Movies every woman should see

When I was in college, going to the movies was one of my favorite hobbies. Maybe because I always had a roommate or girlfriend to go with or maybe because every Wednesday night was $1 movie night for students, I'll let you be the judge. Either way, I saw a lot of movies. Movies that made me laugh, movies that made me cry, and movies that gave me a headache after wearing the 3D glasses.
I mentioned yesterday that I went to a movie alone yesterday, and to some that may be an odd thing to do, but I really do love going to the movies and unfortunately Derek does not so I don't have a problem going by myself. Especially if it's to a movie I know he won't enjoy. I'm not a fan of cruel and unusual punishment and I think forcing people to watch movies/TV shows they hate qualifies as such. Back to my point: while I was in the movie (August: Osage County) I found myself thinking, this is a movie every woman should see. Which led to the thought that there are actually several movies every woman should watch at some point in her life. 

Thelma and Louise

Favorite quote: Hey, throw in a couple bottles of Wild Turkey while you're at it.
Maybe I just love this movie so much because of the name similarities, but I really think I would still love it if either one of us had a different name. Although I will admit, it was the only reason I watched it for the first time at my aunt's house when I was about 8 years old. This movie is the ultimate best friend's movie, with one literally killing to protect the other. I'm not saying you've got to kill someone or drive off a cliff to prove you're someone's best friend, but then again maybe I am.

Mean Girls

Favorite quote: Is butter a carb?
This movie is the perfect inscription of high school. If you haven't seen it, then I would recommend it, even if only for the seating chart. Even if you aren't in to burn books or wearing pink on Wednesdays, you'll at least be able to understand the many, many references all of your friends are making.

Steel Magnolias

Favorite Quote: A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste!
Probably my favorite Julia Roberts movie, though it unfortunately showcases her worst hairstyle. This is a movie my mom raved and raved about but isn't one that I watched until I was 18 or so and I wish I would have gotten around to it earlier. Sally Fields gives probably one of her best performances after she loses her daughter to Diabetes and the supporting characters couldn't be a better pillar of strength and comic relief at the same time. Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie yet, stop what your doing and find it in the nearest movie rental store or Amazon and watch it.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Favorite Quote: Oh it don' make no kind of sense. Big ol' ox like Grady won't sit next to a colored child. But he eats eggs - shoot right outta chicken's ass! 
Remember when I said that being a best friend doesn't mean you have to kill for them. Well this movie proves just that as it follows four women, two in the present day, reliving the lives of two women fifty years prior. This movie touches a bit on being gay when it wasn't acceptable to be gay, but of course I didn't realize it until I was much older. This has always been, and will continue to be, one of my most favorite movies of all time.

The Help

Favorite quote: There are two things I can't seem to forget: that my own daughter threw me in to a nursing home, and that she ate Minny's shit!
If you haven't been living underground for the last three or four years, you'll know that this was originally a book (I raved about it here) which turned into a movie. The movie is no exception, with a wonderful cast to portray wonderfully written characters. You will laugh, and you will cry, but most of all you will take away that if you have a dream, and if you work hard enough, you can achieve it.
What movies would you recommend?

Linking up with Karly Kim for Totally Posted Tuesday!

What I learned from Disney

I actually posted this exact same a similar post to this one before, but that was back when only my mom read my blog. I'm sure she doesn't mind seeing this again.

 

As a child, my mom got all of the Disney movies ever made. I loved each and every one of them, along with Barney but that's irrelevant. I seriously doubt I could choose just one favorite. Disney movies are great for singing (dancing?) along with, and are especially humorous when you re-watch them in your twenties (some killer insinuations), and you can learn something from just about all of them:

Aristocats 1970

"Ladies don't start fights, but they can finish them." --Marie



The Lion King 1954

"Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it: you can either run from it...or you can learn from it." --Rafiki

When in doubt, dress in drag and do the hula.

Pocahontas 1995

"Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one." --Grandmother Willow

Finding Nemo 2003

After watching this, I became bilingual...

And I wasn't afraid to try new things

Aladdin 1992

It is totally acceptable to have a tiger as a pet.

Lying really doesn't get you anywhere.

And last, but certainly not least, The Little Mermaid taught me all about picking up men.

"Don't underestimate the importance of body language!" --Ursula

2. "You gotta bat ya eyes, like dis. And you gotta pucka ya lips, like dis." --Sebastian, expert kisser and eye-batter. I practiced this one in the mirror.

And what forks were really intended for

 What did you learn from Disney movies?

I'll take some chardonnay with that supermoon

Due to my super awesome school schedule, I've found that the best days for me to work are on the weekends. Including this weekend. Friday, I drove the better part of two hours to take a math test that would determine whether or not I could continue in the RN program I'm in.

Just finished the most critical math test of my life. Now I just have to try not to vom while I'm waiting for it to be graded.

— Kalyn Vaughan (@kalynvaughan) June 21, 2013

Hallelujah I passed with a 95 on that biotch!

— Kalyn Vaughan (@kalynvaughan) June 21, 2013

After that I rewarded myself with a trip to Ross, where I always find amazeball deals but this time I was a little disappointed. I only came out with one dress and one sports bra. Not that I really needed either of those things, but that's not really the point here.

A selfie just because.

Saturday and Sunday I worked twelve hours and I somehow managed to still get enough pictures to have a decent blog post. Priorities, right? 

Most days I like to eat lunch in the break room like a normal person. But, sometimes people are weird in the break room. Or they talk too loud on their cell phones. Or sometimes I just don't want to socialize. Hence, car lunch breaks. They're pretty legit. So are summery lunches like this pile of fruit and chicken salad. Yummaay in my tummaay.

 

Saturday night Derek went bow-fishing with one of his friends (yes, this is where you shoot fish with a compound bow/arrow/reel) and I decided to make the most of it with redbox and chardonnay.

I rented Pitch Perfect, which I absolutely loved loved loved. And It's on my list of things I need to buy, like yesterday. I seriously could have watched it again, but I was feeling the wine and I knew I had a 5 a.m. alarm clock in my future. Speaking of feeling the wine, you know how people have these "tells" and they always know when they are "feeling" the alcohol. Well I never thought I had one of those until now. I don't know if its a new thing or I never noticed it, but my ears get pretty hot and red. Who knew? 

It was also the super moon (largest/closest full moon of the year) Saturday night. I was impressed. We live in the middle of no where with no street lights. So that tree you see on the right is only lit up from the moon. Fun story: my FIL tried to lock me out of the house while I was out taking the picture on the right.

Sunday really isn't even worth mentioning unless you want to hear some really gross nursing stories.

Link up with Sami and share your weekend shenanigans!

Happy Monday!!

The Silver Linings Playbook: Book Review

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

As you may have read here I finished reading Silver Linings Playbook this weekend. This book has been made into a major motion picture starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (who I'm currently in love with) so naturally I wanted to see it. As I was browsing B&N the other day, I came across the book. Which I didn't even know existed. As I've mentioned before I like to read, and I'm a little obsessed with reading books before I see the movie. Naturally, I had to buy this book. There was no way around it.

 

This book, by far, is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Yes, I have read easy, fun books that are light on the mind and quick to make you laugh. But this book made me think. The emotions I experienced when reading this book were almost overwhelming. One minute I was crying, the next I was laughing; and the next minute I was in awe at the simple joy the characters and story gave me.

 

The story centers around Pat Peoples who was released from a mental institution at the beginning of the book who believes in silver linings and happy endings. He has banned himself from watching movies, because he is currently focused on the movie of his life, directed by God. He is also a die-hard Eagles fan and avid runner and weight lifter. He uses these things to end "apart time" with his estranged ex-wife, Nikki, to regain old friendships, and to make new ones with Tiffany, who has her own dark past. The book deals with love, loss, life Philadelphia Eagles, family, trust, and Kenny G. I read this book cover to cover in less than 48 hours, literally could not put it down. I can't wait to see the movie. I am so glad I stumbled across this book, it will definitely be one of those "re-readers" that I'm so fond of.

 

So if you're looking for an invigorating, soulful, hilarious read, definitely check this one out. 

Grown Up Shenanigans

Happy Monday fellow blog lovers! This weekend was fantabulous in that I didn't have to work, except Friday, but that's okay.

Friday night we headed back to good ole Lake Martin for the third round of Kowaliga Idol to support our good friend Wes. It was a smaller group of us than last time but a good time was still had. Unfortunately Wes didn't make it to the fourth and final round, but he did so good. There was a lot of great competition.

Saturday Derek and I left the freezing lake house and took the long way home to go ....(wait for it)....... HOUSE HUNTING. Yes that is correct, we are finally taking a big grown up step and are going to buy a house....one day. We found a few just driving around that we liked, but didn't stop at any of them. Obviously we aren't going to be doing any purchasing at the moment since we aren't officially hitched yet. But it's lot's of fun to look.

Whilst driving around, we saw one of our good friends who then invited us to dinner at their house. Dinner turned into drinks which turned into a great night around a bonfire with some great friends.

Sunday was a lazy day spent lounging around the house keeping our toesies toasty with a fire. I finished up reading Little Altars Everywhere and was thoroughly impressed.

I really love the style of writing in this book and  The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. Where in TDSYYS Wells focuses on Sidda and Vivi both as children and adults, Altars has stories from points of view from all of the children, Vivi, Shep, and even some stories from Willeta and Chaney. these stories are mainly all when the children are growing up, except the last few which has a story from each child, Vivi and Shep in the present, reflecting back on their lives. If you've only ever seen the movie, I recommend reading both of these books since the movie takes stories and situations from both. They're both relatively short and written in a way that is so easy to read.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend, and an even better Monday. Don't forget to link up with Sami for Weekend Shenanigans!

Things that make me smile

"Just Because" flowers

Green Machine smoothies

Banana chips! If you haven't tried them, you must.

Watching my brother play football and my awesome boyfriend.

She's hilarious

Re-watching Harry Potter movies

Funny pictures/videos of cats.

Since the beginning