A little while ago, I signed up to received daily emails from The Good Trade. Ordinarily, I hate daily emails because I never get around to reading them, they’re always too long and they clog up my inbox so I just end up unsubscribing. Not so with this one. The Daily Good is short, sweet and points you to lots of lovely things you can come back to in your own time. It rounds up great things to watch, read, listen to, people to follow and places to shop. It isn’t always all of interest to me but there is always at least one thing I click through to learn more about and I’ve discovered some brilliant music, interesting campaigns, fascinating videos and great new stores. I love the 2-minute-read format of the email and also the diverse nature of their daily round ups. So much so that I felt inspired to start a little round up series here on the blog. At the end of each season, I’m going to share a handful of things I’ve been loving over the past few months. For this first edition, here are some things I discovered and loved over the summer.

Watch

My go-to watching at the moment is nothing new but I just love it. It’s feel good and funny and completely heartwarming. I’m talking, of course, about Queer Eye. The latest season was released some time ago now but instead of binging it I’ve been trying to stretch it out and make it last! I’ve been watching just one episode at a time (I know, look at me go with all my self control!) when I especially need a pick me up and a reminder that there is loveliness and fabulousness in the world. Perfect hoary programming!

Read

I always love a good thought-provoking article and this one over on The Cut got the cogs in my brain turning for sure. It looks at how fashion reinforces gender roles in society – the central premise being that because women are more likely to carry bags, there is an unspoken expectation that they will be prepared for, and therefore deal with, everyday ‘domestic’ scenarios, such as spills out in public.

Listen

Podcasts have become a daily feature in my life and are a staple for dog walks with our pup. One of my favourite recent discoveries is Breaking The Glass Slipper, which examines sci-fi, fantasy and horror writing through a feminist lens. The trio who host it and their guests explore tropes and break down the good, the bad, and the ugly in speculative fiction. A great listen for anyone who loves thinking about books in the genre or who is writing their own!

Shop

I talked about this shop quite a bit in my Sustainable Living post back at the beginning of August but I really do adore this shop so it had to have a mention here as well. Acala is a brilliant online store bursting with eco-friendly, natural, organic, vegan lifestyle and beauty products, all responsibly packaged. I’ve discovered some fantastic products on their site that have helped make my efforts towards more responsible, sustainable living and shopping habits much more achievable. I was also so thrilled to discover a UK based site as so often the ones I see recommended are based elsewhere in the world (and I feel like shipping in from a far off land doesn’t really fit with the attempt to be more sustainable!). Definitely worth a browse and some of you hard-earned pennies.

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That’s it for the first edition of Watch.Read.Listen.Love – hopefully there’s something new you feel inclined to try! Let me know in the comments what you’ve been loving at the moment.