Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

Archive for the category “Week in Review”

12 Jan 2012
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Awkward and Awesome Thursday

For those of you who don’t haven’t been longtime readers, Awkward and Awesome Thursdays was started by Sydney over at The Daybook. She’s an amazing blogger who has the best style (and the cutest little baby)! I picked it up while I was in England last year and now I’ve decided to do it again.

Awkward things that happened this week:

- I tried to put on my skinny jeans Sunday night and they wouldn’t zip up. Oops, no more
chocolate cake for me!

- A representative from a popular acne brand called my house this week and it wasn’t until I listened to his pitch for five minutes that I realized I could tell him “No thanks!”

- I was in the parking lot at my local mall and spent ten minutes searching for the car, then realized I was looking for my mom’s car. I guess it hasn’t sunk in that I have a car of my own yet!

(do the above two awkwards mean that I’m losing it?)

Awesome things that happened this week:

- I bought two new books at Barnes and Noble for a net of .70! Gotta love those Christmas gift cards.

- My parents and I have been watching The West Wing during the evenings and now they’re hooked!

Posted in Awkward and Awesome, Week in Review
29 Dec 2011
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2011 Book Roundup

It’s that time of year again–time for the end of year book round-up! Though I set out to read 52 books this year I came in just short of my goal with 50 books read. I’m currently making my list for next year and I’m looking for suggestions! Have you read any great books in the past year?

1. In the Land of Invented Languages (Okrent)

2. Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys)

3. Room (Donoghue)

4. Memnoch the Devil (Rice)

5. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Stevenson)

6. Call It Sleep (Roth)

7. The Day of the Locust (West)

8. The Big Sleep (Chandler)

9. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (Stein)

10. Ariel: Collected Poems (Plath)

11.  The Hunger Games (Collins)

12. Coffee at Luke’s: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest  (Crusie)

13. The French Lieutenant’s Woman (Fowles)

14. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher (Summerscale)

15. In Cold Blood (Capote)

16. The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton (Sexton)

17. Sepulchre (Mosse)

18. The Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood)

19. Slammerkin (Donoghue)

20.  Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures (Wittman)

21. The Invention of Murder 

22. Dr. Faustus (Marlowe)

23. Death Comes to Pemberley (P.D. James)

24. Persuasion (Austen)

25. Bitter is the New Black (Lancaster)

26. The Ghost Map (Johnson)

27. I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

28. More, Now Again (Wurtzel)

29. The Playboy of the Western World (Synge)

30. Clockwork Angel (Clare)

31. Clockwork Prince (Clare)

32. City of Fallen Angels (Clare)

33. City of Ashes (Clare)

34. City of Glass (Clare)

35. City of Bones (Clare)

36. The Year of Magical Thinking (Didion)

37. Catching Fire (Collins)

38. Mockingjay (Collins)

39. The Nineteenth Century (Collins)

40. The Subjection of Women (Mill)

41. The Victorian World Picture (Newsome)

42. Chasing Harry Winston (Weisberger)

43. Hannibal (Harris)

44. Red Dragon (Harris)

45. Sisterhood Everlasting (Brashares)

46. The Monster of Florence (Preston)

47. The Rum Diary (Thompson)

48. The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Pollan)

49. Witch and Wizard (Patterson)

50. An Unquiet Mind (Jameson)

Posted in Education, What I read and tagged , , ,
25 Oct 2011

Francophilia rediscovered

Despite my recent foray into life across the pond, my love for the French remains undiminished. Call me fickle or inconstant but I was sure my love of France had been eclipsed by England’s beauty…until today.

It all started over the summer when I saw Midnight in Paris. Whatever you may think about Woody Allen, the work is genius. The scenery, the representation of artistic greats and the costuming is beyond amazing.If you haven’t seen the film I highly suggest you rush to a theater before it disappears!

(Also as part of a semi-shameless plug, check out my post on Dormify about decorating your dorm room with Midnight in Paris as the inspiration)

Of course, with this as in all things, I was stubborn. I wanted to believe that my adoration stemmed from a love of Stein, Picasso and the beautiful music rather than from the city of love. Oh how wrong I was!

I’ve begun reading Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard. The book details Ms. Bard’s experiences abroad, from studying in Scotland during her junior year through her time as a graduate student in London and onto meeting her husband and moving to Paris. The romance is like something out of a romantic comedy (emphasis on the comedy). The French seem in turn more relaxed and more uptight than I’d ever seen them.

The insights offered into the French mystique make me want to a) start wearing silk scarves b) bike everywhere c) learn to love French cuisine and d) watch French films. Obviously this is one to read!

Off to watch Amelie,

Alexandra

Posted in Travel Plans, What I read and tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment
17 Mar 2011

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

 

Awkward:

- I have a paper due today that I’m so not ready to turn in…can’t it wait?!

- I’ve bought two cans of nutella in two weeks. Both are now empty.

- I have to take my computer on a trip so that I can complete schoolwork.

- Realizing that I have to start studying for the GRE now and take it in May.

 

Awesome:

- Laying outside the dorm with friends on Tuesday.

- Leaving today for Stratford-upon-Avon

- My new article over at Her Campus

 

Posted in Awkward and Awesome, Week in Review and tagged | Leave a Comment
11 Mar 2011

What I Read

Sorry posts have been a little sparse this week!

Tomorrow I will have one up about last weekend in Glastonbury and Stonehenge.

 

What I Read This Week


1. Did Archaeologists Uncover Blackbeard’s Treasure: I love reading about archaeological digs of all kinds but having
a notorious pirate connected to the site is the icing on the cake! While the boat hasn’t been confirmed as
the Queen Anne’s Revenge yet, the finds ARRRGH wonderful!

2. If Social Media Were High School : Who doesn’t love a good Mean Girls spoof? This one is particularly witty
and surprisingly accurate about the Web 2.0 world.

 

And a little video that made me smile:

 

 

 

Posted in Week in Review, What I read | Leave a Comment

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