"You've Got Mail"

I love this movie. I think it's common knowledge. It's my go to feel good movie, and I watch it MULTIPLE times a year. Like, more than I'm going to admit to the internet. It just makes me happy. It's charming, I think that's the perfect word for it. And it's such a good seasonal movie! I watch it in the fall, in the spring, and around Christmas. And everywhere in between. Because it spans almost a full year, you can watch it whenever and relate to it. Kind of. Except I'm in Texas and not New York and we don't have seasons like they do. BUT NEW YORK!

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms."

Ugh, if there's any movie that makes me long to live in that city, this is it. I know the New York of the 90's is probably long gone, but it's just so... New York. And I'd love, for even just a few years, to live there. This movie is also such a lovely glimpse of the 90's. I was 10 when this movie came out, and boy does the styling take me back. Such a simpler and happy time for me. I had a good childhood, and this snap shot of the 90's (and Meg Ryan's ridiculously masculine khaki pants) makes me all warm and fuzzy. But for the most part, khaki's aside, Meg Ryan's wardrobe is on point. Classic. I'd wear some of those things today! There's a velvet jumper thing I'd kill for. But really, the AOL and dial up internet connection noises are the sweetest. That nonsense was hip back then. And of course there's the Starbucks. Oh how I can relate.

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino."

Nora Ephron, I like you. This movie is so simple and sweet and cute and it's really just about two people connecting, with words. Sharing nothing and everything and becoming crazy about each other and even though things get mixed up and messy, the connection is so good that it wins out over the craziness. And it's happily ever after. I love happily ever after.

"I would have asked for your phone number and I wouldn't have been able to wait 24 hours before calling and asking, "How about coffee, drinks, dinner, a movie, for as long as we both shall live?"" 

And of course there's Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and their adorable on screen chemistry. I also am an intense fan of Joe Versus the Volcano. Sleepless in Seattle isn't bad either. I've got this soft spot for Meg Ryan. She's just the cutest thing, and we're the exact same height. We slightly above average height girls gotta unite. Also, shop girls unite! I also run a shop!

Well, yes. That was just a blog about You've Got Mail. Ahem. It makes me happy, so there. That picture up there is from this site, which goes into serious detail about Katherine Kelly's brownstone. Wouldn't we all love to call that place home?

Meatloaf and movies

I have never liked meatloaf. I'm still not sure if I do, because these were really just big ol' meatballs. And they were good! Meatloaf has always freaked me out because ketchup is a key ingredient and I despise/fear ketchup. I hate the way it smells, looks, tastes, and I put my hand in it enough times on accident while waiting tables to tell you I don't like the way it feels. But this stuff has a sweet and tangy sauce that is damn good in place of ketchup. This lovely meal was straight from, you guessed it, the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook! Yes, again. It's a gold mine, okay?

So Mr. H and I were extra wild this week and saw two movies in the theater. We saw Sky Fall and... Breaking Dawn Part Two (poor Brendon, I know). Two very different movies for sure. Let us discuss.

I really enjoyed Sky Fall. Casino Royale was fantastic and Quantum of Solace was pretty good. Sky Fall was better than Quantum of Solace but wasn't quite good as Casino Royale. BUT it was still awesome. Daniel Craig is a boss and I love him as James Bond. He reminds me of my dad. Oh and Voldemort was in it. Kinda. I cannot see Ralph Fiennes in anything and not immediately think of Voldemort. But I liked him in this movie, he was great and I forgot about him being He Who Must Not Be Named after a while which gives credit to him as an actor. I loved all the throw back references and everything coming full circle. The movie was well done aesthetically, very visually pleasing. So many beautifully laid out shots. And that house at the end? Such a fantastic old house. Also, Q was EXTRA cute. Smart messy dark haired boy in glasses? Yes please. Obviously I have a type.

Breaking Dawn Part Two. Sheesh. Those movies are all pretty terrible. And I went into this one knowing that fact. I was prepared to watch a bad movie but secretly love it. But it was just really kind of bad. Worse than the others. Maybe it will grow on me, but I was mostly like "are you serious?" the whole time. Brendon and I were actually laughing at some points, and not because the movie was funny. I mean, it's corny stuff, but damn. Renesme was creepy. And the movie seemed a little short. To be fair, the material is uneventful in that half of the book. The end is pretty anti-climactic and I think they did a good job drawing it out and creating a little action. I feel like I'm being overly critical, it is Twilight after all. Over all it was a fairly entertaining movie, it was nice to see it all come together (and end). And the opening credits were really great actually. I like well done credits. Come to think of it, I didn't care for Sky Fall's opening credits at all. So I guess that means squat.

I'd go see them both (obviously only see Twilight if you've read the books/somehow got hoodwinked into being a fan of that nonsense). Sky Fall is great and Breaking Dawn Part Two is... well it's a Twilight movie.

I am very excited about the Hobbit coming out next month. I was a big Tolkien nerd when I was younger. My mom played the Hobbit for my sister and I in the car (on tape y'all) when we were real young and it was all downhill from there.

I love going to the movies! It's such a nice little escape from reality. If only it weren't so pricy.

Sweet summer time

 My new bracelet via a man stamping letters into leather and attaching them to wrists on the side of S. Congress.

 Patios are my second home. Especially ones with food and beverages.

I love this summer. Already. So much goodness, so little time. We are busy bees, but we are happy bees.

One of the wonderful things about summer are the all movies! We love movies! Let's recap and review the summer flicks we've seen so far.

The Avengers - Real good y'all. Highly entertaining. A tad corny at times, but it's cute and badass at the same time. And so many good looking boys! My favs were of course Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. I've just got a thing for good looking nerds I guess. I love the whole Avengers series. Make lots more please! I don't think Stan Lee has enough money.

Dark Shadows - I think I talked about this movie already. I thought it was cute, but it didn't have much to offer that the trailer didn't give away already. But it was fairly entertaining. I loved the setting, costumes, and the music choices were pretty legit. Johnny Depp was an interesting vampire, and by interesting I'm not sure if I mean good. Michelle Pfeiffer was great though, she looks amazing.

Snow White and the Huntsman (or Bella and Thor) - Way better than I thought it would be. It was a visually pleasing movie, the effects were great. Snow White (Kristin Stewart) was alright, she was still a little lifeless, but she's a far better Snow White than a Bella. And Thor was in it, playing basically Thor. He's good at that though so it's okay. Charlize Theron was intense, mad props girlfriend. It was an interesting twist on the story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next up is Men in Black III. I love me some Will Smith. We are also rewatching the Harry Potter movies since we just finished rereading the books. It never ever gets old. I will never not love everything about Harry Potter. I still cry at the ends of the fourth through seventh books/movies. That last one though, dang it's intense. Harry Potter forever and ever and ever. And ever.

In non movie news, tomorrow morning we are running the Rebel Race where I will (hopefully successfully) be jumping over fire and crawling under barbed wire (and a variety of other obstacles that will no doubt whoop my rear), of course with help from my macho husband. I've warned him he may have to carry/drag me at some point (all the way?). Wish us luck y'all. Pray I don't perish/break all my limbs.

Mini Sophie and mooovies

Since that last post was lame-o, I thought I'd give you something lighthearted and ridiculous to look at. BABY SOPHIE, before she was a monster cat! And baby us! This was taken in January of 2008 so... about 4 years ago. Sophie was just a few months old and we were 19, still teens. Hence the Hollister and Abercrombie gear. We were obviously super cool kids. And that's a nice face Mr. H.

So lately we've gotten to go to gone to the movies a bunch! This is exciting because we love movies and basically didn't go at all during this last semester (except to see Breaking Dawn... not sure if that counts). Let's recap:

First we saw Sherlock Holmes - Game of Shadows. Obviously Robert Downey Jr was fine as wine. As was Jude Law. It was very entertaining and I loved the music. And the setting. And the costumes. If you liked the first one you'll enjoy this one. Plus lots of awesome action sequences if you're into that like we are.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was next on our list. I highly suggest reading the book first, the plot is kind of confusing even having read the book. But I really liked it. I think they did a great job capturing the overall feeling of the book. It was really neat to see it all in action. However, the disturbing part in the book is reeeeeally disturbing to watch. If you've read the book or seen the film (or read any reviews on it), you know what I'm talking about. But I give them props for going there. All the actors were great, but Rooney Mara seriously kicked ass as Lisbeth. You go girl.

Our latest film endeavor was Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol. I know, I know. It was corny and Tom Cruise did his thing but it was entertaining. If you haven't seen or didn't enjoy the previous three, I wouldn't bother seeing this one. It was definitely the best out of the Mission Impossible movies so far though.

There are a lot of films coming out this year that I am very excited about. Hunger Games y'all! Get hyped.

Happy Birthday Lynne!

This past Wednesday was my step momma's birthday! We headed down to San Marcos to have dinner with Lynne, my dad, my sister, and step bro that night... and we were late. This is a big deal, I am never late. I am constantly ridiculously early to everything, so arriving late was weeeeird and I felt bad. We forgot Lynne's present at home so we had to turn around (we were only one exit down, but in Austin... that takes a while), and once we got back on the road because Austin traffic is a demon from hell, it took us about 20 minutes to get the like 5 miles south it takes for us to get out of Austin. Frustrating! But we made it, only about 15 minutes late. Dinner was yummy and we had a lot of fun. We were probably a tad bit obnoxiously loud, but whatever, sorry for partying.

She turned 25 duh, and aren't those candles cute? My dad made that cake! It was in a bundt cake shape for some reason, but it was really pretty good! I demolished my piece and some of Brendon's.

Couple of cuties. Don't mind that giant cake case thing in the way. I'm obviously an excellent photographer.

Also, this happened. Contrary to how insane Brendon looks, we were very sober. He makes a cute yuppy.

Family time never gets old. I have decided that I am allergic to Austin. Or all of south Texas. I woke up this morning by sneezing about 200 times in a row. And I've got boogies. I never had allergies until we moved here. What a pain! Some days, like today, are really terrible. I guess I could take some zyrtec or something... but that would be too logical. 

I'm going to be real with you guys, I really want to see Breaking Dawn. Hate all you want, but it is what it is. I read the books a few years ago after my mom, sister, and BRENDON (he read them while working at a hospital in Denton, the ladies there supposedly "conned" him into reading them, pssshhh!) told me to read them. Of course they took over my life for a few days and I was day dreaming about vampires and werewolves for a while and being a bee-otch and asking Brendon why he couldn't be more like Edward (no one is that perfect people, Stephanie Meyer you have screwed over so many poor boys' chances out there). I've seen all the movies, and yes they're pretty lame. BUT I still want to see the new one pretty badly. And I may or may not have reread all the books when I was sick a week or two ago. AND I may or may not have just rewatched Twilight and New Moon and ordered Eclipse on Amazon. It should be here Monday. I mean, if I'm going to do it I may as well go all out right?

Mostly this is just rambling

Things have been wacky lately! Time is going by too quickly and I cannot seem to keep up. I can't believe Thanksgiving is a week from tomorrow. I must apologize profusely to my dear second favorite holiday of the year because it seems to have been thrown by the wayside this year. I'm the holiday queen and all, but this month has been nuts. But I did it big the past two years and cooked the big feasts solo, so I feel like it's okay to not do it so big this year. Sorry little pine cone turkey decorations, you'll get your chance next year I promise. We'll be spending turkey day with my mom and Brendon's family and then we'll do it all over again with my dad, or maybe vice versa. Regardless, I ready to chow down on some grub and am so excited to be close to home this year! As much as I enjoyed our Denton Thanksgivings, it's not quite the same without everyone all together.

In other news, our tv broke. This is a big deal y'all. First world problems, I know, I know. Although we rarely watch actual television, we watch a lot of movies. Like a LOT. It's how we unwind and de-stress. We are movie fanatics! And our tv was our baby. Brendon saved up forever and ever to get it a few years ago and it's a nice little tv so it was really heartbreaking when it stopped working. Thankfully it is still under warranty. Unfortunately, we had to ship it to Samsung in NEW JERSEY to get it fixed (which they will hopefully be able to do). Who ships tvs across the country??? We do. We had to order this crazy special box (that they sent the wrong size of) and bought a gigantic roll of bubble tape to wrap it and pack it up with. I wrote all over the box FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP about a hundred times. I am very nervous for our little tv's big trip across the country and hope that it comes back to us safely in working condition. Because Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 just came out and is sitting in our living room begging to be watched. And so are all my favorite holiday movies. Have a safe and speedy journey little tv! We miss you!

Halloweeny movies!

You know I'm gung-ho about holidays, so of course I love movies that get me into holiday spirit! Not that I need any assistance... Here is a little selection of my favorite "spooky" movies I like to watch around Halloween.

Beetlejuice y'all! Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! Definitely a classic. Michael Keaton (originally I had put Kevin Costner, but Brendon corrected me. I always get those two confused!) did a fantastic job. And any Tim Burton film is probably a good movie to watch around Halloween. He's a master of not-too-scary-creepiness. This movie is straight up a FUN movie. Highly entertaining.

Hocus Pocus. Halloween classic fo'sho. Plus there's a talking cat so you know I'm in. And Bette Midlers teeth, dear lord! Get this, the night after we watched this movie we went to Amy's Ice Cream and they have this movie quote thing where if you can guess the quote, you get a free topping. The quote was from Hocus Pocus! It was, "I will summon the burning rain of death!", what are the odds? Needless to say, I had free butterfinger crumbles on my ice cream.

The Shining. It literally has nothing to do with Halloween but it is the creepiest movie on this list and the only real scary movie I will ever watch multiple times. I love the way it's filmed and I love the location. I've been to that hotel! Jack Nickelson is a profesh (literally) at being crazy as hell. And Shelly Duval just looks straight up weird and is extra obnoxious, in a good way. And that kid is creeeeeepy.

Sleepy Hollow. Perfect Halloween movie! There is even a flaming jack-o-lantern at one point. Obviously I have a thing for Tim Burton films. And Johnny Depp. But who doesn't? And Christopher Walken as the headless horseman? Hilarious. Christina Ricci's wardrobe in this film is beautiful. Can someone just hire me to make and wear costumes everyday? Please?

Casper, DUH. Not only is this movie about ghosts (who are sweet and not scary), but it's set during Halloween! Double bonus points. This movie, like Hocus Pocus, takes me back to my childhood. And terrible 90's fashion. And Christina Ricci is featured again, although much younger. She's a creepy chick, I dig it.

The Nightmare Before Christmas. I love this movie! Tim Burton strikes again, this time with ridiculously catchy and charming songs! This film is best watched (in my opionion) at the very end of October, as a transition into the next holiday season, Christmas, which basically begins for me November 1st.

Obviously I do not like actual scary movies or horror films. At all. In fact I refuse to watch them because I despise being scared. The Shining is an exception. Brendon asked me last night if I wanted to watch the Ring (which we own??) and I gave him a big ol' hell no. Cute Halloween-y movies are my fav. Other movies that are acceptable to get me into the Halloween spirit are ET (set during Halloween), the Addams family movies (Christina Ricci again), and any Halloween film the Disney Channel or ABC Family airs. JK, they're not ALL good.

Pretty movies

Alright people, let's get girly, movie style. If you are into strictly macho-man things, you might want to skip this post.

There are a few movies that I can watch over and over again and never get sick of. These mentioned here may happen to be "chick flicks", but don't hate. All these movies have great stories, fantastic locations that I'd love to visit, and beautiful costumes I'd love to wear. And they are all set 50+ years ago for some reason. And I have watched them all about 300 times.

Obviously, the Sound of Music:

Duh, it's going to be on this list. You saw that coming. The songs, the costumes, the setting, Julie Andrews... I don't even need to explain why, you know. 

Ever After:

Okay, I know movie is kind of corny, but it has always been one of my favs. And the costumes are phenomenal. Plus it's such a sweet love story, blah, blah, blah. I remember watching this movie again and again on vhs. I only recently got it on dvd and after I watched it I was like, "what was I thinking not owning this??!", the 12 year old me would be furious.

Pride and Prejudice:

Mr. Darcy. Enough said. But seriously, this movie makes me so happy. Brendon got it for me on dvd for our first Valentine's Day together, high school style y'all. I think we were 17(!!!babies!!!). I have seen this movie a gazillion times (I think Brendon has only seen in twice), and it gets me every time. Mr. Darcy is so sweet in such a cocky sexy way. It also doesn't hurt that the costumes are pretty fantastic. I was born in the wrong century obviously.

Chocolat:

A movie that revolves around chocolate? AND Johnny Depp? I'm in. I first saw this in one of my high school English classes (I cannot for the life of me think of why we were watching it). It's such a GOOD movie with a good ending and a good lesson, open your minds people. And the setting? Can I move into that town now? I think it was actually shot in the same town in France that Ever After was filmed. Future vacation destination for sure.

Marie Antoinette:

Obviously I feel a connection with homegirl since we share a name. I love the history behind this movie and I love how they handled it. 80's rock and Versailles? Yes. Main characters with straight up American accents? Why not. And it is hands down, the prettiest movie I've ever seen. Everything is just so extravagant and over the top, it's awesome. Every time I see this movie I love it more and become more obsessed with all her dresses. I mean seriously, have you seen them? The colors! The textures! The details! They are all so incredible, and there are SO many of them. I can't imagine the costume budget.

I swear I like manly movies too. I could do a manly movie list but it wouldn't be as pretty to look at.

So anyway, watch all these movies! Your eyes and your inner 15 year old girl will thank you.