I Could Really Use That Hour Right About Now

Ugh. I can't stand Daylight Saving time. I hate everything about it. Starting with the name and how many people add an "s" to the end of the word Saving. It's Daylight Saving Time. Not Daylight Savings Time. And while I'm on a tear, who, exactly, is saving time? I'm certainly didn't save anything this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I had an awesome weekend! I didn't want it to end and I certainly could have used an extra couple of extra hours. KJ had a friend sleep-over Friday night. We were going to watch the latest Hunger Games installment but instead Cosmo and I started watching "Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 I have to be honest with you. I had heard the book was really good but I wasn't expecting much from the movie. To my great surprise, the movie was quite good. Very well made, not a cheesy vampire at all and it had a great story line. And the actor who portrayed Lincoln did a great job. Saturday we went to the mall to look for a dress for KJ's 8th grade formal. A day I totally dreaded and just wanted to get it over with. We had a little tete-a-tete in the car and told her that ultimately, I'm paying for this dress and will not pay for something that is tacky/trashy/generally inappropriate for an 8th grader. She, in turn, let me know that she was not going to be talked into a dress that she doesn't really love (we have a history of me "gently persuading" her into something I like and then later she claims I "forced" her to buy it and refuses to wear the item. Hence, a closetful of clothes never worn). We actually ended up having a lovely, lovely day and no one cried! She found several dresses she (and I) liked and ended up buying the second dress she tried on. Very age appropriate dress, I love the cut and color and the silohuette is perfect on her. We bought shoes, a handbag and jewelry and she is done!!! We did some more shopping, bought some things at Lululemon and had a delicious lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe. I also got to use a Victoria's Secret gift card from Christmas. Saturday we did finally watch Mockinjay. I had read all 3 books and KJ was so disappointed in the end. She looked at me and said, "Seriously??" Divergent, the hot new YA trilogy will be in the theaters soon. I read all three of those books as well but definately like the Hunger Games books better. My aunt and uncle were visitng my cousin and her husband for the weekend so Sunday we all went out to lunch together. I had never been to the Dogfish but Cosmo and the girls had been a couple of times. http://www.dogfishalehouse.com/ Last night was the finale of True Detectives on HBO. Holy cow. That stuff gave me nightmares last night. So creepy yet so good! Tonight Cosmo and KJ are going to the Caps vs. Penguins game @ the Verizon Center. KJ's 1st NHL game! She is super, duper excited and plans to wear her Sidney Crosby jersey. Cosmo has told her she's on her own if Caps fans boo or hiss at her.

Fall

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."  ~  Emily Bronte

 

A little nippy this morning as KJ headed off to school.  She wanted to wear the red and blue cardigan I bought for Ole Miss games but I told her that's not gonna happen.  The kid has a closet full of clothes and accessories yet raids my closet every chance she gets. 

 

No secret Fall is my favorite season.  Besides cooler temperatures, sweaters, boots, fall decorating and all that great stuff, I love all the great new Fall shoes and movies!  Last night I TiVo'd "Blacklist" with James Spader.  There's been a lot of hype about the show, I just hope it's as good as critics say.  "Modern Family" is back and the second season of " Nashville" premieres tomorrow night.  At the theaters, I'd like to see "Don John" with Joseph Gordon Levitt http://donjonmovie.tumblr.com/ (he sure has grown up since his "3rd Rock from the Sun" days and who doesn't love a guy who sings "Good Vibrations" in the car???) and I'd also like to see "Runner Runner" with Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck  http://www.runnerrunnermovie.com/?gclid=CIbwupaH5LkCFbF9Ogod6AoAJQ.  In November, "The Wolf of Wall Street" comes out as well as "The Book Thief" and "Catching Fire." 

Speaking of Fall, I did get some of my Fall decorating done this past weekend.  I found most of my tailgating items and have decorated for the Ole Miss vs. Alabama game this weekend:  I've got my entry-way ready and my dining room table is almost complete.  Here's the link to last year's table:  http://cos4.blogspot.com/2012/09/table-update.html  We've got friends and family coming over Saturday night to watch the game so I really need to finish! 

Yesterday I did my mantel.  I kept it very, very simple.  I found a beautiful, sparkly , glittery leaf garland and accented with sequined pumpkins and mercury gourds and acorns.  My inspiration:

 

The end result:

 

 

 

 

 



Summer Reads

I'm not sure why summer reading or beach books are separated from other genres.  Nobody seems to make a list of "top 10 books to read this winter!"  I don't read one certain type of book based on my geographic location.  I read what I read when I read. 

But, since I'm always on the lookout for a good book and love a great suggestion, I have read or am about to read a couple of books off People Magazine's 2013 summer list: 
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/38269.People_Magazine_s_Must_Read_Books_for_Summer_2013

This past weekend I read The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls: A Novel.  I've got The Engagements on my Nook queue as well as Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen (I've read some of his other stuff) and the Widow Waltz.  I'm thinking about Sisterland: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld  but I just couldn't get into Prep so I'm not sure if it was the author's style of prose that didn't do it for me or the subject matter.  The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story looks interesting, too. 

I'm currently reading Divergent (only a few chapters in). You can check out the author's blog here: 
http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/  Divergent is being made into a movie and this link gives a a quick review as to what this book is all about:  http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/05/14/divergent-tris-dauntless-exclusive/  And here's the IMDB link:   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1840309/?ref_=sr_1  It will be interesting to see if this series is as popular as The Hunger Games.  There also seems to be several discussion boards/forums dedicated to which is better:  Hunger Games vs. Divergent.  On a personal note, I loved the Hunger Game books but didn't really like the movie -- I thought some of the graphics were a bit cheesy and a little too CGI for my taste, however, I can appreciate a strong female lead and both books seem to have that in "Katniss" and "Tris." 

Nook Time

Earlier in the week I started reading the book that every housewife in America is probably reading (some reviews have dubbed the book "mommy porn."). I had heard about it a while ago in either People or Entertainment Weekly and had it downloaded to my Nook but just wasn't ready to start reading it. Nor did I realize it was part of a series. I noticed a couple of friends on FB had mentioned their book groups were reading it and Cosmo's cousin said she read it on a flight this week and felt like she was a member of the mile high club! So, I thought "I'd better start reading this book and see what it's all about!" I started reading it Monday night and didn't get very far, maybe 5 pages. I read more last night and I'm at the point where they've signed the contract and she then tells him she's never been intimate with anyone before.

The two main characters are kind of stiff but I guess that's all part of the build up. I'm not sure how I feel about the dialogue between the two of them. It's kind of stilted and formal (even though Ana is supposedly a college student and he's only 27). Kind of sterile maybe? The author is British so that may have something to do with it. I don't know. I'm just having a hard time with the interaction between them and I find it distracting.

Studios were fighting over the rights to the book and it looks like Universal has acquired the rights to all three books. So now the dream casting begins! Message boards are throwing around Ryan Gosling's name but I keep visualizing someone like Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl....suave, sophisticated. Although I hate the Twilight series, I do think they were well cast. I haven't seen the Hunger Games movie yet but Cosmo saw it and said he liked Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and Cinna's characters (the one and only Lenny Kravitz!). And, he didn't read the book. I've read all the Janet Evanovich "Stephanie Plum" books and could NOT believe they cast Katherine Heigel in that role. Terrible!