It's May.
Which you, obviously, know. But once again, I've forgotten about this little blog of ours. It's hard to update when day by day things feel the same. But let's try again, shall we?
The title - it comes from Fitzgerald, of course. If you haven't seen Baz Luhrmann's version of "The Great Gatsby", you need to stop reading this immediately and go see it. Then purchase the soundtrack and get back to me.
Brilliant, right? But that's only if you like Luhrmann's directorial approaches (I'm obsessed). Otherwise I imagine you said the same thing as the old ladies sitting behind James and I in the theatre: "Well that was weird." Yup. And Perfect. With a capital P.
I could go on about it forever, but you really just have to see it. And let's face it, you're not that interested in my obsessive discussions about a movie based on a book most people pretend they've read but - actually - haven't - or - maybe - they - did - in - high - school - but - let's - face - it - that - doesn't - really - count. However, I feel that you should be interested in my other suggestions on things you should be watching (because I have fantastic taste in film and television, let's be honest - when I'm not taking a mental breather while watching trashy/flashy TV like "The Vampire Diaries" and "Gossip Girl" - hey, everyone's got their guilty pleasures - mine just involve super attractive people on the CW).
Film:
The Great Gatsby - 2013 (if you didn't catch that already)
Lawless - 2012 Bootleggers. The Depression. Gangsters. Tom Hardy. You literally cannot lose.
Pitch Perfect - 2012. Okay, I know, I know. Really? No, not great cinema. But HILARIOUS. Seriously. I can't even think about this movie without chuckling to myself. It's kind of sad actually.
Tron: Legacy - 2010 This movie is totally underrated. Daft Punk's soundtrack is stupid-good. Plus it's totally fun, looks unbelievable, and did I mention it's just really awesome? Oh, and Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde? Win for everyone. Can't wait for Tron 3.
Television:
Bates Motel (A&E) - based on Norma/Norman/Normal Bates, and Hitchcock. Scarily brilliant acting, wonderful cinematography, and subtle throwbacks to "Psycho" that'll give you the creeps. I'm obsessed with this show (Watch the entire season in two days? Check.)
Hannibal (NBC) - bet you can't guess what this one's about. It's Hannibal before he was known as the Cannibal. But the real winner is the main character, played by Hugh Dancy - very alluring character. Captivating plots, and just the absolute perfect amount of He Who Must Not Be Named** without overdoing it (like he himself did).
Doctor Who (BBC) - duh. Start with the reboot season in 2005, and fall in love with The Doctor. In a month, after you've maniacally watched all 7 seven seasons, be thrown off by the best thing you will ever see in this season's finale. HOLYCRAPICANTWAITFORTENTOCOMEBACKFORTHE50THANNIVERSSARYSPECIALINNOVEMBER. Yup. That just happened: All caps AND no spaces. #toodamnexcited
Game of Thrones (HBO) - Everyone has already told you to watch it, so just do it already.
** I HATE HATE LOATHE Entirely the following man. I feel that every directorial approach he took was wrong, stupid, and horribly, unbelievably taken as genius - of which he is most definitely NOT. His name will nevermore be uttered (written?) by me except for this one time so you are on the same page as me: Stanley Kubrick. *shudders*
And since we're covering entertainment...and it is me...
Books:
The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen. I can't quite describe this book, other than it's beautiful, dreamy, mysterious and lovely. Quick read, too. Just read it.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - I've probably mentioned this one, and I'll keep mentioning it because it's literally my favorite book. The imagery is literally unbelievable. Gorgeous. And I'm always a fan of rotating narratives.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. This author is fantastic, and of her three books, this one is the best. Be prepared to have your mind BLOWN halfway through. I feel like "having the rug pulled out from under you" is totally overused, and yet perfectly describes this novel.
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Memoir by my favorite blogger, Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess. Hilarious. Awkward. Honest. So, so good. And non-fiction - always an educational bonus!
Game of Thrones (and the rest of the as-of-yet-incomplete series) by George R. R. Martin - better than the show, naturally, and he has MASTERED the rotating narrative. It's disgusting it's so good. Love him. Love his writing. LOVE LOVE LOVE his characters.
Okay - now that you all have things to catch up on...get on that already and then get back to me so we can geek out together. In the meantime, we'll be completely destroying our house (aka remodeling the kitchen), so I'll be back soon with updated house photos and demo plans!
But seriously, go read/watch all of that - I'm not kidding when I say I have excellent taste in these things.
Love,
Vanessa (And Stephen and Anya, of course)
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
What's New?
I find myself with a little bit more free time these days. So, who's ready for a game of "What's New?" You are? Perfect! Let's play it by months.
August: Finished our master bedroom - woot woot! I'll be blogging that process for ya soon!
September: James played with the KC Symphony (even a big deal for us), plus our third family Ben Folds concert - one of the best yet. What's better than sitting in the back and singing loudly? Nothing. Oh, and I hosted my first Classic Movie Date - silent films FTW.
October: Esteban started his new job at Harvest Productions - which he loves, and is brilliant at.
November: I did my first Photo Essay over Thanksgiving and got really great reviews from my teacher.
December: We started a new tradition for our anniversary and went to The Capital Grille down on the Plaza and had an absolutely lovely time! Seriously delicious, and such precious table settings and dessert by the staff.
January: My litle sister, SAM, came to visit! We had way too much fun. And piercings. That happened. Oh, and Anya gave us quite the medical scare. But naturally, she's fine now. What a ham.
February: Lotssss of snow days! SO MUCH relaxation! (And reading - "Game of Thrones" mostly)
March: Hamez and I got to go to our first bookreading by THE BLOGGESS. It was a perfect end to a cruddy week. Oh and Stephen and I saw "Back to the Future" at The Screenland Armour Theatre (where we got married) and it was a BLAST.
Those are the major plot points of our life as of currently. In our future we're expecting a trip to a Speakeasy, a major kitchen reno, and a trip to Cali. Oh, and a new job on the horizon for Nessa. We'll keep ya posted.
Love,
Nessa, Stephen, and Anya
August: Finished our master bedroom - woot woot! I'll be blogging that process for ya soon!
September: James played with the KC Symphony (even a big deal for us), plus our third family Ben Folds concert - one of the best yet. What's better than sitting in the back and singing loudly? Nothing. Oh, and I hosted my first Classic Movie Date - silent films FTW.
October: Esteban started his new job at Harvest Productions - which he loves, and is brilliant at.
November: I did my first Photo Essay over Thanksgiving and got really great reviews from my teacher.
December: We started a new tradition for our anniversary and went to The Capital Grille down on the Plaza and had an absolutely lovely time! Seriously delicious, and such precious table settings and dessert by the staff.
January: My litle sister, SAM, came to visit! We had way too much fun. And piercings. That happened. Oh, and Anya gave us quite the medical scare. But naturally, she's fine now. What a ham.
February: Lotssss of snow days! SO MUCH relaxation! (And reading - "Game of Thrones" mostly)
March: Hamez and I got to go to our first bookreading by THE BLOGGESS. It was a perfect end to a cruddy week. Oh and Stephen and I saw "Back to the Future" at The Screenland Armour Theatre (where we got married) and it was a BLAST.
Those are the major plot points of our life as of currently. In our future we're expecting a trip to a Speakeasy, a major kitchen reno, and a trip to Cali. Oh, and a new job on the horizon for Nessa. We'll keep ya posted.
Love,
Nessa, Stephen, and Anya
Countdown
Expect a legit, real blog post real soon.
I know you're excited. It's been too long, folks.
I know you're excited. It's been too long, folks.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Detox Bath
So after a bad night's sleep due to a migraine with all sorts of annoying symptoms, I decided I needed to do something relaxing today...so I took a bath. Which I never do. Mostly because our bathtub is tiny, and not a huge luxurious one like I'd like...but whatever. It's August and like a million degrees and I took a bath; I'm a weirdo.
But, I totally recommend it, because I feel better. And it was super relaxing.
Detox Bath:
Hot water*
1 -2 2 cups hydrogen peroxide (antibacterial, antiviral, and helps purge toxins)
2 T ground ginger (anti-inflammatory, increases blood circulation)
1 - 2 c. Epsom Salts (combats hypertension, flushes toxins, forms proteins in tissue and joints)
1 c. baking soda (cleaning, anti-fungal, softens skin)
Optional:
Aromatherapy oil (lavender, ylang ylang, tea tree, eucalyptus, etc. I used lemon) or
fresh herbs (mint, chamomile, lavender, or whatever you like) or even
tea (chamomile and/or ginger would be best, but even green tea would be good for your skin)
*Get the water as hot as you can stand it. Add fresh hot water when the bath gets cool while you soak.
You're going to sweat. A lot. And that's good, because it gets all the toxins and yuckies out of your skin and body. The ginger especially will make you sweat because of the increase in blood circulation.
It's important to soak in the tub for at least 20 minutes, but 40 minutes is best. The first 20 minutes, your body is expelling toxins, and the second 20 it's absorbing all the minerals and goodness from the bath.
I lit about a dozen candles, turned off the lights, and listened to Irish and Japanese meditation music. I definitely recommend the addition of candles and music, because it makes the forty minutes even more relaxing.
This bath would be perfect if you're battling a cold or the flu, or have sore muscles and nasal congestion like I did.
When you're finished, make sure to drink a lot of cool water (at least 3-4 glasses), and maybe even some organic tea, to replenish your body. If you don't get enough water, you could feel sick, damage your kidneys, or even suffer from cramps. And that is not relaxing! I recommend the detox water I've been drinking all summer (super hydrating and energizing):
In a pitcher, put in 1 cinnamon stick and a thinly sliced apple. Cover with ice, fill with water. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes before drinking.
Enjoy!
Love,
Vanessa
But, I totally recommend it, because I feel better. And it was super relaxing.
Detox Bath:
Hot water*
1 -2 2 cups hydrogen peroxide (antibacterial, antiviral, and helps purge toxins)
2 T ground ginger (anti-inflammatory, increases blood circulation)
1 - 2 c. Epsom Salts (combats hypertension, flushes toxins, forms proteins in tissue and joints)
1 c. baking soda (cleaning, anti-fungal, softens skin)
Optional:
Aromatherapy oil (lavender, ylang ylang, tea tree, eucalyptus, etc. I used lemon) or
fresh herbs (mint, chamomile, lavender, or whatever you like) or even
tea (chamomile and/or ginger would be best, but even green tea would be good for your skin)
*Get the water as hot as you can stand it. Add fresh hot water when the bath gets cool while you soak.
You're going to sweat. A lot. And that's good, because it gets all the toxins and yuckies out of your skin and body. The ginger especially will make you sweat because of the increase in blood circulation.
It's important to soak in the tub for at least 20 minutes, but 40 minutes is best. The first 20 minutes, your body is expelling toxins, and the second 20 it's absorbing all the minerals and goodness from the bath.
I lit about a dozen candles, turned off the lights, and listened to Irish and Japanese meditation music. I definitely recommend the addition of candles and music, because it makes the forty minutes even more relaxing.
This bath would be perfect if you're battling a cold or the flu, or have sore muscles and nasal congestion like I did.
When you're finished, make sure to drink a lot of cool water (at least 3-4 glasses), and maybe even some organic tea, to replenish your body. If you don't get enough water, you could feel sick, damage your kidneys, or even suffer from cramps. And that is not relaxing! I recommend the detox water I've been drinking all summer (super hydrating and energizing):
In a pitcher, put in 1 cinnamon stick and a thinly sliced apple. Cover with ice, fill with water. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes before drinking.
Enjoy!
Love,
Vanessa
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