Late Nights and Early Parades

*Perfect reading position*

*Pick a beach. Any beach*

*Dance in the waves*

*Jackie O. goes to the picnic*

*Aerie's delicate new arrivals*

Thoughts of summer filled my head when Aerie and StyleFind filled my inbox.
Dear Time: please fly.
-B.

PS: Your lovely comments have made my days so bright. Thank you and welcome, new readers!
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Water for Elephants

Checking IMDB for new movie releases is one of my favorite homework-avoiding techniques. But I am definitely more of a reader than a movie watcher, so I get super excited when I find a film based on a book (yes I am aware of my weirdness).
I'm no teenaged vampire lover, but a girl has to be dead not to notice Robert Pattinson. Saying that I was interested in the Water for Elephants trailer strictly because of Reese Witherspoon would be a fantastic lie. And no one would believe me anyways.
The book was available at my library - luckily no one had caught on yet... Now there is a long waiting list.
Think Nicholas Sparks meets the Great Depression, with a little Dan Brown-style guess work thrown in. That’s the fast review anyway.
I am not sure what my expectations were, and I am equally unsure of my final opinion.
Gruen can’t seem to make up her mind about whether the book is a comedy, tragedy, romance, or a mixed drama. The characters therefore are sometimes confused about their own identities.
Jacob (Pattison’s character) alternates between total pessimism and random, sarcastic optimism. His romantic counterpart, Marlena (Witherspoon), changes between helpless femininity and raging spitfire.

Fittingly, the character with the clearest personality is Rosie, the elephant who steals the show. Whether she is intended to be the main character or not, I can’t tell. But she draws your attention, making you laugh and cry through the whole story.

Read this book before you see the film, if only to have an idea of where the story is headed. It will be very interesting to see how the directors translate the characters’ dual personalities onto the big screen.

Anyone else read this? What are your oppinions?
-B.

Water for Elephants, Sarah Gruen
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Weekend Fitness: Energy Boosters

This week has been deadly for my fitness routine. Add up seven 3-credit classes, piles of homework, a snow delay which the teachers did NOT see as an excuse, a huge library project, and multiply it by sleep deprivation to the fourth degree. The result = no energy!

I was quite proud of myself for working out three times this week, despite school insanity. P90X is my new favorite at-home regime. Those ab-ripper moves are not for the faint of heart.
I also managed to follow my tips from last weekend. Extra water-drinking tip: fill a water bottle the night before so you can toss it into your bag on the way out the door.

This week's tips:
1. Treat yourself to cute workout gear. Having something new, even if only a headband or socks, will motivate you to use it!

2. Follow a few healthy cooking blogs. Some of my favorites are here, here, and here. Beautiful photos and easy instructions can help you ignore the prepackaged junk food.

3. Reload your iPod every few weeks. Listening to the same playlist a hundred million times gets boring fast. Fresh, energetic songs will get your butt off the study lounge couch!

Have a rejuvenating weekend,
-B.

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In Now: Textiles by Rodarte

The Fashion program at my school includes several textile classes, so I geeked-out when I heard about Rodarte's collaboration with Knoll Luxe (thank you, Zoe Report)! The collection is intended for home projects, like cushions and drapes, but interior design fabric can be used to create AMAZING clothing designs as well.




I am itching to get my hands on a few yards to experiment with my DIY Rodarte fantasies!
-B.


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The Vanity

A big blogging trend is to make a little list of the items in your bag or wallet. For the next four months my bag(s) will be permanently occupied by textbooks, file folders, pens, and random scraps of grimey paper.
But I do have a pretty fabulous dresser. For your reading interest:

*Pink latch-closure box that used to hold a wrist watch with interchangeable bands. Perfect for earrings and pins.

*Kate Spade Twirl fragrance roller. My favorite 2010 Christmas gift!

*Vintage Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle. A lovely highschool graduation gift from my aunt.

*Piles of necklaces and bracelets that never find their way back to the jewelry box.

*Heirloom birthstone ruby ring. Early college graduation gift from my mom.

*Chanel No. 5 perfume. It's a bit musky for me, so I only use it on glamorous occasions.

*Antique piano music box. A very special 21st birthday gift from another aunt.

*Framed pictures of my best friends and family.

*Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Emma.

Do something different,

-B.
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Coco Quoted

Coco Chanel had it all: fashion sense, beauty, brains, creativity, artistic ability, business savvy, and an extremely thought-provoking way with words.
A few of my favorites to top off this busy Tuesday:

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

Off to study for my own brightly successful future with the help of green tea and oversized PJs.

Be inspired!

-B.
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Umbrellas and Buffers

Today was my last first-day-of-school, and the weather celebrated by being absolutely nasty. My feet were damp by the time I finally got home, despite tights and cozy boots.

This final semester is shaping up to be the meanest of them all, so you might notice my posts appearing late at night, at random afternoon hours, or slowing down a bit - I will try to prevent this, but please forgive if a day or two is missed.

Monday was not entirely horrible though (are you surprised?).
Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and strange as it is, I am one of the few single girls in the world who does not hate this holiday.
In fact, I kind of like it. All the pink and red and hearts and flowers on display in every store gives me a happy feeling inside. It's pretty! And tons of chocolate goes on sale the day after, which is another reason to love.

Anyway, the reason I'm thinking VDay already is because one of my best friends, Kris, surprised me today with the news that she just started dating. Kris and I have been friends since sophomore year and both of us have been mostly single through college. The way she "broke the news" to me was so cute: as we left our first class this morning, a guy bumped into her in the hall. She greeted him, introduced us, and we kept walking. A few seconds later she said,
"You know that guy I bumped into?"
I was distracted by thoughts of my next class, so I said something uninteresting, like, "uhhuh".
"Um, well, we are kind of doing... relationship things".

How cute is that? "Relationship things". While I love her for being sensitive to my current state of singleness and not wanting to throw her dating status in my face, I was completely ecstatic for her. Her unique choice of words was a sweet attempt at a buffer, no matter how unnecessary.
Have you ever had a dating friend "buffer" her relationship status for you? What are your thoughts on Valentine's Day? My attitude is definitely in the minority among my single girl-friends, so I can sympathize if you have negative feelings.

Happy end-of-Monday,
-B.

PS: Romantic Crossword Cake, here. Impressive creativity.
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