Wonderful Day

Just a quick suggestion, friends: Mother's Day, as you know, is next Sunday the 9th, and I'm running a MD Sale in my shop so that you can pick up something lovely for your very special mum without spending a ton. Also, domestic shipping is free as part of the sale, and if you order before Wednesday, I can still get your package to you by the weekend!

And now, I shall tell you why today is a fantastic day. First, I get a free lunch. Second, my free lunch will occur at one of my very favorite weekly events: Honors Lunch Discussion, where our students meet every Friday to discuss a topic presented by a faculty member. Third, I have the afternoon off! Fourth, I have the afternoon off because my brilliant husband is being presented with an award for being the Best Graduate Student Document Instructor for the Freshman Composition Program, and I was invited to his award ceremony! Fifth, after that, we go home from school early, and we're going to order pizza and have a Wes Anderson movie marathon! Rushmore, Darjeeling Limited, and Fantastic Mr. Fox are all on the line-up. (I'm counting this as a date night, because I don't have to cook and I get to spend the whole evening cuddled up with my handsome husband, but technically, it counts as work for him, because he'll be "researching" for a paper he's writing about Wes Anderson films in one of his classes.)

Here's a preview in photos of all the glory that lies before us:

How could this day possibly be better!?

Favorite Things Friday: Masterpiece Classic

I went completely giddy yesterday when an email from PBS provided me with this coming spring's Masterpiece Classic season schedule. I honestly have no words for how wonderful it looks, and how much fun it's going to be.

Emma

Northanger Abbey

Persuasion

Cranford




The Diary of Anne Frank

Sharpe's Challenge

Small Island

If you missed the Jane Austen adaptations last year, you have the chance to see a brand new presentation of Emma, and encore presentations of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, plus Cranford, The Diary of Anne Frank, and several others that look fantastic. I can't tell you how very excited I am.

Great Day

Today was a wonderful day! I took the day off to spend it with my lovely husband. We went to breakfast at Starbucks, had the best pizza I've ever had (seriously) for lunch at West Crust Pizza -- with spinach, prosciutto, and dates, oh my --, and saw the best new movie I've seen in a long time: Pirate Radio.

It was so much fun. There were serious bits, of course, but I smiled/laughed/exulted along with the main characters during almost the entire movie. I can't tell you how much both Nate and I loved it; not only are the cast of characters spunky, likable, hilarious, and heartwarming, but the story centers on, and is set against a background of some of the best of 60's rock, the stuff Nate and I both grew up listening to. {Incidentally, it was an obscure Simon and Garfunkel song, to which I knew the lyrics, which first induced my husband to look at me, and it was the Beatles and Badly Drawn Boy which, a few days later, had him convinced that I was the coolest girl he'd ever met.} We both really love music, and generally not much of the same music everyone else goes nuts over. So this movie made both of us very happy. And it will make you happy too. Promise. Here are some fantastic stills. Just try not to smile.

Gone With the Weekend

Although I did have a bit of time to rest a little more this weekend than I have lately, I still feel oh so tired today and ready for Friday all over again. My poor husband had three papers to write, so I amused myself with some movies while he worked.

I watched Lost in Austen (yes, again) and during a short break from schoolwork on Friday night, we watched the 1939 version of The Adventures of Robin Hood.

A few weeks ago we saw The Wendell Baker Story, which I thought was fun and entertaining, if slightly far-fetched. But I am a fan of the Wilson brothers, and admittedly, not the toughest movie critic out there.

The Brothers Bloom, which I was so excited about, never came to Lubbock, of course, so it's at the top of our Netflix queue, and I hope it will be on its way to our house right after it releases tomorrow!

And I can't wait to see this one. I've heard wonderful things, and I think Audrey Tautou is just so charming. Who knows when we'll get it in our theatres here, but there's always my devoted friend Netflix if the worst befalls.

Little Letters

(This post idea from Naomi over at Taza and Husband, an adorable blog about an adorable couple.)

Dear English Breakfast Tea,
Thank you for getting me through another Monday morning.

Dear Movies 16,
My husband is taking me on a date night soon, and I really really REALLY want to see 500 Days of Summer, even though I know that many of those looking forward to it were slightly disappointed. But I promise not to be disappointed; please don't let me down.

Dear Husband,
Thank you for taking me on a date night soon. I'm so looking forward to it! (I love being with you on normal everyday occasions, of course, but I especially like eating tapas with you on a cozy sofa for two here, and sitting next to you in dark movie theatres.)

Dear Gap,
Thank you for running an awesome sale on this dress! I bought it yesterday and don't even feel bad about it because it was such a great deal! {note: the local sale was way better than the price online.}

Dear Market Street United,
Thank you for putting those handy little recipe carousels up in all of your sections. We are now experts at Caramelized Onion and Gruyère paninis, and Spicy Beef and Raisin Empanadas.

Dear Lubbock weather,
Can you please make up your mind?

Dear Target Grocery,
Why, oh why, must you torture me with your mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches, which are not available at all of your locations?

Dear Bret and Jemaine,
You are two very funny dudes. I really like your show.

Dear Netflix,
Thank you for opening a Lubbock distribution center so that my favorite TV series and movies arrive in my mailbox a whole two days faster!

Dear Anthropologie,
I have a huge crush on you. Could you please come to Lubbock and open a discount store?

Dear John,
I actually don't know anyone named John. But it would be fun to write to him if I did.

Dear Ruby,
I'll see you tonight before Book Group!

Dear Monday,
Could you please hurry up and skip to Friday? No offense or anything.

I Try My Hand at a Movie Review

I'm not all that hard to please, really. Give me some lovely scenery, a pretty score, and a happy ending, and I've got nothing bad to say about your movie. I do appreciate a true story or a bittersweet moment every now and then, but who wants to spend two hours of her life watching a story that makes you sad to be alive? Not me.

So, although I can't get enough of all things having to do with the life or novels of Jane Austen, I was wary about watching "Lost in Austen" this weekend, because I knew beforehand that it centers around a girl from modern-day London (don't worry, I'm not going to spoil anything the trailer won't tell you) who finds herself literally sucked into the world of Pride and Prejudice, her favorite novel and mine. Naturally, being a real live modern person getting involved in a 200-year old world-famous fictional story leads to events in Miss Austen's original plotline getting thrown slightly out of whack. I wasn't sure how I might feel about this, given my attachment to the story and the characters themselves. (I might also mention that I had my doubts about the movie being 3 hours long, until I found out that it was originally shown in four installments as a TV series on British television.)

So, now that you know my initial reservations, I'll happily provide you with my first impressions of the movie. I got over the concern I felt about messing with a classic about ten minutes into the film when Amanda, the modern-day girl, finds herself in the Bennet household. The cinematography is fantastic, the acting, I thought, was really great, and the leads were cast brilliantly, for the most part -- especially Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, Lydia, Jane, Bingley, and Mr. Collins. One of the things that can completely win me over to a film is its aesthetic, and "Lost in Austen" is so beautiful. Also, I watched the special features interview with the cast and crew, and I was impressed even further when I found out what pains they took to keep the sets and locations authentic and period-perfect. And I found that I soon stopped worrying so much that things that happened in the original plotline were getting messed up, because I actually did connect with the main character, Amanda, who sort of takes the place of Elizabeth as the female protagonist. Even though, like Amanda, I really do believe in the essential goodness and truth of the world Austen created, it's interesting to see an interpretation of how things might have really been different than they seemed from Elizabeth's viewpoint, which is the only one you see in the book unless other characters share theirs with her.

All in all, the story of the movie isn't perfect like you know the story in the book will be at the end, but it's interesting, and well worth watching as an Austen fan just to catch all of the nuances and inside jokes that come with knowing the lines of the book and the characters like the back of your hand. It's worth watching even if you're not an Austen fan to see the beautiful sets and scenes and for the added humor Amanda brings to the original story.

If you watch it, let me know what you think!

Oh Happy Day

I just have to tell all of you what a lovely day I had yesterday. And if you live in Lubbock, you know that it was difficult for anyone here to have a lovely day, because it was colder than it's been all winter so far, freezing rain fell for most of the morning, the roads and sidewalks were slippery and dangerous, and the sun didn't come out all day. I have to get up and come to work in all of this unpleasantness, just like everyday. So I pull on my old wool-lined duckboots at home, trudge across campus to get to the building where I work at the university, and turn on my space heater to defrost my extremities.
Then, it begins to get a little better. I'd thought ahead far enough to bring a packet of Raspberry hot chocolate from home; it was creamy and thick and delicious and warm.
I get some things accomplished at work, which makes me feel productive and important.
I take a lunch break, and have quite a beautiful salad, composed of romaine and leaf lettuce, five grape tomatoes, four baby carrots, topped off with sunflower seeds and Olive Garden salad dressing. Mmmmmmmm. While I eat this wonderful salad, I read a few chapters in a fantastic mystery by Agatha Christie I recently borrowed from the public library.
Meanwhile, outside it's still looking very dreary and foreboding, and I'm not looking forward to trekking back across campus and across the street where my car is parked, to defrost it for 10 minutes until I can drive home again at 15 miles an hour.
I do some more work, feel productive and important again, make a few students happy, et cetera.
Then, I get a message from my sweet husband. It's an email telling me that he's ordered pizza for us online for dinner, meaning three things: a) I get pizza for dinner! b) I don't have to cook dinner myself! and c) I will get to curl up on the couch when I get home and finish my mystery, without the necessary interruptions of food preparation and clean-up. The moment at which I received his message was quite a beautiful moment, as I'm sure you can appreciate.
And only an hour later, the best thing of all happened: the people who make the decisions at the university, quite unexpectedly, announce that the campus, and all offices, will close at 3 pm! And I get to go home! (Oh, but yes, it gets better.)
A co-worker who parks right behind our building very kindly offers to drive me to my car, so that I don't have to walk to it. And when we get there, it's not completely iced over, and I'm able to drive home immediately!
I get comfortable on the couch, make myself a cup of English Afternoon, with which I eat a thin mint (thin mints go beautifully with tea; you must try it), and curl up under a blanket, as planned, with my Agatha Christie.
My husband gets to come home a few minutes early as well, and we sit in the living room and read together until that glorious messenger of happiness, the pizza delivery boy, arrives. Then, my wonderful husband allows me to stay on the couch under my blanket, bringing me my food and plenteous napkins, and pops in a very amusing movie. As if this weren't enough, the dear boy has ordered dessert, which was nothing short of magical. Then, he makes us a pot of coffee after the movie ends, and I sip and go back to reading contentedly.
I finally decide to move from the couch to the bed, and go back to reading, after which I reflect on the day. It's been quite perfect. Thank you, husband. Thank you university. Thank you pizza delivery boy.