Time for a Happy Face

Tony Bennett and James Taylor singing "Put on a Happy Face" was just the little something extra that I needed to make today happen.


What's making your day?

Happy Autumn!

Since yesterday's post was so text-heavy, and since I'm still supposed to be writing this blasted paper, I'm just going to leave you with a pretty little visual stimulus today.  Although they're not at their full effect yet, the leaves are definitely changing around here.  Here is a nice shot of orange that I got on the way to work today:

Happy Autumn!  I'm off to heat some cider and light some cinnamon-scented candles while I write my little fingers off.

My Uniform

I know this isn't my normal thing, but hey, I'm branching out.  I'm much more excited about autumn this year than I normally am, and I just want to share everything I'm loving about it right now.  That includes warm, comfy, and stylish attire!

Clockwise, from top left:
Saint James shirt; red pashmina scarf; silver ball earrings; Topshop cardigan; silver Claddagh ring; Tiffany alphabet bracelet; Steve Madden boots.

This is absolutely my uniform once the weather cools down.  I used to work for Saint James here in NYC, so I have five near identical striped shirts, which I wear constantly.  The ring was a gift from my boyfriend from his trip to Ireland, and the bracelet was a graduation gift from a close family friend; I wear both every day.  I also wear pashmina scarves essentially every day in the cool weather, because my little Australian neck does not like to be cold, and also because you can buy them for five dollars on every street corner in NYC.  They're simple, warm, and they come in a million different colours - what more could you want?

What are your autumnal essentials?

Your own leading lady

One of my favourite movies is the Holiday.  Nancy Meyers' movies in general do it for me -- something about the beautiful sets and the relatable characters and the perfect soundtracks is just like taking a big fat valium.

Bonuses:  Kate Winslett is the best, and I don't think Jude Law has ever been hotter than in this film.

I re-watched it last week.  It was in the middle of a kind of hectic week, and I was looking for the comfort of familiar dialogue and perfect sets, but also for a little motivational push.

My favourite relationship in the movie is between Kate Winslett's character, Iris, and her neighbour, an elderly former Hollywood screenwriter named Arthur Abbott.  As Iris struggles to work out what she's doing with her life, Arthur gives her a little real talk over dinner:

Arthur Abbott: I'm wondering why a beautiful girl like you would go to a strangers' house for their Christmas Vacation, and on top of that spend Saturday night with an old cock-up like me.

Iris: Well, I just wanted to get away from all the people I see all the time!... Well, not all the people... one person. I wanted to get away from one... guy.

[she sobs]

Iris: An ex-boyfriend who just got engaged and forgot to tell me.

Arthur Abbott: So, he's a schmuck.

Iris: As a matter of fact, he is... a huge schmuck. How did you know?

Arthur Abbott: He let you go. This is not a hard one to figure out. Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you're behaving like the best friend!

Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for god's sake! Arthur, I've been going to a therapist for three years, and she's never explained anything to me that well. That was brilliant. Brutal, but brilliant.

That one line:

You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life!

It should be so obvious, but every time I watch it I'm still a little blown away.  Being a leading lady of anything - even your own life - isn't always easy.  There are plenty of times when I feel like my life is living me, rather than the other way round.  Arthur's challenge for all of us in those times when life seems out of control is to straighten up, muster your gumption, and write the next page in your story. (Of course, you can do this after you've spent a little time crying into your ice cream.  Even leading ladies do that.)  It's always exactly what I need to hear!

What do you do to be your own leading lady in those times when you feel like an extra?

Story time: expat edition

I moved to New York from Australia in 2008, confident to the point of cockiness in my ability to slot right into a fabulous life here. After all, I am half-American: my Mum was raised in New Jersey and was living nearby in midtown 30 years ago, when she met my Dad and moved to Sydney. I'd been coming here on vacation to see her family even before the limits of my memory. Everyone in a city as big as New York certainly speaks English, enjoys the same globalised Western culture as I do, and has probably met countless Australian travellers in the past.  Fool.

Barnard has an impressive looking entrance to a campus that only takes up a few city blocks

Happy lazy Sunday!

Happy Sunday, everyone!  I hope you're spending the day in your PJs and feeling like royalty.  Here's a peek at my lazy day:

Doing a little sunning and relaxing in Sparta, NJ.  The lake here is called Lake Mohawk, and has a fantastic history of its own.  (Howard Hughes once landed his plane on this lake!)  Once I'm done with my lazy day, I'll write a little history on Sparta.

with the perfect Jersey soundtrack,

followed by a ginger peach margarita on the boardwalk!

As you can see, life is really tough this week.  What are you up to?

What I love about the Internet.

There's one thing about the internet that never fails to leave me gobsmacked. 

It isn't the fact that I can talk to my friends around the world, face to face, for free. Or that, thanks to my smartphone, I never get helplessly lost any more. Or that it can make Pinkberry appear at my door as if by magic. Those things are great, but they're not the thing I'm talking about.

What amazes me about the internet is how quickly it's become a record of our human experience.

Think about it! The internet contains so much of our lives:
- Facebook pages, to show the scenes and major events of a person's life
- Twitter pages, made up of glimpses into a million tiny moments in human history
- Blogs, curated stories of a person's life or business

And that isn't even the half of it!

If some day, one hundred years from now, some History student somewhere wants to write a paper about popular culture in 2013, all she'll have to do is run a few searches and she'll find personal reactions to everything from Pulitzer prizewinners to Kim & Kanye. Isn't that kind of incredible?

Which brings me to this new little blog. What's my motivation for creating this little corner of the internet? Well, if such a massive global archive is being created for the future out of our stories, thoughts, and voices, you had better believe I want to be a part of that history.

Let's write a story!