Hello, dears!

Back again with the mixed recommendations of the week.

First, music. I know you are expecting some Coldplay spam, since they had the awesome concerts for launching the album this week and they also released a new video, so who am I to disappoint you in such a cruel manner and not provide you with the goodies?

Such a beautiful vibe. Their faces! ❤

Such a delicate song, maybe their most beautiful video yet:

I am starting to feel like a DJ on a day off, but I was so happy to see that a musician who got me through some really tough times is now Grammy nominated and more people get to see how purely awesome she is…I have to share her performance. It is outstanding, I think:

Changing the topic a little bit, the featured photo´s credit goes to Mia Charro, a Spanish illustrator who describes herself as in love with magic. And you can see that, her illustrations are pure art, I simply adore her work. This Christmas series was, by far, the best EVER:

And this lovely dog was my screensaver for a while:

My drawing talent is abysmal, but I do love following gifted artists, so I´ll share my favourite ones whenever possible.

For instance, I just received my order today from _aeppol, with a calendar and the Forest Girl´s Diary and it was love at first sight (and touch, they´re soooo soft):

Other random things to check out:

• Finland forests are truly something else (I have the feeling I shared this before, but I am sure you won´t mind 🙂 ).
• A research on the Inferences about homeowners’ sociability: Impact of Christmas decorations and other cues – by decorating for Christmas, people can use their home’s exterior to communicate attachment and possibly to integrate themselves into a neighborhood’s social activities.
• Some Brené Brown wisdom, this time in Vogue. She wrote about how she dealt with online cruelty and the main idea is, as always, owning your story. Own it and love yourself. Simple, right? 🙂
• An older piece of news, but so very important: German Circus uses Holograms instead of real animals. In Western Europe, 12 countries have a national ban on wild animals in circuses and 11 have partial, species-specific injunctions (As per data I found online). Four European countries have only municipality-level bans and two have none of all. Worldwide, approx. 40 countries have banned the practice (either partially or fully). My opinion is that wild animals should live in the wild and if that is not possible, they should be loved and protected and cared for. They are not cared for in a circus. I hope this horrible form of animal abuse gets banned forever and ever.
• Volunteering helps our brains. Not quite a surprise, is it?
• What would a city designed by women be like? Barcelona shows a glimpse on the answer, with topics such as toilets and traffic and sexual abuse prevention.
• For us literary tourism fans, Rio de Janeiro holds some valuable secrets
• Why mushroom picking is a mindfulness heaven

For all of you feeling a bit under the weather, or sad, or not enough, or just not yourself, I give you this little mixed collection of pick-me-ups (don´t read more into them than what they are, some Instagram posts. If you need real help, please ask for it):

Well, I did put the mixed in the mixed recommendations this week. Some weeks are like this and I am embracing the current situation just as it is.

Be good!

C.