to kill a mockingbird luncheon.

hello!

today was an amazing day! why is that, you ask? (in fact, even if you don't ask.) today i went to a to kill a mockingbird essay luncheon at the university of alabama. the winners from each school went, and although i did not win statewide, what a great experience! during the luncheon i got to sit with rick bragg, who was our speaker. he won a pulitzer prize in 1996.

i sat with a PULITZER PRIZE WINNER. (also got a picture with him & an autograph. :D)

i also sat with the founding dean of UA's honors college and his wife, the professor of photography, and another essay writer and her mother. oh, and my mom was there, too. :P it was absolutely amazing! we talked about creativity and writing (duh). the dean's wife was a very artsy person (she teaches art somewhere in tuscaloosa, i believe) and we spoke about band and choir.

what i took away mostly from this, though, was how stimulating it was, writing wise. i haven't written much in a few years, though in junior high i wrote nearly every day. i must say, i miss it. hearing rick bragg talk about writing, the poignancy of his words, the want vs need of writing to an author/poet/playwright... it was beautifully inspiring. and when he spoke about to kill a mockingbird, and the tiny woman who wrote it, it was just... awesome.

right after the luncheon i made mom take me to barnes and noble so i could buy one of his books. i'll let you know how it is when i finish a separate peace.

this post is not just about me bumbling about that amazing experience... it's also about the outfit i wore! what else do you people come here for, anyway? :P

this is the complete outfit, outerwear & all. cream leather jacket is... i'm not sure about the label, but it bought it at belk's. floral skirt is from charlotte russe -- i bought it around a year ago and it's been one of the best purchases. black tights are generic. purple shoes are from... goody's, i believe. bought them ages ago. zippered black bag is converse's one star line at target.

this is what it looks like without the jacket and bag. cardigan is alloy (and ridiculously comfy). green and lace camisole underneath is american eagle, circa 2005-ish. yeah, it's old.



shameless picture whore, i am.
it's blurry, but i really really like this pic. even if i kinda look like a stoner in it.



bracelets close up! i'm sure you've seen these before, but i forget easily. silver bangle was a gift, as well as black geometric bracelet and faux-pearl costume bracelet. rhinestone & burnished silver bracelet is from new york & company.



zipper bag close up! i actually bought this an hour before the luncheon. i'm in complete love with it! it's so badass. and i'm obsessed with zippers + leather (lookalikes). it's perfect!



later in the evening, i decided to go see my dad. this is how i casualized & warmed up my look. it was rather chilly! loose knit beanie is from forever 21, purple sneakers are converse's one star. i bought these today as well! :)



close up of the hat. i bought this on a band trip last year. also another very nice purchase.

so, darlings, tell me! have you ever had an experience such as this? have you ever read anything by rick bragg? or to kill a mockingbird? (i pray you've read the latter.)
... or you can tell me anything else. :D

with love!
rachel. <3

music!monday -- garbage & hole.

hello there!

so, if you're on twitter, you probably know of the #musicmonday tag. i thought, heyyy, why not bring that to my blog?

so i'm giving you videos of a few of my current favorite songs, and perhaps some rambling with it.

you'll notice a trend: lately, i've been feeling very girl-grunge. namely, this means i've been listening to 90's era garbage & hole like it's water. shirley manson in the 90's was amazing, and she's probably one of my idols. i wish she'd get back to singing in the present, though! i'm a pretty new hole listener, but that doesn't mean i'm not perfectly obsessed. courtney love may be a little fucked up, but that doesn't mean the music isn't good.

on to the videos! i'm going to give you two for each awesome girl!grunge band. :D



this video is batshit insane. i think that's why i love it.

queer. garbage
i can't embed this video, but OHMYGOD GO WATCH IT. this is one of my favorite songs of all time.



the lyrics to this are amazing.
this video is insane, but i freaking love this song.



i think we've all felt like this at some point.
some more than others.

so! tell me, what have you been listening to recently? if you happen to like these bands, what are your favorites by them?

with love!
rachel. <3

star trekkinnnn.

hello!

nerd!post today. i've recently become incredibly enamored with star trek -- the 2009 movie & the original series. the movie came first, and then i naturally got far too curious and began watching the cheese-fest that is star trek: tos.

if you haven't checked them out, i highly suggest you do so. the movie has a wonderful plot and some very aesthetically pleasing actors. ;D (coughcoughZACHARYQUINTO.CHRISPINE.coughcough.) TOS is so damn cheesy, i crack up all the time when i watch it. i actually really enjoy the characters & their characterization, too, probably moreso than the actual plot in the tv series. xD

but anyways.

today, i give you star trekkin' 2009. :D



i am deeply sorry if this gets stuck in your head for the next three days.

with love!
rachel. <3

bo(red) & red for haiti.

hello!

you'll have to excuse my belatedness -- this week has been rather hectic for me. in fact, the next month or so is going to be insane, so you'll probably have to excuse this vice quite a few more times.

however! today i'm posting monday's and tueday's outfits.

MONDAY: bo(red).



i was going prom dress shopping. how bipolar is that in relation to this outfit? haha.
i saw a picture in teen vogue, feb. 2010 of sasha pivovarova in an off-the-shoulder tee and decided i'd try something akin to it. it's nothing like her outfit's boho-vibe, but i like my take on the loose fit.
the shirt says "bo(red)" & is from the (red) line at gap -- i bought this shirt when the line first started a few years ago, though. under, there is a red tank.
jeans are super skinny levi's (i wear these constantly, so i'll give you the number sooner or later). boots are doc marten wannabes.



face shot! haha. i wore red lips & very little eye makeup.
cameo necklace was either thrifted or picked up from a yard sale. pearl & chain necklace was my grandmother's.
jewelry not pictured in the close up, but in the full shot: silver bangle was a gift, faux-pearl costume bracelet was a gift as well.



doc marten wannabes close up! these are actually from wal mart. i don't approve of the corporate beast, but mom got me these as cheap snow boots. i love them, especially for the cost!


TUESDAY: RED FOR HAITI

i had no idea of wear red for haiti day until late monday night. i found it quite ironic i wore red the day before. still got some red in, however...



it was 60 degrees out! so of course i broke out the short sleeves. xD shirt is a depeche mode concert tee, skirt is old navy -- though i picked it up from a local consignment shop for $6! tights... i have no idea. xD shoes are rocketdog.



shirt close up! so, depeche mode is my ALL TIME FAVORITE band. i wear this shirt at least once a month. it's american apparel and it's the softest thing ever -- i'm going to have to buy a zillion of their tees. earrings are betsey johnson. pearl & chain necklace was my grandmother's. (hey, haven't i seen that somewhere before...? :P)
bracelets on my arm (not all are very visible): thick silver bangle was a gift my dad got for me in romania; black square beaded bracelet was a gift, rhinestone-studded bracelet is new york & company, three mini-beaded bracelets... i cannot remember.



my rocketdog wedges. these things are AMAZING. i bought them back in 8th grade on my first all-state choir trip. i love the print, the peep toe, the cute rosette, how fucking comfortable these things are! i haven't worn them in a while though, but this is sure to change. :D



wore another red lip with this outfit. what can i say, i love my lips! ;D

what did YOU wear for wear red for haiti day?
also, if anyone knows, why are my mirror!posts smaller than the others? i select them all to be large. maybe i'm just computer illiterate. haha.

with love!
rachel. <3>

cooking adventure #1 -- falafel!

hello!

today's post will not have any pictures; sorry you visual-oriented people. :P instead, we're talking FOOD. mmmmm.

this evening, i decided that i would attempt to make some falafel. falafel is such a fun word! i sing a little song every time i say it: fa-la-la, fa-la-fel, fa-la-la, fa-la-felllll. i suppose it's hard to convey a song without sound, but i'm assuming you get the picture. xD

what's falafel, you say? it's pretty much a chickpea (garbonzo bean) mixture formed into a patty and fried. it's middle eastern cuisine. now, i read quite a few food blogs, and i see falafel EVERYWHERE on these things! so i've been wanting to try it for ages.

this christmas i received vegan with a vengeance, which i have heard all sorts of wonderful things about. and it has a falafel recipe in it! so i crack it open and start making it. i follow the recipe, halving everything for i hate to waste. then i put the mixture in the fridge to chill. after forming the patties and heating the oil to fry these babies in, i realize...

I FORGOT THE FLOUR!

"oh, well," i tell myself, "what's a tablespoon of flour going to do?"

it turns out, the flour helps bind the mixture together so it doesn't fall into tiny pieces in the oil.

"well, shit," i tell myself, "how am i supposed to fix this?"

i have about half the patties left, and i'm so near just throwing them away when my mom walks in and i plead for help. she suggests i roll the patties in flour, roll them back into balls, and flatten them out. maybe this will fix my pathetic patties!

well, it doesn't exactly work like a charm, but the remaining three i had stay together better than the others -- they finish in a patty-like form!

then it was the moment of truth: am i even going to like these things?

i fill a halved pita pocket with tomatoes, carrots, and avocado. i place approximately one and a half falafel patties on top. (normally you'd drizzle tahini on top of the jewels, but i didn't have any.) i bite in --

OH MAN. falafel is delicious! even if it crumbles every time i take a bite.

do i consider this adventure a bit of a catastrophe? yes. there were other minor problems as well; my food processor was too small, my pita pocket ripped as i was filling it with goodies, wahwahwah.

am i going to attempt to make this again, correctly? definitely! it was delish. when i make it right, i'll let you know how they turn out, and give you the recipe if they form correctly.

so! tell me; have you ever tried falafel? have you ever tried making falafel?

fa-la-la, fa-la-fellll!
with love!
rachel.

intro post & the blue lumberjack.

hi there! so, i'm pretty new to this blogging stuff, so i decided i'd do a dorky "intro post". :D

this blog is going to be my place to... talk about stuff i like. more than likely, this will be fashion. though, i am not a one-dimensional person! so perhaps there will be a review of a book/movie i read/watch, or an amazing recipe i discover, or whatever else tickles my fancy. :) i've been meaning to start a blog for ages, but i've been putting it off. bad rachel, i know.

on the name of my blog: a tragic utopia. i consider myself a optimistic pessimist, so perhaps the blog name makes sense in some strange way. xD

and, to make this post a little less boring, here's one of my outfits.

at the moment i'm calling it The Blue Lumberjack.
the shirt is a men's flannel i picked up for $10 somewhere. that was a great buy. :D
jeans -- levi's, boots -- from alloy. they come slightly over the knee, if you can't tell. belt -- bought from one of those trendy stores ages ago. cross pendant -- christmas present.

cross pendant close up.

close up of earrings (which you did not see previously!) and cross. the earrings were also a christmas gift.

with love!
rachel.