november flicks & reads

my internet has been pretty wonky the past week or so, which makes quite a few things more difficult than the really should be.  surprisingly, this is only a few days late versus the few weeks the past couple months have been.  november was a pretty productive movie going month for me, being at the theaters three times. not too shabby.  especially that they were two matinees and a bargain price tuesday ticket.
i think the weirdest of all the movies i saw this month was numb.  i don't even know where to begin on that one, besides that it's not the normal matthew perry that i'm so used to seeing on tv week after week.  don't knock it till you see it though!
little miss sunshine (2006)
crazy/beautiful (2001)
julie & julia (2009)
wreck-it ralph (2012)
the five-year engagement (2012)
skyfall (2012)
numb (2007)
silver linings playbook (2012)
honestly, i forgot i even read a book this month since i finished it way back at the beginning of the month.  then followed that up by checking out two books from the library and not opening a single one of them.  well, this lovely read was very typical of the jodi picoult books i have read in the past.  random, unexpected things happening at every given moment.  though this one wasn't the easiest read.  i feel like it jumped around quite a bit and was a little confusing at times.  if you decide to pick it up and give it a read, i wish you the best and would love to hear your thoughts on it!
perfect match - jodi picoult

october flicks & reads

let's play the totally slacked at updating again game.  yep, i'm still winning.  the problem with me remembering to post things is getting quite ridiculous.  though, this time october bled right in to november, and november means birthday month.  seriously, the first four days of november were full of a little bit of everything.  date nights, birthday celebrations, job interviews... you name it.  but i did still watch some movies, and read some books... which is why they're both jammed in to this one post.
the movie that was the most difficult to get through?  hunger games.  yes, i read the books first.  which meant i knew what kind of things happened.  and i pretty much had a death grip on the boy's hand the whole time just to be sure.  will i go see the next one in theaters?  probably not.  on a smaller screen was MUCH easier for me to handle.  pitch perfect was HILARIOUS.  like, i'd buy it the day it came out because i liked it so much hilarious.  but i'll wait for people to sell their used copies on amazon, because i like a good steal.  true story.
the hangover (2009)
can't buy me love (1987)
pitch perfect (2012)
the hunger games (2012)
charlie st. cloud (2010)
rain man (1988)
for the record, i did read the book for charlie st. cloud before watching the movie.  both books this month were pretty decent (and i'm glad i can say that i read two).  still didn't get that gym membership so i can have a place to treadmill and read more... maybe next month.  or next year since we're BASICALLY almost to 2013.  yikes.  where has the time gone by?
the death and life of charlie st. cloud - ben sherwood
love the one you're with - emily giffin

september flicks & reads

yeah, i know its almost two weeks in to october and i'm posting this... better late than never right?  september brought a new someone special in to my life, and my late nights of watching movies & reading by myself have taken a hit.  thus combining these in to one post.  no really, i do enjoy blogging still.  don't get me wrong!  i went out to the theaters twice this month, plus a few movies on netflix kept a balance of things being watched.  of course i can't blame everything on the new guy, but also thanks to tv shows coming back on the air and having new things to watch.  haha.  here is my list of movies, and they all were pretty good!
the pirates! band of misfits (2012)
the avengers (2012)
lars and the real girl (2007)
ruby sparks (2012)
the six wives of henry lefay (2009)
the good girl (2002)
crazy on the outside (2010)
yeah, my reading list is pathetic.  one book the entire month.  lame.  good thing is though that hopefully october will change.  i'm planning to get back in to going to the gym this month which will allow for some reading time when it comes to treadmills & such.  in the past, it was all about textbooks, but thanks to being a college grad, i have none of those to lug around and study anymore.
that said, this book was an excellent read, thanks to jenny.  i really don't want to go too in depth because i went in to it with not much knowledge about it beyond the title of the book (jenny told me not to read the back, but just dive in) and i would say the same to you.
room - emma donoghue

august flicks

huh... i'm pretty amazed that i was able to make it to the movie theaters three times this month.  yeah, i know looking at this list is pretty much a weird mix of everything, but i can't say i strongly disliked any of the movies i watched this month.  though, i think jenny & i hated ourselves for a few days after seeing madagascar 3... thanks to the stupid circus afro song.  nothing worse than trying to get things done... or sleep... and have THAT running through your brain.  though, it would be a pretty good form of torture ;)
riding in cars with boys (2001)
wanderlust (2012)
hope springs (2012)
keeping the faith (2000)
the bourne legacy (2012)
rent control (2002)
madagascar 3: europe's most wanted (2012)
chasing liberty (2004)
for richer or poorer (1997)

august reads

finally... i hit the end of the hunger games.  getting a hold of this book was quite the challenge, but it happened.  i can't exactly say it was my favorite of the series, though.  so many bits and pieces left me confused as to what was happening.  same goes for specials... the other trilogy that i finished this month (from the uglies series) totally should have read that series back to back.  the "slang" lingo they use in the book is pretty ridiculous too.  however, i did not end the month on a horrible note as far as book reading goes.  the prince charming list was a cute read, and bossypants was hilarious.  i haven't given many books a 5 star rating on my goodreads account, but those two definitely got 5 stars each.  so in summary.  read hunger games book 3 if you feel the need to finish the series.  skip the uglies trilogy, and totally read bossypants & the prince charming list.  but in the words of reading rainbow... you don't have to take my word for it.
mockingjay - suzanne collins
specials - scott westerfield
the prince charming list - kathryn springer
bossypants - tina fey

erika & matt - orange zig zag quilt

erika got married. of course with all the posts you couldn't forget the awesome-ness, but here's your last reminder... for now.  i've totally slacked, but now it's time to get around to posting the final piece to the crafting expedition.  no really, this thing was a BEAST.  i can trace back to starting this thing back in august 2011, but it might have even been sooner than that.  anyways, once i found out her colors were orange & pink tangerine & fuchsia, i was on my way to starting this intense project.  never in my life had i heard of an olympic queen size bed, but once i found out the dimensions, my little sewing machine had it's work cut out for it.  i decided to go with the orange colors, because i didn't want to totally torture matt with a pink quilt on their bed.  though, it would have been terribly amusing!
the idea for the quilt came from the addiction known as pinterest.  i got hooked on the zig zag patterns, and was so excited to put it in to use.  though, apparently my math skills aren't quite up to what they should be, because i ran out of fabric about three times...  oops.
the hardest part was probably getting the same fabric slices to line up to make that proper connected zig zag, but in the long run, and from a distance, it won't be that big of a deal.  plus, if it was perfect, it wouldn't be as awesome... (and if it was perfect, i would question whether i actually made it myself or not.)
more zig zagging. and finally using one of my super little "made by" tags. just to make things more legit.  my grandma did the quilting for me (and noted this to be the biggest quilt she's done as well) best part?  the quilt actually fits on their bed.  yeah, i think when erika told me that, i was finally able to rest easy about this beast of a thing.  and now, the moment you've all been waiting for...
top to bottom, hung from a rain gutter on my front porch. the beast.  and i still mean beast in the most loving way possible.  now i just have to resist the urge to make zig zag quilts for the remainders of my "to be wed" friends... because i love how it turned out THAT much.  maybe i'll just save this design for smaller repeats when babies start coming around in the coming years :)

july flicks

alright. alright. yes, i did go see magic mike.  and i'll throw out the fact that jenny & erika saw it with me so we are all equally guilty of seeing that "enticing" movie.  problem was, when we saw the movie, there was WAY too much trying to happen all at the same time during the 110 minutes of the movie.  unfortunately, i'm sure that movie COULD have been a whole lot worse than it was... but it also could have been a whole lot better.  so, if you are still desiring to see "magic mike"... wait for dvd.
good movies this month?  because i said so, new year's eve, and the always enjoyable she's the man.  makes me wish amanda bynes was still making movies.
the ugly truth (2009)
love, wedding, marriage (2011)
my girl (1991)
magic mike (2012)
new year's eve (2011)
miss pettigrew lives for a day (2008)
because i said so (2007)
two weeks notice (2002)
the amazing spider-man (2012)
romy and michele's high school reunion (1997)
definitely, maybe (2008)
she's the man (2006)
the wedding date (2005)
mirror mirror (2012)
shall we dance? (2004)