Favorite Halloween Movies

I already shared how I've been enjoying the haunting season by reading a bit of Poe. I've also been indulging in some of my favorite spooky/scary/suspenseful flicks over the past few weeks, and thought I'd share. :)

Arsenic & Old Lace- A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family. Cary Grant really gets to show off his comedic chops in this one! Lots of laughs, but don't be fooled, there are a few scenes that really get your adrenaline pumping.


Psycho- A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother. I recommend that you watch this on DVD so that you can watch the documentary about the making. It really helps you appreciate how ground-breaking a film this was.


Rear Window- A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder. Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly are fabulous, but I think Thelma Ritter is my favorite.




The Birds- A wealthy San Francisco playgirl pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness. Hitchcock is infamous for the leading ladies he chose, but I think he had a real gift for picking first class leading men as well. Rod Taylor- yum!

Sleepy Hollow- Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of 3 people with the culprit being the legendary apparition, the Headless Horseman. I really love this movie. One of my favorite Depp films, by far.




A few more Halloween viewing suggestions:
The Pit and the Pendulum- Vincent Price acting and Poe story make for a great combo
Halloween- Only the original will do
The Rocky Horror Picture Show- The only song I danced to at Prom was the Time Warp and you might recall Josh and I were Brad & Janet last year, so I kinda-sort like this movie ;)
Young Frankenstein- It's a classic IMO
Dracula- Coppola's interpretation is my favorite, but of course Bela Legosi would do beautifully too

Happy Days Are Here Again

This is quite possibly one of the coolest party ideas I've heard. Joanna Goddard threw a 1930s party to celebrate the current day depression. It's the awesomest. These are the kind of people I want (need) to be friends with.














*Pic from A Cup of Jo

I Heart Fall

And I heart this boy too.

*Please note this photo was about 10 pounds ago. Cheeks not quite that chubby anymore. :)

Guilty As Charged

As you might have noticed from my Weekend Roundup below, I did a big closet purge yesterday. It really was big. I tried on lots of clothes that had been hanging around in my closet for a long time. I cleaned out my sock, underwear, and lingerie drawers. I packed away some of my more summery clothes and pulled out all my sweaters. I changed out some hangers and rearranged the order in which some of my clothes hang. One of the most important things I did was collect all the items that I haven't worn yet. Items that still had tags on, a few that didn't but that I knew I hadn't worn yet, and I totaled up their cost. I had a $150 dollar pile sitting on my bed. That's a lot of money. Especially for a girl who is squeamish about spending more than $35 dollars on an article of clothing. Actually, that was how much the most expensive item of clothing was, which just goes to show me that my attempts at frugality often backfire. Items bought with the idea that I would have them altered, hemmed, taken in. Things I bought while under the pressure of external influence- time, budget, friends.

So, from here on out unless I have 100% knowledge of my size needs with a particular brand, I will not buy pants online. I will not buy pants without trying them on. I will not assume that I'll get around to going to a tailor soon. I will not tell myself that I'll just wear them with taller heels. I will not settle for things that are only going to end up a total waste of my money and space.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Work, yuck
-Get very upset with mortgage officer
-Go home
-Lots of laundry & working on recipe list
-Play DVR catch up- Starter Wife, Nanny McPhee, etc.
-Popcorn for dinner
-Wait for Josh to get home
-Bedtime

Saturday:
-Oversleep
-Egg & cheese toasters and coffee for breakfast
-Catch some Tim Gunn TV
-Get ready
-Poor tummy ache :(
-Head to Magic Etc. for Josh's Halloween costume
-Wander around Lowe's to dream about appliance shopping and grab paint samples
-Grab some Chik-fil-a for late lunch/early dinner
-More DVR and recipe work while Josh runs errands
-Josh home and settle in for Halloween movie- Psycho
-Climb in bed for some reading
-Hit the hay

Sunday:
-Oversleep again, so tired lately
-Cereal and coffee
-Finish menu plan and grocery list
-Get ready
-See Josh off to practice
-Watch Arsenic & Old Lace, Rear Window, and The Gay Divorcee during major closet purge
-Josh home and off to grocery shop
-Put up groceries
-Back to closet cleaning and watch Follow The Fleet
-Dinner of Mac & Cheese and Nathan's Hot Dog, mmmmm
-Finish closet work
-Nighty-night

Creepy Reads

I FINALLY finished reading Team of Rivals Monday after a long, cozy Friday night that consisted of tomato soup, grilled cheese, a bowl of popcorn and a lot of page turning. I don't know what book I want to move onto next, but I'm taking a little detour to celebrate Halloween while I decide. Currently resting on my bedside table is the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe. Here's hoping I don't here any gentle rapping at my chamber door!

Vacation Photos Vol. 2- Uxmal

On our second port day we docked in Progreso and took a bus to tour the Mayan ruins at Uxmal. It was beautiful, fascinating and HOT! But really worth the trip and the temps.

Vacation Photos Vol. 1- Cozumel

Our port day in Cozumel was also our second anniversary. We spent it at Nachi Cocom, which I was more than happy to visit again, having been there on my first cruise. Josh liked it just as much as I did, so I think we'll definitely return if we ever take this trip again. Oh, how I miss you Nachi!

House Hilarity

Josh and I are about to start shopping around for a mortgage. Right now we're still on the fence as to whether we should use a broker or just do the legwork ourselves and find a mortgage on our own. We've already e-mailed Ed, who Carrie & Casey recommended to us, and we'll probably be using him as our realtor but he isn't in the brokerage side of stuff anymore. Anywho, lots of ranting and raving probably to come in the future about all aspects of this, ha. Here's the humorous part- I managed to stumble upon It's Lovely! I'll Take It!. Thankfully my boss had left for the day because I've been laughing so hard it brought tears to my eyes. Too, too funny. I wish I had known about it before because there have been several pics I could have submitted as I've been trolling the house listings the past few months.

Oh, and I finally finished editing and uploaded our cruise pics, so I'll hopefully get around to sharing some tomorrow!

Vacation Roundup

Saturday 10/4:
-Rise and shine
-Ready and out the door
-Pick up donuts and sausage rolls
-Meet up with In-laws
-Hit the road
-Long drive
-Wait in car line at port parking
-Wait in security line
-Wait in registration line
-Board the ship
-Wait in photograph line
-Hit our room
-Wander the ship
-Get ready for dinner
-Eat in Dining Room
-Back to room to make a drink
-A little time in the piano bar
-Hit the hay

Sunday, 10/5:
-Rise and shine
-Room service for breakfast
-Shower and get ready
-Do some wandering
-Lunch in the Dining Room with family
-Round of mini-golf with Andreas
-Lay out with a pina colada, chatting with Deana
-Get ready
-Captain's Welcome Party
-Captain's Dinner in the Dining Room
-Change
-Hit Chinatown for people watching
-Couple of tunes in the piano bar
-Bed

Monday, 10/6:
-Happy 2nd Anniversary to Us!
-Rise and shine, docked in Cozumel
-Room service breakfast, all mixed up
-Get ready
-Taxi to Nachi Cocom
-Relax on the beach, float in the cool ocean, drink pina coladas and Coronas, eat nachos and quesadillas
-Taxi back to boat, immediately miss Nachi Cocom
-Buy some vanilla and maracas
-Wait in line to board
-Back in room, shower
-Get ready
-Anniversary dinner in Dining Room
-Champagne, special song and celebratory tiramisu
-Change clothes
-Watch Jack in Guest Talent Show
-Chinatown again
-Bedtime

Tuesday, 10/7:
-Rise and shine, docked in Progreso
-Breakfast on the Lido Deck
-Get ready
-Debark and find tour group
-Bus ride to Uxmal with Armando, Alfonso and Armando
-Explore Uxmal with Alfonso
-Climb Governor's Palace
-Get bitten by mosquito the size of fly
-Ice cream treat
-Back on the bus, long drive back
-Back on the boat
-Grab a Drink of the Day, Blue Margarita- whew!
-Visit with In-Laws
-Shower
-Order Room Service and have movie night with Drea
-Head up to the Deck Party and Mexican Buffet
-Bedtime

Wednesday:
-Rise and shine
-Breakfast on Lido Deck, a little rainy
-Back to room to be lazy
-Back to Lido Deck for pina coladas
-Play TV Theme Trivia- I won!
-Have celebratory strawberry daiquiri
-Show off trophy to In-laws
-Grab some ice cream
-Walk around ship
-Bite to eat on Lido Deck
-Jazz at the coffee bar
-Back to room for a little nap
-Shower and get ready
-Last dinner in Dining Room, say goodbye to our head waiter Denis
-Change clothes
-Pack and set baggage out
-Stroll around the boat
-Enjoy the moonlight on the open water
-Watch a bit of television
-Hit the hay

Thursday:
-Rise and shine
-Get ready
-Get rest of carry luggage together
-Last breakfast on the Lido Deck
-Wait for our zone to be called
-Debark, find luggage and go through customs
-Wait for In-laws
-Get on the road
-Nap until Huntsville
-Pit stop at Dairy Queen!
-Arrive at In-law's
-Head back home
-Vacation over already!?!? Boooo!

Adios!

I still have so much to get done! But ready or not we leave bright and early tomorrow morning for a nice float down to Mexico. Looks like rain is the forecast, but we're not going to let that spoil our fun. How does that song go? "If you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain..", haha. I can't wait for fruity drinks, nice dinners, and a couple of nights in the piano bar. And I've got my fingers crossed that this cold I'm dealing with will continue to be relatively easy. Just gotta keep my Zicam with me! Hope everyone has a great week while we're relaxing! Oh lord, I've got a night of packing ahead of me too. I thought about sharing my packing list, but who has time for that much typing? ;) Adios amigos!!