Frog and Toad

 Four decades ago Arnold Lobel wrote and illustrated Frog and Toad Together, and last night my son giggled his way through reading the first two stories in that book. Isn't that something? After forty years, Lobel's ability to capture kindness, friendship, and humor still resonates with the children (and parents) who pick up his early readers and open their covers today.

Last month it was announced that The Jim Henson Company would be developing Lobel's Frog and Toad into a film. I can't think of a better fit.

Images: Children's Book-A-Day Almanac, cllctr, cllctr

"Willie C.! Take care, man. Stay cool. Stay cool forever."

Every few months I come across the movie Beautiful Girls on television and I always watch it. It came out in 1996 and I don't remember ever hearing about it, but since then, during my absurd number of viewings, it has become one of my favorite comfort films. One of those movies I can watch over and over and I always enjoy it.

I will confess right now that a big reason for this is that the film takes place in a small New England town in winter and it is spot on. I love that everything takes place against a backdrop of near constant flurries and cold and the even the piles of old dirty snow that line the streets in certain shots make it feel like home to me.

The movie is about a group of high school buddies reconnecting for a reunion. It is a homecoming for one particular character, Willie, who now lives in New York City and makes his living as a jazz pianist in a bar. He returns home to Knight's Ridge where the rest of this group of close friends live and work...begrudgingly facing adulthood. He, too, battles with relationship and career decisions and the broader struggle of simply growing up.

Timothy Hutton is fantastic as Willie, but this film is really the definition of an ensemble. Matt Dillon, Michael Rappaport, Uma Thurman, and a young Natalie Portman round out a cast of endearingly flawed, funny, and real characters.

There are painful portraits of regret tempered with just the right amount of humor. It is like visiting with that group of good time guys from high school and seeing how it all played out- good and bad. It is nostalgic, immediate, and emotional- all that and worth the watch....every time.

''I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?''

Image courtesy of charlottekeiko.tumblr.com

I read in Entertainment Weekly that on March 22nd a 25th Anniversary Edition of the movie Stand By Me was released. This film, based on a Stephen King novella, not only seems to perfectly capture the feel and look of the 1950s- it has some pretty incredible performances by the four adolescent boys featured in the story of some friends traveling (by means of following the railroad tracks) to an adjoining town to see the rumored dead body found there by some older teens.

This is definitely one of those movies I can watch again and again and every time it ends in tears. Just as the reviewer Chris Nashawaty writes... "We've all been held hostage by coming-of-age stories that shamelessly cudgel us into sniffling submission. And while they might succeed in making us reach for the Kleenex, we rarely feel good about it afterward. Then there's a movie like Stand by Me (1986, R, 1 hr., 28 mins.), which gets your tear ducts working honestly."

If you are looking for a good cry....search no further.

Birthday

Image courtesy of D-504 via flickr

Happy Birthday to a gal who stands out in a crowd! Enjoy your day , Vivi....may the upcoming 365 days be your best yet.

a toast to vivi and mr.

I met Vivi in 7th grade science class. We pretty much immediately hit it off. We had a lot of important things in common. It had been surprisingly difficult to find another preteen Streisand fan and watcher of The Golden Girls up until then.
I have always considered her one of the best people I have ever known. Anyone who knows Vivi is aware of her intellect, compassion, and incredible sense of humor. She is one of those rare folks you can turn to in life's scariest or saddest moments and she instantly helps. No matter the demands of her own world, she will take the time to ground a friend who is adrift or bring a laugh when it is needed most.
I don't know Mr. all that well, but from what Vivi has told me and from what I have seen- in addition to being creative, funny, and generally wonderful... he is one of those rare folks too.

A wedding, in the simplest sense, celebrates love. A marriage is part celebration, but also it is about navigating life's constant chaos and I think Vivi and Mr. have a good team going. It is all about meeting the perfect partner- they just come in so handy.

Vivi is one of the first friends I found for myself as I was growing out of childhood. We were not brought together because our families were friendly or because we lived in the same neighborhood or happened to share the same kindergarten teacher. Twenty-three years ago, I decided to strike up a conversation with the girl sitting at the lab table behind me- in my whole life- it will always be one of the best decisions I ever made.

I wish Vivi, and her Mr., nothing but happiness- because nobody deserves it more.

Image courtesy of google

Oronoco Gold Rush Days

Thanks to a gal about town in Minneapolis, I learned of the Oronoco Gold Rush Days and I am so jealous I live half a country away from this event. This flea/antique market that takes place one weekend a summer in Oronoco, MN has been happening for over 30 years. Just based on the photographs my friend snapped during her day there, I know I would be crazy for it....
I heard vintage suitcases are all the rage....what a treasure trove.
Ah, the dreamy feathered hair captured on a tin lunchbox for posterity.
I love the groupings by color- it makes everything that much more appealing.

I wish that there was a market like this near my hometown.....even the photographs are fantastic finds from time spent there.

{All images courtesy of pairofjacks}

back to blogging

via SweetLoveVintage

I have been a very bad blogger as of late. I decided that in order to finish my dissertation this semester I was going to write like a madwoman for a month or so. Of course, this was not the brightest idea since I ended up isolating myself from everything that I actually like about my life including our little blog.

I've recently decided that it's okay to take an extra semester of graduate school in order get back to being a normal person now. And I'm so happy about this decision. I've cleaned my office, played scrabble on facebook, and am sheepishly starting to explain myself to the oh-so-patient friends who's emails and calls I've so rudely backburnered. Will they take me back? Who knows. Keep your fingers crossed. But I do so miss every day stuff like tea with my friend Ruby, going to the movies with my bf, stalking my favorite blogger, taking naps with my cats, and just being a normal person.

Anyway, in order to not get caught up in another marathon of writing/mental breakdown - I've looked into ways to better manage my time and right now I'm all about the Pomodoro Technique. Essentially, you just time yourself in order to get work done in 25 minute increments (broken up with 5 minute breaks). For some reason this system seems to be working well for me probably because I find such pleasure in making lists (manage your own time on the free mytomatoes.com). And yes, indeed, you should expect to be reading posts written in 5 minute breaks between 25 minute blocks of work, but it's 5 minutes (or so... one can cheat a little after all) of time that I am so happy to finally be giving myself again...

year in a bottle

I have this bottle of perfume I keep on my dresser, but I never wear it. I actually got it just to smell it. My sister smelled it once and said it smelled like the 80s. It is funny how a scent can be so significant to one person and be something totally different (or even nothing at all) to another. 

The smell of dewberry reminds me of Friday night movies at the mall.

The overwhelming scent of dishwasher detergent is every restaurant job I ever had. 

Drakkar Noir is the hallways of high school.

Orange tea is graduate school seminars.

The original Febreeze is being in Paris (I know, so weird).

I saw this perfume I mentioned in a Marshall's and the bottle was immediately familiar to me even though I had not seen it in more than a decade. When I went to college, states away from life as I knew it, I had a number of things to adjust to- the first being my roommate. 

She was a bona fide Houston debutante, hitting the campus with a purse for every outfit, the finest bed linens to ever see the inside of a dorm and an astounding array of beauty products- the perfume was one of them.

It turned out that she was the perfect roommate for me and one of the best people I met in college. I started borrowing that perfume in the fall and wearing it off and on throughout that first year on my own. 

It is independence and fear.

It is first love and real heartache.

It is being homesick and feeling empowered.

It is 18....right there in a bottle. 

{Image courtesy of deviantart}

New Year's Eve

"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. " - Harry Burns, When Harry Met Sally

A decade ago I spent New Year's Eve with Vivi- neither of us fans of the hoopla and both of us apart from our respective terrible boyfriends. We had plans to go to a party and then we didn't have them, so we spent the night walking in the freezing cold of Boston looking for a perfect spot to ring in the new century. It is a long story that ends with us eating pea soup and rice pudding, grabbing the first cab we could at 12:01 to get out of the single digit frigidity and getting back to my apartment for some When Harry Met Sally.

I love that movie and the quote I posted above. What I love most about that New Year's Eve however, is that I finished the century with the person who was with me through all the best and worst times of our adolescence, the person I laughed and cried with the most, the person who inspired and comforted me. I am always grateful for that (and that the aforementioned terrible boyfriends are not the lovely gents we call ours today). 

Happy 2010!

Image courtesy of leavemethewhite.com

Vivi minus Bootsie

So these altered comic strips are reflective of me now - a little strange and lonely without a smartalecky friend...

One of my dearest and loveliest friends, Bootsie, recently moved away to Alabama. I've known her for about around 7 years and in those 7 years we've laughed ourselves into stupors and have agreed on absolutely everything from books to boys. We've also agreed on absolutely nothing and have argued in the way only 13 year old girls know how to do (dramatically and viciously). Thank goodness we've also always made up like 13 year old girls too (dramatically, yes, but also sincerely).

Bootsie moved because she wanted a change, to be some place different and to do something different. I am so proud of her for wanting to shake things up and challenge herself in her life. I just don't like that it has to happen 8 hours away...

Anyway, Bootsie also introduced me to the wonderfully bizarre and brilliant "Garfield minus Garfield." It's a blog (and I quote) "dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle." Who knew that without the lasagna lovin' cat - Jon's life would become a series of three panelled Kafka stories? (Thanks, B., for the philosophical crisis... and I hope your unpacking is going well!)

(all comic strips from "Garfield minus Garfield")

Camera Crazy

Becoming

In October 2007, I started reading my first blog and after a few entries, I was hooked. Camera Crazy is the blog of a friend of mine, Gail Peck. She dubs herself a fledgling photographer (the journey started almost 3 Christmases ago when her husband gave her a camera) and I have been reading along as she hones her craft and shares her art.

It is especially interesting to be privy to an artist's process. I so enjoy reading about what it takes to get the shot she is happy with and how she comes across her very varied subject matter. In addition, Gail writes about her photography business and the up and downs of turning your passion into a career. Of course, I also love that her blog is filled with words of wisdom that go beyond photography and I'm always taking note!

I wish I possessed the vocabulary to truly discuss photography. It would be wonderful to pay my compliments properly, but I'll have to muddle through using layman's terms. When I see Gail's work, I'm always moved, intrigued, or impressed... very often, all three. There is something about how she can capture a moment or angle, how she grasps the fleeting- always uncovering the beauty.

Gail once wrote she is striving to make the ordinary extraordinary- I would say, mission accomplished. Here are just some of her incredible images....

Morning Has Broken

Delicacy

Mr. Baxter

Field of Joy

Oxymoron

Seduction

Color Fest

Ain't No Sunshine

35 Years Together

I suggest making a stop by Camera Crazy whenever you are in the mood for stunning photography. Gail never disappoints.

small stump + studio choo

I confess it was again the pictures that drew me into the site of studio choo. I am such a sucker for great photography and this site has so much of it. After scrolling through gorgeous shot after shot, I paused to read what they were all about- I immediately became an even bigger fan.

Studio Choo is the floral department of Small Stump. The designs
are the work of two best friends, Alethea Harampolis and Jill Pilotte, who
share a love for flowers that are just a little bit wild. They have a deep
appreciation for the handmade, and a desire to keep every day simple and
sweet.
Studio Choo uses flowers that are locally grown (whenever
possible) and always fresh and seasonal. The containers include “one of a
kind” vintage pots, hand-crafted vases from independent artists, and vessels
reclaimed sustainably from nature.

Imagine working with your best friend, doing something you love, and having an outlet for your creativity that results in something simply beautiful for others to enjoy. Sounds perfect. I wish I wasn't clear across the country because I'd love to have a studio choo creation to call my own- lucky San Francisco folk! For now, I'll have to settle for the pictures....

All images courtesy of studio choo

100 x 10

image from livedoor Reader (51902) via ffffound

I just noticed that today our blog has not only reached 100 posts, but also 10 friends! Such beautiful symmetry must be noted. So, Lorelei and Mae, thank you for taking on this blogging thing with me. You are both incredible friends with great taste and smarts to boot. If I didn't already love you... I'd probably hate you. And thank you to our very discriminating and select group of readers. We are flattered that you visit us never mind leave us such thoughtful comments. We read each and every one (like 3 times).

So can anyone let me know if 100 posts is like 100 episodes of a sitcom? Is anyone going to wheel in a giant cake with our banner on it? Are we going to be on "Entertainment Tonight"? Mary Hart, where are you?