Well January and February have already been and gone. I missed January favourites (that was not a stellar month for me – let’s just say a bad flu knocked me about) and it’s time to sneak these in.

TV : Netflix has been busy on my electronic devices. I’ve just binged on Love, a Netflix original about two LA 30 somethings swinging through life and love with all of their personality quirks, a high level of social awkwardness and addictions. Created by Judd Apatow, Lesley Arfin and Paul Rust, it mines similar territory to Master Of None, but with less social commentary and laughs. It’s a little more prickly and twisted. Mickey (Gillian Jacobs) is the wild child with a potty mouth and Gus (Paul Rust, also co creator) is the geeky, nice guy. The will they won’t they get together storyline plays out slowly and makes for rambling, slightly uncomfortable viewing. Things amp up late in the piece and it sharpens, goes deeper and gets better – until the ending which was a bit of a disappointment I must say. It’s returning for a 12 episode second season though so I’m keen to see what direction it takes, and whether we will get under their skins a little deeper. I think this has the potential to be a love or loathe it series, judging from friends’ reactions, although the majority of reviews are favourable.

Film : A friend and I wanted to see what all of the Amy Schumer fuss was about. So we thought we’d start with Trainwreck.  Since childhood Amy’s Dad has drilled the monogamy is not realistic message. Now she’s a writer at a cool magazine and enjoyably shagging her way through New York. This has become a bit of a pattern for Amy, she’s in a rut, with a possible drinking problem. Then she  interviews a sports doctor who is a great, nice guy but now what? Is commitment possible? I have to say that my favourite part was seeing Tilda Swinton play Amy’s cold, hard boss. She’s barely recognisable from her usual androgynous style, sporting a spray tan and flicked, blonde hair. “It’s a lot of makeup and a kind of tandoori tan and a wig, and that’s all it takes”, Swinton said about her reworked look in the movie.  Schumer is highly likeable and the film has great energy at the beginning but it starts to drag an hour in. Trainwreck leaves you with the impression that this is one hell of a patchy film, yet amongst the comical moments there lies a loveable heart. Editing required.

I also saw the movie Everest about a climbing expedition to the mountain in 1996 that resulted in a number of deaths when a full blown storm hit. I was drawn to the story as it features a New Zealand climber, Rob Hall (played by Jason Clarke) and I remember the coverage on the news bulletins from that time. Jon Krakauer, an adventurer and writer (he also wrote Into The Wild) was on this climb and has written a book called Into Thin Air detailing his experiences. He doesn’t rate the film, calling it “total bull”. However while not a masterpiece by any means it was reasonably solid and not overly sentimental. As a NZ’er the highlight I have to say was listening to Emily Watson and Keira Knightley attempt to master Kiwi accents. They certainly laid it on ‘thuck’.

Books : Reading has not been at the top of the list this month. I did finish Just Kids by Patti Smith though and it was an emotional read. I loved this book. The tales, the beautiful bond between her and Robert was intense and raw. Plus she’s a great writer. Really keen to read M Train now too.

Music : Listened to a lot of Bowie this month and OD’d on all of the amazing images of his various personnas and soaked up all of the tales that have been told. I bought Blackstar and love the last two tracks. The perfect DIY obituary album.

Fashion : My best purchase was at the Thursday market at Villeneuve in the Alps – a second-hand sheepskin jacket with a detachable hood. The real deal for a great price and it was brilliant in the snow – very cosy.

Perfume : Well I have only been able to smell again recently. I really enjoyed the Jul et Mad trio of scents (Garuda, Néa and Nin-Shar) that came out last year. They have great sillage and you need that in the snow. I’d get lovely whiffs on the slopes when I nestled into my ski scarf. My opinions on the scents have changed as I’ve got to know them better. And they actually work really differently in the cold. Néa, which had been a bit much for me lately (although it was my favourite originally) worked brilliantly in the cold weather. It dialled down some of the stiletto sweetness and was really gorgeous. It was like having a sweet pick me up energy wise. Garuda by Luca Maffei that I didn’t warm to originally, I now feel I understand it, we’re warming up. It does lean more masculine and it’s definitely oudy but it fortified me in the snow, it was my vin chaud. Nin-Shar is my current favourite and yes it’s another take on rose and oud, in an already crowded field. It has a gorgeous powdered, dusted with icing sugar feel.

Travel : I made it to the Hautes – Alpes region in France to get to the snow. It was beautiful and the villages were gorgeous. The kids adore skiing so it’s their big holiday of the year and they had a ball. They have no fear – the slopes are a giant race track for them. They hoon down the red and black pistes while I leisurely stick to the blues.

I hope you found some exhilaration / joy / gratitude / peace or whatever rocks your boat  this month. I’m off to Rome this week with an old friend from my school days. It’s the first time there for both of us and we’re beyond excited. I’ll post a few photos.

Let me know if you came across anything interesting last month. Have a great March.

Images : All by Megan In Sainte Maxime except : Love – collider.com : Trainwreck – youtube : Tilda Swinton – inverse.com : Everest – independent.co.uk : David Bowie – spin.com