Samantha Parkington, anyone? (oh, J.Crew)

source

 

 

 

 

Holy moly, I want this. Paycheck, please?

DIY-(Mom)tastic!

I dunno about the rest of you kids out there, but there are days that I just can't find the t-shirts that I'm looking for. I like a good off-beat t-shirt, preferably with a funny/cultural reference that is clever but doesn't knock you over the head. I'm asking a lot here, I know. This leads to DIY attempts with iron-on transfer paper, which (for me) never quite looks like anything more than what it is. The printer quality is never what I want it to be, the outline of the transfer paper is too prominent, it doesn't look quite right . . . . I'm particular. It's annoying for me too, I promise. So, all hope for my jaunty t-shirts was lost . . .

UNTIL!

One of my daily reads, Liz from say YES! to hoboken posted about this post she made on Momtastic for freezer paper t-shirts. And let me tell you, you don't have to be a Mom for this crafty trick to blow your mind. The possibilities are endless, and TRUST me when I say my creativity is a-runnin away with me!

Aladdin Sane t-shirts, Boba Fett t-shirts, grammarian t-shirts . . . . !!

Film Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

source: FoxSearchlight

I know I'm late to the party here. So this isn't really a review. More an appreciation. And if you haven't seen it . . . hop to it!

From the Bookshelves

source: here

We want books that are written for those of us who doubt everything, who cry over the least little thing, who are startled by the slightest noise.

We want books that cost their authors a great deal, books where you can feel the years of work, the backache, the writer's block, the author's panic at the thought that he might be lost: his discouragement, his courage, his anguish, his stubbornness, the risk of failure he has taken.


We want splendid books, books that immerse us in the splendor of reality and keep us there; books that prove to us that love is at work in the world next to evil, right up against it, at times indistinctly, and that it always will be, just the way that suffering will always ravage hearts. We want good novels.
 
-A Novel Bookstore, by Laurence Cosse


A Novel Bookstore, translated into English by Alison Anderson (who also translated the lovely Elegance of the Hedgehog), is an ode. It is a love song to great literature, of all sorts, and one of the few books that made me want to create a list of every book mentioned in it and run to the library. The characters are so wonderfully developed, so subtle, in a way that I, honestly, can only compare to that French women are stunningly stylish in such an undone almost careless way. It's a thriller, it's a romance, it keeps you guessing, and it tugs at your very heartstrings. All this, plus passages of beautifully written word that just make you pause for the glory of a sentence.

I looked at my life and I choked

So, as I implied a bit earlier, I've been sort to figure out what I want to do with my life . . . at least for the next bit of it. And in this economy, when everything seems so uncertain, that really opens up options, oddly enough. It's difficult to tell what you really want, because everything seems possible. I could work hard and earn a few more degrees, or I could become . . . an organic vegetable farmer. Or start working with horses. Or be an actress. Or sell quilts on the side of the road. The most frustrating/amazing question right now is . . . why not?

And furthermore, do I want the conventional options because it's what I want, or what I feel is expected? How do you scrounge up the courage to just do something that sounds so crazy and implausible, and difficult? Where does that strength come from? Sometimes I think I can do anything in the world  . . . but most days, I have doubts. 

I'm attempting to set goals for myself. Schedule things out . . . even creative endeavors. Think about X for this many hours, this many minutes. If you can't come up with something, don't beat yourself up about it, just move on and do something else.


A few weeks ago, I met up with a very dear friend. We hadn't seen each other in awhile, having been scattered to the wind post-graduation, so we chose a spot between our two residences and drove out to see each other. After spending four hours in a Starbucks (I'm a Green Level member), we decided that we should go to the local Civil War battlefield. At a certain point in the South, every town has a battlefield. But I find the Civil War increasingly interesting . . . it held such an impact on every aspect of American life and was so destructive, but out of it (eventually) grew an incredible age of progress and innovation.

This is really what I'm finding most enjoyable these days. Just wandering around, finding interesting things, and photographing them. I've starting to see pictures everywhere, even when I don't have a camera in my hands. I don't know if it's wishful thinking or what, but it's something to consider, I guess.  And all of a sudden, I really enjoy meeting strangers and going out and doing things sounds really interesting. I've always been a bit more content to stay at home by myself and do nothing . . . I suppose that because that's all I ever do these days, it's rather lost its appeal.

And so I've become to move forward . . . volunteering locally, actually planning things to do, strategic forward movement . . . . stay tuned.

source: all photographs my own property

song of the day: Hope in the Air, Laura Marling

Tragic

As someone who uses the internet to express myself, as we ALL use the internet to express ourselves. As a generation for whom the internet is something that is second nature to us. It is SO important to remember common decency, kindness, and compassion in all things, and particularly in our use of the internet. We live in a time where everything is readily available to us, and when little to nothing is sacred or private. Our every passing thought is documented on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, no matter how asinine that thought may be. And yes, in a way this is a great boon to us. But it is also a huge, huge responsibility. Please, PLEASE use it carefully and teach your children to use it carefully.

What happened to this poor kid was needless cruelty that just cuts me in two. I don't mean to say all of society is a bully, but it is an increasing issue. And we need to wake up to it. Quickly.