Favorite Things Day 10: Cardigans

No clothing item makes me light up quite like the cardigan. My love for cardigans runs deep and without a doubt, I closet more cardigans than any other article, including shoes. I met my good friend Andrea who is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina during the year she lived in Madison (before returning to Charlotte). While getting to know me, she was amazed by my cardigan lust, but more importantly, I like to think that I slowly converted her. The cardigan sweater is possibly the greatest of all clothing inventions, (Dare to challenge me? Respond with your suggestion!) for these main reasons: 1) Easy to layer 2) Comfortable 3) Warm 4) Functional

There is a cardigan for every need and the varieties are endless:

The Sporty Cardigan


The Draped Cardigan


The Preppy Cardigan


The Holiday Cardigan


The 'Ugly, But I Could Pull It Off' Cardigan (not to be confused with the Holiday Cardigan)


And my favorite, the Thrifty Cardigan. Not only because they're more fun to shop for, but because sometimes there are things I just don't have to spend more than two dollars on.

Favorite Things Day 9: Graphic Novels

Growing up, I was never really into comics. I think my brother may have had a few, but they didn't spark my interest until now. Actually, I take that back. I loved the series of Batman movies produced in the 90s and thanks to my bother who was a Batman fanatic, we owned all of them. For the past few years, I've been studying comics and other graphic works for my own artistic research, and I've consequently delved into the world of comic novels along the way. Some of my favorites have been Maus by Art Spiegelman, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and now, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, which I finished this week.

Persepolis was wonderful, so wonderful that I started and finished it in one day, and still had time to revisit my favorite parts. That's ultimately what makes my heart beat faster- starting a piece of literature and enjoying it to the extent that it pains you to put it down.

Originally printed in French, Persepolis is comprised of two volumes: The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return. The autobiographical novel depicts her childhood up to her early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic revolution and the title is a reference to the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis.

In this charming, humorous memoir, Marjane Satrapi narrates and illustrates the political turmoil that marked her early years growing up in Iran in the 1970s and 1980s. The child of educated, Westernized Iranians, she depicts the confusion and contradictions of life under an authoritarian regime—whether that of the Shah or of the Islamic Republic. Taking pride in the members of her family who were persecuted and imprisoned for their resistance to the Shah's authoritarian rule and having witnessed her parents' participation in anti-Shah demonstrations, she rejoices with them at the eventual overthrow of the regime. But her joy is short-lived, for a new tyranny is instituted— that of the Islamic Republic. At the age of fourteen, her parents send her to a French school in Vienna, knowing that Iran is not a safe place for someone, especially a woman, of such an outspoken nature.

Reading Persepolis immediately recalled my memory of the brilliant novel, Reading Lolita in Tehran, which among many things, also deals with survival under an oppressive regime and recounts women's methods of resistance to the stifling of individualism and freedom of opinion. Azar Nafisi grew up in Iran but left her homeland in the 1970s, first to go to school in England and Switzerland, then to college in the United States. She returned to Iran just as the Shah's regime was collapsing. Like many middle-class Iranians, she had opposed the Shah's repressive dictatorship, but had never expected an even more repressive regime to take its place.

But what I love about graphic novels is how the art form itself makes my brain work differently, and how it plays a unique role in the interpretation of the narrative and our greater understanding of the relationship between literary content and its presentation. Not only are graphic narratives aesthetically intriguing, but they operate within a tradition, typically of the American superhero genre, devoted to motifs like heroism, control, oppression, and repression.

And while Persepolis has received much criticism (‘her portrayals of Iranians and Iranian life are too black and white’), it’s neat to see more women writers and artists, in the pretty male-dominated world of comics and graphic novels, using the cartoon structure as a platform from which to speak- especially in the creation of memoirs, a genre which has historically been reserved for ‘distinguished and accomplished people of privilege, whose stories are worthy of being told.’

I'm excited to watch the 2007 film adaptation of Persepolis this weekend, but in the meantime, if any of you have some reading recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

Favorite Things Day 8: Eating Cereal Out of a Ceramic Mug

I am unsure why eating cereal out of a mug rather than a bowl is more exciting for me. Maybe it's the challenge of the constrained space of the mug and it's miniature appeal, or the fact that eating cereal in smaller doses inhibits it from becoming soggy, which it most certainly does by the time you reach the end of a bowl. Or maybe its just fun to diverge from the normal way of eating foods sometimes. In any case, cereals that always reach mug status in my house include Puffins, Cheerios, and Cocoa Krispies for dessert. Even as adults, my sisters continue to keep the practice alive too, except well, Kelly has moved on to plain yogurt and granola. I don't know if I'm ready to consider that cereal.

Favorite Things Day 7: Video Chat

Seriously.

Favorite Things Day 6: 'Thinking of You'

I've never really been into advanced communication technology. There was a brief period of time when I was seduced by the prospect of owning an iPhone, but I eventually admitted that I would fail to make use of most of the gadget's incredible features. After all, that would have been quite the leap for someone who recently worked up the courage to enable her Facebook wall.

One of my favorite things though is when I'm going about my day and something happens, anything really, that causes me to immediately think of someone special. Whether I see an object that triggers a fond memory, or hear a song that reminds me of a particular friend, or spontaneously, something hilarious happens that a certain someone would have exclusively seen the humor in, how wonderful it is to be able to pick up my phone in that moment and text that person. Even if it's just 'thinking of you'.

Favorite Things Day 5: My Nook

on sunny mornings, waking up with coffee and a good read

Favorite Things Day 4: Stuffed Artichokes

My mother's stuffed artichokes have long been the best competitors in the fight for my favorite food. I love everything about them: the memories of preparation in the kitchen, hours spent around the table waiting for them to bake, and the final indulgence, usually in the context of our extended family. And as my taste buds weren't what they are today, I would always give the artichoke hearts to my mother after attentively plucking all of the leaves.

Now, whenever I eat artichoke hearts (a favorite in its own right), I am transported back to the image of passing the artichoke parts across the table, squeamishly, yet delightfully watching as my mother put them into her mouth, exclaiming, "But its the best part". Writing this post has reminded me that I need to get her recipe! In the meantime, I came across a recipe in the NY Times that looks delicious, and which I've linked in the sentence. Yum!