A Healing Weekend

{Two Ems and an Ingrid on South Beach, Martha's Vineyard}

Weekends are all about healing from the wounds and stresses of the week. Last week was very stressful at work and in life, all of which left me feeling hollow and worn. I jumped at the chance to spend some time on Martha's Vineyard, on the hospitality of my friend and roommate, Em, and also accompanied by our other roommate, Ingrid. Em's family has a beautiful home near Edgartown, MA, which truly is "Paradise North," as it is so aptly named.

After weeks of unceasing rain and grey skies, the sun graced us with its presence as the three of us began our road trip down to the Cape at 5:30 am on Saturday morning. Our hearts felt light and airy, lifted by the promise of an exciting weekend away from the drudge and artificiality of city life. The sun was shining in full force as we boarded the large vessel of a ferry that would take us to Vineyard Haven. I forgot my camera back in my apartment (curses!) but I did find some lovely substitutes that pictorialize my mini vacation quite nicely.

The weekend was spent eating delicious food and lying out in the sun, which warmed the very cockles of our hearts, so long chilled by the cool June temperatures. We biked around the island, spying some gorgeous houses of all styles like these gingerbread houses from Oak Bluffs.

{Gingerbread houses in Oak Bluffs}

My favorite part was driving onto the beach at North Point. In the early Saturday evening, I dined on a glorious wine and cheese spread with Em, Ingrid, and Mary, Em's mom. We sat on the beach a stone's throw away from the crashing waves. A rimey haze hung in the sky, a grey veil across the setting sun. I ran down to the water's edge and stood in one spot as wave upon wave crashed it's salty limbs against my sand-speckled legs. I felt all the stress and woe fall away from me as the water and sand pulled at my legs. Soon I was buried to my mid-calf by sand as the churn fell forward and gravitated back towards the sea. In this moment, I felt wholly myself and at peace with the world. Moments like these are crucial my survival in what I know as "reality." I must always make time to recharge in natural settings away from the normal pattern of things.

{Sunset | South Beach at Katama}

The first image is from Em's Facebook profile picture and the other images can be found here, here, and here.

Greek Nachos?!?

Mark Bittman's recent NYT column on Greek Nachos looks so tantalizingly delicious! I must make them for dinner tonight!
Image and recipe can be found here.

Cloudy With a Chance of Polka Dots

On my commute this morning, I saw the prettiest navy blue and white polka dot trench coat. It was worn by a young female professional who was furiously typing on her Blackberry. Something about the coat cheered me up after all this gray, gloomy weather we've been having. I scoped around online (just scoped, no purchases due to the pact) and found some pretty polka dot items to brighten my (and hopefully, your) day!

{A flirty Betsy Johnson trench to battle the stormy weather}

{A twirly, swirly Alice & Olivia dress}

{A little J.Crew retro swimsuit}

{I love this umbrella! It has polka dots AND stripes}

Southern Craving

After reading Dan Baum's "The Way of the Bayou," post on The Happy Days blog, I now long to visit the deep, old South. I've never been farther than North Carolina (Florida doesn't count), and I have this penchant to rent a car and drive through the lush lands of Georgia and Louisiana. I want to hit up all the local eateries, fill my belly with some good ole' soul food. Southerners always seem to have it right with their take-it-easy attitude and sense of community and celebration.
I would finish my trip in New Orleans, a fitting end to my southern sojourn. Baum's article describes the city just as it is: honest, vibrant, nothing more or less than it has always been. Despite the horror of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the come-what-may attitude portrayed in the blog post inspires me to ease the fast-moving, formulaic tempo of my life. I would love to immerse myself in a culture that celebrates the simple joys of good food, good music, good company. That's how life (or at least my life) should be. Just dancing in the street to some sweet jazz.To tide myself over, I recently watched a favorite film of mine, Elizabethtown, which celebrates the color and verve of the southern lifestyle in small Kentucky town. Cameron Crowe's tale of a young man traveling to his roots for his father's funeral shows a myriad of characters, scenes, and a stellar soundtrack with some appropriately chosen songs from Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, Easternmountainsouth, among others. The movie offers viewers the leafy green, sultry landscapes like the scene below where Drew (Orlando Bloom) and Claire (Kirsten Dunst) sit on a ledge overlooking the Mississippi River and the Kentucky countryside.
Images located here, here, and here.

Two Couples

I had the pleasure of seeing the film, Away We Go, starring John Krasinski(Burt) and Maya Rudolf (Verona). A delightful, moving picture, touted as the Juno of 2009, is really an original piece that blends beautifully its poignant moments and humorous bits. The story centers on a young couple about to become new parents, who are desperately seeking a place to make a home for their baby. They move like nomads across the country to see relatives and friends, hoping to find that perfect home. Their destination (which I won't reveal because it is more wonderful if you don't know before you see it) is one of the most moving scenes in the whole film. The main characters of Burt and Verona literally shine throughout the movie against the artificial, tarnished visages of the other players (serious accolades must be given to the performances of Maggie Gyllenhaal and Alison Janney). They have an almost perfect love that transcends this world. In fact, there is a scene where Verona worries that their unique love won't survive their pessimistic society. It's an honest question.

I find it interesting that Sam Mendes directed this movie about a couple preserving their devotion to each other in a jaded world when six months prior, Mendes' film Revolutionary Road was released. This film, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, tells Richard Yates' story of a young couple whose bohemian ambitions are squashed by the reality of their circumstances, namely that April becomes pregnant unexpectedly. This story takes place in the 1950s, while Burt and Verona exist in a contemporary time where an expecting couple can continue on their path without marriage and worry of the neighbors will think.
April and Frank's relationship embodies such turmoil and loathing, while Verona and Burt's story maintains the bond of their quiet love and a peaceful acceptance of their circumstances. In this way Verona and Burt seem incredibly mature beyond their years and their peers in the film. On the other hand, April and Frank act like spoiled children, who squirm in their places, always longing for greener pastures. Verona and Burt also long for a better place in which to raise their baby, but their ambition has a patience and acceptance of destiny , which Frank and April refuse to embrace. They want control and will accept nothing less.

Even the music of each film reveals the diverging tempos of the couples. In Revolutionary Road, Thomas Newman's eerie, futile piano score spells out the melancholy emoted by April and Frank. Each note reveals how the couple devolves into ghosts of their former selves. In Away We Go, Alexi Murdoch sings sweet, simple ballads in a whispering tone, asking questions about life and love, which blends perfectly with Burt and Verona's quest to find that perfect home for their baby.

I surmise that the release of these two very different movies by the same director within a six month period was due more to studio scheduling than an artistic juxtaposition. Each rendering offers the viewer very different interpretations of the couple life, a bitter, deteriorating side next to a kind, gentle aspect. In reality, neither is wholly real, but perhaps a tribute to the varying moments experienced by every person who shares their life with another.

Images found here and here.

The New Marginalian

Welcome to The {new} Marginalian! There was something decidedly wrong with my original blog, something in the HTML code that I and our resident blogging and gadget extraordinaire, Zach, could not diagnose. I considered migrating to WordPress, but in the end, I think that platform is too advanced for my yet-to-be-fully-developed blogging intelligence. I finally fixed/learned about some blogging features that were giving me problems. I've seen so many cool features in the other blogs I read, which inspired me to fix my own blog up in a pretty way. I'm still working on it, but I think it's in fine shape for me to share with my friends!

Passion At The Polls

{Protesters gathering to demonstrate in Tehran}

In reading the stories of the horrific violence in Tehran due to the results of the nation's recent presidential election, I have experienced a dual reaction: one of sadness and one of intense admiration for the passion exhibited by the Iranian people. True that this passion has reached such a fervor to have resulted in at least seven deaths and countless injuries and arrests. The country has not seen such violence since the 1979 revolution. The Iranian people have seen such oppression and brutality from their government and their fellow citizens. Yet they continue to show their ardor for their country and their beliefs. In comparison, I think about our own presidential elections, so calm and passive. We Americans have become stale. One could argue that our democracy and further developed society create such passivity (besides the inevitable political protests). My research uncovered that both the US and Iran have 60% voter turnout based on the population of eligible voters in each country. In the 2008 presidential election, approximately 134 million Americans turned out to vote (the population of eligible US voters is 217 million). In last week's election in Iran, twenty-seven million voters turned out from an eligible population of 46 million. Of course, the size in both population numbers and geographic diversity must be factored into the comparison. This makes me think about how we vote as a country. Why do we vote? Do we just randomly check off boxes at the poll box, or do we take the time to research the candidates and the issues at hand? I'm not advocating for bloody riots in the streets of Philadelphia or San Francisco. We should use the tumult in Iran to remind us of the value of our right to vote. The right to fight for just representation (sorry, D.C.).
Image can be found here.

Oh Honey, Honey

I have been craving a proper tea spread (oh, England, how I miss you), especially some tasty scones! Additionally, I have recently developed a strong affinity for honey. Thus, I happened upon this delightful-looking recipe that I intend to create in a spare minute this week!

{Honey Scones}

2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoon cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
3 Tablespoon honey
1 cup cream

Preheat oven to 400F
Combine dry ingredients, cut in butter until crumbly.
Whisk honey and cream, add to the dry ingredients and mix with spoon - this will be thick, almost like dough

Press into greased scone pan... or... lightly flour a work surface, roll out the dough into a circle, cut into 8 triangle-shaped pieces and transfer each to a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Bake for approx 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool for 5 minutes in pan then turn out onto wire rack and cool for another 5 minutes.

Serve warm with butter or whipped cream... and jam.

Recipe and image found at this delightful blog, "The Repressed Pastry Chef." Thanks, Em!

Make It Work

I have pledged to not buy anything until Labor Day 2009. By "anything," I mean clothes, books, music, movies, essentially, think of the word "shopping," and know that I won't be doing that for a while (except for food shopping). Excluded from this are activities like going to the movies, traveling, the occasional night out to dinner (must cut down on that as well). I have accepted this challenge with my good friend, Emily, and our co-worker, Zach. Our hope is to cleanse our bad habits, reap the results of a fuller savings account, and essentially, readjust our lives to a more fulfilling purpose. Our motto is "Make It Work," meaning make do with what you have instead of thinking (obsessing) about what you don't have.

This challenge was brought about due to my increasing feeling of oppression from my material objects. Do you ever get that feeling? Like you want to give everything away because it feels like such a burden? I am downtrodden by the mass over-consumption of our culture. We are all at fault for this current recession. We buy things with money we don't have. The credit card companies make it sound so appealing with those blasted points, but in the end, we're just hurting ourselves and our futures. As David Brooks said in his recent column (interesting take on the current economy), Americans need to save more and borrow less.

I've been shopping a lot lately. It feels like more than usual. I always enjoy a good bargain but in looking at my credit card bill this month I am not pleased. The amount is death knell to my plan for saving more than spending. I wouldn't say that I am a shopaholic (although I would like to do the tango with Hugh Dancy), but I think that it's fun to buy things for oneself. When I was younger, desired items like CDs or trendy blouses had to be purchased with my own hard-earned baby-sitting money, which was always a modest amount.

I enjoy my young professional lifestyle where I can spend my money on pretty things like Marc By Marc Jacobs purses at super-reduced prices. But it's still a significant amount spent and if I continue to buy many things, even on sale, that equals to a whole lot of dough that I won't ever get back. Buying that cute sweater at J.Crew won't advance my life in any significant way. However, that money saved equals a day's car rental, which I could use to drive along the Big Sur on a sunny day during that trip to northern California I have been planning for a long time. In the end, the drive would be more memorable and character-forming than that sweater could ever be.

I require a major re-prioritization of my values, and I think (hope) that this pledge is a good start, a good recalibration of my behaviors. I am grateful to have the support of others (okay now I am sounding like an Intervention episode). I look forward to the end of the summer when I will have enough saved to afford me more life opportunities or at the very least, the pride of a sum saved to be used in future chapters. Wish me luck!

Image found here.

A MINI Drive

I drove this little number today :) I've heard tell that red is my best color.

Image found here.

The Inherence Of Writing

Creative writing programs are pointless? So the thousands of writers who enter them each year are essentially fools who will never see the As a former English major, I found Louis Menand's recent article in The New Yorker intriguing. His article profiles examples of creative writing instruction by several renowned authors including Tobias Wolff and E.L Doctorow. In this end, he touts the experience of being in a creative writing class as valuable but hardly integral to the path that led to his eventual career. Menand's most interesting point is that writing cannot be taught, but encouraged. It follows on one of my earlier posts about the idea of genius being a visitor, occasionally making an appearance. The frequency and timing of the appearance is out of one's control, and may never appear at all. One can only prepare for the visiting genius through practice and discipline. I think creative writing programs afford its students that chance to ready themselves for those moments of genius that hopefully arrive. Being surrounded by one's peers in an incubator that forces you to think about experiences and musings to feed you work is probably one of the best environments to receive your inspiration. However, a narrow margin of creative writing students will be published and find fame. It's a price that these students elect to pay for the chance to encounter their genius and join the elite group of the published set.

An Accessory

In reading the "Happy Days Blog" from The New York Times web site (although I am mad at the NYT company for threatening a 23% wage cut for Boston Globe employees, I still read it, which makes me a very ineffective protester), I came upon a very interesting quote from journalist Pico Iyer, "... my tools of choice, written words, are coming to seem like accessories to images." It made me think: are images trumping words? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the poignancy of a photograph as much as the next person. Iyer's point is that the general public seems to derive greater pleasure from images rather than a written article, which in turn threatens his livelihood (yet another nail in the coffin of journalism, perhaps). His hyperbolism is not completely off-base. Who doesn't love to look at pictures? We do it all day long on the news sources, celebrity tabloid web sites, reading graphic novels, etc. Images are everywhere. They are beautiful and powerful. But do they stimulate our mental activity in the same way an expertly-crafted article or essay might? Sure, images are provocative and conversation-stimulating, but are they really challenging our minds in a way we deserve? If we rely solely on images for our news and information, are we selling ourselves and the subject of the photograph short? I believe that we would be short-changing intelligence. I will go a step further, and say that too many photos and not enough written word might lead to the intellectual degeneration of our society. How's that for a hyperbole?

Tease

Nothing better to fix a case of the Mondays...

Image can be found here.

Style Icon: Marion Cotillard

I admire Marion Cotillard for her pure class and elegance. Her film heroines are often strong, intelligent, yet incredibly warm women like Fanny Chanel in A Good Year (wonderful film) or Josephine Bloom in Big Fish. Her most triumphant role to date is, of course, her Academy Award-winning turn as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. And now she is the new face of Dior, which seals the deal on her talent, her beauty, and her fashion sensibility!
Image can be found here.

Shifting Borders

I am posting this picture in honor of President Obama's trip to Middle East and his inspiring speech about relations between the US and the Muslim World. This relationship always seems fascinatingly disjointed to me in the sense that the US is a country, a single political organization, juxtaposed to the Muslim population, people from several countries all over the world, who are grouped together based on religious affiliation. But I digress on the tenuous nature of religion and politics. This National Geographic image shows the borders of four Middle Eastern (primarily Muslim) countries, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates, which all meet on the Rub al Khali, or Empty Quarter, desert. I find it intriguing that borders are being defined on land that constantly shifts, prompting me to question of the true validity of these carefully-considered lines. In yesterday's column, Thomas Friedman began by telling his favorite Middle Eastern joke of the pious Jew, Goldberg, who spent so much time asking God if he could win the lottery that he never bought a ticket, alluding to the fact that the main reason the Arab/Israeli conflict fails to resolve itself is that neither side wants to buy a ticket to peace. They are drawing the lines, but are not really considering where they are drawing or the quality of their design. Hopefully, this president can help guide the discussions in this often troubled, yet incredibly vibrant part of the world.

Image can be found here.

Kimono Krafts

Airy. Delicate. Warm. Blush. Here are some pretty kimonos that I noticed in the film Memoirs Of A Geisha. I am thinking of finding some exquisite silk, procuring a pattern (or perhaps making my own), and creating my own version. While I would never want to be a geisha, I find their clothes (sans their shoes) to be strikingly gorgeous in their detail and overall construct.

Image can be found here.

A Tribute To Some Classy Songtresses

My musical playlist often depends on the time of year. The spring and summer months inspire my listening to some of the incomparable musical vixens of the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s - Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Etta James, and always, Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song. These sirens embody true class and style, more concerned with their art than of showing skin and their personal drama. They were also incredibly talented artists who pushed through the barriers of music during time periods that were volatile and challenging for women in the arts. In particular, Ella's scatting ability is unparalleled in her day and also in contemporary times. They evoke a sense of passion and often sadness their music without screaming and throwing themselves about the stage. They show it is possible to fully express the breadth of one's pain and loss in love without losing one's dignity and collapsing into a violent screaming session. Listening to these dames makes me feel classy and I hope they do the same for you!

Ella Fitzgerald - "Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered"


Billie Holiday - "My Man"


Sarah Vaughn -"Don't Blame Me"


Etta James - "At Last"

Why Can't There Be More Like Him?

This cuteness needs to be shared with my dear friends and all who adore John Krasinski! He's that guy who comes out a movie where the guy cheated on the girl, but they end up together and says, "but he did cheat on her, didn't he?" We need more of that in this world.