Movies 101 : Summer Hours

I completely forgot to blog about my last Movies 101 class, which was now 2 weeks ago! Our last night of class was a little bit different in that it started with the guest interviews. Do you remember at the beginning of class, I got to see a screening of “The Great Buck Howard” with Colin Hanks (he is still my most favorite interview of the class – love him)! Well, that movie is based on the life of a magician named Kreskin. So, my teacher reached out to Kreskin and over the course of our class they became friends and Kreskin came to our class. He is a very old, funny man. He was hilarious just to watch – he has a huge smile on his face at all times. After the interview, he did 2 magic tricks for us. The second one was pretty impressive, but I later figured out how I think he did it. People really think he has a 6th sense, but I really don’t believe it.

Then, we got to have a 2nd interview! A blog-writer for Hollywood.com (I think) came to discuss the movies we’d seen and how they’d done in the theatre compared to other movies that came out during the same time period. It was interesting, but by this point it was getting really late and we still had a movie to watch!

Our final movie was another French film called Summer Hours, starring Juliette Binoche. I really liked this movie – didn’t love it, but liked it. It was about a woman who lives in a beautiful house in the French countryside who passes away. The woman’s uncle was an artist and the house was full of valuable pieces of his and other artists as well. So, her 3 children are left to deal with deciding what to do with everything in the house. I think my favorite part was just the house – I’d love a house in the French countryside.

Overall, I am glad I took the class – it was something I’d wanted to do for a couple of years and I am happy to have had the experience. I don’t know that I’ll take it again anytime soon because it isn’t cheap (although, he is offering recession specials this summer)! I do want to take it in the fall sometime though. This past fall they got almost all the big Oscar-nominated movies and had guests like Kate Winslet and Clint Eastwood. That seems like the time to take the class! Maybe some year!

Making It Big

I just know that I know (or will know) someone during my time in NYC who will make it big in the entertainment industry. There are just so many people here trying to make it in film, theatre, TV, dance, music, etc... I don't know who it will be, but I really think I'll know someone who actually makes it. Maybe it will be little Sydney, the girl in my Sunday School class with an amazing voice who always entertains us with her acting. Or maybe it will be Kira or Chris who both had stand-in parts in Duplicity. Perhaps it will be Tom who leads worship at my church and on the side plays shows of his own secular music at night - his first album comes out this summer. It might be Evie who is currently starring in the tour of Hairspray the musical. But, I hope it's my friend Mindy!

She has become one of my favorites this year. She moved up a year ago after going back to school and graduating with a Master's in Theatre from Oklahoma City University. OCU is known for its theatre department (especially musical theatre, but Mindy doesn't sing). Its most famous graduate is probably Kristin Chenoweth. Upon graduation, Mindy was offered a nanny position in NYC. It was a job she never really wanted, but one that would allow her to live in the city with the most opportunities for her dream job. She used the year to make contacts, audition, take acting classes from the best, etc.... whenever she had time away from the family. She has now left for the summer to work at the Fine Arts camp the family owns in Massachusetts. She'll be back in the fall when she will be a free woman with more time to focus on making her dream a reality. One thing she did this year was take voice-over lessons. She had about 5 lessons and then made a demo to send to agents. She sent me the demo and I just love it! Check it out here!

I Can't Believe I Just Said That

Walking into a store today, there was a man standing in between lines and I was trying to figure out if he was in a line or not. He spoke up, "I'm not on line." To which I repeated, "You're not on line"? I wanted to bite my tongue off. Did you catch it? I said ON line, not IN line. That's how they say it up here and I will never, ever get used to it. You'll be in line at the post office and hear the lady behind the counter yell out "Next ON line" or someone will say "We had to wait ON line for 30 minutes to get tickets". I can't believe those words came out of my mouth. I know, I was mindlessly repeating what the man had said, but no excuses! I will not conform to using this phrase!

On a side note, I really can't stand the Northeast accents. If I hear the VP of my group say what sounds like "sore" for the word "saw" one more time, I might punch him. I really hope my slight accent w/ a little bit of mid-west and little bit of Texas (depending who you ask) stays like it was when I got here.

Catch Up!

Over the past several weeks, I've had time to just do short entries and the few long ones I did from my mom's visit. In the meantime, I've missed updating on other things that have been going on. So, this is a bit of a catch-up post! Here's where I've been:

-- Work, work, work! Things at work have been insane and all I keep thinking is "I did NOT sign up for this"! It's our budget season, which is normally a little busy, but this has been crazy. There have been some midnight and 1am work nights and then it all came to head this past weekend when I worked until 10pm on Friday night, went back at 3pm on Saturday and stayed until 3am (who is at work at 3AM on a Sunday morning....ridiculous). Then back again on Sunday from 3-7 and back Monday morning at 7AM (WAY early for me). I thought it would basically be over Monday when there was a big meeting, but there were more changes to be made and this week was still a little crazy- although the latest I stayed was 8:30pm. I don't deal well with these kind of hours, so this better not continue!

-- Tonya & Sean came into town for work and I got to meet up with them for dinner. It was raining, so we wanted to stay close to my office/their hotel. There aren't many good options in mid-town, but I did remember that I'd heard about a restaurant called Aspen was supposed to be pretty good. We decided to check it out. It's in a hotel, but it has a really cool atmosphere and we enjoyed the food...small plates that we shared. We got a little thing of chocolate fondue for dessert - yum! It was fun to catch-up with Tonya and Sean for a few hours!

-- Kids Club Carnival! I've been trying to serve at Kids Club at the Chelsea Projects once or twice a month. This past Saturday was the annual carnival with the kids. So fun!

The kids won tickets at the games and then got to get prizes with their tickets. There were some great toys & games! And it was all completely free for the kids - so awesome.

I helped out with what was definitely the most dangerous game at the carnival. You probably can't tell in the picture below, but this little girl is holding cardboard with push-pins sticking out of it. Grab that sucker the wrong way and ouch!! We had a board with balloons stuck on it (also with push-pins) and the kids would hurl this little disk at it in an attempt to pop a balloon. I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea. Kids would pick up the disk the wrong way, the balloons would come flying off the board along with a push-pin that would go sailing through the air, the disk would go no where near the direction of the balloons and towards crowds of people, etc.... I don't know how we survived without any casualties...especially me since I was in charge of replacing the popped balloons and it's hard to get a kid to stand still and wait their turn...the disk was thrown my way more than once.

This is Sassary. Sassy, Sassary. I know you're not

supposed to pick favorites, but I just can't help it!

Dean manning the Lemonade & Popcorn stand

Face Painting Booth
There was a Christian singing group there doing fun kids songs

-- Tribeca Film Festival! I went to see one of the Tribeca Talks forums and it was the one with Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding). It was at the Apple Store in SoHo and I think they actually do this kind of stuff all year long and have some pretty big actors come in, so I need to stay on top of their calendar - it's FREE! She was talking about her new movie that is coming out in June. It was so much fun! The next day, I went with Mindy to a screening. The number of films at this thing is overwhelming and it's very difficult to know how to choose what to see and then getting tickets can be tricky as well. We ended up seeing a French film that was made to look like a documentary, but wasn't. It was about actresses trying to make it and some of the best actresses in France played the main characters. It was kind of a strange movie, but we enjoyed it. The writer/director/star of the film was there for a Q&A afterwards which was probably the most interesting part.

-- Max Brenner's! Mindy and I had lunch at Max Brenner's (The Bald Chocolate Man) after seeing our Tribeca movie. I had a veggie burger and it was so delicious! I need to go there more often. After lunch, we went back to the theatre with the intentions of seeing another movie, but decided the lines were too long and we couldn't decide what we wanted to see, so we went to the other Max Brenner's for dessert! We split a souffle that was amazing!

-- Walking, walking, walking! At work, we're doing a 10,000 steps a day challenge. I love it! To kick things off, a physical trainer from Equinox came and took us for a 1.5 mile walk. It was a fun outing! We're doing it again on Monday. I've also enjoyed wearing the pedometer...it motivates me to walk more. I've been trying to walk a mile at lunch and then walk home in the evenings which is about 2.5 miles and also trying to do little things like walking the platform while waiting for the subway. My walk home takes me either through Central Park or along Central Park West (which is lined with beautiful high-rise apartment/condo buildings that have views of the Park). When Brooke was here, she asked if the Park gets flowers during the Spring/Summer! Yes, and it's gorgeous!

The trees with blossoms are my favorite!

And a couple more...

I am a little embarrassed to admit I recognized these two guys from the Real World:Brooklyn walking home last night. I don’t even really watch that show and still knew who they were! Couldn’t have named them, but definitely knew they were the RW boys.

Scott

Chet

7s4cadpruv

And Another...

Celebrity sighting today. I saw Kristin Chenoweth while I was out walking at lunch. Some of you may not know who she is, but she’s pretty much the Queen of Broadway (was the original Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked). She’s also started popping up on TV and in movies like Four Christmases. The new rumor is that Wicked is being made into a movie and she will again play Glinda. I really like her!

Latest Celeb Sighting

I saw Elizabeth Berkley walking down the street on Saturday.

Remember her from Saved by the Bell? Or perhaps Showgirls? I can't believe my roommates and I actually went to see that movie in college. I remember so well going to our favorite theatre...the one in Lacey Lakeview, just north of Waco. We loved their kids snack packs!

The Le Pliage bag by Longchamp

So, I’ve been wondering something and am hoping some of you blog readers can help me out. Has the Le Pliage bag by Longchamp taken your city by storm, too?These bags are EVERYwhere in Manhattan. I haven’t seen one bag become so popular like this in the 3 years I’ve lived here. I rarely walk down the street or ride a subway without seeing at least one girl nearby with one. It’s crazy! They come in all different colors and sizes, even different shapes. I just saw the backpack on someone for the first time on Friday.

I just don’t get why they are SO popular. Yes, they’re functional and kind of cute, but there’s really nothing special about them.

For a Longchamp purse, they’re very, very cheap, starting around $100 for the tiniest bag (which I’ve seen and it’s very, very small) and going up in price from there, according to size.

Is it just me or is that kind of expensive for a canvas tote? Yes, I know, it’s Longchamp, but still. I just don’t get it.

I will say, I do kind of want one. Seeing them everywhere, they've started to grow on me. I especially like the fact that they seem durable and come in colors that can withstand the grime and weather we encounter on a daily basis commuting here in NYC. But, I just won't pay that for a canvas bag. Ebay maybe?

Kristin's Wedding Day!

One of my most favorite people is getting married today! I am so excited for her and although I haven’t met the special guy, I know he must be super wonderful to be with a gal like Kristin! Oh, how I wish I could be there to celebrate!

Kristin & I worked together for a very, very short time at The Journey and then she moved back home to Ohio a year later. I always felt that our time together was cut too short – I still count her as one my favorites in NYC.
Kristin is one of the most Godly women I know and would probably give up just about anything to do/go where He calls. In fact, she and her new husband decided to for-go wedding presents and instead ask for donations to their favorite charities. So, here’s what I got Kristin & Gary for their big day:

Two Chickens

Backpack & School Supplies

One of Kristin’s favorite organizations is World Vision – many of you have probably heard of it. They provide aid to disadvantaged children all over the world. It’s a fantastic organization with a great reputation – so, if you’re looking for somewhere to give, this is a good place to check out! Due to Kristin & Gary’s selfless generosity, 2 families will get chickens which will provide them “with a lasting source of nutrition and income” through the eggs which can be eaten or sold for money. Another child will get a backpack and school supplies to provide him/her "not only with basic learning tools, but also with the added confidence he or she needs to be successful in school."

Congratulations, Kristin!! You are in my thoughts and prayers all day today! Have a great trip to Cali…I want to hear all about the wedding & trip when you return. Oh, and check your mail for a little something when you get back, too!

More Adventures with mom

So, mom was here in NYC from Thursday to Wednesday, minus the 2 days we spent in Connecticut. I worked while she was here so she had to go-it-alone during the days, but we had fun at night! Here are some things we did:

-- went to the Guggenheim. We had been before, but she wanted to go again. They are under a major change in exhibits, so it wasn't the best time to go. We were able to get through what little there was to see very quickly.
-- Explored the UES on foot for hours! We saw the reservoir, lots of celebrity homes, the 92nd Y (which is something I need to stay on top of...they have lots of cool speakers and events), and ate at the cutest restaurant - Square Meal. We just happened upon this restaurant, it was on a very, very quiet street with gorgeous homes (including Blythe Danner's). It was in the basement of a brownstone and was so clean and cute. It was full of older people who all probably lived right nearby...I felt like I had left Manhattan for dinner! The food was excellent!
--Dinner at Lombardi's Pizza. One of the best pizza restaurants in NYC. This one is in Little Italy. It's good, but I think I've decided that I'm partial to Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. Afterwards, we shared a dessert across the street at Rice to Riches. This place serves Rice Pudding in tons of different flavors with different toppings. We had the vanilla with graham crackers on top - so yummy!
-- WICKED! Mom finally got to see Wicked, the musical. She's been wanting to see it forever, but it is really hard to get tickets because it often sells out months in advance. We got lucky this time! I had already seen it in Dallas, but wanted to see it on Broadway. It was really good! Such a cute story!
-- Dinner at Carmine's - great family style Italian restaurant that we took mom to a few years ago when we came for her birthday before I moved up. Food is good, but you really need more than 2 people to go to that place - portions are enormous!!

It was so great to have my mom in town - can't wait for next time!

Answered Prayers

Do you remember back in February when I mentioned that my church was doing a series on Prayer throughout Lent? I also noted that the girls in my group sans boyfriends decided to commit to praying that we would each have at least 1 date during Lent. It may seem like a silly prayer, but I don’t think God thinks any of our wants are silly. I prayed hard during those weeks and prayed specifically that each of us would have 1 date that would either result in a renewed hope in His future plans for us or a relationship that would bring Glory to Him. You know what? He answered that silly prayer. Out of the 4 of us, there was really only 1 of us who I knew for sure would have a date during that time because she is one of those girls who ALWAYS has dates. The other three of us – not so much. So, to God be the glory that we all 4 had dates.

Lately, I’ve been really having a longing for a family. It’s something that’s always there to some degree, but lately it’s been stronger. I really feel blessed that 99% of the time I am content in my singleness. And I have been abundantly blessed by the number of amazing single friends I have who are my age and even older than me…both in Dallas and here. That certainly makes it easier. I truly believe that I have learned the “secret of being content” and I know it ain’t a husband or a baby (Philippians 4:12-13). But, I can’t deny that it is still something that I want.

Several years ago, I was in a Bible study and one of the girls told us that her mom had taught her to pray that God would take the desires of her heart away that were not in His will. So, for years, I’ve been praying that God would take away the desire to get married or have babies, if it wasn’t His plan. And, just now, I’ve realized that is the dumbest prayer ever!! Okay, that’s an exaggeration…it’s not a bad prayer. But, when I asked God for 1 date, He answered – oh, how I should be asking for much, much more!! I truly believe that He wants us to be honest and bold in our prayers and although He knows the depths of our hearts, He still loves for us communicate to Him the desires we have and I’ve been neglecting to do that.

There are many women in the Bible who struggled with infertility (Sarah, Elizabeth, Rachel, Rebekah and Hannah….I stole this list from kellyskornerblog.com). Did they ask God to take their desire for a baby away? No! They pleaded with God for a baby. And you know what, He answered their cries! So, I’m changing up my prayer plan. Lord, grant me a Godly husband and sweet babies!!

Kellyskorner has committed to praying for women who are struggling with fertility issues and ones who are single too. Check out her list here and start praying for these women! I’m having her add me to the list!

Connecticut

My mom and I discovered last fall that we just love Connecticut, so we rented a car last weekend and headed back up. We spent most of our time in Westport, but drove around to several different little towns shopping, driving through the beautiful neighborhoods & along the ocean, etc... It was a great time. It was my first time off the island of Manhattan in 3 months - that seems crazy to me! Manhattan has a lot of stuff packed in it, but the square mileage is actually pretty small, so it seems funny that the furthest I think I had gone in 3 months was to jury duty. Anyway, it was great to get away from the hustle & bustle! And the weather could not have been more perfect...sunny skies and almost 90 degrees - summer is here (or at least was here, it seems to have gone back in hiding this weekend).

Here are some things we did:

-- rented a small car, but they were out so we were upgraded, for free, to an SUV. I love me a Ford SUV, but thought it was hysterical that I drove this car all weekend- a Ford Flex

-- first stop = Greenwich. Super cute, ritzy town where we had lunch at a non-ritzy diner place. Wasn't quite what we expected, but the eavesdropping on the conversations of locals sitting around us made it worth it! We also went in our first Pierre Deux of the trip - one of our favorite store finds from mom's Cali days.

-- Checked into our hotel in Norwalk - nothing fancy, but they had warm cookies to greet us, which was a nice treat! There were some Geese hanging out front of the hotel.
-- Went to dinner at The Dressing Room - Paul Newman's restaurant. It was delicious! They are known for being organic and using only ingredients from the area. They recently changed their menu to "Small Bites", basically like tapas, so we got several things and shared. Most of it was really good. It's a cute restaurants and Joanne Woodward came in with one of her and Paul's daughters and some other people to eat.

-- Saw a play at the Westport Playhouse called "Around the World in 80 Days". I don't think either of us loved it, but it was okay - kind of a funny show. I overheard one man liken it to children's theatre for adults. It was opening night and afterwards they had a little reception that it seemed anyone could go to, so we went! Don't know if we were crashing or not. We just sat around a while people watching and stole a couple rice krispy treats before heading in for the night. -- Brunch at Chocopologie in Norwalk. I had read about this place as having a cute cafe for brunch, but also being very well known for their truffles - as noted by both Madonna and Oprah. It was in a sketchy area, but turned out so cute!! We just loved this place. The food was good and atmosphere was perfect. We got some truffles to go and they came in the cutest box, so I got some for a co-worker who had done a favor for me the week before.

We sat in the cute cafe part of the restaurant, but this little back hallway was lined with stools where you could eat and watch through windows overlooking the chocolate making area. It was so cute!

-- Went to our second Pierre Deux of the trip in Westport...among other stores

-- Drove all around the neighborhoods in the Westport area

Some of the homes face a street that runs alongside the ocean. Between the street and the ocean, the homes each have their own fenced in yard with cute lawn chairs...so nice!

The flowers were really in bloom. I just loved this tree!

-- came across Southport, which we loved. It is TINY...only a few shops, but we went in an antique shop where we met the cutest lady and I bought some awesome shutters to hang in my car (the Ford Flex came in handy here...wouldn't have been able to get them home in the smaller car).

-- drove through New Canaan, which I really loved last time, but seemed a little lacking this time-maybe because a lot of stores were closed on Sunday. The town itself is very cute, even the train station right on Main Street is adorable - looks right out of a movie!

-- when we realized we were very close to Bedford, NY, we decided to drive over there because mom knew that Martha Stewart has a house/farm there. We weren't prepared for this, so I started to google stuff on my phone. My phone isn't really meant for internet searching, so I didn't come up with much, but we did find out that a TON of celebs have homes in this town. We'll go back another time, better prepared. We did see Richard Gere's restaurant and Inn there, but the restaurant was closed because it was between lunch/dinner hours. Would be an awesome place to stay and/or eat some time.

-- on the way back into the city, we had planned ahead to make a stop at a Target. I wanted to walk up and down every aisle. It's not often I can get to a Target and never with a car - especially an SUV. We spent 2 hours there! I was afraid it was driving my mom crazy and she was getting bored, but she was very understanding. She said she used to do the same thing when we lived in CoMo (before it got a mall and Target and Sams) and would take trips to Dallas...she would stock up at Sams Club! I bought tons of stuff at Target....toiletries, clothes, a tall mirror, food, etc.... Two hours never went by more quickly.

-- our last stop was dinner at a Panera in the Bronx - yummo!

Such a great weekend with my mom!

Celeb Sightings

There's lots to update from my mom's trip up, but I thought I'd start by doing a special post for all the celebrity sightings we had!

My mom planned her trip around the annual Lincoln Center Film Society Tribute & Gala. This is the event I went to two years ago when Diane Keaton was honored and last year when Meryl Streep was honored. This year, it was Tom Hanks!! The event is really a fundraiser where people pay significant amounts of money for dinner and the Tribute, but the past 2 years they've sold leftover tickets to the Tribute only (no dinner) a couple of weeks before for only $45-$50. Unfortunately, they didn't do that this year. They did have a lower-priced option for a cocktail reception and the Tribute, but we still weren't willing to pay $350. However, we did head over there to get a glimpse of the red carpet. It was a blast!! I did my best to get shots of as many of the celebs as possible. We saw:

-- Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson

-- Adrien Brody
-- Charlize Theron

-- Jeremy Irons - that's his back to the camera. He rode in on his motorcycle and the paparazzi went nuts for it.

-- Julia Roberts!!! (Also saw her a few years ago, here). We were across the street, but that was close enough that I could hear her awesome laugh at one point as she talked to the reporters. Love her! But, baffled at the tribute speech she gave to Tom that night...you may have read about it in the news this week.

-- Eli Manning

-- Geoffrey Rush

-- Christie Turlington & Ed Burns

-- Steven Spielberg

-- Sally Fields (in the blue dress)

-- Christopher Walken

-- Jim Gregory

-- Model from some reality show (Top Model??)

-- Ron Howard

-- Glen Close

-- Regis Philbin

-- Bruce Willis -- this was probably the highlight because it was so unexpected! We were walking past the door where "normal" people went in and he walked out of that door and straight past me while I stood there staring with my jaw dropped! He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and there seemed to be some sort of altercation going on - not sure if they wouldn't let him in because of his attire or what. His new wife was also with him, but standing off at a distance. He stormed off and they hailed a taxi. My mom waved at him and said hello. She loves to say hi to celebs!

Other than the Gala Red Carpet, we also were treated to a few other random celeb sightings. Here's the list:

-- Chace Crawford -- after class on Thursday night, we happened upon the set of his new film, Twelve. He was standing off to the side and we walked right by him. I wanted to tell him he came to my church, but a security guy asked us to move along. I am a fan of Chace!! This is my 3rd time to see him in New York City (here, here)...we're destined to be friends!

-- Joann Woodward -- we ate dinner at Paul Newman's & her restaurant in Westport, CT on Saturday night. Joann came in to eat dinner there, too! My mom was ecstatic and even said hello to her!

-- Jason Castro (American Idol) -- My mom wasn't with me on Tuesday when I saw him wondering down the street near where I work. He's tiny! He was actually also at my church a few weeks ago, but in the morning service and I went at night that week...some of my friends saw him then. He goes to the church in Texas where my Pastor used to be on staff, so it makes sense that he stopped by. Our church is really becoming a happenin' place with two celebs in a months time!

I also came up with the list of all lists before my mom arrived. I found 2 websites that track where celebrities live in New York City. I now have an awesome list compiled of addresses of the homes of the stars! As we walked through different areas of town, we enjoyed referring to the list to see where different people live. Most of them are apartment buildings, so there really isn't much to see, but still fun to know who lives there! Here's a list of whose homes we saw (I've grouped people together who have places in the same building):

-- Michael J. Fox, Bette Midler

-- Renee Zellweger

-- Heath Ledger's last home

-- Alex Rodriguez, Denzel Washington, Sting

-- Jerry Seinfeld, Diana Ross, John McEnroe

-- Blythe Danner

-- Madonna (she just purchased a Townhouse on the Upper East Side last week)

-- Tom Brady

-- Robert Redford

-- Jacqueline Kennedy's old home

-- Ralph Lauren

-- Joann Woodward

-- Naomi Campbell

-- Matt Lauer, also Alex Rodriguez just sold his place there for $10million

-- Dustin Hoffman, Tiger Woods, Bono, Demi Moore, Steven Spielberg, Donna Karan, Steve Martin

I still have a long list of homes to see - will try to conquer that soon since the weather is so great!