Animated Evolution

Isn't it funny how the face of movies change from generation to generation? When I was a little girl I remember watching 101 Dalmatians and thinking how old fashioned it looked. At that time the little mermaid and beauty and the beast were all the rage!




Recently, I rearranged my bedroom to accommodate a futon, 20" tv, faux fur rug and beanbag for Lily and Molly to watch cartoons on. It's the only place with a VCR and we've been watching our donated video collection that has been growing with each visit to grandma's house.

One of them being Beauty and the Beast. And it' so funny how I remember thinking that it was cutting edge in the day. Can you believe it was nominated for BEST PICTURE?! And now, it too looks old fashioned compared with today's Pixar movies.

Yet, I have to concede that Beauty and the Beast kept my attention far longer than any of the Pixar movies I've seen since Toy Story (Happy Feet, I'm looking at you). Perhaps it's the musical aspect. Remember how every blockbuster Disney movie had an award winning soundtrack? What ever happened to that?

What will I be thinking about Pixar films twenty years from now? What will the face of animated features look like for my grandchildren?

Happy 24th (i think)....

Today was Brian's sister's birthday partEH! She's turning 24...I think? Her myspace page says she's 23 but Brian insists she's 24.

We spent the day at their parent's house. Eating tacos, watching YouTube videos, opening presents, eating orange cake and tormenting roosters.

Here's what she got from us....a snuggie! I think we bought it just to see her try one on.

OOO LA LA!

Nuff Said.

Oil Cloth is so MOD!

OMG! It's been nearly a MONTH since my last post. I've been such a BAD, BAD blogger. When I get wrapped up in grosgrain stuff this blog tends to go hungry. Since I announced that I was accepting sponsors at Grosgrain I've had a post nearly everday and that tends to take up all the computer time I'm alloted. BUT, I saw this recently on Party Perfect and wanted to share because I'm crafty and get excited when I see possibilities....

It's a tutorial on how to make a scalloped oilcloth tablecloth. View the instructions here at Twig & Thistle. The instructions call for you to sew a zig zag stitch around the edges of the scallops to keep them from curling. But I might suggest hot gluing popsicle sticks to the back of each scallop because I didn't like the way the stitching looked in the end....no offense. I think the end product was amazing!

I have always found a very limited selection of oil cloth at my local fabric stores but I found this online site: Mendel's Far Out Fabrics. They have a good selection of retro oil cloths.

Oil cloths are strange. For a while they were not in style but they've been making a comeback (as all things retro do). They have a fantastic wiping quality. Sometimes I want to cover all my furniture in it. The new patterns I've been noticing make these fabrics a MUST HAVE! Great for homemade beach bags or farmer's market bags.

I should start a store that sells only oilcloth products! Yeah, that would be AWESOME! Well, at least somebody should.

My Inner Rapunzel

I've decided. I'm going to let my hair grow out again. I've had this bob 'Katie Holmes' thing going for a while now and although I like it, it doesn't leave much for variety. AND it's really hard to keep up with.

You gals out there might know what I mean. I was never the type to get regular manicures or even root touch up. So having to go every 8 weeks to the salon and pay $50 is something I just can't bring myself to maintain. [My sister would be berating me at this point in the conversation.] She's the highlighting, manicuring, nylon wearing type. And I've tried to be that....unsuccessfully.

So I'm going to let it out so when I'm in a hurry I can pull it in a ponytail. So I can put it in curlers overnight and look great in the morning. So I can wear the sweetest hairpieces like this and this and this.

Bobby pins, watch out.

No one cares for you a smidge

Brian found Annie the Musical on Demand and now it has taken over our lives. I think it was a staple of both our childhoods and now he's trying to make it part of Lily and Mollys.

By any means....

No seriously, the funny thing is, hearing it now, as adults, all the lyrics suddenly make sense but we can't help but hear it as we did back then.

Every so often I'll hear Brian in the kitchen singing 'Anty belly lies' or I'll find myself thinking "no one cares for you us kids."

Even weirder thing, it turns out that "make her drink a 'micky finn'. Is actually.....

"make her drink a micky finn'."

What?

Being Joaquin Phoenix

So, I guess you all have seen the bizzare Joaquin interview on David Letterman....



But have you seen what he looked like three years ago?



Wow what a difference! So here's my theory....
You've seen Being John Malkovich? Take John Malkovich and replace him with Joaquin then take the puppeteering and replace it with rapping and VOILA! Some geeky John Cusack has taken over the body of Joaquin who is now watching helpless from the inside.

That or he's on some serious drugs. I'm hoping for the former.

Do you fantacize about the apocolypse?

If so I have an album just for you. Brian and I used to joke that a lot of music out there was 'apocalyptic'. Especially the stuff in movie previews. Not necessarily the Christian apocalypse but you know, end of days-ish. And I'm ashamed to say, I liked a lot of it. Especially the stuff that came from E.S. Posthumus. His first album, Unearthed, had my all time favorite track: Nara. You probably heard it all over movie trailers back in 2002.

Well, after restoring my ipod I started scouring Amazon for new music and came across good ol' E.S. And lo and behold they have a new album: Cartographer. I downloaded it and sure enough it's chock full of numerous songs to relive overemotional moments in your life to. (Seriously, am I the only one who does that?)

Check it out!

PS, the Piri Reis Remixes are the ones I recommend. I could give or take the Luna Sans tracks.

More still action photos

I just can't get enough of these.

Mark Your Calendars

I had totally forgotten that Valentine's Day is a mere two weeks away! I love any occasion to exchange gifts, dine out and just be openly cutesy. Check out this unusual approach to the traditional love letter on Oh Happy Day's Blog.

Please tell me, what creative ideas will you be executing this Valentine's? Seriously, I'm on the hunt.