Movies I want to live in
There are a few films that strike me on some level beyond just getting wrapped up in the story. Sometimes, films capture a time period with such cinematic beauty that I wish I could time travel to these fictional lands and spend the day there. Or longer, perhaps forever. Often, I’d like to leave the drama behind and just soak up the atmosphere and wardrobe, even though I know it is the story that makes these places so believable. So let’s journey for a moment into a few of the films I wouldn’t mind living in.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
What I wouldn’t give to spend the day at Appleyard College for girls. It might be strict but I’m head over heels for all the beautiful Victorian decor. So much lace and ruffles and flowers. I adore the layers upon layers of detailed decoration, from the elaborate wallpaper to myriad of photos displayed in every room. The girlish romance tied with the worrisome darkness makes this film irresistible.
The Incredibles
The Parr family, aka the Incredibles, have the best furniture. That’s the long and short of it. I love how the film created such an on point mid century style for their home even though the story itself is timeless. Of course, while the interiors are extreme, Edna’s house on the hill has an utterly classic modern style. I guess you can have whatever you want in the world if you’re animated.
Days of Heaven
There is almost too much I could say about Days of Heaven as it is such a stunningly cinematic film, and one I absolutely adore. The contrast of vast open fields with the remnants of turn of the century decor sets the scene for the characters’ dilemma. Yet it is the starkness of the landscape mixed with the few ornate details of luxury that make this setting so appealing to me. Or perhaps I just want to live in the magic hour.
There are so many more films I want to live in, so there will be another edition on the way for sure. Are there any films you want to live in?
sunlight
There was something refreshing about this weekend. While the sudden heat made my head ache for days, I feel like some weight was lifted from my shoulders. That this constant worry that sits in the nape of my neck, prodding at me, decided to go on vacation. I hope it stays away. Perhaps the sunlight will banish it.
We ate so much sugar this weekend. Oops. Donuts and ice cream and candy bars. We also spent a lot of time outdoors, and with family. My mother gave me beautiful flowers which I almost killed the same day (they are still alive, albeit brown on the edges). We actually went to see a current movie in the theaters (The Hunger Games, if you were wondering). We go out to the movies quite a lot, but usually to see re-releases and rare prints, not usually blockbusters, unless we’re on vacation. I explored an adorable local fabric store and I also got back my childhood chair which is on it’s way to being reupholstered (that is if I can steal it back from my cats who have already claimed it as their own).
These are all tiny things, normal everyday tidbits. Yet life felt right these past few days and I’m grateful.
Fun stuff coming up this week…movie stuff! That’s another thing, with all this TV watching I’ve been doing lately (Mad Men, Game of Thrones…) I’m happy to be watching more films instead as they awaken something else inside of me that television, even good television, just doesn’t.
some kind of weekend
A holiday weekend is upon us. We usually have something planned to celebrate since I can’t resist a holiday filled with bunnies and chocolate. This year, things will be a little quieter (I won’t be making an extravagant brunch like last year). We will be gathering with family at the restaurant my grandfather would take us to every Easter to do a little remembering.
Like I said, I can’t resist bunnies, so I molded a few out of marzipan. I wish marzipan here in the states was as delicious as the stuff I’ve had from Germany. I’ve been craving sweet almond things, so perhaps these bunnies will get little almond cakes to live on.
I’m hoping maybe we’ll have the opportunity to take a few photos with this Graphlex we bought ages ago. It’s just a matter of getting the film for it. Hooray for ancient cameras. I also found a roll of black and white film that I’d like to use. What sort of photos does one take with black and white these days? It seems like only portraits are appropriate for some reason.
I’ve started down the path of renovating things in our home that have been bugging me as I mentioned. I can see now, it’s going to be a long road.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend and enjoys an extra day off if you have one. Need some ideas for craft and treat projects? Here are a few from years past:
- How about some pom pom bunnies & chicks?
- You could also decorate a bunny cake
butcher block update
Since our apartment is from the 1930’s, there is only a small amount of counter space, a good portion of which is taken up by appliances (and often, dirty dishes). Our butcher block gives me much more room to work, to roll out pie crusts, chop vegetables and everything else (plus it holds all our dishes below). With a few years of use, and misuse, the counter wasn’t looking so hot. It was stained from a leaky coffee maker at our old apartment and burned from when I accidentally set a hot pan on it. These dark circle drove me crazy, always getting in the way of photos and otherwise just being ugly.
I finally bit the bullet and sanded the whole thing down, getting rid of the offending circles and stains. Such a relief. I topped it off with a few coats of butcher block oil and it’s looking just like new. I was thinking of adding one more coat of oil for extra protection, but I like the look of lighter, non-glossy wood so we’ll see.
Minus the time it took for the oil to dry (72 hours!) the whole thing took less than an hour to sand and coat with oil. I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to take care of something that drives me so crazy. So happy I finally did it!
This is the beginning of the making my kitchen exactly how I want it project, but I’ll save any further developments until it’s done. Exciting stuff!
toast quilt
Ever since I made our wedding quilt, I’ve wanted to make another. The truth is though, I was a little intimidated. While my first attempt turned out well in the end, it was quite the struggle, and was by no means perfect. The thought of making a larger quilt was even more frightening. Yet, the idea still festered in the back of my mind. Then somewhere on the internet I saw this idea of a tiny quilt made for breakfast and I knew it was the perfect project.
The toast quilt (which I guess is actually called a mug rug) is sort of like a pot holder, except rectangular. In theory you’d put your coffee on there with your toast but I really just wanted one for the toast. It drives me sort of crazy to put toast on a plate unless it’s totally flat, otherwise it slips around when you are putting your spread on. Yes, I’m extremely particular about my toast. Often I’ll just use a napkin, but a quilted coaster is even better.
I had a few fabric samples designed by Jenean Morrison that I scored at Alt Summit, which were perfect for this tiny project. For the rest I used leftover fabric and batting from the previous quilt. I probably should have picked a more appropriate binding but the tan was already cut and ironed so I just went with it. I still need to work on cutting my squares perfectly the same size and also on my binding but I am very happy with my tiny quilt and already want to make more. The truth is it only barely scratched my quilting itch. I’ve resigned to make a full sized quilt, but I should probably do a little more practice first.
