29 July 2008

Oh Fred Flare, you are such a happy place...

So the next time I get sad or depressed, I'm just going to hug my tears.  That's right, I'm just going to embrace a big fluffy tear and say, "It's okay, you'll be gone soon enough."
Fred Flare has actually made this possible, with Hug Your Sorrow Plush Tears.  It's remarkable.  I can't justify spending $30 for a stuffed uh, bodily fluid at age 24, but it's nice to know that things like this exist!
And of course, while I was on the site, I couldn't help but notice this, this, and this.  The owl ring may have to happen.

I think I'm in love...with screen shots






28 July 2008

Limbo

I'm currently in Cleveland again, having just had my wisdom teeth out.  Ouch.  It's a very strange sensation.  I keep feeling the stitches with my tongue and thinking it's some sort of food stuck in my teeth in the back.  And the jaw pain is another pleasant sensation (NOT!!).  Not to mention the fat face.  It's back to DC on Friday, so I'm hoping we have significant improvement by then, and then my first day of class is on Monday, so I'm definitely hoping the pain/ugliness has lessened!
To pass the time I've been rereading Anne of Avonlea.  I think of myself as a bit of an Anne-- redheaded, passionate, always imagining and always getting into scrapes.  Of course, I'm far less "well isn't this the most lovely world ever!" than Anne-- call me Anne plus a hefty dose of realism.  I do look at teaching much like Anne does-- changing children's lives and helping them to be the best students they can be, although I would definitely play favorites for Paul Irving.  And give Jen Pringle a serious reality check.
Oh, and maybe I'm a bit of a romantic like Anne, too...
"I don't want diamond sunbursts and marble halls.  I just want you."

22 July 2008

Adjustment

I've forgotten how to adjust to new surroundings.  Which is problematic, since my new situation definitely calls for adjustment.  I don't think that a single thing is similar to my life in New York.  Gone is my tiny apartment in my quaint building-- hello, high rise.  Gone are my street smarts.  In New York I felt comfortable walking anywhere at any hour.  Now in DC, all of these zones are restricted-- don't go here, don't go there, which results in going to the same 5 places all of the time.  That may be okay for college, but I didn't act like I was in college even when I was in college!  Gone are the hipsters, artists, small dogs, and individuals.  Hello, preppy.  Hello politics.  I'm so overwhelmed by all of these new streets, with their NW, SW, etc, and these diagonal streets.  I know that DC isn't all about confusing streets, preppy people, country club families, and the same cheesy fratty bars.  There has to be some sort of arts scene-- thrift shops, creperies, indie bands, craft fairs, old movies, galleries.  Restaurants that only sell one type of food.  Chocolate shops that double as sunglasses stores.  Foreign and specialty food stores.  I know I've been here for such a short time, but I just feel like there are pieces of me that just can't find corresponding locations in this city.  Or kindred spirits.
Readers, any suggestions for DC area places I might like?  Places of art, soul, and beauty?  Or ways to adjust to a new city?  I'm floundering a bit here!  It's normal to be a bit flummoxed when moving to a new city, but I'd prefer to not have to deal with all of the ups and downs of moving-- my entire two years in New York were enough drama to last a lifetime!

10 July 2008

Art Nouveau-Art Deco

When I was in Prague, I loved the curvilinear architecture of the Old City.  Candy colors, flowing lines, the prevalence of Mucha's work.  In Paris I looked for the scrolling letters at the Metro stations.  In England, I walked through Mayfair, stopping to peer through the window at Cafe Royal and imagine dining with the likes of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley.  When I started studying Victoriana more in depth, I was fascinated by the arts and crafts movement, the glittering aestheticism and how that led to the decadent art of the 1890s, which in turn transformed into the ornate curls of Art Nouveau and later Art Deco.  My favorite museum in New York is the Neue Gallery, which houses so many of Gustav Klimt's gold-leafed, botanical-filled masterpieces.  Now I can see the same motifs in joyful Scandinavian designs, especially Tord Boontje's laser cuts, and Brocade Home designs.  And in my new vine covered bedspread, Erte prints, hurricane lamp, yellow bedside table, and curved-legged dresser.  And the painting of the ever-inspirational Chrysler building hanging in the living room.
So of course I'm loving the latest from Anthropologie, a timeline tracing arts and crafts wallpaper to the aforementioned Chrysler building and integrating some of Anthro's current designs.  I love the continuity, how inspiration grows and changes over the ages but remains permanent in its flux.  Art harmony, indeed!
070708artdeco_01.jpg

01 July 2008

How to create the modern cottage?

Well, the DC/Northern Virginia move will take place in 5 days, which is frightening to me.  I've also discovered-- of course-- that DC and Cleveland have absolutely no banks in common, which means that I will have to drain my account on Thursday (because of the 4th of July, stupid bank holiday), get a cashier's check for the [very small] amount in there, find a bank that is prevalent in both NoVa and DC, open said new account, and deposit not only the remainder of my Chase balance but also the bonds that have been accruing interest since my birth.  That money is definitely needed now, since there is no word on my loans yet and I will not start getting my monthly stipend money from the Fairfax County schools until September.  Never mind that I start taking classes in August.
The last few weeks have been occupied by the thought that my bedroom is depressing.  Before I was worrying more about the shared areas in the apartment, since that's what guests will be seeing most of the time.  But then with a flash I thought, what about me??  I'm so used to having a studio that the concept of "bedroom" is still very new to me.  My old studio (see below) was a refuge-- albeit a messy one in these pictures.  But my new bedroom is very, well, beige.  Wall to wall carpet in beige.  Vanilla walls.  Doors on two walls that make furniture placement difficult.  And a resolution not to paint the walls a pretty green shade since I don't know how long I'll be in this place and I don't want the hassle of painting it back. 
My old bedding was a typical shabby chic white (you know, brushed with gray, or "tea staining") with washed out blue roses with equally washed out green leaves.  But in my little sleeping loft, especially nestled between green walls, it never felt depressing.  But transplant that washed-out bedspread into a washed out, relatively large room...not too pretty, and pretty much a guarantee for year-round Seasonal Affective Disorder.
So, for cure number 1, we have new bedding, which didn't break the bank due to being on sale at Crate and Barrel and paid for with a gift card that my mom would have otherwise never used.  I think it is quite cottage like!


Then we have the matter of what to do to create visual interest without shelling out the money for a headboard...will the pink painting that I had over my couch work?  Or should I give in and shell out the money for a headboard?  Making an upholstered headboard-- in a white or beige-- will just end more of the blahs.  The next problem, however, is how to mix up these linens so that they don't look so "matchy-matchy."  And to add some more color-- without spending money.  I'm thinking one or two of these?  Or attempting to recreate them myself.  The main idea is that things should look playful and elegant, yet quirky and quaint.  I'm so clueless!!