there are few things better than loving a book so much you never want it to end. i've had this feeling with a few books, not many, but there are some that stick out in my mind. my top five favorite books are all very different. after i finished each one i felt like i was never going to find another book i loved as much as that one. i was wrong and i hope i continue to be proven wrong with many more books. what are some of you're favorite books?
most people know that the time travelers wife is my most favorite book because i pretty much talk about it all the time. i can't help it. it is phenomenal. i love it so much i am using a quote from it on my wedding announcements i am sending out this fall and i am using a passage from it in my upcoming wedding ceremony. so i guess you could say i'm a little obsessed. if you haven't read it, please don't see the movie until you read the book. i've seen the previews and i am telling you, they don't even look like they compare to how great the book is. this is a story of a very strange, difficult relationship. keep kleenex close.
carole radziwill was married to anthony radziwill, jackie kennedy's nephew. he was the cousin of john kennedy jr. and they were best friends. carole had also become very good friends with carolyn bessette kennedy. within 3 weeks, she lost two of her closest friends, jfk jr., carolyn and her husband anthony passed away from cancer. this book is a story of love, friendship, and loss. it will probably make you cry but it is worth picking up and she writes beautifully.
this was one of the last books i ever thought i would like. it did not seem like one i would get into and it had been talked about so much when it came out that the hype of it all sort of made me tired of the whole thing. i finally read it three years ago and couldn't put it down. i found myself staying up late reading it, getting online and researching the paintings that were featured in the book. i was so hungry for the info in this book. amazing.
the big love is a book that is great to read if you're feeling a little sour about love, relationships, and how stupid boys can be. so this book is pretty much perfect for all women because everyone has felt like that before. that was my frame of mind when i was given this book by my friend, nina. you'll love it, trust me.
warning: this book is very disturbing. but don't let that keep you from reading it. it is truly fascinating. it will throw you for a loop, the ending will be a total surprise that you won't expect, and bonus: it is themed around the great gatsby-another great piece of literature.
i need to be better about my blogging. i am new to this and still not sure if my blog is the lamest blog ever and i might be coming off as a first class geek. but i hate that i went 2 weeks and nothing!
i just saw the most incredible movie tonight...(500) days of summer. it was nothing short of perfection and i recommend you go and see it the first chance you get. i am working on some new posts and have some ideas. my mind is brewing. until then...
sex and the city is one of my favorite shows. i have the entire show on dvd and have probably seen every episode a hundred times. maybe more. my friend, nina and i have spent many countless hours watching this show, talking about this show, quoting lines from this show...it is endless. i like to think we've bonded over this show. we can find a way to relate almost any real life situation to a particular character, episode, outfit, whatever. we've even had discussions about different foods they eat on sex and the city, and how in certain episodes, the food always looks so good. for example:
-in season three, the episode "no ifs, ands, or butts"...carrie and miranda go to magnolia bakery and get cupcakes. they sit outside on the bench eating them while talking about aiden and steve. the cupckaes look delicious. both of us had thought about this before we talked about it with each other. weird and a little sick.
-in season six, the episode "great sexpectaions"...carrie and miranda go to a pizza place after having a less than desirable meal at the new restaurant "raw". the pizza, again, looks delicious… another one we had mutual feelings about. and again, sicko
I have so many favorite episodes but i have narrowed it down to 6...and they are as follows...
"the good fight" season 4, episode 61.
aiden moves in to carrie's place and she is having a hard time adjusting. this episode is my most favorite because i love the scene at her apartment where they start arguing. i especially appreciate it now, having lived with a boyfriend. "...what are you a crazy bag man?! who needs five speed stick deoderants?!" the ending is perfect and i find myself tearing up every time i watch it.
"i love a charade"
season 5, episode 74.
this is an episode that i really like to watch when it starts to get warm out because it takes place in the hamptons (another weird SATC thing-i have certain episodes that i like to watch during different seasons. something else i share with nina).the scenery is so pretty, i could watch this one over and over. the girls all make the trip for bobby fine and bitsy von muffling's wedding, carrie and berger finally get things going, and charlotte makes harry get his back waxed. "is a relationship a relationship without the zsa zsa zsu?"
"i heart ny"season 4, epsiode 66.
this was a great ending to season 4. carrie has a new 'do and a very fancy date with mr. big who is moving to napa, miranda has brady, and samantha catches richard cheating while spying on him and wearing a raquel welch wig to disguise herself. the outfit carrie wears on her date with big is one of my favorites and her pink christian louboutin shoes are practically a character in this episode. "if you're tired you take a napa, you don't move to napa!"
"cock a doodle do!"season 3, episode 48.
carrie hasn't seen big since she ended their affair a few episodes prior, she and aiden have split, carrie realizes the annoyance of living in an apartment that is animal hospital adjacent, charlotte and trey sort of get back together, miranda and carrie have their first "big" fight, carrie and big fall into the water at the boat house in central park after an awkward hello. i don't know why this one is a favorite, i just always like watching it no matter what mood i'm in. "how's everyone feel about roof chicken?"
"ex and the city"
season 2, episode 30.
carrie gets the news from big that he and natasha are engaged and she has a field day with him, charlotte decides to face her fear and start horseback riding again, the girls all sing "the way we were" at brunch after they pointed out the comparisons between carrie and big and katie and hubbell. i always like the last episode of the season. this one has a great ending. "when did you start calling her by her name and stop referring to her as the idiot stick figure with no soul?"
"one" season 6, episode 86.
i've always liked this one (no pun intended) because it was at the end of the series which is when the episodes started to get a little more serious. miranda and steve finally decide they want to be together, charlotte has a miscarriage but rises above, and carrie meets aleksandr petrovsky. there is a lot of symbolism and it's sort of when the show takes a turn towards the end. "you are a comic?"
if you are a big SATC fan, what are your favorite episodes?
wise words from coco chanel. it was also the quote i chose for my senior yearbook. fashion is fun. shopping is fun. trendy can also be fun. but these women really encompass the idea of less is more. i've always loved shopping and fashion (it is what i studied in college) but the older i get, the less i want in my closet. i want a few great pieces that i will wear a hundred times over and that i will have forever. the women in these pictures are my inspiration and a few of my favorites that i think all have incredible style. and its not just in their clothes. it is in their attitude. they are cool, sophisticated and poised. tell me...who are your style icons?
carolyn bessette kennedy is one of my favorite people. i could stare at pictures of her for hours. she was so beautiful and very cool in an urban way. she never tried too hard, there was no need. only she could make bright red lipstick look understated.
when everyone was in love with marilyn monroe's voluptuous, sensual look audrey hepburn made petite, ballet dancers everywhere sexy. she changed the image of sexy. pedal pushers, a pixie cut and a man's crisp white shirt = perfection.
grace kelly. she was such a trendsetter, hermes named a bag after her because she carried it so much.
"you look very jackie o." her look is still copied to this day.
did you think i wouldn't include gwyneth in this post? effortlessly striking (in the words of carrie bradshaw). she even looks chic taking her son to school.
coco chanel. who cares about diamonds-she made costume jewelry what it is today.
katharine hepburn. innovative. she always preferred pants to dresses and skirts. she made dressing like a man cool.
my mom, marian. she is a classic beauty. if i am even a 10th of the woman she is, i'm on the right track.
most people know of my borderline obsession with gwyneth paltrow (ok maybe it is a little more than borderline). she has a blog ,GOOP, and i follow it religiously. she has a new post each week and each falls under one of six categories: make, go, get, do, be, see. being a true gwyneth fan, you can imagine how excited i was to find out she had a blog! she leads such an amazing, interesting life and is so well traveled...it's really interesting when you read some of her posts-especially the posts under "see". one post is dedicated entirely to where to stay and eat in new york city...another for london as well as one for barcelona. reading all of those makes me want to travel more, especially to barcelona!
under the category "do" gwyneth has featured some videos from her trainer, tracy anderson. after watching these, and seeing gwyneth and tracy on oprah last fall, i decided to get tracy's workout dvds. she currently has 3 avaialble on amazon- a dance cardio dvd, a mat workout dvd, and a post pregnancy dvd (waiting on this one for obvious reasons). i have to say that i have tried so many workouts such as classes at the gym, eliptical machines, running, yoga, pilates, you name it-i've tried it. these dvds are by far my most favorite. it is tough, challenging, and you will be totally out of breath and it will make you sweat but that's the kind of workout i really love. tracy is not one of those annoying trainers who is overly excited and bubbly...she doesn't even talk that much throughout the workout which is nice. and the dvd only features her doing the workout so you feel as though you have your own personal trainer. bonus: they were filmed in gwyneth's workout studio at her hamptons home.
as i mentioned, i have recently started my own business. i have a nanny placement service in the saint louis area called red umbrella nannies. it is new...very new. i chose the name because the umbrella has always been associated with mary poppins-a very famous nanny. and a red umbrella was used as a symbol throughout the movie, the nanny diaries. i love the name, and i happen to love umbrellas. i googled some images of red umbrellas and below are a few of my favorites :)
i said i would never have a blog. well, i am eating my words right about now. i have a few friends, as well as a cousin, who all have blogs that i love and read daily. so here's to hoping mine turns out being just as enjoyable :) i really want this to be an outlet for creativity so it is basically going to consist of random information compiled together to make "the red umbrella"...which is also the name of my business. i am an entrepreneur fresh on the scene so this will also be a way for me to get some business ideas out there that will hopefully generate some feedback. i guess i should start blogging...
