in which I break a somewhat long hiatus

Guys. This whole blog thing, I suck at it. When I am not an angst-ridden high school student, I suppose I must place less value on my thoughts and daily experiences. The idea of keeping a fashion blog died out fairly quickly. The concept of morphing my outfit blog into a kind-of fashion/mylife blog lasted maybe two weeks. So, screw it. I don't even know what I am doing any more. But have a post. Not a manifesto, or new blog mission. Because we all know I'd abandon it. If you take one thing away from this post (and that includes Future Me who might be reading this after I don't post again for multiple months), it should be this: salami and gouda on a baguette with a tiny bit of mustard is just really delicious. Are any of those ingredients imbibed with even the remotest amount of nutritional value? Don't care. Have begun to care less about this. Because honestly, what's the point? Each time I try to throw myself onto some kind of a diet and exercise regimen, nothing happens. But during the three months this past spring that I never went to the gym and ate an abundance of peanut butter and bread and macaroni and cheese, I lost something like 8 pounds. So I say to you: it is all so bloody arbitrary, that I am going to just eat what I like and work out on a vaguely regular basis out of desire and not guilt. And pretend that I'm training for the Avengers. With Steve cheering me on.

The problem with summer has always been that I devise these ambitious plans for productivity, and that I ultimately do little other than eat out and read fanfiction. For example, I packed an entire box full of books into my car to bring down to Austin for the summer. I intend[ed?] to read my way through a long list of Victorian novels and a frankly absurd amount of nonfiction books from the library about affect, the sensation novel, and random bits of Victorian culture that piqued my curiosity (read: Victorian honeymoons). Since my arrival in Austin over a week ago, I have read about one hundred pages of Basil by Wilkie Collins. At this rate, I'll be lucky to read one novel by Eliot, Hardy, and Dickens apiece. So I am going to have to make some kind of a plan. Otherwise, I am going to spend my days lusting over recipes that I could not possibly actually make in R's tiny kitchen with literally no counter space, and only one rickety card table to use for chopping ingredients. And scrolling down Tumblr ever few hours, pinning every other fan rendition of Sherlock and John Watson together to my Pinterest:

(Okay, but, Sherlock and John Watson, guys...) (And... I just spend 45 minutes choosing the Sherlock image I wanted to include here. I got side-tracked by Tumblr. And I decided I wanted to learn how to draw comics on my computer. And I looked up how much Photoshop costs. WHICH brought me back to reality, and here I am to finish my blog post--do you see now why this is such a problem?) Right. So-plan. I need one. I need to read, write letters, jog, cook, and spend very little money. How hard can that be? I mean, right? So here goes. Well, sort of. I'm at Book People and I somehow forgot to bring a pen/pencil, so I can't write any letters. And I finished the book I brought with me! So all I have is the Internet. OKAY fine, I'll go hunt through the fiction and start reading something in a squishy armchair for an hour that I can pick up at the library later. Watch me go be productive. Just you watch.

Music Monday: in which I love my laundry detergent

I did a load of laundry, and half of the clothes are hanging up to dry all over my apartment. With the windows open and the breeze blowing through all of my rooms, the smell of lavender is carried forth from my clean clothes and into... well, my nostrils. And I am loving it.



These are a small sample of the songs that have been recurringly making it onto various different mood playlists of mine. I'm not sure I can say what they have in common. They feel crisp and fresh, just like recently laundered clothes or a Midwestern spring breeze. That must be it.








[blazer: thrifted, dress: thrifted, vest: vintage, thigh-high socks: Sock Dreams, tights: Sock Dreams boots: gifted, necklace: via my mum, shoulder bag: via my mum]

Working Weekend: in which I go back in time

When I was in college, my English classes did not stress historical context. My training lies in extended close readings. Until a year ago, it never occurred to me that one might (should?)consider anything outside of the text itself in a piece of literary analysis. Incidentally, I know very little about history. I took one history class on British Empire when I was in London--but of course, I was concentrating much more on being in London than I was on Empire or anything else that I was supposed to be learning about. My semester in England was more of an emotional and psychological education than an intellectual one.

Almost everything I know about American history I learned from the American Girl books growing up. Almost everything I know about world history I learned from Simone de Beauvoir's memoirs--or Doctor Who.

But suddenly I am a graduate student, and regardless of poststructuralism, I cannot ignore history. (For a million reasons, some intellectual and some ethical).

This weekend I have thrust myself back in time to the 18th and 19th centuries for two different assignments. I am writing a 5 page cultural history essay on hair jewelry in the 18th century, and a 5 page essay on three different reviews of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall from 1848. Meanwhile, I am reading a book on emotional discourse in the 19th century--which seems to tie everything together, in that I am investigating what feels like one giant cloud of sentimentality that set over Britain in the early 18th century and did not dissipate until the onset of Modernism in the early 20th century. That's me: feelings in literature. I'm that gal.






[cardigan: Urban Outfitters, dress: Modcloth, belt: vintage tights: Sock Dreams, boots: gifted, bag: Iowa City Public Library]

Food Friday: in which I make pizza

About once a month or so I traipse down to the co-op a few blocks southeast of my apartment to see if there are any outstanding deals on things like sweet potato chips, organic avocados, lavender goat milk soap, or Wensleydale cheese. Usually none of these things are on sale, but a couple of other desirable items are. Last month I needed a cucumber for some peanut noodles and did not feel like driving to Hyvee, so I walked to the co-op and paid about $3.50 for an organic cucumber.

But I am not here to complain about paying over 3 times the regular price for a cucumber at the co-op.

I happened to find a whole wheat pizza crust for $2.00. These things, even at normal grocery stores, can cost about $5--at the co-op, they usually run about $7.50. I bought the pizza crust and it sat in my pantry until earlier this week when I decided to make two pizzas with it.

1st Half of the Pizza: Jalapeno and Pepperoni
2nd Half of the Pizza: Pineapple and Pesto

I used an organic canned pizza sauce for the 1st half, added a pinch of basil, and topped the sauce with shredded mozzarella (um, how the hell is that word spelled?) before adding pepperoni and jalapenos from a jar. For the second half, I topped the crust with pesto (instead of pizza sauce), and added shredded mozzarella (??no seriously) and then chunks of canned pineapple. I baked the pizza according to the package directions for the crust, and voila!




And--spring! Please note the lack of tights.
On this particular day, I found myself not entirely disappointed that I had left some grading in my office and needed to ride my bike to campus and back. Alonso and I enjoyed the fresh pre-thunderstorm air, so crisp and somehow... fizzy.






[dress: vintage, cardigan: JCrew, shoes: Urban Outfitters belt: vintage necklace: hand-me-down, bag: Myopic Books in Chicago]

Music Monday: in which I am lame and pass up seeing Antlers live

This weekend, I was at a conference here at the university, where I chaired a panel on Revolutions in Feminist Aesthetics. This weekend was also the Mission Creek Music Festival, a sort-of multi-venue music fest that is held every almost-April here in Iowa City. On Saturday evening, after the conference reception, I had two choices.

1. Walk home in a thunderstorm, call R, wrap my wet hair in a towel, and go to bed.
2. Go to see Antlers, one of my favorite bands, at 11:00.

I opted for the first.

And, oh, friends. I used to be the kind of gal who drove 6 hours to Dallas and 6 hours back to Conway in the same night just to see a band that I generally liked.I braved ACL Fest in 110 degree heat and nearly danced myself to death from dehydration in 2004 for Franz Ferdinand. I, who hail from the Live Music Capital of the World. I went home.

So I know now that I am officially lame. Antlers, I'm sorry. When I saw your abbreviated set at SXSW two years ago, I was blown away. I'm sorry I missed you this time around. Come back to Iowa City--just make sure to play before 9, please.



Last of the photos from my old camera. RIP old camera. You served me well in 7 different countries.






[dress: vintage shop in Paris, cardigan: Anthropologie, leggings: American Apparel, boots: gifted, necklace: thrifted]

Themeless Thursday on Friday: in which I play catch-up

What an odd week. Without excuse, I offer in one post

Music Monday: Bob Dylan and spring

When I was in high school, I had a bit of a mania for mix CDs. Part of the reason for this was likely the fact that I had either a 45 minute to one-hour bus ride or car drive to and from school each day, and felt the need for music to suit my specific moods that I might enjoy the pleasure of utter absorption. I had mix CDs for every mood, every weather condition, every time of day. I had mix CDs for the windows being down, the windows being up; driving on the highway, driving through neighborhoods, not-quite-being-able-to-drive in traffic.

I mention this because this past weekend I believe I invented a new category. “Songs for Spring Evenings when the Windows are Open and I Sit in the Living Room, Able to Feel a Determined Breeze.” As it turned out, a large percentage of the playlist was made up of Bob Dylan songs.

I feel like so many people who like Bob Dylan are really into Bob Dylan. I’m not one of those people. I couldn’t tell you the names of almost any of his albums, or describe to you any of the phases that his music has gone through. But I do like Bob Dylan. Here are a few of the songs by Bob Dylan that found their way onto my narrowly-defined playlist:




Teaching Story Tuesday: absences

I had a student who was mysteriously ill every week. She missed more class than she attended. But she always had a doctor’s note to explain why she had missed 7 days of class at a time, so the absences were technically excused. She emailed informal assignments to me, and was very diligent in her inquiries regarding what she had missed.

My question was going to be how on earth I could grade someone who was never in class—but was always excused—with regards to participation? She hadn’t been in class for two weeks before we started doing speeches last week, and she continuously emailed me with requests to change the date of her speech. I didn’t know when I should start subtracting points from her grade for lateness.

But, just after I emailed my teaching advisor with these questions, I sent a mass email to my class about homework. I noticed that 19 students had suddenly become 18. She must have dropped the class early this week and neglected to mention it.

Moral of the story: some problems solve themselves.

Wishlist Wednesday: shoes for summer

It has probably become apparent through my outfit photos that I wear cowboy boots about 95% of the time. I love my cowboy boots. I firmly believe that there is no outfit in my closet that my cowboy boots would not complement perfectly. The only problem with my cowboy boots is that they are quite warm—which is only a problem for a few months out of the year, admittedly. I can wear these boots in the snow, but woe to me when I wear them in 95-degree heat and 90% humidity in the Iowa summer.
This summer, I will probably be in Austin for three months. Forget 95 degrees. Now imagine 110 degrees. I simply cannot wear cowboy boots this summer.

I am on a quest for summer shoes. I have one pair of cheap light brown Oxfords from Urban Outfitters that are falling apart on the inside, and one pair of brown basket-weaved flats from my mother’s closet that are also falling apart (and squeak obnoxiously each time I take a step). Something must be done.



These mustard sandals are $54.99 from ModCloth. When I get paid for April, I might have to invest. Mustard goes with everything, and if I can have at least one pair of shoes to share the burden of warmer weather with my failing Oxfords, that would be a great deal helpful.

It is so bloody windy in Iowa in the spring. My poor potted plant does a swan dive off of my coffeetable almost every evening that I have the windows open. The wind is probably the main character in the following photos:








[cardigan: JCrew outlet, shirt: thrifted JCrew, skirt: American Apparel, belt:
JCrew, tights: JCrew, shoes: gifted Clark's, necklace: via my mum]

Working Weekend: in which I average midterm grades

At this point in the semester, my students have done a myriad of informal assignments, written one paper, and given one speech. They still have one more paper and one more speech, both worth 20% of their grades—so, now would be the perfect time for them to really buckle down and try to improve, if they see the need to do so.

This is also the point in the semester at which I can’t help but wonder whether or not I am a “tough grader.” Do tough graders know they are tough graders? Do easy graders know they are easy graders? (Crazy people don't know they're crazy, right?)

I've graded 12 speeches. So far, not one student has received above an 88. Does that reflect on them, or on me? But no one has failed. No one failed the first paper. No one has received a grade lower than a 70 on any assignment. So... again, what does this say about me, if anything? I suppose if I weren't asking these questions, it would be impossible for me to be a good teacher. But how do I know if I am a (too) tough grader? Fellow TAs and instructors (surely at least one TA must read this blog), what say you? How do you know if you are too tough of a grader versus whether your students are just unspectacular?


And yet another leftover outfit from the cold weather... I promise, this week, warm weather photos will commence!






[sweater: JCrew, skirt: Megan Nielsen, tights: JCrew, socks: Sock Dreams, boots: hand-me-down, necklace: Ruche, belt: via my mum]

Food Friday: Stuffed Poblano Peppers in Walnut Sauce


Several years ago I received a special edition of Better Homes and Gardens for Christmas from my parents. This edition was composed entirely of recipes for and articles about Mexican food. From time to time I like to make a recipe out of it, though it can be difficult because many recipes call for dried chile peppers that I don’t have access to or—like all of the recipes for tamales—seem so time intensive that it just wouldn’t be sensible on a graduate student time-budget. But everything I have ever made from a recipe in this magazine has been delectable, and I doubt I will ever use a guacamole recipe other than the one I memorized out of it.
This week, feeling inspired by the onset of spring-like weather, I decided to make stuffed poblano peppers.







Delicious. The walnut sauce looks admittedly sketchy; however, despite an utterly unappetizing texture, it really does suit the pepper, and complement the raisins, sliced almonds, and small cubes of pear that I used in particular. I made three peppers in order to have a couple to reheat throughout the week, and I can thus say with some authority that they do make good leftovers. I used ground pork because it is cheaper than ground turkey, and I think that it was a good choice. The only change that I would make in the future is possibly to up the amount of ground cumin. I couldn’t really taste it.

A leftover outfit from that winter weather two weeks ago:




[shirt: thrifted, belt: Ruche, skirt: F21, tights: Sock Dreams socks: Target, boots: gifted]

Themeless Thursday: in which I return from an absence, photographs in hand

I have trouble—obviously—sticking scrupulously to a blogging schedule. It’s always something: my camera broke; I was out of town; I have been trying to get back into the swing of living alone. But, here I am! For a couple of days, my outfit photos are going to appear very odd given the current climate of Iowa City. I had a few days’ worth of photos stored on my memory card—from when it was still seasonably cold—and I’d hate to see those go to waste.
In the past two weeks, I have finished two different rolls of film. One roll was a disposable camera that I have had for about a year and a half. I bought it from an antique shop, curious of the effect that the long expired film would have on the photos. I took a succession of photos of some of my favorite places in Austin back in January 2011, and then throughout the subsequent year I took some pictures of R, as well as R and I together. I dropped this roll off at Hyvee. When I picked it up on Tuesday, the woman working at the counter apologized, saying that the photographs were free of charge because the worker had tried to process my roll of film on a broken machine. As a result, about a fifth of the photos did not turn out, and appear only as a glowing blur of brown. And about a third of the remaining photos are almost too dark to make out. The rest all look as though taken in sepia, with a strange laser-like red line through the middle:



from last week, at Town Lake


on my birthday last year, playing Scrabble and drinking a margarita


R on my birthday last year


Hut's Hamburgers: my favorite ATX burger joint


Quack's: one of my favorite coffeeshops


Mother's: a fabulous vegetarian restaurant (this photo is from 2011, but we got lunch here on my birthday last week)

The second roll of film is the first from my new Diana Colette from R. I went to a camera store downtown to have them help me get the roll out, because I could not tell whether the roll was finished or not. The counter had long ceased to reflect the actual amount of exposures, and was counting backwards rather than forward, so I asked them to rewind the roll for me in order to avoid taking photos over photos that had already been taken (if that is possible). In addition, I discovered online that I might have been taking all of the photos wrong! Apparently, using the 35mm back to the camera, I ought to have been compensating for a disparate ratio regarding distance from the subject and the appearance of the subject through the lens.

Well, true enough. Most of the photos are iffy. Subjects are too close, and lighting is poor in almost every photo that I took indoors. I will try to scan a few examples next week or over the weekend.

In conclusion? I don’t have that many photos from my spring break. I used R’s digital camera a very little bit, but I do not have those photos yet.

in which it is spring break, and I turn 24

Confession: I meant to have regular updates over spring break, but just before I left Iowa City, my digital camera fell off of a rock onto another rock and the lens broke! So, I have been using my Diana this past week to take photos of my life. And, I have not taken an outfit photo in 7 days.



But, my parents bought my a new camera for my birthday! So, when I return to Iowa and put a memory card in my new camera, I can return to regular blog posts. Meanwhile, I've been working towards a paper topic regarding Jean Rhys's short fiction, researching 19th century ghost sightings in periodicals, and trying to soak up as much sunlight as I can here in Austin. R and I have kept busy with our Bones watching at night, and our Scrabble games in the afternoon!

Today's my birthday! R is taking my out to lunch when he gets off of work early today. I'm 24 years old today. I'm not sure what that really means, because I still can't rent a car at most establishments. But, hey, 23 was a decent age. Here's to hoping 24 is even better!

Wishlist Wednesday: in which I want a Peanuts puzzle to frame

Every few weeks or so, I do a search on Etsy for vintage Snoopy items. People often sell old Peanuts books, or Hallmark Snoopy figurines. However, there are sometimes some real gems--for example, my Snoopy wallet is from an Etsy shop originally. This weekend I performed this search and came upon this fantastic Peanuts puzzle:



I love Snoopy. And I love London. Snoopy in London? I'm not sure there are words to descrbe how happy that combination makes me.

When I was growing up, my mum used to like to put puzzles together and then frame them, putting them up on the wall to display as art. I'm rather hooked on the idea of framing this puzzle and placing it up on the wall of my living room! It is $11, with free shipping, at The Junk Drawer on Etsy. What do y'all think? Worth it?





[dress: a shop in Brussels, blazer: vintage, tights: Sock Dreams, boots: gifted, necklace: thrifted]

Teaching-Story Tuesday: in which I assign impromptu speeches

My students are either really shy or really sleepy. 9:30 does not seem particularly early to me, but they saunter into class and do not look at or speak to anyone. When we have class discussions, the same dutiful few participate until I just call on individuals point-blank. I've always been an eager class participant myself, so it's just kind of agonizing to watch.

I can't help but wonder, then, how they will survive their speeches. Each student will have to go up to the front of the class, and talk, intelligently, for 5 whole minutes. Most of of them won't even talk, whether intelligently or not, amongst the class, for five whole seconds.

So I decided to warm them up by doing impromptu speeches today. I wrote down topics on little sheets of paper and had them pull one out of an empty Twinings box. Each student had to speak for 1-3 minutes.

I think of this as a nice way to break the ice, and just ease them into speaking at the front of the class solo. The topics are never terribly serious. I offer subjects such as "your favorite film," "tell us about your outfit," "if you had to eat one thing every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?" "your dream job," "your least favorite subject in high school," etc. They have an easier time talking about these things than the types of topics I prescribed last semester ("squash" "postcards" "time travel" "shoelaces").

Do y'all have any suggestions for possible impromptu speech topics that I could use the future?







[cardigan: JCrew, dress: thrifted, belt: thrifted, necklace: thrifted, tights: Sock Dreams, boots: gifted]