magnificent monday

It has truly been a great day.  Fall is in the air...I love it!  I don't think I have a "favorite season."  For me, the best days are the transitional days between seasons.  Those are the days that I always feel happiest and most inspired, whether it's the transition from hot to cold or cold to hot.

Speaking of inspiration, I was flipping through the September 2010 issue of InStyle and fell in LOVE with Diane von Furstenberg's home, which they featured this month.  Talk about truly inspiring...

instyle.com

french cinema

Today I have been working on a 6-8 page dissertation for my French cinema class.  Most people would probably acknowledge that, along with French sophistication and bon goût, the French (generally speaking) have a snobby side (but let it be clear that I do not use the word 'snobby' in a derogatory way).  Well, being half-French and also a French major at university, I like to pretend that I have a sense for what is bon goût.  But, I will say that sitting in this coffee shop (where I am writing my paper) with a stack of books on cinéma française and a café latté, I have rarely felt more pretentious in my entire life.  Is it just me, or is there something about French cinema, for example, la nouvelle vague, which just screams pretension?!  Seriously, if you could only see the kind of stuff that is written in the books we read for this class; in just one paragraph of a source I was reading earlier today were all these words that I didn't know: dyadic, diegesis, rocentric, and heteroglossia.  What?!

But, I do not mean to rail on film intellectuals.  They are just on an entire different level of thinking than I am.  That being said, I think French cinema is on a different (usually more elevated) level than its Hollywood counterpart.  Here are some of my favorite films:

Amelie, 2001

Jean de Florette, 1986

La Vie en Rose (La Mome), 2007

Les Choristes, 2004

wish listing @ anthropologie

anthropologie.com

night time rituals

There are few things better than the peace and quietude found late at night.  Right now I am drinking a cup of Good Earth Organic White Tea--Sweet Citrus.  What are your favorite nighttime rituals?

Good night my loves! (Or good morning, depending on where you are in the world :)

i will.

With it being so hot outside (hello, it's the middle of September and it's STILL 100 degrees outside!!), it is so hard to get myself motivated to work out.  Watching this video gets me so pumped up though.  Hope y'all find it as motivating as I do!

Lately I've just been doing a lot of yoga and running (on the treadmill).  I'm kind of bored with the running though...does anybody have any recommendations for fun ways to work cardio into my routine?  If I had it my way, I would only do yoga....and I would do it all the time :)

panty thief

This is real, y'all.  There is a panty thief in Oxford, Mississippi.  My housemates and I will be sure to lock our doors...
Speaking of panties, I love the Charleston Collection from Princesse Tam Tam.  I wish we had Princesse Tam Tam in the States.

princessetamtam.com

GR20

britannica.com

I am graduating in May (a;sldkjf!) and my parents and I have been discussing potential graduation presents.  Each idea has involved travel (my dear parents know me well).  The first idea is that I would go on a spring break trip with my little sister Constance to Italy and Greece.  But Constance doesn't want to go.  Let me repeat this:  Constance doesn't want to go to Italy and Greece for spring break.  I think she's nuts.  

Anyway, Corsica keeps coming back to my mind and I have decided that this is what I must do next summer (Dad, I hope you are reading this!): hike the GR20 in Corsica.  What is the GR20?  A 180-km trail that starts on the north coast of Corsica and hikes all the way down to the south coast.  In other words, going on this trip would involve a few days at the beach on the north coast, hiking for 15 days (in possibly some of the most beautiful scenery in the world), and then a few more days at the beach on the south coast...a.k.a: perfection.

corsica.forhikers.com

Wish me luck in convincing my parents to take me on this trip!  For those of you who are interested in hiking and climbing, check out my dad's new climbing blog here ! His latest trip was to Mount Hood in Oregon and Mount Rainier in Washington...he took great photos!

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

i need this.

toryburch.com

I finally found the fall piece I've been looking for: Tory Burch's Embossed T Card Fold Wallet, with the cute, over the shoulder strap.  I love it in black, but I absolutely adore the bright red option.  It'd be perfect for groving and cheering on my rebs.  Any one want to give me $250?

these days

Beautiful Lauren.  I think my dad took this picture.

Life has been hectic these days.  I haven't posted anything since the first week of school!  It feels like I haven't talked to a friend in a long time (this blog is sort of a 'dear diary' for me).


School is ridiculously busy.  I have finally narrowed down my thesis topic, though, so this is good.  If any of you come across online articles concerning French pension reform, please send them my way!  Three days ago there was a strike in France because of the proposed reforms.  There is a lot in the news about this lately, which makes my research exciting but kind of overwhelming.  However, here is an excellent column, if you're interested:  http://www.economist.com/node/16595334.


On another note, my baby sister Lauren left for Kenya today.  She will be volunteering at an orphanage for the next two months.  I already miss her.  Another friend of mine also left today--he will be in Romania for two years.  Seeing these two great people leave today has made me antsy to get back over the big pond.  I guess I can wait until next summer.  Eight months away.