Is it me or are the Charlie Brown specials oddly trippy?

As an early present to myself, I bought the Peanuts Holiday Collection, which has the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Charlie Brown movies.

These are some of my favorites, and definitely a tradition, but I do find the Thanksgiving one, which I watched last night, to be excessively weird.

First of all, where are these kid's parents? How are they free to wander around alone on Thanksgiving? And, okay, the best meal Charlie Brown can come up with is popcorn, toast, jelly bean and sundaes, but most of that was cooked by a dog, which I find pretty damn impressive. I have two dogs and they would have been absolutely no help, whereas Snoopy not only cooked but also set the table and folded the napkins into little shapes. He's really the unsung hero of this piece.

Every year I watch and every year there are more unanswered questions. It's a holiday mystery.

Looking for love...

I think it takes guts to decide your life is interesting enough to write an autobiography when you're only in your 30s. That said, Bridget Harrison's Tabloid Love is realtively interesting, if somewhat unfinished.

It's the story of the author - a British writer who comes over to work for a New York newspaper and the various romances she has.

I ended up wishing it were a fictionalized account so I could have a more satisfying ending, but it was fun.

Twilight is here!

Yesterday I went and saw "Twilight." I couldn't wait and had to go on opening day.

As I have blogged about before, I really enjoyed the books and the movie did not disappoint.

I thought it stayed very true to the books and was similar to how I pictured things in my head.

The actors and actresses were all pretty and fun to watch, especially Edward, who only makes me wish I was still 13 so I could better justify having a crush on him.

Go and see it, you won't be disappointed.

I admit, everyone else was right

The history of "The Office" and me is this: Several years ago I started watching the British version, which everyone said was so funny, and I absolutely hated it. It was just too awkward and not funny to me.

So when the American version came out and people said this one was great too, I completely ignored it and thought it would be more of the same.

This is despite everyone I know telling me that it was really funny and I would like it if I watched it.

That is, until this weekend.

My husband and I curled up in bed and decided to try a few episodes off of Netflix with their watch now option.

And now I'm in love. All I want to do is lay in bed and watch "The Office". Luckily we have four whole seasons to get through.

So, yes, everyone else was right.

More fun with Lee Nichols

A little bit ago I blogged about a book by Lee Nichols that I had liked. I have since read two more by her and enjoyed both of them.

Wednesday Night Witches is about three women with various girl type problems who also end up having magical powers (and who hasn't been in that situation, after all). It was fun and girly, plus I always enjoy the addition of magic.

I also read Tales of a Drama Queen, which I think is her best known book. It was fun, but like the Shopoholic series you spend the whole book wanting to reach in and slap some sense into the main character as she makes a series of bad choices.

Both were a good time.

Fun for boys of all ages

I feel a strong need to support Brandon Fraiser movies, because he's such a cutie. Unfortunately, many of them are very, very bad.

Journey to the Center of the Earth was not one of those, however. It was a little cheesy (another Fraiser hallmark) but enjoyable enough.

There is apparently a 3-D version available, and I think that one would have been a lot more fun.

Still, even in 2-D it's a good way to spend a couple of hours.

I would like to be Anne Hathaway

Although without the vaguely European, con man boyfriend, obviously.

I just love her and think she's so classy and cute. So I was predisposed to like Get Smart, and it didn't disappoint.

It's not the highest brow humor, but I still enjoyed it and laughed out loud quite a bit.

My only complaint? She and Steve Carell make a totally skeevy couple.

Surprisingly disappointing

I was so excited when I finally got American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld from the library, after waiting for ages. And yet it was such a disappointment.

It is the thinly veiled fictional biography of Laura Bush. Not normally a topic that would interest me, as I am not huge fan of the current first family. Maybe this was what stood between me and liking this book? But I found it slow and just not generally interesting.

I have just loved her other two books, Prep and The Man of My Dreams, so I was sure this would be a winner as well. What happened?

Pretty much the best. show. ever.

For my husband's birthday, I got him season three of How I Met Your Mother.

It is one of my absolutely favorite shows, and it just keeps getting better.

It is so consistently funny and the characters are fabulous. I am completely in love with Neil Patrick Harris, who just makes the show.

Have you not seen it? While I don't know how that I possible, I am almost jealous that someone would have three unwatched seasons stretching before them.

Go, go now!

Celebrity rehab? How did I miss this?

In scanning the channels this weekend, I stumbled onto the VH1 show Celebrity Rehab. I don't know why on Earth I haven't been watching this. I remember hearing that it was good it a trashy, train wreck kind of way, and boy is that true. No one seems to go off the deep end like famous people, probably because they're the only ones with the money to do drugs in really massive quantities. But it's a good time to hear their stories, plus there's the fun of watching Nick Nolte just be completely insane. (Edited to add: Kim was totally right, it's crazy Gary Busie, not Nick Nolte...I find them eerily similar...)

Stupid movies? Often just that.

.

Sometimes I like stupid boy humor movies. Those ones that look so groaningly bad can often be very funny, if a bit of a guilty pleasure (never the ones you want to tell people you spent the weekend watching).

The thing is, these movies are hit or miss. And I have been very much missing lately.

I have watched both The Love Guru with Mike Myers as well as You Don't Mess with the Zohan with Adam Sandler. They were both really not good. Just kind of wincingly not funny.

I know, I have only myself to blame.

Lipstick Jungle = hot boy

I know it's a slightly less good version of Sex in the City, but I do enjoy Lipstick Jungle.

It's a little trashy, and all of the women are queens of making bad (bad!) decisions. But the actor who plays Kirby is too cute, and you get to watch him making out a lot. Plus there are lots of good clothes and jewelry. Definitely worth watching.

How have I not blogged about Jennifer Cruise yet?

I don't know how I haven't written about Jennifer Cruise yet, since I absolutely love her. I think I've read everything she's written and it's all SO fun.

Last week I thought I had stumbled across a book of hers I had missed, much to my glee. I started Bet Me and realized a little way in that I had, in fact, read it. But it was good enough that I read the whole thing again and enjoyed it the second time around as well.

Her books are totally fun and frothy but are also well written and really absorbing. Read something by her! You won't be sorry.

DVDs I love

I have so been enjoying television seasons on DVD lately.

Two that have recently come out that I love:

30 Rock:

So good and funny and Tina Fey is just enjoyable on every level.

And although I know I should completely hate Alec Baldwin because he is such an unbelievable ass, he is entirely funny on the show (which always leaves me feeling a little guilty).

CSI NY:

I love this one as well as the regular CSI, although for some reason I only like them on DVD. There's something nice about watching them four at a time.

It's a little cheesy, but I am always completely entertained by this show.

Although I would happily own both of these, right now I am waiting for Netflix to parcel them out for me.

George Clooney is always a good thing

This weekend I rented Leatherheads . A cute funny movie.

Really, I would pretty happily watch George Clooney read the paper for an hour and a half, but this was signifigantly more entertaining than that.

It was fun and full of good 40s banter, which is always a plus.

Definitely recommended as a way to while away a couple of hours.

I don't like Kung Fu

Knowing this, I probably shouldn't have rented the movie The Forbidden Kingdom.

I blame my husband, or at least the fact that it seems only fair that he occasionally gets to watch movies he likes.

I am not much of an action movie girl, and martial arts movies especially leave me cold. This one definitely did, and even lacked cute boy eye candy to distract me. And, in the end, even my husband didn't like it that much.

Cute book, too much stand-up

I am predisposed to like all British chick lit, which is why I got all the way through the (oddly long) book Snap Happy by Fiona Walker. It seems like a book I would have like more - romantic mis-understandings, happy ending. The off putting factor was that the main character was supposed to be a stand up comedian. This led to lots of "comedic" one liners that were mostly lame or too pun-y, even for me.

Fun with new shows

I am a little behind on watching (and judging) the new fall shows, but I did enjoy The Ex-List on Friday night.

The main character has to find her soul mate and get married within the year or she'll be single forever. And her soul mate is someone she's already been involved with.

This concept does raise two questions for me. How is this show going to last longer than a year? Also, if I had to track down every boy I'd been even remotely romantically involved with in the course of my life, I'd be totally screwed.

Still, it looks like it's going to be cute and I am looking forward to episode number two.

A delightful vacation read

Having returned from my travels, I have many tales of books, movies, and television I have enjoyed (after all, it's not a vacation unless there is time for leisure).

An especially good book I found was Hand-Me-Down by Lee Nichols. I enjoyed this one enough that I immediately began scouting Amazon for other things she has written.

It's the story of Anne, who lives in her sister's shadows and is trying to make her own way while being attracted to her sister's ex-boyfriend.

It's a little long, or perhaps I was distracted, because it took me forever to finish. Still, it's a cute story with good characters, and, of course, a happy ending.

Leisure Girl is on vacation

I will be traveling around the states for most of the next couple of weeks.

I will p0st about my various leisure activities when I have the chance.

In the mood for an odd movie?

Wristcutters: A Love Story, is a very odd movie, but one I enjoyed quite a bit.

It's the story of a man who kills himself and then goes to an afterlife completely inhabited by other suicide victims.

The plot sounds not at all good, I know, but it was different and off and kind of fun.

A good try when you're in the mood for something a little strange.

Better late than never

I finally sat down and watched all three of the 90210 episodes I had Tivo'd.

I loved the original 90210. It was the first (in an eventually long, long line) teen show I really fell for. But I wasn't too excited about the new one, especially because I heard it wasn't very good.

I was actually pleasantly surprised. The plots are interesting, trashy, but they move along, and the characters are likeable for the most part.

A definite new show recommendation.

Quick - read this book!

I love finding a great book. It is just the best feeling, and one I had recently when I read Jane Austen in Scarsdale by Paula Marantz Cohen.

Such a fun and interesting book. The requisite love story, plus a surprisingly involving plot about the main character's work as a high school guidance counselor. It's well written and I was more interested in the extraneous characters in this book than I am in the main characters in others I have read.

She has a couple other novels out that I have put on my library hold list. Hopefully they are all good.

So, go out and read this one.

Jucier than Desperate Housewives

Reading The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives is a lot like reading People Magazine.

It might not have a ton of literary value, but it's fun and gossipy, and the characters in it are vaguely horrifying.

It is the story of a very wealthy neighborhood and all the scandal that is lurking underneath the surface. (Hint, it's a lot)

All in all, a good time.

Am I a broken record?

Oh my goodness, stop talking about Katie Fforde.

But I can't, because I just love her.

I just finished Restoring Grace, and it was another winner. British, house remodeling, and romance. What more can a girl ask for.

Perfect for curing up in bed with.

My odd new DVD obsession

I have been watching the first season of Third Watch on DVD and have been enjoying it a bizarrely large amount.

It's a show about firemen, paramedics, and police. Not something that would normally be my cup of tea, but the people are cute and the stories are completely interesting.

Totally recommended, plus I think it ran for five or six seasons, so I have much more enjoyable DVD watching ahead of me.

Books don't always translate

I blogged earlier this summer about a book I had liked that the CW was going to turn into a TV series, Privileged.

This weekend I watched their season premiere.

It seems like something I would like, given my proclivity for teenage

shows and the fact that I enjoyed the book.

And? It was okay. I will probably continue to Tivo it, but I didn't even make it through the season premiere in one sitting, I kept turning it off to watch something more interesting.

A little slow, and definitely no Gossip Girl.

I'm still cool, despite playing video games

I got home yesterday to discover that my copy of Spore had arrived in the mail. Very exciting.

Spore is the new game by the creator of all of the Sims line and I have been looking forward to playing it for ages.

In the game, you start as a single cell organism and slowly evolve until you are able to take over other planets through interstellar travel.

I have to admit that I am currently playing in on the very easiest setting, because I do so hate to be virtually thwarted. I am enjoying conquering other species very much.

If you are an even sort of video game player, definitely recommended.

Oh TV, I missed you

Ever so slowly, the new TV season is returning. Lovely.

My current excitement does, of course, center around new episodes of Gossip Girl. If loving that show is wrong, I most certainly don't want to be right. Great clothes, and unbelievably involved teen drama (considering they're supposed to be half my age, they really manage to have a large spectrum of issues.)



I am also watching Bones this season. I have watched it after the fact on DVD in the past but decided to watch this season despite not having seen any of the last one. I'm guessing I'll be able to catch up.



Two new shows that I have Tivo-ed but not watched - Privileged and 90210. I will be passing judgement soon.


And I am looking forward to more returning favorites in the upcoming weeks. Good times.

Girly short stories

I am not a huge short story person, as I like to spend more time with my characters. It is sometimes enjoyable, however, especially since I am going through a no attention-span having period.

The stories in Girls Night In are generally pretty solid. They are by a lot of chick lit authors I already like, plus the book introduced me to some new ones whose books I am now going to check out.

Expanding my chick lit horizons is, of course, always a plus.

US Weekly vs. People - Fight, fight!

As a result of ordering way too many Sephora products from Amazon, I was the lucky recipient of six free months of US Weekly. Now I receive both it and People, which, I admit, may be a little much in terms of entertainment magazines.

So how do they compare?



I am a People girl at heart, mostly out of habit, but I do think US Weekly has a lot going for it. It's a little more tabloid-ish/trashy, which I actually like. Plus it seems to be more accurate, rumor wise. A couple of weeks ago they rightly said that Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer had broken up when People was still insisting they were fine.

Now that I get both, I am just that much more informed about celebrity goings on, which is, of course, always a good thing.

Writers love New York

It's not that I don't think New York is a great city. I get a little tired of the books written by/about women who are completely obsessed with it, though.

Momzillas by Jill Kargman is such a book.

It is very New York centered, and the author tries a little too hard with her trendy dialogue.

Here's a sample: "I know, I know: most peeps loathe their MiLs; it's the rule and not the exception. MiLs bug DiLs. They get up in their bidniss."

Do people in New York not just talk like normal people? It has been a while since I've been there.

The book is fun, though, and about child raising in the city. If nothing else it served to make me very glad I don't live there.

More Katie Fforde, more!

Practically Perfect is the second Katie Fforde book I've read in a relatively short period of time. I seem to be on some kind of roll.

She's just SO good, I want to devour everything she's written, but I am trying to pace myself.

Practically Perfect was another winner. British...house remodeling...true love...dogs...it has everything a girl could want.

So recommended. I just don't think you can go wrong with her.

I made my badly acted teen filled bed, now I must lie in it

The universe can only say I told you so when I rent the movie Prom Night and find it less than good.

I am not a huge horror movie buff, but I do enjoy some of the teen slasher flicks so popular in the 80s and 90s.

I really haven't enjoyed the more recent ones, though.

The acting is awful, which is to be expected, but they're also oddly boring.

Huge chunks of this movie were taken up with poorly scripted conversations about who would win prom queen. Where's the tension? Where's the suspense?

Perhaps located in a better movie.

Do I want to move to Wyoming?

I occasionally go through phases where I want to move into the country to a small town. I think it would be fun to have lots of land and know your neighbors and not be in a city or suburb.

The Quality of Life Report, by Meghan Daum is about a woman who does exactly that, moving from New York to the middle of the country and small town America.

I always like to be able to virtually do something by reading about it without actually having to make some huge life change on my own.

The book was good, though the heroine is one of those dumb girls who makes bad choices which as a reader gets a little frustrating. Still, it has managed to stave off my need to move, at least for the time being.

An actual good movie

After my recent flops, I was very pleased to rent a movie I actually really liked. What a novelty!

Last night I watched Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Visually, a lot of fun, as movies set in that era are wont to be. Great cast - especially the adorable Lee Pace from "Pushing Daisies." The movie had a fun plot and moved along nicely, although the end was a little slapped together.

Still, totally recommended and such a vast, vast improvement over what I have been watching. I can only hope my streak continues.

Not all YA fiction is created equal

In the realm of young adult fiction, there are definitely different levels of goodness. I am a fan in general, but there are definitely some with writing that is less good or simpler plots.

I recently read Bras and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski. I have read some of her adult books and liked them. Plus, I couldn't resist the plot about a teenager who develops magical powers.

It was a bit like a less interesting Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Plus, the main message of the book is that you can't use magic to fix or change anything in your life. I have to believe that's not true, otherwise, what's the point of having magical powers?

So it was only so-so. That said, I have already requested the next in the series. I have low standards.

Stephenie Meyer does adults

I know, this is my third post about something Stephenie Meyer has written. I am not obsessed, I promise.

But I just finished (well started, and then finished in the course of a day) The Host, her first novel for adults.

The book is about an Earth where parasitic aliens have taken over and take control of people's bodies. It's the story of one alien and her human "host."

For the first hundred pages of so I was really not into this book. I kept almost giving up on it, but decided I would read at least to page 100. The next thing I knew, I was on page 230 and totally hooked.

It's a little more science fiction-y than I am generally into and than her other books have been, but it's an engrossing story and a fast read, especially for a long book.

If you have liked the Twilight series, I think it's definitely worth trying, although you may have to give it a few chapters.

Can I be British?

What is it about British chick lit? It is somehow so much more interesting than its American counterpart (not that I don't enjoy the American version as well).

Still, there's something about their shops, food, and strange spelling (e.g. apologise) that I just can't get enough of.

My latest discovery? The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne. So fun, it's main character starts a business where she helps men do things like shop and throw parties and just generally whips them into shape. Plus it's the first in a series, which I always enjoy.

Do try it, perhaps with a cup of tea, and you will not regret it.

I make bad movie choices

I have had no luck with my weekend movie picks lately.

I wanted to blame Netflix for their going-through-a-dry-spell choices, but I think the blame has to be mine.

In trying to chose movies that both my husband and I will enjoy, I seem to be ending up with ones no one likes.

This weeks less than stellar picks?

Borat. I didn't really think I would like it (it looked WAY too cringe-y), but I felt like everyone else in the world had already seen it and we should too. The result? So awkward and really not all that funny.

Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns. I like Tyler Perry's movies because they are filled with such pretty people. This one was no exception. But it was lacking in suspense. Would the hard-working, but struggling single mom end up with the completely perfect man who was in love with her from the second he met her? Would she? Would she? Well...yes, obviously.

Perhaps next weekend I will do better.

I love foodie books

It's no secret that I love chick lit. But I have a special place in my heart for chick lit that talks about food.

Although I am not much of a cook, I love food. I like to watch people make it and even better, to read about it.

So I especially enjoyed Sarah Strohmeyer's Sweet Love. It's the story of a woman whose mother is trying to get her together with her first love. She does this by arranging for them to take a cooking class together.

There's a nice story, some romance, and a lot of talk about cooking and eating desserts.

Be warned, I was forced to consume a lot of chocolate through the course of this book so I could keep up with the characters.

Curl up with Audrey

Enjoying Audrey Hepburn is a cliche, I know.

I don't even know that I am so enamoured with her, since I often find her characters a little mannered and irritating (Holly Golightly). But I do love her movies. She's so lovely, and they are always fun to watch.

I recently enjoyed three back to back when I got the Audrey Hepburn Collection (from the library, even).

This included Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, and Sabrina. This was actually my first watching of Sabrina, which is, I realize, shocking. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although Humphrey Bogart is a less than ideal leading man for her.

All wonderful and filled with good clothes.

Katie Fforde is lovely

I first met Katie Fforde and her books years and years ago. I was living in London for a summer and read Stately Pursuits, and completely fell in love with it and her.

It is everything chick lit should be - fun and romantic and well written and British to boot.

I have enjoyed all of her books since then and spent part of this week curled up with Bidding for Love.

So enjoyable I did not want to stop reading it. City girl moves to the country, find new life, meets interesting people, and falls in love. It's the comfy mac and cheese of books.

A word of caution for readers - the object of her affection? Her cousin. I know. They're supposed to be "distant cousins" but it still kind of skeeved me out the whole time.

Yay! The Hills is back!

I am no stranger to reality television. Such trashy, fluffy fun, for the most part. But I have a special love for The Hills, whose new season returned on Monday.

I find the whole show completely addictive, and am oddly obsessed with Lauren Conrad. I literally buy any magazine with her on it. Why? I cannot explain for the life of me.

The show isn't even all the interesting. Yet I am somehow very invested in rooting for Lauren and against the always evil and vacuous Heidi and Spencer.

Try it and you'll be hooked, in the best possible way.

You can even watch the old seasons on DVD. What fun!

Another day, another new series

Another new supernatural series is always a find, and luckily they seem to keep appearing before me.

This time it begins with Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead, who has written some other books that I have enjoyed.

The main character is, as you might think, a succubus who works for the devil. Still, she's pretty likeable and has adventures, crushes, interactions with demons, etc.

This book was entertaining. Not a must read, but I will still probably get the next one.