Saturday was the Baltimore Running Festival! For the 2011 festival, I wrote, "Come hell or high water,
I'll be running the 2012 Baltimore marathon! Fingers crossed my body
cooperates and the injury doesn't flare up too badly again (it's still
not even completely healed), and that something else doesn't start
hurting." Well, unfortunately, back in May my knees started acting up. Back to physical therapy and doing exercises to help my knees. While I can still run through the pain, something I couldn't do with my previous injury, I figured it wasn't the best time to start marathon training. Additionally, I wasn't able to devote the time to developing a training plan due to a major career issue, which also occurred in May and is just now being resolved*. So I had to scrap my hopes of running the 2012 Baltimore Marathon and settle for the half. I was disappointed, but maybe 2013 will finally be my year!
It is a nightmare getting there and back, but luckily we live close enough to walk both to and from the race. We got a gorgeous day for it – sunny and chilly.
I am, once again, in head to toe Lululemon. They really need to start giving me free stuff.
It was getting very close to start time, so I peeled off my jacket. When we still weren't moving after 10 minutes after the start time, I began whining and pouting. I get extremely anxious before races (once I get going I'm fine.) I REALLY needed the race to start so I didn't get too panicky and end up chickening out.
My husband commanded me to stop pouting and start smiling because we would be starting any minute. I obliged.
And we did start, hooray! As we walked towards the start I saw some great signs.
Unfortunately I don't have any pics of the actual course (I run way too slow to take pictures along the way) or the finish – my husband had gone home while I was running and didn't make it back to the finish line in time to see me cross it and take a picture. Take my word for it, it was a nice, fairly easy course with literally thousands of people coming out to cheer you on along the way. What I really liked was being able to run with the marathoners. The half-marathon and full marathon course meet at mile 3 (or mile 16 of the full) so you get to run with them. In addition to their race bib with the number, some were wearing another sign that said "full" on the back of their shirts. The whole time I was running I kept looking at them and really hoping I would be one of the people wearing the "full" sign on my back next year.
Here's the medal, as modeled by Museum Advisory Committee member (and resident tough guy) Jeero:
I love that silly cartoon crab!! All in all, a great race and I would definitely run it again.
*You may have noticed that I was having trouble keeping up with my posts and remarking how crazy things were. Now is the time to come clean – in late April my boss informed me that I, along with several other co-workers, was getting laid off. My last day was supposed to be in mid-June, but fortunately we received enough funding to keep me on until mid-July. Between trying to tie up loose ends at work and scrambling to find a new job, I simply had no time to devote to marathon training. In late August I started working again – it was a temp position, but after a few weeks I was liked enough to be offered a permanent job. :)
This week's links.
– I don't know how I missed the original call for submissions, but Lipglossipping had an awesome contest where you could submit your interpretation of Paris using beauty products. There were some truly amazing ideas.
– So many of these food theme days! Monday we had National Homemade Cookie Day, and Thursday was both National Taco Day and National Vodka Day. And as I mentioned last year, this whole month is National Pizza Month.
– How pretty is the packaging for this new vegan hair care line? Pretty bird, pretty bird.
– ABBA is getting their very own museum. High time, methinks.
– Here's something I didn't think of collecting: vintage beauty books. This one from the '70s sounds particularly juicy.
– So bummed!! The founder of my favorite clothing store in the whole wide world (seriously, I've been in their stores in no fewer than 4 countries and have posted about it here, here, and here) made a racist, xenophobic comment. :( How incredibly disappointing for huge fans such as myself.
– On the lighter side, here's a handy guide to everything you need to know about the new season of Arrested Development. You can also win a chance to be one of six lucky walk-ons!
– Halloween's coming and there are so many scary movies I want to see. VHS, Sinister, Paranormal Activity 4 are at the top of my list, plus ones that have been out for a while (Human Centipede 2, Cabin in the Woods, The Apparition and The Possession).
– It's finally feeling like fall here, so Museum Advisory Committee member Sailor Babo wishes everyone a happy decorative gourd season.
This week's links.
On the beauty front:
– I love the Lunachicks so I was happy to see this interview with Theo Kogan, who, interestingly, has her own cosmetics line.
– Yeah, "bagelheads" is a thing. I can't say I've ever been freaked out by any sort of body modification – piercings and earlobe stretching don't faze me in the least – but this I found to be horrifying. Fortunately the effect disappears in 24 hours.
– I loved Katy Perry's manicure that payed homage to Daria, but isn't she too young to even know who Daria is? This 90s woman thinks so.
– Jenn at Literature Couture rounds up the latest and greatest fall offerings from Sephora.
– Autumn at The Beheld wrote a truly wonderful analysis of MAC's Office Hours ads (and mentioned me in the process!) *blush*
– Speaking of great analyses, I would dearly love to see Autumn's take on this Benefit video ad in which Sarah Colonna
(if you're a Chelsea Lately fan you'll know who that is) plays beauty
cop. I'm still on the fence as to whether it's actually funny. I admit I laughed, but that's mostly because I'm familiar with Chelsea Handler and her ilk's brand of bitchy humor. But it is offensive…I just hope the women who were receiving fines for beauty violations were actresses.
Art and miscellany:
– It was one of the Curator's favorite artist's birthday earlier this week.
– Oh, to be in Paris again. I want to see this exhibition on Impressionism and fashion at the Musée d'Orsay.
– GQ writes up a fantastic history of one of the best TV shows ever made in honor of the 30th anniversary of its premiere (via The Awl).
– No peace and quiet for the Curator this weekend (or anyone living in the vicinity of the Baltimore Book Festival, grrr) but I was able to escape the noise for a few hours by going to a different festival – the Maryland Renaissance Festival, an annual fall outing for the husband and I.
Jousting arena – unfortunately we had to leave before the joust started.
We're instilling the tradition into my neice and nephew, who accompanied us last year and this year – they love it!
How was your week?
This week's links, plus a few pics of my new boots!
– Here's another exhibition on punk, this time focusing on graphic design and drawings.
– Next time I visit my parents I think I'll have to make a trip to this pizza museum.
– The Onion has a hilarious short piece on people feeling guilty for looking at paintings too fast.
– Speaking of The Onion, I wish this was fake news but sadly, it's real: The Ontario College of Art & Design forced its students to fork over $180 for an art history text book that doesn't contain any images. WTF??
– Interesting story on the growing number of South Korean men who wear makeup.
– The NARS/Andy Warhol collection was up in its entirety on Gilt earlier this week and included some exclusive collectibles. Too bad Gilt wouldn't donate the set to the Museum. I'm a collector, you think they'd want me to preserve it for posterity, right?
– Baltimore is the nation's third dirtiest city. Seems about right, judging from the amount of trash that regularly gets left on our front steps. But at least Hampden made it to the top 20 hippest neighborhoods in the U.S.
– I love these silly theme days. The 18th was National Cheeseburger Day, while the 19th, as everyone knows, was National Talk Like a Pirate Day.
– Finally, here are some lovely new boots my very sweet husband treated me to.
And here they are modeled by the Museum's Rights and Reproductions Manager, Seasick Sailor Babo.
"I'm king of the world!"
After this picture was taken he started wobbling and then threw up, but fortunately he missed the boots. 😛
What were you into this week?
It's starting to get cooler, so I got my first (and second, and third) Starbucks Pumpkin Spice lattes of the season this week! Yummy. Here are some links.
– I hate pigeons – they are nothing more than rats with wings to me – so I appreciated this attempt to make them seem less filthy.
– Sooooo excited for this upcoming show on punk fashion at the Met. Must make a trip to see it.
– I really hated Kenley from Season 5 of Project Runway, but if anyone is going to team up with vintage-themed makeup line Besame, it should be her.
– My Lips But Better talks about the latest crackdown on cosmetics product claims.
– I've seen all kinds of bizarre fake eyelashes in my day, but these LED lashes take the cake.
– The beauty blogs are wrapping up the spring makeup trends spotted at New York Fashion Week. The big ones seem to be polar opposites: Several blogs report that bright color was THE trend, but some say "natural beauty" is the look to have. Guess we'll see come 2013.
– Better Living Through Design links to a very sweet story about a mom finding her son's lost stuffed animal 3 years later on E-bay.
– Finally, something really strange – I was just thinking about this '90s show and wondering if anyone else remembered it or I had just imagined the whole thing. After all, making up a show about sock puppets seems pretty plausible for someone like me. So I was glad to see someone else remembers Sifl and Olly and that it wasn't a dream I had.
(image from en.wikipedia.org)
You should probably watch some if you're not familiar. 😉
I'm off to finally explore the new J.Crew and Anthropologie at Harbor East. And maybe grab yet another Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte. :) Have a good weekend!
This week's links.
– Beautiful with Brains shares a bit of beauty history, covering a late 19th-century object known as a "toilet mask".
– How cute is this Arrested Development quote print?
– As sad as I am to see summer go, I must say I am excited for this delectable-looking Philosophy set mentioned by the Beauty Alchemist. Toasty Cabin features shower gels in Whipped Vanilla Topping, Spiced Pumpkin Latte, and Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa. WANT! And buying this set will not prevent me from buying the full-size bottle of Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa, as you're familiar with my Philosophy shower gel obsession.
– Speaking of pumpkin lattes, they're back at Starbucks. It's still pretty warm here but any day now I will be enjoying my first one of the season.
– On the cookie front, Lanvin collaborated with Ladurée to create adorable packaging just in time for Paris fashion week.
– Remember how I was talking about how much I love school and prints/fabrics traditionally associated with it? I think I would give my right arm to see the Ivy Style exhibition at Fashion Institute of Technology, which examines the "Ivy League Look" and "presents three main periods of the look: the interwar years of the 1920s
and 1930s; the post-war era to the end of the 1960s; and the revival
from the 1980s to the present. Focusing almost exclusively on menswear
dating from the early 20th century through today, more than sixty
ensembles, both historic and contemporary, are intermingled in an
environment evocative of an Ivy League university campus." Tweed and varsity jackets and Oxford shirts…I am swooning.
– In other museum news, the American Association of Museums is now the American Alliance of Museums. Yay for new names and logos!
– Education Specialist Cookie Dream Babo, Museum Advisory Committee member Babo's bird and Communications Director Yoyamart Babo (a.k.a. the winged museum staff) were very pleased to see Paul & Joe's fall blushes, which feature birds. They are kindred spirits. (A post on Paul & Joe fall will be coming soon).
What was catching your eye this week?
Happy September! Well, admittedly it's not so happy for me. I like some aspects of fall but I hate the lack of daylight and the fact that fall always leads to winter. I was also so sad to take down the Museum's summer exhibition both at home and as a featured post at the blog – it was one of the better exhibitions, I think, and it also means summer is now over. Anyway…I gathered lots of links from these past two weeks.
– In the beauty/art crossover front, Art Info gives us a slideshow of famous works of art in manicure form, while Stylist magazine recreates several paintings using makeup (thanks to Literature Couture for the latter!)
– Additionally, the beauty blogosphere exploded this week when NARS released the official information and images for the Warhol collection. Needless to say, I got palpitations when I saw everything. See, this is why a Makeup Museum is needed!
More on the beauty and fashion front:
– The Beheld's Autumn Whitefield-Madrano appeared on the Today Show (!) to talk about mirror fasting, a subject on which she is the preeminent expert. Go, Autumn, go!
– Wendy at Glossed Over did her annual Vogue live blog, which is always a great read.
– The Hairpin presents irrational (and hilarious) beauty fears that inevitably crop up after years of reading ladies' magazines. My favorite: "If I don’t replace my mascara every six months, I will develop huge,
painful styes on both eyes. And then I’ll probably go blind." Honestly, I'm currently using a tube I've had for 2 years (I rarely wear mascara) and my peepers are just fine. I can't stand makeup companies' totally arbitrary expiration dates – they just want you to buy more! Unless the product smells funny or the consistency has changed, you're good.
– Eat your heart out, Imelda Marcos: This woman has over 16,000 pairs of shoes.
– Jezebel has a must-read takedown of a ridiculous Yahoo! article on the biggest beauty turn-offs for men and just how contradictory their expectations are (although I don't think the d-bags they selected for the article are in any way representative of all men). An excerpt: "When men say that they 'love to see the woman underneath the
makeup,' they're not saying they want to see your leg stubble and greasy
bangs—they're saying they want you to be better at hiding your maintenance routine. Because the maintenance spoils the fantasy."
– Anthropologie will be launching a lipstick line, the packaging of which is predictably retro and girly.
– Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog reports that beloved Aussie brand Becca will be returning to Sephora! Yay! If you're not familiar with this brand, you must try the Soft Touch blushes, Lip and Cheek Cremes, compact concealer, and Beach Tints.
A healthy dose of pop culture:
– I'm loving Bitch Magazine's recaps of Project Runway.
– BitchFlicks presents a feminist look at the women of Arrested Development, while Splitsider gives an absolutely priceless modern dance analysis of the "chicken dances" on the show (one of me and my husband's favorite running jokes).
– A great album by my favorite band turns 10 and is appropriately celebrated by Stereogum.
– Well, all good things (or in this case, so-bad-it's-good) must come to an end: Jersey Shore's next season will be its last.
And a bunch o' randomness:
– It's totally not my fault that I'm addicted to the interwebz.
– Baltimore is one of the nation's smartest cities? I'm skeptical, but maybe it's all the Hopkins researchers.
– File this under "duh": Americans hate every workday equally, not just Mondays.
– Chocolate museums!! Must. Visit. Actually, I've been to one of the three mentioned. Hershey Park wasn't that far from where I grew up, so I went several times when I was little. Most kids were eager to hit up the amuseument park and go on the roller coasters, but I was more excited about the chocolate samples. 🙂
Finally, I hauled me some deliciousness for fall and got a ton of samples in the process.
What have you been enjoying these past two weeks? Are you excited for fall?
This week's links (a little late because I was out of town). By the way, did you like the first installment of the Museum's new Color Connections series?
– Refinery29 presents the most interesting jobs in the beauty industry.
– Eyebrow implants? No thanks.
– Here's a piece on oversharing on the internet at The Awl.
– Baltimore Fishbowl provided scenes from the Maryland Cat Show. I didn't even know such a thing existed.
– I greatly enjoyed this "people I'd like to punch in the face" card. Would definitely come in handy!
– I was pleased to see this slideshow devoted to palettes at Art Info, but I think they could have added information for each piece. All of these are either pieces I already own or will own soon.
– Finally, I was up in NYC for a wedding this weekend. It was lovely, but I don't think we had nearly as good a time as Sailor Babo, whom we took to first outpost of Ladurée in the States. A full post on his adventure will be forthcoming over at Postcards from Sailor Babo.
I have a crazy busy week coming up and since I was away I had no time to prepare posts in advance, so I will be taking this week off from blogging. But I will be back next week with some fall goodies so check back then. 🙂
This week's links.
– So excited for some new Arrested Development!
– Stereogum interviews one of my many idols.
– This is cool – it's the world's first exhibition on Alice in Wonderland.
– Have a gander at some of the most expensive shoes in the world.
– I'm not on Facebook, so clearly I am a sociopath.
On the beauty front (lots of nail news):
– In addition to the aforementioned world's priciest shoes, here are the most expensive beauty products.
– Check out photographer Leland Bobbé's half-drag portraits.
– The wildly popular beauty sample subscription service Birchbox surveyed 10,000 of its customers about beauty trends. Unsurprisingly, the survey found that beachy waves were the most coveted hair style, but I was taken aback by the fact that only 2 out of 5 are "puzzled" by BB creams. I admit I was when I first heard about them months ago, but they've been in the U.S. market for nearly a year now – I would think even non-beauty junkies would be familiar.
– Jezebel posts a very enlightening infographic showing the relationship between beauty and happiness. Apparently Americans spend billions a year on beauty products but overall, we're still not very happy. As the Dude would say, "That's f*ckin' interesting."
– Another story from Jezebel, this one exploring why nail art is still a woman's domain.
– The Fashion Spot gives us a brief history of the manicure.
– Olympic-themed nail art is old news. Lucky Magazine presents manicures in honor of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week.
(image from luckymag.com)
– Finally, I am gearing up to start a new series here at the Museum, which will be posted every few weeks (read: whenever I get around to it). I'm still struggling with a name…hopefully I can come up with something decent soon. 😉
Happy August! Actually, it's not so happy for me. While I'm sick of the heat and am starting to crave cooler temperatures, I can't help but notice it's getting dark earlier…meaning sad winter days are coming. Why can't it be May year-round? I love May since you have the whole summer ahead of you! Anyway, here are this week's links.
– Apartment Therapy shares five new museums opening this fall. How I wish mine were one of them!
– While not as great as the original Postcards from Sailor Babo, I was delighted to discover that there is a blog dedicated to Cookie Chef Babo. Squeeee!
– According to Forbes, Baltimore is a "cool" city, but residents (including me) have their doubts.
On the beauty front:
– Don't believe the hype – I'm sure this new fragrance cannot actually help you lose weight.
– I am, however, intrigued by this new Comme des Garcons perfume – notes of gunpowder and smoke sound perfect for fall.
– I don't see why hoarding makeup brushes would be a problem.
– Meet the $250,000 nail polish that contains crushed diamonds. Only one bottle will be produced. Even if I had money to burn I'm not sure I'd go for this. Or at least, I certainly wouldn't wear it.
– Finally, you know my affinity for anything miniature, so this manicure is right up my alley!
(image from mymodernmet.com)
What have you all been up to this week?