farewell, september.

"the breezes taste of apple peel.

the air is full of smells to feel - 

ripe fruit, old footballs, burning brush,

new books, erasers, chalk, and such.

the bee, his hive, well-honeyed hum,

and mother cuts chrysanthemums.

like plates washed clean with suds,

the days are polished with a morning haze."

-john updike, september

 

xo. di.

*image 1 via eat drink pretty, image 2 via one sydney road, image 3 via coco + kelley

beautiful girls.

i've probably discussed my love of mad men too much already, but i couldn't let september 20th's episode entitled the beautiful girls go by unmentioned, because something pretty awesome is being shown to us through this show.

if a picture is worth a thousand words, well then let's try 3:

for those who don't watch the show (and even for those who do), here's what we're looking at:

"Look at their differences and what each outfit is saying about them. They are all three career women in their own way. Faye [right] has arguably worked the hardest out of all of them to get where she is, since she pursued an advanced education. Her look is the most business-like of all. Peggy [middle] wandered into her career and found that she both loved it and was good at it. She's still a bit wide-eyed about what it means on both a personal level and an ethical one. She is dressed the most youthful; the most "girly." Joan [left] used her looks to make her way and now that the world considers her looks outdated, she's struggling and possibly falling back into old romantic habits. She is dressed the most...romantically, is the word we'd use. Swirling florals of pinks and purples that hint at her confusion and the depth of her feelings."
- from tom and lorenzo's the beautiful girls mad style recap

the pictures above were the final shots in the beautiful girls, and these images pretty succinctly tell the story of women making their way in the world: circa 1965 and all that that implies.  this show has slowly unfolded, through fashion, through subtle moments and conversations, into a story of how we got to be who we (ya know, women!) are, and considered equal (usually), in 2010.  and i love mad men for showing it to me in such an intriguing, somewhat sad, but always beautiful way.

"They could have turned to each other in this moment and talked about what they know and what they've seen. They could learn from each other and support each other but they don't live in a time where such an idea was articulated and they didn't have the tools to do so. Each of them forged a path in their career using very different tools, but it's separated them from the very women who could best understand them and most help them out when they have a problem. Instead they stare straight ahead, lost in their thoughts and themselves."
- from tom and lorenzo's the beautiful girls episode recap

on that note, and just for fun:

"female psychology: We want to be Joan, fear being Mrs. Blankenship, 

and deep down inside, are Peggy."

-via @screaminemmy's twitter

xo. di.

p.s. for mad men fans, i highly recommend tom and lorenzo's style and episode recaps.  they add so much to the mad men experience!

*image via tom and lorenzo  

boardwalk empresses

if hbo's new prohibition-era show boardwalk empire becomes as successful as tv critics think it will be (btw, the first 2 episodes have been awesome! i highly recommend), i just have a hunch that 1920s flapper-style clothing will be everywhere in the next couple of years, rivaling the 1960s mad men-inspired styles we're seeing right now.  since i love both looks, that's fine by me!

xo. di.

*all images via vanity fair

grateful: week 23.

inspired by my reading of the happiness project by gretchen rubin, i am instituting monday "gratitude" posts (read here for more detail), where i will list "3 things i'm grateful for" from the previous week.

the 3 things i'm grateful for this week are:

1) i guess i'm grateful for all the sleep i got last week while i was home sick?!  but it still pretty much stunk.

2) the abc wednesday night comedies AND the nbc thursday night comedies all brought their a game in their season premieres.  so hysterical.  i'm telling ya.

3) best friends and little sister in town on the same weekend.  such a love fest!

 {high school best friends at the farmers' market!}

here's to another grateful week.

xo. di.

*image from my personal collection 

fall 2010 tv preview: round 3

continuing my fall tv premieres discussion (round 1, round 2), here's what we have for the week of september 26 - october 2.  much shorter list this time around!

{brothers & sisters, season 5, abc, sundays}

 i have been anxiously anticipating this premiere after last season's very emotional finale.  [spoiler alert!] i will very much miss rob lowe on this show, but it'll survive without him.  there's so much talent in this cast.  and even though this show makes me cry like every third episode, i love it anyway. 

{eastbound and down, season 2, hbo, sundays}

 season 1 was only 6 episodes long, so i was able to catch up this past week in time for sunday's premiere.  kenny powers (danny mcbride) is a washed-up professional baseball player back in his hometown.  and he's also the most absurd character like, ever.  so ooc.  so hysterical.

xo. di.

 

*images: brothers & sisters, eastbound and down

 

legends: september

the book legends by john miller catalogs "women who have changed the world."  given to me as a gift 8 years ago, it inspired me to dedicate the last friday of every month's post to a different legend (in my humble opinion).

this month: katharine hepburn.  (btw, how is it already the last friday of september?!  good grief!)

"If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased." 

"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get 

- only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything."

"Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. 

Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then."

such a character.

xo. di.

*image 1, image 2, image 3, image 4, image 5, image 6, image 7

inspired: fall decor

i have been absolutely loving all the fall decorating i've seen around the interwebs this september (some favorites below), so i decided to revamp my own fall decor, buy some new items, reorganize how i usually display past purchases, etc.  this inspiration turned into 3 hours of decorating a couple of sundays ago, so i thought i'd share the final product.

first, some of my inspiration:

 {pottery barn is always at the top of my list for decorating ideas}

{ali's of 33 shades of green mantel was just so clean and beautiful, i couldn't help loving it}

 {same with kate's of centsational girl.  plus, i loved the quote!}

so here's where that all led me...

 

{my new items from michael's!  it was a very fun shopping trip.}

since i don't have a mantel, i decided to focus on the top of my tv stand/wall unit instead:

have any other great fall decor ideas?  please share!  i always consider decorating a work-in-progress.

xo. di. 

*image 1-4 via pottery barn, images 5-6 via 33 shades of green, image 7 via centsational girl, all other images via my personal collection

4 simple goals.

when i saw the creative place's and a beautiful mess's "4 simple goals" posts, i knew i wanted (and should!) participate.  special thanks to a beautiful mess for thinking this up!  

the idea is to write down 4 simple goals that can be completed by the end of 2010 and then, hopefully, accomplish them!  as a master of to-do lists that never totally get crossed-off, i am hoping that blogging the goals will motivate me to end that pattern.  so, i chose projects that have been kicking around for awhile (sometimes for years, blerg!).

here's what my list looks like... 

{1} finish scrapbooking my college summers

as i've mentioned before, i have a love/hate (heavy on the hate) relationship with scrapbooking, but i've committed to finishing my college years before going to simple albums (see below), so here i am.

       {college scrapbooks (yes, in ND colors!) with my box of pages-in-progress}

{2} frame and hang remaining things from the move

why has it taken so long to get a custom mat for my signed promises, promises poster?!  if only i knew... but it's now been ordered, and a couple of other things finally got framed, so now all i have to figure out is how to hang a picture properly (i have to admit that my dad always comes and does it for me, but he doesn't have any chicago trips in the near future, so i think i finally need to be a big girl and learn for myself!).

{picked up at michael's a couple of weekends ago.  finally!}

{3} install my bedroom curtain holdbacks

again, the trouble stems from my past reliance on my dad's handiness for such things.  but with cold weather approaching, if i don't get these things up and the curtains away from my radiator, my neighbors may just take issue with me burning down our building.

{see the close proximity of curtain to brown radiator?! not a good thing}

{4} upload and have law school pictures printed

as i mentioned above, i'm done with scrapbooking once i finish the college years, but photographs are probably my most prized material possession, so i can't seem to settle for online albums only.  enter: the return of the photo album!  the end plan is to buy a bunch of identical, plain white albums, and have each one contain a year's worth of my favorite pictures.  i'm starting with the law school years (2006-2009), and before the end of 2010, all i'm asking of myself is to get those physical pictures in my hand.  baby steps!  i started this project last summer and haven't touched it since.  so, here we go.

{albums to go through, pictures already printed last summer}

my goals are very picture-intensive, huh?!  well, like i said, they're important to me!  i'll keep you all updated as i [hopefully] complete each goal, and maybe that will keep anyone else who wants to take on the challenge motivated too!

xo. di.

*image 1 via a beautiful mess, all other images from my personal collection

you. me.

feeling dreamy these days...

xo. di.

*image 1via shall we go, image 2 & 3 via one mile style, image 4 via here comes the sun

grateful: week 22

inspired by my reading of the happiness project by gretchen rubin, i am instituting monday "gratitude" posts (read here for more detail), where i will list "3 things i'm grateful for" from the previous week.

the 3 things i'm grateful for this week are:

1) the return of many of my favorite tv shows (read round 1 and round 2 of my fall tv preview to hear more)!

2) i attended a networking-type event by myself (eek!  does anyone else get really anxious for these types of things?!) and was pleasantly surprised by how much fun i had.  chicago has some great people.

3) i got to spend the weekend with the bf and his family at a wedding in upstate new york.  p.s. have any of you been to lake george before?!  so beautiful.

here's to another grateful week.

xo. di. 


*all images from my personal collection

fall 2010 tv preview: round 2

continuing my fall tv premieres discussion (last week's here), here's what we have for the week of september 19-25.  this is a HUGE week for premieres, so bear with me here...

(and again, this is only a discussion of the shows i watch and want to recommend to you all!) 

{boardwalk empire, series premiere, hbo, sundays}

1920.  prohibition.  outlaws.  atlantic city.  chicago.  scorcese.  sopranos writer.  hbo.  i.  am.  sold.  this show has so much potential to be the next big thing on television, and i hope it lives up to that standard.  the early buzz around this show is excellent (it's been called a mixture of the best of the sopranos and mad men!); i'm very optimistic!

{how i met your mother, season 6, cbs, mondays}

i was late to the HIMYM party.  i started watching midway through last season while simultaneously renting the previous four.  i'm definitely hooked.  it's not the funniest or the smartest comedy out there, but it's consistently good and well-acted, and i love me some NPH and jason segal.  it's incredibly similar to friends, but i'm ok with that.  i always look forward to watching a new episode, and unfortunately i can't say that about every show.  um, besides, who can pass up robin sparkles?!      

{the event, series premiere, nbc, mondays}

nbc has purposely been incredibly vague in its advertising about what this show is really about.  they're trying to create a buzz and some mystery, and it may be working.  after the end of LOST and the failure of flashforward, i'm looking for a new suspenseful drama, and this just might be it.  i also have a feeling, based on what looks to be heavy government intrigue, that 24 fans are going to like this one too.   

{glee, season 2, fox, tuesdays}

i have to be honest, i had a lot of problems with the back 9 episodes of season one.  after being an early champion of the show last september for its originality and uniqueness, i started to realize that by spring's part 2 the amount of attention that had been heaped on the show had, for lack of a better phrase, messed with "its" head.  it was trying to be too much at once, to please the masses and simultaneously remain independent and different.  and it just didn't work.  many of my issues were resolved in the season finale, mainly by tying up or abandoning story lines that had gone wayward.  i am hoping that in between that finale and the filming of season 2, ryan murphy (creator and head writer), sat down with his team and decided what exactly they wanted glee to be.  i still love this show, but i'm hoping for an april rhodes-worthy comeback!     

{running wilde, series premiere, fox, tuesdays}

i've heard mixed reviews on this new comedy so far, so i'm just going to have to wait and see for myself.  created by mitchell hurwitz (arrested development, which automatically means he's amazing), starring will arnett (love!) and keri russell (love again!).  will plays a privileged snob to keri's environmental activist.  and i'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that he falls for her while she hates him - at the beginning.  i'm just hoping this show is as good as the people involved.

{the middle, season 2, abc, wednesdays}

here comes my first plea to you all to watch abc's wednesday night block of comedies (the middle, modern family, cougar town).  three excellent and funny shows in a row, and the middle holds its own.  nothing against patricia heaton (everybody loves raymond) and neil flynn (scrubs), but it's the kids that make this show not only lol-funny, but something special and unique in a sea of recycled sitcom ideas.  i wasn't quite at her level, but sadly i might be able to identify a little too much with awkward-middleschooler-sue.  i'm really looking forward to this show's return (and i have to thank my mom here for telling me i  just had to start watching this show last year).    

{modern family, season 2, abc, wednesdays}

deservedly the emmy winner for best comedy amongst the nominees (especially with always sunny and community not on the list).  this show is clever, not afraid to go there, and every week has at least one completely hysterical moment.  like i mentioned in round 1 of my preview, the show follows 3 generations within a family, documentary-style, to frequently absurd results.  it consistently raises the bar on itself, and that makes for an excellent, excellent show.  ps if you didn't watch the emmys but are a fan of the show, definitely watch the "ways to improve modern family" bit from the ceremony here.     

{cougar town, season 2, abc, wednesdays}
in spite of its groan-worthy name (which, interestingly, was almost changed between seasons 1 & 2), this is an excellent comedy.  it started off a little rough, but once the writers realized that it was much much funnier to watch jules (courtney cox arquette) interact with her friends and family than with 20-something pretty boys, this became a very witty show - i swear!  if you wrote it off last season because of the title, try it out this year.  please! 

{community, season 2, nbc, thursdays}

as i mentioned above, community was not nominated in the best comedy category at this year's emmys.  i'm still baffled.  i freely admit having a major crush on joel mchale, which is why i started watching the show in the first place; but i stayed for the rest of the cast.  joel plays the straight man to everyone else's idiosyncrasies.  the result is a lovable ensemble cast of community school misfits and writing that loves to parody tired movie and television cliches in unique ways.  case in point: modern warfare, probably the best episode of season 1.  if you have any interest at all in getting into this show, watch that ep and tell me it's not brilliant!  and, to get you excited for season 2, watch this well-done remix of some of season 1's best moments here.

 
{30 rock, season 5, nbc, thursdays}
this show is fantastic, and luckily it has received the accolades it deserves (both in terms of awards and viewership).  the combination of tina fey, tracy morgan, and alec baldwin behind the scenes at nbc headquarters is just phenomenal.  i can't say enough good things about 30 rock, it's just so well-written, clever, and self-deprecating in the most endearing way possible.  liz lemon-ism's (tina) have been sprinkled into my vocabulary (think: blerg.  nerdbombers.), it showed us all that jon hamm is not only a perfect don draper, but he has impeccable comedic timing, and who doesn't get excited when liz's ex dennis (dean winters) reappears ("yea, i know what prenatal means.  pre: before.  natal: ruined.")?!       

 {the office, season 7, nbc, thursdays}
this has actually become my least favorite of nbc's thursday night comedy line-up, but that's more due to the excellence of the other 3 (i'm including parks and recreation in this even though it doesn't return until january) than to anything wrong with the office.  it has always been a great show, and i hope, with steve carrell leaving soon, they up the ante this season.  speaking of carrell's departure, i don't mind that michael scott will be no more.  his awkwardness can often cross over to uncomfortable rather than funny, and if the show decides to continue on without him, it might give it a fresh start - which i believe is badly needed as we enter the 7th season.       

do you watch any of these shows?  any others worth watching?  thoughts you'd like to share?  feel free to comment!

xo. di.

*images: boardwalk empire, HIMYM, the event, glee, running wilde, the middle, modern family, cougar town, community, 30 rock, the office