Highly Enthused is a newsletter, once a podcast, concerning all the best things to consume in life. It’s written twice per month by Sophie McComas-Williams and Sophie Roberts, and today’s dispatch is written by SoMo! The majority of each newsletter is free, but there are five extra recs in each for paid subscribers. That’s often where the gold nuggets lie, you really don’t want to miss the suede bag in this edition. Thanks for being here!
Hello, I’m writing this from the window of a pub in Paddington. It’s cold outside but I have a spritz in my hand and was able to sit here for two whole hours, alone, and get through my to-do list, which lately has slowly been eating me alive; chewing chunks off my body and spitting them to the curb. I’m excited for the items in this newsletter because they are things I’ve had on my *need* list for a while, and I’ve finally ticked them off! A bag that fits my laptop and subtly channels The Row (for only $200 omg), the cardigan that finally went on sale, the mirrors that until now, were only available in NYC. There are also noodles, naturally. Fabulous times!
My sweet sister bought me tickets to Gracie Abrams for my birthday and it was SUCH A JOY to go to a gig where I could scream all the words to 90% of the songs into an arena while clutching my sister’s arm, not caring that my age eclipsed the median by about 15 years. We drove to Olympic Park without a pre-booked parking space (rookies) and so parked in the next suburb over, Lidcombe, with a view to grab some quick dinner before joining the throng of ribboned tweens. We lined up at Yeo Dong Sik (thanks to Nikki for the rec), a tiny Korean restaurant on the main street, but it moved pretty quick and soon we were sat down with crispy cans of Cass, a whole bunch of pickled and fermented banchan and the most delicious buckwheat noodles showered in nori and sesame seeds, gleaming with fragrant parilla oil. An absolute delight. Don’t sleep on the jeon (pancake) either, ours was filled with bright green garlic chives and juicy little nubbins of prawn. A definite option if you’re heading to the stadium for an event but want to eat something wonderful beforehand, or if you just feel like a noodle adventure to Lidcome.
I held out on an Apple TV subscription for so long, but finally caved recently to watch The Studio, created by (and starring), Seth Rogan. Seth plays the newly minted and deeply insecure head of Hollywood’s Continental Studios and proceeds to spiral once he’s promoted, leaving a wake of destruction behind everything he attempts to “handle”. It’s stressful in the same way as The Bear, you’ll find yourself screaming at the TV for him to JUST STOP!!! The pace is relentless. But it’s so funny, there are so, so many star cameos, the costuming is to die for and it’s just really funny. Let me know what you think if you’ve watched it! Here’s the trailer:
I’ve had Marle’s Cait Cardigan on my Carted list for like… two winters now and finally caved when the app alerted to me that it was on sale at The Iconic. Finally!!!! It’s as dreamy as I imagined, so soft and cozy in mohair, the best bold buttons, balloon sleeves… it’s a dream. I get compliments every time I wear it. An investment, yes, but a smart one. It comes in four colours!
I’ve found the most delicious mirrors; a luxury-looking bag for only $200; pepper that’ll change the way you view pepper; the present I’m buying all five-year-olds and a wine for lovers of spring in Italy. Which is all of us. Read on for the links: