float.

Some images of calm and pretty to float through during my last week at work before the festivities begin, and while I’m bombarded with a million less peaceful things…

campy perfection indeed

farmhouse decor

my life is something like this.

Twilight WIN

elegance in 1950

exciting for we organizational fanatics

lilac stuns.

one of my favorite movie moments.

Also:

• I am relying on YOU to go to these awesome movies at the Byrd while I’m on my honeymoon.
• Not sure how reliable the standards are here, but apparently RVA’s pretty smart.

twentyseventeen no more.

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was great.  While I love birthdays, I tend to dread that expectant, “I want a VERY EXCITED reaction out of you right now” look that everyone gives you when they say “HI HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY AND WHAT ARE YOU GETTING?”  It’s a little much.  I’m like “Hey, I have one of these every year, and it’s always great.  Don’t freak out.”  That being said, it really was great this year, and I got my favorite meals and favorite cakes and favorite perfume and lots of hugs and cards and books and money.  Huzzah!

But what I’m really looking forward to is my 2nd annual birthday picnic.  Are you coming?

Long-overdue link time…

• Happy birthday to Tess, says Tim Burton.  I say “Hey thanks!  I can always count on you.”
• Recently the first edition of my street style column, Capital! Style, came out on RVANews.com.  It’s a great idea of course but I need the help of all you great photographers.  Join the Flickr group!
• Doilies never say die.



• This very cool ministry called Wine to Water puts on wine tastings and sells wine, and uses the profits to bring access to clean water to people in Africa.  Such a simple idea, such a good idea.
• SICK!  For those of you who haven’t seen the Byrd’s famous litter trailer in a while, it’s on Youtube.  Horrible quality, great nostalgia.
• This article makes me feel like just another goth kid with weird collections, but I suppose I can’t be the only girl that Tim Burton got through to.  And I don’t begrudge others a wonderful hobby / sense of style.



• A great idea:  looking at the bright side of all those predictable types.  But so many notebooks with only one function each!  Impractical, I tell you.



• The “modernization” of Jane: what I think this boils down to is current TV watchers being too lazy to read between the lines and enjoy the subtleties that make Jane Austen interesting, instead opting for being hit over the head with sex, violence, and other.  What they’re really doing, of course, is looking to Jane Austen to provide what Charles Dickens has already done excellently well: a gritty picture of days gone by.  Taking the “snooty” out of Emma is like taking the Beverly Hills out of Cher Horowitz…and that will make it an entirely different story from the one intended.
• And furthermore, I have to agree with Laurel Ann at Jane Austen Today when addressing the whole Jane monster mashup thing: “Jane Austen sanitized? J. A. mania middle-aged fussy? Pray, we entreat you to re-read any of her novels. You will find time-honored themes AND eye popping topics such as adultery, illegitimate babies, pre-martial sex and other un-sanitized subjects infused into the subtext. They may not be the main theme as in contemporary novels, but it is there. And, Ms. Schuessler, if you think that we need to “Lay off the Jane” and read monster mash-ups to be hipper, you might want to surf the net and check out a few Austen themed blogs, websites, or message boards. Amazingly, the young can recognize and enjoy a great story, even without zombies in it!”
• What types of things do I like?  These types of things.
• AGREED, re: NYC.  Although my perfect version of this t-shirt would have a sort of half-smile, because I really do like the place a lot — but for visiting, not for living.
• See, this is what I’m talking about.  Simplicity + natural flair > boring.



• Books on Wheels is opening a thrift store! I hope this is the new lucky spot to get great things…
• Sometimes beautiful jewelry screams my name, though I pretend not to hear it.



• O hai Kristen.  Kelsey says the chair is for me.  Thanks, Kels!  Some people just know me.



• Soon and very soon, more workouts are coming to Wii Fit.  Yessssssssssss.
• Hey look, someone designed an appropriate coat for me, finally.



• Strange and lovely.

of summery looks and sneaking away.

The past week or so has been a guestbook-finalizing, program-folding, Hawaii-studying. agenda-making, schedule-sending blur.  This stuff must be done now because soon we go to the beach with the family, and at the beach there will be only relaxing and no working.  And when we get back from the beach, the showers take place.  And then it’ll be almost time for Dan’s parents to arrive.  And then it’ll be showtime.

Tuesday night was an amazing break from all of that for the RETURN of small group (yes!), drinks at Helen’s for Keith’s birthday, and sneaking away to grab a quick cheese pizza with extra garlic — our biggest joy in life — at Aladdin.  I kept repeating the phrase “I feel so refreshed!” over the middle-eastern music videos and hookah smoke.

Two nights ago I made new displays for my wares and last night I set them up with all the products they would hold in preparation for Black Market at Fallout on Thursday.  Come out if you want to get some drinks and browse through some gothy goodness.

Link time:

• Tech support cheat sheet: useful indeed.  Spread the word.

• My desk really needs this vintage letter holder.



• So tempting and yet impractical: this George Washington mask!



• Ugly buildings are inexcusable.  It’s what I’ve been saying forever.

• This lovely little number is like the grown-up version of those kids’ clothes I posted last time.  If only I had $100 and wasn’t morally opposed to the idea of wearing a “romper.”
  



• A doily pin.  That is all.
  



• So much inspiration and enjoyment of summery things pointed out by the amazing Liebemarlene Vintage.
  



• I can get into everything except that beret.
  



• Guys, the lace cravat is making a comeback.  IN MY DREAMS.
  

of goodness and girly things.

Things I’ve been thinking about…

• Guerilla Goodness, fellow RVANews writer Patience Salgado’s great idea about practicing random acts of kindness.”There is no selfless good deed but it doesn’t really matter, the world needs it all… I have been on both ends of kindness and decided this was the work of my life. When I looked back, kindness had been calling me all along.”

• Urban decay indeed.



• Exercise doesn’t “make you thin,” apparently.  O RLY?!  Thanks for nothing, crazy workout schedule.  Seriously, this article is an interesting read.  While I’m not ready to drop my workout schedule (it still helps prevent heart disease, so that’s a good thing) I want to start focusing on more frequent exercise rather than more vigorous exercise.”After you work out hard enough to convert, say, 10 lb. of fat to muscle — a major achievement — you would be able to eat only an extra 40 calories per day, about the amount in a teaspoon of butter, before beginning to gain weight. Good luck with that.”

• Neat woodcut prints from Tugboat Printshop, via Modish.



• A “Christian” DVD lending library: Really?  Why do we need this?  Are non-Christians suddenly inept at handling DVDs?  Or are Christians unable to expend the energy necessary to filter their own Netflix choices?  Just another brick in the wall of certain factions sectioning themselves away from the rest of the world — which they were commanded to love and do a good work within.  Ugh, see this sermon for how I feel about that.

• Adorable, doll-like, and fun.  See, kids can dress well too.



• I love the 1700s, when marriage, maturity, and motherhood were revered — versus today, when being or looking like a 12-year-old is considered hot.  Check out Mrs. Georgiana Smyth here, being sweet and looking good doing it.  The best part is that this is her son on her lap, not her daughter.

• Now, this is my idea of shelving.



• Although I love to cook, I’m not completely brainwashed by the slow food movement and I know the value of a quick meal without a lot of fuss.  So these cans that heat themselves are exciting to me.

• Quite possibly the best nerdy cross-stitch I’ve ever seen.



• An interesting article about panhandling.  This is an issue that directly affects our neighborhood, and this article makes some good points.  I think it’s difficult to say what’s “right” and what’s “wrong” — giving money that goes straight to a sixer of Natty Ice isn’t getting to the root of the problem, it’s just making a person feel better for a minute.  And I hate the idea of not making progress.  But at the same time, do we have a right to tell them what they “need?”“Over the years, I have been approached by dozens of people asking for money. When I said I would buy them a burger or take them where they need to go, the answer was always the same: ‘I just want the money,’ Martin said.’”

• TRUE.

  

  And the best part is that there are some attractive nerds out there.

argiope aurantia, and other pretty things.

Inspiration for fascinators is everywhere.  And now to find bigger, better fake birds than the ones I’ve already got.

This morning, this little lady was hanging out in the garden.  I tried not to disturb her, but I (1) took paparazzi-style photos of her and (2) pulled a weed that was like 5 feet away from the plant she was on, but which rattled her web like crazy.

This cat’s magical kittycat adventures took her all the way to Strawberry and Grace this week, according to the girl who returned her.  Slippy immediately ran up to my desk and slept there for a solid day and a half.  Charming.

In other news, Poe is still amazing.  Check it out at the Library of Virginia (for free!).

And here are some pretty things that I want but don’t need:

And some links…

• Fun things to do in RVA, via Twitter.
• More burritos, more better.
• Sense and Sensibilities and Sea Monsters!
• Creepy abandoned Nazi hospital complete with tissue samples sitting in jars for decades?  Check.  An urban explorer’s dream.
• Aw.  Love your geeky spouse.
• And speaking of geeks, TJ was the original of course.
• In case you’re living under a rock, I bring you: the Design Sponge guide to Richmond.
• Well, we all knew about this but didn’t want to acknowledge it.