1. Last night I went out for my FIVE year college reunion and I wore leather leggings. And they ripped. I tried to wear something trendy from Forever 21 and I split my pants. If that's not the universe telling me I'm old, I don't know what is.
2. Best friends send the best birthday texts.
3. At age 28 . . .
Pippa Middleton became an overnight sensation
Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar
Sally met Harry for the second time
And Oprah moved to Chicago to host a little talk show
It's a sad day for fans of film, chick flicks, witty musings and the pairing of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks- Nora Ephron passed away at the age of 71 after a battle with leukemia. She was incredibly talented and inspired so many great filmmakers and writers- including this (not so great) blog.
It was this article about romantic comedies that inspired me to write about movies in the first place. This scene that still makes me tear up no matter how many times I watch it. And this movie, my very favorite of all time, that encouraged me to see my best guy friend in a different light and, as Harry and Sally say "and then we fell in love."
This winter, I counted down my favorite Nora movies each Tuesday.
Well here we are for the first installment of Tuesdays with Nora. Now if I was actually counting down my fave Nora movies, this would probably be at the top of my list, as it is my very favorite movie of all time. Ms. Ephron wrote this movie herself, and also produced it. Because there's a few other movies that deserve some love in February, we're starting with When Harry Met Sally- which I wrote about for the first time in October.
Noticeably absent in my love letter to a romantic comedy I adore? Style! Do you know why I ignored it? Because Sally's clothes are HORRIBLE. The 80's was a great decade to be born in, if I do say so myself, but the fashion- atrocious! So big and overpowering and not at all flattering. The fact that Meg Ryan manages to look cute in this
and this
and this
just shows us that she is perhaps the most adorable actress of all time. Sally wears a lot of Annie Hall, menswear inspired looks and while I've never been a big fan of masculine dressing (not surprised?) I figured I'd try out a few looks in honor of Sally Albright.
Boyfriend cardigan
Blazer and cuffed trouser
Blazers, button-downs, and lace-up oxfords
One of the most unique (and most memorable) parts of When Harry Met Sally are all of the "how we met" vignettes featuring older couples reflecting on their relationship. I'm going to tell you something that's probably going to break your heart, but those are actors. They're not real people. Ugh, its hard to type. However, there is a silver lining! When Nora Ephron would get writer's block, she would interview people who worked for the production company. She liked some of their stories about meeting their spouse so much that she worked them into the screenplay and re-shot the scenes with actors.
Today was not my favorite day. I spent most of the afternoon in stress vortex over grad school and when I sat down to write this I thought about saying "Sally wore blazers and so did I. The end." But I just watched these sweet stories and now I feel wonderful. I love "how we met" stories because every couple has one. They might not be particularly funny or dramatic or romantic, but falling in love means at some point there was a look or a conversation or a moment that changed the rest of your life. If you don't know the story of how your parents or your grandparents or your neighbors met- ask them. Nora did and look what happened! She applied the rules of real life- to a romantic comedy.
I'm back! I had a great Christmas break (if I'm not too old to call it that) and now am seriously struggling with the post holiday weirds. The weirds are such a curse, but the good thing about them is they mean you had a really good time. If you had a crappy week you would be ready to move on to the next thing, not sad all of your good times were over.
Anyways, this was the first year that I haven't been home for the holidays and I was worried it wouldn't really feel like Christmas. But it was so nice to really enjoy the season over the past couple of weeks with my family instead of stepping off a plane and cramming all of my holiday cheer into a few days. I learned, like the Who's in Whoville, that:
"We hadn't stopped Christmas from coming, it came!
Somehow or other... it came just the same.
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
Christmas day will always be
Just so long as we have we. "
Then we all held hands and sang "Fah who foraze Dah who doraze welcome Christmas . . ."
Next I headed to Orlando for a reunion with my best friends from college. We have planned a mini trip almost twice a year since we have graduated and they are basically the highlights of my life. We had a wonderful time, but the best part of the trip was a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom.
Growing up in Florida, I'm a Disney veteran but I haven't been in years. We had an absolute blast and really took a lot of Disney lessons to heart. The theme this year is "Dreams Come True" and we chanted that along with all of the princesses, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and of course, Donald.
If you could have heard us interacting during our reunion, you probably would have thought we sounded a lot like Disney princesses. "You look so beautiful!" " Your hair is so long!" " I love that outfit!" " You look great!" " I am so proud of you!" " You are changing people's lives!!" Just like a princess we have found true love . . . with each other.
Next I headed to my hometown to ring in the new year with my 5 besst friends from high school and our dates. We last spent New Year's as a group in 2001 so this was a reunion AND anniversary celebration.
We've come a long way in 10 years, mainly in our (okay, my) hair styling choices, but I am so proud of all of us, and honestly so happy that we have remained such close friends. Not a lot of people can say they are still best friends with FIVE girls they knew when they were 14, and I think we're pretty special.
I wanted to blog on New Year's Eve, but I was too busy applying my fake eye lashes and hair extensions (more on that later.) I wanted to post my favorite New Year's Eve scene from a movie EVER. And no, its not When Harry Met Sally. It's this lovely part from the first Sex and the City movie where we see how all of the girls are ringing in the new year. Obviously a pregnant Charlotte and Harry are precious and Samantha and Smith in their sparkly robes- absurd but somehow appropriate. Anyway, the part I'm trying to get to is when Carrie runs across town in her pajamas just to let Miranda know that she's "not alone." I LOVE this scene!
I think female friendship is a really complicated thing that not everyone understands. I'm sure being obnoxiously bffs for the past 10 years has been irritating to some people, maybe ourselves included. But if you can say that in the past decade, no matter where you were, you knew having five best friends meant you were never alone- well, that's something worth celebrating.
According to my facebook news feed (people I know in real life) and twitter feed (celebs I wish I knew) everyone is feeling optimistic about 2012. As am I! Here's to a year of family, best friends, and dreams coming true!
This time of year, when the leaves start to change, I need to grab a jacket before I leave my apartment, and I feel the pressure to make epic New Year's Eve Plans . . . I also start to watch When Harry Met Sally. I love this movie SO MUCH. While I often make categories of my favorite movies- favorites musicals, favorite tearjerkers, favorite teen comedies- this movie just might be my favorite movie. Ever. Of all time.
When I tell people this, they'll say "oh yeah I've seen that movie" And what they mean is they've seen some clips on tv and they're familiar with Meg Ryan's "I'll have what she's having" scene. This is not acceptable! Rent this movie tonight and watch it all the way through! You'll love it for these reasons:
1) Meg Ryan as Sally Albright. Okay, well she's adorable. She has cute curly blond hair! She invented the term "high maintenance." She values honesty and she's a wonderful friend. She's annoyingly optimistic and realistically vulnerable. Everyone remembers her faking it in Katz's Deli, but I love this scene the most.
I mean, haven't we all felt this way? We've all had a night where all of a sudden, our life is not what we thought it would be. And we're I'm going to be 40! In 8 13 years!
2. Scenes of New York. This movie makes me want to go to New York even more than watching Carrie and company strut down 5th avenue. I once watched an interview with the director and he said they wanted some gorgeous back drops so it would be obvious that Harry and Sally were falling in love . . . even if they didn't know it yet.
New York in the fall! At Christmas! I'm already in love! When I went to NYC last year I knew I needed to see Washington Square Park where Sally says goodbye to Harry for the first time.
"That's too bad, you were the only person I knew in New York."
3. The Dialogue. Omg, this script is perfection. It also happens to be hilarious! I feel like so many movies now rely on shock value to make you laugh. You laugh because you're thinking "wait WHAT just happened!?" When Harry Met Sally has so many scenes that just seem like regular conversations between friends. But only if the conversations you had with your friends were 100% hilarious. Here are two of my favorites. Also, I posted about another one here.
4. Billy Crystal as Harry Burns. He's cynical. He's pessimistic. He has strong opinions and he's ridiculously stubborn. But he makes you laugh. And he says exactly what you want to hear from someone who's always been in love with you and just now realized it.
5. This movie completely changed my life a few years ago. But that's a story for another day. . .
Two days, two posts about professional sports. Who am I?
The other weekend I went to the Panthers vs. Packers football game. My first NFL game ever! However, I have been in a stadium before. At Raymond James stadium where the Bucs play! For the NSYNC "Pop" wordwide tour of course!
Both events involved a lot of sweat, tears, and guys in matching outfits.
Speaking of outfits, I asked my boyfriend if he would get me a pink Panthers jersey to wear so I could be like Jessica Simpson when she went to watch Tony play.
He said that seemed like a waste of money for what will likely be my only NFL game ever. Oh well. Here I am in my Panthers tee with a feline inspired belt.
And my friend Lauren who had better accessories and as it turns out, a better team to cheer for!
And now I leave you with my favorite movie scene about football.
