Summer Reading List

For those of you who are interested, last year I made a summer reading list to keep track of what I've read for leisure. The link for last year's post is right here. This summer was sort of slow on the reading front but I'm sure I'll more than make up for it this semester...

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I'd been wanting to read The Help ever since I saw (and loved) the film. I typically read books before I see movie adaptations but this was an exception. I didn't mind! It was nice to see the book go further than what the movie covered and I felt like I was left with a greater sense of confliction when I was finished reading--and I think great books do that. They make you feel something. Sometimes that leaves you unsettled and unresolved but then again, that's life.

Drop Dead Healthy was an interesting read. I like Jacobs' witty style and no-hold's-barred attempt to become the most fit in every aspect of his life, body, and mind. It read to me a bit more like a memoir rather than a how-to, which I was sort of expecting, but nonetheless it was an entertaining read.

Mailed to me from Oregon from my favorite professor, The London Scene was an unexpected delight. London and Virginia Woolf are like my two favorite things in the world. Combine them and you have a book that I will read in one sitting. The six essays in this collection are from magazine articles detailing London life by Woolf. It's a wonderful book for anyone who would love to compare early nineteenth century London to today (and just how much hasn't changed) or anyone who just loves the lyrical prose of Woolf.

I finally made it through the fourth Harry Potter book! I'm halfway done with the series! (And sort of embarrassed I couldn't commit to finishing the series this summer but alas...) So far, this is my favorite of the series because of the dark twists and turns. In the first three books, something big happened, but it all got resolved in the end. The Goblet of Fire leaves things wide open and I like knowing that things are never going to be quite safe (at least at Hogwarts).

I'd read The Perks of Being a Wallflower in high school but really just didn't take to it. I thought Charlie cried too much and that bothered me. I revisited it however since the trailer for the movie with Emma Watson came out. It was better the second time around, but still really cryptic, and Charlie really does just cry way more than any menstruating female watching The Notebook. But anyway, there are little gems of phrases here and there which make it worthwhile. 

The Minimalist Woman's Guide to Having it All was an e-book I purchased for $0.99! I gravitate towards a simple lifestyle in which you are only surrounded by things you find beautiful, things you love, or things you actually need and use. My style follows these principles quite a bit as I've realized I follow a simple/classic wardrobe built around neutrals. I just love wearing all beige. I don't know why. I'm weird. Anyway, Meg Woolfe is wonderful and has a really great Minimalist lifestyle blog here. There are a lot of helpful tips that can help you get rid of clutter that you've been holding on to out of guilt or "that one day."

I've also read bits and pieces of other things here and there... (I promise, I do read quite a bit more than it seems!)

Head & Heart

 Life has been really strange lately. I couldn't have ever imagined that this was how my summer would turn out but sometimes life surprises you and you have to roll with the punches. My boyfriend of a year and a half and I broke up a few weeks ago. We'd gone through a break, gotten back together, and struggled to make things work like they had in the past. I don't blame him for anything. He was a good boyfriend and a great person but sometimes people just aren't meant to be together forever. And it's not because of someone's need to feel miserable and wander the earth forever, taking on, like, a zillion sexual partners like the Bloomsbury Group, but rather something in their head and their heart. So from one blogger (or reader) to another, I am here to say I'm sorry for the hurt I've caused; the confusion; and to those of you who may still think of me as the bad guy, all I can say is that grudges really take a toll on your soul and it's better to just forgive and forget. I hold no grudges.

Beyond all of that, I've been knitting up a storm, hanging out with my friends, preparing for school, going to orientations, and I just finished season 4 of Breaking Bad on Netflix and it was a pretty explosive ending!

I have another grad school orientation to go to today and I'm excited to go because it puts me one day closer to actually immersing myself in academia. I feel like this feeling has been a part of my life for so long and it's something I trust. And if there's anything I've learned this year, it's to trust your heart. Even if that means letting go of things you care about.

Good luck and best wishes.

1+1=?

Today my mother told me that a telly program said that if you end a relationship out of boredom, you're really just bored with yourself. And yes, I just said telly because I wish I were British.

But seriously. I thought about it for awhile and I couldn't wrap my head around it. Who could've said such a quandary of a phrase? A relationship is sort of like 1 + 1 = 2. So obviously if you're bored with 2, then part of that must stem from one of the 1's. But if you were being adequately challenged by a significant other, wouldn't that excite you? Wouldn't it make it all worth staying? Or is it really just that you're so tired of yourself that you can't stand the thought of being around another person. Is that out of fear that your boring-ness will rub off on others? Is it just too embarrassing to face?

And what's not to say that your boredom will ever disappear? Are you doomed to an eternity of solitude because of it? Or is the theory in question, really just a bunch of bullshit, said by some person who hoped it would make them sound pensive and worldly?

My money's on the latter.

Moonrise Kingdom

So, last Saturday Scott and I went to the Forecastle Festival on the waterfront of Downtown Louisville. Despite my germaphobia, we had a really good time. Well, except for that one time we had to use the porta-potty in the dark. *Shudders.*

Beforehand, we had lunch at the new vegetarian restaurant near campus. The veggie fried rice and spring rolls were delicious!

I'm kind of a clean-cut goody two-shoes (or I try to be) but there's a side of me that's full of bohemian splendor. There were so many different walks of life at Forecastle, coming together to celebrate the things we all have in common: the necessity to feel rhythm, to feel like we are a part of something larger. It was like a mini-Woodstock except there were exceptionally less naked people. 

The last few days have been a whirlwind. It's amazing sometimes how love can pick up where it left off and somehow feel new and better. And you fit together like puzzle pieces. The heart is a curious organ but it always leads you home. 

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Scott and I went to McAlister's yesterday before we went to see Moonrise Kingdom. It was so good! I really loved Sam and Suzy. It was such a bizarre story and the setting felt like it took me somewhere my imagination could never lead me, which in my opinion is a sign of a really good novel or film. Makes me want to catch up on some of Wes Anderson's older films!

We also decided to start a little book club because of all the new movies coming out that look really good! I remember reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower in high school but I was somehow convinced that it was over-hyped. But seeing the movie trailer with Emma Watson makes me really curious because I kind of like her a LOT. She's the face of Burberry for crying out loud. Scott has wanted me to read The Hobbit forever because it's his favorite book and the movie is coming out. Seems like no better time than now! 

Oh and the henna. If you can't find henna at Forecastle, then you just suck it up, go to Barnes & Noble, and buy yourself a kit. Boom. 

(Can't wait to rock an ankle and wrist tattoo).

Skinny Taco Dip

 

Skinny Taco Dip

Okay, so I've done it again. I'm guilty of creating another Pinterest recipe. I saw this recipe and intended to make it according to the ingredients but I had my own modifications in mind and ultimately ended up just improvising.

My aunt Judy brought this dip to Thanksgiving and I couldn't get over it. You start with refried beans, follow with a layer of sour cream mixed with taco seasoning (I used fat free), then top with lettuce shreds and cheese. The sour cream and taco seasoning really make this special, in my opinion. Que delicioso!

I only made this last night and it's already half gone.

Fortunate for me, my energy is way down just in time for a day off work to celebrate Independence Day. I sort of just woke up from what may or may not have been a four hour nap. The extreme heat makes for itchy eyes and troubles with allergies. We really need some rain!

Fashion & Function

So, today I became the proud owner of an iPhone 4s. I've wanted one since about whenever they came out but I knew it would be senseless to throw money away every month that I certainly didn't have for a data plan. But thanks to my T.A. stipend arriving in August, I can now afford it!

I'm in awe. I love having basically a phone and an iPod all in one. I'm also so excited to use Instagram after seeing so many other bloggers feature Instagram pics that look so professional having come from a phone. And of course, I've asked Siri some inappropriate questions already.

Now, I'm faced with finding an aesthetically pleasing case that will also like, you know, protect the phone that's covered in glass. I'm sort of OCD so I ordered three different cases to see how they work with the intention of sending the other two back that I don't like.

So feminine! Mint is so fresh.

Amy Sia has the best designs. They look just like brushstrokes.

Plum is my favorite color and this is perhaps the most practical.

I ended up purchasing the protection plan but I have a month to cancel if I end up having buyer's remorse. Anyone with iPhones can you tell me if you have the monthly protection plan, is it a waste of money, or did it really come in handy? I take pretty good care of my electronics but I've been known to drop things at times.

Any suggestions for cases? The mint case is so lovely and minty and tactile but perhaps the least protective. The Amy Sia design case is a hardcover, providing more protection but of course, not as much as the almighty Otterbox. My dad has an Otterbox and he says he doesn't use the protection plan because the Otterbox absorbs shock so well that he can drop his phone as many times as he wants and it won't break.

Oh, the perils of being at war with fashion and function.

Muffins & Maladies

Banana muffins

All right, I've been at it again. The 100 degree+ temperatures, lack of rain, and phantom ailment on my left side has left me cooped up indoors. So, what do I do? Yes, I make muffins. But these are no ordinary muffins, you see. They are made from a couple bananas, Greek yogurt, oats, sweetener, and a bit of baking soda. The recipe called for baking powder but I was all out so I just added a bit more baking soda and they turned out all right. 

I am in love with these muffins. They actually stick together when you hold them to eat, unlike crumbly, floury muffins. Anytime I can avoid flour, I do. The recipe said you could add any sort of sweetener but I opted for regular old sugar because at least my body knows how to digest it. Aspartame and such still sort of freaks me out. 

I will end my nearly week-long house arrest tomorrow at 5:30AM when I leave for work and where I will continue to work everyday this week except Wednesday. I may die but at least I will be moving again. I figure all my house lounging is preparation for the long hours of work I'll have to put in as a T.A. next year (I already saw my schedule and it includes some Saturdays). Hoping the phantom malady disappears soon...