What I’m Into {Late February}

February 27, 2013 — 16 Comments

Reading

I’m spending a few months reading and re-reading some great 20th century classics for a project coming up. First on the list is Brideshead Revisited. I’ve also read some YA for fun lately, too: books like Cinder by Marissa Meyer, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (not my favorite), and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (her debut novel. I’m a big fan of her Delirium series.) I’m also continuing to read for Jessica’s Classics Catch Up Challenge, and her next installment is all about Shakespeare. Othello and Hamlet are on deck. In anticipation, I pulled out my Riverside Shakespeare edition the other night. It brought back so many memories of hoofing across campus while lugging 80 pounds of books and still trying to look cute. College.

On the Internet

I’m completely addicted to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a web series available to watch on YouTube (which, I’m just discovering is an actual thing. Not YouTube. I knew about YouTube. I did not know I could watch a quality and original YouTube-based series.) The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that’s almost more true to the novel than, dare I say it, BBC’s 1995 adaptation with Colin Firth swimming in the pond. The actors are incredibly talented, and the writing is sharp, fun, witty, and moving. Check out the first few episodes here:

 

Television

Tyler and I don’t have cable, but we like to watch a few shows via the internet during the week. We always watch Downton Abbey (We need a new obsession for the spring and summer. Thoughts?) and then choose between Nashville, The BBC’s Sherlock, Jon Stewart, or Jimmy Fallon clips on the other nights. We like Jimmy Fallon because he’s such a 90s junkie like us, and we also love when his band The Roots performs a cover with classroom instruments or, in this case, office supplies:

Also, this is so much fun:

Music

For this section, I want to say less about what I’m listening to, and more about how I’m listening to music: Spotify and Songza are my new favorite music apps. I listen to Spotify on my computer pretty much non-stop throughout the day. We play selections from our composer of the month during the morning (This month is Franz Schubert). We listen to something fun like The Lorax Soundtrack or Disney’s Greatest hits while I’m cooking lunch, and at night while I’m cleaning the kitchen, I will listen to The Civil Wars, Feist, Adele, or something new.

However, some nights, I need something to set the mood for dish washing, but I don’t know what to pick. On those nights, I turn to Songza, which is a lot like Pandora or Spotify; however, Songza customizes playlists for you based on activities and moods. Instead of picking music based on Adele or Bluegrass or the 90s, I pick music based on what I’m doing, like Cooking Dinner, Cleaning the House, Working Out, or Unwinding. I can also pick music based on how I’m feeling: Aggressive, Brooding, Classy, Gloomy, etc. Once I choose an activity or mood, Songza offers playlists geared towards those things. It’s my new favorite thing.

Movies

My family loves movies. My kids have been watching the first two Chronicles of Narnia movies along with The Muppets, which was a birthday present back in January for my five year old. We also have a Groupon to go see a movie at our local Drive-In Theatre that we want to use soon. For the adults, this past month we watched Pitch Perfect (A capella music. Dorm Rooms. Studying on lawns. It’s basically my college experience plus iPhones and MacBooks and more vomiting. Otherwise, exactly like my college experience.) We also watched The Bourne Legacy, which was cool if you didn’t think too much about what was actually happening.

Pens and Paper

I made a new blog editorial calendar to help organize my need to physically write something down as well as keep up with my blog to-do lists. I found inspiration here. I’ve also been utilizing my Moleskine notebooks. My husband bought 3 new notebooks for me at Christmas, and I love them. I’m using the large Cahier size along with Uniball Jetstream pens, which are bold, don’t smear, and click (all musts haves in pens).

So, what are you into this month? Check out what other bloggers are into over at Hopeful Leigh: Reveling in the Now.

 

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Kelly Wiggains

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Kelly Wiggains, a high school English teacher turned homeschooling mom, likes to surround herself with good literature, beautiful things, and big ideas, and she wants her home to reflect those things, too. Here at KellyWiggains.com she talks about everything From Literature to Living.
  • http://twitter.com/LaurenTHCW TheHouseworkCanWait

    Doctor Who. That is your next television obsession. You’re welcome.

    • http://kellywiggains.com/ Kelly Wiggains

      haha. Yes. This is why I have friends. They help me get addicted to things. Or…um.

  • carameredith.com

    Kelly, we share such a love of literature! I can’t WAIT to check out the Lizzie Bennet/P &P series….ugh. I’m a huge fan.

    • http://kellywiggains.com/ Kelly Wiggains

      Personally, I LOVE it. It’s very modernized, but I think the essence of the characters are spot on. (My personal favorite is “Kitty Bennet” is actually the pet cat because she follows Lydia around and mimics everything she does. Hilarious!)

  • tacy

    I’m definitely going to check out Songza!

    • http://kellywiggains.com/ Kelly Wiggains

      I love it! My only “beef” with the app is that Songza doesn’t seem to “know” I have small children. So, sometimes I will pick “Fun Music from the 90s” or something, and it will put on “I Wanna Sex You Up” or something equally inappropriate. So, when my kids are around, I’m either quick draw on the skip ahead feature, or I choose, “Songs You Should Raise Your Kids To,” which is one of my favorite play lists.

  • http://twitter.com/AdeleChapman2 Adele Chapman

    I’m kind of skeptical about The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but they do seem creative and cleverly done.
    People seem to be raving about John Green all over the joint lately – I might have to see what all the fuss is about! :)

    • http://kellywiggains.com/ Kelly Wiggains

      LBD is probably not for everyone – especially Jane Austen purists. John Green is a great writer. He really “gets” the nuance of the nerdy teenager by making the stereotype become flawed, multi-dimensional, etc. He does address some mature themes that I don’t think all parents would approve. I haven’t read his latest “The Fault in our Stars” because it deals with cancer, and it’s just a little too close to home for me right now. There you go. My two cents! Thanks for stopping by.

  • http://mashenahope.blogspot.com/ Nicole

    I keep hearing about the Lizzie Bennet Diaries – I haven’t yet watched them though. I’ll add that to my “avoid paper writing” list of options!

    • http://kellywiggains.com/ Kelly Wiggains

      That is the PERFECT list for LBD! You can be “responsible” and just watch one as a study break, or you can completely fall into the rabbit hole and not come out for hours.

  • Tiffany

    1) Please share your “Songs you Should Raise You Kids To” playlist.
    2) There are so many other things I want to comment on here, but I can only think about taking Shakespeare class with you and Travis Smith, all the memories that brings up. That’s all I’m saying in a public forum, but I did need those laughs this morning.

    • http://kellywiggains.com/ Kelly Wiggains

      1. Actually, it’s not “my” playlist. It’s someone else’s playlist that I follow, but it’s a really good list. Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, etc.
      2. My FAVORITE part of that class was the “Great Divide.” Theatre majors on one side, English majors on the other. Tiffany right in the middle. haha. That and I made a Tawn-Tawn Star Wars reference in class that made Travis take off his glasses, which is always a sure sign of greatness.

      • Tiffany

        1) Um, you just described the contents of my iPod. If I were stranded on a desert island with only one CD for the rest of my life, it would be Paul Simon’s “Love Songs and Negotiations.” I even adapted that title to name Part II of my dissertation. Also, I went to a Bob Dylan/John Cougar Mellancamp/WIllie Nelson concert in the summer of 2009. Mind. Blowing. My grandma went to high school with Bob Dylan, too, which I think is pretty awesome.

        2) Yes. Just…yes.

        • Travis

          We really should have had the Guiness people monitoring that class for the most eye-rolls in one semester- one half of the class was always rolling its eyes at the other half’s comments. Discretion also prevents me from saying more. But I want to.

          Thanks for the shout out and brightening the day. I’ve always thought that being remembered for laughing is a pretty wonderful thing. I know Ecclesiastes 7 and some Proverbs might disagree with me, probably Shakespeare too. But to me, laughter is a sign of joy. I still do the glasses thing, too- without even recognizing it.

  • http://www.leighkramer.com/ HopefulLeigh

    Before I Fall’s ending made me so mad! But I have really liked the Delirium series. I heard Before I Fall is being made into a movie. Loved Pitch Perfect! I finally saw it last month and quickly concluded it was ownable. Thanks for linking up with What I’m Into!

    • http://kellywiggains.com/ Kelly Wiggains

      I haven’t heard about Before I Fall being made into a movie. I’ve heard lots of talk about Delirium being a movie. Lauren Oliver has been tweeting the first chapter of Requiem this week. So cool. Thanks for the link up. This is a fun post to write!