Features: Novels and Photos

Thanks to TrèsSugar, I have two really fun features to share with you.

The first is their Summer Reading List: 20 Smart Chick-Lit Novels. I’ve read several of these titles including Lipstick Jungle, The Devil Wears Prada, and The Pact, and have had others on my must-read list for a while: Something Borrowed and Something Blue.

The great this about this list is the inclusion of less-well-known authors like Melissa Bank, Rita Ciresi, and Dixie Cash, so there are some new faces to befriend these last few days of summer.

TrèsSugar has also blessed us with this fantastic spread of film inspired Engagement Photo Shoots. Granted, two of my top five favorite movies of all time are included in this list: timeless romance from The Notebook, and tragic desire from Atonement.  Here are my favorite photos from the shoots as posted on TrèsSugar:

Atonement:

Up:

Breakfast at Tiffany’s:

The Notebook:

and Alice in Wonderland:

Have you seen other movie-inspired photo shoots? What other films do you think would make a great inspiration for engagement photos like these? Happy photo hunting!

Cheers,

Jenna Kate

‘Take Ivy’ Makes a Preppy Comeback

With  just over 30 days to the re-release of 1960s fashion icon book Take Ivy, out August 30,  there has been quite a bit of buzz around the revival of American preppy style. I’m sorry, I didn’t know preppy was out?

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Luckily, stars like Blake Lively (I want her hair!) are staying true to preppy summer style: check out InStyle’s summer top trends.

Photo source.

You can also get a get some great accessories ideas from Vogue’s ‘New Prep’ article, like these fabulous Linda Farrow tortoise sunnies:

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and these ultra-prep pink chino pants (of course from J. Crew, which is synonymous with modern, prep chic):

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Defined as “Witty and intellectual, you prefer to be covered up in houndstooth, argyle, and other nerdy-chic styles,” Vogue also has some fabulous purple YSL strappy heels I’d love to say I wore, but that would never happen. Like a true Prep, I care too much about comfort.

This fall, you can also get your copy of the new Preppy Handbook: True Prep

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available September 7th! And in honor of my fellow Eloners, I’ve also added this coffee table classic to my Amazon order: Mating Rituals of the North American WASP

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If you can’t wait for your books to come in the mail, check out these NYT pieces on the preppy comeback:

Fashion Diary: Prep, Forward and Back by Guy Treebay July 23, 2010 (How do I get your job??)

Dress Codes: The All-American Back From Japan by David Colman June 17, 2009

Happy Preppy Reading!

Cheers,

Jenna Kate

First Edition Please

The grandmother of a good friend recently passed, and while families are sensitive during a time of loss, there is always the uncomfortable occupation of dividing up possessions and mementos. Luckily for this friend, her grandmother had a complete first edition set of the Wizard of Oz books she read growing up. What a marvelous heirloom.

Today the Huffington Post posted a slide show of the most expensive first editions sold. They include a $86,500 copy of Absalom, Absalom! inscribed by Faulkner, a $5 million copy of the complete First Folio of William Shakespeare, and a $104,000 copy of Jane Austen’s Emma. I’d love to have anything as extraordinary on my bookshelf.

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What wonders are hiding in your family closet?

Word Ban

Lake Superior State University in Michigan releases a list each year of words to be ‘banished’ from English speech. You can read this year’s list at: http://www.lssu.edu/banished. I thought this was interesting. On the list are several phrases over-used by politicians: “transparency” and “in these economic times….” The great thing about these two is that they will never go away. There will always be something going on with the economy to talk about, and nothing about business practices or government will ever truly be transparent.

This was not the only interesting factor. The list creators cite that a word or phrase can be included because of over-use particularly by teenagers. Thus the appeal of axing “bromance.” While this term has been helpful to describe that strange love males give to each other, it does put a bad taste in your mouth. Another choice in the banished list is “tweet,” and I completely agree with this one. Google may have invaded our lives so that using the site to search for something has become a verb, but Twitter is just another social media fad that should not become an action of daily life. Texting and messaging is one thing, but I hope a guy never says to me, “I’ll tweet you later to set up that date.” No personal connection at all. Just ask for my number while I’m standing in front of you.

So, the next time there is a useless word coming up on MTV or CNN, let’s think America about whether we want our kids to speak in abbrevs or  actually use language.