Transitioning - Late Nights and Soirées

As I'm debating whether or not I want to spend 50 Euros on a one-day pass to Pitchfork music festival, I decided to compose a blog post on last weekend. It was a weekend full of much social-butterlying (I just made up that word), which is quite a refreshing change from all the sight-seeing I've been doing for the past month and a half. It's like I'm actually living here now, not just visiting. About time! Since I am, in fact, living here.



On Friday night, a friend and I were invited to a French apartment get-together, but I prefer to call it a French soirée. Much wine flowed, and much badly-spoken French and English conversation ensued. You see, at first it was a bit awkward, with the language barrier and all, but after we all loosened up, things went swimmingly! We somehow, without discussing it, ended up speaking to one another in our respective native languages, so that each participant in a given conversation felt equally as awkward and self-conscious of their bad grammar and lack of vocabulary. We spoke of our reasons for being in Paris, cultural stereotypes, what the correct word for sweater is, and if certain people look good with facial hair or not. Needless to say, it was a great night, and even though my friend and I ended up having to take the night bus home instead of the Metro (SKETCH!), It felt great to actually socialize with French people, rather than just my exchange program friends. (Although I LOVE my exchange program friends!)




Doing fun and unique things like this make me want to do it even more, which is why I'm taking so long to decide if I want to buy this music festival ticket. The only day I can go is my birthday (November 3rd), but the only band I know on that day is Grizzly Bear. As I write this, I'm getting myself familiar with other bands by listening to their music, to see if I even like any of them.








The following night, on Saturday, a group of us girls decided to check out the Fête des Vendanges at Montmartre, but I'll save that for another post ;)

Don't think I'll be buying that music festival ticket... not really enjoying most of these artists.

Gardens of Versailles

The day we visited Versailles, the gardens were absolutely beautiful. It was sunny, but the sky was covered in beautiful, full, textured clouds, and there was a fresh chill in the air. The gardens seem to extend out to infinity, and I loved imagining Marie Antoinette-type ladies wandering about in these gardens, or floating in a canoe on the canals.

I made the mistake of wearing uncomfortable shoes, yet again. I don't know how many times I have to self-induce suffering upon myself before I actually take my own advice, and that advice is: WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES THAT FIT PROPERLY!! Evidently I never knew what walking really was in Long Beach, because I've never had so many shoe/foot-related problems in my life!

Try to catch the gardens when the fountains are turned on!














We also visited Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. So adorable!

Beach Landscape

Here are a few pictures of my beach camping trip a few weeks ago. Also, a lovely little song by Brigitte Bardot. Enjoy! :)

Lazy Afternoon

Here are some Instagrams of what I did on my day off:

Tried on my new clothing purchases, and planned some outfits for Paris. The lip color is Red Velvet - Loving it for fall! I want to plan outfits, take pictures of each outift, and then be able to reference the photos if I'm feeling uninspired with what to wear one day. I think it's a splendid idea!


Experimenting with my new Revlon Lip Butters.


After watching Louis Vuitton's The Art of Packing, I decided to get myself some more organizational pouches. The one closest to the camera I made myself! The gold polka dot one is from Forever21.


I started reading this book, it's suggested reading for my upcoming intensive French course. It's actually quite amusing!

Renoir and Baudelaire

While preparing one of my final exams for my Art and Literature class (yes, I got to prepare the final at home!), I had to find links between pieces of art and literature. Here is a link that I found in this Renoir painting, and in a few lines of a Baudelaire poem. Just look at the painting, read each line, and it's almost as if these lines are describing the scene directly! Pretty cool.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, La Grenouillère, 1869

A few lines from Baudelaire's Parisian Dream:
"and every color, even black,
became a lustrous prism;
liquid turned to glowing glass
and what was crystal flowed...
from within each thing was luminous."

I've never been a huge fan of poetry, but these lines are beautiful. What do you think about poetry?

Art History: Rococo

Jean-Honoré Fragonard is one of my favorites, because he quite often paints scenes of love and restlessness. These two paintings look to me as if a secret love affair is unfolding behind the scenes, and the lovers' hearts are beating a million times a second for one another. I don't know about you, but falling hopelessly in love with a handsome young man sounds like something I'd thoroughly enjoy. Also, that dog looks like my Mom's dog, and that is quite amusing to me.

The Love Letter, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1770, Metropolitan Museum

I love the way fabric is painted in classical or Academic-style paintings. The way the light is reflected, and how the fabric falls makes me want to reach in and touch it. Look at the fabric of her dress below!

The Stolen Kiss, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Hermitage Museum

Antoine Watteau (pronounced WAH-TOE) is known for his paintings of fête galante, a french term meaning a frolicking, bucolic, outdoor party of rich, elegant people. I don't know about you, but my idea of a perfect summer afternoon would include running around in a sundress, in a wild-flower-filled meadow. And of course, no fête galante would be complete without a group of chubby cherubs tumbling through the air. Who even came up with fat baby angels anyway?!

The Embarkation for Cythera, Antoine Watteau, 1717, Louvre

What do you think about Rococo painting? Do you love the romantic spirit, or do you find it irritatingly frilly?

Favorite Things - French Films

Instead of going to bed at a decent hour, I started listening to the sweet, jazzy voice of Nikki Yanofsky, and as I hummed along, I started thinking of Paris. As naturally follows such ponderings, I constructed playlist of french-themed songs for your listening pleasure, which you should listen to while you read the rest of this post! You won't regret it.

Today I'm going to talk about some of my favorite films, that is, my top four absolute favorite french or french-themed movies. Not only are they my favorite french films, they are some of my favorite films of all time.


This playlist will get you into the french mood:




{ONE}
Paris, Je T'aime. This means: Paris, I love you, in French. To summarize, it is a collaborative work of many directors, who each created a short segment about love, in one of the most romantic cities in the world: Paris. However, not all of the shorts deal with romantic love; They branch into all sorts and types of love. It is such a beautiful film! Every time I watch it, I have a moment of pure peace and contentedness as the closing credits roll. It is a must-watch. If you see it for no other reason, see it because Natalie Portman and Elijah Wood are in it.




{TWO}
Amélie, or the full title: Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain. The words I can use to describe this movie are: magical and quirky. Amelie has the most endearing personality, and her development from a timid girl to a brave woman ends up inspiring me to be more spontaneous and confident every single time I watch it. On top of the fantastic story line, every single camera shot is like a work of art, if you pause the film at any given moment, at any point in the film, you will have before you a perfectly composed and colored still image. The makers of this film used three dominant colors, next time/when you watch it, notice the colors (HINT: They're in the movie poster).




{THREE}
French Kiss. I know what you're thinking. You're probably thinking that this movie poster looks old and lame. But I'm here to tell you: This movie is fantastic! Yes, it is a romantic comedy, and yes, it stars Meg Ryan, but the simple fact that something might be considered cliche doesn't automatically negate its merit! Take my word for it, and give this movie a shot. It's funny, it's charming, Meg Ryan is a goofball, and Kevin Kline makes a very entertaining pessimistic french man.




{FOUR}
Midnight in Paris. By now, you've probably all heard something about this movie. It's been receiving a ton of attention lately, and for good reasons. I enjoyed watching this film immensely, because it's not your typical "go-back-in-time" flick. It's a smart and funny look into the past. It gives life to artists and writers that I had only read about in school. It sheds new light on an era that can seem so boring on paper. See it!



Do you know of some other French movies? Tell me about them in the comments :)

Art History is Cool: Edgar Degas

This week, I've been at a loss for what to post. As I'm getting my bearings in the blogosphere, I've been brainstorming for new things to post about. I can do photography and style posts all I want, but in order to take it to the next level, I need something new, something unique! After reading these helpful tips, I realized I should take the advice and post about something I know and love: Art History!

As a few of you may know from the About Me post, I am a student of Art History, and I thought it would be cool (and if not cool, at least interesting) to make art history seem cool! If I succeed, bravo! If I fail, then at least I tried something new, and I'm fairly certain I'm one of the only style/photography bloggers out there who also blogs about Art History. So without further delay, here are Five Reasons Why Edgar Degas is Cool:

{ONE}
French Impressionism was revolutionary. Impressionists were like the hippies of the 19th century, and they literally changed art, the world even. You see, there was this governmental organization in France, called The Academy, that controlled nearly every aspect of art, how it should look, how it should be made, what subjects should be in it, etc. So to make a long story short, the Impressionists told The Academy to "take a hike," and look where they are now! Impressionism is probably the most well-known artistic movement in history aside from the Italian Renaissance. They took a stand, ignored all the rules, and created unprecedented and magnificent works of art.




{TWO}
Ballerinas. Enough said.




{THREE}
Look at that beautiful, saturated, unabashed color! They aren't blended well and they aren't realistic, and that's what conveys the energy of the dance so well.




{FOUR}
He "cropped" his images like snapshots. This was almost a criminal offense in "serious" art of the Academy. Back then, the critics saw this as sloppy, and certainly not worthy of being portrayed on canvas. Degas really showed them who's boss with that lady blocking our view.




{FIVE}
Degas wasn't afraid of empty space. He painted (although he often used pastels) that bare floor with no shame, and he wants you to notice it.



Image names and Dates, top to bottom:
Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage, Edgar Degas, 1874
Two Dancers, Edgar Degas, 1893-1898
Ballet Dancers on the Stage, Edgar Degas, 1883
Ballerina and Lady with a Fan, Edgar Degas, 1885
Ballet Rehersal, Edgar Degas, 1873