Currently

I'm sorry that posts are so erratic at the moment. Work has really limited my free time but yesterday was my last session for the exam season, so I'm hoping things will get back to normal now. Well, once I've fully recovered from the small people germies that is. In the meantime, here's a bit of a general ramble about what's been keeping me entertained and catching my eye.

Watching...Wallander. I watched the English version with Kenneth Brannagh first and was so taken with it, I had to watch all of the Swedish series too. I have two more episodes from Season 2 left to watch and I suspect I'm going to have to read some of the Henning Mankell books once I've finished. I have surprised myself by picking up quite a variety of Swedish words with all my recent viewing. I do have a habit of homing in on the swear words for some reason...

Buying...clothes. Clothes shopping is most definitely NOT my favourite pastime but I need to find an outfit for a baptism I'll be attending this weekend. I managed to find lots of lovely Lazy Lu cardigans and tops on sale which will be great for updating my wardrobe generally, but I still need to find a pair of smart trousers. I anticipate I will be tearing my hair out over trousers by tomorrow evening!

Pondering...what makeup to take with me for my weekend away. I feel fairly certain taupe will be involved but I've yet to decide which one.

Source

Lusting after...these beautiful gunmetal high tops from Ash. I blame Kat from Does my bum look 40 in this? for this current obsession. I live in my Converse trainers and these look so comfy. It's probably a good job they're sold out everywhere, as I'd be coming up with excuses to wear them in church for the baptism.

Celebrating...the fact that I've stuck to the Couch to 5k running programme and I'm about start the 9th (and final) week. Not feeling well has prevented me going out for the last couple of days but I've been regularly going out and jogging for 25+ minutes for the last few weeks. Although I still don't feel like a natural at running, I do get a real buzz from completing each session.

Looking forward to...the end of the month and therefore reaching the end of my eyeshadow and nail polish no-buy. I've toyed with the idea of extending my ban, as it has helped curb my spending but I honestly don't think I can face it. You can look forward to splurges on Burberry and Chantecaille in the near future.

Products I'm loving...Zelens skincare, NARS Pure Radiant tinted moisturiser and Sephora Waterproof Jumbo Liner pencil in taupe. I'm poised to review the Zelens products* but I'm not sure if I'll get opportunity to write it before the weekend. I've been using the Radiance Cleanser, 3t Complex Face Cream and Triple Action Eye Cream and they all get a big thumbs up on texture and results. The NARS tinted moisturiser and Sephora pencil were surprise gifts from a very kind friend and I've been using both constantly since they arrived last week. The Sephora pencil in particular is a wonder. Waterproof taupe that you can use on its own or as a base? Genius!

What have you been up to recently?

* PR Samples

Recommended Viewing: The Bridge

I discovered Scandinavian crime drama, The Bridge on BBC Four, just as the last episode was airing and summarily spent last Saturday night and all of Sunday watching the series on iPlayer. It only has a couple of days left on iPlayer, so if you think it might enjoy it, get to it!

I don't really watch much on television these days. Twitter has drawn me into a few of the reality TV programmes, but on the whole I like to watch well made drama and not much else. I rather like that BBC Four provides access to excellent European drama as homegrown drama seems a bit thin on the ground. Anyway, with that sly dig over and done with, let's talk about The Bridge.

The Bridge is a Scandinavian made detective series and opens with the discovery of a dead body in the middle of the Oresund bridge which connects Sweden and Denmark. It's the first in the series of murders committed by a perp seemingly intent on raising social and political awareness. The investigation unites Swedish detective Saga Noren and Danish Martin Rohde, and for me it's the excellent character development and awkward friendship that develops between the two detectives that was a engaging as the plot itself.

In the early episodes, there are several of sub-plots which run alongside the main thread. I wasn't sure whether these would eventually be connected to the main plot or simply run as parallel stories in a similar way to French series Spiral/Engrenages. I have to admit that I was pleased when they were neatly tied to the main plot over the course of the ten episodes, as I generally find sub-plots tedious.

Another aspect of this series that I found interesting was the introduction of a character with quite obvious Asperger's traits. I realise this isn't necessarily new and there were many hints that Lisbeth Salander from the Millenium Trilogy similarly had Asperger's Syndrome, but Lisbeth Salander was a really hard character to warm to. I found Saga Noren much more endearing. Predictably, her lack of social mores were used as good excuse to add a bit of 'the sex'!

I really enjoyed The Bridge and would heartily recommend it. I won't say much about the ending other than to say that it was gripping and had the sort of tempered happy ending that I approve of. I think that if you enjoy crime dramas, excellent production and don't object to sub-titles, this is a must-see.

Image credit: BBC website