comet.

It's gotten really hard for me to watch movies lately, so I need one that either doesn't matter how much attention I pay to it or one that forces me to pay close attention to it. Comet is the former.

atypical romance.

In honor of Valentine's Day, here are a few of my absolute favorite romance movies that fall outside of the genre stereotypes. Heart-breaking, magical, real love stories: The Science of Sleep, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Amelie, What Dreams May Come, Love Me if You Dare, Wristcutters: A Love Story.

magic is coming.

I resisted watching Once Upon a Time for a long, long while because it looked pretty ridiculous and because I don't really like the actress that plays Emma Swan, the main character. Well, I finally started it and I can't stop. It's perfect to watch while you do other things, because you can miss a lot of the story and still get it. (In fact, it's much better if watched while doing other things.) I keep thinking it's going to get to stupid to keep watching (I mean a season on Elsa and Anna from Frozen?), but then another episode comes on and everything twists around and then I'm just impressed by how well everything is tied together. It's just so perfectly ridiculous.

when life gets hard, rise to the occasion...

Lately, every movie I've looked forward to has disappointed. Adult World was the opposite, an unexpected gem.

Velvet Goldmine

I overheard my husband’s youngest son ask him if he had to choose between Led Zeppelin being the only band he can listen to for the rest of his life, or picking ten different bands to listen too but never hearing Led Zeppelin again, what would he choose? I thought it was a hilarious, but then I started thinking about what ten bands I would choose and, the truth is, I have no idea. The only music I listen to lately is the 90s grunge rock satellite station or my workout playlist! But current, not nostalgic (90s) music? Music that I would fall in love with now, not music that still I love because I’ve always loved it? Got to work on that.

I finally watched a movie that’s been on my list for years, Velvet Goldmine, and I should’ve watched it a lot sooner. Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale, and Jonathan Rhys Meyer decked out in 70s glam rock looks? Yes, please. I can barely tolerate Christian Bale in most movies; this made me like him so much more.

This movie is weird. And awesome. And has a small role for one of my favorite bands (probably one of the ten I would pick to listen to forever), Placebo. They are 90s, yes, but I didn’t listen to them in the 90s so it doesn’t count.

My Week with Marilyn

Getting to be a bit obsessed with Marilyn Monroe, after watching My Week with Marilyn, which was really good by the way. Michelle Williams did a great job. Then moved on to re-watch Some Like It Hot, which I think is one of my favorite old comedies. It really holds up. And then started on her autobiography, simply titled My Story. What a sad life, but I really admire people who aren't afraid to completely reinvent themselves. I love revisionists.

French Women Don't Get Fat

One of the things I love about Kindle is that I can sample anything. After a chapter or two, I sometimes wind up liking books I wouldn't have thought I'd like, or not liking something that I was sure I would. It's opened me up to books I would normally not order, such as this: French Women Don't Get Fat. 

This is not a diet book, per say, more of a commentary about the differences in eating and lifestyle between the typical French and American families. It's a story beginning with the author coming to American and quickly gaining weight, then struggling to lose that weight again when she went home. She presents how she manages to navigate maintaining an ideal weight with eating a luxurious diet. It's a lot of common sense, but may have some things that never occurred to you.

We managed to incorporate some of her rules into our eating style, mainly the idea of having a menu of small courses in dinner every night, instead of a huge main dish. It's enabled us to have much more variety, no leftovers - which also means no second helpings, and not ever get that uncomfortably stuffed feeling, while still being completely satisfied. We've also been eating all fresh foods, going to the market and planning meals, and even cooking together. We've also been eating with the nice cloth napkin every night and having a glass of wine with dinner.

I was absolutely sure that I would be gaining weight from eating like this, but after a week I've actually lost about two pounds. Crazy. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to enjoy food more.

And now onto some of the recent meals, at lease the ones I stopped to take a picture of. 

Avocado and butter leaf salad (the bacon bits obviously weren't on my, but I did mention that I started eating things with no brains, right?), sauteed brown mushrooms with yellow squash and sweet potato, and fried pears with blue cheese:

Avocado and baby greens, grilled cheddar and tomatoes with basil, and more pears for dessert. Hubby actually participates in the cooking a lot, which is so fun. These grilled cheeses were all him, and the best I've ever eaten by far:

Avacado and tomato salad, steamed clams with white wine sauce, and strawberries with sherbert:

Spring mix with tomatoes, gorgonzola, and a dressing mix of pomegranate balsamic and lemon olive oil (fresh from the Farmer's Market! We finally went!), seared sea scallops with a side of Italian farro with cranberries and pistacios, and more strawberries for dessert.

Free Gift with Purchase

I really enjoyed this book. It was hilarious, entertaining, a tiny bit informative, just a great quick read.

I made a goal to read 25 books this year - two each month and one long, hard one that spans the year. I'm running a bit late. I can't believe a fourth of this year is gone already.

Anyway, somewhere along the way - completely unintentionally - I went from hating non-fiction anything to reading it almost exclusively. I can do classic literature, but give me an interesting autobiography or historical biography or even a self-help (note to self: need to do a post on The Lost Art of House-Cleaning) any day over most popular fiction out there. Even by the pool, you can find some quick, lighthearted non-fiction summer reading such as Free Gift with Purchase.

Friends With Benefits

I really didn't expect to love this movie, but it is my new favorite romantic comedy. So much so that after I rented it I actually bought it too, and I haven't purchased a movie for myself since Netflix was born. It's a cute, funny, lighthearted - but not stupid, New York movie to put on when you are feeling blah or just need some familiar background noise. I've already watched it three times.

Probably doesn't hurt that I love Mila Kunis and JTL. This photo shoot they did for ELLE is one of my favorites:

Elizabeth

I finally finished reading Elizabeth I, and the end was actually pretty gripping - I couldn't put it down until I finished! In honor, I watched (for the first time) Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age as part of my epic movie weekend. I enjoyed both, although the second one was more historically inaccurate, and actually pretty unbelievable. (If you watch these, at lease read the movies' wikipedia sections on dramatic license for a brief rundown of what is and isn't true in each film.)

Cate Blanchett is genius as the queen. The casting for her favorites, Dudley and Raleigh, was great - I liked them much more in the movies than when reading the books. But I hated the way Mary, Queen of Scotts, was cast and portrayed.

Joseph Fiennes as Robert Dudley

Clive Owen as Walter Raleigh

English monarchy

Right now, I am quite obsessed with the British monarchy and I do not mean Wills and Kate.

I had to get this book after watching The Young Victoria:

Then I moved onto The Tudors, what a fascinating family. The first two-thirds of the book were great, but it got a little sloppy with Elizabeth I:

So, now I'm in the middle of a big book about Elizabeth I. It's possible that I just don't care for her as a historical figure, because while I couldn't put down the first two books, this one I'm stalled at about 30% through.

I never dreamed I would enjoy reading historical non-fiction, but I really love it.