Wedding Clutch

I'm writing this because I want everyone to know that I want to make this clutch sometime this summer. I figure if I write it then I have to do it, right? Anyway, I think this clutch is just darling and the instructions on The Purl Bee look quite simple, if done with patience! I'll let you know when I make one.

Do you love Michael Caine?

Just wanted to share these gems...

AND

Love him.

"If Patton were alive, he would slap your face!"

Private Benjamin is my GIRL. Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie, it's so necessary. I mean, we all knew Goldie Hawn was ~flawless~, but this really proves it.

Okay, so, the backstory: I remember watching this with my mother when I was pretty young.. like, 8-10 years old. At the time, my mother was in the Army and she had blonde, curly hair. To me, Private Benjamin was totally my mom (my mom hated this comparison, by the way).

Goldie Hawn plays preppy Judy Benjamin, a woman widowed after her husband has a heart attack during sex on their wedding night. She then calls into a radio show, crying about how she's never been single before (womp womp, Goldie!) and how she can't be alone. So this man calls in and tells her about this fabulous deal called the US Army where she can join and live in a condo and hang out. Swayed by the traumatizing death of her husband, she gives up her kind of amazing 80s wardrobe to become Private Benjamin. 

You can guess what happens next, but I'll tell you anyway. Boot camp is boot camp and Benjamin is confused, insisting, "I think they sent me to the wrong place... See, I did join the army, but I joined a different army. I joined the one with the condos and the private rooms."

This movie is amazing! There are so many classic scenes, like the one pictured above. Escaping over a fence, her commanding officer (Eileen Brennan) yells "You're not fit to wear that uniform!" to which Private Benjamin replies, "No shit."

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Kramerbooks for Brunch

My boyfriend and I have made Sunday brunch a tradition when we spend the weekend together. Luckily for us, DC is a huge brunch city.

I've been to Kramerbooks a few times and they were all delicious. It's definitely a District institution since it's opening in 1976. The front of the space is a great bookstore, with some of the best selections of new and old books on display in the window. Even if I'm just walking by, I pretty much drool at the books in the window.

Behind the store is the dining area, a small, bustling place on two levels with an outdoor space.

So, brunch:

For some reason, this place makes me want corned-beef hash every time. Naturally I got two eggs to go with it and I washed it all down with a Bloody Mary, as per usual. It was so delicious! I have never been so happy to eat beef for my first meal of the day.

This is what the boyfriend got. It's a proscuitto eggs benedict with asparagus. He gave me a bite, it was yummy. However, I hinted at getting a plate of bacon on the side, but he cited the proscuitto as being enough salty pig for him. Le sigh.

Brunch is the best! I feel like the weekend isn't a weekend without brunch, don't you agree?

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Books All Girls Should Read

So, this is a list consisting of books about girls that I think girls should read. Of course they should read all books, but it's nice to relate to strong, female characters every now and then, am I right?

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

This is the first book that came to my mind when compiling this list. The Bell Jar is the 1963 epitome of angsty teenage girl book-- a female Catcher in the Rye, if you will. Anyway, I've probably read this book about three times. If you don't know, it's a semi-autobiographical novel about Esther Greenwood, who is based on Plath. She struggles with post-collegiate life, serious depression and what seems to be an addiction to suicide attempts. The writing is beautiful, simple, and the reader genuinely roots for this unlikely protagonist. Maggie Gyllenhaal narrates the audiobook and if anyone can capture Esther Greenwood, it's she.


Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I've just recently started reading this book, but I totally saw the Winona Ryder version in theaters when I was in second grade and cried my eyes out. Forever I've had this gorgeous hardcover illustrated copy that I used to peruse, but never commit to reading. Anyway, I'm reading it now and the story is written in such a way that it seems personal and kind. But really, who doesn't love Jo March? I, like, want to name my daughter Josephine kind of (idk). She's the independent and smart-- almost fearless-- girl you've always admired. Apparently a poll was done in the 1920s or so asking high school students what book was most influential to their lives and Little Women was ranked second, after the Bible. How crazy is that? But it makes sense, because it rules. Also, Jo March is based on Alcott... holla.


The Hours by Michael Cunningham

One thing that's pretty cool abou this book is that it's like reading Virginia Woolf but way easier. Cunningham tells a rather haunting story weaving the lives of three different women in different eras: Virginia bb, a real-life Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway in present time and a 1950s pregnant woman reading Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. This book is fabulous. Obviously it would have to be, in order for ~Queen Meryl~ to be in the screen version... which is also fabulous.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

I recommend this book to all my mixies out there. Zadie Smith's first novel is dripping in gorgeous language, telling the stories of two families from different cultures. This book spoke to me because, as a mixed black-white girl, I wanted to see how they talk about the hair issue. Smith totally does and I rarely read a book where I so completely identified with the thoughts and feelings of a main character (Irie) so much. I want to be friends with Zadie Smith in real life!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Okay, so I haven't read this one yet, but I am going to! I have it and it's in the queue. HOWEVER, I've seen the movie, seen Bridget Jones' Diary, so I think I'm good, yeah? Every girl needs their Mr. Darcy :)

An idea for the next Fourth of July...

I decided to be a show-off this weekend and make some Jell-O shots for a Fourth of July BBQ or something. The funny thing is, I have never made Jell-O shots before so I really have no idea what brought it on. Without an event confirmed but plenty of hope, I began my Saturday afternoon by preparing to make a cross between these two recipes.

Not gonna lie, it was a tedious procedure. You basically make three different colors and kinds of Jell-O/gelatin/vodka/x-factor mixtures and keep them warm while adding a teaspoon layer at a time to a halved lemon rind-mold. Then, you refrigerate after each layer for ~10 minutes. Plain gelatin smells horrible, btw!

Overall, they were a huge success. Everyone loved them, they didn't taste like cough medicine. I'll probably make these again next year and make each layer thinner so more colors can make it into the rind. 

It was definitely a fun project that I think everyone should try! The smell of the cherry Jell-O made my mouth water with old memories. Seriously, when was the last time you had homemade cherry Jell-O?Enjoy, creepily, like I illustrate below: