50 Things to do This Fall

I know August has barely started, so what purpose does this post have in the world? The simple fact is, Fall is the most wonderful of seasons! Just thinking about or planning a handful (or ALL!) of these ideas dulls the suffocating heat and leaves crisp, fresh air in my lungs.

1. On the first slightly chilly day, go to an orchard, Fall Festival, or something similar in your area. Ride the hay ride, pick fresh apples, go through the corn maze...
2. Wear a scarf! It's not too chilly yet, so it doesn't need to be bulky. More importantly, tie it in a snazzy way.
3. Buy greeting cards for your close friends and send them at random.
4. One evening, don't use any lights in your home. Use candles instead!
5. Make caramel or candy apples.
6. Go for an all-day stroll through Central Park.
7. Buy a punch of pumpkins and give your best effort in carving them! Make sure to display them proudly!
8. Go with your family to the last few baseball games of the season.
9. Teach yourself how to properly prepare tea. Experiment with all kinds of flavors.
10. Typical of me to say, but go for a picnic! If you want to switch it up, give it a theme! How about a Jane Austen picnic with tea and cricket? Or a '50s picnic with kites and swishy skirts?

11. Take a long cat-nap.
12. Bundle up and play board games. My personal favorites are Scattergories and Trivial Pursuit. I also can't say no to a great Jigsaw Puzzle...
13. Give poetry-writing a shot. But don't look up anything of the "How to write poetry" variety on Google. Just write it how you think it should be written.
14. Make new, interesting flavors of pie and eat them while still sizzling hot.
15. Re-read your favorite book.
16. Visit your local zoo. It's the perfect time of year for the animals to be up and around!
17. Collect leaves and press them in heavy books.
18. Learn basic quilting and create a wonderfully warm quilt.
19. Go to the movies and sneak in something delicious, like an enormous Hero with warm cheese or a bag of Baked Lays. Ladies, just buy a big purse. Gents, ask a girl with a big purse to the movies. (Plan B is to buy a satchel.)
20. Make this the year you have the best Halloween costume of all time.

Please, Al Roker has nothing on you.

21. Buy the Sunday newspaper and read it in the park.
22. Even if you can't paint or draw, buy a simple watercolor kit and sit outside.
23. People watch!
24. Hunt down the perfect coffee shop in your area and go there often to read, relax, and enjoy a hot drink.
25. Teach yourself how to play an acoustic guitar, harmonica, or any other instrument that strikes your fancy. Sit out on your porch with some friends and play.
26. Bundle up and head out to Rockaway beach.
27. Switch up your exercise routine and go for lots of brisk jogs. If you don't exercise, start!!
28. Do some volunteering. Take dogs at an animal shelter for a nice walk, or serve at a soup kitchen.
29. Buy a Snuggie/Slanket/Sew sleeves on a blanket you already have. You won't regret it!
30. Go to the library. A lot.

31. Host a bonfire. Just keep a hose nearby.
32. Buy a model airplane and get a friend to help you assemble it.
33. Find hiking trails in your area and go for a walk! Bring binoculars to look for different birds or a field guide to identify trees.
34. Watch Agatha Christie mysteries on PBS
35. In fact, just leave your TV tuned to PBS the entire time. Antiques Roadshow is on before.
36. Cook your family a delicious meal on a Sunday afternoon.
37. If you have a younger sibling, cousin, niece, nephew, or know anyone that would be interested, pick out your favorite children's books and read to each other.
38. Go for a long drive through the countryside...
39. Learn how to ride a horse.
40. With the fresh apples at the aforementioned orchard, make homemade applesauce, apple-butter, or apple cider.

41. Turn up some music incredibly loudly, and do some Fall cleaning.
42. Visit outdoor Flea Markets. Buy warm blankets, tea pots, mittens...
43. If you have the space, make a garden at home. Sunflowers or corn, perhaps? If your space is limited, find a local garden you can help out with!
44. Instead of taking the train, bus, or driving, walk! It's beautiful out!
45. Make an Fall-themed playlist and listen to it everywhere! May I suggest the "Pride & Prejudice" soundtrack, "The Life Pursuit" by Belle & Sebastian, or "Lungs" by Florence & the Machine.
46. Buy yourself a coloring book and a 96-box of crayons.
47. Make home-made chicken noodle or tomato soup!
48. Host a dinner party outside. Play '40s Jazz and serve up some of that apple cider.
49. Create a scrap-book to document these adventures.
50. Of course, find a grand ol' pile of leaves and JUMP!

My Summer Goals!

As an unemployed youth who has a lot of free time, I have been lying around dreaming off all the fantastic and fascinating things I want to do this summer. So I have complied a list of all the things I want to do during the season of the sun...

Pratiquer Mon Francais

I love the French language. I have always dreamed of living in the French countryside. I would would wake up early in the morning and go the markets and spend my afternoons reading and eating strawberries. In order to live in France without being HATED, I need to become some-what fluent in this language.

Bike to the City

Though I am 17 years of age, my parents have deemed that I am "too irresponsible to have a driver's license." I mean sometimes I forget to feed my cats and I don't exactly remember to turn in my library books when they're due, but at the same time, I'm not addicted to crack and I haven't been arrested. By Tina Turner's standards I'm very responsible! But whatever. Since I am not allowed to drive a vehicle, I have had to find other modes of transportation. Recently, I discovered that there are a lot of bikes in my basement. So, I've been waking up around 8 am and going for 5 mile bike rides. My ultimate hope is to be able to bike 20 miles and hang out down town for the day.

READ

During my junior year of high school, my English teacher gave out a 4 page long list of books to read before starting college. So far I have read 60 out of the 200, and since college is right around the corner I need to do a little speed reading. NO, I am not going to read 140 books in 3 weeks (although that would be really cool). I want to read at least 20 more on the list before starting my college experience. If you want your own copy of the list check out:

http://als.lib.wi.us/Collegebound.html

Adventure!

I live a very sheltered life in the confines of upper middle class suburbia, and I've decided that I want to feel a little dangerous when I button up my cardigans...I don't know where this will take me, but I am excited to find out...

Yours Truly,
Katie W

P.S. Summer's almost over, what goals are you still striving to complete?

N.Y.C.

New York City...the greatest place in all of the Universe...I recently came back from my first all-too-brief visit there, and now I am here to share my findings with you lovely people!

1.) The best methods of transportation are ranked as follows:

          1. Subway -- It's not creepy, smelly, or rat infested. Yes, you occasionally have to sit next to a sleeping homeless man, but it's extremely fast, there are tons of interesting people, and there is air conditioning)

          2. Biking -- I guess this is a little bit more hip, and you can get anywhere the subway doesn't run. And yes, there is the exercise factor. 

          3. Walking -- I live in a city where the extent of my walking is to and from my garage to the mailbox. I am used to wearing impractical shoes regardless. If you do the aforementioned and try to walk the length of Central Park, you will regret this.

          4. Taxi -- Taxis are for schmucks. I know they don't have homeless people in them and they are not underground, but the second you step into a taxi, it already costs more than a subway ride. Unless you need to get to a very specific place that is far, far away, don't. take. a taxi.

2.) Be assertive! (check it) New Yorkers don't care that you're from out of town, they aren't demonic or cruel. They're just busy and sometimes stressed. It's not that you aren't important, but when you are surrounded by masses of millions, it's easy to get lost. Speak up if you need directions, don't settle if a waitress forgets to bring you a side of fries, etc etc. Don't be bitter or rude in doing so, though. THAT is where the impression of rude New Yorkers comes from. So be friendly, but be aggressive! Fragressive!

3.) The city is filled with tons and tons of tourists. Tons. Which in turn makes you feel a little bit more comfortable taking pictures of everything, but that isn't the point here. The point is that people around you are always conversing in different languages. The city also has a huge Spanish-speaking population. So pay attention in class or go buy yourself some Rosetta Stone software!

4.) Dining recommendations! Serendipity III, Brasserie 360, Luna Piena, Tottono's, Chop't, Sarabeth's. All are amazing! In terms of going out to eat, before you go, check online for restaurant reviews, menus, etc. As I was walking around, I usually ended up eating at whatever place was closest to where I was standing. 99% of those times, I am pretty sure the owner had printed out a Zagat label and taped it to the door...especially in Chinatown. Three cheers for being spontaneous, but screw eating dim sum that smells like a dead turkey. 

5.) Knowing these things, do whatever the hell you want! The city is your oyster!

BON VOYAGE!

P.S. Any other tips?

My Summer Reading List

Summer is the perfect time to read...outside laying in the lawn. Under a tree. During a storm. Under the covers until three in the morning...

So what to read? 

These are a few of my picks for the summer...

The Complete Sherlock Holmes

I have always been a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and mystery novels in general. Unfortunately, I have never set aside the time to read the massive Vol. 1 and 2 I have sitting on my bedside table filled with tales about the detective. The only real benefit is that now, due to the release of the movie, as I read I will imagine Robert Downey Jr. 

The Sailor Moon Series

I have owned the shabby, poorly translated copies of the original Sailor Moon comic since I was in my first years of elementary school. Every summer I always set aside a week to read all of them, so naturally I have to carry on this tradition!

Emma

Yes, deep down inside I am a Jane Austen girl. Well...maybe not so deep down. But I love Jane Austen and all of her works. PBS recently had a series of movies based on her books, and Emma was easily my favorite. It made me want to re-read the novel so badly! So I will!

A Clockwork Orange

This past year, I somehow managed to see this movie more times than anyone probably will ever need to. The movie provided such an important and dynamic visual element, but I think the novel probably has so many fantastic lines and interesting thoughts.

The Count of Monte Cristo

This is the perfect book for Summer, in my opinion. It's a fantastic book that's precisely everything a summer needs: swordfights, romance, intellectual analysis of good v. evil. Read it!!

What are you reading? 

Preparations for Summer 2010

So I woke up today and I decided I am in quite the adventuring mood!
Unfortunately I am preoccupied by a study group today...and pretty much every other weekend until the end of the school year. But! Katie W and I have plans to have the single most fantastique summertime experience of them all before she is shipped off to college. Here are a few selections...

x. Host a dinner party. Katie W. likes to refer to this as our "Midsummer Night's Dream Gathering" All though we have barely begun planning for this, I hope it's spectacular. Lot's of lanterns and desserts and 30's music.

Photo Credit: B Tal

x. Set up a sign on the street saying "Free Advice" I've always wanted to try this! I don't know how many people would actually come up and be willing to talk, but I think the people that would probably have something fascinating to say.

x. Learn to ice skate What better time to learn than in the summer? At least I won't have the angry glares of seven year olds who are more skilled than I am.

x. Make an extremely long list of books I've always wanted to read and read every single one. I'll save the contents of this for another post.

x. Form a lo-fi band and host regular concerts in my basement/someone else's basement. I have even started writing songs about Charlie Brown and Miriam Webster. It'll be Katie W. and I playing guitar and this Casio I found yesterday, wearing ridiculous dresses and lots of glowsticks. 

 Photo Credit: Cerebro Humano

x. Finish a game of Monopoly. This is much more of an adventure than you would think.

x. Attend a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening. After maybe The Nightmare Before Christmas and Titanic (don't judge me.), I have seen RHPS more than any other movie. BUT I have never been to the actual show! I even have a Columbia costume and I still haven't been. Katie W. is a veteran, though, so I plan on getting her to drag me and a bunch of toast there at some point soon.

x. Get any multitude of jobs. You know, in case the lo-fi band doesn't starting making millions of dollars ;) My current goal is to be the projectionist at a movie theater nearby.

x. Learn how to cook really, really well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNfSJIyFMVw

x. Start and finish some sort of really exciting, major writing project Don't laugh, but I really wanted to start writing this long series of books as an autobiography of Santa Claus. I've had it planned out for so long, and as ridiculous as it sounds, I think it could be kind of cool.

x. Travel I've never been out of the country. Something needs to be done about this.

Photo Credit: Malias 

x. So what's on your adventuring list?

A Spring Playlist

Photo Credit: Jer Kunz

As I never seem to stop mentioning, IT IS SPRING. (My sincere apologies to those in different hemispheres)

On such a fantastic occasion, the perfect music should always go right along with it! Enjoy!

1. The Great Salt Lake - Band of Horses

2. Moonlight Serenade - Glenn Miller

3. Carnival - Bikini Kill

4. Long, Long Time Ago - Javier Navarette

5. Song to Bobby - Cat Power

6. Life in Technicolor - Coldplay

7. My Bike - Kimya Dawson

8. Quiet Houses - Fleet Foxes

9. I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash

10. Sitting by the Riverside - The Kinks

11. The Sandman, The Brakeman, and Me - Monsters of Folk

12. Wishbone - Architecture in Helsinki

13. Get Lost - Patrick Wolf

14. Lullabye - Grizzly Bear

15. Katherine Kiss Me - Franz Ferdinand 

P.S. What's on your Spring playlist?
P.P.S. Playlist.com is fantastique

When I Grow Up...

Image Credit: Express Monorail

--I know I haven't been alive that long, but in my minuscule lifespan, I have managed to want to be everything. My first career aspiration was "cowgirl ballerina." I won't include that in the official list, though, because it's really impossible to describe. 

--Princess--My family still enjoys telling the story of my princess dream. In kindergarten, we were asked to draw what we wanted to be when we grew up. I drew a ravishing portrait of a girl in a pink dress with a golden wand and matching crown. At the bottom of the page, I lovingly labeled my occupation "Pissass." Is it possible to have a mental lisp?

--Figure Skater--The "draw what you want to be when you grow up" was also the topic of a 1st grade Art Class assignment. This time, I drew a girl with a head the size of a watermelon skating around in a fluffy purple outfit. I still don't know how to ice skate.

--Fashion Designer--This aspiration lasted for a surprisingly long time; probably longer than any other idea on this list. At this point, though, I don't think this is something I could realistically ever commit to. Plus I don't want to sweat blood on Project Runway.

--Photojournalist--There was a LensCrafters commercial for Transitions Lenses featuring a particularly mysterious and exotic woman walking around the African Savanna, photographing gazelle. That is why.

--Musician--This face was filled with failed attempts to get my brother to form some sort of homage to The White Stripes. (You know...before I realized Jack and Meg White used to be married...) I have tons and tons of journals filled with angst-y lyrics and sketches of our concert posters... 

--Librarian at the Library of Congress--In my defense, this was before National Treasure: Book of Secrets. (Though that certainly didn't hurt...) 

--Composer--I especially wanted to compose scores for films. Danny Elfman obviously had much influence on this decision. I actually wrote a paper for school on becoming a composer, and I open up my copy of Finale to work on something every now and then...Sadly it usually ends up being a 4-part vocal arrangement of "What's This?" 

--Anthropologist--After a lifetime of jobs that I, in the end, was told were completely unrealistic, this was my realistic, but still slightly interesting decision. That, and a TON of Discovery Channel specials. (No, not Shark Week) Regardless, I think being an Anthropologist would be fascinating and much more fulfilling than Princess.

--Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art--Yeah.

Et toi? What do you want to be when you grow up?

My Current Top 5

1. The Library

It's national library week! What @neilhimself didn't tell you? Well it is! 

Katie W and I went to an incredible performance by the symphony Monday night. Go to your library this week and see what kind of stuff is going on! 

2. Lemon Zinger Tea

All right, up until about a week ago, this stuff was impossible to find. For some reason, the local grocery stores either never had or it, or had just flat out stopped stocking it. Then, a miracle! I found a lonely box on the back of a shelf in Giant Eagle. It was fate. The only bad thing is that I have to ration it. 

3. The Count of Monte Cristo

I know it's a crime to see the movie before you read the book, but in this case, I didn't feel cheated or like anything was spoiled. That's probably because the book is just such a fun, richly detailed, exciting read. It's really a different experience than seeing the movie, in fact. 

The length can definitely seem daunting, but Dumas's style is never tedious and easy to settle in to. 

4. Frank Sinatra - My Way 

I don't remember what I had planned on making #4...but this song came on while I was typing and I felt it necessary to include. I really don't think there is a modern equivalent even close to Frank Sinatra. 

Listen

5. Of course...

This came in the mail the other day...Enough said. 

How about you? What's been on your Top 5?