The Fall Five

Fall is here.  Gone are the days of waking up when my body feels like it, throwing on my favorite pair of jean shorts, and exploring the city with Chloe.  These days I'm up at 6am and so exhausted that I can barely speak by 2:55pm.  Teaching is a delicate balance of pushing children past where they feel comfortable, while simultaneously keeping them from hating you.  It's harder than it looks! 

Below is a list of the things that are currently helping to ease my transition back into work mode.

1. Lianne La Havas, Blood.  I loved Lianne La Havas's first album, Is Your Love Big Enough? and her second album of soul/folk songs doesn't disappoint.  Her work is a combination of vulnerability and  righteous indignation, fueled by her strident voice and her guitar.  My favorite songs are "What You Don't Do," and "Grow."  Prince is a fan, so you don't have to take my word for it.

Listen to La Havas cover Jill Scott's "He Loves Me."

2.  Perfect Match Nail Color in "Mi Amor." A few years ago manicures were an occasional indulgence for me, but now I feel naked without one.  Gel manicures are the best because I don't have to worry about my nails chipping when I am digging in my bag or smudging while I am talking out Chloe's braids.  Having freshly painted, shiny nails helps me feel put together, and I love this not-too-dark/not-too-light nude color for fall.  The great thing about Perfect Match is that they have corresponding non-gel colors for my pedicures.

3. Nars Audacious Lipstick in "Leslie," and Sephora MicroSmooth Baked Blush in "Rose Emotion.  If I don't have lipstick on when I come to work my students are the first to let me know that all is not right with the world.  I am giving my red lipstick a break for fall and going back to the rich browns that I wore in high-school and college.  "Leslie," billed as a "cherrywood" color is both moisturizing and long lasting.

I discovered this blush while shopping in Sephora with Alexis. It is intensely pigmented and gives me more color than the blush that I usually wear.   I love that the Sephora collection products are so affordable because after spending $32 dollars on Nars Lipstick, my cosmetics budget is basically finished :/

4. The Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art and Storytelling.  Chloe and I stopped into this museum on Sunday and  I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it is.  Designed for children ages 3-8, the museum is part of The Sugar Hill Project which seeks to meld affordable housing with cultural education as a means of encouraging neighborhood revitalization.  Families can engage workshops in the spacious art studio and visit works by Elizabeth Catlett and Romare Bearden on loan from The Studio Museum in Harlem.  Furthermore, the website says that the space will be available for birthday parties facilitated by museum educators.  This is a great place to bring restless kids to create art and make new friends on the weekends; I wish that it was around years ago when Chloe was younger.

5. The Heart Goes Last, by Margret Atwood.  Imagine a world characterized by violence and unemployment where people live in their cars and are afraid to walk through the park.  In the dystopian world of Margaret Atwood's The Heart Goes Last, The Positron Project aims to be the solution to these problems.   The project offers people the opportunity to live in a flourishing suburb six months out of the year, if they agree to live in prison the other six months.  A biting commentary on the prison industrial complex  and corporate culture, The Heart Goes Last  illustrates Atwood's point in The Handmaid's Tale that "[people] can get used to anything, as long as there are a few compensations."