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I know I'm about a year too late, but did you guys see that wonderful movie, Julie and Julia? I'm re-watching it. I forgot how wonderful this movie is. Its one of those you can pop in at any time and enjoy over and over again. Based on the book by Julie Powell, this movie really brought Julia Child back onto the front burner. She was such a wonderfully exciting woman. I find it so extraordinarily inspiring that she didn't even begin culinary school until she was 36. There is so much pressure for those of us in our 20s to know just what we want to do with our lives as soon as we graduate college, and just look at Julia. She found her calling a little later, and it happened perfectly for her. Mastering the Art of French Cooking is in the top 10 Best Selling cookbooks of all time. Julia brought this art to the women of the United States, and we could never thank her enough. If you haven't seen this great movie, watch it! It will inspire even those whose cooking level is only making toast or a box of Shells and Cheese, to poach an egg or even attempt Beef Bourguignon.
So, I've been a big slacker about updating this blog, pretty much since classes started again. I'm feeling like school is just sucking all the creativity out of me. Sorry guys, I just haven't been inspired by much. I've been knitting though, and watching Project Runway, and hey! I got engaged! So I guess I've just been busy. But here are some things I've been learning in school! First I'm taking a Political Science class about Campaigns and Elections, which I thought would be interesting, but it's just making me a disillusioned citizen and I'm deciding that I hate all politicians regardless of what party they belong to or what they say into a microphone. I'm also taking Women in Rhetoric, which is a great class! So many women doing so many things to change the world in different and exciting ways. Each one is fascinating in her own right. We're all doing a rhetorical biography on a woman who has made a difference and I chose Wendy Shalit. I'm also taking advanced fiction writing where I have been challenged to write two short stories. I also get to read some from my classmates, which has been awesome! Workshop is full of great intimate conversation with people who are passionate about the same things. I'm also taking Symbolic Logic which is tough but like brain teasers, I actually kind of like it. I'm also taking a great Art History class with a teacher who doesn't care whether we know the dates, just if we recognize and respect the artists, which I think is what art is all about. He showed me this sculptor, Constantin Brancusi, who I think is my new favorite! Google him. amazing!
Dolly Parton is a legend. She is an amazing woman in so many ways. I have never been a fan of country music, but I love her. Not only as a singer but, as a person...and who can you really say that about in the entertainment industry these days? Dolly is a self-made woman. She grew up in backwoods Appalachia with 11 brothers and sisters in a teeny-tiny house. At the ripe old age of 11 she was singing on Tennessee radio stations and her career took off from there. She has won countless awards, has her own theme park (where I am dying to go), starred in many memorable movies (Steal Magnolias, 9 to 5 anyone?,) and influenced a multitude of other entertainers. The thing I love most about Dolly is that she has done all of these things just being herself. She has never been deceptive about her life or her choices. While I am not an advocate of plastic surgery myself, I do commend her for being open about her choices (there's nothing worse than a star who claims she's never had work done when it is totally obvious.) In movies, she's hardly playing a part, because she doesn't have to. She's also been married to the same man since 1966, Carl Thomas Dean, who has avoided publicity and never accompanies her to events. Her life has been a creative outpouring of truth and virtue, growing up dirt poor to become one the most famous people in the entire world, all while being true to herself and her marriage. I would highly reccomend her autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business . I read this in about two days and was truly inspired. Dolly is an adventurer, fearless in being herself and blazing the way for women everywhere.
For those who are finding themselves bored with spending free time in front of the computer or television screen and feel like they need to spice things up, pick up this book. 52 Projects Random Acts of Everyday Creativity by Jeffery Yamaguchi is full of ideas to get you off the couch and into a more creative life (or at least a more creative couple of hours.) Some of his ideas include making a key lime pie, then make a box full of things to make a key lime pie, a recipe and mail it off to your friend, wake up, call in sick and use the day to do whatever it is you WANT to do. This does not include vacuuming, laundry, etc. this is a day for pure pleasure. Write some letters (your Grandmother will appreciate it!) Make a list of all the books you own and figure out which ones you haven't read. (my list would be really long.) Check out the website first www.52projects.com. Another great website for creative ways to spend your time is this website by Keri Smith
I love etsy but, my friend shared this link with me today and I was dying laughing with every click of my mouse. Regretsy highlights the wacky stuff that winds up on etsy that just doesn't make much sense. They call it "DIY meets WTF." April Winchell actually has made a compilation in book form to showcase some of these creations. The blog is really where its at!
I'm a bit of a dork and, I will admit that there are a lot of books aimed at teens that I really love at the age of 27. With all the adult hype over the Twilight series and such, I know I'm not alone. I really love these books, the Girlosophy series that are written by Anthea Paul. So far there are nine books in the series (four of which I own) and they are all full of good advice, real girls and women, true stories, and wonderfully colorful pictures. My favorite is A Soul Survival Kit but they have some other great titles including The Love Survival Kit, How To Write Your Own Life, Real Girls Eat, and The Oracle, among others. I wish I would have had books like these when I was 15 because they do not just scratch the surface. They give actually useful information, advice, and inspiration that stems from a soul level. Paul wants girls to focus on what is real, feeling comfortable in their own skin instead of finding the right bag to carry with the right shoes. At any age, Girlosophy is one to live by.
Everyone should read Wendy Shalit's book The Good Girl Revolution. It is a refreshing take on modern feminism shown from a totally new angle. Shalit's book explores how modesty is the new rebellion for young women. While Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus are dancing on stripper poles for their 12 year old audiences, these real life girls are combating the sexualized image of women in a truly original way. Being the "bad girl" isn't a big deal anymore, its being wholesome and setting high standards that's genuinely shocking. Shalit interviews girls and young women ages 12 to 28 and the results are a breath of fresh air. Check this out at your local library and visit her blog. It truly is the revolution we've needed.
I have a weird fascination with Etiquette Books. In this day and age where people are constantly checking their blackberries for new text messages and emails during a conversation with their grandmother, there isn't a period of time where we need these books more. I wouldn't say that I am an authority on perfect behavior, but I really do love to read these books. I find them interesting because they really say something about culture, it is intriguing to know what is considered correct. Books like these can come in really handy. Many of them have chapters on international etiquette if you're traveling to another country, they can tell you what is appropriate for a wedding, funeral, or a business dinner if it's been a while since you've attended, they will tell you what to wear for semi-formal, formal, or black-tie events. Some even have chapters on personal style and will give you a check list of what to pack on a week end away so you can still travel without looking like a slob or forgetting to bring some nice shoes and wind up wearing your New Balance Trainers the whole time. The Etiquette Grrls have a funny take on etiquette and a New England perspective on all things correct. How To Live Like a Lady is almost a pocket guide, its small and includes the essential information on Life, Manners, and Style. I own all three of the these books, but if you want just one comprehensive guide, Emily Post is definitely the authority, her book is bigger than Webster's Dictionary.
Anna Marie Horner's blog has been so inspiring to me. I am hoping to buy a house this summer and I am constantly dreaming about ways to make my house feel like a home. These pictures from her blog give me that feeling of what I will be aspiring to. I hope to turn a bedroom into a sewing room, full of shelves with folded fabrics, I love this great chair by the window with a knitting basket full of yarn. What a lovely way to spend a rainy day (or any day really.) I also love this idea of using an old ladder as a way to display quilts. I would love to have a quilt for every rung. Ms. Horner has a couple of books out with patterns for sewing. She just came out with a new book, check it out!
Lucy Maud Montgomery is the woman behind Anne of Green Gables . She published these books in 1908, and although they were meant for younger readers, these books top my list of favorites even today. I also watch the mini series, created for PBS in 1985 probably once a month, sometimes more. This story never seizes to inspire me. I get something from it every time I read the book or watch the movie. In short it's about a red-headed orphaned girl who is bounced from home to home to take care of bratty little kids until one day, she winds up at Green Gables on Prince Edward Island in Canada (by Providence.) Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a bachelor and spinster brother and sister, send for a young boy to help them with chores around their farm, Anne (with an E) is sent instead. While Anne proves to be a trouble maker, talking too much, smashing her slate over a boy's head at school, she also proves to be remarkably smart. She gets the best grades in her class, recites "The Lady of Shallot" over and over, and is on a quest to find a "bosom friend." You cannot help but fall in love with this story. Anne is the underdog who rises from her sad past and makes the entire town proud to know her. This story is about love, family, and community. The relationships Anne creates with Matthew, Marilla, Diana, and the rest of the town are touching. Anne may be a supreme trouble maker, and overly dramatic, renaming Barry's Pond to "The Lake of Shinning Waters" and the avenue to "White Way of Delight" but she is genuinely endearing and wonderfully real. You will love this interpretation of Montgomery's story. Pick up the DVD and book and get in touch with your wholesome side!
Half Priced Books may be my favorite non-clothing store EVER. It is dangerous for me to go in, I can never get away with spending less than $40, but I always walk out with four or five new books. My boyfriend suggested we go there today so he could get a new book to read and here I am, not planning on getting anything, yet walking out with three new picks. I bought Tricia Guild's book Pattern a book that should prove to keep me engrossed for a while with its delightfully bright pages of rooms I long to have in my fantasy home. I also left with Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick, as if I need another project book but I just loved some of the designs, so I couldn't leave without it. Half Price Books is great, not only because it saves me money but because its just another way to recycle, while I am never one to give away books or sell them because I plan to have a library in my house to rival the Beast's (you know from Beauty and the Beast), I'm glad other people do. Walk in with a stack of books and leave with some extra cash or some new things to read, who doesn't like buy, sell, trade? Stores like this really help the community, right now they have a program called The Half-Pint Library, getting books to kids in need. If you want to find a store near you, visit their Store Locator.
