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Nov

Legacy

Confession: I have an unholy love of stationery. I have a whole drawer of envelopes, organized by size and color, in the hutch in our basement. Another drawer is filled with cards for all occasions. There’s a vendor at Eastern Market who sells cards, and I’m constitutionally unable to walk past without picking up one or two. There’s so cheap–only $1, usually–and so adorable! I could get stationery sets for every birthday and Christmas and be overjoyed every time. My grandmother was brilliant at sending cards and packages. When I was in college, she sent me Harry & David’s cheesecakes and boxes of cookies at my birthday–or for Halloween–or for exams. After college, she sent me random cards just to let me know she was thinking of me, with newspaper clippings of my high school friends’ engagement photos, or articles from the hometown paper she thought I’d find interesting. For years I had a...

Nov

Fashion Friday: Holiday Party

Jessica

I’m thinking ahead to the holidays today. More specifically, holiday parties. We always throw our annual extravaganza the weekend before Christmas, and our friends always throw theirs the weekend before that, so traditionally I need two cute outfits. This year, naturally, I went to ModCloth. All the dresses below are under $100. Most of them are red because I ♥ red dresses. Carafe of Vino Crimson Intentions Frosting Cookies Ruby Blooms Up A Notch Under the Dark Sky Ravishing Rosette Maroon Five Slits In a flurry of optimism, I ordered the Ruby Blooms dress earlier this week. It is tiny. Like, the Large barely fit over my hips, and even with tights, it would’ve been a bit indecent. And I’m only 5’3". I will be returning it. But I just ordered both the Ravishing Rosette and the Up a Notch, which I suspect will be more flattering for my body type. I was tempted by the Crimson Intentions, but...

Nov

I ♥ Thursday

Jessica

♥ JANE by April Lindner. I’m remiss in not mentioning this earlier, but I read this retelling of JANE EYRE a few weeks ago and loved it. It made me want to reread the original, which I remember not loving so much. In high school I preferred WUTHERING HEIGHTS; in my nineteenth century Brit Lit class I preferred Austen. But I’ll give it another chance. Sometime before the movie comes out. Mia Wasikowska is fantastic casting of Jane Eyre, I think. She looks just as I imagine her. ♥ Anticipation of the holiday season. I’m not quite ready for Christmas music just yet, but I am beginning to menu-plan for our annual holiday party, to compile a Christmas wishlist for my MIL who’s wanted one since September, to put together a Christmas card list. Last week I was feeling torn about whether to do cards this year. They seem increasingly...

Nov

WIP Snippet

Jessica

Here’s a snippet from Kira’s story. This is the very beginning. It isn’t an easy thing, being best friends with a princess. Especially when the princess is cursed. We try not to talk of it, but as her birthday looms, it’s all anyone can think of. Guards surround her night and day as though they can prevent the inevitable. I find myself watching Tala carefully, out of the corners of my eyes, when she thinks I’m not paying her any mind. She’s still her usual merry self, but paler than usual. Fear sits like a carrion bird on my chest, cawing in my face every time I forget. I fight it for every breath and every smile. I must be normal for Tala’s sake. When I catch a pair of kitchen maids whispering her name, crossing themselves as she walks by, I slap one of them. My hand leaves a...

Nov

NaNo Update

Jessica

An unexpected thing happened last week. The Theatre Ghost Book fizzled. It has a nice hook. Lots of people were enthusiastic about it. I mean, I like ghosts and theatre and hot musician boys, and I would love to read a book that combines those things. I’m not sure why I didn’t love writing it. Maybe it’s just not the right time for this story and me. For whatever reasons, sitting down to work on it felt like work. I looked at my tattoo, which I got to remind me how much I loved working on Thrice and what a joyful book it was to write, and I decided to put the TGB aside for now. The fun challenge of NaNo is not worth writing a book I’m not in love with. But I didn’t want to quit because, well, I’m competitive like that. Friday I brainstormed a bunch. What would...

Legacy

Fashion Friday: Holiday Party

I ♥ Thursday

WIP Snippet

NaNo Update

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