Life Is Too Important to Be Taken Seriously

 So today I decided to wear my Oscar Wilde coat. Can you see the resemblance? If Oscar Wilde weren't gay and I lived in the late 19th century, I would jump his bones.

The Style Quo

Oscar Wilde coat: Goodwill, $5

Top: H&M, Covent Garden, London

Jeans: AE

Necklace: Forever 21

Watch: Timex

Sandals: Online

So, I'm geeking out today and I realize that it would be a dream come true to have a photo shoot dressed as my favorite authors (or at least my representations of them). I think it would be so fun to do Virginia Woolf, Oscar Wilde & Sylvia Plath--like really do 'em up. Fancy. Below, I have my best attempt at being Virginia Woolf from the summer of 2010. We both share that strong Roman nose. :)

Deadbeat Club

 Scott, Julie, and I were well aware that today was going to probably going to be the last nice day of the year so we were completely intent on making it count. How many 75 degree days do you have in November in Kentucky? I knew right away it was going to be a great day because I opened a new box of Kashi cereal and a new gallon of skim milk today. Perfection. And McAlister's perfected my order at lunch today, which hardly ever happens. I swear, how hard is to give me UNSWEETENED tea, people?

The Style Quo
Top: Express (sale)
Skirt: J. Crew (sale)
Shoes: Stolen from Mom (okay, she gave them to me)
Earrings: Bought from outdoor market in Honolulu 2005
Shawl (that unfortunately, it was too warm to wear): Kohl's

I know it's probably frowned upon by the general public to take pictures while driving but look at the moon on the way home! I want to remember this day for as long as I can. Days when leaves are falling off the trees, wind is blowing through your hair, you're listening to The Doors' "L.A. Woman" with the windows down, you get to read about The Bloomsbury Group, go to creative writing class, and have lunch with your best friends.

Here's the book I got to read today. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in The Bloomsbury Group. It's very basic but rather informative:

Credit
The cover is a painting of Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf's sister, painted by Duncan Grant. It's one of my favorite prints of all time. I have a postcard of it hanging next to my bed (along with Virginia's famous 1902 photograph). I used a card I got from Charleston Farmhouse (also where I got this book) in Sussex, south of London, and I realized how much it smelled like the house...full of aged paint and splendor. The card has a cat painting on it done by Duncan Grant as well--it's by far the most popular painting at Charleston.

This is one of the most beautiful places in the world, let me tell you. I took these pics while studying abroad this summer. Vanessa and Clive Bell owned this property but Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant, and various others had rooms here or came to visit. So much history, so much beauty.

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Here's that cat print by the way. I love it. :)

Basically, today was the best. Sometimes you've gotta act like you're dancing in a garden in torn sheets in the rain. ;)

Puddles

So... it rained today. At first it was nothing and then right when I was getting to the parking lot after class, it down-poured. My jeans were soaked up to my knees and my shoes were squeaky with wetness. Blergh. At least I had my umbrella. 

The Style Quo:

Tee: GAP

Trench: Forever 21

Jeans: AE

Scarf: Gift from Dad from Hong Kong

Shoes: DSW

This is an old pic of the shoes I wore today. They're currently drying on an air vent.

So, before I register for classes I have to fill out a special 'independent study' form for my senior honors thesis. I also have to have my adviser sign and date it. Well, I finally see him today and he says, "You are...?" Oh man. I'm impossible to forget but I'm hard to remember... I let him know that I was his Bloomsbury Group/Virginia Woolf thesis. "I'll send you an email..."

Other than that, I'm just prepping for training at Home Depot on Friday (woot) and my orientation Saturday from 9-1:30. I really hope I like this job. I mean, anything is better than working outside at night. 

Also, Dr. Henke (and possibly Leslie) and I are going to grab dinner tonight and go see Tom Sawyer at Actor's Theatre before she leaves again for Oregon. I'm feeling drowsy but I know once I get there, I'll be excited. Here's to rainy days!

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Scenes From the Weekend

I sort of cleaned out my closet. Which actually just means I took the shorts, tanks, and flip-flops to add a few sweaters, long-sleeved tees, and puffer vests.

I love my books, candy corn, and naps on Sunday after church.

Oh, hey!

So my mom and I went to Kohl's Saturday to do some pre-Christmas shopping. We had a buy-one-get-one coupon for a buffet so we went for dinner. This old man on a cell phone talked pretty much the whole time we were there about his flea problem. Yes, fleas. Apparently they are all over his bed and he has sprayed an anti-flea spray numerous times but they still got to him. The old man on the other side of our table called a manager over to report a piece of metal he found in his meat. Apparently it had broken his tooth and he wanted them to pay for his next dentist's visit. The whole thing must not have scarred him too much because once he got done talking to the manager, he went back to the buffet and loaded up. We pretty much had to contain ourselves from laughter.

I Found E.M. Forster for $4!

The Style Quo

Jacket: Kohl's

Top: AE

Jeans: AE

Necklace: Kohl's

Sunglasses: Forever 21

Cross-body bag: H&M at Covent Garden, London

Friday, Scott and I went to Frankfurt Avenue to walk around. We stopped in at the library which had a very sweet literary border including the names of Donne, Rosetti, Homer, and of course WILDE! (Ahem, where is Woolf?)

We went to a bunch of antique and consignment shops, one of them called "East Meets West" where we encountered this owner who looked like a sumo-wrestling panda. He kind of snuck up on us and told us about his huge koi fish (that he kept in a very small container with some goldfish). There was a really cool consignment store called Margaret's that was like a converted house. 

For lunch we ate at a little Greek place called "It's All Greek to Me!" Scott got a chicken pita and I had a falafel burger pita. I hadn't had falafel since London, where we ate close to the Thames before heading to Shakespeare's Globe. I think I had to much of it this time though, because my stomach started bothering me and Scott began referring to it as "the awful falafel." 

We looked around Carmichael's bookstore and stopped in at Heine Bros. The bookstore had a little diary/journal/date book that had the cover from this summer's exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It's one of my favorite pieces of art and I started drooling over it. I wish it were more useful to me so I could've purchased it!

On one of our last stops, we went to an antique shop where I found a huge volume of E.M. Forster (a member of The Bloomsbury Group)! Scott said it was my "last birthday present" and got it for me... it was so sweet. :) 

The woman running the store had a little terrier/beagle-type dog who sort of looked like the dog Wishbone from the awesome TV show that sparked my love of classic literature! I'm pretty sure I'm going to go back and steal him. I want a dog like that so badly for my own. (Though I love my sheltie, Jet!)

P.S. Scott said my necklace looked like "the heart of the ocean." A boyfriend Titanic reference? It's love!

Down with Virginia Woolf

Today is my first day off work! It feels amazing. I don't even know what to do with myself. I think I might watch a movie. I finally met my supervisor for my honors thesis. He's down with Virginia Woolf and The Bloomsbury Group and seems apt to help me in my project. I'm excited to see what direction he has to give. I also got a job offer with a bank that I was really excited about. The only problem is that the training is rigorous; an 8:30-5 shift daily Monday-Friday and an additional Monday and Tuesday. After that, it's pretty ideal for me. It's a job fit for students and runs around 20 hours a week. If I were to accept the job right now, I'd miss 3 sessions of two of my classes and 4 sessions of the other two. Usually teachers drop grades/fail people who miss more than three classes the whole semester. I'm going to see if I can accept the job during fall break when I have two days off of class. I plan on talking to my teachers tomorrow to see if they're willing to work with me. Please wish me luck!

The Style Quo

Top: Forever 21

Jeans: AE

Necklace: Online

Moccasins: DSW

Sunglasses: Forever 21
Watch: Timex

Things I'm Excited About

I am so excited to read this book! Vita Sackville-West was a member of the Bloomsbury Group and close confidante to Virginia Woolf. In fact, Woolf's Orlando: A Biography is centered around the relationship between Violet and Vita! I know, nerd-gasm.

My Spotify playlist that consists of hundreds of songs. My current favorites are as follows:

• Two Weeks-Grizzly Bear
• The Greatest-Cat Power
• Fault Line-Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• Set Free-Katie Gray
• Sweet Light-The Chapin Sisters
• The Rock and the Tide-Joshua Radin
• Soft Shock-Yeah Yeah Yeahs

 These plum wedges I just ordered from Modcloth! I can't wait to wear them with black tights.

I just saw the new Jane Eyre film and loved it! Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender were excellent and illuminating in their roles! It was so much more playful than I expected and I always love to see how movies interpret classic texts to a modern screen. I wasn't disappointed!

 Leslie and I have 2nd row center tickets to see Sense & Sensibility at Actor's Theatre! I saw costume sketches on Facebook and they were beautiful. I can't wait to see them up close.

Scott and I are going to see Fleet Foxes on October 5th! I am in awe that I got orchestra tickets.

Going back to school for my senior year! I'm taking so many cool classes; Greek mythology, Art history, Advanced creative writing, and Sociology. I get to start working on my senior honors thesis on Modernism, Art, Virginia Woolf, and The Bloomsbury Group. And I get to graduate in May!

A Myriad (Harbour) of Thoughts

These past couple of weeks have been so stress-filled. The looming nature of papers. The tendency mid-terms have to sneak up on those who have not studied vigorously enough throughout the semester. Needless to say, it's all kind of over with now. The looming has subsided but not particularly gone away. Finals will be just around the bend.

I spent my entire weekend writing and studying. But I did enjoy Sunday. I always love Sundays. When my dad's home anyway. We always go to church together and it always seems to punctuate my week perfectly. It seems like I can feel anything I want to feel and no one can take it from me. Not on Sunday.

 Last Thursday our creative writing class took a field trip to a landmark cemetery. It's miles long and full of history. One of my favorite movies had a scene filmed there, so it made me smile to know I was in a place where Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst had stood. Especially since Kirsten Dunst is one of my two favorite actresses (the other being Nicole Kidman). My friend Julie and I bummed a ride from this girl in our class. She strikes me as one of those carefree, hippie-type girls who is beautiful without really trying and cool by just standing there. She's also one of those girls who can drive with all of her windows down and it doesn't mess her hair up. I will never be one of those girls. She played The Breeders and Jimi Hendrix. I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to be her friend but also how incredibly complicated. She's readily able to criticize the world and I am not. I tend to praise things without question just because of tradition. I'm safe. I drive with my windows up. I don't paint in my living room or walk around barefoot at concerts. I don't carry a yoga mat in my backseat. In essence, I'm just not that carefree.

I'm not really sure if that's a fault or not.

 Last night at work, we noticed that in one of the see-through cans that someone was shipping the baskets that attach to hot air balloons. A girl on my crew asked, "Who wants to go for ride?" All I could think was, "I do!" I've created a stupid little Bucket List for myself and one of the things I want to do before I die is ride in a hot air balloon. "Maybe someday..." I thought to myself. Then I returned to my thought. "What am I waiting for?" It always seems like I wait around for things to happen instead of just doing them. Granted a hot air balloon ride costs like $250 but still. What's keeping me from making it happen now? I'd hate to return to my list 20 years from now and say, "I haven't done half of these things." Because surely, I will have a mental breakdown and possibly fill my coat with rocks and drown myself in the Ouse River. Just kidding, but seriously.

(I prefer this allusion to a famous author's death instead of the ever-typical "stick my head in the oven," almost a cliche now amongst the "intellectually elite").

And another thing, I've been thinking about Virginia Woolf a lot lately. And how she didn't publish her first novel until she was 33. And how it took her all into her 20's to prepare it. And how she was on Hitler's "Hit List" for publishing an anti-Fascist manifesto. And how her death wasn't really illogical at all. She wasn't all that crazy. She was just taking preventative action against being physically and mentally enslaved. Death was her relief, just like her character Septimus Smith, in Mrs. Dalloway.

 So, Sunday night, aka Monday morning I turned on my TV to find nothing other than, THE WONDER YEARS! When I was a kid, I always loved that show but my parents didn't like it so they'd always change the channel. It was a real treat when I actually got to watch it. So, there was an episode with Kevin's older sister, Karen, dating this vegetarian hippie guy. And he had long hair, John Lennon-esque glasses and all I could think was, "That kinda looks like John Corbett. Nah, couldn't be. It would be awesome if it were John Corbett though." Well, IT WAS. And I had a dream that night that hippie John Corbett from The Wonder Years and I were a thing. And it got me to thinking about just how attractive he was in Sex and the City. Long hair or short. He's just the archetypically perfect instance of the rugged American boy. He looks good in crisp white shirts and jeans. Even though I do believe Carrie and Big belong together, Aidan definitely does a little bit more for me.

It's kind of weird though, because he's older than my dad.

And to wrap up this little love fest, I think it appropriate to praise the book I've been devouring lately, The Hours. It's easily a new favorite. I watched the movie last night as well and loved it. Of course, it is sort of Virginia Woolf-centered so how could I not? There were just so many poignant scenes and lines. Laura Brown, the sullen housewife from 1951 (1949 in the book) tries to make a birthday cake for her husband and says to her son, "We're baking the cake to show him how much we love him." The boy responds, "Otherwise he won't know we love him?" After a pause Laura says, "That's right." Things like that just pull at your heart. 

Outstanding performances by Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep (even though I dislike her), and of course, Nicole Kidman.

I can't wait for Friday. I need a weekend. One that actually involves going outside once in awhile.

Till then...