A menu exhibition, a literary game, and a lesson from turtles

This week I'm sharing 5 fun things that I hope will brighten your day and maybe even inspire you. Enjoy!

📚 On my (virtual) reading pile at the moment is David Gauntlett's new book, Creativity: Seven Keys to Unlock Your Creative Self. I first came across David's work as a digital media student and I now teach some of his ideas about creativity and 'learning by doing' in my work as an academic. So far I'm enjoying the mix of theory as well as practical insights and activities. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.

🛏️ Lately I've been embracing the little luxury of the breakfast tray. No, breakfast in bed doesn't require a special occasion or someone else to make it for you. I've taken to getting up and making a mess-free breakfast (obviously, I don't want crumbs in the bed) with a cup or pot of tea and going back to bed to enjoy it with an audiobook. It's been a lovely, relaxing start to the day. And possibly the reason I'm 4 books ahead of schedule on my goodreads reading challenge.

🕵️‍♀️ Speaking of tea, the poisoned tea cup is probably my favourite tile in our new game, Agatha Christie Bingo. While I'm fairly new to bingo in general, I'm looking forward to trying the advanced version for serious Christie lovers. I'm also currently watching Lucy Worsley's show about Agatha Christie (and I've bought the book).

🍽️ On a slightly different note, if you're looking for some retro inspiration for your next dinner party (and you're in Adelaide), you might like to check out the Sweet and Savoury exhibition of menus at the State Library of South Australia. While not everything was to my taste (brains sandwich, anyone?), it was interesting to see the changing food fashions and gather some ideas to try. It seems after-dinner 'Cheese and Greens' may soon be featuring on menus in the Bevilacqua household.

🐢 Lastly, if (like me) you've had a less than leisurely start to the year, it might be a good idea to find what I'm calling turtle time. Yesterday, after a busy day at work, I went for a walk to the local nature reserve, which has a lake with some turtles. What I noticed was how chill all the turtles seemed. They were just floating around, gently swimming or lying on a log in the sun. It reminded me that I need to make more time for relaxing activities or sometimes just lying around. Here's to more turtle time next week!

Thanks for reading 😊 If you'd like to keep reading pieces like this, please subscribe. Each week I share subscriber-only content, and you can choose the subscription level that suits you. Otherwise, you can read occasional posts as a guest.