thanksgiving recap

can you believe thanksgiving is here and gone? i had such a lovely break but i was a little slow and go this morning when getting ready for work.

thursday we had a delicious traditional thanksgiving feast. we decided to switch it up from last week and went with a ham instead of a turkey.  we prepared it with cherries and cloves and it was absolutely divine.  we also had my grandma ella's deviled eggs (no mayo here), roasted carrots, garlic mashed potatoes, rolls, dressing, yams with toasted marshmallows, coleslaw and green bean casserole.  for dessert raspberry champagne cupcakes courtesy of rachel and pumpkin pie courtesy of my mom (which didn't get eaten until saturday because we were all too full.)

when asked my favorite part of the meal it was a tough decision to make, but i finally decided on tie between the roasted carrots and the roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

in my opinion the hardest part of thanksgiving is not in preparing the food.  it is making sure it is all ready at the same time.  i decided the only way this was going to happen with one oven was to write out a schedule.  i knew i wanted to eat at 1:00 so i figured out how much time each dish took and at what temperature and then worked backwards. i then posted the schedule on the fridge so everyone could see what time each item needed to go in.  a little extra work went a long ways because everything was ready to go right on time!

later that evening we hit up the muppets at jordan creek.  i absolutely loved it.  i think i was smiling the entire time.  i especially enjoyed when they hit up pink's hot dogs in hollywood. waka waka.

i have so much to be thankful for! 

what a pretty ham

the delicious spread

rachel's beautiful cupcake creation

my wonderful family

50/50 : movie review

friday night jared and i went to 50/50, the more i thought about it, that makes five weekends in a row at jordan creek movie theater.  we've had all these fantastic fandago offers to take advantage of, so it has been pretty cheap entertainment.

a quick synopsis: inspired by a true story, a 27-year-old, adam (joseph gordon-levitt) gets cancer and finds out his chances of survival are 50/50.  his best friend, kyle (seth rogen), steps up to the plate and takes a humorous approach to help his friend through this difficult journey.

one of my favorite characters is adam's inexperienced therapist (anna kendrick.)  i fell in love with her in up in the air and she defintiely doesn't disappoint in this flick either.

not going to lie, i definitely shed a tear or two but overall it is a very funny, heartfelt movie.

the ides of march : movie review

friday night we went and saw the ides of march with ryan gosling, george clooney, philip seymour hoffman and paul giamatti.  the film was directed and co-written by mr. clooney himself.  the plot follows a presidential primary full of political scandal.

i thought the movie started a little slow but was full of suspense.  the acting was superb, best of class. the flick makes me hates politics because you can see how this stuff can really play out and i'm no more excited for the upcoming election season.
overall i did enjoy the film and would recommend checking it out.

hakuna matata

last night rach, j-rod and myself hit up lion king 3D at JC theater.  it is one of my favorite disney movies and it was even better on the big screen with the special 3D effects.  zazu stole the show in 3D as he was flying across the screen as the movie started.  as families poured into the theater a couple of thoughts came to mind:

this is probably the first time these kids are seeing lion king and they don't have a clue who JTT is. does BOP magazine even exist anymore?

how can a family of four afford an evening at the movies?  here is a breakdown of the math (carry the two...)

two adults: $26.00
two children: $20.00
one large popcorn and two sodas: $16.50

a whopping total of: $62.50

i feel like i should now say "seeing lion king in 3D, priceless." but i'm not quite sure.  that's a lot of cash to drop on one night at the movies.  i am pretty sure when my parents took me to the lion king during the first release in 1994 the tickets were $3.25. now i sound old.

contagion

i saw contagion this past weekend and really enjoyed the flick.  i loved how it was different than any other movie i've seen, typically i don't care for these types of movies. it kept me very engaged, was very fast-paced and had a ton of star power. but the reason i liked the movie so much is because i could see how a contagious disease like the one featured in the film could take over the world and cause  people to do crazy things (don't worry i'm not giving anything away with that description, i tend to ruin surprises so i am being extra careful.)

unfortunately the movie has turned me into a slight germaphobe. as soon as i walked out of the theater i found myself searching for hand sanitizer. then monday someone sneezed near me while i was warming up my lunch and a look of horror came over my face. i find myself avoiding handrails and doorknobs. i have also tried every hand sanitizer dispenser at work and haven't found a single one that had anything left in it.  i also plan on getting my flu shot early, maybe you should too.  :)

i recommend checking it out but beware it could change your entire thought process on contagious diseases. i'm sure this new phobia of mine will fade with time but for now i will be washing my hands excessively.

 

double feature

this weekend i got to see not one but two great movies.

friday night j-rod, NH, JW and i headed to jordan creek to see Glee 3D (don't we look pretty thug in our glasses.) they were all kind enough to tag along with me and spend the $13.00, ouch.

i loved every moment of the movie. i found myself smiling, wanting to sing along and clap at the end of their performances. it was super entertaining, the music was excellent and the 3D effects were fantastic. at one point it seemed that rachel berry was singing two inches from my face. it is hard deciding on my favorite song from the movie, but once again teenage dream was pretty great. my love affair with that song has not gone away. the 4-year-old i blogged about back in june, made a cameo in the movie and was as adorable as ever. if you're a "gleek," i would highly recommend checking it out.

sunday, NH and i headed to see The Help. i'd been dying to see the movie since i finished the book a couple of weeks ago. and it did not disappoint. while i still feel that the book is better, the movie did an excellent job of following the storyline and developing the characters. it is humorous, endearing but overall a story of hope. another must-see!

something borrowed

We had a Fandango tickets that were going to expire in the next couple of weeks that we bought for cheap through Living Social so this weekend we went to see Something Borrowed.

I didn't know much about the movie at all except that it had John Krasinski aka "Jim" in it, so I knew it would be good and it didn't disappoint. I'm sure it is no surprise to anyone but I am a sucker for romantic comedies and this movie definitely falls into that category but don't write it off quite yet.

John Krasinski and Kate Hudson gave solid performances, but Kate Hudson needs to stop playing characters that are in their twenty-somethings, it's getting harder to believe. And if you're looking for a movie with product placement, Heineken beer makes it into every other scene.

Even though the storyline is similar to movies we've all seen before, it was charming, entertaining and kept you guessing.

Can't wait to check out the book by Emily Griffin.