Movies...where have all the good ones gone?

This is a rather random post from me....but here it goes.  I used to be a big movie buff before I got married and had kids.  I was born in the late '70s, and the very first movie I went to was E.T.  I grew up watching old black and white movies with mom.  She didn't particularly like musicals or westerns, so we watched alot of dramas and suspense movies.  I specifically remember watching classics like Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice (with Greer Garson), An Affair To Remember, Gone With The Wind, To Kill A Mockingbird, Rear Window, Rebecca, Dial M For Murder, Wuthering Heights, Roman Holiday, Mildred Pierce....I could go on and on.  By the time I was in high school, I had seen all the major classics.

Through my teen and college years I loved seeing all those romantic comedies that came about.   I also saw Steel Magnolias, and to this day, it remains one of my top favorites.  In high school I got hooked on the British movies.  My obsession with Jane Austen began thanks to Colin Firth (a.k.a. Mr. Darcy).  I skipped over seeing the major movies from the 1970's and 80's.  To this day, I've never seen classics like Annie Hall, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Kramer vs. Kramer, etc.

I recently stumbled upon Ordinary People from 1980.  The first time I saw this movie was in a Psychology class in college, so probably about 15 years ago.  For those of you who don't know, Ordinary People was directed by Robert Redford and starred Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Timothy Hutton.  As explained from IMDb the synopsis is, "The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father, and the guilt-ridden younger son".

Sounds like a downer, right?  Well, I remembered it being powerful so I recorded it and decided to watch it recently.   This movie is such an awesome character study.  I was immediately struck with what amazing acting and the screenplay.  One of the best scenes is towards the end when the son has a revelation in his therapy, and his therapist (Judd Hirsch) says to him, "feelings are scary and sometimes they are painful, and if you can't feel pain, you're not going to feel anything else either".

After watching the movie, I realized what a HUGE difference there is in movies now.  They just don't make good movies anymore.  I have not been to a movie theater in almost 3 years.  There hasn't been one that has come out that has made me want to go.  It seems that movies are all about blowing things up, special effects, and naked people.  Maybe it's just that my preference is for character studies or romantic comedies (I am a girl after all).    I just wished that these filmmakers would start making movies that are relate-able with people instead of trying to be the next controversial movie that pushes the limits, or is about people getting hunted down by ax-murderers, or is over-the-top disturbing in some way.  I've seen a few of the recent movies that were nominated for best picture.  I get why the movie was nominated, but honestly, none of them left me feeling, well...anything!

When was the last time you watched a movie that really made you think or the movie stayed with you for awhile after?  My guess it is few and far between!  I'd love to hear back from you about your favorite classics that I should try watching!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!  Aren't pink peonies perfection?

I am so excited about this Craigslist jem I got for Drew's big girl room!  It has already become a favorite napping spot for the kitties!

I'll be back on Monday with some exiting news!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Lately...

Hello there!  I'm back!  Life has been so busy, I haven't had a chance to update the blog as to the latest happenings over here!  This time of year is always insane at my work and this year has been no exception.  Here is the last month captured in some pictures to summarize what we've been up to!

 

There's been lots of silly kiss/fish faces....

new haircuts....

lots of cuddles with her baby....

general cuteness....

finishing of our new bathroom sink (thanks Dad!)...

there was ice cream on Mother's Day...

with silly faces....

Micah's first trip to Disneyland...

we had so much fun...

there's been lots of kisses...

homemade pretzels....

bath time swimming...

the Vista Strawberry Festival (including meeting fireman)...

a quick trip with my girlfriend Shannon to the Bacara in Santa Barbara....

poolside lounging...

a visit to Crushcakes (my fav) in Santa Barbara...

our obsession with all things "baby" continues...

my heart melting at the park...

playing in our bathing suit...

(by the way, could those buns be any cuter?)

having lots of fun...

a few (by a few I mean a million) trips to Target...

some new jammies...

Drew's 2nd birthday party planning began...

and a new obsession with Spiderman has begun!

That about sums up our May and most of June.  Hoping to be back more frequently with updates on Drew's party planning and more crafting in the near future!  Happy Friday everyone! 

Wedding Cake Book

Hi all!  I have some fun and exciting news to share.  Awhile back, the ladies over at CAKE let me know that some of their cakes were going to be published in a book...the author contacted me for my information and then a lot of time went by with no word, and I honestly forgot about it!  But just this week we learned that the book was just published! 

The cake that I had at my baby shower for Drew is featured in the book! I worked with Kimberly on the design of the cake and I loved the way it turned out! Click here to see the post from my baby shower.

I haven't ordered my copy yet, but I can't wait to see it!  P.S. if you're in San Diego, the ladies at CAKE are fabulous...weddings, birthday, celebrations...and they even have a bakery now!  I always get the banana truffle cake, but they are all amazing! 

Our trip to Charleston

Our trip to Charleston started out with my first time flying first class.  It was ah-mazing and such a relaxing way to fly across country!  I watched "We Bought A Zoo" which was cute but cheesy.  Can't go wrong looking at Matt Damon for 2 hours though!  The little girl in the movie reminded me so much of my little Drew.  I saw in the credits her name is Maggie Elizabeth Jones....too funny! 

Here we are at the rehearsal dinner on Saturday night.  It was at Rue de Jean in downtown Charleston.  This was the first night we got to see everyone.

My girls Amy and Stacey at the rehearsal dinner.  Seven kids and two sets of twins between us.  Sexy mamas! 

Charleston had some really fun shopping.  King Street is the main drag downtown that had a lot of great boutiques, antique stores, great restaurants, and some high-end shops.  I found these Staffordshire dogs at a huge antique sale and decided to take them home with me!

We also walked through a huge market area that is similar to our farmer's markets out here.  This was my favorite booth filled full of beautiful butterflies.  I picked up one for Drew's room.

On Sunday, Jason and I decided to do a historical carriage ride tour of downtown.  It was really informative and the weather was perfect.  We saw a lot of churches and I just loved this one's unique gate with the red door!

I would just die if I lived in a pink house with black shutters!  I tried to talk Jason into buying a second home here in the south!  When we heard that there is a similar house on the market for $24 million, he just rolled his eyes at me. 

Here is the waterfront.  The homes across the street were just amazing. 

Ahh, the black shutters again.  Look at the design around the door and the ivy growing on the steps.  So charming!

I am just being silly here.  We stopped in this hat store and tried on a bunch of huge hats.  This one was $200!  Yowza.

Here was my buddy Max.  Isn't he handsome?

Me and Jason on the carriage ride.  So relaxed!

We went to a Gospel Brunch and here was my first ever taste of grits. Can't say I'm a huge fan, but maybe if you added about two cups of cheese on there!

Congratulations Clay & Britt!  Such a beautiful ceremony.  I loved the bridesmaids dresses...every shade of teal and blue.  Flowers were simple white bouquets of peonies, roses, and dahlias.  So pretty!

The wedding cake!  Loved the rosettes!

The reception was at an old Rice Mill.  It was such a beautiful wedding and reception site!  I must tell you they had a mac 'n cheese bar for dinner.  I did mine up with truffle oi and bacon!  "When in Rome"!!!

Oh how I loved my Anthropologie dress.  It was the most comfortable dress I've ever worn AND it had pockets (which I discovered half way through the evening)!

Stacey and Amy both had ridiculously awesome necklaces on.  I was feeling a little left out!  Smile.

Charleston sunset at the reception.

Here are all the boys, aka "The Tappers".  Yes, they named themselves that in High School.  There have seven weddings out of this group....3 more to go! 

Stacey and I being silly at the reception.  I think I ate about 100 Charleston Chews that they had laying around everywhere.

 

Well, that's all she wrote on our trip.  It was such a great time to get away and see good friends.  We wished we could have had one extra day to explore!  If you've never been, I highly recommend going to Charleston!