work out fun.

i ordered julianne hough's cardio ballroom off amazon yesterday. i watched this video and though it seemed fun! so i'm giving it a go. for 7.99 and the potential to look like her (wishful thinking, i realize), i figured it was worth it. i'll let you know how it turns out! only problem i forsee is where i'm going to actually do the workout. i may be moving our couch everyday (everyday is obviously me being ambitious).

bargain hunting.

my friend jess recently asked me to take a look at a bag she was thinking of purchasing from shopruche.com. Ruche's tag line "a modern vintage boutique with a vintage touch" is not what struck me. the thing you really want to know about: the price. it is incredibly well priced. i took a looksee through all their products and there are a few pieces that stuck out, especially for this particular price point. below are some i liked.

twisted rope bracelet in bronze
9.99

kaia disc earrings
14.99

impressionism garden pocket skirt
28.99

abigail tulip ruffle gray coat
84.99

amethyst geode silk top
38.99

early morning visual stimulation.

i found these pictures on a wedding blog called Green Wedding Shoes that i frequent. i came across Green Wedding Shoes while looking for ideas for my dear friend erica, who is to be wed this june 12. the blog is awesome. she has engagement photos, wedding spreads, inspiration boards, you name it.

above are engagement photos by Braedon Photography that i think are so fun and unique. the theme of the shoot is based on that brad and angelina spread from W magazine a few years back. i think its fresh and cool. it cheered me up early this morning and i thought it might do the same for you. happy friday!

check out the post from Green Wedding Shoes for more details and other amazing photos.

i'm baaaack . .

I realize I have let this blog fall into oblivion but I'd like to try again, if you'll have me. My desire to re-spark this blog came out of a book I started reading this morning, When Everything Changed, by Gail Collins. The book is basically the story of what happened to women in America in the last 50 years and how drastically their life has changed. I recently watched this video on amazon.com, in which Collins says of the book,

"thoughts about the way women are, about the difference of the sexes, about women's roles, that existed for millennia ended in our lifetimes. that is an incredible story and that is the story i really wanted to tell here"

I know some of you have aversions to the word feminism, and this is obviously a key part of this book, but I urge you to try again. Our general historical knowledge of the feminist movement that occurred during this time period is often fleeting and inaccurate. Think feminism consists mainly of radical, obnoxious bra burners? Think again.

In looking for a photo for this post, I read an article from The New Yorker called "Lift and Separate: Why is feminism still so divisive" by Ariel Levy. In the article, Levy tackles the bra burning myth (yes, myth. if you didn't already know that, read it.) and moves into pointing out what really happened during this tumultuous time and not what most perceive. If you do read any of the article, make sure you include the last three paragraphs. You may be surprised.

If you know me at all, you know I love American women's history - especially in the last century - and this book has me very excited. I just started this morning on my commute in, so I don't have a lot yet, but it's certainly coming. The first part of the book is setting the stage. It begins in 1960 - so think post WWII, nuclear family, cold war, self medication. This is a book I'll be sure to read with a pen because I'm going to want to bring a lot of it back here.

Stay tuned . . . and pick up a copy!

photo and article

my apologies.

i have been quite absent on the blog front and i apologize. i've been swamped at work and there was a computer crisis at home. hopefully i will be back in full swing soon.

happy monday.

book club.

i decided this week to join a book club with a few of my former co-workers. bridget, now a teacher, is starting one up with a few friends and she invited kari, libby and me to join. the first book on the list is sarah's key. here's the synopsis i found on borders.com:

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

i started the book yesterday and was really starting to get into it this morning on may way in. the last book i read was barefoot by elin hilderbrand. The novel is an easy, summer, beach read so i'm ready for something more serious. i'll be sure to let you know how i like it as well as what the next book club choice is. potential already is chelsea handler's are you there, vodka? it's me, chelsea. i've stared at both her books debating whether to purchase or not so i'll be thrilled to finally read one. i've got my fingers crossed.

creep-o

http://melodymaker.posterous.com/the-reason-some-girls-stay-single-very-funny

what i'm listening to right now.

glee!

it's a new show on fox. its hilarious. if you haven't checked it out, i suggest you do!

this week . .

both these are on my bill for this week. very excited.

this is makes me strangely happy . . .

conversation with my mom earlier today.

Deborah: using my new macBook. very nice

me: are you serious

you got a mac?

Deborah: very serious. It is made of aluminum.

me:you realize you're hardly going to use all its capabilities

Deborah: does some very cool stuff. I am getting a lesson from trans atlantics IT guy Bill

2:31 PM me: man

aren't you so fancy

is it white?

Deborah: you never know. I might start making my own movies and puttting them on utube

me: you miiight

Deborah: no it's silver aluminum with a lighted keyboard

2:32 PM the fact that its not white means its the good one.

2:33 PM me: hmm

Deborah: hmm is right

me: if it was white it'd match you car

Deborah: i have a silver car too

me: this is true

2:34 PM so this computer will last you the rest of your life basically right?

is it the macbook pro?

Deborah: never had a new computer before.

me: why'd you decide to go with apple?

2:35 PM Deborah: I think they are cute.

2:37 PM me: well there you have it

Deborah: never had a new computer before

me: its very exciting

Deborah: It has a dashboard.

2:38 PM gotta go can't have two conversations at on time and talk to Bill

me: haha ok

byee

2:39 PM Deborah: bye can't remember how to turn it off.

me: you can't work gmail, but you have a macbook pro

toootally makes sense

Deborah: bite me

i love this song.

this was always a choir favorite of mine. it's beautiful.

favorites this week.

this week i've been listening to edith piaf like a crazy person. she was a french singer, still considered one of france's greatest popular singers. she had an intriguing and dramatic life. i think you can hear it in her voice - there's a certain pain and intensity in her voice that i think is fantastic. have a listen in the post below.

also this week i'm reading american wife by curtis sittenfeld. this book has been sitting on my shelf for a few months now and i'm so glad i finally picked it up. the main character, alice blackwell, is loosely based on laura bush. alice is an only child growing up in the midwest. when she's a teenager, she runs a stop sign and kills a classmate. she then goes on to become a librarian and marry a boy from a prominent american family who later becomes president etc etc. the reason i like the book so much is because of the honest thoughts we get from alice. the accident starts a chain of unfortunate events that ends in an abortion by way of her grandmother's lesbian lover, one of few female doctors in the midwest. through it all, alice feels the way i imagine i would feel going through such trying experiences. she is a strong and stoic woman on the outside, but lets us into her inner workings where we find her sensitive and gilt ridden girl.

as you can imagine, when this book came out it cause quite a stir at the white house. you can't help but think of laura bush as you're reading this novel.

favorites this week.

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one more.

too cute.

yay!

made roanoke college snapshots. thank you, clint, for sending it in!