Or Whatever....

Worth a look

2011-01-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of movies from 2010 that may be worth your time on DVD:

MONSTERS - directed by Gareth Edwards, this sci-fi movie was done on a shoestring budget, but delivers on both effects and emotion when needed. Easiest comparison to make would be a less-creature/fx heavy DISTRICT-9. And the twist ending is well worth the wait.

CAIRO TIME - Another indie that didn't get much play time in theaters, this is a romantic drama about a woman set to meet her diplomat husband in Cairo, but he's been delayed. Instead, she's taken around the city by a local friend of his, and there's a spark between them. Ill-fated lovers tale that has a quiet beauty about it.

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

So I figured with the start of 2011 and all the resolution making going on, I'd start blogging again. But before I get to all my intended do's and dont's of the year, a brief recap:

2010:
Top 5 Highlights:
Hawaii in March for Nick and Lil's wedding.
Both of us turning 30!! (Mara's surprise visit and our Vegas celebration in July with friends.)
Brownie reunion in Denver in August.
South Korea trip in December for me!
Holidays back east with friends, family and snow!

Bummer moments:
DREAM ON getting halted b/c of budget issues.
Salary woes at the company.
Chris & I postponing our Oktoberfest trip.
Getting bronchitis in the fall.
April's discontent. ('nuff said)

Looking ahead to 2011:
1) Work harder - Get back into mega-reading mode/finish personal projects.
2) Get back down to my fighting weight - Get over knee impediments and gym it 4-5/week.
3) Feel less social schedule guilt - You can only do what you can do. Don't sacrifice work/gym time b/c feel badly not seeing people as often as I want.
4) Frugal! If we want to take our big trips, make with less. Don't impulsively buy random crap.
5) Be more aggressive with contacts - both in making more and pushing them on development projects.

Hope everyone has a happy, healthy new year!

Brownie Weekend 2010!!

2010-08-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

I had such a great weekend away this month in Indian Hills, CO with some of my closest friends from college. It's amazing to me that I've known these people for 12 years now!! And even more amazing is that every time we're together, it's like no time has passed at all. Plus, we've really lucked out with spouses and significant others. Everyone gets along so well and adds even more to our reunions.

The house we rented was on 45 acres of beautiful land, and while still being isolated, it was close enough to a lot of great areas for hiking (including Red Rocks, which you'll see) and close enough to civilization that we were able to shop for groceries and whatnot very easily. The area itself is gorgeous and perfect for a getaway from the city. Air is clean, landscape gorgeous and obviously the company really made the weekend one to remember.

Downtown....

2010-07-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

Check out this amazing trailer for Ben Affleck's second film as a director.... Click HERE.

Hello there Red....

2010-07-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

So I decided to change things up a bit... and threw some red in the mix at the hair salon yesterday. Thoughts?

A mini-tirade to the male haters on SATC 2

2010-05-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

So I have to get up on my soapbox for a few minutes here people, and I know it's been forever since I posted, so it might be annoying that I'm coming back to rant, but...well, too bad.

I'm really tired of hearing old jokes and people talking about airbrushing the women in the new SEX AND THE CITY movie. If one more man comments on how they're not going to be able to make any more of these movies, b/c hey- those women are oooooooold, I'm going to punch him in the face. Not really. But I might push him a little depending on how well I know him.

Here's the thing guys, women get older! Just like men do! And you know what, we don't care! We love them and their silliness and their girlieness and it doesn't change just because there's some more wrinkles on their faces. They're still allowed to be sexy and have sex b/c guess what - it's not meant to be intended as sexy FOR YOU... it's FOR US. WE get to be the ones excited by their (sex) lives and WE get to be the ones that love the way they look in their clothes. It's never been about MEN enjoying them... it's all about women enjoying stories about women. So go away and stop making comments and let us have our Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, Miranda and Mr. Big!!

Now, I do concede that age is a big factor in Hollywood. But time and time again (especially in the last few years) women are showing up in droves to see stars that are not in their 30s and are not playing the young, doe-eyed ingenues! (MAMMA MIA!, IT'S COMPLICATED, THE PROPOSAL even!) And yes, everyone wants to look their best, so they're will be good lighting and a little airbrushing, but in a world where 17 year-old models get airbrushed on ads, it's not fair to use that as a weapon in an argument about this discussion.

I guess the big point here is that you dudes can say anything you want in private but wake up-- talking about aging women in front of women is a stupid thing to do. And once again, the movie's not about you guys, so I don't give a F if you think SJP is getting older. Guess what, so are you.

(p.s. I will only concede that Kim Catrall and SJP would look better if they put 5-10lbs on, but that's a different story altogether.)

Oscar Review & Wrap-Up

2010-03-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Last night was the biggest night in Hollywood- stars, moguls and wanna-bes crowd the red carpet and hope for gold. Before I launch into my review of the show and the awards, let it be known that I am biased because I thought last year's show (Produced by my boss Larry Mark and Bill Condon) was exceptional... and far superior to last night's.

First, let's discuss the show in general... Biggest note - too long!! The movie clips were too long during the acting categories; Even longer for the big two acting awards with speeches from past collaborators and another star to come out, say the names again and finally announce the winner! Poor planning- why did we need a sixth star for these two categories. [And as a side note, why only the main acting noms getting this treatment? Take about pushing aside the supporting actors! And in the opening of the show they only showcased the lead actors. I think that's in poor taste.]
The show also had a lengthy, though deserved, tribute to John Hughes. I wonder if we would have had enough of a moment had just Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick come out and introduced the montage. Did we need to see the bigger set of actors, especially those who have aged poorly (sorry!)?

Let's now talk about content of the show- it's a bit all over the place. A horror segment? Really? This feels like a copy-cat of last year's show format, where they showcased all the main genres of film (Comedy, Romance, Drama, Action, Animation), but instead just did horror. Hmmm, maybe it would have made more sense if a horror movie had been nominated? OR if they'd actually spoken about the runaway hit of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY instead of just a funny bit with Alec and Steve? I mean, I laughed, but people who haven't seen the movie didn't get it (a few were at our party) and again, it didn't tie into the Oscars AT ALL.
Also, the opening number of the show... well, let's start with the fact that Neil Patrick Harris did it. Isn't it weird to open a show with someone OTHER than your hosts? And while the Vegas showgirl number did recall some old Hollywood movies, especially with the choreography onstage, I'm guessing most people didn't get the reference. At least last year's two musical numbers in the show directly related to movies and mostly movies being celebrated. (The first was Hugh Jackman singing about the nominees, and the Baz Luhrman number was about the musicals being back...and they had done extremely well at the box office of late. PLUS it went with their theme of showcasing each genre.)

This year, everyone wanted younger.... well it's a bit bizarre considering last year they had Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgons, Robert Pattinson and Amanda Seyfried presenting and some performing. So bringing half of those people back was a novelty, how? Plus Miley Cyrus was so wrong when she said it was their first oscars... um no. Miley was THERE last year, presented the year before that and as I said, Amanda Seyfried presented last year with Pattinson. (Which again, I have to say was more clever than throwing the two Twilight-ers together as they did this year with Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner.)

Finally- in terms of the show being random, what was up with the set?! A backdrop of a bunch of lampshades? WTF? What's the reference? And then at some point, the backdrop seemed to be a big wall of cubby holes. Again, at least last year, the set was dressed for whichever awards were being given out (costumes, effects, lighting, etc)

Alright, I'm done bashing the show and this year's producers (Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic, who btw were flapping their gums the past few months about how much better this year's show was going to be over last year's. Ahem). Onto the awards!!

It's no secret to anyone that I was a huge fan of AVATAR. In my book, there's no bigger achievement in filmmaking for the year- and that's what Best Picture if meant to be - the biggest achievement. Not the movie that had the most original story necessarily - that's what Best Screeplay is for. Not the movie that had the absolute BEST acting- that's what those awards for. This is meant to be the best combination of it all- the best achievement in filmmaking... and I'm sorry, HURT LOCKER just wasn't it. NO WAY JOSE!
So yeah, that irked me.

Another one that I cannot help but be disappointed by was Sandra Bullock winning for THE BLIND SIDE over Meryl Streep as Julia Child in our movie JULIE & JULIA. First of all, Meryl was AMAZING and btw everyone, she hasn't won an Oscar in 28 years! JEEZ! She was so due, and while she's getting great parts, I think we'd better give her another one already before she's done. And while I like Sandra Bullock and from all accounts she's a great human being, I don't think she deserved the award. It was a good performance and I think it's great she came back this year with two strong movies with BLIND and PROPOSAL (and a huge misfire in ALL ABOUT STEVE), she's someone who has made a LOT of bad choices in her career, film-wise. It's hard to get over some of them.

Other awards that surprised - Geoffrey Fletcher taking Best Adapted Screenplay away from Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner. Well done sir! I personally think there was a lot of questions about who wrote what for UP IN THE AIR and that may have affected voting.
Also, Mark Boal winning over Quentin Tarantino for Original Screenplay was considered an upset. Poor Quentin- I think the Academy has a thing against him.

Otherwise, things fell into place. THE WHITE RIBBON losing Best Foreign Film is a bit of an upset since it won the grand prize at Cannes. But I doubt most people were paying attention to that.

So there ya go! My Oscar feedback. Stay tuned for a fashion review tomorrow! It'll take me awhile to get the photos uploaded. But here's a sneak - I thought a lot of dresses were TERRIBLE!

P.S.
Here is another review of the show that I strongly agree with. They make a good point that instead of horror, how about a Sci-Fi tribute, considering this year had the most sci-fi nominees ever?
LA Times

Something Fun

2010-01-12T16:44:00.001-08:00

I just used Paperless Post for the first time ever when I was sent this very elegant e-mail invitation to an event for next month. If you're looking for something nicer than an evite, but don't want to send regular invitations via the post, check this site out and see what they offer!

two small side notes

2009-12-31T14:02:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!! Hope it's a happy, healthy and economically recovered 2010 for us all!

And second, I realize that I sound a bit like an airhead in some of my posts, but I hope most people remember I'm just rambling my thoughts here and that I am capable of constructing proper sentences. I promise I'm well educated.
I mean, like, duh! :)

Movie Update

2009-12-31T13:52:00.000-08:00

So over the last week or so, I saw SHERLOCK HOLMES (really enjoyed!), YOUNG VICTORIA (um, beautiful and well-acted but hello- can we allow the threads of conflict to actually GO somewhere?!), BROKEN EMBRACES (i don't pretend to understand Almodovar's subtle messages at all, but it was pretty and well-acted), THE LAST STATION (loved it, surprisingly!), THE WHITE RIBBON (could Haneke please film an ending to one of his movies), and IT'S COMPLICATED (good, not great).

But what i'm really here to discuss is why on God's green Earth is INVICTUS getting so many people kissing its butt and putting it on all these top 10 lists? I mean, come on- Clint Eastwood is NOT a movie-making god. He's made some boring movies - hello, Gran Torino was one of the worst screenplays I've seen in awhile and most of it was poorly acted, in my opinion. CHANGELING was interesting but DEFINITELY flawed. And I'm sorry, but INVICTUS is a snore-fest of the highest order. If it gets nominated for an academy award in place of another movie that deserves the spot, I will be seriously peeved. UGH! I'm really over it. AND btw, I love Matt Damon as people are well aware, but he doesn't deserve a supporting actor nomination for this one at all. Not one bit. Sorry Matteo.

Holiday Movie Picks!

2009-12-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

I've seen most of the holiday movies, save IT'S COMPLICATED, PRINCESS AND THE FROG and SHERLOCK HOLMES (and I've heard the first two are great and Sherlock is just an action movie). So here's my very brief - what to see and what to avoid - report.

MUST SEE:
AVATAR - I personally fell in love with this movie and I think it's quite an achievement in filmmaking. It looks AMAZING... and the 3D really makes the images richer and gives you more texture to the film. Whether or not you can empathize with the blue people is really going to be what makes this a movie you like or you love... I bought in. Wholeheartedly.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX - another great achievement in filmmaking, this time in stop-motion animation. It's clever, fun and something you can enjoy even if you aren't a Wes Anderson fan.

UP IN THE AIR - one of the year's best movies. Funny, poignant, and very touching. George Clooney manages to do a bit more onscreen than he normally does, but his performance doesn't quite lose the Clooney image. Anna Kendrick is a revelation, especially in one scene when she bursts into tears like any high-strung 22 year-old would. Loved that moment.

THE BLIND SIDE - I was very surprised this movie wasn't a total manipulative tear-jerker, but instead it's a really wonderful story and Sandra Bullock does pull off quite a character. I really bought into her performance and am glad she's getting recognized for it.

PRECIOUS - it's heartbreaking but it's a great film and a reminder for everyone who has had loving people in their life to give them big thanks, hugs and kisses this year at the holidays.

THE HURT LOCKER - It's still playing in some specialty theaters and this intense, on-the-edge-of-your-seat film about a bomb diffuser in Iraq is a must-see this year. It's not my favorite film of the year, but it's intense, it's emotionally engaging and it feels very honest about life for these guys.

AN EDUCATION - This is a very good film, though I was not as struck by it as many of my colleagues were. I think it's an interesting story and certainly well-acted, but it's third act was greatly lacking for me. Carey Mulligan's getting a lot of heat off of her performance, and it's true- she was stellar. So if you're an awards season junkie, you should definitely get to this one.

From what I've heard, also check out: THE YOUNG VICTORIA (which I plan to see this week), THE WHITE RIBBON, CRAZY HEART (if you are a Jeff Bridges fan) and THE MESSENGER (which by all accounts is fantastic!!)

WHAT TO AVOID:
INVICTUS - truly one of the most boring movies I've seen in a long time... even my sweetheart Matt Damon couldn't salvage this snooze-fest.

NINE - another snooze-fest. I couldn't believe they managed to make a big musical film THIS boring. I just didn't care about a single character or performance and turned it off about an hour and fifteen minutes in.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? - I hope I don't have to explain why this is terrible.

THE LOVELY BONES - Unfortunately, they missed the boat on this adaptation. I loved the book and therefore I think I was able to appreciate some moments of this film, but the story was a mess. Even chronologically certain things didn't make sense and though Sairose Ronan's (sp?) a great actress (with an amazing voice for voice-over work), it just misses the mark.

BROTHERS - Don't go see this watered down and sometimes forced remake of Suzanne Bier's amazing Danish film. (I think it's Danish...) Instead, get on Netflix and rent the original - it's far superior and one of my favorite movies.

MIXED EMOTIONS:
THE ROAD (playing in a few specialty theaters still and soon to be on DVD)- it's a film that is certainly committed to its dark vision and is a relatively faithful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's portrait of a father trying to get save his son's life after the apocalypse, but it's also relentless and difficult to get through. I thought Viggo Mortensen is fabulous and there is something beautiful about the movie, but I also found myself fast-forwarding through a fair bit of it b/c I couldn't handle it.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-19T18:33:00.000-08:00

So I've totally neglected the blog, I know, but it's been a busy winter and I've been feeling kind of "eh" about what I've got to share.

But I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday with their families this year!! I'll be here in Cali for the first time ever for the whole break since Chris' new job means no vacation this year. So I am definitely jealous of all the snow the East Coast is getting right now and hoping that it gets cooler again for Xmas.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, back to work he goes!

2009-11-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

A friend reminded me that I haven't done a post dedicated to Chris' new job yet! First off, Yay Chris!! Congrats to my fabulous hubby for finding a great job in this crappy market within three months. woohoo!!

So as most of you remember, Chris was working in the Hilton Honors marketing department for Hilton corporate, which oversees all the brands. NOW, Chris will be doing something similar but at one specific Hilton property - the LAX Embassy Suites. His official title is E-Commerce Marketing Manager, so as you can guess by the title, his focus will be on all internet marketing and online partnerships for the hotel. So far he's enjoying the new job (this is week 2), though he has to wear a suit everyday. (Boo!) One of the great things about the job is that the hotel ownership group (Sunstone Hotels) has a number of hotels in SoCal, so this may turn into something of a regional position as well.

As much as I am sad to lose a house-husband and to go back to helping out with household chores, I'm thrilled Chris has found something that he's enjoying!

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

2009-11-02T16:14:00.000-08:00

So I'm doing a separate post to review this movie b/c ever since I saw it on Saturday, I've been thinking a lot about it, about childhood, about movies and about entertainment value.

Let me begin by giving you my immediate thoughts in reaction to seeing the film, which were "boring, bloated and depressing... though it looks great." The movie is only an hour and a half (approx) but it feels MUCH longer. The time issue stems from the storyline, which never feels like it has momentum, especially while Max is on his adventure with the Wild Things. I kept thinking, "Is this the moment it turns?" Or, "Is this when we get an idea of what's coming?" While being surprised in a film is a good thing, and I'd never say I want to always know the direction a story is taking, you do want to get a feel of pacing and direction as you are watching a story develop. But here, because the film is an exercise in understanding a child's complex emotions and inner life, there is little to no plot. [SPOILER ALERT] What IS clear, is that things are going to go well in this new civilization that Max has become King of for awhile, and then things will go badly, and then hopefully they'll get better again... And that is sort of what happens, except for the last turn towards happiness. Max leaves the Wild Things virtually as miserable as when he found them. Is the lesson that we cannot fix anyone else, but just ourselves? Or that it's not our job to go into someone else's life and fix their problems? Or is this simply a more realistic vision of how deep-seeded emotional problems in groups and communities never really change. Because, in truth, the latter is what I took away at the end of his journey, and that is freaking depressing. At least when Max goes back to his mother, they share a heartfelt moment, during which we assume Max does understand that his mother loves him and that he doesn't need to be so angry all the time.... though you leave the theater knowing that the anger under the surface will surely bubble to the top again unless he goes to see a therapist to talk it out.

However, when I saw the movie, I was in awe at how

beautiful it looked - both the surroundings and the creatures. Plus, the child playing Max was incredible and his acting so naturalistic, that I understand why the head of Warner Bros production has been quoted as finding the a movie disturbingly realistic portrait of childhood angst. So overall, I didn't think it was a "bad" film, I just thought it was an expensive, adult movie that wasn't very enjoyable to watch.

So those were my initial thoughts... and as I kept thinking back on the movie and reading some more interviews and reviews, I came across one person's interpretation that the movie is divisive because it's very "personal" and "intimate", which I think is very accurate. The movie really deals with the unseen and often unreported disillusionment and frustration and rage that exists in adolescents. Hurt feelings and rage at the unfairness of life is such a part of growing up. And Max embodies all of those difficult emotions in his character, and in fact, he seems to be experiencing them simultaneously during the first act climax, when he runs away and heads off on his adventure. I've been there. I've felt those things. I've been scared and angry and confused and totally out of control. And I would wager that most adolescents have too... that's why the movie is interesting, but not entertaining. While I don't believe every movie should be all popcorn and mindless entertainment, I think part of a film's purpose is to entertain. And sometimes tear jerkers can be enjoyable b/c they are cathartic. And other movies deal with difficult material because you want to experience something out of your own reality and be touched by it. In the case of this movie specifically, I don't think it succeeds because it highlights all of this child's emotions without working through them to a satisfying ending. I guess we're supposed to be happy at the end when Max leaves and comes home to his mom, having dealt with his feelings with the Wild Things... but the truth is, he hasn't! At least, I didn't think he did. So in the end, I sat through this boring adventure to wind up with a hero that didn't make things better for his new friends, hasn't truly worked out his own issues, and simply gets a hug from his mom and some soup to make it better. Is that a more "realistic" ending? Sure. Is it satisfying? Nope.

So I'm sorry Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers - you're very smart and very talented, but sometimes that's not enough.

Recap

2009-10-30T14:33:00.001-07:00

It's been a REALLY long time since I blogged, so I thought I'd do some fun recapping:

First Anniversary:

Chris and I took a long weekend and drove up to San Francisco, by way of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

As many of you know, Chris was laid off at the end of July, so he had some time on his hands over the summer and earlier this fall. He went to Legoland with his niece and nephew, and he spent some time in

North Carolina with his brother's family out there. PLUS he did some great cooking for me- here are some of my favorites from the summer. (However, he's now working again! YAY!)

In other fun news, I got two tickets to see "Star Wars: In Concert!" for my 29th Birthday. It's something I saw advertised at Comic-con and was SUPER excited to go to. So, thanks for the tickets Mara! At the Nokia Theater, they also had some props and costumes from the movies, which I took a few photos of. Nerd alert!!

So what'd you do this weekend?

2009-09-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

Me, oh not much. Saw THE INFORMANT (eh- not bad, not great. interesting story though), hung out with the Danisons & the nieces and nephews on Saturday, then at night went over to Lindsay and Fernando's house...AND RAN INTO A SCREEN DOOR. Yup, I ran full force into a screen door that I didn't realize was open. Let me tell you, not a pleasant experience. For one thing, it's pretty damn jarring and I seriously wounded myself in a few areas. The other obvious side effect is embarrassment, especially when the force of you running into it means you pulled the screen from the door at the top and the bottom. sigh....I'll set it up for you.

We're playing a rowdy game of Pictionary with boys v. girls and I decide during the boys turn I'm going to run out to the car to get some sweat pants. I grab the keys and go to head out of the front door, which has been left open since it's a warm night. But little do I see that there's actually a screen door that comes across the front entryway and since I'm kind of still paying attention to the game going on, I only turn to look in front of me just as I run into the screen. And you know what I think JUST before I hit it, "wow, it looks a little misty outside."

OMG to the MAX!!!

2009-09-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Check out the new NEW MOON trailer. holy crap it's awesome!! I think Chris Weitz will redeem the Twilight movie franchise after such a disappointing beginning...

CLICK HERE to see!!

OH- and if you wanted to see the "extended version", which I believe only has 4 extra snip-its/shots in it, you can see it here

Summer Movie Wrap Up

2009-09-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here is the MUCH delayed (what else is new) Summer Movie Wrap-Up from yours truly...

Let's start with the winners:

STAR TREK

By far, this was probably my favorite summer movie...Yes, possibly because of my geek-ish upbringing and long love of the ST franchise, but also because J.J. Abrams gave this reboot a hip, glossy and fun flavor that even non-trekkie fans could embrace. Plus it introduced us to Chris Pine, who will surely be a star.

JULIE & JULIA

Just because I'm biased doesn't mean this wasn't a terrific, delightful and yummy treat for adults that are tired of movies for kids driving the summer box office. At $80 mil and counting, I know I am not alone in this. (Plus Meryl Streep just kills it.)

Pixar continues to get it right with this bittersweet tale of an old man and a young boy on a tremendous adventure together in South America. While I thought they may have gone a bit far with the dogs in the end, I loved this movie and cried at its moving and poignant first act montage.

DISTRICT 9

A thoroughly original sci-fi movie with a great anti-apartheid message, this movie takes CGI aliens to a new level. The talented filmmaker and actors made you feel for both the abused creatures, as well as for Vickas, a desperate, weasel of a man, as they struggle for freedom. I had no idea the movie would be so emotional and I think that is precisely why it succeeded. Good lesson to screenwriters and moviemakers in all genres, don't shy away from the emotion! Give your movies a bit more depth!

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Quentin Tarantino is back in theaters with another violent, comedic look at a group of resistance fighters during WWII. The movie's riding a delicate line because of its subject matter, but Quentin bursts through it at the end with an unforgettable finale. Controversial for sure, but pure Tarantino from the first moment to the last. (And the acting was incredible! ...except for Eli Roth)

Movies that I definitely enjoyed:

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE

As with all the Harry Potter movies, they are good- but the book is way better. I enjoyed most of this adaptation, but since I had just recently read the 6th installment, I felt more irritated by the changes the filmmakers made. I just didn't understand why they needed to tweak the ending (SPOILER ALERT) and not have a bigger fight at Hogwarts. Also, why skip Dumbledore's funeral and make less of Ginny and Harry's romance. I wonder if they will address that in the first movie of the 2-part book 7 adaptation. We shall see.

THE PROPOSAL

A charming and surprisingly well made romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as a work duo forced to fake an engagement to keep Bullock stateside. A ridiculous premise? Of course. But the physical comedy and great performances keep you locked in for the ride. Reynolds is charming, handsome and on point. Bullock resurrects herself in this film and reminds us why we all thought she was the next Julia Roberts so many years before. (sadly, ALL ABOUT STEVE will prob undo this.)

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER

Truth be told, I was a little disappointed by this movie, but only because the script was one of my favorites in the last five years. It's a great way to do a romantic comedy that feels young, fresh and surprise- it's not a happily ever story! And no, that's not a spoiler. They say it in the first five minutes of the movie. Support "indie" filmmaking and go see this!

Middle of the pack:

AWAY WE GO

Sam Mendes directs an incredible performance out of Maya Rudolph, mostly known for her SNL gags and not much else. But in this small, quiet movie about a couple trying to find a place to put down roots before their first child comes into the world. Though some of the characters they come across are a bit cliche and over-the-top, Maya's naturalistic performance is worth the viewing. Be sure to get on DVD.

THE UGLY TRUTH

Okay, okay - I know it's not a great movie and I know Katherine Heigl appears to be a biznatch of the highest order due to her constant gum-flapping in public...But this was a cute movie! It's totally predictable and maybe a bit insulting if you read into the female/male dynamics that are in it, but truth be told they had good chemistry onscreen and I enjoyed it!

ANGELS & DEMONS

It's better than DaVinci Code, let's put it that way. Not a great movie, but it's not bad either. If you are a fan of the book, it's worth a DVD rental.

MY SISTER'S KEEPER & TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE

Both of these adaptations were okay- not great. I loved both books and was definitely more disappointed by TTW, but felt that they weren't complete failures either. Both managed to get you to experience the emotional weight of the stories, even if they didn't quite get the stories quite right. If you want a tear-jerker, rent SISTER'S KEEPER. If you loved TTW and are just curious, it's worth a rent. If not, don't bother with these. You aren't missing that much.

As Chris would say, "Worst-Movie Ever":

TRANSFORMERS 2

I can't believe this movie made $400 million at the box office. It makes me sick and very very sad. DON'T see this movie if you don't have to.

TERMINATOR SALVATION

Ugh, there was no point whatsoever to this movie and it irritated me throughout. Again, another movie to skip. T-3 was WAY better than this, and most people didn't like that so you can imagine what this is.

G.I. JOE

"Kill all the Joes!" This is one of the worst scripts I've ever seen come to life and rather than killing the Joes, I want to kill the filmmakers and the studio execs that greenlit this piece of crap.

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

I love bad romantic comedies and I couldn't even stomach this one. It's TERRIBLE!! Seriously, nothing redeeming about it at all. (and that's coming from someone that could watch Jennifer Garner do almost anything.)

FUNNY PEOPLE

While I was watching this movie, I didn't hate it...but the more I reflected on the characters and the story, I saw what a mess it really was. I think the movie doesn't have a clear focus, especially after the hour and a half mark, and our main guy (Sandler) is totally unlikeable throughout. While Seth Rogan is pretty good, and his friends (Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill) make the comedy bearable, I'm not sure it's even worth your time as a rental unless you're just curious.

So that's it. I hope you find this somewhat helpful as you prepare your netflix lists for this fall. I may have forgotten a few, but I will come back and add some as I think of them. :)

Mandate picks up 'Dream On'

2009-09-09T09:52:00.001-07:00

Check it out! The first time my name's been in the trades!!

Mandate picks up 'Dream On'

Posted using ShareThis

29 for the first time

2009-09-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

So as a friend of mine said to me about this year's birthday, I'm 29 for the first time. Sigh. Is it weird that I think this birthday is almost harder to swallow than 30 will be? I just feel a bit blah about turning 29...and thinking about my 20s. It's true that I'm still young and I have so much ahead of me, yadda yadda yadda, but I can't help feeling like 29 is a year of reflection and re-evaluation. Sort of taking stock of where I am in life and what plans do I have to make sure that I'm doing what I want and getting the most out of my upcoming 30s.

With work, I feel torn. I certainly am at a good place all things considered in terms of the state of the business right now and by how I believe my co-workers feel I'm doing. I can't help feeling a bit stuck right now and like I wish I was doing more...but I also know that most summers I feel this way and I'm almost at the 2 year mark for my job. My mother once noted that at a year and a half at any given job, I start to do this. What's next? Am I in a rut? Am I working hard enough? So maybe I just need to push through and get past that two year mark and I will see a difference. (the only job I was at so far more than two years was Imagine, and I was interviewing like crazy at that point to get the heck out!) Also, it will help when things pick up and the movie I set up gets closer to getting made. [Btw- stay tuned, the press release should be coming in the next couple of weeks - and the studio quoted in it that they are putting the movie on the fast-track for 2010 production. woohoo!]

In my personal life, things couldn't really be much better. Chris and I are doing great and we're excited to see our first anniversary rapidly approaching. [sidenote, can you believe it's been a year?! I can't!] We're hoping to find him employment again this fall and then start really saving towards a house or a condo to buy in LA in the next two years. We figure realistically that's what it will take us, and the housing market in not likely to have rebounded much by then....we hope at least for our sake! We're very much getting anxious to have our own place where we can entertain and have a yard and a real guest bedroom! Our cats will like a home much more too, since they won't have so many weird noises in the apartment building to startle them all the time. Seriously, the term scaredy-cat really does apply.

That's it for now. Not much of an update other than to say, "Hi! I'm alive and still blogging." I'll try to start updating a couple times a week now that summer's over.

Hi again

2009-08-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. Jeez! August has been zipping by.

Quick update:

The deal finally closed on the project I sold - woohoo! We worried it would fall apart a time or two, but luckily it's all done.

Chris is no longer at Hilton and currently looking for his next gig, so let us know if you hear of something great in the LA area!

And finally, in about 6 days I will be entering the last year of my 20s. holy moly! Can't believe it.

We had a little bbq on Saturday to celebrate with some friends and it was great. I'm not really feeling into the bday this year; not sure why but it doesn't feel like something I should, or want to, make a big deal out of.

I think I'm going to do a summer movie wrap up later on today, so stay tuned and get your netflix queues up and ready!

Video Chat w/Mara & Adelin

2009-07-22T15:28:00.001-07:00

In case anyone hasn't visited mara's blog yet, here's a photo of my first video chat with the baby today...

MUCH Belated Post

2009-07-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

So July 11th was the day we celebrated Sage's 35th BDay. And we did so in style...at the Hollywood Park racetrack, on a day with a hat contest, so all the ladies were sporting their finest wide-brimmed hats!

Sage's best party-throwing quality is that wherever we go, she manages to work out some deal for her party. Always some kind of special deal or extra thing to have thrown in - it's quite impressive really. And for this bday, she reserved boxes for us to be in, a man came over to explain all the betting rules and options for us, AND she had a race run in our group's honor. The awesomely dubbed "Sage Against the Machine" group.

For that race, we got to go down to the winner's circle to watch the horses run right by us at the finish line, and we had our photo taken as a group in the grassy area of the Winner's Circle. Here's a video of the last leg of the race

All in all, it was a great day, despite the fact that chris and I had very little luck with our picks. And when we did decide to randomly pick a horse b/c 8 was my lucky number, he turned out to be the favorite! So when we won, we won like $8. Haha. But the day was really about celebrating Sage, so we didn't care much about the results.

p.s. One of the reasons I didn't post for so long was b/c of all the excitement and running around with the work thing (see my last post!) and b/c Mara just had her baby! You can click on her blog site to the right to see photos.

Woohoo!!

2009-07-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

I'm on the verge of selling my very first project on my own here at the office. YAY!! Offers are being made and we're all very excited. Deals have to be closed before anything is definite, so send me good karma but alas, it appears I've finally set something up!

What's up? I rule. JK. I'm just in a GREAT mood now. This means my first producing credit ladies and gents. that's right- I don't know what it'll be yet, EP, AP or CO-P but it'll be something.
Go me! Go me!

I will post again when it's official but once last time - WOOHOO!

How am I going to celebrate you ask? Seeing HARRY POTTER 6 tonight. YAY! Good day. Good day.

Kit-tay Post

2009-07-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Look at the handsome kitty posing for me...awww. So distinguished.

And now...a little to the left. that's it!

Hollywood Bowl

2009-07-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

For the 4th, Sage, Jeff, Sharon, Rich, Chris and I decided to do the Hollywood Bowl again this year for an evening of fun music and fireworks! We picnic-ed about two hours before the show and enjoyed some seriously gourmet good including Sharon's curried chicken salad, some delicious sun dried tomato and olive tampenade, fruit, chesse and crackers and of course my flag cake :) (oh- and we had like 5 bottles of wine for the evening)

This year, the special guest performing along with the LA Philharmonic was John Fogerty (of CCR). The concert is typically split into three parts - the first being the LA Phil performing some hits by LA composers, then the special guest, then the LA Phil along with the fireworks. While typically the special guest has just been okay (we've seen Kenny Loggins and Randy Newman before), this year John Fogerty was AWESOME! I was so surprised by how fantastic his voice still is and his guitar playing was seriously sick. Plus he played all the big hits and the songs people want to hear, which is nice since not all performers do that. Sometimes I get that they want to perform their new stuff and show they're still developing their art (or whatever), but come on-play what people want to hear! And truthfully, last night I was surprised how many of his/CCR's songs I did know. Jeff was most excited to hear "Centerfield" and literally heard two notes of the song and yelled "YEAH!" really loudly. It was hilarious and I think we all agreed we'd never seen him so excited about anything...ever!

Anyway, we all had an amazing time and I took a little video of the end of the fireworks for your viewing pleasure.

Happy Bday USA!

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

I'll do a bigger weekend post tomorrow night, but I hope everyone has a happy and healthy 4th! If you're on a boat, don't fall off. If you're at a bbq, don't burn yourself on the grille. If you're on the beach, wear sunscreen. No, I swear I've not been drinking when I am writing this post!

Look at my fun flag cake!

BBQ at the Newlyweds!

2009-07-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

On Friday, since we were all lucky enough not to have to work, we went just down the street to our friends Leigh & Ward's house for a midday bbq. Along with Sage and Jeff, we all had a great afternoon of beer, burgers and other yummy munchies.

As the afternoon wore on, we played some flip cup, beer pong and then Kings...which I think was our undoing. The afternoon turned into night and two beer runs later, we were all a bit tired. Luckily Sage was our DD with her allergy meds keeping her on a strict (well mostly strict) Diet Coke regiment for the day.

You can see Leigh & Ward have two beautiful black labs, Turk & Tiller, who are absolutely adorable! They were a bit overexcited when we got there, but I think the boys managed to wear them out with some fetch and rough-housing.

It was a great start to our weekend!

Double Feature Weekend in Opposite Land

2009-06-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I saw MY SISTER'S KEEPER and TRANSFORMERS 2....you cannot get further apart than these two movies, let me tell you.

Let's begin with the girly weep-fest. Based on a Jodi Piccoult book, MY SISTER'S KEEPER is a movie steeped in emotion and tragedy. A 15 year-old girl is at the end of her lifelong battle with cancer, and to survive she needs a kidney transplant from her younger sister, who has been her own personal donor her entire life. However, the younger girl is done- she hires a lawyer for medical emancipation so she can sue her parents for the rights to her own body. The very premise of this story is one that automatically produces an emotional reaction - typical two. A heartbreaking sorrow for both young girls, dealing with issues beyond their maturity, and secondly, some shock at the idea of, Can a child really do that? Would she do that to her sister?

The movie is an interesting blend of sticking to the book's mechanics (for example, the novel is broken into chapters for each character's point of view/experience, and the movie begins with voice-overs from all of them so we see how their lives have changed in the midst of this drama, or trauma depending on who you ask.) However, the film also makes marked departures from the book, namely the ending - which is a totally different idea and one that I actually think is better and less cloying - and the elimination of a character related to the court case. That second change is understandable, but what it does is take the emphasis off the courtroom drama, eliminating a large portion of the lawyer's role (And a shame since Alec Baldwin had such potential for this character) and minimizing the struggle associated with suing your parents. (And a lot of the mechanics of what that actually means.)

Overall, I'd say the movie was a moderate success in its adaptation - they chose to focus on the family and the life associated with having a very sick child. It's heartbreaking and confusing and maddening, and as a viewer, somehow very cathartic to watch it and cry your eyes out. Performances were great, and while I missed a few things that felt key to the story, I thought the filmmakers did well by the story. Biggest success if the romance between the teen girl and a fellow cancer patient. They spent a lot of screen time on it and for good reason.

Now, moving onto to another movie that also might induce crying, but for a wholly different reason - TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. Now, hearing the full title for this movie, you might think this is Megatron's revenge, since he "fell" (or was dumped, technically) into the ocean at the end of the first movie. But it's not. The "Fallen" has a wholly separate - and completely stupid - meaning in this movie. So I guess let's start there- with the story...or lack thereof. The movie's storyline makes no sense. Seriously, try to follow it and you'll eeek out a kind-of legitimate plot that takes us through the movie, but in truth, as you dig just a fraction of a milimeter below the surface, it falls apart. The movie is really just, forgive the language, Michael Bay jerking off onscreen for two and a half hours. Now, some people might say, "Isn't the always the case with his movies?" I would argue "no". BAD BOYS, THE ROCK, even ARMAGEDDON and BAD BOYS 2 were so much better than this. As I sat there watching it, I felt the first hour was decent, "watchable", I'd say. And then we go to war....like a big war in the desert for about an hour. At least it felt that way. And again, none of it really makes sense. I didn't have a problem following which robot was doing what, which a lot of reviews had mentioned. Visually, I was okay to follow, but it didn't matter- I was bored. I thought that Shia and Megan Fox, and the roommate, and the parents, were fine. (And actually, I'd venture that John Turturro was less annoying in this movie, but mainly because he had less screen time.) The acting wasn't the issue- it really boiled down to the story and how incessently long the battle was.

So yeah, I could go on and on, but I don't feel like it. I've already wasted a lot of time on this movie. No more. Moving on....dying to see HURT'S LOCKER and CHERI this week.

Coolest Tables EVER!!

2009-06-26T12:30:00.001-07:00

Last night, we went to a launch party for the new production company Ten/Four Pictures, which our friend Sharon is the lawyer/business affairs person for. There, I saw the MOST AMAZING tables ever....I have to have these some day!!Aren't they amazing!! They're from a store in LA called "Sonrisa" and here's a link to their site in case you are interested in any of their other cool stuff. Very pricey but pretty awesome!

http://www.sonrisafurniture.com/

A big "Whatever" to this apparently devastating news...

2009-06-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson is dead at 50. Yes, it's sad. It's sad when anyone dies suddenly or before their time. But I have a lot more sympathy for a lot of other people that have died and/or suffered than I do for this man....and I am going to be really really sick of all the MJ coverage very soon, I kind of already am. Whether or not you believe he was a child molester and whether or not you feel sympathy for him that he was beaten as a kid and forced into a destructive world of fame, I think the bigger issue is that Michael Jackson was no longer a relevant part of pop culture, and the news reporting that we've lost a huge piece of that is ridiculous. We lost it YEARS ago when he essentially turned himself into a freak and stopped making good music. So, RIP MJ? yeah, of course. But I think more like RIP the "real" MJ of the 1970s & 1980s.

and p.s. why do we continually look the other way with celebrities and their criminal wrongdoings? A friend made this point about Mike Tyson being in THE HANGOVER and how we're glorifying a convicted rapist...just sayin'.

Short lived new lease on life

2009-06-23T10:30:00.001-07:00

It's a cloudy morning again...which means I got up slowly and have yet to fully awaken three hours later. I hate this overcast B.S.! I mean, this is LA, not CT! sigh.

Good Day Sunshine!

2009-06-22T11:57:00.001-07:00

Alright LA! It appears that the worst of the "June Gloom" may be behind us! It was bright, sunny and beautiful this morning when we woke up. Chris and I remarked how much easier it was to get out of bed, despite it being a Monday morning!

So, I get up- am feeling great. I think, and even say outloud to Chris, "I think that this is a great day to get back on the horse at work and stop feeling so lethargic and bored. The sun is shining! Here we go!" I then get dressed and head to my 8am physical therapy appointment like always....and as I am about to park, I realize that oops- my appt isn't at 8am. It's at 9:30 today!! Sigh. So much for my big start....instead I start Monday morning realizing I'm a moron.

haha. Just thought I'd share that tidbit with you. But despite being an hour and a half early, I at least made good use of the time, going to my own gym for an hour and then doing some errands. I'm still on my full energy, kick ass, sunshine kick!

More wedding bliss!

2009-06-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, folks - it's another wedding post. Yay! This time, the happy couple was the son of family friends of the Danisons'. Chris grew up with Brad Fallon (and his brothers and sister) playing in their neighborhood cul de sac, riding bikes, etc. Their wedding was at The Reef in Long Beach, which is right on the water and the ceremony was up on the "sunset deck", overlooking the bay. (I think it's a bay...) Reception was indoors at The Reef's big ballroom, with beautiful glass windows as a backdrop. It's cool at night b/c all the city and marina lights are on and it's very colorful.

Anyways, we really didn't take photos b/c we were just enjoying hanging out, but they have the always-enjoyable photo booth that we took a few spins in. (As the night went on, we got progressively drunker in the photos, but I declined to scan that one in!) But I did scan in their save-the-date, which was really neat. (Yes, I said "neat". Remember when people said "neato-skeato"? I do. I was def one of them.) Anyway, they are big Anaheim Angels fans and they were able to go out onto the field to take their engagement shots- very cool!

We realized that we only have one more wedding in 2009 (October 10th- and it's another one of the Fallon kids), and probably will have 3 come 2010. Phew! After that, who is left to get married?! Just kidding. We love celebrating with friends and family....especially when there is an open bar. Ha!

Kitty Post

2009-06-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Where is it Sundance?

I don't know Butch...keep looking!

Hmm, I can't see anything up here.
You idiot, it's not on top! I told you it fell in here!

What were we looking for again?
Sigh, this is boring. I'm leaving.

Nephew love

2009-06-18T18:09:00.001-07:00

So during my trip back east, I got to spend an afternoon with my nephew when Tom & Rebekah brought him down to visit Mom, Dad and me in good ole Guilford. Eric's currently 4 months shy of being 3 years old and it's amazing to me how much he's talking and how big he is!! I took a couple of videos - the first of me trying to get him to say "Hi, Uncle Chris" on video - I was mildly successful, as you can hear him say "unk crisss" twice - and the second trying to get him to count, which he's very good at, but he's having none of it.

In fact, it's funny b/c he really has no interest in having his photo taken these days. He likes to close his eyes at you instead. I managed to get a couple of snap shots, but not many.

You'll see he's holding this purple caterpillar toy, which is mine from childhood and sat on the end of my bed for years. Every time he comes to my parents' house, he runs into my bedroom to grab it. Incidentally, it's a toy that my brother won for me at a fair when I was really young. I also introduced Eric to my plush Guilford Indians soccer ball...not the best choice, since he kept wanting to throw it around the house. Whoops!

Baby Mania!

2009-06-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

No - not that kind. (Take a deep breath Chris!) This baby mania was all about Mara and Matt's soon-to-be little girl and her baby shower last weekend that I helped throw in Cambridge, Mass.

Mara's just over eight months pregnant and looking fabulous! I'm so amazed and jealous - it's all belly on her! When she turns around, you can't even tell she's preggie. Sigh, I just know that that won't be me.

But back to the main event. So at her mother's home in Cambridge, we gathered a bunch of her family and a few friends for the afternoon. We lucked out with some incredible weather, considering it's been raining pretty constantly all spring and early summer in New England. The afternoon began with some drinks and apps out on the deck, with everyone greeting each other and chatting a bit.

We then moved out of the sun for an ice-breaker to get the party started! I'd put together a little baby shower trivia game, with questions ranging from "When was the first disposable diaper introduced in the US?" to "Which celebrity named their baby Phinneaus?" Mara's cousin Rebecca won, and most people think it's because she's a doctor and there were a bunch of questions about baby's developments, etc.

Then we did lunch- which Mara's mom had organized and provided. A beautiful summer salad and swordfish & veggie kabobs! Yum!

After we ate, the crafts began! First, everyone designed and decorated a bib for the baby (Mine was naturally an LA-themed one). Following the bibs, we got the women to do a page in a baby scrapbook for Mara so that the pages were ready for her to put some photos. Because what new mom has time to make scrapbook pages, right?! I think some of the ladies were skeptical at first about the crafty-ness of the activities, but then got really into it. AND they each got to write a note to the baby to be inserted into the baby book pages, so she can read them when they're older. (This was Mara's idea, but people kept giving me credit for such a great idea :)

Dessert and presents were up next. Mara's mom-in-law Claire brought a gorgeous chocolate cake with pink polka dots on it, along with some of her famous chocolate chip cookies and Mexican wedding cake cookies.

The afternoon wound down after the presents, with people slowly scattering their departures. It was such a fun day and it seems that everyone had a great time.

I was SO glad for Mara & Matt, but also selfishly for myself that I was able to be there and celebrate with them! Here are the photos from the day:

Not saying I told you so....BUT

2009-06-05T15:11:00.001-07:00

I've been complaining about this for awhile now! (and I am sure I'm not the only one) Nice that people are finally recognizing it at the top.

Check out this article in Variety about the summer stockpile of big, franchise movies...

Hollywood's May melee

UP, Up and Away!

2009-06-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Pixar's newest flick UP is worth a post of its own, in my opinion. If you haven't seen this delightfully whimsical and heartwarming movie yet - go to your local (3-D supporting) theater! Chris and I saw this on Monday night, and I must say it's a great date movie.

I don't want to give too much away, but I will say a few things about the story. First off, Pixar continues its growth towards more mature material as it has been doing since THE INCREDIBLES, with each new picture becoming more and more sophisticated (especially the most recent, WALL-E). UP begins with the story of our main character as a boy, seeing his love of adventure and then how he meets his future wife. We're privy to a beautiful, romantic montage of their life together before we finally land in present day - maybe 20 minutes into the movie. Now we're prepping for our big adventure and get to know both main characters Mr. Fredericksen and Russell a bit. Once they take off in the house, as you've seen in all the trailers, get ready for a beautiful trip. Pixar's animation is just amazing - there's no other way to say it. These guys continue to top themselves and get better and better with texture and subtleties in the frame that make it feel so real. This is the first 3-D Pixar movie, and what's great about it is that they don't exploit the technology and have things jumping out at you. Instead, it simply enhances your experience and gives the picture an incredible depth and sense of motion.

I think that what makes this movie special is the sweetness that lies in its story and the very lyrical nature of the film. It's no wonder that the French loved this film at Cannes. It's feels a bit French in the way that it blends a sense of reality with the most fantastical elements you can imagine. The colors are brilliant and so inviting.

I don't know that this was my favorite Pixar movie, but I was very moved by it and cried about 3 times. I cannot imagine anyone not enjoying the movie and finding it a bit breathtaking.

Dave & Laura 5/24/09

2009-05-29T11:38:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, Chris and I went up to Berkeley, California for the wedding between my good college friend David Flink and his bride, Laura. It was a beautiful day. (Thanks for the photos Dave!)

As with all these Brownie wedding weekends (mine included!), the reunion portion is as much fun as the festivities themselves! It was fun to see the usual suspects of this particular crew, plus a few other Brown peeps I hadn't seen either since graduation or the 5 year reunion.

Before we got to NoCal, however, we stopped for an evening with Chris' cousin Jeff and his wife Mia (you may remember them from my Thanksgiving post, but here they are from our wedding...[I forgot to take a photo with them this trip.]) Anyways, we got up to Jeff & Mia's about dinnertime on Friday night, having taken the coast up to their place in Monterey, which is a really cool drive! I'd never been up the coast past Hearst Castle in San Simeon, and it's amazing! The water is so blue and you're driving right along the cliffs. I tried taking some photos in the car but it was too hard. they didn't really come out very well.

Anyways, we had a very yummy dinner and a lot of wine and beer afterwards, sitting outside by their outdoor fire pit! It was a great night, and their cat Simon snuggled up with me during the night, so I didn't feel like I was missing Butch and Sundance too much.

By Saturday mid-morning, we had had a big breakfast and were on our way up to Berkeley, where we met up with Beth and Andrea (and her new beau Josh!) for some lunch. Then the whole crew met up at Dave & Laura's reception to welcome out of town guests.

That night was the rehearsal dinner, during which Dave, his wife Jaime, Evan and I got up to give a joint speech. Since Flink is very into projects via his Eye-to-Eye non-profit, we decided to do something different - a Madlib speech, where the audience filled in words that we left missing from the speech. It was really fun and while I don't think everything totally made sense to some people, it was fun to get everyone laughing and participating.

Then Sunday was a group brunch and then the wedding, for which I was an usher, which was fun. I was rocking a new hairdo for the wedding (Cut me some bangs last week!) and I'm hoping that it doesn't look ridiculous in Dave's photos.

The wedding was beautiful and the reception seemed to fly by. The day was a bit blustery outside, and as you can see, Laura's veil was going nuts during the pre-ceremony photos! They had a very pretty outdoor cocktail hour, and the backdrop were these gorgeous hills you can see in these photos.

Both the bride and the groom are dancers, so you can imagine, they were tearing up the floor all night. And it was really wonderful to see them both so happy- they were beaming at each other all night! So sweet :)

Here are a few more of everyone:

Monday was the post-wedding breakfast, and we had to say goodbye to friends far too soon. The weekend seemed to zip by and I was reminded how quickly our own wedding weekend flew by almost 8 months ago! Holy cow!

Anyways, to all my peeps, I miss you guys and loved seeing you! I'm working on our Summer 2010 reunion plans!

Happy Birthday Chris!!

2009-05-21T23:06:00.001-07:00

Yay! Chris is 29 today! old man that he is...haha. Okay, he's not actually old but he is older than me. woohoo!

Anyways, we had a low key evening after work tonight since we are leaving for Berkeley, CA tomorrow for David Flink's wedding this weekend. Chris wanted ribs so we grabbed a casual dinner and then came home to hang out, play with the cats and pack.

Love you honey!

Oooh- this looks awesome

2009-05-14T11:21:00.001-07:00

Check out the trailer for NINE - new movie directed by Rob Marshall (CHICAGO), starring Daniel Day Lewis, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson and Fergie. Lots of peeps!

Click here to check it out!

Ooh La La!

Sunday Night Pictionary Man

2009-05-11T15:45:00.001-07:00

On Sunday night, Sage & Jeff invited Chris & I over, along with our friends Leigh & Ward for a little game night and dinner. We started off with some wine and a first round of Girls v. Boys playing "Pictionary Man". It's sort of a new version of the classic game. But instead of drawing on a board, you get this little dude to draw on (he's made of the white board material) and two props to go along with him. Naturally, after some wine, it started getting a little dirty. As you can see, Leigh and I were having way too much fun in between rounds with the little man!

The boys won the first round, so the women were naturally happy to adjourn for dinner. Sage has this fun Rachelette (sp?) thing where you cook your own meat and veggies, and then melt cheese on them at the table! Yum! It's essentially a grill and a broiler in one.

The little trays make bite size portions and the whole thing is perfect for a group dinner so everyone chats while we're cooking our food. It's the same kind of party idea as fondue, you're just not dipping anything...you're cooking it instead!

Anyway, after dinner we played a second round until it got a bit late and we called it a tie...so I suppose the men kind of won...boo!

Kitty Post

2009-05-11T15:43:00.001-07:00

It was so hot one day last week that the cats were lying around with no energy. The upside, them being super cute and laying on each other.

Run for the Boobies

2009-05-09T15:00:00.001-07:00

This morning I participated in the Revlon Run/Walk for Women again! (I can't remember if it's my third or fourth time running it!) It's an annual 5K race (or walk) in NY and LA that Revlon sponsors, the intent being to raise money for women's cancer research. Sony sponsors a team each year and the past two years, my friend Darcy and I have done it together. So much nicer to have someone to walk around with at the expo before the race and also to meet up with afterwards. I remember doing it on my own and it's really not as fun.

Anyway, I digress. I love the event because you see men, women and children - all ages too - participating. Many of them wear signs clipped to their shirt, declaring who they are running/walking the event for - many survivors and many victims. It's a pretty emotional event and I always get a bit choked up through the course when I see a young kid with one of those signs on.

I have to say, I haven't been running very much lately b/c of an issue with my knee, and man- 3.2 miles felt a lot farther than I am used to! It made me sad as I crossed the finish line to realize that back in the day, this would have been a warm up for my long run, instead of being my whole one. But the good news is that I am seeing a doctor (finally, I know, I know!) this week about my knee. Hopefully I'll figure out what the issue is and find a way to fix it so I can be running again. I love spinning and the stairs, but it's just not the same as a good run!

Warning: This post may contain massive amounts of Nerd

2009-05-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

Space...the Final Frontier.
So the new STAR TREK movie doesn't start out with these words, but rather wraps up an amazing action adventure movie set in space that is the new installment of the STAR TREK franchise. The movie is awesome - let's just start with that. JJ Abrams and writers Kurtzman & Orci continue to amaze me with their talent, and essentially, I want to be them. I went with Chris and Marlene (a friend and a HUGE Trekkie) to the midnight showing last night. Hoo-ah!

The movie opens with a great action sequence, showing the demise of the U.S.S. Kelvin and sets up our Romulan bad guys. Eric Bana plays our bad dude and it's insane how unrecognizable he is! The shaved head and facial tattoos really help. Anyways- we set up our big problem and see how Kirk was born, what happened to his family, etc. Cut to the future and we get to meet our fabulous crew as teens. (Well, there's one time chunk in the middle when Spock and Kirk are kids.) My favorites are definitely Chris Pine as Kirk, Zoe Saldana as Uhuru and then eventually, when he emerges much much later in the movie, Simon Pegg as Scotty.

The movie feels like it's really a story about Spock, more than anything. While we're setting up Kirk and showing how he takes control of the Enterprise, his story has less emotional weight than Spock's, which is of course the intended irony since he's the stoic Vulcan. Kirk drives the movie forward, but it's Spock that we feel for more than anything. Though, I actually think that we're supposed to care more about Kirk and Spock finding their way to the live-long friendship that has been memorialized in STAR TREK for so many years.

Other good news is that the production value is AWESOME. It makes you want to strangle George Lucas when you see how much of this movie is CGI and how GREAT it looks. It feels real and it's exciting! It's not some bizarre background - it just looks like space!

I have really nothing to complain about. I am going to see the movie again on Sunday on the IMAX screens, so maybe a second viewing will show me a thing or two that I'm not pysched about. We shall see.

p.s. The Arclight Theater in LA is awesome - they had themed cocktails for the opening weekend (I had the "Captain's Cooler" and my friend Marlene had the "Warp-tini". They also gave out free t-shirts, and I wore my to work today. NERD ALERT!!)

Hello again

2009-05-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile....sorry! Life's been busy and stressful. Nothing new I suppose, but I've been very bad about blogging...even reading others' blogs has fallen by the wayside the last couple of weeks.

But I'm back and I thought I'd come back with something amusing...So last night, I'm leaving the lot around 7pm (early considering how late I've been here lately!!), and this is what I see as I leave my building...

These cute little ducks wandering around the lot...and just the two of them. So weird! I'd never seen ducks on the lot before...a stray cat or two, yes. Ducks? No.

Anyways, life's pretty good. Saw STATE OF PLAY and 17 AGAIN recently. Is it sad to say that 17 AGAIN was actually more entertaining than STATE OF PLAY? Both movies are miles apart, but I felt STATE was just a bit too long and dry. The performances were excellent but there wasn't a lot to get excited about. In terms of 17, I gotta say it was loads of fun. Zac Efron did a good job of showing that he can do a bit more than just HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, though the first 10 min of the movie are him playing basketball and dancing. But then he's flirting with Leslie Mann for a good chunk of the movie and you're like, "Hey- he's doing it. And doing it well." Okay bad 90s music reference.

See both on DVD for sure!

A great idea

2009-04-15T14:23:00.001-07:00

My friend Mara turned me onto this site and I think it's such a good idea, I had to share it!!

Each year I have some version of this conversation with my mother....
Mom - "So any ideas of what you or Chris want for Christmas this year?"
Me - "oh mom, it's so far off...I dunno."
Mom - "well, don't wait too long, you know I like to get shopping done early."
-- two months later --
Me - "Hey, I thought of something that's a great idea for Christmas -"
Mom - "It's December 4th Tamara. I asked for your list months ago. Your gifts are pretty much bought."
Me - Sigh. "I know, I know..."

The answer to this dilemma and many more.... Ta Da!!
http://www.thethingsiwant.com/

It's an online registry system/wish list. You can start a list for your birthday, your kids, a shower, Christmas or Hannukah. It's not tied to one store and you can add or take stuff off whenever you want! When you see an item you want, just add it to your list so that you don't forget about it!

It's a great idea for your boyfriend, spouse, mother, brother, etc to be able to check in and see what you might like without having to ruin a surprise by asking you!

Check it out peeps!

Kitty Post

2009-04-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Sundance is checking out the stability of the poker table...

Sundance sees a birdie...and Butch decides he wants to imitate her...

Butch reminds me that I can't put papers down on the floor unattended for even a minute.

Hippity Hoppity Easter!

2009-04-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! (and Happy Passover as well!) Yesterday Chris and I managed to arrive in time this year to see Madeleine and Mason's Easter egg hunt at their house. Camilla and Ron's good friends Grant and Kori were also their with their son Lucas and daughter Liv, (who's still a bit young at six months to be searching for eggs), as well as Papa and Gramma Collins on Camilla's side.

We all had a great brunch, watched the kids enthusiastically clamor for eggs and then we dyed some hard-boiled eggs. I tried to remember the dying techniques, which light colors and darker colors worked well with each other and how to best stripe them, but for the most part, they were more tie-dyed than properly sectioned off.

Everyone else took off mid-afternoon, but Chris and I stayed to hang out with Ron and Camilla and the kids for the day. We all had way too much sugar and then were too lazy for real dinner, so we ordered pizza. Healthy day!! haha.

Sorry I haven't been blogging much. We've been pretty low key and just working a lot.

Visiting "A Whale's Vagina"...

2009-03-31T22:19:00.001-07:00

If you haven't seen ANCHORMAN, then this is awkward...but it means we went to San Diego.

Chris and I took a little trip down to San Diego last weekend to milk his Hilton perks before they disappear. We got a great room at the resort there right on Mission Bay, just north of downtown San Diego. Our room had this cute little patio that lead right to the beach and all these cute ducks came up to pay us a visit (read- ask us for food but we didn't feed the little guys). Check out the video- the duck goes right up to our screen door!

Sadly, I had just come down with a cold the day before we left, so I was not that much fun over the weekend. Friday, especially, when I couldn't even taste our dinner or wine. Plus the kleenex was never more than a foot from me the whole night.

On Saturday, we headed out to the Wild Animal Park, which is affiliated to the San Diego Zoo, but is a totally separate area. It's much more akin to the Jurassic Park idea, of leaving animals in much bigger expanses of land and less cage-like situations. Check out this lion, who was gnawing on a huge leg bone the whole time we were there.

They have tons of elephants there as well - a number of whom are children. The smallest baby you can see in this photo is only two months old. He was born at 226 lbs though! WOW!

And then there were these weird hybrid of horses and zebras called the Okapi....and they have REALLY long tongues they use to grab nearby branches and pull them over for food. I took a video, but you can't really tell from it (See below). Here's a little blurb from wikipedia about them and their tongues - "The tongue of an okapi is long enough for the animal to wash its eyelids and clean its ears (inside and out): it is the only mammal that can lick its own ears."
We had a great time at the park, even though we did get a bit sunburned, and then headed back to the hotel.

I was feeling a bit better by the end of the night, so we met up with our friends Chip and Daryn, who live in the area, for yummy fish tacos and dessert! It has been great to see so much of them recently!

Sunday we grabbed brunch on our way back to LA, stopping in La Jolla at a place called Harry's Coffee Shop. It's one of those old institutions that has the really old diner interior and they just move people in and out. All the waiters seemed to know a lot of the customers and it seems like a place you'd go for years and say, "I'll have the usual!" I really want to find a place like that near us!

Anyways- sorry for all the absent blogging. Been a busy week and it takes forever at home to upload photos...way easier at the office.

Good News!!

2009-03-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

We found out today that Chris is going to be kept on at Hilton for part of the transition - so he's employed with them until June 1st. Gives us a bit more breathing room and more time to find that fabulous next job that's just waiting for him!

So much news!!

2009-03-25T12:03:00.001-07:00

I've been an absent blogger... but here's what we've been up to:

Last Friday:
Our good friends Chip and Daryn were up in the LA area and came by that Friday after work for a double-date-night! We had wine, some great cheese & crackers, Chris' famous guac, and then we were off to see DUPLICITY! Check out my side bar for the review.

Saturday:
Morning - Chip and Daryn spent the night and we had the kitties secured in our bedroom area & hallway so there would be no hissing disturbances in the night. [But I will, say the cats are nearly back to normal by now (wednesday) and we are very pleased to see it! The vet and I decided we think Sundance was able to smell Butch's medicine when she sniffed his face and wasn't into it. She's very "sensitive".]

Anyways, we ate pancakes with our friends in the morning and then they left :( to get their own day going, heading back down to SD. We, meanwhile, hung out for a bit longer at home before getting into the car and driving to our friend Dan's new condo for his housewarming in Santa Ana, CA. It's a beautiful townhouse-type condo, with 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bath. Really nice! We munched and chatted the time away with friends.

Then it was back in the car and heading back to LA for Jeff Dix's 35 Birthday Party. After feeding the kitties and picking up the cake on our way, we met friends out for a night of BBQ at this placed called Zeke's. YUM! The fried chicken and potato salad were some of the best I've ever eaten. The hushpuppies were pretty yummy too as appetizers, but Chris found them a bit too bland.

After dinner, we headed to the sleek, trendy bowling alley called called Lucky Strike in Hollywood. I'd never been but had always wanted to go...it's decked out to be a bit of a bar/club, as well as having bowling lanes. And the lights are dim, there are couches instead of rows of those awful chairs and of course, fancy drinks as well as the Bud Light beers in the shapes of bowling pins.
Here are some photos of the night:

Sunday:
Chris and I got back into the car and drove down to Orange County to his parents' home. There, we had a nice lazy day with Camilla, Ron, the kids, Jim and Mary in order to celebrate Camilla's birthay. She and I got hooked on THE HOLIDAY, which was playing on TV. I had forgotten much I liked the Cameron Diaz/Jude Law side of that movie. I've never been particularly smitten with Jude as an actor...but wow- I remembered how much I adored him in this! Looking tan and fit, as well as being the great guy in the movie, I could hardly contain myself! I promptly bought the DVD at the Sony store yesterday and watched it last night.

Tuesday: Chris update
Most of you know by now that Hilton's closing its west coast headquarters shortly and last night, Chris and some of his co-workers went out to celebrate the exit of Adam - one of their favorite VPs at the company. Here's the sign Chris made for his part of the photo slideshow thing they are putting together. Cute, right?

Tuesday: Tami's excitement
I got to meet Paul Rudd yesterday! He's so nice, sweet and super cute in person! Very nice celebrity experience.

Obama's un-PC comment - oh, the horror!

2009-03-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's the thing....I'm watching President Obama on Jay Leno last night, and the minute he made the off-hand comment about the Special Olympics I just knew it would become a big deal. An in my opinion, it shouldn't be. He was making an off-hand joke about how he's not good at bowling and it's a reference I've heard many many people use in their lifetime - at some point, probably myself included. But it's so sad that this is what people are focusing on after watching him instead of talking about what he did or didn 't say about the economy. Let's instead focus on the fact that he avoided Jay's question about Congress getting to decide who to tax higher than others with their own discretion (this is in regards to the AIG bonuses).

Nooo, instead let's all get sucked back into the typical way we've been doing things, which is to focus on a tiny comment instead of trying to appreciate the big picture. Do we really have nothing else going on right now in this country that we need to make an issue of this? Let's speak up and make a big deal every time someone anywhere is totally offended by an off-hand remark. Let's have the media talk about it for days instead of the President just issuing a brief apology and then moving on. Which, btw, he did before the show even aired! He called the Head of the Special Olympics and apologized. The guy accepted and said he was great about it. Should be over!!Oy! It so frustrates me! Weren't we more offended as a nation by having a moron in the White House for 8 years that killed Americans under false pretenses? Come on people!

Cat Fight 2009: Update

2009-03-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we decided to separate them just until I got home from work around 5pm. (early day I know!!) After that, it's been trying to get things back to normal. Sudance is still pretty pissed off and hissing like a banshee (do banshees hiss?) whenever he's too close or frankly, whenever she seems to feel like. (She will sometimes just walk up to him and hiss. We were so excited the first time we saw her approaching him, b/c she just came really close, took a sniff and then hissed...and charged.) It's really the charging that we're most worried about...but we've decided to let things play themselves out. Whenever she attacks him, we spray her with some water to discourage it...but we let the hissing go. It's just so annoying! Sundace will release this vicious hiss and the come up to me and whimper b/c she wants to be pet. Big sigh.

But anyway, things seemed to go okay during the night and so far this morning we have some closer contact. They seem to be able to be in the same space now, which is progress. As you can see in this photo, three or four feet seems to be the safe distance for now. We're doing as much as we can to cross their scents and get them to smell the same, but I guess it just takes time. Hopefully they won't kill each other while we're out at work today.

The Trouble with Kitties...

2009-03-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

So sorry that I have not been blogging much as of late...for one- there hasn't been a ton going on other than work and finally Chris and I had a weekend where we did a lot of nothing. It was so nice considering how much craziness was happening in February. Second, Chris has had the camera tied up at work and my cell phone really doesn't take very good photos of stuff.

Anyways, so the issue with the cats...Butch has been drooling a lot in the last few days, which is an unusual thing for cats. My vet said this means that either a) Butch is so content that he's practically frothing at the mouth and can't be bothered to swallow....b) Butch is really stressed out, which at this time of year can be brought on by other cats in heat either approaching our apartment or meowing in the back alley (which isn't happening)....or c) something's up with his teeth/mouth and it's hurts to swallow. So being the very conscientious mommy that I am, I took him to the vet early this morning. Turns out he has a mild infection thing happening at the back of his mouth. So I leave with some stuff for him and head home...where I assume Sundance is waiting with baited breath for her best friend Butch to come home.

Well, Sundance is waiting...but the minute she gets a whiff of Butch, who apparently smells like the vet now, she starts hissing like a possessed cat! Seriously!! It was insane and poor Butch is like, "What's up Sundance? Why you so mad?" And he keeps trying to approach her; even under the bed, which is the universal "safe zone" for the cats. And then when I try to get to get Sundance, she freaks out and is hissing at me, b/c I, too, must smell like the vet. So I separate them and close the door in the hallway, take a shower and re-approach Sundance. She's at least not hissing at me, though she looks none-too-pleased with me. I call a friend, who I remember told me she had the same problem with the cats, and she says to bathe them both and use the same towel to dry them, so they'll smell the same.

I decide to torture Butch first, which proves to be a mistake b/c now I smell like him again and Sundance is having none of it. I couldn't even get close enough to pick her up and put her in the tub. So alas, I had to separate them for the day while I was gone and put two sets of litter, food and water out for them. Oy vey, I say!! The vet says to put a little dab of vanilla extract on them both (under the nose and just above their butts under the tail) to get them to just smell that on each other. SO Chris got the lovely job of coming home from work, bathing Sundance and putting extract on them both. His reward? A hissing cat!! It's almost laughable if it weren't so annoying and on some level upsetting. I hope they get over it quickly b/c their best friends and it makes me sad to see them mad at each other. Can't we all get along?!!

Best Pancake mix EVER!!

2009-03-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

Claire Recker, Mara's mother-in-law, is the best. Seriously- such a sweet woman!! When I saw her recently in Boston, we were in a grocery store and I mentioned that I love pancakes for breakfast. She pulled this mix from Stonewall Kitchen off the shelf and told me it was the best.... a few weeks later, I get a package in the mail with some of her favorites of this brand. (including some corn bread mix, which is definitely next on the list!)

Chris and I made the pancakes yesterday morning and even the smell from the batter was AMAZING!! It smelled a bit like vanilla, though I didn't see that in the ingredients. A few minutes later on the griddle, YUM!...they were so delicious. So if you people are pancake lovers, check out this mix!!

Thank you Claire!!

Who watches the WATCHMEN?

2009-03-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

Hey guys- since you can't comment on my "review" section to the side...I'd love to hear from people that saw the movie.... comment here instead!!

Need another way to waste time at work?

2009-03-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

Check out this link http://www.cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory/

Here's the one I made:

Stuff White People Like

2009-03-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

This site is awesome (and it's a book too but the site is free :)
check it out.... http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/
(click on the full list for the quick titles if you just want to browse...)

Some of my favorites to sample....
Coffee
Hating their parents (which I don't, btw)
Awareness
Arts Degrees
Here's a good quote:
These degrees enable white people to spend four yeas of their lives reading books, writing papers and feeling great about themselves. It is a known fact that Arts students firmly believe that they are doing you/society a favor by not getting a job and reading Proust. They use this to protest for reduced tuition, more money for the arts, and special reduced student rates on things like bus passes.
Irony
Threatening to move to Canada
The Idea of Soccer
Outdoor Performance Clothes
Girls with Bangs
Black Music that Black People don't Listen to Anymore

Go Team Go!!

2009-03-02T15:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/movies/01films.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=film business&st=cse

Weekend Update

2009-03-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty bad about posting this past week, mainly because it was just busy but also because I got either a 24 hour bug or food poisoning on Thursday and was a mess. Ugh! I was in a lot of pain and was so tired on Friday because of it. But we managed to pull it together for a nice weekend...

Friday night, we went to see a newly re-mastered print of THE GODFATHER, which was showing at the artsy theater on Montava Avenue in Santa Monica. We heard about the showing from some new peeps that we met and have hung out with - Cole and Lindsay. The story goes...Cole is a writer that I met and am now working with on something, and when I mentioned that I worked at Imagine, he said my girlfriend Lindsay's good friend Anna works there. "Anna Culp?", I say. She's a great friend of mine! So we all go out last Wednesday night for dinner and drinks (including Chris) and it turns out that Lindsay's best friend and sorority sister is one of Chris' bosses at Hilton! No joke! What even makes it a smaller world is that this woman doesn't live in LA! She works out of Chicago for Hilton. How crazy!

Anyway, on Wedneday night they mention this showing of THE GODFATHER, which is one of chris and my favorite movies of all time, and we have never seen on the big screen. When we get there, it's totally sold out and packed - the movie has staying power, to say the least. What was even better about it, was that a bunch of parents had brought their kids to experience the cinematic masterpiece. Awesome! (though one of them sitting behind us said "eww" when Appollonia's boobs are shown onscreen...ha ha. it was hilarious)

Saturday was a beautiful day in Los Angeles - 80 degree weather and not a cloud in the sky. Chris and I decided to get out of the house and go for a drive....so we drove up the PCH along the coast, cut through Malibu on Decker Canyon Road, switched to Mulholland Highway and spent about 2 hours + driving the twisty, winding hills...it was so beautiful! For anyone not in California, sometime you are here, we should do this drive. For awhile you can see the ocean behind you as you climb the hills, and then you're suddenly hidden inside some of California's most unexpected beauty. Seriously! It's so green and hidden away...amazing.

Sat night we went to dinner and a movie with Sage and Jeff. Though we saw CORALINE and it was not very exciting, we had a great time catching up and hanging out with as usual.

Sunday was an okay day, as I had a bit of a meltdown when I got really frustrated with some stuff we were doing around the house. I took a walk to blow off steam and then Chris and I had a good night just hanging out, working and watching THE AMAZING RACE.

Fashion Report Card

2009-02-24T15:56:00.001-08:00

I felt that there was a surprising amount of bad fashion at the Oscars this year....especially considering how much I've loved a lot of it this awards season in general. Not a lot of color in the gowns and it made the ones who wore color really stand out...most of the time in a good way.

Hated it!!
I was not a fan of Marion Cotillard's dress...I couldn't quite figure out the bottom of it and what it was trying to do. But I also must admit that I haven't been a big fan of the dark blue and black mixture this year...I didn't like it when marcia cross wore it earlier this year, nor did I like Reese's dress from Sunday either.

Amanda Seyfried's dress seems silly, not particularly formal and a little ridiculous, no?

I'm not 100% sure what Melissa George's dress looked like in the front, but I hate that uber-mermaid bottom on it. I think a little flair would have been great, but this is too much.

Jessica Biel's dress is just odd...I don't quite understand what they were going for with this flap of fabric that looks untucked or something...

I saw Miley Cyrus roaming around the theater from above before the show started and I thought her dres looked cute...and then I saw it from the red carpet photos and whoa....i thought it was hideous. Think if you do those layers, it needs to hug the body, not flair out into a big A-line skirt.

Couldn't Mickey Rourke even class it up a bit, just a BIT, for the Oscars? I mean....come on.

Queen Latifah looked WAY better in the dress she sang in...what is THIS exactly?

I didn't hate Amy Adams' dress per say...it just seems a bit misguided. I think the red dress would be beautiful just with the black piping on that bodice. Why bring up the extra piece of fabric to tack up in the middle of her chest? And that necklace...I like it but wouldn't it have been better with a black dress to set it off? or even a white one?

And there are no words to describe what Beyonce wore....just hideous.

Middle of the Road....
I liked Kate Winslet's dress but didn't love it...and I thought her hair seemed a bit matronly for her.

I felt the same way on some level with Frida Pinto's dress....I thought the lace sleeve was beautiful and the design on the dress was a nice way to incorporate some Indian touches, but at the same time it felt too old for her...I wonder if it was the color.

Meryl Streep looked very nice and age appropriate...but I didn't like jump out of my seat, so I put it here...

I think Sarah Jessica Parker's dress was beautiful and in person, she looked great in it. It made her waist look SO tiny...I just wish her boobs were tucked in a bit more....

Felt that Penelope Cruz looked beautiful but I think the dress was a bit much at the bottom...I saw a picture of the dress she wore to the parties and I thought it was a bit simpler and just as elegant.

Fashion Favorites!!
Anne Hathaway, Taraji P. Henson, Marisa Tomei and Natalie Portman were my absolute favorites!!

Angelina, Evan Rachel Wood and Alicia Keys definitely were up on my list as well.

I thought all these women were beautiful and had the right look with their gowns...hair was good, accessories were good and though Evan Rachel Wood's a little pale for hers, they all looked stunning.

Oscar night addendums...

2009-02-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

As I think of things from last night, I'll just keep adding them here...

Funny tidbit - Brad Pitt was cracking up and almost falling out of his seat when Robert DeNiro said that line to Sean Penn, "How did Sean Penn play straight for so many years?" or something like that. It was funny to see that

Also- I was telling Sage that I really didn't think the Apatow comedy thing was that funny...others agree or disagree? I thought the idea was cute but didn't really think the short was all that funny.

oh and Chris totally stepped on Heath Ledger's sister's dress on the way out at the end of the night.

And the Oscar goes to.....

2009-02-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

Us!! ha ha. I wish!! But I did get to attend the 81st Academy Awards and Governor's Ball last night!! I almost don't know where to begin with the post, so I'll go chronologically....

The "night" began when Chris and I started getting ready about noon....I had gone gown shopping VERY late in the game b/c we weren't officially sure if we were going until late January and things just got busy, we were out of town, etc etc, and I didn't find anything I liked. But, in a rare circumstance, I was able to re-wear a bridesmaid gown I already owned! Sage had us in strapless, black Amsale gowns for her wedding and I decided that this was a perfectly elegant choice for the Oscars. I dressed up the outfit with my wedding earrings, borrowed a FANCY bag from Sage and did my best to do something fancy with my hair. We were not allowed to take ANY photos at the show or in the ball (in fact, I almost had my phone taken away after snapping a picture of the dessert at the table), so Chris and I took a photo of ourselves when we got home at the end of the night. So forgive the fact that we look tired and I think my hair and make-up were a bit worn at this point....

So back to the show- we did NOT walk the red carpet (there is a longer explanation of why but it's mainly b/c there weren't enough actual tickets for seats for the company and spouses, so we figured out another system but it's too long to explain) and instead entered through the backstage entrance and so we had no long wait and virtually no security delays because of it. Woohoo! And because of our production passes, we were able to go anywhere in the theater, including backstage, and this also meant we could be on the lobby floor....which is where the champagne was flowing as stars arrived and headed to their seats or to the more exclusive waiting room just off the lobby. Up close, we got to see Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Anne Hathaway, Rob Pattinson, Penelope Cruz, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Judd Apatow & Leslie Mann, Sean Penn (who looked REALLY tan in person), Viola Davis, Queen Latifah, Miley Cyrus, Hugh Jackman, and ummm.....okay so that might be it for lobby sightings.

During the show, since we didn't technically have seats, we hung out in the balcony box with two other people from the company who did. Chris and I had been to the full rehearsal of the show on Saturday night, so it was okay for us that being in the box meant not seeing a lot of the back portion of the stage. I must say, that all the live performances sounded SO much better in person than they did on television (b/c of course we went home at the end of the night and watched the show on DVR)...though you could understand Hugh Jackman a bit better on television.

For me personally, I thought the show was fantastic! Hugh's opening number was great, he was charming and a lot of fun. I thought the stage design was fantastic and bundling all the costume/make/art direction and then all the tech awards w/Will Smith were good choices. It seemed to get through them a bit quicker and feel a bit more cohesive. Chris was not a huge fan of the Baz Luhrman number and I must say on TV I didn't think it worked as well, but it was SO fun live!! I know some people thought maybe it didn't belong on the Academy Awards show, but I think it's nice to have live performances to break up people just presenting the whole time. And speaking of presenters, I am a bit mixed on the five actors giving the award out together...I like the idea but I did think it contributed to the show going long. I wish the speeches had been a bit shorter, but overall the idea was cute. As was the idea to do some montages of the genres that aren't typically celebrated at the Oscars, like comedy, romance and action...I thought the animation one was a bit long and maybe out of place since there is an animation category now. Finally, I will say that doing the 2009 preview afterwards was a great idea! I can't believe no one thought of it before!! And of course, our upcoming movie JULIE & JULIA with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams was prominently featured (I think it was the third movie).

Anyways, so the show's over and we're heading to the Governor's Ball....It takes place in a large space in the Kodak Theater complex....and truthfully, I was disappointed. I had been in the same space for the MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and the PETER PAN premiere parties....and I think those were more fun! The Governor's Ball is really a sit down dinner, with Wolfgang Puck as the chef. The tables are totally cramped and every inch of that ballroom was used. They did have live music, passed apps and drinks, as well as a four course meal. Now I will say that the food was great for the most part, but the main dish was braised short rib and I was not a fan. It was kind of mushy actually, though Chris likes that kind of meat so he had half of mine. We had lots of champagne and a martini, but didn't really party too much. The dessert box was really the coolest thing of the night (see right). It was a white chocolate box with a treat in each section. After dessert, we quickly realized how tired we were and headed home around 11:15pm. But yeah, there was live music at the Ball but no dancing and we realized that this is the "dinner" event that people come to first before heading out to the bigger parties, like Vanity Fair, etc etc.

So that was our Oscar night!! It was so fun to be there and to feel all the excitement in the room....Chris made a comment that it was almost surreal, and I agree. Below is a photo of our passes and the little gift we got at the Ball...of course we go the year everything is scaled back and no big gift boxes/bags. Oh well! We can't complain - it was pretty awesome!! p.s. I will do a fashion post later when I get to watch the red carpet stuff and I'll of course add in my two cents on the award winners as well.

Gram's obituary

2009-02-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

Virginia G. Leblanc
RANDOLPH , Virginia G. Jean (Moran) of Randolph, formerly of Boston, February 12, 2009, at the age of 84. Loving mother of Theresa Chestna and her husband Thomas of CT and John LeBlanc and his wife Dianne of PA. Sister of the late Donald Dodge and Moore W. Dodge. Dear grandmother of Thomas, Tamara, Donald and Allura. Also survived by 1 great grandchild. Reposing at the Cartwright Funeral Home, 419 No. Main Street, (Rte 28), Randolph until 8:15 a.m. on Monday followed by a Funeral Mass at 9 a.m. in St. Bernadette Church, 1027 No. Main Street, Randolph. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours Sunday 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Burial in Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston on Tuesday. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Rosie's Place for Homeless Women, 889 Harrison Ave. Boston, MA 02118. Virginia was born in Boston and graduated from Roxbury Memorial High School. She was the former owner of the Corner Store in Randolph from 1955 2003. She enjoyed traveling to Aruba and trips to Foxwoods. For additional information, directions or to leave a sympathy message please visit our website www.cartwrightfuneral.com.

To see the write-up online in the Patriot Ledger, click here.

Virginia LeBlanc

2009-02-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

My grandmother, who would have been 85 on Feb 21st, passed away this morning, and I thought a nice way for me to remember her would be to write about some of my favorite memories of the times we spent together.

When I was growing up in CT, we would spend a good chunk of the summer up at my gram's house in Randolph, MA. She had a pool and when I was really young, an awesome husky dog named Sheba. I owe my love of baseball and the Red Sox really to my Gram, as it was the nightly tradition to watch the Sox games in the summer...and I remember her always falling asleep on the couch by the 8th inning and I would wake her up when it was over. I am so glad that she lived to see them win, not just one but two, World Series.

We also had really amazing times in Nova Scotia, when we went to visit her Aunt Thelma...we would take the overnight ferry from Portland, ME up to Canada. It was so fun b/c it was a gambling boat and my Gram would let me pull the lever on the slot machines. Plus I could play bingo and actually, once we were up in Canada, I went with her and my mom a couple of times to these big Bingo nights and won some serious cash! The house we stayed at was pretty much in farmland in the Anapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, and it was so beautiful. Right near a river and blueberry fields...we loved to pick the fresh berries and bake pies!

The biggest thing about my Gram and how my memories are tied to her are through her and The Corner store. She ran her own "mom and pop" grocery mart for 49 years in Randolph. I loved running in the back door and grabbing lunch everyday that we were there. She'd sometimes let me help her make the egg salad sandwiches for the deli...and I remember how much the house stunk like eggs after they'd been boiling all afternoon. I didn't get to run the cash register often, even when I was high school...somehow she never saw me as being old enough to handle it. We went to the warehouse places to buy supplies and make orders together...I got to sometimes help her restock. I remember I loved being able to go in the freezer with her or other employees and help. It was so much fun...and such a part of her life. I mean, Gram was a hard worker. She almost always opened and closed that store - 6am and 9pm. And I know that in some ways that lead to problems in the family over the years, her being almost overly devoted to the store, but at the same time, I respect that she was so independent and very committed to the business.

I loved her and I'm so glad that Chris got to meet her a few times. Especially glad that we saw her so recently on New Year's Day. Love you Gram!

Feel the Love...

2009-02-10T17:20:00.001-08:00

Just a post to give Chris props for sending me these flowers as an early Valentine's Day surprise :) yay Chris!

Visiting C & D....

2009-02-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Chris and I traveled down to San Marcos (a bit north of San Diego for those not from Cali) to visit our good friends Daryn and Chip (see left). We'd been meaning to get down to see their new digs for quite some time, and of course, we finally make the trip about 10 days before they are moving out and back down to San Diego. Whoops. But regardless, it was great to see the house they'd been renting since last summer and feel the appropriate jealousy for all the space! AND we got to meet their two kitties, Finley and Hanson. We'd heard so much about them and I was dying to meet them. They are adorable and very active... you can see them sitting on top of the fridge to the right.

So we arrived Friday night after a drive in the rain (which on the highways in California is risky since no one here knows how to drive when any water falls from the sky), had a drink and caught up with one another. While we hoped for some sunny skies so the boys could golf, the mother nature was having none of it. It's been like 5 days or so of rain here. So instead, we drove to Temecula on Saturday for some wine tasting, something Chris and I looove to do! We went to a couple of our favorite wineries, had a HUGE lunch and then went home for a nice afternoon nap. Here you can see Daryn and I toasting with a special dark chocolate shot of port and almond champagne. yum!

Later, got to play some games and hung out at the house while the weather continued to be bad, but it let up just enough for Daryn to grill some delicious Mahi Mahi for fish tacos. (On the right, you can see the cats are observing her every move in the kitchen.)
Sunday, we woke up and went to a really great local brunch place in Cardiff By the Sea (near where Daryn grew up) and omg- delicious! We then had to get on the road to get back to our own kitties and my book club meeting.

Thanks for the hospitality Daryn!! We had so much fun and it was such a nice, chill weekend.

Not much new to report

2009-02-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hey guys and gals...it's been a pretty work-filled week, which doesn't make for a ton of fun blogging. So I'll just say hello and let you know that Chris and I are doing well. We're a bit worried about his job situation, but Chris is out there and interviewing. We found out that his termination date at Hilton will be between April 6-20th, unless he's kept on during the transition....which they won't tell you possibly until March 31st. How nice, right?

Other than that, we're just trucking along....heading to visit Daryn and Chip in San Diego this weekend, so we'll have lots to report on Monday!

Are you ready for some football?!

2009-02-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes we were. Even though I wasn't super into the teams that were playing, I kind of have an affinity for the Steelers, so I was okay with watching them. But then during the game, I really was rooting for Arizona. When they came back in the fourth quarter, I was like "Oh yeah! It's on! Go Kurt Warner"....and then when the Steelers came back, I was like, "wow, this sucks but where the F is defense!!" And THEN this morning while I was watching Sportscenter and saw all the film of Ben Roethlisberger and how well he was moving in the pocket, over and over again....he totally deserves it. Gotta give him some respect and some love!!

Anyway, we watched the game at Jerry and Kristen's apartment and had a great, gluttonous time!! Seriously there was SO much food. Four different dips for chips, wings, pulled pork sandwiches, potato balls (like mini-shepherd's pies), veggies, pizza, blondies, cupcakes, fruit tartes and some cake. Wowza. Chris and I had to be rolled home and then felt like we were going to burst.And of course, we all had our 3D glasses on and I thought it was pretty cool that they did that. I think 3D is here to stay now and we'll see more and more of it - both in the theater and at home.

First Birthday...Russian Style

2009-02-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

In Russian culture, apparently the first birthday is a big big deal for the parents and the child. So they throw a big party... not really for the kid, but for the parents, family and friends to celebrate this occasion. So we got all gussied up and went to Romanoff's, a Russian restaurant and club (sort of) in Studio City. It was really fun! The tables are strewn with family-style Russian food and it just keeps on coming!! We didn't even get our main entree until midnight-ish! By then, we were already stuffed and pretty tipsy. There was music (this really fun bad), disco lights and even go-go dancers at the end of the night. Randomly, Mel Gibson was there on the balcony smoking a cigarette for a bit, but I didn't get a photo of him. He looked bad anyways with a random mustache.

Here are some photos from the night!

I've Taken Possession...

2009-01-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

Of my new Jetta!! yay! And yes, it looks exactly like the old one...just silver! It's going to take some getting used to having a different color car, but all in all, I love it and am excited that it's a bit zippier than the old one!

Vroom Vroom!

Kitty post

2009-01-28T14:55:00.001-08:00

A quick hello from Butch...and a desperate plea from Sundance to get her out of jail.... jk!!

Belated Sat night post: Happy Birthday Shaina!

2009-01-27T17:51:00.000-08:00

Shaina had a little soiree at The Well on Saturday night to celebrate her 30th birthday....And Tami had a little pre-party at her house before hand with some friends...6 people to be exact. The intention was to bring the west side people together so we could cab it to Hollywood so no one would have to worry about driving home. (Chris was not joining us as he was still driving back from being out of town with his brother and friend Patrick.)

So at the house, we all start having a drink or two...just to relax, etc. Then we decided to have a few shots...Okay okay - it was my idea but it sounded like a good idea at the time! well, I went a bit overboard and was pretty wasted by the time we arrived at the bar. After nearly tackling the birthday girl and giving her a hug, I did what any other normal drunk person would do...I went to the bar and ordered another shot. woohoo! It turned into quite the night and then I fell asleep on the couch after the cake cutting. (Speaking of that, Sage and I made another themed-cake but it didn't quite turn out how we wanted it to. It was supposed to be an old-fashioned TV but Sage said the wood-paneling for the outside would take too long so we should just do gray...well, I wasn't sure and it turns out that my uncertainty was warranted. The cake looked really weird as we were making it, but we salvaged it the best we could and it still tasted great! In the photo to the right, I think Sage is looking at me like "whoa- you're wasted.")

Sage and Jeff drove me home and delivered me to my sleeping, sober husband. But I didn't get sick or anything...I just don't remember taking some of the photos that have appeared from that night nor do I remember meeting someone I apparently am on a tracking board with for work...he emailed me Monday to say hi and how funny it was to run into each other. ?!%#%?? oops.

Anyways, Chris and I decided that the basic problem is that I enjoy the act of drinking...which is not a problem with beer or wine b/c it's easy to sip and I know how much I can handle...but when I switch over to hard alcohol...I really haven't learned that the same policy is not in effect. But ya know, I'm only 28 years old, right? riiiiight.

:) oh yeah- and I lost my credit card at the bar too. Go Tami!!

SAG awards- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2009-01-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

Last night was the Annual SAG Awards, an affair that the actors typically say is much more fun for them than other award shows...namely b/c they're all actors and they're honoring each other. Whatever.

My favorite moment of the night was Meryl Streep winning and coming up to receive her award in black pants, her hair in a ponytail with a barrette and saying "I didn't even buy a dress!!" You know for sure that she wasn't expecting to win and that's always a fun time to watch someone be so pleased and genuinely excited.

Now for the fashion....here are some of my favorites.....One of my favorites for sure was Kate Winslet- I think for one reason, she's a curvy woman and wearing this dress to accentuate them is marvelous! show it off and give other women with some hips the courage to do so!! Though admittedly, this straight-on camera angle is not the best... (and p.s.her boobs also looked great)

Now a lot of people say that Claire Danes is a bit mannish...how can anyone think that looking at her in this number? I love her and think she is stunning!

Okay, Marissa's dress was great...but I thought she needed earrings.

I thought Emily Blunt's dress was gorgeous, but her hair was decidedly plain and didn't work with the dress....and no jewelry? why? i don't get it....

And here are some that I thought just missed the mark...Marcia Cross' dress didn't seem to go with her coloring....Teri Hatcher's seemed to be too much material for her, no?
I didn't like Eva Longoria's look at all...there's too much frilly stuff happening (there's a ton on the back you don't see here). America's dress I actually am on the fence about... What do you guys think? Jenna Fischer's dress seems to be ill-fitting and her chest is accentuated in a strange way

Angelina's dress is something I'm definitely on the fence about....it looked comfortable and actually relatively elegant when she was walking....but now seeing photos of it, kind of drab, no?

And Mickey Rourke continues to wear the most hideous tuxes out there...no big surprise

Some bad news....

2009-01-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

So this came as a big surprise on Wednesday to us...but Hilton Hotels is moving its headquarters from Beverly Hills to the Washington D.C. area. Obviously, no, we will not be relocating, even if that is an option for Chris, which hasn't been determined yet. They don't announce which jobs will be eligible for that until February, but again it's a moot point.

Check out the story here.

Anyways, so Chris is looking for a new job as we speak, though he will still continue to work at Hilton until the move (probably not for 6 months) or until he finds something new. A lot is up in the air, so we're just putting good vibes (and resumes) out there til we figure it out.

Oscar Nominations: What's the buzz?

2009-01-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

Let's start with the biggest award first (and I'm not going over everything...just the main categories)

BEST PICTURE
BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE ** this by far has the biggest edge and is the sexy choice this year

comments: It's a real shame that Warner Bros didn't run a stronger Oscar campaign for DARK KNIGHT this year b/c it should have been nominated 100% over MILK or BB. I am not surprised that either did get the nom, considering the marketing of BB and the political climate this year for MILK. However, it's a huge disappointment that it wasn't nominated and the Academy voters should be ashamed of themselves...or at least feel stupid.

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins
Frank Langella
Sean Penn*
Brad Pitt
Mickey Rourke * I think Mickey or Sean certainly have the advantage going into the voting...though the fact that Jenkins received a nom shows that a lot of people paid attention to his performance. He's an amazing actor and I think he certainly deserved this nom.

Comments: Leo gets snubbed...again. I haven't seen REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, so I cannot comment on whether he deserved it or not, but like Matt Damon, the academy is not yet willing to acknowledge/reward his performances yet.

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway
Angelina Jolie
Melissa Leo
Meryl Streep
Kate Winslet ** Kate has to be the favorite this year as she has been nominated so many times and yet is still statueless. My money is on her and I hope she wins.

Comments: The fact that Angelina got nominated really irritates me...I felt like her performance in THE CHANGELING was very "Oscar-like" but seemed very ordinary to me at the same time. Melissa Leo's nomination is very surprising and does again make you wonder if people want to honor her. Anne Hathaway could be a contender but I think she's too young and has yet to prove herself. (Hilary Swank's win could negate this thinking but that was SUCH an outstanding performance it's a different story)

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle f0r SLUMDOG ** obvious favorite in this category...though Gus is beloved in Hollywood and could be the surprise winner
Steven Daldry for THE READER
David Fincher for BB
Ron Howard for FROST
Gus Van Sant for MILK

Comments: It's a big shame that Chris Nolan didn't get nominated and I wish that the academy voters had not simply put the best picture directors up....Gus Van Sant's direction of MILK is not nearly as big an accomplishment as DARK KNIGHT - no way no how. And neither is Steven Daldry's direction compared with Nolan's....loved loved the movie but it's not as big an achievement in filmmaking as the others are.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin
Robert Downey Jr
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Heath Ledger ** the obvious favorite and sentimental vote will be for Heath.
Michael Shannon

Comments: Quite a surprise in this category...Robert Downey's nom is hilarious and nice to see that the Academy can honor a comedy like TROPIC THUNDER. Surprised that Josh Brolin got a nomination for a role that I thought was just okay. Michael Shannon is the other big news...one that makes you stop and think...if he got enough attention for a nomination, then maybe people really loved it...but in the end, I think it will be Heath.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams
Penelope Cruise * this is a tough category to predict but I'm guessing Penelope will finally get awarded a statue from the Academy for her fearless and powerful performance...
Viola Davis
Taraji P. Henson
Marisa Tomei*

Comments: Marisa Tomei is back at the big show again with a very courageous performance that could upset Penelope Cruz...but I wonder if the stodgier Academy voters won't want to reward something quite so riske.

And to end, here's a little video for people that didn't like BENJAMIN BUTTON....and I must say as time has worn on, I've grown less fond of it....and I didn't start out loving it so you can imagine where I am at now.

The Curious Case of Forrest Gump - watch more funny videos

President Obama...how sweet it is!!

2009-01-20T10:33:00.000-08:00

All I can post is YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Car Madness!

2009-01-19T02:47:00.000-08:00

Well as a few know, Chris and I recently found ourselves at an interesting intersection concerning our vehicles...his is dying and needs to be replaced asap and my lease is coming to end in about 3 weeks. So yes, we needed two new cars at the same time- something no one ever tries to accomplish but that's the way it goes...lucky for us, it's a pretty good time to be a buyer in the automobile world.

Our first stop was the VW dealership b/c frankly - I looooove my Jetta and pretty much want the same thing again. The sales guy was great and very little back and forth was required to get them to come down to my asking price...we had to push a smidge but they were trying to hit a certain number of cars for their weeked and he was like- great, done!

Second stop was for Chris...which has been a bit more difficult b/c Chris wasn't entirely sure of what he wanted except that it was most likely going to be an SUV (so we'd have a bigger car for trips now and family-purposes later) and we wanted it cheap. We spent about 4 hours with the Toyota people haggling until they were so desperate to give us the car and keep us from walking out that they came down to what we said we wanted in the beginning. So Chris got a 2006 Toyota 4Runner that looks brand new and has great mileage...AND he gets to stay in the Toyota family. He loves the cars.

Libster turns one!!

2009-01-17T15:50:00.000-08:00

Libby Rotzang, Sharon and Rich's daughter, had her first birthday party today. (Well the kids party - there's an adult version at the end of the month too. Apparently it's a big deal in Russian culture, so they do a big event for the parents and friends, etc. )

So the party was at this cute indoor gym/playhouse called "Under the Sea" and it was so cute! They had everything themed with a Mermaid (including one of the employees that dressed up as her) and a pretty cake. Check it out! Sage and I were having a lot of fun playing with Libby, especially in the bouncy house thing.

Here are some more photos of the party!

Go Red Wings!!

2009-01-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

Yay Hockey!! I love going to see live hockey games, but have no real affliation with a team...I mean, Go Boston Bruins and all that, but in truth the NHL means little to me personally. And so that makes me the perfect date for any friend that does have a team, b/c I'm totally willing to root for them! Sage invited me to the Red Wings vs. LA Kings game last night and Detroit whooped their butts. We had great seats about 6 rows up from the ice and behind one of the goals...and it just reminded me how much easier it is to follow hockey when you are that close to the ice. On TV and from the upper suites, it's too easy to get distracted. Anyways- yeah- we got to see a ton of fights and it was fun!

I think this photos is of a fight....

And this was after a Red Wings goal...they're all huddled and hugging like guys are allowed to do in sports and stuff!

In Honor of Hump Day...

2009-01-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

Okay I stole that line from the person that sent this link to me, but it's very appropriate.

Click here to check out a super hilarious video* by Durex, yes the condom company - super funny.

**this video may contain explicit and adult content that is inappropriate for viewers under the age of 18.... ;)

GG Wrap-Up

2009-01-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

At the Golden Globes last night, there were really only 3 (maybe 4) big surprises in terms of wins and I must say there were only a few hideous dresses....but it was still a really fun show and it's nice to have them back this year. So to the wrap-up....

Awards first- Fashion second.

Kate Winslet - Looking gorgeous and winning BOTH awards she was up for. Virtually unheard of!! It's about time this screen goddess was awarded for all her talents and amazing performances. I thought her speeches could have been a bit better but she did seem genuinely shocked and moved, and she is just so darn likeable. (especially compared with Angelina, who looked miserable and pissed off during Kate's speech, as well as denying Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet, which is just rude)

Another surprise win was for Mickey Rourke...now although this is a big comeback story for him and a lot of people have been talking about Mickey, I think a majority of people believed Sean Penn had the award locked up (and people think the same so far for Oscar) for playing Harvey Milk. Mickey showed up in appropriately bizarre clothing and gave a nice speech - I was happy for him. THE WRESTLER is definitely worth seeing, btw.

Beating out the favored Anne Hathaway for her role in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, was Sally Hawkins - an apparently anorexic actress from England - for her performance in HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, another Mike Leigh movie that didn't really play in US theaters. It was disturbing seeing how thin her arms were! EEK!

Now I wouldn't necessarily call this a big surprise for the night because it was a category I doubt a lot of people were paying much attention to, but Colin Farrell's win for IN BRUGES seemed to catch him by surprise. It's a shame that he didn't clean himself up a bit and deliver an eloquent speech considering it's been rumored he and his agents are trying to clean up his image a bit so that the majority of the public doesn't seem him as quite the dirty, bad boy that he has been in previous years...especially since it's affecting his ability to get roles.

Obviously SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was the big winner of the night with Best Picture, Best Director, Screenplay, Score, etc etc. I was sad that FROST/NIXON didn't win anything, but considering this is an international group voting AND it seems that SLUMDOG has all the momentum, I am not surprised. Besides, F/N isn't as sexy a choice either, which is understandable.
30 ROCK and Tina Fey won - yay! I just started watching this show and am really enjoying it...plus who doesn't love Tina Fey?!
For a complete list of winners, click here.

FASHION!!

The worst first....Renee Zellweger! oof - what was she thinking?!

Next up...Drew Barrymore's hair...Yikes! Plus she and Jessica Lange were acting really weird and I would normally suspect drug use, but isn't Drew totally clean now?!! Wha happened?

Other dresses that were just bad or in some cases hideous...see below...

There were certainly others that I was not a huge fan of (Evan Rachel Wood, America Ferrera and Blake Lively), and others that I was on the fence with (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz) but there were (as always!) some real stunners...here are some of my favorites...

Let Them Eat Cake...

2009-01-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

So Sage and I have started making these fun cakes for birthdays and whatnot - she started it really, making a boob cake for our friend Rich's birthday...and then we made one for Darcy's birthday in October....(She works for Wheel of Fortune, in case you were wondering)
and then for our friend Sharon's birthday last night, we did another themed cake!! Check it out!

I think we're getting better and better as we go. What will we do next?! Stay tuned...

Here are some other photos from her bday. Even though I am still sick, I braved the outside world with a huge pack of tissues in my purse. We went to this cool place in West Hollywood that I'd never heard of before- Holloway at Palihouse - and it was nice b/c it was a big open space with some couches and tables...very chill atmosphere while still being a relatively posh WeHo location, which seems hard to do.

Pass-it-on-blogging

2009-01-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

So I was "blog-tagged" by Daryn and asked to fill out the following...guess it's the new form of email chain letters...

I AM …happy .
I WANT… to be successful
I HAVE … a good life.
I KEEP … birthday cards, ticket stubs and letters that are sentimental to me.
I WISH I COULD … do 3 things at once...including live on both coasts.
I HATE … that I can sometimes be very unproductive.
I FEAR … failure.
I HEAR …music and think of scenes in movies that it would be appropriate to accompany.
I DON’T THINK … about the past as much as I worry about the future.
I REGRET … decisions I made in the past that were based on fear and insecurity.
I LOVE … my husband, my friends and my family...AND my kitty-cats.
I AM NOT … as strong or as bossy or as strong-willed as a lot of people may think.
I DANCE … like a loser for fun around chris and I think he thinks it's hilarious...
I SING … all the time in the car and quietly at my desk at work sometimes.
I NEVER … want to disappoint my friends or family.
I RARELY … cook.
I CRY WHEN I WATCH … almost anything sentimental these days.
I AM NOT ALWAYS …good with money...i spend too much.
I HATE THAT … I can't always get what I want. :)
I’M CONFUSED ABOUT … what's going on in Israel right now.
I NEED … more hours in the day.
I SHOULD … be more diligent about my diet.

Okay- so thank you Daryn...and I know Mara hates this kind of stuff, but will she accept the blog invitation to pass it along?

I'm sick...

2009-01-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

Yeah, sorry I haven't blogged this week...I went home sick from work yesterday and am out again today. Feeling like I have a bad cold - nothing serious but I'm trying to rest and get it over as quickly as possible.

Since I haven't been doing much there's not a whole lot to report...though I will comment a bit about coming back to LA from the East Coast. It's an annual thing I go through when I come home from visiting everyone back east...I just start to see things about home and about the winter season that I wish I could have in my life here too. I sometimes see a life there with a family and in an old Colonial home and feel a bit of a pull for that life there. It's strange and it usually subsides when I am back in LA for a few days, but I wonder if it will go away eventually. I also wonder sometimes if I can figure out a way to have both...hmmm.

Anyways, I'm going back to sleep now.

Addendum to my 2008 Movies list....

2009-01-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

Chris and I watched THE DARK KNIGHT again last night (only my 2nd time seeing it) and I must movie it up higher on both movie lists for the year. I think there's a good chance that this actually was the best movie of the year....so all hail DARK KNIGHT and I stand corrected.

Can you hear me now?

2009-01-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ummm, a hilarious moment that I need to share with you all. (Sorry Chris!) Tonight Chris accidentally flushed his cell phone down the toilet....yes, it fell out of his jacket pocket as the water was spinning down into the pipes. LOL! Can you imagine? It actually went down into the pipes and didn't get stuck....ridiculous!! anyways, yeah he has to get a new phone tomorrow. wah wah.

The Maine Event!

2009-01-02T18:11:00.001-08:00

Ha ha, get it? Cause we went to Maine? Ha...ha. Yeah, okay - we made a lot of those jokes while we were in Portland for New Year's Eve visiting Mara & Matt in their new city and abode, but whatever, I still think they're kind of funny.

So we drove up to Portland Monday night and arrived just as Matt was heading to bed (he's been working crazy hours at the hospital) and just before Mara got off work (she works from 3pm-11:30 most nights at the local news station), so we all chatted for a bit and then went to bed ourselves.

Tuesday morning we woke up and there was fresh snow on the ground!! We were thrilled it was cold enough in Portland (around 20 when we arrived and about 8 when we left!!) to have some snow since it was relatively warm for this time of year in Rhode Island and Connecticut while we were there.

Mara took us to a super yummy breakfast place where I had graham cracker crusted orange french toast- amazing, right? Chris had one of their many varieties of Eggs Benedict, (Louisiana style I think?) and then we walked around Portland all morning seeing the sights, etc. Our last stop before Mara took off for work was the Victoria Mansion. It is this beautiful, old home and former hotel that is decorated each year to the nines for Christmas. They charge admittance to keep up the home's restoration efforts and after seeing it, I was so glad we decided to go in. Each room had a different Christmas tree in it with a different style of decor...very cool! I was sad that we couldn't take any photos inside.

So around 2:30, we headed back to their house, where Chris worked for a bit, I blogged and Mara went to work. We met up with her again with Matt for dinner at a Mexican chain called Margaritas - which, incidentally, is a New England chain and there's one right next to my hometown in CT. So I found that hilarious....and I must say, the food was way better than I remember from the one in Branford. Back at the house, Chris, Matt and I watched STEPBROTHERS on DVD, which I must say was funnier than I expected, and went to bed.

Wednesday morning brought more snow with it! The temperature had dropped even further and around 10am it was snowing. yay! Chris stayed home to work while Mara and I went to get some breakfast and had our girl time. We then made a trip to the grocery store for our NYE dinner. When we got back, Chris was done and ready for some more Maine sightseeing. We headed out to Portland Head Light, a very well known lighthouse in the area and it was beautiful....but really frickin cold!! We took some photos and then ran back to the car!!

Chris was not going to miss out on lobster on his first visit to Maine, so the two of us headed to DiMillo's - apparently a tourist trap but it was this really cool floating restaurant right in the wharf and the food was great! - and had some lunch. Lobster for Chris (a big guy with HUGE claws!) and fried clams for me. yum yum!

After our meal, we headed back for the NYE celebration. I took a brief nap while Chris and Mara cooked (surprise surprise), then Matt arrived home and we all started hanging out and munching on apps. Their friends Andy and Kana arrived shortly after and we had a great night all together! Nice big dinner, some fun times on Rock Band, a little Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve and the big countdown!!

Thursday morning we had to head back to LA but it was the coldest it had been there and we were not sad to arrive back to 50 degree weather, though we were of course sad to leave behind our friends and family. Here are some photos of our time there, though I admit I took a ton and have not really edited them out...sorry!

Happy 2009 everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday!

2008 Wrap-up!

2008-12-31T13:34:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when we all look back at the previous year's events and often choose the best and worst. So I decided to vote on my Top Ten Favorite Movies, Top Ten Best Movies of the year and Worst Ten Movies...here they are:

Tami's Favorite Movies of 2008: (1 being my absolute favorite)
1. FROST/NIXON
2. IRON MAN
3. SEX AND THE CITY
4. WALL-E
5. THE DARK KNIGHT
6. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
7. MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY
8. DEAR ZACHARY
9. CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
10. MADE OF HONOR

Honorable Mention: BOLT - this was such a cute kid's movie with a great message!

Special Mention: TWILIGHT - my most anticipated movie and the most disappointing, yet strangely best change in reaction on the 2nd viewing. Overall, still crap.

Top Ten Best Movies: (1 being the best, 10 being still pretty damn good!)
1. FROST/NIXON
2. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
3. CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
4. WALL-E
5. THE DARK KNIGHT
6. MILK
7. UNDER THE SAME MOON
8. TELL NO ONE
9. IRON MAN
10. RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

p.s. I haven't seen GRAN TORINO, THE READER or REVOLUTIONARY ROAD or THE VISITOR yet...

Worst Movies I saw: (1 being the worst, 10 being just bad)
1. SPEED RACER
2. FLASH OF GENIUS
3. MONGOL
4. THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
5. LEATHERHEADS
6. 27 DRESSES
7. YES MAN
8. WANTED
9. INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL
10. QUANTUM OF SOLACE

Would love to hear what you guys agree/disagree with!!
Happy New Year!

More Christmas and more kids!!

2008-12-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

Chris and I flew in to the East Coast on Saturday morning, arriving at my brother's house a couple of hours later. For the next two days, we hung out with Tom, his wife Rebekah and their son (my super-cute and fast-growing nephew) Eric!
I'd heard that Eric was a big fan of "Thomas the Train" and that wanted a new piece to his train set, but I had no idea! On Sunday, he played with his new train set for hours and hours on end. It was really adorable! And what's even funnier about Eric, is that he is so specific about how he wants things and is soooo close to being able to express it exactly to us. Right now, he's doing very well with talking and is virtually communicating with very little of the "what? what did you say" happening. However, with the trains, you'll put some of the pieces together and he'll just say "NO!!!" very suddenly and then you have to figure out what he wants you to do with them. It's typically a matter of turning them around or moving them in the other direction, but it's sometimes a guessing game. But still, it's amazing to me how much further along he is developmentally than he was three months ago at our wedding! Anyways, here are the photos we took with him...lots of the same, I know but I was trying to get the best shots!

After visiting with Tom and Rebekah, we went down to see my parents in CT for our next Christmas celebration. There, we got to go over all the wedding photos in person for the first time, as well as see their reaction to the book we put together for them and the other gifts I lugged across country. It was great to see Mom, who is having a very tough time right now, though we are all hopeful that 2009 will finally bring better health her way so that she can see us more often and do more with Eric.

Last night, we got back on the road (Chris insisted on driving since he seems to think I fall asleep at the wheel lately....I admit I was tired driving from Providence to CT, but there were no close calls or problems! I was a bit tired but I willed my eyes to stay open!) and we arrived here in Portland, ME! Mara and Matt have crazy work schedules, but we were able to spend a couple of hours with them last night and then most of today with Mara til she had to head off to the station about 3pm. It's nice and cold here and we got a bit of snow during the night. We are hoping for more tomorrow night for NYE, but we shall see. More of our trip to come later!!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

I know I am posting a bit late, but Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! It's been a bit hard to sit down at a computer since Xmas, so here's a brief recap and some photos of our day.

This year is the first Christmas I have not celebrated back east and I have to admit I was a bit sad not to be a part of all the snowstorms and great winter weather that was going on last week all over the Eastern seaboard (and truthfully all over the country!!). However, it was the Danisons' turn to have Chris and I there for the 25th and I must say, I was thrilled that it was so chilly in LA for the holiday. It would have just been too weird to be in a tank top or shorts on Christmas Day!

On Christmas Eve, we drove down to Orange County after Chris got out of work (Boo Hilton! He had to work the 24th and the 26th!) and spent the night hanging out with his parents. We played cards and began the gluttony of beer, cookies and other goodies!

Chris and I then went for a walk and took a look at the neighbors' lawn decorations...some were absolutely hideous, and some weren't so bad. here's a brief selection of our "favorites".

On Christmas Day, we woke up for a delicious breakfast of the Danison traditional Christmas casserole (egg, sausage, spinach, cream cheese, tortillas and more cheese. YUM!) and I made our Pillsbury sweet rolls per our Chestna Christmas tradition. We waited until Ron, Camilla and the kids arrived to do stockings and gifts...but man it was hard to wait! There were lots of presents with our names on them :) And I've heard this before, but I must admit it's true...when kids are around, Christmas truly becomes about them and watching them enjoy their gifts...sometimes enjoying standing and jumping off the box more even than the gift inside the box! (see video of Mason below)... and remembering how excited we were as kids to get some of our gifts.

That's not to say I don't enjoy the gifts I still get, but it's just a bit different watching little kids. Madeleine loved her "karoake" machine, though I fear that Camilla will have to hide it b/c it may begin to grate one's nerves after awhile....

Anyways, we unwrapped gifts, ate some more, played cards, watched a movie (LOVE ACTUALLY per Camilla and my request!), had a big family dinner, and then Chris and I headed home to Butch and Sundance since Chris had to work in the morning.

And then the night of the 26th, off to the east coast! More to come on our adventures so far in the disappointingly warm, no-snow zone that is Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Beth's visit

2008-12-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

My good friend from Brown, Beth Johnson, is in town this week visiting her sister (very preggie sister! yay Sarah!) and her husband Josh for the holidays. Since they are both still working and I am not (woohoo!), I got to steal Beth and spend the day shopping and catching up. We ventured to the Grove, which I am typically not a fan of, but today wasn't too busy early in the day despite it being prime holiday shopping time. It seemed to be picking up when we left around 3, so I was glad to get out before it became a madhouse.

We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting at my apartment over some Starbucks and holiday cookies. It's always so fun and refreshing to be around old friends, who, despite the distances and time in between visits, are as easy to talk to as if you saw them yesterday. Beth in particular is such a sunny person to be around, it's hard for her not to brighten your day with her easy smile and hearty laughs!

And now tomorrow it's already Christmas Eve! How did that happen? I feel like 2008 has flown by extraordinarily fast! I know a lot of that had to do with the wedding and the planning, which made things a bit crazy, but still! It makes me want to try and take more time in the coming year for days like today, where I wasn't running specific errands and trying to do 3 or 4 things at once...today was a nice, breath of fresh air - a time when I was able to just enjoy hanging out with someone without worrying about what wasn't being done or what time it is. While this is a tall order to try and repeat all the time, since weekends are so precious, it's something to strive for.

Getting all wrapped up in the holidays!!

2008-12-22T00:12:00.000-08:00

It's been a great weekend for getting fully into the holiday spirit! Chris' cousin Jeff and his wife Mia were passing through town on Saturday, so they stopped by for dinner! Chris' parents' came up as well, and it was great to be able to entertain at our apartment. We kept it simple in terms of food prep, having a brie & cranberry appetizer that Camilla has made for us a couple of times. (SO simple- cut up brie, add dried cranberries and garlic; throw it in a bowl and bake at 350 til it's melty and bubbly!) For dinner, I made lasagna (that's right-I cooked people!!!) and Mary brought up salad and dessert. Anyways- we had a great time...4 bottles of wine later...played some cards and hung out. (plus I got to use my new Christmas placemats and napkins, which makes me a loser but a happy one!!)

Today, we had brunch with the Michelsons, who we hadn't seen since the wedding, and it was great! They cooked an early Hanukkah meal, serving very delicious potato latkas as one of the main dishes. Laura is recently back from her two month volunteer job in Peru, and Julia's home on break from her Harvard MBA program. She's heading to Buenos Aires for New Year's, and as much as we are looking forward to our planned trip, I was a bit envious of her - sounds like SO much fun! Chris and I have never been to South America and we definitely need to go!

Tonight was all about relaxing and getting ready for Christmas this week. I love wrapping gifts and as you can see, I had a couple of "helpers", who were getting into just about everything I was working with. Ho Ho Ho!
p.s. Below I posed with my newly acquired Twilight t-shirt that was a gift (that's right people- I didn't buy it, it was given to me, so don't start with me!) b/c I love it and have been sleeping in it at night! Chris is thrilled, let me tell you!

Kitty love...

2008-12-21T11:02:00.000-08:00

I don't want to feature Butch and Sundance too too much on this blog, but it's sometimes too hard to resist their cuteness- I mean, check out these photos from this morning! They were curled up with me in bed this morning and just being super adorable....it's clear that they love each other so much!!

Cuteness factor? 100!!

2008-12-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hockey anyone?

2008-12-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

Monday night, Chris and I went to the LA Kings game versus the San Jose Sharks. Hilton gave 8 tickets to some of their employees and we were in the American Express suite, which was HUGE! Apparently there are regular suites and event suites, which are essentially double the size. It also comes with a bartender, which I'd never seen before. That was pretty sweet (ha ha- no pun intended), though I was driving so I took it easy. The Kings lost 3-2 in a shoot-out, but apparently the Sharks are a good team, so it was impressive that LA held their own. The best part of the game was the fight, of course, that broke out about midway through. It went so long that the refs actually stepped in to stop it...both guys got some good punches in! We had a good time, not that you'd know this based on Chris' expression, but he doesn't apparently like to smile in photos any longer. Whatever.

Gingerbread Girls!

2008-12-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

On Sunday afternoon, Auntie Tam Tam (as I am known to some) went over to start a new, annual, holiday tradition with Madeleine - building & decorating a gingerbread house together! Since she's only 3, Maddi of course was more excited by the frosting and candy than the actual decorating, but while it was still new and fun, she put a lot of the candy on the roof.(And I made a note to myself that I didn't necessarily need to buy the large house! It was a fair bit of work, which is why the whole roof is not white!)

It's My Cat in a Box!

2008-12-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

If you don't get the reference, you don't have a very long pop culture memory...