changing, growing, posing...

I have always been a firm believer that you can be whoever you want to be. 

However there's always the question how? Is it just not in you?

Let's say you¡ve always wanted to be an athletic wake-up-at-6-to-go-running person, but you¡ve never really been an exercise person and let's face it: you don't really enjoy running.  I bet if you really want it then you will be able  to achieve it.

Is it brain-washing yourself into liking something you didn't use to?

Do we just like the image of being like "that"? 

Are we fated to be the way we were born, or can we transform ourselves into someone else? And until what point do we become poseurs? 

I am certain that during our lives we grow, we make mistakes, we adapt, so therefor we change, we do change, but how much does our "inner essence" change?

This should really be the preamble for a long article called "How to become who you want to be". But I'm not there yet. 

I can't help but keep wondering if "getting there", being who you want to be, implies that much change. 

I can't write that guide, and I think that it'd be rather hard for anybody to do so. 

But hey, I'm just 18, there's a lot of road to be paved ahead, so we will write it, we will write that guide as we go. Each one of us will. 

Infinite x's & o's...

 M.B. Whimsical.

Beatbox

I love music. I'm always scouting for new songs, writing them on napkins, or in my cellpone... So I figured out that instead of doing a regular Things I Love Thursday I'd do a music special of the songs I'm loving these days.

1. Today - Joshua Radin My sister, who's getting married next April is looking for a song to dance to at her wedding. A friend of hers suggested this one, and I loved it. It makes me smile, even when I doubt she uses it.
2. Steady as she goes - The Raconteurs Never heard nothing from them until last week when I was wandering around You Tube searching for Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol vids and there was one with this song, luckily for me, the author posted the song name.
3. Electric Feel - MGMT I'm going to their concert in about two weeks!!!
4. Champagne Supernova - Oasis One of my all-time favorite songs. I love, love, love it so much.
5. Any Other World - Mika Very inspiring!
6. Lights Out - Santogold I had never really payed attention to this song until the other day and it's awesome. It makes me wanna dance.
7. Breathe me - Sia A little sad, but it's a good song to listen to when needed. 
8. La Vie en Rose - Edith Piaff Classic. I got obssesed with it since I saw Sabrina (starring Audrey Hepburn, not Melissa Joan Hart, thank you.) I like the Tony Benett version a lot too.
9. Monarch - Feist It just fills my heart with glee!
10. They can't take that away from me - Tony Bennett/Diana Krall This song has been sung by too many artists. I absolutely love this song. It makes me feel like a child again, having breakfast in my pijamas on a Sunday with my family. 
11. Pink - Aerosmith Can you believe I just discovered this song? Shame on me! I heard it on the radio on my way to school a few weeks ago and as soon as I arrived school I downloaded it
12. Hotel Roosevelt - Augustana Another all time favorite. This song's far too great.

I'm cutting it here, but believe me I could go on forever.

Any music suggestions?

Infinite x's & o's...

 M.B. Whimsical.

10 ways to fix a crappy day.

(Pic from Getty Images)

As spontaneous as life can be, there are days that we can just categorize away and tag them as "bright", "historical", or "lazy". Yesterday wore a huge "crappy" label for me. 

It wasn't one of those everything-happened-to-me-and-wa-wa-wa days, it was one of those days you're just tired, sick, and sad for no reason at all. One of those days you just need to cry, and cry and cry until all that, well, crap, that had perhaps gotten accumulated from the past days for silly things like not sleeping well, being too hard on yourself, or not eating properly, is washed away. 

And so I did. I cried for no reason at all until it all went away. Today I woke up feeling healthy, happy, energized and loving life.  But yesterday while I tried to figure this out I came with 10 ways to fix these crappy days.

1. Cry, cry , cry until you fall asleep or you burst up laughing.
2. Watch an old hollywood film. (Right now I'm loving Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn, who else?)
3. Create a mood/inspirational board, which is just a cork board or whatever full of things that inspire you make you happy, and little treasure you find around. 
4. Grab a pen and let your hand roam freely. Don't stop, don't read, just write.
5. Call a friend and talk about silly things, just goofy, silly stuff that make you both laugh.
6. If you have money to spare go buy yourself a leather jacket. ( I did yesterday)
7. Go for a run with a Happy Place Playlist.
8. If you live by the sea, go take a dip. Close your eyes and feel the sun and the salt. Let the water swing you gently.
9. Sing out loud & rather out of tune "La Vie en Rose" by Edith Piaff.
10. Doze off to Friends or Sex and the City, the ultimate lift-me-up sitcoms.

What do you do to fix these kinda days?

Infinite x's & o's...

 M.B. Whimsical.

Things I Love Thursday

Hiiii thereeeeeeee!

Just a quick Things I Love Thursday, we all know what it's about....

1. Packing up my room. I know, it should be a sad thing but it just feels too cinematographic, I mean, boxes, raining outside, music...
   
   
2. I love The Killers and Maria Mena. I hadn't listened to her music in a WHILE. I really loved her a couple of years ago.
   
   
3. Très Lola I found this blog through iCiNG today and I LOVE it. Go check it out ASAP.
   
   
4. I'm starting college on Wednesday. Eek!
   
   
5. My room's wooden floor which I'm gonna miss so much. While laying on my belly over it with my laptop I'm realizing I never really payed that much attention to it. If you know what I mean. But I'm loving being on the floor instead of the bed.
   
   
6. Audre Hepburn's Style Tips:
   
   1) For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
   2) For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
   3) For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
   4) For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
   5) For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
   6) People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
   7) Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.
   8) The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.
   9) The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows.
   10) The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years.
   
   Found them in The Glam Guide another blog I found today. Aren't I supposed to be packing?
   
   

I guess that's it my sweets. Have a lovin' Thursday.
I have to go running some errands now.

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

This is how it feels....

On happy news, I'm glad to announce that M.B. Whimsical has officially graduated from High School.

Yes, I'm excited about this new kind of freedom I'm about to begin. I'm excited about what's next, about making it happen, my dreams. I'm excited about college and everything I'll learn.
But honestly, I'm kinda nostalgic. And scared.

Allright, I'm terrified. And when I say nostalgic I mean at the verge of tears.

I guess I can't believe it's actually over. I mean, it's something we have always known would be over, but it is over...it's that kind of things you think you understand but when they happen you realize you don't. This is about your whole life changing, it's not about just leaving for the summer and then coming back for another school year, this is about real life.

It's about no more hanging out with your friends because you'll be miles apart. And yes we'll see each other on holidays and whatever, but it's hard to grasp that it will never ever be the same.
It's about leaving home and everything it implies. A safety net. If anything happened to us, we knew back home it would all be all right. Nothing will ever replace the warmth of our beds and home made meal, and lazy late Sunday brunches.

It's like we've been on rehearsals and we're about to start performing. And we are. We've spent the past 18 years get prepared for life, theoretically, but in reality, what is real life? Do these 18 years count as real life? Or does it begin the moment we start taking care of ourselves? (and I mean real care)
Our decisions will be now be ours and no one else's. No more mom and dad cleaning up messes our decisions caused. No more excuses, ever.
And I guess that will be one of the hardest parts of breaking out into real life.
Everything we've lived has been like virtual.
We can't help but as ourselves "Are we ready for this?" "Will we make it out there? Will we survive?"
And I can answer myself this: Will I survive? Yes, I will survive (Please don't start singing!) But I don't wanna just survive. It's not enough. Not for me.
And it's a scary thought. But everything in this life(real or virtual) is scary at first isn't it?
You just have to close your eyes and count 1,2,3 and jump.

But of course, it's always easier to say it than to do it.
It's really hard to think that we're never coming back.

All graduated, please listen to "The Graduation Song" by Vitamin C. I've been told it's really iconic up in the U.S., but I had never listened to it before a month ago.
It describes perfectly and exactly how I feel.


For now all I can really say is I'll never forget that night in June.

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical

Summer Essentials 2008

Hello, hello sunshines!

Summer's less than a week away, how exciting is that?
I love summer, it's just too full of surprises. Summer's a time for dreamers.

(For product information click here)

Either if you are in NYC, having the time of your life interning at some fashion magazine ( like Casey), or just living your dream like Gala; sunbathing in Santorini, Ibiza, ou Bourdeux; traveling around Europe with nothing more than a backpack, a guitar and a camera; like me, moving away from home and starting a whole new different phase of your life, or working your buts off the whole summer, there a few things you should not forget.

So I give you... M.B. Whimsical's Summer 2008 Essentials.

• Summer's a time for celebration. Dress up and go out dancing. Black in the summer (as weird as it may sound) can't go wrong.
  Now, SHOES! This summer make a statement. Hot prints, brights, or just go classy, that never, ever goes out.
  
  
  
• Carry an over sized clutch during the day, a small, elegant one during the night.
  Don't forget a practical, but cute tote or messenger bag to carry around your trinkets.
  A hot pink is perfect.
  
  
• Inside your previously - selected bag carry everything you think is indispensable for your day. Take a trip to the park or the beach and greet the sun rays. Throw in your towel, your ipod, sunglasses, and some suncreen. Take your all-time favorite book and re-read it. Again. Take a cute notebook and a pretty coloured pen and write all your dreams and life plans. Or just a random notebook. Feel the breeze in your face, the sun in your skin, squeeze the sand between your toes and let your hand roam freely.
  
  
• Make a point on not forgetting your sunglasses and sunscreen.
  "Wrinkles and creases are for "it" bags and old love letters." - Gala Darling.
  
  
• Cute accesories.
  
  
• Rosy cheeks are very summer-like. Tarte's cheekstain is beyond perfect.
  
  
• Hats. Headbands. Headscarves. Turbans. Go head over heels.
  Wear some huge sunglasses and pretend your a star hiding from the paparazzis.
  A coy smile would be your best accesory.
  
  
• If your going away, pretty and feminine luggage is key. It makes you feel like a real jetsetter. A cute passport holder wouldn't hurt.
  And I have the perfect soundtrack for you: Jetsetter by Morningwood.
  And the perfect outfit.
  Have a safe flight!
  
  
• A bottle of water.
  
  
• A dreamy and happy disposition for everything summer has in store for you.
  
  
• And most important of all, a camera so you can document all your adventures.
  Smile!
  While you're at it, you can use a Moleskine or some cute notebook too, so you keep track of your summer lovin' days.
  

Have an outrageous summer my sweets. Make the most of it! Have fun. Smile. Blow kisses. Make bubbles. Swim. Make a cocktail night with your friends. Eat lots of sushi. Download lots of good music. Dance like crazy. Watch lots of movies. Make something artistic. Buy balloons, and give away flowers.
Whatever you do make a statement. You are doing it anyway, and because of that it's already wonderful. (Someone has been reading too many Notes from the Universe hehe!)

And please remeber: Carpe diem sunshines! Summer goes by pretty fast!

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Over my head.

Thanks to Gossip Girl,
Headband = Blair Waldorf.

And with good reason...today while googling around my google reader, I found Jennifer Behr's site.
Jennifer Behr's headbands have been displayed by Blair in several occasions.
Watch and drool...


Luckily, if you own a nice vintage brooch, the first two look quite DIY.
Inspired? I think so.

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Dearest fellow students,

Time flies. It really does. And some of us are facing something we thought would never come - we know it would, but it's hard to seize the fact that the time is here.
Remember when in kindergarten you'd see high schoolers passed by and wonder about the time when it would be your turn to be in high school? It seemed pretty far away, didn't it?
And now, we look back try to understand how life went by so fast. Some of us are facing graduation, and while it's the beginning of an exciting, new phase, full of opportunities, it is also the end to life as we know it, everything we're used to, and everything we've ever known. Everything that's safe.
We're about to change routes. Start a new journey, and all those we've been traveling with? They will go down different roads. So will we.

Graduates, this is a time of joy, of embracing what lies ahead of us, and the millions of new possibilities. Let's get excited about life, and celebrate the end of an era.
This is a time of many "lasts" but also many "firsts". During this week, we've found ourselves saying "This is the last math test I'll do", or "This is the last social service report I'll ever fill", "Tomorrow's our last day", or "Nothing will ever be the same."
And it won't.
It's really hard for me to think about my class, my friends, and to understand that it just won't be no more. No more laughing in between classes, no more organizing events with the student's council, no more of everything I've ever known.
I'm leaving home. I have about a month and a few days left here, and then I'm leaving for college to a different, bigger, and unknown city. And when I say bigger I mean bigger. I'm trading it all for art school, for a career in visual arts in the university I wanted. And that's where beginnings come in.
Yes, these are my last days in my life. But it's hello to the rest of my life.
And it's exciting to think about everything I'll learn, everyone I'll meet and everything I'll live from now on.
And I know you are too.

To you who are just starting high school, I know you are too, because all along, you always know high school is the beginning of the end. But at the same time, college is the beginning of the grand finale.
After college, there's nothing but real life, and that is scary.

To you, who are about to start these bittersweet high school days, carpe diem.
Don't let it drift away. Make it yours. Live it. Hard. Laugh, talk, learn, fall, and rise again. Make huge mistakes; stick around. Never stop smiling. Kiss, a lot. Make friends. Be open, never say never. Really, you never know what can happen. Take chances, it's high school what is there to lose? Be yourself, what's the point on living how other's want? It's yours and yours alone.
Believe in Karma: what goes around comes around. Fail, and fail better. Live it. Responsibly. Make smart choices. Never forget consequences. Be whoever you want to be.
Just because you can.
Hold it tight to your heart, because when you least expect it, it'll be over. Over to give way to something new.

And that's the way it goes. What's new right now, will be old.
A beginning will become an end and an end is always a beginning.

And don't worry, even when everything looks oh-so-dark, later you'll look back and laugh about it.

Time flies. Embrace it. Embrace this bittersweet moments, for they will never come back.
I'm finding that very hard to believe.

I've cried over this song a few times now. And that's all I can say.

"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where yo go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.


So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life."

Good riddance (Time of your life) - Green Day

Dearest fellow students...it's our time to fly.
Have a safe flight.

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Hey, all Uniform wearers...

Bubbly Susie from Style Bubble rebels against her strict uniform rules and plays around with Gossip Girl and it's almost-ridiculously heightened fashion.

I loved this little self-made photoshoot and spread. Very ingenious and uniformly fun!

As for myself, I'm saying au revoir to my strict uniform in about a week, hello college. But I think Gossip Girl's definitely gonna have an influence in my student wardrobe.

Go check it. You know you (will) love her!

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Frida

Frida's life wasn't easy. Since very little she suffered from great pain and illnesses. In her whole life she underwent 35 operations in total.
It was this boredom and frustration that led her to paint. Her dad was a painter, so, naturally, he encouraged her to it (she was given by her parents a special easel so she could paint while in bed).

At that's it. Her life wasn't easy, but she always was Frida.
Not for a second she lost that intriguing expression, or her natural colorfulness. As much pain her once-shattered leg would give her, all pictures, all records will always show her as nothing else but Frida. Even the the name's become strong and resounding.

Naturally, as a mexican, I have always been a fan of her work. When I was little my mom took me to "La Casa Azul" in Mexico City, and while, I remember clearly, I was pretty shocked with here crude paintings, her way of showcasing her illnesses, seeing her huge "Las dos Fridas." ("The Two Fridas")
painting was indeed quite shocking for a seven year-old. But it's very impressive to see how her mind reeled.
Few artists have depicted such gloomy themes in a colorful way like she did.

Last sumer, in the Fine Arts Palace Museum in Mexico City as well, they held a huge exposition of her work, and her life. It was something big.
It had from her masterpieces, childhood sketches to scholar text books. But my favorite part was a room where they had letters she wrote (covered in glass/plastic/whatever of course) hanging from the ceiling, so they were all to eye-level, and you could read them all. Her hand writing was just too gorgeous to be true, delicate and feminine. And the way she expressed herself was as colorful as her paintings. You will always picture her with that enigmatic smile on her face, some witty thought across her head.

But why talk about Frida Kahlo right now?
Well, last week I rented the movie. I had never seen it, shame on me, I know. But I don't know why I had the impression it wasn't good at all. But since it's a film by Julie Taymor (who made Across the Univere, which I consider to be perfect in ever possible way) I thought it would be interesting to see Frida and that part of mexican culture through her eyes. And I must say I loved it. The storyline can be a little superflous, yes, but visually, the film is subime. It's like a postcard. Julie Taymor certainly has a knack for finding visual and concept artists.

Something else I loved about Frida, and something I realized while watching the movie (and it's absolutely true) is how she always was so colorful, so polished, such a fashionista, in her way, of course. Even in the most painful moments she was wearing gold filigree earrings, colorful necklaces, embroidered shirts, flowers in her head...She bore Mexico all over her.

And you know, she was right, sometimes we're feeling all down and tired and sick, and the last thing we feel like doing is worrying what to wear and about make-up, wa, wa ,wa...
but sometimes that's what we need to feel better. It's almost impossible to feel crappy while wearing Chanel, Christian Louboutins and an Alexis Mabille's headband, isn't it?

So in honor of one of the greatest artists ever (and please do note she's one of the few widely famous female artists) I made a couple of ensembles a la Frida Kahlo, in Polyvore...

Product Information - here

Imagine her in Paris during her exhibition walking down Champs Éysées with her colorful pashminas and flowers in her head. It is said she cause quite a fuss...Mexican embroidered dresses had to be imported. She even was in Vogue's cover. Not bad, huh?

Product information - here

This is a set of things Frida Kahlo would wear.
I absolutely loved the palm umbrella, totally her, and I went crazy searching for headbands and hair accessories for this set.
Don't forget, lots of embroidered, golden filigree, bright colors, pashminas, chunky jewelry and go big on the head: braids, flowers, headbands...

Oh and about the camera, I just thought that's a camera color she would pick.

¡Viva la Vida!

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Happy (belated) Earth Day!

Happy (Belated) Earth Day!

Sorry I have been a little busy!
But I have something for you:
Can you spell...
Recycle!

I sooo want this:)!

Even though we should take care of our Earth every day, yesterday was a perfect opportunity for doing something big. Or several small things. I made a point on saving water yesterday, not leaving plugged any electronic devices, driving at "considerable" speed (driving too fast produces more CO2 emissions), and not wasting food, paper, and other stuff.
But you know, one day a year isn't enough. Global warming is a fact, and we have to act against it.
Maybe at the moment can't do something huge but if we all do small things we can help!

Happy Bday Earth, we hope you have many, many, many, many more!

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Down the rabbit hole!

We're in the middle of a headband rush. And I'm loving it.
But who's responsible for it? (Besides from Blair Waldorf of course.)

I say, Dear Old Alice.
After all, she's one of the oldest images of a black-bow headband. And let's be honest, who doesn't think of her when you see a blond girl with a black headband down the street? (I personally love how a blond looks with black on her hair/head)

One of my best friends loves Alice in Wonderland and I got her that notebook for Christmas.
And I fell in love with that Betsey Johnson watch. And it's on it's way here!

You can go in a more low-key way of course. This is just some inspiration.


No need to fall into a rabbit hole to enter a Wonderland, right?
You can make your own.


Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Treasure Cove - March 30th

Hello, beauitfuls!

Is it Sunday already? Well, times goes quite fast.
Holidays are almost over. I start classes on Tuesday. Back to reality, homeworks, students council stuff...as much as I would like to get back to my daily exercise routine, I don't really want to go school for two reasons:
First, because I'm tired of it. I just don't have any subjects I really like, and I think most of my professors have been slacking a little lately. Maybe it's all because I'm so thrilled about going to art school and about studying and learning things I actually like and enjoy. I can't wait to go!
But on the other hand, the other reason I don't want to go back it's because it's gonna be officially the beginning of the end. Clock's ticking...and this semester has passed away so fast, and so will this two months left. And then it's graduation. High school's over and it's time for all of us part away. I've known most of my friends since kindergarten or at least for more than a couple years, and we're a all going to different cities, two of my best friends to Canada for a year, other to travel around Europe, and even when some if us will coincide in the cities we're going, it's not gonna be the same. Still I know I will remain forever close with most of them.

It's going to be weird running the blog in school days, because I started this blog not quite long ago, and I've been working on it during holidays. But it's not going to be hard.

Now, I found some interesting this week...

1. Red Leather Diary.
   Reclaiming a life through the pages of a lost journal, this journal, rescued by New York Time's young writer, was more than half a century forgotten in a dumpster. It brings back to life the glamorous story of an extraordinary, high-class young woman. For five years, not a day is missed.
   Horseback riding around Central Park, trips to Paris, London, Rome; art, dances, tea at Scharfft's and toasts at El Morocco, displaying the old New York's glamour.
   I think this book/journal would be an amazing read, and would truly show us how girls were back then.
   Talking about Mary Poppins.
   I can't wait to get this book.
2. Artist's block?
   Here's some inspiration, or more like 50 pages of it.
   Got it from Gala's Carousel.
3. Calling all aspiring Jackson Pollocks!
   Now you can create your own masterpiece.
   Click here for a good, solid dose of stress relief.
4. 8 keys to instant charisma.
   Great piece. Something we should all know and learn.
5. Chair Couture.
   I love chairs. Don't ask why, I simply do.
   Go see for yourself.
6. What Puma & Adidas have to do with the Nazis.
   Quite very interesting.

I hope you had an amazing week, and please do enjoy your Sunday leisure with these links I give you.
Now I go to eat some lunch.

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

"No rhymes, no embellishments..."

As the evocative sound of a typewriter writes the word "Atonement", the image turns into a gloriously beautiful doll house. A blonde girl typewrites as the signature piano starts. Precocious, blue-eyed, Briony finishes her play in that 1930's high class nursery where the story begins.
A scene representing everything, us, writers, have been founded by. The whimsical, sweet flavor of the dollhouse, the nursery, and the countryside scenario (a la J.M. Barrie)as the sound of words pouring out of the typewriter and this bright-eyed girl's hands, writing off in her beautiful paper.
Whimsical enough to have me, sitting here writing about a movie I just finished watching.

Atonement, Ian McEwan's acclaimed novel, turned into celluloid.

Exquisite and shocking in every possible way, Atonement, tells the story Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy), whose romance was unfairly denied by a decision 13 year-old Briony took, that caused Robbie's imprisonment and sending to war.
The movie follows Cecilia as she leaves her family for their injustice and enrolls in nursery school, and Robbie in a German-invaded Northern France during the Dunkirk evacuation.
Silent yet expressive, the simple story-line is told by sublime and breath-taking scenes, achieved by Joe Wright's vision, Dario Marianelli's signature piano, an amazing camera work and a, what I think was, incredible team.


Crossed scenes, silent, but expressive. Playing with ethereal lights and shadows, present and past mixtures and a piano fused with the sound of a typewriter, Joe Wright manages to keep you mouth-gaping the whole movie, with your heart bursting with the beauty of the scenarios and scenes so sublime, like a 5 minutes-long take where Robbie walks around Dunkirk, which isn't cut or moved for 5 minutes, ending with him standing in front of a black and white, old-hollywood, movie proyection of a couple kissing, contrasted with the atrocities of war you saw the 5 minutes before. The music roaring as he walks through the wounded and despaired soldiers, who sing to keep the hopes up. Then he reaches the screen, thinking of Cecilia, and his promise of coming back. Your chest fills with something you can't explain, and you get chills up and down your spine, and tears are very likely to sprout from your eyes.

With a highly-unexpected end, shocking and quite unbelievable, Atonement is one of the best movies I've seen in a while.
Just as in Pride and Prejudice (which is one of my favorite movies and forever will be, for things this movie has too), Joe Wright is able to express the story beyond acting. He expresses it visually, manipulating elements like the colorful, natural scenarios in which the imposing Victorian mansion is located, crude war scenes, settings, lighting, costumes (like Keira Knightley's green dress below), lost dialogues here and there that truly are the ones that pull the story together and a certain way of telling the story.
Plus, an amazing cast, capable of portraying their characters with just their eyes.
Bravo for the whole crew!


When the movie comes to the final part, which was an end (which, of course, I won't tell) that totally caught me off-guard, you just can't believe the twist the story takes, and the simplicity it's told with. Simple words, simple, feelings, no rhymes, no embellishments, no scenarios, no ethereal lights, just simplicity of words.

Exquisite from beginning to end, Atonement is the kind of movies that still has you glued to the screen even though you're halfway the credits. They stay with you for a while.
So bad, that here I am, channeling Briony and her typewriter, trying to put in words those enticing images.

I don't think I truly can.


Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Thoughts Become Things

(Photo Credit)

Impatience is a sign of hurrying; hurrying is a sign of worrying; worrying is a sign of fear; and fear is a sign that someone has temporarily forgotten that it's never too late to change their thoughts and therefore their "things." And for these reasons, time will forever be on their side.

Glad we could straighten that out - The Universe

While checking my inbox today, and I found this, and I don't know, it just clicked and I though about sharing it with you. I think it's all very true.
Sometimes all we need is to stop for a second, breathe, and re-evaluate the situation. We're on time to change our thoughts, and thoughts become things.
So we're on time to change everything.

The Notes from the Universe Newsletter is one of the best things that happened to me in 07.
They changed my life, and keep doing it every time I read them.
Because Thoughts do become things.

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.

Treasure Cove

Hello, bunnyheads!
Happy Easter!
Did you found many hiding eggs?
I think everyone should look for eggs on Easter Day, it's so cute.
When I was little every Easter Day, my grandfather would wake my sister and me and we'd look everywhere around the garden for easter eggs, chocolate eggs and lots of candies. I was nostalgic today remembering that forgotten tradition.
If you don't celebrate well at least eat a chocolate or two, let's celebrate the Sunday!

I've got something for you. It's a Treasure Cove. A weekly Treasure Cove!
I happen to be quite an observer and a net-surfer, and often enough, I find very special treasures here and there. You see, treasures can be found everywhere. If you know where to look.
Hey, you just walked past one!

Just like Gala's Carousel and Miss Couturable's Sunday Six, I will post every week, some of the treasures I've found during the week.

Treasure Cove - Sunday, March 23rd

1. One of my best friends sent me the link to this video just a while ago.
   He said, "Hey you've got to watch this! It's the best music video you'll ever see!"
   And he was right.
   One of the best songs ever, and one of the best performances ever.
2. Twenty-something, Mae Jane, is in the middle of Quarter-Life Crisis.
   But aren't we all?
   Her blog is an artful manifesto about living life: a call to seize the day, and follow our own lead. Why settle with "normal" when you can have "extraordinary"?
   Full of awesome, speaking art, doc.u.menting, is worth checking out.
   Give it a read, this girl has something to say.
3. This picture:
   
   All right, all right. I didn't find this. But I took it. That counts.
   Right from the middle of the ocean just for you.
4. Blah, blah, blah. We talk our days away, but the truth is, we're terrible talkers.
   I found this in Gala's this week Carousel. I found it quite interesting, because communication is everything.
   I give you... 250 things you wish you know that will guarantee your speaking success.
   It helps to know these kind of things, even when you don't usually talk in public, and if you do, well then it might be very useful.
   (Last semester I had to give a speech in front of around 800 people + judges, and it can be quite terrifying.)
   5. And finally, a treasure I found in my drawer the other day. My old ipod, oh, how much I miss it. I bought a new ipod last December, and I love it, but I haven't been able to manage to extract all the music from the old one yet, and it contains lots of music I love.
   The battery died so it always had to be plugged. Quel drag!
   Luckily, I remembered my speakers work as a battery charger too, so I can listen to it again. Do you hear that? Memories coming from the speakers.
   
   
   
   
   What treasures did you find this week?

Infinite x's & o's...
M.B. Whimsical.