Things making me smile/on my mind/causing distraction these days:
I'm a passionate reader - if you've EVER popped in to check out one of my monthly reading lists, it's kind of hard to miss. That said, this blog post broke my heart when I saw it shared on Facebook. I was a crazy devotee of my school libraries from kindergarten all the way through high school, and have used and abused my Hennepin County library card for the last three years with zero shame. To imagine a rural library with no books was devastating to me...so I sent a set of Eva Ibbotson's novels, which I love, and was thrilled to check back in and see that supply had outstripped demand. So cool.
Around town, I'm also a passionate devotee of the Minnesota Orchestra, and love spending my summers enjoying the annual Sommerfest programming by guest conductor-in-residence, Andrew Litton. This interview with him digs deep into his thirteen-year tenure as the director of Sommerfest, highlighting programming decisions, rehearsal challenges, and of course, what's next. I attended the transcendent Brahms Double Concerto with the Jodester on the 14th, and deeply appreciated this glowing review as well...Nichola Benedetti and Leonard Elschenbroich were both incredible.
While my appreciation for gin takes second place to my love of champagne, I couldn't help but laugh and think twice about switching it up more often upon reading this unintentionally hilarious article on the surprise health benefits of gin. Who's up for a wrinkle-fighting, detoxifying, malaria-preventing G&T on my roof sometime soon?!
On Instagram lately, I'm cracking up at the dual accounts "That J.Crew Jacket" and "That J.Crew Gingham Shirt." Totally guilty of wearing my Downtown field jacket everywhere, including all over Europe in June...and who doesn't have a weakness for a hot guy in the perfect blue gingham button-down? As documented here, I totally do and feel zero shame.
Several friends have taken and shared the results of this "Online English Vocabulary Test" lately, so naturally I had to throw my hat in the ring...especially as I've been providing synonyms for David's thesis here and there for weeks now. Results?
Boom, bitches. I blame my latent addiction to playing vocab games on www.freerice.com, but also the fact that this quiz was absurdly easy. Totally going to adopt the alter ego of Shakespeare and start creating words now, though.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that I have a major thing for guys who read, and my bibliophile heart utterly melted at this literary love story. Fun fact: I used to shop in the bookstore in the article all the time when I studied in London...although I rarely purchased, being on a stringent student budget. Now I'm thinking I should've been flirting with their media consultants...fail! Oh well, I'll find my Joe Fox someday.
Ending on the highest of high notes: Happy third birthday Prince George! William and Kate released four adorable photos of everyone's favorite cheeby-cheeked toddler prince in honor of the occasion - see them here. I'm maybe a bit too into his tiny striped whale sweater, and also I now need a cocker spaniel to feed ice cream to in my downtime. Slightly offended I didn't get invited to the tea party birthday party though...sounds like a fabulous hat opportunity and also, now that Pippa's off the market, Harry's obviously going to fall madly in love with me and get me in the tiara STAT.
Happy Friday! Off to spend the day working on case reviews with hundreds of high schoolers at Gopher Business Day, then hopefully enjoying a beverage or two with friends. Have a great weekend!