Amazon – Page 2 – …on the B.L.

11… Holiday Outfits

December 31, 2019 RaeAnna

Happy Holiday Season and 11…

I’m behind because the internet has sucked EVERYWHERE!!! I’ve also been disinclined to work. So here are 11… Holiday Outfits I Love. I wore them all this year. They’re cute and festive.

1. Holly Jolly Pajamas
Okay… This Holly Jolly sweatshirt isn’t technically pajamas, but I love it! It looks so cute with the candy cane striped flannel shorts. Beau loves her jammies. And my socks kept me warm!

2. Green Turtleneck Sweater Dress & Red Flannel
I love comfy yet festive. I do live in my pajamas, so sweater dresses feel like an extension of that. This cute green turtleneck sweater dress is amazing. I love tying a red flannel shirt at my waist. Over the knee black boots keep my legs warm, and a chunky hat keeps me cute and cozy. A sparkly touch is a cute pear shaped sapphire necklace and earrings.

3. Vintage Burgundy Off-the-Shoulder Dress
I love this dress!!! It’s so cute and vintage. I’m always shocked when defined waist dresses actually fit me because I’m so tall. The green art deco earrings are gorgeous. Paired with silver heels and a rose gold watch, it’s perfectly simple yet classic and classy.

4. Casual Green on Green
I am super obsessed with casual jersey dresses, flannel shirts, over the knee boots, and chunky knit hats. Obviously I combined them into a Christmas picture!

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5. Sparkly Candy Cane Dress
I LOVE THIS DRESS!!! Who doesn’t want a ridiculously sparkly candy cane dress for Christmas? Pair it with rose gold sparkle shoes to be extra disco bally. I love my new black glasses. A cute velvet bow and dangly earrings make it perfect.

6. Backless Velvet Bodysuit & Taffeta Skirt
This was one of my favorite Christmas outfits last year. The burgundy velvet bodysuit is backless with black trim and it’s amazingly Christmassy!!! I also love the green taffeta skirt. Nude heels let the outfit shine. Pair with a cute rose gold watch.

7. Cozy Statement Outfit
I love this outfit. It’s festive without being blaringly Christmas or New Year’s Evy. This purple satin skirt is so cute and comfy. I love pairing it with a chunky over sized sweater. Sparkly bootie heels are the perfect glam factor. My black glasses are nerd chic. An understated pink scarf and cute snowflake earrings tie it all together.

8. Classic White
This is probably my favorite outfit ever. This white and black skirt is perfect, and it’s amazing to twirl in. I paired it with a simple white turtleneck. To make it festive and pop, red high heels.

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9. Vintage Green Dress
This is such a fun green, 50s style dress. It’s simple and comfortable. Paired with red high heels it’s very festive. Blue pear shaped earrings and necklace with a rose gold watch is elegant and cute.

10. Buffalo Plaid
Buffalo plaid flannel shirts are so wintery. I love tying it at the waist with a black jersey dress. Over the knee boots and my smart watch make it a casual look for the winter season, while still being comfy and warm.

11. Blue Tartan Wool Skirt
Wool skirts might be old fashioned, but they’re beautiful. I love this blue tartan wool skirt; it has pockets!!! A cute blue shirt, silver high heels, basic white earrings, and a silver watch make it wintery and festive without loud and obnoxious.

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bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

Blog + Dog

I Bought A Chair

November 20, 2019November 20, 2019 RaeAnna

201911203443323906814685493 — Beau is thoroughly enjoying our [her] new chair.

201911201015724790395426420 — **She’s so photogenic when she’s comfy and hogging the chair…** | Chair | Ottoman | Sweater | Red Blanket | Sherpa Blanket | Blue Sequin Pillow | Green Pillow | Christmas Mug | Vase | Decorative Present | Fairy Lights | Ornaments

I work from home. When we moved into our bigger apartment, I knew I needed an office because it’s hard to motivate yourself to work when your office is your bed. We moved into a three bedroom apartment, and I monopolized the smallest of the three bedrooms for my office because I liked the bay window. At the time, my bookshelves took up one wall; otherwise, it was empty.

The first thing I bought was a desk so I didn’t have to sit on the ground. The criteria: no drawers. Drawers are distracting junk collectors. Next, was a big calendar white board for me to plan my non-existent social life and all my work projects.

My office is my favorite room in the house. I spend more time in my office than I spend literally anywhere else. I wake up, take the dog out, make a pot of tea, and start reading in my office for an hour before I start working. There are days, like today, I spend more than fifteen hours working in my office. It needs to be homey, comfy, and a reflection of me from the look, to the smell, to the feel, to the comfort. I want to walk in and be happy. My office isn’t perfect yet, but it’s damn close. There are a few more things on my list to make my office perfect. The biggest and most expensive purchase was the latest.

201911204089357884700159955 — **Beau’s only sharing because she wants to look like a good dog for posterity…** | Chair | Ottoman | Sweater | Red Blanket | Sherpa Blanket | Blue Sequin Pillow | Green Pillow | Christmas Mug | Vase | Decorative Present | Fairy Lights | Ornaments

I have had a papasan since my 22 birthday. I love it, but it’s not conducive to work or reading with a 60 pound Beau in my lap. I’ve been wanting an oversized armchair for awhile, but they’re not cheap, and I had a very specific thing in mind. I had been eyeing an oversized chair recently that wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was as close as I’m likely to get on my budget. Two weeks ago, we bought it.

I bought the chair for me, but Beau has monopolized it. The moment it was set up in my office, Beau started dogging it up. She has a memory foam dog bed next to my desk. Now as I type away at my desk, she stares at me from my chair. She loves it so much, she hangs out in it while she’s home alone. I like to think it’s a testament to how cozy and me-like my office is. It’s probably just the chair. We can easily sit side by side in it or curled up together.

I didn’t think my office could get any better, but I guess it can. The chair has made me very happy and even more productive. Maybe more importantly, it has made Beau’s life happier. She has less anxiety when we leave her home alone, and she’s as happy as happy can be curled up while I work.

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Books, Fiction

You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld

November 6, 2019November 6, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth a Read Yes
Length 256
Quick Review A collection of short stories chronicling and eviscerating characters navigating everyday problems of the modern era and socioeconomic status, gender, and love.

You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld | Dress | Earrings | Basket | Watch | Flower Crown

You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld in a basket of flowers.

Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my favorite authors; I have several of her novels sitting on my bookshelves – only one is unread. I came upon her writing in The New Yorker a few years ago, and I have been a huge fan ever since. In my opinion, she is one of the best contemporary writers. There is no hesitation in her stories to put words to thoughts, emotions, and judgements just about everyone can identify with. Her short story collection, You Think It, I’ll Say It, is no different.

I was familiar with one of the stories in the book because The Prairie Wife had previously been published in The New Yorker, but that didn’t stop me from reading it again.

Every story is told from the first person perspective. Sittenfeld has the ability to really bring the reader into the mindset of the character in that moment of their lives without having to spell everything or give an overwhelming amount of backstory. There is a rare artistry in the way she portrays each person with their own way of speaking, thinking, and processing the situations they find themselves in. Every story and character is a critique on the modern world and society; in one way or another, there is an essence of You Think It, I’ll Say It.

Sittenfeld tackles the subjects of marriage, emotional infidelity, class, education, gender roles, sex, finances, and so much more. Each story creates a picture of what living in today’s world looks like and our unique ability to silently watch and judge the entire world’s actions from the comfort of our own homes.

Relationships are at the center of You Think It, I’ll Say It, whether they are romantic or platonic relationships. Relationships are at the center of being human. Sittenfeld has no problem completely eviscerating her characters, their choices, and their motivations. It’s entertaining to read, but is entirely all too relatable.

I really loved reading this collection of short stories. They’re beautifully told. Perfect for the moments you don’t have time to emotionally invest yourself in a novel, but you want something engaging and thought provoking. You Think It, I’ll Say It has everything I want in fiction.

Memorable Quotes
“It’s not that she’s unaware that she’s an elitist asshole. She’s aware! She’s just powerless not to be one.”
“It turned out that simply by celebrating this particular birthday, I’d crossed some border of nonconformity, and while I still could – can – turn around, retrace my steps, and assume citizenship in the nation of wedlock, the expectation seems to be that I won’t.”

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Title: You Think It, I’ll Say It
Author: Curtis Sittenfeld
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9780525508700

Books, NonFiction

Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino

October 24, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Definitely
Length 303
Quick Review Jia Tolentino is the kind of writer who proves the pen can be sharper than a sword. She cuts through bullshit in Trick Mirror, her collection of observational essays on American culture.

Reading Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino | Skirt | Shirt | Watch | Earrings | Ring

I want to be Jia Tolentino’s friend. a) I think we have a lot in common. b) She’s probably smarter than me, so she’d be interesting to talk to. c) I have a feeling she’s hilarious. Tolentino is a writer for The New Yorker, and after reading Trick Mirror, I’m not surprised. It is a brilliant combination of observation and critique of modern American culture. She spares no one, including herself, as tackles reality TV, politics, feminism, marriage, poverty, religion, the housing crisis, college debt, and so much more.

Trick Mirror is like reading a book about sticking it to the man, but really it’s about the institution of everything. Tolentino has strong opinions but the brains and eloquence to back them up. I have a huge list of quotes, and I could probably discuss this book at length, but I will keep this manageable.

Tolentino is a strong, independent woman, and it oozes through in every part of her writing. For me, the most memorable moments spoke to feminism and gender inequity. Women are at a disadvantage in this world; that’s not knew. Tolentino brings a beautiful perspective to the issue laced with anger.

“When you are a woman, the things you like get used against you. Or, alternatively, the things that get used against you have all been prefigured as things you should like. Sexual availability falls into this category. So does basic kindness, and generosity. Wanting to look good – taking pleasure in trying to look good – does, too.”

Basically. You’re fucked if you do, fucked if you don’t. In a busy world of technology and the constant need to go, improve, work, and succeed, optimization seems to be on everyone’s mind. It is even more prevalent for women.

“The ideal woman has always been conceptually overworked, an inorganic thing engineered to look natural. Historically, the ideal woman seeks all the things that women are trained to find fun and interesting – domesticity, physical self-improvement, male approval, the maintenance of congeniality, various forms of unpaid work. The concept of the ideal woman is just flexible enough to allow for a modicum of individuality; the ideal woman always believes she came up with herself on her own.”

There has always been a pressure on women, but it has never existed like it does today with the advent of technology and social media. Women are under constant scrutiny from the people they know to complete strangers. Tolentino speaks about the oppression and subjugation women deal with on a daily basis masquerading as free will, love, freedom, and more. I personally identified with the very last chapter, “I Thee Dread” and the sentiment “becoming a bride still means being flattered into submission.” Tolentino doesn’t even spare love.

Fun fact I previously didn’t know: Louisiana still requires children to take the husband’s last name for a birth certificate to be issued. Fuck Louisiana!

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I read a lot. My favorite books tend to be classical literature. In the span of a few paragraphs, Trick Mirror discusses all of my favorite books: House of Mirth, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Madame Bovary, The Awakening, The Second Sex, and Tolentino sums up the plight of female characters quite nicely, “Adult heroines commit suicide for different reasons than teenage heroines do. Where the teenagers have been drained of all desire, the adults are so full of desire that it kills them. Or, rather, they live under conditions where ordinary desire makes them fatally monstrous.”

If you’re into essays, nonfiction, or reading about how fucked up society is, Jia Tolentino and Trick Mirror are for you. She’s witty and engaging. Bringing her personal stories and rooting them in the problems the world. She’s relatable and interesting. I personally identified with the whole book, but I’ll leave you with this gem, “I don’t want to be diminished, and I do want to be glorified – not in one shining moment, but whenever I want.”

Memorable Quotes
” Even as we became increasingly sad and ugly on the internet, the mirage of the better online self continued to glimmer.”
“There was something, maybe, about that teenage religious environment, the way everyone was always flirting and posturing and attempting to deceive one another, that set us up remarkably well for reality TV.”
“The Trump administrations is so baldly anti-woman that the women within it have been regularly scanned and criticized for their complicity, as well as for their empty references to feminism.”

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Title: Trick Mirror; Reflections on Self Delusion
Author: Jia Tolentino
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780525510543

Books, NonFiction

Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer

October 22, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 281
Quick Review “Text me when you get home” is not just the title of Kayleen Schaefer’s book, it’s a phrase almost every woman has uttered for a lot of reasons, which Schaefer delves into in her look at modern womanhood and friendship.

Hanging out in a Houston Heights gazebo.

Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer | Sunflower Set | Shoes | Purse | Bow | Bracelets | Sunglasses | Earrings

Kayleen Schaefer had me at the title Text Me When You Get Home; The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship because it’s an evolution and triumph in my own life. As a woman who grew up with mostly guy friends, I have found myself solely surrounded by women in my adulthood. I grew up thinking I was a guy’s girl; it turns out I don’t miss being one of the guys at all. Schaefer describes the phenomenon women are experiencing: female friendship is awesome and nothing like the media has been portraying it. Reading Schaefer’s words feels like unraveling my complex emotions and opinions on more than just female friendships but also my own identity as a woman and writer living in a male dominated world.

Text Me When You Get Home seems to be an anthem for women around the world “because women who say, “Text me when you get home,” aren’t just asking for reassurance that you’ve made it to your bed unharmed. It’s not only about safety. It’s about solidarity. It’s about us knowing how unsettling it can feel when you’ve been surrounded by friends and then are suddenly by yourself again. It’s about us understanding that women who are alone get unwanted attention and scrutiny.” I think we’re really saying I’m with you even when I can’t be with you.

Schaefer explores the complexities of female friendships and why they tend to seem so damn hard. It turns out, it’s really not our fault at all. Feminine self-hatred is so ingrained because: the media. At every angle, women are taught by the media that we’re catty, mean, unstable, crazy, hormonal, indecisive, and less successful. This ideology is forced down our throats so much it enters our conversations and how we interact with other women, which only reinforces these ideologies. The fact is, none of this is remotely true. It ends up being a cultural self-fulfilling prophecy rather than biological inability to love and support the ladies in our lives.

Female friendships are more complicated and deeper than male friendships because women are willing to go deeper, do the work, and lean in to one another. Schaefer isn’t afraid to take on the hard topics in Text Me When You Get Home. Friendship is influenced by everything, and women have to overcome all of these difficult topics and societal failures in order to have a nurturing and wonderful relationship. From the data bias (explored in depth in Caroline Criado-Perez’s Invisible Women) to the biological “tend-and-befriend” response to New York City’s female only residences (Barbizon, the most famous, is featured in Fiona Davis’ The Dollhouse and was home to Silvia Plath) to marriage to feminism to careers.

The most poignant moments in Text Me When You Get Home are when Schaefer talks about her personal experiences as a woman in a man’s world. The truly touching points involve her own evolution as a woman and discovery of female friendship. Female friends feed the soul in a way a man in any capacity is not able to, “I wanted my friends to consider me as necessary as they had become to me. I wanted them to know that these were long-term relationships and that I’d be there for them, too, in any way they might want.”

In the past century, female friendship has been the in between; women are companions until a romantic partner is obtained. Historically this has never been true. The last century has seen women isolated and conditioned to depend on men in ways we never have as a gender in order to keep the status quo for as long as possible. This new generation of women is calling bullshit. We’re showing up for the good and the bad. We’re saying Text Me When You Get Home.

Memorable Quotes
“Men do not tell their friends to text them when they get home.”
“My friends took me out of the way I was taught to be and turned me into something better.”
“I thought making friends with women would interfere with my career in more ways than just distracting me from work. I thought if I wanted to be a writer, I had to look to men. That’s because real writers were men. No one told me this. They didn’t have to.”
“Marriage was something to look forward to, I was taught. Without a husband, you were supposed to feel incomplete.”
“For the first time in my life, I treated pursuing and tending to friendships seriously.”
“Women aren’t allowed to be jealous, angry, or vengeful, at least if we want to go on being seen as good girls.”
“It’s the incongruity between stopping ourselves from seeming anything but pleasant while ambitious, on one hand, and the belief that all women can’t have good things, on the other, that creates frenemies.”
“We can be protectors.”

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Title: Text Me When You Get Home; The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship
Author: Kayleen Schaefer
Publisher: Dutton (Penguin Random House)
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9781101986141

Books, NonFiction

Queen Meryl by Erin Carlson

September 24, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 320
Quick Review Meryl Streep has the most Academy Award nominations of any actor ever. There’s a reason for that, and Erin Carlson dives into the why in Queen Meryl.

Reading Queen Meryl by Erin Carlson in Houston, Texas. | Dress | Shoes | Watch |

Happy Publication day to Erin Carlson and Queen Meryl from Hachette Books. I like Erin Carlson as an author; I like Meryl Streep as an actress. The combination makes for a great and informative read.

Meryl Streep has become an enigma. She is probably one of the greatest movie stars to have ever lived. With 21 Academy Award nominations, it’s hard to argue the contrary. She has had her critics, like all great artists do. Through it all, she has brought characters to life on the stage and the silver screen. She has not let age or Hollywood hold her back from telling complex stories with grace. Erin Carlson brings this magnificent woman to life in her latest book Queen Meryl.

Beginning in Meryl’s formative years, Carlson looks at what transformed Mary Louise, the girl, into Meryl, the artist and actress. Carlson follows Meryl Streep’s career from stage to film, documenting the most important phases in her career and life. Meryl Streep has spent her career choosing films with care to tell women’s diverse stories. From Kramer vs. Kramer to Out of Africa to Silkwood to Mamma Mia to The Devil Wears Prada and so many more.

Carlson allows Streep a voice by quoting her often throughout Queen Meryl. Pulling from speeches, history, friendships, interviews, and more, Carlson creates an image of the woman and the artist fighting for visibility and change through her work and activism. Streep is funny and self-deprecating while still exuding assuredness.

Queen Meryl includes breaks for history lessons, speech snippets, critical responses, and more. The book also includes sketches of Streep throughout her career before every chapter. A few iconic photos are used at key points. Each chapter begins with a memorable quote from the movie Carlson will focus on during that chapter. It is obvious that Carlson is in awe of the legend and the woman; her ability to speak directly to the reader about her own emotions is a good pairing for the seemingly warm and hilarious Streep.

I highly enjoyed reading Queen Meryl by Erin Carlson. I have loved Meryl Streep for as long as I can remember, but there was so much I didn’t know about her life and career. She is inspiring as a person and activist. I hope the world remembers her as the complex and interesting woman Erin Carlson paints her to be.

Memorable Quotes
“Allow me to describe the plot of this 1977 gem of a movie that you should drop everything (except this book) and watch immediately…”
“Despite her perfect image, Meryl wasn’t immune to insecurity – especially during dark nights of the soul when the mind tends to ruminate on uncertainty, regret, and rejection.”
“Meryl avoided doing films that sexualized her or made her a prop to a male lead.”

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Title: Queen Meryl; The Iconic Roles, Heroic Deeds, and Legendary Life of Meryl Streep
Author: Erin Carlson
Publisher: Hachette Books
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780316485272