Movies That Stick With You

So my friend tagged me in one of those Facebook notes where they write a list, then you write a list, etc. Well instead of making a note, I decided to put it up here. Here's the original fb post/instructions:

The rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen films you’ve seen that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag fifteen friends, including me, because I’m interested in seeing what films my friends choose.

So ignore the tagging part. Also I didn't read all the "instructions" so I def. cheated on the whole 15 minute time limit thing. Oh well. But I like making lists, so I am still posting it. Just so you know, these aren't in any particular order.

1. Some Kind of Wonderful

2. Girls Just Want to Have Fun

3. Say Anything

4. Sabrina

5. Yentl

6. Stardust

7. Goonies

8. Chocolat

9.The Chorus

10.Penelope

11.While You Were Sleeping

12.Where The Heart Is

13.About a Boy

14.The Little Mermaid

15.Swan Princess

Oh man, I wish this list was classier, or a little bit more Oscar worthy. But strong impressions are strong impressions right? Isn't it funny how strongest impression does not necessarily equal cinematic masterpiece? At least if you're me. My friend who did this first actually had a really impressive list of movies, but this was hard for me to put together. My list of best movies of all time would probably look different. Honestly if you asked me this two days ago or tomorrow the list would probably be different. Fun experiment though :)

I'd love to hear other people's movies that "stuck" with them. No need to be shy, I mean Clueless came *this* close to making my 15 (other runner ups: Mean Girls, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Labyrinth; I quote these soo much!).

Currently watching: Pushing Daisies (I know, I know, I'm like 3 weeks behind on Glee and I'm watching old shows on Netflix Instant...) and Community (2nd season's been a little disappointing to me, but I really liked this week's show)

When You Hear The Beep...

Last night my roommates and I were reminded of the epic game show, Supermarket Sweep. If you aren't familiar with this game, let me explain it: There are three team of contestants, they answer some trivia related to average supermarket items to gain points. Then at the end they have to run around a supermarket and get the most expensive items they can find. The person with the most points (most expensive basket) wins! No one seems to air this show anymore, but we were lucky enough to find it on YouTube. And it was just as amazing as well all remembered!!

This Supermarket Sweep madness got us thinking about other game shows we've watched and loved. Here's the list I came up with (Keep in mind I did not have cable growing up , so I don't know many of those nickelodean/disney type games):

Shop Till You Drop

Jeopardy ( I love it when I get these one right. It makes you feel so smart!)

Wheel of Fortune

The Newlywed Game

The Price is Right (I will forever remember to spay and neuter my pets.)

Family Feud (So many hosts. I think my favorite was when Richard Karn hosted, just because it always made me think of Home Improvement)

Hollywood Squares

Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (I remember when this was THE thing. We still have the board game version at home)

The Weakest Link

Pyramid

Street Smarts

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

Are You Smarter than a 5th grader?

Deal or No Deal

Anyway that's it. I'd just thought I'd pass on that little blast from the past. Nowadays I feel like reality shows have kind of taken the place of gameshows on TV (Although it can be kind of a fine line sometimes. Some shows seem to be a little bit of both.). But old-school gameshows will come back in fashion one day. And when that day comes I'll be ready!

Currently: thinking about Pax shows (Where Supermarket Sweep used to air) Does anyone remember Diagnosis Murder and Pet Miracles?! oh Pax TV!

Halloween

I've never been one to say "I hate scary movies" or anything like that. However lately I've realized that my favorite "halloween" movies are really just fun, cheesy movies that mention ghost/witchcraft/zombies and are not scary at all. Oh well.

So in honor of Halloween I give you my breakdown of Halloween/scary movies:

Not really scary, but always really awesome:

Hocus Pocus

Double Double Toil and Trouble

Casper (Remember when Hillary Duff did a TV movie sequel to this?)

Worst attempt ever at being scary:

Cloverfield

Over it:

The Ring

Wait, wait... there's a twist:

6th Sense

The Others

Is this really a Halloween movie just because it has a ghost/vampire/witch in it? Whateves, I'm watching it anyways:

Nightmare before Christmas

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (90s Ryan Reynolds!)

I told you not to go there alone:

Prom Night

Disturbia

Bones (No this is not the awesome TV show Bones starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz. This is a terrible movie where these teens try to turn a haunted house into a club/dance party that I accidentally recorded on my tivo. Spoiler: Snoop Dog is the ghost haunting everyone! Whaa?)

Also, almost every scary/thriller movie ever made.

Don't talk to those people:

Carrie

Children of the Corn

I don't know why other people didn't think these were scary:

I am Legend

Beetlejuice (He's creepy and I don't like him. I really only like the Winona Ryder parts)

Freaked me out:

Return to Oz

So I could do this forever, there are so many "scary" movies out there ( I have friends who once did an October long marathon of scary movies). But I think I'll end it for now. Let me know if there is a good Halloween movie you think I should watch!

Currently baking: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Currently Reading: Glimpse, Carol Lynch Williams

I've Loved You So Long

It's been awhile since I've been to international cinema. Every time I've thought about going this semester something has come up. Tonight it worked out that I had nothing going on and they were showing a French film I've been wanting to see!

The movie was I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime). It's about a woman who is getting to know her family after being in prison for 15 years. Kristin Scott Thomas does a wonderful job playing the main character (Juliette), but I really, really loved Elsa Zylberstein, who plays the sister (Lea). I just thought her character seemed so real. I wasn't really sure where the whole movie was going to end up, but I actually ended up really liking the last scene.

Well I don't want to give anything away, but I liked the movie and I loved hearing people speak French again. Click here for the trailer if you want to see more!



Also: I realize it's been a while since my last post! But I promise I will be better!

Currently watching: Modern Family

Adventures in Cupcakes

Last week we did cupcakes instead of cake to practice decorating. Gabby and I made chocolate cupcakes. Half of them had raspberry filling, the other half had whip cream. We didn't pick a theme or anything. We just tried to practice the techniques we learned in class. Plus we tried to frost 10 each when we were really supposed to do 6 each so there were a lot of cupcakes to frost in a little amount of time.

Gabby adding the final touch to this dotted cupcake.

You'll notice the one on the left has a lot going on. That's because I basically tried to do almost everything we learned on one cupcake. It kind of turned into a frosting fiesta, lol. Oh and look at Gabby's cool pom pom flower on the bottom left corner of the picture on the right.

I don't know why, but this was my favorite one that I made.

The one on the left is me practicing flowers, the one on the right is me practicing being ugly. jk, but seriously I don't know why I made a cupcake that looks like it has green peas all over it!

This was my favorite of Gabby's cupcakes. The flowers all bunched up together look really interesting.

Currently anticipating: Glee!
Currently reading: Gary Schmidt books

Cake Decorating Class

Gabby and I started our cake class this month. We made our first cakes this week. Gabby did a BYU cake and I did a double rainbow cake. Anyway even though I'm definitely NOT a professional, I thought things went well for my first attempt at cake decorating ever.

Gabby baking her cake.



Gabby's awesome BYU cake!



My double rainbow cake... not perfect but I had fun making it.


As you can see, I only know one technique right now... the star tip. Oh and I made the cake with a rainbow confetti mix, you know, to keep with the theme and all.

Oh and just in case you haven't seen the double rainbow video, it's just a guy freaking out over a double rainbow... in a hilarious way. You don't have to watch the whole video to understand it (I never do).

And just in case you have seen the original video, here is the KFC/TacoBell remake. Lars showed this to us the other day and we could not stop laughing.




Currently Reading: lots of picture books for my adolescent lit. class, oh and I finally read Hunger Games!

Back in Session

In case you haven't noticed, lately I've been on an internet vacation. During the time I was away I spent a week on the beach, moved from Washington D.C. to Houston (via plane), moved from Houston to Provo, Utah (25 hour road trip), helped my sister move into the dorms, and had my first week of school. It has been a little crazy!

Well, I don't have too much to say about Provo right now (except that I've already taken advantage of the dollar theater). I've mostly been catching up with friends and doing your typical back to school stuff (buying books, unpacking, and more unpacking), so here are some of the last things I did in D.C.

Sculptures from the Kreeger Collection

One of my favorite Washington D.C. residents, the national zoo panda :)

Currently watching: Project Runway
Currently baking: Chocolate Chip Cookies

National Arboretum Part 2

I ended up taking a lot of close up pictures of the columns, so I felt they deserved their own post.

A little photoshop fun with this one.

The fountain leads to a little reflecting pond.

The pond!

Currently: trying to figure out how to get everything done before I go!!

National Arboretum Part One

If you ever visit the National Arboretum, like me you will probably be surprised when you find yourself pulling off at a random section of the highway. However once you get through the gates you realize there is a beautiful reserve of nature just a few feet away. You completely forget that you are in a city! In the spring the Arboretum is home to fields of vibrant Azaleas. I came in the summer so most of the flowers were gone, but there was still so much to enjoy.

We explored a little path and also wandered through the youth garden where they grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers. I also found out that the arboretum is also home to the original Capitol Columns. There was a museum as well, but we didn't stop in. The weather was nice and there weren't very many people around so we decided to just explore the outside grounds.

Flowers outside of the youth garden.

Annie :)

The original capitol columns from far away. There will be close ups in my next post.

Currently: Bittersweet about leaving D.C. (happy to be going home, sad to leave of course!)

D.C. Adventures

So I’m about 2 weeks away from leaving Washington D.C. and I realize there is still so much I haven’t done! I have visited before so this time I was more focused on work and less focused on being a tourist. But I have definitely done some fun things and I plan on getting some last minute sightseeing in before I go! Highlights of my DC adventure so far:

I went to hear Michelle Obama at the GW commencement (Thanks to some good friends!) my first week in Washington D.C. I couldn’t get very close, but it was great to hear her speak! She talked about the importance of making a global impact. Here is a link to a transcript of her speech.

It's hard to see but if you squint you can see a figure at a podium ( in the center under the green flag). That's her!

I watched the fireworks show on the 4th of July from the Key Bridge. It wasn’t too crowded, or hot which was nice. We sat at the edge of the bridge and let our feet dangle over the Potomac (Don’t worry there were bars to keep us from falling in. It was mainly our flip flops that were in danger.)

You can't tell in any of these pictures, but there were also a lot of people watching the show in boats and kayaks from the river.

This picture is my favorite. I love the reflection on the water.

I also hiked the Billy Goat Trail. Some of you who know my track record with outdoorsy-ness are probably very shocked. But I really enjoyed it. It was a fun trail with some great views. Although if we are going to blight the natural landscape by putting up port-a-potties, I don't see why we can't have a Jamba Juice refueling station at the end of the trail. Last time I checked no one was harmed by delicous rehydration. Just saying.

Currently loving: my bobble
Currently reading: The Shipping News

Me, Bobby Flay, and the Great Red Velvet Cake Adventure

Occasionally I like to bake. However, I'm not always that in to baking and cooking shows. They usually just make me hungry! I sometimes make an exception from this rule for some of the more entertaining food network shows. Recently I was watching the Bobby Flay Throwdown! In this show Bobby Flay finds people who are especially known for one certain dish and then he tries to out do them. This particular episode was about Red Velvet Cake. Bobby Flay won, but me, and everyone else in the room, were wondering if they made the right decision. Both cakes looked delicious, but how could we really know unless we tried them ourselves? So I decided to go for it and recreate the competition at home.

Here are the two recipes I used: Bobby Flay's and Cake Man Raven's. I added a little extra cocoa to Cake Man Raven's based on the reviewers on the food network website. I also let both cakes sit in the fridge overnight before the first taste test on the advice of reviewers.

As I am not a master chef, some mishaps occurred during baking. Like a piece of cake falling off as I flipped one of the layers onto the cooling rack. Luckily this only happened on one of the four layers I made and it's easily disguised by massive amounts of frosting!

Here are the main differences between the cakes. Cake Man Raven's was definitely more red (2x the amount of food coloring)! His was also paired with cream cheese frosting and called for pecans on top of the frosting. Bobby Flay's had more Cocoa and was topped with a butter cream frosting.

Cake in process. Each cake had two layers, although Bobby Flays came out taller for some reason.

After making the cakes, I had everyone I could sample them (including myself of course). I brought them to our neighbors, coworkers and family members. Everyone was extremely cooperative (Generally no one ever says no to the question: "Can you help me taste test these cakes?")Then we tallied up the votes.

Many people liked the flavor of Bobby Flay's cake more. However several people preferred the cream cheese frosting that Cake Man put with his cake. Cake Man's cake was also moister. Most people viewed the Cake Man's as more traditional, and saw Bobby Flay's as a new spin on things (I have no idea if this is true). It was a very close race. One of my favorite parts was hearing every one's detailed analysis of the cakes (Cake tasting is serious business!) So what's my verdict? I say the winner is the Cake Man! The moistness of the cake combined with the overall presentation won me over. Not that the other cake wasn't delicious. In fact I felt a little bad because I think it was a bit more competetive on the first day; I don't think Bobby Flay's did as well in the fridge.

The Winner!

That's it! It was a fun experiment! I'd love to do it again, although not with red velvet for awhile (trust me that much cake with only three people in the house was never ending!).

The two finished cakes side by side!

Currently watching: Community Reruns and SYTYCD

Signs of the Times

I really loved all the old signs, storefronts, and architecture in Richmond, so I put this little photo essay together. However instead of trying to put a written essay with it, I'm just going to put titles or little stories from my trip.

Our hotel was actually an old department store, Miller and Rhoads, that they renovated and restored. They kept the original sign on the building. When the hotel was finished they had an old employee who had written the history of the hotel come stay in one of their suites, which happened to be his old office.

Coca-Cola

The American Wholesale Barber-Beauty Supply.

Wise words from Jim.

Amazing pancakes. And biscuits.

This saying was on a small plaque that was sort of hidden on the wall of a doorway of a small fabric shop. The shop was closed when we walked by, but we peeked in the window and it looked like they still lived by their motto of quality.

Currently: sightseeing. I visited the Jefferson Memorial today.