Jane Austen Decor Collection at Michaels!

My dresser of Austen decor, a trunk that's part of the collection, and the Jane Austen book boxes.

Ok, so if I found out about this after the fact, I would be super upset, which is why I'm sharing about the collection while there might still be some in stock at your closest Michaels store and online!

As any self-respecting Jane Austen fan knows, this year is Jane Austen's 250th birthday, and while I cannot be in England this December for all of the amazingly fabulous celebrations that will be taking place, I can actually revere her in other ways, including my decor.

I've loved Austen since my teen years when my father, of all people, introduced me to her work through the Olivier/Garson film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice (read my rave review)! It was the start of an eternal friendship with the great authoress which even includes one random theatrical experience playing Charlotte Lucas in a local musical back in 2012 (crazy to think of it being so long ago!).

But enough of my reminiscing, let me return to the Jane Austen collection at Michaels!

Here, my friends, you can find the English Romance collection of decor options, but really, it is Austen inspired and you'll see why in a second.

Jane Austen Wall Art

This Jane Austen literary wall art piece really is gorgeous and I absolutely purchased one for myself. It's not huge at 12" x 15" and works quite well in my rather miniscule bedroom. The colors are soft and romantic and I love that the book stack includes Northanger Abbey, one of my personal favorites!

Jane Austen Persuasion Book Vase

I am sorely tempted to order this book vase while they still have stock online since it appears to be sold out in stores. Persuasion is my other favorite of Austen's novels and I would love to add this to my collection!

Gold Bird Tabletop Decor

While not strictly Austen, I couldn't resist purchasing one of the smaller size golden birds. I love the pedestal that it's perched on, the gold tone, and just everything about it!

Floral Wall Cubby

Again, not Austen in the strictest sense, but I had to have this fabulous wall cubby! My golden bird is perched on the middle shelf as we speak! It goes perfectly when paired with the book stack literature wall art.

And finally, these are Jane Austen book boxes that are 5.25" long! And the reason I don't have a link for them is because they are in store only! I found all but Pride and Prejudice, no surprise there, and I have them neatly stacked on my bedside table with a peacock ambiance lamp perched on top. It's just the perfect look!

I highly encourage browsing through the collection online and if you live near a Michaels store, head there post haste before everything is sold out!

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A Little Jane Austen to Combat the Boredom

All of the illustrations in this posting are from the C.E. Brock illustrated copy of Northanger Abbey from 1922. His illustrations are my favorite so far and it's my idyllic dream to own a complete set of Brock illustrated Austen.

Today was an awesome day for boredom.

By awesome, though, I mean that if I hadn't been bored, I would have never gone to chat with Devin which means that Tiffany (his cube mate) wouldn't have shown up at the end of our conversation, so I would have never looked at her space and noticed a coffee mug from The Screwtape Letters on her desk. This coffee mug led to a conversation where I learned The Screwtape Letters is a live stage play of phenomonal impressiveness, according to Tiffany at least.

Then I searched for college courses on CS Lewis where I inevitably found the glorious website of Hillsdale College where entire courses of lectures are placed online, for free, for anyone interested in the topic.

My instinctive first response was to take the CS Lewis course, but then I noticed a course entitled The Young Jane Austen Northanger Abbey.

I was hooked by the word GO.

A part of my brain, probably a bigger part than I'd care to admit, has been bored ever since I graduated college almost 5 years ago. I'm not bored enough to go back to college and be stressed about exams and papers and discussions (at least not yet), but I'm desperate for intellectual literary stimulation that is almost impossible to find in my current job. I miss the stimulation of reading a book, writing down my thoughts about the plot, characters, themes, setting, etc.

I suppose that I could do it on my own, but I don't want to. I like being part of a group, part of a cohesive unit that is studying, reading, and listening to the same text and lectures. I know I won't be participating in online discussion which is part of the excitement of online coursework, but that's okay, I'll live.

Already I've learned that there's an actual genre for the novels that were popular in Jane Austen's day and especially the genre that Catherine Morland reads in Northanger Abbey. Jane Austen herself read both kinds of novels and they're called sentimental novels and gothic novels. The sentimental novels are about young beautiful, virtuous women who never had to strive at being either who face troubles that aren't too weird and eventually live happily ever after with a man as virtuous as themselves. The gothic novel throws in elements of the supernatural and horror (before there was such a thing in literature).

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe referenced in Northanger Abbey is a gothic novel. I've never read it myself, but I have to agree with Professor Murphy that this and other novels of the same ilk were predecessors to our own Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Even though I know I probably should read Udolpho, I probably won't just because the predictability of gothic novels at that time doesn't really appeal to me all that much.

Anyway, I've listened to the first 2 lectures and 2 Q&A sessions with the professor and the president of the college. It was a great way to spend 2 hours of my working day! I fought the temptation to start in on the 3rd lecture because I know that I really need to do the assigned reading which is chapters 1-9 of Northanger Abbey. I've read the novel a few times, but it's been long enough and I love it well enough to want to read it again.

What a great thing to look forward to every week!

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Dreaming of a Jane Austen Immersion Weekend!

Photo Credit: BBC's Emma (2009)
I've been in a retrospective mood lately, feasting intellectually on nothing but Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis. Every time that I read Austen, I'm reminded how I wish I could have a Regency immersion experience. Reading Katherine Reay's latest book, The Austen Escape, probably didn't help much since it's all about taking a 2 week Regency immersion vacation in a manor outside of Bath. The book itself, while entertaining, didn't quite follow every plot thread through to fruition, so while I enjoyed it, it won't be a re-read. 
But, like I said, it gave me such an intense longing to just get away and live Austen for a week, or even a weekend. 
The only problem is that most hotels and bed and breakfasts, for some absurd reason, don't host such things.  Pooh on them.
But I did find one lone manor, called The Governor's Place in Hyde Park, that opens itself up regularly for Jane Austen weekends!
My heart skipped a literal beat, or several, at the very idea of getting away for an entire weekend to spend time in Regency garb, take English Country Dance lessons, and simply revel in all things regency and Jane Austen.

Photo Credit: The Governor's House in Hyde Park
True, the pricing is $465 for a single occupant, but you know what? I have a charming, loving sister who would gladly accompany me, and perhaps even a friend who might give it consideration, although Vermont is quite a ways away. If 3 of us shared a room, the charge would only be $395 per person instead of $465, and that's actually saying something. Friday evening through Sunday, PLUS if we decided to stay longer after the weekend, the room would only be at half the nightly rate! 
I know, I'm currently just fantasizing right now, but there's a reason to be gainfully employed and to tuck funds away. One can't spend one's entire life hoarding money like Ebenezer Scrooge without having any intention of really living and experiencing the time that God has given us.
My original thought was to host a Regency Garden Party this summer, and while that may still happen, my horizons are trying to broaden themselves. The last time Caitlin and I went away together, just sisters, we shared a lovely Disney experience. I could see us doing this and cherishing every moment. 
If a certain someone who will remain nameless, but you know who you are, would consider joining us, that would be icing on the proverbial cake! Of course, at this point I haven't even mentioned it to Caitlin. I think she just might go for the idea now that has that full-time job (thank you, Lord!) and will have a decent amount of time off accrued by the time one of the Jane Austen weekends rolled around this year.

Photo Credit: The Governor's House in Hyde Park

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