Category Archives: films

It’s Over Already?

These 3 days have just flown by. The bad news is I didn’t work on making Olivia’s doll, boo! The good news is, I saw Moonrise Kingdom!! So quintessentially Wes Anderson style. The film is a perfect hybrid of The Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr Fox *which are both amazing* It’s only playing in limited theaters this week so we saw it at Hollywood Arclight which had a lovely exhibit from the movie set up in the lobby.

We finally had the chance to try Larkins in Eagle Rock *the same owner as Mac & Cheeza* for a dinner party for our friend Darrell. The food was huge, indulgent and delish! We had chocolate covered bacon for dessert, I repeat Chocolate covered, BAY-CON!

My punch tasted like peach cobbler, yummy!
The portobello fries were my favorite
The chef was super sweet, she helped us order and kept Liv entertained while we chowed down. Yep, that’s a tattoo of bacon….BAY-CON!

Ribbbbbbs and fried okra!

Antz had the good old fashioned BBQ chicken and mac and cheese
I had the fried shrimp *they were the size of my fist*
I was super stuffed but I still tried one, really tasty
Fantastic!

So, you must be wondering what did I do with all this time and still didn’t manage to get any work done on her doll? I’ll tell ya, I put on my Steven Spielberg hat *and beard* and worked all night on her video. It was easy using the iMovie software but editing down 8,000 photos and videos to 250 was a struggle. I had fun choosing the music and collaborating with Antz and my Mom. So without further adieu….I present Liv’s 2nd Year.

How was your weekend? Any fun trips or amazing meals?

Hungray Gamers

I went into this film with my usual cynical, unenthusiastic attitude. I knew it wouldn’t be as painful as the twitards but I am bummed it’s such a blatant Battle Royale *which is kick-ass!* ripoff!

The Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter trailer was pretty sweet. Hungry Teens had a decent start. I was annoyed by the overwhelmingly fugly Nicki Minaj dressed extras and what’s up with the overly-responsible, serious kids in this movie. I was with Primrose, if they told me I had to fight 23 other kids to the death, I would be having major panic attacks too. Katnap or whatever her name was, seemed like she could give a fuck through the whole thing. Antz was distracted by Woody-I’m-stoned-all-the-time-Harrelson’s wiggy. I wanted to know the name of Lenny Kravitz’s gold liner. Whenever I see him I hear someone shout “Get it, Gurl!” I’ll let the secret out, the unknown star of this film is Stanley Tucci’s fake teeth. The villian was whoever shaved Wes Bentley’s horrible douchetasche! So, of course it’s the typical heroine wins at everything cliche film and it was a half an hour too long for me but entertaining enough. The last movie we saw was We Need to Talk About Kevin, which I loved, so I needed something with a little more optimism. Thanks Mommy for Livsitting for us!!

Oh! I finally saw Carnage. SOO GOOD! It could be that I adore Roman *date rape* Polanski, the amazing cast *Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and bad-ass Christoph Waltz* but also the superb writing. I highly recommend it, even though Antz fell asleep during it as he does any movie lacking explosions or aliens. So, enough of my lame film critic-ness. After the movie we hightailed it across town to pick up dinner from our favorite BBQ place. We had Terry, Morgan and Kieran come over for some meat and playtime with the kids *I just realized how gross that sounds, sorry*. Now I must bid you adieu, I’m pretty sleepy from the BBQ-itis and I’m ready to hit the sack. Liv hasn’t napped all day so we all need to go nighty nights!

Playing in the backyard this morning
Olivia is OBSSESSED with peeling and eating clementines
Our jasmine is blooming in all its glory, it smells sooo lovely!
Hello? Is it me you’re looking for?

Terry & Morgan brought us delish vintage pop

Cool Color coordinated peeps
Don’t worry, Morgan caught them
They are such big kids now

Love that face!!
Kieran was having a no photos please moment

I die when they hug!!

He totally knocked her down for the kiss but they were fine!!
Before I go… Check out how big our caterpillar Milt is now!!!

A Different Type of Mix Tape Friday

Instead of my fave tunes *cause let’s face it, all I listen to is Die Antwoord, Björk, Tom Waits, April March, & Lana Del Rey* I thought I’d share our top telly shows and films.

Yo Gabbs gang with Andy Samberg

It’s more than obvious, Yo Gabba Gabba reigns supreme in our household. It’s the best kids show ever. I don’t find it condescending like Dora or creepy like Blues Clues. I love all the music and the guest stars. I am dying for new episodes!! If it wasn’t for this show I would have never met Terry, Morgan & Kieran, Yay!!

Peter Pan

Lately Olivia has been obsessed with watching Peter Pan. I have tried to get her to watch Finding Nemo, Alice in Wonderland and Antz even broke out my old fave when I was a kid, Annie, but it’s all Peter Pan, all day. She brings me the dvd box and says “Pway?”

Classic Franklin

Since Nick has changed up their lineup, we lost our 2nd fave *after Yo Gabba Gabba* morning show, original Franklin. Liv sings the theme song whenever we study flash cards cause T is for Turtle so she says Fwankwin! Now there’s a lame new Franklin & Friends that is 3D and they overuse the word “Coolio” to a nauseating degree.

Wow Wow Wubbzy

Liv also has another favorite show but I have to record them on DVR cause Nick Jr moved it to 1am, Monsieur Wow Wow Wubbzy *Beyonce voices some characters*. I prefer Pocoyo but only a couple of episodes.


Pocoyo

Mom and Dad sometimes manage to stay awake long enough to watch telly some nights. Our top shows are…

Up All Night. I’m so glad Jason Lee is no longer on the show, when did Banky become old and lame?

I like it mostly for Maya Rudolph *who constantly looks preggers but her hair is amazing* and it’s uncanny how much they steal every single episode plot from our lives *playdates, new neighbors, pre-school admission and having a second kid*. It’s totally a rad show for peeps with chur’rens.

Kent & Vixen were my favorite team

I try not to miss The Amazing Race because I’m an old lady and I love watching stupid people be stupid in foreign countries. I would love to be a contestant on that show but it seems like we’ll have to be the old boring married couple cause we aren’t the stereotype hot couple who fight incessantly.

Mad Men

Mad Men is my shit! Antz doesn’t watch it *yet* but he is one of those folks who refuses to get on-board with something awesome until like 5 years later *ie: Radiohead, Always Sunny, Etsy, & Toms* I can’t wait till the new season premiere!!

**Let me add a disclaimer; I am aware there are more awesome shows, we also watch Daily Show, Portlandia and Jeopardy *how cool are we?* but I just can’t dedicate myself to Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and I refuse to watch The Voice or Modern Family, don’t judge me!!

Right at Your Door

So we have seen a couple of pretty awesome Netflix videos. We really enjoyed this film about a biological attack on LA and how a husband and wife survive it. It brings a pretty good question of how would you react in a disaster *I must have asked Antz a hundred time, what would you do?*. I constantly think of how unprepared we are in an emergency and everytime I watch a zombie movie I want to raid Target and start hoarding water & canned beans.


Patton Oswalt: My Weakness is Strong

Since most of my queue says long wait or will be released next Tuesday, I finally caught up on some stand-up comedy. Patton Oswalt wins at comedy. He is fucking hilarious, I was in tears. I loved him in Young Adult *which is a great movie but more of a see with your BFF flick*

Hanna

Lastly, this movie has two of my favorite things, a kick ass soundtrack by The Chemical Brothers *love* and Cate Motherfuckin’ Blanchett. The plot is a little silly to me but I really enjoyed it.

I am hoping to catch The Hunger Games

*which is a total rip-off of Battle Royale*

And I really want to see Friends with Kids this weekend. I am excited to finally see Carnage which comes out on Netflix on my birthday!! We are going to Legoland for my birthday because I am a huge nerd and we have free tickets from our sis, that we didn’t use for Christmas. We have two St. Patty’s Day parties tomorrow.

Thanks Deb!!

Eye Candy

I’m watching Moneyball on Netflix with Antz and I am at a complete loss about baseball but I am enjoying looking at Bradley Pitt. That man deserves an Oscar just for his sexy smirk, the graying temples and those baby blues. Yet, baseball sucks and is totally boring.

Does anyone else see a slight resemblance to a young Paul Newman? Meow!

We’re having a slumber party here tonight. Aimee is sleeping over so she can accompany us to Scruffin’ Rock class tomorrow. It will be awesome. I am a bit anxious cause next Tuesday is our in-take meeting at Liv’s pre-school. I have been getting reassurance from everyone but you never know, you know? So please keep me in your thoughts, I am taking all the good vibes and positivity I can get. *fingers crossed*

Good Night!

BTW: 4 months till TWO!!! AHCK!!

Netflix Night

We invited Mia, Adam, Kaia & Coleridge over for a screening of Midnight in Paris *my review is below* and snacks galore. Mia made a scrumptious gingerbread rice crispy cake.

All kinds of yum!
I made grilled cheese hearts, berries, hummus & chips

These girls were ridiculously cute
Olivia made sure to feed her guest

Mommies in Jammies

The film was visually beautiful. Holy shit do I love Paris. 

The movie almost felt like a distraction. I just wanted to stare at the lovely Tuileries Gardens, Place de la Concorde, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Notre Dame and Versailles. The puces *flea market* scenes were gorge. I was thinking to myself, how did we visit Paris and not go to Montmartre or take a cruise on the Seine at dusk? I want to go tomorrow!! Well, this was the first Woody Allen film I’ve seen without him starring in it. Owen Wilson tried his best to manifest Woody’s neurotisism but he wasn’t strong enough as the male lead for me. Marion Cotillard was stunning as always. 
 The concept was interesting, being able to travel to a period of time in history with the knowledge you have now. I would definitely head to London during the Swingin’ 60s yet Antz brought up a good point; every period of history had it’s troubles.

Tonight was fun but I am super tired. I would love to stay up late and pore over Bri Emery’s Design Love Fest 

Rue – design loft fest from Son of Shark Pig on Vimeo.

I am girl crushing on Bri, hard! It inspires me to finish our damn bedroom!!

Yet, I am ready to cuddle with my lovelies.
 Nighty Nights

T’was the Friday before Christmas

And all through the mall, folks were acting like damn fools!! I had to run errands early this morning to pick up our traditional Christmas treats and I thought I walked into the apocalypse. I swear I saw a knife fight in the packing lot and an old lady cut in front of me in line and muttered “cunt” under her breath. Why do people act like assholes at the holidays? Sheesh people, there’s this great invention called the internet. I did 95% of my holiday shopping online and even with a few glitches *yeah you, amazon* I got everything on my list last week. Oh well, some folks will never learn. Somehow I made it out alive with my yummy treats.

MMMM CINNABON!!!
New fancy schmancy tablecloth from the FABulous yard sale
I love her Parisian jammies
Watch this!!

We visited my Mommy in Vallee d’Pomme. It was COLD!! We had a great time but my lovely cut his hand trying to catch a falling wine glass. I still think he needs stitches but he claims he’s fine. Ouch!

Last night we saw Tin Tin in 3D and it was not as bad as I expected. It was definitely a kid’s flick but we liked it. I have a date with Aimee tomorrow to see Young Adult so I am catching up on my must- see movies. Hopefully we’ll squeeze some time to see Carnage, Shame and We Need to Talk About Kevin. This coming week we are booked solid, Legoland, playdate, work on our bedroom makeover. I may not post as frequently as I’d like but I’ve got a surprise post planned that I am super excited about. I wish you a Happy Hannukah, Christmas and Fucking Rad New Year!!

My Christmas wish has come true….

Portlandia will be back in January!!! Yippeee!!

Golden Globe Nominations *Or Ricky Gervais Hollywood Roast*

Young “New Wave” Ricky

I can’t believe he got hired again. I guess Hollywood is glutton for punishment because last year Ricky ripped everyone a new one and I loved it! I hope he hosts every year because the Golden Globes is the ghetto-est of Hollywood award show *not including those People Choice awards cause they don’t count* Every celeb gets drunk off their ass and the most random people present awards. So the noms were announced and I am perplexed at some of the choices. It’s weird to me how some films get to be included even though they haven’t even come out yet. Well, here we go…italics are my own picks, bold is the projected winner *cause I’m only right 50% of the time*

BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA
Claire Danes, Homeland
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife *only cause she wins everything*
Madeline Stowe, Revenge
Callie Thorne, Necessary Roughness

I don’t know any of these hoes except Claire Danes. I’m not sure how to feel about her. I used to like her on My So-Called Life *but I also simultaneously hated her* then I liked her again when she was in Romeo + Juliet. I guess I’ll cheer for her since she cracked me up in Temple Grandin

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Hello Hello,” Gnomeo and Juliet
“The Keeper,” Machine Gun Preacher
“Lay Your Head Down,” Albert Nobbs
“The Living Proof,” The Help
“Masterpiece,” W.E.

Sheesh, they aren’t making it easy this year, there’s no lame Randy Newman or U2…I can’t believe it! I’m eeny-miny-moeing this one

BEST ACTRESS, TV COMEDY
Laura Dern, Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Tina Fey, 30 Rock  *bring it home for the win, Fey-Fey*
Laura Linney, The Big C
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Here’s where the selections go awry. I like Zooey, who wouldn’t? she’s adorable, yet I doubt she is bringing a Golden Globe performance on that awful show *I’m speculating cause I’ve never watched it but I’ve seen enough commercials to judge*

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
The Flowers of War
In the Land of Blood and Honey
The Kid With a Bike
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

Angelooney and war…nuff said

BEST SCREENPLAY
Midnight in Paris
The Ides of March
The Descendants  *Alexander Panye is in the Hollywood mafia*
Moneyball

This is a tricky one, I haven’t seen any of these but I want to see them all.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story *cause she is phenomenal at playing a bat shit crazy lady*
Kelly MacDonald, Boardwalk Empire
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family *she didn’t win last year*
Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti, Too Big To Fail
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins, Cinema Verite  *just cause I like him*
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Egads, who watches mini-series? They are sooo boring and poorly produced. 

BEST ACTOR, TV COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock  *BOW DOWN BITCHES*
David Duchovny, Californication
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Artist
W.E.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo *It’s Trent Reznor and it’s nice to know he now takes showers*
Hugo
War Horse

What the hell is up with this War Horse movie? I love the horsies but I don’t understand the idea of this movie and why it is being taken seriously.

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Mildred Pierce *Yay, Kate!*
Too Big To Fail
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey
The Hour

Stupid mini series

BEST TV SERIES, COMEDY
Enlightened
Episodes
Glee
Modern Family
New Girl

I am happy to say I have never watched any of these programs. Does the Hollywood Foreign Press know there is a fantastic comedy called Louie or Always Sunny? All these shows seem like chick shows.

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Adventures of Tintin  *Edgar Wright, duh!*
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

I suppose Puss? We are seeing Tin Tin on the 22nd.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
William Hurt, Too Big To Fail
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Idris Elba, Luther
Bill Nighy, Page Eight
Dominic West, Appropriate Adult

BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad  *I call a tie. this fool is AH-Mazing on this show, I can’t believe he used to be Malcolm’s Daddy*
Kelsey Grammer, Boss
Jeremy Irons, The Borgias  *I LOVE me some Jeremy Irons*
Damian Lewis, Homeland

BEST TV SERIES, DRAMA
American Horror Story
Boardwalk Empire *Michael Pitt is fun to look at*
Boss
Game of Thrones
Homeland *only reason I say this will win cause it’s the only I haven’t seen, therefor it will win*

BEST ACTOR, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard *Brendan Gleeson is a fantastic actor*
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love *yum, but not realistic*
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet Mcteer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help *I am rooting for her*
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar  *come on, this dude is Golden, why does Leo look like he was born in the 50s*
Michael Fassbender, Shame *I have a new crush on this guy, not only was he fabulous in Inglorious Basterds and Fish Tank, see it*
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids  *it would be a dream, Melissa McCarthy is AWESOME*
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn *really?* I like Michelle Williams but she was not the right one for this role

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Romolai Garai, The Hour
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

If Kate doesn’t win, I don’t care anymore.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive  *It was great seeing him play something other than a goody-goody*
Jonah Hill, Moneyball  *I love Jonah, but I dispise baseball*
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris  *I really want to see this sooo bad*
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady  *Meryl doesn’t lose*
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin  *This is a no-brainer for me, Tilda is one of the top 5 actresses of our time. She is weird in such an intriguing way

BEST ACTRESS, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Jodie Foster, Carnage  *Another movie I want to see*
Charlize Theron, Young Adult *I hear she was really good in this movie*
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Kate Winslet, Carnage

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
The Descendants  *just cause I don’t care if anything else wins and this is George’s Golden Globes*
Moneyball
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
War Horse

The GG’s will be airing on January 15, 2012. I may or may not play Paparazzi at the after-parties.

It’s All Over!

The 10 year epic journey of Mr. H. Potter has come to an end. Yep, he married Ol’ Ginny, they had 3 kiddies. Hermione & Ronny are in a S&M kinky marriage with 2 ginger kids. Vordymort is up in wizard heaven and Malfoy is still a tool. Consider yourself spoiled. *Applause*

It was a great movie but I have a severe headache from driving back and forth to Aimee’s in Venice. Turns out I couldn’t find a bebesitter anywhere closer but they had a fabulous time together.

Speaking of fabulous times…yesterday Aimee came over and we had lunch at the Oinkster.

They both devoured this peanut butter & jelly cupcake

I had the chili cheese fries and Liv had the plantains, so yummy!

So anyway, I am taking a breather from driving for the next 48 hours. Tomorrow we will be taking the Metro train to the craft fair and work on her pillowcase dress.
Have any big summer plans? Here’s some ideas
Rad ideas but I’m not so keen on making robots….I don’t trust em.
Hoppy Weakend!!

I WON, I WON, Now YOU win! My First Official Giveaway

FUCKING FANTASTIC!!

 

Finally, after months of entering contests I actually won one *haha, I love homophones, don’t you?* About a month ago I entered the Serena & Lily Giveaway contest at LilSugar, not really thinking I’d have a shot but since I already had my Cirque du Bebe photos uploaded on the site I submitted them. I got an email today saying I was one of the top 5 first place winners of a $25 Serena & Lily giftcard, a $25 Oilily giftcard and a Serena & Lily Nursery Book. I still don’t know who won the $3,500 grand prize but that is one lucky so-and-so! Since I’ve been so fortunate to have you lovelies as readers of my humble blaarg, I’d like to host my first official giveaway and share my giftcard with one lucky reader. So here’s how it’s going to go down…

PRIZE

One lucky reader will nab a $25.00 Serena & Lily giftcard, wait don’t faint yet…and I’ll even throw in a mood board for the winner of the bedroom *your choice of parent’s room or child’s room* with my top picks from Serena & Lily. The contest ends on September 1, 2011.

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment including your email address telling me about your dream wishlist from Serena & Lily *with your whopping $25 giftcard.* Links to your blog or photos of your room would be FABulous for me to see.

I am coveting this lowercase pillow in an “o” of course!
 and I already have my dream pink pouf
but I would love one in turquoise.

RULES   *lame, I know but this is to cover my ass in case I blow this*

One entry per e-mail address. You must live within the United States to be eligible *sorry, if I’ve pissed off any of my lovely international readers but I don’t wanna get stuck with a huge postage bill*

Must be 18 years or older to enter. I will choose one winner using Random.org once I get a minimum of 50 entries. The contest ends September 1, 2011 *hopefully I’ll get more than 3 entries. Antz, My Mom and Aimee are ineligible*

Good luck to all!
I am super stoked about my first giveaway. *doing the Carlton dance, and yes, I hurt my thigh doing the splits*  I obviously did not get paid by Serena & Lily or LilSugar to host this contest, duh but I highly recommend checking out LilSugar for celebrity gossip, fashion tips, and adorable baby pictures *you may see Liv a few times* Oh, I admit…I am keeping the Oilily giftcard for Liv. Sorry but they had me at…

Can I confess I am super jealous of these gorgeous models in the Oilily lookbooks? Ahem, *beep and bleep talent agencies, what’s taking so G#@$Damn long to sign Olivia??!!*

I cannot wait for 2 things coming up this week….

I am totally geeked out about seeing this on Friday

It’s sort of gross that those children would grow up to be this hot!

CALIENTE! My armpit hair just sprouted a grey hair!!

Editor’s Note:

I have read the entire series several times so to me this is quite bittersweet. Not that it’s come to an end, because all good things must, but I was greatly disappointed on how JK Rowling wrapped up the lives of the 3 main characters in one lousy chapter. I mean, there’s a ton of plotholes that I need answers to. I  also think Harry should have stuck with Cho Chang…she has surely been in extensive therapy to deal with Cedric’s death and by now I envision her as a successful chiropractor. I won’t give away the ending but it was no Soprano’s series finale, I tells ya!

This Saturday is the Renegade Craft Fair!!

 

You may have heard that this weekend is also Carmageddon. Even though we won’t be anywhere near the freeways that are closed, we have decided to go sans car to the fair. After saying for the past 5 years that we will take the Gold Line Metro train to the park. If I wasn’t so indecisive about choosing Liv’s bike trailer we could ride our bikes but, we both have heavy beach cruisers so riding on city streets would be an all day event.
At the LA State Park in 2008 *the last time we went bike riding*