#38

Holly, Amber and I watched this movie close to the end of April.  If you haven't spent much time with this sister duo, you should.  They are some of the sweetest, kindest girls that I know.

Mo is a "Silvertongue".  When he reads aloud, his voice brings the characters out of the book and into our world.   The downside is that he doesn't know which characters will come out and he finds that as they enter our world, someone must enter the story.

I really like the idea behind this story, but I didn't like the execution.  The movie seems very dark and choppy.  I'm hoping that when I watch it again in a few years, I will like it more.

Till then, maybe I'll try reading the books.

#37

This is the third movie that Lalana and I watched in April.  Such a crazy girl movie...

The girls in that family are so different.  One is crazy for love - "Marianne does not approve of hiding her emotions. In fact, her romantic prejudices have the unfortunate tendency to set propriety at naught."  The other one is so reserved that she is blown away when it actually happens to her - "I am by no means assured of his regard and even were he to feel such a preference I think we should both be very foolish to assume that there would not be many obstacles to his marrying a woman of no rank who cannot afford to buy sugar."

I feel like I totally identify with the youngest, especially when she says "Please don't say anything important 'til I come back."

Overall it is a period piece where women acted much different than they do now.  I find it both romantic and frustrating.  But I always cry at the end when Elinor gets her man.

#36

This Cinderella like story is full of funny / sassy moments.  Poor Ella is givien the gift of obedience from her crazy fairy godmother as a little baby.  Through her independence and strength she finds, not only her true love, but also the strength to break free of the "gift".

I like the fact that she doesn't sit around waiting for someone to save her.  She goes off on a quest to break the spell, so she can make her own choices in life without being compelled to listen to others.  But I also like that in the end she finds her happy fairy tale ending.

My favorite part is when she is with the giants and they tell her to Sing!  Half way through one says, "Give it a little more soul!"

Chick flick #2 with Lalana in April :)

#35

I have the edited version of this romantic comedy.  It is a laugh out loud / cry a little bit / great love movie.  My two favorite story lines include the writer and the Prime Minister.

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at the airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends.  If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around."

This is the first of three chick flicks that I watched with Lalana while she was here in April.

Lalana

Back in April, my friend Lalana came to visit me.  This girl completely rocks - she has been to visit more than a half a dozen times since I moved to Virginia and it seems to me that once or twice a year isn't quite enough.

This visit we made our way into D.C. on Thursday to try out Ollie's Trolley.  The milkshakes here are amazing.  Just keep in mind to bring cash, because they don't take credit cards.

On Friday we went to Bread & Chocolate and totally enjoyed the chocolate fondue for brunch.  After that we went to the Ross to do a little shopping and we watched a movie that night.  Saturday, I'm sure Lalana didn't have as much fun.  I ended up procrastinating as usual and I needed to do my taxes.  When I was finished we went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Ping,  the food was good, not great, but good. Later Saturday night we went to the Black Cat to see the band "Lost in the Trees".  I'm always amazed at how much I enjoy live music.  I should go to concerts more often.

Sunday we went to church and watched a movie, it was a nice slow day.  Monday we went to the D.C. Arboretum and then we took a walk to the mall to go to Sephora.  Tuesday, Lalana went home.

I always have so much fun when she is here.  Lalana is the kind of friend that I need in my life.  She just loves me for who I am.  Sometimes we don't talk for months at a time, but whenever we get together it seems like nothing has changed.  So a big blog shout out -Lalana, thanks for being so cool :)