And every day, said a little prayer, thanking God that I was independent

Today's recipe post is inspired by all of the really cold weather we've been having (even here in Florida!) and by my new roommate's favorite musical: rum toddy.

I have a new roommate who just moved in during the holidays. In typical me fashion, I figured a good getting-to-know-you type activity would be to watch musicals. Don't worry, I decided on this after learning she actually likes musicals. So, I grabbed a handful of options and brought them downstairs. And she gasped, gasped I tell you, when she saw that I had Hello Dolly! Obviously, we had to watch that.

Bonus! Bert May sighting! He's on the left-hand side of the picture, second from the bottom.

When I was a kid, I mostly ignored Dolly's monologues to her late husband, Ephraim Levi. I memorized them, for the most part, like I did the rest of the movie. But, I didn't understand them until I started to get older. And even then, they didn't interest me as much as the obvious hilarity of the scenes with Barnaby and Cornelius. So, when I watched the movie with my roommate, I started noticing things that I hadn't really noticed before. Don't you love that about rematching movies?

"I've put out the cat, made myself a rum toddy, and every night said a little prayer, thanking God that I was independent."

This line possibly stood out to me, in particular, because I had recently come from a family reunion. My family reunion at the beginning of the month was amazing. It was, however, filled with the last cold wave and a lot of people got sick. Both of these factors impeded some of the usual Garcia Family Reunion activities. At one point, my Uncle Dan (one of those who was fighting a cold), turned to me and said, "you know what would be good right now? A hot toddy." Me, being me, immediately went on pinterest and pulled up a handy dandy infographic that I knew I had pinned of how to make a hot toddy. (Click on the picture to go to the source)

My cousins, James and Maria, had stocked the kitchen full of a nice selection of liquor. And my family, being who they are, had a ton of fresh produce, ready to use. So, we made a big batch of hot toddies using fresh ginger (this was steeped in the hot water for several minutes before adding other ingredients), honey (also added shortly after the ginger to allow it to dissolve into the hot water), lemon slices, and rye. I'll be honest, it was not my favorite. But that's also because I don't like whiskey.

The next day, we made another batch of the same thing but with brandy (because we had kind of used up all the rye) and we added turmeric. Okay, I'll admit. We added turmeric because I didn't know the difference between fresh turmeric and fresh ginger and both were on a plate together and, to be honest, they look very similar if you don't know the difference. So, I grabbed what I thought was ginger and put it in my Uncle Dan's mug. And it wasn't until my Uncle Jose asked me to make him one and explain what I was putting in it, that the topic came up. He pointed out the differences to me, I learned something, and then everyone wanted turmeric and ginger in their hot toddies. Go figure.

Since I didn't like the first batch of hot toddies, I didn't get a chance to drink the second batch, and I needed something to post about this month, so I made a rum toddy, inspired by my Uncle Dan and Hello Dolly! 

There is supposed to be a picture here of my rum toddy. Sadly, I didn't take one. To be honest, I still don't know what I think of toddies. They're hot lemon water. With some alcohol thrown in. I found it strange. What are your thoughts on toddies?

She will amuse you for months

Last night, my roommate and I went to go see Gigi because it was playing in select theaters. I went, even though I find that movie problematic, because it is a beautiful film and I thought it would be worth seeing on the big screen. Besides, I have a horrible habit of fast-forwarding through movies so I don't know that I had ever actually seen Gigi from start to finish.

I wrote a post years ago about the problems I have with the movie. One person commented that it was her favorite and I felt awful and deleted the post. I kind of regret that now. If I were talking to a person and they said, "My favorite movie in the whole world is Gigi," I wouldn't launch into a tirade about how problematic it is. I would say, "oh, yes. She's such a great character!" or "oh, Louis Jourdan is so dreamy!" Both of these would be true and it would be a polite response. So, if you do love that movie and feel sad reading criticisms of it, it will not hurt my feelings if you close the post and read something else.

That said, here is my opinion of Gigi. The acting is brilliant. The songs are fantastic. The sets are beautiful. The costumes are gorgeous. I want Gigi's hair. Louis Jourdan is dreamy. Gigi is a truly magnificent character. The all around art direction is incredible.

It is my opinion that the storyline is quite terrible and indicative of a truly awful trend in Hollywood in particular and our society as a whole. Now, when I rewatched the movie yesterday, I did notice that the movie is pretty self-aware in some respects; it knows that it's dealing with a tricky plot. Be that as it may, it's still about a very young girl (about 16 or 17) who is courted by a much older man (about 30). I say the word "courted" because that's how the guy introducing the movie put it. To be fair, I do need to read the novella the movie is based on. However, it's very much about the sexualization of a girl and her purpose as a source of entertainment for a man.

The very first song of the movie, "Thank heaven for little girls," is, I think, meant to be cute and charming. But, to me, it comes across as seeing the sexual potential in little girls and knowing that they'll please men someday. I hate it. Gaston's frequent complaints about being bored culminate in the title song when he discovers that he was never once bored when he was with Gigi. Thank god she'll be able to entertain him. Now, the line his uncle says in Maxim's, "she will amuse you for months" is a nice ending to that character development. I like to see that moment when Gaston clears out with Gigi as his realization that this is how he has been viewing her too and he is disgusted by his own behavior. It might actually be that he's disgusted by his uncle's opinion. I'm not sure. But I'll see it in the former perspective because he needs some redeeming qualities. As we were walking out of the theater, my roommate pointed out that it bothered him how elegant and refined she was as a wife - she had lost all of her energy and personality after marriage. I had never noticed that before but it bothers me now too!

I could go into more details about my frustrations with the movie. I really do have many. But, the reason I dislike it so much is that our society continues to sexualize girls. We continue to see them as playthings, as objects. They hit puberty and bam! They're eligible for harassment of every variety. In a musical comedy, it's seen as ok, because it's in France and in the 1800s. But it's still about a man seeing a girl grow up to be a very young woman and instantly try to make it work to his benefit.

I will say that the main thing that makes this movie work at all for me is Gigi, herself. She really is probably one of my favorite characters in a movie. The more I watch the movie, the more I like her. She's smart, she's completely comfortable with herself, she's confident in her ability to make good decisions, she's brave, she's honest. I love that she is aware of what she's being tailored to become. I love that she tells Gaston that he has terrible taste in clothes when he starts criticizing her new dress and refuses to apologize when told to do so. I love that she turns Gaston down when he asks her to be his mistress because she knows she could never be happy. I love that she's smart enough to look beyond the allure of a nice house, servants, a car, jewels, clothes, travel - to realize that it will end eventually and then she'll be shuffled off to someone else to do it all again. I love how angry she gets when he tells her he's in love with her because she has a much better understanding of what love is than he does. I love that when she finally decides to agree to his offer after all, she does it flawlessly. I think she's such an incredible character and Leslie Caron performs her role perfectly.

I feel as though being a classic film lover in a modern world can be challenging. Not only for the oft-lamented, "they just don't make them like they used to" and trying to reference movies that no one has seen - but also because we love movies made in a time of different values and different standards. I struggle with the fact that I love Errol Flynn movies but know that Errol Flynn was not a particularly good person. I struggle with the fact that Gigi holds the record for the most Academy Awards given to a musical and is a romance about a girl marrying a man twice her age. I struggle with the fact that Fred Astaire's romantic partners were cast progressively younger the older he got (see also: Cary Grant). That's not to say these aren't problems in today's movies. But, today, there are articles written about it. People boycott the movies. And there is, at least, an awareness. I feel as though the movie industry is (very, very slowly) adapting to society's evolving expectations. But, movies from the past cannot be adapted. And I can't throw them aside even though I know better.

 I told a friend this once and she suggested donating or volunteering to a good cause if I feel guilty about watching Errol Flynn movies. So, in light of that very good suggestion, here are some good causes to donate to if you would like to help young girls become more than sexualized, objectified tools in a man's world:

Girls Not Brides - working to end child brides

60 Million Girls - working to educate girls around the world

The Girl Effect - working to help girls grow through creativity and expression

Next thing I know, I'm a councilman

So, I think I've done a fairly good job of keeping politics out of my blog. I don't know if that will continue - mostly because I don't know if I need to keep politics out of my blog. I have some ideas of things I want to discuss and how they relate to classic movies and the movie industry in general. I'm letting these ideas stew a bit before I put them on the blogosphere.

Anyway, this is a big year in politics: midterm elections! Last year around this time, I started thinking about running for office. It's something I still think about, although I don't know if I'd be cut out for fundraising and campaigning. Maybe someday. This year, I'm planning to volunteer with a campaign and see what that's like. There are a lot of up-and-comers running this year. It's pretty exciting. Last year, I kept feeling so powerless and wanting to do something. I'm glad other people felt the same and have acted on those feelings.

When I was doing my preliminary research about running for office, I kept thinking of Dave (1993). Do you all remember that one? I love that movie. I realize a movie from the '90s may not constitute as classic but it's a fantastic movie so I'm going to base my spotlight on a scene post on it. There's this wonderful scene between the main character, Dave (played by Kevin Kline), and the Vice President (Ben Kingsley) where Dave asks the Vice President how he got started in politics. What follows is a scene that probably could have been bland but Ben Kingsley's performance of it has stuck with me since I was a teenager.

Coals to Newcastle

So, late last year, I started listening to podcasts. It took me a while to get on that bandwagon. Partly because there were so many options, I was a little overwhelmed. Partly because I wasn't sure I was interested in any of the options people were recommending to me. And partly because I was convinced I wouldn't be able to concentrate at work when I had to also focus on what I was listening to.

It turns out, I love podcasts. And sometimes my work is too involved to listen to them - but sometimes I'm doing stuff like data entry. And pods are perfect for that kind of thing.

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Anyway, my entry into podcasts were the Crooked Media company podcasts (Pod Save America, Lovett or Leave It, Pod Save the World, Pod Save the People, and With Friends Like These). They have since expanded since I started listening to them (yay!) but I've started wanting a little more variety in what I'm listening to. So, my brother and sister-in-law recommended a bundle of podcasts. I've tried some, but not all, of the ones that sounded interesting.

One of my favorites of these recommendations was Lexicon Valley by Slate. It's so cool. They talk about words and expressions, the etymology and history of these words and phrases. It is so, so cool. And one of my favorite things about this podcast is that they often use classic movies to cite usage (for instance, see how Cary Grant uses this expression in The Awful Truth - it was a really popular expression of the time). Anyway, listening to the podcast inspired me to write a brief blog post on expressions that I've heard. I'm going to just write about one and save the other for a rainy day (or busy week). This might be a recurring series that I include. It might be a one or two time deal. We'll see how it goes!

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So, last night, I watched The Philadelphia Story with two of my roommates. One of them had seen it and loved it a few years ago and so we were introducing the film to our newest roommate. I love The Philadelphia Story for many reasons, not the least of which is the excellent script. And I've learned some things from the script.

Today, we're going to talk about "coals to Newcastle." In the movie, when Jimmy Stewart's "Mike" Macaulay Connor goes to Cary Grant's C.K. Dexter Haven's house, armed with a bottle of champagne and a pretty hefty head start in the drinking department. Mike hands Dexter the bottle of champagne. Dexter places the champagne on the table. Mike looks at the table and says, "Oh! I wonder if I might have a drink." And then Dexter responds with, "Certainly. Coals to Newcastle."

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This is an expression that baffled me for years. And it wasn't until I was an adult and looked it up that it finally made sense and I finally got the joke. Newcastle was a major exporter of coal so the original expression of "carrying coals to Newcastle" indicated a pointless action. Similar to "selling ice to eskimos." Dexter's line took on actual meaning when I finally understood what he was talking about.

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What words or expressions have you learned from watching classic movies?

All right, I'll remember: must scold, must nag, mustn't be too pretty in the morning.

Hello! How was everyone's first week of 2018?

Mine was pretty crazy. I went to a family reunion on my mom's side; there were about 30 people there. There was tons of food and great conversation. I left my laptop at home so I could make the most of my opportunity to talk to relatives, some of whom I hadn't seen in 10 years. So, I know you'll forgive me for taking time off blogging.

That being said, I'd like to make this post sort of NYE themed, even if it is a little late for that. The fact is, I love New Year's. I love making resolutions and having some quiet time of reflection and introspection. I love the idea of new starts. I love keeping track of my goals so I can look back at them later and see what I've accomplished. The great thing about this style of resolution-keeping is that I'm not super stressed about keeping resolutions for one year. Some resolutions take years to take hold. Some never do. And that's ok. In my opinion, one of the best parts of life is expanding, growing, and learning. If I resolve to sew one piece a month, it doesn't really matter if I completely make that. If I do, that's awesome! If I only make one, then that's one piece I didn't have. I've made so many sewing resolutions over the years. Last year was the first year where I moved past my fear of sewing and actually made things. Am I still afraid of sewing? Absolutely. But, I'm still excited about all of the possibilities of what I can do and I'm so excited that I spent both of my Amazon gift cards that I got for Christmas on sewing supplies!

I've decided to write this post on some blog-related and classic movie-related resolutions.

1. Consistently blog. I'd really like to develop this as a habit, even if I don't write posts of the same length and depth and even if I don't cover all of the topics that I'd like.

And on that topic...

2. Stop apologizing. I can't even count the number of times I've started a blog post with an apology. It's a defense mechanism. A gut reaction. Half the time, I'm not so much apologizing to my readers as I am to myself. But I need to be more forgiving and accepting of the fact that my life is busy and sometimes posting will fall by the wayside. And that's okay!

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3. Continue watching new movies. I feel as though I've been pretty good about this the past few years but I'd particularly like to watch more old movies I've never seen before. I don't have any specific titles in mind but if I think of any, I'll let you know. I'd like to set a goal for one a month or something but, to be honest, they can be difficult to acquire.

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4. Watch the movies I own. I own over 300 movies. And, I'd like to add, they're all legally acquired. Have I seen them all? Absolutely not. But, I'd like to. I think I'd like to try one of those a month to see how long it takes me to get through them. These include (but are not limited to)

• 3 Sailors and a Girl
• The Goodbye Girl
• Holiday in Mexico
• Orphans of the Storm
• Beach Party
• The Toast of New Orleans
• That Midnight Kiss
• Lady on a Train
• Can't Help Singing
• Made For Each Other
• Behave Yourself
• The Lady Says No
• Double Dynamite
• Higher and Higher
• Day-Time Wife
• I'll Never Forget You
• Cafe Metropole
• The Misfits
• Bus Stop
• Dinner at Eight
• Horse Feathers

Okay, looking at this list, I'm pretty sure I could watch two a month - particularly since there are titles I didn't even list!

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5. Complete about 12 outfits that are inspired by movies/stars. This includes  sewing outfits and also putting them together from pieces I already own. As happened last year, some of the inspirations will be a little loose, but that's why they're inspirations and not recreations. I'm also going to expand the criteria to include some newer movies. I made a robe inspired by Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day recently and there's a dress in The Princess Diaries 2 that I've had my eye on for ages.

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6. Get back into embroidery. Christmas of 2016 I decided to craft all of my gifts. It was an ambitious undertaking. I did it, but I was pretty burned out by the end. And when Galentines Day rolled around last February, I spent an entire day embroidering gifts for my friends. After that, I barely made anything until December. I'd like to get back into it and continue working on a project I've long wanted to complete: embroider pieces inspired by classic movie scenes.

7. Make more coasters. I really love my classic movie coasters. I'd like to make more, perfect the process, and start a collection. Who knows? Maybe eventually I can start a shop.

8. Start a vlog. This is an idea I've only recently started considering. I think I'd like to start a classic movie vlog that ties in to this blog. The thing is, I want it to be fun and not a drudgery. And I can't switch from this format to that format because some things either wouldn't work as well because I'd have to do them live as opposed to taking pictures - sewing, cooking, crafting, baking - and I'm no where near confident in my abilities to do that. But I think video would be a better venue for talking about movies that I like and discussing scenes that I like. I feel like I can better articulate my excitement for things and better indicate tone. But I'm not entirely sure if I'm sold on this. I'd definitely love to hear your thoughts!

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I'll be in bed at midnight so Happy New Year!

Hello!

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I'm not going to apologize this time for taking a blogging break. Last week was an emotionally rough week, and this week was Christmas. Next week I'll be at a family reunion, so I won't be blogging again until later in January.

However, I did want to wish everyone a happy new year! I hope 2018 is full of joy, hope, growth, and the best kind of change!

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Well, you must admit I've got pretty good taste

The Thin Man (1934) is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I feel as though it's in the category of Die Hard where you have to argue that it is, in fact, in the Christmas category. But the Christmas morning scene is one of my favorites in the whole movie. It's so funny. And I inevitably think of it every Christmas:




What are some of your favorite unorthodox Christmas movies?

Well, you're not exactly Superman but you're awfully available.

Fashion inspiration post!

So I'm going to warn you that this is one of my loose inspirations. I absolutely love the outfit Vera Ellen wears in White Christmas (1954) when she proposes to Danny Kaye's Phil Davis. I love the wide circle skirt and the black top, pulled together with the red belt. So classy! 

I did my own version of that - instead of Vera Ellen's black and white gingham skirt, I have a black and grey plaid. And I didn't have a white turtle neck so I just went with the v-neck black top. And paired it with a red skirt. 

Horseradish.

My goodness. One week into my whole "I'm going to post twice a week" and I missed the second post. Ah well. Another week, another try. I'm going to also attempt to give myself a pass since it is December. However, I'm one of those people who fills up her schedule with events and plans at every opportunity. And then I yearn for quiet times. It's a bit silly. Anyway...

I've been on a bit of a sappy Christmas movie binge lately. You know, the hallmark channel flavor of Christmas movies. They're completely over the top and ridiculous. Usually about a character (typically a woman) who doesn't understand the true meaning of Christmas and comes to discover it after falling in love. Yadayadayada. I realize a lot of people truly enjoy these and cry and revel in them. So, I shall attempt not to be too scathing. But, I do enjoy making fun of them. I even made a bingo board to check off as I watch them!

I took a break tonight from my recent programming to watch a good, solid classic. I sort of jumped the gun on Christmas movies this year so now I'm trying to pace myself. Tonight, I watched Christmas in Connecticut (1945). I love this movie!

If you've never seen it, the premise is that Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) is a writer who pens a popular article about cooking and her life in her farm in Connecticut with her husband and baby. The hitch is that she's actually a single woman, living in New York City with no baby, no farm, and no idea how to cook. When her publisher invites a war hero to her farm for Christmas, Elizabeth has to think fast on how she's going to come up with a farm, a husband, and a baby in time.

I love this movie. I love Elizabeth, I love Jefferson Jones. I love Uncle Felix. And there are so many good quotes!!

This is a movie I discovered from other bloggers. It's a Christmas tradition I started as an adult. And I love it!

Do any of you have favorites you discovered via blogs?

That's what I just said

First post of December!

I'm going to a crafting post today. Why? Because I already have a craft to share. Convenient, eh?

One thing I've discovered about myself as an adult is that I love word art. I'm guessing it has something to do with my addiction to movies and how I tend to watch movies over and over again until I have them memorized. Depending on who I'm with, quoting movies can integrate seamlessly into the way I talk (when I'm with my sisters especially). Even when I'm with people who I know won't get the references, I still quote movies and then explain them to my friends (My friends are really quite patient people). So, it stands to reason that any art I create tends to have words involved - paintings, coasters, even embroidery often includes quotes.

So, when I was working through the A-Z crafting project last year, I decided on P for Painting and made up a piece. This is one of my favorite jokes in White Christmas (1954) and it's a line my sisters and I often quote when we talk about the movie.

For the background, I decided to use the little fake mountain scene the characters create in the dining car when they sing "Snow." I was always intrigued by that scene when I was younger because it took me years to catch the moment when Phil and Betty create it. And I always thought it was a crazy how fast the little sculpture appeared.

Anyone else make art based on movie quotes?

Where do we go from here?

Well, guys, I did it! I blogged every day for 30 days! Woohoo! And I have you to thank for it. Thank you for the views, for the comments, for the love. Seeing those stats really kept me going, I can certainly tell you.

 I mean, look at those numbers! That's incredible!

As I hinted in an earlier post this week, this challenge was... well, challenging. Blogging every day wasn't bad but finding time to blog every day and making sure I had crafts and outfits and interesting recipes each week - that was pretty stressful.

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However, the challenge did accomplish what I'd hoped it would: I was able to try out all of the things I wanted to test on this blog. And I found out that I really enjoyed it! So, here is how I think this will blog will look going forward:

• I will continue to post semi-regularly. My plan is to start off with posts twice a week.
• I'm going to keep all of the segments I tested out this month, although they may not fall on certain days. But, you will continue to see outfit posts, craft posts, recipes, reviews, picture posts, spotlight posts.
• Instead of week-long themes, I'd like to expand to month-long themes. Switching to twice weekly posts means I'll average 8 posts a month, so I figure I'll have 1 outfit post, 1 craft post, 1 recipe post, 1 movie review, 1 picture post, 1 spotlight post, 1 throwback post, and 1... bonus! All surrounding the same movie, theme, or person (if possible).
• I'd like to start incorporating some guest posts as well. I'm not as engaged in the blogging community as I used to be so it might be difficult to find other bloggers, but I may start asking family and friends to do write ups on their favorite movies or performers - stuff like that.

And I'd like to turn it to you, dear readers. What would you like to see more of on this blog? 

Tomorrow is my birthday and I will be taking a break until early next week. Until then, thank you so very much for reading and for going with me on this journey. I appreciate it more than I could possibly say!

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Stay tuned for a month of holiday themed posts!

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30 Before 30

So, for today's Way Back Wednesday post, I'm going to get very, very wordy and very personal. And it won't pertain a whole heap to classic movies. I just want to warn you of that right now.

I'm turning 30 on Friday. Early this year, I considered starting a 30 before 30 list to see what I could accomplish but so many of them were pretty silly. Just because some random writer prizes certain experiences, it doesn't mean I need to experience them too. So, I kept putting it off and suddenly it was a few months away and I was struck with the question of whether or not this is where I wanted and expected to be at this point in my life. I won't answer that question because life is so crazy and we're all just bumbling through it, trying to divine its true meaning. So, after considering it on and off, I decided to do a 30 before 30 list of my own. But not 30 things I need to do before 30, but rather 30 things I have done before 30. Some of these may not seem like accomplishments to you and some of them may be silly. But, personal accomplishments are... personal so these are things that I'm proud of.

1. I earned my Bachelor's degree. I would love go back to school and get my Masters some day. But until then, I can be thankful that I was able to get some really good schooling and wonderful experiences under my belt when I went to college.
2. I published two novellas. You can buy them, in fact! I self-published two e-books and they're available on most ebook platforms. The titles are Sleeping Beauties: The Case of the Worn-Out Dancing Shoes and The Glass Coffin: The Snow White Case. They're fairy tales rewritten as fantasy mysteries set in the 1920's. They were a ton of fun to write and I'm hoping to write and publish more. In the meantime, I'm super proud of myself for doing something I've wanted to do since I was little.

3. I've learned to cook. This was something I wanted to learn for years, but it took a while for me to get to a point where I could brave my fears about ruining food. And now? I love to cook. It relaxes me and it makes me happy. I like eating something delicious and having the unique satisfaction that I made it.
4. I've learned to bake. I'm not quite at the comfort level in baking that I currently enjoy in cooking. And baking still intimidates me. But, after loving The Great British Baking Show, I've started getting bolder about trying my hand at baking. I've made cake, crackers, cookies, brownies. My mom showed me how to bake bread. I even made mini cakes for my friend's Marie Antoinette party. Paul Hollywood would probably have given me a disappointed look and said, "they're a bit of a mess, to be honest." But, they were delicious and they were cute and beautiful and not part of a competition. So I was incredibly proud of them.

I made those! Isn't that amazing?!

5. I started a book club. This is something that I'm extremely proud of. It's a part of my life that I'm certain my childhood self would be pleased to know would happen. I started a book club out of the desire to discover new books on my own terms - I didn't want to be forced to read depressing books or scary books so I started a book club with the simple rule: all books must end happily. And people joined! I love it. We meet about once a month and read and discuss books of all genres from children's books to murder mysteries to nonfiction.
6. I found a job that I like and do well. I kind of fell into the job I'm in now. I'm a scheduler. It's not the job I imagined for myself. It isn't romantic or glamorous. But it's a good, steady job. I like my managers and I like my coworkers and I like my work. And I'm pretty good at it, which is a really nice thing. I keep feeling like I need to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Being a scheduler was not what I had in mind. But if I'm honest with myself, I'm quite happy where I am. I should like to make enough money to live on my own, but I still count myself very fortunate to have a job that allows me to pay my bills and that I enjoy doing. I also get to leave my work at work and come home to craft and write blogs. And there's a heap of goodness in that.
7. I've gone on a road trip solo. Okay, so it was a road trip from Orlando to Atlanta. But, still. I drove out of state on my own and had a wonderful time. It was a sort of spontaneous trip actually. I had the opportunity to go to the TCM studio in Atlanta and get a tour by the VP of TCM. My friend met up with me once I got there. But it was my first time booking my own hotel, driving out of state, and staying in a hotel in a city where I knew no one. It was truly an adventure.

My friend Brittany and I on the TCM set!

8. I've taken myself out for a nice dinner. Same trip as the one discussed above. On my last night in Atlanta when my friend had already gone home, I took myself to a nice restaurant and spent a good amount of money on dinner for myself. I got wine, dinner, and a dessert. To me, that was major splurging. And I was very particular about not sitting on my phone the whole time so I was able to sit and be full of my own thoughts.
9. I made an outfit inspired by a classic TV show. Well, you all know about that already. But, seriously, guys. This was a dream that was years in the making.

10. I have learned how to sew. I'm not super great at it yet and I've yet to make something without calling my mom for help. But I've actually worked through a few pieces from beginning to end and I'm still eager to keep going. It's a great start!
11. I discovered that I love to embroider. This was one of the best things to come out of the A-Z crafting project my friend and I did last year. No one else in my family embroiders currently so it was so nice to discover something that I love to do without feeling the need to compare my ability to someone else's.
12. I paid off a car. I'm not a great financial whiz. I can't boast a fantastic financial resume. But I have managed to pay off my first car. It's still a great feeling.
13. I have actively invested in self care. A year or two ago, I decided that I liked bubble baths enough to put money into the pastime. I spent about $50 and got myself a bathtub tray, a bathtub pillow, and a waterproof case for my phone. This is something that probably doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment but purchasing things that weren't practical and would probably not be used by anyone else, and weren't food, was a big deal to me. It was a cool thing to invest in me.
14. I have attended a protest. Last November, my friend messaged me and asked if I wanted to go to the Women's March in D.C. with her. That afternoon, she had reserved a hotel and we had both committed. It was exciting and scary at the same time. The event itself was so many things: exciting, scary, exhilarating, empowering, beautiful, inspiring, bittersweet. I truly enjoyed being a part of something so momentous and historic.

My friend, Kayla and I on our way to the Women's March

15. I've traveled outside the country. Here's a picture of me when I went to England a few years ago.

16. I've expanded my palate. I was a pretty picky eater when I was a kid. I was the kid who had chicken tenders at every restaurant I went to. I didn't like seafood, cauliflower, zucchini, eggplant, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese, nuts, or salad. I'm sure I was a joy to feed. But, when I went to England and stayed with my cousins, they cooked dinner for me and asked if I liked onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms. I didn't like any of them but felt incredibly rude saying so, so I lied. And I'm so grateful to past myself for that. Because what they cooked was delicious and I discovered that I love onions and tomatoes and mushrooms. I still don't eat most seafood and I'm not crazy about brussel sprouts. But I love trying new things and I want to like as much food as possible.
17. I've started learning a new language. Part of me wishes I could write "I've learned another language." I've been trying to learn Portuguese for years now. It's a little embarrassing at this point. But the cool thing about language is that even though you lose it if you don't keep practicing, you always know more than you did when you started. So every time I go back to the Portuguese lessons, more concepts click in my head and more and more things make sense. Eventually, some day, I'll speak fluently. In the meantime, I'm still enjoying the process.
18. I've discovered that I love volunteering. The same friend who encouraged me to go the Women's March introduced me to the joys of volunteering. I had wanted to volunteer for a while but I kept feeling that it was more of a duty and probably wouldn't actually be fun. And when I volunteered at a Food Bank, I found it to be stressful and was pretty discouraged about the prospect of doing it all the time. But, I've discovered that volunteering can be fun - you just have to find the right venue that is a cause you believe in, is set up in a way that works for you, and that you enjoy doing.

Just a sample: Kayla and I did a ton of volunteering events last month

19. I have lived on my own. Okay, so I still had a roommate who paid the rent but she moved out early and I was by myself in the apartment for several months. It was pretty heavenly actually. There were things about living on my own that were lonesome. But I liked being fully independent and having no one I had to answer to or run things by or worry about bothering if I stayed up late.
20. I have developed my own perspective on religion. This is kind of a scary thing for me to write about because I haven't told many people in my family but... I was brought up in a very religious household and I'm no longer religious. It isn't something I've come to lightly. I took a religions class in college that affirmed my connection to Christianity and throughout college I attended different churches to see what fit for me. But, gradually, I came to the conclusion that I didn't agree with many of the perspectives in Christianity. I have nothing against the religion or the practitioners - it's simply a personal choice. I'm not ruling out the possibility of change in the future. But, this is where I am now and I've come to peace with it.
21. I have learned how to mix drinks. Clearly these aren't in any particular order. But I have learned how to make a few cocktails that I really like, which is something I'm quite proud of.

22. I've gone on a cruise. I've actually gone on three cruises. They were all TCM Cruises. They were incredibly fun and I wish TCM hadn't retired the Cruise because they were amazing.

It's probably way too small but my friend, Brittany, and I are in the front row of the crowd. Can you see us? Just to the right of Robert Osborne's head!

23. I'm a happy, single woman. In terms of milestones, I definitely had imagined I would at least be in a relationship at this point in my life, if not married. But, life doesn't always work out the way you'd expect. And that's okay. I still like the idea of having a boyfriend/husband. And, yes, I do get lonely. But, for the most part, I'm actually perfectly okay without romantic entanglements. I have a great life where I spend quality time with people I love. Maybe someday I'll find someone who fits into it. Until then, I like my single lifestyle.

This is me at a Rococo-themed party a few weeks back

24. I have started engaging in politics. I'm still exploring the possibilities here but I enjoy the little options for engagement like calling congresspeople about issues I care about, attending town halls, keeping up to date with formats that work for me (my friend got me into the podcast series by Crooked Media which includes, but is not limited to: Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It). I'd like to eventually volunteer on a campaign and possibly get truly engaged by working in politics. Who knows what the future will hold? In the meantime, I'm learning and slowly exploring the potential.

25. I have adopted two cats. Okay, but seriously. I have two creatures that live with me and depend on me for food and safety and they're both healthy and happy cats! Also they're just so adorable.

26. I have started my own traditions. It's little things like making a new Christmas cocktail every year, watching The Miracle on 34th Street on Christmas Eve, cooking an Irish dish on St. Patrick's day, baking a pie on March 14th. I love being an adult and getting to pick out what traditions make me happy.

Christmas Eve tradition

Mu friend, Ashley and I on Pi Day! It's a super important holiday

27. I have found forms of exercise that I enjoy. My uncle once asked me if I worked out and I said I didn't and he said, "Oh, you really should. It's so good for you." He's a doctor so it bothered me for years that I might be disappointing him by not being as healthy as I should be. It was really nice to visit him years later and be able to answer the same question with, "Yes! I go walking every week and I really like to do yoga!" I've even done a 5k. Something I did not expect to say a year ago, even.
28. I have learned several different forms of dancing. I did swing dancing in high school, learned a lot of ballroom in college and now, I'm learning hula! It's awesome. I love it so much that I'm hoping to try different forms of dance in the future, particularly tap and ballet. Even if it's just for a year, I'd like to be able to say that I've tried it.
29. I've built up a life that I like quite a bit. In times of stress, I'll convince myself that things are terrible. But when I'm objective and honest - I really like my life. Yes, I'd like to have less stress about money. Yes, I'd like to travel more. But, I'm near my family. I get to see my family almost every week. I have a wonderful group of friends who are encouraging, positive, creative, brave, inspiring, kind, intelligent people who help me to be the best version of myself. I have a good job that I like. And I get to spend my free time cooking, baking, watching movies, reading books, writing blog posts, writing stories, crafting, creating, and socializing.
30. I have grown into a person that I like quite a bit. This is something I still struggle with as I used to have a pretty big problem with self-loathing and I'm still working through that. But, all in all, I like who I am as a person. I won't list all of the amazing things about myself but I will say that I've grown up to be a person who enjoys growth. I'm growing and changing and expanding due to the experiences I have, the things I learn, the people I interact with. And I really like that. I don't know what the next ten years will be like or where they'll take me. But, as I take stock of what I have and who I am today, I'm excited to step forward into this next phase of my life.

Thank you all for being a part of my journey!

And if you really read all of that, thank you for being so patient with my loquaciousness! This was something I kind of needed to do for myself. I appreciate anyone who tagged along in that journey.

None of your larking about

For Crafty Tuesday I am, once again, pulling something from my crafting blog to showcase today. I got into embroidery when I was doing a project with my friend, Kat, where we were crafting our way through the alphabet. It was a pretty awesome and pretty difficult project. I learned a lot along the way. I grew a lot along the way. I went from emotional breakdowns over failures (A for Apron) to shrugging them off and moving on (M for Macrame). And I discovered some amazing new crafts that I fell in love with: most notably, embroidery. I absolutely love to embroider. I overdid it last holiday season and got a little burned out so I've been trying to get myself back into it. But it's very fun, easy, and an inexpensive hobby. The first piece I did was a Mary Poppins piece. I'll show you my step by step process below. I will definitely be posting a bunch of embroidery posts on this blog because it is a very fun craft and I feel like it goes very well with my love of movies.

Supplies:
Muslin
Tailor's Marker/Pencil
Embroidery Thread
Embroidery Needle
Scissors
Hoop
Inspiration Image
Clothes pin






I bought plain white muslin (it's usually about $2-5/yard); three different colors of embroidery floss, one for each character and one for the words; a blue water soluble marker; an embroidery hoop; and eventually I invested in a nice pair of embroidery scissors.

I used a clothes pin to pin the fabric to my computer and traced the image onto the fabric with the marker. Being a cautious person, I tested this process on the screen corner but it didn't bleed through the fabric. 

Because the marker comes off easily, I didn't stress about mistakes and so I ended up with multiple lines at certain points. When I was actually stitching, I chose the line that looked best! Doing the words forced me to break out my cursive skills. Those haven't been put to the test in years!

She said, "You're welcome and you could use some lessons."

Yesterday, I watched Bachelor Mother (1939) while I was working on some projects. It was my first time watching it in a long time.

The basic premise, if you've never seen it, is this: Polly Parrish (Ginger Rogers) is mistaken for the mother of a foundling baby. David Niven plays David Merlin, the playboy son of the owner of the department store that Polly works at. David offers to extend Polly's seasonal position at the store into a full time job and offers her a raise so that she can keep the baby. When Polly continues to maintain that the baby is not hers, David threatens to fire her. Polly keeps the baby in order to keep her job and starts an unlikely friendship with David. Things get even more complicated when David's father mistakenly believes that David is the baby's father.

The first time I watched it, I thought it was absolutely hilarious and I couldn't wait to show it around. This time watching it, I still liked it. Ginger Rogers is, of course, brilliant. David Niven is adorable and silly. It's still very funny and there are some wonderful scenes.

However. It's harder to watch this movie than it was the first time I watched it. Maybe it's because women are so often mistrusted and not believed by society today. Maybe it's because I'm more aware of how hard it is for single mothers. Maybe it's because I read a whole book on single women in America and how they affect society and how society views them. Maybe it's because I'm older and have a better appreciation for Polly's life pre-baby. Regardless of the reason, I have a harder time watching the movie where everyone not only disbelieves Polly that the baby isn't hers, but she is bullied and pushed around until she relents and takes the baby in anyway. And even then everyone tells her how to raise the baby and what to do. It's very frustrating. The only nice thing about the situation is no one seems to judge her for being a single mother. I do like that. But from a feminist perspective, it's a very frustrating movie.

I think that one of the hardest things about growing older is discovering that movies you love don't always hold up to your scrutiny and values as you grow older. Does anyone else have that problem?

But, don't let me discourage you from watching it. It is a very funny movie and there are some fine performances all around.

Oh, and quick aside: the character of the landlady is absolutely wonderful. She's amazing throughout the story and is definitely my favorite (aside from Polly - she's a great character too). Basically, most of the women in this movie are great and most of the men are awful. So, if nothing else, watch it for the women characters. 😊

We have no bananas today

Okay, my friends. I'm going to level with you. Don't I always? This blog challenge has been very difficult. The blogging every day wasn't so bad... but my plan to blog every day, sew two new pieces, cook 2 new meals, 1 dessert, 1 cocktail, make 3 crafts, work full time, sleep, spend time with friends and family, celebrate a holiday, and prepare for my birthday... well, that got a little overwhelming.

I went over to visit my mom yesterday with plans to sew a new piece and finish another so I could channel my inner Jane Powell:

The skirt was nearly done and I had the pattern, the fabric, and thread, and the buttons for the shirt. But I drove to my mom's house and realized I had clean forgotten the skirt at home. And my mom and I spent a good half hour or so trying to figure out if we could use the fabric I had brought for the shirt. It turns out the fabric I had brought was not the right fabric at all. In the end, we didn't sew it at all - which is just as well - and instead we spent some quality time just talking about stuff: sewing, crafts we want to make, relationships, cooking, cakes, physics, work, food. It was a great evening!

No sewing was done at all and my mom told me that it was perfectly acceptable to say that this project was too difficult and not have an outfit post today. I decided to meet that halfway. This challenge is too difficult - I kind of figured it would be. The whole purpose of this project had been to sort of go overboard on the blogging and figure out what worked, what I liked, what I didn't like. I still wanted to do an outfit post today, so I'm going to do just that - but it's all pieces I had in my closet.

Here is the look I'm inspired by today:

Sigh. Audrey Hepburn. She's just the coolest. Look how effortlessly she wears that side-tucked shirt. Here's how my outfit turned out:

Do I look just like her? Nah. Is it comfortable and convenient? Not particularly. But the thing is (and I've thought about this a lot) Audrey Hepburn is Audrey Hepburn. She could wear something completely ridiculous or unflattering - and she's still Audrey Hepburn. She's still timeless, chic, classic. There's also something to be said for the haze of time. So many things look super cool in older pictures but you try them out today and they look costumey or over-the-top.

I shall continue posting this week but I will probably continue to bend the rules (maybe even every day) until the end of this month. There will be no set theme this week. Just some odds and ends. On Thursday, I'll discuss where this blog will go in the future. Thank you for sticking with me throughout this blogging adventure!