pretty little liars.

Ok, so I'm still not better.  This is lame, this is pushing back my days for school...

Pretty Little Liars on ABC looks like it's very addicting.  Unfortunately it looks like the seasons already over.  I did buy the books though.  Well, I have one, three and four.  They didn't have the second one I really needed.  It's written for 15 year olds, but it's very addicting.  VERY addicting.

girls in trucks.

Ok, so I was really disappointed in this book.  Maybe it's because the other books I read this week were so good.  And the last one, Watermelon, was really funny.  This one just missed the mark.  I thought it was going to be one of those Southern books and it really wasn't.  I mean, she's born and raised in the South, and she goes back periodically, but most of the book seems to be spent with her in New York making bad decisions, being whiny, and pining after men.  At one point she goes to Peru for really no reason for a guy.  They were trying too hard to be deep and thoughtful I think.  Some writers can truly be deep and thoughtful and it's wonderful, but Katie Crouch is clearly not one of those writers.  It came across as depressing and stupid.  I was disappointed.

Sorry for all the book related stuff this week.  I've read three books this week alone.  I guess it's 'cause I've been home from school.

vintage & watermelon.

Phoebe quits her job at an auction house to open her own vintage store.  The book follows her through the courtship of two men, opening her store, the sky-blue coat that connects her to elderly Mrs. Bell and dealing with the loss of Emma.  This book is basically about how every piece of vintage tells a story, and can make you feel special. But it's more than that. A lot more than that.  It's a great book, but does have some sad moments.  The descriptions of the vintage is wonderful.

Claire's husband James leaves her on the day their baby girl is born.  So Claire decides to go home to her family in Dublin.  To her beautiful sister Helen, the hippie sister Anna, her soap watching Mom, and her bewildered Dad.  Surrounded by her family (and with the help of Adam) she gets better.  James is in for a surprise when he tries to come back.  This is such a delightful book.  I love the way it's written.  If you want a good, funy, slightly empowering read, you should read this.

queen of fashion.

For the last week or so I've been reading Queen of Fashion:  What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution.  It basically sums up her life through clothes, leading to her downfall and it's quite interesting.  I love history, so that's mostly why I'm reading it, but not too many history books I've read talk about clothes too much.  And I do love hearing about the clothes.  And if it has pictures, all the better.  Clothes back in the day did separate class, but to Marie Antoinette they were something else.  A way to fake her power, a way to express herself, like they are to lots of other people.  They were also a way she got into lots of trouble.

This portrait by Jean-Baptiste Gautier-Dagoty was done in 1775.   It shows the Queen in the grand habit de cour, and wearing the royal fleurs-de-lys embroidered, ermine lined robe.

The above portrait of Marie Antoinette was painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun in 1783.  It shows the Queen in her signature look, the white gaulle.  When this portrait was displayed it caused such a scandal (the similarities between the gualle and chemise made people feel their Queen had been painted in her underwear), that Vigee-Lebrun had to replace it with another more 'queenly' portrait.

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves history, clothes, or just has a fascination with Marie Antoinette.