Ugly Shoe of the Week

I have recently stumbled upon something that totally made my day. Its a blog of the ugliest shoes. As an avid shoe lover I have to admit that very few things compare to a beautifully designed shoe. But I also realize the potential for shoe disasters is great. Like these examples from the blog. Check it out here, its updated weekly.

Sleepless Nights Filled With Newsies

So last night I had the wonderful experience of waking up at 3:45 am and not being able to fall back asleep for 2 hours. I have this annoyingly alert mind that once it wakes up and starts thinking, it is impossible to shut it down. My fatigued and irritated body was like "Just fall asleep already, MIND!" So what do you think I was thinking about last night? Well, I couldn't stop thinking about etsy art and at one moment I had the thought, "Why did Dr. Bennell escape the invasion for so long?" And "My son is not my son." My favorite thing about last night though was laying in bed having "I'm the king of New York" in my head while Bill Pullman danced around and all I could think was "Saturday night with the mayor's daughter." Suffice it to say I'm going to be very grumpy come 2:00 pm when I am overwhelmed by fatigue and my blood sugar drops.

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Kohl's? Really?

Is anyone else as ridiculously excited that Vera Wang is doing a line of reasonably priced ready to wear for Kohl's? I am so excited about it! Even though I probably won't buy anything, I'm definately going to go try it on. It looks like its going to be a lot of purple, gray and khaki just like everyone else this fall. I'm very excited for this known wedding dress mogul who dreams of branching out beyond the bride, you go Vera!

Summer of Remakes

This summer Hollywood remade two of my favorite classic thrillers. First for a girl's night we saw Disturbia, a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. I have to admit, I was scared during the movie, it was just as thrilling but it lacked the overwhelming artistry of a Hitchcock film. The thrills came from violent sequences instead of edge of your seat anticipation. The acting was blah and the plot changes, unruly kid on house arrest versus man in wheelchair with broken leg left the overall effect empty in comparison.
This last weekend Steve and I saw The Invasion with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig which I had been anticipating in remembrance of watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers with my mom. I liked it and although it wasn't THAT scary I was gripping Steve's arm during some scenes. It had more of the original feel than Disturbia did which I appreciated. Except (Attn: Spoiler) they found a cure to the alien invasion! which I felt made it less credible and took away that final creepy moment when almost everyone is an alien. Obviously playing on advanced technology, they could decipher exactly what the virus was and make an antidote. I didn't like that part but the rest of the emotionally void aliens just leave you feeling creepy which I liked. I also felt Jeremy Northam did an excellent job as creepy alien ex-husband.
What I have discovered in my thoughts about these recent remakes is that I find the slow pace and lack of details more thrilling. The originals are not so fantastic that they couldn't happen and thats what makes it truly scary, the reality potential. Sure you know that aliens aren't going to take over the planet and rob us of our emotional DNA but the possiblity that they could and we would have no solution is a lot scarier and believable than finding a miraculous cure within 48 hours.

$32 = A million bucks

Nothing makes me feel better about my appearance than getting a haircut and I don't know why I've been putting it off for 8 months. I love my hair stylist-Desra-she gives me the best layers for curly hair and nothing beats the way she straightens it. And P.S. when did my hair get so long?

Suri Cruise=Adorable

Okay I know we all hate Tom Cruise these days and poor Katie is guilty by association but how can you not think that little Suri is the cutest thing ever? Cutest celebrity child of the moment-definately. And how jealous are we that she spent the whole summer in europe.

Becoming Jane-kind of

Well, I saw it. I didn't think I was going to but I guess deep down inside I knew I would eventually. I have always been a fan of Austen, ever since I spent an entire school night reading Pride and Prejudice my sophomore year of high school and then reading back to back Austen until I had read her complete works. I took a class on her in college, have seen almost all of the movies based on her books and read the spin-off books like "The Jane Austen Book Club." I do however REFUSE to even think about reading those books written by others who wanted to extend the Darcy's life beyond the Austen page, come on! why ruin a perfectly fine story by speculating about My. Darcy's daughters?
Jane Austen is not my favorite author and I feel snobby when people say she is theirs because for all her merit and genius especially considering the time she wrote, I've read better. Her prose is witty, her observations poignant but I refuse to deify her-maybe I am revolting against a mass hysteria of fans who have popped up in the recent years including Hollywood.
The movie was fine, they have taken a brief romantic encounter and turned it into a 2 hour movie with constant allusions to her novels. From what I have studied about Jane... well, lets just say they took dramatic liberties. And to top it off, they end the movie with a 20 year flash forward with creepy older looking Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy. The acting was mediocre with some unconvincing key moments that shatter potentially powerful scenes (I cannot live like this...) but the cinematography was interesting with plenty of plays on reflection and focus shifts. The whole thing left an unrecognizable taste in my mouth which makes me uncomfortable, maybe I was just disappointed in a recent interview I read with Anne Hathaway. I almost felt sad for Jane.

Two Wonderful Discoveries

Months ago Steve and I watched on the Food Network as a new flavor was developed for Haagen-Dazs. The winner in the contest was Judianne from Brooklyn, NY and we finally tried her yummy flavor, Sticky Toffee Pudding last night for FHE. Delicious.
Steve and I also ventured up to Salt Lake City this weekend to the Broadway Theater to see a german foreign film, Vitus. The movie was spectacular, one of the best foreign films I've seen ever. Its about a child prodigy pianist and his attempt at living a normal life. Both realistic and fantastic, Vitus makes you laugh with his brilliance and smug intelligence. Also there is a wonderful grandfather/grandchild relationship which lends the love he needs. See it.

I feel like I owe it to my english degree to read the classics. Now I like reading the classics but I also like reading that light genre of "chick lit." I try to alternate reading classics and light reading, keeping it interesting. My most recent classic read has become the bane of my summer existence BUT last night I finished Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Finally. What a personal triumph, I have been reading that book for the majority of the summer (except, of course for my Harry Potter weekend) and I finally finished all 863 pages!

I had originally wanted to read it because of its references in the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott which was a childhood fav. It was Dicken's first novel and quite entertaining really except he goes off on tangents for chapters at a time which is highly frustrating. Also he was a serial writer so he got paid by the word, I'm sure his pay was hefty for this one. But in the classic style of Dickens there are numerous twists and turns and the main character is thrown into debtor's prison and in the end everyone ends up happy with the tears and wine flowing.

I would recommend Dickens to anyone but not the faint at heart reader. Its a long journey for sure, maybe in another couple of years I'll read another one.

San Francisco Part Uno

Our weekend in a nutshell: 2 animal style trips to In & Out, the secret bed, too many Jelly Bellys, 1087 songs on shuffle and a bag of cds, bunhead, naps, 2 10 1/2 hour drives, the Oakland Temple, a much needed visit to H&M, $12 in tolls, one very energetically sweet niece, The My Little Pony Memory Game, Clifford and Arthur, Amoeba Music, a John Vanderslice sighting, "Why are you such a big man?," necklaces, the acres of salt flats, funky tree art, metallic bras and mesh shirts, the Hell's Kitchen season finale, the crookedest street in the world, sourdough pizza and bread, 15 minutes on a boat, cell block D and Broadway, standing in "the hole" in Alcatraz, wind and jackets, driving on hills at a 60* vertical, a 20 minute detour to Berkley, Elko and Lovelock "Lock your Love Away," Trader Joe's Schoolhouse Alphabet Cookies, magnetic princess clothing, Ultimate Dance Party 1997, Lodi, and lots of fun with family. R* on one of our many car rides
Uncle Steve and R* at the Jelly Belly Factory
Yes, that is a portrait of Princess Diana made entirely out of Jelly Bellys
Bay Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
Some fort at the base of the Bridge
Cool passageways and stair wells in the Fort
Steve and I squinting beyond recognition and the Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz window bars
Alcatraz cell

San Francisco Part Dos

Uncle Steve and R* at the children's playground in San Francisco
She climbed that wave all by herselfView of the city from Lombard Street

E* and R* on the scenic rooftop gardens of the Oakland Temple


Oakland Temple

McSweeney's Lists

Bored at work? Darn Straight, or can't you tell by the multiple posts today already. Today in an effort to stave off the boredom I went in search of hilarity at McSweeney's List, a collection of submitted lists with funny and often ironic titles. If you fear overly political one-sidedness you can skip most of the lists. Here is what I found that made me laugh out loud sitting at my desk wishing the next 4 hours would magically disappear.
____________________________________
Jenny's Alternate Numbers.

BY GRETCHEN VANWORMER

- - - -

867-5306 (cell)

867-5307 (work)

867-5308 (pager)

_________________________________________________

Lies Printed on My Waffle Iron.

BY ANNIE MACKEY

- - - -
Magic

Easy Clean

__________________________________________________

Alternate
Fairy-Tale Endings
to Take the Place of
"And they lived
happily ever
after."

BY SABRINA ABBOTT

- - - -

And they barely tolerated each other.

And they stayed together because of the kids.

And their contempt for one another occasionally spilled over at family gatherings, prompting moments of uncomfortable silence.

And they expressed their unhappiness through passive-aggressive toilet-seat positioning.

_______________________________

Things I Have Learned
From Ex-Boyfriends.

BY MEGAN ROBIN

- - - -

It is impossible to compel someone to speak to you.

Sid Vicious was a member of the Sex Pistols.

The Stylings of Ali Larter

Lately I have noticed how fantastic Ali Larter is doing fashion wise. I just thought I'd post some of her clothes genius. Can I just say I am eating up the Calvin Klein dress.

In Gap and Prada
In Stella McCartney

In Calvin Klein

Tag I'm It!!!

So I've been tagged twice. I like to read people's tags but have yet to be tagged myself until this morning. So here I am answering the questions, thanks Jenny and Shauna

4 jobs I've had
-The fabric counter at Ben Franklin Crafts
-Baskin Robbins
-BYU laundry (Oh Stella, how I miss you and the mangle)
-Bouncer type manager at Comedy Sportz

4 movies I can watch over and over again
-Devil Wears Prada
-Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead
-Ghostbusters II
-Clueless

4 Favorite TV Shows
-Friends
-Arrested Development (I'm sad it cancelled)
-LOST
-Hell's Kitchen

4 Favorite Hobbies
-Being Crafty
-Reading
-Baking
-thrift store shopping and yard sale-ing

4 Places I Have Lived
-Simi Valley, CA
-Snohomish, WA
-Provo, UT
-Orem, UT

4 Favorite Foods
-popcorn
-fruit tarts
-mango salsa
-carrot cake

4 Places I'd Rather be Right Now
-with my husband playing parcheesi
-San Francisco already
-New York AGAIN
-Italy

4 Websites I Check Daily
-Facebook
-Frugal Fashionista
-Etsy
-my big list of blogs

People I Tag
-Angela
-Steve-although I doubt he'll do it
-Elizabeth

Welcome Parker!

My dear friend from high school just welcomed her first son, Parker into the world. Congratulations to the new family!

Curiouser Still

So I browsed onto Anthropologie and they have an Alice in Wonderland allusion too! I cannot believe it. So perfect.My favorite is the "White Rabbit" or this fantastic dress!Or this dress in "Mushroom Magic"

Curiouser and Curiouser

Lately I have not been able to get Alice in Wonderland out of my head. Whether its quotes from the movies, images or the spread Annie Leibovitz did for Vogue years ago, I cannot get it out of my mind. So in an effort to rid myself of this feeling I am blogging about it.

Alice In Wonderland was by far my favorite disney movie as a child. I loved her imagination, the quirky characters she met in her wonderland and even though people claim it was a drug induced animated feature, its creativity haunts me (NOT in a hang over type of way, although it does leave me on a high)
I love it. I used to wish I could fall asleep in a field of daisies and then magically be in a land with talking rabbits-isn't it funny that she doesn't seem to notice that hes talking as the weird thing, but that he's wearing a waist coat and carrying a pocket watch!
I used to wish I could eat those cakes that said "Eat Me" I bet they were delicious.

Then I fell in love with the people version with Alice played by a young girl in a peach dress and a not very convincing wig. But I loved the Jabberwocky side of the story and the chess figurines-my favorite being Carol Channing singing a song about Jam and then turning into a sheep! (The picture DOES NOT do it justice!)

Then I vaguely remember a made for TV movie but no real memories.

Then I read the actual book penned by Lewis Carrol my freshman year of college. We debated his fascination with Alice Liddel and his creepy and brooding portraits of young victorian girls. It was dark. But Carrol's darkness somehow only added to the whimsy of the story in a twisted wonderland way.

Then Annie Leibovitz with a very inspired and whimsical tribute in 2003 for Vogue. Her pictures capture what I feel the story really is about, not fabulous clothing but relationships with those we come in contact with creatively whether designers, artists, directors, etc etc.