This is 29.

I can’t believe it’s June. I know I say that all the time, but this time more than ever time has really gotten away from me! Here’s a quick recap on the last month or so.

I finished my last class for my MBA in Mid-August! SUCH a relief.

beyonce1(Best.gif.ever)

Sorry about that.

But. I’ve not properly celebrated yet. The immediate weekend after the semester ended I wanted to jump into some projects and began an early AM workout schedule (which for me, is a big deal, waking up extra early). But by the next Tuesday (yeah, day two of my school free existence) my plans were foiled due to a series of unfortunate events. First a throat infection, then an eye infection (that had me stuck wearing outdated glasses for a week). Then the best of all, I somehow tweaked my lower back swinging a sledge hammer at concrete last weekend, and as I’ve been coughing so violently I kept aggravating it. To the extent I was unable to walk on Saturday. I am that awesome at life right now. Three doctor visits, four prescriptions, and one shot in the hip later, and I’m on the road to recovery and I’ve been able to do some work from home. But seriously. Let me recap this for you. At the apex of this really fun ailment combo, I had 90 year old smoker voice/cough, swollen red eyes, glasses I can barely see out of, no makeup, could barely move, and when I did have to walk, it was a 3-inches-at-a-time hobble. Oh, and my back is shaped like an S now. So that’s awkward looking. Not how I pictured my last month in my 20s. I should be out finishing my list, or at least making lots of bad decisions to blame on my youth before it’s too late.

What I’ve actually been doing in my down time is less than exciting, but I’m sharing anyway.

  1. Collecting shiny old things via Ebay. Search “vintage estate jewelry lot” or “wear and repair jewelry lot” and you’ll find tons of great things for next to nothing. Getting an 8lb box of weird and broken mismatched earrings, buttons, brooches and chain is my idea of a great time. IMG_1570
  2. Watching The Vampire Diaries on Netflix. That Damon. Rawr.
  3. Also watching Dive!, a decent documentary by dumpster diving hipsters who delve into America’s food wasting problem.
  4. Reading A Discovery of Witches. I hope it gets better because I do love a good series. Except when they end and you feel like you’ve lost a part of your life and can’t remember what you did before you began them.
  5. Trying out Jamberry Nail Shields. Not toxic like nail polish or as spendy as a manicure or pedicure, they are pretty fun! They take a while to apply, but there’s no dry time like polish so I think it’s a wash. They have some really cute designs. I don’t recommend the glitter styles though – they are thicker and don’t lay flat and bond as well as the others seem to. IMG_1625
  6. Tending the garden. I haven’t spent the time I’ve liked out there, but it’s coming along nicely for early June. The lettuce, kale, peas and turnips especially are taking over the place. I picked my first strawberries today and pulled up about 15 decent-sized radishes!IMG_1626

There’s still time (barely) to work on some other items on my before 30 list and I feel okish about my progress there. Right now I am just trying to get better and start my 30s better than I ended my 20s!

What are you all working on/reading/watching/making these days?

when soundtracks were good.

I watched The Craft last weekend. Remember that movie? Outcast teens form a witches coven and get revenge on the jerks? Man, I loved that movie when I was 13.Turns out I still love it, but mostly I was re-impressed with the superawesome 90s rock soundtrack!!*

Man I miss the 90s. So I compiled a little list of my old faves from when movie soundtracks were great!

Smashing Pumpkins – Drown
From Singles (1992)
The Smashing Pumpkins aren’t my favorite band from the 90s.. they are my favorite, period!

Our Lady Peace – Tomorrow Never Knows
From The Craft (1996)
This movie has “How Soon Is Now” from Morrisey on the soundtrack yet I still picked this one because it was wrongly buried in the 90s!! OLP was one of my most favorite bands evah!

The Prodigy & Tom Morello – One Man Army
From Spawn (1997)
I am not sure why, but Spawn was one of those movies that my friends and I would watch over and over. Have you seen it recently? It’s totally terrible. But I loved this soundtrack. It still holds up!

Sponge – Plowed
From Empire Records (1995)
Duh, any 90s music/movie list requires this one. Super Grunge-lite soundtrack that was so perfect for the film. They don’t make slacker movies like they used to, man.

The Cure – Burn
From The Crow (1994)
I.love.every.song in this movie.

Joy Division – Atmosphere
From Trainspotting (1996)
Beautiful song. I can’t watch this movie – once was enough – but I can listen to this song over and over.

Lightening Seeds – Change
From Clueless (1996)
This movie came out when I was in my formative pre-teen years, learning what makeup was and just barely being aware of fashion. Back then fun and fluffy still had a quirky message, clever scripts, and killer soundtracks. I still la-la-love this movie. This song makes me so super happy!

Radiohead – Talkshow Host
From Romeo+Juliet (1996)
If you never saw this one you are missing out. Netflix it! It’s beautiful and the score was so ahead of its time. This Radiohead song is so good it hurts. This is a really dark and beautiful score, just like the movie.

Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove It)
From The Matrix (1999)
This is the only Matrix flick I actually saw, admittedly. I remember saying – “overrated – good soundtrack.” Yup. This Deftones song is killer.

L7 – Shove
From Tank Girl (1995)
Tank Girl had a budget of like $50 (or at least, it seems like it..) and still manages to be hilarious in its campiness and one of my fav movies from the 90s. Miss the riot grrl mentality and kick-ass females! This song isn’t the best on the soundtrack maybe, but totally sums up that 90s girl angst and was so perfect for the film.

So? What about you? Favorite film scores? Do you disagree this art died in the 90s? I can’t think of a really heavy-hitting film score in many recent films, except maybe Sucker Punch (which was ALL about the soundtrack because it was beyond horrible.. and it “recycled” some of the great soundtrack tunes from Tank Girl and Fight Club, to boot!).

*yep, rap was better in the 90s, too, but at the time I wasn’t watching Friday and listening to Dr. Dre – I was a rock kid!

500 days of summer

I know. I know. It’s kinda like Garden State 2.0. Whatever. This is seriously my new favorite movie ever. Quirky and adorable co-stars- check. Regina Spektor soundtrack- check. Great style {clothing and set}- check, check! It smelled of Garden State when the attractive/hipster co-stars bonded over The Smiths. But this one turned less happily ever after- an interesting thought-provoking message, wrapped up in a cute little hipster package.

I love Zooey Deschanel and her giant blue eyes and shaggy bangs. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is such a doll. Great chemistry, and the story is so fabulous. I won’t give it away for you. But lemme say, the IKEA scene was so brilliant and hilarious.

I’m such a sucker for pretty. I loved Summer’s apartment. So quirky, like little origami swans hanging on branches and framed skeleton keys. Sigh.

Images from Fandango.

penelope

Have you seen this movie? It’s absolutely charming. I can see this being a positive self-love message for young girls, but it really is an adorable movie for adults, too. Promise. And I do love Christina Ricci- is she ever not awesome?

I loved the set design and costumes so much! Think Pushing Daisies or Amelie- whimsical, with saturated colors.

{First photo: Rotten Tomatoes, second photo: Collider.}

This got me thinking about great set design and how much that can influence a movie. I can watch a bad movie the whole way through so long as it’s pretty. My top ten all-time favorite visual movies, {in no order, just a list} are:

  1. Amelie
  2. Marie Antoinette {Yes, the movie was kind of awful. But so pretty!}
  3. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
  4. Big Fish
  5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  6. American Beauty
  7. Romeo + Juliet {The 1996 Baz Luhrman one}
  8. Edward Scissorhands
  9. Frida
  10. Factory Girl

What movies am I forgetting? Any others you can recommend to me?