My name is Rachel, and I love to read.

I've been in a bad mood all week (I realize that it's only Tuesday) about my classes, so I am going to take a moment here to dwell on something more pleasant.

I have always loved this quote from You've Got Mail:

"And it wasn't that she was just selling books, it was that she was helping people become whoever it was they were gonna turn out to be. Because when you read a book as a child it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does…"

I really believe that. I remember my dad reading the Chronicles of Narnia to my sister and I when we were children. We would beg him to read the next chapter (and being the little daddy's girls that we are, we were usually successful) so that we could find out what happened next. Why is it that chapters always seem to end at a moment when you absolutely must know what comes next?

I think that reading those books as a child did play some role in helping me become who I am today. When I was watching Prince Caspian in the movie theater this summer, I felt that I connected with the characters and the story on a deep level--it made me want to evaluate who I am now and who I am going to become. It reminded me of when I snuggled up next to my daddy all those years ago. What did I think about then? Was it just the story? Did my parents intentionally read us that particular series in order to help us learn what it means to have honor? Were they trying to teach us that our actions have consequences? Were they trying to teach us that good can triumph over evil? Did I understand that when I was seven years old? Or did I just recognize a beautiful fantasy story? Regardless of whether I understood it then, those lessons have had a lasting impression in my life. People can call me conservative or old-fashioned or whatever they like, but I refuse to accept a relative point of view. I enjoy archetypes, and I believe that good can triumph over evil, but the good must exist in order for that to happen.

Someone somewhere along the line said that each individual should read the Chronicles of Narnia three times in their life: as a child, as a young adult, and as an old man. I think that's probably true. I need to finish re-reading them so that I can check "as a young adult" off of the list. I'll leave you with another favorite quote of mine by Elizabeth Drew: "The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it."

Identify

Kimbra and I are so in love with this song (we listened to it on repeat for the entire 3 hour trip up to Santa Barbara one November). She just showed this video to me, and I think that it is amazing! I need to move Stigmata to the top of my Netflix queue.

A little glitter never hurt anyone...

With this change of the season, I have really been feeling the urge to create. I'm quite faithful to visiting the Martha Stewart web site on a daily basis, where I found the fabulous glittered pumpkins mentioned in my last post. Well, Friday after I got off work, I headed over to Michael's to pick up the supplies that I needed (which was everything, as I am not much of a crafter). Michael's is a dangerous store for me--I spent over an hour in there walking around picking things up. Fortunately, I was able to exert some self-control and left spending only about thirty dollars.

For a study break tonight (I have midterms this week) I decided to make the glittered pumpkins. I cannot believe how easy they were to make. They are absolutely stunning! I noticed that a girl posted on the article that she was going to use these for her wedding centerpeices. I am filing that away in the back of my mind (I've always wanted to have an Autumn wedding) because these are so beautiful and elegant! I can't get over it--I'm so excited about how easy they were to make! I bought three little pumpkins at Trader Joe's today, and I only bought two different colors of glitter, so I'm going to have to stop in at Michael's again and get a third color--I think that I'm going to go with brown. I'll take a picture and post it on here as soon as I get the third pumpkin done.

If you're in love with Fall as much as I am, you should definitely try making these. Now, my project for next weekend is to make Pumpkin Cornmeal Muffins for my neighbors. : )

Changing Seasons

I have always been very in tune to the change in the seasons. That is one reason that I love Michigan so much--I love the very dramatic seasonal changes that take place there. Those who know me know that Autumn is my favorite time of year, and I look forward to September 22 each and every year. I watch You've Got Mail as I take down my summer lanterns, string lights, and potted flowers to replace them with leaf garlands and pumpkins. I'm going to try to make these glittered pumpkins from Martha Stewart this weekend (while I'm not studying for my midterms).

There is something about Autumn that is so inspiring to me. It makes me want to fall in love. I love the crispness in the air, the colors in the environment, the smell of burning wood, pumpkins, warm spicy drinks...and of course, the fashion. I love scarves and light jackets and sweaters and new makeup and haircuts. Maybe it's the formality that is introduced back into our lives. Summer has never been my favorite--carefree and laid back has never really been my style. I love the structure of new class schedules, and I really love football season. I love apples, pears, grapes, broccoli and sweet potatoes (which are all in season now!). I just love everything about this season...