April Showers

They say April is the cruelest month...but I feel like that honor actually goes to March.

I don't know about you, but March for me usually equates to an insanely busy period. Midterms are in March, many of my first assignments come due in graduate courses, and in my case this past month meant my recital and preparing for my comprehensive exam (which is Monday, by the way. Wish me luck!)

I'm having total brain melting from preparing my presentation (I have to present, and then take questions). And yet, as I stare over my 13-pages-and-counting outline of my talk, all I can think is one thing: over-prepared. This is a good feeling to have, but I'll probably still have butterflies in my stomach until it's over. I feel as though I have more information than I'll need, which is a good thing. I just hope I pace myself so that I get the most important things said and leave the rest for questions. I guess tomorrow I should prioritize and make a smaller outline?

For now, it's off to bed. Hopefully I can wake up early and get crackin' on everything. Just two more days...

My organizational secret weapons...

I need only two things to stay excited about being organized:

My Moleskine planner (yes, I am one of those annoying hipsters who swears by Moleskine, but hear me out). I was never one to use planners. I didn't like the setup, so I would just ignore them. These are expensive enough that I feel compelled to use them, but even more so, I fell in love with the format:

A weekly planner on the left, lined paper on the right for notes and to-dos. It is a format that I am completely besotted with and I don't think I will ever stray.

My other secret weapon? Diary stamps.

?

Yes, diary stamps. I often find them on Japanese and Korean supply stores on etsy. Diary stamps are meant to be used with a planner, and have the cutest little icons that you can use. I use them to add a little fun to my planner and as a visual code for the different events in my life.

These are the two sets I already own:

"Happy Life"

"Love Diary"

They are completely unnecessary, but I love them, and seeing those little stamps in my planner makes me smile. For example, the wedding bell from the Love Diary marks out wedding gigs with my string quartet, and the bunch of roses represents a recital or concert that I am performing in. The speech bubble with exclamation points represents a meeting or special rehearsal, the syringe represents a doctor's appointment, and the book represents an academic deadline like a paper due date.

I found a bunch more of these cute little stamps on a new favorite etsy store, Violet Gift Shop. I am ordering these to add to my collection:

Aren't they the cutest?

Here's some more that I think are sweet but didn't get this time around:

Love the Payday one, and the whole bottom row.

Hiragana and Katakana! So cute!

The "couple" set. I just adore the little steak dinner.

I know it's a little silly for a 24 year old girl to want to play with stamps and ink pads, but I won't apologize for it; it helps me to enjoy the tedious process of staying organized. How do you motivate yourself to stay organized? Are you good at sticking to a system?

Lust List: Indigo Mood

Things I want (sigh). Why can't I win like $500 on a lottery ticket? Just enough to have a fun little splurge.

In this edition of my covetousness, you will notice an insistence on a particular hue: cobalt. I am all about this shade lately. Maybe I'm feeling blue?

 Adorable Zodiac-inspired embroidery kit (in Scorpio and Gemini), from miniaturerhino

 Incredible 1930s gown from violetvillevintage

And, to go with it, this a-ma-zing ring from gypsycandy

Rani, The beautiful seafoam lace necklace by treeandkimball

Aimee, the beautiful deep blue beauty from treeandkimball

My love of Erica Weiner jewelry runs deep. This Sadie Hawkins ring is no exception.

And, finally, I think I deserve a BookBook Macbook cover to celebrate

my amazing graduate fellowship (and earning my M.M. this spring)!

The only question: vibrant red, or classic black?

That's right, I accepted an incredible offer from a school that seems just as excited about me as I am about them (the department head emailed me personally to tell me how pleased she was that I decided to attend). I will begin my journey towards a Ph.D this fall!!!

My new desktop wallpaper...

Found here via Lucas Sharp. Lots of pretty typefaces to behold!

A fanciful reminder to pursue what makes me happy in life, from cooking a good meal to learning silversmithing to listening to a good record.

I'm talking both the mundane and the exotic elation. Joy is something to be found in the steam of a teacup and the letter in your box that changes your life forever. Euphoria is to be found in a marriage proposal and in a moment going through your jewelry box where you pull out an old favorite piece you haven't worn in a while. Find joy in the simple things: a satisfying home-cooked meal, a few moments of freedom to play an old video game, a good conversation with a friend. Enjoy the little moments in this season of gloomy days where the color seems to have been bleached out of the landscape.

Things That Are Awesome

A wonderful website. In a time when it's so easy to get hung up on what's wrong with the world, this blog is a wonderful reminder of the little things in life that are amazing.

I've been really angry lately with the way some things are in this country. Part of it is politics; how Michelle Obama's campaign against childhood obesity became a partisan fight (Glenn Beck claimed she was trying to take away his french fries by suggesting carrot sticks as a snack for children). I'm frustrated with agribusiness and food that tastes bland because it is forced to grow in the wrong season, or meat that comes from fattening cattle and chicken on feed they don't consume in the wild (I got John some Michael Pollan books for Christmas, can you tell?). I'm frustrated with the fact that pharmaceutical companies refuse to fund more studies on lithium, which has shown a lot of promise for treating strokes and Lou Gehrig's disease, simply because no single company has a patent on it and thus everybody could benefit from selling the drug.

Sigh...I found this blog at just the right time!

Some posts that reminded me of the little joys in life:


#356 Wearing your boyfriend's sweatshirt (I love doing this)
#371 Seeing Old People Holding Hands
#380 Hearing Someone's heartbeat
#391 When parents bring you back gifts from a business trip (my dad always used to bring me stuffed animals: a lobster from Maine, an armadillo from Texas. Now, he still brings me back things from his trips, typically tea from London!).
#407 The in-law nap (this one made me laugh out loud because I just did it on Christmas. I was tuckered out from playing midnight mass).
#413 Trying on your new clothes again as soon as you get home from the store (I am way guilty of this!)
#466 Using milk instead of water (I do this for tomato soup, and it just isn't the same without it!)
#497 The moment after the show before the applause begins
#563 Watching cream go into coffee


A nice reminder to stop and smell the roses (or at this time of year, the evergreen?).

Distraction and a horrid, horrid confession

1) I haven't been able to focus on anything. This week is sort of a blitz to get my second Ph.D app in, do lesson plans for my music history class, and pass my recital qualifying jury. Then I am free and clear and can focus more on pretty things and wrapping presents.

2) I did manage to get the apartment decorated, with a little more eye candy than last year! (Pictures likely to come in a later post).

3) I really want to focus on wedding stuff, but feel like I can't right now because of this week being so busy. Sigh...soon enough!

4) Our apartment is cold, so I can only imagine how cold it must be outside right now. But golly the snow is gorgeous!

5) Just started watching Torchwood with John...dang. It's way more to my taste than Dr. Who (sorry, fellow nerds! I tried!). Perhaps I'll try again with Dr. Who someday, but I like the darkness in this series better. And the chemistry between Jack and Gwen. For real, go watch that clip. It's a real testament to the actors that they can convince me this is hot. I hate guns, the idea of firing them, and their power...but there's so much tension in the way he puts his hand on her waist to steady her stance. Plus, whoever plays Jack has killer arms and an even more killer smile.



Now, a heinous confession: I, ladies and gentlemen (and I know several sorority sisters are going to take me to task on this): I watched Twilight. I, a self-professed hater of Jane Austen, chick flicks, and all things lovey-dovey, watched this abomination of a movie.

I was going to insert an image here to spoil my big confession, but I couldn't bring myself to even download one from Google image search. All of them were all dark and moody and made me angry that I wasted 90 odd minutes of my life on this flick.

Not that there aren't exceptions to the no-romance rule in my life (Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Prime, Stardust, even the occasional Dirty Dancing), but this is a line I never thought I'd cross. I've spent a good deal of time mocking the-what do they call themselves?- Twi-hards. Ahem.

What can I say? I was curious. And I've been enjoying the wonderfully vitrolic Reasoning with Vampires blog, which scans actual passages from the book and picks apart the awful writing. A friend posted a link to Facebook, I followed it, I was amused. I still am amused. But I don't think I'll ever take that amusement as far as actually reading the books, especially not based on what I've seen of them through this blog. So I found the movie scattered across youtube and had a go.

IT WAS HORRIBLE. Not only that, it was a horrible decision to watch it. I am one of many, many people to notice this, but Bella is completely lacking in self-esteem and yet ridiculously self-centered and mean. She begins a manipulative, violent relationship with a vampire who tells her she's like a drug to him, "My own personal brand of heroin." OhBarf. He also sneaks into her room late at night to watch her sleep, without her knowledge. Hooray! Twu-wuv, everybody!

The movie itself wasn't the issue. There are worse movies, and from what I know of the actual books, they improved on the dialogue and plot of the original. What bothers me is that the fans seem to find Edward dreamy instead of creepy, loving instead of abusive. It scares me that some young teenage girls are in their moody, dark, melancholic phase hoping to find a guy like this.

I went through that same phase, but it mostly consisted of falling for older boys who would never deign to date a 15 year old or superficially admiring the punk boys my own age for their cool hair or aesthetic alterations to their clothing. I was kind of into my studies, so as much as my journals from that period rage on about feeling invisible to boys and wishing somebody would love me, I did ok and I was kept busy with my music and my coursework. And, actually, I did date boys in high school: mostly nice ones who weren't gothic, pale, vampiric 100-year olds.

Bella and Edward are terrifying. He takes over her entire life. She lives for him, but they don't develop the characters or their relationship in a believable way. It's obsession and lust taken too far.

So, my opinion of Twilight has not changed (not that I was really expecting it to). But dear God, I hope girls can find a better romance to squee over.

A World of Possibility...

By the end of the day, my first Ph.D application will be submitted, sent off into the world. I picture it as a toddler; walking shakily but determined to stay upright.

My thoughts are expansive of late; contemplating my future and my potential and attempting to contain the worlds within me on a single sheet of paper has been a difficult, yet rewarding, process. I am happy to have gained some hindsight and insight as I re-examine what exactly compels me to want to pursue a doctorate in my field.

All of this ponderous exposition is a roundabout way of introducing the true topic of my post, some beautiful globes I spotted on Oh Joy! today.

The globe was tucked into a holiday gift guide, and following the link to the website, I was immediately charmed by Wendy Gold's incredible artistry. Her designs are so beautiful and unique, but seem so natural on the surface of the vintage globes she decorates.

 So dreamy and sweet with the glitter on the base. This is the one I love.

 This would look great in a home library or office. Perhaps someday, when I am rich (oh wait, I want to be a college professor...)...oh well, this is the life I lead, and it makes me happy.

You know what else makes me happy? My fiance baked me oatmeal chocolate chip cookies tonight, from scratch, just to help motivate me to finish my applications. I am so lucky to have him.

You know what else else makes me happy? Bedtime! Have blissful dreams, all! I am going to drift off to dreamland, a place NOT located on any of those globes...

Cardamom Buttermilk Pie

Cardamom. Buttermilk. Pie.

Enough said. I am making this decadent little confection as soon as I am free of end of semester hell.

Or, at least, I'll add it to the growing list of desserts that have caught my fancy of late...

How can you resist that smooth, creamy little shell filled with love and buttermilk?*

Photo from Saveur by Larry Nighswander

 

 *(You can't).

Quick Update

Two short things:

1) We are tentatively working on a wedding venue that may work out for us! Perhaps I shouldn't say anything and jinx it, but it's looking like it has potential! Hooray!

2) I am out of commission until this Friday evening. I am re-taking the GRE in hopes of a higher score, so I have to kick butt and do practice exams this week in preparation.

Being Sick...

I had a tickle in my throat last night; tried to drink lots of liquids (hot and cold) to make it go away. I tried to send it back from whence it came with Echinacea and Airborne.

What do you know? The middle of the night, I wake up with a completely swollen throat and a headache and start tossing my dinner (to put it delicately). I miraculously didn't wake John with all this, but decided at 4:30 in the morning that I probably would not be going to school today. In retrospect I think that was a good decision.

Being sick makes me want to curl up on the couch with somebody taking care of me. I get supremely helpless when I'm sick, though you wouldn't know it. I don't really whine or say anything to anybody, just sort of inwardly whimper and wish.

Being sick makes me want comfort foods like tomato soup and grilled cheese, or ginger ale, or ice cream (preferably vanilla soft-serve). I am really craving a Dairy Queen cone right now. Sigh.

Instead, I slept until two, stumbled around, showered, made split pea from a can, ate it, slept, slept, ate dinner that John made (chili, it was good), sat on couch, stared.

I want my head to fix itself. Blahhhhhhhhhh.