Netflix of the Week

Blue Valentine (2010)

To be honest, I couldn't finish this movie. It made me extremely uncomfortable. The basic idea of the movie is that Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling) fall head over heels in love, get married, raise a child, lose their dog, and now they don't really like each other. The cinematography is nice and I like Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, but the film was very hard to watch. I really wanted to like this movie, but I ended up feeling like I was watching something that I shouldn't be - someone else's private family moments, like when you're at a friend's house and their parents argue. It probably deserves the good reviews and attention that it's gotten, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

My rating: 3/5

If you've seen Blue Valentine, what did you think? What movies have you watched recently?

Vampires 101

What I've learned about vampires from TV, books, and movies:

1. Vampires are mostly dark haired and always fair skinned.
2. Vampires hate werewolves.
3. Vampire blood fixes everything.
4. When possible, vampires fall in love with humans.
5. A vampire in love with a human is likely to be: sickeningly sensitive & caring; a "vegetarian."
6. A human in love with a vampire must go through an annoying "but-you're-a-vampire" ordeal.
7. Vampires can control your mind by staring at you intently.

Just the facts, ma'am.
This post made possible by: Twilight, Stephenie Meyer, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, and Sookeh.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Just something to brighten your Monday morning :]

Sweet Girl

Boyfriend and I went to see Black Swan this afternoon and all I have to say is - wtf?! Amazing, brilliant, flawless, etc. (obviously) but sooo disturbing! We both wished that we'd been more familiar with the story of Swan Lake so that we could've caught some of the more subtle similarities and differences, but we still loved the movie.
What's the last good movie you saw, in theaters or at home? And how did you spend your New Year's Day?

TiLT #8

Having Someone to do things For You. ♥ Like a Good Boyfriend, mine likes to do things For Me; I've been known to tell him that I can do it myself because.. well, I can be a brat sometimes.  On Tuesday I really needed someone to do things For Me.  I accidentally took my antibiotics on an empty stomach, giving myself a terrible horrible no good very bad stomach ache. :( I put myself straight to bed, but I really could have used a Handsome Boyfriend to rub my back and kiss my hair and pull the covers up when I got cold.

The tellyvision. ♥ So good!!  I finally got around to watching this week's episodes of GG & Glee and all I have to say is - it's Brittany.. bitch.  I've always loved Brittany because she's dumb hilarious but oh. my. god.  Girl can DANCE.  And I will be very disappointed if she doesn't present the promised Ke$ha song next week.  Ms. Spears' cameos were nice but her acting was so bad.. so, so bad... And speaking of bad, could the teaser for next week's episode of GG have made it any more obvious that Eva is a porn star?  (My apologies to those that hadn't figured it out.  Go watch again and tell me if you agree!)  I just can't figure out what Juliet's deal is.. and it's driving me crazy!

Music that makes me feel like fall. ♥ Sigur Rós.  The Pride & Prejudice OST.  Yiruma.  Detektivbyrån.  Yann Tiersen.  matt pond PA.  Band of Horses.  The Album Leaf.  This Will Destroy You.  Explosions in the Sky.  Contemplative and quiet.  Good homework music too!  Always open to musical suggestions.

Petits Favoris. ♥ Half coffee, half hot chocolate (must. stop. drinking.) ♥ Buying perfect gifts for P (time will tell if they're really "perfect"!!). ♥ Reading Gala Darling's weekly favorites - she is, after all, the original Thursday Lover! ♥ Getting an amazing hairs cut from a fellow Curly Girl. ♥ Finally finishing two weeks of antibiotics. ♥ Productive rainy days. ♥ Still missing London. ♥ Painting my nails! ♥ Taking a "day off" and not feeling guilty about it. ♥ Outlawing negative attitudes and comments on my blog (As my wise and lovely sister says, "I will not expend my limited energy on hostile interactions with close-minded people.") ♥ My intense crush on Gossip Girl - I mean, Kristen Bell - and excitement for her new movie. ♥ Okay, actually all the fresh movies coming out this fall. (And some that have already come out, too!)

TiLT #6

♥ OMFGG.  13 September.  From 9pm until 10pm Eastern Standard, I will be unavailable so don't even try.

♥ Target.  Specifically, Target's Chaia mocassins, which I refuse to accept as slippers.  I wear them to work and to run errands and EVERYWHERE and say that they're shoes, not slippers, because they have a hard sole.  Then Boyfriend catches me wearing them inside and I have to claim that they're slippers - it's my only defense!  I just don't want to take them off, okay?  They're wicked cozy (and hello?  Cheap!).  GET YOU SOME.  (Okay you know what FINE.  I love all of Target.  It's my therapy.)

♥ AUTUMN.  I can't say for sure whether it's here to stay but the temperature has dropped, the wind has picked up, the bravest of leaves are starting to change, and pumpkin coffee is now available at both Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.  Oh hot damn, this is my jam!  (Kristen, I think this should be your new slogan, y/y?)

♥ Lost treasures.  One of the joys of cleaning your room!  I had given up my iPod Shuffle as lost for good and mourned it properly, but I found it during a cleaning frenzy.  AND THERE WAS MUCH REJOICING!  The itty bitty size is so much easier for: running, studying, losing in your messy room, etc. and so forth.  Makes me wonder what other things that I've forgotten are still lurking about...

♥ Honorable Mention.  Falling asleep to rain; Droid; getting all of my homework done super fast (more time to plaaay!); financial aid refund checks; getting carpal tunnel from playing with my Droid; this sweet ring that makes me happy every time I look at my hand; planning a Harry Potter marathon in anticipation of 19 November; only missing BBM a tiny bit; fantasizing about how great my life will be once I have health insurance again (the allergist!  Contacts that correct for astigmatism!  PERFECT LIFE!  LIVE FOREVER!); obsessively putting appointments and Things To Do in my planner; my HTC Incredible (f'real incredible y'all).

TiLT #3

♥ Going the the movies alone. I really don't know why I love going to the movies alone so much. I don't think I had the ovaries to do it until I was 22 or 23, but it feels so luxurious.  It's just such a treat!  I even bought myself Junior Mints. >:)

♥ The merciful end of summer heat.  No explanation necessary.  The Midwest heat has been unbearable. I don't even have a tan!

♥ Blog love! SO many thanks to Shannon at The Simply Luxurious Life for featuring me in her weekly Cups of Tea this past Sunday. It means a lot to me, especially since my blog is still just a baby! If you guys don't already have The Simply Luxurious Life in your Google Reader, add it now!  She updates a TON - especially for a teacher! - and has beautiful, inspiring posts.  Love!  (And Shannon, if you ever want to talk H.S. English teaching strategies, I'm your girl ;))

♥ My handy, handsome Boyfriend. The other night Boyfriend said, "If I'm allowed... you're a pretty lucky girl." And he's right.

♥ Summer houses. The only bright spot in leaving Boyfriend this weekend.  We have a summer house in Northern New York that I haven't been to much in the last few years and I'm looking forward to spending a few weekends there, relaxing on the porch with a good book (and maybe some local wine?) and catching up on my afternoon naps.

♥ Honorable Mention. Cupcakes.. always, always cupcakes; liquid band-aid; clean sheets; Suave Naturals conditioner; busy days; lazy days ;); agave nectar; Javier Bardem (obvi); Lonny magazine; coffee (I miss you); finding the perfect gift for someone; setting up my Amazon affiliate store :mrgreen:; to-do lists and crossing everything off; Lorraine Massey, DevaCurl, and the Curly Girl Method (fellow curly girls - please give this a look!); late summer flowers; the Missouri Botanical Garden; Sabrina Soto.. what a cutie pie; ivy covered buildings; Target at Gilt; all of St. Louis' quirks.

Eat Pray Love

A film review in two words:

Javier Bardem.