A 1940's Valentine

So a bit late in my recap, but better late than never right?  The boy and I had a lovely Valentine's Day at home last week, but in an effort to make it unique, we celebrated the night with a 1940's theme...

We got dressed up in 40's garb, listened to jazz records from the era, and ate re-heated chicken pot pie.  The boy gave me a $5 bouquet of tulips and he remarked at how they were expensive (as this was the 1940's after all.)

We stayed away from our many computer screens, iphones and television shows for the night and just enjoyed some quiet time together.  It was perfect.  

We did also exchange gifts, though they weren't really in the theme of the night - I have the boy some new threads and he gave me a fancy-shmancy electric toothbrush.  Not that romantic, but certainly needed.

I really do like any excuse to tell the boy how much I love him; and as cheesy as it is, Valentine's Day remains one of my favorite holidays!  

Measuring out Lots of Love

This week has been a bit manic for me, with work and just life stuff, but I still want to take the time to celebrate Valentine's Day with the boy.  So I am making an effort to slow down and pay attention to all the love I have around me (which, for the record, is a LOT.)

When the boy and I were first dating, and we came upon our first Valentine's together, he was reluctant to acknowledge the holiday.  He rightfully noted that it's a fake holiday, created by marketers with the goal of selling chocolates and flowers.  He explained to me that he shouldn't have an obligated day on which to tell me that he loves me, because that cheapens the sentiment.  It feels forced, pretentious and silly. 

He explained all this to me with such eloquence in his swoon-worthy British accent, and yet, I didn't budge.  I simply explained to him that, as pretentious as it may be, I like Valentine's Day and I want some damn flowers!  ;) 

We definitely don't need an excuse to tell one another how we feel...But it's still nice to do it!  

4 Years Today

Four years ago today, I made a promise to my best friend.  I told the boy that I would love, honor and cherish him till death do us part.  I can hardly believe it's already been four years; so much has changed, and yet so much is still the same.  

One thing that remains the same is the fact that I am still totally nuts about him.  Head over heels in love with him (and I am sure he's annoyed and blushing that I just shared that with the blogisphere, but I don't care!)  He continues to inspire me, to care for me and encourage me.  He continues to give me butterflies in my stomach when he looks at me.  I know that I am completely blessed to have him in my life.  And I wish him a very happy anniversary! 

Taken on our Honeymoon in Carmel by the Sea

The Boy's Birthday!!!

Today is the Boy's Birthday!  He's now caught up to me in oldness.  I know I say it alllll the time, but I really love him.  Meeting him and getting to be with him is easily the best thing that ever happened to me.  He makes me happier that I ever thought possible!  So...I'm glad he was born. 

He's the blonde one, in the red shoes

Happy Birthday to my Boy! 

The Irish Rovers #2 - Giant's Causeway

Welcome to March my lovelies!  Here's a bit more from my trip to Ireland earlier this year.

After Belfast, the boy's family and I drove up to the northern coast of Ireland to spend a night in the seaside town of Port Rush.  Along the way we made a few choice tourism stops, among them, the Giants Causeway.  This section of coastline is made up of thousands of interlocking basalt columns that formed due to an ancient volcanic eruption.  The result is both beautiful and somewhat bizarre, as the perfect hexagonal stones just seem utterly unreal when you see them in person.  

Sis in Law Katie and Me before walking down to the Causeway

siblings in law Anna and Neil...He got stuck in that crevice...

the sea

the boy

my Mum-in Law and Me

We all had a lot of fun roaming around the rocks, despite the fact that they were very slippery and it was really cold!  It really was a beautiful place full of wonder. 

All these little things, get bigger each day...

Let me be honest:  Sometimes my "day job" destroys me.  Lately I have been so busy, I feel completely burnt out.  My days have been non-stop, full force, all day and it leaves me completely shattered by the time I get home.  It leaves me wanting, so much, to figure out a way to balance it all, to make my passions my full time past time, but I know that's easier said than done.

I took a dance class with my friend, Jackie, the other night and it damn near killed me.  During the class, I found myself wishing it was over, and that just isn't like me.  But I think, after the work days I've been having, everything gets overshadowed with this gloom I've been carrying around with me.  It's not something I want to continue, because it truly makes every part of my life less shiny.  Yes, I just wrote less shiny and I feel like a total goober for that, forgive me.

My saving grace, day after day, is the boy.  If it weren't for him, I'm not sure how I would even function...I certainly wouldn't eat so well; I'd probably have scurvy.  

I guess what I mean to say, is that I know I am extremely lucky.  Despite everything that is happening in the world around us, the boy and I always have such a safe, happy and strong relationship to come home to....And we have so much fun together!  That makes everything worth it!  

Anyway, if you have been expecting an email or a package from me and are waiting for a response, let me just say, I am really sorry for the delay.  I plan to get caught up this weekend, this week has just been, for lack of a better word, nuts.  The salted, dry roasted kind. 

Here's a few things that are helping me through this monster of a week...

The boy and I are reading this hilarious book...That is to say, he reads it to me.  It's really really good!

learning songs on my uke!

The boy's apple crumble

my favorite dinner of the moment: The boy's tomato soup! 

Fashion Friday: Valentine's and Strawberries Dress

This is the outfit I wore to work on Valentine's Day.  I was originally going to wear something pink, but my strawberry Vera print dress from Anthropologie won me over in the end.  Paired with a red sweater (Target), red pumps (H&M) and one of my heart hair clips, I couldn't help but feel romantic!  

I was trying to make a heart with my hands, but instead I look like I'm doing the Leena Lamont dance move

Just as planned we stayed in on Valentine's Day and watched movies.  The boy also made me a lovely dinner.  He made me a pizza.  It was shaped like a heart....

Oh yeah, I heart him so much!!!!

Happy Friday!

Some Enchanted Evening

Happy Valentine's Day Friends!  As I've said before, this is one of my favorite holidays.  Not only do I love pink and red and doilies and paper hearts and roses and chocolate (all of which are abundant on Valentine's Day) but I also love having an excuse to stay in and watch a romantic movie with the boy.

With all the craziness that surrounds Valentine's Day, we much prefer to skip a crowded restaurant and spend a quiet evening at home. Which basically means the boy will cook something delicious and we'll snuggle up on the couch to watch some romantic classic film.

When we first started dating, the boy and I bonded over the fact that we're both movie geeks and love classic films.  So in honor of that, here are a few of my favorite classic movie choices for Valentine's Day...(Warning: Major spoilers to follow!)

Roman Holiday - This film is just so sweetly romantic! Especially the last scene, when you just know Gregory Peck just wants to take Audrey Hepburn in his arms and give her a big smakeroo!  But he can't because she happens to be a princess and you know that, through their silent desire , they know it's probably the last time they'll see one another.  (Sigh.)  Also Audrey just looks gorgeous from start to finish! 

Sunrise - This film has been highly acclaimed as a masterpiece and a feat of it's time with the special effects used and the compelling cinematography, but beyond that, it's also an extremely romantic and dramatic story.  Perfectly composed from the acting, to the effects, to the story telling, I feel like this film is easily the most romantic thing ever put on celluloid.  It really shows the caliber of a truly great silent film.....And there's a pig that gets drunk, bonus! 

Ball of Fire - Barbara Stanwyck is just about the coolest chic ever in this rendition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  In this version, the seven dwarfs are actually 7 professors writing a new encyclopedia and shenanigans ensue when a love blooms over a lesson in slang and some mobster hijinks.  I laugh all the way through this film from start to finish and Gary Cooper couldn't be more hopelessly adorable!  It's a film you're sure to enjoy and you may walk away with several choice slang phrases like, hoi toi toi and scram, scrim, scraw! 

It Happened One Night - A Capra classic, this film wrote the book on what a romantic comedy should be.  Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert find themselves as unlikely travel buddies on a bus trip to New York.  While they fight like cats and dogs every step of the way, a love eventually blossoms between them that even the walls of Jericho can't keep out. Oh and Clark Gable, let me join Judy in saying that you made me love you!  He's pretty dashing. 

An American in Paris - Yes, it's a musical starring Gene Kelly, and all the music is by Gershwin, and there is a complete ballet in it, and it's set in a technicolor version of Paris...So do I even need to go on?  While it may not be traditionally thought of a a romance film, just trust me on this one, it is.  I personally think that the scene where Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron dance by the Seine to "Our Love is Here to Stay" almost exclusively without touching, is one of the most romantic moments captured on film.  It perfectly communicates their young, tenuous, and uncertain love affair all through music and dance.  It's brilliant.  Also, Leslie Caron wears just about every color pointe shoe possible - Delightful!

Gidget - Ok, it may be completely hokey and cheesy, but if you're looking for something that captures 1960's wholesome adolescent love at it's best, look no further.  Plus it's the perfect film to make you feel like your 1960's summer is just around the corner!  It certainly makes me want to wax down my surfboard and hit the swells!  What makes this film most charming is the way Sandra Dee tries to figure out a way to get her Moondoggie (James Darren - quite the looker in his day) to see her as more than a surfing pal - it's just adorable.  It's a super fun film to watch.  Plus it features a few choice songs and Gidget's swimsuits are totally cute! 

So there you have it!  Those are my classic Valentine films of choice.  Hope you all have a lovely V-day and let me know if you watch any of these films - I'd love to hear what you think!

Lots of Love,

Heather

Burger Quest: Comme Ca (by the boy)

Search for top LA burger lists on the web and pretty much everyone mentions Comme Ca, the flashy but surprisingly bland brasserie on Melrose on the edge of West Hollywood.  Lots of celebs go there and you tend to read about it the next week in Hollywood Reporter.  At some point, the New York Times referred to Comme Ca's signature burger as 'perfection' and lots of people have quoted that article since. I'm here today to tell you that it's burger nonsense.

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I work within a stone's throw of Comme Ca, so I decided to get the burger for takeout. Make no mistake about the takeout issue: I popped down, collected the burger when it came out the kitchen, walked to my office, which took one minute, and ate it immediately. I practically ate in, so no fancy french chef can tell me that the burger was spoiled by being taken out and that I need to try it in-house.

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It's a sloppy mess of a burger - drowned in mayonnaise and coleslaw, the medium-rare colossal patty dripping with juices, the brioche bun struggling to hold it all together. I don't mind a sloppy good burger, but this was just all the wrong flavors. It left a meaty boulder in my stomach that didn't sit well the rest of the day. Burgers like these are fine for hangovers, but not for a pleasant, sober burger experience. The meat, supposedly the choicest beef in the land, is salty and dour.

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Like everything else at Comme Ca, this burger is fantastically overrated, drab and another poor representation of frenchy-american food in Los Angeles. Don't bother with the restaurant or the burger, which costs a whopping $18. It would be fine for $5.

Meatiness 5

Succulentiousness 5
Bun 3

Flavor 2

Stay Togetherness 2

Joint 3

Let's Run Away to Neverland!

I've always been a fan of Peter Pan. And who isn't?  It's one of those stories that resonates with people of all ages.  It has so many layers and themes.  It is filled with magic and charm, excitement, fantasy, and youthful love. 

One time when I went to visit the boy in England, I insisted we visit Kensington Gardens (where JM Barrie would often go to write and where Peter Pan first met Tinkerbell. )  There's a Peter Pan statue in the park (you can see it at the end of the film Hook) and I insisted the boy take me to see it in person.  I was secretly hoping that somehow, just by being there, I could find my way to Neverland...No such luck.  Even so, I still feel young at heart!  Here are some of my favorite Peter Pan inspired images and finds:

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The perfect "Wendy Darling" dress...It totally looks like her nightgown!

I think I originally saw this on Modcloth

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This necklace is included mainly because of the thimble - or should I say "kiss!"

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Love this cute tinkerbell-ish dress and I adore the model's pixie haircut!

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From the 2003 movie version...

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The Boy's Bruschetta

The boy has been cooking his way through our copy of the Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics cookbook and let me tell ya, he has already made a myriad of dishes both wonderful and exotic.  However I think my favorite item so far has been the bruschetta.  

This delicious bruschetta was made with bell peppers, which gave it a spicy kick.  It was so yummy!  I am definitely going to put it on my favorites list...It would be great at a picnic!