Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

When I first saw this film in 2012 at the Bala Theatre with my brother Wayne we left feeling thoroughly unimpressed, aside from Benedict Cumberbatch's stunning blue necktie. We felt like a couple of morons and understood nothing that occurred onscreen. Not long after this I was discussing Tinker Tailor with Anne. She agreed that she didn't like it either - the first time she saw it. Then she gave it a second look when it was streaming on Netflix and really enjoyed it. I decided to try once more, based on my love of Gary Oldman and the extraordinary cast of some of my favourite male actors: Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Colin Firth, and Tom Hardy. Plus I thought that one guy was so handsome. (Mmm...Mark Strong.) Oh, and I took notice of the 'Batch, who I would later see pretty much everywhere. 

What I now appreciate about this film, which I have since seen more than a half dozen times, is that it is smart and well made and if you are awake and clear and pay attention you will become engrossed in every frame and nuance. All the things that were at first odd and unusual suddenly fell into place once I focused completely on every detail; the little moments or quirks of the characters became like the folds of paper in an intricate origami swan. It is, quite frankly, a masterpiece and I'm eternally grateful that I was open-minded enough to give it a second chance. 

Heart Beet Lunch

I'm that annoying friend that still takes photos of food when dining out. But look how gorgeous everything is!! Heart Beet Kitchen in Westmont is my favourite place and everything they serve is crazy yummy.

(My lentil taco trio and blue corn chips with salsa - my avocado toast with tomato, arugula {beyond delicious!!} - Kimmy's Heart Beet burger - Nat's Buffalo Cauliflower sandwich!)

5 Ladies, 5 Fab Bags

Clockwise: Cecilia's Tardis bag, Kristin W.'s big ole Michael Kors, my fun and Summery ModCloth tote, Nat L.'s charming Coach cheetah print, and Lady Miss Kimmy SP's fab purse that was ten bucks on clearance. Five completely different gals who had the best time together!

Lunchtime Gab-fest for Five

Today I finally got to meet Cecilia in person at Heart Beet Kitchen. Oh my gosh, she is a wonderful lady and so easy to talk to about anything and everything. A little after 1, Nat joined us, then Kim, and finally Kristin W. We ordered a shit-ton of food and talked until after 5pm, when a pending storm sent us dashing to our vehicles so as to get home safe. It was an unbelievably fantastic afternoon and we had a blast dishing the dirt about work, family, weirdly drawn-on eyebrows, incessant urination (Kimmy and I are peepod soulmates! She uses the loo as often as I!), beloved pups, "kids these days", Sweet Sixteen parties, and finally, we went a bit mental with the selfies. So glad that I stashed my anxiety about group gatherings in a box and hid it in the closet, because it was such a great time.

Kristin W. (my Wise work wife) - Nat L. - Cec!! - moi - and Kimmy SP!

Manchester Street Art

Helen snapped this photo for IG and I felt the need to message her and let my Brit pal know that more people, especially Americans, disagree with that man than agree with and I wanted to make sure she knew how I felt.

Three of a Kind

My wonderful Uncle Alan gave me one of his dog tags and now my collection is complete! I have my Grandad's USAC tags from WWII, my father's when he was in the USMCR, and now my Uncle's from his service in Vietnam as a Green Beret. Together at last!

Better the Second Time Around

So I've been off the phones this week and decided to put on all seven seasons of Parks and Recreation to have something on while I work. I've tried to ignore (this time) their over use of the word amazing (ugh) and have been nearly busting a gut laughing. It so makes the workday fly by. I love all the characters, especially Ron and Garry/Jerry/Larry/Terry/Garry, but the one character that makes my heart leap and sing at his vibrancy (is that a word? It oughta be) and all around adorable-ness is Barney the accountant played by the incomparable John Balma. I so wish that they did a spin off for him! Imagine the joy of that...

Feelin' the Excitement & the Love

At Anne's tonight I was complaining to her that I haven't heard from Bella much and I'm stressing out that she isn't preparing for our trip or that it's more important to me than to her. Then I got home, looked at my cell and read the perfect text from my girl.

More Holidays Mean...

...more greeting cards from Star!!

Sunday wit' Jaeden!

Jaeden and I got together today and went to B. Good in Ardmore; we scored a burger for handsome and Kale Crush smoothie for moi. Aside from chit chat about Netflix comic series (Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the upcoming The Punisher), getting kick ass grades, politics, healthcare, and learning to drive, the highlight of the afternoon for both of us was Jaeden's new drink combo. B. Good has New Hope fountain drinks (best sodie pop on the planet!!!) and Jaeden took a 16 ounce cup, filled it halfway with ice, then nearly to the top with Lemon Italian soda and toss in five quick shots of Orange Mango. Oh. My. Lawd. It was divine. It's the lil' things like this that make every day a little bit cooler.

Rebel Boy

An impromptu afternoon with Jackson that ended with the story of Florence Nightingale. By the end of this year, Jax will know all 100 stories of 100 inspiring and remarkable ladies. Each time we hang out I try to impart a lil' wisdom and hope it sinks in. Today I encouraged him to avoid saying "I'm afraid..." because you don't want to become someone who lives a life of fear. He's crazy-smart, so I'm fairly certain it stuck. Oh, and we watched some clips of ballet dancers and he was kind of awestruck.

Marty = Remarkable

Letters of Note posted a wonderful letter from Martin Scorsese on the last day of this past January. I came across it and just absolutely loved it. I copy and pasted it so the two people that read my blog can read it, too.

The Letter

New York,
19 Nov 1993

To the Editor:

“Excuse Me; I Must Have Missed Part of the Movie” (The Week in Review, 7 November) cites Federico Fellini as an example of a filmmaker whose style gets in the way of his storytelling and whose films, as a result, are not easily accessible to audiences. Broadening that argument, it includes other artists: Ingmar Bergman, James Joyce, Thomas Pynchon, Bernardo Bertolucci, John Cage, Alain Resnais and Andy Warhol.

It’s not the opinion I find distressing, but the underlying attitude toward artistic expression that is different, difficult or demanding. Was it necessary to publish this article only a few days after Fellini’s death? I feel it’s a dangerous attitude, limiting, intolerant. If this is the attitude toward Fellini, one of the old masters, and the most accessible at that, imagine what chance new foreign films and filmmakers have in this country.

It reminds me of a beer commercial that ran a while back. The commercial opened with a black and white parody of a foreign film—obviously a combination of Fellini and Bergman. Two young men are watching it, puzzled, in a video store, while a female companion seems more interested. A title comes up: “Why do foreign films have to be so foreign?” The solution is to ignore the foreign film and rent an action-adventure tape, filled with explosions, much to the chagrin of the woman.

It seems the commercial equates “negative” associations between women and foreign films: weakness, complexity, tedium. I like action-adventure films too. I also like movies that tell a story, but is the American way the only way of telling stories?

The issue here is not “film theory,” but cultural diversity and openness. Diversity guarantees our cultural survival. When the world is fragmenting into groups of intolerance, ignorance and hatred, film is a powerful tool to knowledge and understanding. To our shame, your article was cited at length by the European press.

The attitude that I’ve been describing celebrates ignorance. It also unfortunately confirms the worst fears of European filmmakers.

Is this closed-mindedness something we want to pass along to future generations?

If you accept the answer in the commercial, why not take it to its natural progression:

Why don’t they make movies like ours?
Why don’t they tell stories as we do?
Why don’t they dress as we do?
Why don’t they eat as we do?
Why don’t they talk as we do?
Why don’t they think as we do?
Why don’t they worship as we do?
Why don’t they look like us?

Ultimately, who will decide who “we” are?

—Martin Scorsese

I should state that while I really and truly like Martin Scorsese, I do not tend to care for his films. I also don't care for Fellini's pictures. What I do love and respect is the caring and thoughtfulness that these two filmmakers put into their work. There are so many artists in so many mediums that I like and there are just as many that I don't necessarily understand or connect with, yet I can appreciate them all in their individual ways. I absolutely agree that foreign films feel (and frankly, are) rather foreign, but that's what makes them so interesting. They paint a world that is unknown to the viewer and introduces that person to new words, language, images, places, and a culture that is unfamiliar, new, and fresh. Foreign films may be the most important of film genres for this reason alone.

(ps - Letters of Note is wonderful and also available in print form! And my fave foreign film-makers are Pedro Almodóvar, Roberto Rossellini, Jean Cocteau, Luis Buñuel, Werner Herzog, Lina Wertmüller, Jacques Audiard, and the Dardenne brothers.)

Snowed In

This Winter has not been as snowy as I would have liked. A good snow day is always appreciated and I haven't had a single one all season. This fab A-frame made me wish I lived in a place this cosy, one that's warmly lit and surrounded by tall, majestic trees.

(photo by Mitch Pittman)

Greg Davies

I stumbled across a clip of this charming gent's appearance on The Graham Norton Show over on YouTube a few days back. Since then I have watched herds of interviews with Greg, like a crazy obsessed fan girl. Oh my Lord Jesus. This man is off the god damn chain. He has me lol-ing, often to the point of tears and clutching my sides in agony. His expressions are legendary and I cannot wait for series one and two of Man Down to arrive at my doorstep. He just makes me so happy it oughta be criminal.

Self Love/Self Appreciation

i love my...

-feet

-loud laugh, that only i get to hear

-excellent taste in music

-voice when i sing 

-choice in close friends

-eclectic taste in art

-bee-stung mouth - i'm loud and proud!

-open mind. it matches my open heart. 

-hands - they match my two bio-brothers'

-crazy hair

-pale irish flesh

-scars - they remind me of who i was and who i will become

-brooke shields eyebrows. they are fabulous even if no one else agrees. 

-straight and narrow nosey

-teeth - thank you for not rotting out of my head (too much candy!)

-lil' buddha belly

-innie belly button (boop.)

-blue blue eyes (step aside steve mcqueen!!)

-ears - they are functional and perfectly placed (in their slightly wonky-way)

-clavicle - it's super sexy

-connect-the-dot freckles

-brain. please continue to absorb tons of knowledge!!

-calves (nice gams, baby!)

-breasts. they're the perfect size (& look hot in those new candie's bras!!!)

-taste in men - it's random and unique 

-thighs - chubby or not, they take me where i need to and want to be. 

-sense of humour

-handwriting

-fortitude

-acceptance of others

i love the...

-way i write. it's beautiful.

-junk in my trunk!

-way i look w/glasses (i heart geeky frames!)

-way my hair smells

-way i dance

-pictures of me where i'm pulling a silly face

i love that i...

-am female

-compassionate

-have made it this far

-am vegan

-have a fashion sense that doesn't make any sense

-can still see the good in almost anything or anyone

-am always trying to be a better me

-take incredible photographs

-can throw a perfect spiral pass

-am easy to please

-am a good driver (a few mistakes, but so far smooth sailing)

-always make time for all of my friends

-am, at my core, a good person

i love that...

-no matter what i still have hope

-my inner child is alive and very, very well

i love me even if no one else can or will or does. 

Kimmy SP, I'm All Yours!

I love sending out postcards and holiday greetings to friends and family; it's no secret. I don't often receive mail, which is fine - I'm so not the type who gives only in order to receive - that being said, it was such a nice and unexpected surprise to open my mailbox and find this charming Valentine from my sweet co-worker and fellow goddess, Kim:

Valentine's Lunch at Heart Beet

This afternoon I had lunch with lovely Ms. Anne at Heart Beet Kitchen in Westmont. I love this place because they've got it all - delicious food, light and relaxing atmosphere, warm and genuinely friendly staff, and they are good to the local community with free yoga every Saturday morning. 

Post script - Lucy likes her vintage 1990s Peanuts Lucy Valentine!

My Valentine

Today was an all day celebration with Jackson. We planned to hit MOM's for lunch then to my house for our Top Secret Mission to make Valentine's for his loved ones and watch Esio Trot. We completed our mission, but only got to see a bit of the film. It was a day jam packed with love, laughs, Krispy Kreme donut delivery to our fave people, and non-stop Bingo in the car.

Fun with carrots! 

^moustache^

^eyebrows^

^alien/ant/bumblebee^

^bunny/walrus/beaver^

^vampire^

^the donut equivalent of a soda jerk!^

The Valentines!!

(Bee Mine for Aunt Jen)

Love Grown Chocolate O's for dinner...

...while watching Esio Trot!

Silly selfies!!

Then we realised it was time to go...

...til next time!