A New Addiction

So... I discovered The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.  And its spinoffs, The Lydia Bennet Diaries and Pemberley Digital.  I laughed.  I cried.  I spent hours watching all the videos, and I even put up with the annoying Youtube ads.  I am obsessed.  I started watching last Friday.  By Monday morning I had watched all 88 episodes, just in time for the posting of the 89th.  Today I rushed home from lunch eager to watch the 90th. Now I can't wait until Monday, for the 91st.

Somehow, I got completely sucked into this fictional world.  Partially, I think, this is because the creators fleshed out the world so wholly.  Not only does Lizzie post videos on Youtube, she also posts to a Twitter account-- as do all of the other characters.  I back-checked all of their tweets.  I've browsed every one of Jane's pinboards on Pinterest and her look-books.  And while of course I love Lizzie and Jane... improbably, I totally love Lydia as well.  Her videos are adorable... and in their turn, painful to watch.  But in a compelling way.

When I had no more Lizzie videos, tweets, or pins to look at, I turned to the reality.  I watched a bloopers reel, a "making of," and I follow the actors on Twitter.  I excitedly looked at all of the pictures from the Streamy's.  Mary Kate Wiles (Lydia Bennet) even replied to one of my tweets (best morning ever!).

So, all to say, if you want to watch an amazing adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, to look at gorgeous actors (everyone in the series looks flawless), and to become completely sucked into a fictional world for a little while, I highly recommend watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.  Plus, I need more people to share my obsession so that they understand when I say things like, "Lizzie Bennet just posted to Twitter!  She's making a new Q&A!  I'm going to ask questions!  This is the best day of my life!"  Because trust me, this series will make you say such things. 

Sorry I'm not sorry. :)


*This is not a sponsored post.  I know no one involved with the series in real life, I get no money/goods from it, and no one asked me to say nice things.  I'm just really obsessed.  And I want you to be, too.  :)  Oh look!  What's that down there?  The first episode of the series??! ...Enjoy.

Down at the Mardi Gras: Picture Post!

As promised, a picture post!  We'll start out with photos from the Krewe of Xanadu Ball!

(Kay did my hair, isn't it wonderful?)

(Our table setting)

(Gorgeous Kay!!!)

(Me and my mother, belles of the ball! ;))

(Last year's royalty bidding adieu to their reign...)

(Presenting Queen Xanadu 2013...)

(Here she is!)

(In New Orleans, at the Iris Parade)

(Endymion!)

(Our swag caught during parades.  This isn't even all of it.)

(At the parade at Morgan City)

Hope you enjoy the pictures!!!  They can't entirely capture the magic of the Mardi Gras season, but hopefully you can see that a grand time was had by all!

Godawful Love: A Film

Ok guys, here it is: Zan's 24-Speed Film!  While I caught beads in New Orleans, Zan and friends worked hard to make a short film in 24 hours.  At the start of the competition, each team is given something they must incorporate into the film: a genre, prop, and line of dialogue. The genre? Disaster Film.  The prop? A box of sweethearts.  The line? "No one is that good, not even me!" 

Winner of the 2013 Alumni Audience Award, Godawful Love.

Non-Traditional Valentine's Day

I don't go much in for Valentine's Day.  I mean, I love getting cards for my friends and I'm all about chocolate whatever the occasion, but the romance thing seems hyped.  I don't want to go out with my partner for a fancy, expensive dinner just because it's Valentine's Day, or feel like I have to get him a card or a gift or something.  And I don't want him to feel that way about me.  I'd much prefer flowers on some random day of the year when I'm not expecting them, or when I really need a pick-me-up. Plus, for me and Zan, our anniversary is only a bit over a week later, so it seems a bit much to celebrate both.

However, though no gifts or cards were exchanged this year, Zan and I did make the day special, if a bit non-traditional.  We started out the day with brunch at Aroma's and split an order of strawberry crepes.  I must say, those crepes have only gotten better throughout the years.  Then we saw a late-morning showing of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.  I have wanted to see this movie for ages and I was not disappointed.  The film does not take itself too seriously, it uses anachronism to the best possible effect, and it's produced by Will Ferrell.  How can you go wrong?  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After the movie, we came home and napped.  Seriously.  After Mardi Gras this past week/weekend I felt exhausted and needed the sleep.  We woke up, then had a late lunch at the DoG Street Pub (Cornish pasty, what!) and saw the screening of the 24 Speed Films at the Kimball.  24 speed, for those who don't know, is a competition in which filmmakers have 24 hours to make a five minute film.  They are given a genre, prop, and line of dialogue which they must incorporate.  Zan and his team made a film over the past weekend, while I partied in Louisiana.  I love the film, and I'll post it in a few days, after the awards ceremony tomorrow night.

After the film screening, we stopped by Trader Joe's, and as we unloaded groceries and tried to figure out dinner, Zan mentioned bowling.  Bowling.  Bowling is fun.  Before I knew it, we whisked ourselves away to the bowling alley for two hours of pin-knocking glory.  I'm terrible at bowling-- my high score out of five games was 54-- but I loved every minute.  We got home late and had a midnight meal of 'Spearean risotto and salad.  The perfect Valentine's Day.

(I haven't forgotten Mardi Gras pictures, don't worry!  They are coming!)

Down at the Mardi Gras: Part Two

We arrived back in Lafayette from New Orleans at a little before one in the morning.  As you might imagine, we were exhausted.  After Friday night at the ball, an early morning to get to New Orleans, and a late night back, sleeping late on Sunday morning was a necessity.  Still, we didn't sleep that late because we wanted to try The French Press, a restaurant in downtown Lafayette.  And I'm so glad we did!  The restaurant featured in a Southern Living article, and it lived up to the hype!

For breakfast, we all split a "Sweet Baby Breesus" appetizer-- a boudin ball on a muffin with cane syrup-- and praline bacon, which is as decadent as it sounds.  I got the Cajun Benedict for my meal: two poached eggs on French bread topped with chicken and andouille gumbo and rice.  Kay got amazing French toast covered with blueberries.  We split cheddar grits and each got a fruit bowl, which thankfully had no melon, but several pieces of kiwi!

After breakfast, my parents friends came to pick us up and we went to Morgan City, a small town south of Lafayette, for another Mardi Gras parade.  This was much calmer than New Orleans.  The Krewe of Galatea rolled, with a groovy '70s theme.  Such a relaxing afternoon parade, really felt "down home."  It reminded me of the homecoming parades at my high school in Missouri, with the whole town coming out to see the homemade floats.

That evening we had a buffet dinner at Randol's, where Cajun music played in an attached dance hall.  Kay learned the Cajun two-step, but I refrained from dancing (I'm terrible at it).  And, we tried crawfish!  I love love love it!  It tastes like tiny lobster tail bites.  We didn't peel them ourselves, as one of the members of our party (who lived in Lafayette) loved peeling them and really went at it.  I felt grateful not to have to pop the heads off myself, but I'd do it if it was the only way.

Monday was low-key.  Kay, my mom, and I had breakfast at a diner called T-Coons, where we had beignets!  Then we spent the morning in a coffee shop, just relaxing.  The past few days had really taken it out of us.  We checked Facebook and blogs, read, chatted.  We had lunch at Blue Dog Cafe (duck quesadillas!) , then napped in the afternoon.  In the evening we were to meet everyone for a night parade in Lafayette, but neither Kay nor I was feeling too alert (and it was very rainy and cold), so we opted not to join.  Instead, we walked up the street to Agave for fajitas and chorizo queso.  We even caught a few parade floats, as the route took them right past the restaurant.  A lot of people had gotten tables, ran out to see the parade, then came back in to eat.  Smart.

Then Tuesday!  Mardi Gras itself!  We were disappointed to find The French Press closed for Mardi Gras, and as we checked out other restaurants we came to realize that Mardi Gras is treated like Christmas Day in Louisiana.  Everything closed.  We grabbed breakfast at McDonald's, then met everyone on the parade route for the parade of the Krewe of Gabriel.  So much fun!  My parents friends set up a tailgate, essentially, on the route.  We had fried chicken and jambalaya, King Cake, chicken wraps, boudin, soda, beer!  The floats in the parade were beautiful.  Our friends knew many of the riders, so they got some very cool throws.

After the parade, we headed back to Baton Rouge for the evening.  We dropped my dad at the airport, then Kay, my mom, and I checked out Beausoleil again (closed for Mardi Gras) so got coffee at a La Madeleine, then headed to an eatery called The Chimes.  So. Good.  I'm almost glad Beausoleil was closed.  I had Mahi-Mahi Florentine with crawfish tails on top, red beans and rice, we split an appetizer of hushpuppies, and I had a cider with framboise.  Amazing.  Then we got white chocolate bread pudding with praline sauce to go, and ate it for breakfast the next morning before our flight.

Overall, I loved the Mardi Gras experience and would go back again, but perhaps for a shorter amount of time.  I had no idea it would be so tiring!  After Sunday I was wiped.  But, I really do feel like I experienced it all (except, of course, the chicken-chasing).  I think it would be fun to go back again for some more New Orleans parades, too, and of course, some Cafe du Monde beignets.

Pictures to come soon in a dedicated picture post, as soon as I get them!

Down at the Mardi Gras: Part One

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I've been MIA on this blog for a little over a week because I've been in Louisiana for Mardi Gras with my parents and Kay!  As of yet, I'm low on pictures-- but they are coming, never you fear.  Essentially, my Mardi Gras experience was a bit more than a weekend of Cajun cooking, fried chicken, beignets, King Cake, a krewe ball, parades, purple/green/gold everything, throws of every make, but mostly beads beads beads.  I had no idea how many beads or how many different types of beads.  We ranged from Baton Rouge, to Lafayette, to New Orleans, to Morgan City.  We got a taste of every kind of Mardi Gras, except the really rural chicken-chasing kind.  But we heard about that kind.

We went to Mardi Gras because some friends of my parents live in Lafayette and have wanted us to come for years, so we had a very specialized experience.  The trip opened with an amazing meal at Beausoleil in Baton Rouge.  I had chicken and andouille gumbo, sea scallops on a bed of chorizo risotto, and we finished off with a white chocolate bread pudding and praline ice cream.  The next day we found ourselves in Lafayette at a fancy dress store, where I let my mom and Kay talk me into buying a beautiful one strap, blue-green sequined formal dress.  It will be perfect for Vegas.  The salesman was a friend of girl I knew in high school, so when we walked in he gave us "virgin mimosas": they were out of orange juice, so just the champagne ;). 

That night we went to the Krewe of Xanadu Ball at the Cajundome.  I really shouldn't even try to explain this one without pictures.  Suffice to say, it was beyond my dreams with the costumes, the dancing, the presentation of the Krewe Royal Court, etc.  There will be pictures.

Then off to New Orleans, for a day of parades!  We had a prime viewing spot at the Federal Reserve building, with clean bathrooms, secure parking, and bleachers to sit on if we wished.  The first parade to roll by was the Krewe of Iris, which my high school friend (mentioned above) rode in.  I saw her and called her name, and she tossed us her "good throws"-- that is, beads that were much nicer than the typical Mardi Gras bead.  We discovered that it works this way at most parades: since the riders buy their own throws, they throw the normal stuff for most of the parade, but if they see someone they know-- or someone especially enthusiastic-- they will throw their "good throws", whether prettier beads, stuffed animals, cups-- my mom even got a parasol!  After Iris we saw Krewe of Tucks, much more of a wild, "everyman" parade.  I got a throw that looks like a real necklace, and my dad got me some beads with rubber duckies on them!

Then we walked onto Bourbon Street.  Then quickly walked off Bourbon Street and back to the relative calm and security of the Federal Reserve Building.  We learned later that several hours after we left, four people were shot on Bourbon Street.  Luckily not fatally, but still.

That night, the Krewe of Endymion Parade rolled.  Endymion is a super krewe, and their floats showed it.  They were debuting their new float, Pontchartain Beach, comprised of nine segments that took up a whole city block and a half.  The float had 220 riders, all throwing things at the crowd below.  Thus, the bead catching then became a defensive sport.  I got hit in the eye, Kay has a bruise on her forehead, and my mom has a bump at her hairline.  After awhile, I retreated farther from the street in an effort to keep from becoming concussed.  But just wait for the pictures!

After Endymion, it was back across the Afatchalya Swamp to Layafette, where three more days of Mardi Gras awaited us!  Tune in to "Down at the Mardi Gras: Part Two" to hear the rest!

A Whovian Rant

I typically don't write much about television shows on here, but I had a conversation with my mom last night about Doctor Who, and I realized what really bothered me about the Christmas Special and the introduction (or second introduction) of the new companion.

It started when I began to reminisce about Rose, Martha, and Donna.  Particularly, I was thinking that, of all the humans in the world, why Rose?  I am not a huge fan of Rose.  She was okay, but it really got to me how the Doctor would always praise her, say she was the greatest, fall in love with her, etc., when in fact, I think she was his weakest companion.  She's fine and all, but the only human on the planet worth loving?  Really, Doctor?  It's like an Angel/Buffy thing-- you are hundreds of years old, yet you fall in love with a teenager-- and specifically this teenager?  Hmm.

(Why her, Doctor? WHY ROSE TYLER?; photo found here)

Anyway, that got into how wonderful Martha was, how strong she was, how she walked away from the Doctor in her own best interest.  How she saved the planet in a year that almost no one but herself remembers, how she led a resistance movement while the Doctor was no more than a tiny shriveled mouse-sized being in a cage.  Rose couldn't have done that.  Rose would've curled into a ball and cried and wondered why the Doctor wasn't saving her.  Rose is nothing special. (Though, to be fair, after she was gone I did miss her a little bit.)

(This is the face of badassery: Martha Jones; photo found here)

Then, I thought, how classy Martha, Donna, and even ROSE were compared to Amy and the new companion (Clara or Oswin or whatever they plan to name her).  Because, despite the fact that Rose totally loved the Doctor, she didn't just start making out with him the second she saw him.  She had a boyfriend and while Mickey gets treated like shit later on, at least-- unlike Amy on the night before her wedding-- Rose didn't start making out with the Doctor immediately.  Martha was totally in love with him, too, but she never forced herself on him.  She had too much self-respect and class.  She took 'no' for an answer.  And Donna-- ah, Donna Noble, the best of them all-- wasn't even interested.

(Sassy and strong, must be Donna Noble!; photo found here)

So yes, Amy throws herself at the Doctor.  That, of course, gets resolved, but it still struck me as a bit... class-less.  Particularly when you have a fiance as wonderful as Rory.  Then in the Christmas Special, Clara throws herself at the Doctor.  And he seems to really like it.

That's the clincher, because, whatever happened to River Song?

 (Hello, sweetie!  Never touched by an angel, River Song; photo found here)

I can see why Eleven falls for River Song, and it doesn't bother me, even though Ten was madly in love with Rose.  Why?  Because Eleven is a new being.  Same Doctor, new personality, new person.  Nine liked Rose, but Ten loved her.  Eleven can certainly love River Song and, lest we forget, marry her.  So Eleven is a married man in the Christmas Special, and we never wrapped up the River Song story.  I'd be on board with him falling for Clara if-- and only if-- they wrap up River Song.

What I want are two more River episodes.  One where she barely remembers him, they've had one adventure perhaps, and one where he says, "River!" and goes to kiss her and she says, "Who are you?!" and perhaps pulls a weapon on him.  Then he can have that heartbreak-- that same heartbreak she had with Ten in the Library-- and move on.  It can end, perhaps, with him giving her back her Tardis-shaped journal and saying, "Here you go, sweetie.  Don't read too much-- spoilers."  It would be sad and beautiful, but until then I don't want to see him attracted to and enjoying kissing another woman.  It seems somehow wrong given the relationship with River that they spent a few seasons building.  He told her his name.  He married her.  I know they tied her inextricably to Amy and Rory (for some strange reason) but just because Amy and Rory are gone doesn't mean River has gone, too. 

(Yes, these two are gone, Doctor, but River technically hasn't even met you yet! Photo found here)

Ok, this was a long rant, but it needed to be said.  I don't want Eleven attracted to Clara/Oswin until he has no hope with River anymore.  It makes him seem very fickle indeed, and I think the Doctor is too good of a man to completely forget his wife, the only one who knows his name, without a proper-- and final-- goodbye.

Other Possibilities

Well, my first grad school rejection arrived yesterday.  Hopefully my only rejection, but based on Evidence and Feelings, I am fully expecting a second rejection to arrive on Monday.  How am I feeling?  Okay.  The rejection that came was from a school I wanted to go to (obviously, I applied to schools I want to go to), but not one of my top tier choices.  It would have been nice to have it as an option, though.  It was my top choice in the south, and I kind of wanted to stay this side of the Mason-Dixon line.  Plus, I have a friend currently working on his dissertation there, and it would have been nice to join a program that a friend has nearly completed and loved.

Ah, well.  The thing is, this rejection and the one I sense is impending have made me think.  What if I don't get into any schools?  I've always recognized this as a possibility, but the waiting to hear back seemed to take so long I didn't really think about it.  I've loosely planned-- move to Richmond or D.C., look for history-based jobs.  But, I feel like maybe not. What do I want to do if I don't get into any of my top choices?  I feel like so many people know what they want from life.  Several of my friends know they want to be writers, some are certain they want to be filmmakers, others know they belong on the stage.  Others felt certain about law school and a career in that field.  Some know they belong in politics.  What do I want to do?  If I can't do material textuality, what then?

The possibilities are, I suppose, endless.  Part of me wants to become a dollmaker.  I know that sounds silly, but I think opening an etsy shop would be really fun.  I like creating things, tangible things.  Part of me wants to move to England-- to do what, I do not know, but the one thing I do know is that I belong in England.  It might be the one thing I know for certain about myself.  I've never felt that artistic drive that others talk about in terms of novel writing or theater.  I wish I could.  But I feel, oddly, like being in England feels as certain to me as the fine arts do to others.  That's one reason I study early modern and eighteenth-century England.  The place calls to me. 

But what do I want to do?  Besides literary theory, history/book history, and early modern England, what drives me?  What do I feel passionate about?  What could I see myself doing day in and day out?  From what work might I derive joy?  I feel now, more than ever, that I need to really confront these questions and work them out for myself.  It's a daunting task.

Finally February

January felt like a lot of waiting.  Mostly, waiting for February, so I can wait some more.  This month I should begin to hear back from grad schools, and that process may go through March.  But January felt slow and wasted.  I tried to read many books, see many movies, enjoy myself.  I've begun working on my Beauty and the Beast cross-stitch again in earnest.  But it's hard when you know that you're really waiting for your life to be decided, and that those decisions will begin to trickle in come February.  So, not only did I wait, I don't feel like I properly relaxed during the down time, because I couldn't forget that I was waiting.

But now it is February.  February looks a bit more active.  I should hear back-- for good or ill-- from at least one school this month.  I have plans for Mardi Gras with Kay, and I could not be more excited (well, actually, I will be once I get my shoes and a bolero jacket to go with my dress).  I can't wait for beignets and Cajun food.  I can't wait for beads and masks and costumes and parades.  And after Mardi Gras, hopefully a trip up to Philly to play tourist and see some friends from my study abroad program; we have come to the five-year anniversary of that beautiful semester.

And hopefully I won't spend so much time alone this month.  I like having a bit of space for myself, but January felt positively lonely at times.  Such loneliness can really make a girl feel like a crazy cat lady.  I hope February feels a bit more populated.

While today dawned cloudy and the temperatures keep dropping, February brings the promise of spring right around the corner, another "last" spring in Williamsburg.  This is a golden time of freedom for me, so now I just need to seize it.   Day trips, nights out with friends, sleeping in without guilt-- these are the things I aspire to for February.