What's the plan, Phil??

Today's post has a very simple motivation behind it. I was watching a movie today which I was not expecting to be quite so depressing as it was, and it put me in a bit of a slump. There's really no practical explanation behind this; it centred around life events which I feel myself to already be past. . . mainly having to worry about school. I've never been a slouch academically and so these worries have been absent from my life. I tried to explain a weird feeling I have about school to a close friend recently though. I almost want it to be harder. It's not that school was just easy for me in that five-year-old-math-prodigy kind of way - trust me, I worked for every good grade I ever received - it's that I feel as though I'll never really be satisfied until I've had to go full on, flat out to get what I want. Moving on.

The answer to de-slumping wasn't going to be reading today. After finishing Dunant's Blood and Beauty, I started in on The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. If you haven't heard of the novel yet, it's been getting major press this past year as an 800-and-some-word literary undertaking, and winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize. At the same time, I began Alice Munro's collection of short stories, Dear Life. Please tell me you've heard of this one. Canadian. Nobel Prize for Lit. All I can say so far is pick it up. It's not a heck of a big time commitment (the stories are only around 30-40 pages), but it's so satisfying to read the work of something who knows what they're doing and can do whatever it is in a limited number of pages without you feeling that it was meant to be either longer or shorter. The ability to compose short fiction is a very impressive talent indeed.

So why with both of these fantastic works to choose from did I deem it a literature-less afternoon? Because I decided instead to look at clothes on the internet. These items are adorable and remind me that it's not always going to -39 (celsius) with windchill.

"Presentation and Accounted For" - Modcloth

"In Due Corsage" - Modcloth

"Promoting Elegance" - Modcloth

"Madeline" - Out of Print

 -Colleen
P.S. http://outofprintclothing.com/ is a website you should definitely check out if you haven't already.

Bloodline Beauty

Well ladies, it's been the better part of a year since my last post. Isn't there a movie where one woman is speaking to another and wondering what happened to make things turn out the way they did? The answer given is simply: "Life." So that's my excuse for now. Life happened, and blogging did not. For some reason though, the combination of several inches of snow overnight, a pink cashmere sweater, and the consumption of the last sweet from Christmas has made me reach once more for the pen (keyboard). It feels like time to pick up, though not exactly where we left off, and carry on. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

So, so much has happened in the past year. I've graduated with distinction, gotten a new job, applied for grad school, been accepted to grad school, and read an absolute tonne. Today's post title comes from my current read, Sarah Dunant's latest: Blood and Beauty: The Borgias. If you care anything for historical fiction, Dunant will have you hooked from the beginning. If you already consider yourself a mild to extreme fanatic for the genre, Blood and Beauty will practically propel you out of your seat and on a plane to Rome.

Speaking of Rome. One exciting event I'm looking forward to is my return to Italy. I was there five years ago, before studying and minoring in the language. This time I'm looking forward to more interaction in the national tongue, more cities (I'm venturing further north), and certainly more to blog about. Ai miei amici italiani: dove devo viaggiare stavolta?

The other big life event quickly coming up on me is my move into the big city for grad school. Almost immediately after returning home from il bel paese, I'll be relocating to one of my country's big centers, possibly for good if things work out in my career.

Stick around and let's see where this year goes.

-Colleen  

Beauty: Would You Rather. . .

I haven't been up to too much today so I've decided that instead of not posting (boooring), I'm going to hijack this tag from Steph over on Bonjour Belle. Feel free to do it yourself if you're interested!

Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?
Mascara and eyeliner are really the only thing I use consistently, though I could care less about lipstick and gloss. I'm more of an eye makeup girl.

Would you rather chop off your hair or never be able to cut it again?
Easy, chop off my hair. . . since I basically already did! I just really hate the feeling of long hair. Something about it seriously weirds me out, and as much as I love my hair, it's not a love dependent on quantity.

Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?
I prefer coral as a colour, but I'm not sure it would flatter me as well as pink does. Plus, I love the blush that I have right now (Sonia Kashuk beautifying blush in "Flamingo").

If you had $1000 (I'm not converting from pounds haha) to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?
Definitely clothes. I don't tend to deviate an awful lot from the few specific makeup products I like, but I really love buying clothes!

Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?
Definitely eyeliner as lipstick, even if it had to be traditional liner colour like black or brown. I just couldn't stand the texture of lipstick on my eyelids. That would feel too awful.

Would you rather shop at MAC or Sephora?
Sephora. As much as I love certain products from MAC, Sephora would have (obviously) way more variety. . . and less expensive options.

Would you rather use only one eyeshadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?
One lip colour. Like I said, I'm an eyeshadow girl.

Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?
This question is insane! I'd rather wear summer clothes in winter because I cannot stand being overheated.

Would you rather dark nails or bright nails all year round?
Dark nails! I usually gravitate towards the darkest colours (except for black) in any collection. Lighter colours are much more unusual for me.

Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or your favourite eye product?
Lip product. Eye makeup girl!

Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or messy bun?
I can't do either of these with my hair haha but I'd pick ponytail.

Would you rather never being able to paint your nails again, or never using lipgloss?
I'm actually not a particularly huge fan of either of these. . . but I guess I'd go with no more nail painting. As problematic as many glosses are, my short hair pretty much makes them a non-issue.

Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all, or Sharpie them in every day?
In the interest of NOT applying a toxic marker to my face daily, I'd go with no eyebrows.

Would you rather live without makeup or without nail polish?
I'd way rather live without nail polish. Even when you take great pride in your nails, there's way less of a chance of people noticing them. That sounds like I'm going for vanity on this one, but I'm just speaking in a practical sense. Most people would likely rather use makeup in a way that makes them feel good about their appearance, and I don't see nails as a big contributor to that.

It's supposed to be fantastic weather here tomorrow, so I'll try to get an OOTD up!

-C
  

Leibster Blog Award

No quotation today, just right down to business! Carrieanne from I'mjustalittlepixie nominated me for the Leibster Blog Award which recognizes blogs with 200 followers or less. So here we go.

Requirements:
1. Share eleven things about myself.
2. Answer eleven questions provided by the nominator.
3. Nominate eleven blogs (under 200 followers) that deserve the title and let them know.
4. Think of eleven questions to ask these nominees.
5. Thank the person that nominated you and link back to their blog.

11 Things About Myself:
1. I'm an only child.
2. I'm studying Italian because I fell in love with the language after visiting Italy on a high school trip.
3. I will not eat hot dogs or sausages. For the sake of those of you who enjoy them, I'm not going to talk too much about this.
4. I think pearls are the classiest accessory.
5. I love lemon yogurt.
6. "10 Things I Hate About You" is my favourite movie of all time, not because of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Heath Ledger, or Julia Stiles, but because of Larry Miller.
7. The longest essay I've ever written was about 4400 words for a class on the Brontes (Anne, Charlotte, Patrick, Branwell, Emily, Maria, and Elizabeth).
8. My favourite flowers are poppies. Also, it's a great name in the singular.
9. The item of clothing I would most like to own is a Jurassic Park raincoat because that movie is awesome and I have no shame.
10. When I was a little girl, I really wanted red hair.
11. My favourite Shakespearean play is Richard III.

11 Questions from the Nominator:
1. What made you choose your blog's name?
Pretty simple answer for this one: coral has been my favourite colour for years and C is my first initial.
2. What's your favourite colour?
See answer #1 haha
3. Who inspires you the most?
Hopefully this doesn't come across as really self-absorbed, but I think I inspire myself the most. I'm a pretty stubborn person, so when people try to push me in a certain direction, I'm often pretty resistant. I've learnt to trust my own judgement above anything else.
4. What's your favourite biscuit?
My favourite cookie (sorry, Canadian here) is one my mom makes with chocolate chips and espresso powder. Delicious AND addictive.
5. Jumper or Cardigan?
Jumper for sure. Why fuss with buttons?
6. Favourite sandwich filling?
First of all, this is probably the greatest question I've seen on one of these, so great work Carrieanne! Why is this so hard to answer? Umm I guess either raspberry jam or Havarti cheese.
7. Tell me your favourite joke.
WARNING: this joke is extremely childish because it was told to me in second grade by my best friend. There are three brothers named Shutup, Manners, and Poo who are also avid motorcyclists. One day while travelling down the road, Poo loses control of his bike and rolls into the ditch. Manners goes to help him, but Shutup continues on, speeding. Soon enough, Shutup is pulled over by a cop and the following conversation ensues. Cop: "Sir, you were speeding. I'm going to need to collect some information, starting with your name." Shutup: "Shutup." Cop: "Excuse me?" Shutup: "Shutup." Cop: "Sir, that is no way to speak to a police officer. If you don't tell me your name right now, I'm going to have to arrest you." Shutup: "Shutup!" Cop: "I can't believe this! Where are your manners?!" Shutup: "In the ditch, picking up Poo."
8. Other than the blog what is your favourite pastime?
Reading! Yay!
9. What came first the chicken or the egg?
Going for scientific accuracy on this one: the egg.
10. Favourite beauty item?
Probably blush because it doesn't take a lot of time, but really brings life into your face. I also really like my freckles, so if I'm planning to apply something to my skin, I'd pick blush over powder or liquid foundation any day because it's flattering without covering up the freckles.
11. Your fashion icon.
Easy. Julia Roberts' character Vivian Ward in "Pretty Woman." To be clear, post-prostitute wardrobe. I did a post on it here which explains the full reasoning behind this decision. In a way more fun way than how I just said it!

My 11 Nominations in no particular order:
1. A NEW Fashion View
2. Betsy Boat
3. Charlotte Jane 
4. Floral Chaos 
5. L. loves to share 
6. Simple Charm Beauty 
7. Stephanie's Look 
8. The Nautical Owl
9. The New Pink 
10. The Perks of Being a Hipster 
11. Young Love

My 11 Questions:
1. When you were a child, what was your dream job?
2. If you could swap yourself into a role in the movie of your choice, which would it be?
3. Which do you prefer getting done: a manicure or a pedicure?
4. If you could only wear only one pair of your shoes for a year, which would they be? (weather permitting, of course)
5. Describe something you did that made you proud of yourself.
6. If you had a theme song, what would it be?
7. Tell me one random fact (about you or not) that never really comes in handy, yet you can't seem to forget it. (E.g. I know all of the main events of the French Revolution. . . not particularly useful in most social situations)
8. Who is your favourite of the seven dwarfs?
9. According to you, what is the best smell in the world? Convince me of why in one sentence. (E.g. Vinegar because it reminds you of french fries and who doesn't like those?)
10. In your favourite multiple-main-character-series (TV or book), which character is most like yourself? (E.g. are you a Tibby, Lena, Carmen, or Bridget? A Blair or a Serena?)
11. What is YOUR colour? (The one you think suits you best)

-C

Girl Trophy for Excellence in Female Stuff

Tonight's quotation comes from the show "Parks and Recreation" (still watching and loving) and is just as vague and hopefully funny as much of my life. My weekend ended up being pretty great. A friend came from out of town to visit and the highlight was watching "Jumanji" together. I think that might actually be the greatest movie ever, just don't tell "10 Things I Hate About You" I said that. Somehow "Jumanji" is just equally great every single time I watch it, plus Robin Williams is probably one of my favourite actors ever. Between this film and "Hook," the movie-watching aspect of my childhood was pretty great.

You know, 'cause no posts the last two days.

This week I'll be seeing something a little more serious. Or, as serious as a cult film/TV series can get in the eyes of a society who has basically left it to the nerds. That's right, I'm talking about Star Trek. No matter how you feel about the following surrounding this series, the most recent film (2009) had a lot of amazing aspects that I think almost anyone who enjoys actions/adventure movies would appreciate. Anyone planning to see it?

-C
P.S. New OOTD up tomorrow!

Writing in the language of hurry

Today's title is 100% accurate for me right now. I've had a busy couple of days which is why there wasn't a post yesterday. The quotation I've used comes from Forster's Howards End; funny when literature is exactly applicable to real life situations, eh? Aaanyway, tomorrow should be much more relaxing, I only wish the weather were supposed to be nicer! We've had such a great run of mid-20s temperatures for the last couple of weeks, but now we're in for several days of rain and only 10 degrees on Sunday. Yuck! I would protest in the name of Mother's Day if that would have any impact whatsoever.

China Glaze "Coconut Kiss"

On a nicer note, here's the next shade I'll be painting my nails! Odd like the weather, this colour is called "Coconut Kiss." Why do I feel like the nail-polish-colour-namer-people were sleeping on the job when they came up with THAT? Oh well, still a gorgeous purple and great colour for summer. Maybe a few coats of this will coax the warm weather back!


Any special plans for Mother's Day? I'd love to hear about them!

-C

P.S. The name of this polish reminds me that my best friend is on vacation in Haiwaii right now. Lucky, lucky girl!

That's kind of a weird way to describe me

Today's title is from the TV show "Parks and Recreation," but we'll get back to that in a minute.

Do you know what I thought when coloured jeans started becoming a thing? Nope. Not "nope" as in "No, you don't know," but rather "nope" as in "I am not ever going to wear those." Based on my last two posts (pink and lavender jeans) I'm guessing you can already tell that I've changed my mind about that. I'm afraid that I've now actually gone in the complete opposite direction and become obsessed. No. Yes. Maybe, with one pair in particular. I want these pants from American Eagle so badly. Partly because they aren't jeans (HA! They're khakis!), so I can fool myself into thinking I need them, and partly because they are the colour of a creamsicle.

Anyway, my feelings about these pants sort of mirror my relationship with TV shows generally. When a show starts to become popular, I'm likely far from interested. But after my friends wear me down over months (or years) by constantly talking about how great the program is, I typically give in and try it out. Sometimes this doesn't end well and I am simply destined to never like the show, EVEN when I stick it out and watch the full first season ("Modern Family," I'm looking at you). Today I started watching "Parks and Recreation" and I'm not loving it so far, but I'm going to try to push through once again. Luckily, this show only has six episodes in its first season so I'm actually already halfway through! I'm also supposed to watch "Community," which I'll be attempting after "Parks and Recreation."

Have you watched either of these two shows? Are there any programs that, while popular, didn't seem to live up to their hype for you?

-C

Iron Violet

The title looks a little like a variation on "Steel Magnolias," doesn't it? Just me? Ok. I just got back from seeing "Iron Man 3" and I'm actually not disappointed, although you know I went in with pretty low expectations. In my opinion, it was the best in the triology, although a couple of the highlights for me were just Rebecca Hall and Pepper's white suit. I'm half joking. I might also have enjoyed it more simply because I haven't seen a superhero movie in quite a while and sometimes it's nice to just watch a really, genuinely cool action flick.

I almost titled this post "Lobsta Killa" which probably won't make sense to anyone here. One of my favourite films is "Julie and Julia" (starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams) and there's a scene in which Amy's character has to cook a live lobster. She imagines a voice calling "lobster killer" to her, which her husband chooses to haunt her with as he lurks around the kitchen watching her cook. How did I just make the story of two foodies into a movie that sounds like it was directed by Hitchcock? It's actually great and so hilarious, and what inspired me to buy the sweater I'm wearing in these pictures.

MAC zoom lash mascara in "Black"

Eyes: lighest grey in E.L.F everyday palette, MAC pigment in "Violet"

Jeans: American Eagle

Sweater: F21

Any big movie plans on the horizon? I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks because of "Star Trek" and "The Great Gatsby" coming out back to back!

-C

Vended Bubblegum

Today's title is not a quotation (gasp!) but rather a reference to both the colour of my pants in these pictures and a humourous weekend occurrence. I mentioned to you already that I was spending some time with family on Saturday, and during this time, I went to a mall with my cousin. She is one key element of this story. The other is the almost-staple feature of malls everywhere: the kiosk of gumball machines. I don't know how long they've been there, and I have my doubts as to the nutritional quality of the gum inside them (because it's pure sugar, but mostly because I cannot determine its age), but mostly I ignore them. This is something the aforementioned cousin was not able to do. She caved to the novelty of shopping mall gum and bought a pomegranate-flavoured ball for 25 cents. The best part was the crunch of the gum's outer layer as she bit into it. Deee-sgusting!

Pants: Joe Fresh; Shoes: Naturalizer

Blazer: F21; Cami: Old Navy

Hope you've all been having a good Monday!

-C

Collecting new ideas as a squirrel collects nuts

I've been taking my time with Howards End, and today's title quotation comes from this novel. This weekend has been pretty busy and scattered so I'm just squeezing this post in before dinner. I'm sorry that there isn't a haircut picture here for you today. I did get it all chopped off (gosh, there was a lot of hair on the floor!) but after coming home and showering (and subsequently re-straightening my hair) I realized that it might need a night to be slept on before it looks quite presentable. Right now, because it's sooo short and straight, it looks kind of. . . stiff? Do you know what I mean? Like me, it obviously needs a night to relax.

So for tomorrow I'm thinking a full OOTD combined with haircut pictures. Tuesday will be another OOTD so you should feel sufficiently spoiled that I'm giving you two in a row. I'll be going to see Iron Man 3 on Tuesday with a friend of mine and it kind of makes me wish that I had a really dorky (not actually) superhero t-shirt to wear. Even though that piece of clothing wouldn't get worn much. Plus, I don't actually like the Iron Man series (more about my mixed feelings on comic book series here). This still feels like a blasphemous thing to say, but they are my friend's absolute favourite movies, so I might be taking one for the team here, but I'm not ruling out the possibility that it will be great and I'll love it.

This makes me think fondly of an amazing (to me) t-shirt that I used to have. It said "I love Italian boys" on it and was accompanied by a picture of Mario and Luigi. I've regained my affection for it, but now have no idea where it is! It might be a fortunate thing that I haven't found it sooner though, because I might have been tempted to wear it to Italian class (I'm studying for a minor in Italian Language Studies at my university) thereby making prof and students alike either laugh or feel uncomfortable.

Do you have a favourite graphic t-shirt (that others find dorky)? Are you planning to see the latest Iron Man installment? Are you a superhero film fan generally?

-C

Butter AND Jam

Every once in a while, we seem to get just about everything we want. Today's title comes from the fourth Pants novel, Forever in Blue, and actually wasn't at all planned until I was inspired while having breakfast this morning. Literally, I had butter and jam on my toast. Cutting edge stuff here, people. Anyway, the combination doesn't have be butter and jam, but any two things that make you feel good and happen to occur together. I feel like I'm getting the jackpot this weekend. Family and books (thank you, public library). Shopping and haircut. Technically that's four things, but I feel like the first two are simpler pleasures.

I'm getting into E.M. Forster's Howards End at the moment, and really enjoying it so far (for more Forster, see my mentions of A Passage to India from last summer here, here, and here). After having taken a class in Modernism last term at my university, I feel pretty good about myself when I'm able to identify an allusion without having to turn to the novel's endnotes. I won't be posting tomorrow because I'll be pretty busy with family, but expect a new post (and haircut, SO excited!) on Sunday.

Happy weekend, all!

-C

It's like having a perfect haircut every single day

Today's quotation not only expresses what I'm sure is many people's aesthetic utopia, but also comes from the show "Gilmore Girls." I know I quoted this series a lot last year so I'm going to try to avoid it this time around, but I couldn't resist today since I am personally really looking forward to my next haircut (see previous post). Because this won't be taking place until Sunday, I didn't want you to feel starved for photographs until then, so today, let's jump into nail polish. (Not literally, because, you know, the thick sticky texture, not to mention the smell.)

So tiny!

My mom purchased this teeny bottle for me from Sally in the States (we do also have these stores in Canada, however). So teeny is it (5.3ml), apparently the company felt that it did not qualify for a name. This irritates me more than it probably should because I feel like the name is really what sells nail polish to me--after liking the actual polish colour, of course. Anyway, it's an amazingly pretty periwinkle blue and I loved it right away. Most of the affection I felt was probably linked to the fact that it was the same colour as my favourite crayon as a child. Please tell me this is not a weird thing to have a favourite of?

To the product itself. As you can see, I don't have it on my nails in the picture. This is because I applied it during exam season before I had time to work on the blog, but the product ended up being such a stand-out that I felt like it still deserved a mention after it was off my nails. As in, I lazily put on just two coats (normally I do three, plus top coat) and it somehow looked incredible for almost a week and a half. I can hardly believe it myself, but I definitely want to try another colour of Sally's home brand nail polish to see if the suberb quality is consistent, or my bottle is just magic.

I'm heading off to the library soon, absolutely starving for reading material! Which colour or colours are you looking forward to wearing on your nails this spring/summer?

-C

And then there was one

The title of today's post hints not only at the the next book I'll be reading (well, rereading, but it has been eight years since the last time) but also another realization that I am feeling back in the swing of things when it comes to this blog. The "one" I've mentioned in the title is simply the post that I did yesterday. . . one after a break of about seven months! Anyway, if you've read past posts of mine, you might know that I am utterly devoted to mystery fiction, particularly Agatha Christie. University lit classes can train me up all they want, but they'll never separate me from my original love of the small-town-murder novel. Oddly, the only thing I actually remember about Christie's And Then There Were None is who the killer is. What I've forgotten is the entire plot. Weird, but workable.

In other news, I'm puzzling more over the fate of my hair. Yes, it is THAT easy for me to swing from literary accomplishments to utter vanity. I digress. I told you yesterday that I'm almost/kind of/definitely sure that I want to cut all (most) of my hair off again, so I'm in the process of browsing through styles. I have fairly small features, a face that's slightly more round than oval, and a forehead in proportion to the rest of my face (i.e. do not necessarily need bangs to compensate for large forehead). Oh, also my hair is quite thick, but not naturally curly, though it does occasionally decide to have a bit of a wave. Keeping these things in mind, feel free to give me suggestions! Otherwise, take a look at the inspiration pictures I'm posting and let me know what stands out! Ok?

This is generally the cut I went for the first time around and it worked out pretty well.

Obviously not a picture of short hair, but I so love these bangs! Something I could still have if I kept my hair at a medium-ish length.

 

More bangs, I know, but I love how sleek this one is.

And one of an old short haircut of mine for good measure. Although I look rather like a solemn Peter Pan.

-C

For some reason our lives were marked by summers

Today's quotation comes from one of my best-loved books: Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The other night, during a much needed break from studying, my mom decided that she wanted us to rewatch the second Pants movie (2008). I am personally not a fan of these two films. The acting is great, but the storyline decidedly falls pretty flat when held up in comparison to Brashares' original work. Plus, they called the second film "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." Really? 2? I guess that was the best possible title for this shambled together film, which is, in fact, comprised of mixed up bits and pieces from each of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Pants novels; this bothers me to no end.

And now for my actual point, although, if you've read this blog before, you may be used to the occasional literature/film-based ramble. The books are still amazing. I thought I'd reread the first one just to prove to myself that there was actually a strong foundation, despite how the movies turned out (in my opinion). So I did. I read the first one in a day and a half in between studying for two exams. Then I read the second. Then the third. This was all in all very irresponsible of me, but luckily I think I still managed to ace those two exams. Today is the day after my final fiiiinal exam (it was three hours, three essays, three texts per essay, MODERNISM dun dun duuun) and I'm well into the 4th and final novel. My pace has slowed, and I'm not entirely sure if it's the knowledge that I actually have more time to enjoy the book now, or I've horribly made myself completely sick of the series. I'm hoping it's not the latter.

Like the characters in the novel, my blog-life seems set to be marked by summers. This was never particularly planned, as I did try to carry on with it for a little while into the beginning of the school term, waaaay back in September. Well, I've got plenty of time now, so hopefully you're ready to read! This reminds me that I also have quite the line-up for reading myself this summer, so I'm sure you'll be encountering more book reviews on here, as well as the oft seen OOTDs and FOTDs. There isn't a picture to go with this post, not because I no longer like clothes/shopping/etc. but simply because I'm getting my hair cut on Sunday and I'd prefer to wait until I look a little more like myself (or what I feel myself looks like) again before posting.

I've honestly been going back and forth about cutting my hair since November. Yikes! It's just around shoulder-length now--long enough that I've started to appreciate its presence--but the thing is, I only really enjoy it because I can put it back in a ponytail. After all, wouldn't having it short effectively do the same thing? I mainly just like having my hair away from my face, so I feel like in the end it will be getting cut quite short once more.

I'm glancing back up at what I've written thus far and am impressed by how much I've put down (negative? positive?). It's surprising, but comfortable to see that I'm still able to do this after so many months. Anyway, as always, let me know if there's anything you'd like to see from me this time around. Any books I should read? Let me know your own opinions on the Pants series! I'm genuinely curious! Films I should see? One last note relating to this: I am so crazy excited for "The Great Gatsby" to come out next month! I'm also wearing my Great Gatsby shirt which feels way too cool to be dorky.

Talk to you again soon!

-C

It's like walking a tightrope

This evening's (it is evening where I am) quotation come from the television show "Modern Family." If you read my last post, you may be able to guess that I'm using the simile to reference my forecasted experience with the Italian language this year: something for which you need a piece of rope, a long stick, and a willing carnie. Just kidding. But humour is a useful tool for dealing with stressful situations sometimes, so heck, why not?!

Anyway, included in this post is my first day back to class OOTD. It doesn't comprise anything I haven't worn before in a post, but I figured I put up pictures anyway because, #1 everyone likes to look at pictures, and #2 it'll get me into a routine of OOTDing during school.

Top seen here; skirt seen here

Hair cut: brand new! Not available in stores.

-C

Ventisei pagine? Grazie mille...

Today's title is not a quotation at all, but rather an attempt at Italian sarcasm. I had my first classes of the year this afternoon, Italian being "il primo." I was assigned 26 (ventisei) pages of homework. Let's all just try to wrap our minds around that for a second. Ok. Moving on.

How I feel about my 26 pages of homework.

On the bright side, my hair behaved itself nicely thanks to my getting it cut last weekend, and it only took me thirty minutes to bus home (it usually takes 50, which is ridiculous because you can drive the distance in 10-15 depending on traffic)!!

Hair cut!

Went for some peach, pink, and gold today...

Did anyone else start back at school today/this week? How's it going so far?

-C
P.S. I'll put my OOTD up tomorrow.

Biiicycle, BIIICYCLE

Now reread the title with Queen playing in your head and you'll understand what I was thinking when I wrote it with so many extra vowels. I went to see "Premium Rush" last night, compelled by my love of unique action-y movies, the maze of city streets that is NYC, and my awe and adoration of JGL. Yeah, yeah, yeah, how many times have I tossed his name around? Well, here and here for a start. Anyway, here's a quick review, accompanied by my FOTD when I went to see it.

As far as this particular film, I thought it was extremely well done. My friend and I went into it with the realization that a movie with this premise would either suck, or be completely awesome. I was reassured by Joseph Gordon-Levitt's presence on the cast list; he may do odd movies sometimes, but I find that, all in all, he's made pretty amazing choices so far.

Without giving away the plot, I'll tell you two things I really enjoyed about this film. First of all, one feature was reminiscent of the Robert Downey Jr. "Sherlock Holmes" movies; which I can't stand, by the way. Luckily, this particular production choice is not the reason for my dislike of them. If you've seen the Holmes films, you should recall the slow motion sequences in which the world's most skilled detective shifts into ass-kicking mode and plots out his attack on his opponent move by move. In "Premium Rush," when Wilee (played by JGL) encounters a difficult situation on the street, time slows down and his brain begins its spacial gymnastics in much the same way. There's a great use of what I'm guess are GPS-inspired street views and mapping of possible escape routes.

That brings us nicely into the other aspect I enjoyed with this film. Not only were paths signalled in individual situations, but overlaid on a bird's eye view grid of NYC as a whole as cyclist pedalled at break-neck speeds to their destinations. It reinforced the extreme difficulty of their job as they literally raced from one borough to another, dozens upon dozens of blocks away. It also helped the audience stay focussed and grounded in such a fast-paced film, giving you at least one stable element to latch onto. A little bit of organization in a great deal of chaos.

As a parting summary, I will tell you that "Premium Rush" was extraordinarily fast-moving, no pun intended. Seriously though, if you see it, do not get up to go to the bathroom, do not look away from the screen, do not pass GO, do not collect $200.

-C
P.S. Hair cut this weekend! I'm still undecided as to what I should do with it. . . pictures up on Monday hopefully!!

Elvis and Jim Morrison are bringing chips

Today's quotation is an excerpt from the speech Lorelai gives Rory on what to expect from the over-the-top birthday party her grandmother is going to throw her (from, of course, the television show "Gilmore Girls"). My birthday will not be nearly as exciting as this; who can really compete with raising dead music legends and saddling them with the bringing of snack foods? However, my birthday is coming up next month, so it's been on my mind all the same. I've been spending my spare time looking up weird and wonderful items online in the hopes that I can magically convince my nearest and dearest to purchase them for me. Depending on the item, some of these chances are slimmer than others.

Accessories:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

1. Modcloth's "Urban Adventure Bag": How cute is this bag?! I seriously love it. I think that in general, people will either prefer silver or gold in accessories, and I'm definitely a gold girl. I adore the shiny, over sized studs, and of course, it's coral.
2. Modcloth's "Quote Couture Earrings": Again, shiny, gold, I'm sold. That was a completely inadvertent rhyme. I guess it's suitable in this case though, since I picked these earrings out of obscurity (not really) because they appealed to the English major in me.
3. Figure8Knits' "Nevermore Raven Pendant": This is something quite a bit more graphic and heavy than the fairly feminine jewellery I normally go for, but it's just way too freaking cool for me not to want it. Plus, Poe is amazing.
4. Prefectly Random Designs' "Queen Silhouette": Still heavy, but decidedly more feminine; it is the queen after all. To me, this piece represents power, intellect, and a taste for vintage music. Wait, what? It's because the designer creates her items from recycled records.
5. Spiffing Jewelry's "Sleeping Beauty Bracelet": From graphic to girly now, I love this bracelet stamped with a line from my favourite Disney film. There's also a "Beauty and the Beast" bracelet by the same designer that I think is adorable as well.
6. Anne Curasi's Curious Curios' "Sleeping Beauty Earrings": Still on the Disney train for another minute, I think these earrings are the cutest things ever. I love the original, sketched style of the top two pairs and would definitely be wearing these everyday if I owned them.
7. Meadow on the Ledge's "Wire Kite Earrings": I think these are really sweet and whimsical. They would definitely work really well if I got my hair cut short again. Hmm. . . decisions, decisions. . .

I'm going to save clothing and shoes and anything else I come across for another post. Let me know if you liked this one in a comment please!

-C

The Liebster Award & Nominations

"The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. What is a Liebster? The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome."

I've been nominated by Oanh at Indefinite Style for the Liebster Award. 

The rules are:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!

Here are 11 things about me:
1. Right now I speak only English fluently, but am learning Italian. After that, I'd like to go back and polish up my French and learn Spanish as well.
2. I've only left North America once, on a trip to Italy.
3. Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday because my whole family on my mom's side gets together.
4. I'm pretty sure the first day of autumn used to be on my birthday (September 21st), but has since migrated to the 22nd. This really cheeses me off.
5. I adore mystery novels and am excited to have recently discovered the neo-noir film genre.
6. I love television shows which demand the contestants/actors display some sort of natural skill, e.g. "So You Think You Can Dance" and "The Glee Project."
7. My father is an artist and graphic designer which has given me very specific tastes in aesthetics. For example, I adored the art deco-inspired posters for the film "Black Swan."
8. Although not a natural-born comic book nerd, I do love Captain America. One of my friends often teases me by sending me .gif images of Steve Rogers' (a.k.a. Chris Evans') backside from the opening boxing scene in "The Avengers."
9. Florence + the Machine is my favourite band, and I am longing for the day I get to see them in concert.
10. As a child, I wished for red hair. I'm pretty much the opposite of Anne Shirley.
11. The most enjoyable sports I've ever gotten to try are fencing, boxing, and archery.

Indefinite Style's Questions:
1. What's your most worn item at the moment? This is between a white ballet leotard-style t-shirt (which goes with everything), and my coral striped shirt from Hollister (I love the fit, colour, everything).
2. Name one place you want to visit. It's hard to pick just one, but a place I'm definitely already planning to visit is Venice, or Venezia in Italian. I'll be travelling back to Italy once I've got my degree and would like to spend some time in the more northern cities, as the last time I went I hit mainly central Italy. Other than that, the Harry Potter theme park, hands down.
3. Favourite store/online store? Forever 21 is definitely the store I most consistently buy clothing from. MAC is the store I'm most excited to be in (I could honestly live in there). Anthropologie is the online store I most frequently browse through, but I've never bought anything from them because I have no money :)
4. Best purchase of the month. My burgundy cords from Joe Fresh. They fit amazingly and were only $19 (Canadian). So exciting!
5. What is one blog that you check religiously? Definitely Cee's blog Coco and Vera. She is one of the classiest dressers I've ever seen, while still having a style which is not unrealistic for the average woman.
6. What is your go-to outfit when you don't know what to wear? Either a nice pair of jeans and a t-shirt with some sort of interesting detail and a bright colour, or the same kind of top with any white bottoms. I've always got to be wearing some sort of rich colour. 
7. What is the newest beauty item you've tried? At the moment, my Sonia Kashuk blush in "Flamingo," which I picked up after reading rave reviews. For a beautiful colour at a really good price ($8 American maybe), it definitely doesn't disappoint.
8. What is your dream job? I would love to work either in public relations or at a publishing house. I love to read, write, and speak in front of people. Being surrounded by literature would be a dream.
9. Name an item you can't live without? I might have to be really arrogant here and say there's really no material thing I couldn't do without. I'm not at all addicted to modern technology, so I guess. . . soap? That's pretty essential, right?
10. What is your favourite season? Why? Definitely autumn, because it's when all the best things happen. School starts (yay English!), it's when I persist in thinking my birthday is (see #4 of things about me), there are fall fairs, crunchy leaves, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and lovely sweaters.
11. What is one thing you wish people knew about you? I think there are very few things that can't be achieved with respect and honesty. I will always act and make decisions based on these two qualities. Also, I once had a fish named Zeus.

My Questions:

1. If you had the chance to style any celebrity, who would it be?

2. What are your favourite physical and personality traits in yourself?

3. Name one distinct phase you went through clothing-wise (e.g. constantly wearing the same shirt, being all about tie-dye [please don't answer that one!]).

4. What is one goal you have for your blog?

5. What is the first thing you remember wanting to be when you grew up?

6. Do you have any odd talents?

7. What is one item you wear (makeup, clothing, or accessory) that one of your family members, friends, or significant other can't stand?

8. In a group of individuals representing cliches, which one would most suit you: the sweet one, the smart one, the funny one, the shy one, the center of attention, the tomboy, the clumsy one, the artist, or the [insert other more applicable cliche here]?

9. Is there a fictional world (either film or book) you would like to be a part of? Which one, and why?

10. Which individual or band (alive or dead, or split up) would you kill (not literally) to get tickets to see?

11. Name one thing that you would love to have in your wardrobe/makeup collection that is totally impractical (due to the limited number of times or places you could wear it, due to price, due to it belonging to a celebrity [helloooo "Thriller" jacket!] etc.).

Nominations:

1. Little girl, big thoughts

2. The Tyrannosaur 

3. The Treasure Chest

4. Nestled

5. EleanorGrace 

6. L. loves to share

7. Obsessed About Beauty and Fashion

8. Sophia x

9. Style Rhapsody

10. Confetti Letters 

11. Betsy Boat 

Thanks again to Indefinite Style!

-C