My Namesake

Today is Emily Dickinson's birthday. My namesake.  There's a pair of us, you know, as we are both children of December and kindred spirits to boot. She was a homebody that was full of a fiery, crazy passion pent up and only unleashed on the page.  Not unlike myself. Well, with the exception that I have yet to write/publish poetry that will be published posthumously and become world renown. There is, however, still time.


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The Hepburn Philosophy

Pure gold. We need more honest, sparky people like her.

Character Icon: Giada de Laurentiis

She offers some of the most delectable Italian recipes in the world and flashes one of the most brilliant smiles on television every week for her Food Network show, "Everyday Italian." She's Giada de Laurentiis and she's my Character Icon for this week!

I chose Giada because of a conversation I had with my mom a few weeks ago. My mom had mentioned that she always observes different people - some she knows personally and some public figures - and tries to emulate aspects of their personality that she admires. During this same conversation, she suggested that I look at Giada - someone who exudes such enthusiasm for what she does.

If you read the preface of her cookbooks, Giada talks volumes about her supportive family and their encouraging her to follow her passion: cooking. Her happiness holds authenticity because she has followed her heart and does what she loves. Hers is an enviable position. In looking at pictures of her in her cookbooks, she appears so ignited.

In that moment, I realized that I wish to emulate this same energy and joy. I set a personal goal to smile more in the hopes that my face will one day be primarily constructed by a smile large enough to showcase my whole life's happiness.

Not only is Giada enviable for her vivacious personality, but also her awe-inspiring repertoire of Italian recipes. I have been pouring through Giada's cookbooks this week and think I may try my hand at the Saffron Orzo with Shrimp from "Everyday Italian," a variation of which can be found here.

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Character Icon: Katharine Hepburn

Ever since I read Zadie Smith's essay on Katharine Hepburn from Smith's latest collection of essays, Changing My Mind, I have been filling my Netflix queue with Hepburn films. Adam's Rib and Woman of the Year (both with her real-life, longtime love Spencer Tracy) have been the latest to arrive and I am expecting Stage Door and The Philadelphia Story next week.

I have always been a K.Hepburn fan since I saw Bringing Up Baby with Carey Grant. This film is a MUST SEE if you haven't already - hilarious!

In watching the films, I see why I have come to admire Hepburn so much - she's completely comfortable in her own skin. She's tough and smart, while maintaining her feminine wiles to flirt shamelessly with her male costars. She knows her beauty and charm are powers she needs to ascend within her society. And her character in Woman of the Year realizes that a dream career as a newspaper columnist is not enough without the man she loves, a partner in crime with whom she can spend her days. I love how she finds the balance of the two things I find myself wanting: a successful career and the love of a good man.

A style side note: Hepburn has savvy, enviable fashion sense (or rather the costume designers of her films have this sense)! My favorite is the black jumper she wears in the final scene of Woman of the Year:


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