currently...

watching:
Silver Lining's Playbook

...only like 4 months later than the rest of the country. I looooved this movie. Sam didn't like it quite as much, but something about it just made me feel. You know movies like that? It was fabulous.  It doesn't hurt that Bradley Cooper is pretty easy on the eyes and I adore Jennifer Lawrence more than almost any other actress around my age. I love that this is going to shine a light on bipolar disorder, which I have a very personal experience with.


reading:
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

 
You may know Mindy Kaling from the television show The Office, where she played Kelly Kapoor for the first 8 seasons, but you may not know that she is also one of the writers for The Office and for her new show, The Mindy Project. This book is HILARIOUS. My best friend and I both bought it in the airport last weekend and we were both cracking up before my flight left. It will make you laugh out loud, and also feel a little validated by thoughts that you might have about other people from time to time :). It took me less than a day to read this, even though it's around 200 pages. 


eating:
Haagen Daaz Caramel Cone ice cream

I don't even need to write a review about this stuff. It's so ridiculously good.


wearing:
Tippi Sweater from J. Crew

source

Ok I haven't technically worn this yet, but I am planning to this week so it counts right? I saw this when I was in New York last week (posts to come on that little adventure soon!) and decided it needed to come home with me. Normally I would NEVER spend $80 on a sweater, but apparently shopping on Fifth Avenue makes me do weird things. 




What are you currently doing?

do you know my friend tami taylor?

I'm pretty sure that if Tami Taylor was a real person, we would be friends IRL (in real life, duh).

If you don't know who Tami Taylor is, shame on you. It means you haven't seen Friday Night Lights, which means you also don't know who Coach Taylor is, the man who I measure every other man against (mostly kidding, Sam).

I mean, really y'all.

Anyway, Tami Taylor Connie Britton is now playing Rayna Jaymes on Nashville, so naturally I spent this entire day watching like 7 episodes of it. Go. Watch.

Now.



Also, listen to this video. Talent, y'all.

Okay, I'll stop talking like a southern person now.

Go watch Nashville, then watch some videos by James Alan.


And finally, I will leave you with this picture (if you haven't seen it on Facebook yet):

Homeboy is so freakin' cute. He LOVES the snow, and I wish I was there to see him frolicking about.

giving in

Remember this post I had about technology overload?


I did it.

I bought an iPad.

To be fair, it's going to come in handy for studying for my dreaded boards, and will be super handy on trips and such, but I'm such a sucker.


Anyway, if you don't have one of these gadgets...I recommend you run out and buy one immediately. I liked my iPhone but i LOVE my iPad.


And tomorrow I promise to write about something other than myself.

writer's block

I am having massive blog block lately, so I've decided to do a "Ten Random Thoughts" post, which Sam tells me is the easy way out when writing, but alas, whatevs.

1. Crate & Barrel. It's like the mothership calling me home. I'd never been in one until this morning and OMG. It was amazing. I really wanted to get this chair, but I'm short a few (hundred) dollars.

Don't you just love "chair and a halfs?"

2. I've started a new exercise motivation thing where I put a nice shiny star on my desk calendar every day I work out. It only has 2 stars this week, so I don't think it's working very well yet.

3. I went for a bike ride today (ie: star #2) for the first time in about 10 years and relearned that I suck at riding a bike. I can't ever figure out the whole hill thing and it makes my hip hurt (old soccer injury) like crazy.

4. I own all 10 seasons of Friends on DVD, and I cycle through them over and over again. I always start over at the beginning of the semester, and I'm already on Season 2 which I think corresponds to TOO MUCH STUDYING.

5. I finished another book, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and it was hysterical. It may be a fluff book, but I adored it. The movie is cute too!

6. I'd rather be knitting than...just about anything.

7. I have so many friends getting married right now and I am SO excited for all of them I can hardly stand it. I love finding dresses for weddings and showers and buying gifts and looking at wedding dresses for them (here's lookin at you, Al!).

8. Did you know that they have the Sims for your iPhone? I'm reliving 8th grade and can't stop playing. My Sim (her name is Olivia, so random) is gettin pretty flirty with Johnny right now, I'm trying to fulfill her wish of getting married.

9. My parents are CA-RAZY and are flying into DC tomorrow. Let's just say, the security has been stepped up due to several security threats. I am nervous for them, but more nervous about my mom finding out about whether or not her cancer treatment is still working. WHEN we find out that it IS still working, it'll be a milestone because it means that it's about a year since she initially had the treatment and it's continuing to work. High fives all around, guys!

10. "See, he's her lobster!" One of my favorite lines/episodes of a TV show, ever, and it's on right now. Time to start studying!

movie (and book!) review

As you all may know, I had a wonderful 12 day break from school not to long ago. I did go to St. Louis for the majority of it to hang out with my main squeeze, but we didn't do much other than just relax and hang out (which was absolutely perfect and exactly what I wanted to do).

Moving right along, I have been flying through books lately. In fact, I read 4 books in the last 2 and a half weeks, which is more than I can say of myself for the last year. It's a total disgrace. I love LOVE reading, I just haven't had the time. It's a shame.

So here they are. It's not as much of a review as it is a I loved all of these books go read them list.

First up, East of Eden by John Steinbeck. The story of two families interwoven throughout several generations, Steinbeck wrote this book to describe the Salinas Valley in California for his children. It's amazing. Go read it now.

Second, Look Me in the Eye By John Elder Robison. This is a memoir written by a gentleman who was not diagnosed with Asperger's until he was in his 40s. He knew growing up that he was different, but he didn't realize that his differences were an actual medical diagnosis or that there were other people like him in the world. Each chapter is a unique story about his experiences growing up. Also a great read (especially for the majority of the people who read this blog), although I will admit I got frustrated because he tends to jump around in his life a bit, which made it lack continuity for me. He's a great story teller though, and you will definitely be engaged. I own this if anyone wants to borrow it! Side note: His brother wrote Running with Scissors which is also on me "To Read" list.

Up next: Life After Yes by Aidan Donnelley Rowley is a novel about a Manhattan lawyer who thinks she has everything she wants: a great boyfriend, a loving family, a job that she dislikes but will make her a lot of money, and a great NYC apartment...that is, until said boyfriend proposes. Chick lit at its finest...this book kept me up until 1 am one night because I wanted to know what she decides to do with her life. I'm not saying it's going to win a Pulitzer, but it is a fun, easy read that you could read over a few weeks if you're really busy.

Finally, I just finished Marley & Me by John Grogan this morning. Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you have seen this movie (or are resisting for unknown stupid reasons), and the book is shockingly similar to the movie. In fact, so similar, I don't know which I liked better...which is rare for me. The movie definitely didn't exaggerate Marley's crazy behavior. Also, unless you don't mind people seeing you cry, read this alone. You have been warned.

Finally, my movie review. Basically, I hated this movie. I was bored, and if I hadn't been watching it with a friend, I would have turned it off and not finished it. That's all you're getting out of me, because I don't want to spend any more of my time talking about it ;).

What have YOU been reading and watching lately?

movie review

Remember a few blog posts ago when I said there were about 40 movies in theaters that I wanted to see? Well okay, not 40, and I didn't see all of them, but I did see two of them so I thought I'd pass along my thoughts.

First up was Crazy, Stupid, Love. I LOVED this movie (like 4/4 stars, 10/10, buy it as soon as it's out on blu-ray loved it). Not a huge surprise because it has a bunch of my favorites (Emma Stone, Steve Carell) and a really, really, really attractive man (here's lookin at you, Ryan Gosling), but then again so did the movie Valentine's Day and it sucked.

Without spoiling anything, Crazy, Stupid, Love is about a man who has recently found out his wife of 25+ years has been cheating on him with another man. Although heartbroken, he takes a young womanizer up on his offer to reinvent himself and dive back into the dating pool. It is definitely laugh out loud hilarious (not only speaking for myself here, but for the really loud guy next to me who wouldn't shut up), has some moments that will tug at your heartstrings, and makes you feel good in the end. Also, it's worth $10 just to sit there and watch Ryan Gosling with his shirt off.

Next on the list was 30 Minutes or Less. I didn't like this movie quite as much as I loved Crazy, Stupid, Love, but it was pretty funny. It also had a few of my favs (Jesse Eisenberg, adore him, and Aziz Ansari, SO FUNNY). Sam and I went and saw it while  I was in St. Louis this past week.

Review in a hurry: A lazy pizza delivery stoner gets hoodwinked by two even lazier morons into robbing a bank so that one of them can hire a hitman to kill his father. Highjinx ensue. It's funny, but probably a renter.  I would probably give it 3 out of 4 stars. Maybe 2 1/2.