Finally

I will be making a Dragon*Con post tomorrow! 

This is me as Sally Jupiter from Watchmen. Sorry for the wait! I would've made the post it tonight, but I'm watching Away We Go, and decided to make the post about the project BLOOM instead. No way am I done procrastinating yet! Oh crap...that reminds me I have an online quiz I need to do.


Jess

BLOOM

I was perusing through pictures when I stumbled along this project that I thought was completely awe inspiring and had to share. Artist Anna Schuleit created a haunting series entitled BLOOM (2003) where she planted flowers at the abandoned Massachusetts Health Center. I'll copy and paste what is written on her website about the project:

"Created to address the persistent absence of flowers in psychiatric hospital settings, BLOOM consisted of 28,000 potted, blooming flowers, selected and sorted by color, and placed throughout four floors of the historic building. The basement hallways were carpeted in live sod, for viewers to walk on. The old public announcement system was used to lay recorded sounds of the building from the days leading up to its closing." (source)

Click on the pictures for their source

"A startling explosion of color, smells and sounds within drab institutional walls Schuleit left much of what she found untouched. In some rooms, furniture is tipped over and tape dispensers, paper and other items are still scattered across the desks. Her vision was not limited to flora. Using the center's 1950's-era public address system, she piped in sounds recorded in the final weeks before it closed: footsteps echoing in the hallways, voices of patients and staff members, doors slamming shut." -Associated Press (source)

Back home we have an abandoned mental hospital, and I would have loved to walk through that one and then this one and noted how different a world the artist created. It's amazing what color and life can bring to something so depressing and wasted. That applies to all aspects of life I believe. Thank you Ms. Schuleit for such beautiful work.

Till next time,

Jess

Simple Truth

Welp Friday was a good lazy day. I had a test that I think I did really well on and then I slept and slept and slept. I woke up and it was pitch black outside. I usually don't sleep like this, but I think I'm coming down with something. That or it's just sinuses since Murfreesboro is surrounded by two of the top 10 worst cities for allergies in America: Knoxville and Memphis. Oy. If I'm still feeling under the weather tomorrow, I'm thinking of treating myself to some China Spring. (And if I'm feeling better I'll celebrate it with some China Spring...China Spring is happening either way). 

As for the outfit I wore, I'm not really sure where this shirt came from. I've had it since middle school so I'm guessing it came from Kohls. I got these shorts last week from Forever 21 for $12, because my other black high rise shorts that I have are falling off of me now. I thought they were too cute with the little black bows. I do find them a wee bit short for my taste. I prefer my shorts to be about 4 inches below my bum, and these fall about 2 inches below. I'll just have to keep wearing tights with them.

I tried this effect called "Julia" on the photo...I don't like it haha. Live and learn.

These shoes have been through so much and I'm wearing them until they have completely fallen apart. I got them from TJMaxx for $20.

This was my breakfast I ate at 9pm. Breakfast foods are my favorite.

Kroger had a new organic brand they were selling called Simple Truth, and so I decided to give it a try. I picked up their milk and eggs and they are delicious. My stomach has a terrible time digesting dairy, but it does really well with organic dairy products. Actually I don't know why anyone would drink anything other than organic milk, because the taste and quality is just so much better. I thought the eggs were really good, but to be honest I couldn't tell a difference between that and the others eggs I get. These are supposedly from happy cage free hens though so I feel better about it. Here's what they look like:

If there's a Kroger near you, try it out! I promise it's really good, and it guarantees no added hormones and antibiotics. I should probably go to sleep since it's 3:45am.

Till next time,

Jess

Botanical Gardens at Asheville

 A couple of months ago my family and I went on a trip to the Botanical Gardens in Asheville, NC. I am a huge fan of Asheville, NC, because that's where one of my favorite places in the world is: The Biltmore House. I'm going to try and get some tickets to go with Patrick in December when all the Christmas decorations are up! Ok sorry, back to the topic at hand. It was about a million degrees Kelvin in Asheville and it had just rained making it so humid you had to swim through the air, but boy was it gorgeous. I even got to see a little bun bun who thought he was camouflaged from us.

Haha, here's my dad and my sister Brittany goofing off.

They had a trout farm and you could feed the fish, but it was sad looking at their failed attempts of escape.

"If I stand really still they won't see me."

If you look really close you can see the Granddaddy Long Leg spider. I've grown up playing with those. They are the most venomous spiders, but they can't bite you, because their mouths are too tiny. Cute, yet terrifying.

Oooo I want another bird so badly! They are all so darling.

This is right when my tummy started hurting, I'm guessing from the heat, so I decided to head back to the car.

I have no earthly idea what this plant is called, but it looked like a shower head and I was expecting water to come shooting out any second.

If you're ever in Asheville I definitely recommend stopping by and giving it a look (Unless it's a million degrees Kelvin...just make a rain check).
I'm going to go sleep for a few more hours since I stayed up all night studying for a test I'm pretty sure I aced.

Till next time,

Jess

Pride and Prejudice

Oooh this post is going to be so fun for me! I get to sit back, relax and talk about some P and P. It's one of my favorite movies/books. I can't get enough of it! I've read the book 7 times (so far) and seen the movie over 50 times. I absolutely adore Jane Austen, and have read many biographies on her and downloaded the font that emulates her handwriting. Anyways! I really like the 2005 version. I can't say whether or not I like that or the 1995 version with Colin Firth better, because they both have their strong and weak points, but today I'm showcasing the 2005 one with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.

The cinematography is breathtaking (Personal confession: There are HUGE fields here in middle Tennessee and sometimes I like to pretend I'm Elizabeth Bennett walking from place to place. Yeah, like you don't do it!). There are lots of shots that sweep over the landscape with gorgeous music billowing in the background, and if that doesn't sound magical to you then you probably don't like cats or cake either...weirdo. 

Speaking of music, this is probably one of my favorite scores. I have been in love with playing the piano and classical music since I was 4 so this soundtrack was heaven for my ears. You can tell how much passion and emotion went into the composition, and it really adds to the plot. 

More details that really drive this movie home to me are the costumes and the gaudy interiors. There's a scene that I got a screen shot of below where it shows them in Lady Catherine's house that's full of gold and fussy fabrics and loud wallpaper-it's glorious! I also love the distinction of classes in their clothes. The Bennett's are very plain and wear muted colors where as the Bingley's are in bright blues and reds and fur. Gosh y'all I just love this movie.

I could go on for years about the literary work itself, but instead I'll just leave you with some pictures I took while I was watching it on my laptop.

 I also got some screen shots of some pretty hilarious faces. I crack up every time I see them.

Alright well I'm going to go watch this about 5 more times tonight and tell Patrick, "I love you. Most ardently."
 Till next time,

Jess