October Edit
For the first three quarters of this month, I was in Vietnam, and then Thailand. Negotiating tuk-tuks, wrapping sarongs around my head, sinking teeth into foreign fruit, hiking jungles in bare feet, sketching street signs from tiny bars, lying lazily below crappy fans.
It’s difficult to edit this month – it wasn’t what I read, wore, watched, ate or followed that defined my experiences. It was colours and sound and feelings and laughter. It was what made my eyes wide, my feet sore, my mouth tingle, and everything I scribbled down in a water-spotted journal because I was afraid to forget.
Still, in the afternoons spent on blue couches, the mornings too hot to wake up, the nights curled up in the still-warm sand – the spaces between moments, the hours that are difficult to remember – this is what made October.
The Steady Running of the Hour – A thrilling read, following Tristan Campbell in his race across Europe to prove he’s related to a great-grandmother he never knew, in order to claim an 80 year old fortune. Though seemingly your average thriller/action/mystery plot, the book deepeens as it becomes split between World War I and present day, and begins to unearth probing questions about life, love, searching and experiences. By the end, you’ll be crying, confused, and thoroughly unhappy. Read it anyway.
The Simple Pleasures of Life – I came across a thin hardcover version of this book in an op shop and picked it up for a dollar. Delving into the pages on beaches in Vietnam, I became obsessed, underlining passages and scribbling in the gaps between paragraphs. A collection of – simply – the small pleasures of life, it’s soft words make you want to smell fresh bread and look at the sky and simply be.
Robert Frost – I skimmed through several copies of Robert Frost poems while I was away, in the hope reading poetry might become more of a habit. I can’t say it worked, but the pages look slightly more worn, and there’s pen marks spread across the copies, so I suppose it wasn’t completely futile.
The Wednesday Zine – The creation of our very own journalist, Emily Blake, The Wednesday Zine is an arts and literary publication empowering women through creative expression. They donate 75% of the proceeds to the Malala Fund, and apart from selling incredible issues, have a blog filled with eloquent, concise articles that will fuel every political, feminist bone in your body.
Pure Nowhere – An online music and arts platform, Pure Nowhere covers concerts, bands and artists nearly every week (!!), with the dreamiest interviews and photo galleries. You’ll see a lot more of their work in the coming months, as Sea Foaming and Pure Nowhere form a collaborative partnership!
Teen Eye Magazine – An online quarterly publication created entirely by teens. In three years it’s gathered 850 000 views. 850 000. This is curated by 16 year olds. If you hadn’t already guessed – it’s fucking good.
Philaprint Zine – One of my absoulute favourite blogs right now. Every post is thought-provoking and educating – literally just. quality. content.
Being a Phase – An extraordinarily written piece exploring the concept of ‘being a phase’ in relationships. Was aching at the end of this – the best reaction to art possible.
Pond Mag – A fav of mine; music, art and culture, in a no-shit format.
Why are Adult Women Infatuated with Teenage Girls? – This article literally changed my life. It’s a look into the phenomenon of youth fetishisation, which I have only just woken up to. Can’t recommend enough.
A Stretching Summer – A beautiful short story exploring youth with clarity and rawness.
Aqua-Marine, Halcyon Girls – The second issue of the Halcyon Girls mag!! Read for a look into the aquamarine crystal and the ocean.
saltsandandsmoothies.com – A mix of spirituality and plant-based recipes. My favourite of hers: the post that has me thinking money with a lot less guilt.
foreverconcious.com – In my quest to learn as much as possible about spirituality, I’m discovering new websites and resources, and this is my favourite so far.
Sarongs – Possible uses: towel, pants, scarf, shawl, sun protector, dress, head covering, bandage, rope, shirt, beach mat, wall decoration, bed sheet, cape …. I could go on. Needless to say, there was one packed in my bag at ALL TIMES.
Big earrings – No makeup, unbrushed hair, bather top out for dinner, but BIG EARRINGS. The only accessory you’ll ever need on holiday (and back home). Left my favourite pair in a taxi, but still have a few pairs of Acyd Puffs that I use on rotation.
High waisted pants – Quite literally, all I packed for Thailand were throw-on tops and high waisted pants. Light, baggy, flowy, and easy to throw on. If we’re being honest here, they’re all I wear at home, too.
Red fishnet tights – Yes. Yes, you heard correctly. Though originally for Halloween (costume idea: dress as a sunburn), I can say with complete confidence that throwing these on will boost your mood. Without a doubt. (Bonus points for pairing with an oversized shirt and loud music).
Back to basics – Living out of a suitcase for a month teaches you a lot about what you wear, what you don’t, and what you actually need (which is actually pretty much none of it). I didn’t touch a third of the clothes I packed, simply because it was so much easier to stick to a rotation of comfortable, loose, sturdy pieces I loved. Applying this concept to my wardrobe isn’t going to be quite as easy (everyone else owns 20+ t-shirts they never wear but can’t possibly get rid of, right?) but it’s worth a try.
Berkinstocks – Found a pair for $20 in Vietnam, and wear them everywhere. Pair with socks for the most ridiculous look you can imagine (that somehow makes you feel a hundred times more empowered??)
No shoes – Despite my gushings over a pair of shoes, for a solid week in the middle of my trip, I didn’t touch a pair of shoes. Days spent hiking, swimming, and walking all over a car-less island meant at the end of each day my feet were ridiculously gnarly, covered in cuts and blisters and bruises and all manner of colours, but it felt so free.
Rice – Ordered with every meal.
Satay Sticks – Literally order these just for the peanut sauce.
Fish – fried fish, steamed fish, grilled fish, whole fish, fish chunks, fish in tomato sauce, fish in coconut curry … the sheer amount of fish printed on plastic menus in any restaurant you went to was irresistable. And yep, it was all good.
Mango Smoothies – Real smoothies, made fresh in front of you. For a dollar. I ate 34 mango smoothies in 25 days. I haven’t had one since I got home. I don’t really know what to do with myself.
Rambutan – Okay, to find the name of this fruit I had to google weird red spiky asian fruit. But it’s okay – Google had my back. These were EVERYWHERE in Thailand and Vietnam. We’d find them in the local markets, and I would walk home with a purple plastic bag crammed with fruit swinging from my arms. Then that night, litter the bed with red shells until my mouth was stiff from sweet stickiness. Where can I get these in Australia??
@sea_foaming – oooooh self promooo.
@littlesunlady – best summed up as weird and unfiltered and stick-in-your-head photography.
@teeneyemag – the aforementioned Teen Eye Magazine, in bite-sized format.
@terrajo – current favourite model. She recently shaved her head, and posted an incredible explanation to her instagram about taking back her freedom, sexuality, and sense of self. Inspires me endlessly.
@andrea.lux – collage inspo baby
@romilyalice – neon bender and artist! ‘SHE BENDS – WOMEN IN NEON’ is the slogan emblazoned on a recent post. Are you not clicking follow yet? No? Now?
@aylinderya_ – the perfect mix of flowers on subways, smoky portraits, and street snaps.
@andrewknives – psychedelic, twisted graphics and gifs to fill your soul.
Check out the new MIXTAPE section of the blog for new mixtapes from our curators, Emma and Isabel, every two weeks!!
Looking too closely – Fink
What you need – BAYNK, NIKA
Go Fuck Yourself – Two Feet
Mr Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra
Kathleen – Catfish and the Bottlemen
Not Nineteen Forever – The Courteneers
Milo – Folk, Metaphysics
The Breach – Dustin Tebbutt
Anyway – The Burbs
Flame Trees – Sarah Blasko
Sao Paulo, Vincent Mango
Dance, Baby! – boy pablo
Journalling – This one’s been in the back of my mind since February, when I stopped journalling. I finally picked up a book and pen right before my flight, and journalled non-stop the entire time I was away. The release it provided me during travelling was exactly what I needed. I remember things visually, through words and photos, and writing down everything flitting across my mind was cathartic.
Essential Oils – Keep on hand for all different uses. Tea-tree’s my favourite to calm and clear my mind, peppermint grounds me, lavendar soothes me.
Heat Packs – No better way to get in the mood for sleep then heating up a heat pack (ps u can make your own!!)
Candles – I’ll never not buy a tinned vanilla candle. Do I have too many? Yes. Am I going to stop?Uh, no.
Spirituality – Learning more about spirituality is something I’ve been working on for months now. It’s a long, personal journey, that’s being further developed with the opening of the ‘Soul‘ category on the blog. But everything from understanding my Birth Natal chart, to teaching myself New Moon Rituals, to picking up a pack of tarot cards – they’re all tiny steps to introduce myself to this huge world, and hopefully it’ll begin to spill over into Sea Foaming.
Clover Letter – A daily dose of news, pop-culture and teen art, delivered straight to your Inbox every morning. Yes, really. Sign up here.
Insight Timer – A Meditation App that connects you with hundreds of teachers, filters podcasts by time and type, and generally makes you feel like you have the world at your fingertips. The, uh, meditation world.
Relay For Life – Spending the night camping out on an oval, falling asleep in a ditch, dancing with green slushies in hand, cheering on random strangers, watching people shave their head, repeatedly cleaning up a ball pit, crying for strangers … get involved in local fundraising events!! Lotsa fun!!!
Del Kathryn Barton – An artist who’s inspiring me a lot recently. There’s an exhibiton of her work coming up at the NGV, which I couldn’t be more excited about! Hmu if you’re in Melbourne, yeah?