Announcing Elegance of Fashion's Tumblr Page

I had debated for awhile whether or not I wanted a Tumblr page. So, I finally created one. For those of you who don't know what Tumblr is, it's like a blog, but the posts are shorter and usually contain pictures. If you want to see the pictures that I make quicker than me making a big post about them, you can check out the Tumblr page. I'll also "reblog" other pictures that I see around. I will still post banners, extras, icons, humor pics, and buttons here, but if you would like to see other pictures that I have been working on (like effects), check out the Tumblr page! I also made the background, which I am fairly proud of.


Visit the Tumblr Page here!


God Bless,
 

Some Emma Animations

 Melody from Regency Delight ~Jane Austen, etc.~ has suggested some animation ideas. They came out pretty good.

God Bless,
 

LolPeriodDramas

Years ago, my sister introduced me to Lolcats. I didn't understand it at first, but now I've grown an appreciation for it.

In case you have never heard of Lolcats, let me tell you what they are. Basically, they are pictures of cats with captions. Usually these captions have very horrible grammar that looks like internet lingo (or lolspeak). The captions purposely have misspellings and bad grammar (which could be one of the reasons that I didn't get it at first: I'm very grammar conscious).

People have done Lolcats pictures with non-cat pictures. It really could be anything: dogs, TV shows... maybe even Period Dramas?

I've been experimenting with making Lol captions with period dramas. Let me know what you all think.

Who knows, if these are a success, I may start up a blog about them... but that might not be for a while.


 God Bless,
 

Final Round: 2nd Period Drama Heroine Tournament

It's finally here! The round to decide the winner of the 2nd Period Drama Heroine Tournament!

Final Poll

Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables)

Margaret Hale (North and South)

 God Bless,
 

Round 4 Results: 2nd Period Drama Heroine Tournament

Here are the results for Round 4.

Poll 1

Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) -- 43 votes

Elinor Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility) -- 36 votes

Poll 2

Amy Dorrit (Little Dorrit) -- 33 votes

Margaret Hale (North and South) -- 44 votes

The final round is coming!

 God Bless,
   

Happy Birthday Jane Austen (Yet Another Period Drama) - Tag

Note: I meant to publish this during Yet Another Period Drama Blog's Happy Birthday Jane Austen Week, but was unable to. Sorry for the delay.


Miss Dashwood from Yet Another Period Drama Blog is holding a Happy Birthday, Jane Austen Week. She has a very lovely tag that I am taking part in.

1 - What was the first JA novel you ever read, and who introduced you to it?

The first Jane Austen book I've ever read was Pride and Prejudice. My mom introduced me to the 1995 miniseries (she had never read the book). I knew I was supposed to read it for school, but one day I found a copy in Borders (oooh! Why did Borders have to close?!) featuring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth from the 1995 miniseries on the cover (in fact, it's pictured above!), so I bought it and read it before I was supposed to read it.

2 - Which is your least favorite JA novel, and why?  (Everybody posts about their favorites... I want to know what's at the bottom of your list!)

I don't dislike any of her books, but probably Persuasion was my least favorite. It didn't have as much satire that other Jane Austen novels have. It was still okay, but just not my favorite. I liked Anne Elliot as a heroine, but I kind of resented Captain Wentworth: he just seemed to purposely cause Anne pain throughout most of the book.

3 - Who do you think is the funniest character JA ever created?

Hmmm... Something to think about...

I would probably pick Henry Tilney for his wit. 

For "silly funny", probably Mrs. Jennings: she can get on my nerves a little, but she means well and can be amusing.

4 - Which JA villain[ess] do you love to hate?

I greatly dislike Willoughby from Sense and Sensibility. He truly is a scoundrel!

5 - What's your favorite JA quote?

There are so many! I loved this quote from Sense and Sensibility:

"How soon he had walked himself into the proper resolution, however, how soon an opportunity of exercising it occurred, in what manner he expressed himself, and how he was received, need not be particularly told. This only need be said;—that when they all sat down to table at four o'clock, about three hours after his arrival, he had secured his lady, engaged her mother's consent, and was not only in the rapturous profession of the lover, but, in the reality of reason and truth, one of the happiest of men." (Chapter 49)

Where other authors would have gone into over mushy, romantic language, Jane Austen didn't get into it. She didn't need to rely on the mushy language to tell her story.

6 - If you were to "start" someone on JA, which book would you recommend to them first and why?

Probably Pride and Prejudice, since it is so popular and my favorite. After Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility since you could find similarities between the two. 

7 - What is your absolute favorite JA film adaptation and why?

Definitely the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice, since it was what introduced me to Jane Austen.

8 - If you could authorize a new film adaptation of one of JA's novels, which would it be and why?

Though I haven't finished it (so much to do, so little time to read) or seen any adaptation of it, definitely Mansfield Park. Every other Austen adaptation has at least one adaptation that is good, but not Mansfield Park. Even the new Northanger Abbey is okay, though not perfect. So in short, Mansfield Park then Northanger Abbey.

9 - Which JA character do you most identify with?

Elizabeth Bennet (duh!). In my years of reading, I have never found a character that I have related to more.

10 - If you could have lunch with JA today, what question would you most like to ask her?
"So, what do you think of the books that have been coming out lately?"

11 - Is there any one thing that you think could have been improved upon in one (or all) of JA's books?  What is it and why?

I did wish that there was more satire in Persuasion because that is what I love in Jane's other books, but there wasn't as much in Persuasion.

12 - If you could have lunch with one of JA's characters today, who would it be and why?

Besides Elizabeth Bennet? I wouldn't mind having lunch with Marianne Dashwood: maybe she could help me with the piano? (I could use the help! hehe)

13 - (optional) Why is Miss Dashwood so fond of asking "why"?
 "Why?" happens to be a very interesting question, of course! We can always answer what something is, or how something got there, buy "why" really gets to the root of the entire situation!

God Bless,
 

Jane Austen Birthday Week (Between The Covers) Tag

Note: I meant to publish this during Between the Covers's Jane Austen Birthday Week but was unable to. Sorry for the delay.

Evajoy at Between the Covers has a Jane Austen tag for her Jane Austen Birthday Week! And here's another one of her lovely scrapbook pages!

What is your favorite Jane Austen novel?

Definitely Pride and Prejudice! It was the first Jane Austen book that I've read, and I greatly enjoyed it.

Who is your favorite character in that novel?  

In case you couldn't tell by my blog name, Elizabeth Bennet. In all the books that I have read, I've never related to a character as much as I related to Lizzy.

Who is your least favorite character?  

In Pride and Prejudice? Either Wickham or Lydia. Wickham was a scoundrel who lied about Mr. Darcy to make himself look better (not cool!); Lydia was just always annoying and oblivious.

How would you feel if Emma married Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax married Mr. Knightly? 

No! Frank brought out some of the worst qualities in Emma (making fun of Miss Bates, speculating about Jane Fairfax, etc.). And Mr. Knightley said himself that Jane was too reserved for him. No, Emma and Mr. Knightley are meant for each other! (Not too sure about Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax; I do feel sorry for Jane with all that she had to go through with Frank)

How recently have you read this novel?  

Pride and Prejudice? I've read it about four (?) years ago. I usually don't reread books that I've already have read, but maybe one day I will reread all of Jane Austen's books. But as of now, I have too many books that I want to read.

Would you change something about this novel?  

For Pride and Prejudice, absolutely nothing! It's perfect the way it is!

Last question – What’s your favorite movie version of this novel?

Definitely the 1995 miniseries. It is the closest to the book. I've seen the 1981 miniseries, a couple of scenes from the 1940 movie, and about half of the 2005 movie: the 1981 miniseries didn't get a lot of the characters right and came across as too dull; the 1940s movie had the wrong feel to it; the 2005 movie just isn't Pride and Prejudice -- too many parts were changed.

 God Bless,
 

Merry Christmas!

 God Bless,
 

Apologies

I wish to offer some apologies since I've made plans here at Elegance of Fashion which had to be broken.

1. I said that on December 19th I would bring back reviews after a quick break for finals, but I'm going to need a little more time.

2. I was going to participate in Yet Another Period Drama Blog's and Between the Covers's Jane Austen Birthday events, but didn't. I have that tags for both blogs written up in my drafts in Blogger, so I will be posting them sometime this week. Very sorry to Miss Dashwood and Eva-joy for not participating in their events.

Please be patient with me as I get organized again so I can fulfill the plans that I have made as best as I can.

Thank you for your understanding.


 God Bless,
 

A Most Beloved Sister

The past couple of days have been very rough. I still can't believe that my sister is gone. I feel this empty void inside of me. She, along with my mom, was my best friend. My mom, my sister, and I would talk all the time, especially in the evenings before going to sleep. About three years ago, she started to feel unwell, and about two and a half years ago, she was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension; the type that she was diagnosed with is a very rare form of it that only 200 people in the world have. She suffered for two and a half years until Monday, December 12, when she was called up to heaven at the age of 27. I truly miss my sister, but I know that she is in heaven and isn't suffering anymore.

My sister's name was Sunny. She had a blog called Peering Out My Window. She loved to take pictures of everything. When she got sick two years ago, she was limited to what she could take pictures of since she couldn't go out like she used to. She started to take pictures of what she saw outside of the window she was at, whether it was in the house or in the car when she was feeling well enough to get outside of the house. She started Peering Out My Window, but unfortunately she didn't post very much on it. I'm posting here some of the pictures here that she took. I invite you to look at her blog.

Peering Out My Window

This is our dog Coco (before getting groomed)

This is a reflection of my dog Ali while we were on a trip.

Thank you everyone for your condolences over the past week. I very much appreciated all of the Bible verses that everyone has been commenting here: I need to trust in God now more than ever. I truly believe that I have some of the most caring followers in all of the blogging world, and I thank you all for that.


 God Bless,