Music
Depth of My Soul – Thievery Corporation
Old glamour meets the present with the gentle sound of bossa nova and the melancholic longing for someone from the past…
A Soulmate Who Wasn’t Ment To Be – Jess Benko
Falling in love with someone who is never goint to be yours hurts in an almost inhuman way…
The Way We Were – Barbra Streisand
A soft rock ballad that details the melancholic relationship between the leading couple in the 1973 movie of the same name.
Immortality – Celine Dion ft. Bee Gees
Written by the Bee Gees and performed by the incredible Celine Dion, this 1990s pop ballad is an ode to pursuing one’s dreams while cherishing the lovely moments shared with a romantic partner, even after a break up…
Books
The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac by J. K. Rowling
Whisk yourself away to Harry Potter’s wizarding world with this Whiz-bang of an illustrated companion. Discover magical places, study wandlore, encounter fantastic beasts, and find out about the witches and wizards who lived. From the Sorting Hat to the secrets of the Forbidden Forest, it’s all packed inside! This dazzling gift book brings together beloved characters, unforgettable moments, and iconic locations from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone all the way through to The Deathly Hallows . It’s the ultimate magical miscellany, filled with facts and fun about the wizarding world, beautifully catalogued and brilliantly explored.
We Shall See the Sky Sparkling by Susana Aikin
Like other well-bred young women in Edwardian England, Lily Throop is expected to think of little beyond marriage and motherhood. Passionate about the stage, Lily has very different ambitions. To her father’s dismay, she secures an apprenticeship at London’s famous Imperial Theatre. Soon, her talent and beauty bring coveted roles and devoted admirers. Yet to most of society, the line between actress and harlot is whisper-thin. With her reputation threatened by her mentor’s vicious betrayal, Lily flees to St. Petersburg with an acting troupe–leaving her first love behind.
Life in Russia is as exhilarating as it is difficult. The streets rumble with talk of revolution, and Lily is drawn into an affair with Sergei, a Count with fervent revolutionary ideals. Following Sergei when he is banished to Vladivostok, Lily struggles to find her role in an increasingly dangerous world. And as Russian tensions with Japan erupt into war, only fortitude and single-mindedness can steer her to freedom and safety at last.
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice.
But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s?
Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is in a coma, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place?
Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long.
The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
In Japan cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon. This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and seemingly appears at random to adrift young people at crucial junctions in their lives.
It’s also run by talking cats.
While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes, coffees, and teas, the cats also consult them on their star charts, offer cryptic wisdom, and let them know where their lives have veered off course—because every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. And for a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. After all, there is a reason the shop appeared to each of them…
Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez
1885, Egypt: Inez Olivera is left reeling from her cousin Elvira’s murder and her mother’s betrayal. When Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she’s left with only one option to consider. Marriage to Whitford Hayes.
Former British soldier, her uncle’s aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt. With her heart on the line, Inez might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secret plans could ruin her.
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
Two weeks have passed since Iris Winnow returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over. Roman is missing, and the city of Oath continues to dwell in a state of disbelief and ignorance. When Iris and Attie are given another chance to report on Dacre’s movements, they both take the opportunity and head westward once more despite the danger, knowing it’s only a matter of time before the conflict reaches a city that’s unprepared and fracturing beneath the chancellor’s reign.
Since waking below in Dacre’s realm, Roman cannot remember his past. But given the reassurance that his memories will return in time, Roman begins to write articles for Dacre, uncertain of his place in the greater scheme of the war. When a strange letter arrives by wardrobe door, Roman is first suspicious, then intrigued. As he strikes up a correspondence with his mysterious pen pal, Roman will soon have to make a decision: to stand with Dacre or betray the god who healed him. And as the days grow darker, inevitably drawing Roman and Iris closer together…the two of them will risk their very hearts and futures to change the tides of the war.
Movies
Christmas at Castle Hart (2021)
Brooke Bennett goes to Ireland for Christmas to search for her Irish roots. While there, she meets Aiden Hart. Mistaken for an elite event planner, she’s hired to host his castle’s epic Christmas party.
Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim (2024)
A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and traitorous lord of Rohan seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg.
Christmas on Windmill Way (2023)
Mia is taken aback when she learns that her grandmother has sold the plot of land where the mill housing her woodworking workshop stands. However, her grandmother has been assured that they will be allowed to keep running the business. Mia is even more shocked when she discovers that the person coming to draft plans for the new hotel being developed on the neighbouring land is Brady, her college boyfriend who left her without explanation. Brady, too, faces challenges when he finds out that his company has no intention of honouring his promise to let the workshop remain and instead plans to demolish the mill.
Destined at Christmas (2022)
Kim and Theo meet on Black Friday shopping and there is spark between them, but the couple gets separated due to panic. Both of them can’t forget each other and try to search with little information. Can destiny bring back them together.
We Bought a Zoo (2011)
Set in Southern California, a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.
Shops
House of Games
Myriofytou 21, Aigaleo, Greece
A rock-inspired board game shop that is designed to host board game and DnD enthusiasts alike.
Gellissimo Biscoto
Astiggos 11, Athens, Greece
A close friend of mine took me to Gellissimo Biscoto for a sweet holiday indulgence over a nighttime view of the Acropolis. We tried their ice cream melomakarono-flavoured lava and we were hooked!
