Amy taking on Archetypes

There are certain actors and actress who play the same type so often that it makes you wonder, are they acting, or are they just playing themselves? Can they only do one thing?

Take Charlie Sheen. In real life, he is a total douche. He abuses women, drinks too much, and in general appears to be a scummy womanizer, albeit some may find him handsome and charming. I’ve never really got it, but to each her own right? Take a look at his character on Two and a Half Men. See the parallels?

Then let’s think about Angelina Jolie. She tends to play fierce, sexy, powerful women. Does that sound like her in real life? I’d say so. She runs a household with 8 kids, managed to snap up Brad Pitt—the sexiest man alive at the time---- and still finds time to fight world problems as a UN ambassador. I’m guessing if you pissed her off, she’d probably kick your ass, then carry your blood around in a vial on her necklace.

I could say the same of George Clooney. He seems to be the handsome, wickedly funny seducer of women in each and every role he takes on, with his eye crinkle and inviting smirk. I think the line of beauties he’s dated speak for themselves.

Catherine Heigl? As much as I love the quirky beauty in every role she’s played, let’s be serious here. She always manages to seduce the unlikely lover with her humor, gorgeous hair, and slightly odd ball tendencies. I’m guessing she’s the honest, funny lady with a stinging tongue in real life. We all heard about her verbal lashing of Isaiah Washington’s bigotry in the famous Grey’s Anatomy scandal, am I right?

Amy Adams was in danger of pigeon holing herself into a similar pattern. She’s played the doe eyed ingénue in: Enchanted, The Wedding Date, Julia and Julia, and Leap Year. Can you pick a role that screams I’m innocent, naïve, and a fragile little flower MORE than a Disney princess?

What I’ve wondered in the past, is this really the girl that Amy Adams is? Well, she just hasn’t been in the tabloids enough for me to know. Then I went to see The Fighter, in which Amy stars opposite Mark Wahlberg as a bartender with a trucker’s mouth, and a temper.

She plays an angry Bostonian like 2^nd nature. Throw in a couple sexy scenes and her midriff tops at the bar, and Amy has just turned the paradigm she’d created on it’s head. There is no innocence here, and it’s the world weary wisdom of such a young girl that makes her character both appealing and inspiring as she picks up after some bad choices, tough breaks, and tries to make a life for herself and the man she adores. Before this movie, I would have thought, Amy Adams would never fight, or pull hair, but rather flutter around making the world a better place. Now I’d have to say she’d be a tough opponent.

It’s a courageous performance. Amy bares nearly all in the movie, and yet was not all skin and bones like most actresses who do nearly nude scenes. She had a little (tiny) bit of tummy and actual arms that didn’t look like twigs. I appreciate someone who has the nerve to get up there and put it all on the table, the ugly parts of life, and a real body on the big screen. Well played Amy, well played.

My Lipgloss is Poppin

Everyone has one, that lip gloss that was their favorite when they were a teen, but then they somehow lost track of---maybe it was discontinued, maybe you graduated to lipstick, or maybe you just forgot you ever liked it in the first place. I’ve had many lip glosses that I’ve loved. It all started with Lip Smackers in sugary flavors like Cotton Candy and Dr. Pepper. However, their chapsticky, fast fading shine didn’t really do it for me.

So, I branched out. I wore Bath and Body Works Dewdrop gloss complete with a fancy wand to apply it rather than a tube you screw up when it wears down. It was love. Shiny, thick clear gloss at any mall. Then they discontinued it.

Now that I’m a little older, I still enjoy lip shine. Even when I wear a lip tint, or stain, my pout just doesn’t seem complete without a little gloss to top it off. Yes, I am one of the ladies in my 20’s who has not yet started wearing lipstick. It just looks weird.

These days I like DuWop Lip Venom brand, in original. In the positive, it’s a clear, not too sticky shine it makes my lips a little fuller, and it smells like cinnamon. Yet, it’s ultra-tiny tube has a habit of getting lost a day or two after I buy it, it’s a little pricey, and when I inevitably get it in my mouth, my tongue gets a little numb from the plumping ingredients. Not satisfied.

Then, I was doing a major clean of my childhood room while I was home for the holidays. And I came across a tin of my old standby, Candy Kisses buried in the bottom of an old purse from High School. A series of thoughts went racing through my head.

How could I have ever forgotten about this glorious gloss? Won’t my friends think this is hilarious? Do they even still make this stuff? I wonder if its still good?

I opened up the tin (still magically sealed in plastic), and gave it a try. Magic! After many years of sitting in the dark unused, it is still fabulous gloss. I’ve been carting it around in my purse for the past couple weeks, and my love has been renewed.  Let’s just say I’m hooked again. It has SPF. It smells delicious. If you happen to get some in your mouth, it has a delightful taste. And lucky me! It was my favorite flavor (strawberry) I happened upon. I was pondering how I’d live without it, and what I’ll do when I use up this tin. I haven’t come across it in stores for years.

A couple minutes of googling and I had my answer. Candy Kisses still exists! AND there are more flavors than I even knew existed. Mango? Peach? Chocolate Mint? YUM! And you can order it in quantities ranging from 1 tin to 12 in a package. AND at $10.50 for 6 tins, it’s a bargain. Just beware, bubble gum smells gross. Vanilla is a little too white, watermelon is a little too pink, strawberry is juuuussst right. The company doesn’t test on animals, use any animal products in their gloss, and as a bonus, if you don’t use it all at once, it will last for many many years, and still be just as fab when you happen upon it again. Take a little trip down memory lane.

Obligatory New Year's Post

I don’t typically make new years resolutions. Why set yourself up for failure when you are just starting fresh with a clean slate for the year? I mean really, surviving winter in the northeast is enough of a job on its own. I think the main problem with resolutions is that people tend to be a little too ambitious, setting lofty goals that are just annoying to complete, overly difficult, or so strict they are impossible to stick to for any length of time (helloo? Swearing off sweets after weeks of eating nearly exclusively Christmas cookies—does that seem easy?). This year, I wasn’t planning to resolve to do anything besides live my life, and to look fabulous in my bridesmaid dress by April. 

But then, I talked to my co-worker on January 3^rd. She had a list of many things she plans to do to improve herself this year. So, to take the lazy lady’s approach, I’m going to steal a couple of her resolutions rather than making my own. 

• Read one article in Spanish once a week. I used to be a very good Spanish speaker, reader, and writer. Flash forward 5 years from me studying abroad, and my foreign language skills are rather worse for the wear. It’s amazing how fast they fade when you don’t use them every day. Here’s to not letting them get any worse. 
• Pay attention to the World news. Anyone else rely on their relatives to call and inform them of major events? Hands? Ok, I know it’s a rather hands off approach to knowing what is up around the globe, but sometimes the news is just down right depressing. Adding a news website to my google homepage as we speak. 

And here’s a couple I’ve added on myself: 

• Clean my fridge. I’m pretty sure that there’s a bag of moldy shredded cheese, and an open bottle of wine that is at least 3 months old kicking around in there somewhere. While I’m at it, I just might clean the freezer too. Goodbye ice cube trays stained with some mysterious orange liquid. 
• Organize my closet. While I was home for the holidays, I got rid of 4 bags of clothes to the Salvation Army. It felt good. As a bonus, I received a lovely set of hot pink no-slip hangers for Christmas, so I need an excuse to take everything out, and put it back in again. I’m hoping I make enough room that it’s not an arm workout picking out a top anymore, and so I don’t create a major avalanche every single time I wear a sweater. 

There you have it. What are your plans for 2011?

Sparkly Things

I've been a terrible blogger lately. I know. I said I was back, and going to be blogging regularly. Sorry guys. I LIED. I meant it at the time, but then I was busy, and I was tired, and all the travel of the past couple months caught up with me. Throw in a few visitors, and a couple debilitating migraines, and my blog has gone down the tubes for the past couple weeks. BUT NOW, beginning the end of the day today, I will be on vacation for two weeks, which means among other fabulous things, lots of free time to blog as much as I please.

Speaking of fabulous things. How about these shoes? They have been gleaming at me from the window of the Aldo I walk by every single day on my way home from work, begging me to come in, try them on, and take them home. What girl doesn't want to own a sparkly wonderful pair of heels like these? They make me want to put them on and dance the night away all around town in a short little number. Aldo even categorizes them on their website as party shoes. That is how much they just shimmer FUN! JOY! HAPPINESS!

I want them, I need them, I have to own them, but alas. Aldo does not sell shoes in half sizes (Damn them!), so I know they will never fit my feet properly. Yet I'm still considering it. I was at H&M, trying on a very blah, peach and magenta chiffon dress. Everything about it was neutral and boring, except for the FACT that they would pair perfectly with these bad larrys, or GONES if you want to go with the name Aldo gave them. I almost bought said ugly dress just to have an excuse to buy the sparkly footwear to go with it.

Then continue on my walk home, and you pass Urban Outfitters, which has this sparkly number, the Silence and Noise Lords a Leaping dress in the front window. The model in the pic is just not doing it justice. It is a sequined confection that has delicate boning  that you can just tell would push up and scoop low in all the right places.It begs to be worn with a little cleavage, some red lipstick, and perhaps some silver heels. Even as a person who typically hates New Year's Eve, it makes me want to throw this on, and celebrate it every day!

What is it about this time of year that makes a girl crave sequins and sparkles?

Black is the new Brown

Just when your favorite sushi place FINALLY started adding a couple rolls with brown rice to the menu, and that Chinese place you always order from started actually offering the option of brown instead of white, there's a new healthy grain in town to mix everything up again: black rice. The dark morsels are also known as forbidden rice because according to Chinese legend, only emperors were allowed to eat it, and everyone else was prohibited because it was so rare, delicious, and nutritious. Fast forward a few hundred years, and while still uncommon, it is now available at your local Whole Foods.

Black rice is reported to carry the same good for you antioxidants that got blueberries the status of super-fruit over the summer. Except black rice is even better because you receive the cancer-fighting, heart health-promoting anthocyanin antioxidants, but with even more fiber and less sugar than its berry rival. It's even more beneficial when it's eaten in the uncooked, rice bran form. Black rice has quickly gained status as an "it" food, providing you with vitamin E, iron, a host of other nutrients, and additionally working as an anti-inflammatory agent to reduce general infection and illness.

Suggestions for preparing it include replace substituting in any recipe where white or brown rice is called for, but be prepared for the nutty flavor it will add to the dish, and be sure to add a little extra water. Pulverize kernels in your coffee grinder and sprinkle the black rice dust over any dish. Soak the rice and pop in a saucepan with a little oil for a crunchy pop-corn like snack.

Perfect Cuppa Cocoa

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I'm back

There's nothing like a long absence from, well, anything to refresh your fondness for it in the first place. Let's be serious, I was getting straight up annoyed with NYC about a month and a half ago. The flurry of people everywhere, constantly getting in my way, the incessant walking , how gosh darn expensive absolutely everything is was just getting on my nerves. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this city has a way of wearing you down, no matter how much you like it.

Fast forward 7 weeks and after a prolonged period of on again off again traveling for work, I could not be happier to settle down into this city for a while and just.not.go.anywhere. I will resume my regular blogging habits now that I'll have all that extra time that I won't be spending packing and unpacking my tiny pink suit case every couple days.

Instead, I have a packed agenda of eating out, going to bars, viewing every Christmas sight in the city, and going ice skating. And you know what? I'm pretty pumped. Being away has reminded me of everything I missed while I was gone, and the couple things I didn't. 

We'll start with the suck-o parts of NYC:

• Having to make my own bed, and take out my own trash. That was one part of hotel living that I really could get used to. I make a mess, the maid picks it up while I’m at work.
• Walking places when it's COLD and WINDY there is no coat with enough down, no boots with enough fur, and no scarf hat combo that can adequately keep out the winter chill from icy gusts
• The NASTY nasty smells. I got in a cab and had to roll down the window because the body odor/vomit stench was so strong it was making me nauseous
• The lack of country music stations on the radio. Hey, everyone feels like a little Tim McGraw every now and again.

The above listed make me miss my rental car that smelled only of fresh new car scent and my own perfume that I could leave idling until it warmed up to a nice hot temperature.

On the other hand, there are some things that are pretty awesome:

• Not having a car. I know. I just said I missed mine, but then again tonight I plan to go to happy hour, and instead of being stressed about having 1 beer per hour so I can drive home, I can have  2 or 3, or as many as my heart desires with no worries about drunk driving. And you know what else? Getting a little exercise on my way home sure beats looking for a parking spot.
• Ethnic food and healthy eating out options. This is the biggie. Where I was, there was nothing but chain restaurants that relied on frying and soaking in oil to imbue food with a hint of flavor. It’s pretty safe to say that my poor little tummy has been upset and craving veggies for the entire time I was gone. Where I dreaded eating the drab restaurant food for the past few weeks, now I cannot wait to get myself to a Thai place for some Pad See Ew, to order one of 10 salad options from a single restaurant to be delivered to my home, and to get to the grocery store for some whole fruits and veggies.
• My view of the Chrysler building from my desk window. The Maine Capitol building doesn’t hold a candle to my regular view.
• Establishments that stay open past 9pm. What if I want to take a nap after work before starting my evening?
• CHRISTMAS FERVOR. No place does Christmas like NYC period. This weekend alone I will see carolers, a tree lighting, a giant menorah, and drink hot cocoa. Jealous?
• My friends and my vast nail polish collection. Airport security does not look kindly upon those traveling with too many liquids in their carryons, so 5 nail polish options were out.
• Strangers who don’t talk to you. I’m not a morning person, and I appreciate the glares or lack of eye contact I receive from others on my morning commute. I prefer to know that other people are pissed off to be awake too, rather than to smile and make small talk while before I’ve had my coffee at the continental breakfast.

With that said, I’m back, I’m happy to be back, and I’ll stop being an absentee blogger now. Sorry about the little break in posts guys!