eggplant

Seamus Heaney

The BreeShe and I

So I know it's been ages since I posted, but I've been promising myself all that time that I would get back into the habit of posting on a regular basis. Hopefully I can get back on that track. I've been a very busy girl lately. And while that is a great thing, some things have fallen to the wayside, blogging, cleaning and regularly crafting are among them. On the other hand I've been having a blast and also reading quite a bit, so I'll stop complaining.

The biggest change in my life since we last chatted (or well, you know) is that I acquired a bike. I never really thought I wanted a bike, but lately I've become obsessed with street style blogs (I am well aware that I am not the only one), and two of my favorites, The Sartorialist and facehunter, feature loads of pictures of adorable girls on adorable bikes. Slowly I found myself thinking about bikes. I decided it would be a blast to be one of those girls, but I wasn't really in the market for a bike. About a month ago I was at Village Thrift with the lovely LP on our day off. And there she was, in all her glittery, green glory. And thus the love affair between Breezy Sheila and I was begun. I named her Breezy Sheila because she's a Schwinn Breeze. The color is called campus green, and since I pretty much go buck wild for anything green these days I was flipping out as soon as I saw her. Once we got some guy to lift her off the rack, I got on and she was a perfect fit right away. It was at that point that I new it was fate. That and that she was only 35 bucks. Although I still drove LP crazy trying to decide whether or not I should take what would be come the BreeShe home. Finally I decided that despite potential storage issues, my life would not be complete without her, so we through her in the back of the Subaru wagon, and the rest is history.

She is a single speed with coaster brakes, which is a little ridiculous, but one of the many reasons I love her so much. I've done a little research since I got her and I found out, like I said, that the color is called campus green. I'd also guess she's from the early 70s, possibly 73. And she's gorgeous. I've been told she's "sharp", "classy" and that she "makes a statement". Which was of course exactly what I was going for.

I got her a basket and these days I ride her to work. It's great. I love having her. I never dreamed how convenient it would be, but it's fantastic. Also, I've had a guy compliment my fenders, so clearly she's hilarity in the making. Long live Breezy Sheila.

Time to Reinstate the Book Buying Hiatus

So for quite awhile I had put my self on an indefinite book buying hiatus. My pile (by my bed, of bought, to-read books) was far too large, and I hadn't been making much progress through them, I felt like I was constantly buying books, and reading one of the ones I had bought, then adding the rest to the pile, and then buying new books once I had finished the one I chose to read. This means the pile was growing much faster than I was working through them. In fact, I wasn't really working through them at all. So for a few months, the only books I let myself buy were new book club books. And I was very good and stuck to my decision. I spent my money else where, got some new clothes, ate out a little, and made some serious progress with my pile. I was quite proud of myself.

Then about a week and a half ago I got a call on my way to babysitting saying that they would back a little late from Baltimore and all of a sudden I had some time to kill. So I stopped into the Busboys & Poets bookstore. There on the shelf was a nice little copy of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Sijie Dai. It had been on my reading list for awhile, and coming in just around a hundred and seventy pages, I figured "why not? I'll get through it quickly, and it's just one book." So I bought it, and thus the madness began.

A few days later, Sarah and I headed up to Politics & Prose, as stop one on an evening of many plans. When I saw that Seamus Heaney's most recent collection District and Circle was finally out in paperback I just couldn't help myself. And since it's such a tiny volume, I felt that buying just that one thing would be almost embarrassing as a reader. So I looked for something else to pickup and spotted St. Lucy's School for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Rusell, which had shown up in the staff recommendations of just about all of my favorite bookstores. So I bought it. But it was hard cover. Up until about a year ago, I only bought hardcover copies of books by my favorite authors that I absolutely could not wait to read. But as I got out of school and obsessed with the prospects of my own recreational reading, I got more into reading reviews and recommendations and would get excited about books before they had been released in paperback. So I started buying hardcovers here and there, telling myself that the extra money was not a bad exchange for having such a visually appealing and more permanent copy of a book I was sure to love. Truthfully, I still would rather read paperbacks (I take my books everywhere with me, and carrying around a hardcover can be quite the annoyance) but as I've always been impatient sometimes I just can't seem to wait.

After book club this weekend, I went into the Busboys & Poets bookstore again to check if they had the book we had chosen and while they didn't I found a copy of The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. The only Atwood I've ever read is Surfacing, and since I've been told that it's atypical of her work (not to imply I didn't like Surfacing, I loved it), and have been endlessly recommended her other books, I picked it up.

When today I headed back up to P&P to get The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian, our chosen book club book, I had decided I would also buy Amsterdam by Ian McEwan (since Amy mentioned that a friend of hers had liked it and it's one of his books that I haven't read) and the Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander (because The Believer raved about it, and after reading the review last night I was too excited to wait). Both The Children's Hospital and The Ministry of Special Cases were again hardcovers, making today's purchase rather expensive. This bought the grand total of my book buying since the lifting of the hiatus (less than 2 weeks ago) to around $150. While I love to support independent bookstores, I love even more to actually support myself, which is why I am deciding I need to reinstate the hiatus once again. Although I have a feeling that now that I've gotten this taste, the second round will be much harder. The good news is this, I now have quite a few books to hold me over until the next lifting of the hiatus. And now my friends, I am off the read.

Beautiful Things

So I've found more things I'm dying to have but must live without. I am now absolutely in love with everything from k. talis jewelry. Especially the necklace with the vintage charm that reads "Je t'aime plus qu'hier, moins que demain", meaning "I love you more than yesterday, less than tomorrow." Not only is this a beautiful sentiment, but it's a beautiful necklace, and I can't help but feel my life is just a little empty without it.

I Heart Ridiculousness

So while making my list yesterday, I totally forgot to include another thing I've been joansing after lately. Switchrings were featured on the national edition of daily candy a few weeks back, and as cheesy as they are, I think they're super fun. The middle wedge comes out and you can switch it around. You pick a pattern group and then you get 4 pieces from that group 2 wedges and 2 ring sets. The slightly disappointing part is that you have no control over what you get colorwise or which patterns from that set. In most of the sets I like lots of designs but not every one. It would be such a bummer to get ones you didn't like. Or colors you would never wear. But I still think it's worth the risk since they're pretty much adorable. Below are some of my favorite designs. I really want the Wonder Woman belt more than any of the other designs they have. Maybe I'll just have to keep trying the solid gold set until I get it. Or maybe one shot would be enough.

I Want It, I Need It, I Can't Afford It

So lately I've been overly conscious of the fact that I have been seriously slacking on my blogging responsibilities. Not only have my posts been few and far between, but I'm also not unaware of the fact that the quality has gone seriously downhill. It's been a busy period though, so what's a girl gonna do. Okay try again, as that was not actually an apology as much as an excuse. To those few of you who do actually take the time out of your days to read my self indulgent little blog, I'm sorry I've been so lazy about it lately. I'm going to try hard to get back into the swing of things. It won't be like when I was at my last job and had little to do besides post all day long about every little thing I came across (my internet scoping time has been so limited lately, which is really sad), but maybe I'll at least get in a few posts a week, or better maybe one a day. We'll see how that goes.

One thing I have been doing lately making a mental list entitled "things to buy (when I'm not so painfully broke)". I thought I would share this list with you just for fun. Mostly because I know you all love to know what is on my wish list.

At the very top of my list is an awesome t-shirt from the boys at gdp clothing. The fellas stopped into the store while on a road trip aimed at getting shops to pick up their line. While that wasn't in the cards, I absolutely feel in love with this tee. It's just how I like my edge, with a dose of serious cuteness mixed in. I plan to pick this up right away once I have some free cash. The guys from gdp were also super fun, and we know how I love to support independent designers of almost anything. While this picture isn't that great it was the only one I could copy (flash is the bane of my blogging existence), but there are far cuter pictures on their site, and many more great designs, so check it out.


Also on the list are some great things from buyolympia.com. It had been awhile since I'd scope the site, and I when I did, I found that there are some great new items up these days. My favorite is this adorable journal from Tenth and Grant. It seems like it could even potentially be a cielo blu replacement. My only reservation is that the interior is graph paper (we all know I have exhausting journal standards, and that I prefer blank pages). But it's a good size, it's soft cover and a great design, so it's worth a shot.



I broke out my "Reading is Sexy" tee on Tuesday for the first time in ages. When I checked back with buyolympia, I was so psyched to see Sarah Utter has another new and fabulous design for us adorably bookish girls. Not too mention, I have not totally ruled out pursuing the prestigious field of Library Science, I'm sure that degree will be completed sometime after my PhD in American Studies (oh if there was only the time). Can you imagine how incredibly nerdalicious I would be if I had PhDs in Library Science and American Studies. I can just see myself fending off the the male academics with my giant tomes, screaming "Down boys! I only have eyes for my massive books!" And I digress, the point is the tee is totally cute. And right on bored with Ms. Utter's typical aesthetic. I love how she continually embraces the four eyed way, mostly since I despise contacts.


I haven't been super in touch with my crafty side lately, and I've been feeling it tugging at me. I feel like I need to explore a new facet though, and I haven't done embroidery in ages. After finding these adorable embroidery patterns from Sublime Stitching, I'm feeling like it may be the ticket. These are two of my favorites, but there are other fabulous options like Pirate Ahoy, Lucha Libre!, Tattoos and more.



A totally worthless, but incredibly cool thing on my list is this set of Actaeon at Home Viewmaster wheels from Vladimir of qVladistan. Vlad does Viewmaster wheels series as a form of art. He names miniatures and then photographs them in 3-D. Apparently they're also accompanied by CDs. The CD for this series is all music, but some of the other ones have narration. The whole concept is so quirky fabulous that I, of course, love it. Why didn't I know before that I needed Viewmaster art?


The other thing on my list is a new set of herbs from Garden District. I managed to kill all mine over the winter, and while I haven't had much time for cooking lately, my windowsill looks a little sad without them. I also am still holding out hope that I will start cooking all the time again, but with my work schedule, I'm thinking it's pretty doubtful. While there are pretty loads of other things I've had my eye on that I'm currently forgetting, these are the major contenders. So hopefully I'll come in to money soon, so I can scoop these things up.

Book Nerd Heaven

Back to trying to catch up on last week (my internet has been down lots, so no holding my prolonged silence against me, okay?). One of our other big outings included a trip to the Library of Congress. Surprisingly enough, after living in DC for a solid 22 years (well except those brief sojourns in Boston and London) and being obsessed with books, libraries and even a little with library science, I had never been there until last week. We got readers cards so we would have access to everywhere, which required only a little bit of lying. Clearly, I loved it. So much so that I actually laid down on the floor at one point. Although I was really disappointed in their periodical room. As a fan of the periodical in general, and especially literary journals and magazines (I find them a comforting library presence) I found their collection a little underwhelming. For instance, they don't have McSweeney's. Which means no library in the entire city has it, including all of the university libraries (believe me, I have checked). I find this very disappointing. However, the stacks were amazing. I love stacks, and these are some pretty awesome stacks. I pretty much never wanted to leave. Maybe next time I'll take a sleeping bag and a tent.

You're Talking With Your Boots and Walking with Your Mouth

So I've actually been doing loads of interesting stuff lately, but haven't had much of a chance to post about it since the lovely Ashley has been staying with me. And the one night she was in Philly when I planned on trying to do a little catch up posting I instead spent the entire evening hunting down vintage polaroids on ebay. But that's ok, I can start now. We've done many fabulous things this week, but we definitely kicked it off right with the Shins show on Monday evening. Despite my annoying ticket issues (no seats together & paying the fees twice) and the lack of a decent venue (Constitution Hall is about as lame as it gets in my humble opinion) the show was actually fantastic. And I suppose it is time I leave my bitching about everything else aside. They played a great set and that's reason enough not to complain. Also, I thought they were super funny. Ash thought they were kind of lame. But we all know I have a bit of a quirky sense of humor. Bottom line is, it was enough to make me seriously happy, and also a little wired. So hurrah.

A Coney Island of the Mind

So for those of you who assumed this post was about Lawrence Ferlinghetti, I apologize. Because, well, it's not. Instead it's about the fantastic evening Sarah and I had. For starters I introduced Sarah to caltor (look if you went to high school around here in the time frame in which I did, you call it that, you just do, so outsiders get over it). Clearly she was dazzled. I mean it is burrito heaven. It had been ages since I had been. Months really. And it was so fantastic. I'll just have to start going to the one across from Gallery Place more often. But it's not as good, the Cleveland Park caltor is easily the best one now. Either way, I love you caltor.

After dinner we went to the evening session at the dciff (the DC Independent Film Festival). Everything we saw was a short, with the longest film lasting 19 minutes. There were a lot of things that were not so good, which I will refrain from talking about in order to not stomp on the dreams of fledgling filmmakers (or have my eye poked out with a paperclip). However, there were some that were good and two that were wonderful. My two favorites were Gandhi at the Bat by Stephanie Argy and Alec Boehm, and Coney Island, USA by Craig Butta. Gandhi at the Bat is pretty much about what it sounds like it's about, but it was well made, and it was really funny in a sweet way. Coney Island, USA was about a carnival hustler trying (and not so successfully) to adapt to the new circumstances of Coney Island. While clocking in at only 8 minutes, it was really fantastic. I also am pleased to report, that apparently Craig Butta is working on making it into a feature length film. I also feel obligated to inform you (since I myself was totally unaware of this) that Coney Island has been purchased and is being made into a water park and mall, supposedly by the same people that own the Mall of America. All of the people that used to work there have lost their jobs. Construction begins in September. When I think about this it occurs to me, that the American carnival way of life, and the "carny", will most likely die-out. Or at least nearly. Coney Island always seemed to be the last vestiges of carny culture. And now it's going to be destroyed. It was really clear from the Q&A that Craig Butta was deeply saddened by this. The Q&A really rounded out the whole experience. Especially since the directors of both of my favorite films from the evening were there. I really enjoyed the event, even though I didn't enjoy every film. All in all it was a fabulous experience. The festival run through Sunday, so if you get a chance check out a session.

Vicariously

I hope someone has orangey red in the place, because this print is so adorable. It's from good shape design, and it's $30. I love it, but it would look so out of place in my apartment. So I share it with all of you in hopes that someone might love it and have a space for it.

Greenfingers

So I just watched a totally adorable movie called Greenfingers. It's a British comedy kind of in the same vein as Calendar Girls. Not that the plots really have many similarities at all, but they have similar feels. They both also have Helen Mirren. They both are also based on true stories. It's kind of a chick flick, but it's a good one. If you tend to like that kind of movie then I highly recommend it. It was sweet and very amusing. It's the kind of movie that is so cute and funny that you can't sit still, so you just squirm in your seat (or at least I do). So if you like that then rent away!

Domesticity

Domestic, a wall decal company I was previously unfamiliar with, was featured on d*s today. In general, I love the concept of wall decals, interesting options for wall decor are always nice, many of us live in places where we can't put up wallpaper, etc., but for the most part I've never really found much that I thought I might actually use. Some of the ones from Blik are cool. I've always been a fan of the Fly, Heads and Flock, and the new Iron Vines is pretty cool, But I'm not sure I would actually use any of them, at least not in the place I have now. I feel the same way about most of the designs from Domestic. Most of their designs are very cool, but too silly, whimsical, or just not my style. However the one pictured above I really adore. It's fun, but not too out there, the colors would work great in my place, and it's not so big. But it is, like all the wall decals I've ever seen, on the expensive side. So most likely it won't be showing up on my wall anytime soon, but I just thought I'd share with you all since I think it's pretty great. And like I said the concepts of wall decals are pretty awesome.

A Few of My Favorite Things

So I just caught a glimpse of yesterday's post on 3191, my absolute favorite visual blog. And Steph's post includes the Believer, which is (as I'm sure you all know) my absolute favorite magazine. I love seeing things I like come together.

The Black Donnellys

So last night The Black Donnellys premiered on NBC in place of Studio 60, and while I am disappointed about the (hopefully temporary) loss of Studio 60, I actually really liked The Black Donnellys. Looking at the reviews on imbd, they look very mixed. People seemed to love it or hate it, but I enjoyed it. I've never been a huge fan of mob related entertainment (which I guess it isn't exactly), but I dunno it's an interesting story and it seems like it has heart. For those of you who haven't heard anything about it (as far as I can tel pretty much anyone who doesn't watch either Heroes or Studio 60) it's a show about 4 Irish brothers who grew up and live in Hell's Kitchen. One brother, Tommy, has a dream to get out and be an artist, but pretty much gives it up and becomes a thug in order to protect his brothers, who are already thugs. Maybe doesn't sound fantastic when described that way (I am pretty awful at describing shows in a way that makes people want to see them without giving away tons of plot details, see me trying to describe Veronica Mars to anyone who has never heard of it), but I found it enjoyable. We'll see if it keeps up after the pilot I guess, but I still wish they'd bring back Studio 60. Can't they get rid of ER and put one in that time slot. I mean does anyone watch that show anymore? I mean other than my Mom.

The Science of Sleep

Last night I watched The Science of Sleep. It had been in my netflix queue for awhile, and when I was recently reminded how gorgeous Gael Garcia Bernal is, I decided to move it up (and the real truth about the ordering of my netflix queue comes out). I was reminded of how fantastic looking he is by Babel, which I saw pretty recently, and didn't particularly like. In fact, I thought that the only things worth watching in that movie were him, and the tangent about the deaf girl in Tokyo, which was pretty much unrelated to the rest of the movie, but absolutely beautiful. The Science of Sleep, however, I did really like. It was completely bizarre, but absolutely fantastic. There were so many moments when I found myself thinking what the hell is wrong with this guy?, about the main character, Stephane, and would then realize about 6 seconds later that my imagination (especially while dreaming) has come up with thing equally as weird. There are moments when I felt like he was crazy (and he is a little since he has some problem where he can't really seem to tell when he's dreaming & when he's not), but then quickly I'd remember that we're all a little crazy when we're willing to admit it to ourselves. The unchecked human mind seems to come up with some pretty outlandish things no matter who you are. So suspend your disbelief, and put aside your judgement and see The Science of Sleep, because even if he's crazy, it's still beautiful and creative.



And one side note on how life is so random sometimes...the female lead in The Science of Sleep is played by Charlotte Gainsbourg, which I didn't know until this seeing the credits of the movie. Before yesterday I had never heard of her, or at least not in anyway that I had taken notice, but yesterday I read an article in the new NYLON about Air (that is the french band, not the substance which we all breath). She is the daughter of composer Serge Gainsbourg, and Air wrote an albums worth of music for Charlotte to record, which was released a few months back in France. It was mentioned in the article because it has apparently made Air more recognizable in France. When I put in the DVD yesterday (after moving to the top of my netflix queue in the beginning of the week), I had no clue that the actress was the same person that I had been reading about earlier in the day. These kinds of things seem to happen to me a lot. Like when I had never heard of the 80s movie Repo Man, but then read two articles about it in the same week, just by stumbling across them. What cosmic force is it that draws mostly meaningless parts of my life together in ways that correspond? I ask because it seems to be happening more and more frequently lately and I really have no idea why.

The People of Paper

So I recently finished reading The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia. It was actually the first book for our book club. And I thought it was fantastic. It was however incredibly complex, and seemed to function on so many layers, that I think I still haven't grasped all of it, and I probably never will. But the books is still wonderful, and well worth reading. Plascencia has a really beautiful voice, and I think that alone makes the book worth reading. But on top of that there is a great deal of fascinating symbolism, and tons of experimentation with form. In addition to being a really great book to read, it was an awesome book to discuss for our book club. I really enjoyed the whole thing, and felt like I got a lot more out of the book because of it. Which is just what I had hoped with the whole thing. It was really fantastic.

Breaking and Entering

So last night Sarah and I went to see Breaking and Entering, which I mentioned wanting to see in my last post about Children of Men. And I absolutely loved it. It was a great movie for so many reasons. I really liked the plot. I thought the acting was great. The cinematography was beautiful. And the presentation of London was amazing and fantastic. Maybe I'm a little partial, but it looked great and felt great in the movie. And it was very real in many ways. The plot also felt very real. It was very human, and it mostly felt like it was a slice of some one's life. And it had a very serene feeling too it. Mostly it was one of those movies that is so great that I can't really say anything about it. So I will stop trying. But I thought it was important to say how much I loved it.

It also has joined the list of films that make me like Jude Law against my will. Based on what I know of his personal life and choices, I really don't want to like him. But he seems so human and likable in the movies I see him in that it really makes me like him. If only as an actor.

Children of Men

So last night I went and saw Children of Men with my Dad, and I thought it was really great. After seeing the preview awhile back, I was interested in seeing it, but was not about to immediately run out and watch it. It wasn't on the absolute top of my list. We ended up seeing it last night because the timing and the location worked out best. What I had really wanted to see last night was Breaking and Entering, because I read a review recently saying that while not every part of the movie is amazing, it does a great job of portraying the heartbeat of contemporary life in London. Which for me is enough of a reason to see a movie. But it was playing too early and only at E Street, which was in the opposite direction of dinner with my brother, so we went with Children of Men instead. And while I would still like to see Breaking and Entering, I am really glad we ended up seeing Children of Men.

If you like dystopian stories (and it's based on the novel of the same name by P.D. James, so it's an actual story), it's a good one. What would happen to the world if humans stopped being able to reproduce? One might guess that most of the world would collapse, which is what happens in the movie, with the exception of the UK. And what is life like when you live in the only country left in the world, which has closed its borders, is in a constant battle to kick out illegal immigrants, and never has any new citizens born? Well that's what you'll find out if you see the movie. I've always really enjoyed this kind of story, so if you do too I think you will really like the movie. If dystopian stories aren't really your bag, then I would say that you might want to pass on this one.

But I will say that the historical and cultural references (mostly in the imagery) are pretty phenomenal. So if you see it, I would suggest you keep your eyes open, and if you can managed to not get SO wrapped up in the story that you can pay attention to what things look like (and I would guess that's gotta be pretty hard, because the story definitely consumes you) I would guess you will have an even more rewarding experience than I did. After reading about some of those aspects of the film I wish I could see it again. But it's not surprising, since Alfonso Caurón is really very talented, and seems to be an incredibly thoughtful director.

One last thought, I'm not really sure how I managed to make it this far without realizing how super sexy Clive Owen is, but I'm glad I'm in the know these days. I think I had just legitimately not noticed before, but it's kind of hard to miss in Children of Men.

Something New

So for awhile now I've been toying with the idea of downsizing from my serious leather KS planner. It is great, but it's heavy and I had begun feeling awhile ago like it was unnecessary for my life these days. It was beginning to get beat up, and there is no reason at this point for me to have a planner that nice, so I figure why not save it for later, when I will need it more, and be glad to have a nice planner that is in good condition. I also felt like I could save my shoulder a little bit. Yesterday I finally found one that I liked and went ahead and ordered it. It's the first Little Otsu Annual Weekly Planner. Little Otsu is a great little company that publishes all sorts of fun things, and apparently they're going to do a new planner each year from now on. Because it's not pre-numbered (you fill it in yourself) I don't have to worry about the fact that I've decided to do this in mid-February.



I think that the layout is really great, and the coolest part is that each week is completely different. It's not just your typical 4-6 page repeat, or a few weeks with a picture here or there. Every week has a new design. Here's a sample week.


Since the front isn't my absolute favorite part about it, I decided to get this awesome cover to go with it. Part of what I was worried about sacrificing by retiring the planner I have now was all the pockets I use to keep random stuff in, like my paychecks before I deposit them, important cards, prescriptions, stamps, a list of current addresses of friends, etc. This will keep the planner from getting totally beat up, and it will help me organize.


The planner only has four address pages (not really enough for serious usage), but the cover has a pocket for this mini address book too, so I picked that up as well. The Little Otsu stuff is just so great and funky that I couldn't help myself from letting them completely organize my life.


Here's a sample entry page for the address book. So super cool looking. I really can't wait for the stuff to show up, so I can switch everything over!