Oh, Hermione.

I am one of those huge dorks that obsesses over Harry Potter books and movies. Just went to see the latest installment of the films this weekend and it did not fail me. Such great movies and books! Hasn't Emma Watson turned into a beautiful woman right before our eyes? I love her as Hermione Granger, she perfectly plays the super smart and super cute witch that dorks like me idolize. 

Mastering the Art of Julia

I know I'm about a year too late, but did you guys see that wonderful movie, Julie and Julia? I'm re-watching it. I forgot how wonderful this movie is. Its one of those you can pop in at any time and enjoy over and over again. Based on the book by Julie Powell, this movie really brought Julia Child back onto the front burner. She was such a wonderfully exciting woman. I find it so extraordinarily inspiring that she didn't even begin culinary school until she was 36. There is so much pressure for those of us in our 20s to know just what we want to do with our lives as soon as we graduate college, and just look at Julia. She found her calling a little later, and it happened perfectly for her. Mastering the Art of French Cooking is in the top 10 Best Selling cookbooks of all time. Julia brought this art to the women of the United States, and we could never thank her enough. If you haven't seen this great movie, watch it! It will inspire even those whose cooking level is only making toast or a box of Shells and Cheese, to poach an egg or even attempt Beef Bourguignon.

Dear Winona,

Oh, Winona, where did you go? I love you, even if she did steal some stupid pair of cashmere socks. Winona Ryder was one of those rare actresses who was charming, beautiful, and actually made really good movies. Everyone loves Heathers and Edward Scissorhands, but as she grew her movies got even better. Reality Bites was an excellent representation of that oh-so-wonderful time after you get out of school and you have to actually try and do something with your life when you honestly still have no clue. I love that she played Jo in Little Women, no one could have played that role more perfectly, and Girl, Interrupted was amazing too. Her relationship with Angelina Jolie's character, Lisa, was so weird and dynamic. That movie really makes you question your own sanity. I just miss these amazing movies that were coming out throughout the 90s and now, well we just don't hear much from Ms. Ryder anymore. Winona, if you're out there, give us more please, we miss you!

You May Say I'm a Dreamer

Today John Wintson Ono Lennon would have 70 years old. He may be my greatest hero of all time. I could go on and on but nothing I can say would do him justice. We miss you John, happy 70th.
So his birthday is on the 8th and I thought I'd get the post with the last 2 minutes of the day. So Happy Birthday John, October 8th

Hello Dolly!

Dolly Parton is a legend. She is an amazing woman in so many ways. I have never been a fan of country music, but I love her. Not only as a singer but, as a person...and who can you really say that about in the entertainment industry these days? Dolly is a self-made woman. She grew up in backwoods Appalachia with 11 brothers and sisters in a teeny-tiny house.  At the ripe old age of 11 she was singing on Tennessee radio stations and her career took off from there. She has won countless awards, has her own theme park (where I am dying to go), starred in many memorable movies (Steal Magnolias, 9 to 5 anyone?,) and influenced a multitude of other entertainers. The thing I love most about Dolly is that she has done all of these things just being herself. She has never been deceptive about her life or her choices. While I am not an advocate of plastic surgery myself, I do commend her for being open about her choices (there's nothing worse than a star who claims she's never had work done when it is totally obvious.) In movies, she's hardly playing a part, because she doesn't have to. She's also been married to the same man since 1966, Carl Thomas Dean, who has avoided publicity and never accompanies her to events. Her life has been a creative outpouring of truth and virtue, growing up dirt poor to become one the most famous people in the entire world, all while being true to herself and her marriage. I would highly reccomend her autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business . I read this in about two days and was truly inspired. Dolly is an adventurer, fearless in being herself and blazing the way for women everywhere. 

I Love Lucy

Yesterday would have been Lucille Ball 's 99th birthday. I am lucky enough to have a mother who is obsessed, and I mean obsessed with I Love Lucy. She used to tape the re-runs off TV on our VCR and we ended up with nine or ten VHS tapes full of episodes. If we were bored and there was nothing good on TV, or during lunch time we'd pop in a tape and watch some Lucy. Thank god when the DVD sets started coming out cause those poor VHS tapes were getting worn out! Not only was Lucille Ball incredibley funny, she was also a television pioneer. She and Desi Arnaz were the first to use the 3 camera technique, filming scenes from different angles, which is now used in every TV show ever. She also came up with the concept of syndication (again, thank god) and she was the first woman to own her own film studio, Desilu which made such shows as The Dick Van Dyke Show, My Three Sons, The Untouchables, Make Room for Daddy, That Girl, and many many more. Lucille Ball was dubbed The Queen of Comedy, and rightfully so, 50 years after I Love Lucy, it is still played on TV and she still known by everyone everywhere. Some of my favorite episodes are Lucy Tells the Truth, Breaking the Lease, and Housewarming. The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour was also great with guest stars like Talulha Bankhead, Betty Grable and Harry James, and Danny Thomas. Happy Birthday Lucy, we're still watching!

Plant and Page

I'm honestly almost speechless when I try to talk about Led Zeppelin because I love them so much. I don't really know exactly what it is, because it's such a mix of everything. That amazing voice, that incredible guitar. Amazing and Incredible shouldn't even be words to describe them because they do not even approach how great Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are together. I can't really say what my favorite song by them is, but I must confess I get cravings to hear When The Levee Breaks like some get cravings for Thai Food. Sometimes I feel like I cannot live another day until I hear that song again. I just listened to it four times in a row. There is something that happens when I hear Led Zeppelin. I cannot sit still, my heart starts fluttering, the music is so electrifying, so creative and unique, and so full of passion, its almost as if I have to stop what I'm doing no matter what so I can appreciate the song that's playing. I don't know if there ever has been or ever will be as great of a rock band than Led Zeppelin. This may sound really cheesy, but my one of the best things I've heard about Led Zeppelin came from That 70's Show . Someone asked Hyde why he always wore a Led Zeppelin T-shirt and he replied "If God didn't want me to wear this t-shirt so much, he wouldn't have made them rock so hard." Amen. 

Those Men They Don't Make Anymore

I was born in the wrong era. There really aren't really any celebrities these days that I crush on. Maybe its from all those years growing up watching old TV shows, but I prefer men from the 1960s and before. There is a certain j'ne sais quoi from these men that makes my heart flutter still. I can't even say anything about this picture of Paul Newman...just savor it. Gregory Peck as well, he may be the most gorgeous man who ever lived. Roman Holiday was the first movie I saw him in and I didn't want to get up once because I couldn't take my eyes off of him. The young Dick Van Dyke has been a crush for me since I was about 10. For me, he has the whole package, funny, a good dancer, charming, dresses well, and he was so sweet to Laura on the Dick Van Dyke Show. While there are other actors out there who may be sex symbols for this generation, these guys were beyond that. Classy, cool, charming, and talented, they just don't make 'em like that anymore.

Gwen. Always.

It's been so long since I fell in love with Gwen Stefani, I don't even know when the affair began. It must have been 7th or 8th grade. I remember my best friend gave me a little old CD called Tragic Kingdom that her brother had heard before "Just A Girl" was even on our radio station. I put it into the massive CD player in my bedroom and listened to it start to finish. I have been hooked ever since. Gwen has always been a woman I've loved. If she's on the cover of a magazine, I will buy it. Music, Fashion, Motherhood, Marriage, she and Gavin have been together for a while, maybe almost record breaking for a Hollywood marriage, right? Both No Doubt and her solo career have rocked my world. Tragic Kingdom will always be a favorite of mine and I adore her own Sweet Escape as well. I often listen to these albums while I'm working out or taking a long trip in the car and belt out the songs like I'm on stage with her.  From red lipstick to crop tops and bindis to her edgy albeit sophisticated style as of late, I will follow her until she or I dies, whichever comes first.