What to Wear to Work

Hey all! Check out my guest post for Whitney over at her teacher-fashion blog Between the Lines. She has a really refreshing, honest voice and posts lots of creative "real-life" outfits that she puts together. I was excited and really flattered that she asked me to participate in her weekly feature, "Women who Work." I got to share some pics of outfits I've put together for teaching, as well as answer some interesting questions about fashion and my job. So check out my answers and outfits, and give Whitney some love!

book talk: adaptations of a favorite

When I think of film adaptations of books, there are a lot of miserable examples. Few--very few--succeed in capturing the essence of a book well--even if they are fabulous films in their own right. One of my favorite book adaptations ever has to be Emma Thompson's version of the Jane Austen novel, Sense and Sensibility. I just love it--love the humor and warmth that Thompson brought to the screenplay, love the gorgeous direction of Ang Lee.

Which is why, as you can imagine, I almost didn't even give the Masterpiece Classic version by Andrew Davies a fighting chance.

I may have been mistaken. I can't believe I waited so long!

This newest version is fantastic--with much of what made the Thompson/Lee version so dear to me, but with it's own twists. For instance, there is a deeper development of the Edward-and-Elinor romance, which was lovely.

talk about the weather

I also just loved the fact that there was a darker, sort of "raw" quality to the setting. Since Great Britain's weather is roughly on-par with what we get here in the Mitten, I sometimes roll my eyes at period pieces that are all sunshine and teacups. But the un-varnished, and sometimes pretty bleak-looking weather in this film only gave it more depth.

Not that I could ever forget the classic (at least in my mind) version! In fact, when I stumbled across this excerpt from Emma Thompson's diaries from when she was filming, it made me remember all over again how smart and witty she--and her version of the film--is. Don't you just want to be friends with her? I do!

Ok, so I'll probably just need to be content with reading her reflections instead. Still fun, probably:)

Meatless Monday, halfway

Hey friends! I hope that wherever you are, you're having as gorgeous a Monday as we are here in the Mitten. It has been cheerfully sunny all day, and I'm happy about it. Also, I may be in denial about the stack of to-be-graded papers that is really not shrinking as fast as it needs to. Ok, maybe not at all.

But of course, we are in denial, and so we will turn our attention to far more entrancing matters, like dinner.

Doesn't this meatless pasta dish look incredible? Penne, cauliflour and cheesy, mustard-y goodness. I'm totally sold on this one.

Ok, so I know that this lovely-looking salad isn't completely "meatless" (there's tuna in it), but it just is so pretty. Also, I'm sure that you could sub out the tuna and add in more greens, or maybe a different type of bean, to round it out. This is a dinner that just screams spring, don't you think?

What about you? What are you planning for dinner this week?

Five Gratitudes

Man-o-man, am I grateful it is Friday! Still working on finding my mind...and totally glad that now I have two days of weekend to seriously try and locate it:)

Here's what I'm grateful for today:



1. It's been raining here in the city all afternoon. And, while this has made for some pretty adventurous dashes to and from classes, I am grateful for the soft, meditative sound of rain.

2. I'm grateful for laughter. (I'm also grateful to Jo for her tip on this hilarious tumblr, a definite source of out-loud laughter for me today!)




3. I'm grateful for this beautiful look at the grace and precision of ballet.

4. I'm grateful for the da Vinci glow.

5. Last but not least, I'm grateful that my sister is hosting a little girls' night tonight--an excuse to try out this fresh, easy-seeming appetizer.

What about you? What are you grateful for this week?

go find yo mind!

***

Hey all! Sorry for the long silence...I've been trying to get a handle on things. So much to share with you! Last week, I was in St. Louis for this professional conference, which was fun and interesting. However, I feel like my life/schedule/brain has been thrown off-kilter by that chunk of traveling. As I slowly attack the pile of projects I have to grade, I'm also trying to get back in the swing of my own personal writing and blogging--so, I hope to see more of you all here, soon:). Hope this post finds you all well, and with at least some idea of where your brain is!

book talk: mongolian feminism

So, I am almost finished with this book, which I picked up at the library partially for it's cool cover image, and partially for its intriguing title. I am always interested in powerful women, and this book seemed to promise an encouraging tale of women in power, doing great things, rescuing an empire.

Of course, history is never as neat and tidy as we'd like to imagine, and this book offered less "women-as-heroes" moments than I'd expected. Also, it really highlights the deeply engrained patriarchal tendencies of men, even in a society established to be so egalitarian as Genghis Khan's empire seemed to be. (Genghis Khan: Mongolia's first feminist? Pretty cool.)

The overarching story is less about one generation of women (as the title might imply) and more about important women rising to power, holding power, staging revolutions and just being general bad-asses over the course of several generations. That kind of consistency has a lasting effect, and this book is ultimately encouraging in a wholly un-glamorous, un-hollywood, but totally real way.

Meatless Monday: St. Pat's treats for St. Pat's date night

Hello! Hello! Well, I am back from a head-spinningly-fast Spring Break--fairly rested, and ready to tackle the rest of this semester. I hope that you had a great week last week, enjoyed some spring weather, and got (maybe a little?) rest, too.

Even though this weekend was a frantic shuck-and-dive routine, trying to get all my last minute to-dos taken care of before crashing back into the swing of things, Jake and I did have a fun little date night on Saturday. We sat on our little deck, sipping Irish cocktails, nibbling on Irish cheddar and chatting a bit with our neighbors. Then, we took a long walk around the park to soak in the beautiful, mild spring evening. 

I thought I'd share with you a couple of the treats I made for our St. Patrick's day date night. Neither have meat...but I have to confess that I definitely made a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner (in my crock pot, no less!), so there was meat hanging around...

But not in these beauties:

These vegan dark chocolate stout brownies have really made the rounds on blogs and pinboards, and they look so great in the photo that I just had to try them. Plus, let's face it, I was buying Guinness anyway... The blackbeans were surprisingly silent partners in this recipe--I don't taste them in the brownies at all. I do, however, notice them in the texture. This recipe makes for a cakey, really substantial-feeling brownie. You're really getting your protein with these puppies. I'm so glad I added the optional chocolate chips--they really make the brownies (as in, I think it is what moves your brain from the "I'm eating a vegan bread" train of thought to the "I'm eating a brownie" train).

Our Irish cocktails were called Irish bucks. I found this recipe for the fizzy drinks, which turned out very festive. I wondered, though, if the drink was related in any way to the Moscow mule, a cocktail that is almost exactly the same, except sub in vodka for the Irish whiskey.

What about you? Any festive foods (with or without meat) that you tried out over the weekend?