Reading American Literature : The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

I've read another book related to my exploration of American culture through literature and this time, the book was The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.  The House of Mirth covers another era of American history - between 1876 - 1905 - and deals with the elitist, upper crust sector of society in New York.

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Our protagonist is Lily Bart, a beautiful, young, single twenty something who is on the hunt for a rich husband, so she can stay living amongst the high fliers of society.  It sounds quite Gossip Girl-esque and at times, it does feel like that only with more serious undertones.  Lily may be schmoozing with the people-to-know but she's more than aware that they will drop her at any given moment.

It's often hard to know whether to feel sorry for Lily or be angry at her; she desperately wants to stay a part of this society and we watch her struggles and demise, however, she is more than aware of how the cruel machine works.

Life among the wealthy is as opulent and luxurious as it is moral-less and unethical.  People lie, cheat, gamble, gossip and backstab.  Lily tries to navigate all of this to keep in with the rich and powerless and unfortunately crosses of one the main players which leads to her downfall.  It's almost painful to watch her fall from wealth and decadent parties to her impoverished life as a failed hat maker.

The House of Mirth offers an interesting look into the American class system:   it's purely dictated by wealth.  If you have money, you have power.  If you lose your money, or cannot marry into money (as Lily wishes), you have nothing.  It contrasts so much to our own class system; money is a part of it but here, it's more to do with nobility and 'breeding'.  It seem to be a common notion in this time that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer and once you've lost your footing in the wealthy world, you're out.

It also makes you think about the role of women within society.  Lily is beautiful, intelligent and adept yet she is still judged on her lack of husband.  She reasons that no one will take her seriously or that she will not have a fulfilling life if she doesn't marry a wealthy husband.  She forgoes true love in search of a husband that can offer her more materialistically.  Her reputation is ruined because of gossip yet the men in the novel can act how they please without repercussions.  Is this something that still occurs today?  I think, to a certain degree, it is.

I can imagine that Lily is one of those love-hate characters.  I personally liked her a lot, she's bright, funny and interesting.  She gets lost in a society that she cannot control or manage, and that in turn, destroys her.  The House of Mirth is a tragic, period story that still resonates today.

Next up: Ernest Hemingway!

Silent Saturday #6

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I fell in love with a burger | Five Guys Birmingham Bullring

I'd been wanting to try Five Guys after reading and hearing so many good things about them.  On Saturday, I finally got to cross it off my list, it was so worth it and I'll definitely be going back! 

Five Guys is much, much more than your usual burger joint (well, here in England, anyway).  To me, it encompassed the all-American delicious burger that we don't often see here.  In fact, the whole diner experience is something we try to replicate here but the lack of free refills and sorry excuses for a patty or cheap, nasty bread lets us down.  

Maybe it's because Five Guys was started in Washington, DC or perhaps it's because, even though it's now a massive chain, it manages to stay true to its roots: fresh, quality ingredients, endless ways to customise your burger, and good service.  Seems pretty impressive for a fast food restaurant, right?

We ordered our food on the online app, chose our pick up time and this meant that we skipped the massive lunch time rush queue.  We grabbed a seat and the lovely manager released our order early and brought it to us.  I definitely wasn't expecting that.  All we had to do was collect our drinks which was from one of those AMAZING Coca Cola machines that has over 100 drink possibilities (took me straight back to Universal Studios!).  This meant that we could have Vanilla Coke Zero and Cherry Coke Zero (hurrah!).  

The food was mouth wateringly delicious.  We had a cheeseburger, hot dog and shared a portion of large fries.  The cheeseburger was simply incredible: two succulent, juicy burger patties that actually tasted like beef, fresh sesame seed toasted bun, melting cheese and personalised with my toppings of choice: lettuce, tomato, grilled mushrooms and BBQ sauce.  Dena's hotdog was equally good; she added all the pickles, mustard and relish.  The chips were perfectly fried without being greasy and the large portion was definitely enough to share.  All in all, the food was faultless.  

The whole experience felt really personal; even down the fact your food is wrapped in silver foil and popped into a plain paper bag.  It sounds so simple but you want to rip open the packaging and delve straight in (I challenge you not to). 

We spent £22.50 between the two of us and although you may think this sounds like a lot, it was worth every penny.  Because Five Guys uses such good quality ingredients, you are truly satisfied, it's not that kind of 'fake full' you get from other fast food chains.  

As I have said, I thoroughly enjoyed my first Five Guys experience and I can't wait to go back!  My only complaint is that there isn't a restaurant closer - Cambridge is the closest one... Although, I know it'd be worth the trip!

Have you tried Five Guys? 

Wordless Wednesday | Flowers and Gardens

It's been so long since I've done a Wordless Wednesday but after the crazy few weeks I've had, it's been nice to take a few moments and reminisce on some fond memories! 

This week's theme is Flower and Gardens; something that is always immaculate in a Disney Park.  I've included photos from Disneyland, Anaheim, WDW, and Disneyland, Paris.  Beautiful, lovely, fresh greenery! 

Come and join in the Disney fun!  Click on the button below to join the blog hop hosted by focusedonthemagic.com ºoº

  

Seven Deadly Sins Tag

I spotted this tag over on Natalie's blog and thought it looked fun.  I'm probably guilty of a lot more than these seven beauty sins though! 

Greed: What’s your most inexpensive beauty item? What is the most expensive?

My most inexperience items are probably my brushes.  I can't even remember when I got them but I'm pretty sure they were standard Superdrug brushes.  I am looking into investing in a new blusher brush, I just haven't got round it to yet.  As for my most expensive item, my Urban Decay palettes probably cost the most in one go.  

Wrath: What item do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Foundation!  I love the way foundation makes my skin look when I do it properly - especially with Benefit's hello flawless foundation - but I hate the hassle of putting it on, it not being blended properly into my jawline, getting it on my clothes, washing it all off etc.  So yeah, pretty love/hate and I, more often than not, forego wearing foundation and just cover up blemishes and dark circles with a bit of concealer. 

Gluttony: What brand takes up most of your collection?

Probably Benefit.  I adore Benefit's range and I gravitate towards most of their products.  I tend to buy MAC lipsticks though and I really want to invest in another NARS blush. 

Sloth: What product do you neglect the most due to laziness?

Foundation, again.  For the aforementioned reasons! 

Pride: What product gives you the most confidence?

Probably mascara  If I were only to use one product, it'd be mascara; it's quick, easy, and makes me look awake! 

Lust: Which item is top of your beauty wish list?

Oohh a toughie!  The only thing that comes to mind is the Cinderella range at MAC but I was at work when they released it online and missed out, and when we visited MAC yesterday in Norwich, they didn't have anything either! 

Envy: Which make-up product/look is great on others but not on you?

Dark lipsticks.  I love the way dark, statement lips look but I'd never have the confidence to pull it off!  In fact, I wish I felt confident enough to wear lipstick all the time but it's something I love, but shy away from.  

Well, that was fun!

Happy Sunday y'all. 

Five ways to unwind

Is it just me or is March already an exceptionally busy and quick month?  My schedule each week has been pretty choc-a-block and at the end of the day, I climb into bed thinking "PHEW!"  

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about how busy I've become.  I'm juggling my day job, my own cottage business of tutoring, blogging, going to the gym, reading, writing, doing my photography course, sometimes I think the list feels endless.  However, I'm one of those people that likes to be on the go all the time and I struggle to to switch off and this can leave me feeling burnt out.  I've been trying to figure out how to fit in some downtime into my schedule and these are my favourite ways to relax:

1. Go to a coffee shop and read.
Going to have a coffee in a coffee shop always feels like a real treat for me for some reason.  I like to order unnecessarily complicated drinks and people watch.  I've found that reading there is also a lovely way to relax; I can't seem to justify spending my time at home reading because it seems like there is always a million things on my to-do list so going to a coffee shop for an hour or so gives me time to unwind.  I've also started taking some work to a coffee shop and although this isn't essentially switching off, it makes a sometimes tedious task seem less draining.

2. Taking a bath.
I'm still fairly new to the whole idea of taking a bath to relax.   I'm a shower girl as it's so quick and easy but I've started to take a bath on a Saturday evening (rock and roll) with a bath bomb and found I easily wile away half an hour or so, not thinking about anything in particular, which is great.  I'm definitely going to try and have more leisurely bathes!

3. Baking.
Baking, for me, has always been one of my most favourite ways to relax.  I love it when I can spend a whole afternoon baking five or six different cakes.  I put on some music and whisk, beat, and ice.  There's also the added bonus of being able to eat the cakes afterwards!

4. Take a walk.
As I've said before, I live in Suffolk which is quite rural and when I get the chance, I jump at the opportunity of being able to make the most of that.  I enjoy going for a walk, especially on a warm summer's evening, and breathing in the fresh air.  I'll often take my camera and that makes me focus on the smaller things out there in nature that we normally rush by and don't notice.  I always feel so much better after going out for a short walk and it's something I hope to be able to do a lot more of now the evenings are getting lighter.

5. Running.
When I run, I completely switch off from everything else around me and find I only focus on my (pretty laboured, let's be honest!) breathing.  It's even better when I run outside as I concentrate on my feet hitting the ground. I've never really had that before, my wind always has something whizzing around distracting me.  I'm still struggling to get back into my exercise groove after my operation and my current lifestyle mean that I can feel very unmotivated and don't want to go to the gym.  It's something else that I always feel so much better after doing though, and I need to try and remind myself of that every time I complain about having to go to the gym!

What do you do to unwind?

CRP | Face to Face Interview Vlog

Our second vlog; we're talking about the face-to-face interview for the CRP. 

Products I've loved in February

I don't often do beauty posts but February has been an adventurous month for me beauty-wise!  First of all, I had my amazing Benefit make-up lesson and secondly, I got my first ever beauty box!  I've been lusting over beauty boxes for so long but never could decide which one to subscribe to, so fortunately, as a treat, I got given the Look Fantastic beauty box and I loved it.  It made me so happy that I've decided to go for it again this month and I can't wait for it to drop through my letter box.  

Anyway, without further ado, here are the products I've been loving in February.

Benefit's watt's up (£24.50):  watt's up is a beautiful, champagne highlighter than glides on silky smooth and blends into a soft finish.  I love this highlighter; I previously used High Beam but I think I prefer watt's up, it really peps up my skin and gives that fresh faced glow (which I need in the morning!).

Estée Lauder Double Wear concealer (£21.50):  Again, another product that I thank my lucky stars I can use in the morning.  I have to get up stupidly early and this concealer hides my dark circles and any other blemishes that I need to cover up.  I usually just whack this on and don't worry about any foundation, it's a good enough standalone product.

Moroccan Oil (£31.95):  One thing I do love is hair oil.  I used to religiously use Macademia Oil - it works wonders for my hair - but it's a bit out of my budget at the moment.  This little gem arrived in my Look Fantastic beauty box and it's been so good to pamper my hair again.  I rub a ten pence size of oil into my hands and then run it through washed hair.  It leaves my hair soft, manageable and feeling great.

Simple revitalising eye roll on (£5.49): Another eye pep upper! One quick swipe of this under my eyes relieves my tired eyes almost instantly.  I tend to use it more often when I have my contact lens in as they can make my eyes feel very tired.  It's good for when I'm dashing around and only have a few seconds to wake my self up again.

Lush butterbear (£2.65): I actually got this bath bomb before Christmas but only just got round to taking a bath!  I think butterbear was a Christmas thing and Butterball has the same fragrance and oils.  I used it after having an extremely stressful and emotionally draining day and it was the perfect way to unwind for twenty minutes.

Have you used any products you loved last month?

London Food | The Breakfast Club

Brunch really is all the rage right now, isn't it?  And to be honest, what's not  to love?  For me, brunch is up there with afternoon tea; you can freely combine all the best parts of breakfast and lunch!  Before our trip to London, we researched some of the best brunch places to eat in London and The Breakfast Club came up (think it was this Buzzfeed list) as somewhere that seemed reasonably priced, walkable distance from our hotel in Tower Bridge and utterly delicious.  

I am happy to confirm that The Breakfast Club served probably the tastiest pancakes I have ever had, and in my books, that's high praise indeed as I'm going through a bit of a pancake craze at the moment.  Better than M&S, better than iHop!  

So, anyway, we managed to get to the Spitalfields' TBC at around 8.45am on a Saturday morning and managed to beat all the queues.  We were shown to our table inside the restaurant, which is hidden away down a side street, and we sat down just in front of the bar.  I loved the feel of TBC, it's quirky and 80s without feeling like it's trying too hard.  I adored the mismatched memorabilia on the walls, from the neon sign to the Commodore 64 box and all the hand written messages pasted onto the walls. 

The brunch menu is pretty extensive and delicious; I had a hard time choosing between the Posh Sausage Sandwich and the pancakes.  They also had your typical English fry-up, eggs galore, porridge, granola, French toast.  There is so much choice!  In the end, I choose pancakes with vanilla cream and fresh berries and Dena ordered pancakes with sausage, bacon, eggs and maple syrup.  We also ordered a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice to wash it all down.  

When our breakfast/brunch arrived, we were not disappointed.  Dena's bacon was perfectly crispy, the sausages were high quality, seasoned, real meat, the maple syrup deliciously sweet. My pancakes were soft and fluffy, the berries fresh and sweet and the vanilla cream was perfect.  Words do not TBC pancakes justice.  My mouth is salivating just thinking about them.  The orange juice was fresh and slightly sharp, a perfect wake-you-up.  

The portions were pretty big too and I only just managed to finish my pancakes, and they saw me through 'til about 3pm later that day.  A good brunch well done.  When we were getting ready to leave, we noticed the massive queue waiting for a table, it was queued way down the street so I think we made a good call getting there earlier.  

I definitely, definitely want to go back to The Breakfast Club again, to eat pancakes.  Can you tell I liked the pancakes?

Where's your favourite place to have brunch?

CRP | Expenses

There is no denying that applying for and being accepted onto the Cultural Representative Program is  expensive business.  I know I wish I'd researched a little before applying so I was aware of how much it was all going to cost (of course, I'd have still applied... I just need to budget a bit better!).

Again, this isn't a solid, concrete list of how much things are going to cost (things like travel/hotels are entirely subjective) but just a rough estimate.
  

I'm going to try and update this as I go along as I haven't sorted out my medical insurance yet but here's an approximate breakdown of how much things have cost so far:

• Hotels for pre-screen/face-to-face interviews: £150 (you need to add on trains/fuel/travel cards etc)
• Pre Assessment Fee: around £90 ($150); to be paid as soon as you accept your offer with Walt Disney.
• CRB/Disclosure check: £60; to be paid seven days after you've accepted the job with Yummy Jobs.
• Flights: £400; one way and again, very much depends on when/who/how you fly (see this post for how we went about it).
• Medical insurance:  TBC
• Visa appointment:  around £120 ($190) + £70 hotel for the night before our appointment.
• Airport to WDW transfer: TBC
• First night in Orlando hotel:  £70 (we've booked to stay in the Holiday Inn at Lake Buena Vista because it's super close to the accommodation offices).

I think the biggest shock to my bank account was that the PAF and CRB needed to be paid so soon after accepting the offer and also that two trips to London within two months can be very pricey.  It'll all be worth it though! 

Getting into poetry

What do you think of when you hear the word poetry?  I know I used to see it as something way out of my intellectual league; some obscure, arty, and incomprehensible form of literature.  I always enjoyed reading poetry at school, the way you can read between the lines and the skill and talent the author must have when they pick out one word to encompass a whole range of emotions and feelings.  But after school, poetry dropped off my reading radar.  Recently though, I've found myself gravitating towards reading poems.  I think it started with seeing beautiful, poetic quotes from poets or writers I recognised on Pinterest and since then, I've even bought or been gifted a couple of poetry anthologies so I thought I'd share what I've been reading.

My first foray into the world of poetry anthologies was Penguin's Poems for Life.  The book is divided up into sections, mapping our lives from the moment we are born to after we have died, poems of mourning or commemoration.  It includes modern day poets like Carol Ann Duffy and Lemn Sissay and classic poets Chaucer and Shakespeare.  In it, I found poems that I hadn't read for years and re-reading them was like a lightbulb switching on in my mind and taking me back to years ago!  Poems that remind me of people or certain times in my life.  What I love about this book, is that it's so accessible: you don't have to know much about poetry at all.  Great for newbies like me!  

Veinte Poemas de Amor y Una Canción Desperada is an anthology by Pablo Neruda.  Although my copy is in Spanish, he writes some of the most beautiful poems I have ever read.  I've heard that the English translations do not do the complexity of his language justice but I would definitely recommend looking him up  His sonnets are also well-known and equally stunning. 

The latest anthology I have bought is Poem for the Day One, which has a poem from every day of the year.  I think that's a nice way to start introducing yourself into poetry as it can be so overwhelming to think where to begin!  This anthology covers a wide range of poets, eras, and styles, similar to the Poem's for Life collection.  When I first picked this book up, I just started looking up important dates to me and began from there.  Again, it's a lovely way to introduce yourself to the world of poetry amd I have the following editions on my 'to-buy' list!

What I love most about these books is that you can pick them up, have a flick through for two, five, ten minutes, whatever time you have, and read.  Sometimes I do think about them a little bit more or other times, I just let the words wash over me.  You can gain so much from reading a poem and sometimes one or two lines just stick with you throughout the day.  

Do you enjoy poetry?