Bed Making

No, no dirty thoughts here now.  I've been on an inspirational decorating kick.  Indulging on websites and blogs dedicated to feeding my grandiose desires of owning a large house with endless amounts of money for accents.  Saw this video in Rue magazine and just had to share...


Make Your Bed for Rue from You + ME* & Trent Bailey Photo on Vimeo.

Goals for the Week

Picture from Photos8

Mondays are usually my relaxing days.  After weekends spent doing lots of work, I usually kick back and relax during the start of the week.  As I didn't get around to writing a weekend list of goals, I figured I'd write my goals (non-work related of course) for the week...

Watch a movie I've never seen

Browse through blogs like this  and this for new book ideas

Try out a dancing video for exercise

Light my new candle and relaxHave a meatless meal day

Try to find a wooden frame so I can make a cool necklace organizer like this

Something Borrowed

Picture from wikipedia

Just saw the new movie "Something Borrowed" that recently came out.  The movie's based on the fantastic book of the same name by the author Emily Giffin.  I absolutely adored the book, devouring it in only a weekend.  So needless to say I was delighted and apprehensive when I found out they were making it into a movie...

Quick Summary: Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Darcy (Kate Hudson) have been friends since they were little.  Darcy ever the center of attention, always overshadows Rachel, who is usually more than willing to comply with her best friend's demands.  This willingness even goes as far as not saying that she is in love with Darcy's fiance, Dex (Colin Egglesfield), whom Rachel has liked since law school and who she introduced to Darcy.  Then comes the night when Rachel sleeps with Dex...

Review: Overall, I enjoyed this film.  It was fluff, but still fun, largely due to the character Ethan (played by the adorable John Krasinski).  The film I felt deviated the most from the book with Ethan and Marco's characters.  While Ethan was largely a secondary character in Giffin's book he played a large role in the film.  Marco's character in the book was portrayed as a sort of goofy, but lovable guy.  While in the movie, Marco (played by Steve Howey) came across as a womanizing idiot.  The acting was ok, though it is worth mentioning that I felt Goodwin was particularly good at portraying the confused good-girl Rachel. In my opinion Krasinski stole the show.  His comedic timing and facial expressions were absolutely hilarious, and helped to lift a plot that felt at times somewhat dragging.  Hudson was also good at playing Darcy, the girl everyone wants to hate. 

Final Take on "Something Borrowed": For those who loved Giffin's book(s), I think this is worth seeing in the theatre (if they already haven't).  As for everyone else, I'd say this movie is more of a rent/Netflix flick. 

Psychology on TV - Dr. Will Zimmerman

.

Image via Wikipedia

Robin Dunn (far right) plays Dr. Will Zimmerman on SyFy's Sanctuary



One of my favorite shows right now is SyFy's Sanctuary.  Its about a place called, funny enough, the Sanctuary where a team of individuals led by Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) help to protect the world's "abnormals" (warewolves, vampires, etc.).  As a lover of all things fantasy and science fiction I absolutely adore this show.  Another draw for me is that one of the main characters, Dr. Will Zimmerman played by Robin Dunn, just happens to be a psychiatrist (yes not technically a psychologist, but that can be overlooked...).  Will's character serves largely as a way for the viewer to become acquainted with the Sanctuary world, as his is introduced to the Sanctuary in the opening season.  Not only does Dr. Zimmerman serve as resident psychiatrist of the Sanctuary, he is also a very adept profiler - a skill which is often showcased through rapid flashes of a scene.  A big draw is that despits his intelligence, he is not cocky.  Rather Will often comes across as just a good natured guy, who happens to bag and tag "abnormals" for a living. 

Still not convinced that Dr. Zimmerman's character deserves rank on great psychologists on tv?  Here's episode 2 of the first season where Will show's off some nice psychology skills on a kid with a "unique" problem...

Shakespeare Quote

Image by Tangent~Artifact, here sometimes :) via Flickr

Every fairy take his gait;

And each several chamber bless,

Through this palace, with sweet peace;

And the owner of it blest

Ever shall in safety rest.

Trip away; make no stay;

Meet me all by break of day. 

- Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Picture from Lauren DeStefano's website

I have a horrible habit of reading entirely way too many books at once.  At any given moment I am "currently reading" around 5-6 books, and end up finishing about 1-2 of those books. Needless to say getting the kindle has only served to help foster this embarrassingly bad habit, but I digress...

While browsing through books on Amazon's kindle website I came across Lauren DeStefano's "Wither."  I'd be lying if I said part of the reason for my hitting the *buy* button wasn't due to the beautiful cover art. 

Summary: Rhine Ellery is a sixteen year old girl growing up in a world that's been brought to its knees by a virus that kills girls at age 20 and boys at age 25.  As a result girls are frequently kidnapped to become wives of rich husband in order to bear children in the hopes of coming up with a cure.  The book opens quite graphically with Rhine's kidnapping and subsequent selling to Linden along with two other girls.  Rhine becomes determined to leave the country-sizeed estate that Linden (and his creepy father) own, in order to return to her twin brother.  Along the way she starts to unravel some of the secrets of Linden's world while falling in love with Gabriel, a servant boy whose clearly off limits...

Review: Despite this book having some obvious flaws, I found myself compelled to read on hoping for some sort of conclusion to everything that was going on.  Unfortunately what I failed to read when I purchased this book was that in addition to being part of a new trend (Young Adult Dystopian Genre - google it I swear), its also part of a trilogy thus those hoping for a conclusion are not in luck.  While the story started out strong, I soon found myself growing bored.  Rhine's big moral dilemma between either staying and living out her short years  in luxury vs. leaving and being destitute felt extremely drawn out after awhile.  I found myself being more fascinated with Linden's creepy father and his attempts at trying to cure the virus.  The reader is led to believe that Rhine and Gabriel's romance is something worth risking their lives for.  Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to care about their romance.  It felt too random, especially when compared to everything else that was going on in the book. 

Overall I found the book enjoyable, though the second half felt like a let down.  Obviously as this is part of a trilogy some of the questions I felt were left open in this book may be answered in the preceding ones.  I'm not entirely sure if I was captivated enough to purchase the next few in the Chemical Garden Trilogy (apparently what the entire series is called).  We shall see, this is just one of many YA books that I've bought on my kindle ad will be reviewing in the next few weeks.  I've found I enjoy the ease at which I can read these books, as well as the escape they provide from some of my more textbook reading for class.  Next up is Charlaine Harris's "Dead Reckoning" which is scheduled to be delivered to my kindle tomorrow *sigh* this might be love...

Weekend Goals

Picture from Photos8

After what seemed like an eternity I have finally managed to finish all my finals for the semester.  Needless to say I am more than ready for the next three weeks off from classes.  In lieu of having to write papers, read endless articles, and fret over studying for a test I have decided to make a "to do" list of relaxing things for this weekend (totally inspired by one of my favorite blogs)...

Drink a cup of tea while reading a good trashy book

Watch this documentary

Paint my toe nails a ridiculous shade

Be inspired by blogs like this and this and this

Re-watch Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, if only for her dress *sigh*

Use one of the many new masks that I just got

Kindle Part II

So I got it...the Amazon Kindle WI-FI ($139), so here are my initial impressions/thoughts:

The Good

• I love that with my wireless connection I can simply click and download a book in a matter of seconds
• Amazon isn't joking when they advertise about the screen, it really is easy to read off of and looks precisely like a book
• The Kindle is very light, which makes holding it for long periods of time easy
• The ease of getting a book is a double edged sword as I have to be careful not to spend a ton of money on books.  Luckily there are great free books on Amazon's store as well as on a variety of other websites

The So - So

• The PDF reader with the zoom features is a bit cumbersome, and overall I do feel that I'll likely just continue to read my PDF in paper form unless I can't help it
• I did find it frustrating at first that I was unable to increase the light intensity behind the text, luckily a cover (which I highly recommend) was also gifted to me and included a light that derives its power from the Kindle itself, you can buy it from here

Overall I am completely in love with my Kindle.  I quickly downloaded the first 3 Percy Jackson books as I've been wanting to check them out for awhile.  Via the Kindle I was able to get them at a significantly reduced price, which made me even happier.  I can't wait to start reading and reviewing a ton of new books!

Cover via Amazon

25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes!

I am loving this youtube video tutorial on the many ways to wear/tie a scarf.  I can't wait to try out so of these ideas!

Teen Wolf Remake - what?!?!

Got to see the trailer for the new teen wolf re-make that's coming out.  The movie look like a far cry from the original campy, yet lovable Michael J. Fox one.  Darker with a slight, dare I say it, Twilight edge to it. The only thing that looks like this movie will have in common with its predecessor is that the main character just happens to be a teenager.

Not sure how I feel about this yet.  I almost feel like this movie will be a complete stand alone film, and wish they had chosen to rename it rather than capitalize on the popularity of the original.  That being said, I do recognize that had a complete remake been done, I doubt it would have fared well.  We shall see if this ends up making it into my Netflix queue or not...

Teen Wolf - MTV Shows

I Want It

From Giles & Brother Website

I picked up the newest Marie Clare (the one adorned with newly single Bradley Cooper and Abbie Cornish) and saw that Abbie was wearing the Archer Cuff (pictured above - recommend going to website for large zoom-able picture) by Giles & Brother.  At $175 it is nowhere near impossible to afford, but with a limited budget I must resign myself to simply admiring its beauty from afar *sigh*

And the word of the day is....

bildungsroman

I ran across this word last night, and can't wait to find a way to use it...such a nerd

According to Merriam-Webster, bildungsroman is:

"a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character"


 

Image by moriza via Flickr

Been playing in my head all day...

I've had Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" running round in my head all day.  I absolutely adore this song.  Its one of those rare tunes on the radio where the lyrics are as mesmerizing as the beat is.  And in case you've been living under a rock for awhile, here's the music video:

Shakespeare

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments.  Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no!  It is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is hte star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor man ever loved.

- William Shakespeare

One of Those Days...

This scene just makes me smile, and for no particular reason I thought I'd share...

Despicable Me

One of my resolutions for this year is to attack the growing list of movies I want to watch.  While I would love to say my academics accounts for my lack of viewing, frankly I find it difficult after a long day of work to sit and actively watch a full length feature.  Needless to say I am trying, so here it goes...

Despicable Me
Summary:  This animated feature follows Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), an aging super-villain, in his attempts to steal the moon.  As part of the plan, Gru adopts three orphans as a means of stealing a competing villain's shrink ray.  As time passes Gru starts to become more enchanted with the three young girls leading to all kinds of trouble in his attempts at becoming the worlds best villain.

Thoughts:  I loved this movie.  As a big fan of animated comedies, this movie really hit the ball out of the park.  The plot was entertaining and emotional, which is perfect as I feel sometimes movies of this caliber can focus too much on the special effects of animation and fail to focus on actual plot.  Additionally the movie was funny - the kind of funny that the whole family can enjoy.  I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Shrek, Ice Age, or any of the Disney Pixar films, as this tends to run along the same veins.  Overall, I'd say a definite must!

Image by h2kyaks via Flickr

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Image from http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com/


I just recently finished reading Sarah Addison Allen's "The Girl Who Chased the Moon."  It was the first of Allen's books that I've read, and I'll definitely be looking into reading more of her books in the future. 

Overview: Emily Benedict is a teenager who following her mother's death returns to her mother's home town of Mullaby, North Carolina to live with her grandfather.  She soon discovers that Mullaby is no ordinary town.  As she slowly discovers the town's secrets, she also unravels some of her family's, including why her mother left in the first place. 

Review:  Overall, I really liked Allen's book.  It was the sort of light, quick read I'd been looking for after devouring several large psych text books.  The big secret of the book was enough of a shocking magical twist that even I found myself wondering where Allen came up with the idea.  An area I would have liked fleshed out were the other "magical" components of the town that gave Mullaby its quirkiness.  Other than that it was a delightful read, and I loved the inclusion of the recipes mentioned in the novel at the end of the book (really want to try Hummingbird Cake!).  I recommend it for those wanting the light sort of beach read with a bit of a magical component to it.

Life Soundtrack

From Photos8

If my life were an action/sci-fi movie this would be the soundtrack:

• Clubbed to Death - Rob Dougan
• Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums - A Perfect Circle
• Teardrop - Massive Attack
• Spybreak - Propellerheads
• Cells - The Servant
• A Pain That I'm Used To - Depeche Mode
• Fever Dream - Tyler Bates
• Christmas Eve Sarajevo - Trans Siberian Orchestra
• Confusion (Dub) - The Pump Panel

Quote - The Village



I was flipping through channels the other day and came across the film "The Village".  Now it's been years since I'd seen this movie, though I do remember feeling that the twist ending felt too predictable and the pace felt a bit slow at times.  Despite this I did enjoy the movie, and after re-watching this discovered several quote worthy moments - - one particular scene with Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) was by far my favorite in the entire movie.  Here's the scene and words below:

Ivy Walker: When we are married, will you dance with me? I find dancing very agreeable. Why can you not say what is in your head?
Lucius Hunt: Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm? That is why I am on this porch, Ivy Walker. I fear for your safety before all others. And yes, I will dance with you on our wedding night.


I will leave you with this equally beautiful line spoken by Ivy's father (played by William Hurt)later in the film...

The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe

Lucy's Analysis

Psychology on TV - Dr. Mallard aka "Ducky"

One of my favorite television shows of all time is CBS's NCIS.  A primary reason I feel the show works so well is due to the character development and interaction.  Of course what every good team needs is a team psychologist, which in this case Dr. Mallard aka "Ducky."  For the first few seasons of the show Ducky wasn't officially sanctioned in psychology.  Rather he was unofficially called upon to "talk" with his patients in autopsy.  As the series progressed he actually took classes and became officially trained in psychology.  While one could argue that his skills are usually confined to a more profiler type realm than more traditional psychological practice, I still count him as a favorite psychologist on television ; )

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Things I'm Loving Right Now: Makeup - Drugstore

I'm not the type of girl who pretends that they don't use makeup.  I don't really go for the "natural" look unless I'm either a) in a hurry b) at work c) on an interview.  As a individual with a limited budget and a ridiculous craving for new makeup I tend to lean more toward the drugstore makeup to satiate my thirst.  Here are a few things I'm loving right now:

Lips

• Wet N Wild Lip Lacquer in Flirtatious and Risque
• Rimmel lipstick in Airy Fairy
• Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in Natural Mint & Shea Butter (not really drugstore but still the best lip balm I've ever used)

Eyes

• Boots No7 Mineral Perfection Shadow Palette in the color Topaz
• Wet N Wild Trio in "Walking on Eggshells"

Face

• Rimmel blush in Santa Rose
• Victorai Secret Pro Airbrush Fx Face Primer

Image via Wikipedia

Book Haul

I will admit I faced my local Borders closing sale with both excitement and sadness.  While I loved the huge savings that I got, there is a certain amount of sadness that comes from watching a book store close down.  That being said I definitely went all out, justifying my large purchase (around $100) on stress, the huge bargain, and the fact that books are generally considered a good thing to splurge on!

Below is what I bought, and some mild justification for buying what I did:

• Neil Gaiman - "The Books of Magic" - the graphic novel, one of my favorite authors
• Anthony Bourdain - "A Cook's Tour" - loved, loved, loved "Kitchen Confidential"
• Madeleine L'Engle - "A Wrinkle in Time" - one of my favorite books
• Darlene D. Pedersen - "Psych Notes: Clinical Pocket Guide" - I'm a psych graduate students, I justify this as a school expense
• Bill Bryson - "A Walk in the Woods" - I've been eyeing this book for years since seeing it on a friend's shelf
• Sergel Lukyanenko - "Night Watch" - I'll seriously be kicking myself if I find I love this book and didn't get the others in the series at a discount
• Pocket Posh Logic - a book full of logic puzzles, which I love to do on planes, neatly concealed in a pretty cover which makes it appear a lot cooler than it really is
• Archaeology Magazine - this issue has stuff on lost wrecks and frankly I'm a sucker for underwater archaeology
• Gothic Beauty Magazine - I have no way to really justify this purchase it just looked pretty cool, and I love the Gothic styling
• SFX Magazine - why oh why is this a UK magazine and thus is definitely jacked up in price for a subscription, seriously tempted to just hit the submit and buy button for this magazine - absolutely in love

Image via Wikipedia

To Kindle or Not to Kindle?

Cover via Amazon

So I was informed recently that my grandparents are jumping on the Kindle wagon. For those of you who haven't been introduced to the Kindle here is the run down:

The Kindle is Amazon's e-book reader.  Essentially it allows the user to download and read books, newspapers, PDF files, etc. all in one handy portable device.  The Kindle comes with a variety of unique features that are better described in this promotional video:


I'd be lying if I didn't say after watching this video I wasn't more than a little impressed.  Previously I'd seen e-readers and felt they were a bit cumbersome, as well as having concerns about reading off of an screen.  Recently, however; I've started to become more concerned with the amount of space available to me in my tiny studio and how much of thisis taken up by books.  While I could balk at the price (around $150 for the one I would buy), I am not discounting the fact that I would be saing money in the long run by not purchasing my books in regular hard copy format (especially helpful when purchasing textbooks for class!).  Overall, I am not completely sold yet, as I still find great joy in actually holding a book (call it nostalgia), but I am highly considering purchasing one in the near future.  If not just to swap e-books with my grandparents :  )

So Excited!!!

Pic from Charlaine Harris website

The other day I was browsing the website of one of my favorite authors, Charlaine Harris.  On the website she announces her newest Sookie Stackhouse book, "Dead Reckoning."  I am a huge fan of the Sookie Stackhouse books (inspiration for the show "True Blood"), and cannot even began to tell you how much I love this series and how excited I am for the next one in the series.  Bonus: on Charlaine Harris's website she has a sneak peek of the 1st chapter! 

X-Men First Class Trailer

I can't wait to see this!!

So Want to Make This!

 I saw this on one of my favorite blog's PS I Made This and can't wait to run to Michael's to get the supplies to make this cute necklace!

Resolutions

I never make New Years resolutions on New Years mainly because they tend to be the same every year, but for the sake of holding myself accountable here they are:

• Exercise more
• Eat healthier and learn to cook
• Read more and watch more movies
• Stop procrastinating as much
• Get more organized
• Have more new experiences

Image by Christopher Chan via Flickr

Soundtrack of Life

Pic from Photos8

If my life were a movie right now this would be the soundtrack:

• Weighty Ghost - Wintersleep
• You and I - Ingrid Michaelson
• Little Too Much - Natasha Bedingfield
• Mama Said - The Shirelles
• 40 Day Dream - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
• Atlas - Fanfarlo
• The Great Estates - Freelance Whales
• Ring of Fire - Social Distortion

Something Borrowed

One of my favorite guilty pleasure books just happened to be made into a movie, "Something Borrowed" by Emily Griffin. The first trailer looks absolutely hilarious and right on target with the book, check it out:

Beauty in Art

I'll admit I am completely in awe of artists.  Regardless of medium (dance, theatre, paint, movie, etc.) I continue to find myself blown away by what people can create.  Case in point, this video chronicling the making of the Bergdorf Goodman's 2010 holiday windows, absolutely incredible!