Thursday, January 23, 2014

Mitty-ing Around






My 2014 resolution to think less, do more, is off to a good start. It feels wonderful to reconnect with my blog friends. Blogging is so much more intimate than catching up via FB or Instagram, though I enjoy both. 

With all the talk of Oscar buzz right now, I have been going to see more movies. And although I try to stay away from the mainstream movie theaters (I think it's better to read the book, and almost every movie was first a book; AND they are expensive!) I had to see the Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I had been intrigued with Mr. Mitty since I saw the trailer. After seeing the original film on TMC and learning this installment would be very different, I got more excited. 

The film didn't disappoint. In fact, it is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. It's a movie that is actually moving. It stirred something inside of me that I had let lay dormant for a long time. The truth is, I can relate to Walter Mitty. I have always been a dreamer; I have always had a vivid imagination. But I identified so much more with the version Ben Stiller portrays. His Mitty suffers from wanderlust, the pressures of family, the perils of romance, all while dedicating himself to a magazine that is sadly going out of print. Mitty has given so much of his life to working on Life Magazine that he realizes he hasn't lived his own. The mission statement of the magazine haunts moviegoers and Mitty throughout the film:

"To see life; to see the world; to eyewitness great events ... to see and be amazed; to see and be instructed."

While I feel like I have packed a lot in this life for the past 29 years, this movie helped me to see that there is more to life than work; there is even more to life than what you can imagine. It opened my eyes to the fact that sometimes taking a chance makes for the best story. The magazine cover at the end of the film says everything. For people like myself who have the privilege of working in publishing, we are able to reach the masses every month (or week, or day) and sometimes we can feel like we know more, or dare I say it, are superior, because we get to research, edit, and churn out content from a computer in a cozy office in a nice building somewhere. But what do we really know? We are not the ones living daily in the trenches of life; in fact, we are oftentimes shielded from it by our cubicle walls. 

I struggled to think of what sort of photos I would share with this blog post. I haven't been to Iceland or Greenland or Afghanistan (like Mitty). I haven't really traveled in some time. But as I looked at my phone I came across some pictures I meant to post on last summer, and didn't. What got in the way the past six months? I have no idea. But these images were saved on my phone for a reason. I have obviously been clinging to the memories, the ideas behind these images. The 1920's poster represents my favorite decade, a place I wish I could travel back to; the British Pub reminds me of being back in England (my favorite place I have visited), and the band at the Chandelier Bar reminds me of a scene in the film where Mitty is motivated to jump onto a helicopter because he imagines his love interest serenading him with a guitar. I loved that moment in the film. It's all about finding out what will push you to take a leap of faith. 

I'm sad to say the film didn't get any award nominations (I obviously think it was robbed). So I thought it only fitting to finally commit these images to this post; to make the things I have been imagining more tangible, more real, more possible. It's interesting to note that "Walter Mitty" and "Mitty-esque" are in the dictionary. They describe this type of person who is given to adventurous dreams. I wanted to make my own play on the term, to describe what I have been doing, and perhaps a bit of what I have not been doing. I have been trying to live, but I feel like I have been living to work instead. I'm so glad for this film, that both amazed and instructed me, that pushed me to finally publish this post. Pushing yourself to see the amazing, and to take a leap of faith are what life is all about. For a while I haven't been blogging because I didn't know if I wanted to share anymore. I didn't have faith that there was anything worth sharing, or that people would even want to see the world as I see it. But thanks in part to Mr. Mitty, I'm willing to take that chance. 

Monday, January 13, 2014

2013: A Year in Shoes

























Sometimes when I feel defeated, I look for new shoes to put on my feet so that I can stand tall. I thought I hadn't purchased too many shoes this year, but I guess I was wrong. Disclaimer: I didn't buy all of these and they are not all wearable, obviously. 

Shoes can be a lot like the ebb and flow of life; they have their highs and they have their lows. I recently acquired my highest heels to date (8.5 inches by my fave shoe designer Charlotte Olympia). Those wedges were definitely a high-point of 2013. The year ended on a high note (see previous post) but I am all for more highs of the  non-shoe variety in 2014. You should set your sights on high heels, but set your goals even higher. 


Sunday, January 5, 2014

Pop, Fizz, Clink






It seems like only yesterday I started this blog. I was going through all my posts recently to find one from 2010 that someone had asked me about and I guess  never really took stock of all the writing I had done here. I used to be so much better at this ( writing stuff down and reading the works of others). It makes me feel a little sad inside.

It's like 2014 just popped into existence; out of nowhere, without years of preparation. I'll be 30 this year. And while 2013 seemed to fizzle fast, I was happy to welcome this new year. The truth is, I have been preparing for January 1 for a while now. I have set up some very firm goals for eating healthy, exercising, work, budgeting my money, and scheduling my time. 

This is due in large part to the fact that my sister will be married in just four months. And since her wedding is sure to be a major milestone of the year, (I am so happy for her!) planning is in full swing. And that's the thing about weddings, they force you to plan your heart out. So you see, I have been thinking about 2014 very thoroughly since October, coordinating schedules, writing notes, setting reminders, planning for time off, and setting aside time to be with my sister and my family. My friend Tracy once told me weddings were a good idea because there is something magical about seeing everyone you love together in one room. And that is a thought definitely worth clinking my glass to. 

So while I celebrated New Year's Eve without my family, I was definitely cheers-ing to them in my heart. 

Cheers to 2014!

*I did celebrate NYE with this champagne clutch from Kate Spade, champagne lip gloss from Juicy Couture, a bottle of Moet, new shoes from Charlotte Olympia (only $200 at Neiman Marcus Last Call!), and sequin nails by Ciate.