Commuter Show and Tell Purse Dump

Kendra at Catholic All Year did a purse dump linkup recently. I love these things because it's fun to see what other people carry around. Also: material culture! You're welcome, historians of the future. Here's what some ladies of the Twenty-Teens were schlepping around.

This is the random brand, fake leather big bag that I take to work every day. I've mentioned before that I am always on the lookout for functionality in a bag.

I found her on Columbus Day at a TJ Maxx under the Queensboro Bridge. The cross-body strap and multiple interior pockets were key selling points. She's looking a little worse for wear these days - note broken clasps replaced by classy carabiner clips. Also, my black wool winter coat appears to be wearing off on her. A spring/summer upgrade may be in my future.

First, the commuter survival essentials I can't do without.

From top left I have:

• Book to read, currently Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. The NYPL has the most efficient inter-branch loan systems I've ever seen. All 7 of my holds arrived at once last week so I'm trying to keep up with due dates.
• Wallet, because even with a bag full of stuff sometimes you have to run to Duane Reade or a food truck. 
• Umbrella, because the day you forget it will be the day it pours. 
• Hand sanitzer, because sometimes you have to touch subway poles. 
• NJTransit monthly pass and MetroCard holder so I can get to my office. The Vera Bradley pouch was a thank-you gift from a former intern after I served as a job reference. The plastic holder is a vintage image of Grand Central, because Penn is too hideous to put on merchandise.
• Headphones, because sometimes trains are noisy and you need to tune out the world with a podcast. 
• Staff ID from the Museum's fundraising gala in October. Because I never clean out my purse? 
• Business card holder - the image is a detail of the Roy Lichtenstein mural at the 42nd Street/Times Square subway station. 

Next is all the cosmetic/medical stuff that keeps me from making emergency Duane Reade purchases.

From top left: 

• Cough drops
• Heat patches for when my back acts up
• Tea bags for when I need a hot drink
• Gum for fresh breath
• Bandaids for shoe blisters and for papercuts while rolling 900 Gala poster favors
• Hand lotion for dry winter weather
• Ibuprofen for headaches - I refill it from our big generic container at home
• Hair ties for ponytail emergencies
• Vincent Van Gogh lens cloth from the Carnegie Art Institute gift shop
• Lip gloss - it's poppin'
• Pens and mechanical pencil
• Target generic Lactaid pills, because I am lactose intolerant but still like cheese
• Tissue, because cold season
• Spare pair of socks? Ok
• Fingerless gloves, a random purchase from the street vendor outside my Brooklyn subway stop. Even street urchins like to keep warm while using their iPhones. 

And finally here's the random paper stuff that I removed thanks to this exercise.  

Left to right: outdated train schedule, playbill from seeing a Broadway show with my aunt and cousin, outdated museum children's calendar, notepad for weekly staff meetings.

Not pictured: keys, coffee travel mug, foldable nylon tote bag (it's currently holding 15 posters of Grand Central Terminal) and various lunch tupperware containers. My sweet husband makes me coffee every morning and packs me a lunch so I can get out the door bright and early to catch my train. And then I join the herds of commuters carrying at least one bag across the river and down the tracks. 

What I Wore Sunday, Entry 11

Check out Fine Linen and Purple for more Sunday church outfits! This week is hosted by the awesome Mandi of Messy Wife. 

Dress: Calvin Klein, sweater: Ann Taylor, wedges: Dolce Vita via TJ Maxx,
necklace: Forever 21, purse: Relic (thrifted)

This dress represents my effort to participate in this fall's black/white/colorblocking trend. When I bought it the Southern Baron's reaction was "Cruella de Vil?" And so I had to give him a little seminar on women's fashion. He educates me about menswear, though, so it's a two way street.

I do really like the dress' swingy skirt and flattering shape. I was very excited to discover an outlet store called Annie Sez near our apartment, and even more excited when I spied this dress on the clearance rack. It's the first big item I've bought in north Jersey, so I'll probably always associate it with our newlywed months here. Now that I think about it, I'm wearing representations of many different phases of my life: the purse was a thrifting find near my Brooklyn office, the shoes are from a TJ Maxx expedition in Manhattan, I got the sweater in Delaware on a grad school study break, and the necklace hearkens back to my VSC days in St. Louis. Material culture nerd that I am, all this historical context pleases me.

Christmas decorations are up in all the public spaces, but the weather this weekend is ironically warm. Southern Baron has been hunkered down grading, so after church I puttered around makin' groceries and embarking on a epic chicken pot pie project. In case you were wondering, making pie crust in a Cuisinart is gloriously easy. We're also tidying up the apartment because my brother-in-law is stopping tomorrow on his way home from a business trip!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 23

--- 1 ---

We're in another spurt of wedding planning right now. Our save the date cards came in, bridesmaid jewelry has been ordered, and now I'm dithering about invitation designs. History nerd that I am, I gravitate toward stuff that looks more vintage-y. But I don't want something that yells "I am a twee olde-timey hipster." This card from Vistaprint might work if you want to welcome your guests to a carnival/traveling medicine show with special prizes for target shooting. The Betrothed said one "Victorian Vintage" card looked like "The picture Jesse James was adjusting on the wall just before he got shot."

--- 2 ---

I've been our of work for a month and a half, but no unemployment benefits yet. Government paperwork, why you gotta be so hard?

--- 3 ---

On the positive side, I have another interview next week! I finally, finally have a better sense of trust that if it's the right one, God will still make it work out.

--- 4 ---

Once again, though, I have nothing to wear. I used my only suit that isn't huge on me for the last round. Once again, Divine Providence came through. I just found a great Banana Republic suit at Good will for $11. "Do not ask, what shall we eat, or what shall we wear...."

--- 5 ---

You may have seen this fascinating article in The Atlantic about the decline of Mary as a popular baby name. Does this mean that nobody looks to Jesus' mother as a role model or values virginity anymore, as some Catholic bloggers have suggested? Maybe a bit, but I think that's too easy of an answer. From what I've seen, the trend of picking original, unique baby names extends to devout Christians too. In my little Catholic bubble I've seen Maria, Regina, Mairi, Mary Elizabeth, Mary Catherine, and Mary Beth. I swear half the girls in my high school had the middle name Marie.

--- 6 ---

I got to catch up with some former classmates this week, which was fantastic. A true friend is someone who will not only not get mad when you are an hour late because of traffic, she will also have gluten-free brownies waiting for you.

--- 7 ---

God bless all those students suffering through finals! My three younger siblings are all juggling papers and presentations right now. I just got to give Brother #2 advice on a history paper over Skype. Sigh,  I could almost smell the library stacks. Pondering Leonardo da Vinci is way more fun when you aren't the one getting graded. :-)

Did you know Napoleon collected lots of Leonardo's work, including his notebooks? 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

What I Learned Wednesday

Emmy Cecilia at Journey of a Catholic Nerd Writer has started a new link-up, What I Learned Wednesday. Since I am also a Catholic nerd and love when someone else gives me a post topic, I couldn't say no. Here's what I have discovered this week. 

1) I am an eldest child, and I am a procrastinating perfectionist. This is normal.

Recently I checked out a bunch of books about birth order from the library. (After paying a big fine because I procrastinated about renewing the last batch, naturally.) My favorite title is the enticing, Growing Up Firstborn: The Pressure and Privilege of Being Number One. That's RIGHT Dr. Kevin Leman, we firstborns have it the WORST! 

The picture of firstborn perfectionism sounds like my life. Dwelling on past failures, gauging worth by the number of successes, blowing past accomplishment to focus on what needs to be done next. If you're always worried about doing a good enough job, then you hesitate to get started. This is exactly why I could never start school papers way in advance. I needed to mull over my topic and feel ready to write profound things. 

This has been particularly true for wedding planning. A long engagement of 16 months is doing me no favors. What if I pick out something now and hate it in 6 months? How can I make this celebration a reflection of me and my marriage if I don't even know what I like? You can't rush art. 

But at a certain point, you just have to pick something. I've gotten a little better at this over the years, especially with shopping. Which brings me to:

2) Never pay retail when you don't have to. 

I got an unexpected call this week offering me a job interview in another city. On Friday. Since I last built my professional wardrobe, I have lost 22 pounds. Hooray! Now all those pantsuits don't fit, and neither does my long winter coat. Cue what my family likes to call "Turbo Shopping." 

Burlington Coat Factory had a decent-yet-unorganized selection of wool coats, but I wasn't sure if I could do better elsewhere. I checked out the one day sale at Macy's - to find some of the exact same items from the other store, at twice the price. 

So today I went back to the first store, and picked up this fun, swingy Laundry coat. I paid $60 less than the Macy's sale price, and less than a third of the suggested retail value. Discount outlets can take more time and effort, but once again I learned that it is worth it. 

Cravat and platinum hairdo optional. 

Last Quick Takes of 2011

--- 1 ---

Soo, that Advent wreath photo project was not as prolific as I had hoped. This year for some reason I am more timid about whipping out my camera to document a church after Mass. Still,  I did take some fun touristy field trips - here are installments 1, 2, and 3.

--- 2 ---

Last weekend I got to hear The Beau sing in his parish's Advent Lessons and Carols. It definitely got me in the Yuletide spirit. Advent carols should always have timpani accompaniment.

--- 3 ---

It looks like the fresh, cheap British takeaway chain Pret A Manger has made the leap across the pond! There's one in Manhattan, and lately I've seen two in DC. I just had to stop at the one in Union Station on my way to catch my train to The Beau's Lesson and Carols in New Jersey.
Me: "OMG how long have ya'll been here?!?!?!"
Bemused cashier in reindeer headband: "Since Tuesday. I know, people keep freaking out and saying they recognize us from London. Honestly, this time of year Pret is the last thing on my mind."

Via IamDCDG

Seriously, though, you should check them out. They win my allegiance for listing allergen information and for personally responding to customer emails. Pret got me though my two week frigid museum death march/London trip of a lifetime.

--- 4 ---

My sister and I were victorious in our bridesmaid dress mission for Brother #1's June wedding. This was our  inspiration

but this is what I ended up choosing. The best part? The dress has POCKETS. Thank you, fashion designers, for allowing me to carry Lactaid pills and tissues.

--- 5 ---

Speaking of blue, that is also the color scheme for our family portrait today. I'm excited to actually be in it this time. The last parish directory photo was great, except for the fact that I was out of town....

--- 6 ---

Reasons #467 - 469 why I love my job: The VP of Finance made festive earrings for all the ladies in the office, there was gluten free pizza for lunch, and my new Russian boss is teaching us the Cyrillic alphabet one letter a day.

--- 7 ---

I might schedule some posts for the Christmas Octave, but otherwise this is my last big installment until after I return from ringing in the new year in New Orleans with The Beau's family, Have a blessed, joyous Yuletide everyone!

The Christmas wreath at St. Mark, the parish where I grew up

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Consider the lilies...at Target

It's been a rough week here in thesis-land, especially when I got rejected for a paid summer internship that seemed like the perfect deal. I could have increased skills I already have, I could have worked in DC, I could have lived with my parents and saved buckets of money. But now I won't, and I'm back in the pit of mystery that is the job market.

There are some Bible verses very appropriate for this stage of grad student life

"Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?

(Matthew 6: 25, 31)

 

If God can look after the birds in the sky and clothe the lilies (and spring crocuses) of the field, then surely he will look after those of us foolish enough get advanced degrees in the liberal arts. I'm grateful for the small mercies that have come my way this week, like how I made an appointment today on time despite having to put air in my tires first. Or how when I went to exchange a needed pair of shoes at Target for a smaller size they had been marked down $6. It was like a little pat on the back from God, saying that things are going to be ok.

Happy Birthday to my pal George

Did you ever play the totally nerdy party game of "who is your favorite Founding Father"? Of course I have, many times. As a self-respecting WM alum I cannot say the pompous "Mr. Jefferson." While I respect the intellects of John Adams and James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin's' wit, there is only one dead white male who can claim my heart- George Washington. Maybe it's because of  that Barry Bostwick miniseries that aired when I was a child, or the awesomeness of Mount Vernon's back piazza overlooking the Potomac, or his action hero/political patron saint status. Or maybe it's because our birthdays are a few days apart. Either way, my first president crush has not subsided.

As an early present to myself, I picked up this set of coasters at the museum's President's Day sale. They are like the "greatest hits" of the museum's Washington portraits, and I'd had my eye on them for weeks.

Clockwise from upper right we have:

• George Washington at the Battle of Princeton-James Peale 1804 (Note the tragic battle death scenes happening in the background.)
• George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army - Charles Peale Polk 1787-93 (There are about 70 copies of this "Princeton portrait" floating around various museum galleries)
• George Washington Reviewing the Western Army at Fort Cumberland, the 18th of October 1794 - Frederick Kemmelmeyer, 1794-1800 (Go suppress that Whiskey Rebellion, G-dubs!)
• Washington at Verplanck's Point - John Trumbull, 1790 (They say this was Martha's favorite portrait of her husband. This is also my favorite version of his horse.)

LoL

Omigosh you guys, British decorative arts history is now available at Target! Earlier this week a couple of us grad students ran over there at lunchtime to geek out over the Liberty of London line. Arthur Liberty's department store attracted members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and later formed partnerships with Art Nouveau artists. The early store was especially known for its printed fabrics . When I was in London I visited the store near Oxford Circus, a fabulous 1924 Tudor revival building. Sadly, I could not afford the luxury accessories inside.
But I could afford the $5 pink floral coffee mug I bought on Thursday! Its bright colors make me smile and look forward to spring.