National Food Flags

I saw this on Facebook and had to share. For any foodies, this post is absolutely gorgeous…and mouth watering. Advertising agency WHYBIN/TBWA created flags from 18 different countries formed out of the country’s most recognized foods. The flags were created as a promotion for the Sydney International Food Festival, but I think these prints would hang beautifully in any kitchen.

Italy, with it’s beautiful piles of fresh basil, pasta, and tomatoes, quickly won my heart. I’m also particularly fond of Great Britain’s scones, cream and jam. Not only because I’m an anglophile, but come on: that looks delicious.

Italy…pasta marinara, anyone?

Great Britain…of course it’s tea and crumpets. 

And Brazil! Give me fresh fruit any day.

Weekend Success Story

This morning, I had one of the most successful Sunday mornings I’ve had in months.

No, I did not cure cancer. Nor did I finish all my homework for the next two weeks. I didn’t get the interview done that I need to do for the student paper. I did not go to brunch at a fancy place with fancy friends and order fancy (and expensive) eggs Benedict (how does anyone like eggs Benedict anyway? One of life’s great mysteries).

This morning was a success only in the fact that I did nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

I went to bed fairly late last night, after a wonderful evening rushing about town with friends. I ended up taking some benadryl to counteract my evening of petting and cuddling with cats–adorable, but allergy bombs for me–and the medicine knocked me out. 

Most weekends, I cannot sleep in past 8 or 8:30. The thought of all the things I have to accomplish in the day jolts me up and out of the bed and sends me stumbling to my Keurig. But this morning, I woke up at 8:30…and was completely unperturbed. I rolled over, and went back to sleep.

Amazing. At 9, I got up and ate a little breakfast, checked my email, but I was still feeling really groggy and tired. So what did I do?

I got back in bed for another hour.

I can see how this might not seem like a big deal. In the grand scheme of things, I suppose it isn’t. But I live most of my life in a constant state of hurrying about, trying to stay on top of a million and one things, and hardly taking a moment to sit and just be. Every second of the day has to be spent accomplishing something.  This high anxiety personality of mine usually leads to some wonderful successes, but also to quick burnouts where I feel like getting out of bed is a chore. 

So this morning, I changed it. I ignored the pangs of rising anxiety (what about homework? Shouldn’t I be working on a blog post? Or reading! I could be improving my mind!) and simply gave my body what it needed: sleep. And lots of it.

Now I feel happy, rested, and ready to take on this next crazy week. It’s amazing what a tiny bit of change in perspective can do!

Golden Globes Fashion: My Hits and Misses

I had a wonderful time watching the Golden Globes last night with my four best friends! They are all much more in-the-know about television than me (the best I can do is a few episodes on Netflix every month or so; it’s much easier to catch me reading a book), so they helped me know who everyone was.

Mostly, what I took home from this show was I need to go watch some movies. I hadn’t seen ANY of the films nominated for best drama, and few of the comedies! Even though I feel like I’ve been living at the movie theatre this past break, there’s still so much out there! A theatre girl’s job is never done.

While I was happy for all the stars, I have to admit that I found some of their fashion choices a little…questionable. Like, “what were they thinking?!?!” level. Please find below my favorite looks and a few of my “hmmmm….” moments.

Hits…

Lupita Nyong’o: this Twelve Years a Slave star looked radiant in this gown. This is my favorite dress I’ve seen on a red carpet in a very long time. I also think she’s one of the most gorgeous girls EVER.  A little obsessed. 

Michelle Dockery: This Downton Abbey star stunned in Oscar de la Renta. The simple gown would be gorgeous with a plain line, but I think she pulls off that tea length asymmetry with perfection. Bravo, Lady Mary!

Taylor Swift: Okay, I’m admittedly not the hugest fan of this country dive. But I think this dress is stunning! Classic Carolina Herrera lines, with a pop of black to give it a little sexy flavor. Love it, especially when paired with a red lip!

 

And Misses…

Sandra Bullock: Oh man. I really do not like this one. I don’t understand anything about this choice: that colour combination? The weird half-sexy/half-ballgown shape? I think the Gravity star could have done so much better than this frock. Oof.

Amy Adams: This is a better picture of Amy’s Valentino number than others, but I still think the beachy maxi dress plus milk maid hair style looked very strange. Is it formal? Is it a walk around the city? Who knows. I get she was going for a 70’s theme, but I think it could have been much more cohesive.

Sally Hawkins: There seemed to be a distinct “mother of the bride” trend going on this year (see Mila Kunis’ look for further evidence), but I think Sally’s takes the cake. It looks like something from the David’s Bridal mom section. At least she looks stunning and rosy in that colour.

 

One final note: I am certainly not commenting on the beauty or talent of these stars. They are all incredible performers and gorgeous women, and one outfit that I personally think is a little odd has absolutely no effect on my appreciation of them! 

Who did you think were hits and misses?

All photos, Harper’s Bazaar

A Book Lover’s Blog…dreams do come true

I have a love/hate relationship with book recommendations. On the one hand, books are so personal to me that I find it difficult to imagine some online editor could really know what I would like, based off of my passing interest in “The Hunger Games.” So I’m always a little wary of any of those ‘If you loved…’ lists.

And on the other hand…I love books. And I am always on the hunt for new ones.

So I proceeded with trepidation when I heard about the website Go Book Yourself, which proffers “book recommendations by humans, because algorithms are so 1984.” Promising.

The site is beautifully done, with a lovely infographic and short n’ sweet descriptions of the book (too much detail is the death of literary recommendations). I decided to search for a match to one of my favorite reads of the past few months. And a miracle occurred! What should pop up in the first few book suggestions but my new favorite, The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. I will be laying my little bibliophile hands on these other two soon, have no doubt.

I could spend hours trolling around this site. But now I shall return to homework. Sigh. The life of a busy book fiend.

So Much to Be Thankful For…some girl(s) 2013

Wow. I have closed and opened the play I’ve been working on for a month, Neil Labute’s Some Girl(s), in the span of a week.

Time truly flies in the college theatre world.

I don’t think I’ll ever really be able to express how much this show has impacted my life. It did nothing less than remind me why I love this crazy, stressful, often debilitating, but essentially beautiful business. I was blessed with a phenomenal director who listened to me and encouraged me, and a cast of four incredible actors. More important than those artistic accolades is the distinction that they are just really, really incredible people, who have constantly lifted me up during a rather difficult time in my life.

My entire family came to see this show, all the way from up north. It was my first “main” role at school in a large play, so their presence meant the world to me. The Boyfriend and his family also made the trip…really, could I be more lucky?

And now, we’re on to the next adventure. It is going to be so strange living outside of the Some Girl(s) world. I’m in the don’t cry because it’s over smile because it happened mode at the moment. The universe has been very, very good to me.

Hope you are all having a great start to your November as well!

Hope for Today

It’s been a stressful couple of weeks, y’all. School has really kicked into high gear. I feel like I’m always saying that, but there’s something different about the balance of classes and rehearsals this year. In the past, I was busy rehearsing and running from thing to thing. Since I haven’t begun rehearsals yet (they start Friday! I can’t wait!), I’ve had more unstructured time. Note that I’m not saying free time. I feel like I’ve spent more time doing homework and trying to stay on top of things than ever before, but it gets overwhelming when the time is unstructured. Even though I’m an organized person, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. 

This post from MindBodyGreen could not have come at a more serendipitous time.  It made me feel so much better about life in general, and reminded me that, yes, there is life outside of college. And I am doing a good job. Sometimes you need that little reminder to get you through the week. 

A Weekly Reminder

This can become easy to forget in the daily craziness that is college life. Sometimes I feel like I’m being stretched in a million ways, and failing at most of them. But then I take a moment to look at the little successes: running a quicker mile time; getting an A on a paper; finishing my homework in time to read a little.  And I realize: I am doing enough. And what I am doing is pretty darn good.

Little Moments

I am discovering that I do not neccesarily do well when my due dates are not solid. Or, rather, the due dates themselves are solid, but the work I have to do to accomplish them? Not so much.

I don’t know exactly why I let that get to me.  I am a planner, a list maker, and a checker-offer of the to-do list extrordinaire.  But when it comes to big projects, I tend to get a little overwhelmed.  This is definitely something I need to work on, and I’ve been doing that by allowing myself time to NOT worry about it.

How’s that for a concept?

Instead of going crazy and scheduling out every instant of every day to get things done, I’ve been changing up my plans.  Last night, I took the time to make spaghetti squash and meatballs for my best friends and have them over for dinner.  While I need to spend tonight working on a poster, I just spontaneously agreed to go on a frozen yogurt adventure to try out the new fall flavors (snickerdoodle and oatmeal cookie, you guys. How could anyone possibly say no?)  

While these little diversions should technically make me more nervous, they have the opposite effect. I think it’s because they remind me that there is life outside of the world of school and theatre.  That’s hard to remember when you’re at such an incredibly intensive program.  Sometimes you have to take the time to be a college kid.  Weird that we have to remind ourselves of that, isn’t it? True BFA problems. 

Other things I’ve been making little moments for this week…

• Bubble baths with shea butter
• Moments sitting and sipping an extra cup of coffee (I try to only have two a day, but…) while burning an amazing scented candle
• Reading a few articles in my Vogue september issue
• Planning out some dessert recipes I want to tackle in the near future
• Writing on this blog!
• Checking in with my favorite bloggers on Bloglovin
• Pinterest. I’m obsessed. But I’m going to let that be okay.
• Taking a moment to really invest in my devotional/Bible reading in the morning
• Going for walks
• Sitting out on my patio for a few minutes to just enjoy the weather
• Curling up and watching a little bit of a Food Network show or TLC (I thank my stars whenever The Pioneer Woman or Say Yes to the Dress is on)
• Running a little bit farther than I meant to (sometimes, devoting a little extra time to a work out can be the difference between an obligation and true enjoyment of the thing!)
• Chatting instead of doing homework in the campus cafe with my best friends

Hopefully you’re finding ways to get a little calm into your day during this busy start to the fall!

Friday Fancies

Here’s a short and sweet list of things I’m crushing on this Friday. I hope you are having a lovely day!

1. Beyond the Pencil (Skirt) Interviews from the Levo League. I’m obsessed with seeing into the inspiring lives of working women who are absolutely passionate about what they do, in all kinds of creative fields.  Today’s interview with Samira DeAmdrade was particularly inspiring.

2. These apple cider muffins are happening. I’ve been craving fall flavors, even though the heat won’t seem to cooperate.

3. I’m so excited about attending the state fair! I don’t know why, but I have been determined to go since freshman year and haven’t made it yet. But this year will be different. This year, I will drag my friends if I have to.

4. Date night! The Boyfriend and I will be watching Hot Fuzz while sipping on some brews…not going to lie, it will probably be warm apple cider for me. Or I might go for the Arctic Zero ice cream I’ve been craving for awhile. And speaking of Arctic Zero and healthy options…

5. I’m heading to Whole Foods for my first real shopping adventure tonight! I can’t really afford to get all my food there on a college kid budget, but I have some specialty items to pick up that you just can’t get at the regular store (for the record: spaghetti squash, PB2, and Arctic Zero are on the list. I’m going to try very, very hard not to impulse buy but. We shall see how that goes.) I feel like Whole Foods is a shopping experience in and of itself. I love wandering around and looking at all the delicious healthy options that I could be eating! Someday, someway.

6. I’m living for this article on College Prepster about the Kate Spade Beau bag. Beau, indeed; I want one in every colour! It’s hard for me to imagine spending a lot of money on a purse, but this one might be worth the sacrfice. It’s gorgeous, luxuriant, comes in colors to suit every look, and it has a HUGE BOW. What more do you need? Be still, my little preppy heart.

7. I’m heading to Waffle Champion this weekend, after weeks of lusting after them.  This cute little eatery started out of a food truck, and grew to such heights of popularity that they’ve opened up a sit-down restaurant. Basically, you start with a delicious buttermilk waffle, and add whatever you like to make it the waffle sandwich of your dreams. They have savory options, but I think I’ll be heading more towards the sweet side. Lemon curd, fresh berries and whipped cream, anyone?

Late Summer Afternoons

Final Days by laurenmatheny featuring American Eagle Outfitters

Equipment white eyelet shirt
intermixonline.com

American Eagle Outfitters lace tank
ae.com

J Crew j crew mini skirt
net-a-porter.com

American Eagle Outfitters clothing
ae.com

J.Crew evening shoes
jcrew.com

Pull&Bear heeles shoes
$63 – pullandbear.com

American Eagle Outfitters glitter stretch headband
ae.com

American Apparel hair accessory
amazon.com

I spend most of my school days wearing the acting uniform of black active wear, so the only time I really get to show my style is the afternoons.  This week, I’ve really been glorifying in these last, super hot dog-days of summer by wearing cute short and tank combos, always with some wedges.  Hey, you only get summer for so long…I’m dreaming of an afternoon spent on the quad with a magazine, wearing one of these cute ensembles while sipping a passion tea lemonade.

Fall will be here before you know it; I’m going to soak up a little more sun while I may.