Localghost

Things I use

Tech

Hardware

  • MacBook M1 2020 - still going strong, despite the gin and tonic I spilled on the keyboard which occasionally makes typing a bit sticky
  • Various mechanical keyboards
  • E-reader: Kobo Libra 2 - connected to Overdrive, I can get library books on my e-reader!

Software

A VSCode window with the source code for this website. I have two embeded terminals open at the bottom; the left-hand one has the Eleventy compiler running, and the right-hand one is just a command prompt with "hello" written in cursive out of ASCII chars. The background colour is navy blue, with pastel-coloured variables and keywords.

VSCode extensions

  • Change Color Format - Quickly transform colors to and from hex (#RRGGBB/AA), hsl(), rgb() and more.
  • change-case - Quickly change the case (camelCase, SNAKE_CASE, PascalCase)
  • GitLens - see git annotations at-a-glance from within the editor
  • Todo Tree - Show TODO, FIXME, etc.
  • vscode-pets - Pets for your VS Code
  • TinyPNG - Use TinyPNG from within VSCode

Mobile apps

Coffee

I'd say we're coffee snobs compared to a lot of people, but less than a lot of folks I know; we don't have a barista coffee maker at home because it's too much effort, and I don't watch James Hoffmann videos, I just like good coffee.

  • Machine: we use a Melitta LOOK Therm Timer machine, a filter machine with a programmable timer so we can set it to brew coffee for us when we wake up. It's nothing fancy, but it's perfect.
  • Grinder: Fellow Opus. It's smart, tidy and relatively quiet.
  • Beans: we get good quality coffee from South London-based Old Spike - their Roasters Choice subscription means it's a different one every month, and it's always excellent. They also do a lot of work with homeless people to train them and employ them in their cafes or roastery.
  • Decaf: Square Mile decaf filter

Beauty

I can't claim to have my finger on the pulse of beauty any more. I used to be really into makeup and skincare, subscribe to loads of beauty blogs (this was some time ago) and constantly be buying makeup; working full time and not wearing makeup for the best part of two years over lockdown definitely made me less interested in it. I rarely wear a full face these days unless I'm doing a conference talk or dressing up for a special occasion. Most days if I'm in the office I'll just stick to liquid eyeshadow and mascara, or anything else that doesn't take long to apply.

Makeup

Fragrance

I have a few favourites that I rotate depending on the season/my mood.

  • Diptyque Philosykos - I love anything fig-scented, and this is just divine. My all-time favourite.
  • Le Labo Matcha - a lovely, fresh, green fragrance. It's been great in spring/summer.
  • I also really like Le Labo Santal 33, unlike my usual greener tastes with its heady florals and peppery notes. I keep smelling it everywhere, it's a very popular one!
  • Miu Miu L'Eau Bleue - fresh white flowers and a hint of pepper. I wore this on my wedding day.