Friday, June 29, 2012

Prometheus

On Eric's birthday, we went to the theatre.  It had been a long time and there were several movies that we wanted to see, but Eric chose this one, Prometheus.  It's a sci-fi film that takes place almost a century in the future.  Archaeologists lead a mission to a moon, light years outside of our solar system, where they believe the beings who created humans exist.  I cannot explain much more, since I don't want to give anything away, but there are many twists and turns throughout the film.

Eric liked it a lot.  I, on the other hand, couldn't see beyond some of the disconnects that the writer & director either wanted you to just accept or will explain in subsequent films.  I am usually able to watch movies and see beyond some story flaws, but this time there seemed like a few too many.  After seeing the film, I talked to a number of other people about it and most of them are confident that it will all be explained.  And most of them really loved the film too.  So it looks like I might be the one who just doesn't get it.

I might just be a little too detail oriented or analytical to truly enjoy the film.  But that won't stop me from seeing more, I'll just have to learn how to not talk about them incessantly afterwards.  Eric just likes to enjoy the film, and I love picking it apart.  It's not always the best combination, but he loves me enough to let me rant ;)

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

How We've Been Spending Our Summer

This summer, we've spent most of our time either at a pool or a park.  But not just one pool or park, numerous parks and several pools.  Last week, the weather wasn't scorching, so we opted for a park.  I love getting together with my friend and her kiddos.  We get lots of time to chat and all of our kids end up taking great naps because they wear each other out.





We even fed the ducks.  My boys don't do this often, so they were totally enthralled with how many geese and ducks that congregated around them, vying for a small piece of bread.  A few times, we caught them nibbling on the bread that they were throwing.  Oops.









Our play dates usually take place in the morning, which means that the end of our time together is during lunch.  I just love seeing our kids play, run around, jump, climb, and then share their lunches as they excitedly talk about whatever we did.  It is seriously the greatest!  And summer isn't even half over!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Weekend Wear

This weekend started our newest adventure in parenting, potty training.  I'll post more about that once I feel like I can offer at least somewhat of a happy ending.  So, as you can imagine, we stayed home most of the weekend, and took trips to the bathroom every 20 minutes.  As you can also imagine, I didn't do much in the way of getting ready, since I needed to be prepared to clean up pee at a moments notice.  Glamorous, I know.

It was just one of those, "throw on a tank and skirt and you're off" kind of outfit.



Tank: H&M // Skirt: Anthro // Flats: Francesca's 
*My apologies, my DSLR camera is currently being used in Iceland, so all of my photos lately have been taken with my iPhone

Friday, June 22, 2012

Chronicle

This could be your typical teenagers become super heros movie, but it's not.  This film goes from what you might expect to something much darker.  And that's what I liked about it.  It wasn't what I expected.

Three teenagers come across a crater, go inside, have some sort of accident, and come out okay.  Then, they start to realize that they aren't the same, that they have some sort of super power.  Each one copes with these new powers differently, but they have to stick together because they can't tell anyone else.

Another interesting aspect of this film is that it's made to seem like its all shot on home video.  One of the characters carries a video camera around with him everywhere before they develop their powers and continues to document after they discover them.



We didn't set out intending to see this film, but I'm glad we decided to.  I'm not always one to watch your typical super hero films, so this was an interesting twist on a common movie theme.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Birthday Date

Keeping with Eric's wishes, we kept his birthday celebration pretty casual.  We ate at one of his favorite local restaurants.  The weather was beautiful, so we ate outside.  We weren't able to get a table in the shade, so it turned out to be pretty hot, but it was still oh-so good.  I had a ginger peach hard cider and it was delicious!




After dinner we headed to the movie theatre where we saw the new film Prometheus.  It's a film by Ridley Scott and is the prequel off the Alien films.  Eric liked it more than I did.  I just tried to analyze it too much, whereas Eric was able to appreciate it for what it is.  Either way, it was nice to be back at the theatre.  We haven't been in a while, so it almost felt like we were coming home.  Not really, but kind of ;)




Monday, June 18, 2012

Weekend Wear

On Friday, it was Eric's birthday, so we got a babysitter and went out for dinner and a movie.  It was a beautiful day.  We sat outside at one of Eric's favorite restaurants and we saw a movie Eric has been interested in seeing.  I was excited for a reason to wear my new skirt.  You may or may not know, but I love thrifting and I was over the moon when I found this skirt.  I have been seeing pleated skirts everywhere and gladly payed $4 for this vintage diddy.



Tank: Target // Skirt: Thrifted // Shoes: Burlington Coat Factory


Saturday, June 16, 2012

Busy, Busy, Busy, Rest


Today seemed like one to our busiest in a long time.  Maybe it's just because we left this morning and really didn't come home until after dinner.  Swim lessons this morning led to a group picnic in the park, which led to prepping for a graduation open house and then attending said open house.  All the things we did were fun, but being all on the same day and with one of the boys not feeling so hot, made it seem very long.  Now that we're home, I don't plan on leaving the couch for a while, catching up on some shows and enjoying some time pinning.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Bernie

Eric and I saw this while we were in Miami.  I knew nothing about it, and all Eric knew was that it looked good from the trailer.  We look a gamble, and it was a good one.  This film is an independent comedy with a small dark shadow.  It's formatted like it's a documentary, and it's based on true events.

Jack Black plays an assistant funeral director, who just loves to make friends with the elderly widows he comes in contact with.  Shirley Maclaine is one of those widows.  But she's not a cute, old lady.  She's actually despised by everyone in the town, but Black still tries to befriend her and their relationship takes a very unexpected turn.



Both Eric and I really like the film and thought Jack Black was so good, and would easily watch another film of his if it was about a character like this.  I could easily see this character, or a similar one, in an SNL skit.

Happy Birthday Eric!


Today I get to celebrate the birthday of my husband, friend, and the father of my children.  Neither of us are big celebrators, so tonight will be an excuse for good food and probably a movie.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

May I Brag a Moment?

I don't talk about Eric very often on this blog, but I wanted to take a moment to brag a little about how truly amazing he is.  He is almost 30, and since he was 21 years old hasn't worked for anyone other than himself.  He is the hardest working man I know, yet would drop everything to go help a friend in need.  He loves and is completely amazing at his job, he loves his family and works very hard at balancing his time between these loves.

He is very selfless, and always thinks about what is best for the film community rather than what is best for himself.  Another local filmmaker, someone from this film community, worked on a group of short documentaries highlighting people who give back and Gorilla, Eric's company (along with his partner) are the topic of one.

I am just so proud of him, everything he's done and how much he gives of himself.  He really is someone who challenges me to be better every single day.  And if you have 7 minutes, you can see what I mean :)


Lift As You Climb from Gorilla Pictures on Vimeo.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Pool Time

This weekend was pretty busy, but on Sunday afternoon, we decided to visit Eric's grandparents.  They have a beautiful in-ground, heated pool and since it was over 90 degrees, we brought our suits and spent time swimming.  As I've said before, the boys love to swim.  But here are a few more examples of how much.







We start swim lessons this coming weekend.  I'm pretty excited to see how they do, I love they'll love it :)

Friday, June 8, 2012

Enduring Love

Don't let this film title fool you, it's not a romantic, comedy, or romantic comedy.  Eric and I first watched this film on our honeymoon six years ago.  We didn't know anything about it, only the title.  We were most definitely taken by surprise.  Despite not being what we were expecting, the film is very captivating.  Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans experience a traumatic experience, although they didn't know each other and it was never supposed to happen.  As they are trying to cope with what happened, what they each took from the experience is revealed and they are very different.

You wouldn't guess it, but the film is a drama and psychological thriller.  The hardest part for me was seeing Rhys Ifans in this role.  Up until this film, he had always been the quirky roommate in Notting Hill.



When we watched this film again, everyone thought Daniel Craig didn't look like himself.  I was the only one who disagreed.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Good Times in Miami

So Miami was a lot of fun.  We got there on Thursday afternoon.  It was good that we were busy, because the weather wasn't too nice.  Once we got our rental car, we headed straight to pick up Eric's tuxedo, then we checked into our hotel, changed and left for the wedding rehearsal.

Since there are so many people that came from out of town to the wedding, there wasn't a rehearsal dinner.  Just cocktails at a bar in South Beach.  Both the rehearsal and cocktails were earlier in the evening, so we watched a movie and ordered room service after getting back.

(All photos were taken with my iPhone)



Friday was the day of the wedding, only, Eric didn't have to be anywhere until 4:30pm.  He officially dubbed this the best wedding to be in, ever.  Since we were able to spend most of the day together, we decided to explore a little.  Eric worked a little in the morning, but once we left, our first stop was Starbucks, obviously.  The weather wasn't great again, so we wandered around a shopping district, saw a movie and got one of the best shakes I've ever had.






Eric left to get ready for the wedding with the groom and other groomsmen so I was able to take my time before hailing a cab to the church.  This wedding was probably one of the most unique I've ever been to.  Not because of what happened, but mostly because the timing of things.  The wedding was at 7, then there was a cocktail hour followed by the reception.  Only, the reception started with the bride and grooms first dance, and then the dance floor was open to everyone.  And lots of people danced.  After an hour or so, the toasts were given and dinner was served.  That was at about 10:30pm.  Then there was more dancing, until we finally took a cab back to our hotel at almost 4am.

Now, I know I'm from the midwest where it's nice and conservative, but I've just never been to a reception that served dinner after 10 and that broke out mardi gras masks at midnight.  It wasn't what I was used to, but it was one of the funnest receptions I've ever been to.







Since we aren't used to being out that late, we decided to take it easy on Saturday after getting breakfast with some friends.  We were fortunate because the sun made an appearance for us.  It was so wonderful.  We just napped near the pool most of the afternoon.  That evening, since it was our anniversary, we headed out to a nice dinner, just the two of us.  I would have loved to take pictures because the restaurant was awesome and seriously reminded us of Alice in Wonderland, but the lighting wasn't great.





Unfortunately, Sunday morning came much to early, literally.  We were up and on our way to the airport by 4:30am.  I personally think that any flight at that hour is a cruel trick.  But, we survived and are now back to our normal routine.  I missed the boys very much, but thoroughly enjoyed our little getaway.  I don't think I could ever live in Miami, but would definitely visit there again.  Only next time, it'd be nice to have a little more time by the pool and a lot more sun.





Monday, June 4, 2012

Weekend Wear

This weekend, I was in mostly sunny Miami attending a wedding and celebrating our anniversary.  Friday wasn't so nice, but Saturday thankfully was.  We found a nice restaurant that was close to our hotel so we decided to walk.  Besides, parking in Miami Beach is EXPENSIVE.

During our trip, I wore only dresses, seeing that it's always a little more difficult to do with two toddlers.  But in addition, I also rocked some wicked tan lines from the weekend before.  Fortunately, my dress for the wedding covered them up nicely.  This one, not so much.

 Dress: J Crew // Clutch & Belt: Thrifted // Shoes: Target


Saturday, June 2, 2012

6 Years






Today I'm in Miami, celebrating six years of marriage to this handsome fella.  No one's life is perfect, but man, does he make mine pretty great.  Not sure how I got so lucky.