winter break isn't that cold as I want it to be..

Due to all the free time that's been in my reach, I've been able to do a lot of things that I've been meaning to do while I was still at school. Things like reading and renting movies and even catching up with my good old television set.


Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger is the third Salinger book I've read in a short couple of years. (The first was Nine Stories and the second was The Catcher in the Rye.) As all Salinger books are, Franny and Zooey was filled with madman talk somewhat absurd conversations between characters. Usually it takes me awhile to sink into his books, but I really did like this particular one. All the talk of religion and chicken soup made me hungry and quite intrigued, so you could probably guess that I really had fun while reading this. Though, when asked by a few friends what exactly the story was about, I honestly couldn't come up with anything even when I was almost half finished with the novel. All I was able to say was, "It's about religion, and a brother and sister whose names are Franny and Zooey." I wasn't even able to say anything else of the matter and completely changed the subject straightaway.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was not read for leisure, but in fact for my world history class at school. It wasn't an assignment given to all of the class, but it was rather extra credit, and even though I don't think it's arrogant to say I'm doing more than good enough in the class, I decided to take up the opportunity anyway and turn the reading into something that would benefit towards me, since Animal Farm was on my "list of books to read" anyway. This book truly gave me nightmares of pigs and ferocious dogs, and I was frightened by the time I had finished reading it. The book made me feel very interested in politics which I haven't been interested in since I had to complete a project on the presidential election for my history class which was given to me about two months ago. I actually really liked this book, despite of the bad reviews given to me by peers.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling is just filled with fantastic stories. My personal favorite, however, would have to be the Fountain of Fair Fortune tale. Honestly, I'm a huge Harry Potter geek so I when I found out this book was going to be put out I was overly excited. I picked it up as soon as possible only to be told that I wouldn't be able to read it until I opened it from its wrapped concealment and hidden place underneath the Christmas tree. I tried to savor the book by reading a story at least every two days or so, but by the time I got to Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump I just had to finish that and The Tale of the Three Brothers that brisk morning I finished the Beedle's series. All the stories are quite satisfactory and would be the ideal bedtime book for any Harry Potter or magical loving person.

Now on to the films!

Usually I'm interested in a lot more interesting films that need special care and interest to understand. But sometimes I just like to watch movies that don't need much care or interest to watch, but that doesn't mean that Pineapple Express is a movie for idiots, well I guess I kind of am.. but whatsoever, this movie was a pretty good flick! Pineapple Express was a hilarious movie all about a certain type of cannabis that was called 'pineapple express'. From far away, the story would seem a bit confusing, but with sharp observations it isn't so hard to follow. I always enjoy any movie that's been produced by Judd Apatow, such as Superbad, Knocked Up, and The Forty-Year Old Virgin. I've definitely recommended this to my friends already and they're very ecstatic to rent this.

Burn After Reading was very much the entertaining/perplexing film. When I thought I had a grasp of what the movie was all about, I was told by J.K. Simmons that no, I hadn't in fact gotten it right and that there actually was no point of this whole movie, and I actually felt a bit disappointed but then got over it. Everyone on the cast did a not-surprising superb job following their roles, and I thought the story was very much peculiar. All the different characters interested me greatly, and I thought the whole movie was very fun to watch. I would recommend this film, if your ready for a splitting headache if you're trying to patch the pieces together of everything that's hectically going on.

Tropic Thunder is a comedic film about a group of actors that are sent to an island to create an epic war movie. Personally, I don't really care for Ben Stiller, but I do love Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, and Robert Downey Jr., of course. I thought this movie was going to be a bit lacking, when I first saw the trailer, but I think that's because I first saw the trailer when I was going through my "Dark Knight was amazing and I am now in love with everything Batman related" phase. Even though there was plenty of Stiller and not enough of my three other favorites in the film, I still thought that Tropic Thunder was a decent movie with lots of entertaining features popping out of it in all different places. I especially loved the ending!

T.V.!

Flight of the Conchords is a truly marvelous and miraculous television show, and you won't hear me saying 'miraculous' all the time, since it is my favorite word and I try to rarely say the wondrous word because hearing and saying it is such a lovely privilege. But back to the show, Flight of the Conchords is about two guys from New Zealand who are in a band and they live in New York. These two guys (Bret and Jemaine) find themselves in new dilemmas in every hilarious episode whether it has to do with girlfriends, the band, or self-issues. The last time I fell in love with a television show was when I began to watch The Office, and honestly, no other show will take it's tiny space in my heart, but Flight of the Conchords might find a new home somewhere near The Office.. This show is really amazing, I love how Bret and Jemaine break out into song randomly and how Bret dresses in sweaters with animals on them and how Jemaine always makes different and weird voices whenever the two sing songs and I love how new characters always think that Bret and Jemaine are Australian.. Ah, I look forward to watching more episodes of this in the future..

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Well.. those are my short reviews.. As of now I am finishing up Lemony Snicket's, The Series of Unfortunate Events, waiting to watch Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist as well as the Pixar film, WALL-E, and I'm still watching Flight of the Conchords and looking forward to new episodes of season five of The Office.

Happy New Year (:

Perfume + Sequined Converse

I think that it's time for some randomocity. This is a post about perfume's I like and about what I think about sequined Converse, with of course, visual guidance's to help the reader.

We should start with the perfumes:

First, there's Daisy by Marc Jacobs. Now, I personally love Marc Jacobs. He is a brilliant designer, and brilliant person, and even though his name is known pretty much everywhere, I still don't mind seeing his creations and his name everywhere, or being said everywhere. I really don't. Daisy is obviously one of my favorites. The smell is so delicate and sweet, with a hint of strawberries, violet leaves, jasmine petals, grapefruit, and many other unique notes added. The whole idea of Marc Jacobs creating a perfume of what he would imagine a daisy flower to smell like is just astonishing. The daisy is my favorite flower, and I think that's why I love this perfume so much. I could never catch myself walking out of a Macy's without spritzing some of this onto my wrists and just loving it.

Princess by Vera Wang is just a heart-shaped bottle filled with a fragrance that is both rich in trendiness and elegance. This perfume has an 'oriental' (according to its description) feel to it, with the scents of water lily, mandarin, guava, and apricot to it. If you ask me, the key notes sound like this perfume would smell like fruits with a splash of flowers, which it sort of is, but there's more to it, at the same time. It's youthful, pretty, and very girly, which is what makes it so adorable.

Madame by Jean Paul Gaultier, is French, which you know means it must be good. This stuff is so energetic. The listed notes are orange zest, sparkling rose, musk, and cedar wood, so to have so little amount of scents all put together and creating such a courageous smell is amazing. Gaultier's Madame is bold, beautiful, and independent. I think it's one of the best perfumes I've ever smelled, and I only just discovered it about a month ago, which is pretty crazy, because with the other two it took me awhile to actually start liking them. I absolutely adore Madame.

Now on those strange Converse! I was only able to find four different colors of the shoe, but I think they're just really out there. I've always been a fan of Converse, in fact I own about four pairs of them all in different somewhat crazy colors, and being able to find out about these, it just honestly blows my mind!

The purple sequined Converse. It shimmers, it's colorful, it's for the person who's not afraid to put on purple shoes!

The red sequined Converse. This color makes the shoe respectful, and bright. It's an outstanding color on its own, plus, Nick Jonas owns a few pairs of these!

The black sequined Converse. These are sleek, slimming, and stylish, as all dark colored clothing and shoes should be.

The silver sequined Converse. Put these on and your feet will turn themselves into a disco ball when the lights go out. I love this color, and I love this shoe.

There you go: my take on perfumes and Converse. Now, if I had to choose from between these two groups and their individuals, I think I would most likely purchase Madame by Jean Paul Gaultier and the purple colored Converse. "Why Madame?", you may ask, well, it's all because of its tang-iness. This perfume was made for me. It has a wonderful scent that I know will keep me happy until the bottle is empty. "Why purple?", you may ask, well, it's all because I love purple! My favorite color would have to be blue, but I love purple and most of the clothing I own are either purple, blue, or black, so there you have it.

What To Do..

It's Friday and I've been having the worst week ever. And it's not just because of one thing, it's really a lot of things.

ILLNESS
I've been sick for what? Three weeks now? And believe me when I say that I am irritated over it. It's embarassing enough to have coughing fits during the quiet moments of class, but having to sneeze and wipe my nose with tissues all the time too? And having to actually go to school just so I won't have anymore absences or miss my homework assignments or quizzes or tests? Ugh.

ECONOMY
The financial crisis going on in the country has finally got the best of me. I've been worked over trying to spend my money wisely. I refuse to get anymore Christmas presents from family members, so scratch off that wishlist from the last post! I'm afraid for not only myself, but also for everyone else, because I've only now just realized what a huge dilemma this issue is.

ROMANCE
Naturally, I have boy problems.. Even though I've never had a real boyfriend or anything.. I'm not going to go into too much detail with this problem, but let's just say my head hurts because I'm angry for a day, sad another, happy later, and confused the next, and I'm sick of it.

ACADEMICS
I have been working my butt off at school, and there's nothing good to show for it, unforunately. I've been doing my homework even though I know nothing about what's being taught, and I've been taking quizzes and tests and I've been guessing on everything because I can't properly pay attention when so many other things have been fogging up my mind when I should have been listening or reading or doing homework or what have you. My test scores are all around 76% and below, and the quizzes haven't been a walk in the park, either.

Because of all this, I've decided to make a list of what to do when you're having a bad week:

1.) WATCH MOVIES/TELEVISION
Any film or TV show would do. Just make sure there's no memories attached, no scenes that will mentally harm you or make you get even more aggravated than you already are!
What do I watch? Why, my favorite "feel-goods" of course..

And my favorite cartoon and funnies..

2.) EAT JUNK FOOD

If you're not on a diet and you're not lazy enough to go to the grocery store and buy some fatty but tasty products, you should eat some junk food! Honestly, you should..

Some of the things I recommend:

-Chips

-Ice Cream
-Chocolate Bars

-Whipped Cream

But I mostly recommend chocolate.. Lots and lots of chocolate..

3.) HOBBIES, HOBBIES, HOBBIES

You could read or write or draw or play a sport to keep you calm, to keep you sane! Remember to keep yourself sane whilst doing whatever your hobby is! Do something fun that won't let you get even more stressed because you're having a problem with what you're doing. Just do something fun!

4.) GO TO FRIENDS/FAMILY
If none of your friends or family members are pissing you off, make plans with them! Hang out with your sibling(s), watch a movie with a group of friends, go shopping with someone close, take a walk with someone you can talk to, maybe even go grocery shopping with your parents! Do something that you know will make you at least a little bit happier than usual. Hopefully it will take your mind of whatever is bothering you.

and if all else fails..

5.) GO TO THE BATHROOM

And by the bathroom, I mean, the shower/bathtub. Take a bath or a long shower! (But not too long, because we don't want to waste too much water, alright?!) Light some candles, drink something you like, read a book, or just lie there.

Now here's a playlist I randomly created. I hope, if you are feeling bad, you'll become just a bit more content after some of these recommendations. (:

Christmas Wishlist

It's cold outside, that must mean it's winter! And it is. It is December, the month of drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows melting in them, watching holiday movies on TV, going present shopping, and putting on scarves and gloves and coats. But wait, let's go back to what I said about presents?! Oh my God. I love presents, and even though I usually don't tell people what exactly I want for Christmas or even create a wishlist, because I was home sick from school today, I decided to create a Christmas present wishlist.

The hat on the far left, I haven't been able to locate anymore on the Forever 21 website, but it is still really cute and I think it was about $12 when I first saw it up. The purple shorts are from Wet Seal, for $10. The tights are from Forever 21 and are $6. The skirt, red cardigan, and headband are all from Forever 21 as well, the skirt is $18, the cardigan is $10(?), and the headband is $4. The Led Zeppelin shirt which I really want to possess is $15 and the flats, which I don't know where the picture is from.. but I know they sell leopard flats at Target for what? Like $10 or something.. But I still want them! The Converse are availabe at many shoe stores, and range from very low to very high prices. I have about three pairs of Converse shoes, but surprisingly none of them are black! So go figure out why I want black ones.

A Mickey Mouse shirt is all I need and I'm set for life. Not really. It's actually find of expensive for a t-shirt, it's sold at Forever 21 for a whopping $19. Dang. I could buy plenty of clothes at a cheaper store if I wanted to. But I probably don't. Now the Dark Knight DVD is a must. People really don't know how much I love Batman. It's a crazy obsession and I understand where people are coming from, because I know that I don't look like someone who would be crazy about a superhero without any superpowers! The 'Holly Readers' are sold at Urban Outfitters for $9, and I want to buy glasses like those! Really bad! The socks are Forever 21, for I think .. okay, I honestly don't remember and I don't really feel like checking, but I know they're not that expensive. The Daisy by Marc Jacobs perfume is beautiful. Too bad it's so expensive or else I would have gone through four of those bottles by now since they first came out. The shoes are TOM's! They are expensive, but really awesome. My biology teacher's aide wears them almost everyday and because of that I respect him profoundly. The Canon Digital Rebel is not surprisingly expensive, and I've wanted that camera for two years now. And don't worry, one day I will own that camera. And I will give it a name so perfect for the camera that it will break out of joy!

Well, I've got to go start doing my sick homework if I want to turn it all in tomorrow. That is all for today.

Going Right into It

I've discovered a brilliant new group of two Swedish sisters who call themselves "First Aid Kit". They are young, talented, quirky, and amazing! I think that I'm even in love with their song, "You're Not Coming Home Tonight."

Now, these girls are a new band, so they've only been able to record a small amount of creatively written and surely enough, truly epic songs onto an album titled "Drunken Trees", which they're selling over a website called Bengans. If you wish to check out their music, go to their website, http://www.myspace.com/thisisfirstaidkit, and if you already know of them (which is good for you!) here is the website where they are selling their CD, https://www.bengans.se/popup/first_aid/popup_mall_int.as Be sure to check out their myspace if you can! They are a spectacular music group that gives a good name to the new generation! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have lately.

Just a Phantom Passin' By..

But I hope I'm here to stay for at least a while. (: