Or might just hope for the best. The past week has proved that Manchester’s a good a place as any to live in the hope of sun. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to get my travel bag ready (it’s so pretty when it’s sun-kissed).
Good good afternoon folks. Don’t worry, not going to go on about ice-cream again even though it is another perfect day for some. What is it like 6 consecutive days of beautiful sun-blessed Manchester skies now? However many, they’ve been doing the soul good.
In Grafea news, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve started phasing out some of the plastic packaging and replacing it with a more environmentally responsible degradable version. This is really important to us. We’re also working on reducing the amount of packaging we use while still making sure our bags are delivered in pristine condition. We’re working on it, making Grafea greener, friendlier. We’re really working on it.
More breaking news…Harry is super-excited about the new camera bag. New camera bag folks! It’s a looker too. I’m sure John-John is psyched about it too, but men, you know? It’s a no name beauty at the moment. Here’s a sneak preview.
Oh and in case anyone’s wondering what we’re listening to in Warehouse 17, will gladly share. Because I love to share. Today’s playlist has been dominated by James Vincent McMorrow, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, The Civil Wars (again), Fleet Foxes (again!). And still very, very much addicted to The Head and the Heart.
Will leave you with a song from “Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm.” Love it like I do?
Get some sun, walk barefoot*, dream big.
Take good care, Mira
*Be careful where you step. Make sure you’re up-to-date with your tetanus shot etc.
I’m all sun-baked brain cake this afternoon. Are you, Manchester? It’s been so nice seeing everyone out and enjoying the micro-Summer we’re having. This weekend was glorious. I’m almost blissfully content. Almost. It’s a chore just stringing a few words into a coherent sentence. You know that feeling? When the sun’s massaging your brain with Vitamin D goodness and the day is hugging you with its warmth and you might as well be asleep on some faraway sandy beach and…It’s almost been perfect bliss. Miss the sea. Sun and sea together would be perfect.
Speaking about almost perfect, the last episode of Fringe was total validation. Peter IS home. Olivia is his Olivia. Walter is ours. Astrid is ours. Remember when I said that plus sun equals minus coherence for me today? Well Fringe is vertiginous enough without me attempting to deconstruct this episode with what (little) brainpower is left to recruit. So, not going there. Happy is all.
Hey y’all, hope you’re doing good. I feel love today. Yes, that’s me being so SO predictable and easily manipulated by the elements. But sun and sky are working for me this Friday afternoon. It’s sunny and beautiful and warm and lovely outside. Are you feeling it Manchester? Had to actually dig up my sunglasses. Big smile, contented sigh. John-John even promised to buy me ice-cream. What am I, five? No, but I’m still ridiculously happy at the prospect.So yeah, it’s good good right now.
In other news, the Queen is here. For real. Her majesty is gracing Manchester with her royal presence today. And Manchester is gracing her with some first rate weather.
Moving on to things loved right this minute.
One.
John-John. He came back with ice-cream. So it’s all love rainbows and shooting stars for him for the next five minutes. Give or take two.
Two.
The last episode of New Girl titled Fancyman Part 1. Actually caught myself laughing out loud for most of the episode and consequently laughed my way into a crush on Nick (played by Jake Johnson). It was his bonding moment with the duck/hunting epiphany that did it. Public side note to Holler–starting to get why you said I’m a dead ringer for Jess. Have caught myself curtsying hello on more than one occasion. Awkward but true.
Three.
The wine bucket barrel bag. Yes, I know it’s a Grafea bag and so this sounds like a total plug, but what’s a girl to do. Actually really loving it. Definitely, carrying one this weekend. It’s feeling the moment. Plus it goes perfect with blue skies and dreaming of Tuscan vineyards. Or just a lazy Saturday amble round the Northern Quarter.
Leaving you with more from The Head and the Heart. I still love them.
Have a wonderful weekend people of Manchester and beyond!
Serotonin sunshine love,
Mira
Ps. As always, feel free to drop me a line: mira@grafea.co.uk
It may sound like I’m just throwing it out there, this meaningless question out into the ether, but I want to know. The 11 of you who read this blog, how’re y’all doin?
Hope you’re well, wherever you find yourselves today. What are y’all listening to at the moment? Me, I’m currently in love with The Civil Wars. Barton Hollow is a sweet, at times bittersweet, haunting, mellow album. Already lost count of how many times I’ve listened to their song Poison & Wine today.
Speaking of love. I’m loving, LOVING, The Head and the Heart. Don’t know much about them, except that they’re a group from Seattle and so wish they were crossing the pond in the near future. Unfortunately, for me, for us Islanders, doesn’t look like they’re going to be anywhere near Manchester, anytime soon. Maybe it’s just a good excuse to head back across the pond myself, catch them in Austin. Think I’m about 5 minutes from convincing Harry to come with me. Think she’d love it. Plus she could sell some bags. Hello Grafea Stateside. Not sure about John-John though. Don’t get me wrong. We love Johnny. We do.
But maybe just leave the musical odyssey this time to the girls.
Anyway, want to share my afternoon playlist. Pretty much forcing it on Harry and John-John, nothing new there.
Some songs are better than others…
‘Apartment’ Young the Giant- Young the Giant
‘Bright Lights’ EP- Gary Clark Jr.
‘Burgundy Shoes’ Children Running Through- Patty Griffin
‘Colours’ Grouplove- EP- Grouplove
‘Cough Syrup’ Young the Giant- Young the Giant
‘Down By the Water’ (Live) We All Raise Our Voices to the Air (Live 04.11-08.11)- The Decemberists
‘Down In the Valley’ The Head and the Heart- The Head and the Heart
‘Falling’ Barton Hollow (Deluxe Version)- The Civil Wars
‘Ghost’ Single- Gregory and The Hawk
‘He Doesn’t Know Why’ Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
‘Heaven Go Easy On Me’ The Head and the Heart- The Head and the Heart
‘Home’ Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture 09- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
‘Janglin’ Up from Below (Bonus Track Version)- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
‘Little Talks’ Single- Of Monsters and Men
‘Lost In My Mind’ The Head and the Heart- The Head and the Heart
‘Lego House’ + (Deluxe Version)- Ed Sheeran
‘Poison & Wine’ Barton Hollow- The Civil Wars
‘Rogue Machine’ The Daylights- The Daylights
‘Set Fire to the Rain’ 21- ADELE
‘Texas Rain’ Just Another Ghost- Sleeperstar
‘To Whom It May Concern’ Barton Hollow (Deluxe Version)- The Civil Wars
‘Tongue Tied’- Never Trust a Happy Song- Grouplove
‘Things Are Changin’ (Live) [Solo Acoustic] The Bright Lights- EP- Gary Clark Jr.
‘We Both Go Down Together’ (Live) We All Raise Our Voices to the Air (Live 04.11-08.11)- The Decemberists
‘When My Train Pulls In’ (Live) [Solo Acoustic] The Bright Lights- EP- Gary Clark Jr.
‘White Winter Hymnal’ Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
‘Winter Song’ The Head and the Heart- The Head and the Heart
‘20 Years’ Barton Hollow (Deluxe Version)- The Civil Wars
‘40 Day Dream’ Here Comes- EP- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
‘Pastel Coloured Sea’ Digital Northerner, Vol.3- Kait DeVoy
I’m leaving you with Grown Ocean from Fleet Foxes because it’s beautiful and has me dreaming of seas and blue skies and cloud ships and has me hoping…
What are you listening to? Who should I be listening to?
Talk to me,
Mira
mira@grafea.co.uk (making sure you know where to find me)
Hey everyone, very pleased to report that we’ve had two consecutive blue sky days here in Manchester. Right now it’s a sunny 12.7C/55F. Spring is inching forward. So happy. And so’s everybody else. People have started smiling more. Randomly, at each other. It’s crazy. We all missed serotonin.
Harry and John-John are busy working; responsible adults that they are. Really admire their industrious, can-do spirit. It’s great and so good for me to be around. Me on the other hand, here writing you, listening to Andrew Belle’s The Daylight (basically on repeat) and daydreaming about travelling.
So onto gushing about things loved este momento.
1) Covers. Bell X1’s version of Justin Timberlake’s Like I Love You/Slow. Greg Laswell’s cover of Kate Bush This Woman’s Work and Placebo’s take on her song Running up that hill. Last but definitely not least, Eva Cassidy with Fields of Gold. Those are at the top of my head. Don’t know if I ‘love’ Natalie Walker’s cover of Colorblind (Counting Crows). It’s definitely a like.
2) Trailers. I love watching movie trailers. On more than one occasion a film has actually ruined a trailer for me. True. Don’t know what that says about me, and yes you can keep it to yourself if you have an opinion. Kidding. Please, share.
3) Paul Giamatti in Win Win. Win Win itself. The trailer was great and the movie was actually as good if not better than the trailer. Check it out for yourselves:
That’s it for now. Enjoy the rest of your blue sky day Manchester. And the rest of you, enjoy what you got. Oh and Harry says she agrees that Andrew Belle is a good find. I say genius. She say’s, yeah he’s good.
Hey you, hope you’ve had a good week. If you haven’t, well then hope the weekend shows you some mercy. Here in Manchester it’s about 9°C/48 °F (England, not New Hampshire or elsewhere); the weather is presently overcast, had some showers earlier and expecting more apparently. Not a huge surprise. Incidentally Patty Griffin is singing Rain on my last.fm library radio, now that’s just good timing.
But how great was yesterday? I was in Rotherham, “Hello South Yorkshire.” But heard it was equally beautiful here yesterday afternoon. Made me hold on to the hope of a sundress, flipflops, shades and pink lemonade. As the weather turned, of course it did, it reminded me of a poem I’d come across in the Tube by Lavinia Greenlaw called Sisu… To persevere in hope of summer/ To adapt to its broken promise/ To love winter/ To sleep/ To love winter/ To adapt to his broken promise/ To persevere in hope of summer. Beautiful. And so true. Especially if you live on this island. Island living, it’s the money.
So it’s Friday and I get to talk about things I love right now and maybe forever*, but forever is a long time. Although, I do have to clarify that I’m with the Greeks on this, you need more than one word for love. The operative definition I’m using for love is a verb that captures, but is not limited to the following shades of meaning: to heart, to enjoy, to really dig, to be enthused about.
Speaking of love…
1) I love LOVE Gary Clark Jr. Three days ago I did not even know this. I was clueless. No longer in the dark, it’s all Bright Lights and things he doesn’t owe me.
2) This A Wear bird print dress from Asos . It’s out of stock now but if I’d just clapped eyes on it sooner… It’s totally the hoot.
3) Korean food. A friend of mine made a fresh batch of kimchi this week and I want. For me, Korean food is the ultimate comfort food: kimbap, bibimbap, bulgogi, galbi, chapchae…yummy. Thankfully there’s more than one place in Manchester to get the good stuff. That’s if a certain friend is too busy finishing off her architecture degree to cook for you. Seoul Kimchi anyone? (275 Upper Brook Street, Manchester M13 0HR)
There’s more love where that came from. But for now, moderation. Thank you Aristotle.
Have a safe, safe weekend. Mira
*It’s possible that I will love The National forever. It was love at first listen, heard them live in Zilker Park at Austin City Limits and never looked back.
Good afternoon people. Hope y’all are keeping well and good. It’s about 9 ºC/48.2 ºF here in Manchester, with flashes of sunshine breaking through the grim, grim gray and Young the Giant making everything better in Warehouse 17. Elsewhere people are looking forward to pancakes for tea.
Speaking of looking forward to things. Any Fringe fans out there, I mean out there, but here with us…? Here with me. Harry and John-John are not into the whole Fringeverse. Fringe had me hooked from the get go, but our Olivia and our Walter mean little to nothing to them. Could probably bait them by suggesting Peter Bishop could do with saving the universes sporting a camera bag. Although really thinking about it, I’d like to see Walter step out of his lab carrying a Railway briefcase. One girl’s opinion.
Anyway, season 4, slow burner right? Welcome to Westfield really turned it around for me. A Better Human Being made my job drop and I’m really looking forward to The End of All Things. No, really. This Olivia, might actually be OUR Olivia and Walter, Walter could be our Walter, and Peter could’ve been home all along…running around with a camera bag. And Astrid! Astrid makes everything better.
That’s it for right this minute. Those of you indulging in pancakes tonight, enjoy them responsibly (this is England and yes, Health & Safety is a BIG deal here).
Knock yourselves out.
Mira
Just Curious. How disturbed should I be that I have Pumped up kicks on loop?
mira@grafea.co.uk
Hello World. Mira here (my hobbit name, long story/short name). I’ve been let loose inside Grafea HQ! Which means access to bags…gorgeous leather bags… the computer & all the music I can listen to. Best job, EVER.
It’s a pretty chilled Friday afternoon in Warehouse 17. Outside these walls, Manchester’s keeping in character, overcast with spitting rain. But inside…ambient lighting, the sounds of WCOD-FM 106.1, and the smell of vegetable-tanned leather is the business.
We’re introducing Three Things We Love Right Now. Is it a little scary, throwing ourselves out there? For now, putting myself out there? My likes and loves on the line for everyone (all 8 of you) to potentially scrutinize, despise and jeer at? Not to mention ending perfectly dubious sentences with prepositions. Sure it is. Still going to do it though.
One.
I love the buzzed driving public service announcement brought to me by the US Department of Transportation, etc. “Really? No, really.” YES, REALLY.
Buzzed driving IS drunk driving people. It’s Friday, so if you ‘have a little too much’ later tonight, take a cab, bus, train, whatever. Let somebody else drive.
Two.
I love swivel-chairing to Maroon 5’s Moves like Jagger. If you could look into my eyes, you’d be able to see it’s true right now. Have to admit, Harry and John-John aren’t on board with me on this one. They’re not loving it. My moves aren’t winning them over either.
Three.
Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It’s been out for some time, but only just getting round to reading it now. Love it so far.
That’s it for right this moment. Going to leave you with Jason Mraz’s I Won’t Give Up. Kinda heart it too, but shhh, only allowed three things. So have a safe weekend people. Gotta get back to work
