Bookcase Search

I'm trying to figure out what book case to order for my new apartment. I have a fair amount of books and figurines that I want to display. Like, a lot of books! Bookcases are an important part of a living room.

That said: I'm struggling with this choice. I don't know if I want to go for a metal style or wooden ones. I like the metal ones because they seem very open and bright. While the wooden ones are darker, they also warm a room.  I'm also not sure if I want to order from Ikea or from Amazon Prime. Whichever site I order from: If I order before the move, I can have the movers put it together for me.

Monarch Reclaimed-Look/Chrome Metal Bookcase, 72-Inch, Dark Taupe ($226)

This feels very contemporary to me, but I'm not sure about the asymmetric vertical supports. 

Coaster Chrome Shelf ($248)

The arched metal looks lovely as does the glass shelving. It's so airy and open!

Ikea KLINGSBO cabinet ($129) / Ikea DETOLF glass cabinet ($65)

I would really like these to display my figurines. One is much more expensive but also has more shelves; the metal bottom is pretty too. 

Home Styles 5061-76 The Orleans 5-Tier Multi-function Vintage Shelf ($266)

This shelf has so many neat details. The stone seems like a great effect - very elegant. I think this would really define a great place.

King's Brand BK08 Wood Wall Corner 5-Tier Bookshelf Case, Espresso Finish ($70)

This seems great for saving space. I'm going to look at the floor plan to see if I need something like this. I certainly would've loved it when I was in the dorms.

 Linon Home Decor Titian Bookcase ($138)

I like the detailing on the side of it. Such an excellent warm color too!

IKEA HEMNES Glass door cabinet ($365)

I really want at least one shelf to be able to be closed to dust. This doesn't really feel like a living room piece of furniture, but the drawers are great for hiding mess.

Blogging as Aggregate Solutions

I read a fair number of blogs. One of the most valuable things I've learned by reading the experiences and writings of others is that the challenges I'm going through are quite common. Other people are going through these same problems, trying to figure out how to solve them and survive. I was watching a video about a woman's experiences going through school with a chronic condition and her situation was perfectly analogous to mine. It was so heartening to know that someone else had gone through what I had. So many things that seem unique to a young college student are actually common to many college students. Sometimes all you need to know when you are crying in your room from homesickness is that this is real and probably a dozen other people in your dorm are doing the exact same thing, even if no one would fess up to it sitting next to you during lecture. There's a certain validation in knowing that you aren't alone and that your reactions are reasonable.

(via)

Reading peoples blogs, I am always amazed by people's ingenuity. DIY bloggers always amaze me. How do they come up with these ideas? And every week! At the same time, I realize how often people 'reinvent the wheel' because we aren't connected to others. So many people ask the same questions- how do I clean a glass shower door? How do I write a cover letter? How do I get a mani to last longer? How do I get over a relationship? Aggregating these respdundant answers, I often realize that dozens of people have solved the same problem from scratch. All you have to do is ask, knowing that there are others who have the same problem. Often you don't have to come up with a solution on your own.

I also see how people build on each other, improving and innovating based on what has come before. Like, secrets to working better and happier. For example, I love to look out how certain nail trends build on previous ones: matte finish to velvet finish. Caviar texture in one color to caviar texture with colors and patterns. This can happen for 'big' things too. I'm going to try out some advice about dealing with profs as far as chronic illness, tailoring it to my own experience. Going into my senior year, I have finally found a built together solution that seems better than my single solution. And people, often young women, are trying out these different things! Building and working together!

It's also strange to realize the censorship that some people impose on parts of their life. For example I followed a young you tuber through her engagement, marriage and then her first child. While she doesn't hide her child, she doesn't have them on screen very often. Other student bloggers schedule their posts so you don't notice when they have finals; often they don't talk about finals or exams and how stressful they can be. Few college bloggers talk about the stress of finding a job that fits into a class schedule. These silences show a shared discomfort, I think. I want to fill those silences with experiences and the solutions that personal experience can bring.

Cuter Electronics: BLUE Headphones

I love headphones. I can't go anywhere without mine. They're my constant companions when riding the T so I want them to look stylish but be functional.
I've written about my quest for cute headphones before.  But I thought I should give you an update!

Sennheiser Momentum On Ear Headphone I am currently using these Sennheiser headphones. I absolutely love them! They look gorgeous on and the sound quality is amazing. I was totally blown away when I first purchased them; I swear I could hear the band playing in the room with me. The Sennheiser is well known for it's audio quality and these live up: the padding is comfy and cancels out sound. The audio quality is great for a range of music and stands at the top for this price range. They're a bit understated, but people are always asking about them and where I got them. Well, once I take them off, I can hear them asking!

I've had them since last August and have been using them heavily. They come with a lovely travel bag that keeps them very safe but they have also stood up a few trips in my purse without the bag. The cord that they use can also be replaced, if I understand correctly. Which is great if you tend to tangle or if you have a wire-attacking cat like mine!

 These are lovely headphones and they come in such a variety of colors. They're great because they cover your ear but are much slimmer than most styles. My friend has their washable headphones. She uses them for commutes, train rides, in her room, very heavy use. She loves them and feels great about the cleanliness since she practically lives in them. 

Incipio NX-102 f38 Hi-Fi Stereo Headphones - Bright Turquoise 

 I have owned these Incipio headphones. In fact, I purchased two pairs! I had my first pair for about a year in high school, wore them everyday and stored them loose in my back pack. Under all the wear and tear, my first pair broke during my first semester of college. That's a year and a half of use out of $35! I would get a lot of compliments for them, with such a bright and unusual color. 

And for the winter, you can use these cute headphone muffs to warm up your look.

Do you prefer links in the Amazon set up or as text with larger images?

Endure, Accomodate: Become

She is not a romantic. Illness does not necessarily produce insight. Mostly it does not. It must be endured, accommodated. Our struggles towards health can accommodate what looks like disease. If the shaking woman is extended a measure of tolerance, she can become a companion in endeavour. 

~ Hilary Mantel, in her review of The Shaking Woman or A History of My Nerves by Siri Hustvedt. 

I have spent a lot of my life believing that if I didn't acknowledge things that they would go away. But that's not how things work! I have been truly blessed to finally find folk who recognize that ignoring abuse doesn't make it disappear. Ignoring abuse allows your abuser to continue.

(via)

There's this other idea of the creative pathos; creativity doesn't come from suffering. Creativity comes from hard work. Suffering isn't noble. Pain isn't romantic. Like the quote says, being ill doesn't magically make you wise. Running away doesn't fix the problem; ignoring it doesn't help you.You're going to have to confront the situation and then figure out what you can do. That's how you get wise: learning how to fix problems through experience.

• When going through a difficulty, you must recognize that it is happening. 

• Recognize and accommodate.

• Pretending you aren't sad, sick, or tired doesn't make you feel better. 

Orientalism: The Stairway by Renoir

Orientalism describes the Western production of a great slew of images that depicted Algeria and other Middle Eastern countries. These depictions fell within a mythos of the decadent but deteriorating East. Oriental imagery served a political purpose, in the French development of an image of the new French colony of Algeria. Orientalism was a political campaign of perception. French artists were in control of the perception of the new colonies; the images they produced were the main depictions of the new colony to the French people. Without any other source, they were taken as documentaries. The French government encouraged this documentation by sending artists, photographers, and writers to colonies with allowances to produce impressions of the colonies. People were discouraged from referring to the indigenous art production. The Painter of Modern Life by Charles Baudelaire addresses the contemporary perception of “barbarousness” in Eastern art: “What I mean is an inevitable, synthetic, childlike barbarousness, which is often still to be discerned in a perfected art, such as that of Mexico, Egypt, or Nineveh.” (from a paper of my sophomore year for 19th Cent Art Hist)

Creativity as Practice

I am coming to understand that the most important practice is to create. And I mean that as both an individual and as a professional. It is the act of creating that gives an inspiration for further creating. So it is necessary to be in constant motion and thought about motion in rudder to maintain a spark. The motion must be forward and the reflection must be on the past. I must constantly remember what I have learned and how - my past and my identity inform my present product as do the lessons learned in that context. But the motion must always be forward.

(via here and here)

Look back to learn but keep producing. Learning is not discouraging. I have come forward a great distance which means that there is time to rest and time to keep going, because I have given myself space to do both. It is this balance that is important to creating creatively. If the wick burns too quick it is a poor candle. If the wax smothers the flame, then it's a poor candle. You need to pace yourself not to burn out but not move so slowly that you get stymied with lack of production. Both have to be in balance in order to create. This is what preoccupies me.

I understand that I must create and I understand that the great undertaking is maintaining this spark. But I don't quite know how. I think, at the moment, that it is a matter of maintenance, but I look forward to a better understanding of it. I am sure that. I will learn through my failures and my achievements. It's a large thing to dedicate yourself to the keeping of this flame. But I feel it is necessary. Each spark and iteration of creativity is important! There are tips to foster creativity and create opportunities to grow. It's part of the process of growing and helping others to grow. How could you help someone up if you didn't know what it was like to fall? There is no greater task to take on; I am burdened but must learn how to burn off the hesitance and barriers.

I want to keep creating and imagining. I want to help others find their ways of being creative. Create and then create better things.

Healthy Competition: 3 Keys

There is something to be said about comparing yourself to others. In a healthy way, comparison can motivate you to try your hardest and give you inspiration to collaborate with others. However, if you go too far in comparing, then you can hurt yourself.

Here are a few ways that I find people on my campus compare against each other and ways he that  it  can be harmful. If you have ways of dealing with this sort of harm, please comment and share!

Identity

I think that a lot of people struggle with comparing themselves with others. For many of us, college is the first place where we have been surrounded by people who are of and above our own skill level. While this is a wonderful thing for building community and engaging in discussion, it can also be thought if you've built your identity around being 'the smartest person in the room.'

Such a shaking to the core of your identity is harmful. Defining yourself in terms of others limits with whom and how you interact. 

Know who you are! 

Regaining identity

The important thing is to remember who you are. While others may be more talented at some subject or or others may seem to be learning more quickly than you, all of that is irrelevant. That doesn't affect you, now you learn, or how quickly you learn. Please remember that you don't know everything about other students: some people have been studying where you haven't seen them. Most importantly: they don't affect your ability  to learn. Having a safe space to return to can help you retain your identity.

When you compete with others, you can gain experience and confidence in your skills because you have challenged yourself. 

Competitive

 

Reading this book I realized that the culture I was in was competitive to an unhealthy degree. That's what I have struggled with; naming the problem gave me precision and validation. With grades and applications, it can often feel like the good grades of another student harm your chances at your dreams. While this doesn't involve the other person hurting you, the constant hashing of gpas and comparing of past internships can be a form of competitiveness. But I still find it to be hurtful. I don't find comparing sleep deprivation or hosage to be healthy for me. 
More so you never know what people are hiding. The students that seems to always have great grades may be hiding their poor ones. The well dressed party crew may well be taking out large student loans. Comparing your internal self with someone else's constructed self is a method to never measure up. 

The only rubric that matters is your own self,  your goals and desires. 

Know your limits

When others are comparing in this way, know that they are expressing concern for themselves. The mean one of two things:

1. Let me know you're struggling too. Let me know that it's not as bad as it sounds or feels.
2. Give me an opportunity to brag about what I've done. Give me a chance to show off my accomplishments. Give me a chance to prove my machismo.

Neither of these things are about you. You don't want to get caught up in that sort of attitude.

 Offer support by actually reassuring and acknowledging the situation. 

Summer Internship: 2014 at the Museum of Fine Arts!

I posted last year about what I brought to my summer internship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Now I'm posting about what I'm bringing to my internship at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Isn't that crazy how long it's been?! I can barely believe it!

I'm so excited to be working at the MFA this summer. I'm in the Research department of Conservation, working under the guidance of two amazing conservators. I worked with them throughout this year, coming in during January's IAP term. It was amazing to go through the process of a literature search. Seeing how all of those journal articles turn into new research: what a dream! Now I get to apply the protocols that I helped to design for what could very well be a published research paper.

Read more to see the outfit that I put together and what's in my work purse!

I'm using the same purse, but what's inside is pretty different. I'm trying something new for my images! Please let me know what you think of this type of style! Do you like the compilation? Any suggestions?

• Lab note book
• iPad
• Phone (I got a new case!)
• Owl writing pad
• Post it note pad
• Make up & hair serum
• Granola

You might notice that I'm not bringing any pencils with me. That's because I'm only supposed to write in pen in my lab notebook; it would just be too much temptation for me. However, there are some areas of the museum where you cannot bring pens in! It's a conservation concern. Fortunately these areas always have pencils on hand.

Here's the outfit that I'm going to be wearing, this dress and this silk scarf. I absolutely love this dress with it's little bow details and swooshy skirt!

Now I know that it might seem very plain without any jewelry. But I can't wear any jewelry since I will be working in a lab! Jangling bracelets and hanging necklaces are all a risk to the art. I can wear earrings. And since the lab is pretty lax due to a lack of dangerous materials, you can wear short sleeves and skirts.


Grab your own silk scarf at Modcloth!

 

(Modcloth, $23) (Modcloth, $16)

If you want to apply for an internship you can at the MFA's internship opportunity page. Internships really are amazing opportunities and the MFA has so many great positions to learn and network from. Check it out for the upcoming fall term!