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97 posts tagged journal
The only thing worse
“The only thing worse than a bitchy woman? A bitchy man.”
— Mum
Pittsburgh? Is that you?
Pet peeve.
Photo: lylaandblu
Winter food
Indulgences this winter.
Except the ones I’m allergic to.
✦ xoJM
Photo: audreyhepburncomplex
My greatest fear
I read a post today on Cup of Jo. It’s title alone speaks volumes: Do you ever worry about your partner dying? I can’t imagine that there is a person alive who hasn’t thought this. But it’s not a thought I’ve ever heard discussed.
It made me think of a Proust questionnaire completed by Matt Damon in this month’s Vanity Fair.
The question: What is your greatest fear?
His answer: I don’t want to give it a voice.
I instantly knew what he didn’t want to say. It’s my greatest fear, too.
✦ xoJM
Photo: thatkindofwoman
The booby hatch
“She left my hair all natural. I looked like Andy Warhol. I couldn’t go out like that, they’d have me put in the booby hatch!”
— my Gram
My present state of mind
Always looking forward.
✦ xoJM
Photo: taken at SFMOMA.
Happy Friday!
Well, it wouldn’t be Halloween weekend without a little snow in Pittsburgh. I remember many Halloween costumes being determined based on what would look great layered with a turtle-neck and mittens. One year in particular, it was freezing rain and the sidewalks were almost too treacherous to make the trek for candy. I was dressed as Mario Lemieux for probably the 3rd year in a row. And my parents took a group of us around the neighborhood in their van, with the heat turned up. House to house—for pillowcases full of candy. My parents are awesome like that. I’m pretty sure we traded my dad a decent amount of our chocolate for the ride (knowing full well he would have found our stash and stolen it had we not shared). Looks like there may need to be a lot of bundling-up for this year’s Halloween festivities.
Stay warm. And have a ghoulish weekend! xoJM
P.S. - Can you believe it’s the last weekend of October already?
Photo: bohemea
Dear Great Pumpkin,
We will be on the lookout for you at the pumpkin patch tomorrow afternoon.
xoJM
A New Turn in the South
In 2010, I spent a few months living in Athens, GA and fell even more in love with this southern town’s fantastically unique take on music, art and food. While there, my amazing friend Lauren Anne introduced me to some really talented people. Among them were super-chef Hugh Acheson and photographer Rinne Allen, both of whom LA was working with on Hugh’s new cookbook. I was working at Hugh’s restaurant, 5&10, and taking tons of walks exploring Athens while babysitting Rinne’s son. At the time, they were knee-deep in creating A New Turn in the South - and I saw a bit of a sneak peek. Assuming it is a reflection of Hugh’s seasonally focused southern fare and Rinne’s creative eye, I expect to have a lot of fun with this cookbook - it launches tomorrow!
Oh, I miss Athens! Congratulations Hugh, Rinne + LA!
xoJM
(The creative process, photo via Rinne Allen)
Mornin!
via bbook
Chick Flicks / “Flick Chicks”
Mindy Kaling breaks down the seven “specimens of women” who only exist in romantic comedies.
I was passing this article around to friends last week after hearing how perfectly she identified clichés that we fall for in the romantic comedies we can’t get enough of. But I forgot to actually read it myself, until Cup of Jo posted it today. These were my favorite parts:
The Woman Who Is Obsessed with Her Career and Is No Fun at All
I regularly work sixteen hours a day. Yet, like most people I know who are similarly busy, I’m a pleasant, pretty normal person. But that’s not how working women are depicted in movies. I’m not always barking orders into my hands-free phone device and yelling, “I have no time for this!” Often, a script calls for this uptight career woman to “relearn” how to seduce a man, and she has to do all sorts of crazy degrading crap, like eat a hot dog in a sexy way or something. And since when does holding a job necessitate that a woman pull her hair back in a severe, tight bun? Do screenwriters think that loose hair makes it hard to concentrate?
The Woman Who Works in an Art Gallery
How many freakin’ art galleries are out there? Are people buying visual art on a daily basis? This posh/smart/classy profession is a favorite in movies. It’s in the same realm as kindergarten teacher or children’s-book illustrator in terms of accessibility: guys don’t really get it, but it is likable and nonthreatening.
Art Gallery Woman: “Dust off the Warhol. You know, that Campbell’s Soup one in the crazy color! We have an important buyer coming into town, and this is a really big deal for my career. I have no time for this!”
The Gallery Worker character is the rare female movie archetype that has a male counterpart. Whenever you meet a handsome, charming, successful man in a romantic comedy, the heroine’s friend always says the same thing: “He’s really successful. He’s”—say it with me—“an architect!”
There are, like, nine people in the entire world who are architects, and one of them is my dad. None of them look like Patrick Dempsey.
♦
P.S. - I made my own confession for a love of Romantic Comedies a few months ago.
(Illustration: Kirsten Ulve)
WELL, WELL, WELL…
Good morning. Have you had your cup of coffee yet?
Okay, great. Me too.
Here I sit, half awake, not knowing what to tackle first. The GMA gang is chatting in the background, a plate of scrambled eggs are in front of me, and I’m wondering why I have to be awake at this ungodly hour: 7AM. [My apologies to those who have already been awake for hours. You are my hero.]
So, I hate to even mention the topic, but do you ever let just the thought of Monday get to you?
I’m not saying that the whole Monday stigma is a cliché. There is probably nothing redeeming about a Monday morning. Certainly nothing I can think of at the moment. But you can get so bogged down by to-do lists and emails by the end of your first cup of coffee.
That’s no way to start out a week.
[full disclaimer: I’m not a morning person on any day of the week. I’m mute for the first 2 hours after waking, regardless if it’s 4am or 4pm, just for the sake of the people around me.]
If you’re like me, you nearly forget to take a moment to breath during the work day.
The solution, my darling? Add a little musical relief to your Mondays! A thoughtfully crafted playlist can make or break your mood, productivity, whathaveyou.
So, I’d like to start a new weekly feature: Manic Monday.
I hope you’ll like it! Expect the first playlist next Monday. But until then, here’s a little something for your Monday…xoJM
____________________________
Manic Monday - The Bangles
Six o’clock already
I was just in the middle of a dream
I was kissin’ Valentino
By a crystal blue Italian stream
But I can’t be late
‘Cause then I guess I just won’t get paid
These are the days
When you wish your bed was already made
It’s just another manic Monday
I wish it were Sunday
‘Cause that’s my funday
My I don’t have to runday
It’s just another manic Monday
Have to catch an early train
Got to be to work by nine
And if I had an air-o-plane
I still couldn’t make it on time
‘Cause it takes me so long
Just to figure out what I’m gonna wear
Blame it on the train
But the boss is already there
It’s just another manic Monday
I wish it were Sunday
‘Cause that’s my funday
My I don’t have to runday
It’s just another manic Monday
All of the nights
Why did my lover have to pick last night
To get down
Doesn’t it matter
That I have to feed the both of us
Employment’s down
He tells me in his bedroom voice
C’mon honey, let’s go make some noise
Time it goes so fast
When you’re having fun
It’s just another manic Monday
I wish it were Sunday
‘Cause that’s my funday
My I don’t have to runday
It’s just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
‘Cause that’s my funday
It’s just another manic Monday
You know what I hate? When Andy Rooney makes you cry. Dammit.
There’s a first time for everything.
