Word of the Day

words of wisdom

source: that kind of woman

Notes on a Thursday: G is for GAGA

So right now (RIGHT NOW!!) I'm probably on the metro headed for DC (at least I better be . . . .). But today will not be a day for museums. Today will not be a day for shopping, or gentle meandering. No no. Today is a day  . . . . for Gaga. 

That's right.

I am attending the Lady Gaga concert at the Verizon Center today (toDAY!). Granted, I'll be in the nosebleed section, and I do mean nosebleed. We'll be watching the jumbotron my friend. And while I will not be taping my chest, or wearing fishnet, or any other such nonsense (read: I'm too chicken/poor) I will be sporting some specTACULAR eye makeup that I may or may not post a picture of here, and singing my heart out. 

And when I feel the flames of the pyrotechnics, so very very far away, I must admit it. I will raise my monster paws and do my monster dance. And it will be good, my friends. It will be good.

Springing Forward

Ok, it's kind of a lame title, but I can't help myself. This is the part where I blather on again about how I'm trying to find my style as an adult, blah blah blah. Let's get to the good stuff. 

source: That Kind of Woman

 I feel like the last person to jump on the That Kind of Woman train (found via Alysia's awesome blog) but I'm fully aboard these days! Kat is wonderful, and her style posts frequently have elements that I love and try to implement every day: clean lines, nods to the past, slightly romantic, with a pop of color. Now if only I could find a vest like that.

 Then of course there is Madewell, Jcrew's little sister. Recently I haven't been LOVING everything they've been doing, but they're bringing me back to the dark side with their spring line. The shirt below is definitely a try-it-on-and-see for me, but I really hope it works out because I think it's so visually interesting!

Source: Madewell

 

Now, I am not, instinctively, a shorts kinda girl. I think few women are, really. But I love these shorts from Jcrew. I love the color, and I really like the idea of bright colors on bottom, and these are great for girls like me who don't want to commit to pant-length bright color (for fear of the "my eyes!!" reaction).

I am a sucker for a good henley. Really really, I love them. Like, I could probably get it in this color AND the utility green color.

Source: Jcrew website

Now, I noticed as I constructed this post that both Madewell and Jcrew had items that I loved on the website yesterday (floral waterfall top and sequin stripe TEE, like above but with sleeves) that are not here today. I dunno if it's just me, but I whenever I see that I get seized with this like "omg, I have to get to the store NOW, it can't sell out!!" feeling. I think they know this about me, and thus do it on purpose. Blast you, Jcrew people, you know me well. Because I WILL be going shopping Saturday morning for precisely these items.

If you're interested in the clothes I want for hanging around/doing yoga in (I've been practicing for about a year, and just found a new studio in my area that I really enjoy), head on over to my other blog with my good friend, Move Over, Naked Chef

Word of the Day

Word of the Day

photo by me; definition by merriam-webster online

Word of the Day

photo by me, definition by Merriam-Webster Online

Notes on a Thursday

So, as I told you in the last Notes on a Thursday (that I posted on Friday), I bought tickets lickity-split for a concert last Friday at the Southern, in Charlottesville. Upon arrival, I discovered that The Civil Wars show was the first show the venue had EVER sold out in pre-order. Pretty impressive. 

Now, I don't claim to be one of those people that's like "I've followed this band since they were in their girlfriend/boyfriend/mom's basement!" But usually I either see bands that nobody has EVER heard of and there are like six of us there, or it's a pretty established band (be it in the indie community or in the music world as a whole) and everyone is there and we all know the songs, etc.

The Civil Wars are right on the cusp. Their album JUST came out. And they are adorable, because they are just tickled pink about people knowing their lyrics, being able to identify songs in seconds, packing houses, etc. And they're playful and teasing (with each other and their audience) and it just creates this amazingly intimate experience. At the risk of sounding totally pretentious (and not meaning to), it really was just the loveliest concert experience ever.

It helps that they sounds just like their album (minus the strings, because it's just the two of them), and in the cavernous basement of the Southern they sounded especially eerie and Poe-like. I mentioned on my twitter feed (I can't say "tweeted." I can't do it.) that they did a wonderfully dark rendition of "You are My Sunshine." Luckily, someone caught it on camera, and here it is:



being adorable:



Afterward he said "yeah, I'm the one with the guitar" and she said "don't mess with the one with the guitar"

awesome. 


I'd see them again in a heartbeat, I hope they never change (except to grow musically)

Je t'aime plus de tous les poissons dans la mer.

Historically speaking, it is unknown precisely which Christian martyr named Valentine inspired the holiday. I (and most of the historical/romantic community) believe the inspiration to be a Valentine from the 3rd century, a priest and physician who fell in love with his jailer's daughter and wrote her a letter before he died, signed "from your Valentine." I'm not sure if it's true, but pretty myths and stories are part of what makes history pretty awesome, so there you go.



Valentine's Day playlist, 2011

The Pierces: We are Stars
Florence and the Machine: Cosmic Love
She & Him: I was Made for You
Ben E. King: Stand by Me
Mumm-Ra: She's got you High
David Bowie: Soul Love
The Decemberists: Rise to Me
Grace Potter: Something that I Want
Bruce Springsteen: Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Feist: Limit to your Love
Stars: I Died so I could Haunt You
Nouvelle Vague: Dance With Me
Aretha Franklin: The House that Jack Built
Fleetwood Mac: Temporary One
Bonnie Raitt: Thing Called Love
Cass McCombs: Dreams-Come-True-Girl
Rilo Kiley: Breakin' UP
The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You
The Seeds: Can't Seem to Make you Mine
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash: Long-Legged Guitar-Pickin' Man
The Civil Wars: To Whom it May Concern

all images via pinterest

From the Bookshelves

source: the Tome Traveler

He's yours, a strange voice whispered. You musn't let him go.
"I know, " I murmured impatiently.
"What do you know, Diana?" Matthew took a step toward me.
Marthe shot to my side. "Leave her," she hissed. "The child is not in this world."

I was nowhere, caught between the terrible ache of losing my parents and the certain knowledge that soon Matthew, too, would be gone.

Be careful, the strange voice warned.


"It's too late for that." I raised my hand from the floor and smashed it into the bow, snapping it in two. "Much too late."
"What's too late?" Matthew asked.
"I've fallen in love with you."
"You can't have," he said numbly. The room was utterly silent, except for the crackling of the fire. "It's too soon."

"Why do vampires have such a strange attitude toward time?" I mused aloud, still caught in a bewildering mix of past and present. The word "love" had sent feelings of possessiveness through me, however, drawing me to the here and now.
"Witches don't have centuries to fall in love. We do it quickly. Sarah says my mother fell in love with my father the moment she saw him. I've loved you since I decided not to hit you with an oar on the City of Oxford's dock." The blood in my veins began to hum. Marthe looked startled, suggesting she could hear it, too.


"You don't understand." It sounded as if Matthew, like the bow, might snap in two.


"I do. The Congregation will try to stop me, but they won't tell me who to love." When my parents were taken from me, I was a child with no options and did what people told me. I was an adult now, and I was going to fight for Matthew."


-A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness

This book has been getting huge accolades since before it was even published. Written by a history of science professor, it follows witch-in-denial Diana Bishop (of Salem fame) as she heads to Oxford for a year of sabbatical and research, only to get much more than she bargained for when she calls up manuscript Ashmole 782. The world is complete, the characters complex (with a cast of dangerous enemies), a fistful of exotic locations, and quite the toe-tingling romance. As a historian, I love when a lady historian goes off on an adventure, running across all sorts of people and texts along the way. Harkness assumes her readers are intelligent (a wonderful quality in a writer) and allows her characters to hold flourishing conversations about 16th and 17th century alchemy, as well as genetics and biochemistry (vampires love their science, you know). Furthermore, she writes about Oxford (my beloved city, as you know) with the authority of someone who has actually lived and spent time there. Her descriptions of rowing down the river and lunch in the Blackwell's Cafe Nero made me practically cry with a homesickness for my cobbled streets and dreamy spires. Overall, it was a great read and I'm champing at the bit for the next book (it's a trilogy, woohoo!). I read it (via Kindle . . .it's technically for school, and I'm buying a print copy, despite my dad's exasperated "wait! that's not the point of this!") in two days, clued to the screen and going into a zone that could not be shaken. History, the supernatural . . . romance . . . illuminated manuscripts . . . just my cup of tea.

Resources and Reviews:

Deborah Harkness
Entertainment Weekly
Bookgeeks

Notes on a Thursday, a day late

The Down Player

I intended to get this post out on Thursday but, as you know, the best laid plans of mice and men, and all that jazz. This week saw the release of The Civil Wars first full-length album Barton Hollow. I already loved their EP, Poison & Wine and waited with breath baited to hear their full effort. I was not disappointed. I am in love with this album. I am so in love with it, in fact, that upon immediate research and discovery that they would be nearby next week I dropped everything and bought a concert ticket for just little old me, budget bedamned. 



The album is kinda country, kinda alternative . . . enough to be name-dropped by Taylor Swift in her iTunes Celebrity playlist and lauded by Paste magazine as Up and Coming Artists. It's mostly guitar and piano, with male and female vocals from John Paul White and Joy Williams. Their harmonies are incredible, smooth and rippling, tight and jarring all at the right times. They can go from heartbreakingingly poignant and bittersweet ("For Whom it may Concern", just in time for Valentine's Day, dammit) to a rip-roarin' dirty good time in the title track "Barton Hollow." It's all very rural mysterious . . . which is perfect for me because that's kind of my life right now (or would be if there wasn't a foot of snow and ice on the ground and freakin' colder than a well-digger's posterior end).

They're just plain good, ok? So give it a shot.



Legitimate review from:

Paste