living room color

The first thing we did when we moved into our apartment was paint the living room and dining room. It took forever, even with no furniture and lots of help. I have never been 100% happy with the color we chose though, which is generally what happens when you choose from swatches and never see what the paint looks like on the wall. It’s a little too dark and a little too green. While it works better in our dining room with all the dark mahogany furniture, I wish it was just a little lighter and more subdued.

I’ve been talking about repainting for awhile now, (probably since soon after I finished painting the kitchen) but whenever I bring it up Shawn points out I haven’t bothered to repaint our mantel this whole time and that both rooms is quite a bit larger project. Well guess what, I finally painted the mantel this weekend which I think means I get to paint the rest, right?

I really want a pale blue / green / grey. The trick is to pick a color that is neither too dull nor too poppy which can be tricky with blues. I like the blue above from Martha Stewart and also the first blue room in Tamera’s Greek Revival post. Maybe a more subdued grey would be nice. My biggest worry is that I’ll never be totally satisfied because our walls are textured and weird. I think it’s worth a try though. Right now nearly everything in the living room is the same tone and it needs some contrast. We probably also need a wooden coffee table rather than the white one we have and some new accent pillows for the couch, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Photos from Martha Stewart

on fun

Sometimes being an adult is a drag. Mainly when it comes to things like being responsible and working and paying bills and doing the dishes and going to the dentist and being on time and everything else. The truth is though, you don’t have to be an “adult” all the time. So many people are concerned with appearing mature and doing all the things they think are expected of them that they forget how to have fun. It’s easy to forget when daily life just keeps charging forward like a freight train. In many ways being an adult means if you want to watch cartoons you can and if you want to have a Wes Anderson birthday party you can too. You can’t goof off all the time, but sometimes seems to be enough.

CREEPER

CREEPER from Shawn Bannon on Vimeo.

I’m pleased to share one of Shawn’s most recent short films, CREEPER, which premiered at AFI Fest last November. I was immediately intrigued from the moment he first told me the idea for this film, inspired by the announcement of the Google glasses. I am a big fan of social media, obviously I have this blog, but I worry things are going in a dangerous direction and CREEPER really illustrates that darkness.

return to the future

We’re home from Sundance 2013. We just escaped before the snowstorm on Sunday that left so many stranded. I’ve also brought home with me the dreaded Sundance flu. At the moment, my brain is still a little foggy and I’m not quite ready to do anything I can’t do in bed.

The ten days of the festival were ultra busy but I did manage to see quite a few films and meet some really cool people, including a handful of internet acquaintances, which was a treat. Thankfully I didn’t get altitude sickness (although I was pretty woozy the first day). I grew quite fond of the cold weather and snow. I saw the most films in the Library theater, the most uncomfortable of all theaters, and ate so many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner so I could make it to screenings on time.

I’ll be back to share some thoughts on a few of the films I saw later in the week, but for now, here is just a list of what I was able to see.

1. Crystal Fairy
2. The Spectacular Now
3. We Are What We Are
4. Blackfish
5. S-VHS
6. C.O.G.
7. Hell Baby
8. Upstream Color
9. Pit Stop
10. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
11. Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
12. After Tiller
13. In A World
14. The Way Way Back

It’s not possible to see everything, there were so many others that I wish I could have seen. Hopefully there will be another opportunity somewhere down the line.

In the mean time, here are a few of the shorts that I really liked.

CATNIP: EGRESS TO OBLIVION

THE EVENT

IRISH FOLK FURNITURE

BLACK METAL

off to sundance

It’s that time of year again and we’ll soon be heading up to Park City, Utah for Sundance 2013. I can’t wait to see this year’s crop of films. It’s colder than any year we’ve been before so I’m a little nervous, but I’m really looking forward to going to Vertical Diner again.

I’ll be sure to report on any favorite films I see while I’m there (if you don’t already follow me on twitter now might be a good time to start). Plus, be sure to check out Sundance coverage from the Vegan Movie Mafia.

As I mentioned, I can’t wait to see UPSTREAM COLOR and AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS among others. I also really want to see TOP OF THE LAKE, but clocking in at 6 hours I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it. Any films you’re particularly interested in or curious about?