The delusion that it was bright hot morning

The quotation I've used today comes from a novel I read a little while ago now; Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. Now, it being bright hot morning (well, afternoon actually, but near enough!) when I took these OOTD pictures was not in fact a delusion, but rather a harsh, humid reality. Looking at these images, you're likely going to think the only delusion going on is whichever one I had in my head that convinced me to wear a scarf wrapped nearly thrice around my neck in the middle of summer. I don't really have a great answer for that, except that it is quite a light-weight scarf, so I wasn't completely boiling.

Scarf: Calvin Klein via TJMaxx; Watch: Fossil

Top: Forever 21; Skirt: Tommy Hilfiger; Shoes: Enzo Angiolini via TJMaxx

It was actually quite a lovely day today, so I ventured out to the library (yay!) to return my Faulkner novel and James short stories. In their place I am now in possession of the novel The Shadow of the Sun by A.S. Byatt. I've never read anything by Byatt before, and actually never intended to read this particular novel. I became aware of this author through my favourite novel, The Time Traveler's Wife. Texts that make reference to other works are really great sources when you're trying to find new material; I already knew how much I loved Niffenegger's novel so I figured the outside quotations she worked in were worth checking out. By the way, The Shadow of the Sun isn't the book I was aiming for. I'm hoping to get my hands on Possession (also by Byatt), but all of the copies are out. . . and have holds on them for when they're returned. I decided getting something else out by the same author would at least give me a chance to test-drive her work while I wait.

In the interest of continuing to forge ahead con il mio italiano, I picked up three Italian films as well. They are: "Il Generale della Rovere" directed by Roberto Rossellini, "Don Giovanni" directed by Carlos Saura, and "Il Deserto Rosso" directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. If you're interested in foreign films (which I think everyone really ought to be), keep checking back to my blog. I'll be putting up reviews as I watch these films, so hopefully I can give you a couple of new recommendations!


Do you look internationally when selecting movies or literature? If you live outside of North America, are there any great films from your country that you would like to tell me about? Provided I can find them online or in a library, I will happily check them out!


-C
P.S. I thought I'd get back into the swing of things with this OOTD and include a couple of coral pieces. The mustardy-yellow of my top is another of my favourite colours, and putting these two together was, I think, a happy accident!

Tone with truth and emotion with beauty

This post's title is adapt from a quotation which comes from Henry James' work The Lesson of the Master. I've been going in full gear these past couple of days as far as overstimulating my mind with novels and films. I don't have any fashion-related pictures for you this time because I like to do things in my own time. I never want to force myself too much with this blog because, as I've mentioned before, I am a perfectionist, and I'd rather write something quite good once a week than something rather mediocre every single day. All of the material I've been watching and reading will hopefully get me motivated to keep my creative juices flowing (I actually really dislike that saying), as it were.

Yesterday, I read The Turn of the Screw in its entirety. I can unhesitatingly remark that it is certainly the finest thing I've read by James and one of the more interesting things I've consumed lately in general. It wasn't nearly as frightening as I had expected it might be, but it definitely is a psychological thriller. I love that it has so so many possible interpretations.

I've now switched into a different track completely and have picked up the fifth Anne novel: L.M. Montgomery's Anne's House of Dreams. It was my intention last summer to read the entire series (I own all eight novels), but I ended up only getting through four of them. Rather than begin again from the top, I've started where I last left off. I know that these stories are typically considered the property of children, but I really think Mark Twain said it best when he called the series "the sweetest creation of child life yet written."

The two movies I've watched are "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Mona Lisa Smile." The first I viewed mostly because I almost couldn't believe myself that I hadn't seen it before. I mean, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks? Come on. It was decent, but I appreciate it mostly for the nostalgia of watching an old and beloved film (though it was technically new to me). "Mona Lisa Smile" is not as old of a movie, but it's one that I actually have seen before. It had been a long time though, and I've found myself recently on a bit of a Julia Roberts kick ever since I wrote about how much I adore her character's style in "Pretty Woman" (see here and here). This film is really wonderful for the very important story it tells, but, truth be told, I'd have watched almost anything just to see this cast together. Besides Julia Roberts, we also see another talented Julia: Julia Stiles. I absolutely adore this actress who stars in my favourite film of all time: "10 Things I Hate About You." After these two lovely Julias, there are also Kirsten Dunst (who I'll always love as the littlest March girl in "Little Women"), Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ginnifer Goodwin, and many more talented women. Cast is a big deal for me; it's probably what's going to get me to watch the finale of the Batman series this year even though I didn't like the last two. I realize this is near blasphemous to say anymore, since so many people adore them, but they just weren't my thing.

What have you been loving in literature and mooning over in movies? Please let me know so I can check it out too!

-C

I'm going to be surprisingly better

As promised, here are the outfit pictures to go along with the FOTD I posted yesterday. I'm a big fan of keeping it simple, especially with clothing. I don't usually go in for anything with a big brand name splashed across the front or an excess of anything like beads or lace. I've also been buying many more solid pieces than I used to. This may seem boring to some, but it's fantastic for me! It's so much easier to put things together and have them look nice when each item has less going on. However, I also choose articles with interesting details because dressing simply and dressing boring do NOT have to be the same thing. 

For example, the white t-shirt I'm wearing here has a low scoop in both the front and the back, so it's a little variation on a classic staple (I also wore it in my first OOTD here). The shorts are definitely a bolder choice. I'm pretty much in love with the coloured jeans/pants trend (check out my coral capris!), but it's not really feasible to wear full-length bottoms when it's this hot outside. For me, these purple shorts are a great alternative; they're bright, but have a classic look, great fit, and really adorable button detailing to keep them from looking too casual.

Since I was spending the afternoon outdoors and new it would be about one million degrees (maybe a slight exaggeration. . .), I wanted to look nice, but be comfortable and not over-dress. To achieve this, I picked one bright colour and paired it with neutrals like white and brown.

Sunglasses: Nine West via TJMaxx; Top: Old Navy

Bag: Fossil; Shoes: Enzo Angiolini via TJMaxx

Shorts: Banana Republic; Bracelet: Kohl's

I know I usually talk about my title right at the beginning of each post, but I wanted to jump right in to the outfit today since I'd promised it yesterday. Anyway, this titular quotation comes from the short story I recently finished: Henry James' The Lesson of the Master. I don't have too much to say about it other than that it was a very good read and I enjoyed it. It's a simple quotation that I've picked out, but it just struck me as quite a nice line. I like the idea of improving yourself for your own benefit, not to mention doing it so well that you end up surprising even yourself. I'm definitely looking forward to getting into the next short story on my roster: The Turn of the Screw.

In the future, would you prefer to see literature and fashion/beauty mixed in together in one post, or a separate entry for each? Also, I just realized that I've been blogging for just over a month now. I've really enjoyed the change and am so grateful for the people who have chosen to follow me and the wonderful comments I've received. Thank you all so much!

-C

The lesson of the twilight wind: the screw strikes back

Today I've woken up feeling surprisingly motivated. It's still morning, but it already seems like it's going to be a hot one; my face feels all stuffed up, so that's a positive harbinger for humidity. Hopefully I'll get through the rest of the short novel I'm reading: Henry James' The Lesson of the Master. I know I said The Turn of the Screw was meant to be next on my reading list, but both of these stories are bound together in one book and by the time I got started on it the other day, it was fairly late at night. I'm expecting The Turn of the Screw to creep me out enough without the added bonus of being immersed in it alone at night, so I flipped to the other novel instead.

I'm also hoping to get some drawing done today; a skill I've yet to mention I possess on this blog. I literally have generations of artists behind me on my father's side, including my father himself. I do not profess to be on the same level as them at all, but I do enjoy drawing; it's extremely relaxing. Like a coward, I prefer not to test the extent of my abilities (you can laugh here), so I stick to drawing things that aren't real and can't move. Pretty thrilling! Mostly I draw things from posters I have in the house. I worked on Bella and Edward from a "Twilight" film poster a few years ago and have lately been drawing Han and Leia's "Gone With the Wind" pose in the "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" poster. I'm not making it up by the way, their pose is recognized as mimicking the same one on the "Gone With the Wind" poster and is titled as such.

I drew this pose. . . minus the title!

Only Han and Leia from this one. The poster as a whole is so overwhelming!

My horribly chipped nails inform me that another thing I need to do today is remove my old red nail polish. If I paint them again today (or maybe tomorrow, we'll see), I'll post a new NOTD for you. Right now, I'm contemplating using a certain bluish-turquoise from China Glaze, but we'll have to wait for the finished result to see for sure!

The title of this post is also terribly unclever. . . three guesses where it came from!

-C

It sounds just disgusting enough to be fabulous

Today's bizarre quotation comes from the TV show "Gilmore Girls." I realize this series hasn't actually been on television for several years now, but a few months back something made me think of it so I've been re-watching all of the seasons. It's actually incredible how much I want to be a Gilmore. Sadly, even if this were a possibility, I don't think I'd be accepted into the clan due to my general distaste for all things coffee; Starbucks' "pumpkin spice latte" may be helping me combat this issue though. Only time will tell.

Note the coffee cups.

In book news, I finished reading William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying this morning. I found it an extremely interesting read, but it's definitely one that I'll need time to think over. Some research would likely help as well since I really feel as though I didn't understand it entirely and am definitely not above seeking out the opinions of those that might have. Next up on the reading roster is Henry James' short novel The Turn of the Screw. I haven't started it yet, and I'm planning to wait to do so until tomorrow. Then I can sit outside in the sun which will hopefully help me be less freaked out by the story (I'm not sure what the novel's effect on me will be yet, but I'm hedging my bets). I can't directly apply today's quotation to James' novel, but allow me to slightly adapt it by stating that The Turn of the Screw "sounds just [creepy] enough to be fabulous." Mr. James has yet to let me down, so the forecast is looking pretty good.

Have any of you read it? Do you ever step outside your comfort zone with literature/film/television or do you find yourself falling back on old favourites? Between this ghost story and the Gilmore antics, I seem to be doing a little of both at the moment.

-C