How intense the arts are in other countries

Can we talk about Russia and India for a second?

First, Sergei Filin, the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet got acid thrown on his face because of infighting in the company. A masked man, presumably from the ballet company, came up to him and threw acid on his face because of disagreements over Filin's direction of the Bolshoi. Now one of Bolshoi's top ballerinas, Svetlana Lunkina has fled to Canada because her husband has received threats while working on a film about a previous ballet star. I've been reading all of this craziness and just can't believe it!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21259905
Apparently putting glass in dancer's shoes and setting alarms to go off during their performances is old hat in Russian ballet...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21081460

Second, Pakistan and India are having a war of words over the protection of my bestie, Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood megastar. Khan has been reported as saying he's sort of held up as an example of an Indian Muslim not being treated well, which he says is not true. Pakistan meanwhile's all like "Hey India! Why don't you make sure Mr. Khan feels safe!" and India's all "Mind your own business Pakistan, he's doing just fine here." and SRK's all "Settle down guys! I like being Indian, and I'm not moving to Pakistan, but I would appreciate it a bunch if America would stop detaining me at their airports because my last name is the "Smith" of the Muslim world/I'm one of the most recognized people in the world, why can't they just Google me?!"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21256521
Bahaha, can you imagine if Canada was like "Hey America! We want Nathan Fillion back! Ya'll aren't treating him right eh" and America was like "Buzz off, he likes us better, so there!" and Nathan Fillion just kind of stood there with one eyebrow raised. Classic Fillion. 

A great week for New Girl and LBD

FINALLY! Nick kisses Jess (woof!) and the Lydia fiasco is unveiled on Lizzie Bennet Diaries, meaning Darcy gets to comfort Lizzie!

Good week.







Seriously though, Nick's kiss is phenomenal. Manhandler.

Merlot/Lace: working so hard today

I worked last night and had Monday and today off so it feels like I've had loads of time to work on my dress, because I have. I work for the next three days so I won't get back to it until next Monday, which is fine, because I need a break whether I want one or not.

This morning I had my bodice and bodice lining together. Now I have the skirt attached, the collar on and all but one side of the center back lining put in. It's been great fun as you might guess because the open back with a collar and all of that is a riot to line. No really, I love doing it. It's so precise, like making a million crotch seams, which are also a favorite of mine.

I must say I've been doing a bang up job and am really happy with how everything's been going so far. The collar looks smaller on one side, and did in the mock up too, but the pattern pieces are the same width so I don't know what's up with that. It's only a fraction of an inch, so I'm the only one that notices right? I feel like I'm so close to being done, and when you make the list (sleeves, attach lining waist, button holes and buttons, hem) it doesn't seem like that much, but it is. It's always more than you think it is in sewing. When I just have the buttons left to sew on it'll still take longer than I think it will. Ripping the button holes open might actually take a reasonable amount of time...

Anyway, I'm sure you want pictures. Because the form is so much shorter than me I can't really give you the best idea, but here are some shots to pique your interest.

bahaha, I'm so crooked.

before pressing, but still great. 

Instagram "5 things about me"

There's a "5 things you don't know about me" Instagram thing going around. I was tagged by two people and so made mine. I'm sharing on here bc I didn't want to post it on facebook for reasons unbeknownst to me.

1) I often fall asleep holding my own hand.
2) I don't let myself put on mascara until I've put on deodorant.
3) Most of what I see or do or read is on other's recommendations. I have a strong personal identity, but love to be able to speak other people's "languages".
4) I've worn high heels since I bought a pair at a garage sale when I was 12. I've been my current height of 5'11" since I was 14.
4.1) I'm actually 5'10.75"
5) Sometimes I miss my long hair, but never the headaches. 

Merlot/Lace: let's get going!

The Mill on the Floss aka I love my brother SO much

Honestly, I have no clue why I ever think George Eliot stories are going to end well. Maybe Middle March got my hopes up too high, but obvs with Daniel Deronda, and now The Mill on the Floss, Eliot just loves to squash anything and everything good in a really self destructive way. (Why do I always think Ethan Froam is Eliot? Probs bc it's awful).
**SPOILERS**
Ok, The Mill on the Floss. Maggie is SUPER close to her brother Tom. Their father is in a death feud with Philip's father. When they grow up their father's mill is sold to Philip's and the dad eventually dies. Philip's in love with Maggie, but Maggie promises Tom she won't see Philip. Eventually she gets permission to see Philip and they get the mill back, but oh darn, Maggie has fallen in love with her cousin Lucy's fiance Stephen (what?!). She eventually goes on an extended boating trip with Stephen (a whole afternoon!) and ruins herself, but not really. They just sat on a big boat together, which is so much worse than a small one. Philip forgives her, Stephen still wants her, she denies herself Stephen because...it will hurt Lucy? But Lucy's also forgiven Maggie so....? Eventually there's a flood and Maggie paddles over to Tom and he tries to jump into her boat but they both drown. Ta da!
Wikipedia tells me there is more to all of this in the book, big surprise, but obviously a 2 hour film has made cuts.

Da heck?!
1) The thesis is that Maggie and Tom's bond is so strong they sacrificed everything for each other: Maggie's love for other men and Tom's...personal life? Maybe if I read the book I'd get what Tom was saying near the end, but it all sounded rather incestuous  and I'm one of the last people to misread Victorian sensibilities (since I basically share them...)
2)Dear Maggie. I know how much it absolutely rots to want to be with someone you shouldn't, but guess what! You blew this way out of proportion! Everyone forgave you! What else was in your way? Granted Stephen was kind of a skeezy dude on the boat a little bit, and you were a good girl during that whole deal, but guess what, later you could have been with him! Dumbo. Although he did kind of have that thing with Lucy at the same time and no girl likes to think a man can switch that easily...
3)Poor Philip. Did I mention he's a hunchback?
4)Yet another ridiculously beautiful woman with too many men that love her. Wah wah.
6)Did I also mention George Eliot is crazy? I mean the woman has an agenda, a BIG one, in all of her stories (what writer doesn't?). I didn't expect a happy ending, I just wasn't seeing most of anything involving Stephen and the dying coming. She loves women to destroy themselves because of ridiculous promises to awful men.

I should probably read some of her books someday...

Case Histories Series 2

I think just Martha and I ever watched this show. It's awesome. I've blogged about it before (here and here). Well, Martha, this one's for you.

I finally got around to checking on the filming of series two. Seems like it filmed last October and is going to air on BBC1 this year. I'd guess we're looking at a fall PBS premiere.

Since Sherlock hasn't started filming series three yet, and we're most likely looking at a 2014 release, I'd say ya'll that didn't watch Case Histories the first time around might want to get on board to keep some amazingly written and acted British mystery solving in your life.



The trailer's got Johnny Cash. You know this is good. 

Downton Abbey 3:4

I feel bad writing anything this week, but you'll see that when the comments kind of just stop.

:::Ivy is the new Daisy. Daisy is the new Mrs. Patmoore. Mrs. Patmoore is nicetimes?
:::Breakfasting in bed is awkward.
:::Sybil's hair is a disaster (sorry! I wrote it before she went into labor!)
:::Isobel. Martha doesn't know why I dislike Isobel and I was trying to examine my aversion to her this episode. While she has sometimes, and a lot of the times been right in the causes of her selfrighteousness she rarely thinks through what she's trying to do, and almost never thinks about the feelings of others involved. Yes, she loves charity and helping, but when she wanted to keep Downton as a hospital did she think about how the family felt? They of course didn't feel the way she did, but if she would just stop to think about someone else's side she might not come off so horrible to me. The same thing happened last episode when she refused to at least humor Ethel about giving Charlie up. Mrs. Hughs was very right in consoling Ethel. Isobel was very little help because she didn't feel that Ethel had done the right thing, and refused to concede any type of support in the matter, even though that's her schpiel. Now she's hired Ethel, bc Ethel needs a job, without thinking it through. Mr. Carson's opinion about the feelings of society towards Ethel might not be just, but they are true. Mrs. Hugh's recognizing that Ethel is not suited for the job is also something that Isobel ignored considering when she hired her. So I guess my beef with Isobel is her holierthanthou attitude that disregards the feelings and attitudes of those she's being holierthan.
:::Matthew's eyes are very very blue in the breakfast room.
:::Oh hey, Timothy Piggot-Smith.
:::"Let me just change out of my tux and deliver a baby. Oh wait, no, I'll just take off my coat and roll up my sleeves."
:::Jimmy's got a nice stink face, I'll give him that.
:::Don't let Sybil sleep!!!!

And that's when I started to weep softly and for a long time. We all know that this family is super dysfunctional and now the only rational character (ok, rational is debatable) is gone. It's all going to fall apart as a moral that "reality" is not all cupcakes and roses. Matthew and Mary are going to divorce. Bates is never going to get out. Mrs. Hughs is going to die of undiagnosed cancer. Everything will be terrible.

:::Also, don't feed the baby honey. That's a super bad idea.

and Maggie Smith is a goddess. 

Sexy Sunday: curtain skirt.

I got so many compliments at church today I thought I'd make a Sexy Sunday entry. The picture's pretty gross, and you can tell I really need to get my hairs trimmed, and not a flattering angle, but...

-shirt is from Seoul
-skirt is upholstry fabric Martha's mom gave me. It's busy times and I love it. the back hem is giant box pleats
-shoes are Nine West

Retro, Vintage, Antique, and Extant AND Ancient!

Alright, let's get this straight. People with Pinterest boards of  "Vintage Fashions" with gowns from 1775 are driving me NUTS. So, here we go.

Retro: of or designating the style of an earlier time. Typically older than 15-20 years and younger than 30. So right now 1984-1999 is considered retro, let that sink in. Anything less than 15 years old is just out of style.

Vintage is the gap between retro and antique. So right now vintage is 1915-1983. I found a definition that said vintage tends to be of higher quality or value, but I'm just going to say it's not mid-century garbage.

Antique is one hundred years old or older, some argue that it starts at 1920. So antique is either older than 1920 or 1914.

Extant means still existing. A dress from 1885 is both antique and extant. It is not however vintage.

Also, a costume is something someone wears when they're not being themselves, even if it means they're dressing how they would have dressed in 1910. Clothes are what people actually wore/wear. In my opinion you don't have extant costumes unless they were worn at a fancy dress party or on stage. Don't make a Pinterest board of "costumes" that is all extant clothing that real people wore as themselves. If it was some duchess' fancy dress costume from 1895 then you can put it in a costume board.

However (and this is where it gets admittedly obnoxious), I will say that costume designers design COSTUMES for actors, and clothes for characters. Get it?

Edited--I'm really going for quantifiable time with these definitions and so thought of the last broad label I could, so...
Ancient: of or relating to the historical period beginning with the earliest known civilizations and extending to the fall of the western Roman Empire in a.d. 476 (link)

So...(yes, I have changed all dates to reflect 2014)
Now--NOW
2000-2013--I don't know, outdated? limbo?
1984-1999--Retro
1915-1983--Vintage
477 AD-1914--Antique
476 AD and before--Ancient

Merlot/Lace mock up

I've been working all week on getting the pattern right for my merlot and lace dress. I don't have all the appropriate facilities or personnel and it's a beast. I draped it on a new form so that is an adventure, it has a Peter Pan collar to change whenever I change the neckline or shoulders, the absence of half the shoulder because of the open back is fun, and I discovered I have a forward right arm joint. I did a full mock up minus sleeves, then a bodice #2, then a bodice #3 with sleeves. I'd post pictures of the mock ups on me, but my garments are all over the place so ya'll get to see bodice #3 on the form.

I promise it looks much better on my crooked body. Real drapers probably wouldn't need three mock ups, but with my craziness and the open back and the collar etc. I want to get this right. Also, my life would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about sleeves, which I will be changing to gusseted sleeves bc even though, as Jack has reminded me, I'm not an actor and won't be doing cart-wheels on stage, I hate not being able to move my arms.

Mock ups are so nice because you just draw all over them and chop them out. Now I have to be all careful about my marking blah blah blah, and the fabric is kind of squirrely.  I still have 5.5 weeks (eeeeee!!!) to get this done, but it's going to take some brain power. I better get started. Best case scenario I finish it early and it sits waiting for its debut. I won't wear it before New York. It needs a proper city introduction. 

Cities To Live In

I've been compiling a wishlist of things the city I choose for my career will have:

Good fish tacos: Because they are delicious
Theatre: so I can work and play
Opera: employment opportunity
Dance: employment opportunity
Fine arts museum with clothing collection: employment and research opportunity
Other museums: research and fun
Universities: employment opportunity
Public transport: for sanity's sake
Good shopping: fabric and clothing for work and play
Close to a Temple: so many these days!
East coast and/or international: the midwest is nice, and the west is nice, and the westcoast is ok for a visit, but I want to go EAST! lots of people, lots of history, lots of culture and people doing what I want to do.

Cities that fit this description (in order)?

NYC
tacos: it's NYC, they have to have good fish tacos
theatre: NYC is theatre, four LORT theatres
opera: The Met
dance: NYCB, ABT
clothing collection: The Met, Brooklyn Museum
museums: MOMA, Guggenheim, The Cloisters, Whitney Museum
universities: Columbia, NYU et al.
pub trans: The Subway, as good or better than the Tube? we'll have to see
shopping: NYC is shopping
temple: Manhattan Temple is across the street from Lincoln Center
location: East coast

London
tacos: are fish tacos a thing in London?
theatre: The National (government funded theatre), The Old Vic, The Young Vic, Shakespeare's Globe, The Westend. Need I go on?
opera: The Royal Opera
dance: The Royal Ballet
clothing collection: The Victoria and Albert, The London Museum
museums: Tate Britain, Tate Modern, John Soanes Museum, The Clink, The Globe, National Gallery, etc etc.
universities: lots
pub trans: The Tube, how I miss thee, and buses
shopping: SOHO, Harrods, High streets galore
temple: The London Temple's on Effington Road, I kid you not.
location: it's London. Not America, but who's counting?

Boston
tacos: no reports of tacos, but they must be there somewhere
theatre: need first hand info, but seems like they've got a pretty solid theatre scene, LORT: Huntington Theatre Company, American Rep (in Cambridge)
opera: Boston Lyric Opera, New England's largest opera company
dance: Boston Ballet
clothing collection: Museum of Fine Arts Boston (which has this beauty)
museums: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, all the American history
universities: Harvard, BU, all of them
pub trans: rail, bus, subway, boat
shopping: the internet tells me there's good shopping
temple: Boston Temple
location: ab 4 hours from NYC

Philadelphia
tacos: Sarah says there are fish tacos
theatre: seems pretty legit? no first hand accounts from peers http://www.theatrealliance.org/member-list, LORT: Arden Theatre, People's Light and Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Wilma Theatre
opera: Philadelphia Opera
dance: Pennsylvania Ballet
clothing collection: Philadelphia Museum of Art
museums: Rodin Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, all of the American history
universities: U Penn
pub trans: Sarah says it's doable
shopping: Seems alright? fabrics? http://www.philadelphia.com/shopping/
temple: Philadelphia Temple completion in 2015-16,  Manhattan Temple is closest.
location: 2 hours from NYC, 5 hours from Boston

Washington D.C.
tacos: The food I had there was delicious, they must have good fish tacos somewhere
theatre: Kennedy Center, LORT: Arena Stage, Ford's Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company
opera: Washington National Opera
dance: Washington Ballet
clothing collection: Museum of American History
museums: all of them
universities: Georgetown, American University, have heard nothing great ab their theatre programs.
pub trans: The Metro's alright
shopping: seemed nice
temple: D.C. Temple
location: about 4 hours from NYC

I can look at more inland locations in another entry, but I think these are my top. 

vlog: new glasses!

Downton Abbey 3:3

:::Bates doesn't need his cane anymore! Watson.
:::Whenever Isobel says "Sorry to push in" she's sorry she's not sorry.
:::OMG, Matthew, you can't just ask someone why they're not breakfasting in bed!
:::I breakfast in bed when I get married?
:::Seriously, Thomas is giving off the thickest serial killer vibe recently...
:::New footman, not handsome. Weird looking. Baby face with cheekbones makes for some weird old/young weird weird weirdo face. I guess he's 1920s handsome? I'd take Douglas Fairbanks any day.
:::NO touching, Thomas! You'd think he'd know by know that his gaydar is broken.
:::Lots of weird pauses and glances with the Isobel/Ethel interactions. My money's on Isobel having been a prostitute, got preggers with Matthew, married his dad then BAM! then somehow her life turned out fine? BUT Matthew's not a Crawley and can't inherit! Oh no! But yeah...that whole thing was filmed very strange. I hate Isobel. She's such a Harriet Jones recently.
:::Oh LOOK! Now everyone knows Branson is a giant douchebag, even Sybil (Please Sybil, tell me you've figured it out by now).
:::I realized that letter writing will never completely die out bc prisoners only write letters right? Or do they even have email these days?
:::Dear Alfred, Idk how I feel about you still. Idk how I feel about Daisy liking you. Idk how I feel about you hitting on Ivy from the get go. You are a puzzle to me. I do know I love your ginger hair and your height, but you really do look like a kicked puppy.
:::I vote Matthew and Mary are going to divorce or something catastrophic is going to happen. They make very little effort to see each other's points of view and/or work together in any way. Why did they get married? Why do they love each other? Why did they ever like each other? I seem to remember some amount of unadulterated jealousy turning into an inexplicable dining room make-out. I'm not knocking the choice of make-out local, but I'm really starting to wonder if the wool's been pulled over our eyes for two and a half seasons and these two are actually a terrible terrible couple.
:::Mrs. Hughs can make me all the toast. 

Recently watched...

Here are some pieces of videography that I think you should know about...

Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Jack tipped me off to this doc about Jiro, the best suchi-er in the world. His restaurant in Japan has 10 seats and 4 stars from Michelin. The doc is beautifully shot and constructed, the subject is inexplicably fascinating, and the men involved are inspiring. The whole thing made me feel like I wasn't doing enough with my life, but in a really positive "yes I will do better bc I'm worth it!" kind of a way instead of the "you suck, you don't do enough" thing, which is the other way docs can make you feel. To top it off there's a twist ending. "What?! How can a documentary have a surprise ending?" you may ask. Watch it and see (Wordplay also has surprise, edge of your seat ending). It's a real treat. I cried.

Jeeves and Wooster
Bestie Sarah and I marathoned this early 90s treat over the month she was home for the holidays. Starring Hugh Laurie (Dr. House) as Bertram Wilberforce Wooster, an easy living gentleman and Stephen Fry (of QI and Bones) as Jeeves, his extremely clever and understated valet. Basically it's the 1930s, Bertie has gobs of dough and tons of hijinks which Jeeves gets him out of with his wonderful brain. The first season is a riot. The second season starts out with a whole new glammed up look trading Bertie's accent and many of the actors. Eventually by the end of season 2 it settles back in, but the minor actors do rotate for the rest of the 4 total seasons. The slang and banter are superb, some of the situations are absolutely delightful, but many of them get rather old over 4 seasons. Usually some shrew of a distant relative of Bertie's makes him steal something from another acquaintance to ensure that through some degree of tomfoolery the shrew can marry some bumbling idiot. That, or some bumbling idiot makes Bertie pose as someone to impress the male relative of some ridiculously soppy female so they can marry. Laurie and Fry hold the weakening plots together. Overall it also a real treat. If you've never watched Fry and Laurie in their original guise: that of outrageously dry and successful British comedy types you need to watch Jeeves and Wooster, or A Bit of Fry and Laurie, or Black Adder with Rowan Atkinson.

Koyaanitqatsi
I'll have you know I spelled that right the first time!
Matt told me about this one awhile ago and I finally got around to watching it. 90 minutes, no dialogue, just a collection of beautiful shots directed by Godfrey Reggio and an amazing score by Philip Glass, cinematography by Ron Fricke. Filmed between 1975 and 1981, this film is a deliberately constructed series of real time, slow motion, and time lapsed footage of any and all things. Starting with beautiful shots of the wilderness, onto abandoned projects, bustling cities, American factories and onward, this film really wiped me out. Sometimes I cried and knew why, other times I had no idea. It's a real think piece, as I was warned and I think I'll give it some time before I watch it again. If I was in college I'd write all of the amazing papers about this one. As I'm not however, I'll just kind of sit here and think about it all the time, like I've been doing with any spare moment of brain space since I watched it.

There you go, what I've been watching in the last month or so. S'all good. I left out the not so great, so you're welcome. 

favorite picture: view from my Cedar porch

I think I've posted pictures from this porch before. If not here then for sure on facebook. This is my last moonrise from last season.

I loved my porch in Cedar last year. I had some very good times and created very good memories on that porch, whether I was sitting in my robe with my feet up reading, having a girls night filled with chocolate and Wendy's chicken nuggets, or just having other visitors over. It was a great porch and I miss it and the people I entertained on it. If you were a guest of the porch in any capacity know that more porch memories need to be made!

My favorite years:

1775

1798

1828

1872

1885

1912

1917

1947

Downton Abbey 3:2

Great article about the girls' wedding dresses, and $200,000 tiara!

:::Mary is SUCH a pill! I think she's forgotten lame, barfy Matthew on his deathbed too quickly.
:::Oh Thomas. What a life you have lead/are leading. Of the all the characters over these 8/9 years I think he and O'Brien are the only ones that actually look like they've aged it. Maybe Mrs. Hughes, but she just up and got sick so it looks like it now.
:::Those hairs are shellacked.
:::Sneaky sneaky Carson. He's had his sneaky footman days I'm sure.
:::I think the gentlemen's makeup is a bit heavy handed lately. Sir Antony looks rather a doll.
:::And why can't Sir Antony keep his hand in his pocket or something? It's so bizarre all strung up that high and in a black sling. He didn't use to have it that way right after the war did he?
:::Dear Isobel, the prostitutes don't care.
:::All prostitutes have frizzy hair. Even Ethel after her client left had the frizzy hair, like they do it up special.
:::Matthew in his grey suit with blue shirt and tie. Perhaps the best ensemble he's every worn? Besides the uniforms?
:::Oh Season 3, you keep tempting us with Robert's slow unbuttoning and losing his shirts. Just release a steamy Lord Grantham calendar and be done with it!
:::The Swires have been ever so helpful and convenient through all of this!
:::All of the hats!
:::I will be Edith. I will find some very old man to devote my life to.
:::When I have all of the wedding things on I will run up and down stairs to billow so nicely.
:::Dear Edith: If your heart really did break that badly there should be less noise and more drooling. Try some hyperventilating, reducing yourself to a crumpled mass on the floor, and when you do start being able to make noise, ensure it's gaspy and/or dragon-like. Just me?
:::I loved the manshake between Matthew and Lord Grantham after they struck their deal. Oh no, hands were not enough, shoulders must be clasped as well.
:::I just think O'Brien or Thomas will just stab the other with a pen knife one of these days.
:::Why does Daisy like Alfred? Sure, he's ginger, whatever, but they seem to have no interaction other than she asking him about being "modern" and "outspoken". You missed the boat with William, Daisy, time to look outside the kitchen for love. Footmen won't do you any good.
:::All of the amazing 20s fashions. woof.
:::FYI: Alfred is 6'4". I know you were wondering.

Ira Glass Impressions

Ok, here's this great one from SNL that I posted on my facebook:




And then an episode of Guy Noir from A Prairie Home Companion where Rupert Murdoch gets a brain tissue implant from Ira Glass. I DIED this was so funny. Start around 26:15 to hear just the impression. Ug, it's SO great!

http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/2010/11/13/scripts/noir.shtml

fun little Q&A

Benedict Cumberbatch answered this questionaire from The Gaurdian almost exactly a year ago. His answers are just too much. Love him to death! So here are my answers.

When were you happiest? 
Working on Peter Pan, being creative and having the answers.

What is your greatest fear? 
Pregnancy complications

What is your earliest memory? 
The station wagon overheating and getting water from a pond.

Which living person do you most admire, and why? 
The women of the BYU theatre department, they’re successful, spiritual, intelligent working mothers.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? 
Fixation on things I can’t change.

What is the trait you most deplore in others? 
Apathy

What was your most embarrassing moment? 
I don’t really get embarrassed. Uncomfortable? Acting class.

What makes you unhappy? 

What the world’s coming to.

What do you most dislike about your appearance? 
How wide and angular my hips are.

What is your guiltiest pleasure? 
Midnight chocolate chips.

What is your most unappealing habit? 
Talking fast and about nothing when I’m nervous.

What would be your fancy dress costume of choice? 
Don’t care as long as it’s glamorous, I’m in a corset, and someone else made it.

What is the worst thing anyone's ever said to you? 
“ I can’t believe you’re single!”…many are guilty, and welcome to the club. 

What was the best kiss of your life? 

My last first kiss.


Which words or phrases do you most overuse? 
Um

What has been your biggest disappointment? 
I’m not further in my career. I compare myself to those who’ve already accomplished what I want, not helpful.

If you could edit your past, what would you change? 
I would have tried to model before my hips came in and I got too old.

What is the closest you've come to death? 
Panic attack landing in Denver? at least it felt like it.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life? 
Industrial iron.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? 
Winning KCACTF Regionals. My NAPAT award was great, but Regionals was more of a trial for me.

What keeps you awake at night? 
Worrying about things I can’t change or control.

What song would you like played at your funeral? 

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

How would you like to be remembered? 
Loving mother and wife, and successful designer.

Tell us a secret 
I never think I've done my best.

Watson Face

My study abroad group saw Taking Steps by Alan Ayckbourn at the Orange Tree Theatre in London 2010. We first read it and Martha and I ate it up. Gosh, we still quote it ("I'm a dancer, Mark!"). Our favorite character in the play and the production was Tristram Watson. He's inarticulate and unassuming and adorable. He inadvertently causes most of the hubbub, and he has a GREAT face. The character has a great face. You can't not see a wonderfully lovely face when you read him. Matthew Cottle, as Watson in the Orange Tree production was perfect.

a much younger Matthew Cottle than we saw,
but you get the idea.

Martha and I started referring to this type of unassuming lovability in a man's face as being "Watson", i.e. "he's such a Watson" or "he has a Watson face". The unspoken sign of a Watson face is putting your wrists together and framing your face at the chin, smiling and squinting, like it's too much to handle.

Martin Freeman, such a Watson

It just so happens that Martin Freeman as John Watson in Sherlock also has a Watson face, absolutely appropriate, but the name derives from Taking Steps. Other Watson faces? Rory Williams from Doctor Who, Martha says Mark Ruffalo, which I partly agree with and William from Series 1&2 of Downton. 

Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams

William from Downton (Thomas Howes)

Amy from Doctor Who sums up the Watson face very well :
"You know when sometimes you meet someone so beautiful - and then you actually talk to them and five minutes later they're as dull as a brick; but then there's other people. And you meet them and you think, 'Not bad, they're okay,' and when you get to know them ... their face just, sort of, becomes them, like their personality's written all over it, and they just - they turn into something so beautiful. Rory's the most beautiful man I've ever met."


I know very few Watson faces in real life, but I know some and I love them. They're wonderful.

My friends are hilarious.

I love puns. So does Tess. We are hilarious.

Downton Abbey 3:1

Where to begin?! Kind of surreal to be watching new Downton!  and on a real TV too! Two hours is quite a lot to respond to! I thought about writing notes as I went, but that's like only looking through your viewfinder at the Eiffel Tower.

the turbans, feathers, and fur were astounding. 

:::Still dislike cousin Isobel.
:::Still love cousin Violet.
:::Alfred is so tall!
:::You can tell Shirley MacLaine's maid is British. Note to American accent attempters: Learn to say your R's, then pull back!
:::Poor Brendan Coyle has to film in that jail all the time!
:::Thomas and O'Brien's relationship has been more of a roller coaster than any other pair in the whole series I think. Disagree, I dare you.
:::Branson is still a twerp. Wah wah wah, I'm Irish. You might not like your in-laws, but at least be polite.
:::SO glad the visiting duke or whomever got so mad at his son for roofy-ing Branson. One of the highlights of the episode.
:::Teared up when Mary came down in her wedding gown, almost as much as when Kate Middleton got out of her town car. I'm such a cry baby about wedding dresses.
:::YES! They got married! And now Mary can ruin everything by being a pill! I get her side, I get his side. I don't know whom I side with, but I'm usually on Matthew's side.
:::Dan Stevens gained back any weight he took off for season 2, schade. And I was getting so accustomed to his jawline.
:::At first before we knew they'd lost all the money I thought Lord Grantham was still mixed up in that nasty maid affair. BOO!
:::Isis (the dog) is such a great character.
:::Matthew needs a haircut. Is it just me, or has he reverted back to the season one doughy/disheveled Matthew?
:::I don't know what I think of Alfred. I want him to get along well, but I don't like the American maid, so does that mean I don't like that they're together? I dunno, haven't decided...but Shirley's leaving so maid will be gone soon.
:::I don't know what I want for Daisy.
:::I'm not sure how I feel about a lot of things from this episode. I think I'll get more and more upset at Mary for harping on Matthew. I think that ginger maid from last season is going to upset me. I think Bates might get in trouble with his cellmate. Finally showing some guts.
:::So many pretty 1920s things.
:::Just let Edith get married and be done with it! Gutsy though to have all the youngsters married.
:::I can't put my finger on what's still missing from these episodes that series one had, and I don't know if we'll get it back. It might just be the loveliness of a new world that is now familiar. Perhaps a move away from the big house will be something like a new world.
:::Please please please make all the handsome well dressed men hold Sybil's baby when it comes!

And with that, I just want to put a plug in for the "Secrets of Great British Homes" or something like that...it's a series they're showing the hour before Downton about the great houses of Great Britain and their "secrets". Of course the premiere was Highclere Castle which was very interesting. Hampton Court and Chatsworth will be featured. I'm excited!

How To Catch A Wedding Bouquet

1) Be tall.
2) Wear heels. Being about 6'2" is ideal when all is said and done.
3) Go to the back. Most brides are worried they won't throw it hard enough and so over compensate and send the flowers sailing over all the anxiously awaiting single lasses. Usually just being tall and in the back is going to clinch it for ya.
4) Don't want to catch it. I've caught 4 or 5, or 6? After the second I was over it, but they kept coming. At this point I try not to participate but inevitably get shoved into the group, and put in the back bc the shorter girls figure that's a handicap. See #3.
5) Snatch it. Just reach up and get it. It's there, it's coming right at you, no one else has a chance. Just take it.
6) Pose with the bride.

The end.

I've caught almost every bouquet since puberty and am pretty sure all the girls that didn't catch it at all of those weddings are married by now, so obviously it works wonders :P

2013 Resolutions

I guess I didn't make any resolutions for 2012. I planned to, I have a journal entry saying "I'll write resolutions tomorrow" but I didn't, ever. Usually I write a journal entry reviewing the previous year's resolutions and make new ones. I don't have that this year, lame. My bad.

Looking at past years is encouraging and hilarious. I actually exercised this year which was a resolution for 2011 that I failed. I made another resolution for 2011 that I didn't accomplish until this year. Better late than never? I remember thinking that if I could get married in 2010 I'd've been 21 which I thought was a good age and 2010 is a good year for easy anniversary math. Obvs that didn't happen and I can't tell you how relieved I am by that! No relationship resolutions will I make for this year. They don't work and I'm not a big believer in setting myself up for failure.

I will also not make any new resolutions about the number of dresses or projects I want to accomplish and when. I always do this and it never works. I complete what I complete and am happy bc I didn't kill myself over it.

What else can I not make resolutions about?

My actual resolutions that I'm choosing to share with y'all:

-Read The Lord of the Rings books. That's pretty easy right? A whole year for 4 books is not hard, but I never finished Little Women this summer so...
-Try to go to grad school in the fall. Yes, try. If my current plan doesn't turn out to be the right plan then I reserve the right to not go to grad school and move to New York or Boston or some such place.
-Exercise. No specifics for this one. Hopefully I will find a way to be active before I join the gym again in Cedar, and will hopefully find a way to keep it up after I leave Cedar. I have no specific exercise goal, I just know that I'm firmer, happier, more energetic, have less head aches, am less stressed,  and have better skin when I exercise.
-Rock USF this summer. I'ma kill it. Take it how you will, but I'ma murder my third season.
-Complete the three dresses I said I'd make thus far: Striped dress, Merlot and Lace, and OND'13.
-Get real good at selling wedding dresses real fast. This if just for the beginning of the year. I know goals are supposed to be specific and blah blah, but I'm not exactly sure what's realistic and how that's measured right now.
-Make new friends, and keep the old. Cheeseballs yes, but I realized more than ever this year, especially since I'm not in a permanent place in my life, that my friends are very important to me and I want to keep them. I also made amazing new friends this year and believe you can never have too many. Will I be bestie best friends with everyone? No, but I can collect more people I like being around and that like being around me.
-Obviously this was the best year for my blog as it was the first year I regularly wrote. I will have on and off times for this little beauty, but I resolve to give all my faithful visitors something to read or see. It does take me quite some time to compose the more substantial, and usually more popular entries, so be patient! You've all been wonderful thus far.
-Learn one song on the ukulele.
-Don't be dumb.

Now, I want to know, what was your favorite entry/entries from 2012?

2012

Oh 2012.

2012 was unlike any year of my life. It was sweet, it was bitter, it had highs it had lows. I guess you can say that about most years, but this one was especially prolific in life experiences.

January I met and got to know an amazing group of performers and artists with the USF Education Tour.
February I competed at KCACTF Regionals and got to spend some quality time with my BYU friends and lived with my sister Ashley.
March was a month of travel. I went home for a time, and to Boise and caught up with the dear dear VDGs.
April I went to DC for KCACTF Nationals and won a prize and met amazing peers and saw the town with bestie Sarah and had quality time with sister Whitney.
May I moved back to Cedar and had a great build for Les Mis. I learned how to whip out a vest back, I got reacquainted with costumers from last year and made them my good friends. May was all about the costume shop.
June was much like May, except at the end I met the amazing actors I would work with for the summer and fall.
July was one of my favorite months. The Festival cools down once the builds are over and the shows are up and you really get to know people. I had the immense pleasure of getting to know the Scapin cast in July and will cherish my time with them always.
August was strange as the shows continued but the work doubled as build started and personal challenges came to a head. August darkened as the wonderful Summer company neared the end of its sojourn with us. It was the best, and worst of times for this year.
September was an odd month. I felt the loss of the Summer company deeply and the oddity of only running Les Mis while still building for fall. September was great however because with the loss of the Summer friends I really got to know my Les Mis cast and stronger bonds were formed.
October was lovely. I ran Stones and Les Mis and while the contract was coming to an end it certainly was starting to feel like it was time to move on.
November. Oh November. November was a stand still. I was home but waiting to go to Korea. Korea was a life experience I will love forever. I had wonderful experiences and met lovely people I now consider friends. After Korea I got into a rather nasty funk as I started to miss USF bad, and realized I was living in Nebraska for five months while it seemed like so many of my friends were onto much bigger and better things. The job hunt was also not going well.
December started much the same as November, but I eventually got a job and started making friends at church and things are moving in better directions. A friend coming through town, having Caitlin around for Christmas, and my bestie being home for the holidays has really picked me up.

So that was 2012. Sometimes lovely, sometimes rather bleak, always a learning experience. I'm still formulating what I hope to get from 2013 so that'll come later.