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Desk Du Jour

i don't care for the desk itself but i think the juxtaposition of old and new is very interesting in this space. plus how glamorous is a chandelier in a home office?

21 things before 21 {update no. 1}

i started a list at the beginning of the year of 21 things i'd like to accomplish before my 21st birthday in august. with exactly five months until this deadline, i thought it would be a good time to check in and see where i stand with all my goals.

1. do something with my hair i chopped off six inches (!) but it’s in a very transitional stage. i’m in the dreadfully long process of growing out my chemically straightened hair and letting it return to its naturally rebellious state but i’m stuck in the mean time with partially curly and partially straight hair. yikes! does anyone have any advice for making it look as "normal" as possible? any products that worked miracles for you? supplements that will accelerate the growth of my curly roots? i'll take all the help i can get!
fresh from the salon. it does not look like this anymore.

2. pack sensibly for france hmmmm. does incurring $100 in excess baggage fees constitute sensible packing? to be fair, i was packing for five months in europe!

3. see as much of europe as is humanly and financially possible definitely a work in progress. i’ve been to paris (several times!), four châteaux in the loire valley, london, barcelona, and amsterdam. plus i’ve got a lot more trips in the works! check out my sidebar "where in the world is design darling?" to see where i'm headed next.

4. ...and take thousands of pictures not quite at a thousand yet but certainly on my way.

5. spend valentine’s day with michael in paris read about it here.

7. apply to ten internships i think i’ve applied to seven, with one offer and anxiously awaiting to hear from the rest.

8. secure a french internship for the month of may create a website for our family’s summer house on nantucket since plan A didn’t materialize the way i might have liked, i’m moving onto plan B. i’ve wanted to build this website forever but i’ve never gotten around to it and i really have not the slightest idea where to start. knowing my way around blogger is one thing but the big www? i’m not quite there yet.

14. read 12 new books (one per month) my january book was the blind side by michael lewis. i hardly understand the game of football but i loved the movie (cough, want to be sandra bullock’s character) and lewis is a phenomenal writer — which leads me to my february book, moneyball. i’m much more into baseball than football but it seems i haven’t had as much time to read of late. here’s to catching up in march and april! any recommendations for future books?

15. blog here five times per week i’m doing quite well on this front, if i do say so myself. ;)

16. comment on at least one other blog per day hopefully some of you are feeling the love! i love reading your comments and am only too happy to return the favor.

17. start a study abroad blog

18. stay a vegetarian thank god for my wonderfully accommodating french host mom. i’m still finding it hard to eat out so i’ve really lucked out with her cooking.

21. end my twentieth year feeling more independent, more wordly, happier, healthier, and otherwise better! "little" things like mastering the parisian metro toute seule and surviving the arduous bike ride to villandry have definitely made me feel more independent. the combination of doing some traveling by myself and abandoning my native tongue for a new culture (truly no one in tours speaks english) is certainly making me feel a bit more worldly, too. i don’t know about healthy (too many crêpes, if such a thing exists) but i do feel very happy and lucky to be here.

not too shabby, right? i've got a ways to go but i feel like i've been making steady progress. what were your goals or new year's resolutions? how is your progress measuring up? i would love to hear from you (especially if you've got help for my hair or books for my reading!).

sock it to me

how great are these fleece-lined socks for achieving the same effect as the over-the-knee boot trend without investing in a whole new pair of boots?
wear them with your black pumps and you've achieved precisely the same look (plus added warmth!) for practically nothing! these have been going in and out of stock on shopbop so i have a feeling i'm not the only one who thinks these are a genius idea.
i love the way rumi from blogworld favorite fashiontoast styled hers with fierce jessica simpson platform sandals. what a great way to reinterpret the same heels you wear day in and day out! i love the over-the-knee boots i ordered but they kill my feet — wouldn't these fleece-y thigh highs be a cozy substitute?