New Blog!! Brief Book Reviews

Miss me?

Well... After a 3 year blogging hiatus I've started a new blog called Brief Book Reviews.

In January I set a goal to read 40 books by the end of the year; in mid February when I hit 20, I changed my goal to 65 (with the hope that I'll actually read 100), and started Brief Book Reviews. 

Take a look, and follow along on Instagram: @briefbookreviews
 

Happy reading!

all is possible

Oh, hey there.

After reading this blog post about the death of the blog back in December, I took stock. Did I enjoy blogging? Sometimes. Do people read/enjoy my blog? Yes, a few. Do I have time to commit to writing and curating in this way? Sometimes; though most of my internet activity happens on my phone and most typing is done with one hand while nursing...which is why Instagram is so satisfying these days. As my posts were getting less and less frequent, I figured a full break from the blog might be in order. And it was so easy to just stop.

Then on Friday night Jordan sat down at the dinner table and said "I need to have a serious talk with you." My heart dropped. "About your blog," he continued. I laughed. Oh, blog... He then proceeded to guilt encourage me to start writing again. For myself. For our girls. As a testament to this life we live together. I listened. So here I am.

Spring has arrived in Oakland, and with it the possibility of a new season. In the spirit of spring, I'm sharing Dvořák's Quartet #12 (the American String Quartet), which I heard on the radio this morning, and which has always filled me a happy wonder and sense that all is possible.

mothering with ALS

Sarah and her family, photo by Lisa Leckie

Sarah Coglianese, a friend and old co-worker, was diagnosed with ALS last year. She recently wrote this lovely and heartwrenching piece for the New York Times Motherlode blog about teaching her daughter that she can do anything, physically and otherwise, as her own body is failing her and she is physically able to do less and less. Sarah's blog, The Scarlett Letters, is also a wonderful read.

learning what it means to be a woman

My friend Aria linked to this post yesterday and the message rang true for me. I'm not usually that vocal about "mommy war" issues. I have no issue calling myself a feminist (I wrote a page-long paper of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique in 6th grade and never looked back) and a full-time mom (ironic? of course...), and the work that I am doing as a mother, raising a strong, confident, funny girl feels infinitely more important to me right now than the many hours I spent attending meetings to schedule other meetings and sitting behind a computer in an office. I'm not saying the work that I did wasn't important, it just wasn't that creative or meaningful for me. I am so lucky to be able to stay at home, and will readily admit that, selfishly, I want to be here to witness all those milestones and daily occurrences. Staying at home won't last forever, and the time I have to do it is so short and it's going by so fast...I am relishing the days and doing what I can to impart confidence and my own knowledge about the world. I don't think this makes me less of a (creative? successful?) woman or more of a (womanly?) woman. I think it just makes me me.

Mothers who point fingers at other women for making decisions that are either necessary for them and the livelihood of their families or feel right for them and their children, grate on me to no end. 

I appreciate this by Glennon of Momastery:

And if every woman made the same decision, how would my children learn that sometimes motherhood looks like going to work to put food on the table or stay sane or share your gifts or because you want to work and you’ve earned that right. And that other times motherhood looks like staying home for all of the exact same reasons.

As far as I can tell, no matter what decision a woman makes, she’s offering an invaluable gift to my daughters and me. So I’d like to thank all of you. Because I’m not necessarily trying to raise an executive or a mommy. I’m trying to raise a woman. And there are as many different right ways to be a woman as there are women.

So, angry, debating ladies… here’s the thing. My daughter is watching me AND you to learn what it means to be a woman. And I’d like her to learn that a woman’s value is determined less by her career choices and more by how she treats other women, in particular, women who are different than she is. I’d like her to learn that her strength is defined by her honesty and her ability to exist in grey areas without succumbing to masking her insecurities with generalizations or accusations. And I’d like her to learn that the only way to be both graceful and powerful is to dance among the endless definitions of the word woman… and to refuse to organize women into categories, to view ideas in black and white, or to choose sides and come out swinging. Because being a woman is not that easy, and it’s not that hard.

oh blog...

Oh blog, you are so neglected.

I'm struggling these days to find the motivation to write here. More often than not I use the few minutes of time to myself to curl up and read instead of spend time on the computer. Maybe it's the gray, rainy weather. Maybe it's that feeling that you put something like a blog post out into the world and it just sits there. Sometimes a little satisfaction comes with an acknowledgement from a friend "I loved that post" or "I bought that because I saw it on your blog!" Other times I feel like a neglectful parent, ignoring the blog and feeling the wonder of my family and friends: "why isn't she posting?"

I was thinking about all this today as I was driving home from an outing. I was thinking about what to post next but also pondering the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2012 list. Of the 100 books listed I've read all of half of 1 book. Half of 1 book out of 100. And I call myself a reader?! Yikes. How many have you read?

These days I am gravitating more towards mysteries than literary fiction. The fast-paced action moves me through a book at a quicker clip than plodding emotionalism, experimental plot devices, and over-done descriptions. Years ago, when I only read literary fiction, my friend Melissa would expound on the greatness of a well-written police procedural. I didn't understand at the time. But I do now.

This is all to say that I hope to be a better blogger and a faster reader (so many books so little time, right?).  Because, really, this nightstand book situation is getting a little out of control:

michigan

Off to Michigan. Be back soon!

a blank wall

Looking for a little design inspiration this past weekend, we picked up a copy of Undecorate by Christiane Lemieux, the founder of DwellStudio. While we didn't find the exact inspiration we were looking for, we enjoyed poring over pictures of the 20 featured homes in the book. I appreciated the eclectic mix of interior spaces and the personalities that created them.

The inspiration we were looking for is wall-related. We're thinking about changing the look of our living room a little. 

Maybe a dark wall? (I LOVE a dark wall).

On Vixxxen Blog; via Erin P; Photo by Anita Calero & Jonny Valiant of Anita Calero’s West Chelsea loft

On Letters of Vintage, via Melissa Guedes

Domino Mag page on The Happy Home, via Leigh Steele

Maybe wallpaper? I'm loving a white/gold color palette right now...

Oh Joy! Lovely Leaves Wallpaper

Oh Joy! Petal Pusher Wallpaper

Oh Joy! A Stone's Throw Away Wallpaper

Ferm Living: Wilderness Wallpaper

What do you think? Painted wall or wallpaper?

wayfare

I love to travel but will admit that it is getting harder and harder with Stells. I used to actually look forward to long plane rides (movies! magazines! reading time!) but now they seem like a particular kind of cramped torture. Which means that reading about distant locales and looking at pictures of far off cities takes on a new kind of appeal. Wayfare, the newly-launched digital magazine "celebrating the art of the journey," is just the thing to transport me with its gorgeous images and focus on design.

Wayfare design director and editor, Anne of Prêt à Voyager, recently wrote about how the magazine came into being. Read about it and take a look inside...

For the moment, today, I am happy to sit in my sun-filled living room grazing through the Sunday New York Times and scrolling through the Wayfare blog with a cup of tea while Stella naps, soundly and completely spread out, upstairs.

[cover image by Peggy Wong]

a fresh new look

As the 2 year anniversary of this blog is quickly approaching I decided that it was high time Akhmatova got a fresh new look...

Enjoy!

hither & thither guest post

I'm over on hither & thither (one of my favorite blogs) this morning giving tips on flying with a baby. Take a look! And if you don't already follow the adventures of Ashley and Aron of hither & thither you should... They love to travel, their travelogues are inspirational, and just had a little cutie pie named Hudson.

xo