Guilty Pleasures Installment #1: Movies

We all have 'em. These are the movies we watch in the privacy of our bedrooms. Maybe a friend comes along for the ride but most of the time, it's a solo event. Usually watched via the laptop with a pair of headphones plugged in when we know that our roommates/boyfriends/girlfriends/parents/siblings are going to be away for a good 2+ hours. We don't wanna scare them by revealing that we secretly still watch that godawful Disney movie or have a more, ahem, kinky facet to our personality. Or that despite our well-known penchant for Wes Anderson and Stanley Kubrick films, we secretly love teen flicks with shitty dialogue.
Everything on this list above? Applies to me completely and believe me, there is not a whole lot I can do anymore that would shock a person. Truth. Below are my favorites and the reasons behind each one.




She’s the Man

*Amanda Bynes is one of those girls in Hollywood that I always feel should be in more movies than she actually is. Her comedic timing is spot-on and she embodies the essence of the ideal girl next door. I say, get the girl some meatier scripts ASAP.

*Alex Breckenridge makes a great jealous ex-girlfriend. Monique is attitude with a capital A.

*My favorite lines include "Chew it as if you have a secret." the advice that Julie Hagerty gives Viola (Amanda Bynes) as she gnaws into a chicken leg during the debutante dinner.

*And the dancing "I get to take a shower" sequence. I laugh every time and the laugh, my friends, is genuine.

*And everything related to the "Do you like cheese?" discussion

*David Cross plays the principal. Some fictional schools get all the luck.

*I have listened to the commentary for this movie more times than absolutely necessary. Is it weird that I think the commentary is funnier than the movie? Listen to it and see if you agree.

*This film is very loosely based on "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare. I must stress that because unlike certain movie and book adaptations that mirror one another closely, this one is not one of those and must never be cited in a British Literature paper. Not that I ever did that or anything...

*The Veronicas, The Faders, and even one of my personal favorites Goldfrapp are all included on the soundtrack. The Faders "No Sleep Tonight" must be the new teen girl anthem, it gets playtime during the first "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" film too.

*Am I the only one who first thought at first glance that the hairdresser Paul bore a striking resemblance to Jude Law? Hence one of the reasons I compulsively watched this movie all throughout the Winter of '07.



Secretary

*I really don't even remember how I heard about this movie at all. I don't remember how I stumbled upon it in Blockbuster either. I'm thinking that the DVD jacket and movie poster reeled me in. I mean, c'mon now. That picture is sexy and the tagline of "Assume the position" could not have been more perfect to accompany it.

*This movie seriously disillusioned me that one day, I the misfit young girl could wind up getting a secretarial job for an older, more eccentric man with James Spader facial features. This man would subject me to verbal abuse and eventually that would spiral to getting spanked in the office, chaining my arms up while carrying my boss a cup of tea and delivering letters via crawling on my hands and knees with the letter in my mouth. But despite all of this, he would still love and care about me and would eventually save me from marrying a nice guy who was a dud.

*Maggie Gyllenhaal's wardrobe was awesome. Pencil skirts, nylons and fitted blouses everywhere. Love it.

*There is attention paid to color in this movie big time. In Mr. Grey's office, the flower 'aquarium' is gorgeous, with many pink hues. Lee's dream/fantasy sequences are also filled with very bright, eye-popping shades.

*"I'm your secretary." If you walk away from this movie with any line of dialogue memorized, this will be it. I also have the whole peas and mashed potatoes at dinner line down pat too. This is what I do with my life when I'm not in school or at work.



George of the Jungle

*There is no determining where I got my love for this film from. We did watch it in the 6th grade and that was the first time I saw it. I can assure you though, my great enjoyment for this movie had nothing to do with finding Brendan Fraser to be attractive. I was still heavily in my Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane in "Sleepy Hollow" phase and not even a shirtless jungle man was going to pull me free from that one.

*Once I actually arrived late to my friend's house because GOTJ was on TBS and I didn't want to miss it. Depressingly enough, this sort of behavior from me as a middle school/high school student was recognized and accepted with my friends, bless them.

*Last year I realized that Ursula was played by Leslie Mann and this caused me to rewatch the film again because Leslie Mann is all sorts of crazy amazing.

*The sequel is a big steaming pile of crap. Don't watch it.

*Thomas Haden Church literally has perfect hair in this movie. I was in awe of it.

*Along with Mrs. Doubtfire, these two movies made me stop dreaming of living in New York and started up a San Francisco fantasy dream instead. I think The Sweetest Thing also deserves a cut in that as well. Come to think of it, every now and then that one is also one of my guilty pleasures but only in pieces, not the whole film.



Havoc

*This is the mother of all guilty pleasures in film for me. Not only does it contain terrible dialogue and follows a formula but somehow, it managed to rope in big name actors who normally wouldn't be caught dead with this kind of film on their resumes.

*And by big names, I mean Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Bijou Phillips is also in this film, she of one of my other favorite craptastic flicks, Tart.

*Filthy rich teenagers from Pacific Palisades act ghetto and gangsta because according to Hathaway, "We are totally, fucking bored." They get a taste of their own medicine when they start hanging out with actual drug dealers who push these Daddy's girls to the brink. The amusing part of the whole thing is watching Hathaway and Gordon-Levitt along with their pals talk in Ebonics. No matter how much bling and Baby Phat you dress them up in, their pedigree keeps them from being able to pronounce 'aight' in the right way. Only Bijou Philips seems to be able to pull it off. That's my girl.

*I'm pretty sure that Josh Peck from "Drake and Josh" plays Bijou's little brother at the breakfast table. I haven't IMDB'd it or anything but it looks an awful lot like him.

Love to you all,
Heather

That Nice POP of color!

I seem to always be attracted to something rather bright and bold...these shoes fit in that spectrum perfectly. They are quite magnificent, aren't they?

Love to you all,
Heather

All Your Pretty Fantasies

I think this is one of the most romantic and lush spreads in Elle in recent memory. Marc Jacobs made an excellent choice in choosing Karlie Kloss (who incidentally is from my hometown and still currently attends school out there). It's all so innocent and lovely and the pastels and lighting are among the softest I've seen in awhile.







I really love Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" right now too...it's such a beautiful song. Lately things have been not so swell for me but I find that no matter what, you can always stitch the situation back together by finding joy in the small things in life (nature especially) and music holds such a big part of being able to get through and make it out triumphantly to the other side.

PS, This title for the spread makes me want the correspondingly named film ;)

Love to you all,
Heather

Our Gang

It's sweet, sweet Thursday.
Do you know what your gang is up to?
Want to know why they're going on a road trip?



What about the green man?
Maybe you'll see him (yeah, that's not happening).

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, tonight on FX at 10. I'm excited but you know, I'm containing myself better than last week. If you aren't practically offering your soul for it to be 10pm already, that's good. You're already a step up from me. I've offered my soul so many times over the years that its net worth is clocking in at -5.379.

Love to you all,
Heather

Get Out of the Way Sleeping Beauty, I Need the Sleep!

Aurora.
How many times must I say this? I am the one who has been exhausted these days, not you. While you were hanging out in a cottage, picking berries and having fairies make cakes for you, I've been dealing with the real world. I have to make a postcard for copyediting, write 2 articles for the school newspaper, start a take home exam and make it look freaking amazing, math homework and figure out what the hell I'm trying to prove in a honors paper on social networking sites. All. By. Friday.
Some by Thursday, others by Monday.
I also have to work. The only real issue you had was whether the dress your godfairies are making you would be pale pink or baby blue.
So get out of the way and let me touch the spindle already. I would gladly run, not slo-mo shuffle to that needle.



Pretty much everyday these last three weeks I've been exhausted. Lots of factors contributing to that. It's wildfire season and thus, much hotter than before. I have a stupid cold that refuses to go away. Homework will probably replace the dirt that covers my casket when I pass on from all of the assignments I have to do...you get the picture.

So I think about pillows. Pillow has long been a favorite word of mine. It sounds soft and cozy and just thinking about pillows puts me in a good place mentally.

Check out these pillows above! They are called Livingstones and are designed by a French company to look like rocks. I like the idea of cuddling up against to something you normally wouldn't and they do look ever so tranquil and cuddly...

Love to you all,
Heather

THE BIG GREEN

Ahh Eva Green, cover girl of Citizen K, you are my forever muse. PS, you are gorgeous as a redhead.



I love this woman to pieces. She is my biggest inspiration.



On Saturday night, I went to a wonderful club called Bogie's. I met the most beautiful man there, named Yusef (spelling?), oh holy fuck, he was too much. It was as if someone had reached into my head and plucked out my dream man, seriously he was literally like a character I could write about. It bears documenting that I write about him because I thought the group I came with was leaving so I had to say goodbye to him really quickly. It turned out we were not leaving but by that time, he had left...very crushing. Seriously though, this man was jaw dropping. Very Eastern European (Russian accent). So I guess this is my version of the Craigslist's 'missed connections', he would never read it but in any case, that man is the reason why I will have a hard time concentrating on anything in the next 24 days. Gah, I wish I could have a Sliding Doors esque life...I need a 'what if' scenario.
Plus this gorgeous weather isn't making my homework pile any easier to work on.

Love to you all,
Heather

What the hell was that? It's just my life.

Did Adventureland get enough credit? I'm thinking not so much. As far as movies go representing our (or the 1990s) generation, this one fared pretty well.
If Waiting was a hallmark for anyone who has ever had to work 3+ months in the food service industry, then Adventureland is the same for anyone who has ever had to endure the carny lifestyle.
James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) was all set to spend his summer before grad school backpacking through Europe until he hit a financial snag and had to settle on working at the local carnival back in his hometown. A full summer of running the games booth with rigged games galore and the never-ending soundtrack of Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus." Pure heaven, right?
Brennan's got a crush on Em (K-Stew, doing a pretty decent acting job) who also works the games booths. She's torn between him and another guy...


Mike Connell (Ryan Reynolds) who goes by 'Connell' and happens to be married but does oblige to Em by taking her to his mom's basement anytime he wants to be with her. He's kind of a douche but the unfortunate attractiveness that Reynolds possesses makes it hard to really hate on the guy.
So Brennan switches tactics and gets with the hottest girl on this side of the 'rides'...


Lisa P (Margarita Levieva) who does quite a good job acting in this film. Only in the world of teen flicks can a nerdy guy get with all of the hot girls in a matter of two hours.


But my favorite character is Joel played beautifully by Martin Starr, who you might recognize from other bromance comedies like Knocked Up and Superbad. He provides the voice of reason for Brennan and has a wonderfully dry sense of humor. Only in this movie could he get away with calling a hat a "chapeau" while stoned. And his list of job occupations post-graduation include "cabby, hot dog vendor, marijuana delivery guy...the world is my oyster." Hilarious.

Overall I would definitely recommend this movie because it has the great way of taking you back to the past when you watch it. And the soundtrack is also excellent. Bowie, The Cure, INXS and of course, gotta have that Falco song.

Love to you all,
Heather

Heads Will Roll

WiFi has been down for a couple of hours making it difficult for me to download a song I wanted but now we are back and running and I am loving the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll"...which I do realize is in a "The City" commercial but oh well. Sometimes those in charge of the marketing for reality shows do find truly catchy songs.

I'll be totally honest right now. If I had my way, there would be a trail of decapitated heads lining from the admissions building to the furthest residence hall, Trinity. I woke up this morning with a mouthful of bitch pills and have been in a sour mood for the majority of the day. There isn't a particular reason either...I just haven't been feeling like myself for awhile. All I want to do is sit outside in the sun and let the sunlight and wind hug me. Instead I'm in a cold classroom, mindlessly scribbling in my notebooks and locked in a perpetually bored state where I'll just say anything even if it isn't related to our topic of choice.

Senioritis has struck...only the second week in.
Oh boy.

At night I like to sit alone in the bleachers and stare at the stars and the various shades of the night sky while listening to Liv Kristine and The Arcade Fire. Thoughts about the past, present, future, images, colors. It's becoming one of my favorite sweet escapes from just general life and education.

I wonder why I am the only one who does this? Or at least the only one I see anyway.

Moving on, if we're getting slice and dice friendly, inspiration must follow.



Cliche I know to include some Alice in Wonderland but just look at Anne Hathaway...she's ethereal. Ah, 2010 you are gonna be great.



As it turns out, all of my best friends and I were absolutely obsessed with Sleepy Hollow when it first came out. Who wasn't? This was a movie that globally affected young girls everywhere. I watched this over and over in the 6th grade and developed a huge crush on Johnny Depp and the wardrobe of Christina Ricci. Colleen Atwood is too good...her costumes make me blush, they are so top notch.



Back in high school, I used to get dressed and watch music videos for hours until it was time to go to school. I stress hours because I used to wake up at 6am just to watch whatever the MTV/MTV2 or VH1 channels had to offer. Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For" was one of my favorites. Trippy and pretty.

Love to you all,
Heather

You Are the Move You Make

I like dresses and these are a few of my favorites from this season.

Rue du Mail



Dolce and Gabbana, "Monroe" dress



Monique Lhuillier

It's a short one today thanks to my soul-crushing homework pile...ick.

Love to you all,
Heather

10

Stolen from the lovely Lee Beth...

1. My mail finally arrived today after a five day delay. It was wonderful. Thank you cards, a phone bill (I needed it!), magazines, and handmade jewelry from Kelsey back home…my mailbox was packed to the brim!

2. I am currently in the midst of planning the ultimate surprise. No further details yet…it’s extremely tentative.

3. I dreamt I was in a flood yesterday morning and last night, I dreamt that my roommates were moving from me and I was left alone in a messy room. According to my research, dreaming of a flood means that you are overwhelmed but does represent the start of a new phase in life. The moving one means that your personal life is changing.

4. Felix da Housecat’s new album He Was King is my new sound for the week.

5. Two words: Clark Kent. And that is all I am saying.

6. I still exhibit brilliant gift wrapping skills despite the fact that I haven’t wrapped a present in over 6 months.

7. I had four hours of sleep yesterday. Woke up at 8:30 this morning to watch Alfie on TV. I love the scene where Sienna Miller turns around for the first time. It makes me wish it was snowing out.

8. This Thursday marks two special occasions. I will have been a vegetarian precisely one month.

9. The other is that the new season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia starts up again.

10. Andrew Bird is beautiful. I am struck speechless.

Love to you all,
Heather

The True Adventures of Blondie and Brownie

That title is actually based on the nicknames that one of my friends back home Melissa and I have for one another. It came out of an angry gimpy armed customer at the Subway we worked at and just kind of stuck.

It's a running joke at my dorm out here about the relationship between my Cali blondie roommate Amy and I, the uh, Midwestern Brownie (I sound like a Carl's Junior dessert option) and our contrasting hair personalities. We have our dorm room door decorated with pictures of various people/dolls that resemble each other highly.

Being in the whole "opposites attract" mode and trying to avoid a massive pile of homework, I found other famous contrasting buds. I'll classify just myself in these photos. The only reason I'm omitting describing my blond friends is because my track record for very close friends is almost exclusively all blond. I'll just let the potential creepiness of that statement sit there to be judged and then filed away.



I gave up on Gossip Girl after the first season. Mostly because I had to work on Monday nights but also because as a devoted fan of the Cecily von Ziegesar that birthed the original GG, I couldn't follow along with the way off the trainrails Josh Schwartz scripts anymore. Nowhere in that script did he ever mention how in the novels Blair hacks off all of her hair to Mia Farrow length which was one of my favorite fashion moments ghostwritten in the books and I won't even touch on the dramatic differences between Vanessa on screen and in the pages. I do however follow the Leighton Meister and Blake Lively fan photo galleries to observe what the ladies are frocking that day.

I am the Blair without a doubt. I do have a pair of red tights that I wear every now and then on campus. I am also highly conscious on the whole headband trend. And I've also been spending some time drooling over the Ralph Lauren section at Macy's as of late. This makes me feel old but those pieces are simply timeless. Ruffles and simple bold shades galore. I applaud whomever dresses the store mannequins.



The Keira only definitely not as thin. My body would collapse if I was that bony. Actually it would fall to pieces the moment the Pop Tarts stopped entering it.



Ahh ScarJo and NatPo. Not even sure if that's Natalie's nickname but it works. Two smart, lovely ladies. In this scenario, you would have to give Scarlett a quickie brunette dye job for her to sort of be 'me' so to speak. Or toss 10 pounds on Natalie. Either way, it would work out.

You know, for a moment there I got excited about tomorrow morning. I thought I was in for a day of sleeping in until 9am and heading off to class and then work. Then I remembered I need to pick up my paycheck and bank it. The new timetable requires me to wake up at 8am. Oh well, there's always Sunday morning to get some sleep. ;)

Love to you all,
Heather

My Kind of Education

Every year, a movie pops up that seems nearly tailor-made to my liking. Now I know that I was lucky enough to get some 500 Days of Summer in my life a couple months ago but to be hit with the lucky stick again with An Education? Thank you, small pictures of the world. When October 9th rolls around, you know where to find me.

Love to you all,
Heather

What is Your Damage, Heather?

In the movie of my life, I would want Winona Ryder to play me. Absolutely.

Have you ever thought about who would play you in a movie?

Love to you all,
Heather

I Crack My Xerox Hands

An explosion of primaries today. Her coat is absolutely scrumptious! I own a very similar one to it and love trenches with a full skirt, it instantly dresses up any ensemble.




Yes please! This entire look is such a winner.



Even though my eye is drawn to so much in this outfit, I think the eyeglasses hold my attention the best. They really pull the entire look together and give it such a scholarly flair.

All from Russian Vogue circa 2007.

Love to you all,
Heather

When Pooh Bears Attack

Just now I was searching for the Wild Roses editorial in an old W magazine because of the vibrant hues of the pictures. I typed in "wi" and what is the first thing that automatically pops up?

My favorite Pooh bear. When I was little, I really liked the Winnie the Pooh film but you know just that one exclusively. I didn't hop on the runaway train with The Tigger Movie or the Piglet one either. They were cute but I was a princess girl through and through.

I remember my Dad had me watch on David Letterman this segment called "When Pooh Bears Attack" which was basically a rabid Winnie pouncing on top of Christopher Robin, claws pronounced. Tigger had his throat slashed in the background. That picture (which I cannot find anywhere) was the funniest thing! It sounds morbid as all get out but believe me you couldn't beat the look on C. Robin's face.



Here's the set of photos. Pretty huh?

I officially started school today and I am worn out. How I long for a morning of just work again. I have a copyediting class at 8am which is actually pretty cool. We get to make postcards and magazine layouts! I am already visualizing the prospects of how mine will look and will as always, cite Nylon and Elle and the work of Miles Aldridge and Isabella Charlesworth and old pin up in whatever I do. I met with Don for about ten minutes which was over far too quickly. Then I trained for my new tutoring job and shadowed a student getting the 411 on writing. After that, I was off to another class (Freedom of Comm) that mercifully we were let early out of because the air in that room made it very cold. Then it was Jamba time with Amy where some woman rudely chewed out my outfit. It was far from scandalous, I can assure you and I have no idea why she was so disgruntled. Maybe the fact that you're wearing pants and a turtleneck in 96 degree weather?! Rather unladylike in reply, I yelled back at her. Then back to campus for math which I promptly fell asleep for about 5 minutes during. And naturally I would get asked a question during that moment too so you know, it was slightly embarrassing. And then the girl with the bomb heart shaped glasses aka Lolita complimented my outfit and I who had been eyeballing her ensemble in kind, returned the favor.

Now I'm at the tutoring job, updating briefly. We don't have any appointments today because it's a tad early for any students to have any papers to write.

Looking forward to tomorrow! No particular reason why. TGIF? Nah, I think a fatty nap after work is my real excitement. God I'm old.

Love to you all,
Heather