's has become sort of a tradition here. But this mug comes with a plot twist. Check out that post to find out why.
But the reason I've included this in my favourites is that I've actually been using this mug a lot. Shane and I have a mug collection, sometimes from places we've visited and sometimes on a whim. But we mostly don't use them and tend to admire them from a distance. This mug, however, makes me feel like royalty every time I take a sip from it.
Snack - Anardana Goli
I honestly don't know how many of you will relate to this but from the time I was a child, I used to stock up on Anardana Golis (Pomegranate...balls?) which used to be a common (digestive?) snack that was readily available in Delhi. However, after moving to Trivandrum, for years, I couldn't find this favourite of mine. Around four years ago, it started making an appearance in local supermarkets in Trivandrum and my life got back on track. But after moving to the UK, things went south again because I couldn't find it here. So now, my parents send me shit tons of Anardana golis with each goodie bag they send twice a year. In fact, some just arrived last week. My life is complete again.
Recipe - Thai Green Curry
This is the recipe that Meenal followed when she made it for us while she was here. But of course, she avoided the chicken and made a veg version. We also didn't add potatoes or fish sauce in it. Our veggie ingredients were simply - onions, red peppers, green peppers, garlic, ginger, red chilies, mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots. We desperately wanted to add aubergines but couldn't find them at the time.
We also mixed in an extra ingredient - mango chutney. That's what does the trick. And we served it with coconut rice.
Ever since we made our version of Thai green curry, we've been craving it every now and then. In fact, we made it together once again before she left and we made it separately in Edinburgh and Prague after she left. It's our thaang now.
Community - Feminism India
I never got the chance to officially introduce you guys to our new initiative, Feminism India. On February 16, 2017, Meenal and I officially released the blog of our podcast and henceforth, it will be the website www.feminismindia.com
When we started the podcast in Septemeber of 2016, Meenal and I were the only contributors to our "blog" which was basically just a tiny section on the website where we wrote about issues that were relevant to us and our audience. Over time, we have been growing our community and we now have writers we recruited as well as some who showed interest in writing with us. Together, we are trying to build this community into a space where girls and boys, men and women, can get together to discuss, educate and empower.
Do follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter especially this week as we introduce you to our team.
Hope you enjoyed this month's favourites. Do let me know if you watch/listen/read/cook/try out anything from this list.
Happy weekend, everybody!
I'll be answering your questions for this month's Qna on Monday so be sure to send in any questions you might have to my email or DM me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter