Item of the day

Here's the item of the day from my etsy shop, found at www.kaitlinvroom.etsy.com

Visit for more mug cozies and more!

My Etsy shop

Visit me and favorite my shop if you like it!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade kaitlinvroom.etsy.com

America knows that Joan Holloway is beautiful

Joan Holloway is single handedly changing american beauty ideals for the better. Played by Christina Hendricks, the character on AMC's Mad Men represents a body type, and an owned sexuality not seen in many other pop culture outlets.

Countless times, as I've watched Mad Men with other people, I have heard statements like "Joan's the hottest one on this show." It's especially refreshing to hear these sentiments even while she's constantly being juxtaposed next to spindly women who's bodies represent the type of most celebrities in movies and on T.V. Characters like Jane and Betty both posses bodies likely to be seen in any media entertainment, but Joan is different. Joan is "hotter." The fact that this is a widespread notion with American audiences is surprising to me, as tabloids are constantly touting female celebrities as "fat" and unattractive for having similar body types to that of Joan. With the popularity of Mad Men growing every season, more and more Americans are being exposed to this notion of the voluptuous and curvy body as beautiful.

Women in a majority of mainstream American entertainment are not portrayed as pursuers of sexual relationships, but rather the object of a male character's sexual desire. Again, Joan is different. Of any character on the show, male or female, Joan seems to be the most comfortable in her body and with her own sexuality. She is obviously enjoying and in control of her sexual life.

For these reasons, I think that the character of Joan Holloway is an awesome body image role model for young women who are constantly exposed to female characters who represent unattainable beauty standards and a submissive and apprehensively uncomfortable attitude toward sexuality. In addition, I think that Joan's attractiveness to young men watching Mad Men will benefit the American standard ideals of beauty. If every person who watches Mad Men agree that Joan is beautiful, maybe the general beauty constructs in our current culture will agree to a change or a widening of the bracket that is standard idea of beauty.

The gardens of Versailles

This blog is dedicated to My mom and Gramsie

The beautiful fountain in the center of the great line down the middle of the gardens.

As you walk through the labyrinth of hedges, you come across what Louis thought represented "natural beauty."

The approach to the most amazing fountain in the gardens

The combination of the fountain and the surrounding arbor structure was not to be believed.

Roaming through the gardens

The amazing outdoor ballroom

Check out the rest of the photos on photobucket to see Le Hameau as well! P.s. don't forget to click on these images to make them fill sized.

Food de Paris

Since I'm failing at keeping up with a chronological blog, I think I will blog with a theme whenever I find the time. This entry will be about food. (Click on the photo to view it in it's entirety.)

Good idea:

Tea at Le Mosque

Good idea:

Escargot and vin a la Latin Quarter

Good idea:

Lunch at Le Petit Venise at Versailles

Good idea:

Fillafels in the Marais

Bad idea:

Kronenburg mini keg

My photos

Because of the limited bandwidth of this blog, I created a photo sharing account with albums of photos. Here's the link:

http://s923.photobucket.com/albums/ad73/etheratlas/

Day 2

Today was our class's trip to the Louvre. Though I've been there before, it was incredible to be there with a class and an instructor who has so much insight into the meaning, process, and story behind each piece of art. I learned five million new things about art and the museum today.