Next week the whole world will be able to watch the Titanic sink in 3D. Sounds a little morbid and insensitive...but we are just talking about the movie (or for most, the Jack and Rose love story).

I am totally excited! This is one of my all-time favorite movies, I am a huge fan of James Cameron (except for that one film...what was it called? Oh yeah, Avatar-bleh) and I am all for 3D movies. The premier took place only a few days ago. Here are some photos of the cast & director:

UPDATE: The Titanic Blu-ray 3D disk will be released in September!

Celebrity Style 2012

Here are some of my favorites:

This clutch is available at Nordstrom ($98)

 Sally Hansen ($6)

Kindle Fire Review

I received my {Kindle Fire} last week. My first impression....

Good:
*I love that I dont have to stuff a huge book in my purse-I can just carry this!
*The screen is pretty, colors are nice and it's easy to navigate
*Enough space to store my favorite books, songs and games
*I can read any book as long as it's in 2 particular formats-easy enough!
*More apps than I thought. 3rd party apps are allowed...love that :)
*The outside of the Kindle is pretty durable. Including the screen!
*With certain apps-I can customize my Kindle...to a certain extent
*Kindle holders are expensive...unless you purchase on Ebay! I got my purple, leather holder for 7 dollars! And it stands the Kindle up for hands-free reading and watching!
*I can get the NOOK app on my Kindle Fire...haha! Awesome :)

*I purchased this as a refurb ($169). It came packaged like it was brand new, with NO cosmetic issues and all accessories included

Bad:

*The speakers come and go. Sometimes I have sound, sometimes I don't. I don't know if this is because I purchases a refurb but I have read that this is an unresolved issue with the Fire. Headphones are a must...

*Glare, Glare, Glare! Back is too slippery. Fingerprints are also inevitable

*It's heavier than I thought it would be but I can manage

*I cannot customize my screen, unless I root it. Rediculous!

*If I root the Kindle, then no streaming video....

*Any files I put on it go straight to Documents. I CANNOT stand it! I want to be more organized!

*No-3G. I knew this before buying it, but man...it really sucks not having it!

*Hulu and Netflix would be great-if the speakers were more consistant

 The Kindle Fire does exactly what I bought it for. It's easy to navigate, it's a beautiful design and I enjoy using it! BUT, I would suggest they give the users more options to customize, easier access to 3rd party Apps and a grip on the back of the device for better handling. Overall, I give this reader a B+

Weekend Plans

*We got an invite from the other "Bentley-Springs" residents for a weekend at the cabins but we turned down the offer. We are supposed to move into our new house by the end of this month so we are going to do some serious packing instead.

(The Bentley-Springs Housewives/Girlfriend: Britt, Trini, Me and lil miss Terrance)

*Although, we thought we had a birthday party tonight at Incredible Pizza but we got the dates mixed up (after already telling Charlie we were going ) so we are going to Chuck E. Cheese instead. Charlie is going to be so happy anyway! UPDATE: We went to Incredible Pizza anyway and had a blast!

*Tomorrow, my husband and I will start the packing process and then we will hang out-just the two of us. It's always fun with my Matt :)

See what "us" time is all about: http://oliveandgallon.blogspot.com/2012/03/night-in-with-hubby.html

*The Hunger Games came to theatres late last night and so-far, all is well. I enjoyed the book but I don't have the got-to-see-it-now fever like I did for Harry Potter...so I'm waiting until Sunday. UPDATE: As of 4/13/2012...I haven't seen it yet! UPDATE: As of 7/30/2012...I still have not seen the movie!!!!!

And that concludes my weekend fun-forecast. Happy weekend to all!

The Woman in Black

About 2 months ago I watched The Woman in Black (1989) online. The film perfected a ghostly atmosphere and delivered several great jump-out-of-your-seat moments. I was a little disappointed with the details in the storyline/background of the actual woman in black and found that the ending completely fell flat (A family of three in a small boat-tree falls on boat-everyone drowns(?)). It was almost laughable. But I must say that overall, the film actually was pretty spooky. C+

Last night I watched the 2012 version of The Woman in Black. The storyline was superb. It made sense, details and background were all covered and the ending couldn't have been better. This version of the film had more ghostly images throughout, doors opening and closing (why is that so terrifying?!) and real sense of mystery. Daniel Radcliffe's performance was without a doubt admirable and after the first 10 minutes, I actually forgot about that whole Harry Potter thing...hehe. B

The Kindle Fire

The tablet is making its way into everyone hands...of course, only after we fork over $200-$800 for each one.
I did a little research (haha-A LOT of research) to decide which tablet was best for me. I will generally use it for music, movies, books, games and some web surfing. It will also need to withstand my 5 year-old son, the possibility of being tossed in my purse, and the probability of being dropped/replaced. So, with that, I decided the iPad was just WAY too overpriced ($400-at the lowest price) for my considered usage and the other "tablets" are so new, they are still working out the kinks. I started looking into the readers; the Nook and Kindle in particular. I did a comparison and decided that the Kindle Fire had more features that would better fit my lifestyle. Also, I am an Amazon Prime Member and love shopping on the website, so this just adds more features to Kindle Fire. (If you love shopping online, free online movies and rentals and want your purchases in your hand within 2 days-GET AMAZON PRIME! Nothing beats having Amazon Prime during the holidays!) I purchased the Kindle Fire for $169.00, refurbished, and will have it in my hands tomorrow-I'm so excited! Reviews on the refurbished Kindle Fire ASAP :)

Rating: Pending

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Fire-Amazon-Tablet/dp/B0051VVOB2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332345848&sr=8-1

Save $30 with a Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire

A Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire is a pre-owned Kindle that has been refurbished, tested, and certified to look and work like new. They come with the same one-year limited warranty as a brand-new Kindle Fire.

"	The Fire gives me the features I want at a price point that's less than half of the iPad 2. I can check my email, browse the Internet, maybe play a few games, most importantly, I can read magazines in color on a Kindle." - Gizmodo
"	The Fire is a marvelous device." - Chicago Sun Times
"	Amazon’s Kindle Fire is likely to be the first successful tablet not sold by Apple, and there are several good reasons for it: the low price of $199, the convenient, portable size of 7 inches, and a rich catalog of books, movies and music offered through Amazon’s Web-based services." - Ars Technica

Can you even imagine the profits of a tablet?! Let's just say 500 people purchase an ipad ($700-middle-of-the-road). Those 500 people have spent $350,000!! That is more than double the price of my brand-new house! Unbelievable!

A Night in with Hubby

This past weekend was filled with auctions, weddings and birthday parties, so my husband and I decided to have a little "us" time this coming Saturday night. I love hanging out with my husband!We actually haven't had time to have "one of our nights" in a while, so I am really looking forward to it.

Our special nights usually include:

Bottle(s) of Lindeman's Framboise, Coors Light and/or a bottle of wine

Hors d'oeuvres for dinner

A funny movie (Either one we both have never seen, anything Adam Sandler or a 80's/90's teen movie)

A board game (Battle of the Sexes and Sequence are the most popular)

Nintendo Wii with Super Mario Brothers

2 Lawn Chairs-If we want to have a seat outside

Now, it may not seem like fun to some of you out there, but everything listed above always make for a good time with my husband. :0)

The Hunger Games Update

I just finished the first book of The Hunger Games trilogy. I must say, it was interesting, suspenseful and the main characters were enduring.
But...I wanted a little more background of Katniss and Gale. The book spent a few pages detailing their relationship but I didn't feel Katniss was very connected to Gale. Because of this, it was easy for me to root for Peeta (and why wouldn't I?!). I also wasn't thrilled with the ending of the first book...I know we are left hanging because it is book one but it seemed to just abruptly end. I needed just a little more closure. As for the mutants at the end-how was this possible and why does the Capitol have the authority to do such a thing? (We need more info/background!) Perhaps it will be explained later.
It was great book and I am looking forward to the film :)
BTW-3 more days!!!! Overall, my initial experience with the books is a B+.

Felicity

I have been trying to get through the Felicity series for about 5 or so years now. When the show was actually airing, ratings dropped in season two (they moved the show to Sunday nights) and they blamed the drop because of the Felicity character's seriously chopped haircut.

Despite the wonderful cast and an awesome first season, I think the rating's are due to some of the annoying character's on the show (Julie in particular) as well as the overly used and whispered (?) "hey's" and "hi's." On the slightly-even more-annoying side, two questions are used in EVERY episode..."can I ask you something?" and "can I talk to you for a second?" The predictable characters (Sean is currently working on an invention, Meghan is casting a spell in her ugly black clothes, Elena is studying yet again, Julie is crying yet again) do nothing to help this show gain viewers.

But the true pitfall of the series is the despicable love triangle between Noel, Felicity and Ben (pictured above). Noel and Felicity are best friends, they have fun together, they "click" with each other and Noel spends most of the series pining for her. This causes Noel to look pathetic, like a sad little puppy following her around. Don't get me wrong, he has his "oh, I love Noel" moments but for the most part he is just annoying and in the way. Ben on the other hand is a little more independent...sometimes a little too much which always causes trouble between him and Felicity. Ben went through a period where he was without substance, a little too ho-hum and to be honest, flat out boring. It seemed the longer his hair got, the more lame he became. In the end, you just wanted her to pick a guy-which one? Who cares! Just choose one already!

The poor series held on for the length of four years but became a depressing mess in the last season. It has taken great dedication, and tolerance, to finish this series. I look forward to seeing these actors in more creative, less rediculous/predictable roles. C-

Our new house is almost complete!

I spend quite a bit of time on www.hookedonhouses.com, www.houzz.com and the ever popular www.pinterest.com looking for fresh ideas for my new home. We are starting almost completely over, style-wise, and since we cannot currently afford to make an exact replica of my favorite house in the whole wide world (http://hookedonhouses.net/2009/10/25/practical-magic-a-victorian-house-fit-for-a-witch/) I am doing my best to incorporate little hints of "magic" here and there.

{Our new home with the new door and sod}

{The entryway walls-LOVE them!}

{Emblem on the floor below our entry light fixture}

{Our living room-with stained concrete floors}

{View of kitchen from entry}

{Kitchen-stained concrete floors that look like tile, soft white cabinets with glaze and stained center island.}

{Master bedroom view into master bath}

The floor tile, fireplace tile and kitchen backsplash were picked out last weekend. While we were out, we went ahead and chose the granite countertop color and carpet color. All of the tile and the last two light fixtures will be installed this week. After that, countertops, small fixtures, sinks, and carpet will be installed. SO CLOSE to being done!!

SEE HOW HOME OWNERS DUPLICATED THE LOOK FROM THE FILM:
http://hookedonhouses.net/2010/03/03/a-practical-magic-inspired-kitchen-that-casts-a-spell/

http://derekmdesign.blogspot.com/search/label/Gothic%20Revivial

The Hunger Games

I just recently had a birthday and as a gift from my sweet and lovable husband, I received The Hunger Games-3 book set. I was told-possibly years ago now-that I would love these books, given my enthusiastic love of Harry Potter. Well, I hadn't really given Hunger Games another thought-until I heard about the movie.
Okay...so maybe it is pretty good if they are making a movie about it. I quickly downloaded the pdf onto my iphone and tried to read the teeny tiny print...and my eyes really did try. I read 10 pages or so and paused for a few days to give the ole eyes some rest. After blowing the candles out on my cake on March 6th, I opened my gift from hubs and low and behold-he bought me Hunger Games and I didnt even have to ask for it-he knew! :) So today, March 12th (after being sick from Mar.7-10th) I am reading through page 80 and am truly enjoying the story so far. It's probably not the best idea to read the book before seeing the film...but I always break that rule. I will eventually, one day enjoy the movie on it's own. But today, I am reading what the author wanted me to envision with my own mind. Cinema can corrupt it later on this month...or more specifically...11 days.