3 Books About Wives

I have a tendency to see books that I want to read and then forget about them instantly.  To remedy this i started to keep a running list in my purse.  This past winter when I consulted my list I noticed that three of the books had wife or wives in the title.  This was sort of funny (odd not haha) so I decided to read them all in succession.  The Paris Wife, The Astronaut Wives Club, and the Aviator’s Wife were all great reads.  At some point in each book I was envious of the wife or wives and at some point I felt very sad for them.  There were nights that reading was an indulgence and nights when I too repulsed to sleep.  I do have a favorite and a least favorite, but these reviews are in the order they were read.

 

The Paris Wife

I have always loved Ernest Hemingway.  OK, I’ve always loved the idea of the rough and tumble adventurer Ernest Hemingway.  Fine, I really liked the Ernest Hemingway furniture collection by Ethan Allen a few years ago.  This book, however,  really peaked my interest in Hemingway and I can now say that I have read several of his books and read about his personal life.  Paula McLain researched Hemingway’s books, as well as the biographies and letters between Hemingway and first wife Hadley Richardson,  to tell a fictionalized story of their romance, marriage and divorce (spoiler alert Hemingway is an awful human).  The book starts out in Chicago in 1920 where the two meet and decide to move to Paris (where they can legally drink) shortly after.  Having been to Europe and visited a few of Hemingway’s haunts, it was fun to read about and imagine him and his posse there.  His posse includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.  As the reader you’re constantly reminded of how poor they are as they travel across Europe staying in Chalets and mansions for months on end.  Ahh it was a different time…  Reading this book you realize that Hemingway was someone who was never pleased with anything or anyone including himself.  He was very much the classic tortured artist.  It was very startling to see how he and Hadley’s family’s were plagued with several suicides including, of course, his own.  I loved reading about their travels and the late night cafe culture of Paris, but at the root of this story there was so much sadness.   Fan of Hemingway or not, The Paris wife was a fantastic book.

The Astronaut Wives Club

Honestly, this was my favorite book of the three, and the only one that was non-fiction.  It starts with Project Mercury and the wives of the original seven Astronauts, and goes through the Apollo program.  Most of the focus is on the original seven and those are the ones that you will ultimately care about in this book.  There was the pretty one, the sweet one, the wholesome one, etc.  How wonderful and terrible it must have been to be these women.  One moment they were married to Jo Test Pilot living a very modest life and the next minute they were having tea with Jackie Kennedy and every high end designer wanted to dress them.  They were celebrities.  These women were expected to portray perfection right down to the giant gourmet breakfasts they made for their husbands.  Astronauts weren’t even considered for the job if they didn’t have a “stable home life”.  While the Astronauts were training or in space, their wives were being photographed through their living room blinds and trying to dodge reporters at the grocery store.  Parts of Lily Koppel’s book feels a bit gossipy, (I really don’t care for Alan Shepard anymore) but it’s very believable.  I absolutely love the style and the history of the 1950’s-1960’s time period.  If you like Mad Men you will love this book.

 

The Aviators Wife 

This was my least favorite of the three books.  The beginning of the fictional book drew me in with the start of romance between Charles and his eventual wife, Anne Morrow.  It is always endearing when the main female lead is the plain, quiet one, as Anne is.  It went almost immediately from Anne having a crush to them being unhappily married.  There didn’t seem to be many good times for the Lindbergh’s.  I felt so let down by Charles Lindbergh (I know we’re all human), but he seems like such a jerk for so many reasons.  In this book he appears to be a heartless, philandering, Nazi supporter.  He keeps track of his children’s wrongdoings, like chewing gum, and makes his wife keep tabs on purchases such as 15 cent rubber bands.  Why are the people who do such great things so bad at regular life sometimes?  I also couldn’t shake the account of the kidnapping of his first child.  It haunted me at night when I was trying to sleep (don’t Google “Lindbergh Baby”).  Mostly I just felt sad for Anne.  When Charles saw her crying he berated her for it, and she really never was allowed to grieve her son in a healthy way.  Melanie Benjamin does a great job of giving reader’s a glimpse into the life of the Lindbergh’s.

Novel

Tags

Nanowrimo, Novel

Three months is a long stretch to go without writing, and I know it seems that I’ve been quite the slacker.  While that is mostly true, I haven’t just been goofing off for the past three months.  The last few weeks of October I was preparing for National Novel Writing Month.  I attended writing workshops and brainstorming ideas for a novel.  Every spare moment I had in November was spent writing that novel.  December was December, and I did Christmasy things.  For the past few weeks I was just plain lazy. 

So yes, I am letting it be known that I am writing a novel.  Believe me I’m not saying this to brag.  I am taking the advice of the novel writing workshops, and telling everyone I know that I am writing a novel.  Why?  So that I actually do it!  It’s a pride thing, an accountability to finish what I started.    

I am half way through writing the novel and it’s time to really buckle down and finish the thing.  the biggest challenge I  see is just making myself sit down and write.  I constantly see so many things around me that I could be or should be doing.

That being said would anyone with experience care to take a look and give me their opinion?   Constructive criticism only please.

Transformation Tuesday: Valances

Tags

DIY, Jacobean, valance, velcro

Let me first admit that until a few weeks ago I was mispronouncing the name of the this tiny little curtain I made.  I had been saying it like Va- and then Lance, pronounced like the boys name.  In actuality it is Val- and then ance pronounced like balance.  I’m not sure if I ever felt this back woods before.  Embarrassing but isn’t it so freeing to expose our incompetence?

From the moment we moved in to our apartment three and a half months ago, I wanted to put some sort of covering on our windows.  Because of pre made valance scarcity and no desire to spend a lot of money on this, I had all but given up on the idea.  A few posts back (Transformation Tuesday: Kitchen), a reader who is a blogger at foundthispaintedthat.wordpress.com, suggested that I hang a punchy floral valance.  I told her all of my reasons for not taking this on, and she gave me a great ideas so that I could make it happen.

The hardest part of this project was finding a fabric that I liked.  I drove all over looking at sheet sets and other fabrics.  I wanted something that worked for every season and that matched my crazy kelp colored kitchen.  I found the perfect red, Jacobean print fabric.  I fell in love with it so much that I left the store feeling giddy.  I bought the sticky back Velcro and Heat N Bond hem tape.  I was well on my way.

I spent a lot of time measuring and ironing so that I could get the valances right.  Our apartment doesn’t look like an episode on HGTV, but the valances have significantly improved everything.

I want to show a progression of these rooms.  I apologize for the bad lighting in the nighttime pictures.

The Road to Recovery- Week Four

This week I have been pretty faithful to do my exercises.  I have iced my ankle three or four times and I have tried to stay off of it.  After many phone calls and discovering how much a visit to the doctor costs, I took a leap of faith.  A friend of mine recommended acupuncture.  She said that it is working for her trigger finger and she thought that it would help me.  Another friend said that it relieved her migraines.  Because of the significant price difference and the positive outcomes of people I know, I decided to give it a try.

I will say that I read mixed reviews online about acupuncture so I was very nervous.  Some people say it’s a scam and others say it does miracles.  I went in wondering how much it would hurt and if I would get some immediate relief.  It really didn’t hurt that much.  The needle that went in directly on my sore spot hurt most.  When all of the needles were in, a heat lamp was placed over them.  I didn’t realize this at first and panicked a little when my ankle felt super hot and tingly.  I flexed my foot and found out that was a really bad idea when acupuncture needles are in you.  My ankle started feeling very numb, and I wondered if I should be worried about it.  I decided not to worry, and as I lay there for about twenty minutes alone in the darkened room I prayed for healing instead.

When I walked out I felt a little woozy.  I didn’t feel like I was able to put too much pressure on my ankle.  Some people I talked to were worried that I would start going for continuous treatments like some people do with a chiropractor or masseuse.  To my surprise the acupuncturist herself told me to try it three times and see what I thought after that.  That made me feel like this could really work.  I hope to have a good report next week after my second round.

The Road to Recovery- Week Three

I will start by saying that there isn’t much to say so I will keep it short this week.  I really just wanted to check in so that I could be kept accountable, even if no one is reading this!  I am possibly feeling progress, and sadly that probably has to do with the fact that I am not exercising.  I am pretty committed to doing my ankle exercises and icing my ankle.  I stopped taking ibuprofen because I think that was just too much medicine.  I don’t want to cause myself real damage while trying to heal my ankle.  I’m trying to remember to pray about this injury every day and I am still working on finding a doctor.

The Road to Recovery- Week Two

Day 1

I admit, I am already growing weary of this routine.  I took my usual Ibuprofen and did my ankle exercises.  My wonderful husband tried to work out the kinks.  It feels somewhat like torture while he’s doing it but afterwards I feel a hint of pain relief.  Progress?

Day 2

I didn’t do well today.  The only thing I did was take my ibuprofen.  I walked a lot in cute (AKA painful) shoes tonight too.  I didn’t do my exercises or ice my ankle.  My personal physical therapist didn’t rub my ankle either.

Day 3

Basically see Day 2 and add in a lot of walking.  I did wear my ankle brace and get an ankle rub though.

Day 4

I did all the usual things for my ankle today except icing and wearing an ankle brace.

Day 5

I’ll call this my super rehab day.  I took my ibuprofen and wore my ankle brace.  I had yoga at night, and I think the ankle exercises we do make it feel a little better.  I also did exercises and iced my ankle.

Day 6

I took the ibuprofen, did the exercises, had an ankle rub, and iced it.

Day 7

I took my usual ibuprofen today.  I decided that I am going to improve my ankle exercises.  I usually do them very quickly right before bed.  I am basically trying to do them as fast as possible because I’m so tired.  Tonight I did them much earlier, which helped me add more exercises and make sure I do them all efficiently.  I think there might be some improvement.

Fashion Friday- The Worst of Fall Fashion

Tags

fall, fashion, pajamas, turtlenecks

I mostly just love fall fashion.  There are a few things that are in style this year that I’m going to have to say a firm, “No” to.

Turtlenecks

I grew up in the late eighties and nineties and turtlenecks were big.  The only thing bigger were the big baggy sweatshirts worn over the turtlenecks.  See what I did there?  Right.  One of the most elegant and beautiful parts of a woman is her neck.  Many women have beautiful necks.  Why would anyone want to hide one of their best parts.  I know that turtlenecks don’t all look like this anymore, but I just don’t agree that we need to revisit these just yet.

Large Coats

If these don’t look good on models, things aren’t going to get better.

Pajamas as Clothes

It’s one thing to design clothes inspired by pajamas, but things have gotten a little out of hand.  I was reading a fashion magazine that recommended just buying actual pajamas and wearing them as clothes out in public.  I really like smoking slippers, but do we really have to take it this far?  She’s a pair of slippers short of being the most  fashionable gal at the local nursing home.

The Road to Recovery- Week One

Tags

ankle, healing syndrome, prayer, recovery, sinus tarsi syndrome

Day 1

The first day in my recovery journey I decided to go full throttle.  I took two Ibuprofen when I woke up to battle the inflammation.  Before I put my shoes on I bandaged my ankle/foot (for ease I will start calling this my ankle).  This is not easy or pretty to look at when wearing summer shoes.  If I found myself standing still while I was working I put all of my wait on the uninjured foot.

When I arrived home at night I elevated and iced my ankle for 20 minutes.  Before I went to bed I did my old strength exercises.  I also took two more ibuprofen.  I fell asleep praying for healing in my tarsi.

Day 2

See Day 1.

Day 3

I started out the day with two ibuprofen.  Because I was at home most of the day I didn’t wear my ankle brace.  At the end of the day I watched a movie with my husband and he rubbed some of the kinks out of my tarsi.  It hurt at first but after a few minutes it felt a little better.  Maybe if I’m really nice he’ll do that every night.

I iced my ankle for 15 minutes and did all of my exercises.  I took one ibuprofen and prayed for my ankle.

Day 4

See Day 3.

Day 5

I started the day with an ibuprofen and wore my ankle brace all day.  By the time I get home, it is digging in to my ankle so much that I feel pretty hostile.  It took until this day for me to figure it out and warn my husband that I need to take it off before I’m able to act like a human.

I went to a yoga class and by chance we worked our ankles and feet a lot.  I wish I had yoga three times a week!  Maybe I can memorize the exercise next time.  I forgot to ice my tarsi so I hope that doesn’t set me back.  I asked my husband Carl to rub my ankle.  I did my exercises, took two ibuprofen and went to sleep

Day 6

This day was pretty similar to the day before.  I upped my morning ibuprofen to two.  I did my exercises but forgot to ask my husband to rub my ankle.

Day 7- Today

One week in and no noticeable improvement yet.  I am praying and believing for a complete healing.  I hope to find a new doctor in the next few weeks who can help guide me a little.  I’m trying to stay off of it and elevate it as much as possible.  Mentally this feels terrible but I’m believing it will be worth it.

Kicking Off Football Season

Tags

Football, football widow, Rams

Last year was Carl and I’s first fall together as a married couple.  That also means it was my first fall as a football widow.  I tried to watch the first few games but I found it hard to pay attention.  A short attention span + lots of downtime = falling asleep.  I quit trying and just began to accept that Sundays were going to be a day spent alone.  I normally shopped or did a project of some sort and left my husband to his 9 or so hours of football. 

Today I decided that maybe I should give it another shot.  I mean something that encourages eating delicious food and having parties can’t be all bad right?  So I sat down with my husband who was immersed in ten games at once, and asked for a recap on how the game is played.  It turned out his St. Louis Rams had a pretty interesting game for me to watch and I learned the basics.  I still don’t like all of the down time, and find it hard not to play on my phone or tablet between plays. 

Now that we live in Chapel Hill we are hoping to go to a UNC football game at some point.  I think it will be much more enjoyable after a few more weeks of lessons.  Tailgating and a party or two wouldn’t hurt the fun factor either.  Maybe I can be my husbands football watching buddy this season (at least for one game a week). 

Fashion Friday: Fall Fashion Basics

Tags

capes, fall, fall fashion, plaid, velvet

I am always excited about fall fashion.  I look forward to wearing cozy and comforting clothes.  Although fashion changes a little every year, there are some things you can almost always rely on in fall fashion.  Other trends take time off and then return after a few years or decades.  Returning styles are updated in order to look current, but very few things are truly new.

Other classic patterns like houndstooth, leopard and pinstripes (all big this fall) come and go but plaid seems to come back year after year.  The Catholic schools have this one right, plaid is a classic that never disappoints.  There are so many things that can be done with plaid and so many variations and colors.  If you don’t have any plaid in your wardrobe, now is the time to invest.

It also seems like capes have been returning every fall for the last few years.  I personally love capes.  They’re so cozy and if you don’t plan to take it off, anything can be worn underneath.  They are, however, tricky to wear and must be worn with absolute assurance.  If YOU don’t think you can pull it off than neither will anyone else.

One trend than feels really fresh is velvet.  Yes it’s been an off and on cold weather staple for a long time, but I haven’t seen much of it in the past few years.  It’s such a feminine fabric.  I would love to add more velvet to my wardrobe.  Before I add anything to my wardrobe I need to clean out clothes I’ve had since high school and eight grade.  Admitting it is the first step right?