From house to house, with a true sense of joy, Jack happily issued each present and toy. From rooftop to rooftop he jumped and he skipped, Leaving presents that seemed to be straight from a crypt! -Tim Burton
Wrapping Christmas presents is my favorite part of the Season. Don't ask me why; I'm not entirely sure. It's just the only part of the whole Christmas thing that doesn't stress me out. Au contraire: it's very relaxing. And I get to do it alone, with my iPod, but still contribute to holiday cheer and all that. So I quite enjoy it.
I usually theme my presents. Like, last year I decided to do black, white and green (finding green ribbons? Harder than you'd think. But they looked REALLY pretty!). Very Slytherinesque. ;) This year, I decided to opt for a more traditional red and gold, with a Victorian tilt.
I found these really neat gift tags at Michaels and they worked really well to finish off the "feel" of the presents. I also picked up little sprigs of Christmas "foliage" (wtf do you even call these things??) to top the gifts off with. It was big in the Victorian, and looks pretty even today. I especially like ones with birds on them. And finally, I picked up some gold doilies to use as a base for a bow or these neat Victorian Christmas die-cuts I found. All from Michaels.
:)
Also, this is Sherman's method of keeping warm. I want to adopt this position until like, the end of January.
"So, it seems that the true Christmas, like the kingdom of heaven, of which, indeed, it is a part, is within us. It is the hour of charitable thoughts and active service. It is our season of vision, when eyes are anointed to see how easy it is to bestow it. To most if us, indeed, an underlying sadness must deepen a little by contrast with the external joy. We think of those past Christmases of our youth, each of which in turn was to have seen us great, or rich, or famous, or noble, or happy, with the fulfillment of some desire which was never to be satisfied. We think of the friends whose greeting was the best of Christmas to us, and whose voices we shall hear no more. Filling the children's stockings, we long unutterably for the child who was to grow up only in the life to come. But these aspirations, ambitions, loves are not dead. Let us not try to forget, but give all a place at our Christmas fire, rich, very rich, in what we have, far richer in what we fancy we have lost.
-from "Christmas Past and Present," Harper's Bazaar, Dec. 31, 1881.
I pretty much wore this exact same thing today (it made me feel like a steampunk princess). I just wish I had all the books and vintage awesomeness at the bottom. But it's just about my favorite thing I've worn all year. I just wish the coolness would stay for a while longer so I could put together more things. I like layers and boots and scarves. I wish I got to wear them more often.
That being said, I abhor the cold, so I won't complain any further. :)
"I crossed the staircase landing and entered the room she indicated. From that room too the daylight was completely excluded and it had an airless smell that was oppressive. A fire had been lately kindled in the damp, old fashioned grate and it was more disposed to go out than to burn up, and the reluctant smoke which hung in the room seemed colder than the clearer air like our own marsh mist. Certain wintry branches of candles on the high chimneypiece faintly lighted the ch€amber or, it would be more expressive to say, faintly troubled its darkness. It was spacious and, I daresay, had once been handsome, but every discernible thing in it was covered with dust and mould and dropping to pieces. The most prominent object was a long table with a tablecloth spread on it, as if a feast had been in preparation when the house and the clocks all stopped together. An epergne or centre piece of some kind was in the middle of this cloth; it was so heavily overhung with cobwebs that its form was quite undistinguishable; and as I looked along the yellow expanse out of which I remember its seeming to grow, like a black fungus, I saw speckled legged spiders with blotchy bodies running home to it, and running out from it, as if some circumstance of the greatest public importance had just transpired in the spider community. .... "What do you think that is?" she asked me again with her stick. "That where those cobwebs are?" "I can't guess what it is, ma'am." "It's a great cake. A bride cake. Mine!"
******
"So unchanging was the dull old house, the yellow light ... in the darkened room, the faded spectre in the chair by the dressing-table glass, that I felt as if the stopping of the clocks had stopped Time in that mysterious place, and, while I and everything else outside it grew older, it stood still. Daylight never entered the house as to my thoughts and remembrances of it, any more than as to the actual fact. .... "On this day of the year, long before you were born, this heap of decay," stabbing with her crutched stick at the pile of cobwebs on the table but not touching it, "was brought here. It and I have worn away together. The mice have gnawed at it, and sharper teeth than teeth of mice have gnawed at me."
*******
I don't know why...attribute it to fall and Halloween and whatnot, but I'm feeling SUPER inspired by Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham is, of course, the old lady in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. On the day of her wedding, she received news that her fiancee had abandoned her. She stopped all the clocks in her home, Satis House, and from that day on blocked out all sunshine. Every day she wore her wedding dress and veil, and one shoe (as she had not finished putting on the other shoe when she received the news), determined to halt time in that one moment and never move on from her heartbreak. She plays an integral part in the story and in ruining Pip's life, but I just like the cobwebby, ancient feel she seems to give off.
I love the feel of these images. I think it encapsulates the decaying, old-timey feel of the Havisham thing. (Credit.)
This is my take. I just imagine "Havisham Chic," if you will, to include lots of whites, grays and dusty rose hues--lots of drapey, loose, fabrics and shirred hems. Ruffles, lace, cameos and little gothic details complete the look.
Is anything inspiring you right now, Dear Readers?
When E-readers first came out, I was appalled. I found them to be abhorrent, hideous devices meant to further destroy the printed word in our culture. I loathed the idea with every fiber in my being. How on EARTH can holding a cold piece of metal and plastic in between your hands EVER replace the incredible feeling of turning pages, of smelling must in old books, and wondering who turned the pages before you, devouring the ink like sustenance?
Well, you can't.
But the Kindle for PC is a really super cool invention if you like to read a lot, carry a laptop to boring classes, and don't want to lug around novels in addition to textbooks. Aka: me.
It's absolutely FREE to download, which is pretty darn sweet. You wanna know what else is cool? There are hundreds, possibly even thousands, of titles that are FREE too! A lot of the classics are free. SHERLOCK EFFING HOLMES IS FREE. You should get it for that reason alone. But really. If you want to read classics off your laptop or computer, this is an incredible way to do it.
The interface is pretty user-friendly. Those of you who know me know that I am just barely a functioning member of 21st century society when it comes to technology. Even I figured this out. So I'm sure you can, too. I really like how you can bookmark your page, and when you shut down the application or your computer and restart it, it opens right back up to the page you were. You can also highlight text, and there's even a capability to take notes in the "margins," which is pretty cool. You just download the book and it uses this thing called "Whispersync" and delivers it right into your Kindle on your computer. It is easy-peasy. I've finished two novels on it so far and haven't spend a PENNY.
Now THAT is cool.
I highly suggest you give it a try. If you do, let me know how you like it! I'm curious! Do you use any other device to read books other than, y'know, books? How do you like them?
This is the Trinity College Library in Dublin. What I wouldn't GIVE to wile away three or four days in this library!
Today was eventful. Well, it started with me only getting about 4 hours of sleep last night, which has consequently left me both exceedingly sleepy and looking quite like hell (or a banshee. Perhaps a banshee out of hell). I was up at 7 this morning for a garage sale. It was supposed to be a community garage sale, where all the houses in your neighborhood put out stuff. Ended up just being ours and two others. Community Garage FAIL.
My neighbor came over to sell stuff at our sale, which was fine, only it then required me being neighborly and social at 7 in the morning with minimal sleep. Needless to say it lasted all about 30 minutes before I had to bury myself in an Anne Perry novel. Doubtlessly everyone thinks I'm that neighborhood "weird girl," the one who doesn't talk that much and reads all the time and doesn't date and hangs out with her mom. I don't much care. I've heard conversation comes easier as you get older. I'm sure I'll be fine. Besides, it's better to be someone in the neighborhood than no one.
Oh and get this. My neighbor made $80. I made $10. I think this is God telling me to stop being lazy and get a job. I just don't like working. No, not true. I enjoy working. I feel much more useful when I work. The problem with work lies in the stress that inevitably comes home with me from it. That and it seems like every time I get a job something happens that prevents me from being able or willing to work, thus making me look like a slacker and resulting in my quitting. I'm not a quitter. I've just got better things to do. Like finding a wealthy husband. Although "Become Gold-Digging Bimbo, Get Sugar-Daddy" is hardly a reliable (or desirable) life strategy. Curses.
{Unrelated and breaking the flow of discourse: I really need to clean my rooms. They are heinous. Even I feel like they're too messy. I'd post pics, but honestly, I'm embarrassed. And I would go do that after posting this except for...}
So afterwards, I went over to the UCF library to return that heap of Dickens and Victorian children books. Note: if you are a child or a woman (or, like me, can pass for both), do not time travel to Victorian London. You will either be destitute, a prostitute, tubercular or all of the above. Also, Chimney Sweeps were nothing like Bert in Mary Poppins. But we will pretend, for ignorance-is-bliss's sake, that they were.
Anyway, I took all those back and cleared out the Sherlock Holmes section. So I apologize if you or anyone you know actually needs these books for, y'know, SCHOLARLY reasons. If so, let me know and I'll give them back. Otherwise, SO LONG, WORLD. I'LL SEE YOU WHEN I EMERGE A HOLMESIAN EXPERT.
Also, thanks, UCF, for deciding to rearrange the entire library just after I'd memorized the call numbers for all the useful sections. You apparently have no idea how difficult it is for me to remember anything and have no appreciation whatsoever for the corner of my "brain attic" which I so lovingly devoted to you. Bastards.
- Here is a list of darkly humorous and terribly cynical break up services. The "Death Bear" is my personal favorite (because I am a total creep).
- I should warn you that this is NSFW for STRONG LANGUAGE (even though I'm posting the censored version, just in case), but it's so badass I couldn't not post it. Natalie Portman pokes fun at her good-girl image. I will always adore her, but this skyrocketed her amount of awesome points in my scorebook.
- A heinously hilarious list of metaphors and analogies found in real life high school papers. Some of these made me literally laugh out loud. Heartily. Others were facepalm-inducing in the most maddening way. Captain Picard facepalms your idiocy.
- Also, I don't know if any of you shop at Fred Flare (if not, you SHOULD), but I have a free shipping promo code that expires 4/15. Just enter the code "lace" at checkout. ETA: just found out they've publicised the code by smattering it on their homepage. Now I have no insider information to share, and instead look like a tool who wishes she was awesome. Which is about right, actually. My favorite things there include Warhol-inspired sunnies (which I love), the "This Economy Sucks" coin purse (which garners compliments every time I whip it out), CUPCAKE FLOSS, and adorable USB drives (don't own the last two...yet. But buying with them has always been quick and convenient).
- The first ever film version of Alice in Wonderland, made in 1903 (not even forty years after Carroll wrote the book!!!). The quality is terrible, but what'd you expect? It's a silent film made just at the dawn of the moving picture invention. It's still pretty wild to sit and watch it and think about how revolutionary it was back then, and affirms my belief that Alice in Wonderland is an amazing and timeless story.
That's it for now. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!
And now on to pics of my own. Here's what I wore to mass this morning.
Dress: Charlotte Russe; Shrug: Wet Seal; Bracelet: gift.
I did a post a while back on literary fashion, and I think this outfit fits in perfectly with my Pride and Prejudice motif. I love the fabric because it's flowy and I like the crocheted lacy detailing. :)
After church, my family and I went to breakfast. Then I came home and took a much-needed nap (which is probably why I look so tired in all these pics) before the extended family came over. Everyone ended up showing up. My mom made a really tasty ham and everyone brought over sides and deserts.
My neighbor made these DELICIOUS cupcakes. They were white cake topped with glazed cherries and powedered sugar. Delish (and pretty!)
My Mom's amazingly scrumptious deviled eggs. This is the only way I'll eat eggs at all.
Easter Lilly, courtesy of Meagan, who is awesome and about whom I am planning a MAJOR blog post sometime this week as time allows.
This is an antique painting my Mom scored at her thrift store when it was still open. We've since seen it in antique shops selling for WAY MORE than the $2 she paid for it. I love it, and it's very Eastery. It hangs in the formal dining room.
One of the tables we set for when the family came over.
What we wore. Mary: Dress= American Eagle (via Plato's), Necklace= also AE. Emily: Shirt= Charlotte Russe, Jeans and flats= Old Navy.
Me and my cousins April and Emily.
Overall, it was really nice. My cousins and I ate by the pool and had a riotous good time laughing. Plus, it's just nice to have all the family over every once and a while. I hope you all had a lovely and blessed Easter!
So I hate it when I buy products without reading reviews, because I feel like if I've read the review at least I've done my homework. So here are some reviews of products that have withstood the test of time and been in use, for good reason, for possibly hundreds of years.
Although "the Victorian" only technically lasted from 1837-1901, the late 18th-early 20th centuries get lumped in this category. I don't really mind, but my history major friends might disagree entirely. Anyway, I ADORE this era in history (the 19th century is awesome, particularly in Britain), and some of my favorite cosmetic/toiletry items came about at that time. And I wanted to share some of them with you.
1. Witch Hazel
This is probably my all-time favorite product in this list. It works WONDERS as a facial astringent and is totally acceptable to be used by both sexes. In fact, my dad uses it in place of after-shave. It has a really soothing effect on the skin, deeply cleans pores, and acts as a brilliant facial toner. I use it nightly (mostly because I have the skin of a pubescent 15 year old, but that's beside the point...) and it helps remove the last bit of oil and makeup on my skin before bed. A lot of people complain about the smell, but that's probably my favorite part of it. Although, again, I've grown up smelling it on my dad, so I might be a little partial to it. I love it. It's indescribable apart from "witch hazel" (kind of like, how do you describe how chocolate tastes apart from "chocolatey?"). According to Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, it's been in commercial production since the 1870's, and dude, it is definitely one of those things that I think, "THANK GOD someone discovered this!" You can pick it up ANYWHERE (drugstores, grocery, Wal-Mart, etc.) and it usually runs about $1.50. You can get "expensive" witch hazel for like, $3 and it comes in a pretty bottle, but it's no better than the cheap stuff. There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't try it.
2. Rose Water
Like witch hazel, I use this as a facial astringent. It's not quite as deep cleansing as the witch hazel, so I use it a bit less, but it does just feel cleansing, refreshing and wonderful on your skin. Plus the smell is incredible. It has a light scent of roses--nothing overwhelming. My mom has better results with this on her skin than I do, so I think if your skin tends to be a bit drier than oily this might work better. You can also pick up Rose Water with Glycerin, which acts more as a light moisturizer if you have really dry skin. I get mine at Whole Foods, but any organic grocery should have it. If you can't find it there, see if you can find it in an Eastern/Indian grocery. A lot of Indian and Muslim recipes use rose water in place of alcohol for flavoring. Sometimes I dab some on my neck and wrists before bed for a really light rosy scent. I've also mixed rose water, and rose and jasmine essential oils and occasionally spritz my sheets with it. It has about a million uses, and if you're a fan of rose scent, it's totally worth picking up.
3. Smith's Rosebud Salve Apart from being edible and beautiful to look at, roses have about a million other uses. They tend to be really softening for skin, and Smith's has got making roses into awesome cosmetic products down to a science. Formed in 1895, Smith's has been producing rosebud salve for over a century, and doing an awesome job doing so. You can use it on your skin, but as previously mentioned, my skin needs no extra moisturizing, and rosebud salve would be a really thick moisturizer. If you have dry skin, by all means, try it! I love this for my lips. It smooths out any and all cracks and dry spots, prevents chapping, and helps keep them moist and supple WITHOUT being too thick and greasy. Awesome to use as a lipstick base too, ladies. I also LOVE that they've since come out with one infused with mint! I love mint lip balm. I'm so used to Burt's that it's weird for me to use a mint-less lip balm, and while this still hasn't quite taken Burt's place, it's a very close second. I know Books-A-Million used to sell Smith's, but I'm not sure if they do anymore. If you can't find it, Sephora sells it and again, it's worth picking up.
4. Caswell-Massey Products
I recently picked up a set of Caswell-Massey's Elixir of Love No. 1 bar soaps and OH. MY. WORD. I am enamored with it. The scent is incredible. Caswell-Massey was founded in 1752 (I KNOW, RIGHT????), making it the oldest perfumer in the world that is still up and running, WITH GOOD REASON. My family has always used Caswell-Massey products and I always sort of wrote it off as being too heavily-scented and cloying for my use. I was totally wrong. I adore the Elixir of Love scent. It's equal parts light and floral and flirty, and sexy in a "Oops, I showed my ankle" way. It has a really neat backstory, too, and is based on a Victorian era (mid to late 1800's, I believe) recipe. Heck, if it was cool back then IT'S COOL TO ME. Every ingredient in the fragrance supposedly helps you fall in love. HOW AWESOME IS THAT. From the inside of the box:
"-Jasmine: With buds that open by moonlight. The scent of dreams, imagination, longing. -Lavender: Like magic it both soothes...and excites...the hearts of men. -Artemisia absinthium: The ritual symbol of Lovers. Caswell-Massey's time-honored way to add tempting warmth to fragrance. -Egyptian Musk: a fabled aphrodisiac. Once deemed so precious, only royalty could wield its rosy power. -Passionflower: The name says it all: Desire bursting forth in all its glory. Softly blended, they create a beguiling web of scent...The original potion for Love Everlasting."
HOW BADASS IS THAT, YOU GUYS. I can totally imagine Victorian women, in their nine layers of clothes, getting all blushy reading that when they got a box of this as a gift from some admiring gentleman or best friend. AWESOMESAUCE!!!
The soap lathers up into an awesome foam of bubbly goodness and then rinses away super cleanly (enough even for my skin). Each bar is hand-pressed in an antique mold, making the bars themselves miniature works of art. The packaging of CM products is lovely, too. This is the only brand my dad favors instead of witch hazel, and while I always think of it as a more manly scent, my mom adores Caswell-Massey's Sandalwood which has some of my favorite product packaging EVER. They have a lot of lighter smells (Lily of the Valley is nice, Vanilla Orchid is really nice too), and tons for guys (No. 6 was George Washington's fav). Unfortunately, most of their stores have closed, but you can get it at their website. Also, I picked mine up at Stein Mart, so you might check there too to see if you can find and smell it before you buy. I've shopped with the website before and my experience was very professional and expedient. Not sure about their return policy, as I've never returned anything. If, like me, you get off on the idea of using products used by the likes of George Washington, John Adams, the Kennedy's, Judy Garland, Katherine Hepburn and EDGAR ALLAN POE, then definitely try out Caswell-Massey's stuff. It might seem a little old-ish and stuffy, but some of their scents are much lighter. And I think it's incredibly sexy when young people rock "old stuff" in a young, refreshing way. Costly, but soooo worth every penny.
Oh, also. On a semi-related note, since Witch Hazel and Rosewater tend to come in ugly bottles, I made some pretty ones so they look nice sitting on my bathroom counter. I just bought the bottles at my local craft store, printed up some Victorian product labels, literally TAPED it on there, embellished with ribbon and stickers, and BOOM. Done. :)
That's it! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and let me know if you use or end up using any of this stuff! I'd love to hear about it.
Also, this is just out of my own curiosity, but have any of my gentlemen readers ever shaved with a straight razor? I'm equal parts horrified and fascinated with the idea and just wondered if any of you had ever tried it and how it worked (read: if you came out ALIVE).
Victory Gardens were grown during World Wars I and II under the pretense that gardening would help extend the life of food rations. Lots of people did garden in the hopes that growing their own food would help out, even in just a small way. Not too sure about that hat that looks like an internal organ (stomach maybe??? Help me out, Beth!), but her gladiator sandals are awesome.
My Mom and I decided to start a garden.
Some genius out there came up with these really cool things. They're trays with little individual sections made of peat. You fill them with soil and drop two seeds in, and then, once they grow big enough, you just tear apart the sections and drop them into the ground. Because they're made of peat, the whole thing can go straight into the ground! No plant-death-by-transplating. Also, you can start them indoors. It's like gardening for the florally challenged, which we are.
We planted the above vegetables (repetition would be obsolete).
Carrot seeds! Look how tiny they are! All the seeds (except beans) were pretty small. I'm kind of baffled how they go from being that tiny to like, a plant. Way to go, God, that was quite clever.
A pouch full of magic beans. :)
So this is what they looked like on Day 1:
And this is what they look like today!
Look how teensy weensy our lettuce is! It boggles my mind that lettuces start out so smallish!
The beans and radishes seem to be doing the best. If these beans keep it up, I may well be able to climb to the castle in the sky to fight the giant and get the Golden Goose. This is my goal.
This is the garden plot we made up in our backyard so that when they're ready, they can go in. The neat thing about the peat tray (well, there are lots, but this is one of them) is that it's re-usable. You just have to buy refill peat pots and then you can go again! I think once these are out, we're gonna try some squashes. Will keep you posted.
We also have some potted plants. They probably won't go into the ground....unless they get epically giant or something. I believe you're looking at a red pepper and a strawberry here.
Also, we got a pineapple. It apparently takes three years for them to go from seed to maturation. I'm not sure how old this one is, but I can pretty much guarantee it won't be until next Spring/Summer before we're able to eat it.
This one is probably my favorite just because it's called a BEEF MASTER tomato. He's just too epic for words. I wish I'd taken a pic when we first got the Beef Master, because he was about half the size he is now. Apparently, radishes, beans and tomatoes do really really well in Florida.
So total: two rows of radishes, carrots, lettuce, beans, red and green peppers, patio and BEEF MASTER tomatoes, strawberries and a pineapple. I'll keep you guys posted as to whether or not the Victory Garden is indeed victorious. If I never mention it again, either assume it's going swimmingly and I'm just being lazy, or that they all died and am too ashamed to admit it.
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