I'm Charlotte, a New Zealand native who writes exactly as she speaks. I'm a writer who loves desserts, and gaming and has a passion for fashion and food. My aim with this newsletter is to provide you with a light-hearted and enjoyable read, where you might even discover something new to watch, read, or enjoy.
Kia ora everyone,
I have to be honest, this newsletter almost didn’t happen AGAIN this week.
All I’ve been able to think about is the atrocities happening in Palestine over the last 2ish months. I felt stupid writing this newsletter knowing there is an ethnic cleansing going on and innocent people are being killed. Edit* a ceasefire is beginning today. Better late than never.
There are some truly horrific things happening in that part of the world right now and I didn’t want to seem insensitive as I’ve been thinking about these events a lot lately. There is no justification for what is happening, and it’s wrong.
If you, like me, need some gentle distractions amongst the reading/news/media storm, then check out my watch-listen-read-list and take a moment to relax and recoup.
I have just finished learning all about ‘Blue Zones’ - I know I’m late to the party on this one, but my list of ‘shit I need to watch’ is getting out of hand on Netflix. But if you haven’t heard of Blue Zones before they’re places on earth where people tend to live longer, healthy lives and quite literally have more centenarians (people who live to 100) than other places. There’s a doco about these pockets of people and their communities on Netflix called ‘Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones’. Highly recommend.
Off the back of this, the algorithms worked their magic and I started reading more about Blue Zone beauty. It’s exactly what you think it is.
I enjoyed reading this piece all about female business founders, leadership and the challenges that come along with this ~~ there is one particular quote from the article that was fantastic to read.
‘Women are more successful when they can be themselves.’
I’ve been writing for myself more at the moment, it’s probably because there’s so much on my mind and I need to release it. Anyway, if you’re feeling like you need to jot a bunch of stuff down to help clear your brain, some journal prompts are a great way to just start!
I’ve started reading Flex Mami’s ‘The Success Experiment’ and so far it’s pretty insightful, although it is one of those books where you need to kinda listen to the whole thing, and then go back and do the work. Right now, I’m just listening as my end-of-year brain can’t carry out the work bit right now.
It’s also November (almost December omg), which means I have this month’s playlist here (the fact that you folks give it a ‘like’ makes me soooo happy, so thank you!).
I’ve been enjoying the newish album by Aussie Troye Sivan, Something To Give Each Other. It’s super cute, and chill, but also makes me want to groove around my home office with headphones on in between desk breaks. My three fave tracks are ‘Rush’ — ‘Got Me Started’ — and ‘Honey’.
He’s so cute I can’t stand it, and how evocative is that album cover!!!!
Also, I’m listening to Ghost Story - a podcast by journalist Tristan Redman where he dives right into his wife’s secret family history… which involves a visiting ghost of a woman with no face.
I hope you’re doing okay, as it’s all a bit bleak right now. Always here to chat via email or social media if you need to release some energy!
__Charlotte xx