I'm impatiently waiting for these releases!

I have so much to blog about from this amazing past week, but I just don't feel up to it today. It was absolutely wonderful, as always, to have my Uncle in town (from MA), and I got to spend 2 full days with my bestie in Denver. Thanksgiving was a fun-filled day as it is every year, and we were lucky to have perfect Colorado weather for the entire week. I have lots of pictures to share and want to go into more detail, but like I said, I'm just not up for that task this morning (call me lazy, it's ok), so instead let's talk about all of the amazing-looking movies that will be coming out in the near future:

Letters to Juliet
Release Date: May 2010
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Gael Garcia Bernal and Christopher Egan
Plot: An American girl on vacation in Italy finds an unanswered "letter to Juliet" --one of thousands of missives left at the fictional lover's Verona courtyard, which are typically answered by the "secretaries of Juliet" -- and she goes on a quest to find the lovers referenced in the letter (imdb.com).

I cannot wait to see this lovely-looking romance set in gorgeous Italy! How can anyone resist that scenery?! Amanda Seyfried is certainly making a name for herself, and I am sucker for Christopher Egan (he reminds a bit of Heath Ledger with his smallish eyes and deep voice).

Leap Year
Release Date: January 2010
Starring: Amy Adams and Matthew Goode
Plot: A woman (Adams) who has an elaborate scheme to propose to her boyfriend on Leap Day, an Irish tradition which occurs every time the date February 29 rolls around, faces a major setback when bad weather threatens to derail her planned trip to Dublin. With the help of an innkeeper, however, her cross-country odyssey just might result in her getting engaged (imdb.com).

Ireland + Amy Adams + Romantic Comedy = my perfect movie! Enough said. :-)

It's Complicated
Release Date: December 2009
Starring: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin
Plot: A romantic comedy in which two men vie for the affection of a woman (imdb.com).

I rarely find fault with Meryl Streep, especially in a comedic role, so I have high hopes for this movie! Add in Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, and I expect to have a happy side ache from too much laughter!

Invictus
Release Date: December 2009
Starring: Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman
Plot: The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match (imdb.com).

I love awe-inspiring movies based on true stories and Morgan Freeman is by far my favorite actor. I cannot imagine this movie being anything but magnificent; the preview alone gives me chills!

Dear John
Release Date: February 2010
Starring: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried
Plot: A romantic drama about a soldier who falls for a conservative college student while he's home on leave (imdb.com FYI- this plot summary contains movie spoilers).

I must confess that I have not read this book and do not intend to. Due to Nicholas Sparks always killing off a beloved character, I've sworn off his books for the most part. Nonetheless, this movie looks to contain all of the Nicholas Sparks essentials: drama, romance, heart break, a hot guy (yum, Channing Tatum!) and the promise of a few good tears. Plus, another starring role for Amanda Seyfried!

What movies are you all looking forward to seeing? Do you prefer new-idea films or based-on-a-book films? I must confess that I love both!

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

It's going to be a good day full of family, horseback riding, incredible amounts of food, laughter, sunshine and crisp, Colorado air. It doesn't get much better than that.

I hope everyone has as lovely a day as I have planned.
Enjoy today and all you have to be thankful for.

Friday I'm in Love

Ahhhh, it's Friday! Is anyone else feeling a sweet sigh of relief that the weekend is nearly upon us? I, obviously, am.

After spending yesterday pouting with my cranky-pants on, I am happy to report that I'm back to my chipper, smiley self today! I feel like a new woman with my freshly chopped and revitalized hair, and I must admit that a Corona and conversation with my dear friend Betsy last night went a long way towards improving my mood. I'll also give a shout out to those sneaky, little endorphins released during my afternoon workout yesterday, even if I did grudgingly hit up the gym with my cranky-pants firmly in place. It may not have been my best workout to date, but atleast I went, right?!

I have a low key evening ahead of me, which suits me perfectly today. My Uncle flies in from Boston tomorrow evening (hooray!), so I will be happily cleaning my apartment tonight in order to get it spick and span for company. Not that my Uncle will actually be staying with me (he'll stay with my parents who live in town), but I'm living in a new apartment and am excited to show it off to him. Luckily, I come from a family of OCD-like clean freaks, so my place is usually neat and tidy, but the bathrooms need a good cleaning, I'd like to vacuum and there are some piles that need organizing before it meets my expectations. All in all, it'll be a piece of cake to get ready!

That being said, I think I'm going to stop by a couple of bookstores on my way home tonight before tackling my apartment. I'm on the hunt for a couple of elementary school-age appropriate books for 2 kids my mother and I are sponsoring this Christmas...think old-school Goosebumps books, Princess Academy and Hannah Montana. I'm excited! I'm also hoping for a couple of good finds for myself at one of my favorite used bookstores. Today just seems to call for a cup of coffee and a little book-hunting; thank goodness this particular bookstore is attached to a coffee shop. Obviously, this place is like heaven-on-earth for me...I'm such a sucker for a good used book!

So, there you have it folks: the exciting Friday night life of a single, twenty-something year old gal! Luckily, I love it...




ps- I'm resisting my urge and avoiding the scary, teeny-bopper crowds and waiting until tomorrow morning to see New Moon! I'm absolutely, disgustingly excited!

Short hair love

"Short hair may be low-maintenance in the style department, but it's like a needy boyfriend when it comes to trims."

This sentence just made my morning! It not only makes me smile at the less-than-subtle jest, but it makes me smile at the truthful comparison.

I have short hair. I love my short hair. I adore my bob and think it is a great cut for my face, but it truly is a needy little thing, let me tell you! Not only does my hair grow quickly, but it grows unevenly. Note: we are talking needy, clingy boyfriend-like hair now! The back grows faster than the front, which means that despite getting the back nicely stacked, by the time 5 or 6 weeks have passed it's hard to tell what my cut originally looked like. I feel disheveled and find myself getting angry with my hair in the morning. I am more than willing to admit that this issue is far more noticeable by myself and my hair dresser than by anyone else, but it still irks me.

I am currently hitting that I-feel-disheveled point, but am happy to say that I have a hair appointment already scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. My hair has behaved far better this go-around than usual, so my morning battles have been minimal. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to getting my scalp massaged, my dead-ends trimmed and my short hair refreshed!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a side note, I recently tried a new shampoo and I LOVE it! It's L'Oreal EverPure Moisture Shampoo for color-treated hair, and it's getting my seal of approval so far. I usually find that moisturizing shampoo makes my hair too soft and takes any body out of it, but not this lovely product; this makes my hair soft, light and healthy-looking. And, bonus: it smells like an Aveda product (rosemary and juniper) without the associated ridiculous price tag. I am in heaven!

The best of intentions...are sometimes delayed

Every Sunday I have the very best intentions to blog about my weekend. Obviously, this hasn't really happened yet. So, I am going to force you all to bear with me while I play catch-up on some highlights of the past couple of weekends. I'll do my best to pepper this post with photos and keep my ramblings to a minimum.

I've been putting my bargain-hunting skills to good use, both for myself and for Christmas presents. I wont go into any details on the pressies (my family and friends do read this afterall), but I would love to show you a few of the deals I've found for myself. After cleaning out my closet a few weeks ago, I realized that the majority of my winter clothes were either too big or just old and worn out, so I have been slowly finding new sweaters, blouses and long sleeve tees. I will admit that there were a few really good deals (Banana Republic!) on tees and sleeveless shirts that I couldn't pass up, but I figure, hey, I love layering so give me a cardigan and I'll call it good!

BR bargain find that looks wonderful under a cardi

NY & Co 70% off in a yummy raspberry color

Among a few other things, I also managed to find the perfect belted, long, black button-down blouse and an amazing navy and white striped v-neck tee (I love BR sales)!

Along with the clothes I picked up this lovely bowl in the clearance corner of one of my favorite home goods store. It looks perfect on my breakfast bar, and sparkles in the sunlight.

Last Sunday my mom and I wandered through The Hall of Trees at a local theater in town. This has been a mother-daughter tradition for as long as I can remember and always sets the mood for the holiday season. Local stores put together Christmas displays to showcase their favorites for the season, and it is so much fun to look at the ornaments, stockings, flowers and table settings. It makes me want to run home and turn my house into a Christmas-y winter wonderland!

I love the teal with the gold and chocolate brown!

Elvis even came out of hiding for the event

And finally, the weekends have been full of good food, coffee and tea, good friends and the ever-present wine. All of my favorites filling my weekends, and I wouldn't have it any other way. A highlight: The bestie and I went to see "A Christmas Carol" in 3D and it was great! This is my favorite Christmas story and I am happy to report that it stayed true to the story and nicely incorporated the obvious Jim Carey touch to it. Have any of you seen it yet?

I couldn't resist myself

I hope everyone else has had as lovely weekends as I have...

Happy Veteran's Day (a day late)

I realize yesterday was Veteran's Day, so this post is a little over due but I just wanted to take this moment to wish every a Happy Veteran's Day and to thank all of the people who have served, and are continuing to serve, our country. Regardless of political belief or views on war, our troops deserve all of our support; they are risking their lives for us.


I feel lucky to say that I do not have anyone close to me who is currently serving in the military, but both of my Grandfathers fought in World War II and I grew up on WWII stories from my Grandpa Don. Grandpa passed away in September and I really missed him yesterday. He was the proudest American I think I've ever met and was very defined by his time spent in the military. He risked his life for our country and sacrificed a leg in the process. And I will be forever grateful that he shared all of his war stories with his children and with all of us grandchildren. Even when we didn't want to listen to another war story, he talked and emailed articles and referenced books, and now that I'm older and he's gone, I feel so very blessed to have his stories in my life.

I miss you Grandpa Don, and I love you.

My new description...?

My mother just called me "a romantic Bostonphile" due to my wanting this:

and this:

...and I think she may be right!

I am now officially deeming myself a romantic Bostonphile and will wear that title proudly! I'm embracing my love of romantic quotes, black and white cityscapes, metro-maps, coffee, tote bags, the East Coast and any combination of the above.

Do any of you have a favorite city? Or consider yourselves hopeless romantics? Surely I'm not the only "romantic (insert favorite city)-phile" out there!

I do love a good exchange!

As I'm wandering through Blogland this morning, I'm noticing a theme emerging: Christmas! Halloween is over, lights are starting to go up around town, Starbucks has its holiday drinks on the menu (eggnog lattes? yes please!) and of course stores are already pushing their Christmas merchandise, so naturally, my blogging friends are starting to squeal with delight over this wonderfully magical holiday.

Now, don't get me wrong, I truly love Thanksgiving. My Uncle flies out from Boston every year and we play up in the mountains, go horseback riding, explore Denver, watch movies and eat entirely too much food on Turkey Day. It is always a fun-filled week that I look forward to it all year long...



...but it still isn't quite as magical as Christmas. (word to the wise: I will be using "magical" A LOT for the next month or so, I'm sure)



I'd like to give a shout out to the ladies over at Random Moms for hosting a Christmas Ornament Exchange this year. If you're anything like me and have waaayyy too many ornaments to count, but simply cannot resist continually picking up new ones this exchange is for you! Check out their blog for all of the details, and hopefully you'll get another ornament for the tree that comes with a smile, a story and a good memory.




...weekend recap and lots of things I keep meaning to post about to come later...

Commitment? I think not...

I'm having intense commitment issues! I cannot seem to just sit down and focus on one book right now. Why? Because I'm loving all 3 of the books that I've started and picking just one is proving impossible.

The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel is for my book club and actually isn't a book that I would normally pick on my own. It's based on fact, has an amazing story line and is beautifully written.

Black Hills because I.Heart.Nora.Roberts! I put this book on hold at the library before it was even published and I waited a good 3 months for my turn to finally come; obviously, I cannot pass up this chance to read it before my 3 weeks are up with the Library.

Mr Darcy, Vampyre feeds my love of anything, absolutely anything, Pride and Prejudice-esque. I am one of those cult-like followers of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy and would gladly give my right hand for my own Mr. Darcy (lol). I also jumped on the Twilight Saga bandwagon a couple of years ago, and have become a bit of a sucker for vampire stories. So, voila! this book combines 2 of my loves, hence my inability to set it aside for one of my other reads.



HELP!!! Ahhhh....

It's always the simple things in life...

I've thoroughly enjoyed following Joanna Goddard's Glamour blog, Smitten, over the past couple of weeks. In searching through its archives, I came across one about 5 simple pleasures in life, and thought it was the perfect morning post on this lovely Friday.

So, 5 of my simple pleasures in life are:

1. Walks with my Mom
2. A glass of red wine in the evening
3. Finding a great novel buried in a used bookstore
4. Reading through my quotes journal
5. Getting an unexpected card in the mail


What are the simple pleasures in your life that always guarantee a smile?

Dentist appointment...dun dun duuuunnnn!

To start, let me just say that I'm not a huge fan of the dentist AT ALL, but really, who is? (and if you are, I'm going to judge you as being slightly sick and twisted -- just FYI) Well, my morning started off with a bright and early 8 am dentist appointment. This would be the appointment that I have rescheduled countless times and just generally put off for the past year and a half. The one that my mom finally had to schedule and brow beat me into. Yep, my once every 6 months dentist appoitnment was working on a slightly different calendar this time around.

But, nonetheless, I made it to this appointment and despite my usual fears of a potential cavity (I don't have any as of yet) and bloody gums, the morning went well. I am an inconsistent flosser -- aka I floss the couple of days prior to an appointment -- and made sure to remind my favorite hygenist, Maryanne, of this character flaw the minute I walked in. As always, she just laughed at me and very sweetly reprimanded me for my swollen gums before tackling the task of cleaning my pearly whites. I really hate the sound of the tools scraping on my teeth, and always appreciate that Maryanne is very good at small talk while she scrapes away. I don't know why, but the sound gets to me just like the screech of nails on a chalkboard. *shudder* By the end of my appointment, my teeth had been gently scraped clean of plaque, flossed multiple times with minimal blood shed, polished to a smooth finish and praised as being "really great teeth"! All in all, it was a successful, pain-free trip and I made sure to make my next 6 month appointment while I was there; no excuses for me and my teeth this time!


I also left the dentist's office with 2 things of woven floss (non-waxy and actually kind of nice) and several reminders that flossing not only keeps my gums tight but prevents decay between my teeth where my couple of potential problem areas can be found. Gotcha, gotcha; I'll try my hardest to turn daily flossing into a habit!

A New Look

A new Thanksgiving-themed background was in order on this dreary first Monday of November. I'm still playing around with font colors, but so far I like the new look.

Just a quick post as I'm supposed to be diligently working right now, but check back later for my loooong recap of the past 6 days, photos and all!

Happy Monday, everyone!