OH MY MELLOW | NO.13

Whether you’re reading this on a scorching beach in the Mediterranean, poolside in southeast Asia, or in a car eating fish and chips on the Wild Atlantic Way in lashing rain, this is what we’re summer lovin’ this season…

PAGE TURNING The Couples

It has been described as “Normal People for married people” but that’s not to say The Couples is in any way hackneyed; Sydney-born, Dublin-based screenwriter Lauren Mackenzie has offered a fresh approach to midlife crises – and with faster, more dynamic pacing than Sally Rooney’s bestseller. The drama begins in a country house the morning after a boozy, drug-hazed birthday party wherein what was supposed to have been a fun parlour game among three middle-aged couples – the women choose which of the men who they’d prefer to sleep with – has far-reaching consequences, as they collectively grapple with caring for young children and elderly parents, redundancies, financial strife and alcoholism.

PODCASTING Stirring It Up with Andi and Miquita Oliver

If you like Jessie and Lennie Ware’s Table Manners, in which the daughter/mother duo invite celebrities into their home for supper and informal chats, you’ll like Stirring It Up with Andi and Miquita Oliver, in which chef/broadcaster Andi provides a spread of food and drink for a starry guest and their plus one, while music TV/radio presenter Miquita is capable wing-woman. More rambunctious than the Wares’s, the Olivers’ laughter alone is contagious, not least when Anglo-Irish actress and filmmaker Kathy Burke and her non-famous pal Pippa Brown guffaw about their life, work, friendship and favourite meals over Andi’s feast of barbecued sea bass. Bittersweet, frank, and frequently hilarious – stick it on this Sunday while lolling around in your favourite Moon + Mellow PJs.

COOKING The Menopause Kitchen

You don’t have to be going through perimenopause or menopause to appreciate the goodies in Rachel Graham’s debut cookbook, however that’s exactly what it was designed for – helping women aged 40 onwards nourish their bodies and minds from the inside out. Graham, based in Dundalk and an accredited menopause educator, has brought two decades’ worth of experience as a nutritional therapist and medicinal chef to this handsomely-photographed tome, sharing tasty recipes and advice to help boost bone, brain and heart health, balance hormones, manage weight and energy levels.

ROCKING OUT Boygenius

Three’s a charm with this American girl band comprising of Phoebe Bridgers – a huge solo talent in her own right – and Tennessee’s Virginia’s Julien Rose Baker and Lucy Dacus. The trio released their debut studio album, The Record, in March – cue perky guitars, folksy torch songs, swoonsome harmonies, wry lyrics, the occasional primal roar – and is all we’ll be playing this month, ahead of their concert at Royal Hospital Kilmainham on August 28.

DRESS CODE: The Puff Sleeve Crop Set – Jungle
Holiday season means jungle prints, and this sumptuous set summons daydreams of far-flung adventures with its depictions of snakes, monkeys and palm trees, rendered in blue and white on the softest 100pc organic cotton. And we all love a double-jobber, and this cropped two-piece can be worn as day-time separates with jeans, tailored trousers, or a smart white shirt.