Why You Should Make a Library Pilgrimage

The summers when I was in elementary school and my mother was working and my grandmother was still alive, she used to take me and my brother to the library so we could participate in the summer reading challenges.  Read x number of books by y date, and you get a little prize.  Somehow in the joy of small plastic frogs and miniature Slinkies, I didn't realize that the real prize of the summer reading challenge was the books-with-my-grandmother part, and our times at the library became some of the memories I now revisit whenever something is scary or sad or difficult.  But I hadn't really re-lived anything like those memories recently, save for all my literary talks with my mum.  Today, I changed that.  I walked up and down the aisles of the school library and rediscovered the rush of finding a book, picking it, and actually checking it out to read.  Checking a book out is like making a commitment to yourself to spend time with a friend, even if it's just for a short while, and I can hardly describe how exciting it was to take the book out of the library with me and know I'd get to go home and share it with my mum later. I felt like a six year-old again, and the best part is that, as I was leaving, I saw all these other books--everything from an anthology of French literature to a novel of the Irish potato famine to a tale of heartbreak--and cataloged them in my mind to check out later.

The book I found at the library today.  It's not a novel by any means, but it's full of beautiful art and poetry.
Win!

Where am I going with this?  Well, if you've been stressed or anxious or worried lately, I strongly recommend that you make a library pilgrimage if you get the chance to!  Literature has such amazing healing abilities, and there's nothing quite like the rush of picking a world to educate yourself in and disappear into.  It's like travelling but without the stress of airports or passports or money.


<3 Frances

Friday: Groundhogs, Dresses, and Humanitarianism

Yesterday was Groundhog Day, dears!  And little Phil saw his shadow, which supposedly means six more weeks of winter, but I'm not so much interested in his forecast as I am in his adorableness.  That said, often times I wish Phil were able to have the life of an everyday groundhog with a family and a little burrow of baby groundhogs instead of being subjected to flashing cameras and newscasters.  If only Beatrix Potter's world were real . . .
This video gets us pretty close, though.  My mum sent it to me the other day while I was studying, and it really did increase my productivity!  Cute baby animals have a way of doing that ;).

The SAG Awards were Sunday night.  I didn't even realize that until I heard people talking about the dresses and winners on Monday.  We don't watch our television much, but I liked getting to see everything recapped in the news, and some of our favorite looks are featured below (pics from POPSUGAR).  Fashion news is a nice break from all the sadness that's been everywhere lately.  Speaking of which--if you're reading this, I highly suggest you look into the International Rescue Committee or the Sierra Club or any of the other organizations that support humanitarianism and the environment.  It's so important that people take individual action to make the world a better, safer place for everyone!!

What were some of your favorite looks from the night?  

Are there any organizations you think need some extra support right now?  What about causes?

Now, watch those baby groundhogs one more time ;).

<3 Frances

Link Loves and Must-Reads 1/26 (Plus a Beauty Mishap)

Last night I had a rather unfortunate incident with my right eyebrow.  To avoid getting into too much detail, let's just say that it's not entirely there anymore and that I'm incredibly grateful for my mum's touch-up skills.  #oops 

My little accident aside, though, here are [some of] today's Link Loves and Must-Reads . . . .

• Amy Rosoff Davis: Actress, Celebrity Trainer, Producer + So Much More... by Robin Shobin
• Amy Rosoff Davis is, as the title of this article suggests, a woman of many vocations, one of which is trainer for people like Selena Gomez and Emma Roberts.  What I like the most about her interview with Charlotte's Book, though, is her refreshing perspective on wellness.  Instead of preaching the "harder, faster, longer" dogma that so many of us are used to hearing nowadays, she talks about flexibility, doing something different every day based on how you feel, and having a "healthy relationship with your body and your mind" because "to obsess over any detail--that's not healthy." Thank you!!
• 10 Actions You Can Take Today to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Zoe Fox
• We can't keep denying the fact that humans are playing a major part in climate change, but we can do something about it.  It's actually really empowering to think that by reducing how much time you spend driving or by buying second-hand clothes you can make a difference for the sake of our sweet planet's health and well-being.
• The Pantry (Yes, Pantry) Products Nikki Reed Uses for Luminous Skin by Nikki Reed
• My "skintervention" is a continuing process, and I'm experimenting right now with yogurt masks, MSM, and Vitamin A because, more so than breakouts, my biggest issue right now is scarring. I'm even versing myself in special acne scar terminology.  I didn't know there were so many kinds of scars, and I'm hoping to get mine at least a little bit better because they've been around for a while and I'd love to part ways at some point.  I know I probably will never have 100% scar-free skin, and I'm okay with that, but if there's one thing I've learned form this skintervention process is that it's important to take action while you can. Anyway, I like this article by Nikki Reed because of her advice about all-natural, cruelty-free, chemical-free beauty hacks (eg. avocado in your hair and jojoba on your skin). With the current state of the planet (see my second Must-Read, lol), reducing the chemicals we put into the environment (and into ourselves!) is so crucial for everybody's health.  

Cyber hugs for your Thursday!

<3 Frances

Wednesday Playlist

There's so much going on right now, and all the energy can be overwhelming sometimes. That's why we need music.  Listening to it, playing it, writing it, reading it . . . these are all forms of meditation, right? Much love and light for everyone today.  I'm hoping to share more must-reads soon.  I gather articles in between time spent procrastinating and doing homework, and most of the stuff I've gotten to see this week has to do with the environment (#envirosciwritergirls), having a healthy outlook on life, and cruelty-free beauty.  Let's make change and keep it positive!

Billie Eilish: "Six Feet Under"

Emiliana Torrini: "Birds"

Nick Drake: "Pink Moon"

<3 Frances

Friday Playlist

I haven't gotten to share a playlist in a long time, and it's making me realize how I haven't been listening to as much music as I used to lately.  Maybe that's why it's been so difficult to write!  Music has such an incredible way of clearing the mind and distracting it from stressful thought forms (even-and sometimes even more so--if the song is sad), and it inspires creativity that seems to have been evading me recently. Hopefully some of these songs will reach your creative energy, too, and help make today a bit easier.

Daughter: "How"

The Lumineers: "Sleep On The Floor"

Kate Bush: "This Woman's Work"

<3 Frances 

Link Loves and Must-Reads 1/18

I'd told myself I'd write this on Monday (aka two days ago), but it just didn't happen.  Happy post- post- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!  I spent most of the holiday running up and down a rainy street trying to locate an apartment building, doing work for school, and feeding pets.  One positive development from this weekend is that my hermit crab has stopped climbing upside-down on the roof of her little house. She's finally seemed to realize (hopefully) how dangerous that is. . . .

Hermit crab antics aside, though, here are some shares for the day:

• The Truth About Change by Heather Waxman
• I love Heather's kind, holistic approach to living and connecting with our inner "soul sisters" (or brothers, etc.).  Her post on change is full of so much truth, and it always makes me feel a bit better to consider how change isn't something to be fought but rather a force we can work with.
• This Superbug Is Resistant to All Antibiotics -- and Has Killed Its First American Victim by Tom Philpott
• Okay, this one is very sad and upsetting and scary, but I think it's important to read anyway because it gets into the conversation about antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their relationship to factory farming. Factory farms are a a major user of antibiotics, and they're also responsible for massive animal cruelty.  My prayers are with the family of the woman who died, and also with animals in factory farms all over the world.
• 5 Things I've Learned Living with 500 Plants by Summer Rayne Oakes 
•  We may not all be able to afford nice Brooklyn apartments filled with plants, but this is a quirky reminder of how beneficial time in nature is.  And it's an inspiration to start an indoor garden. We have lots of little plants around our tiny apartment, and some of them have been around since I was a baby, so I often think of them as siblings. Looking at the pictures of Summer Rayne Oake's plant-filled abode is fun because all the green is so refreshing.  It's amazing how much I want to go hug a plant right now.

Best Wednesday wishes!
<3 Frances 

Jill's Library: "Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature"

Growing up, Beatrix Potter was such an integral part of my everyday life that I nearly made my senior yearbook quote the first line of Peter Rabbit.  When I'm teaching, Beatrix is an author I'm always drawn to, and I used to watch the lovely animated adaptations of her "little books" as a source of comfort whenever I traveled away from home.  Because of my fascination with and love for her, learning about her life beyond the world of Benjamin Bunny and Tom Kitten was an entirely necessary pursuit, and I'm excited (and admittedly a bit sad) to have just finished Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear. When I began making my way through the account of Beatrix's life, I was a bit intimidated by the heavy language and technical information (so many dates!), but Lear managed to intersperse them with such sincerity and depth that the romantic elements of Beatrix's imagination, her tragic first love, and her country home weren't lost amongst the complicated details of financial issues and fell farming.

Following Beatrix as she transitions from a young woman confined to the expectations of Victorian society into a strong and capable farmer really altered my idea of her as an individual.  I've always been inspired by her, but her strength in the face of hardships--like the death of her beloved fiance Norman, her strained relationship with her mother, and her frequent bouts of illness--add a level of depth to her character that I hadn't entirely seen before. Beatrix also had a level of pragmatism that people may not be aware of given the fantastical elements of her little children's stories.  She was truly a naturalist at heart more than anything else.  She loved nature and being in nature, and her art was as scientific as it was fantastical.  All her characters and settings were drawn from observation and captured the realities of proportions and visuals, and she translated country life into her stories with her rich illustrations and prose. Her perspective on life is also refreshing.  She truly embraced the wisdom and experience that come with age, and Lear included a quote of hers in A Life in Nature that I find particularly inspiring:

"Do you not feel it is rather pleasing to be so much wiser than quantities of young idiots?"

I also found the end of A Life in Nature to be incredibly meaningful in the way it ties Beatrix's naturalist ideas to her stories and her continued impact on the world.  Lear eloquently connects Beatrix's incorporation of the natural world into her stories to the progress of the environmentalist movement and shows how books like Peter Rabbit can inspire people to see the beauty in a world that has largely disappeared due to industry and modernization.  I highly recommend that anyone who was ever influenced by Jemima Puddleduck or Mrs. Tittlemouse to give Lear's biography of Beatrix Potter a looking at.  It's a very thick book, yes, but the story it shares is a compelling one, and the 100-odd pages of references in the back are fun for us literary-types, too.

<3 Frances