"If You're Truly Wild At Heart...

...you'll fight for your dreams." Wild At Heart, which is all sorts of crazy goodness, happened to be on HBO the other night and I caught it just in time to hear those words uttered by Sailor's good witch/fairy godmother/hallucination. And it's a good thing I did. Finishing up my coursework and now being simply unemployed rather than a graduate student seeking employment has been a really hard adjustment. The wealth of Gang of Four music playing around here probably hasn't been terribly helpful for my mood either...But that's okay.

 A graduation card my mom gave me offered a lot of perspective-she wrote that a lot of people are so consumed with career or their own woes that they don't really enjoy life, and that I'm lucky to at least be in a position to have a lot of amazing experiences and wonderful opportunities outside the career realm. I mean, yeah I want to get the show on the road in terms of working in a special collections library already, but in the meantime I go out and explore this fabulous city, have the support of an amazing boyfriend, and haven't put my life on hold. So yes, I am going to fight for my dreams rather than sit in a pool of my own tears wallowing in the salty-sad mess.

So as for that next adventure, Australia proved to be too expensive right now, probably down to the overblown fuel costs. So we opted for Turkey! My pops went on a ridiculous trip a couple years ago, and it put the seed in my mind looking at all of his beautiful pictures. We'll be there for 12 days,  seeing everything from the ancient ruins at Ephesus and Troy, exploring modern Istanbul, hanging out in hot springs cliffs in Pamukkale, and tons of other amazing places. I'm actually more excited about this trip. We leave at the end of November and I cannot wait. Let's hope by then it's a welcome break from work, but even if it isn't, it's a frickin' vacation and another amazing country to scratch off my map.

The amazing hot springs in Pamukkale. 

Pamukkale.

Cappadocia spice market-loving the color!

Evil eye tree in Cappadocia.

Hot air balloon rides in Cappadocia, where buildings are literally cut into the rock formations.

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

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Desert Getaway

Our hotel, which was a lot of fun, but damn did they nickel and dime for every little thing. It got to be a bummer.

The Amigo Bar, where yeah, we spent more than a little time.

Roof paintings at the Amigo.

Ace Hotel lobby. A rope and macrame fan's dream hotel.

Okay, so maybe I had a few drinks in my system at this point...at the amazing Parker Palm Springs.

Gorgeous little quartz fountain outside of the Parker.

Mister Parker's. Tasty food and awesome, fun decor.

Indeed. Desert getaway doesn't come cheap. Guess that's why it's a once a year deal. Sigh.

Winter Is Coming

Well, if you live in the southern hemisphere it is, anyway. I like so many others have been watching Game of Thrones despite the fact that I don't need to see naked breasts every thirty seconds to get wrapped up in a series. I have to say that while the King's Landing outfits are too gauzy and gaudily ornate for my tastes, I really love the utilitarian yet exceptionally detailed vibe the costuming department has developed for the Northerners' outfits and decor. The quilted leathers, the pelts of fur lining coat lapels, the patchwork of skins that make up little crippled Bran's duvet. Now I'm not one who thinks killing a fox exclusively for fashion is acceptable, but I can't say I don't think like the Native Americans in terms of utilizing every part of an animal that's killed for food. Um, so why am I writing a post that may incur 'meat is murder'-like wrath? Because I discovered  Black Sheep White Light, which sells culturally significant animal pelts as a byproduct of their local food industries and can't help but be reminded that there was a period in human history where such now fashionable items were the only things keeping people from freezing to death. Anyone who's walked through a medieval building like the Edinburgh Castle or even wood-build Nijo Castle knows that they do not exactly a cozy home make.

An Icelandic sheepskin in a rare grey shade.

Gigantic winter coated buffalo hides feature a rich pattern of colors and fur patterns.

Hides taken from farms used by the Scandinavian Sami people to raise reindeer meat have some of the most haunting patterns and shapes.

I...Am A Librarian!

If you watched The Mummy and fell in love with Rachel Weisz as a teen like me, you know what I'm talking about. But seriously, I am a librarian! I have officially completed my e-portfolio and am getting the hell out of town to celebrate having received my MLIS! (Now just give me a job)

This fancy bottle of copper-plated Beau Joie champagne is coming with me, and will return home to serve as a flower vase long after I've hiccuped away the last few sips of bubbly.The mister and I are running away to Palm Springs for a few days to soak up some sun, do a little vintage furniture shopping, and sit by the pool with some good books. We're staying at the Ace Hotel, which I'm totally not rail-thin, hipster-cool enough to be admitted attendance but I guess that's what the resort fees cover? Anyway, I'll just wear a bunch of rags in my hair and tribal patterned items and hope for the best.

Right now, though, I'm headed out for my family's Pesach seder, and hoping to convince my pops that helping to finance a dream trip to Peru would make for a superb and well-deserved (ha!) graduation present. Wish ya girl luck.