Monthly Musings: July

I put my life in danger to take this photo. 

 I am deathly afraid of all things bee-like (bumblebees, bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets…), so the fact that I was anywhere near this little guy is an impressive feat in my book. Yes, I realize that I’m incredibly melodramatic, but I have literally climbed over picnic tables covered with food to get away from a bee. I wish I were kidding.

Onto this month’s musings!

• Top 12 Pastry Shops in Paris –  It's probably no surprise that I was reading up about France leading up to my trip.  World of Wanderlust is one of my favorite travel blogs and, as luck would have it, 10 days before my trip a guide to pastry shops went live! I had already planned to visit Ladurée and Pierre Hermé, but I kept the others in mind too! Let's see how many of these dessert heavens I manage to visit!
• 8 Tips for Hanging Art – One of my ambitions is to have one of those homes that looks like it came right out of magazine, so I'm always in the mood for interior design related posts.  Joanne of Cup of Jo gave some great tips for hanging art.  I'll definitely keep these tips in mind for future design projects.
• Get Married by Your Late 20s If You'd Rather Not Get Divorced - An interesting article on how people who get married in their late 30s are now more likely to get divorced than those in their late 20s.  So, basically, if you marry too young, divorce, and if you marry too old, divorce.  Not great odds, America.
• Finally, Photographic Evidence that Kit Harington Has Joined the Cast of Game of Thrones in Belfast - SPOILER ALERT: Jon Snow lives!  I was one of the many fan girls who wept over what appeared to be the demise of Jon Snow in the season finale of Game of Thrones, but there has been a lot of speculation as to whether he was actually dead.  Although Kit and show runners have said that Jon is gone, methinks they doth protest too much.  It seems like too much of a coincidence that he landed in Belfast just in time for next season's script read-through.  Is this the worst kept secret in TV history?  I hope so!
• Amber Heard is More Complicated Than You Think - I've always liked Amber Heard, although I couldn't really put my finger on a reason.  This article, which appeared in July's edition of ELLE, made me like her even more. Johnny Depp slayer, free-spirit, and feminist--what's not to like?  Unfortunately, this link will only bring you to blurbs from the full article, but if your friend reads ELLE, steal borrow it!

Monthly Musings: June

I was a bit of a news junkie this month considering everything that’s going on in Greece as well as in Charleston, South Carolina. The news can be depressing though, can’t it? So I did take some time out to do some mindless reading. This month’s photo is a bit of a throwback to my trip to The Cloisters last year.

• Take Down the Confederate Flag—Now – A short and to the point article from The Atlantic that explains why the Confederate flag should be taken down. If you read my post on the same issue, then this will give you some insight into other aspects of the same argument.
  
• New York City’s 20 Hottest Restaurants – I love eating out, and New York has some of the best restaurants in the world (I may be a tad biased). My Dad sent me this list and had my mouth watering.
  
• The Ultimate Checklist for Long-term Travel – It’s no secret that I love to travel or that I love Europe (what I’ve seen of it anyway). Recently though, I’ve gotten this crazy idea that maybe I should run off to Europe for a few years. And just as the idea started forming in my head, World of Wanderlust posted this amazing article on Long-term travel. I saved it for future reference, just in case.
  
• American Pharoah Wins Triple Crown, Ends 37-year Drought – I was one of those people glued to the TV when it was post time for American Pharoah. I think horses are gorgeous creatures and have grown up hearing about the 3 Triple Crown winners that my father has seen in his life—Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), and Affirmed (1978). American Pharoah made history though, and I can now say that I’ve at least seen one Triple Crown winner in my lifetime.
  
• “Game of Thrones” finale: Cersei’s Public Shaming has Deep Historical Roots – I knew that Cersei’s walk was coming, but that didn’t make watching it any easier. She’s an evil, evil human being, but even I was moved by Lena Headey’s performance. If she doesn’t get at least an Emmy nomination, then there is something wrong with the world. But Salon’s article on the medieval history of such walks of shame was like candy for a history junkie like me.
  
• The Wars that Inspired “Game of Thrones” – I always knew that George R.R. Martin’s world had a lot of parallels with medieval Europe, but this Youtube video by Ted Ed lays it all out with cartoons of all things! It was really entertaining.
  
• 15 Pieces of Career Advice Every Young Woman Needs – I’ve only been in the workforce (full-time anyway) for about two and a half years, so I still have a lot to learn about building a career. Career Girl Daily’s tips really resonated with me though, and I hope I’m able to apply them in my current position!
  

Monthly Musings: May

May was a bit of a stressful month, so I fell a bit behind in my reading of basically everything (books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, you name it). I'm hoping that June will be a bit more relaxing and a bit more productive.  This month's picture is a shot of the Hudson River.

• 19 Burgers You Really Need To Make This Summer - Admittedly, I leave all the grilling to my mother (Brittany + Propane + Fire = Catastrophe), but I couldn't resist these burgers on Buzzfeed.  Since I don't eat beef, burger season can be a bit of a bust for me.  This list had some great vegetarian options though!  The smoky sweet potato one has my name all over it.
• Charlotte Elizabeth Diana is Royal Baby's Name - The moment most of the world was waiting for finally happened on on May 2nd!  The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a girl, who was officially named two days later.  I love the name, especially the fact that she is named after the People's Princess and her late grandmother.  
• Today Is the 151st Birthday of All-Around Feminist Badass Nellie Bly - I love reading about bad-ass women from history, and Nellie Bly was a new name for me. According to the Mother Jones' article, "she was a trailblazing journalist, an unwavering champion for women and the working poor, and a brilliant muckracker. One of her most famous assignments was for the the New York World where she posed as a mentally ill woman and exposed the horrors of a women's asylum on Blackwell's Island. [...] Bly also achieved worldwide fame with her 1889 trip around the world, which was inspired by Jules Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days." I think someone needs to write a novel about her, if they haven't already.
• Every Best Picture Oscar Winner, Ranked From Worst to Best - I love movies and the Oscars, so this article was right up my alley. I've seen almost all of the movies on this list, but I was stoked to see some of my favorites in the top 10 (#8 All About Eve, #7 Gone with the Wind, #1 Casablanca). What do you think of the ranking?
• 50 Best Travel Quotes For Travel Inspiration - Quotes for people suffering from an incurable case of wanderlust, like me.
• #TIPSTUESDAYS: My Props and Backgrounds for Blog Pictures - Frock Me I'm Famous is one of my favorite blogs on the internet, and I love Hayley's #TIPSTUESDAY feature.  I got some great inspiration for props and backgrounds from this post!  Here's hoping I implement some of Hayley's ideas with half her success!
• “Game of Thrones” could learn from “Mad Max: Fury Road” - I've read a lot of articles on (warning: spoiler alert) Sansa's rape since the episode aired, but I thought this was an interesting look at the episode. I was horrified by the scene and agreed with many of the ire-filled rants immediately after the episode aired, but I liked the objectivity of this one.

Monthly Musings: April

Dad finally bought a New York Times subscription, and I may have gone a bit NY Times happy this month.  I felt very grown up reading the paper on my way to work though!

• The Duchess of Cambridge's Last Public Appearances Before Baby #2 - I've been a Kate watcher since the beginning, so as the birth of the second baby Cambridge approaches, I've been checking the Duchess Kate blog regularly.  Kate's style has always been inspiring to me, but I love how she dresses herself while pregnant.  She doesn't wear that frumpy, maternity clothes that we've come to expect of pregnant women; she's always fashionable. And the woman wore heels til the bitter end!
• Elle's "Do Unattached Women Have A Problem with Themselves?" -  An article on "what it's like to choose independence and a series of partners over becoming what [was] [...] once called 'that useful animal, a wife and mother',"  For someone who is determinedly single like me, this was really interesting!
• Medieval hospital burial ground discovered under Cambridge University - I happen to have a morbid fascinations with graveyards and cemeteries, but let's pretend I was only interested in this article for the historical stuff.
• What Bloggers Must Do to Follow FTC Disclosure Laws - Oddly Lovely breaks down the FTC Disclosure Laws in a way that actually made sense!
• NY Times' "A Century After the Armenian Genocide, Turkey's Denial Deepens" - I wrote a paper on the Armenian genocides for a history class, so I had a bit of background on this topic. I find it fascinating that the Turkish government is so resolute in its denial despite 1.5 million Armenians losing their lives and at least 15 countries recognizing the genocide (including the Council of Europe and the European Parliament).
• Buzzfeed's 34 of the Most Brilliant Shakespeare Quotes - The Bard's 451st birthday was yesterday, and I have always been a sucker for a great Shakespearean quote (especially the snarky ones)!  Fun fact: While I've grown to appreciate the beautiful language in Romeo & Juliet, I consider it one of Shakespeare's worst plays.  
• NY Times' "Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid" - Hillary 2016! Enough said.
• 9 Benefits of Warm Water and Lemon in the Morning - I found Because I'm Addicted's post really interesting.  I didn't know that lemon could do so much!

Monthly Musings: March

With little time to sit down and read full-length works, I turned to articles and essays in my downtime. From blog posts to newspaper articles to humorous things I pulled from Buzzfeed, I thought I’d share some of those that have kept me thinking all month long. Without further ado, here is my first installment of “Monthly Musings.”

• NY Daily News’s article on the “fed up” circus elephant who was lynched for “murder” in 1916 – Dad showed me this article when it was first printed, and I think it’s stuck with me partly because of the graphic photograph (you've been warned) and partly because I can’t believe that someone thought to do this to an elephant.  I was horrified.
• Some of the Best Book Dedications You Would Ever Read – Remind me to do something as epic as this when I write my bestselling novel.
• 11 Female Inventors Who Helped Power the Information Age – Some seriously bad-ass women doing some seriously bad-ass things with their brains.
• Why We Should Stop Body Shaming and Be Kinder – Thank you, Hayley, for sharing such a powerful post.  
• NY Times Magazine's "From Jamaica to Minnesota to Myself"  – Novelist Marlon James's poignant essay about being gay.  "I knew I had to leave my home country – whether in a coffin or on a plane," says James.  The sentence gave me chills.
• "The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another."  – This lovely quotation is by Henry Van Dyke and couldn't be truer.  New York had a snowstorm the first day of spring this year.  Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as meteorologists had predicted.
• Vanity Fair's Kenneth Branagh on the "little revolution" he brought to Cinderella – I've loved Branagh ever since I saw him in Hamlet, so the fact that he directed Cinderella too makes him one of my favorite people in Hollywood right now.
• The Atlantic's article on why Americans overlook the importance of WWI – I was wondering this myself.  I feel like Europeans have been making a huge deal of the centennial while it probably hasn't occurred to most Americans.
• 5 SEO Tips for Bloggers – Media Marmalade is my go-to for blogging tips, and this post was no exception.