Les Mis - The Movie: Intensely Powerful

Today was cold and rainy and Jeff and I thought it would be a perfect day to see a movie.  We wanted to see Les Mis on Christmas but it was sold out everywhere.  So we headed to the theater this afternoon instead.  A perfect movie for a wintery afternoon.

We are fans of Les Miserables.  We have read the book, seen the play, and now watched the movie.

Hugh Jackman was the perfect Jean Valjean and Anne Hathaway was riveting as Fantine.  Russell Crow couldn't sing as well as the rest, but he was a relentless Javert.  Oh, and the love story between Cosette and Marius was truly romantic.   

Go see it and bring tissues to dry your tears..

Intensely powerful.  

 

OPI Cajun Shrimp - My fav

My absolute favorite summery nail polish color – OPI Cajun Shrimp. I rock this color from May – September every year.  3 years now.

Obsessive? yes.  Do I care?  no.

Pinterest

the icing or the cake

Icing?  Cake?

Which do you prefer?

I prefer a little of both.

I found this terrific article by Jess at make under my life

Self Tanner Recommendation - Jergens Natual Glow

 Just in time for summer. 

Have you tried this product yet?

Jergens Natural Glow Firming Daily Moisturizer

I heard about Natural Glow last summer and it's now my go to self-tanning product for summer. It is inexpensive, readily available at places like Target and Wal Mart, the coverage is great and the scent is not overwhelming.  I prefer the Medium to Tan shade but I've tried the Fair to Medium and it works great also.

There are so many different products on the market that claim to give a natural tan and I’m always looking for one that is just right.   This one works for me.

 Time to get my tan on :)

 

Farm Fresh To Me

Have you tried THIS service yet?

The produce is AMAZING!  So fresh, literally picked this morning before it was delivered to my door.  I've actually been using this service for two months and I'm really pleased with the selection and quality - I'm not affiliated in any way with Farm Fresh To You...just wanted to recommend a service that I think is really good.

Time to get my fruit and veggies on so I can get some energy to finish painting Allie's bedroom furniture.

Oh yeah.  Uh-huh.

Favorite Things - 2011

I discovered these things during 2011 and each has earned its spot on my list of favorites.   These are in no specific order - I love them all!

Apple IPhone 3GS and the Apple Green Case Crown Cover - both make me very happy!

Maybelline Lipstick Color Sensational - favorite shade so far: Mauvilous Shine #820

LOVE the Olay Pro X Advanced Cleansing System - Best price for this set is at Costco $39.99

Blue Diamond Almonds, Blanched Sliced - I keep these in my freezer and add them to salads, yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream, cookies...you name it.   They are so good!

DVR! I'll never go back to watching a tv show with commercials again.   Ever.

Mint.com - this free budget software is fantastic!  I can't say enough good things about it.

The Body Shop Body Butter - Pink Grapefruit.   It moisturizes my skin better than any lotion I have found!  I use it every single day.

Whip It! Professional Anodized Whipped Cream Dispenser - I have the 1/2 litre size - LOVE this!!

Helped me to lose 30 lbs in 2011.  I'm ready to take off another 30 in 2012!  Zumba, baby!

And there you have it.  My favorite things of 2011.

The Help - a must read

I read The Help this summer. Twice as a matter of fact.  And I saw the movie too.

I'm from Alabama.  My mom's from Alabama.  My grand-mother is from Alabama and so is her mother and grand-mother before her.  We know this story well and in some places in the south, it is still alive and well.

Have you read The Help yet?

I highly recommend it.

Read it and then go and see the movie with thirty of your girlfriends.  Make sure to go to the late night showing so that you're the only people in the theater like we did.

Such a fun night.  No kids.  No husbands.  Just a bunch of friends sharing popcorn and coke's and enjoying a good movie.

Check it out and then go.

A little movie trivia for you...Hilly is played by Bryce Dallas Howard.  She's Ron Howard's daughter - who knew that Richie Cunningham had a daughter old enough to act in a movie?

Johnny's Garlic Spread & Seasoning

This is the one item I cannot do without in my pantry.  It's amazing stuff. 

Find it at Costco. 

Item # 31381

$6.51

What I'm Reading Today

Join me and be inspired...

[click on this link:]

House of Fifty Fall 2011

I ♥ Books

My latest book read is Water for Elephants.  I read it in two days and enjoyed it so much that I shared it with Mr. CHiPy.  He liked it as much as I did so we decided to see the movie version on his birthday.

It was a good choice.

Now I need summer book recommendations.  Care to share? 

BeaterBlade L♥ve

By now It should be pretty obvious that I l♥ve to bake, however, there is one thing that I don't like to do when I'm prepping ingredients in my mixer.  I don't like to scrape the bowl...as in, I don't like to take the time and stop my kitchen aid stand mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure the ingredients are being incorporated.  

Ugh!  What a pain.

But alas!  I found a solution and I have to pass that information on to you...

Enter in The BeaterBlade - it scrapes the bowl while mixing for perfect results every time!

This thing is AWESOME! I purchased mine last year at Kitchen Collection at Folsom Outlets and it has been one of my favorite kitchen tools of all time. 

There are five different options to choose from and you can read all about them here at BeaterBlade.com


It works for me.