February: What I Did, What I Bought

 

 Something I did earlier int the year, around that infamous resolution time , was to set some goals for myself to do things I enjoy, but that aren't as dead easy  as lazing around on my bed with my dogs, surfing the internet as if all those interesting things I'm pinning/hearting are going to DIY themselves. So, because I like to make lists as much as I like to think up rules for myself, I thought it would be fun to document the things I actually did during the month along with what I bought. My goals were mostly based around cultural activities - I said I was going to read (at least most of) one book, watch one movie, and visit/attend one location/event each month. Not anything difficult, as the point was to make myself do things a little differently, not necessarily anything special or impressive.  This is what I managed in February:


What did I do?

Visited

Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds & the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, personal photos

At the end of January, I visited NYC for the first time with my sister. We stayed in New Jersey, because we spent our second evening there at the Final Fantasy: Distant World's concert held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. I originally went along to keep her company during the performance, but apparently forgot what a huge dork I was for the music from these video games, because I about lost my mind and/or cut off the circulation in my sister's arm with one fleeting glimpse of Nobuo Uematsu, then when he actually came out on stage and played for us. Yeah, I could not even.

Anyway.

Earlier on, we visited the Guggenheim, and I went on my own to see the Neue Galerie of German and Austrian art. It is very surreal to see works of art like the ones at these two museums, paintings you've seen and admired your whole life, right there in front of you, knowing they were touched and created by Picasso, Van Goh, Klimt - I'll probably never forget walking into the room where the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I is hanging, and feeling that I had no reason to move for so long I'm sure it looked strange- but if I did, then I'd have to leave it.

To be slightly less pretentious, both museums also have very nice gift stores.

Read

The Complete Stories, Franz Kafka - Of course I've known of Kafka for a long time now, but only started reading his work after watching this amazing animation of A Country Doctor . I love how he's able to make the reader feel empathy for very unlikeable characters, and create these desperate situations out of ordinary events. Very pleasant, right? I have to admit, usually the stranger and more surreal any form of media is, the more I like it. While I'm not totally finished with the collection yet, my favorites so far are: The Metamorphosis, The Hunter Gracchus, A Report to an Academy, and The Penal Colony. I'm thinking of reading the Metamorphosis again in a Spanish translation by Borges, because I just like the idea of that too much not to.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot - I finally finished this on the train ride back from New York. I think I started it sometime in the middle of last year right when I also started a new job, so my schedule combined with the subject made me put it down for a while. It's the story of how the first cells that were able to multiply and live outside the human body were taken from the woman Henrietta Lacks, and the juxtaposition of all the good that was able to come from that, but how Lack's surviving family continued to live in poverty without any knowledge her cells were being used, and no recognition for her when they were made aware of it. It's fascinating, but understandably upsetting, and many of the issues it brings up about the "ownership" of scientific research when a human body part is used  are still unfortunately (and disturbingly) as of yet unresolved.

Watched
I may have also made a goal of watching a movie in February, but I am terrible at doing anything that requires my attention for, like, a whole hour (?!) if I'm not getting paid for it, so...no movies. Especially because I only want to watch the kind where people stare meaningfully in the distance for thirty minutes in black and white, then say five words in subtitles before resuming their previous activities. Maybe next month.

What did I buy?

Joie Pentea B Dress, $198 w/tax  - This is pretty, flattering and well made, and I wear it all. the. time., but I won't pretend at nearly $200, it's a little overpriced! There's nothing special about it except the tag - it's just a cotton dress.  I paid for it because I had fun shopping at a pretty boutique on Madison Avenue. I am shameless. I'd be less so if I didn't wear this dress just about every chance I get, but right now I feel like it was a good purchase. We'll see what I think of where that money should have gone in a few months. ;)

Brora Fingerless Cashmere Gloves, ~$80 w/tax - We sort of accidentally happened by the Brora store in Manhattan, and with the great things I've heard about the brand, I was like: No. We must stop here. So I bought these gloves, which aren't exactly my typical style. Usually I'd go for a solid for a staple item like this, but I just loved the pattern and colors on these so much, I couldn't pass them up. I like having something a little bit fun to wear with my ultra neutral wardrobe. As for the quality, I'll probably be able to tell that better when I've had them for a little longer, but so far, so good.

Brora Floral Print Scarf, ~$85 w/tax - I loved this scarf the minute I saw it, but I told myself I wasn't going to buy it because I didn't need something in a mostly neutral color to be an accent piece. But then I went back to the store and bought it anyway, and that was not a mistake. I want to wear it every day. It's merino and silk blend, so it's warm, but not too heavy, and despite the base color being navy, the red floral pattern adds interest while going with just about everything in my closet. I'm not sure how much use I'll be getting out of it when the warmer weather starts here, but even if I'm not able to wear it then, I'll just be that much happier getting it out of my cedar chest once autumn comes.

Total Items: 3
Total Cost: ~$363

Overall
I didn't set a budget for February, because I knew I'd be spending a lot in NYC. Clearly, I did so, but I'm surprised I only ended up with three items. I kind of planned to come home with piles. I think it was a combination of become a more selective shopper (I was still going by my wardrobe plan while there), and the fact I didn't have as much time to spend in clothing stores as I'd thought. I only visited Joie, Brora and the Muji in Times Square (where I bought no clothes, but many wonderful notebooks). So, I want to make it clear it wasn't intentional, but I did coincidentally find that spending a lot on a few items I really, really like and had use for helped me end up with three so far very well loved pieces in my wardrobe. I'll try to keep these in mind when buying in the future, maybe they can help me set a standard for what I should be willing to spend my money on.

Because I will need something nice to wear when I go back to New York to stare at my Klimt painting. :)