Good Music, Finally

I have to say that I am quite embarrassed that it has taken me 23 years to explore my music choices - and even then, it was only with force. I am as commercial as it comes. My playlists includes everything from Rihanna to Coldplay, Beyonce to Michael Jackson, and Kanye to Usher. I can listen to these artists on replay for the whole day, and I do. Which is fine, I suppose. But, there is so much other good music out there that deserves to be heard too. 

It wasn’t until my friends looked at my playlists and decided that it needed a change that I decided to take action. And I have to say, there is so much more music out there than what we think. A few months ago my friend told me to listen to Of Monsters and Men. The six piece band from Iceland are complete geniuses. The band work together beautifully, they harmonise wonderfully and execute their music perfectly. I am so excited that they’re playing in New York when I go in a few weeks. I will definitely review them on here. However, if the below is anything to go by, I am sure they will be amazing.

Food Porn Fridays

For whatever reason, the past few Fridays have been used as my attempt to make recipes from Nigella Lawson's new food series, Nigellissima. Which, is of course, awesome. But, I am of course, subjective when it come to Nigella. 

Her new series is pretty good though. If you've been to Italy or know of any one who ever went, you would have heard about the food. Yes, the food: the pasta, and ice-cream, and fish, and meats and wine, and and and ....I could go on and on. 

Even after going to Italy though for the first time last year, I didn't realise the sheer variety of pasta dishes there was and it's something Nigella is exploring. However, it's her desserts that have been interesting me and here are two that I've tried from her new series. 

This differs slightly from Nigella's creation here I went for an orange and chocolate ice-cream instead of the coffee flavoured one. It really does taste wonderful, and you don't even have to mix it every few hours. 

Her Nutella cheesecake was a complete beast. Each spoonful tasted like Ferrero Rocher in cheesecake form. And the problem with this take? It's so easy to make.

Because it is so rich, I suggest having it with some cream....just to mellow it out a little. Get the recipe here  

Best Beaches

Recently my friend sent me this picture from Cape Town, South Africa. It makes me remember how much I miss holidays, cocktails and more importantly, beaches. The past few years I've only really taken city breaks (Paris, Rome, New York, Berlin etc) and I definitely miss the beach life. Below are a list of my favourite beach holidays - with pics! 

Cape Town, South Africa 

Redang Beach Resort, Malaysia 

Koh Samui, Thailand. 

Lisbon, Portugal

Where I'd like to go, Male, Maldives

Engaging or Inspiring?

For a while brands have been talking about how one needs to build a relationship with their consumers rather than just push sales at them. I thought that this was great move for brands, it showed that they actually cared.

However, I read a tweet posted by Rishad Tobacowala of VivaKi, that read:

"Brands want to have a relationship with me but I barely have time to have relationships with my friends and family" #getreal
— Rishad Tobaccowala (@Rishadt) May 7, 2012

Which got me thinking, do we actually have a relationship with brands who do we just like what they stand for? Nike is one of my favourite brands. Their products represents sporting excellence; they associate with sporting heroes like Serena Williams, Roger Federer and LeBron James. When you wear Nike you don’t just wear clothes, you wear a brand that evokes determination and high achievement.

By associating with such sporting giants I think it makes the brand inspiring and makes fairly insignificant sporty people like me, feel inspired to go after something when we wear their clothes.

Do I necessarily have a relationship with the brand? If I compare it to how I have a relationship with my friends, then no, not really. I don’t sit down and think about it, talk about it, or wonder how it’s feeling. Am I inspired by Nike? Yes, but only for moments at a time. Which makes me more interested by what Mr. Tobacwala points out.

So is the message to brands then: "Inspire me, make a difference, stand for a hire purpose. But please, don't try and have a relationship with me because I'm not having one with you"?

This topic is further discussed by Martin Weigel's, Head of Planning at Wieden & Kennedy, presentation here