Brace yourself...

    ...because this is kind of a gross post.  There's no blood or gore, but if you're squeamish, you might want to skip this one.
    With my disclaimer out of the way, I can get on to the real subject of the post: toes.  Specifically, bruised big toes.  When I say bruised, I mean really bruised.

    Apparently, this is a pretty common injury among soccer players, whose toes get stepped on, jammed against their cleats as they kick, and stubbed in all kinds of creative ways.  However, despite my three years on the soccer team, this is new to me.  My toes gradually got this bruised in the course of training for a half marathon.  Grinding out all of those miles doesn't sound too dangerous for your toes, except for one thing - when I was fitted for running shoes a few months ago, the associate who helped me gave me shoes that are about 1/2 a size too small, and my feet have no room to move around or even swell a little bit on long runs, and consequently my toes jam against the shoe with every step, eventually creating these bruises.

   Fitting running shoes is a little tricky because you don't exactly wear your normal shoe size.  Always order either half a size or a whole size up (so, since I usually wear a size 8, I bought size 8.5 running shoes).  If you have any questions at all (and even if you don't, it's a good idea), go to a specialized running store (Austinites, I recommend Luke's Locker - the staff are very experienced and all runners).  

  What to do if you end up developing bruises anyway?  If it hurts, ice it.  If you are worried about losing the nail (which is always a possibility), wrap your toe in gauze and athletic tape.  Take a day off if you feel like your toenail is really in danger.  Always, always, always keep your nail short!  Consider visiting a podiatrist, and finally, get new shoes!
   Update: after finally seeing a podiatrist (fun fact: they have a different degree than a regular physician - not an MD, but they still have plenty of training!), here is what he told me to do.  If the bruising really hurt, he could remove my nails, but since my toes don't hurt, he wants to let them fall off on their own, so that the new nail will grow in a little and my toes won't be completely naked.  In the meantime, he prescribed an odorless, colorless anti-fungal medication (called Ciclopirox), so that when they do fall off, nothing gets infected.  You paint it on just like toenail polish, it comes off with nail polish remover, and it can be applied over nail polish!  How cool is that?

Trash Dance. Yes, you read right.

    What happens when you combine a choreographer, a UT film professor, and the City of Austin sanitation department?  Trash Dance.

Trash Dance teaser from Andrew Garrison on Vimeo.

   In 2009, Allison Orr of Forklift Danceworks choreographed a dance for 24 City of Austin sanitation workers and 16 trash trucks.  Sounds goofy?  Keep reading.  

   Orr spent a year convincing the sanitation department to agree to the project, and then spent a year getting to know city sanitation workers and learning each job.  As you can see from the trailer, she faced some doubt from the sanitation workers themselves, but all of these groups combined to produce several standing-room-only performances at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (where else can you find enough pavement to maneuver 16 trash trucks?).  "Trash Dance" sounds goofy, but touched thousands of audience members.
   University of Texas film professor Andrew Garrison produced a documentary about the Trash Dance project, which demonstrates the transformation that Trash Dance started.  The project gave sanitation workers pride in their jobs and abilities, and helped audience members gain a new respect for the men and women who provide a key service for the city.  In short, I think the project made everyone involved a little more human.  I, for one, cannot wait to see the documentary when it is released in DVD!  For now, Austinites can see the world premier of the documentary on March 10th at SXSW.  For more updates, visit Garrison's Kickstarter fundraising page.  This project is a great testament to the way that the arts can enrich everyone's lives, no matter how unlikely a participant they may be.

One Month Until Valentine's Day

   Valentine's Day is coming up.  Or rather, retail stores want you to think it's coming up.  One month away is plenty of time to plan that special date night or, lacking a date, a fun night with friends.  To get my creative juices flowing, I found a few V-Day related ideas on Pinterest:

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One of the more original Valentines' I've ever seen... my room mate is getting this.  Source.

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Getting Back Into a Routine

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    I can't be the only one who is far, far more productive when I have a routine to follow.  At school it's easy - dictated by classes, extracurriculars, and meetings with friends.  It's roughly the same when I'm working: obligations provide a schedule and a routine.  But what about when you have no set obligations or schedule, and a lot to do?  I make the routine myself.
   Christmas vacation is a big temptation to slack off, since it is too short to intern or take a job (unless you're picking up a job you've already done).  So in order to get things done, I impose a routine for myself in several ways.

1. Set an alarm to wake up.  Otherwise, you can't guarantee that you'll have enough time to do everything.
2. Write your to-do list the night before.  
3. Cross each task off.
4. Don't overload it - you still want to enjoy your vacation, of course!
5. Look the part.  Spending all day in pajamas will only make you lazy.
6. Schedule something, anything: a work out, errands, lunch with a friend.  Just do something to make your schedule hard and fast.  
7. If you get off track, get back on.  Work harder to catch up.
8. Schedule breaks - you are more productive when you let yourself relax a little.
9. Keep your evenings free for social time or relaxing.
10. Keep your eye on the prize!  Whether it's getting back in shape, searching for a job (like me), or just getting a lot of chores done, think of how great it will feel to be done.  Write down reminders, if you need to.

How do you get yourself back into a routine?

Headed Home

   By the time this post goes up, I will already be home, and well on my way out again.  I have an eventful holiday coming up, but it's all fun stuff, so it's all good.  Still, as I'm writing this, I am about 5 hours away from waking up for my ride to the airport at the crack of dawn, and so obviously this makes a great time to share my traveling tips.  Since I go to school about halfway across the country from my home (over 1,000 miles!), I only drive home for the summer: I fly for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break.  In fact, until last year (when I brought my car to school), I flew for every holiday.  Suffice to say, I have flown a lot in the last three and a half years.
   When I fly, I always make sure to have a few things with me, in my carry-on bags (I love that you can take two bags - it gives me room for all the odds and ends I forgot to pack in my suitcase).

1. Laptop computer and charger - because suitcases get roughed up, and I need my laptop to stay safe.  Also, it's great for watching movies.  Which brings me to...
2. Movie - I like to rent one from iTunes, so that it will be new and interesting.  This trip, it's Evening.
3. A book for pleasure - unless I have urgent homework, in which case I do homework instead.
4. A jacket - because planes tend to be cool.
5. Hand sanitizer and gum - to keep clean and fresh.
6. A water bottle, lip balm, and lotion - to stay hydrated, because airplane air is very dry.
7. Headphones - for the movie.
8. A notebook and pen - in case inspiration strikes.

Did I miss anything?

Christmas To-Do List

   Finals are behind me, and I am officially on Christmas break!  As usual, I have made a to-do list for this wonderful occasion.  So I thought I'd share it with you.

1. Read for pleasure!  Water For Elephants and maybe the Hunger Games series?
2. Sleep.  Enough said.
3. Run (with my dog) more often.
4. Finish the sweater I am knitting (yes, I might as well start getting cats now, because that's where I am headed).
5. Cut my caffeine intake - not entirely, though.
6. Get a haircut.
7. Catch up with home friends and family.
8. Send out a billion cover letters and resumes (three cheers for the job search).
9. Catch up on Glee (my guilty pleasure, which I haven't seen since last spring).
10. Blog more often.

What's on your vacation to-do list?

Happy Advent!

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   This Sunday (November 27th) marked the beginning of Advent in the church calendar.  Advent is the season of joyful expectation of Christmas - the holiday celebrating Christ's birth (which probably actually happened in June or July, but oh well).  Traditionally, liturgical churches encourage their members to commemorate Advent by lighting an Advent wreath each night and reading a short Bible story.  Each candle making up the wreath (pictured above) represents one of the Sundays in Advent, so the wreath serves as a sort of "count down to Christmas".
   The most fun part of Advent, however, is the Advent Calendar.  It counts down the days in December until Christmas in a fun way.  My sister and I used to get Advent calendars with little flaps that opened up for each day with a funny picture inside, and last year my roommate got a calendar with a little piece of chocolate for each day.  My family, however, makes it a little more of a production now: we have a hanging calendar with a pocket for each day, and everyone in the family gets a small present each day (for instance, a pack of gum, a chocolate bar, a pair of colorful socks, a fun pen, etc).  My mom still carries on this tradition now that my sister and I are off at college (which makes finals much more fun!).  If you think this is as fun as I do, here is some inspiration to get your own Advent calendar going.

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Happy Advent!

Rue La La

   Have you ever used a site like Rue La La?  It's one of several similar sites that are popping up which bring curated merchandise to their members for special sales (I'm registered with Rue La La, Rent the Runway, Kembrel, Shop It To Me, and Joss & Main).  Some of these sites have neat nuances: Kembrel is limited to college students, for instance, and Joss & Main specializes in homewares.  As far as I can tell, all of their sales come from sample sales, so there is a limited quantity, but such a lower price.  My first purchase shipped today (Wednesday), and it's due next week... I'm excited!  I can't wait to try on my shoes!

   PS - One thing I like a lot about Rue La La is that they include preppy companies - Lilly Pulitzer, Jack Rodgers, Vineyard Vines... I love it!

A Walk Through My Pinterest

  If you've read this blog before, you may have noticed the button on the side:

I'm a big fan of Pinterest.  Basically, it's like a virtual cork board - it lets you "pin" photos from webpages you like onto "boards" which you can organize however you like (I organize mine by topic).  The best part?  It does all the back-linking for you!  No need to virtually plagiarize.  It's a great way to show off your finds, and also a great way to search for lovely photos by keyword/topic/etc.  On a more sentimental note, sometimes what you need in the middle of a busy day is just a quick dose of beauty.  I like to think my boards are pretty nice, so here's a tour, and what you can expect from each, should you choose to follow any or all:

Decor:

Here you'll find cool colors, high ceilings, and architechtual and decorating ideas for my future (far in the future) home.

Crafty:


How-to's, ideas for gifts, art inspiration

Tasty:

Recipes, photos of food ideas, and things that look good, but that I would never actually make.

Style:

Outfits, items, or styles to reference later.

Inspiration:

This is my favorite!  It's a little bit of everything, from artistic photos to cute puppies to 

What I wore Wednesday: Brought to you by Audrey Hepburn

  Today is dreary in Williamsburg.  It's drizzly and I'm tired, and I needed some life breathed back into me.  Enter Audrey Hepburn.  What's more vivacious than this?

For those of you who haven't seen Funny Face, it is a musical starring Fred Astaire and a young Audrey Hepburn.  It is an absolutely awful musical, except for one scene: the dancing scene, above, where Audrey falls in with some bohemians in Paris.  It's become rather iconic, in fact: GAP even featured the dance in an ad campaign a few years ago.

If Audrey Hepburn isn't inspiring, I don't know who is.  So, I put on my college-girl version of Audrey's outfit and set out to live it up, despite the drizzle.

Jeans: Paige

Sweater: J. Crew

Shoes: Tory Burch

Of course, I had to add a touch of color.  

Watch: Lacoste

Bangle and ring: Master Craftsman

Bracelet: handmade

Black & Gold

Mood Music:

 

  Black and Gold (Sam Sparro cover) by LorenzoAlajar

Inspired by recent selections on the Etsy homepage, I give you:

OK, so maybe some of the "gold" is deep yellow, but close enough.  I love this combination for winter - gold keeps black interesting and warm.  And the song is just too good not to share.  Don't you agree?

Well, Lilly Pulitzer agrees.  Check out these cocktail dresses!

Adelson Shift

Eryn Dress

Blossom Dress

Bowen Dress - textbook black and gold!

Naomi Dress

Find them here, here, here, here, and here on the Lilly Pulitzer site.

Whoops... Spoke Too Soon

   Of course, right after I write a post about choosing an iPhone case, I find dozens more that I like.  These came from an unexpected source - Urban Outfitters' Print Shop.  Urban Outfitters is kind of hit-or-miss with me, but it inevitably reminds me of home and Austin's artistic side.  They aren't preppy by any means, but a few of these iPhone cases (and there are 320 available!) have caught my eye.  All are $35, and all can be found here.  In no particular order, here's some beauty for your day:

Jonathan Adler Obsession Continues

   So... I caved to the smartphone and got an iPhone (well, I got a hand-me-down iPhone, but it's still pretty cool!).  One great feature is that I can blog from it (yay!  Maybe I won't get behind, now?), but it also requires a cover.  I've been through all of my standby brands, and settled on a Jonathan Adler case, although I'm still deciding between two patterns (which means I really should get the matching coffee mug and/or umbrella, right?).  Looking through his designs just reminds me of why I like them so, so much - tons of color, bold lines, and fun fun fun!

Above images from Lifeguard Press.

Here's more of why I love Jonathan Adler - 

The man himself.

Above images from Pinterest.