“Passport to Europe” with Samantha Brown:

Many, many, many years ago, the Travel Channel was a bastion of culture. You could watch programs about nice hotels and learn insider tips about Disney World. You’d go off on gastronomic excursions all over the place and eat testicles with that Zimmern fellow. My favorite shows, though, were always the ones hosted by Samantha Brown. I loved watching her bop around Europe with her sassy bobbed haircut and aristocratic attitude. She wasn’t really overly pompous, but she carried herself in a way that amused and inspired me endlessly. Admittedly, she is surely one of the reasons that I have such a passion for luxurious travel. I suppose I might enjoy Best Westerns if I hadn’t been spoiled by the knowledge of a better world. Now I can settle for nothing less than a Hilton. I was going through my iTunes library last night, cleaning up that behemoth, and I came across a few episodes of Passport to Europe that I had purchased back in high school. I had to laugh at the poor quality. That was back in the days before high-definition. How did we make it? I watched the two episodes about the south of France and all of these memories came flooding back. I was suddenly in my living room years and years ago decorating the Christmas tree, and the episode about Monaco and Èze came on. I stood transfixed as Samantha wondered through the little village on top of the hill. I had to go. I immediately marked it down in my guidebook — remember those? — and was delighted by how close it was to my grandmother’s old village.

A couple years later when I made my first trip to Europe, I made it to Èze, and it was every bit as wonderful as I had dreamed it would be. I can’t wait to go back again. Watching those episodes was such a treat.

“Can’t Deny My Love” by Brandon Flowers:

After last week’s tragic news about Zayn leaving One Direction, I have been looking for new music to listen to until I’m emotionally prepared to return to the boys. Don’t worry, I’m better now, reader, so don’t you fret. Thank you for your concern. There were a few difficult days, but I’m more 1DAF than ever. In fact, I’m looking into getting a necklace with that phrase embossed upon it. Very chic way to be in a fandom, I think. It’ll be a good conversation starter at the concerts I attend this summer in San Francisco and Chicago. Good riddance, Zayn. I have HARRY, so, everything is just fine. So, I was on Spotify looking for something new to listen to and whilst perusing the new releases, I came across this single by Brandon Flowers. It attracted me at once and I have had it stuck in my cranium ever since. The song is damn catchy and he has the best name. Wouldn’t it be delightful to have Flowers as your last name? I’d marry him just for the name.

Omm Sety:

As you well know, an Egyptological fervor runs through my veins and will until I draw my last breath. I have always felt a connection to that ancient land and to the culture. It has always made sense to me, and in my more meditative moods, I wonder if perhaps I had a few past lives in Khem (the ancient Egyptian word for Egypt)? A few days ago, I found a reference to a woman named Omm Sety. Omm is the Arabic word for mother, and I was curious about any modern person who would have a child named Sety. He was one of the most powerful kings in Egyptian history. I found a book about her on Amazon and I quickly tore through the pages. It was an utterly delicious narrative. Her birth name was Dorothy Eady and she was born in the early twentieth century in England. In her youth, she fell down the stairs and everybody thought she was dead. She wasn’t, but afterwards she was a strange child. When her family took a casual trip to the British Museum — that marvelous place I love so much — Dorothy immediately latched onto the Egyptian galleries and her lifelong obsession was uncovered. At once she realized that this is the land that she had once called home and she would talk about the things she did and what her life was like thousands of years ago. Of course everybody thought that she was insane because of her claims of reincarnation. People who are strange always have that vulgar claim made about them. Growing up, she made frequent trips to the museum and befriended Wallis Budge, of all people! He was a famous philologist that I have always admired and been amused by. His translations of hieroglyphic text is rarely accurate. When she was old enough she went off to Egypt and worked for many years in the vicinity of Cairo honing her skills. She had the wonderful chance to meet and know the leading excavators of her time. Then, later on, she transferred down to Abydos, a much less prominent site, but where she wanted to be all her life. She spent the rest of her life in the temple of Seti I, restoring it, recording it, and worshipping there. For, Omm Sety believed herself to be a reincarnated temple priestess and lover of the man whose name the temple bore. Many find it nonsense, but she wasn’t bothered. Finally she died of old age and was buried in an unmarked grave on the outskirts of town. An ignoble end, but that’s not important. She had such a remarkable life! I am obsessed with her and there should be a motion picture biography made at once. Listen to me, HOLLYWOOD, you steal all my other ideas! *cough cough the age of Adeline cough cough* I would love to have met her, but alas, that was never meant to be.

Hair Product In Long Hair:

cheekbones 4 dayz…yasssssss

Y’all, I made a rather stunning discovery this week. It’s going to come as a shock, but I have not been loving my long hair. I fell into the same rut I was in all those years ago when I was in high school. It gets to a point where I just don’t know what to do with it. Now, I don’t rightly understand why, but I have always been reluctant to put any kinds of product in my hair at this length. When it’s short, I’ll gladly put a pound of delightful substances on, so this is a bit odd. I finally have enough hair for a small, but decent bun, and I have rarely been happier. I grew this hair out from an undercut, so the lengths are a bit weird and pieces fall out all over the place. This is infuriating! So, I watched a bunch of hair tutorials the other night (when I really should have been working on my college courses, but I’m procrastinating something fierce lately) and I learned a lot. Eagerly, I dug out my old hair products and found some clay pomade. This did the trick, reader. My hair stayed together and didn’t appear too unkempt. The manbun is a look that inspires both love and derision, but IDGAF! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I love my bun. My life is changed for the better. I’m going to go shopping on Amazon for some new products. I hear Beyoncé uses some Moroccan oil treatment, and if it’s good enough for her…

Avocado Egg Salad:

I heard about mixing avocados and egg salad many moons ago. I was distressed. How could this be something happening in a world I live in? I never cared much for those oddly green fruits, you see. They have a greasy feel and they don’t taste like much and I found them to be unpalatable. For some reason, though, there was an avocado on my counter and because I try to be open minded with fruits and vegetables, I decided to give it a go. Originally I planned to use it in a baked egg dish, but I was having severe egg salad cravings, so I found a recipe by that woman who lives in the middle of the prairie and her husband has no emotions and she has all those kids and horses. She has a show on the Food Network, but I’ve never seen more than a half minute’s worth of it. Everybody but Ina on that channel is a disaster. I was suspicious as I scooped out the soft flesh of the avocado, but after I mashed it into the eggs and seasoned it, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it wasn’t disgusting. In fact, it was rather good. The recipe still called for mayonnaise, so I’m not entirely sure what the advantage of an avocado in the mix is — perhaps just to eat an avocado? — but it wasn’t bad. I’m not sure I’ll switch exclusively to avocado egg salad, but it’s a nice change from the ordinary. Here’s the recipe: mash 4 hardboiled eggs, 1 avocado, 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar, add salt and pepper to taste. Not bad.