Cool weather always makes me crave warm meals. I decided to roast up some chicken I had in the freezer, along with some fingerling potatoes, and seasoned it all with lemon, olive oil, and fresh herbs.
I should have taken a picture before it all went into the oven. The pale meat against the bright green of the herbs, and the yellow of the lemon...never has raw chicken looked so pretty.
The smell of roasted chicken was apparently not just alluring to me:
Why is it that the simplest meals are the most satisfying?
"The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!" ~Sense and Sensibility
"It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do." ~Sense and Sensibility
"If I could but know his heart, everything would become easy." ~Sense and Sensibility
"Sometimes the last person on earth you want to be with is the one person you can't be without." ~Pride and Prejudice
"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." ~Pride and Prejudice
"The more I see of the world, the more I am dissatisfied with it." ~Pride and Prejudice
I really think that Jane Austen's birthday should be a national holiday for single girls. This day would be celebrated by having the day off from work, sleeping in, watching Jane Austen film adaptations, and drinking Earl Grey tea. All in a big sweater and yoga pants. Yup, sounds like a perfect mid-December holiday to me.
I've decided to join the land of Tumblr. Check out my Tumblr, Fact + Fiction. I'm still figuring out what info will go where, but if you're interesting it will probably amount to a lot of reblogging, stop on by. If you have a Tumblr yourself, let me know and we can be Tumblr pals!
I'm not a big fan of a whole mess of Christmas lights all over (on my house; I love it on other peoples' homes) and am pretty pleased with my first attempt at hanging Christmas lights.
Plus, it kind of turns my porch into a stage. I'm going to learn some sweet tap dances and start selling tickets. These suckers are never coming down.
I'll be setting up a new, albeit small, men's section on seek vintage in the next day or two. My plan is to get this section growing over the coming months. Here are my current offerings:
This cotton work shirt has possibly never been worn. I'll definitely need to steam/iron it before putting it up on Etsy. I could totally see Don Draper cutting the grass in this shirt.
Christian Dior tie. Hard to see in this photo, but it's navy blue with tiny "D" emblems.
Another Christian Dior tie. I love me some paisley.
I got to do a few Goodwill thrifting trips while in North Carolina for Thanksgiving. I love seeing these primary colors hanging alongside each other. I'll be posting more of my finds on the blog and on seek vintage in the next few days.
I just saw this on Gizmodo, who has this to say about the video:
"The video was put together by a guy named Walter C. May and his roommates—who just happen to be in a band called The Daylights. It was posted on YouTube yesterday and has since then been tweeted about by May's friends, random strangers, and even Katy Perry.
But May's girlfriend, for whom the video was made, hasn't seen it yet.
That's because May wanted the video to reach her organically—through tweets, links passed between friends, and blog posts. He wanted to show his girl that they "can feel close without having to be close every day," and that their relationship can remain strong even though they'll be thousands of miles apart over the next two years."
I really hope this story is true and not just a way to get his band some attention.
And if it is true, I love it, I love it, I love it.
Today is Lucy Maud Montgomery's birthday. For an overly talkative, freckled, gawky, precocious kid like me, there was no more inspiring heroine than Anne Shirley. Anne began as an overly talkative, freckled, gawky, precocious girl and grew to be a writerly woman who, while not conventionally beautiful, managed to charm the socks off Gilbert Blythe. Sigh. I think I'm going to re-read the series and maybe some of L. M.'s other books over Christmas vacation. I need a good escape from reality.
Also, I can never be grateful enough for my college roommate, Hannah, who owned the Anne of Green Gables movies. We spent many a rainy Sunday holed up in our dorm watching scenes like this:
A few overly flowerly, perfectly Montgomery quotes for the road:
""It was November--the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines. Anne roamed through the pineland alleys in the park and, as she said, let that great sweeping wind blow the fogs out of her soul."~Anne of Green Gables
"Anne always remembered the silvery, peaceful beauty and fragrant calm of that night. It was the last night before sorrow touched her life; and no life is ever quite the same again when once that cold, sanctifying touch has been laid upon it." ~Anne of Green Gables
"Look at that sea, girls--all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds."~Anne of Green Gables
"It will come sometime. Some beautiful morning she will just wake up and find it is Tomorrow. Not Today but Tomorrow. And then things will happen ... wonderful things." ~Anne of the Island
"She was richer in those dreams than in realities; for things seen pass away, but the things that are unseen are eternal."~Anne of Windy Poplars
These are passages [from letters to G. M. Macmillan] that eternally seal the fact that Lucy Maud was truly a "kindred spirit":
"[...] I grew up out of that strange, dreamy childhood of mine and went into the world of reality. I met with experiences that bruised my spirit - but they never harmed my ideal world. That was always mine to retreat into at will. I learned that that world and the real world clashed hopelessly and irreconcilably; and I learned to keep them apart so that the former might remain for me unspoiled. I learned to meet other people on their own ground since there seemed to be no meeting place on mine. I learned to hide the thoughts and dreams and fancies that had no place in the strife and clash of the market place. I found that it was useless to look for kindred souls in the multitude; one might stumble on such here and there, but as a rule it seemed to me that the majority of people lived for the things of time and sense alone and could not understand my other life. So I piped and danced to other people's piping--and held fast to my own soul as best I could."
"A girl who would fall in love so easily or want a man to love her so easily would probably get over it just as quickly, very little the worse for wear. On the contrary, a girl who would take love seriously would probably be a good while finding herself in love and would require something beyond mere friendly attentions from a man before she would think of him in that light."
On that note, I'm signing off to dream of fanciful things. Nerd out.
I cannot believe that this is the same guy I saw wearing giant bird wings, accompanied by an orchestra and chorus (also all wearing bird and butterfly wings) a few years ago.
However, seeing Sufjan writhing around in a Nike tank top and popped collar still totally does it for me. Work it, Mr. Stevens. Work it.
I will watch any and all Jane Eyre adaptations. The one with Charlotte Gainsbourg was a previous favorite, but I think this one might take over the top spot. Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska...probably too attractive to play these parts, but that's OK.
In related news:
My friend David turned me on to these amazing comics called Hark! A Vagrant. The above is particularly hilarious because I was just thinking to myself that English literature has ruined my dating life. Characters like Mr. Rochester and Mr. Darcy have somehow led me to believe that digging guys who are standoffish and uncommunicative is romantic. Thanksa lot, Austen and Brontë.
I haven't worn/shopped Tommy Hilfiger since probably early high school, but his most recent holiday ad has charmed the socks off of me:
Does anyone else get a bit of a Royal Tenenbaums vibe from some of the younger models? The girl with the side part and sunglasses and the boy with the sweatband are so Wes Andersonian.
When the J. Crew Holiday 2010 catalog arrived a few days ago, I, of course, attacked it with the force of a mighty lion. I paused in my devouring when I saw the cute belt styling with this outfit:
Anyway, we all know that Jenna Lyons and her staff are totally on top of their styling. But I still take this small detail as a sign that they should HIRE ME ONE DAY.
In other news, I'd like you all to know that I found my future husband. He is on p. 104 of the aforementioned catalog. You may congratulate us both, except I don't even know his name.
Here he is (and, yes, it's actually just all about the outfit):
I can't even describe how fantastic this past weekend was. But I'll try anyway.
Cathy and David came into town lateish on Friday and we woke up bright and early to head to the Music Farm to set up our booths. We got to be booth neighbors!
Here are some pictures I borrowed from the Music Farm's album on the event:
David's ingenious lamps made from ink cartridges. His Charleston lamp was the talk of the town.
Cathy's awesome jewelry display and me looking concerned, for some reason.
My mannequin-turned-belts/jewelry-holder.
Seek Vintage! Someone has visibly messed up my scarf pile. I don't know how many times I referenced the end of Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion ("Let's fold scarves!").
My little vintage nook after it had been shopped a bit.
I think we all had a successful day. Now I think I'm a craft/vintage fair addict. I'm already thinking about ideas for displays and streamlining the look of things for the next one (two words: wooden hangers).
After that, Cathy and David accompanied me to an open house for these cute little condos I'm seriously considering. After some rest and relaxation at home for a bit, we stepped out to Monza for some sangiovese, antipasto, and delicious pizzas and to Closed for Business for an after-dinner drink.
Sunday, Cath and David made a bangin' breakfast and we wandered around King Street. It was especially cool because it was one of those Sundays where they shut down the street to cars and you can walk in the very middle of the street if you want to.
Suede flats were purchased (me), sexy boots were purchased (Cathy), a cute headband was purchased (me, again), and it was, I think, a fantastic day.
I've been thinking about nothing but vintage, lately. Tomorrow is the Lowcountry Artist Market, so if you're in the Charleston area, you should definitely stop by. It's free admission with a variety of fun vendors of vintage and handmade items. The bar will be serving bloody marys and mimosas and the Hello, My Name Is BBQ truck will be there serving all sorts of delicious food.
The event is from 10am through 3pm, so please stop by and tell your Charleston friends, too. That would totally make my day. Or my month.
