Formal Wear for an Imaginary Occasion

Last weekend I was hanging out with some of my favorite people from law school for an informal, post-bar, catch up and relax cookout. Other than dissecting the bar, the most common form of conversation was weddings. Unsurprising given the ages of the people, 28-24, and the fact that we're all attending multiple weddings in the next year.
My friends are slow to jump the broom, or jump on the wedding bandwagon, or get hitched, I'm only attending 3 weddings in the next year (so far, that I know of, it is subject to change any day now) whereas my friend Xandrakate is attending at least 5, I don't remember the exact number because I was so blown out of the water by the number HelloKitty is attending 12. In the next 16 months! That's a lot of weddings! And most of the weddings she attends are very formal, and since they're usually in the same group of people she has to buy a lot of formal dresses.

Now does the title make sense? I don't have any formal weddings in my future, yet, but a girl can browse online to see what her formal wear options are... right?

Tibi Cloister Beading Long Dress $886

Sure, that's more than I'll probably spend on my own wedding dress, but how gorgeous is it?

Tibi- Silk Chiffon Strapless Gown $825

I'd have to be pretty darn tan to get away with this dress. But how amazing is its soft folds, imagine walking or dancing in this.... sigh

Jcrew Arabelle Long Dress in Silk Chiffon $365

Jcrew's version is almost $500 cheaper and I think comes in a much more reasonable colors for skin tones. But who knows if it moves like the Tibi one, ohhh the movement, so gorgeous!

JS Collection Lace Sheath Dress $198

I'm not sure this is formal enough for a black tie event, but it sure is pretty. I love the lace and the way it gleams. Though if I wore this to an event where everyone else was in a long dress I might feel like Kaylee when she goes to that ball with the strawberries and Mal has to fight a duel. Also, I'm a nerd.

Amsale One Shoulder Chiffon Gown $290

And wear back to long chiffon dresses. Clearly I like them. I like this one shoulder dress because its simple, many one shoulder dresses have flowers or other do-dads on the shoulder and it looks too fussy for me. This one is formal, simple and gorgeous in the graphite color.

JS Boutique Sequin Trim Jersey Gown $188

This one I like the least. I like it conceptually but I'm not sure I like the execution. Jersey doesn't seem formal enough, and there is something about this dress that reminds me of prom. But I do like the delicate little sleeves. Very cute.

Where do you buy your formal dresses, even if you're only buying them in your imagination?

Book Review: Cooking for Mr. Latte

I just finished Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser. And while I enjoyed the book, I'd rather just get her cook book.
The authoress is a New York Times food writer and some of her chapters seem more suited to a news paper article than a cohesive book, which I suppose makes sense given her profession and the fact that some chapters started out as articles.
The story is loosely based upon her courtship with her now husband, in that it begins with her meeting him and ends with her marrying him. But for me the book seems more about the food, also it seems for her too because she and Mr. Latte have a lot of fights that are centered around her approach to food. I found the "love story" aspect of this book annoying, possibly because it got in the way of her talking about food, which she does wonderfully, and possibly because she isn't very good at relationships.
I wouldn't recommend this book. Except for the fact that every chapter ends with a series of recipes which I am about to go copy down so I can try them out. And she is a good writer. She just should write about what she knows and understands, which is food, not relationships. (This seems harsh, but I swear every chapter involved a fight with her boyfriend about their approaches to food/cooking/eating and she seemed happiest when she was eating by herself.)

If I have to take the bar again...

If I have to take the bar again I wouldn't mind studying in one of these libraries:

Boston Atheneum

Boston Public Library

Harvard University's Memorial Hall

Not that there was anything wrong with the library I did study in, in fact it was pretty darn great, especially the air conditioning. I'm just saying.. these are nice too.

Ellie Goulding is awesome!

Have you heard her? No? Do it. Now.
She is... I dunno I'm bad at music. But I know she is awesome. So awesome I bought her album. With MONEY!
Check her out!

this is her live, which shows how she is ya know actually good

and this one shows how she is a good pop artist.
ENJOY!

Cheese Making, Eating, and Serving

Ahhh the ability to think about things that I'm not being tested on. And so we will start with cheese.
I am so very very very very glad I am not lactose intolerant because I LOVE cheese. Goat, Hard, Soft, Sheep Cow blends, though I'm not particularly fond of Gouda or Swiss, but I do love Monterey Jack, so its not all sharp cheese.
I want to make cheese. It might be on the list of things to do this August. Especially since my parents went to Vermont for their anniversary this weekend and my father picked up some cheese making books for Tallman and I to try out. I understand mozzerellas and burattas are particularly easy to make. I'm pumped, and of course I'll share my adventures with you all.

For those interested in trying to make cheese for themselves, there is an etsy shop, Urban Cheesecraft, that sells kits that look pretty easy, basically just add milk and wait.

From Etsy Seller Urban Cheesecraft

I love the idea of making such simple things from scratch. Like when I made butter. (I think its because I have a very sensitive palate that I like really good simple food, Knowledge thinks its because I'd make an excellent Bloodhound, Tallman thinks I'm a wimp because I can't handle spicy food, I love them both.)

One of my favorite meals is cheese and fruit with chocolate for dessert (wine may be included, or port, or scotch). Its filling and delicious and fruit can really mellow an intense cheese and bring out the more subtle flavors of the milk.

From Etsy Seller AHeirloom

I think this cutting board, though a fairly impractical shape, is adorable, also I'm from Massachusetts, would be amazing to have such a meal off of. Of course then I'd need some cute cheese knives. My future kitchen is so full.

North Carolina from Etsy seller AHeirloom

Tallman's home state makes a better cutting board shape, but he has lived in so many states that it might be hard to choose... North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee? Though they are all more convenient shapes than my home state.
I'll leave you to think about cutting boards and cheese. :p

Tennessee from AHeirloom

Kentucky from AHeirloom

Bar Recap

I know you feel neglected from my past month of absence. But it was necessary to completely 120% focus on studying. Of course, 120% focusing on studying is pretty near impossible, and if you do it you might go insane, but not blogging was a step in the right direction.

For the last three weeks of studying I spent 8-12 hours every day in the library, watching BarBri videos, writing outlines, reworking those outlines, making flashcards and practicing essay and multiple choice questions. At the end of that I still didn't feel confident about the amount I knew or my ability to actually take the test.

I suppose it is a bit of an accomplishment that I took the two day, three hours in the morning, three in the afternoon, test. But it doesn't feel like one yet. It will feel like one when I pass. Whether that is in November, or if I have to retake the test in February. In the same way that graduating from law school did not feel like much of a celebration, taking the bar does not feel like much of an accomplishment.

However, whether in November I am celebrating my butt off, or planning my study attack for the February bar, I think it would be helpful to write down some of the things I liked and disliked about studying. And by liked and disliked, I mean what I think worked and didn't work, because it was all dislike.

What Worked:
*Not going to the Caymans with Tallman. I really regret not going, but I think I made the right choice, I needed lots of time and going to the Caymans would have started me out behind. (especially since they didn't have reliable internet!)
*The multiple choice all day practice test administered by BarBri. That was a good experience, it helped me from being panicked the day of the bar.
*Typing all my BarBri notes into outlines. It took a lot of time (3-4 hours every day watching the videos, then 3-4 hours typing the notes into outlines), but now if I have to take the bar exam again I do not have to watch the videos, and I can just focus on memorizing information, and practicing questions.
*Condensing those outlines into mini outlines, these were really good to actually create, because unlike the big outlines I needed to think about the material in order to condense it and it helped me learn.
*Spending long days in the library. I liked the consistency and the lack of distraction. Though if I have to retake the bar, I'm going to do my studying in a different library, just for a change of scene.
*Pacing my studying throughout the summer, and really heavily focusing on the last two weeks. Those last two weeks I was a bit of a mess, personal care took a back burner to studying, but I feel good about the amount of time I was putting in then.
*Talking with friends about the essays, but not the multiple choice. I don't know why but there it is.

What Didn't Work:
* Spending days only watching a video, then typing the long outline, and doing a few multiple choice questions. I know I didn't really have time for more in a day, but I wish I had started learning the substantive law, memorizing it, earlier
*Food. I ate way too much fast food. WAY. TOO. MUCH. 
*Not working more on weekends earlier on, because of the amount of time the videos during the week I didn't have time to do as many practice questions as I now know would've been useful, or memorizing things. At the time I thought I was doing myself a favor by taking breaks, but I couldn't ever stop thinking about the bar, studying, or how I should've been studying. I should've just started studying earlier on weekends, instead about thinking about studying while trying to relax, it probably would've been more relaxing.
*There wasn't enough time. I wish the videos had started earlier, and ended sooner, so there was more video-free time before the bar.
*I wish I had done more practice essays, and more practice multiple choice after I had a chance to start memorizing the law.
*I took off July 4th weekend. At the time I thought I was doing myself a favor by relaxing, but now I'm not so sure, please see the above three bullet points.
*I wish I'd had more time to study my flashcards. Period. End of Story.

I recognize that a lot of my bullet points about what didn't work had to do with timing, and we'll know in November if it was as important as it seems right now. But the last two weeks felt so productive, learning wise, that I wish the whole last month had felt like that, and in comparison the first month seems like I was wasting time. (I know this isn't totally true, but still...)
Sorry for the long post, but even if these notes mean nothing to you, I guarantee they'll mean something to me in November.

If you just took the bar, please leave a comment and add what worked for you and what didn't, I'd be really interested to hear about other people's experiences.

Sleepy Kitty of the Week

Happy Post-Bar Monday!

I spent the weekend curled up with Parsley, relaxing with friends and family, and becoming a normal human again.

Now its Monday and the job search begins in earnest!