Entertainment Playlists

Once upon a time, I used to be cool. At least I thought I was. I thought I was cool because I was always discovering new bands, always watching movies I found inspiring and interesting, and having book after book to read. I told Jason recently that I felt like I lost a little bit of me in the past couple of years. Call it growing up, call it getting busy with real life, whatever it was, it was starting to get me down.

So in the past few weeks, I’ve started to change all of that. I’ve taken a bit of a break from my Dawson’s Creek Netflix fest and I’ve given my workout playlist a rest, and have started to reconnect with what made me so happy a few short years ago. Here are my current entertainment playlists:

Music: Beirut, The Spring Standards, At Sea, Moonface, Little Dragon

Movies: God Bless America, Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, Kumare, Moonrise Kingdom

Books: The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone, I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley, Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

What is on your “entertainment playlists” right now?

My Type of Self-Help Reading

I’m a sucker for pseudo-self help and style books. You all know the ones I’m talking about, anything by Lauren Conrad, Nina Garcia, or Pamela Keogh. There is something so light, fluffy, and fun, about looking up to beautiful, stylish women and saying “hey, I bet I could do that too. I often find myself turning back to these books time and again for a dose of inspiration, or just some light reading when I’m on the beach.

Currently, my Amazon wishlist is absolutely overflowing with books like this. And while I have to be judicious in the selection process (they can get expensive and I suppose I should read actual literature every so often), I can’t help but pick a few new ones up every couple of months.

I thought I’d share a few of my absolute favorite inspiration books:

• The Bohemian Manifesto by Laren Stover
• Let’s Bring Back: The Encyclopedia of the Exquisite by Leslie M.M. Blume
• Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? by Pamela Keogh
• What Would Audrey Do? by Pamela Keogh
• The Fashion File by Janie Bryant
• True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World by Lisa Birnbach

What about you- do you read books like this or do you think they are cheesy? Any suggestions on other books I should take a look at?

50 Matchbook Girl Novels

If you haven’t been reading Matchbook Magazine over the past year, you do not know what you’re missing. The pages are full of beautiful drawings, gorgeous clothing, shoes and accessories, and delightful stories covering everything from the preppiest clothing designers around, to amazing interior designers, to Ryan Gosling.

But my favorite so far? This list of 50 Matchbook Girl Novels. I have a 6 worksheet book list on my computer, with new classics, old classics, books read, and now I’ve definitely added these to the list as well. I’ve read 17, how many have you read?

Book Report: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

Jeffrey Eugenides is my favorite author. For a while, it was either Chuck Palahniuk, or Bret Easton Ellis (obviously during my edgy phase), but at this point, there is no contest that it is Eugenides.

Unfortunately, it is rare that Eugenides graces us with anything to read. Known for writing a novel once a decade, you can imagine how excited I was for the release of The Marriage Plot. I counted down the days, I marked it on my calendar, and then the day came and went without any big to-do on my part and I had pushed back my excitement of The Marriage Plot– until I opened it on Christmas morning.

I couldn’t wait to immediately dive in, get wrapped up in the characters, and completely lose myself in the writing. And although the poetry of the words, the complexity of the characters, and the deep emotions that I could empathize with were all there, something was missing.

This was no Middlesex, or The Virgin Suicides. There were no tears on my part, no waiting with bated breath to see how things would end up, instead it just seemed like another typical love triangle. Girl loves boy, boy loves himself, while other boy lusts after girl. Truth be told, throughout reading The Marriage Plot, all I could think was “if this is going to be the type of novel Eugenides writes, I expect him to release novels a lot more often.”

The one thing I did love about The Marriage Plot was that it was set in the early 1980s. One of the things I always love about Eugenides books is that he borrows heavily from his history, what he knows, and what he has experienced. Reviewing his personal history, and it is easy to see where many of the story ideas came from, and it always makes me curious to know more. Maybe he was once caught in a similar love triangle? Maybe some of the characters are people he knows?

Have you read The Marriage Plot? What did you think?

Must Read: Found Meals of a Lost Generation by Suzanne Rodriguez Hunter

Have you ever read a book that you were quite certain was going to have an influence over you for quite a while? That happened to me while I was on vacation in Florida for Thanksgiving.

I picked up Found Meals of a Lost Generation: Recipes and Anecdotes from 1920s Paris quite a while ago, and thought that this trip would be the perfect opportunity to dive into it. And I could not have loved it more. Being both a foodie and a highly fascinated by 1920s Paris, this was the perfect book for me.

Often I feel as though food is the best way to connect with someone, through both sharing meals, as well as telling tales of some of your best (and worst) food experiences. A love of an ingredient can bring two people together, and dietary issues can tear people apart. Many of our favorite traditions are around food, and when we are sad, almost all of us still have a comfort food that we can go to that will keep us warm inside (mine is mashed potatoes).

Being taken back to Paris in the 1920s through food was a magical experience. Learning about the quirky habits of expats, or the delicacies particular to certain regions, and the techniques used for certain foods prior to our vast kitchen technologies, all created an amazing experience centered around one of the most primal senses. There was nothing like hearing about some of my favorite author’s food experiences, or the nights that many of these expats shared, or about the drinks that were coming out of The Select at the time. This quick read is sure to be a book that I will revisit time and again, and I absolutely cannot wait to try out some of the recipes!

From the Inside Out…

As Jason and I gear up to move in a couple weeks, I can’t stop thinking about all the interior design possibilities of our new apartment. When I first moved to New York, I moved into an already immaculately decorate place, so this is my first opportunity to create a space that is both mine and my partners. And while I love Jason to death, we don’t always have the same ideas when it comes to interior design. So, doing what I always do when I’m feeling stuck or a lack of inspiration, I’m turning to books. Here are a list of books I can’t wait to pick up to help this interior design project go a bit smoother.

1. Domino: The Book of Decorating 
2. Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design
3. Decorate: 1,000 Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home
4. The Nest Home Design Book
5. Apartment Therapy’s Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces

So what am I missing? Are there any interior design books you love? What about blogs? I would love to hear more about what I might be missing out on!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Pan Am, Kate Spade scarf, Cookbook, and St. Anselm in Brooklyn

Fall has kept me super busy, but I have managed to spend some quality time with friends, catching up on new fall television (I am loving Pan Am- especially all the historical references), reading, and lusting after winter clothing.

Jason has been obsessed with St. Anselm in Brooklyn, and I can’t say that I blame them. They have amazing grilled veggies and it makes it so easy for us to both go there and eat a great meal, also, rose on tap? I’m in!

Something else I’ve been loving? The 90s Alternative station on Pandora. It’s pretty much my childhood and high school years all in one. Which got me to thinking- has Glee done a 90s grunge episode yet? Just picture Rachel Berry singing Black Hole Sun, how great would that be?

Must Read: Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild by David Stenn

I’m a sucker for an entertainment biography. There is something about the Golden Age of Hollywood and the people involved that I love to learn more about. Combine that with my current love of the 1920s and I was bound to get to Clara Bow at some point.

Bow had a tumultuous and troubled childhood, one that would haunt her for the rest of her life, but she was one of the few, one of the lucky ones who managed to escape her bleak existence and not only make it into the “pictures”, but also become the darling “It” girl of the roaring 20s.

One of my favorite things about Clara was how, no matter how huge of a star she became, she always managed to stay humble, remember her roots, and lend a hand to anyone that was in need. Sometimes, like in the case of her cousin and father, it backfired, other times, it was a roaring success. For example, Jeam Harlow had a bit part in one of her movies which terrified Clara originally, and later, she helped boost Harlow’s career from day player to mega star.

Clara Bow makes me yearn for a time when life seemed good. When the moving pictures were a time of excitement and hope. Where the “It” girl was someone who was a successful actress, and not a reality star. A time when if an actress had a scandal the studio would try to cover it up, and if they didn’t, fans would still stand behind her. Granted, that time released some really ridiculous movies, so maybe I don’t miss it too much!

Must Read: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

I have been involved in food politics for several years now. I read every article that I come across, watch several food documentaries, and have picked up various books on the subject over the years. So it’s only natural that I would pick up a copy of Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals at some point. Although Foer is mostly known for being a fiction writer, his foray into non-fiction is most definitely notable.

Having been so fascinated by food politics throughout my young adulthood, I figured Foer’s book would reaffirm many of the things I already was aware of and confirm what I had heard about in movies like Food Inc., and books like The Omnivore’s Dilemma, but Foer’s book did so much more.

Not only did it give me the facts to make educated decisions about what I eat and how my food choices affect the planet, well-being, and lifestyles of others, but it also gave me many philosophical questions to ponder. I love that Foer wrote the book to be able to better discuss the idea of eating meat with his newly born child, and I felt like the arguments were for a greater good than just discussing ones personal viewpoints.

I’d hate to make anyone think I’m imposing my food viewpoints on them, but I am a big believer in educating yourself and making decisions based on that. What can I say, maybe I took the term “you are what you eat,” a little too to heart! 🙂

Must Read: Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? by Pamela Keogh

I am constantly picking up new and fun non-fiction books about times past. I am constantly nostalgic for all eras in the 20th century, and am enamored of the timeless elegance that women had so seemingly effortless.

Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe are obviously two of those timelessly classic women. Both polar opposites in so many ways, both woman have qualities and characteristics I am so envious of. Jackie’s love of literature and outdoor activity, her timeless classic style, and her ability to stay so strong during a time of hardship make her so admirable. Combine that with Monroe’s ability to wrap any man or woman around her finger, look so beautifully put together, and work so hard to get what she wants only inspire me to be a more diligent person.

Keogh explores and compares their style, intelligence, relationships, youths, and families with such detail and fun that I left wanting to pick up even more books about each lady. I live for biographies, and although I have read biographies about both women, I am desperate to pick up some new ones. Next up? I think I’ll pick up Fragments by Monroe, and Jackie as Editor by Greg Lawrence.

Oh, and as far as whether or not I’m a Jackie or a Marilyn? I’d like to think of myself as a little of both. What about you? Are you a Jackie or a Marilyn?

*via FabSugar