Confession: I Have an Obsession

Do you ever watch DVD extras? I can't get enough of You've Got Mail (it's the movie I watch when I long for spring). I have watched it so many times that I broke down and watched the commentary with Nora Ephron. She is delightful and I can't get enough of her right now - after reading Marta's lovely review of I Feel Bad About My Neck, I am currently listening to the book on CD. I find Nora to be a witty, engaging essayist. I won't wax poetic for you as my review would pale in comparison to the gorgeous valentine that Marta wrote to Nora. Nonetheless, I can say that I know I love her because I can call her Nora. Authors that you can call by their first name are the absolute best kind.



It's the perfect time of year to begin an obsession with Nora Ephron. In winter, I tend to feel extremely uninspired and, well, depressed. I'm sure you know this about me. Nora's book and movie really inspire me. She makes me want to take up a pen and write my own essays about my life and my own dislike of purses. I want to own my own bookstore and lead my own quaint little life with flowers, cardigans, and children's books. I love that. I love that a good book, movie, photograph, whatever can just heal your worn out little soul.

Terrariums

For Valentine's Day, Chance and I are giving each other these:



Miniature terrariums from Tortoise Loves Donkey on etsy - they're cute, easy to manage, and inexpensive. Instead of wasting money on cut flowers or candy, we decided to go halfsies on a little something that we can both enjoy even after the holiday is over.

(Image via Tortoise Loves Donkey)

Family Trees

I've seen lots of modern ideas for Family Trees lately. The February Martha Stewart Living showcased Darcy Miller's inventive ways of displaying family mementos and an understated Family Tree that is downloadable here.

I am also taken with the innovative designs at My Tree and Me.

I love all of the different options for honoring your family history. These would make fantastic gifts for family members but I definitely want one for myself too!

(Images courtesy of darcymillerdesigns.com - thanks to marta writes for introducing me to Darcy Miller - and mytreeandme.com)

Lazy Saturday

Yippee! I finally have internet access at the apartment. Chance and I woke up early this morning and sat on the couch, enjoying the snow falling out the window before the internet-mr.-fix-it arrived. The snow was just enough to make the surroundings gorgeous and give us an excuse to stay in all day.

For the first time in a while, it's been a quiet, relaxed day. No particular place to go, no particular thing to do. We've just been watching movies, eating, and enjoying looking up random stuff on the internet (such as http://www.sketchysantas.com/ - hilarious). I hope to do some homework later but will probably just end up watching Jon Hamm on Saturday Night Live.

I am going to try to be better about blogging now. I've seen lots of inspiring, creative things lately. If nothing else, I want to begin documenting Chance's meals. Fortunately for me, he has become quite the cook; he prepared mouthwatering steaks earlier in the week and is currently trying his hand at burgers and french fries from scratch. We're thinking about taking a cooking class together but I think that would be more for my benefit than his. Any good recipes we should try?

More soon.

Catching Up

My internet still. isn't. working. Oh, the joys of apartment living. It should be working after Saturday. Until then, I have taken to blogging at work. It feels very unnatural, just to let you know.

Classes are going well. They are all quite homework-heavy, so I am keeping busy. I love my Emily Dickinson and Contemporary Poets professor. She's a published poet, her husband's a musician, and she's an all-around cool, laid back, insightful, interesting woman.

My internship is still lovely. There are fun things in the mix, so I can't wait 'til the the next couple of issues come out! In related news, I'm in the process of applying for the NYU Summer Publishing Institute. Cross your fingers for me! It sounds like a dream.

I've stumbled upon lots of new blogs that I want to share with you. Soon.

The Final Semester Begins

Classes resume today. I'm starting my last semester as an undergraduate. Ever. It's a weird feeling. It's scary but thrilling. I'm faced with a lot of choices post-graduation and I'm not sure what to choose yet. I have all of these images of how my life could look swimming in my head. I just can't pin anything down yet. I want it all. Is that wrong? I know I'll need to make decisions eventually. Sooner rather than later, as they say. Right now, it's just fun to feel like this.

I'm only taking four classes this semester and just two English classes. Even though English is my major, I feel relieved to be taking two classes (and not three with required discussion) in the subject (Ethnic American Fiction and Emily Dickinson and Contemporary Poets are the courses - for those who have an interest). I'll be continuing my internship and required seminar, which is wonderfully exciting except for the fact that my seminar instructor is completely disorganized. I am still head over heels in love with my internship at albemarle, which makes up for the negatives of the seminar. I am also looking forward to my hopefully-easy-but-interesting Anthropology of Religion course. I'll report back after I've taken all my classes. Wish me luck!

It's the Future

I found this questionnaire at Happenstance. She found it here and it apparently first came from here. This blog is donating 25 cents to the Red Cross in order to help Haiti for each person who answers the questions below and links back to MannLand5. The time limit for this might have expired, but it's worth a shot, right?

1. Hair color..Au naturale..or not?
I'm not a fan of dyeing. I'm au naturale all the way. Brown forever and always!

2. If somebody has food in their teeth or lipstick on their teeth do you tell them?
Usually, yes.

3. Would you rather have a million dollars or your vision of the perfect body?
A million dollars, for sure. I can work on my body any old time. Plus, who wants "perfection" anyway?

4. Favorite magazine?
How could I choose? Well, albemarle magazine first and foremost. I also like everything from O (the Oprah magazine) to Real Simple to Vogue to Nylon to Vanity Fair and all sorts of magazines in between. The list doesn't end.

5. Bra style..lacey or plain?
Usually plain.

6. If you walked into Victoria's Secret..would you most likely come out with something sexy or comfy?
Comfy.

7. Do you fake and bake?
No.

8. What's your favorite body part on a man?
I really like eyes. In terms of Chance - I love his eyes, his strong arms, his hands, his lips, his everything! I guess it just depends on the man.