The Wedding

We went to Johnstown, PA earlier this month for my little (ha) brother's wedding.  Jeff and Donna were married on a lovely evening in the backyard of her father's beautiful home.  It was a perfect day and what struck me most...was how happy they make each other.  You can't ask more than that.

This is my favorite photo from the day.  It kind of sums up them and the day.

Congrats you two and years of happiness together.

The Help Movie Review

The Help


Grade: A

I loved this book. I loved this movie.

The Help is the story of a young aspiring journalist who decides she wants to write a book from the perspective of "the help".  As the story takes place in 1960's Jackson, Mississippi, you can guess the many challenges she faces.  The story and the movie captures all the pain, cruelty and inequality of the times but from a uniquely female, subtle point of view.  It's not preachy, it's just real and touches your heart.

The movie is full of wonderful performances and some surprising faces.  (Just thinking about them makes me smile.)

Emma Stone as Skeeter is perfect.  She is just who I pictured and she's my favorite young actress right now anyway.

Viola Davis as Aibileen, does a great job capturing her character's silent, stoic strength.

Octavia Spencer as Minnie is beyond perfection.  The twinkle in her eye as she morphs into Minnie, steals her every scene.

Sissy Spacek.  I almost didn't even recognize her and you just had to love her character.  She really brought so much more to this character than was in the book.

Cicely Tyson as Constantine.  So nice to see her in a film again.  She always brought a regal presence to her characters and she does it again in this movie.

Allison Janney as Skeeter's mother and Mary Steenburgen as her NY publisher are both nice surprises.

Character you love to hate.  Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook.  She is brilliant at bringing this character to life.  Hate Hilly...love the performance.  (This is Ron Howard's little girl.  Talent likely runs in the family.)

Great story, great performances...how can it miss.

You should all know that BW went with me and he said it was one of the best movies he has seen in a long time.  Told Krissy is was Oscar worthy.  Not slight praise my friends.  So feel free to bring along the man in your life.  This is a chick-flick about as much as 12 Angry Men is a guy-flick.

Glee - The Movie

This isn't a movie review, cause this isn't really a movie.  This is a make-up for the concert I had to missed earlier this summer.

Cait and I hit the 10:20am show this morning.  I guess that means we are Gleeks.

If you love Glee, you will love this.  It's just a song-fest. Although I was hoping for Kurt's rendition of "Single Ladies" or "Le Jazz Hot".

Lea Michelle's "Don't Rain on my Parade", let me speechless.  She can really do this song proud.

Again...3D, not necessary.  I'm getting the feeling that I'm not a big fan of 3D.

Garden to Table

I've been waiting all summer to have something from my garden ready so that I could participate in Wendy's Garden to Table posts.  Finally, I have something worth shouting about.

What to do when you have a lot of this:

and a few of these beauties:

What better to make than a Pesto Chicken Sandwich.  So yummy I can't even tell you.

My Latest Obsession

For the past few weeks I have been completely obsessed with a British TV series that I started watching on my local PBS station.

It all started quietly enough, when my mom mentioned she really liked this show.  So I recorded it and started watching and then I got completely hooked.

To make matters worse, I found all the episodes on Netflix.  So I have been spending evenings watching and watching, until I finally finished all 30 episodes.

The show is called Doc Martin.  It's about an unemotional, taciturn London surgeon, who has a little problem with blood.  In the middle of a surgery, he suddenly finds the sight and smell of blood repulsive and nauseating.  In order to keep practicing, he relocates to a small town in Cornwall, where he becomes the town GP.

In his new practice,  he comes in contact with all sorts of quirky town folk with every sort of medical compliant.  In the process, it's quite clear he is a brilliant doctor with absolutely no bedside manner.

What makes the series completely addictive is when he meets Louisa.

Enough said.

If you can find it, please watch it.  You won't regret it.  Except for the fact that you might get a little bit addicted.

Update:  Just found out that they are currently filming the 5th season.  Oh, heaven!

Farmer's Market

We finally got to the Rochester Farmer's Market again this Saturday.  They were also having a "Bake Sale" to fight hunger, so there were lot's of people, despite the extreme humidity.

Here's what I came home with:

I used the lettuce, zucchini and the corn in our dinner tonight and BW and I just had a little bit of that tiny Cherry pie with some vanilla ice cream.  It was delicious.  I'll be making the beets later this week.

I also got Joey some homemade doggy treats.  I'm sure he will like them.

Art Inside Out in Rochester

Recently, the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA) launched it's 2nd year of a project called Inside|Out.  It's a program where they bring selections of their artwork to the Detroit Metro Area.  The art reproductions are printed on vinyl and displayed around town.

Rochester...my lovely town was one of the lucky recipients of this project and I had a blast walking all around town finding and photographing all seven of our displays.  It made for some lovely walks.

In no particular order, here's what I found...

First stop was Talulah Belle Shop at 114 W. Third Street:

My 2nd stop was at Rojo Mexican Bistro at the corner of 4th and Main Street (Rochester Road):

On to my 3rd stop at Lytle Pharmacy at 340 Main Street:

My 4th stop was the lot where the weekly Rochester Farmers Market is held.  No specific sign was available for a photo, but it's near 3rd and Water Street.

My 5th stop was at Rochester Mills Brewery at 400 Water Street:

The 6th stop was at the Royal Park Hotel at 600 E. University:

And the 7th and final stop was at a little park in town called Rotary Park at Olde Towne and Water Street right off the Paint Creek Trail:

I've decided I liked "Reading the Story of Oenone" best, but I have felt a strong connection to young Princess Sophia.  This was likely the portrait painted to find her a husband and you can't help feel for this young innocent soul.

I loved this program and hope the DIA continues it for years to come.  It's is just lovely seeing great art around town.  Also note that this same event is happening in Howell, Novi, Romeo, New Baltimore, Sterling Heights, Manchester, St. Clair Shores, Livonia, Milan and Brooklyn.  If it shows up in your town, make sure you take a walk and visit them.  Might also be a good idea to visit the DIA soon as well.

Shame on the low-life who put a cigarette out in the middle of Princess Sophia's forehead.  Truly...you have no class.  (I was glad I able to re-touch my photo and restore her to her true beauty.)