Some Get a Kick from Champagne

If deconstructed critically, the musical Anything Goes has its issues (the portrayal of Chinese people is problematic to say the least).  However, if it is merely recognized as a "period piece," it is an entertaining and fun musical in which to get "swept away!"  Just don't sit next to my boyfriend as he prefers critical analysis in any and all circumstances. Oh, and he has a horrible "stage whisper."

via Style Me Pretty 

Personally, I just loved this musical! From the gorgeous, glittering costumes to the intensely beautiful lighting, the intricately choreographed dance numbers, and the comedic characters, this is a musical that entertains all the way.  It also echoes my sentiments when it comes to travel.  The refrain from the second number of the musical is:

Via The New York Times Theater Review

And there's no cure like travel

To help you unravel 

The worries of living today. 

When the poor brain is cracking 

There's nothing like packing 

A suitcase and sailing away.

Via

I couldn't agree more...

In that spirit, I am so excited about the fact that I have a three day work week this week. Tomorrow night, I am packing up and heading north to Maine to see the changing leaves! Can't. Wait. First stop: Portland, Maine where I plan to sample a large variety of the delicious food that I keep hearing is abundant in this foodie town. Brunch will be at Five-Fifty-Five where I am definitely going to taste (or more realistically, inhale) the brioche French toast... Apricot marmelade + Maine maple syrup? Umm...yes, please! Other places on the itinerary include: DuckFat (for my fry fix), Two Fat Cats (for my bakery fix) and The Reserve at Laudholm Farm (for my city-girl-in-the-country fix). There really is no cure like travel!

Via 

The Next Harry Potter...?

Currently Reading: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenster.  First of all, I am convinced that this book is totally going to reach Harry Potter acclaim.  Second of all, well, this book is just awesome!  I love the poetic prose, which successfully transports you into the magical and mysterious world of "Le Cirque des Reves."

This is the perfect fall read.  The intriguing characters and dark and mystical plot completely put me in the mood for Halloween.

I can already envision the Halloween parties that this book will inspire; black and white circus tents, illusionists, contortionists, the gothic gowns--not to mention the intricately described dinner parties that occur in the novel...Ahh yes...let the party planning commence!

Happy Reading...Enjoy!

Friday Footnotes

Despite the rain, I am happy it's the weekend. Here are some goodies I am loving this first Friday of fall!
Anything Goes: Very excited to see this on Saturday...

Precious Knowledge: This movie looks awesome and will be playing at the Schomburg Center in New York City in November. There's nothing like an inspiring teaching movie when you are in the frenzy of September...

Maine! Every morning, NY1 runs an advertisement for visiting Maine. It got me.  Next weekend, the boyfriend and I are heading to Maine to "leaf peep," take a fall walk on the beach, head into the woods for an autumn hike, go apple picking, eat fall dishes, and wander around the quintessential New England town of Portland. I am so excited to get out of the city and enjoy the bounty of the fall!

via

Mik Wright: Promoted as "Greetings that push buttons, poke fun, and provoke something," these cards are hilarious.  I came home from work on Thursday to find that a lovely card from one of my best friends had arrived.  Not only did it make my day, but I immediately fell in love with the vintage feel and quirky character of the cards.  While these are not the cards that you want to send out to the humorless, they are funny and fun for sure! 

via Mikwright

Happy, Happy Friday!

11:08

When I was in seventh grade, we went on a class trip to Cape Cod with our entire class.  We stayed in cabins and roasted s'mores and went on "mindful walks" where we explored the coastline and the thriving natural community that prospered on the shore. When a group of people decided to go swimming, I joined them even though it was May and the water was still cold in New England. I remember swimming out farther and farther into the waves; I was a confident swimmer after summers spent navigating even the roughest of ocean waves with my Poppop.  Over for the little waves. Under for the big ones, he would always say.  Swimming was a game, a medley of "over" "unders" with little recognition of the ocean's power.  

As I swam out farther that day on my class trip, I began to realize that I was freezing and, the next thing I knew, I was struggling to swim and felt like I could hardly feel my body.  My math teacher, who was incidentally my least favorite, ran out, dove in, and carried me out of the water.  It was a humiliating experience for a seventh grade girl.  It did teach me a lesson about the silent force of the ocean though. The water lulls you with its rhythm, and soothes you with its peaceful sounds.  You can swim out farther and farther from the safety of the shore, but because you are floating and surrounded by a womblike embrace, the danger of the ocean is not something you think about or fear.

Tonight, a man who may have been innocent was executed at 11:08 in Georgia.  Like ocean waves, the justice system often lulls us into thinking that it is morally motivated and righteously directed.  As a safe hold of our society, we might accept this and, like my seventh grade swim a little too far from the shore, we may not notice if we have put ourselves in danger.  It is only through the vigilance of people; speaking up, fighting for human rights, peace, justice, and equality that we avoid falling into the trap of waters that seem benign. 

Perhaps the only good thing that has emerged from one man's death is how many people stood up and protested a justice system that tonight, seemed broken.  

Justice Denied in Georgia

Today I had a conversation with one of my students who failed my eleventh grade English class (along with most of the other classes he took last year).  Despite a transcript that looks like he has learned nothing at all, he is extremely bright, articulate, and analytical about the world around him.  He fails his classes not because he can't do the work, but because he is completely disillusioned with his formal education experience and the injustice he experiences on a daily basis in his neighborhood and in his school.  While this rebellion is only hurting him and seems utterly stupid, it is his one assertion of power when he feels completely powerless.  Though he entered the school an honors student, at the highest testing level, he is now in danger of graduating because he has failed so many classes.

When he was in ninth grade, he was mistaken for another student on a security camera and has been a target of the administration ever since.  In a culture of students where it is considered the worst offense in the world to "snitch," he kept his mouth shut following that incident that has shaped the way in which he has been treated in school for the past three years. The accusation has shadowed his high school identity and young, vulnerable, and afraid to speak up he let it define him despite knowing that it was wrong.

As he headed to PM school today to make up classes that he failed, since he is working hard to graduate on time and get out of an environment he hates, he stopped to talk to me about Troy Davis, the man in Georgia who is slated to be executed tomorrow for a crime that it increasingly looks like he did not commit.  My student questioned why he should even bother trying to "make it" in society where the justice system is inherently racist and where something as barbaric and cruel as the death penalty is even legal. All I could come up with was a shallowly subverted feeling of outrage and some encouragement that this was why he needed to graduate and go out and get himself into a position of power.

Perhaps this is why I have been so saddened and outraged by the Troy Davis case.  He was nineteen when the supposed shooting occurred.  Nineteen.  If, and I use the conditional knowing full well that there is great probability that this is not an "if," he is innocent and is executed in the face of all of this doubt, what does this say about our justice system? If innocence and guilt are not so black and white, as the justice system manufactures us to think with its guilty and not guilty verdicts, how do we then reply with something as black and white as life and death?

In the world of false absolutes, something about this just seems absolutely wrong...

So, tonight, I think of Troy Davis and I hope that justice won't be denied in Georgia.

I Know Exactly How She Does It: She Doesn't Sleep (and Probably Eats Dinner Over the Kitchen Sink)

Lately, I have been assaulted (on subway posters and television advertisements) by the SJP film I Don't Know How She Does It.  Let me preface this by saying that I have not seen the film.  In other words, this is all babble based in absolutely no knowledge of the film.  Unfair? Probably.  Perhaps it is the greatest film ever written; however, the advertisements are starting to get on my nerves.  From what I can glean, the film centers around a working mother who also has a high powered job and is struggling to balance her work/life situation.  While in no way do I want to minimize this struggle women face to balance their work/home life, because it is exactly that, a struggle, there is something obnoxious about the way she is depicted.

First of all, there are so many mothers who have the added burden of limited economic means and no support from their husband.  I would imagine they would not be saying "I don't know how she does it?" but rather, "I know exactly how she does it..." She doesn't sleep, she accepts being less than perfect at everything because one can not sustain a lifestyle like this.  At least she can afford a baby sitter.

Second of all, if the film is anything like the book, at the end of the novel, the resolution to the main character's problem is to move out of the city and becoming a stay-at-home mother in the pastoral countryside.  There's a great message: Become so stressed out that you are insane if you try to work and have children or, hey, stay home, because you know, that's easy.  Again, I have not seen the movie, but from what I gather, the messages being sent about motherhood are not ones I want to see being promulgated in a society that already demeans domestic labor and sets unrealistic expectations for women.

Here's an idea...Rather then looking at the struggle of a working mother in a cutesy comedy fashion, why not address the real problem of living in a culture in which perfection is expected of women, and yet economic and childcare systems are not supportive of them.  Makes me want to move to a Scandinavian country...

Friday Footnotes

It is an absolutely beautiful, crisp, and cool fall evening.  I am so happy for the weekend and am looking forward to a full weekend of amazing weather!  Here are some things that I am loving on this fall Friday...
The Brooklyn Book Festival: I can't wait to go hear authors speak about their work this Sunday down in Brooklyn! So. Freaking. Pumped. Jhumpa Lahiri is a totally amazing writer. I adored The Namesake.

Summer Food that tastes even sweeter when it's fall...Why is it that when in one season, the food of seasons passed always seems more delicious?? We are going to need to stop here this weekend!

Image from BLT Fish Website...

Handwritten Thank You Notes on Beautiful Paper...Today, I received the sweetest thank you note (that made me cry!) thanking me for being in one of my dearest friend's weddings.  My favorite wedding moments included: 1.) A Photo booth that all our friends piled into with props to take crazy pictures--even my usually reserved boyfriend got in on the fun donning a hat and a musket and putting on his best "Revolutionary War" face...whatever that means!  2.) The hands down BEST first dance I have ever seen. My friend is a dancer and is known (well in our world at least) for her crazy dance moves.  At another friend's wedding a few years back, she caught the bouquet and was supposed to sit while the boy who caught the garter put it on her leg.  Instead of following tradition, she wound up kicking the chair over and doing an impromptu dance for five minutes that included: high kicks, pirouettes, and other dramatic flourishes.  The audience thought it was planned. Her friends just thought it was hilarious.  This all goes to say that the first dance was incredibly memorable in ways only this particular couple could make it.  I am hoping it makes its YouTube debut soon so the rest of the world can watch!  My mother always insisted that I write thank you notes.  As a kid, I never really understood why they were important.  As I have gotten older, I completely appreciate their value.  And...there's nothing like beautiful paper to put a smile on your face! 

I adore these Paula Skene Thank You Notes, available at Kate's Paperie

The Ampersand as Decoration...Love typography and would love having this on my wall!

Happy Friday!

Henrietta Rules

While life has been so busy these past couple of weeks that I am not sure when I will have time to finish reading the books that I have started, this didn't stop me from ordering a book that is currently on the New York Times Best Seller List and sounds completely enticing...

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot deals with the bodily cells of a poor, African American, female cancer patient who died in the 1950s and whose cells were appropriated by the medical community and led to incredible medical breakthroughs.  The book explores the freeing nature of her cells for those with privilege and medical need, while also exploring the exploitive nature of using her body--a "body" of a person (and people) that was undervalued and disempowered by the elite long after she died.  I can't wait to read more! 

Blog Love

One of my favorite blogs is Design*Sponge.  Not only do I adore their design advice, but I am in love with their city guides. My favorite city guides have been for Vancouver, Boston, San Diego, and Los Angeles.  While I always wish that they included more foodie finds, I am still a huge fan of their recommendations.  On Tuesday, at West Elm in New York City, Design*Sponge had a launch party for this blogs newly released design book.  The book looks awesome and, though the launch party was a little too crowded for my taste, they surely kicked off their publishing release in style!

And where to put this new book that you will surely want to grace your coffee table? I made sure to peruse the merchandise while I was there and I am in love with this:

this:

and this:

Happy Reading!

New England Dreamin'

The fall makes me think of New England and New England in the fall makes me think of Nathaniel Hawthorne.  While I despise The Scarlett Letter--I know, I know... sacrilegious for an English teacher to say--I do love Hawthorne's short stories. My favorites are: "The Birthmark," "Young Goodman Brown," and "Rappaccini's Daughter."  I remember reading these stories for the first time in high school and, afterwards, going for a run at a park by my house.  As I ran through the woods on a perfect autumn day; fallen leaves crunching under my sneakers, a tumbling barn in the distance, thickening woods in front of me, I felt like I had been transported to the Puritan period in New England...

It's always this time of year, and because of these vibrant memories of the woods in New England in the fall, that I miss that place that I grew up most.  While I love New York City, sometimes, on a night like this, when the moon is full in the sky, the air has the tantalizing juxtaposition of soft-warm and cool-chill on its breath, and the colorful transformation of the leaves is just about to break through, I dream New England dreams...

From Martha Stewart 

In the meantime, I'll fantasize about my future garden...How adorable is this store? I want everything!

Happy New England Dreams...

Purell, Please...

This weekend, I saw the movie Contagion, which, despite fueling an even stronger desire to Purell everything in my path, was quite good.  The film takes a realistic look at infectious disease and examines how the increasingly globalized world that we live in would aid the spread of a virus such as the fictitious one focused on in the film.  The film also does a good job of exploring the many complications and disasters that could potentially arise from such a situation.  From food shortages to the role of media to the question of who has access to feasibly life-saving drugs--this thriller is scary because of its frightening plausibility.  If you want to really add to the terror dimension of your viewing experience, read this before going to the theater.

Admittedly, while I really enjoyed the film, my favorite thing about this movie was the elevated role that blogs played in the spread of information regarding the virus. This, despite one character's line regarding blogging as "Graffiti with punctuation!"  I kind of love this. I would also kind of love to fancy myself a graffiti artist of sorts.  It sounds so much cooler than someone who sits on her couch each night and writes...

Via this amazing Tumblr 

Happy Graffiti-ing!

Friday Footnotes

After a week of rain equivalent to hurricane levels of precipitation, the skies cleared and the sun shines at last! It has been a hectic week, so this Friday I am appreciating these wonderfully peaceful somethings...

Walking Frenchie in the park... While adjusting to this new crazy schedule has been difficult for me, it has been even more difficult for my dog.  He has been depressed all week and I am convinced that it has to do with my sudden absence.  In order to make sure he knows he is loved, he will be engaging in many, many guilt-driven walks this weekend.  Oh, and peanut butter treats.

The most adorable Etsy finds ever!  When you turn on the television and hear news of all of the issues in the world, looking at these harkens back to carefree childhood days!

How cute would they look on a cupcake!?

Nights In...For some reason, tonight, I am sleepy and can't wait to have some Indian food and some wine with the boyfriend! There are some nights when cozy nights in are just so appealing...

Image via 

The latest issue of Food and Wine just waiting to be read--with a side of food and wine, of course...

Apple Pie: It's that time of year again. I am heading to the farmer's market tomorrow to make sure I snag the prettiest pie.  Yum.

Happy Friday! May your weekend be peaceful and restful...

The Multi-Million Dollar Gatsby

The Great Gatsby exposes the fallacy of the "American Dream."  It critiques superficiality through the condemnation of the wealthy and the "careless" people.  It eerily reveals the lavishness and greed that precipitated The Great Depression.  And, most of all, it promises us that we will never find happiness or true fulfillment if we search for it through material gain.

Perhaps this is why I found it so ironic that the Baz Luhrmann film version of The Great Gatsby, which I have been so looking forward to, and that began filming recently in Australia, is a film drowning in excessive spending.  According to the extremely academic and exceedingly accurate source, TMZ, Luhrmann's 3D adaptation is costing around 125 million!  Some of this ridiculous budget coming from Luhrmann's purchase of very expensive old cars to, you know, make the film more authentic and such.

Poor F. Scott Fitzgerald would be driven to drink if he heard about this...

Oh, right...

Well, he wouldn't be happy about it, that's for sure.

Luhrmann better hope that this movie appeals to a broad audience so that he makes back his money.  If he had polled my Juniors before embarking on this project, he would probably have hovered around a thousand dollar film budget.

Saturation Point

Well, life is all of a sudden really busy...

• The students have their first day tomorrow. Yikes. 
• I am taking the coolest International Transcultural Studies class and it started tonight. I was fantasizing about how fun the class was going to be and then I saw the syllabus. Double Yikes. 
• I also had one of those comically annoying days when everything seems to go wrong. 

Let's hope that tomorrow is a wee bit better...

Tonight is the perfect night for reading (at least in rainy New York City). Here's to good books, hot tea, and memories of eight hours of sleep a night...

Via JoyFolieBlog.com 

zzzzzzzz

Miss Manners

After a morning filled with strange back-to-school meetings (only in the New York City Public Schools does one have a visit from the superintendent in which he whips out his guitar and sings a song to the staff), I was ready for a break from the building by the time lunch rolled around.  I wandered over to Whole Foods as it is probably the least expensive place to grab lunch in the neighborhood where I work. After purchasing my lunch, I sat down at the communal table to enjoy a few precious moments of alone time before returning to work.  Now, when I say "alone," I am completely aware of the absurdity of a wish like this at lunch hour in Midtown Manhattan; however, I would have been perfectly happy with a relative version of the word consisting simply of nobody talking my ear off.

Image from Pretty Woman 

Well, apparently that was too much to ask because hardly had I taken a bite of my tuna sandwich when I felt the large, bolted-down table shake.  Next to me plopped down a man who proceeded to put his elbows on the table (thereby spilling my lemonade-ice tea) all while chewing loudly and talking on his cellphone; food churning and spraying out of his open mouth. Disgusting. Now, while I am not the kind of girl who can necessarily identify all of the correct dining utensils properly, I nevertheless, feel that I understand the rudimentary concept of good manners.  

It is on days like this that I wish I could hand out copies of Manners by Kate Spade.  While I am in love with this merely as a coffee table book and not really as a guidebook, there are clearly some people who might serve to benefit from her advice... Snobby and elitist? Perhaps. But, faced with the alternative of someone else's regurgitated food in my tuna salad, I'll deal with the negative label. 

Hello September...

After an incredible summer weekend I am back to work tomorrow. Though the official start of fall is not for a few more weeks, the start of school is always a significant transition.  While I am glad to go back with a bang, it still doesn't make returning any easier.  This weekend I had the chance to appreciate New York City in its mellow, laid-back form since the city was almost empty of tourists and residents alike--the mass exodus to the Hamptons must have begun on Friday morning.  When visiting New York City, I recommend doing it on a summer weekend. There is no better time to appreciate everything New York has to offer minus the lines and the chaos, but still maintaining the character.

The boyfriend surprised me with his very own itinerary on Saturday and we spent the day visiting some old favorites and some new loves around the city.  It was wonderful not to fight throngs of tourists at places usually consumed by people.  Some highlights from our day include my new favorite reading space. Portland, Oregon, meet New York City; baristas wearing old-time "newsie" attire, latte art, and a comfortable and aesthetically-awesome seating area in the Ace Hotel all come together to create Stumptown Coffee. I am in love. This is a greater love affair than even Cafe Grumpy...it's BIG.  I have also decided that next time I have out-of-town guests and we want to celebrate something in style, we are so spending a night at the Ace Hotel.  I just felt cooler when I walked in there. It might have been the air conditioning but still...

Only in New York...

In addition to visiting the roller rink at the High Line, which brought back memories of eighth grade birthday parties, and leisurely walking the new portion of The High Line, which is narrower than the original, but beautifully designed and still fun to stroll, we also went to the usually crowded Chelsea Market where I sampled some Eleni's--delicious! 

We also had brunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the West Village, Hundred Acres. At almost exactly this time last year, I went there with two of my closest friends who had come in for an east coast/west coast reunion and I think that because of this super happy memory, I will always adore this place.  That said, I don't think that it was the nostalgia that made the grilled cheese sandwich that I ordered the most delicious thing that I have ever tasted.  Organic, white cheddar cheese.  Spiced pecans. Made from scratch honey mustard. And the crowning jewel: peaches. All of this on this fresh pressed amazing light and crispy-edged bread. It was one of those lunches where you make involuntary noises every single time you take a bite. It would also be relatively easy to recreate, so if you are looking for an inventive and delicious sandwich recipe, you should try this!

Other weekend highlights included a picnic in the park, drinks with friends, shopping, a slice of apple pie and a caramel apple cider to kick off the fall, an impromptu meeting with a favorite friend that turned into a lovely catch-up session in the middle of Urban Outfitters, Pommes Frites, McSorley's, and best of all, booking a fall-getaway to see the leaves and the ocean in Maine! Hopefully I crammed in enough fun to last me awhile as starting this week, life is about to get really, really busy...

Friday Footnotes

Happy (nearly) Friday! Well, it is Labor Day weekend and officially the symbolic end-of-summer...  Tear....
As a teacher, I am lucky to have summers off.  Each June, the summer stretches out languidly in front of me, full of promises.  It is amazing to me how quickly they fly.  So, whether you are barbecuing or heading to the beach, enjoy the last of summer!
Here are some things that I am loving on this Friday before Labor Day weekend:
Saturday Surprises! Apparently, the boyfriend has something up his sleeve...excited to see what it is!

Via...

My upcoming trip to go "leaf peeping!" Ahh yes, this New England tradition is a favorite of mine and I can't wait to cram all my favorite fall stuff into a weekend filled with apple picking, hiking, and kayaking.

Image via this amazing Flickr account

Yoga! While I am not normally one of those people who gets excited about exercise, since April, I have had an issue with vertigo and I am finally over it (YAY!) and ready to return to my most enjoyed (well, in regards to working out) pastime.

Image courtesy of this amazing company!

Return of the Mac: Just got a call from the Apple store and MacMan lives again! Yesssss!

Happy Labor Day! Enjoy your weekend!