Little Hermione Granger Is All Grown Up

Maybe it’s just me, but I have been very impressed with the Burberry ads featuring Emma Watson.


I must admit, I have never been a fan of Burberry, it always seemed very old lady-ish to me. I can remember going shopping with my friends in high school and walking into the Burberry store and quickly walking out because it never had anything good, we would then walk quickly to the Coach store next door and be in heaven.

The past few months the Burberry ads have been my all time favorite collection of ads to look at in Vogue. To be honest, they are one of the things I look forward to in my monthly Vogue’s. Maybe it’s my undying love for anything Harry Potter (yes, I am so one of those geeks) that always makes it stand out but I just love it. Seeing little Hermione Granger all grown up just makes me so happy.

I can't say that I will be going out and purchasing an abundant amount of Burberry anytime soon, but I will definitly be more open-minded the next time I do go into one of their stores.

The first six pictures are from the Spring 2010 Burberry Collection, and the first picture is the one I found in my Vogue this month. The bottom three are from the Fall 2009 Burberry Collection. LOVE them all!

What's In A Name?

For any of my regular readers, you have obviously noticed the sudden change in my blog....the Title. I have wanted to do a little revamping on my blog recently without having to up and get a whole new one...so this is what I have come up with.

I have always wanted a Title that just screamed "Mariah" but could never really find one. 'Inscribed In Wet Cement' never actually meant anything. To be honest, I don't even know where it came from and I always hoped that somewhere down the road I would come up with a really cool story to go with it. But over a year later, I still had nothing. So I changed it.

So, here is the story behind my name....Mariah. And no, it has nothing to do with Mariah Carey, as so many people have taken to calling me - thus resulting in my Doppelganger for the week on Facebook.

My Mother was very much into music and musicals when she was a young child. She spent many hours learning different instruments - her favorite being the piano.  She learned songs from just about every musical on the planet. She tried to pass this love of the piano onto my sisters and I, but as we all know I am not one to sit still for very long, so the piano (and any musical instrument in general) was not something I ever picked up. Her favorite musical to play from was "Paint Your Wagon" - very popular at the time (1951), but has sort of gone by the wayside in this generation; it starred a very young (and very dreamy) Clint Eastwood. By the way, my mom was not alive in 1951, don't want to give her age or anything....but she's not that old. The song that she played the most was "They Call The Wind Maria." No, I did not leave off the 'h' accidentally it is spelled M-A-R-I-A, but it is pronounced the way you say my name. Now, everytime I visit my grandparents in Philadephia I can just picture my Mom, as a young girl, sitting at the piano and playing My Song.

I have always known where my Mom got my name from but up until recently I had never actually heard the lyrics. I heard my Mom play it on the piano, but never knew exactly what the words were...just that one line..."They call the wind Maria." One summer, when I was working on the cruise ship, one of the passengers who had just adored me went out and purchased the DVD for me, thinking that it was a crime that I had not heard the entire (lyrics and all) song that was my namesake. They actually spent the entire day hunting it down when they were shopping in Baltimore after their cruise was over and delivered it to me promptly before we were departing on our next scheduled cruise. It has quickly turned into one of my favorite musicals of all times.

I like relating myself to the wind because it's constantly changing, and you can always tell how the wind (the weather) is feeling just by watching it (watching the trees, or a flag, or the waves in the ocean). They are all being moved by the wind. I too think that I am constantly changing. Always learning something new and trying to make a difference in the world. You can always tell how I'm feeling just by the look on my face and I never try to hide anything - my face is always giving away my emotions. And I also think that it is so appropriate because the wind is what moves the sails on a sailboat....and boats are one of my favorite things! =)

Just for knowledge’s sake, I looked up what the name "Mariah" means, and found out it means 'uncertain.' While at first, I must admit that I kind of took that negatively I quickly realized that it isn't necessarily a negative meaning - and I can't deny it I am very uncertain a lot of the times...and that can all go back to the constantly changing aspect as well.

So, all of that being said, Welcome to my remodeled blog!

"Success is a journey, not a destination."

Some of my favorite posts to read on other peoples blogs are their lists. Lists of beauty products to share, their favorite things, or tips on how to achieve certain goals.

I'd like to share with you my own little list. These are just a few things that I have learned over the past few months that have helped me to succeed in different aspects of life. For me these are sort of things that I have always known, but I've been paying more attention to them recently. Hope ya'll enjoy!
 
 

1. Always walk with a purpose. Never look down or slouch. Walk swiftly with your head held high. If you look like you're doing something important then people will think that you are important - even if all you're actually doing is going to clean the bathroom.

2. Always keep a smile on your face. And while you're at it - make sure to smile, make eye contact, and (at least) nod, if not say hello to anyone you walk past. "Never frown, even when you're sad because you never know who may be falling in love with your smile." You never know whose day you are making brighter just by acknowledging them.

3. Learn to laugh at yourself and your stupid mistakes. Everyone makes them and there is no point moping around and wasting the day dwelling on them.

4. We all know how the saying goes "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." You never know who is going to try to step all over you on their climb to the top.

5. While on the topic of friends. It's better to have a few Best Friends than an unlimited amount of average friends. Once you find out who those few are cherish them - always. No matter how far apart in distance the years may take you.

6. Sweat pants are for the gym. Not for school (I don't care how early your class is); not for the airplane, train, or bus (I don't care how long your journey is); and most definitly not for work (unless you just so happen to work at the gym).

7. Always be willing to help your fellow man. Chances are if you are reading this blog right now you've got it better than hundreds of thousands (possibly millions?) of people in the world. Karma is a b-word (that rhymes with witch), so it's better to put out positive Karma as opposed to negative Karma. And always remember that whatever you give to others will return to you tenfold. If you can't financially help people, by all means be willing to volunteer your time. And don't forget to smile while doing it! =)

8. Dealing with disagreeable people? Most people who are disagreeable are unhappy with their life and feel the need to drag you down too. Don't let them get to you. When in doubt, "Kill 'em with kindness."

9. Get in the habit of spelling checking E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! Facebook status', Twitter updates, text messages, e-mails, and blogs. No: "How R U doing?" or "me 2" or anything along those lines. None of these look good, and are most definitely frowned upon in the professional community. It looks cheap.

10. Always be thankful for where you are in your life. Because no matter how bad you may think it is, there is always a way that it could be worse…so be glad that it’s not.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God's gift, that's why we call it the present.”

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about dwelling on my past, and what my future has in store for me – yes, both as separate entities. I sat here most of last night trying to blog about them and to be honest, it felt kind of old to me to be writing about the past and future – I’ve done it before. About a million times. I love to write, but I don’t want anything to be forced, like I’m doing it out of obligation, because I’m not, I’m doing it because I like to write and it’s something that I did a lot as a child and it makes me happy.


Anywho, I went through a couple different ideas that had been mulling around in my head about said past and future topic that I so wanted to write about. But nothing felt right. Then it hit me.

Why?

Why am I spending so much time focusing on both the past and future?

The past has come and gone. And everything that has happened during it is done. Can’t be changed. Every single awkward moment and failed attempt is out there. And what good is analyzing each and every single one of them? I always over analyze everything, and where has that gotten me? Nowhere. So why dwell on it?

The future is still up in the air. Who knows what it has in store for you? And while you may be working your butt off now to get to the future, you lose what’s most important – the present. Don’t ever take advantage of the fact that you’re where you are for a reason. It could be the worst or best moment of your life. But it’s these moments that create the future you – and you won’t be the person you hope to be in the future without taking time to enjoy the present moment that you’re in.

Appreciate the present because it is the only time that you live in. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Take advantage of the time you have now because who knows how long that time lasts. Conquer your fears. Accomplish your dreams. Tell someone you love them. Do it all. Do it today.

Nota Bene:

Just an FYI, the whole Navy thing has been put on the back burner for now. I was going to do it in June but then the big sis got engaged and all. I can't willing join the Navy (and be at boot camp) when I have M.O.H. duties, and the wedding in July. I promised Mom that I would try once more with UCF for August and if I get nothing from them, then September I'm doing the whole Navy thing.

Part of me wished that it actually works out with UCF, and part of me doesn't.