You decide

That's right! We're off!
We'll be back late Sunday night and promise lots of pictures sometime Monday. :)

No Country for Old Men

Javier Bardem makes me uncomfortable.

I wouldn't say fearful or anxious, just extremely uncomfortable. And that's how I felt throughout this entire film. Extremely uncomfortable. There was not one moment that the Coen brothers allowed you to settle or passively watch. When you thought there was going to be intense confrontation, the moment passed. When you thought everyone was safe for the moment, the moment shattered...usually with the blast of a cattle gun.

So many films have been praised for excellent pacing, the gradual building of suspense that's supposed to drive the viewer crazy. However, I never really understood what people were talking about. I've seen films that were scary all the way through or had intensely suspenseful parts scattered throughout but never one like this. I finally understand what people were talking about. I felt like there was a metronome on my shoulder the entire time.

Javier Bardem was a huge part of this of course, but Tommy Lee Jones, brilliant as usual, really contributed to the intensity. He wasn't rushing back to the crime scene or chasing down the bad guy. His main job seemed to merely ponder the situation. In fact, the only person with a real sense of urgency was Josh Brolin's character, who you follow the entire time only to be absent from his final showdown.

Now, in full disclosure, Nicholas was not as big a fan as me, which is pretty surprising since that usually only happens with romantic comedies. He said he liked the movie but "didn't care about it." Neither of us are really sure what that means. However, with a 95% on RottenTomatos.com and a glowing recommendation from me, I think we can safely assume he's probably a little wrong on this one. :)

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

I would have put it up sooner but the tree shop wasn't open. In fact, we almost missed it yesterday but I threw myself on the workers mercy and appealed to their Christmas spirit. It worked! :)

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We had a wonderful time in Atlanta over the Thanksgiving holiday. We arrived Wednesday morning and filled four days with lots of food and family. As always, my amazing sister-in-law prepared a delicious feast (including a tofurkey for us!) all by herself. We all sat at a long table straight out of a Hallmark card.

It was a special holiday because this year Nicholas's grandparents joined us for the first time in many years. They recently moved into a retirement community in Atlanta from Texas and we were all very glad to have them here with us.

A message from us to you

If this doesn't say Happy Holidays, nothing does.

Thanksgiving at Thanksgiving

I GOT A JOB!!!!!

I can't thank all of you enough for your love and support. It was really hard for me at times and I wouldn't have made it through without all of you. A couple very special send ups go to the following: my loving husband who assured me I could be a stay-at-home wife a la Charlotte York Goldenblatt if I really wanted to; my most encouraging, supportive friend Kirsten whose vision for my potential and future is so crystal clear it scares me a little; and, last but not least, my friend Keri who - HELLO! - sent me the job listing and gave me a ton of Hill job advice and support.

Now, all y'all's congratulations presents can sent directly to our house. Here are some suggestions! ;)

Too Cool

A Confession

I've started listening to my Christmas music.

There. I said it.

It's November 14. A good week before Thanksgiving but I don't care. I usually try to wait but I don't want to. I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of year by about a mile and Christmas music makes me happy.

So there.

Don't judge me.

Starbucks Song of the Day

Starbucks Song of the Day
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

So remember how a couple posts ago I told ya'll about my love of completion - how I love finishing a list (or a bottle of shampoo as the case may be) or collecting all of something. Well, the only thing I might love more than that is free stuff, specifically free samples, corporate give-aways. I mean I don't want free junk. I want the good stuff.

Anyway, imagine my excitement when Starbucks announced it had teamed with iTunes to give away a free iTunes download everyday for a 5 weeks, especially when coupled with those fateful words..."collect them all." Needless to say, I was obsessed and I drove myself and whoever happened to be with me all over South Carolina, Texas, California, and DC making sure I didn't miss any.

One stupid Starbucks gave me the wrong song for one day so when that song showed up as scheduled I was thrown off. However, I think I dealt with it quite well considering I stopped myself from emailing Starbucks to complain. The other major accomplishment was that I went in Starbucks so often without spending a dime. I just got my little card and went.

The best part is they really weren't just passing out crap. I am greatly enjoying my special Song of the Day playlist and have even discovered some new artists I really enjoy. :)

There were only two songs I already had and the codes are posted below to whoever gets there first!
ytw9erel37mm
33p3jyffrlkw

Ok, listen up

I'm going to make this easy. Stop what you are doing. Stop. Right now. Got to nbc.com and watch Friday Night Lights. All of it. The whole season.

Here I'll even provide the link.

It is the sweetest, most affecting show since The West Wing. It's not the hard brilliance of The Sopranos or the political genius of Battlestar Galactica. But I laugh out loud every time and end every episode in tears. I cannot put this too strongly. This show is the most authentic, yet still entertaining portrayal of small town life I have ever seen. If you don't watch this show - you WILL watch this show.

I'll give someone else a try. From Salon, "If only more people knew what a rare and beautiful thing they're missing: a drama that sets the bar much higher than it has to, daring to take on the romance and heartbreak of being a teenager with honesty, compassion and wit. The writers don't take shortcuts with pointless fisticuffs and cliques and ironic asides; they stick to the emotional center of the story at all times. As a result, over the course of its short season (which ends on Wednesday, April 11 -- well before May sweeps, which isn't a good sign for its survival), "Friday Night Lights" has evolved from a strikingly original, lively little story about a football team to an evocative portrayal of life in a small American town, a narrative with so much sweetness and authenticity to it that, once you abandon yourself to its undeniable charms, you'll find it has the power to make you cringe and grit your teeth and laugh and cry each week, without fail."

Or how about The Sports Guy, "If you do give it a shot, let me recommend the impeccable acting, the lively football scenes (although they tend to go overboard on exciting finishes), the risky story lines and especially Coach Taylor's family, the most authentic household in recent TV history. Every nuance is nailed, every hug seems genuine, every fight makes sense, every sarcastic barb and flustered reaction ring true. If there are better TV actors than Kyle Chandler (Coach) and Connie Britton (Mrs. Coach), I haven't TiVoed them. Pay particular attention to the astonishing two-parter in which an older assistant sets off a racial powder keg before a big playoff game. If FNL were Michael Jordan, Lyla Garrity's slam-page episode would be the 63-point game in Boston (the coming-out party), and the two-parter would be the 1991 Finals (the moment considerable potential is realized)."

You don't have to know or like football. Ya'll my hatred of football is well-documented. You don't have to have grown up in a small town either. You just have to have a heart and a brain. And if you don't, you will also need protection because I will hunt each and everyone of you down if this show is canceled.

Ya'll have a great day now!

UPDATE: Oh my God! Yes, Dylan told me about this show and really let's be honest - all that growing up together, going to high school, loving me despite how I acted in high school only gets you so far. Now, NOW, that he has give me Friday Night Lights - well it's just taken our friendship to a whole new level. (And cost a ton in text messages, since about every 5 minutes it's "OMG! I love Buddy Garrity!" or "I want Tami Taylor to adopt me!")

Me and Stacey London need to have a talk

Ok, look. I like patent leather. I have two pairs of patent leather flats right now that I love. However, I am getting really sick of it being passed off as "classic." It's not classic. It is the major trend of the moment and it will go out of style. The last time I bought patent leather was for my high school holiday dance in 1995!!! So, stop. You are not fooling anyone.

New Collar

New Collar
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We went with the blue and brown diamond. I liked it from the beginning and, when everyone was behind the diamonds, I knew we had a winner. :)

WHAT THEN!

BTW

I am now officially famous.

Sweetest Movie Ever

As many of you know, I have this sort of obsession with completing lists or actually completion in general. I even like finishing a bottle of shampoo. No joke. I don't know where it comes from, but I just love it.

So, ever since I completed the AFI Top 100 list (for the second time), I've been working on Best Picture Winners. I'd already seen pretty much everything past 1970 and most of the 1960s. There are about 20 I haven't seen so I've been slowing watching them mixed in with documentaries and more recent films so my husband doesn't kill me. ;)

Recently, I watched Marty, the Best Picture Winner for 1955. It's the story of an unlucky in love butcher, played by Ernest Borgnine, who lives with his mother. He meets a lonely schoolteacher and everything changes.

Ernest Bornine is really the key to the whole film. I felt such heartbreaking sympathy for him I was pushed to tears several times. He played Marty with such earnestness, such genuine decency that I wanted to reach through the screen and hug him. When he finally meets Clara, played by Betsy Blair, you are rooting for both of them so intensely that I almost couldn't bare it. More than I rooted for Sam and Annie in Sleepless in Seattle and even more than I rooted for (and this is big) Noah and Allie in The Notebook.

The whole movie was so precious and endearing I can't recommend it highly enough.