Words to live by

 If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel— as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them— wherever you go.

                                        - Anthony Bourdain

Happy Halloween!

I am currently sitting in a Starbucks working with the slowest internet connection ever, trying to catch  up on some work etc that I got behind on. They are saying we will be without power until Wednesday at the latest. At home we have the generator going so at least we can shower and make coffee! (The two essentials in my book) 

Despite the weather I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Treat yourself to some delicious sweets today. 

Also, yesterday I saw a snowman with a jack-o-lantern as a head - genius! Still wishing I had had a camera with me so I could share.

Yup, this could be me...

I saw this video (link below) on one of the blogs I visit: A Cup of Jo. The book is pretty cute and a few of the haikus made me giggle.

Haiku for the Single Girl

An animated promo for Penguin Books new collection, "Haiku For The Single Girl". Words by Beth Griffenhagen and original drawings by Cynthia Vehslage Meyers. Animation by Dan Meth and Music by Kevin MacLeod

This is why he is one of my favorites

Why don’t you tell me that ‘if the girl had been worth having, she’d have waited for you?’ No, sir, the girl really worth having won’t wait for anybody.

                   - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Stumbled upon this quote today in one of my readings

“To be nobody but yourself – in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle which nay human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”

       - e.e. cummings

If only women paid as much attention to their breasts as men do...

As you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so I thought I'd take a few minutes to celebrate all the strong women I know in my life. My mom is one of five sisters so I have always been surrounded by women - loud, opinionated, beautiful women. Several years ago I lost my aunt to breast cancer but never once did she let it get the best of her - even at the very end. My aunt, and women like her, should be our biggest role models.

Oh, Good Morning

If you're having some trouble waking up this morning, these three have got you covered: Adele, Jay Z, Kanye

Happy Friday!

Some of my friends are coming for a visit this weekend and I couldn't be happier. I hope this Friday goes by quick!

Love

So I've been in a blase mood the last few days between the weather, work etc. and I'm determined to snap out of it. Here are a few things that make me smile today, enjoy :)

 I got an email this morning alerting me that Madewell has new Fall styles and FREE shipping on all orders. Good for me, not for my credit.

Some of my best friends are coming to visit me this weekend for some long overdue girl time, relaxation, laughs and Fall fun. The weather is supposed to be perfect and I can't wait to sit out on the deck and enjoy some cocktails. This Pottery Barn "Pumpkin Party" looks so cute and is my inspiration for this weekend. But since we're twenty-somethings and on a budget, it will certainly not be this adorable, but we can pretend.

Hunter S. Thompson + Johnny Depp = Me anxiously awaiting the release of this movie

(cute picture courtesy of a google search)

Coffee. Plain and simple: coffee makes me happy. Especially on days like today when I need

an extra boost.

Normally I'm not one for trendy nails but this manicure I saw on one of my favorite blogs is one I might try. I think this glittery manicure might brighten my days.

 
"Wines that Rock" merges two of my favorite things.  Ku-Dos to Mark Beaman for this genius idea.

Sometimes you need to remind yourself...

Happy Birthday to my Mama!

(Kate Spade, Spring 2012)

We celebrated my mom's birthday on Sunday (even though it's today - schedules are crazy things) with some delicious cake and presents. And the only thing better than warm, right out of the oven chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream is perhaps a sliver of that same cake the next morning with your coffee, yes?

Magnifique

Francoise Hardy is gorgeous and is quite possibly my absolute favorite style icon of all time. Her tomboy style is feminine, it's decidedly effortless, functional yet unattainable. She exudes this "togetherness" this...zen-ness. French women are fluent in exceptional balance. Just one more reason to envy them.

I mean... I don't smoke, I don't drink...I recyle

When I went to see 50/50 a few nights ago, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew the critics weren't lying - the film had all the elements for an indie to mainstream success story and it had a talented group of actors that were perfectly cast. But in my personal experience, cancer is only funny to a point; sooner or later the laughter stops and you're faced with a reality that's hard to swallow.

But the film expertly toes the line between heartfelt comedy and heart wrenching reality. What impressed me most was the fact that this movie, built around the Big C, was able to convey more than just the typical, "Character finds out he may die and spends what could be his last weeks on Earth crossing things of a to-do-list." The film was really about the raw emotions that come with human relationships. And because of that, there was no immediacy to the story - I wasn't watching characters try and cheat death. I was witnessing people dealing with a shitty situation, in a chillingly real way.

The film allows Joseph Gordon Levitt (who I think we've all been a fan of since 10 Things I Hate About You, Third Rock from the Sun, a guest appearance on That 70's Show, Brick...okay, I could keep going) to be completely and utterly human and he nails it. His vulnerability is almost too much to take and when he rasps out, "...I've never been to Canada...I've never told a girl I loved her..." I almost lost it. The film is sad, yet not depressing and I left the theater quiet and introspective. Maybe not the best movie to see on a Friday night or "date night" but I definitely recommend it - if for nothing else, to give you something real to think about on your drive home.

Also, the film stars an all around fantastic cast: Seth Rogen, (at times a bit too robust, but it's what he does best) Anna Kendrick, (her typical fast-talking style but she embraces the fragile-ness of her character) Bryce Dallas Howard, (I don't think I ever realized how gorgeous she is) Anjelica Huston (a bit underused I think - she's AnjelicafreakingHuston! playing an overbearing mother! Perfection) and Philip Baker Hall (what can I say, other than: love him).

The familiar, yet sometimes not-so-feel-good "chick flick"

 Mindy Kaling ( "The Office") wrote this witty article for The New Yorker on archetypal female characters in romantic comedies and she nailed it. But unlike Mindy, this genre of film is not my guilty pleasure. I know that women (and who are we kidding, most men) watch these movies to feel "better," to "take their mind off things." And I admit to having tried this remedy to a bad day as well. But it doesn't always work. It leaves me (and I imagine many other women) feeling like I should fit into one of these ridiculous categories. I grew up aspiring to be what Mindy refers to as, The Ethereal Weirdo, but, no, it turns out that I don't actually want to make out with you in the rain - it's freezing out here. And unfortunately, you won't wander into a cafe in Paris and find me serving cafe au lait, because honestly, what twenty-something has the money to live that way? I want my "meet cute" as much as the next girl, but I'm gonna get it as a flawed, intelligent, and hardworking young woman who looks and acts (most of the time) my age.

... no one would watch my life in film, would they?...

Read The New Yorker article here

Oh, you know, this is my blog

As one of my favorite ladies once said, "an audience is always warming but it must never be necessary to your work." I take solace in that fact and in that spirit, I start my blogging adventure.