Movie Review: Like Crazy

I want you. I need you. I love you. I miss you. Like Crazy.

Stars - Dead Hearts from Stars on Vimeo.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE! For all the hopeless romantics out there- this movie is better than The Notebook. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones play Jacob and Anna. A British college student (Anna) falls for an American student (Jacob), only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa. The two are determined to be together, to make it work, but there are obstacles to overcome. Their love story all began when Anna left a note on Jacob's car admitting to how she felt about him. If only more people would take the time to admit how they feel instead of keeping it a secret.

"I thought I understood it. But I didn't. I knew the smudgeness of it. The eagerness of it. The Idea of it. Of you and me."

leslie FEIST

Fall Fest

I cannot WAIT for Halloween. My bestie Bree and I are in preparation for our Fall Festive weekend. On Friday we will be going to our high school’s football game followed by a stop at Starbucks for Pumpkin Spice Lattes. This was a weekly routine we had in the fall during our good ol’ high school days. Saturday we will be babysitting for one of her neighbors so we are going to make pumpkin cupcakes with some spooooky decorations on top. I also want to try and make Halloween Bark like the one here. Sunday we will be going to a pumpkin patch and have a relaxing day carving our pumpkins and watching Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas by the fire. Which then leads us to Monday….pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, make caramel apples and watch Hocus Pocus.

A daily challenge, are you game?

It’s Monday morning, I don’t know about you, but sometimes it is hard to get going. Today, try finding a way to celebrate you, another person close to you, or hey, a few people close to you! Or even a stranger. For yourself, treat yourself to something special. Being lazy for an hour, lying under a tree, taking a bath, downloading some music, looking through old photos. Something you haven’t done in a while. For someone close to you, leave them a funny note, point out something wonderful going on for them at the moment, leave them a funny voicenote. Post a picture of them and say something wonderful, for all to see. For a stranger it can be something so small, compliment them, their outfit, look them in the eyes and smile. I bet if you do only one of these things today, it will be a much better day. Monday! A great way to start the week and ignore the fact that it is a little bit harder to wake up.

Song of the Day

"The Wolves," Ben Howard.

Quote of the Day

"Nothing's far when one wants to get there." -Queen Marie of Romania

I booked my ticket to go to London March 12-19. My mom and I are going because my cousin Gary is getting married. The wedding is actually in Ireland so we will be booking those tickets in the next coming weeks. I am so excited!

cousins weekend

So every year, the girl cousins (from the Rooney/Gilboy side) over the age of 21 get together. This year my cousins Erin and Colleen hosted in Maricopa, Arizona. Early Friday morning my aunt Susan, cousin Andrea and I made the long drive to Arizona. We were greeted at the door by everyone else who flew in the night before.

Saturday morning was another early morning because we wanted to get our cousin bonding walk done before it was too hot. We made our way to Wild Horses Pass around 9:30 am (it was probably 95 degrees then) and began our 2.5 mile walk. Even though it was really extremely hot, I still managed to enjoy the scenery....though not the signs that said, "Beware of Rattlesnakes."

After the walk we went back to Erin's house to eat brunch, hang out, some went swimming in the pool, before we moved on to our next bowling event- bowling. And let me just say I should join a bowling league. During the second game I scored 6 strikes! And 3 of them were in a row, so I got what's called a turkey. The man who worked at the bowling alley even announced me as the cousins weekend bowling champion, but I was too busy concentrating on my form to hear him. We them made a pit stop at BevMo (of course) to load up on more wine, cider, and daiquiri mix before going home to make dinner. The evening was very relaxing after dinner. I learned how to play the card game Scat (something I also have a knack for), we looked at old photographs and we talked....A LOT. The main topic of this weekend was: babies. Three of my cousins just had babies recently and my cousin Andrea is hoping to get pregnant soon. Needless to say I am not. Noreen and I were the only ones there who haven't had children so we felt a bit out of place. But we did get plenty of parenting advice.

It was great to spend time with my family. I love them very much and cherish every moment with them (even if it includes moments of drama, which trust me, there were).

Movie Recommendation: Drive

Go see the movie Drive for the soundtrack....and Ryan Gosling of course.

Movie Review: Jane Eyre

I have finally got around to seeing Cary Fukunaga's film adaptation of Jane Eyre. Let me just start off by saying...I LOVED it. I know, I know, I am a bit strange because I absolutely love period pieces. The costumes and old fashioned manner and way of speaking always makes me wish I lived during the 18th/19th century.

Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Bronte about a plain, naive, sometimes outspoken governess, who softens the heart of her employer Mr. Rochester, who is hiding a secret in the back room of his house. I remember reading the novel during my sophomore year in high school and I remember every boy complaining about having to read it. The girls in my class were the ones that lead the discussions about Jane and Rochester's romance and whether they were meant to be together. In the beginning, Rochester treats Jane with disrespect making her feel inferior to him. Yet deep down he loved her, he just didn't know how to act around her since it was proper for a wealthy man to marry his governess.

Cary Fukunaga's film adaptation of Jane Eyre made me want to read the novel again and again. Though I do think that he makes Mr. Rochester (played by Michael Fassbender) a bit more likable in the film. In the novel you want to hate the character because you believe that Jane deserves someone much better. Be warned that the film was a bit slow like most period pieces are, but the score, costumes and greenery make you wish you were actually there at the Fairfax Manor. The mainly piano based score added to the ambiance of the slow blossoming relationship between Jane and Rochester leading the audience content with the happy ending. My favorite scene is one in which Mr. Rochester lights a fire for him and Jane after Jane finds out his secret. You see his hand holding a match to the wood and the wood slowing catching fire, the flames moving upward til the fire is set.

I must admit that I also enjoyed the film due to the attractive men in the film. Jamie Bell plays St. John Rivers who is a bit hostile and angry at the beginning when he first meets Jane but this is only because he wants to marry her. Why is it that men always treat women poorly when they like them? Just tell them. Jamie Bell is English so of course, naturally, I would like him. And Michael Fassbender plays the sometimes intolerable Mr. Rochester. Again, why can't he just tell Jane he has feelings for her? After watching the film I searched Fassbender on iMDb and found out that he was Irish! Perfect match. Only 12 years older. He was linked to Zoe Kravitz who is the same age as me so there is still hope, I may have a chance. So to sum things up, if you like romantic period pieces this is another one to add to your collection.

Compliments

Not too long ago, I was telling my mom that I really missed my 7th graders at Colina Middle School because they were so sweet and always gave me compliments. I always graciously accepted the compliments because I love fashion and I do take the time to plan my outfits. High school students are a whole different story. They don’t care about what you wear (you can tell by the outfits they come to school in). If they did like your outfit, or headband, or whatever- they would never tell you. They are just too cool. But today I not only got one, but TWO compliments on my outfit. This was especially pleasing because one of the students is an AVID senior and the AVID seniors currently hate me. I am not sure why they particularly liked this outfit…I did not plan this one at all. I was running late and threw it on.

Forever 21 tan sheer blouse, belt, black bell bottom pants, brown vintage Nine West ankle boots, Ray Ban Wayfarers

Fall Quotes

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." -A quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne In honor of my students reading The Scarlet Letter.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

Fall Clothing Essentials

plaid. midi skirts. mens wear.

something velvet.

chelsea boots.

October: my favorite month

Today marks the first day of my favorite month, October 1st. People always say that Southern California doesn't have seasons, but I beg to differ. I will admit that our changes in season aren't as drastic as other places like Oregon or New York, but SoCal still has a "fall" season. There are many reasons why October is my favorite month, below are just a few: 1. Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin

2. Friday Football Games

3. Cozy, lazy weekends in bed

4. Layers, layers, layers

5. Halloween

Yesterday I went to my high school's football game. It was the perfect day for Friday night afternoon football. The residents of PV will not allow the high school to install lights because they don't want people from "off the hill" to come to "the hill." So dumb. So even though it wasn't a Friday night game, it was still the perfect almost perfect afternoon. After school I went to my car to move it to the parking lot closer to the football field- to my surprise I had a flat tire. So I called AAA and they came to my rescue in about 10 minutes! As I waited for the AAA man to put on my spare tire it began to rain. I stepped under my open trunk to keep dry. It was still raining when the game started, but soon after it stopped. The overcast, gloomy weather was perfect. I was all bundled up with a leopard print sweater and the perfect vintage Nine West ankle boots to complement my outfit. After the game I went home and immediately got in my pajamas, under my covers and started to work on homework. Even though my Friday night was uneventful, it is those kind of nights that I most look forward to in October.