Category: Humor

Humor December 29, 2016December 20, 2016

Five Things I Loved in December

How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
-Dr. Seuss

Time for a round up of a few of the things that sparked some joy this month. What books, blogs, beauty, or other good things got you through, dumplings?

Grunt, by Mary Roach. I read this book in two sittings and enjoyed it tremendously. As a military brat I grew up in the military support system and can speak to a lot of the services that have been put in place to provide for servicemen and women and their families, but this was an investigative work into the science that keeps troops alive and healthy, or tries to put them back together again once damage has been done. A nice alternative to the science of weaponry or other more stereotypical topics you see in military writing.

Spritzer, by Bite Beauty. For some reason, and totally in violation of holiday expectations, I’ve been reaching for purple lipsticks this month and slathering them liberally. In fact a quick review of my Instagram feed confirms that it’s been all lavender and eggplant up in this joint for weeks now. This is a vivid pastel (yes, that’s a thing) with fantastic coverage in spite of its light hue. It’s what the Sugarplum Fairy would wear, were she a consummate urbanite–a ballet concept I’d be intensely interested in, by the way.

22, A Million, by Bon Iver. A gorgeous, unusual album that finally got me to listen to something besides Solange’s Seat at the Table. You can enjoy the equally odd visuals that go along with the record by watching the whole thing on YouTube, go forth and enjoy!

Six Wives with Lucy Worsley, by the BBC. Sometimes you just need a good historical documentary, am I right? This one is not without its flaws, but as my academic girl crush is none other than Dr. Worsley herself, I will brook no argument. Except that some of the costumes are lacking…sorry. All I’m saying is that Anne Boleyn got shafted in the headgear more than once–bias leaking into production, I wonder?

Season 4 of Call the Midwife, Netflix. This is a much underrated series in my opinion, but it uses a combination fiction and history to cover a lot of topics that are just as relevant in 2016 as they were the 1950s post-war Britain that the show is set in. Immigration, sexuality, family, politics, the positives and costs of social welfare–and all through a decidedly female lens and perspective. Season 4 was recently added and is worth a watch.

Humor December 22, 2016December 16, 2016

Checking In on 101 in 1001

“If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.”
― Coco Chanel

Howdy, team! In an effort to be more on the ball about my 101 in 1001 challenge, I’ll be checking in every three months or so to update you/me on progress and hold me accountable. I’ve currently crossed off five goals in three months, and am working on about seven others in the short term and four in the long, so I’m pretty pleased with the progress. But I do note that some of my writing goals have been a bit neglected…get on that C.!

Those of you doing this challenge or something similar, give me an update in the comments. Or a lecture on doing better. Whichever. I could probably use the finger wagging.

Holidays, Humor December 20, 2016December 18, 2016

Spirit of the Season

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

There are a million and one think pieces about nostalgia, disenchantment, or even doldrums during the holiday season, but the truth is that I don’t really agree. I love Christmas and am 100% on board the idea of a season of the year dedicated to friends and family, giving, tradition, belief (if so inclined), and peace.

However I will admit that Christmas as an adult is certainly more effortful–it’s easy to believe in the magic of the season as a kid, but trickier as an adult. Christmas becomes and requires harder work the older I get. Jeff and I were speaking recently about how we haven’t really felt very Christmas-y this year and I’ve come to the conclusion it’s because I haven’t had to put much elbow grease into it.

In seven and a half years of marriage we’ve only done two Christmases by ourselves, the first year in London and last. Even though we were away from family, I felt downright elf-like in my enthusiasm, especially the first year. But thinking back on it, I bought a (tiny) tree, we went to Christmas services at Westminster Abbey, and I did the traditional Rodgers Family spread for Christmas Eve dinner. We went to Christmas markets, had to organize our shopping and shipping carefully instead of schlepping presents home in a suitcase, and generally expended energy to celebrate the holiday.

Tradition is my byword for the season. So much of what I love about Christmas is bound up in the traditions my family espoused, adopted, or created. From putting our shoes out for St. Nicholas to fill with candy to opening a single group present on Christmas Eve (inevitably a group game for the whole family to play together), to our usual Christmas morning breakfast (baked french toast with peaches and pecans), there are a lot of elements that go into making the holidays for me. Decorations that I recognize from childhood, albums ditto, pots of wassail bubbling away on the stove…it’s package experience.

Conversely, when we’ve done Christmas at one of our family’s the majority of our holiday efforts (and finances) revolve around making it across the Atlantic and trying to be good guests. A huge amount of the work is usually undertaken by someone else–shoutout to our mothers! The lazy side of me appreciates and enjoys this tremendously, but I’m noticing that the shine has started to come off the holiday in recent years and I think it’s a direct result of not having to put too much effort into celebrating it.

This year saw us travelling stateside a lot; the total will be three trips jointly and a fourth for Jeff. Though one of these was generously paid for unbelievably kind parents, we aren’t planning to travel stateside in 2017 as a result and, at least where the holidays are concerned, I think this might be a good thing. Not that we won’t miss family, we will, but I’m feeling the need to put effort into the season next year. I want to buy our first proper Christmas tree in nearly a decade of marriage, decorate the house a bit, maybe even throw a party for friends. I want to recreate my own family traditions and toss a few new ones into the mix (Jeff has some thoughts on a Christmas Eve breakfast as well as Christmas Day).

In short, I want to work for it a bit more.

Humor, Links, Weekend December 17, 2016December 17, 2016

Weekend Links

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
― Groucho Marx

Syria is on fire and the transition for President-elect Trump move into power is reaching new points of ridiculous–but it’s fine because “[he’s], like, smart.” Meanwhile, the Cold War is apparently back on and the environment is crumbling. I’m not going to lie, I feel like we’re badly in need of Christmas, but it’s not feeling very seasonal at the moment. More thoughts on that next week.

In the meantime, there are still some bright spots worth sharing. Here are your links, and I hope the next couple of weeks are more chipper. This will be the last links drop for the year due to travel, but posts will continue over the holidays so keep in touch, kittens!

First and foremost, if you can afford to give, this organization is helping civilians in Syria.

ABC’s photos of the year.

This Ta-Nehisi Coates piece on President Obama in The Atlantic is an important read. “And so I’m careful not to attribute any particular resistance or slight or opposition to race. But what I do believe is that if somebody didn’t have a problem with their daddy being employed by the federal government, and didn’t have a problem with the Tennessee Valley Authority electrifying certain communities, and didn’t have a problem with the interstate highway system being built, and didn’t have a problem with the GI Bill, and didn’t have a problem with the [Federal Housing Administration] subsidizing the suburbanization of America, and that all helped you build wealth and create a middle class—and then suddenly as soon as African Americans or Latinos are interested in availing themselves of those same mechanisms as ladders into the middle class, you now have a violent opposition to them—then I think you at least have to ask yourself the question of how consistent you are, and what’s different, and what’s changed.”

President Obama’s last press conference of the year, focusing on reports of Russian attempts to tip the election in favor of a preferred candidate, is worth a watch. His response on a foreign power’s inability to affect the US, unless “we give into the fierceness of the partisan battle,” finding strongman government as okay as long as it serves our preferred party interests, was weirdly both heartening and chilling.

For my fellow Yank beauty junkies.

One of each, please.

In praise of the copy editor.

For gods sake, citizens, arm yourselves with facts!

Episode 55 of The Hidden Brain podcast was a wonderful exploration of brand and their power over our decision making.

Humor, Travel December 14, 2016

Barcelona: The Details

“Cubism is a part of the daily life in Spain, it is in Spanish architecture. The architecture of other countries always follows the line of the landscape . . . but Spanish architecture always cuts the lines of the landscape.”
― Gertrude Stein, Picasso

A few final photo dumps from our trip to Barcelona because there were too many shots that didn’t fit nicely into a their own post or story, but were too beautiful not to share.

Barcelona is a city of details and there were small touches of decoration everywhere we looked–all of it personalized and unique, and very gorgeous. From carved faces poking out beneath window frames to highly patterned walls to decorative metalwork, this is a city that loves design, and it shows!

The architecture.

The street art.

Tiny touches of metal work.

A random bit of grating.

The walls.

The windows.

The first plumbing and running water in the city.n

The colors.

And the gargoyles!

Humor, Links, Weekend December 11, 2016December 10, 2016

Weekend Links

“The rapid nightfall of mid-December had quite beset the little village as they approached it on soft feet over a first thin fall of powdery snow.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Happy weekend, kittens! I don’t know about you but I’m feeling the pull of the approaching holidays–thing are starting to wind down in the business world (though I was very kindly invited to a few work holiday dos which were a blast) and a deep seated desire to hibernate is making its presence known.

But it’s not Christmas yet, ducklings, and so here’s a tasty batch of links for your enjoyment early in the weekend. Jeff’s got a shindig with friends today, I’m off on the hunt for a final present, and I have plans to scout out a poppin’ pancake joint for review on the site if the brunch gods are with us. Let me know your plans, and any other great links you’ve found this week in the comments.

I confess, this tumblr find gives me a small dose of malicious satisfaction. Because I am a bad person.

Girl is scary talented. Also, I really need to learn how to sew…

I legit have a behavior that I have dubbed “rage baking.”

Fake new is dangerous.

I’m a month late to this one, but this piece hit me hard given the current political climate.

Some end of year music therapy for us all.

And some book therapy too.

Deeply digging the Color of the Year for 2017.

Hope this doesn’t suck…

New style inspiration: teddy girls!

And finally, baby dinosaurs. My inner four year old is pretty excited.

Humor, Husband December 8, 2016December 8, 2016

Conversations With Husband: Hypothetical Situation

“In a Devil Went Down to Georgia situation, what’s the activity you’d choose?”
“I dunno. I don’t think I’m that good at anything…and thanks for sending me down this emotion spiral.”
– Jeff and C.

Expat, History, Humor, Travel December 6, 2016December 5, 2016

Barcelona: The History

“History is a set of lies agreed upon.”
― Napoléon Bonaparte

If you like places that wear its history on its sleeve, you’ll adore Barcelona. It’s a perfect mix of Roman, medieval, and modern and you can find traces of era all over the city.

For example, in the main square, we stumbled upon some traditional fall festivals that included large “giant” figurines that are paraded in the streets on holy and fest days (and seem to have some Celtic or pagan origins, at least according to some historians) and acrobats which seem to a Catalan tradition.

For those into conquest, trade, and epidemiology, the court where Isabella of Spain supposedly received Columbus in audience before his voyage is a nice check in.

And the architecture everywhere is fantastical…until you start to learn how much of it is a lie!

What I loved best about visiting Barcelona and hearing about its history is that the people of this city seem to have been amazingly inventive and innovative with their town. No precious nonsense about accuracy here, what they want is good show. So for instance, when there was a grand exhibition being held in Spain, they thought their cathedral was a bit drab. Romanesque architecture is by definition bulky, angular, and squat. This simply would not do. The enterprising populace decided to commission a faux gothic facade to the entrance in stead. It looks like it’s from the late medieval period, but in fact dates from the 19th century.

Glance down the side streets and you can see the original, rather less impressive and unadorned walls.

This triumphal arch is a great might-have-been because it was the original site for an edifice deemed so ugly that the people refused to allow it to be built. And so the Eiffel Tower was erected in Paris instead. Oops.

The sand was perhaps my favorite story. The Spanish coast on the Mediterranean is rocky and not particularly good for holiday postcards and so when the Olympics were held here and a great influx of tourists expected, our proactive natives again rose to the challenge. Tons of sand was imported from the Middle East and palm trees from Hawaii–none of the tropical foliage you see in the city is native to the area, according to our guides. Marine sand is also different from desert sand, with a different texture and feel due to the polishing of waves rather than wind–meaning the beaches are rather rough to walk on. Doesn’t deter people, though.

And finally, the iconic Sagrada Familia is an absolute hodge podge because the original plans by Gaudi were lost in a fire. Rather than give up, dozens of architects and artists have been involved with the project and instead of trying to replicate the style of the master, they each have left a different and unique stamp on the area of the basilica they were assigned to. Far from Gaudi’s entrance opposite to this which commemorates the birth of Christ, this doorway memorializes his death in a darkly modernist style. My impious observation was that the statues of Roman guards looked like Cylons from Battlestar Gallatica…but I stand by this observation.

A completely mad and constantly evolving city!

Humor, Links, Weekend December 3, 2016

Weekend Links

“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”
― Allen Saunders

Hi kittens, it’s been a busier than initially anticipated week–although a pretty good one all things considered. And yet I owe you a links post and so, behold. This weekend is about getting some holiday shopping sorted and cleaning. Grown up stuff. Pray for us.

Beyonce and Hamilton mix–SDS catnip!

More catnip, old maps found in amazing places.

This tweet made the political realm bearable for me for me this week. That micro expression of pain… Not to cause a comment war, kittens, but what are your thoughts on Governor Romney’s hat being in the ring for a Cabinet pick? Genuinely curious. I range from, “Mitt, back away! I didn’t like or vote for you, but for gods sake, keep your integrity!” to, “Thank goodness, an adult in the room…”

Resident journalist and Friend of the Blog Caitlin weighs in for some tips on how to avoid fake news and intelligently consume investigative and informative media. Facts, not opinions.

Noooo!

A little holiday travel fashion inspiration for you.

Coming to America.

Powerful read.

“Millennial pink” is a shade. And it’s powerful.

Preach.

Humor November 30, 2016

Five Things I Loved in November

“It is good people who make good places.”
― Anna Sewell, Black Beauty

Time to run down the things that brought me joy this month in spite of some pretty crushing political and social disappointment, and not a little anxiety about the state of the world. But there are a lot of small pleasures and a lot of good art and creativity to be had. What got you through the month, kittens, and what’s worth sharing? Let me know in the comments.

Arrival. I’m not an aficionada but I do love smart science fiction and this film was nothing if not intelligent. So many sci fi films are silly or devolve into smashy smashy slugfests that aren’t actually very interesting to watch–not so this one. Arrival starts with a basic set of assumptions, that most scientists would likely cheer for, that rather than being humanoid, able to live in our atmosphere, and have similar social and communication structures to human beings any alien life we come into contact with is likely to be so fundamentally different from us as to make connection near impossible. So, how do we connect in that case? More I cannot say, since the plot and the theme are one and the same, but if you enjoy really thinking about movies, give this one a shot.

NARSissist Amour, Toujour L’Amour palette by Nars. This was a late summer beauty indulgence that I didn’t give a proper trial to until this month but this thing is gorgeous and is going to get some serious use this holiday season.

The Crown. Yep, another Netflix binge happened. The costumes are stunning, the set pieces grand, and the topic one of the most documented and simultaneously private families in the world. I have a few quibbles about some aspects of historicity but have mostly sucked down this gorgeous series in gulps.

Heist tights. Black tights are de rigeur in London this time of year and I inevitably run through a couple of pairs a season as snags and laddering regularly claims sacrificial victims. However I came across this brand through their (clever and excellent) brand campaign, read some reviews, and decided to give them a try. The options for higher waistbands sold me as there’s nothing more uncomfortable than than a waistband that either digs into your skin or, worse, goes wandering throughout the course of the day… Nope, I’m not being paid to rave about these tights, I just love them. Take advantage of the coupon code I got with my order to get 20% off if you are so inclined! They ship worldwide when last I checked.

Rules for Rulers, by CGP Grey. Another win for this YouTube creator, this video is a nice little primer for anyone thinking about politics right now (and we should all be thinking about it right now). The section around minute 10 is particularly cringe inducing at this moment in history. You want to rule? Are you sure? No man rules alone…

Small Dog Syndrome

Category: Humor

Five Things I Loved in December

Checking In on 101 in 1001

Spirit of the Season

Weekend Links

Barcelona: The Details

Weekend Links

Conversations With Husband: Hypothetical Situation

Barcelona: The History

Weekend Links

Five Things I Loved in November

Humor. Opinions. Life in London.

Humor. Opinions. Life in London.

Find us on