2017 Recap

Hey everyone! So 2017 has been a big year for me. Not as big as 2018 will be, but pretty close. Honestly, 2017 has been a crazy year for everyone, especially if you look at the political scene in the United States. That aside, this year has had some good and bad times for me. I definitely did go outside of my comfort zone on many occasions, but I also ended up making more friendships than I thought I ever would. I wanted to share some moments from 2017 that had not made it to my Instagram or my blog with all of you.

January:

I was in an Advanced Drawing Class during my Junior Year and this was one of the pieces I worked on. 

Two of my friends and I went to the Met before a coffeehouse (poetry reading/ open mic), and this was my first time at this museum in the new year.

 Teddy and I before I made it down the mountain during my first ski trip.

                    On my ski trip with my school, my triumph was skiing to the Waffle House at Okemo in Vermont. 

This was another piece I was working on during the month of January. 

February: 

 I am still a New York Islanders fan, despite everyone I know being Rangers fans.
My favorite players are Anders Lee, Mat Barzal, and Anthony Beauvillier.

 During a snowstorm in New York, both my friend and I didn't have school so we treated ourselves to Cocoa Grinder (a cafe in Brooklyn), and she taught me how to edit my photos so everything comes out more bright.

 Underneath the Verrazano Bridge in February.

Another piece I was working on during the month of February. 

March:

 Finished product.

 The Met on a snowy day.

Goodman and Chadbourne Oliver at the Studio at Webster Hall.

Vista Kicks playing at the Studio at Webster Hall.

Juli, Jenn, and I hanging out with Vista Kicks post-concert.

 For out Hamlet Project, my group and I had to make a "new" version of the play. We decided to make Rosencrantz and Guildenstern frat boys hence the backward hat.

Sunset from an airplane on the way to California for my Singing Group's Tour.

Selfie in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA

Connie and I recreating the Titanic.

 Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary

 Smiling while in one of the cells at Alcatraz.

In-N-Out Burger in San Francisco.

 Nina and I at the Grove in Los Angeles.

Alexa and I at a restaurant in San Francisco.

Mary-Kate and Ashley's Star on the Walk of Fame.

 I was super thrilled about visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 Aubrey, Connie, and In in front of Universal Studios.

 All the girls in my grade that are in Singers with me.

 The Library at Boston College in MA.

Boston, MA

 George Washington University in D.C.

April:

Women In The World Summit at Lincoln Center

Another photo from this summit.

Another drawing I worked on during 2017. This piece is in my school's art literary magazine.

 Nikki and I backstage before performing in our school's rendition of the Little Mermaid.

 I was in the ensemble, and one of my costumes was a maid.

 A flock of Seagulls during the show.

 Charlotte and I in our final number dresses.

 The whole cast of the high school version of The Little Mermaid. 

 Another costume picture...

 and another costume pic...

 Bree and I trying on semi-formal dresses that we didn't end up buying.

Bosco in Orient, Long Island. 

May:

MissGuided ad in Times Square, NY.

Women's Foundation Breakfast.

 Women's Foundation Breakfast. I was guest of my school for this event.

 Just two feminists!

 A dress from the Fashion Exhibit at the Met.

My friends and I before my school's semi-formal.
  

Bosco in a raincoat.

 Alexa and I at a different school's semi-formal.

 A collage I made that was made up of old magazines.

 Senior Takeover!

 An exhibit at the Met.

 A polaroid during the last weeks of school at the Great Lawn in Central Park.

 North Kingston, Rhode Island.

 The view from my aunt's lighthouse in Rhode Island.

 Junior Ring day

 Group picture (We call ourselves Breen & the Brooklynites)

Class photo in our senior sweatshirts. 

June:

Bluestone Lane Cafe coffees. 

 Post our last final.

 It was 95 degrees out and I was wearing skinny jeans. I immediately regretted that decision.

 The night before our last day of school.

This is right after I dyed my hair blue.

 A staircase in the library at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

On the Highline in Chelsea.

Before the pride parade when we were putting glitter on our faces.

Pride Parade in NYC.

July:

Double rainbow in Brooklyn on the first day in July.


 The General Store in Orient, Long Island.


The sunset in Long Island.


4th of July in the city.

My friends and I on a boat in the Hamptons.

 Waiting for the LIRR in the Hamptons.

A selfie I took while recording a project for my internship.

Slurpees from 7-11 on July 11th.

A selfie I took in the bathroom of my internship.

August:

 Mini-golfing at Mr.Tee's in Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

 On a beach at one in the morning.

 Strawberry Banana Pancakes from IHOP.

 Ferris Wheel at Fantasy Island in Long Beach Island.

 Candy Store on Long Beach Island.

Last night in Jersey.

 A sad reminder.

 A photo of my future school right after I had my interview.

September:

 Vegan Taco Bowl from By Chloe's in Williamsburg.

 OOTD from September

 A picture from my cousin's wedding in Long Island.

 Two of my friends and I after we won our field hockey game.

October:

Central Park in October.

 My neighbor's dogs... Bismarck, Helga, and Otto.

 Field Hockey!

My last field hockey that was on our home field.

The whole team..Go Sperymount!

 Sleepy Seniors on Halloween

 My other Halloween costume.

November:

 I met Gloria Steinem with Amelia back in November.

Bosco on the couch in Orient, Long Island.

Sarah and I at our school's women empowerment and feminism student summit that we were the co-chairs of.

The Founder of Affinity Magazine, Evelyn Atieno, speaking at the summit.

December:

 I got accepted to Providence College this month, and I will be attending there in Fall 2018. It was my top school!

 My baby cousin and I on Christmas.

 My OOTD and new phone case on Christmas Day.

Nikki and I skiing at Hunter Mountain, NY on December 30.

My second ever ski trip. This was after I finished skiing for the day.

As I said before, 2017 was a wild year. I hope you liked this very long post. 

Comment below what were some of your highlights of 2017!

xx

Christina Madeleine 

OOTD: Thrift Shopping 11/25/17

Hey everyone! A few weeks back, two of my friends and I went thrift shopping in the East Village and Lower East Side of Manhattan. I've always liked the idea of thrift shopping, but I never end up buying many items. There are so many thrift stores in New York, so I am excited to start trying to find more items from these places. On November 25, I went shopping at AuH2O (Goldwater - located 84 E 7th street) and The Monk (located on 97 E 3rd street). I only bought two items, a blue and back flannel jacket and white sunglasses (now known as 'clout goggles' or Kurt Cobain sunglasses). There will definitely be photos of me wearing the sunglasses soon...(possibly on New Year's!).

                                                                             My outfit

                                       Fake Ripped High-waisted Jeans - American Eagle Outfitters

                                       Black and Blue Flannel Jacket  - AuH2O (thrifted for $17)

                                                             Adidas Stan Smith Sneakers

                                                    Long-sleeved black shirt - Forever 21

                          My grandmother had a huge scarf collection, so my pink roses scarf is from her.

Originally Nikki, Marina, and I went into The Cure (a thrift shop located on 111 E 12th street), and it is very nice in there, but the prices aren't really what we were looking for.  We found a fur coat that was over $300, so we decided that this place was a bit too expensive, but they had some very good pieces of clothing. Unfortunately, we weren't willing to pay those prices.

The Cure has very eccentric items of clothing. Unlike other thrift stores, such as L Train Vintage, they have a certain aesthetic of clothing they are trying to upkeep. Many of the pieces have bright patterns on them.

The Cure had everything from home decorations to sandals to ugly Christmas sweaters.

After going to The Cure, my friends and I went to lunch at Wagamama (located on 210 5th Ave).  We all got different orders of ramen. My order was ramen with tofu, sprouts, an omelette, and mushrooms. We also had edamame and a chicken dish for appetizers.

After we finished thrifting, Nikki and I went to ViVi Bubble Tea (located on 5002 5th Ave). This place's bubble tea is so good. We ordered our drinks with cotton candy on it, and there is a whole order on how to drink the bubble tea. I definitely recommend this place!

I hope you enjoyed this post. I plan on doing more posts similar to this because I love doing different activities in New York City. 

Have you ever been thrift shopping? What places where you live do you recommend?

                                                                                xx
                                                                  Christina Madeleine

Book Review: Turtles All The Way Down

Hey everyone. Happy December! I know that lately seems that my posts have been sporadic, but the month of December has always been a big posting month for This Fashion Girl. Today, I am going to do a review on Turtles All The Way Down by John Green.

I am a fan of John Green. I've read The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Will Grayson Will Grayson, and Papertowns. I started an Abundance of Katherines, but I didn't like it at the time and definitely need a re-read. John Green hasn't released a book in five years (because of writer's block & a multitude of other things), but he recently released Turtles All The Way Down. I  didn't purchase it, but it was in my school's library so I had to read it.

Synopsis from GoodReads:
Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. 

My Thoughts:

At first, I wasn't very fond of the book. The point of view is a teenage girl named Aza, who has severe anxiety. Half the book is her brain "spiraling" as she calls it. She'll be eating a sandwich and her thoughts will go from the sandwich to all the bacteria in her stomach digesting it. She doesn't connect with any characters well and doesn't relate well to her best friend, Daisy, until more than halfway through the book. Daisy is the only character who actually calls Aza out on how she doesn't seem to have an interest in anyone but herself. Aza's thoughts and anxiety cause her to do some crazy things such as drink hand sanitizer, periodically open up a wound, and obsessively wash her hands.  It was slightly awkward reading about Aza in the beginning because John Green does a scarily good job of writing from the view of a 15-year-old girl.

I am not going to keep talking bad about Aza because she does eventually become more interesting. My favorite character is Davis. He is the son of a rich billionaire who went into hiding the night before his house was supposed to be raided by the CIA. Davis cares a lot for Aza and for his brother. He makes endless compromises to try to ease Aza's anxiety. He is very multi-dimensional and writes a blog where he quotes Shakespeare and relates it to how he is feeling at the moment. He also knows a lot about astronomy, and there are a ton of references to the stars in the book.

The overall plot of the book is a young girl's life in Indiana, where her thoughts overtake her actions. The way the book is written gave me a bit of anxiety because John Green makes it seem as if you are spiraling with Aza's thoughts. The subplot about the missing billionaire is relevant to the book, but it's not the entire book. I did like this book, but it is not my all-time favorite John Green book (that would be Looking for Alaska).

Turtles All The Way Down is recommended for young adults, and I believe it's perfectly suited for that age group. John Green, as usual, has done an amazing job writing this book.

Some Favorite Quotes:

“The worst part of being truly alone is you think about all the times you wished that everyone would just leave you be. Then they do, and you are left being, and you turn out to be terrible company.” 

"I thought, lying there, that I might love him for the rest of my life. We did love each other- maybe we never said it, and maybe love was never something we were in, but it was something I felt. I loved him, and I thought, maybe I will never see him again, and I'll be stuck missing him, and isn't that so terrible"

"You remember your first love because they show you, prove to you, that you can love and be loved, that nothing in this world is deserved except for love, that love is both how you become a person, and why."

“Spirals grow infinitely small the farther you follow them inward, but they also grow infinitely large the farther you follow them out.” 

“One of the challenges with pain--physical or psychic--is that we can really only approach it through metaphor. It can't be represented the way table or a body can. In some ways, pain is the opposite of language.”

“Most adults are just hollowed out. You watch them try to fill themselves up with booze or money or God or fame or whatever they worship, and it all rots them from the inside until nothing is left but the money or the booze or God they though would save them. Adults think they are wielding power, but really power is wielding them.”

I hope you guys liked this review. Have you read this book yet? Comment below!

See you all with more posts this week, it'll be a shortened version of Blogmas.

                                                                             xx

                                                               Christina Madeleine

Book Review: The Dollhouse

Hey everyone! I'm back with another book review. Recently, I joined my school's book club and we read The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis. I am really glad that I am apart of book club because I feel like I wouldn't have discovered this book if it wasn't for it.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Fiona Davis's stunning debut novel pulls readers into the lush world of New York City's glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women, where in the 1950s a generation of aspiring models, secretaries, and editors lived side by side while attempting to claw their way to fairy-tale success, and where a present-day journalist becomes consumed with uncovering a dark secret buried deep within the Barbizon's glitzy past.

When she arrives at the famed Barbizon Hotel in 1952, secretarial school enrollment in hand, Darby McLaughlin is everything her modeling agency hall mates aren't: plain, self-conscious, homesick, and utterly convinced she doesn't belong—a notion the models do nothing to disabuse. Yet when Darby befriends Esme, a Barbizon maid, she's introduced to an entirely new side of New York City: seedy downtown jazz clubs where the music is as addictive as the heroin that's used there, the startling sounds of bebop, and even the possibility of romance.

Over half a century later, the Barbizon's gone condo and most of its long-ago guests are forgotten. But rumors of Darby's involvement in a deadly skirmish with a hotel maid back in 1952 haunt the halls of the building as surely as the melancholy music that floats from the elderly woman's rent-controlled apartment. It's a combination too intoxicating for journalist Rose Lewin, Darby's upstairs neighbor, to resist—not to mention the perfect distraction from her own imploding personal life. Yet as Rose's obsession deepens, the ethics of her investigation become increasingly murky, and neither woman will remain unchanged when the shocking truth is finally revealed.

My Thoughts:

I really liked this book because it had a very unique plot. The book switches between Rose, a journalist, whose life has turned upside down in the span of a few days in 2016, and Darby, a woman who moved from Ohio to New York, in 1952. I love books that have flashbacks and the point of view of multiple characters, hence why All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is one of my favorite books. 

I found the character Rose slightly annoying. She becomes obsessed with the lives of the women that live in her building that were alive when a maid was killed in the '50s. I understood that she was a journalist, but I feel like there should have been more consequences for actions, especially living in someone's apartment for two weeks without them knowing. She deals with a lot of relationship problems (both romantic and with family), and it's obvious that her coping mechanism isn't the best. 

I liked Darby because her point of view was so interesting. She is a young girl that moves from Ohio to New York to go to secretary school. She meets Esme, a maid at the Barbizon Hotel where she lived and gets introduced the jazz scene of the 50s. Darby's life becomes so much more interesting once she meets Sam Buckley, a chef at a downtown Manhattan jazz club. There's so much character development that happens to Darby. She goes from this shy, small-town girl to a woman who truly finds herself. Unfortunately, when there's the time jump she's not like that. 

This book is meant for adult readers, but there's a very thin line between young adult and adult The Dollhouse. There are a few sexual scenes, but those are only a few pages long and not a huge part of the overall plot. I recommend this book because it's easy to read and gets you hooked on page one. 


I hope you look into this book because it's definitely a great read!

Question: What books are you currently reading right now?

                                                                                 xx

                                                                       Christina Madeleine

Halloween 2017 + Life Update

Hey everyone! I know it's been awhile, and I should've have posted yesterday to be back on track, but everything has been hectic lately. I've been very focused on my school work and applying for college, so I needed to take a small break from posting. As of now, I am finished with my applications (which is so scary!), and I am ready to back into the weekly schedule of posting on Sundays. There will be a few more posts to catch you guys up on my life, but get ready for your weekly posts again! On another note, I have been writing for Affinity Magazine, and GLUE Magazine to further expand my writing. Both are teen run magazines, and super fun to be apart of! You can see all my posts in the tab on the top of the page called, 'Other Places I Write'. 

Another reason why I haven't been posting lately is that I have been planning a feminism/gender equality summit at my school, and that has taken up a lot of my time. I am the co-president of my school's feminism club, which put me in the position to plan the summit, and it has been a lot of work but I am so excited for it. Some of the speakers are Maria Cuomo Cole, Doreen St.Felix, Jeannie Gaffigan, and so many other wonderful people. I can't wait to meet them, and write all about it!

Every year I write about Halloween (ex: 2015 and 2016) and this year is no different, despite it being a few weeks late.  This year, I dressed up as Steven Hyde from That 70's Show. The actor, Danny Masterson, has been accused of sexual assault recently, so as much as I am not a fan of him; Hyde is one of my favorite characters from the show.

My Outfit

Denim Jacket - Forever 21

Patched Jeans - American Eagle 

Turquoise Socks - American Eagle (?) - purchased in 2015

Keith Richards for President shirt 

Pink Sunglasses - Urban Outfitters 

Gray Turtleneck - L.L. Bean 

Adidas Stan Smiths

Picture of Steven Hyde from That 70s' Show

My friends and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to take photos in our costumes.

Trudi was dressed as a fairy.

Marina was dressed as a character from Stranger Things (so...80s style). 

Nikki was dressed up as a bear. 

Almost everything thing I am wearing is my own. The only thing I borrowed was the Keith Richards shirt because the only band t-shirt I own is One Direction from 2013.


What did you dress up as for Halloween this year? I hope you liked this post, and I will be back with another one in a few days! 

                                                                            xx
                                                              Christina Madeleine