Grateful

I am full this day. Full of gratitude. Full of love. I have known such love in the past few days and I wish for everyone to know this feeling because THIS feeling is what life is all about. Grateful and humbled, indeed, am I.

A Refined Weekend

I arose at 4 o'clock in the morning to watch the Royal Wedding. It felt like Christmas morning - the excitement, the anticipation.  I drank tea and ate chocolate biscuits (McVitie's of course!) while Kate Middleton unveiled her gorgeous Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen wedding gown. My favorite moment was Kate meeting William at the alter - the first time he saw her in her gown - and just the incredible look of humble love between them. Breathtaking.

On Friday evening, I had some company to celebrate the Royal Wedding, serving homemade scones and more chocolate biscuits!

I also served Salade Lyonnaise and we drank sparkling wine in celebration!

I also played a little dress-up, trying to put together fun outfits that are work appropriate. My job requires more formal wear (not prom-like of course) than previous positions. I don't want to wear suits all the time, so I am trying to create interesting business (or close-to-business) outfits.

Saturday I strolled through the streets of Old Town Alexandria (trying to avoid the tourist-infested downtown DC). The houses there are GORGEOUS in their historic state, so prettily painted and landscaped. I think I may have to move there at some point. The weather was magically sunny and my walk proved to be quite a lovely experience.

I grew giddy when I saw these old-fashioned street lamps that were burning candles (or at least, that's what they looked like) - so emblematic of the historic South.

Rochester

There Is No Debt
Jane Eyre at MOVIECLIPS.com

I have never been a fan of the Brontes - I find their novels too dark and moody. I appreciate their art but I never actively reread their novels (unlike Austen or Montgomery).  And I never really enjoy movies made based on their novels. Until now. They remade Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska as Jane and the ruggedly handsome Michael Fassbender as Mr. Rochester.  Check out their electric chemistry in the clip above. I have read a few articles on this movie and I think the director used a different kind of treatment that I am excited to see. And of course, to see Fassbender smoulder as Rochester.

Trailer is here.

Video clip found here.

Send in the Clowns

Over the weekend I saw the Bowdoin College production of Stephen Sondheim's musical play, A Little Night Music. I had never seen the play before and shortly fell in love with the unbalanced, romantic, lavish frivolity of Sondheim's score and use of plot from Ingmar Bergman's 1955 film, Smiles of Summer.

The score is in 3/4 time and quite jovial for one's ears.  At the center of the plot, the actress Desiree Armfeldt must choose between two lovers during a weekend in the Swedish countryside, where both lovers bring their families to stay at Desiree's mother, Madame Armfeldt's, house.  The show is currently running on Broadway (the picture above is the initial cast that included the incomparable Angela Lansbury as Madame Armfeldt and Catharine Zeta-Jones as Desiree).

Much of the music has a waltz theme to it, which I just adore. I believe I was born in the wrong time - I could happily spend my days dressed in resplendent Victorian gowns and attending balls where dancing the waltz with a well-suited, dashing young man is in vogue.

Despite my enjoyment, the play did bring tears to my eyes, especially the rendition of that famous song, "Send in the Clowns," which Desiree sings toward the end as she contemplates on the ramifications of her life choices, somewhat lamenting her lonely, indecisive state. I saw parts of myself in her character at that juncture. I wasn't the only one to be so moved as a New York Times writer expressed his emotion over Sondheim's plays in yesterday's paper.

The Bowdoin kids did a splendid job putting on the play and it made me wish I had done theater in school.  Perhaps, once I settle into the next stage of my life, I will find a playhouse that allows members of the community to audition. I would so love to play Desiree or maybe Julie from Showboat or Laurie from Oklahoma! 


Source: Broadway.com (image found here).

Where I Go

A scene from Carousel: A Dance

Everyone has his or her own relationship to music. Why they listen to it. How they listen to it. Some people pay close attention to the lyrics, while others are in it for the rhythm. I fall into the latter category. To be honest, I have to listen to a song MANY times before I remember the lyrics.

The world seems kinder to me with music playing. Life needs a soundtrack! Music serves as a salve to heal my woes and revitalize my spirit. A vehicle of catharsis. I take refuge in the worlds created through each note. I think that's why I have always loved soundtracks. Listening to the orchestral music makes me feel as though I have escaped into another world. I can become a different character - feeling relief from reality for a brief moment.

Below is "Ballet" from the Carousel (1957) soundtrack - a song where I often go for relief and catharsis. Now, I must clarify that I rarely listen to the entire song. If you listen to the first part, the notes are sprightly and mischievous (fun to listen to at times). Then, they grow to be grandiose as the Carousel Waltz plays (oh, I wish we had more waltzing in life).

Then, the rhythm tempers to a gentle beat. I most often go to the place that begins at 5:37 and ends at 6:47. Seventy seconds. I have curled up into those 70 seconds more times than I can count. Violins swell to a dramatic crescendo of grace and strength. It is the part of the ballet where Louise falls in love with the carousel barker - one of the most romantic and beautifully-executed dance sequences. The music here feels like the full-blown manifestation of my inside. And there is such solace in hearing your feelings played back to you. A sort of affirmation - however transient - settles in my heart and I am little bit more whole than I was before visiting this clinic of musical solitude.

Does my love of these seventy seconds seem a bit to particular and quirky? Or do you have moments in a song that resonate? Why do you listen to music (if you do)?



The 1957 film version:




Image found here.

Lancelot and Guenvere Take to the Screen Once More

{Nero and Redgrave in Letters to Juliet}

I had not planned to see Letters to Juliet. It seemed to be just another manufactured romantic comedy. And doe-eyed, sprightly Amanda Seyfried always seems too eager to me in her roles. However, when I learned that Italian actor Franco Nero and British actress Vanessa Redgrave would be in the film, I changed my mind. These are the actors who played Lancelot and Guenevere, respectively, in the 1967 film version of Camelot (also starring the late and incomparable Richard Harris). A romance was kindled between the two actors during the filming of the movie. Two years after the film, they had a son together. Redgrave had divorced her husband Tony Richardson, who had left her for French actress Jeanne Moreau. Such international affairs!

Over the next forty years or so, the pair had an on-again, off-again romance, eventually marrying in 2006. Forty three years later, Redgrave and Nero return the big screen for Letters to Juliet. I love the romance of reuniting these two lovers/actors when they clearly have incredible chemistry and talent to offer the film. See a clip below for an example of their Camelot chemistry.

An excerpt from an interview about the movie:

"So why did they decide to finally tie the knot?

'I always loved her,' he says.

'I did love him,' adds Redgrave.

'I think when you become a little bit older, I think you become wiser,' says Nero."



Image found here.

Style Love: Fanny Chanel in A Good Year

The rainy doldrums prompted me to pull out my worn copy of Ridley Scott's A Good Year so that I might bask - through the magic of the cinema - in the warmth and joie de vivre of the Provençal countryside. The movie (and novel by Peter Mayle) tells of Max (Russell Crowe), a British banker who travels to Provence to sell his recently deceased uncle's chateau. The film is rich with hilarious and colorful characters - the town locals and Max's British friends. His love interest is the owner of a local restaurant, the mysterious Fanny Chanel (Marion Cotillard). Watching this movie makes me want to run away to Provence and work in a local restaurant like Fanny (alas, the movies always make this adventure look far more romantic than I am sure it actually is)!

I adore Fanny's carefree, casual style that suits a Provence summer. I would describe Fanny Chanel style as comfortable sexy with a splash of bohemian chic - scoop- and v-neck tops, flowing, above-the-knee skirts, and a hairstyle either done up in a messy bun or flowing freely.

Images found here, here, here, here.

The Other West Side Story

I adore West Side Story. So I was delighted to read this Vanity Fair article on the revival of another production by Jerome Robbins (the director and choreographer of the original Broadway production and movie of West Side Story). A year after West Side Story debuted on Broadway in 1957, Jerome Robbins wrote N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, which was meant to further capture the "youth, city life, and discontent" conveyed in West Side Story. Looking at the photo slide show, you can see the similarities between the show's dance sequences. Quick movements, darting and jumping, elongated arms and legs stretched in yearning. A longing to match the pulse of the urban scene. My favorite image - the one above - juxtaposes a natural setting with that of the city, which sits patiently on the horizon. The tension of these two worlds can be felt in the taut pose of the dancers. I understand this tension - my love for the country often equals or surpasses that of the city, and vice versa. A constant reversal of desire.

Image found here.

First-Class Wives

{Glenn Close and Christopher Walken in the film version of Sarah, Plain and Tall}

To this day, one of my favorite books is Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (as well as its sequels, Skylark, Caleb's Story, and More Perfect Than the Moon). Jacob Whiting, a Kansas farmer and a widower with two children, places an advertisement in the paper for a "good, kind woman to share a life with a widower and his two children. To make a difference" Sarah Wheaton, a single woman living in Maine, answers the notice and travels to Kansas to see if she can make that difference. I always thought it was so romantic and courageous for Sarah to travel to a new land to marry a man she had never met.

Sarah's character is strong-willed, intelligent, independent - almost as though she didn't need to marry but wanted a change in her life so she chose to embark on this journey of her own accord. MacLachlan's writing is beautiful on the page in its honest simplicity. Across the series, a family forms and the bond between Sarah and Jacob is particularly compelling as is the relationship develops into an incredible love. Though it's a children's book, I highly recommend it to those who haven't read it. It's a reminder of simpler, sweeter times.

Though the book certainly conveys the struggles Sarah, Jacob, and his two children, Anna and Caleb (my favorite boy's name), have as they get to know each other, it really romanticizes the whole mail-order bride experience. I realized the other day how incredibly scary it must have been for a single woman to travel to a strange land to live with a man she has never met.

Mail-order brides have been glorified and parodied on the page and on the screen for decades. In The Harvey Girls (1946), Judy Garland's character arrives in Sandrock, New Mexico, to meet the "man of her dreams," with whom she found in a newspaper advertisement and began corresponding with letters. In the film, the "man of her dreams" actually turns out to be a dud, so she joins the Harvey Girls, a troupe of women who traveled out west to work for a chain of restaurants owned by the Fred Harvey Company in the late nineteenth century.

{Judy Garland in The Harvey Girls}

As much as I love both of these stories, they are romantic versions of a business that, while lucrative, can sometimes extremely scary (not to detract from these wonderful stories). In the 1800s and early 1900s, mail-order brides were often women who left highly developed areas to marry men in underdeveloped areas such as those pioneers forging a new life on the western frontier of the United States.

Today, the reverse is true. Women from underdeveloped countries are traveling to the developed world to marry established, successful men. In particular, mail-order bride companies from the Ukraine and Russia have seen a booming business exporting willing ladies to the West, including the United States and parts of Europe. While the majority of the mail-order brides enter legitimate, prosperous marriages, but there have been a number of human trafficking cases, instances of marital abuse, and situations where the women are brought to marry a man under false pretenses like Nika, who traveled to Canada from the Philippines to marry a man only to discover that she would be his fifth wife and would be beaten and severely abused.

{An ad against Filipina mail-order bride abuse}

In this case, Canada's marriage laws relating to immigrants are much less stringent and there is little regulation of these overseas marriage agencies. The US has a better record of regulation around mail-order bride abuses, but it still remains a questionable practice and means of relocation for women in underprivileged situations. But sometimes it may be a woman's only option. We think we have come so far with women's rights (although it has been only 90 years since we've earned the right to vote in the US, a fact that still shocks me). Then we realize that the majority of the world's women still suffer in cultures who have either removed their rights or limit them so much that they are forced to marry men who may do more harm to them than good.

Images found here, here, and here.

Men in Horn-rimmed Glasses

Hehehe.

I go weak in the knees for men wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

Image found here.

Oh, Baby, Baby

{They are out of character here, but I thought this was
such a sweet photo of John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer}

Seriously, is there anyone who doesn't love Jim (John Krasinksi) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) from The Office? If there is, I don't want to know them. Tonight Jim and Pam are having a baby on the latest episode of The Office. In celebration of this event, I will suspend reality and cry sweet tears, remembering when Jim first got the courage to say, "I am so in love with you."

Thanks, Greg Daniels and The Office writers, for giving us the inspiration of a true love.

Life imitates art, right?

{I like this photo because it's so cheeky!}

Images found here and here.

A Dress That Dreams Are Made Of

I am nowhere near the point of even contemplating the idea of a wedding dress, but as a twenty-something girl raised in the culture of My Best Friend's Wedding and Father of the Bride, I love to read about weddings, which is why, as I was perusing Once Wed yesterday, I happened upon pictures from Seth + Dionna's wedding and promptly fell madly in love with Dionna's dress. If I owned this dress, I would never take it off. Not only does it look so comfortable, but it's style, texture, and hues play perfectly to my tastes. This dress is so dreamy. Pure magic in it's occasional sparkles, lace, and tulle. A mish-mashing of all my favorite things. And also, don't these two seem like the cutest couple?




Images of Seth + Dionna's wedding found here at Once Wed.

The First Waltz

The First Waltz. So romantic. A pair falling in love. Oh, to wear such fine silks and florals and have a dashing young royal whisk you about the dance floor.

I've been listening to The Young Victoria soundtrack on repeat (this is the last post of this film, I promise!). The music by Ilan Eshkeri is illustrious, inspiring, and reminiscent of my beloved England.

The First Waltz - Ilan Eshkeri

Image found here.

Love Scribbles

In the spirit of this romantic holiday, I offer you famous love notes by New Yorkers being featured around New York City. The note above is a scribble by e.e. cummings to Marion Morehouse, a fashion model. The New York Times article references Mark Twain, whose love letters will be read aloud in the city in celebration of the holiday. His sweet note to his wife expresses his gratefulness over her being born so that he could love her - how marvelous is that?

I adore historic love letters, especially ones expressing ardent passion for another. Sigh. If only Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley would write me a feverish missive (although I daresay their ladies might have a thing or two to say about that - and I know better than to cross the path of Elizabeth Bennet!)!

Image from here (The New York Times).

A Chic Chemise

There are many terms for it: nightgown, nightie, chemise, peignoir, slip. I love the idea of elegant bedclothes and have been recently inspired by various pieces from film, stage theater, and my recent Etsy perusals, which resulted in the purchase of the aqua chiffon nightie below.

{An Aqua Chiffon Nightie from misovintage}

{I've always loved Maria's simple baby doll-style robe during
the balcony scene of West Side Story}

{Loving Maria's nightgown here - and yes, I could not help but include
a picture of the dashing Matt Cavenaugh}

{The romantic ruffles and delicate embroidery of Queen Victoria
(Emily Blunt)'s nightgown - so lovely and has inspired me

to try to sew my own chemise}

{A pretty vintage 30s charmeuse and lace nightgown
from RevolvingStyle's shop}

Images found here here, here, here, and here.

A Two-Hour Embrace

I can't stop watching Away We Go. A Christmas present, I have watched the DVD three times in the past week. That is A LOT since once I see a movie I usually don't care to watch it for at least a couple of months. But this movie is just so good. Almost too good. The Sam Mendes film offers its viewers a glimpse into a couple in love like no one else. Burt (John Krasinski - swoon) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are two idyllic creatures floating through a film littered with vibrant and blatantly flawed characters. Through the noise of these bursting, comedic sketches comes the quiet, gentle rhythm of Burt and Verona (with the help of Alexi Murdoch's flawless music) that acts like a two hour embrace. I love the idea of this film - a couple traveling around to all the people they have known to find a place to raise their child. A worthy journey. The end result is a perfect culmination of all they are seeking and so fitting for these 30-somethings who are trying to "figure basic stuff out." The movie feels like an old friend, who reminds me of the possibility of a great love and that everything is going to be okay.

Image found here.

Paper Heart

{Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera play themselves in Paper Heart}

“We’re not a very patient society so if something goes wrong, and there’s no quick fix, they give up. If you can hang in there, it just gets better.”

Patience has ceased to be a virtue of mine. Well, it was never really a virtue for me. Ask my mother. But it is perhaps because of patience that relationships have so much trouble these days. We think we want that "perfect" person, which is folly. We hold out for something better, impatient with the choices the universe gives us. But what if we took a chance and waited to see how it played out? Would that be better than living without love? Without a true connection? I think so. But sometimes, I don't know.

Paper Heart. Just rented it. Quite cute, except for Charlyne Yi's monotone, whiney voice that grated on me after a while. I enjoyed her role in the story but I wished that they also had filmed it more from Michael Cera's perspective (some of his lines really made the movie for me). The best part was the paper animation of the love stories Yi learned from her interviews with couples across the country. Impressive and in honor of this artistic achievement, here are some pretty paper hearts I found.


Image found here, here, here, here, and here.

24 Hours (or so)

A weekend, more of a maelstrom - events, people, places, emotions. Life felt fast and full. It was a good weekend, to be sure, but a harder one than I expected. Throughout the weekend, I had to deal with a very bad chest cough. A loud cough that would rear its loquacious head whenever I would sit for long periods of time in dry air (aka, any sort of theater venue... basically the two highlights of the weekend). However, I mustered all of the open-mindedness that my personality could buy to prevent this minor issue from affecting my enjoyment.

The magic commenced on Friday evening. I ended work around five o'clock and quickly ran into the bathroom to change into my "premiere outfit:" skinny jeans, a blush pink chiffon ruffle top (I just love the blush) with sparkles, a black military blazer, and my red satin flats. My hair was still straight and pretty from my recent hair cut and I felt glamorous for the screening of Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. Everyone deserves this feeling, at least once in a while.

I dashed out of work and met up with Ingrid and her coworker friends (one of whom is a Brown University alum like John Krasinski and procured us these tickets). We had a delectable dinner at The Friendly Toast in Kendall Square and then walked over to the Kendall Square Theater, which was aflutter with people waiting to see the movie (and the man of the moment). As we entered the theater, I thought I saw John Krasinski waiting in line for refreshments. The man before me looked like him - tall and cute. However, it turned out to be one of his brothers as the actor's clan had turned out for the event.

The girls and I headed into the theater, which was almost full (we arrived fashionably late as anyone of importance might). We found some seats on the side, three rows up from the front. This location turned out to be perfect for almost as soon as we sat down, a theater employee walked to front of the room and introduced John (yes, I call him John - this is not The New York Times with its Mr. Krasinski nonsense), who came running down the aisle to introduce the film. Basically from that point on I did nothing but grin. I mean, John Krasinski was like TEN FEET AWAY (maybe a little more, but not much)!! He looked just like Jim with a white button-up shirt, a black tie, khaki pants, and that adorable hair and goofy, knee-buckling grin.

He was just as nice and funny and smart in person as he is on the screen, which made me admire him all the more. He introduced the film with a quick speech about how David Foster Wallace's book had influenced him when he first read it in college and then he ran towards the back of the theater to watch the film with his family. During this first part, I wanted to take a picture but didn't want to be THAT girl at the same time, so this photo was taken without flash (the quality is a bit surreal, which is how it felt to be there at the screening):

The film is short (around an hour and half), but it is thought-provoking and at times, so engrossing and poignant that I forgot myself in the plot's current. The vignette style of the story was handled seamlessly and the casting was superb. In particular, the last scene and monologue wrenches the viewers in the quiet horror of its content. And it was performed by John, who stepped in when the actor who had been cast dropped out. A moving performance by an actor most commonly cast in comedic roles.

After the credits rolled, the lights went up and John once again bounded down the aisle to the front of theater to take questions. I would have asked a question but I could barely speak without coughing and my voice had taken on a very masculine tone from said cough. So, I just sat there and marveled over the fact that I was here, listening to him.

People asked John how he liked directing over acting, how David Foster Wallace felt about the film (a tad awkward since the author committed suicide in 2008, but apparently, before his death, blessed the making of the film via a phone conversation with John), and what were his favorite scenes on The Office. John was intelligent and kind in his answers. I knew I wanted a better picture with a flash, so I waited until the Q&A ended and people were applauding (to be less distracting), which resulted in this one just before he exited the theater:

How cute is he?!?! Swoon...

We exited the theater and I saw him walk through the parking lot with his family, looking so dashing in a blazer and scarf. Though I didn't meet him, the whole thing was really thrilling. I mean, I can say that I saw a movie with John Krasinski...and about two hundred other people (minor detail). So...

...on to the next adventure!

Saturday was an early day (I awoke at 5 AM). My Bolt Bus to New York City left at 7 AM (ouch)! I slept most of the way and awoke to a brilliantly sunny day that charged my spirit. We arrived in the city in no time at all. I scrambled off the bus, so enthused to be back in THE CITY (not that lame MTV show). I have grown to deeply admire NYC over the years - a city that is so many things and so wholeheartedly itself. Boston is a town-city, good if you crave the best of both worlds. But with New York, you come here because you want a CITY in the full meaning of the word.

My dear friend Stefanie picked me up on 34th street and after many hugs, we strode over to the West Side to walk along the High Line Park, a gorgeous landscaped walkway that is constructed on an old 1930s freight train track 30 feet in the air (elevated to protect the public from the dangerous freight trains). In lieu of demolishing the tracks, the Friends of the High Line and the City of New York sponsored the creation of the park. On this glorious day, it was just lovely to explore.

{Several New Yorkers enjoy the High Line}

{A quick shot of some kindred spirits!}

{Some snazzy High Line landscaping}

{Purple clouds}

{A view of the trendy Meatpacking District}

{Fire escapes - I couldn't help myself}

We strolled through the Meatpacking District and into Greenwich Village where we had a late brunch of divine Oeufs Benedict at the charming Cafe Jacqueline. A long meal, full of good conversation (my favorite). We walked through Washington Square Park, where I spotted the cutest white Scottie dog, who was making an unreal amount of noise (he gave me a dirty look after I snapped his photo...hehe).

{A very boisterous white Scottie at Washington Square Park}

We took the subway back to Stef's apartment, where we dressed for our evening out on the town. Our other college friend, Jen, who lives in Brooklyn, joined us to dine on a delectable meal of chicken, oven-roasted vegetables, fresh salad as well as a mozzarella and tomato salad (all lovingly prepared by Stef who is in a master's program for nutrition at NYU). Stef is such a gracious hostess who always shows me the best parts of the city whenever I visit - I am truly blessed to have her friendship!

{Chef Stef cooking up a storm}

After a delicious meal, we prettied ourselves a bit more and headed for Times Square and the blazing marquees of Broadway (couldn't help but hum a few bars of "Give My Regards To Broadway") to see the revival of West Side Story.

{My first Broadway show!}

We met up with another friend, Susie, at the Palace Theater, which was fairly bursting with theater-goers (buffs and dilettantes galore). We had balcony seats that were quite good but I remembered to bring some small binoculars to see all the action up close (okay, to see the very handsome Matt Cavenaugh up close). The show was simply stunning!

Without getting too schmaltzy, the story, music, and movement of West Side Story resonates with a deep part of my creative and dramatic spirit. To see it live on Broadway was humbling, checking off a line on my List. The singing was as gorgeous as the soundtrack recording (although Matt did not hit the high B flat in "Maria," which I missed), but it was the dancing that made this show a true spectacle to behold. I was so happy to be sitting there (despite desperately trying not to cough) experiencing something I had loved for so long. A true gift, this feeling. The show is over three hours in length, an opus of emotions that leaves you trying to catch your breath and your heart. Such fervency of love and then in a matter of hours, all is snuffed by some knife stabs and a gunshot.

As we exited the theater, I saw Matt Cavenaugh selling show memorabilia for charity. He was still covered in the faux dirt and blood from the performance, his blue shirt torn from his toil with the Sharks. So handsome and perfectly in character. I thought of going over to tell him how much I enjoyed his performance, but again, I didn't want to be THAT girl. So, I walked by him, ever the cool pretend New Yorker leaving for a post-theater drink in the Village.

However, walking down Broadway with my friends, I felt a weight of a sudden sadness befall me. Strange, I know, because this was an incredible weekend. But I like to attribute meaning to my story. I constantly try to explain why things happen. The whole of this beautiful weekend overwhelmed me - seeing two men whom I idealize in person in the matter of 24 hours. It sort of felt like a sign but also a big slap in the face by the universe.

To be blunt, it's been a long time since I've had a meaningful relationship and to temper the sting of my singleness sometimes, I daydream about fictional characters like Jim Halpert or Tony. I see qualities in them that embody the type of man with whom I hope to one day be. Seeing these two men in person somehow made that type of man seem unreachable and I felt lonelier with this loss of mystery. A sharp pang of reality. Maybe all this makes me a sad person or maybe it's something that everyone experiences. I'm not sure because I have never really talked about it openly before. But this weekend really brought everything to a head and now I feel a little bit lighter somehow. Better, maybe. I suppose it's all in the perspective you choose.

Alas, this post is quite epic but these 24 hours were epic in activities, travel, the people, and the meaning attributed to the entirety of my pastimes. Thanks for reading (if I didn't lose you a few paragraphs ago!)!

Sometimes the world is very kind

Sometimes the world is very kind and decides to lift its weight from your burden and bestow precious gifts. I feel like this weekend is one of those moments in time when I am given such a respite. This upcoming weekend will be a FABULOUS one. This evening, I will be attending the premiere of Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (based on the David Foster Wallace novel) which was directed by The Office's John Krasinski (aka, my ideal man)...who will be ATTENDING said premiere. I am seeing John Krasinski...IN PERSON (just letting it sink in for you).

Also, my AMAZING roommate Ingrid procured us tickets that include a Q&A with the man himself!!! I am reading the book now and its very good.

{The dreamboat, himself}

{Some of my favorite Jim Halpert faces}

Sigh...

Next stop for the fabulous train is taking a VERY early bus on Saturday morning to head to....THE BIG APPLE!! Yes, I am venturing down to New York City to visit some of my dear friends from college and to have my first Broadway experience seeing the revival of West Side Story. I am have fallen in love with the soundtrack and am just thrilled to be able to have this experience, which will also including seeing another dashing gentleman - Matt Cavenaugh in the role of Tony (his voice is so perfect for this role). Overall, I am SO full of joy for these upcoming events and feeling very grateful for having the chance for such happy activities! I hope you all have glorious weekends that you so richly deserve!

{Matt Cavenaugh as Tony - second dreamboat of the weekend!}

Images found here, here, and here.