Foreign Flicks

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So, here's how cool my friends are. Right now I have one friend in Paris doing a Fulbright study (Hi Ash!) and basically living the Parisian life of crossaints tous les jours and another old schoolmate who is taking a year to travel the world - starting in Japan and moving west (Go Jessica!). So I'm incredibly lucky to be following along on their adventures via their blogs - the next best thing to actually body snatching them and taking their fun adventures for my own!

The crazy thing is yesterday they BOTH posted about a seemingly simple experience: going to see a movie. But, of course they were both doing that in a foreign country (lucky dogs)-so naturally, their experiences weren't quite what they expected.

Ashley, in France, was disappointed that the popcorn was not accompanied by our compulsory neon yellow liquid artificial butter and that car ads displaced her favorite previews. Jessica, in India, enjoyed the assigned seating in her 1500-seat theatre - plus the crowd participation!

I love going to the movies in countries I visit - some tourists may think it's a waste of time when there are so many sights to check off the list - but if you're someplace a little longer it's a great break from the hustle and bustle. Plus, as these two bloggers experienced, it's a great way to discover nuances of a foreign culture that you might not otherwise see. In India, I remember the assigned seating (awesome!) as well as one particularly enjoyable snack - boiled corn (not popped!) with a variety of flavors. Of course, being me, I spilled mine all over the steps. I also remember seeing Avatar in a Tokyo theater where everything was super super modern and super super crowded. I got sick from the 3-d glasses and the heat of all the people in one small theatre. Anyways, just thought I'd share the coincidence of these two bloggers writing about the same kind of experience thousands of miles apart - and pass along their fun blogs to you!

Pulling the Trigger

I think it really is true: You are what you read. Which worries me when I get into reading profiles of  serial killers... So yeah, I've been reading all these interior design blogs (like Design Manifest, Young House Love and Little Green Notebook) and now I'm constantly looking at old shitty furniture and saying things like "but, look at those bones" and "can't you just see that with a wash of color?" My parents are not happy with all the flotsam I've dragged into their garage. 

But it has such potential!!

Today I came across this lovely pillow on One Kings Lane, another darling of the blogosphere:

I loves it much. It's even reversible:

I'm always afraid to pull the trigger on household purchases. I always think I might find something better and cheaper the next place I look - uhm, I mean at Goodwill. At almost $40 bucks, this pillow ain't cheap. But yesterday my mom said, "You know, you shop at Goodwill a lot. Maybe it's ok to spend sometimes..." And she's right.

So, question of the day, what combination of pillows makes my couch into the living embodiment of the word "Delicious"?

This group is all from the One Kings Lane collection and are obviously made for each other. Nice, but very "decorated."

So I swapped in some trellis pillows from Amazon. The teal is a nice tie in with the painting, if I do say so myself.

That leopard print from Pier One? Fah-bulous, darling. The navy prints from Amazon are nice too. 

Ok, we're really getting somewhere here. I love the grey chevron and the polka dots (all from Amazon) are so cheery!

Ooh, and this is a close tie. Love the navy stripes (from Amazon) - they have some nice beading on the stripes as well. It's a lot more white, though, and white things tend to get dirty in my house. Yep, I admit it. Still love that leopard though.

So what do you think? I leaning toward numbers 4 or 5. I need some group reassurance before I go ahead and pull the trigger on these purchases. What's your vote?

Pillow sources: One Kings Lane, Amazon (trellis, chevron, navy print 1, navy print 2, stripes), Pier One.

How to Read a Blog

No offense intended here, folks. I realize you all know how to read a blog or else you would not be here today, on this webpage. But while talking to a friend (and reader) today, I discovered that he didn't know about using a blog reader. And then it hit me. A handful of months ago, I didn't even know about a blog reader - and it's totally transformed how I read blogs, write my own blog, and generally while away time. So let me share this tip with you. Get a blog reader. I use GoogleReader, but that's not the only one out there, just the easiest if you already have a google account, like most of the world.

Here's what mine looks like (ps I learned how to screen shot today!)

The red button is what you click when you want to add a blog. So basically, you would click subscribe and type in http://www.voyage-on.blogspot.com/ if you wanted to subscribe to my blog. Then, whenever I posted a new post, you'd see it either on the main page or you could scroll down your list of subscriptions and click Voyage-On to see what's new. That's it. Not remembering to check in on different websites and being disappointed if there's nothing there. No forgetting to read you friend's and family members' blogs. None of that. You just log into google, iGoogle or GoogleReader, and there you go.

Need some other great blogs to add to your collection, now that you have a fancy-schmancy new blog reader? Here are a few of my favorites:

22 Words - this is just a short and sweet collection of interesting tid-bits.

Design Manifest - I love this interior decorator's style - very fresh, ethnic and bright. She also works on a team with her dad; how cute is that?

Mental Floss - The Grand Master of random knowledge, this one could keep you busy all day.

Young House Love - This adorable couple makes a living writing a blog about DIY house decorating and renovation. Sounds boring; absolutely isn't.

Thx Thx Thx - Leah writes daily thank you notes to someone or something that brightens her day. Charming.

LaLa - Written by a team of Purdue girls, this is a fun (nostalgic) look at college life and fashion, with great photography.

Kendi Everyday and Girl With Curves - Are my two favorite style bloggers, who post pics of their daily outfits.

Hansel & Co. - A fellow Davidson grad highlights what's sohotrightnow.

* Oh, and commenting is the currency of the blog world. Bloggers will love you forever if you post a little note on their pages. *

 

Now go forth, and read on!