Reading: The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

A ghost that has been haunting an English manor for hundreds of years has finally met his match when an American family moves in and takes over.

As a satirist, Oscar Wilde can do no wrong in my book. He's so sharp and droll that I can literally pick up anything he's written and I'm guaranteed amusement.

The Canterville Ghost is a short story that is essentially a critique of American views at the time of its writing - crass commercialism and the refusal to acknowledge the supernatural (despite largely identifying as Christians of some sort or another). Very appropriate for our times, I think!

It's filled with wit and humor and worth checking out if you have a couple of hours to kill.

Movie Review: Moon

Moon stars Sam Rockwell (who I love) and was made for the hefty price tag of $5 million dollars. That's a joke, because today $5M is beans for a science fiction movie. It received a lot of good reviews, but I have to say it was a little on the thin side story-wise.

On the one hand, while I appreciate the stripping away of a lot of the sci-fi fakery that goes on nowadays in movies calling themselves sci-fi, in the end I just felt that although the premise was very interesting it was executed in a mundane way. Had it explored it on a slightly more thoughtful level, they might have pulled it off, but in my opinion the script was just not up to it.

Not to say that it's not worth seeing for people who are interested in film, but not for that price and not on the big screen. Maybe more is being made of it than should for the fact that it's directed by Duncan Jones (who is David Bowie's son) and was made for so little.

Mad Men by way of the 80s

This dress makes me feel like I could walk straight onto the set of Mad Men, but it's a Liz Claiborne from the 80s. Kiss the shoulder pads goodbye, and it's love with the bow detail at the bottom of the low button-up back. For $10 (with the original tags still on it) at the Lake Austin Blvd. Goodwill, how can you beat it?

Summer Silks

With the weather at over 100 degrees, light and flowing clothing is definitely in order. Goodwill has been quite the cache lately for inexpensive silk blouses, tanks and skirts. Although the 80s and 90s are heavily influencing runway designs right now, there are many pieces of tasteful clothing from these periods which are actually timeless, having been borrowed from earlier period designs to begin with.

African prints and exotic details make for great safari luxe or bohemian looks. It's the same stuff you'll see in stores right now, but for $5. Yay.

Kentucky Ashtray

I have a thing for ashtrays, but I don't smoke. They're great for key trays and holding odd objects. Kentucky here currently holds my Pop Rocks.

More older finds

Set of handmade coasters inset with butterflies and lace from Thrift Town. Thrift Town is a great place for glassware, knicknacks and lighting.

Picnic picture found in a book in Katy, TX.

Watercolor and ink painting worthy of Etsy. Mine only cost $7, though.

Older Finds

The poster was found at a thrift store in Katy, TX. The branch is a found piece of driftwood spray painted coral. The fold out book portrays the story of William Tell in art symbols. The lamp is tortoise shell from Home Goods.