Film Noir

So I'm a bit of an old movie buff. Definitely attribute that to my mother and grandmother who sat me down in front of a black and white television screen practically before I was even out of my Barney phase. Anyway, a friend just recently asked me for some recommendations, and that request forced me to group my favorites together, and I'm pretty sure I have compiled a pretty decent list that I'd like to share with all of you! 


All of these were ranked as the American Film Institute's top 100 movies of all time (coincidentally, I just have great taste :P) and they are in themselves an homage to a different era, a classier time which one can only hope to embody in the present.

This is CUL-CHA, PEOPLE. 
Enjoy (: If you watch, or have watched, any of these please let me know what you think!

1) Singin' in the Rain: My favorite movie of all time. It's a movie about the transition from silent films to the "talkies" and what the industry had to deal with. It has everything...great songs and dances, hilarious laughs, emotional moments, handsome guys, beautiful girls, amazing costumes and sets, you can't go wrong. Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds...perfection.

2) Casablanca: The romance movie of romance movies. Nearly every line is quotable, considered one of the most perfect films ever made.

<<<I should probably add that past this point the movies are in no particular order.>>>

3) Sunset Boulevard: One of my mom's favorites, as is with the next one on the list. Drama drama drama.

4) Gone with the Wind: Three hours long, but if you can sit through it it's a really emotional movie, and it dealt with some pretty controversial issues for the time. And hey, at least it isn't 6 hours long like their first unedited take...(yikes.)

5) It's a Wonderful Life: I watch this movie every single Christmas with my family. It will never get old.

6) To Kill a Mockingbird: One of the few movies that I feel actually rivals the book it was inspired by.

7) Rear Window: Starring two of my favorites, Jimmy Stewart and the beautiful Grace Kelly. Hitchcock's best if you ask me.

8) North by North West: If Rear Window is my first favorite Hitchcock film, then North by Northwest is my second. That crop-duster scene...

9) The Thin Man (series): Some of the oldest films I've seen, and some of the most entertaining. The whimsical chemistry between Myrna Loy and William Powell translates even to this day. Not to mention their dog Asta is the cutest thing ever (almost named one of my dogs after him), and you get all of this wrapped up in an awesome and very classic film noir detective plot.

10) High Society: I just love looking at Grace Kelly. And listening to Bing Crosby.

11) White Christmas: Bing Crosby, again. So excellent. Another Christmas staple.

12) There's No Business Like Show Business: A movie very near and dear to my heart. The progression of a musical family through different shows and different lives, with Marilyn Monroe, Donald O'Conor, Ethel Merman. It's a good one. Corny, but good.

13) The Philadelphia Story: Two of the most handsome men (Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant) with one of the most stunning ladies (Katherine Hepburn).

14) All About Eve: Bette Davis. "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night."

15) Sorry, Wrong Number: SUCH a good horror film. Even amongst today's high-packed action films and special effects, this movie from 1948 holds its' own. I highly discourage watching this movie alone.

My Brooklyn Apartment!

When my mom's parents passed away, they left us with an apartment full of stuff.  Kitchen appliances, utensils, crazy grandma knick-nacks, and some pretty dated furniture.  So I spent the entire summer with my mom going through basically every belonging they ever owned, and refurbishing it to be used in my new apartment! A little sanding, painting, reupholstering and re-imagining is all it took to make our apartment as quirky and as special as we could possibly want (: 

Here are some pictures!

 my very crammed, but charming kitchen/dining room/living room!

 my room from the doorway

 my room from the bed

 I had fun with these two items. These pieces were both gold which made them look really gaudy, so I sanded both and painted them with a black lacquer.  My dad says they look like they belong to the Adams family, which I take as a compliment. I also like my cat.

Julie's room (this was taken before she unpacked, the clothes on the floor are not part of the decor) with her awesome windows and awesome glass lamps

 I made that table out of a greek statue my grandma used as a planter, and a decorative plate I found. Painted them "cranberry" and then Gorilla-glued them together.

Note the awesome chairs and the equally awesome cherubs.

my entrance way, Chinese guard dog and all.

 

Another Greek statue/planter. Plant removed, paint applied, re-imagined as marker container for my cute (corny) dry-erase message board.

reppin' the BK with our awesome shower curtain

can't have enough cherubs.

or cats...

or Chinese guard dogs...

or eggs with legs?

Sex and the City: Complete Series, prominently on display with pretty coasters and statues.

close-up of dat cool cat.

Leopard chairs, black furry pillows. 

Go big or go home.

coffee table close-up

cherub overload

My salt-lamp shrine

more of my crap

My DaVinci wall

And there ya have it! Now come visit (:

I literally forgot this thing existed.

Ugh, not off to a good start with this blog.

Anyway, I guess the time to mess up is when you have zero people reading your stuff, so I'm still at a clean slate. Plus, ya gotta give this gal a break.  I started this break in the summer, trying to fill my long boring days in Miami.  But now I'm back in New York.  Started fresh as an art history major, working my ass off, moving into a new apartment, and getting readjusted to life in the city all over again.

By now this is October, and while other blogs have already done the summer re-cap, I have not.  That ship has pretty much sailed and so I will say only three things about my summer.

1) I volunteered at a marine life sanctuary in Key Largo working to take care of five surviving Pilot whales out of a total of about 30 who beached themselves. The poor things needed 24 hour surveillance, not all of them made it. I actually got to don a wetsuit, get in the water, and HOLD the whales. Once of the most amazing experiences of my life, I will never forget.

2) I was blessed to be able to surround myself with the amazingly beautiful people who I know care about me, and find clarity in matters concerning others.

And finally, 3) I came to the conclusion that as much as I might long for home in the middle of the most depressing winter months here in New York, I will never find the happiness in Miami that I find here.  I know that now, and I know to stop searching for it.


However, coming back to New York and returning to school was not - by any means - returning back into an old routine.  There is nothing routine about New York. In fact, it's safe to say that I'm positive this year will bring so many more surprises (enlightenments, breakdowns that lead to enlightenments, breakdowns that lead to a large consumption of chocolate, etc.) than I ever experienced last year.

But I guess that's why I did this.  That's why I moved here.  Out with the old, in with the new.  New experiences, new ways of thinking, new clothes (had to), New York.

Lazy Monday

So today on this fine, rainy Miami Monday I have managed to spend much of the afternoon lying on my sofa, drifting in and out of sleep. The times that I did manage to keep my eyes open I have been watching the Travel Channel's "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations." Of course while watching this show I couldn't help but daydream to the sound of thunder outside and plan out my ideal future travel destinations.

First stop: Vienna.
Anthony Bourdain went in the middle of winter, and the place honestly looked like it jumped out of a fairytale picture book. I could envision myself in this winter wonderland drinking hot coffee outside of historic monuments in the snow, then running inside to enjoy some fine wine and cheese in a romantic little restaurant. That's the perfect adjective for Vienna - romantic. I would want to escape there for Christmas with my prince charming of a boyfriend (TBA) so we could cuddle in the snow flurries and lights and wonderful holiday ambience.
Corny enough?


I guess for now I'll stick with moving into my new apartment in Brooklyn next week! Very excited about that. Hopefully next summer I'll be doing a program in Venice, but that's another story.

This is for all of my friends who nag me about my persistent coffee addiction.

new beginnings

So I've been debating on starting a blog for a while now, and with all the time I have on my hands this summer I feel like this is the perfect time to get started. 


Some things you can expect to see on this blog...

• some "day in the life" posts of a college student in New York City 
• astrology ramblings (heads up, I'm a Scorpio)
• coffee drinks (the best cups I've had and from where, gratuitous pics included)
• poetry (either mine or awesome excerpts from others)
• exceptionally interesting happenings in my personal life (I'll try not to bore you)
• interior design/decorating updates and ideas 

We'll see how it goes! Hope you guys enjoy (: