Love is Love

Oh, what a happy day here in San Francisco (and across the U.S.! And apparently in Canada, too!)!

My heart feels so happy and full for my LGBT friends today. As a country we're very late to the party, but I'm still so proud of America. It's been interesting to watch the evolution of feelings towards marriage equality -- in high school "so gay" was a derogatory term used freely and excessively, whereas now it's completely taboo to refer to anything as gay that isn't, well, gay.

In my personal life, it was incredibly cool to watch my parents befriend a young gay couple in Salt Lake City. Not that they were homophobic, but I can't say I ever really expected to dance with my parents to "Summer Lovin'" at an HRC gala with a bunch of men wearing lip gloss.

I'll be celebrating tomorrow by (naturally) going to the brand new SoulCycle Castro studio with my gay BFF. And in the meantime here are some of my favorite posts (because my newsfeed has been vomiting rainbows and I love it) to commemorate this momentous and long-awaited day:

1. Palm to face (Not touching but too funny not to include.)
2. The Onion had a field day with this one.
3. How We Changed Our Thinking on Gay Marriage. I especially like the clip from the Baptist pastor.
4. TedTalks on Love. I haven't actually watched these yet but I love LZ Granderson from reading his blog posts on CNN, so I imagine this'll be good...
5. So much love!

Have a wonderful weekend celebrating equality :)

Show and tell club

Last week, my friend Ali hosted the inaugural meeting of our Show and Tell club (the name is being worked on, since it sounds a little weird and porn-y and not at all representative of how brilliant and awesome our club is!). My friends from home once attempted a book club, but the problem with book clubs is that they fizzle as soon as there's a book that not everyone is invested in--which is bound to happen. Ours ended with Olivia's choice of Steve Jobs' biography. 

The idea of the show and tell club is that every member brings something to share. This can be a book, a podcast, a brilliant idea, a hilarious story, the new vest you just bought at Anthropologie...

We had so much fun and I felt so empowered and motivated by sharing ideas with such smart, talented women. I invited a few friends, none of whom knew each other beforehand, and Ali invited her friend Becca, who was also new to the group. 

I can't wait to share the amazing things I learn at show and tell club here on the blog, so here's what we covered last week! 

Paige started us off by talking about Super Freakonomics (she's an elementary school teacher so she pulled a book out of a backpack and it really felt like show and tell). She focused on an excerpt about the availability heuristic regarding shark attacks, which segued into Rachel telling us about her friend's shark bite (I told you this is a cool group of chicks).

Next, Ellen told us her engagement story. Which I know doesn't sound exciting since we're inundated with these via FB daily, but she is such an amazing storyteller! Not to mention that her fiance, my friend David, killed it. 

Which naturally led nicely to my share -- a podcast about murder. It's called Serial and it's hosted by This American Life producer Sarah Koenig. The season follows one story, of a man who supposedly murdered his ex girlfriend back in 1999, and I find that I change my mind every few minutes as to whether or not he actually killed her. it's fascinating and so well done, and the show and tell group is hooked! I loved getting a text from Paige on Friday saying, "he obviously did it!"...it took me a few minutes to figure out what she was talking about. 

Then Becca read a short story of her own, about a topic most San Franciscans can relate to: bikes. How cool, to read your own work in front of a room of people you met an hour ago! 

And finally, Ali talked about a topic about which I've written: StoryCorps. This organization is amazing and I highly encourage everyone to check out their site, or their booth at the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library. 

I tried to keep this short, but as you can see, there were just too many cool and interesting things to write about. Maybe for my next post I'll have to focus on just one person's presentation, but I had to give each member her due credit for making our first meeting such a success. I can't wait to learn more from each of you! 

I'm already brainstorming for our next meeting, so please share any amazing books/podcasts/stories/articles, etc.!! 

It's October 3rd.

Happy Friday!

Stitcher + Airbnb + StoryCorps

I am so upset that I forgot to take pictures last night, though it's usually a good sign when I'm too busy enjoying my company to whip out the ol' iPhone.

Cam and I attended a re-launch party for StoryCorps, a small company devoted to the preservation of stories from the lives of everyday people. Airbnb hosted the event at their beautiful new office downtown; each of the offices is designed to look like the room in a house (get it...) and their event space felt so modern with its high ceiling, exposed stone, and massive sprawl of indoor ivy shaping into the company logo. I had one of those moments, while sipping free beer, talking with interesting people, and eating steak tartare off a tray, where I felt like my naive ideas of twenty-something life as depicted by Sex and the City were actually being realized.

Cam often muses about how telling our grandchildren we lived in San Francisco in the 2010s will be as fascinating as (but happier than...) hearing our grandparents' stories from World War II. The technology, drive, and who's-gonna-make-millions-this-week mentality all contribute to the excitement of being right here, right now. I absolutely felt this energy last night, and it was great to support companies I already love (Airbnb and Stitcher) as well as learn about a company whose mission inspires and incites in me the desire to work harder and be better.

A little on StoryCorps: they started with a booth in Grand Central Station, and now have several throughout the country, including the San Francisco Public Library. Basically, you take a loved one and get 40 minutes to interview them. You keep a copy of the interview and one goes to the Library of Congress, so that the lives of ordinary people are recorded and remain accessible for generations to come. It is so incredible to hear "ordinary" people tell such extraordinary stories. I highly recommend checking out the site (or their podcast on Stitcher), and I can't wait to start interviewing my loved ones!

100th post...Happy Valentine's Day + literary love quotes

Happy Valentine's Day! Whether you love or hate this holiday, it's a time for reflection on what, whom, and how we love. Instead of a links round-up, I thought I'd pull together some of my favorite reflections on love, from people who can articulate this crazy, hectic, passionate, terrifying, exhilarating, horrible, wonderful (you get the picture...) sentiment far better than I can. They're all literary quotes which tells you a little bit about what's been going on in my brain lately (so. much. reading!)...

"As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." - John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

"This sensation of listlessness, weariness, stupidity, this disinclination to sit down and employ myself, this feeling of every thing's being dull and insipid about the house! I must be in love..." - Jane Austen, Emma

“When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are to become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the desire to mate every second of the day. It is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every part of your body. No … don’t blush. I am telling you some truths. For that is just being in love; which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over, when being in love has burned away. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? But it is!” - Louis de Bernieres, Captain Corelli's Mandolin 

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." - Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering." - Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

"My love is deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite." - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

"Maybe...you'll fall in love with me all over again."
"Hell," I said, "I love you enough now. What do you want to do? Ruin me?"
"Yes. I want to ruin you."
"Good," I said. "That's what I want too." - Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

"When we hear voices that we love, we need not understand the words they say." - Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

"Love should be allowed. I'm all for it." - Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket -- safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell." - C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

And Fyodor Dostoyevsky agrees in The Brothers Karamazov...

"What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love."

"Love will carry you all lengths." - Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

(Photo of this month's cover of The New Yorker -- I am obsessed with it!)

This video gets its own post

Cam just sent me this video and it. is. awesome. Ira Glass is the host of 'This American Life', a podcast I often listen to on Stitcher. In this short clip, he talks about the creative process and the importance of sticking with it, even when the results/successes seem dismal.


THE GAP by Ira Glass from frohlocke on Vimeo.

I read a lot of bad blogs, and a lot of great blogs, and more often than not I find that I categorize my own blog into the former category. My interpretation of Glass' argument is that by simply having the objectivity to realize that your work isn't actually the best around, because you can recognize the best around, the potential is there. Potential + recognition that you kind of suck + good taste + lots of work = success, yeah?

As a side note, I embedded this video in my blog using HTML, which probably isn't that impressive but is also proof of what we can do after lots of repetition -- this is blog post #99, and I wouldn't have figured that out on post #1 :).

Cheers to a good weekend

Happy Sunday, everyone! I know my blog has been painfully silent this January, and that posting weekly round-ups doesn't reeeally count as meaningful or thoughtful writing. I'm hoping that February will bring a renewed sense of routine and normalcy, especially since I start graduate school tomorrow! I had a wonderful weekend catching up with friends and celebrating the "end of summer" -- and the weather totally cooperated with that theme. We enjoyed a seventy degree and sunny (sorry, East Coast friends) Saturday in Dolores Park, and relaxed all day today. Cam and I have been watching The Sopranos for the last few months, and tonight we are finally on the last episode. In keeping with the Italian theme, he made baked ziti so we're about to dig in to that and enjoy the finale of a show that we have thoroughly enjoyed watching together. I hope everyone had a nice weekend, and enjoy some links from around the web:

The importance of girlfriends. 

A few fun quizzes: Which Harry Potter house do you belong in (I got Slytherin, ew) and which Disney princess are you (I'm Belle, the "beautiful bookworm" ;).

Especially relevant to my life this month: The Art of Presence.

Ahhh, sooo true! Things That Happen When You Move A Lot. 

Enlightening article on food in America. Cam and I shelled out $30 on the more expensive salmon after reading this.

Books You Didn't Read In High School But Actually Should. Numbers 1-3 are some of my absolute favorites. 

How to talk to women. 

Girls and Sex and the City do brunch. 

Cringecringecringecringe.

Have a nice weekend

I really don't have much of a round-up this week, as it's been kind of a doozy. My grandmother passed away on January 4th, and my grandfather, her husband of 63 years, joined her in Heaven yesterday. I really want to write a more thoughtful post on their relationship and legacy, but I need a little more time to process emotions (my brain is soooo foggy!). Cam and I are heading to Houston tomorrow morning, but tonight I'm excited to go see the movie 'Her', which has gotten amazing reviews. Enjoy this sad excuse for a round-up, and I'll look forward to writing more next week!

I really, really, really want this. It reminds me of my trip to Morocco with Cam, Mark, and some of our friends who we studied abroad with in Barcelona.

I know Jennifer Lawrence is everybody's 'it' girl right now, but Kate Middleton is still my fave.

What City Should You Actually Live In? I got Cape Town!

Good to know when looking for cheap flights.

Speaking of flights....Barcelona, I miss you so, so much! Take me back!

(Photo: One of the things that has brought me comfort this week has been daydreaming with Cam about living in Paris. We've been working on our French with the Duolingo app....I have a looong ways to go :)

Have a very Merry Christmas!

I can't believe how quickly this weekend snuck up on me! Tomorrow Cam and I are having our Christmas together (which means that tonight is Christmas Eve, and I can't wait to watch Love Actually :), which will include opening presents and brunching at Foreign Cinema. We're also having dinner with my friend Katherine and her boyfriend, who are visiting from Manhattan, so it should be a pretty awesome day. Sunday it's Houston for me and New Jersey for him so that we can both spend Christmas day with our families, then I'm joining him on the East Coast on December 26th. I'm not expecting to blog while I'm away, so I'll leave you with some fun links and I'll be back in SF just in time to ring in 2014. I wish everyone a joyful, peaceful, and relaxing Christmas with your loved ones, and thanks so much for reading in 2013:).

I'm not married, but I think this funny, honest article is relatable for most close relationships.

My friend Frank's article went viral this week and he ended up on the Huffington Post! Pretty exciting for his website, and these grilled cheese sandwiches look amazing.

A funny gift guide for residents of various San Francisco neighborhoods. Once again, the Marina and the Mission are the butt of the joke.

It's probably just because I taught Hamlet to 12th graders, but I loved this.

Cute video: sympathy vs. empathy, as depicted by cartoon characters.

I disagree with some of what the author has to say, but this is still an interesting read: Let's Ban Weddings and, While We're at It, Baby Showers Too. (Isn't everyone voicing their opinions on marriage and weddings these days?)

Ugh, I just love Humans of New York. Good call, Time.

Guess I was reading a lot of the New York Times this week. A Formula for Happiness.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Have a festive weekend

I am so excited for this weekend! Tomorrow Cam and I are going to run some apartment-related errands in order to get our place looking nice for our house warming/Christmas party Saturday night. Hopefully it will look decent enough to share some photos of the party next week. Here are a few links, and have a wonderful weekend!

Photos that are uniquely 2013.

I bought these boots from Anthropologie in both colors and have worn them every day. So easy and I love how the heel is low enough to walk everywhere in, and high enough to dress up an outfit.

I love this idea: a French cafe charges extra for rudeness.

Is Instagram altering our memories?

Watch this for warm holiday fuzzies.

The three girls in front were just asking for their friend's hilarious reaction by requesting that this photo even be taken.

Ok, I posted this link on Facebook and I want to reiterate here again how fascinating this New York Times piece, Invisible Children, is. Working at a high school in New Orleans was my first real exposure to families living off of food stamps and welfare, and it took me a while to understand how cyclical and systemic poverty is. Times writer Andrea Elliott does an excellent job of showing that, while the parents in the story make very questionable choices regarding money and budget, they were also born into poverty and were never taught some of the absolutely crucial life lessons that we take for granted, like family planning and budgeting. I think that EVERYONE should read this piece in order to see that throwing money at poverty isn't the solution, and that there is still so much work to be done.

Lastly, I love Cup of Jo's Holiday Gift Guide. It is so thoughtful and she has some very unique finds for just about everyone you would need to buy a gift for.

(Photo is from my date with Olivia Monday night...we went to the Fairmont Hotel to see the life size Gingerbread house, and then saw the movie Frozen, which was adorable.)

A very Etsy Christmas: Bookworm edition

For my 'very Etsy Christmas' post today, I wanted to share fun gifts for book lovers (as Cam pointed out, these are not very sly wish lists for me, but isn't it easiest to pick gifts that you know you would love to receive yourself?).

I'm thinking about getting this print for our friend and temporary roommate, Mark, who loves Virginia Woolf and who recently gave us a copy of To the Lighthouse as a housewarming gift.

I've said before that if I ever got a tattoo, I would strongly consider getting 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. I love that this print is only whimsical and magical to those who have read the books; kind of like an allegiance of dreamers and the  young-at-heart.

Pretty bookends.

Cool iPhone case, and it's only $7! Great stocking stuffer.

Vintage books are an inexpensive, interesting way to class up an apartment.

I've held off on buying a Kindle because there are so many local bookshops both in San Francisco and Tahoe that I love and want to continue supporting. That being said, if any of the readers in your life prefer the tablet, this is a beautiful case.

A very Etsy Christmas: Travelers' edition

Last week I mentioned how much fun I've been having searching for Christmas presents on Etsy. As someone who is about to become a full-time student again, I wish I had the creative talent to have my own Etsy store to make some dough (and relieve some stress) on the side. Since I do not, but can definitely appreciate a business that involves doing what you love and making a profit, I thought it would be cool to support these artists and craftspeople as much as possible while purchasing Christmas gifts for my family and friends. There are some incredibly cool and unique items and I wanted to share some of my findings here.

The theme of today's post is gifts for the traveler(s) in your life, and here are some of my favorite finds:

Cute set of greeting cards for friends/family/significant others far away. 

I love the quote, "Oh darling, let's be adventurers"...it's romantic and exciting, and so is Christmas. Find this journal here.

I love this floppy hat. It might be difficult to pack, but it would look so perfect while walking around Paris (or San Francisco! :).

This beautiful, hand-made leather bag would be perfect for weekend getaways.

And to go with your beautiful new weekend bag...an adorable luggage tag.

This underwear bag is brilliant! Hasn't everyone wished for something like this on long vacations?

I don't know if it would be good for my patience or my wallet to have this calendar in my apartment.

I just ordered this for our apartment and I love, love it. Maps and globes are always great gifts for wanderlusters.

Happy shopping! I'll have a few more categories throughout the next week.

Have a cheerful weekend

Last night Cam and I had an awesome date night at Range and Elbo Room in the Mission. We also had drinks before at The Hideout, a speakeasy within a bar. While there, we bought raffle tickets to support Mariposa Kids and I won something for the first time ever! I'm looking forward to a double date tonight with our friends Ellen and David, and Olivia's Christmas party tomorrow. Have a wonderful weekend, and here are a few links from around the web.

Cam and I are deciding between this bedspread and this one...please weigh in!!

I laughed out loud several time at this kid's parent-annotated Christmas list.
And you deserve it, kid, because I love you and would do anything for you except hand you a thousand bucks cash, the power to control all existing matter, and an iPhone to boot. But take heart: There's a glowing crabcake waiting for you in your stocking. Merry Christmas!

I want this so badly! But seriously, please don't buy it cause there's only one and I need it. I'm going to be posting some Christmas gift ideas next week, and they're all coming from Etsy!

Have you guys gotten your tickets to Le Diner in San Francisco? It's an all-white pop-up dinner party at a secret location, and I want to go SO badly. Too bad it's the day after Cam's birthday and he's holding some kind of birthday weekend claim. -____-

I can't even handle The Sound of Music Live (I'm watching it now). Carrie Underwood as Maria is a travesty! Apparently the original Liesl and Gretl agree with me, though a little less emphatically...

There is so much cuteness in this video.

I downloaded Bill Bryson's new book with Audible yesterday and had so much fun walking around Golden Gate Park while listening to him read it. An Audible subscription would be a great Christmas gift for the readers in your life.

(Photo because I'm feeling nostalgic for the brilliant original.)

These are a few of my favorite things: Blog swaps

I've only done two blog swaps, but this most recent was just as encouraging and reinvigorating as the first, which I did with Julie Kesti. Through Julie, I internet-met Valerie of So It Must Be True. Blog swaps are great in that you have a stranger giving you a fresh eye on your blog from an outsider's perspective (as much as I love my biggest fans -- Mom, Danielle, and Cam-- they're not exactly objective). You can check out Valerie's post on Tales for Scout here, and I loved reading her other posts as well, which I'm sharing today:

- All of Valerie's posts under her 'Books and Literature' category were so thoughtful and interesting. I love that she keeps lists of books she's read and wants to read, and I especially loved this post: The Five Worst Girlfriends in Literature. I'm going to go ahead and add Dominique Francon to that list, in honor of the fact that I finally finished The Fountainhead this weekend, woo!

- I really just loved each and every post under the Literature category, so here's another: Best Literary Love Quotes.

- I skipped almost immediately to the 'Career Happiness' category. This resume post is super helpful, and I laughed about the ridiculous email addresses. Olivia works in HR and has definitely seen some 2hot4u@hotmail.com type of resume shenanigans before....and thrown them out immediately.

Thank you, Valerie, for reminding me of what I love about blogging and for giving me today's motivation to sit down and write.

I'm always interested in blog swaps, so if you read this and have any interest in swapping ideas and advice, email me at meganlierley@gmail.com.

(Photo is of another one of my favorite things, Christmastime in the city. )

A quick weekend round-up

I don't have too many links to share this week, which is probably a good thing as I've been trying to study, read, and generally spend less time on the computer. My dad and I are heading to Jackson Hole for the weekend; I'm so excited as it's been on my "to-go" list forever. I'll definitely post pictures next week, and until then here are a few links from around the web.

Daily rituals for creative minds...the midday drink would absolutely not work for me.

Hemingway writes to F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I cannot wait to watch Hocus Pocus this year -- it is my favorite Halloween movie! Although last year was the first time I had watched it in a few years and Cam and I couldn't stop laughing at the emphasis they placed on a VIRGIN lighting the candle...I'm sure that sparked many awkward parent/child conversations.

Wow Congress...you suck.

An interesting read that kind of follows the sentiment of the NYT article I posted last week on busyness.

Have a wonderful weekend!

(Photo found here.)

A quick productivity tip

This may seem incredibly obvious but today I used the best trick to keep myself focused as opposed to my usual habit of study for 5 minutes, check Instagram...study for 10 minutes, send a text, etc. I often blame my my iPhone for a serious decrease in productivity (in my pre-laptop/smart phone  high school days I swear I could sit and read for three hours straight) and I was determined to really power through my English literature study guide today.

I sat on the couch, study guide and notecards in tow, phone and laptop on the kitchen island out of reach. I kept a post-it on the arm of the couch and whenever a "pressing" thought would cross my mind -- must text Danielle now! Need to send email to dentist! -- I just jotted them down on the post-it. Instead of the incessant internal dialogue that comes from realizing you need to do something and hoping you won't forget it (should I do it now? No, 5 more minutes. Then I'll forget!), as soon as I jotted it down, I was able to refocus quickly. After an hour and a half of diligent studying, I took my post-it and as my "reward," finished the non-English related tasks I had accumulated. It only took ten minutes to finish my list of tasks, as opposed to the ten minutes that each task would inevitably have taken had I completed them individually, with water and bathroom breaks each time.

Again, probably obvious but it was nice to find my own way to break the smart phone distractions cycle!

Enjoy your weekend.

Moving day + grad application due (both on October 1st) = busy week and not a lot of posts. Enjoy this round-up of some fun links from around the web!

I didn't watch the Emmys, but Will Ferrell is so awesome. 

Such an interesting, thought-provoking question: Are You Living Your Eulogy or Your Resume?

I laughed out loud just reading this headline. 

What goals do you have for the remaining 99 days (now 96) of 2013?

As a HUGE Dexter fan, I was slightly disappointed by the series finale. Here's how the former producer would have ended it. 

Funny: The Five Worst Girlfriends in Literature

How to Plan an Adventure (I wish this was on my to-do list right now).

I loved this article on how everybody's always so busy. 

"I can't help but wonder whether all this histrionic exhaustion isn't a way of covering up the fact that most of what we do doesn't matter." Hmmm. 

Let's talk about free online education

I've mentioned online classes before but I wanted to do a round-up on how many great, FREE (or at least inexpensive) ways there are to learn something new on the internet. From calligraphy to roasting a chicken to entire college courses, there is almost always a way for you to hone in on whatever that skill is you've been looking to improve or gain. Here are a few online "schools," and my suggestions on some classes that look awesome.

1. Khan Academy

Taking the GMAT? Here's are some free videos that will help you through the trickiest problems in official GMAC GMAT review book.

I've recently felt like art history is like golf -- a good skill to have, because you never know when it might come in handy in a social situation. Brush up on art history with one of these ten free courses.

2. Coursera

Coursera offers college courses from universities and professors around the world, for free. While they can't offer actual college credit, it's a great way to dip your feet into some different subjects and areas of concentration before taking the very time-consuming and costly plunge.

The Music of the Beatles - University of Rochester

Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction - University of Virginia

Care of Elders with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Major Neurocognitive Disorders - John Hopkins University

3. creativeLIVE

Most of these workshops are free, though you can pay to have anytime access (typically $30-100).

Redesigning Your Website or Blog

What the Most Successful People do Before Breakfast

Overcome Fear to Get What You Want

4. Skillshare

The Art of Modern Calligraphy - $20

Show Us Your Balls: Meatball Making with The Meatball Shop - Free

Humor Writing: Become the Next David Sedaris - $25

(Photo found here.)

Friday round-up

I hope everyone had a great week! I've had a fairly productive last couple of days, and Cam and I are headed up to Tahoe to work all weekend. -___- I have to finish up some essays for grad school applications and Cam has a huge deadline at the end of September, so at least we can keep each other company as we stare at our computers for 48 hours!

The photo above is a note we found in the Jetta's windshield last night (totally thought it was a ticket). We park in this illegal spot right in front of Cam's garage, and instead of this guy being a total douchebag and telling us to get the f*ck out of his way so he can park in his legal, valid spot, he wrote us a nice note and even got us a Starbucks card! I was so touched -- it's a great reminder that amidst all of the war, shootings, and chaos, there are kind and patient people everywhere.

Here are some fun links, and have a wonderful weekend!

Do you live in New York and want to make a shit ton of money over Super Bowl weekend?

I want a leather jacket so badly for fall.

The Habits of Supremely Happy People

I love all of Simon Rich's short stories.

I ordered this as a pretty coffee table book and I can't wait for it to arrive.

How to get served first at the bar.

I've mentioned before how much I love Top Chef -- here's an interview (and a recipe!) with Top Chef Master's host Curtis Stone.

The most beautiful birth announcements.

Why We Travel. To quench your Friday wanderlust.

Have a happy weekend.

How was everyone's week? The good thing about studying for the GRE Literature Exam (subject test in order to apply for Master's in English programs) is that "studying" constitutes reading and rereading classic novels and poems -- rough life. I'm simultaneously checking books off of my and Kelly's classics list ; I finished Jane Eyre and launched into A Farewell to Arms (can you tell from the picture?). Cam's birthday was on Wednesday and I got us a place in Santa Cruz on Airbnb for Saturday night, so I'm looking forward to reading and relaxing beachside this weekend. Have a good one and here are some fun links from around the web:

Ja'mie is back! Ja'mie is back!

Anna Wintour making classy decisions.

Speaking of Anna Wintour: Jimmy Kimmel's take on fashion week.

An older article, but I have been wondering who the betches are....

I have a goal of becoming really good at calligraphy right before everyone I know starts getting married and needing fancy handwriting for addressing invitations.

For anyone else in a transitional period (thanks for sending, Kelly!).

I just discovered this blog and I'm digging the daily writing prompts and free ebook on writing essentials.

I've mentioned this before, but if you don't already subscribe to theSkimm, you should.

I love listening to Stitcher, and here's a perfect article for finding the best podcast for you.