Life Lately

Spring is quickly slipping into summer here in the Big Easy. With the nice weather comes nice evenings spent outdoors. I grabbed a bite to eat and a few drinks with some co-workers last week at the Rum House and while socializing at the picnic tables outside, Drew Brees (Saints Quarterback) strolled by! Sure I have seen him in the Dome, but to see him walking down the sidewalk like a normal civilian was too cool!! Apparently he had just dined at the newly opened Magazine Street Dat Dog.

Along with the nice weather comes the thunderstorms too, though I am not complaining. One day last week at work it rained hard enough to have a repeat of Lake Euphrosine appear! Yesterday was a wet one too. I dodged the rain at the theater, going to see Matthew McConaughey's newest flick, Mud. I enjoyed it. I can boil it down to the story of a young man realizing that love is not as simple as he once thought. While Michael Shannon's role is not a big one, I always like seeing him on screen.

 

To follow up seeing a good movie, Brie, Witt, and I wanted to have a horror movie night. I was pre-warned that Witt gets scared fairly easily, so we made sure he was okay with the selection before deciding to watch Mask Maker which turned out to be a baaaad "scary" movie. Sooo cliche, sooo predictable, such a looow budget. Oh well, you live and learn right? He assured us he will have no nightmares after watching that atrocity. We will watch Cabin in the Woods next time we want to watch a clever horror movie!

So besides seeing famous football players off the field, avoiding flood waters, and going to the movies, I've spent my time recently catching up on laundry (I swear someone was using the washer every time I wanted to for nearly a week straight!), doing a little shopping, and chatting with AV who has returned to NOLA yet again.

Blast From the Past

After eating lunch at my Maw-maw's the other day I was putting the clean dishes away when I spotted these blasts from the past in the cabinet! I remember my Paw-Paw sending in UPC codes from his oatmeal for these fun bowls that change color when they get heated up. 

 

If my memory serves me correctly, there was another version from Quaker that was purple when cool and would turn pink when hot. I believe I ate the colorful popcorn that was popular in the 90's out of these bowls while watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman at sleep overs at my grandparents house. Oh the memories :)

 

Not Going Greek

I like yogurt as much as the next person; typically a nice fruity flavor does it for me, but I had not taken the plunge into the Greek yogurt craze until the other day. Stonyfield is my favorite brand of edible cultures so I figured I would give their Greek version a whirl.

 

 

All I can say is: No thank you! It was like eating strawberry sour cream. THICK. The taste was fine, the texture, however, left something to be desired in my opinion. I don't think I will be jumping on this bandwagon. It's regular yogurt for this girl!

Happy Birthday

Despite a few flight debacles, I was able to fly home last weekend for my Dad's 55th and Grandmaw's 90th birthday! It was great to be able to celebrate with them and see lots of family. Spring is in full swing in VA and everything was green and beautiful

 

 

FQF 2013

French Quarter Fest was this past weekend so Brie and I were social and braved the crowds on Saturday. The weather was ideal: not disgustingly hot nor too chilly--very Goldilocks and the Three Bears. As recommended by a co-worker, I started my afternoon with a "Purple Drink" from Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar which was basically grape slushy with Everclear and Bourbon...surprisingly yummy and refreshing!

 

As usual, there were a ton of people out taking in the free music: almost too many people for my taste. I enjoyed seeing the Minion Blimp bopping around overhead! Check out the Despicable Me 2 trailer below *ITS SO FLUFFY!!*

 

Looks cute!!

New Shows

I am always on the lookout for a new show to get addicted to! Unfortunately a lot of stories I enjoy come on in the fall so springtime can be kind of boring in the couch potato department. Luckily I have come across a few gems recently that should tide me over. Of course I love ol' Duck Dynasty. Si keeps me laughing week after week! But The Walking Dead just finished up its third season. Tear. (What am I supposed to do on Sunday nights with no Hell on Wheels, no Walking Dead, no Dexter, and no football?!) And my other usuals, New Girl, Glee, Modern Family, etc. are winding down for the summer. So to get me through the impending heat I have added Bates Motel, Hannibal, and Nashville to my list of shows! Nashville has been on since January, but I can re-watch those on abc.com to entertain myself. Bates Motel and Hannibal are both a little on the dark side, but hey, I like that kind of stuff. Looks like I will make it through after all! Any suggestions are welcome :)

 

P.S. Dexter will be back at the end of June this year: Hallelujah!!!

A Little Art for the Heart

Saturday evening Brie and I headed down to Julia Street to check out some art and indulge in a few drinks. We hung out at Dirty Coast who was showcasing a few local artists before wandering around. One gallery we went in, Arthur Roger Gallery, had some awesome pieces that were made of cigar wrappers. From a distance everything looks like antique tapestries, but you get closer and realize that it is pieces of paper/labels linked together. Too cool!

 

 There were other pieces featured as well, including that large wooden, multi-colored thing! It was fun to check out some new sites and stroll around in the perfectly non-humid warm evening! We topped our evening off with drinks and grub at a bar down the street I had never been to.

Movie Mania

Boredom often leads me on the road to the movie theater. I have no problem going to see a flick by myself and typically end up going solo. You aren't supposed to talk during the film anyway, so it makes sense to not sit beside someone you normally communicate with! Any way... my most recent cinematic adventures have been various. Check out my reviews below:

 

Spring Breakers: B+

This racey film has received many mixed reviews from critics and viewers alike. I did some research before seeing the movie so I was not shocked when it was NOT an American Pie/Superbad/Road Trip/Old School kind of production. There was not a lot of dialogue and the little bit that was spoken was often repeated numerous times. Scenery shots were frequently repeated as well. While the thought of James Franco decked out in cornrows, tattoos, and a mouth grill is certainly comical, there were no "funny" moments outside of a few ironic shots. I particularly enjoyed the multiple Britney Spears montages spread throughout the film. I completely understand why most people will not enjoy this movie, but I found myself okay with its oddness and am willing to see it again. Spring Breakers is definitely one of those movies that a parent would see and say "there's no way in hell my kid is EVER going on Spring Break!" It earned its "R" rating for sure.

Olympus Has Fallen: C-

This movie was what it was. There were big names (Morgan Freeman, Gerard Butler, Angela Basset, Aaron Eckhart, etc.) to draw you in, but the special effects and over the top action sequences were mediocre and cheesy. There was the quintessential good-guy-who-turns-out-to-be-a-bad-guy moment, the seemingly-failure-man-who-turns-out-to-be-a-hero in the end character, the macho-guy-nice-girl-love-on-the-rocks situation, and of course a terrorist-needs-information-but-he's-gonna-have-to-beat-it-out-of-the-president scene. Too campy and predictable for me. 

Evil Dead: B-

I have not seen the original Evil Dead, so perhaps that could be why I was a little underwhelmed by this insanely gory film. I love a good scary movie, but the formula of a crazy intense scene with heart attack-inducing music that suddenly comes to a head then immediately switches to the next scene of light-hearted filler is not my cup of tea. This movie did that a lot. I cannot imagine the budget for fake blood on this production. It seriously rained blood for a good 7-10 minutes of the film. I prefer a smarter horror movie like Cabin in the Woods (that was a good movie!). 

Snowy Spring?

On my last day at home, four days after the official start of Spring, we were greeted with a few inches of snow. Sure, it is pretty to look at, but it makes traveling no-fun. I spent the entire afternoon checking on the status of my flight, which, in the end turned out to be a little delayed, but did make it out.

 

 

 

 I don't want to see any more of this stuff for at least a good eight-to-nine months!