January: My favourite bits & pieces
These are my favourite purchases and experiences from January (I promise I’m not Patrick Bateman).
AirPod Max Starlight: ★★★★★
For the last 6 months or so I have only really been listening to music when I train, or when I’m commuting but these headphones have reignited my love for music. The sound, the feel, and the look have left me wanting to put these on and escape whenever I get a chance. The sound is the best default sound I’ve ever gotten out of a headphone and it’s drawn me away from my loud techno or metal moments and taken me back to softer sounds that I’d long forgotten. It feels like everything I listen to has been remastered even in songs I’m very familiar with I’m noticing different sounds I’ve never heard before in quality that makes me feel as though I’m sitting in the studio. I absolutely love their form and colour and I don’t think any other headphone comes even close to them aesthetically. Not only do these headphones look amazing but their stainless steel design makes them feel strong and weighty, the overall build quality feels a lot more premium than other headphones and I love that you can individually remove the ear cups. I didn’t think I would rate these as high as I have with such a premium price but I can safely say they have far surpassed my expectations.
Succession: ★★★★★
This show has been sitting on my watchlist for over a year which now I can safely say was a big mistake. Never did I ever think I would be so invested in something so dysfunctional, rooting for people that can only really be described as terrible and a business with more corruption than Fidel Castro, but I was. From start to finish it's like watching a slow-motion car crash, you can’t look away even though trust me there are plenty of times you really want to. The plot is great but this show is stolen by its characters, the design, the acting, the improvisation & depth of the whole cast is perfect. I’ve tried to recommend this show to almost everyone I talk to but I always find it hard to explain what makes it so good, so instead of trying on this I’m just going to recommend you go & watch this show for yourselves.
The Psychology of Money: ★★★★
I often find that life feels really fast-paced almost like it’s outrunning me and I’m trying to catch up, especially during the January rush but this book really slowed everything down. It doesn’t just help build strong financial habits but it makes you really reevaluate how you look at life itself. What I gained from this book was firstly that everyone is vastly different and that depending on our goals, values & background we will all see the world very differently. It taught me to analyze where I am now and where I want to be and then to build habits to get me there around variables like risk, luck & savings that adapt depending on which situation I’m in. This book also largely focused on the power of compounding, on the slow progression towards building wealth.
Goldfield & Banks Ingenious Ginger: ★★★★
I’ve found myself reaching for this fragrance almost every morning since it’s been so hot here in Brisbane and this may continue to be my daily fragrance well into February. To describe the smell, it’s refreshing but not soapy, I really hate most fresh fragrances but this is warmer almost like ginger beer on a hot summer day. The opening smells acidic & citrus you really smell the fragrance’s ginger and lemon notes but it’s not overpowering, and this slowly dries down to a more sweet vanilla, amber smell with some musk notes. I would highly recommend this for a daily summer fragrance as it’s subtle not too expensive and not too overpowering, the only reason this isn’t rated higher is because it slightly lacks in its performance and longevity.
As with the last post feel free to share your January favourites and recommendations, I would love to get around to trying them all.