Christmas, come back!

I'm having a hard time accepting that I am back in my cube and Christmas has passed!  I had such a great time at home with my family!  To top off a wonderful Christmas day, we had snow that night!  This was the first White Christmas in the upstate in my lifetime. 

I'm not a huge fan of snow but it was exciting to see and definitely made it feel more like the Holidays! 

While I was home I finished Water for Elephants.  I had my nose in this book all week, it really is so good...I wish I had 300 more pages of it to read.  I ran into a friend/blog reader (shout out to Kathy!) one night in Greenville who suggested my next book...The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta.  This is being made into a movie by the same directors as Little Miss Sunshine and is rumored to star Steve Carrell and Sandra Bullock.  Can't wait to start!

I am now looking forward to New Years Eve as well as the Clemson, Georgia and South Carolina bowl games!  Hope everyone is having a great holiday and doesn't have too much trouble traveling!

Water for Elephants

I saw the trailer for this movie on Sunday and thought it looked really good.  Not to mention, I love both Reese Witherspoon and Robbie Pat.  Since then, I've discovered that I'm a little behind and it's actually based on a New York Times bestselling novel.  I love to read a book before seeing the movie it's based off of, so I went and purchased it last night and have already realized it's hard to put down!  Cannot wait to finish and see this movie in April!

Black Swan

I knew I really wanted to see this movie but I was also nervous because I am a huge wimp and don't handle suspenseful/disturbing movies very well.  I always love the story lines but I prefer to watch this type of movie in my own home, in the middle of the day, with my finger very near the "pause" and "fast forward" buttons.  So anyway, I braved the theatre with La last night and all I had was my fleece to hide behind. 
I don't know that I can give the clearest review of this movie because it is so bizarre and leaves you wondering what was real and what was imagined.  With that said, I thought it was excellent and worth all of the hype.  Natalie Portman's character loses herself and her mind while trying to convince the Company's director that she is capable of portraying not only the White Swan, which comes naturally, but the Black Swan, as the lead role in the upcoming "Swan Lake" ballet.  The movie follows her visions, thoughts and dreams while trying to discover and release her inner-dark side.  I totally recommend seeing this!

Love and Other Drugs

I've been dying to see this movie ever since it came out and just got around to it last night.  I scooped Whitney up for a much needed study break and off to Cinebarre we went.  We split the Braveheart pizza {spinach, four cheese blend, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, goat cheese and olive oil} and it was the bomb.
I LOVED this movie.  Ultimately, it was a very sweet love story with a lot of other aspects mixed in.  Sickness and competitiveness in the medical field play equally large roles, exposing surprising qualities of both.  I previously read that Jake's character was a pharmaceutical rep but didn't realize what a large role it would play in the movie.  I think the nudity issue was blown way out of proportion, I found it to be tasteful and not weird at all.  It probably helped that they both have amazing bodies.  Anne Hathaway is, in my opinion, such a great actress and so naturally gorge.  Go see this with your girlfriends or one of those rare gems-a guy who enjoys a great chick flick!

Jackpot

I ran to Stein Mart on my lunch break today, and as I was parking I noticed a man distributing flyers onto the car windshields.  I thought to myself, "Please do not put one of those on my car and force me to liter."  I immediately regretted thinking this when I returned to my car to find this:

Don't mind if I do!  I was already contemplating taking it to Yobe before heading back to work, so now there were no excuses.  I left with a taro/original swirl topped with Reese's crumbles, white choc chips and a few gummy bears.

I didn't say it was pretty.  With my coupon it only cost me $2.60.  Love that place.

Bday Weekend!

This past weekend was the SEC Championship game in Atlanta!  While I've been to ATL several times, I've never been out there, so I figured this would be the perfect time to gather the girls and make a road trip to visit our fried Sarah who lives there!  Sarah is an amazing host/planner by nature so we confidently left everything up to her and we had the best time!  Unfortunately, I did a really bad job of documenting the weekend.
Friday night we headed to Two Urban Licks for dinner.  This was one of my favorite stops and I highly recommend it!  After din, the girls surprised me with a cake that I loved!  From there we headed out for the night!

After some shopping Sat morning we got ready for the game.  I went into the weekend feeling really confident that this would at least be a good game with a definite possibility of winning.  It started off looking this way but quickly turned and by the 3rd quarter it was clear there was no coming back for the Gamecocks.  I decided I prefer this type of loss, however, because rather than a heartbreaking ending, we had a long time to adjust to the fact that we lost.  Still a great season for the Cocks and they will head back to ATL for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, I may have to sit this one out though!

Oh, I have one more obsession...

This should have topped my Current Obsessions post yesterday, but I believe Kate Middleton is worthy of her own.  She's soon-to-be royalty, after all.

I cannot get enough of this "commoner."  To me, the main draw is that she is living every little girls' fairy tale.  She has literally met her Prince.

One thing you don't think about while fantasising about all she will gain, is what she will lose.  I read that this is the last Christmas she will spend with her family.  Once she and William are married, she will spend every Christmas with the royal family and her family will not be invited.  That makes me sad for her.  Once she becomes Queen, however, this can change.

Kate was appropriately named one of Barbara Walter's most fascinating people of 2010, along with the cast of The Jersey Shore, the Biebs, Sarah Palin, Jennifer Lopez, Betty White, Sandra Bullock, and LeBron James.  The special airs Thursday night (12/9) on ABC at 10 and the number one most fascinating person will be revealed.  Be there.

Inception is out!

Inception was released on DVD today and if you have not seen it yet, you must.  I saw this movie twice in theatres and I def plan to own it.  It's one you can watch over and over and each time pick up on new things and interpret the movie in a completely different way!  It would also make a great holiday gift for anyone. 

Current Obsessions

Frozen yogurt shops

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Victoria's Secret-Girls' Night

Chobani Greek yogurt-pineapple

Bare Minerals matte foundation

Taylor Swift-Speak Now

Banana Republic

Peppermint everything

Pashminas

Sandwich thins

J.Crew knee-high socks

Hobo