Friday, August 14, 2009

Friday I'm in Love

It's Friday, and you know what that means! I'm metaphorically gazing at my Robert Smith posters of days of yore and listing my three favorite things from the week:

Julie & Julia

I enjoyed the book immensely, but I just loved the movie... I'm quite sure the casting gods were present when Meryl Streep was cast as Julia Child and Stanley Tucci as her adoring husband Paul. The Childs' story is one that not enough people know - and how amazing is it, really, to celebrate a pairing on screen that is as supportive, committed, and hot as theirs was? That's right, folks - in case you weren't aware, Julia and Paul knew a thing or two about keeping the bedroom fires burning. I was grinning ear to ear in every scene where their mutual adoration and sizzle was celebrated. What pleases me so much about this film is the notion that our paths toward finding what we love are never clearly marked, much less paved, but we can get there if we keep meandering. Julia was a woman who invented her own destiny, and she did so after the age of 40. And Julie Powell, feeling wasted in a life she's not quite sure is truly hers, sets out to try something, anything, to recapture that spark... a feeling I can identify with 1,000 times over. I'm not sure that you have to love to cook to love this movie. I'm not sure that you have to have a tendency to swear and be generally unladylike, or to sometimes sit on the kitchen floor and ask what the hell everything means, or to know that conventional answers are not enough for you, or to believe that your path toward enlightenment is no one's but your own, so who cares how long it takes you to journey it... But these are my reasons for feeling connected to this story. Julia Child was a remarkable woman, and watching her come to life was a complete treat. And finally - finally! - I have "My Life in France" waiting for me on the bedside table. I cannot wait.

International Flava

I had fun in my kitchen this week, from falafel one night (oh how I loooove falafel) to making my first-ever tortilla espanola another. The tortilla espanola, or tortilla de patatas, was such a snap to make, and is such a favorite tapas dish of ours, that I was shocked I haven't been making it for years. I also got to break in my supremely gorgeous Le Creuset cast-iron frying pan while doing so, which made magic of the potatoes and eggs. I used this recipe because we had yummy chorizo on hand, but the chorizo definitely isn't required. Accompanied by a homemade garlic/paprika aioli and a fresh salad, and oh my goodness... heaven in your mouth. I'm looking forward to digging into more traditional recipes soon and crafting my own "best of."

Our Song


Cheese alert: it's dorky but true. Every single time I hear our wedding song, no matter where I am or what I'm doing, I burst into the most enormous grin possible. I might even play it several times in a row just to sustain the feeling that no matter what else is going on or what's up in the air and to be determined, I'm incredibly lucky and really, everything will be fine. Wonderful, even. This song is my magic drug for whatever ails me.


13 comments:

  1. As you know, Julie and Julia made me want to shoot myself in the face. However! I do plan on reading My Life in France on our upcoming vacation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. YAY! I really could not stop goofy-grinning every time Meryl and Stanley appeared on the screen - I wanted it to go on forever! Now I want to run away to Paris (or Barcelona... I could really COOK in Barcelona!) and wear construction paper hearts every day!

    Oh, and Evs is already sick of me expounding random BONJOUR!s - He went to give me a kiss while I was half-asleep this morning and I exclaimed Bon Appetite!

    ReplyDelete
  3. oooo and on an unrelated note, I have my Sevilla Senora's recipe for Tortilla, if you'd like a gander :) That lady was a whiz in the kitchen - I don't know what she did to garbanzos but I've never been able to replicate it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That was our wedding song too. Sigh.

    I'll be honest with you I didn't love the movie at all and I was very sad about it because I'd been looking forward to it for a while. I think in part it was because I'd already read My Life In France and the whole book never translates into movie thing happened.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I liked the interplay between the two different stories, but I could have had the whole movie based on My Life In France, which is such a wonderful read/inspiration.

    I dig Ray Lamontagne. We went the faster route with some beach music. Our wedding song was Shama Lama Ding Dong, which was so fitting and perfect. Kind of want to go to my car and listen to it right now.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm exactly the same way about my wedding song! Hope you have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I CANNOT wait to see J&J after reading this!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. And I love this Friday feature. Great concept!

    I promised my mom I'd wait to see J&J with her when she visits next week... crossing my fingers I'll make it through the weekend without breaking my promise! Have a great weekend, Maggie!@\

    ReplyDelete
  9. At first when I saw Stanley Tucci cast as Paul, I doubted the choice, but Meryl and Stanley lit up the screen. The parts with the two of them had me wishing the movie would just go on and on and on. Loved them!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just saw that your wedding recap is going to be on EAD this week and I am so excited for it (not that I didn't stalk Eat, Drink, Marry or anything)...

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's our wedding song, too! I can't wait to dance to it in just 11 days. And hopefully after the wedding I'll find time to see Julie and Julia.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Emily, congrats!! How exciting. It's *such* a wonderful wedding song. Right, ammanners? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. This implies that in order to to} clear Bonus A with a $100 deposit, you need to|you 1xbet must} wager $2,000, while within the case of Bonus B, you’d must wager double that, or $4,000. This means that you get one bonus dollar for each dollar you transfer to the casino on your preliminary deposit. If iGaming laws in your space of residence are strict and would possibly be} required to play on platforms working in a fenced native market, examine for a local license. For example, if you reside in Nevada, your casino must be permitted by the Nevada Gambling Control Board. Its counterpart in New Jersey is the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, and in Delaware it’s the Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement. You can check out at|try} the detailed game guidelines on our web site that gives hyperlinks to informative blogs on guidelines and playing in} ideas.

    ReplyDelete

C'mon, make my day...

Related Posts with Thumbnails