This journal is now semi-locked.

I suppose it has been for awhile, but I guess this is just making it official. I'll still keep general posts, like fandom info, and memes and things, public, but my journal will be friends only.

At this time I'm not adding any more friends. Thanks for your understanding. :)

Something I started and thought I'd do for this year. I'm not going to keep track of everything, but what I do keep track of I'll post here. ;)

( Movies, TV Shows, Books )

I'll probably be adding to it. This is more for my benefit than anyone else's, but you might enjoy the list and helping me add to it!

I'm sorry I've just gone MIA in the last few weeks but I've had no access to internet... For the most part it's lovely (except when I need to get school stuff organized.) Just wanted to say hi! And let me know what you guys have been up to! I'll read everything at some point and it'll be much easier than me gong through pages of friends-list archives. Which won't happen.

Camp is awesome and I promise I'll share later. God is just so great and I've grown so close to him!

The new Disney "The Princess & the Frog" official trailer!


I realize I love Disney movies way too much, and I might be too attached to all the princess movies, but I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS! And it looks really good! Both traditional and new, and I'm so happy Disney is returning to classic 2D animation! Now I just hope this does really well so they don't abandon 2D altogether.

The frog reminds me of the frog from The Princess Swan — I think it's both the style and the accent. In fact it almost feels like a Don Bluth film than Disney, but still, so good!

Here's the official Disney site

Random updates! We'll see how this goes.

I'm slowly transitioning back into work. It's mostly good since I have a tendency of turning into a couch potato at if I'm left at home. Why is it I never have energy no matter how much or little I sleep? Anyway, it'll be good to be in a routine — except that I wish I was getting more hours at the daycare. I'm only working there five days this month, so it's back to the farmer's market for me! Seriously, I can't escape that place, but it's nice to work with my mom, and I'm really grateful I have any kind of job at all right now.

I need the money! I definitely bought those two Penguin Classics books that I posted about previously. I had to hold myself back from getting them all, but I did decide (and it wasn't a hard choice) on Sense & Sensibility and Jane Eyre. Next, maybe Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Wuthering Heights... eventually Pride & Prejudice of course. I'm so excited to even have the two considering I thought they were lost to me forever! Seriously these are the top "collector's items" to me, methinks.

With moving back home, I've been organizing my room a bit and upping the decorative style. (This is, of course, completely coincidental with my deepening obsession interest in design blogs and shows.) Unfortunately I can't do as much as I'd like with my bedroom because it is partly a storage space for my dad's stuff. My family has always been poor at living "lightly" and now that Dad has moved his office home, there's even more random stuff. Like two or three old computer monitors that, really, no one is going to use. Anyway I've still made progress and I love the little touches that at least I can see. Pictures to come (if only to show off my lovely books and other favourite things). I found a handkerchief that my mom embroidered and put it in a cream frame that has been sitting on my desk (empty) for years. It looks really cute! And I've moved my Grandma's Royal Daulton figurine to a place of prominence on the end of my display shelves where it stands out. I always loved her "girls" and she gave this one especially to me. (Her name is "Heather" — lovely.) It was given in secret, sort of... so that makes her even more special.

Click here for an awesome review of Twilight (the books).

When someone reads Twilight, it is the literary equivalent of eating a circus peanut. There is nothing there but pure guilty indulgence. You want drama, you want sex (but we're Mormons here so its very tame...err...did someone just hear a headboard crack?) and you don't want anything to get between them and you. Especially not big words or fancy, thought-provoking ideas.

Now I don't mean this to be offending — just interesting. And possibly entertaining. ;)

soteria recommended singer Lisa Hannigan. She's got such a pretty, natural voice and whimsical style. Check out her MySpace!

That's all for now... I'm watching Grey's Anatomy. Who the heck goes to work — especially at a hospital — on their wedding day?!

Tags: books, journal, journal: work

Shared by poppytalk here


Shared by inishmaan — Francois Gerard, "Madame Recamier," 1805

They're available in Canada!!!



"Fine Books" from Penguin

I think it was the lovely lalumena who brought these books to my attention first. You can see the Penguin Blog/Interview with the designer here to find out more and see all the drool-rendering copies of classics.

I can't help myself — I've wanted them so badly. And up 'til now, they've been virtually un-obtainable for me! I was even hoping my boyfriend would be able to get some for me when he visited England this month but THEN Penguin discontinued them. Arrrrrrrrgh >:(

But now I can get them with no fuss and no conversion rate! I'm definitely getting Jane Eyre and Sense and Sensibility. Yes, I have them both, but those are my favourite designs and I could really use a prettier copy of Jane Eyre. (And S&S is just too pretty to resist. Not as crazy about the Pride and Prejudice design, which is just as well.

Why oh why must I be the annoying combination of all graphic designer, bookworm AND collector? Add lover of all classic novels and it makes for a very expensive hobby.

I'm all finished exams! I don't feel finished, though, because even though my exam was done at 11 this morning, I have to wait here at school 'til tomorrow at 9:30 am to officially check out of my dorm room. It's painful watching everyone move out because I'm so ready to be at home for the summer!

In the mean time, I'm occupying my time with a Life on Mars marathon. It's about time I watch this series, really. And while I probably wouldn't watch it over and over again, there's no denying it is good. I mean, John Simm + Philip Glenister? Definitely good watching. And look who Sam's parents are: ( Meet Ruth and Vic Tyler in 1973. )

I have to admit, I'm anxious to see how everything winds up. ( Read more... )

Can't wait to see Ashes to Ashes once this is finished. I'm very curious to see how that one is set up, and how it's connected to LoM, though I know the basics.

Anyone else watching these? I know there are definitely some of you! (*cough* Charlotte! /lulamena)

ETA: Did I forget to mention that I'm starting to think in a Manchester accent? I kid you not. Especially with long "u" and hard "-ng," etc. It's like listening to the lecturers at Capernwray for five hours a day and thinking in the Scottish accent, haha.

Has anyone seen this new show Being Human? It's about a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost all living together as they try to live as normally as [un]humanly possible. Russel Tovey is a main character — the werewolf, in fact — and lo and behold, who should appear as his ex in the pilot but Claire Foy! ( Visuals under the cut )

How cute is that? Except she's chasing him and he is trying to get away to protect her. I don't blame Amy for choosing Matthew Macfadyen in Little Dorrit but I still have a soft spot for Russel Tovey. I was hoping she would stay in the show but... oh well.

Also, do you know who makes the best picspams? three_nails. I've rediscovered them. The favourites: Casualty 1907 parts one, two and three, A Room with a View and JJ Feild.

I think you can tell how much I should be studying by the fact that this is my third post in one day. That, and I've started a Sophie and Frank/Cranford picspam.

( I was so shy that first night I saw him I wished I could disappear! )

I didn't want to neglect Lizzie and Eugene with all my Bella & John love, so they got their fair due! I don't think it's my fault that there are slightly less caps than those for Bella & John.

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I enjoyed making them. :)

( I was forcing myself to be constrained as required by our agreement. But there — Let's go on. )

One of my favourite things about Bella and John is that we get to see them as a married couple. It makes my fangirl heart happy.

And not to be forgotten: ( a second video summary )

Missed part one?

I can't deny I'm procrastinating from studying... but this is much more fun. It's no surprise that I love Our Mutual Friend and it never gets enough love. I felt like making a picspam a couple of days ago and this felt like an obvious choice! A little stupid considering how long this series is, but I hope you all enjoy it!



( We never could have pretended to harbour any true affection. I was hardly likely to like this John Harmon. )

Conclusion? Bella + John = love — they're very sweet with enough angst to compete with the more popular couples!

And because this is my journal this picspam would not be complete without: ( a video summary )

Go see this if you haven't already!

(More to come — Bella & John, Part II and Lizzie & Eugene)

Found out first through artic_fox, as well as AustenBlog.com and bbccostumedrama.

First there was this article at the Telegraph saying Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller are playing Emma Woodhouse and Mr Knightley (respectively).

Shortly after (at least, in my own discovery, not necessarily in publication) the BBC released this press statement with more news. Jodhi May is going to play Emma's (old) governess, the newly married Mrs Weston, and Michael Gambon will be playing Mr Woodhouse (Emma's father).

ALSO exciting: Sandy Welch is writing the screenplay! Seriously, why she doesn't get near the amount of recognition that Andrew Davies does, I'll never understand. I love her miniseries/adaptations.

Apparently this series will be four parts, each one hour long. I'm glad for that because three hours seems to short.

I'm very excited for Romola to be playing Emma, though she wouldn't be who I'd see first as Emma. My first reaction was that she's too old, but that's rubbish, I know. ;) Someone had suggested Carey Mulligan for the role, which would have been wonderful! Carey is everywhere, and yet she hasn't had a "breakout" role yet. But mostly I can very much see her as Emma. Of course, I'm excited to see Romola in an Austen piece! She's wonderful.

Not so excited about Jonny Lee Miller. He played Edmund in that movie adaptation of Mansfield Park ten years ago. Though, to be fair, Edmund as a hero is disappointing anyway, so that isn't the best thing to judge him on. It will be interesting, to say the least.

What do you guys think? Are you excited? I am so glad that Emma is getting its own 2000 update! I just loved S&S and the whole style and feel of it — so much different than the adaptations of the 90s, which all had their own 1990 flavour, if you know what I mean. It's nice to have different versions. Plus it will be nice and long! :D

I guess to be original I could use "In which" instead of "where" — from what I remember, all the chapter titles in Vanity Fair follow that pattern. Anyway, Charlotte, not that this is anything new, but I like the idea. ;)

I will try to make this short and sweet but there are a lot of random things to share!


New layout! Well, since the past week or so. I love how the colours in the layout match so well with the background — I didn't touch a thing. And the Marie Antoinette icon (by dragonclouds) fits perfectly — soft and spring-like. It just makes me happy! (Layout by knotloved and background by appletooth.)

- I'm very tempted to have a Jane Austen movie marathon — but not her adaptations. Rather, the "biographies" — Becoming Jane and Miss Austen Regrets would be extremely fun together, methinks. This comes from my finally finishing Just Jane by Nancy Moser, a fictional autobiography/novel. It was very nice, starting from her early twenties (with Tom LeFroy, thankfully a minor event) to her blossoming success and writing of Persuasion. It is bizarre knowing how things go, though. I liked learning more about her family. Another wonderful novel is The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James. It's much more fictional and focuses on a smaller part of Jane's life (and "possible" love affair). I recommend it! I've also got Cassandra's Sister by Veronica Bennett still sitting on my bookshelf at home, waiting to be read. Yet one can never have too many Jane Austen-related books!

Oh, dear, I'm failing miserably with length already. ( Etsy purchase, Music, Blogs, &c. )

This bring me to a question: Does anyone know if you can add RSS feeds to your LJ friends list in any way? I know that someone can created a syndicated LJ account that will post there blog here on LJ, but is there anyway to incorporate other blogs onto my f-list? I'd love a way to easily see updates but I'm not going to constantly be checking these individually.


- I've crawled out from the rock under which I've been hiding! I've started watching Twilight. ( &c. )

I do believe that's it. I've got some real life updates but I'll post those separately — there's enough here as it is. (That'll make you think twice about wishing I ever updated more — not that any of you do, but in theory...)

March 28, to be precise. It's about time. (via robinhoodbbc)

( Cut for possible spoilers, though if you really care you already know. )

Still, ROBIN HOOD IS BAAAAAAAAAAACK! :D

Well, firstly, I am absolutely obsessed with Etsy.com. Everything is homemade and it's just gorgeous. I could just browse forever... *tries to stop drooling*

The good thing is it gives me some great ideas for things to try out! I've got so many ideas for journal covers that I can't wait to try them out. My mom is really into card-making (especially with the Stampin' Up! tools) and I'm getting into it too. I absolutely fell in love with this bird design and got the stamp set that has it. I'd love to have that on a journal. ;) In fact, I've got a thing for birds... it's slightly bizarre but I think they're pretty. (More examples coming.)

I'd also love to do some embroidery things with fabric covers as well as paper. Even something very simple would look lovely, methinks. At least we'll see when my first experiment is done, heehee. ( &c. )

The problem with my browsing Etsy all the time is that I want to buy everything! And then I get very materialistic. Right now I cannot buy any more — I've spent so much money in the last couple of months, heehee.

But everything is SO PRETTY.

Heart Strings Wool Felt Necklace
- I'd love to try felting little balls like that and make a funky-chunky neckace, and I found instructions here! I won't try the heart shape, but I love the button with it. ( &c. )

With all my browsing, I have bought one thing!
Newcastle iSockit Deluxe for iPod, iPhone, and BlackBerry by BlytheKing
- I originally found out about this little shop via soteria's own purchase. I enjoyed keeping my eye on what she had, and then I saw this design. I loved the colours and pattern of the fabric, and that crocheted button sold it to me. ;) Ironically I bought it thinking there was only one, but she has another one available now, heehee. But totally worth it!
Now all I need is the iPod skin and the classic iPod... But in the meantime it makes a nice home for my "vintage" pink iPod mini. ;)


P.S. If anyone signs up for an account at etsy, would you mind putting my name in as the referral-ee? My username is "heatherfield." Thanks! </ shameless plugging >

New layout! ingenu0us

It's by minty_peach again — I love the pretty simplicity of her layouts. I've also used one her userinfo codes. I just replaced blue with green, and I love how it matches so well with this picture. It feels wintery to me. Not in an outside snowy kind of way, but a cozy up by the fire in your favourite knitted things way.

I've had so many things to post about that I think you'd find interesting but I never know where to start and I never have the energy. That sounds silly but lately — especially today — I haven't felt like doing anything. There's almost an anxiety, a looking forward to something good that's coming. Logically it's silly, because I don't have much to do and I can take the time to do some fun things right now but I don't know what to do, let alone what I feel like doing.

That being said, I'm staying at school this weekend and my good friend from camp is coming for a sleepover on Friday! So I am looking forward to that. The problem is this week is rolling by so slowly...

Christmas:
- Busy Christmas Day with my family Christmas, then my dad's family's Christmas, and my mom's family Christmas on Boxing Day
- Thomas was with me this Christmas — he didn't go home to England — so it was different but nice
- Had two retreats at camp (the same camp I work at) which were fun
- Lots of good presents, one of my favourites being the "Sleeping Beauty" DVD!

School:
- Only taking four courses instead of five because I never got into the writing course I was trying to take, but I'm not too disappointed 'cause I don't want to write right now anyway
- I'm taking two religion courses and in philosophy we're debating the existence of God, so my classes are exhausting emotionally as I argue in my head, and attempt at saying things aloud in philosophy
- The new course on "Paul" is frustrating as the prof exaggerates the problems with the Bible as a copied manuscripts and says that Paul's letters were only for certain groups at certain times. (Like we can't get anything out of them? They're no less true or valid! It's like giving advice to a friend — the letter could help others even if they're not in the exact situation, and the truth won't change in a few years.)

Meme snagged from elvenjoy but done by just about everyone. ;)

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
So many things! But I'll say I started university which is quite a big thing for me since I was nervous and I'd taken a two year break.

( &c. )

Real entry coming soon. I hope you all had wonderful holidays and best wishes for the new year!

Fiction Family - When She's Near from ATO Records on Vimeo.

Their debut CD comes out January 20th... And I sound like a commercial, but you guys should get it!! Jon Foreman and Sean Watkins, Switchfoot and Nickel Creek = :D

Hey, maybe this will count as my first "8 days of things that make me happy" entry. Everyone on my friends-list has been sharing and I want to as well. Or maybe the first thing is that I finished one exam today (Judaism) so there's only one more to go! No, I'll save that for tomorrow when I'm DONE... or Wednesday since the exam is late tomorrow night.

I just want it to be Christmas break already. My brain is fried. :P

Me = terrible at posting. I read my friends list regularly but there's not much to post about. :S

Right now life is probably about the same for me as it is for a lot of you — craziness it finishing up university term work and finals, and getting ready for Christmas. I'm so excited, though! I finally get to go and stay home this week. An entire week in my home bed — ah, luxury. :D

Not that I've been away from home lots. I've been home practically every weekend, so I can't complain. Still, I'm so glad for the break from school and this campus. I love it here, but it's small and I don't get out much, and break = very good.

As of this morning I'm done my crazy week of tests and papers. I'm halfway finished my courses for the term. Now I only have my writing assignments to hand in in a couple of days (speaking of which, anyone feel like looking them over if I post? Maybe I will. At the very least you might be interested in my short non-fiction stories about me, haha) — as well as my two exams on the 15th and 16th, Judaism and Greek Mythology respectively. I have to admit, I'll be sad to be finished those courses. They've been interesting.

BUT YAY I'M ALMOST DONE MY FIRST TERM OF UNIVERSITY, I'LL HAVE A FULL 1.5 CREDITS, AND CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!

I still have so much to do. I've made some homemade Christmas cards, but nowhere near enough for all the people I want to send them to. I also have to get presents for everyone. I've got most of my mom's, but I still want to get her one other thing. Everyone else in my family is elusive about what they want. Except Bryan — all he wants is "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride." Of course, Disney is stupid and it's not in stores. :S Any suggestions? Any tips for Ebay/etc?

In other exciting news: Fiction Family has released their first single! And their CD is being released January 20th!!!!

Who are Fiction Family, you ask? None other than Jon Foreman from Switchfoot and Sean Watkins from Nickel Creek. What could be more amazing than that? I've been looking forward to this for ages, back when they only had a "coming soon" website. You can go to their website now to get a free download of their song "When She's Near." It's really sweet and catchy. I've listened to it at least ten times since yesterday.

I just bought my first songs from iTunes, which is a little intimidating, heehee. I don't like buying virtual songs, because if I pay the money I want to have a physical object, you know? Plus iTunes is so strict with where you can play songs, but anyway... Bethany Joy Galeotti has been releasing so many great songs, but unfortunately, they're only mp3-released. It's only $1 a song, plus I want to support her (and help her get a flipping record deal, come on, people!) so I got the duet "I Want Something That I Want" she sang with Grace Potter. (I also got the other Grace Potter song for the full "album".) Bethany's got the most amazingly pretty, natural, full voice. I honestly can't wait 'til she makes a real CD that I can go out and buy and physically have. I hope it happens soon.

Hope you're all doing well! Have a great holiday season and don't get too stressed. ;)