Wedding Watching

Who doesn't love a great chick flick, especially one that features over-the-top, but beautiful weddings. This week I have been thinking about my favorite wedding movies because my own best friend is tying the knot this weekend. 

My group of best friends got together last weekend for our last single girl sleepover and of course we had to watch one of these great movies. We popped in My Best Friend's Wedding and laughed while Julia Roberts plotted to break up her best friend's wedding while eating a sinfully-good dessert. I love all of the above movies, but none can compare to my all-time favorite, Father of the Bride. There is nothing like watching a dad fret and stress about his little girl growing up. It also might be an accurate picture of how my own dad will act upon hearing that one of his little girls are getting married. 

I'll be watching one of these every night until Saturday!

It's (Not) Complicated Part 2

After we finished our delicious French dinner, I was craving dessert. Usually I turn to frozen yogurt, cookies, or even a piece of fruit, but our dinner called for something spectacular to follow it. 

Not only spectacular but something french...

Why not Chocolate Croissants?

Again, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin enjoying delicious, homemade chocolate croissants in It's Complicated. 

This recipe I just made up myself but it was so easy if you already have the croissants.

Ingredients

Croissants (as many as you are wanting to serve)

Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Honey or agave nectar

Vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 400. 

2. Mix together a small amount (I did about 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla for 2 croissants) of the honey or nectar and vanilla. 

3. Spread this on the croissant.

4. Evenly place your chocolate chips on the croissant

5. Bake for about 5 minutes or until chocolate is all melted.

6. Dust with powdered sugar if you so wish (I so wished)

These are so easy and I believe I heard "this taste like they came from a French bakery"...

Swooning over that comment. 

It's not complicated, it's really quite easy. 

It's (Not) Complicated

Sunday night I was Meryl Streep and I had Steve Martin over for dinner. 

My Sunday night meal was an exact replica of the food eaten in It's Complicated, and seeing as that it is one of my all-time favorite movies, it is no surprise that I was channeling it's menu without even realizing it. 

It all started when I saw a recipe for Croque Monsieur online. Ever since the movie I have wanted to make this classic French dish and Sunday night seemed like the perfect night.

I wish that I could say I learned how to make Croque Monsieur while taking a cooking class in France, but rather it came from this blog.

It was surprisingly easy to make and so delicious, especially since I had a small reserve of Thanksgiving ham left over that was perfect for this recipe. 

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 cup hot milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

pinch of nutmeg

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

sliced ham

2 croissants

Dijon mustard

1. Heat oven to 400. 

2. Completely melt the butter over low heat.

3. Add the flour and whisk continuously for 2 minutes.

4. Slowly add the hot milk and continue to stir until mixture thickens. 

5. Take off heat and add salt, pepper, nutmeg, parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of gruyere.

6. Set mixture aside.

7. Slice the croissants in half and toast for 4 minutes. 

8. Flip croissants and leave in the oven for 2 more minutes. 

9. Take the croissants out and lightly spread dijon mustard on all sides.

10. Lay ham on one side of each croissant and sprinkle gruyere on top. 

11. Top these with the other half of croissants and cover with cheese sauce (really cover them!) and sprinkle with remaining gruyere. 

12. Bake for 5 minutes.

13. Then turn broiler on low and let cook for 2 more minutes until the tops are bubbling.

DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED!

I left mine for just a couple seconds and they burned a bit.

Another It's Complicated Recipe to come later today!

Girls Guide to the Matchbook Life

At the start of each new month comes the excitement of new weather, thrill of planned activities, and the arrival of fresh editions of your favorite magazines. 

As a child I would wait impatiently for the newest American Girl magazine to come each month. I would read the stories, take the quizzes, but most importantly punch out the paper dolls that each magazine held within it's pages.

As I grew up and grew out of American Girl (well who really grows out of American Girl) my monthly obsession was Teen Vogue when I could cut out fashion spreads, read up on the pressing issues of our youth, and read the horoscopes, of course. 

Now, I love getting my monthly House Beautiful in the mail for it's exquisite layouts and ideas, but there is no magazine that I look forward to more than my online Matchbook Mag.

October cover featuring Steven Alan

This month did nothing less than deliver it's usual swooning over every page.

A feature on how to create the perfect jewelry box, fashionable treats to please everyone, and my favorite new addition to the Matchbook goodie box-- checklists. Perfect little checklists for all the Matchbook Girls.

These checklists can help build your perfect closet to the perfect bar cart--just what we all need, especially in the changing season!

Being the movie fanatic that I am, I started with the classic Matchbook movies and started marking off those I had already seen. Now I just need to print this list off and have a movie marathon this weekend.

A big batch of movie popcorn and my favorite, oversized fleece blanket and I will be ready to start marking more movies of this list!

I was a little alarmed when I started marking off the closet checklist when realizing I am missing some vitals. I think I will start with the 'baubles' and work my way through the list, investing in some pieces and bargain hunting for others!

This year...

Like Crazy

See it.

I can't do it justice by trying to talk about it and review it. It was wonderful.

Not wonderful in the way that most romantic comedies are, but in a way that captures real and true and passionate love and the struggles that comes along with that. 

I can't remember the last time I have cried so hard in a movie, and not just during it but the whole drive home as well. My mom was very disturbed to find me at home with my mascara all over my face.

It is real life and in real life love doesn't always end up the way you expect it to.

I thought I understood it
That I could grasp it
But I didn’t
Not really
I knew the smudgeness of it
The pink-slippered-all-containered-semi-precious eagerness of it
I didn’t realize it would sometimes be more than whole
The wholeness was a rather luxurious idea
Because its the halves that halve you in half
Didn’t know
Don’t know about the in between bits
The gore-y bits of you
And gore-y bits of me

-Like Crazy

Until next time.

Crying watching the trailer. 

Let's Go to the Movies

The Pink and Blue Blog

I am working on a list of movies to be watched over my break from school. Five weeks is a long time and I have had an ongoing list on my phone for years now of movies that have been recommended to me that need to be watched. I am making myself a goal to watch all (or most) of these as well as adding to my list with more input from you! I love the old ones, the black and white ones, and the ones that make me laugh and fall in love with the characters. 

Funny Face

Rain Man

Annie Hall

Out of Africa

Breaking Away

Blazing Sadles

Young Frankenstein

Diner

The Duchess

Whip It

Find Me Guilty

The Player

Tender Mercies

Good Fellas

The Usual Suspects

LA Confidential

The Last Picture Show

Some Like it Hot

It Happened One Night

I also want to continue crossing off films that I have seen from AFI's Top 10 Movies list- there has to be a reason they made it so high on the list

1. Citizen Kane 

2. Casablanca

3. The Godfather

4. Gone With the Wind

5. Lawrence of Arabia

6. Wizard of Oz

7. The Graduate

8. On the Waterfront

9. Schindler's List

10. Singin' in the Rain

Until Next Time.

What do I HAVE to add to my list?

Things I Love

This week is shaping up to be the best this season. It is really, really beginning to feel like fall and my wardrobe is showing that in my daily uniform of oversized sweater, J. Crew pixie pants, assorted pairs of boots, and a leopard scarf. 

 I added a new item to my leopard collection, which is the beret featured in the My Space picture above. When you are all alone and just want to show off your new hat to your family, sometimes you must resort to strategically posing for a "self-y". Shameful, but I kind of like it, and I LOVE my new hat. It will undoubtably be worn everyday this winter.

When the temperature hit 54 degrees, it immediately put me in the mood to watch a movie. I have been a huge fan of Dead Poets Society since we watched it in 8th grade and it has only gotten better as I have grown up. I very rarely have crushes on movie stars and I never had Beiber Fever, but I can't help but admit that I am in love with Knox Overstreet from this movie. His name alone makes me go weak at the knees, not to mention that he barges into his true love's classroom to read an original poem inspired by her. So, I might actually gag if that ever happened to me, but I swoon every time I watch it on screen. Chris Noel, you are a lucky girl to get that catch in a prep school uniform.

While watching DPS, I whipped up some delicious Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting to share with my coworkers, which we all loved. An incredibly easy recipe!

I love when one of my dreams comes true (kind of). My dream job has always been to create the window displays for Barney's. Well today at work, I was given the task of changing our store's window display and although that only involved me changing the clothes on the mannequins, I secretly pretended that it was for Barney's. I would even freeze and pose like a mannequin as people would so innocently stroll by. The things I find amusement in...

Until next time.

The best weeks result in even better weekends. 

preparation

Stolen from Walking Around- Where the Sidewalk Begins

As the continued threats of a massive snow storm come in, I have continued to put off my homework for this week in the hopes that there will be no school on Tuesday through Friday. Rather I have been thinking about all of the things that I will get to do instead of sitting in three hour classes, like watching some of my favorite movies for the hundredth time.

Hopefully the food in the kitchen will last us through the storm and my roommates don't get sick of me as we will all be stuck in the same house for possibly days. Maybe we should prepare by going out and stocking up on our favorites, like trail mix and hot chocolate. At least the snow gives me every excuse to wear my favorite wool socks all day and recreate these perfect cold-weather outfits. 

Emily Weiss, editor of Into the Gloss

Look by Anthropologie

Until next time.

Praying for snow. 

P.S.  The shellac is FINALLY off my nails, so expect more nail tutorials!