My Favorite Things

My Favorite Things...Right Now
/  April 2020

Trolls World Tour Oreos

I was (and still am) a little obsessed with the first Trolls movie, released in 2016.  I have been eagerly counting down the days until the release of the sequel, Trolls World Tour.  The marketing team on this film has done a brilliant job - there are Trolls promotions everywhere you turn.  There are promotional cereals and Go-GURT Trolls packaging, limited edition Trolls Fruit Snacks and Pillsbury Ready to Bake Cookies.  There was a Trolls-themed cake challenge on this week's episode of Spring Baking Championship on Food Network (the Tiny Diamond cake topper was both sad and hilarious - see below).  Even Ru Paul's Drag Race alumni took to the runway in lewks inspired by Trolls characters in an ad to promote the film's release.

But the limited edition Trolls Oreos are definitely my favourites.  There are two kinds: The Princess Poppy Oreos, with pink-coloured creme and glitter between golden wafer cookies and the Tiny Diamond Oreos, with green creme, glitter and popping candy between the regular chocolate cookies.  The Tiny Diamond version has 2 different designs: a record, a cassette tape while the Princess Poppy version has headphones and a ukulele; both versions have "Music is Life" imprinted on some of the cookies.  I literally smile every time I take a bite - especially when the candy starts crackling on my tongue.

Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa's second full-length studio album has been receiving sensational reviews - and justifiably so.  I have heard it compared with Madonna's Confessions on a Dancefloor (could there be higher praise?).  In fact, there was a meme of Madonna's Confessions and Kylie's Light Years albums as proud parents doting on their newborn, Future Nostalgia.  Dua Lipa definitely brings the magic of 70s and 80s dancefloors to the album with several standout tracks that make me want to dance whenever I hear them.

Brittany Spanos from Rolling Stone sums up the album's appeal:  "At its best, the 24-year-old’s latest can make you feel like you’re nuzzled away in some corner of the Studio 54 dance floor, ogling the likes of Bianca Jagger and Cher under the glimmering lights. Thankfully, Lipa’s loving nod to disco feels also perfect for right now. Commence your self-isolation dance party immediately".
My favourite tracks are: Physical, Levitating, Break My Heart and Love Again, which samples White Town's Your Woman - pure genius!

Noah Can't Even by Simon James Green

A story about a painfully awkward teenager with a fondness of Agatha Christie novels and Jessica Fletcher plots struggling to come to terms with his sexuality in the midst of family and friendship drama that just gets more complicated with every chapter...what's not to love?  There are plenty of laugh out loud moments in between the cringe-worthy ones that are so well written they make you blush with sympathetic mortification (including a public erection, a squashed banana that results in a visit to the nurse's office, a failed attempt to flee from a bathroom window wearing nothing but underwear and a muddled makeout session that ends with rumours of a pregnancy and blackmail).  I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Noah Could Never.

Schalk Bezuidenhout's Lockdown Diaries

Schalk Bezuidenhout is a popular South African comedian and actor (he was magnificent in the lead role in the multi-award-winning Afrikaans film, Kanarie - arguably one of the best South African films ever).  Since the country went into full lockdown in an attempt to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, Schalk has been recording and posting daily lockdown diaries on social media.  These diaries are the first thing I watch when I wake up in the mornings and they never fail to start my somewhat monotonous day with a good laugh.  Besides being damn funny, his unique sweaters (inter alia a panda and a unicorn kakking a rainbow) and luscious curly locks are adorable!

Schitts Creek Funko Pops

For those who don't know what a Funko Pop is...where have you been?  They are ridiculously cute collectible vinyl figures of just about any person in music, film and popular franchises, known for their oversized heads, button-like eyes and exaggerated features as well as their attention to the smallest of details that make the figures instantly recognizable. Needless to say I was beyond delighted to read that Funko Pops of the entire Rose family from Schitts Creek are available for pre-order.  There is also an Amish Farm David Rose figure (from the episode titled "Finding David") but this one is a "chase figure" which means there is a 1 in 6 chance you will get the figure when you order the standard figure.  Schitts Creek has become one of my favourite comedy series so I will definitely be adding these to my collection.  The images of the figures already have me smiling with Schitts Creek nostalgia.