a new fav.

i watched this movie last night.

at the broadway center theatre in salt lake.

it's not a smash hit.

and i hadn't heard much about it,

so i definitely didn't expect to love it.

but i did. quite a lot actually.

it was unexpectedly sweet.

and soft somehow. and refreshingly restrained.

my only complaint? i could have watched a little more.

best movie of the year i'd say.

and yes, the year is only 15 days old, but still!

it was pure loveliness.

as of late i am...

reading:

right now the adventures of tom sawyer is on my bedside table & the four loves is in the bathroom. i'm reading both of them, just at different times & {obviously} in different places. on my mission i read all 747 pages of james e. talmage's Jesus the Christ in the bathroom. it rested perfectly atop a little old fashioned radiator to the left of the toilet with a package of colored pencils used for marking. it made bathroom trips so much more enjoyable. and ever since then i just can't quit the habit. plus it's such a lovely way to capture a little time.

listening:

for some reason i just adore a good melancholy tune. the sadder the better. something really good and depressing gets me every time. and because i organize my music by mood, the folder entitled soft & sad is my largest by far. and lately i just can't stop myself from putting these two songs on repeat. falling slowly by glen hansard & marketa irglova {listen here.} and duet by rachael yamagata. {the best listen i could find was posted here}

watching:

we are making our way through these babies! season 5 came in the mail a couple weeks ago {thanks again for birthday present bliss ry} and that is how we are spending our evenings. could there be a better way?

picture from here.

eating:

peanut butter and jam sandwiches. it has to be chunky. it has to be homemade strawberry. it has to be 12 grain. it's the best thing on the planet right now. i can't tell if i love that it is fast or that it is easy better. but even if it was neither, the taste {oh the taste} alone would win my heart. maybe because i hated peanut butter as a child i am now overcompensating, but i think we've had this for lunch every day for the past week.

*post idea adopted from my friend mercedes here. isn't it a good one?

what are you guys reading, listening to, watching & eating?

anne of green gables.

last year for my birthday

i received this gem of a birthday gift from my mom.

{special edition dvd set of aogg}

this movie is definitely in my top ten.

quite possibly in my top 3.

love-love it!

there are very few comparably great movies.

but pride & prejudice is one of those rare few.

maybe for this year's birthday i'll get lucky again!?

{hint. wink. smile.}

gilbert. darcy.

even now there is just something about them.

that makes me want to smile.

and swoon.

throwback to yesteryear

My sisters and I were raised on a lot of our dad's favorite pastimes.

Because he was aching for some sons, and wound up with three girls before he got any, many times he simply ignored our femininity and involved us in all things masculine.

One christmas Santa left each of us girls our very own hockey stick. Dad more than made up for our lack of enthusiasm and set up a basement hockey rink.

Despite our initial hesitation, we spent countless happy hours slapping the stick around on that rink. And I like to think he spent those hours content with girls who only acted like boys.

Weekends with dad found us ordering pizza and marathoning any number of his favorite epics. The Star Wars trilogy, Karate Kid, Indiana Jones, Rocky, and of course Superman.

I don't think mom approved entirely, and so these marathons usually occurred when she was out of town. That heightened the thrill of the whole event. We felt extremely lucky, in the way only kids can, to be involved in something we knew mother would not fully advocate.

Even at 5 years old we didn't just tolerate these late-night marathons, we loved them!

In like manner the husband and I enjoyed a superman marathon of our own this weekend. All my admirations for the feisty Lois Lane returned full force, especially seeing her ever chic wardrobe. Clark Kent wasn't bad himself, but he's no Ryan!

Happy Weekend!

O Canada!

Has anyone seen the movie Meet me in St. Lois? One of my favorite parts shows Tuty, a little girl in the film, talking to the milk man and she says "St. Lois is my favourite town. Aren't I lucky to be born in my favorite town?" It's such a familiar sentiment, and I can't help but feel lucky to have been born in my favorite country. Yes, it's Canada.

Similar to the feelings regarding parents and siblings, I just know Canada is wonderful for so many reasons that I recognize are completely biased. Regardless, it was so fun to be home over Thanksgiving and just savor Canada.

.

The following is just a short love of those things I love most about the motherland:

• speed in kilometers
• temperature in celcius
• poutine (trust me its delicious & merits its own post)
• really big mountains
• really good chocolate
• universal health care
• loonies & yes, toonies
• the singer/musician Feist
• the friendliy giant
• the word "Zed"