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.

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