Baby Cakes

Debbie didn't want a shower so we just went out to dinner I made little baby cakes as thank you's. 

You buy a package of chocolate wafer's (I got them at Safeway) then you use some whipping cream and spread them between the wafer's to make the mini cakes, I did four. You refrigerate them over night so the wafers become soft like cake I put a little more whipping cream on top and added mini chocolate chips. 

I have had my eye on these baby lit books for awhile and was so excited to get them for baby Louise

I had so much fun looking through them I want to buy them for myself.

When Expectations meet Reality

Do you guys remember that brilliant scene in 500 Days of Summer when it shows side by side Tom's expectations of Summer's party and the reality of what really happened?

Too often in life we do like Anne Shirley so eloquently put, “I can't help flying up on the wings of anticipation. It's as glorious as soaring through a sunset... almost pays for the thud.” and like both 500 Days & Anne point out our reality rarely meet our expectations. 
Last night I was lucky enough to attend a special screening of Austenland, and although the only real expectation I had was that I would love it, it was a high expectation. My ever practical brain was trying to convince my heart to calm down because there was bound to be something that wasn't going to match my expectations. Imagine my surprise when the movie was over and my expectations were actually surpassed! 
I was pleased at how well it followed the book but also enjoyed the changes that kept me on my toes as well. If I was not laughing I was smiling, I'm not joking my friend Jenny complained about about how sore her face was from smiling! The whole cast really did just a wonderful job, and obviously had fun filming it. Hint stay for the credits.

Keri was delightful as the slightly awkward and yet lovable Jane Hayes. 

J.J. was completely swoon worthy as Mr. Nobley, that "Darcy guy". 

It was a dream come true to see Bret play a romantic lead, who knew he had a little swagger in him?

In my sisters opinion Jennifer Coolidge stole the show, and it is true that everything out of her mouth had me dying. If you think Jennifer was funny in anything else wait till you see her in this. 

Chelsea liked Georgia King's character and seriously there were a couple of scenes I thought I was going to cry from laughing so hard. 

Don't let the no shirt fool you there is more to Ricky Whittle than a pair of abs. All James Callis had to do was use his quizzing glass and I was laughing. 

When the movie was over my friend Chelsea looked over and laughed at the stupid grin I could not get off my face but we all loved it and agreed we want to see it again. And although I love Austenland & Jane Austen I don't think you need to like either to enjoy this movie. In fact I am going to encourage my brothers and dad to see it, I really do think they will enjoy it.  

Can it be August already?

I first posted about the movie Austenland almost two years ago back in July of 2011 and just feel it would be wrong not to do a post about the trailer as well.



I feel a little silly giving a play by play of the trailer since I can't imagine anyone will really care but I have found it fun when others do it so I am going to have a go.

First: Props to the production team, Jane's room is insane! The Darcy pillow, is that a chamber pot down by her bed. The whole "Darcy was here" is so disturbing it makes me feel like a little better about my obsession.

Speaking of Darcy pillows I like mine better...

Next I LOVE the Colin Firth, Mr. Darcy cutout. 

Well because I got to take a picture with Darcy/Firth at Shannon Hale's book signing which is where I first heard that Austenland would become a movie. 

It's hard to tell with the apron but Darcy/Firth is holding a copy of Austenland. 

Sony has been doing a good job with there marketing efforts I think, I particularly like the website they set up which makes sense when you see the brochure in Jane Hayes hands. Also is she packing a carpet bag? I always have wanted a carpet bag like Anne of Green Gables. 

Where did they get the carriage car we get to see Bret McKenzie who plays Martin chauffeuring. 

I like that they don't waste anytime introducing JJ Feild aka Mr. Nobley as the "one of those Mr. Darcy guys". 

Should I mention Ricky Whittle aka Captain East's abs? Alright you twisted my arm I will mention his abs. 

And if you haven't heard Shannon tell the story about signing his underwear YOU SHOULD. 

Any fan of the book would or I guess I should say love the Tally-Ho reference. 

I am also just as excited for the scenes I have no clue what is happening, other than it looks funny!

Oh man I am so excited for this scene! That little double blink Mr. Nobley gives making him look vulnerable makes me swoon, not to mention how adorable Bret is!

Mr. Nobley reminds me a lot of Captian Wentworth from the newest Persuasion adaption.

Don't you love the original songs Emmy The Great wrote/performed for the soundtrack as well?

Tally-ho indeed! 

Jane Austenland

Did you know that Pride & Prejudice is celebrating its 200th birthday on January 28th? I read this article that sums up Mr. Darcy pretty well, it's from Stylist UK.
"The attributes which Darcy possesses – he’s mysterious, intelligent, handsome, misunderstood, moral and unafraid of being mocked by a woman – still provide a template for the ideal suitor. A template which has been replicated by authors and film makers ever since; the unapproachable, difficult male figure who, although wholly unpleasant at first, turns out to be kind, gallant and selfless. And we fall for it every time."
And what better way to celebrate it's 200th birthday than by sharing the great news that Austenland the movie got bought by Sony Pictures after premiering at Sundance this past Friday! Which means it will be playing in theaters in the US later this year!
Here is an adorable picture of Bret, Keri & JJ at Sundance. 

HitFix had one of my favorite reviews...

"To be clear, Hess isn’t breaking any ground here. “Austenland” is a crowd-pleaser with a smart script and a cast that appears to be having a jolly ol’ time. What sparks the most is McKenzie who shows he can easily be a romantic comedy leading man (assuming the Oscar winner even wants to go in that direction) and Coolidge who may be doing her same old schtick, but hasn’t had this much screen time in years and is completely on her game.  Russell becomes increasingly more feisty as Jane takes control of her own story.  Feild does his best Colin Firth as Mr. Nobley and genuinely makes the audience unsure of who they want Jane to end up with.

“Austenland” is one of the most commercially friendly films to screen at the festival in years.  It’s hard to imagine almost every mini-major in Hollywood not having a serious interest in acquiring it."

Here is a Q & A with the actors after the screening. 

And a short clip from the movie!!!

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

Am I the only one who is super excited about seeing Bret in a romantic roll?

Discoveries

After reading and enjoying the book Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson I saw the author listing her inspiration as Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. I had tried to read one of Georgette's books before but didn't get very far but decided I should give her another chance, and I am so happy I did! Her books sometimes take awhile to get to the plot but they are so much fun once you get there. I read my first Georgette book in June and have since read six of her books so far but guess what she has written something like 50 books. I feel like a kid at Christmas the only sad thing is WHY DID I NOT READ THEM SOONER? As I have been looking on Goodreads and reading reviews it breaks my heart to hear others say they have been reading them since they were a teenager, I feel so left out. Another problem is they are not all that available in the library, but I did find that I can download their audio books from my library. AND GUESS WHAT I found out that Richard Armitage (aka Mr Thornton) narrates a couple of the audio books.

While trying to find said audio books from the library I discovered OneClickDigital  I downloaded the app and now can listen to a fairly big selection of audio books. Sadly they did not have any Georgette Heyer but they did have Midnight In Austenland by Shannon Hale, some Eva Ibbotson and Sarah Dessen. Overdirve another site provided by my library also has digital and audio books! 

Also I wanted to bring up The Lizzie Bennet Diaries again, I am still watching and liking them more and more. The girls no longer wear orangey make up and look how cute Mr Bing Lee is.

I want more people to watch so that way they can afford to keep making them and I can see their Darcy. You can check them out here. 

Watching

The Shins have a new album and this lovely music video that I love.

The Shins: The Rifle’s Spiral on Nowness.com.

So this is happening on youtube now. It is called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and it is a modern vlogging retelling of Pride & Prejudice.

So far there are seven videos but I am not sure how I feel about them. Lizzie isn't very Lizzie to me, she talks to fast and is a little to uptight. I am also not a fan of the girls orangey make up but I am watching and I think it is an interesting concept.

Last night my friend Lindsey was telling Debbie and I we should watch the SNL skits Bein' Quircky With Zooey Deschanel. I think I love Michael Cera the best.

The White Elephant In The Room

Our family tried out a new tradition this year, we decided to do an adult dinner and then a white elephant gift exchange. Personally I stressed over picking what present to get. I had bought Warrior before my brothers decided to come over and watch it. But I wanted it to be funny as well, then I saw that Anthropologie had Emma with this quote on the back. True it probably wasn't funny to anyone but me but I thought it was funny. 

I am happy because Debbie & Ashley were fighting over it and I really wanted a gift people would want. While I watched Warrior with my brothers the night before I wrote all 16 numbers out (yep that is my parents, siblings and in laws).

 After dinner we all went back to my condo for presents and desert. But first Mark and Ashley asked if they could use my bed room, when they came out they were dressed like this...

Here is my other brother Ryan modeling one of the fake mustaches he got.

There was lots of laughing and fun to be had, I am already looking forward to next years!

Two Gentlemen and a Lady

I found this picture

on Tumblr and then found the artist Nan Lawson's ETSY page and found lots of things I loved, for example...

Harry Potter love

Katniss love

This picture could be Debbie & I.

Margot & Richie love

I really wanted the Darcy & Elizabeth portraits but I am weird in that I don't like shopping online and it just didn't happen. Until I saw that Nan on her tumblr & twitter asked for suggestions and I suggested Ned, The Pie Man from Pushing Daisies. And guess whose suggestion she used...

Guess what I got in the mail today? 

The title of this post "Two Gentlemen and a Lady" is a quote from the movie Pride & Prejudice (BBC) and is referring to Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley & Darcy's sister Georgina. Don't you think Lee Pace (Pie Man) would make an excellent Mr. Bingley? 

Elizabeth Bennett is probably my favorite female in literature, because we so much alike. My sister in law Angie got my brother Brett to watch the Jane Austen movies with her, after she told him about the online quiz of which Jane Austen character you are. She asked him to guess which one I was and he guess Elizabeth, I got a huge grin on my face when Angie told me. 

I love that the pictures are of Elizabeth & Darcy because what I love most is how perfect they are for each other. Although I think Lost In Austen had it's fun parts it disturbs me that Elizabeth and Darcy don't end up together and that Elizabeth ends staying in modern day to become a nanny, how progressive of her (insert sarcasm font here). Speaking of Lost In Austen did you guys see that Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle & Julie & Julia) is going to be writing and directing her own version? You can read about it here. 

Speaking of fictional boyfriends yesterday I found out that actor Milo Ventimiglia who just happened to play two of my fiction boyfriends Jess from Gilmore Girls & Peter from Heroes

is on Twitter & Instagram. Like my friend Lauren pointed out following crushes on twitter is most likely not going to end with unfollowing. But instagram on the other hand just allows me to look  at pictures like this.

You're welcome! 

More Austenland - The Movie

At my book birthday party (see post below) some of us talked about how excited we are for Austenland the movie and I promised a friend I would send her links to some of the fun things I have found. Which I did but I have seen a lot of traffic coming to my Austenland post so I thought I would share the links with you all as well.
The following pictures came from Jennifer Coolidge twitter account...

Keri Russell is in the brown dress as Jane Hayes and Jennifer Coolidge as Miss Charming is in the pink dress.

Here is Keri & Jennifer again with the director Jerusha Hess.

The following picture of Bret McKenzie as Martin was taken from a film extra's twitter account.

The fan site Absolute JJ Feild also has posted pictures supposedly from set, I just didn't see where they got them so I am not going to say they are for sure. Although I think he does look very Darcy/Nobley.

There are more if you click on their link.

Screen Daily also did a great article that I already posted on facebook awhile ago about their on set visit. Here is one of my favorite parts...
"I witnessed Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords grinding up on Keri Russell, all the while wearing regency finery. Oh, and did I mention a Nelly song was playing? What more do you want from a film, people?"
What more could you want indeed.

Ricky Whittle twitted about production if you want to check out his twitter. He tweeted a picture, of some possible swim trunk wardrobe???

Mr. James Callis tweeted the following picture of himself as Colonel Andrews from his trailer...

Austenland Exclusive with JJ Field, Bret McKenzie, Georgia King & Ricky Whittle


If you want more you can read Shannon Hale's (author of Austenland book & co-authored screenplay) blog for her on set adventures.

I really want to see Austenland get picked up by a studio soon so I am going to do everything in my power to get the word out there!

30 Rocks!!!

I was not feeling so good about turning 30, every time I would think "30" my heart would get a little tight. But thankfully I am very blessed to have people in my life who helped me completely forget about my twinges of anxiety.
My birthday was Thursday, I started off the day by receiving Hey Tell messages from William & Gracie telling & singing me happy birthday. I took the day off of work & spent the day with my mom & sister. My mom picked me up and we met Debbie, Gracie & Joseph at Liberty Market for breakfast.

Then we headed up to Last Chance to do some shopping. After we went to Le Grande Orange for lunch. Other than the heat the day was perfect we all found some clothes, ate good food and had fun just being with each other. Debbie also gave me my own personal Library Kit, thank you Pinterest! I have always wanted to be a librarian & now I get to! It was also the start of my "book birthday party".

Saturday night Debbie threw me a book birthday party. It was such a fun & cute party! I should have taken more picture of all the cute things but I did get a picture of my food. Which was a huge hit!

And my friend Jenny Bradford, made the most awesome birthday cake EVER!!! Those are all my favorite books, and I am still just so amazed, thank you Jenny!
My other friend also named Jenny but Whipple is her last name made me these paper cuts of pictures from my trip to Europe, again my mind was blown.

When Jenny got to the party she told Chelsea she would have to apologize to her later. I was confused since Jenny had never met Chelsea, but then we understood she had taken Chelsea out of the picture. Not that she hadn't tried, poor paper Chelsea just ended up looking like this...

I can not even begin to explain the laughing that went on over poor sad paper Chelsea. Then Chelsea said she looked like a death eater & you couldn't have a death eater in the picture. Which only made us all laugh more.

Debbie throwing a book party was pure genius, I mean look at all the pretty books I got!

I have to tell you about the book Melissa got me. It is a fifth edition of Pride & Prejudice Volume II printed in 1902 in London England! I just can't get over how pretty it is, I showed Debbie and she said the same thing, it is so pretty. It has pictures and can you see how uneven all the pages are? Melissa swears she did not spend a lot of money since it was only volume II but I love it, it starts with Darcy's proposal, just when things start to get good!



Mimi got me these adorable Jane Austen pocket pads, they are so tiny and perfect. I always carry notebooks to write notes in. Each book is after a dance in a book & each have a little dance card in the front. I always wanted a dance card.

When I got home I tried to decorate with the new HUGE London & Paris books Chelsea got me. They are so pretty and I stuck my cake topper in a bowl filled with black beans until I can get a shadow box to put them in to go besides these...

                             

One of my friends named Jen wrote in my card that I was going to rock the 30's, and I have to say so far 30 has been pretty amazing! We had planned to make some book crafts, but once we get talking, there is no stopping us. I really had such a lovely time and felt so loved and grateful for such amazing friends. After everyone was gone and Debbie and I were relaxing on the couch after kind of helping clean up (thank you Russ you are made of awesome) I said to Debbie "I love all my friends".