Gone Girl {and cheating on books}

I had a few friends (and the NY Times) tell me the book Gone Girl 
by Gillian Flynn would suck me in by the first chapter, so I bumped it up to the top of my To Read list. In fact, there was so much urgency to read it, this book apologist downloaded* it to her iPad.

And, as predicted, once I started reading Gone Girl, I was a goner: I just couldn't stop. I finished it in one work day! I mean, I was that a--hole that stood in the deli line at lunch, nose in e-book.  It's CRAZY good {pun intended for those of you who know how it ends}. 


At first this story about Amy, a wife gone missing, seems a little too ripped from the headlines (think Scott Peterson) but then there are twists. Readers will hand their loyalty back and forth to Nick, the suspect husband, as the truth about what happened to Amy is revealed. If you like to watch Dateline mysteries...this book is for you! Reese Witherspoon's production company has already bought the movie rights to Gone Girl, and Reese is set to play the wife. So if you read it, you can picture her as Amy.  Humor me this - how fantastic would it be if Reese would cast Ryan Phillippe as Nick? Um, yes. That's who you should picture as the husband when you read it!


Like Nick, in weak moments I have been guilty of indescretions. If the Book Police set me down for questioning I'd have to confess that Gone Girl is not the only book I've read electronically lately. I also read Heartburn by Nora Ephron. 

The library request for all Nora Ephron books have doubled since she died (due in part, I'm sure because of come-lately fangirls like me!) because I couldn't get a single title without a wait. And, I didn't want to wait to read Heartburn (which is very fun and quirky and set partly in Washington) so I bought the iBook and read it while traveling. And it was so easy and light and perfect for when dining solo at an airport restaurant because I could have fork in one hand and easily turn the "page" with the other. Then I instantly wanted Gone Girl so I did it again, another download. I read everywhere I could that day, hands-free: stopped in traffic, sauteing veggies on the stove while cooking dinner, and into the night by the light of just the screen. I could just hear the books on the table beside me saying, How dare you bring that iPad into our bed?!  I have been two-timing on real books. 


It's true what they say about cheating, though. It just gets easier every time you do it. Next up...the new Emily Giffin! 

Why I Won't Make My Valentine See The Vow

When I stood before God and everyone to marry Dan, I promised, among other things, to always respect him. It is that vow that will keep me from dragging him to see The Vow this Valentines Day (haaa!). I'll save the pull of his man card for a date night watching This Means War.

Paperless Post invite*

That's not to say that I'm not all over this movie like cupid on a heart-shaped Whitman's Sampler...like Brandi Glanville on Eddie Cibrian's tires. Oh, I'll see it. I'll be there opening night.  When I saw the trailor for this The Notebook-wannabe romance months ago, I knew without a doubt it begged for a movie night with the gals.

So, throw some tissue (and chocolate, and wine!) in your purse and get your sweetest friends together for a little Valentines Ladies Night.

You'll love the time with your friends. The man in your life will love you for it. And...next year when The Vow comes on cable and your remote lands on it one rainy Saturday, your guy will argue against watching it by asking, "Haven't we seen this?".  Then, upholding your vow of honesty, you won't be fibbing when you answer, "No...we haven't."


P.S.
I designed my Paperless Post invite after seeing this FANTASTIC Oscar invite created by Erinn at Fancy Napkin.  I love how she did the who/what/when. And seriously, could I love a blog name more??

P.P.S.
Maybe...if it was called Total Basset Case.

P.P.S.
I found these two blogs from another fun blog called Wine Taste Girl - she's from Nashville, and features great products for those of us who need to be budget but like to live spendy.

P.P.P.S
These new blogs are my Valentine to you. I hope you heart them.

It's Christmas: Cue Joni Mitchell

The movie Love Actually - I've surely seen it a hundred times! You too, right?

It doesn't have to be Christmas-time for me to get sucked into a British rom-com, but it has become a holiday tradition that my friends and I gather for a little girls' night in to watch Hugh Grant dance to the Pointer Sisters and to hear Joni Mitchell sing against Emma Thompson's breaking marriage. 

In our younger days we would get dressed up and hit the town, but now that we can't burn our yule log at both ends, we all look forward to a girls' night in, in our Jingle Jammies, with wine and a cozy fire. That's happening tonight!

Here's the invite I designed for us on PaperlessPost to look like the movie poster:

My friend Mary and I did not let slumber parties die with junior high. When I was single and still living in the city, I would leave the District on a Friday and hunker down at Mary's Winter Home where we'd hide from the world, facing no one but the pizza delivery man for days. Those retreats came to be known as Estro Fests because, clearly...hormones were the driving force behind our seclusion. Now, nearly every fete at the WH takes on some kind of "estro" theme. Tonight shall be no different, and I can't wait!

Do you have holiday traditions with your girlfriends?

Popcorn for Breakfast!?

How early do movies theaters open where you live?

I discovered this weekend in the 'burbs that crowds of people are taking their bed heads to the big screen before most restaurants even serve brunch! Who knew?

Apparently ALL the people where we live, because the theater was PACKED! I counted more than 100 people in the ticket lines outside - before 10am...including this scruffy, sleepy guy.

Last Saturday, Dan + I set out to see "our" movie, The Descandants. Turns out, not only did we fail to score a ticket to walk carpets with Clooney, but we couldn't even buy our way into the sold-out 7:15pm showing at the mall. What can I say? We're power players.  

Because I'm sort of a snob when it comes to my Sunday afternoons and evenings (I like to be home, hunkering down for the week ahead) the afternoon showings the next day didn't appeal much (and they competed with someone's need to watch football). A quick check to Fandango, however, would reveal that the movie was playing at 10:15 - A.M.

That gave us just enough time to roll out of bed, and be back at the mall...

Popcorn for breakfast!

It is bad enough that in my mid-30s suburban life going to the movies is sort of all the nightlife I have, but now...I can easily see it transitioning into a morning event.

It's so much cheaper: $12 for two people - that's high school dating in the 1990s prices! Plus, you can be home and back in stretchy pants by noon!

Obviously this is new to me, but have you ever morninged at the movies? Or...is this yet another trend that I've slept through - literally?

I'm Still Waiting...

Since Dan + I made our Hollywood acting debut last Spring by {almost!} being extra’s in the George Clooney movie, The Descendants,  I’ve been waiting on my SAG card to arrive in the mail. I’m still waiting.

Since leaving set in Hawaii I’ve been stalking IMDb to find out when The Descendants will be released nationwide in theaters. It’s opened in a few cities already, but for its showing in the ‘burbs this weekend?  I’m still waiting.

photo credit: Access Hollywood

Since I’ve been seeing photos of George and Stacy all over red carpets, I’ve been waiting for my invitation for just one premiere to arrive in the mail.  You guessed it - I’m still waiting.


Since this movie is sure to live up to all the hype, it will likely be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. And for the invitation to be there with the rest of the cast while “our” movie is being celebrated, to walk the carpet, to afterparty with Elton….when Oscar season rolls around, for those tickets…I’ll probably still be waiting.

What I Really Wanted to Ask John Grisham

There was a movie premiere Monday night in Washington. No, not Jen's. But John's......

John Grisham.  Or, as Patrick and I code-named him as we stalked him throughout a cocktail party...Jake Brigance.

 You're one of 'em, Jake...

Jake, er...John Grisham was among panelists discussing Mississippi Innoncence, an indy doc that showcases two wrongly convicted men from the same town in Mississippi, and their fight to eventual freedom.

The movie made its national debut last night at The Newseum, and the work hubs was kind enough to take me as his plus one.

I was excited to go because...well, there would be lobster corn dogs amd other savories served on sticks, thank you WolfGang. And though I am a tad more discerning before giving an RSVP, Yes to a school night event now that I domesticate from the 'burbs, I'm willing to trade a late arrival home for movie premieres with best-selling authors after-hours inside my favorite Washington museum.

I'm ashamed to admit, now having watched the film which was serious and moving, that I went into this night thinking only about things I wanted to beg of Grisham:

Why are you so smug when Matt Lauer interviews you?

What do you think of Justin Timberlake reprising the role of Jake from A Time to Kill on Broadway?

How did you get Matthew McConaughey so perfectly sweaty for your movie?

The thing is, Carl Lee Bailey was right when he called Jake out for only pretending to be a comman man. You knew that didn't you. You've seen A Time To Kill 2,342,423 times on TBS, too. So you aren't surprised that Mr. Grisham quickly took his by-line good-bye. He was no where to be found at the reception with the rest of us passed-app chasers.

It was still a great night, though. As any pap will tell you, be it actor or author, the thrill is in the hunt. What we lost in some face time with Grisham, we surely gained in prosciutto wrapped mascarpone.

Minny's Chocolate Pie Recipe - The Help

I know what you're thinking, and the answer is......

OF COURSE NOT!!!!!!

But...there is a recipe for Minny's Chocolate Pie floating round the interwebs - a recipe for the good pie (not the revenge one) - and far be it for me to go all Hillie on y'all and not share.

So, if you're still Book Clubbing The Help, if you know you'll be waiting 'til the movie is out on DVD to watch and you want a fun treat for an at-home movie night,  or even if you're planning ahead for your Oscar Party, file away this recipe.

Happy Baking!

The Help - A Sneak Preview

When my sister-in-law, Laura, called asking if I wanted to join her for a special sneak preview of The Help, it took me about 3 seconds to say, OF COURSE!

I'd read the book. Like most everyone else, I really enjoyed it. When you love the book, you worry what the movie will do to it.

Fear not, book clubs. Hollywood's The Help is very well done.

The movie gave me nearly the same images I'd conjurred in my head as I'd read the book.  I can't recall a better book to big-screen transformation. I was mostly impressed with the Southern accents, too.  Southern cliches aren't pounded over the viewer's head, either, but there were just enough Southern sayins' to make it authentic. Sissy Spacek, as Hilly's mama, is wonderful, and reminded me of my own Mamaw when she said, I'm watching my story!  That translates, for those of you who don't know, to...watching a soap opera.

Though it's been a while since I read the book, there was nothing I can recall of note that wasn't portrayed in the movie; the screenplay stays very true to Kathryn Stockett's pages. Yes, even the pie...

When talk of this film began, critics questioned if the movie would dare go there, and really show the ugliest sides of racism down South. While I didn't live then, in 1960s Mississippi, I can't say for sure, but I can say that this isn't a sneak-your-champers-into-the-theater kind of girl's night movie. I'm an expert, and a fan of those kinds of movies. I mean, it not Roots or anything, but if not for the pretty dresses and pretty ladies and the mass appeal already in place from the book, it'd maybe even border on Film. There's no real romance sidebar. There's no shopping scene. As in the book, the story stays centered on the plight and courage of the black maids, Minnie + Abilene, and the white, single, career-focused Skeeter (a minority herself) to take up a cause not endorsed by the Junior League.   

You'll hear the N word. You'll gasp a little at things said and done. If you're a white Southern woman, you'll be a little embarassed, even in 2011 'cause we all still know a Miss Hilly...and may even have her on our Christmas card list.

In the end, though, you'll laugh through your tears. And as the credits roll, you just might clap, as everyone in the theater did last night.

The Help opens everywhere August 12.

Something Bubbly for Something Borrowed

After being serious yesterday, let's get back to the superfluous today, shall we....?

As you may have gathered, my friends + I are big time socialites: we rarely miss the opening of a chick flick.  High rollin', I know...


What to some is just the chance for buttery popcorn and the empty hope for a teenager-free theater is to us a real night on the town. Someone call TMZ!


Friday will find us trading in our Fandango'ed tickets to watch Something Borrowed. As latecomers, but big fans, of the Emily Giffin book that inspired the film, we're already invested. Plus, there's Kate Hudson, who after serious ponder on the topic of romantic comedies, emerged as likely my favorite leading lady of this genre.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days {Frost yourselves!}, Bride Wars {Your wedding better watch it!}...those movies I've seen a zillion times, but if my TV remote lands on either's weekend cable feature, I'm locked in for viewing. Here's hoping SoBo will join equal ranks.

As part of the exclusive, see-it-before-its-available-via-Redbox social sphere in which I live, I often take the experience up a notch by sneaking alcohol into the movie theater. Nothing too heavy, just champagne or wine. This slight misdemeanor, save speeding on the Beltway, is the one facet in life where I don't just live on the edge, but I dance there. It's also very classy...in a screw top/4-pack kind of way....

So, last night instead of excercising, doing laundry or donating my time to a worthy charity, I made favors for Friday's box-office bash.. A little something bubbly for Something Borrowed....

and some candy kisses, too - three each for the love triangle plot of the movie. Tied up, in advance of SoBo's sequel, in Something Blue.

I'll tote these pretties, right past the theater authorties, in an oversized purse and when the lights go down I will pass them out to my friends. They will love the free booze and the chocolate, and in the moment it will make everyone's being together all the more festive. Then later when they are home, digging candy wrappers and champers screw tops from their handbags, they will wonder about me, about why I make such silly to-do over movie nights, then falling asleep they'll think, Bless her heart, she needs to get a life.

Getting Merried - Something Borrowed

The Royal Wedding isn't the only nupts exciting my friends and me! A little movie night is in the works....

This week it's Wills + Kate. Next week it's Dex + Darcy....

Are you vowing to see Something Borrowed, too?

Movies in May!

It's no secret that when it comes to cliched, chick-flick romantic comedies, I buy my tickets well in advance, and show up to the theather on opening night, usually with a gaggle of my best friends.


I know it's barely March, but in the last week or two, I've seen trailors for two movies, opening in May, that are topping my Must See list:


Bridesmaids

Not counting my own, I've been in 20 weddings. That's right, TWENTY.  Something tells me I will relate to this movie!  The trailor looks hysterical and taps in, allbeit a tad dramatically, on the honor (and D-rama!) of being in someone's bridal party. How could this movie not be good - cast members from SNL, The Office...and a shirtless Jon Hamm???







If I theme a girls' night around this movie it will involve a "shower" and require guests to wear their favorite bridesmaid dress to the theater. And don't think I won't do it....




Something Borrowed

In not one of the weddings where I served as a bridesmaid did I ever steal the groom. Rachel, the lead character in Something Borrowed, can't say the same...







Even if you haven't yet read Emily Giffin's book Something Borrowed, the story of a friend, er, stealing back borrowing her best friend's fiance, the trailor promises for a fun movie, if for nothing more than to look at the fashion porn Kate Hudson's character, Darcy, flaunts.

 Are you excited about any Spring/Summer movies?

Big Apple Bound and SATC 3??

You may recall that, before Christmas, I imposed a No Travel ban on myself through March. Well, I'm breaking it. Me, not conforming to a lifestyle change? Breaking news, I know.


Tomorrow morning I'll be bolting up to New York City, and by "bolt"-ing, I mean, I'm rolling high style on the bus. It cost about $30 round trip, and rumor has it is clean, safe and wired with wi-fi.  I'll let you know! With that price,  how could I justify planes or trains over this automobile?

By early afternoon, I'll be in the city, meeting up with my cousins for a girls weekend. I'm excited.

Now, you may be invisioning (to steal a line - my favorite, in fact - from Lainey) a weekend much like "Carrie Bradshaw’s life, but only the version on TBS without the Swears."  Only,  it won't be like that at all because this trip is to celebrate a birthday - a 10th one!  ALTHOUGH DID YOU READ TODAY THERE MAY BE A SATC PART 3? Don't lie, you're excited like me. But back to the trip...


Instead, for this weekend, think American Doll.

Think Serendipity.

Think Wicked.

And think happy thoughts that  the seat next to mine on the Bolt Bus will remain empty. 

Happy Friday!

Town and Country Strong

I've come to realize something: even though I live between two busy, unique and culture-filled cities, the highlight of my social life is often seeing movies with my friends. Hold your yawns.

Such is the case tonight....

Gwenyth is going country, and far be it for my friends (many of whom have been wearing cowboy boots as long as Gwenyth's been wearing Gucci) + me to not experience it together (even though the reviews are sour).  Plus, we should all support a sister blogger by going to see her movie, no? 

It must be revealed that since Jenni turned me on to her superiour ways of living, I have a bit of girl crush on GP. Her Glee performance really won me over, too.


So, our little gaggle of urban cowgirls (and two cowboys!) will take to the town tonight in DC. I'll be toting Raisinettes and some other box-office bootleggery into the theater to pass out once the lights go down. I know it's just a movie, but who says I can't aim to give it a real sense of occassion? We'll be GOing, DOing, SEEing, BEing, GETting, bringing us just one element {MAKE} short of full-on GOOP. I think GP would find our night pretty lovely + special.

Happy Friday! I hope the first week of 2011 has been fun for you. I leave you to kick off your weekend with Gwynie, in a state of GOOP like you've never seen her singing about the Friday night I doubt any of y'all will have...

Drink, Talk, Watch

The first time I read Eat, Pray, Love, I loved it. I ate it up.

Flambayed Cheese

That was back in 2006 (long before Oprah picked it).


In case you haven't heard, EPL is the true story of a woman, Liz Gilbert, who turns her back on the "granite countertop and picket fence life" she created with her husband to find herself through some world travel and journaling...some pasta and some prayer.

Carb loading before enduring the 2+ hour movie

I read the book while underlining lines that spoke to me, and dog-earing pages I knew I'd want to revisit. And, I did. At that time in my life when I felt very much on pause, I empathized with a lot of what Gilbert felt and wrote. Thankfully, I eventually got over myself and my situational sadness.


Then, I wanted to tell Liz Gilbert to get over herself because, really...who couldn't find themselves on a dream trip paid for by one's publishing company?


But by that time Liz Gilbert was too busy talking to Oprah.


So, despite the love-hate relationship I've had with this now famed and highly cliched spiritual guide, I still wanted to gather lots of great women together to see it, and then talk about it.

Eating before Eat, Pray, Love

Because I love eating and drinking and then philosophizing with my friends.

And though I try to deny it, I'm cliche from time-to-time, too...

So, tickets were pre-purchased and Friday night found me and some of my favorite ladies at The Avalon, the cutest little theater in DC.  The Avalon is like a Starbucks...

...only with a wine list.

Eat, Pray, Love gives women plenty to talk about, and the film stays pretty true to the book. Sadly, that's where it also fails veiwers. Even in two-plus hours of watching you still don't understand what motivates Gilbert, and you're even less sympathatic to her than when reading about all the hearts she breaks through the passport stamps she adds.


While it's not a romantic comedy or even a traditional chick flick, I enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love... but, unlike the book, I don't know if one would "get" her story without having ever  a/read all about it or b/needed the courage to walk away from a relationship.


But again - courage and a book advance that lets you escape your problems by way of exotic travel are two entirly different apples...


Is this movie a spritual guide for women? Not at all.


Is it the perfect excuse to hang out with your friends? Absolutely.