Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Hello April.

So I've been MIA for a while. Credit two major exams and my end of the month freelance deadline for getting in the way. So to get caught up:

-As promised I did in fact paint my kitchen coral and got two plants-basil and oregano. The evidence:


It looks really orange here, and it's a little more orange than I was originally going for, but it's a tiny wall and I thought a bold color was in order.


Isn't it much happier?


The world tiniest/ugliest kitchen-ever so slightly less horrible.


My "green space."


Delicious Greek oregano courtesy of Lowe's. 


And wonderful basil. Nothing in the world makes me happier than picking fresh basil to use for cooking. My mom has always grown her own basil, and to me it just smells so deliriously like home and summer. Now right after I put these plants outside we got a "lease addendum" saying that personal possessions on the fire escape were a hazard and punishable by fine. But really, these are not going to impede anyone. There's so tiny and unobtrusive. And if my landlords do try to fine me, I'll just be all "dude, these aren't personal possessions, this is nature, can we, any of us, really "possess" nature?." And then they'll ask me where my other, slightly more illegal, garden is.


I also saw the Hunger Games to celebrate two of my friends' birthdays. And I really liked it. I thought they did a great job staying true to the book, and the casting especially was pitch perfect. My only quibbles-Haymitch not drunk or unlikeable enough. It might be because Woody Harrelson could charm the pants off an inanimate object, and is just so utterly likable and decent seeming. But Haymitch is not supposed to be immediately loveable. He's supposed to be a cruel, drunken wreck of a person who only gradually comes to resemble a human with some shred of hope or fight. In the movie it happens way too easily. Also where is Katniss screaming for Peeta as the hover craft leaves the arena-one of the movie's most wrenching moments and important plot wise because it shows just how much Katniss cares for Peeta, and just how shattered she is by what happened in the arena. But aside from those relatively minor quibbles, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to see the sequels.

Finally the April issue of Belle came out and while I am always excited to see my Style & Substance section, I was especially happy with this month's issue. I think it's because I had a real connection with and investment in so many of my stories. I fell in love with Robin Cage's pottery in Westover Hills at 43rd Street Gallery, especially because anything in Westover Hills makes me sentimental (tis the place of my birth and young childhood). I loved being able to shine a spotlight on Level Green Riding School, since that place meant so much to me when I was little and went there for camps to ride horses. I'm not sure happiness gets any more uncomplicated or pure than being horse crazy and eleven years old, taking care of my designated horse for the day and contentedly feeding him sugar cubes in a shady, hay scented stall. I loved that place with all my heart, and I'm so grateful that it's still around and still thriving. Or seeing the Belle Pop Quiz, a feature I came up with in my crazy, little brain, and being so proud to have found a way to really let the personalities of the women involved shine.

I love when I can write about things or places or people that I care about, that speak to my soul. This month in Belle I really got to do just that, and not to be self-horn tooting, but I'm very proud of how it turned out.


http://issuu.com/styleweekly/docs/belle-apr2012/9

So that's where I am right now. Life will continue to be more hectic than usual the next few weeks until the semester ends, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And that light is alumni weekend in Charleston and a house for three nights in Folly Beach. I can almost smell the Confederate Jasmine. I can almost taste the salty, local shrimp, fresh off the boat, washed down with a cold beer. I can almost hear the waves. I can almost feel the sun on my face.

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