The Paradise

Some of my girl friends recently told me about a BBC drama that has totally consumed me...

The Paradise, starring Emun Elliott and Joanna Vanderham, is a two-season series that dramatizes the life and culture of the first department store. It is loosely based on the novel by Émile Zola, Au Bonheur des Dames.

Denise (Vanderham) is a shopgirl who comes from a small town. Seemingly out of her league in the metropolitan atmosphere of the Paradise, she proves herself resourceful and graceful. With never-ending ideas, though, she threatens others above her; entrepreneurial, independent woman are not part of 1870s culture.

The owner of The Paradise, Mr. Morray (Elliott), is a devilishly handsome and enterprising man. He captures the hearts and loyalties of everyone with is dimples and inventive ideas. While he is engaged to be married, he and Denise have an undeniable chemistry as like-minded members of The Paradise staff.

So what all will happen? While drama and romance have their moments, the most exciting part of The Paradise is the novelty. The staff must come up with different advertising campaigns, sale schemes, and funding. They host the first one-day, store-wide sale; a special ladies' night for lingerie (which would be too uncouth for everyday display); the creation of a confectionary attached to the department store. It's revolutionary and romantic.

Also, the lighting and color-scheme are gorgeous, and the costuming divine.

Watch the first season on Netflix and the second on iTunes!

Photos via: 1, 2, 3, 4

Thinking & Doing

I've been thinking about writing my thesis for two and a half weeks. I've been doing this zero days out of said eleven. As we approach the new year with excitement and anticipation, I'm thinking a lot about what I'll be doing.

I'll be starting a new internship at the remarkable Coffee House Press in Minneapolis. (Thrilled might be an understatement.)

In May I will graduate from the University of Minnesota, entering the job market with spunk and enthusiasm.

I will stand up in my charismatic friends' wedding and attend others throughout the summer. (P.S. I need suggestions for summer wedding-worthy dresses.)

I'll have my own room after years of roommates and twin-sized beds.

There are momentous life events coming up this year, along with little extras that are just as important. I know that resolutions are difficult to keep, so Abby is insisting that we make specific, attainable goals for ourselves. Here's one of mine:

Think, then do. I'm not a procrastinator, so I might seem like the most unlikely person to aim for doing instead of thinking when it comes to projects. However, I'm a realist and like most people my worst critic. It's easy to hold yourself back by thinking about what you could do instead of just going for it. So this year, I'm fearlessly going to do more in all sectors of my life.

I'll do more when it comes to my health; less screen time, more green veggies and whole foods, enough rest. I will do more for school to finish strong––that means finishing my thesis (egads!), knocking that internship out of the park, and launching the 2015 edition of Ivory Tower. I'll do more as a friend, sister, and daughter; I'll be there for the big moments along with the little ones, listen intently, and value time.

2015 is the year of doing. I know that sounds like a Nike commercial, but who are we kidding? The new year is ridiculously optimistic and at times cliche. Entering with confidence and a plan isn't the worst idea we've ever had.

Photo via my Instagram of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. 

MIA Italian Fashion

There are only a few days left of the MIA Italian Style exhibit, and it is a must see. The exhibition features postwar Italian fashion, displaying clothing that rarely travels beyond the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, as well as photographs and video from the archives of designers and museum collections. If you're looking for name drops, here they are: Pucci and Prada, Valentino and Miu Miu, along with other recognizable fashion-house names, illustrate the evolution of postwar fashion. Italian designer's attention to craftsmanship, quality textiles and innovative designs, while embracing prêt-à-porter style, enabled the "Made in Italy" label to wield so much influence over the fashion industry.

While postwar style, the exhibition begins in 1939, with two immaculately tailored women's' suits. To demonstrate the evolution of style from Italy, the former Fascist model must be represented. Here's what is shocking: the clothing is not behind glass. The ensembles are beautifully on display, viewable from every angle. Out in the open, you can see the little imperfections, the evidence that these pieces have been worn.

Moving through what feels like a prolonged runway show, you encounter evening gowns arrayed in delicate beading, gorgeous fabrics, and silhouettes that would still be worthy of red-carpet or runway fashion. Also featured are photographs and video of early runway shows. Remarkably intimate compared to today's mega-events like New York Fashion Week, the shows introduced the scheduled change of the fashion industry. It is not only desired, but necessary, for designers to introduce new, reinvent old, and test expectations with annual, and then biannual seasonal runway shows.

Of course, the clothes worn by everyday people are moving. They induce that bit of curiosity in us that wonders, who was the woman who wore this dress with navy gloves and a woolen hat? The runway footage and samples are breathtaking in the way the couture seems like an otherworldly creation of beauty and revolution. And then we encounter the celebrities.

Video of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday plays while the dress she wore in the movie and a replica vespa are displayed nearby. It is truly breathtaking to see the garment portrayed on screen and in person; the former separated by glass and decades and Hollywood mystique, the latter a tangible memento from the past in our presence.

That is the beauty of Italian Style. The transformation of fashion over the years does not make style or clothing irrelevant, but instead all the more exquisite.

Tickets are available through the MIA website or at the museum. The exhibition will be here through January 4. Photos via MIA Exhibit Preview.

Nine Kisses

Last week the New York Times released their annual short film series featuring the year's best actors. (I loved when they did the genre episodes that were melodramatic and captivating.) This year the series is called Nine Kisses, and the brief episodes are diverse and endearing. I found Steve Carell and Laura Dern's clip hilarious––a comic surprise. Julianne Moore and John Lithgow (some of my quiet but consistent favorites) nailed theirs. The color, mood, and atmosphere is a hit and their inhibition is electric.

Still shot of Julianne Moore in Still Alice (d. Richard Glatzer, 2014)

Speaking of this year's films and actors: I have been woefully out of touch with films this year, so some of these actors were a surprise to me. I know that Benedict Cumberbatch is a real favorite among the ladies, but I've never quite found him appealing. (Something alien about his pale, smooth face and high cheekbones...) However, I want to see him in The Imitation Game. There is always one good history film around the holiday season, and this seems to be it. I also want to see Wild (with Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern), the movie based on a true story, as well as Still Alice, which addresses the diagnosis of Alzheimer's for a prolific academic.

Photos via: NY Times, Indie Wire

Staying Sane

Hello, all! Welcome back from the holiday weekend. How glorious was it to hang with friends and family over wine and pie? We did Thanksgiving with our family friends and brought the dessert. I worked a Black Friday shift, which is always kind of a blast, and we finished the long weekend with a lazy Saturday brunch and family game night––Scattergories and brandy slush is absurd.

Now that I'm back for the final weeks of semester, I'm definitely feeling the crazy. Here's how I'm staying sane these days:

1). I read this article, and after visiting Germany this summer, I overhauled my correspondence habits. While in Berlin, I didn't have cell service; since then, I don't habitually check my phone. I also only send emails between 8:00am and 8:00pm in an attempt to keep work and life separate.

2). Sleep. It's so contradictory sounding when you have a to-do list that is a mile long, but I got over seven hours of sleep last night (!!), and now I'm refreshed for a productive day. I'm also less cranky, which my roommates appreciate.

3). Watching less television. I usually fall into a dangerous habit of turning on Netflix when I have down time, or when I'm doing homework. Abby did something brilliant over holiday: she started Gone Girl and she just finished it last night. Reading unwinds you like none other. (I'm dying to start and finish 100 Years of Solitude as well as Both Flesh and Not over winter break.)

4). Cheer-boosters: our apartment has strings of lights, a small tree, and a silvery wreath. Even when our unit feels freezing, the twinkling colors make us feel cozy and cheerful.

Top photo via Instagram; Scattergories photo via Abby Carlson Instagram

Interstellar: Water Cooler Currency

It seems as though everyone in the office at work as seen Interstellar, and we're all talking about it. Critics have been a little split on the film, with some praising it's stunning visuals and entertainment value and others critiquing its lack of sophistication/intellect. Here's what my co-workers and I have determined over coffee and the copier:

1). Paying for IMAX seems to have been worth it. My co-worker Kate said its enormity was astounding.

2). Along that line....it's visually spectacular. We think the sublime of nature in romanticism is being replaced in the twenty-first century with galactic film.

3). Matthew McConaughey is so orange!

4). The dimensions of time (especially near the end) actually blew our minds. Worm holes, black holes, alternate universes, etc. We talked about time and relativity for 20 minutes and still felt perplexed/curious!

5). Matt Damon and the snow planet: gratuitous macho scene that came off as foolish boys having a snowball fight.

6). Robots were not as impressive as our beloved original HAL: their voices were almost too real; their design was bizarre and nonsensical; but their programming capabilities fascinated us.

7). We're happy Anne Hathaway is out of Hollywood hiding.

8). As per usual, Hans Zimmer knocked it our of the park with a shimmering and cavaliering (albeit loud) soundtrack.

9). Dylan Thomas's poem, "Do not go gentle into that good night," while a lovely poem was overused and felt forced. We get it, Nolan, you're an intellectual! 

10). The pathos was delicately balanced––it wasn't cold, but it wasn't sappy.

Photo via Wired, by Paramount Pictures. 

{On Repeat}....Bal-Musette

I was listening to a podcast of Fresh Air the other day and heard some of the most whimsical music: Bal-Musette. It's a style of French music that predominantly features the accordion (I had always thought of polkas when it comes to accordions) and from turn of the twentieth century. Musettes were played in dance halls in France and are inspired from Italian, Bohemian, and Auvergnat cultures.

Fun fact for coffee lovers, bal-musette dance was also known as java.

I never would have guessed, but I'm finding bal-musette to be the perfect early-winter music. It's fun, upbeat, a little romantic in a goofy way, and feels very exotic. Listening to it is like a mini vacation––everything seems sparklier and more special.

I suggest listening to: The Paris Musette, Guy Visuer, and Accordeon Melancolique

Image: lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1892), via MoMA

Truly Midwestern Sayings (Decoded)

I've lived in the great Midwest my entire life, and thus I'm not always aware of what constitutes a "truly Midwestern" saying. When I traveled to Berlin, I realized some of our strange American aphorisms, and then even Minnesota/Wisconsin versions. When my family took a vacation to Florida, everyone picked up on our accents and our expressions. I've compiled a list and helped decode their secret meanings.

1. Minnesota Nice: this is just an excessively polite way of saying passive aggressive.

2. "That's different": Your behavior/lifestyle/personality/opinion is totally unacceptable in my view and I will never understand, nor attempt to understand, why you do/think that.

3. "For sure": this seems to be exclusively Wisconsin in my experiences. If you're hardcore, you'll tack on an elongated "oh" in the beginning. Depending on tone, this can be condescending (if someone makes a suggestion that you despise) or eagerly appeasing (agreeing for almost the exclusive desire to agree). See No. 1 for why. (I'm pretty sure that other regions say, "most definitely.")

4. "Just a thought": this is typically said at the end of an opinion/suggestion. It's a polite and slightly passive aggressive way of implying that what you just said is (to you) the right and superior sentiment, but you don't want to come of as pretentious or too forward.

5. "Wouldn't you know"/"Dontcha know": the former is a way of introducing what you're going to say as special, interesting, serendipitous (like if you recently saw a long-lost friend you had been speaking about the other day). The latter is added at the end of a statement, and means to establish agreement.

All in all, most Midwestern sayings are about playing nice. If confused, assume they are trying really hard to keep the peace.

Photo via sarahcarlsonetc Instagram. 

{On Repeat}...Caroline Smith

My friend recently introduced me to a Minnesota-native artist, Caroline Smith. I'm hooked and it feels like the perfect playlist for autumn right now. What I like about her music is its adaptability. It's simultaneously romantic, melancholic, spunky––it fits every mood.

Her voice is delicately strong; her music sounds like those cool girls who are quietly confident. Listen to her album Half About Being a Woman here.

If I must choose, my favorite tracks are: "The One Thing," "Child of Moving On," and "Buy Me Something," all of which are infectious.

Photo by Reginald P.

Upcoming Movies

I rarely go to the theater, because I can't justify spending a fourth of my grocery bill on movie tickets. However, I've come across several trailers that pique my interest. I'll admit that I don't have refined, artistic taste, so some are pulpy and trendy. Regardless, these are what I'm looking forward to.

The Theory of Everything

Eddie Redmayne stole my heart in Les Miserables and now this. I'm aware of the potential sappiness with this, but I think it will be touching and heartfelt. 

Dear White People

This satirical film is getting so much buzz and being celebrated as a culturally relevant for everyone. It deals with identity, acceptance versus tolerance, and raises some pressing questions of contemporary American prejudice.

Gone Girl

The book is totally pulpy, but has been getting a lot of attention as a surprisingly gripping novel. The film has gotten mixed reactions from critics, but I still want to give it a try. I typically like Ben Affleck and I've been a fan of Rosamund Pike since she was in Pride and Prejudice.

Interstellar

Matthew McConaughey is on a career high and Anne Hathaway has come out of performance hiding. I was never a huge fan (and she is the epitome of my childhood in The Princess Diaries), but after such cruelty with the "Hathahaters" she deserves a moment to shine again in a great movie.

I'm also taking this opportunity to say that Boyhood is aptly placed in Oscar lists. (I will forever adore the precious treatment of time in that film.) Do you have any recommendations for me? I'd love your suggestions!

Photo public domain via Commons

Currently Reading: The Goldfinch

I just finished reading Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch and it was astounding. My sister's boyfriend, Alex, bought me two great reads for my birthday in June and I finally found the time to sit down and devour this 700-plus pages.

The enormous novel was intimidating at first (the commitment seemed astronomical!) and I was slightly concerned that it would seem I was part of this global book club––it's the novel of the summer and kind of a chit-chat point like TV shows. However, I'm always game for a book about art featuring a Russian supporting character.

The Goldfinch is what you would call a bildungsroman (a story about growing up, usually through a "journey"), so Tartt writes in the voice of a boy spanning at least ten years and both American coasts (and continents!). His travels, battles & triumphs intersect and spiral into the lives of other diverse characters that creates a multidimensional life for Theo and the reader.

While it took me weeks––I'm a slow reader, I'll admit (you can see my progress on Instagram from beginning, middle, and end)––I was melancholic when I finished. I felt some serious pride and also sadness, because it has passages that are just so breathtakingly beautiful. I haven't read something this  popular & lovely in a while.

Donna Tartt only publishes a novel what seems like every decade, and I can see why. The Goldfinch is perfection. I highly recommend carving out a chunk of time to read this stunning novel.

P.S. I heard it's going to be a movie?!?!; here's the actual Fabritius Goldfinch

J.Crew Wishlist

Readers, you may already know this but . . . J.Crew is an all-time love and classic. I'm here to remind you of two great things:

WISHLIST: J.Crew has an amazing wishlist feature that not only allows you to save products you love for later, but also categorizes them smartly and beautifully. (We all know J.Crew reigns supreme in online shopping curation.)

It categorizes by in-stock, on sale, only a few left (!!), and also by importance. So if you have twelve items in there, it's probably like this: there's one item you need and if you don't get it you might cry/die (that's at the top), four are beautiful but you can't get yourself to buy them just yet, followed by six that you randomly added because you wanted to distract yourself from real work by online window-browsing, and the last one––because you couldn't stand having two rows of four with one row of three.

My wishlist looks like this:

Row 1: Necklace / Shirt / Bag / Shoe

Row 2: Sweater / Rain boot / Cuff

Row 3: Studs / Shoe / Pendant / Star Necklace / Dress

SALE: Seriously and awesome sale is going on right now with an additional 40% off of final sale items. If you know your size well for the majority of the store, you'll be fine (as final sale is non-returnable). Shipping rates are also reduced right now for a limited time. Now is the time to buy!!

Top photos via J.Crew

A Hilarious Read/See

For my birthday, Abby's sweet boyfriend, Alex, bought me two books (he knows me too well!). I just finished the first; a comic, fast read, This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, is truly enjoyable and a book you want to pass to your best friend the minute you close the cover.

At a little over 300 pages, the book goes quickly as the first person narrator moves deftly from present tense to memories to lucid dreaming to nightmares. While dealing with infidelity and bereavement, This Is Where I Leave You stays lighthearted and witty.

To top things off, it's been produced as a family dramedy for the summer. (It looks great!) It stars some of the top rom-com players including Jason Bateman, Jane Fonda, and Tina Fey. I wanted to read it before I see it, will you do both?

Photo via

Girl Talk: On Reticence

I was part of the University's English Undergraduate Conference at the end of spring semester, and I had a really thought-provoking conversation with one of our faculty that keeps being relevant every day since. . . .

After attending several sessions throughout the day, Judith and a colleague mentioned the prevalence of modest apologies coming from the women. Without fail, the women presenting prefaced their papers with apologies for language and content. Even if quoting directly as support for their papers, women felt the need to apologize for swearing, use of "crude language," or discussing sex and violence. 

Meanwhile, the men (and I must admit, we attract far less men in the English department) confidently went forth with coarse language and content. There was no obligation, whether real or perceived, to justify what they said. 

Judith said after, "I was stunned by the compulsion to apologize for presenting intellectually provoking idea. And then I realized that they were all women. It's 2014 here; what's the issue?"

And really, what is the issue? I completely understand practicing modesty, and I think being a "class-act" is rarified these days (do I sound old or what?). However, I continually find myself frustrated that women feel as though they must comply to a different set of social/behavioral standards; and on the flip side, I'm appalled that men think they are exempt from polite behavior. 

It would be so nice to see a social setting in which both men and women were playing by the same rules. It would also be quite shocking, no? What do you think you would see that was different? I'd love your thoughts!

Photo via

T-Minus 18 Hours

Tomorrow evening, my flight for Berlin will take off (yikes!) and I'm tingling in anticipation. While I've flown many times before in my life––I've already traveled abroad with a high school class––this will be the first time I travel on my own. That's right, I'll have to go through security, boarding, baggage claim solo, and it's making my heart-beat quicken.

I feel extremely prepared, which is helping, and everyone has been immeasurably helpful and supportive as my departure nears, but I told my mom this evening that I keep worrying about the little, insignificant things like:

What if my baggage weighs 52 pounds?
Will my hair and make-up get gross on the flight?
Do I need compression socks or does the twenty-something-year-old magic apply to international flights, too?

See––little things . . . My time abroad is a quick three weeks, so I already know it will be a whirlwind kind of trip. During my stay, here's what I'm most looking forward to:

Staying with a family so I can experience "real life" in Berlin.
Going to museums and internet cafes when I feel touristy.
Eating chocolate and mentos as I read on the plane.
Listening to music on trains.
Seeing the Brandenburg Gate again––it's just so stunning.

Currently Reading: Non-Fic Royalty

Now that school is out and I've had a minor academia detox, I thought I'd share what I'm currently reading. As you all know, I'm really into non-fiction writing, whether that be essays, journalistic articles, or diaries and journals. I'm really pleased to say that a book I picked up over winter break is just as good as I hoped it would be.

I'll be honest and admit that the initial reason I picked up The New Kings of Nonfiction is because it's edited by Ira Glass and I'm a wanna-be NPR junkie. So far I am about half way through (I've yet to get to my beloved DFW) and it's great. What makes it readable and less daunting than a 400 page novel is that you can read one essay a day and feel like you've made considerable progress because you start and finish a subject. (The Atlantic and The New Yorker seem to be reigning champs of originally published sourcing . . . so there is kind of a specific audience niche implied here, which is slightly smug and presumptuous.)

My favorite essays thus far are:

"Six Degrees of Lois Weinberg" by Malcolm Gladwell

"Shapinksy's Karma," by Lawrence Weschler (this story is incredible!)

"Among the Thugs," Bill Buford

I'm hoping to finish this before Saturday when I leave for Germany, because I want another new book to read for my flights!

Have you been reading any good nonfiction lately? I'd love your suggestions!

Procrastination

Is this a busy time of year for you? All my friends and I are feeling the crunch and rush of finals––it's the dog days. The weather last week was incredibly stormy and moody, which helped keep everyone indoors and forgetting that the year is almost over. Now that the sun is out and the temperature is rising, everyone seems anxious in their classes and libraries.

This year especially, I've fallen victim to procrastination. I used to be insanely regimented, but I keep putting things off for the next day and it's starting to creep up on me. (Yikes!) Some of my friends say that procrastination often leads to their best work. But, I'm a worrier . . . so it just makes me nervous and wacky. Tonight is my night to get caught up and rid myself of this brain fuzz I currently have.

What are your tricks for staying on-schedule. Do you have rewards for meeting deadlines? Do you have any good scheduling tricks? Do you recommend a certain environment for ultimate productivity? I'd love your suggestions!

P.S.
This time of year, I feel my people-pleasing tendencies raging.
Multiple personalities are so essential for me to have a balanced life.
Do you work alone?

Photo: Kurt Vonnegut doodle, via The New Yorker (part of a new publication featuring his drawings!)

Dickinson Read-a-Thon!

The craziest, coolest event is being held in the Twin Cities this Friday! In celebration of National Poetry Month (and what a great month it is!), University of Saint Thomas is hosting a day of Emily Dickinson. Every poem of hers will be read––from #1 to #1,789. The event begins at 8 in the morning and is anticipated to last an exhausting total of 14 hours. If you can't attend, the University is planning to have a live stream here. But really, who wouldn't want to cozy up in a gorgeous library and listen to the mysterious lines of our good gal, Emily?

Photo via

Berlin Bound

Exciting news––I'm going to Berlin, Germany this June for a fellowship with the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and the University of Minnesota. For the month of June, I will assist teaching English in classrooms while conducting minor research on German children's literature. My host family will likely be my cooperating teacher, and I am very excited to experience Berlin through an extended, somewhat assimilated stay.

I already booked my flight (eeps!) and I'll be leaving May 31 in the evening. . . I can hardly wait! I visited Berlin briefly in my high school years with a European history class, but it's been a while and I'm kind of nervous to go on my own!

Do you guys have any travel advice? I'll admit it: I've never flown or traveled alone. What should I be aware of and look out for? Do you have any good packing advice? I'd love your tips!

Girl Talk: On Feminism

Have you noticed a spike in Feminism lately? It seems as though women everywhere are working together to build a beautiful, powerful voice. No one is burning bras, but a female power is definitely surging. 

It's inspiring to see women helping each other. Too often there is animosity in the estrogen world. As SNL's Nasim Pedrad playing Arianna Huffington so eloquently put it during Weekend Update, "Nobody hates women more than other women." It's tragic, but often true.

So when I see a growing female community effort, it excites me.

There's something, though, that often bothers me when it comes to "feminism." It's treated like it's a bad, or frivolous, or eccentric hobby. While delivered with a wry smile, a man saying, "Oh, you're suuuch a feminist!" offends me. It's clear that these comments are somewhat deflection tactics; men are, unfortunately, intimidated by independent, intellectual, empowered women.

Here's what I'm thinking:

The feminism we're seeing right now is not misandry, so men, please don't mistake our empowerment for man-shaming. I think the trend we're seeing right now is equality. My creative sister will often say, "I'm not a feminist, I am a supporter of equality, empowerment, and community," which I find so refreshing.

It's not about drawing a divisive line between men and women. It's about treating women as if there need not be a line in the first place.

If you want to know more about what's happening in the world of "feminism," please check out these sites:

DARLING Magazine
The Lean In movement
SoulPancake and Darling teamed up for a great series, That's What She Said