Classics Revisited

I recently found an amazing video rental store here in Kingston that has the BEST selection of classic movies! Best of all, it's less than $6 for three movies (so much better than $6 for one at Blockbuster)! I used to try to find the greats at Blockbuster, but always failed.  Who doesn't carry Casablanca!?!!  I fell in LOVE with this new place, appropriately named Classic Video, and now I'm trying to make a dent into my "To Watch" classic movie list.  I started with

Charade with Audrey Hepburn,

  Rear Window with Grace Kelly,

 and The Philadelphia Story with Katharine Hepburn.  I recommend them all!

And this weekend I've moved onto

Chinatown with early Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway

The Thomas Crown Affair with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. I loved the one with Pierce Brosnan (it's one of my favorite movies), so I figured this one also had to be great

The Manchurian Candidate with Frank Sinatra.  Another one that was remade later on. 

I love wandering down to Classic Video on weekends where I want to relax, have a quiet night, and feel a little swanky (watching old films makes me feel a smidge more glamorous). I love movies pre-1970.  The actors are so much more swoon-worthy, and the are actresses all so wonderfully glamorous and graceful.  And of course the fashion is so much fun to see! I normally stop by Starbucks, pick up the latest holiday or signature latte, listen to Dean Martin on my ipod, and leisurely stroll down by Lake Ontario to Classic Video.  I normally spend half an hour just perusing the amazing collection, trying to pick out my three movies. It's become a little bit of a ritual, and I'm going to miss it once I'm done with school!  I hope I can find another classic video store wherever I end up...

Does anyone have any "greats" that I have to see?  I'd love some recommendations for my next visit!

xoxo,

Soundtrack Sunday: Chuck Theme Song

A friend introduced me to the tv show Chuck over the winter break, and I've been hooked since!  It's funny, action-packed, witty, and a refreshing change to most CIA type shows.  The theme song by Cake is catchy and stays stuck in my head. I actually had no idea it was a real song until I head it playing in a coffee shop! 

xoxo,

Daniel 12:10

New Obsession: Southern Wedding Magazine Blog

I came across this site through one of Let's Be Preppy's blog posts.

 Boy oh boy was it a dumb idea for me to click on the link!  I've been reading back posts ever since. There are over 170 pages of posts, and I'm almost at the end.  Every page is full of beautifully photographed real southern weddings, with young southern brides wearing gorgeous gowns, fabulous cakes, and hunky grooms with charming bow ties. This is the WORST thing for a daydreamer like me!  I thought Disney did enough damage filling my head with fairy-tale dreams, but Southern Wedding has just upped the ante! Explore at  your own risk!

xoxo,

New Award

Firstly, thank you for all the warm comments about my klutzy day.  Thankfully it hasn't been repeated yet (knock on wood!), so things are looking up!

Secondly, Suburban Princess so kindly passed on the Stylish Blogger Award to me!  Love that fellow Canadian!  I feel so honored to be considered stylish!

I have to list seven things about myself, so here it goes!

1. I HATE wearing pants! I avoid wearing them with all my might! I will always prefer a dress or skirt over jeans or sweatpants for comfort.  It's proven a little difficult to stick to my no-pants rule this winter though, but you can be sure to find me in a skirt the second the temperature creeps about 32 degrees!
2. My absolutely biggest pet peeve is the sound that people make when they eat.  If you smack your food while you chew or pop your gum, you will get dirty looks coming your way!
3. I'm left-handed. Which I feel like I may have mentioned before... but oh well!  I like that I'm different, but it sure does come with difficulties!  I smudge my writing, drawings, and paintings all the time.  Apparently my parents tried to make me a righty when I was learning to write, but I was too stubborn and resisted.  My brother was turned, but not me!  I guess we know who the stronger sibling is...
4. I have never had a pet in my entire life.  I BEGGED my parents for a dog for years, but never had any luck.  When I rode horses, I told them I'd gladly take a horse over a car, but got my Volvo instead (although looking back now, I'm glad they didn't take me up on my offer).  The closest thing I've had to a pet is the three baby chickens I brought home for a week for my 7th Grade science class. My parents sure weren't pleased about that one. The poor chickies had to live on my porch for the duration of their stay.
5. It's no secret that I love pink.  But, much like the editor of Quality magazine, I like to turn EVERYTHING pink.  I will pinkefy anything and everything that I can.  This summer, I went to the local Via Lilly store and Michael's and bought a whole slew of goodies to decorate my little desk space at Emily Post.  I even had little Lilly gingham circle notes on which I would write any phone messages.  I have may have a problem.... Anyone know of a 12 step program?  Maybe  PA (Pinkaholics Anonymous)?
6. I'm DYING to go to the National Stationery Show in NYC.  My obsession with stationery is well known, and I'd probably pass out from the excitement of actually being there, but holy moly would it be a dream come true! I've seen pics from previous years, and of course the Lifeguard Press booth is full of pretty Lilly goodies that I'd love to snatch up!
7. One of my life ambitions has, and always will be, to make others happy.  It's something my parents don't quite understand, but I care more about the smaller happy moments of life than having a financially successful corporate career as an accountant (which is what my parents wanted me to be). I want a career doing something that I really love, and hopefully that will include being able to spread cheer or help others.

Ok, now to pass on the award to other fab bloggers!

• Always Pink and Preppy
• cSd 
• Let's Be Preppy!
• My Life as A Young Southern Prep
• Preppy Panache
• Prissy and Preppy Flamingo
• Preppy Pink Blondie
• And any other fab blogger who hasn't received this award yet! 

xoxo,

Isaiah 61:10

Ever Had One of Those Days...

Ever had one of those days when you slip and fall on ice, drop your keys into a giant slush puddle, your lunch drips inside your bag, you walk by someone you know and when you try to say hi your voice just squeaks?  Well I had one of those days yesterday.  ALL of those things happened to me.  Yup, I am a certifiable, sometimes socially-awkward, klutz.  Here's hoping I gain some much needed grace asap!

xoxo,

Here comes the bride... in J Crew

J. Crew is hosting its first bridal event, with most of their wedding gowns on sale for a substantially lower price

J Crew began designing wedding gowns a few years ago, and each year adds some wonderful new designs with hints of whimsy, girly touches, and updates of elegant classics.  Now other retailers are coming out with their own bridal lines, allowing brides-to-be find their perfect dresses, in great designs, from labels they love, for prices that won't break the bank. Too bad I'm not in any pressing need for any of these lovely dresses ( I especially love the polka dot one!).

xoxo,

Soundtrack Sunday: CCR

I FINALLY discovered how to get my old itunes music off my ancient eMac desktop from high school.  Remember these large babies?:

So I started transferring my music and am so happy to get my huge collection of Beach Boys, Beatles, and Elvis back (I had a retro phase in high school).  But there's mainly one band that's been on repeat on my ipod shuffle (I've been using my ancient 528mb, first generation shuffle since I lost my ipod touch) over the last two weeks , and that's CCR! 

Anyone else have any great classic bands they constantly go back to?

xoxo,

James 1:12

Canadian, Please

I was doing research for my Contemporary Canadian class in attempt to find an example of Canadiana, and came across this hilarious video:



This makes me just a smidgen more proud to be Canadian.

xoxo,

Florida Recap: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

After spending time traveling with my family in South Florida and staying in the Fort Lauderdale condo, I drove up to Orlando and stayed with one of my oldest FL friends, KMT.  She and I have been wanting to go to the new Harry Potter section of Islands of Adventure since we first heard rumors of its development in the Orlando Sentinel years ago.

I LOVED the inside of Honeydukes.  Pink and green everywhere.  

Yes, I did indeed try Butterbeer!  It was basically a slushy form of cream soda with a pump of soft-serve icecream on top to create "foam".  Yummy, but soooo sweet.  I'd recommend splitting it with a friend.

I normally avoid the theme parks in Orlando unless I have a friend with free tickets, but I HAD to go see the new Harry Potter area.  It was totally worth the $87 I spent.  They built a special ride for the new area, which was pretty spooky for a theme park ride.  It's housed within the mountainscape and Hogwarts and takes you through spiders, dementors, and Voldemort.  They also adopted a previous roller coaster into the Harry Potter world and dubbed it the Dragon Challenge.  It's unbelievably though how detailed the park was!  I felt like I had hopped on the train and landed in the books!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a definite must for any Harry Potter fan!

xoxo,

Psalm 86:13

Florida Recap- Key West

Alas, I'm back in Canada, back into the cold, already missing Florida and my friends!  I had a great two weeks, visited Miami, Key West, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando; saw my brother and his wife and many old friends; and had loads of fun at the beach and Universal.

I had an amazing time at Key West, despite the super long drive.  We sadly only stayed for one night, but we made the best of our time there.  We had some super yummy food at Duffy's when we arrived.  I had shrimp, drenched in the most amazingly tasty white wine sauce I have ever had! Wish I could recreate it!

 The next day we took a Conch Train Tour around the island.  There are so many beautiful homes!  I started daydreaming about owning a pretty pink home and a Lilly electric car to drive around the island, wearing pretty Lilly dresses, and enjoying frozen Margaritas.

We also visited Hemingway's home (thanks for the tip Suburban Princess!), saw the six-toed cats, and learned about his strange obsessions.  

We also indulged a little

Key lime pie on a stick, covered in chocolate.  DELISH!!!

And shopped at LILLY!  The sales were amazing!  My parents gave me money for Christmas, so I spent most of it here.  My favorite purchase:

So comfy, and it never wrinkles! I think it's my new favorite Lilly dress.  I picked it up in two patterns and will pounce the next time I find this dress for a mere $79 again. It's a curvy girl's best friend!  

I want to go back to Key West soon!  It was so much fun, and such a beautiful place.  It's a must see!

xoxo,