Sister, sisters

Some of you may know I went home for my sister's bachelorette last weekend. ( I can't believe it has already been a week)

It was great seeing everyone and getting a fix before the wedding. (Which you shouldn't mention to Nicole that it is 3 weeks away, it just stresses her out.)

Before....

... I talk about my trip back home, lets take a moment to look at some pictures of the cutest little boy in the world.

posts in the wrong order

There is a new post that I actually worked on before my 3 year anniversary of knowing Asher called " I am obsessed with my Netflix queue" I just don't feel like copying it and pasting it and deleting the old one so, take a look at the post. Even though it doesn't look like I posted anything new.

3 is the magic number

Three years ago today, I met Asher at the high school graduation that I didn't want to go to.

Moral of the story: Sometimes when you do something you do not want to do, something amazing might happen.

I am obsessed with my netflix queue

Before Asher left for work today, he made me promise to not be on my Netflix queue that long. I am surprised he hasn't called me yet to check in with me. We are both constantly adding movies to the list and we are now up to 427. I think Netflix does not let you add anymore after 499. So we aren't that far off.

I have had a few people ask me for recommendations. Here are the last 10 movies I have seen that I have liked. (In no particular order)

1) Extras -Season One.
This is the new series from Ricky Gervais, the creator and star of The Office. (It was a show on the BBC before it hit America) In this show he plays an aspiring actor, with a horrible agent that mainly gets work as a "Background Artist" It is extremely hilarious and his partner in crime Maggie played by Ashley Jensen always sends me screaming with laughter. You may know her as the seamstress on Ugly Betty (Which they film across the street)

2) Rome - Season One
This time period is very interesting to me, so I thought I would give it a try, plus I heard so many great things about it. It is great, but what makes this series so great is the feature on the DVD that allows you to get pop ups that give historical information. I couldn't imagine ever watching it when it comes on HBO, because you do not get this great feature. One thing about this show as many of you know with HBO shows, there is A LOT of nudity and very adult situations. Although it is very historically accurate, I wouldn't let your 14 year old watch it for their report on ancient Rome, if you catch my drift.

I think one of the main reasons we have so many movies on our queue is because we do not pay to have HBO

3) For Your Consideration - Christopher Guest
It is not the best of his mockumentaries, but better than A Mighty Wind. That whole group of people are so funny. Catherine O'Hara is a scream. No, she did not get plastic surgery for real, she is just doing that with her face

4) Lackawana Blues - This also was an HBO production. Great story of a young boy raised by his Grandmother and all the crazy people living in her boarding house. Great music.

5) Bonnie and Clyde- I just saw this movie for the first time. I didn't know that Twiggy was so in style during the days of Bonnie and Clyde. Maybe it was Bonnie who invented Mod. (funny how Faye's make up looks exactly how it would have walking down the street in the 60's)

I was surprised how much I liked this movie, it is a movie that a lot of people talk about and sometimes that can ruin your viewing. It was strange to see Gene Hackman with so much hair. I think I could have done with a little less screaming from Estelle Parsons though.

6) Jesus Camp - It doesn't matter how you feel about religion, this has to be one of the most unbiased documentaries that I have ever seen. I think that this film is a lot more about the power of charisma than religion, even though it takes place in several Evangelical churches.

7) The Conversation- Francis Ford Copolla
Another Gene Hackman film. This movie is a great example of the power of misunderstanding. I loved it when I saw it. Loved it when I saw it again. I liked seeing Cindy Williams in a drama, very unexpected.

8) This Film is Not Yet Rated- A great documentary about a directors quest to get his film approved by the ratings board. Very interesting and enlightening. Especially all the ways major motion pictures were cut so that they were acceptable for the ratings board. This movie is not for young viewer.

Note: the head of the ratings board for the past few decades died earlier this year.

9) Very Long Engagement- You may know Audrey Tatou from Amelie and DaVinci Code. I think that this is her best since Amelie. It is a great love story that takes place during/after World War I about a woman who goes to great lengths to prove that her fiance is indeed alive and not dead as reported by the French Army. Jodie Foster has a cameo and in French at that.

If you like this movie, I think you will also like Kubrick's <> Paths of Glory.

10) Empire of the Sun- Spielberg
I think that this movie is one of the forgotten Spielberg films, and I can't figure out why. It is great. It takes place during World War II in China during the Japanese occupation. Great acting from Bale, John Malkovich, Joey Pants, and on. Yes that is Ben Stiller, what is he like 14 years old?

Also, Netflix Friends has been down for 4 days and it is driving me nuts.

I hope I helped you add to your lists.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad and all the Dad's who read my blog!!

Thing I miss about Minneapolis-#7

Mom and Pop coffee shops.

There really aren't too many of them left in Los Angeles. If you want coffee around here the you have to go to Starbucks, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Peet's. (Henceforth referred to the BIG Three) I like Coffee Bean, don't get me wrong, but they are missing the whole coffee shop experience that I am used to in Minneapolis. Most of the places here don't even have a place to sit down and god forbid have a bathroom.

In the coffee shops in Minneapolis, you could pack up your laptop, ipod and/or a good book and just sit and read. They are great places to hang out, people watch and be alone amongst the people. In Los Angeles, coffee shops are filled with stressed out multitaskers. It is hard to concentrate, when there is this loud guy, trying to make a deal for all to hear and women who are not paying attention to their kids.

"Mommy, Mommy, watch me twirl."
"Be quiet now, Dakotah, Mommy is trying to have a conversation with Lilian."

This constant loudness really doesn't make coffee shops all that inviting, especially for writing. Also, I feel like the baristas at the BIG three, just really want you to get out of there as fast as you possibly can. If you are there longer than an hour they look at you like you are a zoo animal.

There is a collection of shops on Beverly and Faifax-ish, a place called Stir Crazy next to where I get my hair done. But honestly it is pretty much the BIG Three that have taken over.

I miss sitting coffee shops so much.

Best Place for clothing 2006

I mentioned this den of temptation in my last post. The clothing store that calls my name way too often -Last Chance. Even the name has a sense of urgency.

"If you don't get it now, it is your last chance."

Last Chance is this great little store that offers overstock designer merchandise and slashed prices as well as not as well known designers at crazy low prices. There really is a wide range of prices, you can get a dress for $300 or a dress for $40. Also, everything is organized by color, which I really like.


Do I sound like a commercial?

Food Celebrity

1st read this article

Some of you might know that I work in Culver City, which has now become the new "it" spot for all foodies, art lovers and interior designers. It has become so great working there but the temptations financially are overwhelming. I am doing my best, but there is one store that I will mention in my next post, that calls my name way too often.

I did have the chance last week to go to Ford's Filling Station which is owned and operated by Ben Ford. He has been a very successful chef here in Los Angeles, but it seems that all this is overshadowed by the fact that Harrison Ford is his father. It does probably boost business a bit, which is good. Ford's is always crowded.

I actually saw him there and sat right next to him. I opened a restaurant once, so he probably lives there at this point, restaurants do not start making a profit until, the two year mark and that is if you are really on it. A hint for anyone out there that wants to open one.

I was happy to have my "Last meal" there, I call it last meal because I really need to buckle down to get in shape for the wedding this summer. I picked the most fried extravaganza I could off the menu, the Fish and Chips. I was very impressed, as it is hard to find fish and chips in this town. (Healthy, Healthy, Blah, Blah)

I liked it, I would go back.

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Gaga!!!!

Why....

do I feel so happy to see Paris Hilton cry?

Weddings, birthdays, movies, book clubs oh my

In order to explain to you how busy I am, I will try to give you a run down using my title as an outline.

Weddings

Asher and I attended a wedding of a good friend and fellow movie maker. Here is a picture of us there.

(aren't we cute)

I did have a star sighting. This guy who I kept staring at and thinking to myself "Where do I know him from??" I felt like an idiot, but I bet he gets that a lot.

Birthdays
Well, shockingly enough, I turned 31. I know, I can't believe it either. I must admit that I was very apprehensive about turning 31. I was having a bit of a crisis this birthday, one of those "What have I done with my life types of things?" I guess though now that I think about it I have done quite a lot, just sometimes as an office manager, it doesn't really feel like it.

I digress.......

So what did I do for the big day?
Went and got breakfast at my new favorite Eat Well. In Los Angeles sometimes it is hard to find normal diner food. It is near impossible to find someone who makes a standard hash brown. It is usually some kind of

"cubed potato with wasabi oil and tomato puree"

Which always sounds gross to a midwest girl who just wants a potato. (I know whose daughter am I)

So Eat Well, where you can find normal food.

We missed our movie, due to the breakfast wait, so it was off to a bookstore. Los Angeles, doesn't have a lot of mom and pop bookstores left. On a blog feature I hope to talk about the last remaining.

Then it was off to a massage and dinner.

Movies
I did mention my viewing of Vertigo at Hollywood Cemetery, but I did not mention seeing Once . This great movie about a struggling Dublin street musician who meets a Czech immigrant girl and they collaborate together and make some really great music. (I immediately downloaded the album from itunes. Think Damien Rice, but more consistent) I really loved this movie, and have recommended it to a lot of people. One disclaimer though it that the movie focuses more on the music, than the story and the majority of the movie is them basically sitting and playing together.

Book Clubs
I am now in two book clubs. (NERD ALERT!!!) I just love to read, thats all I got to say.

What I am reading now is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and Laurel Canyon by Michael Walker.

I just finished Timbuktu by Paul Auster and Special Topic in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl.

We have also had a house guest for the past two weeks.

I am tired.