Thanksgiving Break

I hope you've all had a tranquil Thanksgiving weekend! T and I are still celebrating the holiday and spending lots of quality time with family and friends whom we don't get to see as much as we'd like. There's been a surplus of extraordinarily good food and conversation (with ever-flowing wine, of course) over the past week, and thankfully, the fun will continue for us for the next few days. Huzzah! I'll check back in later this week, when reality settles in. But right now, the fireplace and my current book of choice are beckoning....

Tulip Surprise

The other morning I woke up to find a bright bouquet of lipstick-red tulips lying on the breakfast table, courtesy of the boyfriend. They and Harry Potter made my week, no contest.

HP 7

Are you as breathless with anticipation for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part I as I am? I've been watching the press storm that has taken place over the last week and eagerly awaiting the movie's release on Friday (I. Cannot. WAIT). Watching the tv and red carpet interviews makes me realize A. how grown up everyone has become and B. how smitten I am with Emma Watson and her enchanting new Mia Farrow-esque pixie 'do. It really makes me want to chop my own hair off. I can just imagine how liberating it would feel (though knowing me, I'd probably regret doing so almost immediately afterward). I've developed somewhat of a girl crush on Emma in the last year or so, and this brave new cut makes me love her even more. I can't help it. The girl is adorableness personified.

{Images via here and here}

A New Jane Eyre

They've done it again. Yet another film version of the gothic classic (and one of my personal favorites) Jane Eyre is in the works. We're told that Director Cary Fukunaga's adaptation will focus more on the gothic elements to the story; just exactly how he plans to achieve that (and how his version will differ from the many adaptations before him) remains to be seen when the film is released in March 2011. I am a major fan of the 2006 BBC/Masterpiece Theatre version with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens (talk about hotness--the chemistry between them is palpable) and in my eyes, no other can knock it off its pedestal. Still, I can't deny that this new movie poster with the lovely Mia Wasikowska has definitely peaked my interest. I find it at once haunting and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Countless film and television adaptations of this classic 19th century novel, as well as a multitude of literary re-tellings, prequels, and spinoffs (one of the most famous of which is my beloved Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, which in turn was made into a film by Alfred Hitchock--I heart both) have been made, and there has even been a graphic novel. Clearly, the story has resonated with generations of people, all itching to re-imagine this gothic tale of love and passion, of identity and survival, in their own unique way. I say, bring it on, Focus Features.

{Image via here}

Tiger Lilies

These tiger lilies have totally made my week. Gazing at their bright, happy little faces every day is a balm for the soul. Love the little bursts of autumn orange.

Bookish tees

T-shirts emblazoned with my favorite books? I'll take one of each, please. As far as kick ass literary heroines go, you could do no better than Elizabeth Bennet and Nancy Drew.

Out of Print, the Brooklyn-based company behind these clever t-shirts, has the following mission statement: "Each shirt is treated to feel soft and worn like a well-read book." Don't you just love that? What's more, Out of Print donates one book for every t-shirt sold. I'm putting in my order right now! For more great bookish tees, go here.

P.S. Did you vote today?

{Images via here and here}