halfway in it

Sarah Vowell is so fucking smart and funny. I wish she lived next door.

This book has no writing in it at all - just pictures. Its beautiful. And it is a great way to convey the confusion that faces a lot of immigrants.

This was a pretty book and it flooded my dreams with east coast island imagery. And this excerpt is stunning:

She was pulling a rope out of the water and knew it was coming to the end when the barnacles started to appear and they became more think and clustered. Then it was strangely peaceful and the sound was turned off. She stood at the bow of a ship. If only she could have stood this way above the water and really breathed and let the waves go by like pages being turned and watched everything more closely and chosen things more carefully then she might have been able to read the spirit within herself and would not have spent her life as if she were only halfway in it.

For a moment she felt an astonishing brilliance and heat and light and all of herself flared up and the vibration after sixty-five years was not weakened by time but more dense then suddenly it was as if the flame had caught the flimsiest piece of paper for it flickered up and flew into the air then quickly sank down withered into a thin cinder of ash which blew off, inconsequential. Her life had not been long enough for her to know the whole of herself, it had not been long enough or wide.

Halloween

Today is my most favoritest of holidays. I've complained for years that none of my friends throw a Halloween party so this year my boy and I decided that we would just have one. The party is saturday and I'm such a slouch. I have only a few decorations made (cause of course I had envisioned making tons of cool decorations) and I have almost a whole Rosie the Riveter costume but I REALLY wanna be Frida Kahlo and have not yet let go of this hope. Of course if I were Frida, then I'd want lots of Day of the Dead style decor which I don't have.

The sorrow of glorious dreams combined with laziness and procrastination! Whatever we come up with, I will share pictures I promise.

- Oh ya, and throwing the party is on my 101 list. Recent list accomplishment was trying scotch. I liked but did not love. In a couple of weekends, I'm taking my boy to Chicago and we're gonna have a fancy tea someplace (both also on the list). I guess I am a little productive.

So good!

This Simple Harvest cereal is my new morning crack habit. The brown sugar pecan kind is so seriously seriously good. I consider telling you all about this to be my good deed of the day.

Books books and more books...and one lil movie

Stargirl was pretty adorable. I want to give it to every preteen I know.

Love The Last Days of Dogtown. Loved loved loved it. Those of you who like historical fiction should pick this one up. Those who don't should still pick it up. Such a well-told tale. I may have to borrow The Red Tent from the library now.

I read somewhere that this book was funny like the tv show The Office. Its not. Its terribly terribley heart-breaking in lots of everyday ways. Its a good book, just not a hardee har har laugh a minute read.

This counts as one of the 50 nonfiction books I read as part of my 101 list. Very thought-provoking!


Fun read! I like Ms. Esquivel.

We watched Hot Fuzz recently. Silly fun! But not nearly as fun as Shawn of the Dead.

New Obsession

Are you watching Pushing Daisies yet? If not, you should be. Freakin adorable and the best set design I've ever seen on a tv show.

And speaking of pretty rooms - go vote for Jamie's mad decorating skills on Apartment Therapy. I want her to come and prettify my place now too.

Plaid

Shiny Squirrel always manages to find the coolest fashions. Like this:

Isn't that skirt the cutest? Made by Ric Rac.

Mmmmmmm

This recipe is SO good! Yum:

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound fully cooked smoked sausage (such as hot links or Kielbasa), sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 14 1/2- to 16-ounce cans kidney beans
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups cooked rice

Preparation
Heat olive oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage, onion and garlic and sauté until onion is brown, about 15 minutes. Mix in kidney beans with their juices, broth and Creole seasoning. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until flavors are blended and mixture is very thick, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.
Divide cooked rice among large shallow soup bowls. Spoon bean mixture over rice and serve.

Another Look I Love

Oct2
Originally uploaded by andreaiscool

This is so super cute. Wardrobe Remix is such a wonderful inspiration.

So Romantic

I adore this outfit spotted on flickr. Its so pretty and wearable and yet kind of looks like she just stepped out of some wonderful period piece.

Readings and Watchings

Reading this book had me enthralled. All about teenagers and vampires and drama. I'm giddily awaiting my turn in getting the next one from the library - you know after the 100 people on the list in front of me finish it.

I like Nick Bantock. Loved his Griffin & Sabine books more than I can say. This one was alright. The story and the art - good but nothing stunning. What is stunning is his North African collages.

This book was so hard to put down. Its about the city where the dead live and how they relate to those still on earth - all the while a devastating plague is running rampant among the living. Fascinating story.

I'm determined to watch all the movies Cary Grant ever made. The last one I saw was Once Upon a Honeymoon starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. Its a comedy....set as part of WWII....part of it takes place in the Jewish ghettos in Poland. Not the best idea for a comedy I think.

The Giver is a really interesting children's book that seems timely to me. It points out the dangers of security when a community takes it too far. Seems fitting in our day of wire taps and terror headlines and stupidity.

I watched Note on a Scandal last night. What's not to love? Judi Dench! Cate Blanchett! A creepy suspenseful storyline! Very good movie.

Prodigal Summer was so good. Three storylines about people in a tiny appalachian community. I cracked up a few times over Garnett Walker, fell a bit in love with Lusa, and loved the descriptions of Deanna's surroundings. It made me want to live on a farm again for a brief moment - and that's pretty nutty coming from me who lurves living in a city. Very good read!

My cures for bummed-ness

Bound to work for the grown-up blues!

• Snuggle puppies (if no one you know has one, take a trip to the local shelter or pet store). Breathe in their puppy scent.
• Go sit by a playground (either outside or in a mall) and watch kids act like uncontrollable monkeys. Make bets on what they will be when they grow up.
• Get a bottle of bubbles and use them.
• Get a big box of crayons and use them.
• Happy hour with your fave girlfriends.
• Go to the racetrack and make $2 bets. Tear up tickets dramatically when you lose. Try to figure out who the spy is in the crowd. (According to movies, race tracs are the favorite meeting spots for spies and criminals).
• Watch Amelie. Or Little Miss Sunshine.
• Roll down a hill. Try not to hurt yourself - this was much easier as a child.

Hope it helps!

9 Crimes

Super oddball of a video, but suck a lovely song:

Old Fashion Glam

I watched A Letter to Three Wives a few days ago. Can I just say that Linda Darbell was insanely beautiful?! Plus its a pretty good movie.

And yesterday I watched All About Eve which I liked even better.

Love Bette Davis' dress above.

And I read The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer. Pure fluffy fun!