Eeek, it’s been a while!

Life is pretty good at the moment, though very busy. It’s major assignment time for uni so that’s my main focus, though it’s hard because I have all these craft project ideas running through my head almost constantly. I haven’t made anything in probably about a month or so and you can tell; I seem to get rally restless and distracted when I don’t have a wee project on the go.

Three of my ideas relate to Christmas gifts so I can’t really go into detail here as people may see it who should not! But I can share with you plans for making a tote bag for summer and starting a family tree scrapbook. I’m still looking for fabric for the tote – I want something pretty but inexpensive! Preferably with gray, yellow and blue incorporated. For the scrapbook, I’m still in the very early stages and I’ve never scrapbooked before so I’m trying to figure out what I need based on what I want to do. You can get some pretty things cheaply from department stores, which is nice. I looked online at supplies and was shocked by how expensive they can be! Especially albums.

Here are some links I’ve been loving this week:
Making a Duvet Cover @ Design*Sponge
This house @ Design*Sponge
Handmade Swedish Teddies
Icon Finder

I shall leave you with a photo of the swag I bought from SourpussClothing.com! Super-fabulous store, I highly recommend them.

For the last several weeks Elisabeth over at You Can’t Call It “It” has been running a game of sorts. Basically she posted 100 of the 1000 most popular U.S. baby names for boys and 100 for girls then readers had to name quadruplets out of just those names. The quads are two boys and two girls.

Today was the last installment. Being the name nerd I am I’m sad it’s over. I totally loved doing this and found it challenging on many occassions because sometimes most of the names were just AWFUL. Anyway, I have decided to post all the sets I came up with here. The underlined names are those I really love.

1-100 (go to post)
Sofia Zoe
Evelyn Audrey
Alexander Jack
Oliver Kyle

101-199 (go to post)
Stella Daisy
Annabelle Ruby
Oscar Jake
Max Vincent

200-199 (go to post)
Veronica Hazel
Lola Genevieve
Elliot Roman
Leo Rafael

300-399 (go to post)
Tatiana Rose
Iris Paisley
Jasper Felix
Quentin Elliott

400-499 (go to post)
Elle Viviana
Mila Daphne
Byron August
Hugo Lawrence

500-599 (go to post)
Olive Elliana
Helena Vivienne
Demetrius Julien
Gideon Enzo

600-699 (go to post)
Scarlet Greta
Isis Virginia
Atticus Harry
Malakai* Archer

*Spelled ‘Malachi’, however.

700-799 (go to post)
Iliana Evie
Cecelia Ingrid
Nikolai Cedric
Matias Alvaro

800-899 (got to post)
Beatrice Millie
Vera Edith
Ethen Seamus
Samson Cristofer

900-1000 (go to post)
Harlow Magdalena
Eloise Lilyanna
Lennon Cassius
Fletcher Hugh

In the spirit of Taking a Breather From the Hellish Land of Statistics Assignment and Study, here are two names I am loving at the moment.

Atticus

This name is gaining some popularity; birth announcements occasionally surprise me. However, the most frequent comments made by people who wouldn’t use the name is “It sounds too literary”/”It sounds pretentious” or some combination of the two. Most people who did high school English are aware of where this probably stems from: Atticus Finch, one of the characters in Harper Lee’s Too Kill A Mockingbird. According to Wiki:

“Atticus is To Kill a Mockingbird’s most upright character, representing the moral ideal of both a lawyer and a human being: he is brutally honest, highly moral, extremely opinionated a tireless crusader for good causes (even hopeless ones), a virtual pacifist and, for the most part, devoid of any of the racial or class prejudices afflicting the other citizens of Maycomb.”

I would definitely agree with that. I loved his character when I read the book. Based on everything Atticus Finch is, I can see why some people would dislike the name and associate it with parents somehow wanting to bestow all of Finch’s characteristics on their child by way of a name. The argument of it being “too literary” however, really irritates me. Atticus is only considered ‘literary’ because it’s not popular – names such as Jane, Oliver, Juliet and Dean can all be considered literary: Jane Austen and her character Jane Bennet; Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens’ novel of the same name; Juliet from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; and Jack Kerouac’s Dean Moriarty in On The Road. But all those names are pretty common. If Atticus were as used as any of those are, it would not receive as many of those highly irritating comments. And I probably wouldn’t love it as much! It’s true for me: less popular equals better choice.

Instead of the literary focus, I like the name Atticus because it sounds nice to me! Simple as that, really. I thought it was an okay name when I read To Kill a Mockingbird, but it wasn’t until recently that I actually started to really love it. It means ‘from Athens’ and I’ve always associated Athens with classical times, which I incidentally associate with strength, power and most importantly, knowledge.

It’s a name that I think suits a child as well as an adult, though it’s only real downfall for me is the lack of decent nicknames. I think ‘Atty’ is fine for a baby and child, but there aren’t any other, at least obvious, nicknames. I think ‘Gus’ could work, even though the ‘c’ in Atticus is a pretty hard k-sound. Too bad I don’t like Gus!

Alas, Atticus is a moniker I will probably never use because it is not on the list of names that boyfriend and I agree on. It’s quite disappointing for me because I really think it is the perfect name for a little boy!

Isadora

A very recent ‘discovery’ of mine. Not as in I’d never heard it before, but as in me deciding it was made of perfection. And in researching it, I have come to the conclusion that if I can’t use Tallulah on my own future daughter, Isadora I would like her to be! Of Greek and Latic origin, Isadora is “the gift of Isis” (principal Egyptian Goddess). According to Babynology it means “gift of the moon”, which ties in with Isis because one of the things she is said to be goddess of is fertility.

In terms of popularity, Isadora hasn’t ranked anywhere in the top 1000 in the U.S. for the last ten years. My quick research shows she hasn’t appeared in any of the rounded decades (i.e., I searched 1990, 1980, etc.) since 1900! And even then she was ranked at 992. She may have made an appearance at some point in those years I didn’t search, but according to U.S. social security records, the name has been in decline since at least 1870. This is good news for me, a name that isn’t in the top 1000 and has a decent meaning*.

Probably the most well-known bearer of the name is Isadora Duncan, acclaimed American dancer. She unfortunately died a rather grim death in 1927 when her silk scarf got caught in the spokes of a car which broke her neck. But I’m so weird I actually enjoy that the name has that association, much like how I enjoy that Tallulah reminds me of Tallulah Bankhead, who used to open her door stark naked wearing only pearls, and then perform songs lying on her piano, while still naked.

But, I digress. With the popularity of Isabella and Isabel I am surprised that Isadora hasn’t gained, at least not in the U.S. I think it might have something to do with the ‘Dora’, as Bell and Bella are arguably more ‘girlie’ and pretty than Dora. Dora kind of evokes little old ladies, a down-trodden 1920s housewife or that kids cartoon. That being said, I do think Isadora has more popularity in Britain but I am unsure of any official record-keeping that is available to the public (please give me a heads-up if you know of any). It has certainly featured several times in British birth announcements over the last year and I can only see that trend continuing in the near future as more and more ‘old lady/man’ names make a comeback. I think the Brits tends to me a tad more brazen with naming, at least in some circles. They don’t mind bringing back those old lady names and bestowing a 2010 bub with Betty, Harriet or Dorothy.

*Always sad to discover a name you love has a really awful meaning. For example (though not names I actually like), the sound of “Anne” means poop in Farsi (Iranian language), and Kennedy means ‘misshapen head’. How lovely!

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Currently bombarding Josh with links to Holga camera auctions. Dropping hints for our anniversary next month.

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But seriously, Holga’s are just such beautiful cameras and the possibilities for each shot are so fantastic. I think it’s so easy to get used to the instant hit of digital and I haven’t played much with film, so I think it’s about time!

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Dear Mum and Dad,

I hardly know what to say to you, other than ‘thank you’. There are so many things you both have done for our family, and for me specifically, that deserve gratitude. Many, many things you don’t always receive a thank-you for. The things we take for granted.

To Mum, thank you for the lunches you make me to take to university – they are always yummier than the ones I make. Thank you for the dinners, too, especially last semester when I was at campus late and would come home to a delicious meal. I really should cook more often for you and I’m sorry I don’t. I’m also sorry for not doing the dishes enough and for everything else I don’t help with even though I should. Thank you for not yelling at me about it, like some other mothers would. Thank you for teaching me so many things and for being so lovely.

To Dad, thank you for the financial support you have always provided us. We have never gone without, and while we’ve never been rich, we have always been comfortable and for that I am so grateful. Thank you also for the loans to buy electronics, and all the little bits of money I have borrowed here and there and still haven’t paid back. Thank you for all the things you have made and fixed, for the knowledge you have shared, and for all the music played on your acoustic guitar.

Most of all, thank you both for your unconditional love and support. I know I scared the shit out of you both during that particular time in my teens, and I am so blessed to have two parents who sought the help I needed at that time, and continued to do so as I worked through my stuff. Without you both, I don’t think I would have managed nearly as well as I have.

With all my love,
Your youngest, xox.

I’m so excited! It’s the first day of spring today and the sun is out, the birds are chirping and I am feeling fantastic. I’m excited about life in general really, which is so wonderful because I have been feeling a bit down lately. More often than not, too, which has been incredibly draining.

BUT, the last few days have been lovely and just what I’ve been needing: zero stress and lots of quality time with my guy.

Speaking of my guy, I’m very excited as time gets closer to not only our one year anniversary (we just celebrated 10 months together) but closer to when we go flatting together! There isn’t a set date yet because it depends on Josh getting a permanent position at the company he works for, which is 99% certain. However, it should hopefully be within the next few months and ideally the next month!

We’ll be living in an apartment with several other people, located convenient distances from both Josh’s workplace and campus. It should only take about 15-20 minutes by bus for me which is an incredible improvement on the current 55-minute bus journey I take twice a day, 4 days a week.

Of course, all this moving business has me in a flutter over decorating and collecting up the few things we’ll need. Granted, it’s not much because we only have a room to ourselves, but it’s still exciting nonetheless. I want to get a new duvet cover for us, one that is more “us” than our own ones are, plus we’ll need some towels and plastic containers for food, etc. Eeee! I love feeling domestic.