These are the musings, adventures, trials, & triumphs that make up my life...and what I wore during them.
"I am good but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love." -M. Monroe
she dreams in poetry but writes in prose // she lives in ballet flats but likes to feel the grass between her toes // she craves her Starbucks fix // she's pearls and she's politics // she makes her own sunshine on a rainy day // she gets her work done but she lives to play.
I realize I haven't posted in an absurdly long time...
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain" - Vivian Greene
Today was a very rainy day! As nice as it would be to stay inside and watch a movie, I had a lot of things to do today!
Here's what makes the rainy days a little better...
Pucci Rain Boots - more fun and less common than Hunters. I get compliments on these boots without fail. every single time I wear them.
North Face rain coat - love the color!
Got this ring on vacation in the Dominican Republic with my mom. I wear it whenever it rains because it matches my rain jacket perfectly.
I also wear leggings every time it rains, because I hate how rain feels on denim, khaki, and corduroy. I also have a purple umbrella that matches my rain boots. :)
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid" - Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
This quote is from a novel that would be on my "ideal bookshelf." I first read about Jane Mount's designs on Where the Style Things Are. I love this idea! Now you can literally decorate your room or home with books.
The books on my ideal bookshelf might not be sophisticated classics, but all of these books mean something to me. They made me nostalgic for my childhood, touched me unforgettably, or changed me irrevocably. I limited this list to ten, but it was tough.
Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
A Porcupine Named Fluffy - Helen Lester
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Atonement - Ian McEwan
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
Harry Potter (not sure which...) - J.K. Rowling.
A complete list of one's favorite books is a clearer representation of them than any photograph. It exposes their values, likes, and view of the world. The authors describe their life, thoughts, and struggles better than they could themselves.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and there are so many things to be thankful for, but mostly I'm thankful for...
HARRY POTTER!
Just a joke. Sort of.
I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and have read all the books several times. Tonight, I'm going to my first every Harry Potter midnight premiere. The books are absolutely spellbinding (pun intended), and while the movies could not possibly live up to the books, they are also great.
My friends are dressing up, (one is going to be the golden snitch!) but I'm not sure if I'm dressing up yet. I am wearing my house colors to class Friday, which are blue and bronze for Ravenclaw. Maybe I'm a Hufflepuff, though? I'm not quite sure. (Note: I ended up dressing up as Luna, complete with dirigible plum earrings, and I went barely awake in Hufflepuff colors to class the next day.)
Here is the trailer for the Part I of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, just to get you even more excited for the movie:
I do not consider the Harry Potter series to be about magic. Yes, they go to wizarding school, play Quidditch, and preform magic, but all these things serve as a mere backdrop and are secondary to real story. The real duels are not fought and won with wands, but with the heart. It is the characters that choose love, friendship, and selflessness over magic who are the "good" characters and whose vision ultimately prevails. Lily Potter's love and selflessness ensure Harry's survival against Voldemort's killing curse. Also, in the end, Harry defeats Voldemort in a duel, despite Voldemort's stronger wand and more advanced magical skills, because of the sacrifices people have made for Harry and for 'Good'. Although the heros of the books make devastating mistakes and are deeply flawed, their hearts are in the right place. This quote is central to the idea that character is more powerful than magical prowess:
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities" - Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
If you turned on the radio this summer, you are undoubtably familiar with Katy Perry's catchy song "Teenage Dream." I love remixes and acapella, so I thought I'd share these great covers with you!
This version is from Glee and is performed by the Dalton Academy Warblers (who are the Tufts University Beelzebubs in real life!) One of the 1093392 reasons to love Glee.
This cover is just one of the great covers by Boyce Avenue. Boyce Avenue changes some of the lyrics in this song, making it softer and more romantic. Katy Perry's version is fun and upbeat, but this version sounds so sincere and from the heart. Love it!
Fun fact: I absolutely love elephants, or "ellies," as I call them. I just found out there is an elephant sanctuary an hour and a half away from school, and I want to go so badly! Actually, I just want a pet elephant so badly. Since neither of these is a possibility right now, I'll have to get my elephant fix some other way...
Jonathan Adler Utopia Elephant Mugs (Update: Got these as a birthday gift - thanks daddy!)
Jonathan Adler Elephant
An elephant necklace I have from J.Crew.
Even Louis Vuitton and Vogue love elephants. I'd much rather have the elephant than the blanket :)
P.S. Also, one type of elephant is called a "white elephant," but it's actually light pink!! I knew I liked elephants for a reason...
I'm up writing a sociology paper based on a breaching experiment I did, and I was thinking about how great music is to study to. When I get tired of my iTunes (I've listened to Speak Now so many times since it came out that some of the songs are already starting to creep into my 25 most played!) I turn on pandora.
Here are the three stations I've been listening to lately:
Glee Cast Radio - A good mix of songs from the show, show-tunes, and other good music
Carrie Underwood Radio - good modern country
A Fine Frenzy Radio - soft, melodic, sometimes sad music.
While these aren't necessary my favorite artists, the stations are great to listen to while doing work. They have the right amount of upbeat, but not get-up-and-dance upbeat. The lyrics are good and the music is relaxing. I've come across some really great music this way!
Sorry for the lack of posting - I've been working on some fun posts, but this has been an extremely busy semester for me, and this week promises to be one of the most overwhelming yet. Starbucks Via is my new best friend.
Nothing like a little Lilly to brighten up this week.
Just got my new planner. I have to write down everything in this planner or I will never remember to do it. Besides, I feel so accomplished when I cross things out. I usually have sticky notes on top of all the things written on the actual pages. The colors and stickers are so fun in these agendas.
And I pre-ordered this new iPhone case, because my Lilly pen leaked all over my old pink one:
I love how they match each other! They also match everything school-related that I own...like my pink macbook pro, my pink Kate Spade book bag, pink Kate Spade pencil case and my pink Vera Bradley card/key holder. If only textbooks came in pink.
When I got my shipping confirmation for my Lilly agenda, the email said "Now you have something to look forward to." Well since hopefully I have more to look forward to than that, here's my weekly list. Everything has an exclamation point to get me extra excited. Nothing terribly interesting going on this week...
Monday - My first formal chapter as an initiated member of my sorority!
Tuesday - Tortellini Tuesday, my fave!
Wednesday - Early morning pancakes at Pancake Pantry with my friends before class. Maybe I'll see Taylor Swift!
Thursday - Turning in two major assignments is going to feel so good!
Friday - Catching up on Glee and Gossip Girl as usual, and movie night at the house! What's not to love about Friday?
Julius Caesar walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a martinus
Bartenders says "you mean a martini?"
Caesar says "Nah, buddy. If I want more than one, I'll let you?"
If you laughed at that, you're a classics nerd too :) I'm sure that you've picked up on my interest in classics from this blog title and the signature on my posts.
As a struggled to stay awake Sunday translating Xenophon's Anabasis and Plato's Symposium for my test tomorrow, I was thinking about why I, or anyone, would take this challenging language or study the classics in general.
Just the word "classic" when applied to clothes refer to those pieces that are always in style - you will look go no matter what in these. "Classic" novels are those works that were written long ago but are still read because they continue to have resonance now. In other words, something that is classic is old but always feels "now".
I could go on and on about the specifics of Ancient Greek, but all I will say is that the complicated constructions and the nuances in the language that we do not have in English make Ancient Greek so elegant and precise. Classics and classical languages open up this whole new world of thought and way of thinking. The language of a culture gives us insight on what was important to them and through which lenses they viewed the world. The words and ideas of the Ancient Greeks are timeless and these classical civilizations made us who we are today.
"This new degree of Bachelor of Science does not guarantee that the holder knows any science. It does guarantee that he does not know any Latin" - Dean Briggs, Harvard College (1900)
Lately, math and science are the focus in education because they seem more directly practical. Will the classics help a surgeon save a life or a aid a scientist in measuring natural phenomena? No, but the lessons learned from classics and humanities infuse those actions with meaning and frame them in the context of what it means to be human. I would argue that that is more central to a successful society.
P.S. Know what is also great about Ancient Greece? Democracy started there - so get out and vote today!
