So most people watch Disney films and they find a character they connect to. Disney princess:
Maybe an animal:
Now that Star Wars is in the Disney family it opens more choices:
Marvel characters…
But sadly no. Since living on my own, I have discovered that the Disney character I am most like is the Mad Hatter.
So first of all I’m not mad from Mercury poisoning.
*whew* I know you are all relieved to hear that. And no it isn’t how he dresses, although I love wearing hats.
It’s not even his love of tea-which I do share
It’s his mess of tea cups everywhere.
I’m a mess
The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: ‘No room! No room!’ they cried out when they saw Alice coming. ‘There’s plenty of room!’ said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table…
‘And ever since that,’ the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, ‘he won’t do a thing I ask! It’s always six o’clock now.’
A bright idea came into Alice’s head. ‘Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here?’ she asked.
‘Yes, that’s it,’ said the Hatter with a sigh: ‘it’s always tea-time, and we’ve no time to wash the things between whiles.’
‘Then you keep moving round, I suppose?’ said Alice.
‘Exactly so,’ said the Hatter: ‘as the things get used up.’
That’s my apartment. Now, I’m not saying that I’m a total slob, it’s just I’ve noticed that since living on my own 70% of my dishes are tea cups/mugs.
So as you can see-when it comes to dirty dishes 70% of them are tea cups/mugs. I also live in a very small apartment with a tiny sink, so as to not damage my cups/mugs they tend to line the counter next to the sink.
The real problem comes if I miss a day washing the dishes. Then oh no-it really looks like the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
So a while back we had a tea party at our church for an event.
Different people were given a table, in which we could make our theme whatever we wanted. I was given a table and my theme was books! After all:
Anyways, I just realized I forgot to post the pics from it. So I thought I would now.
My centerpiece was a collection of nice hardcover classics stacked on top of each other, with a hollowed book on top that a tree branch came out of. Clipped to the tree was tea bags for each person to choose from.
I then chose six of my favorite classic books in which the characters have tea time or talk about tea. With each table setting I tried to embody the book.
Setting 1: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, 1814
So for the first setting I made sure to pair it with a very simple cup, as Fanny is not only a poorer relation, but she is a girl who likes simple things over the grandiose and showy. I laid out a copy of the book cover in front of the table setting, and then had this quote on the table.
Then the cutlery:
I put a white bow because Fanny would be the type to have a simple adornment like that, instead of extensive work on her dress.
I also added the gold cross as that is a huge part of the scheming by Maria Crawford to get Henry and Fanny matched up. When Fanny asks to borrow a chain for the gold cross her brother gave her, Maria sneakily gives her one that Henry gave her; so when Henry sees it he thinks that Fanny has decided to embrace his attentions, (i.e. gave him the green light).
The second setting I choose Emma. For this I had a gold and cream cup and saucer; the fanciest one I could find as Emma was rich and from an old family. She would have the finer things.
I laid out the book cover and this quote from the novel:
For Emma’s cutlery I wanted something a bit showier and fancier. I made a hair clip out of a red flower and gold fan charm. I thought this would encompass the character of Emma.
Setting 3: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, 1859
This was the table setting I choose for myself as I figured I would probably be the only one at the tea party who has read this book. And I was right. I don’t know why people don’t read Wilkie Collins anymore. This one of my favorite mysteries, as our main character comes upon a woman in white who holds a warning, leading him down a very twisted path. As the story continues, different characters become the voice of the book, until we reach the conclusion and discover who this woman in white is and what she is trying to stop.
I set up a copy of the book cover, and in front of it had my absolute favorite tea quote:
Seriously, if you aren’t here I am starting without you.
Anyways, the silverware:
This was the first one I put together going with a magnifying glass as this was a mystery, and adding a cameo afterwards. I thought it would be a great symbol of the time, along with the white silhouette of a women being reminiscent of the woman in white.
Setting 4: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, 1865
The fourth setting was an Alice in Wonderland theme. The cup I choose for this was one designed to be a rose, while the saucer a leaf. This was to symbolize the Garden that Alice has a not so fun time in.
I set up a copy of the book cover, and in front of it had this quote:
Then I designed the napkins thusly:
The watch of course for the White Rabbit who is always running late, and the creamer for the Mad Hatter and March Hare’s obsession with tea and their endless tea party.
For more on Alice in Wonderland, go to Disney Lesson
Second to last we had Peter Pan. The cup I choose for this one had strawberries on it, and I choose it because I thought it was something that Wendy would have liked.
I laid out the book cover and this quote:
For the setting I went with something a little more basic, a red feather. This feather was supposed to be the feather Peter wears in his hat.
Setting 6: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, 1950
For the last setting I went a little more modern than the others. This one’s tea cup had a winter scene as the world of Narnia is stuck in a cycle of :
“Always winter but never Christmas”
I laid the book cover and this quote:
This quote is from Mrs. Beaver, but for cutlery design I went with Mr. Tumnus and Lucy’s tea time. I had two tiny tea cups tied to symbolize their tea for two.
For more on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, go to Simply Fantastic
Yep, here we go with another one of my fangirl lists. Read it and enjoy! 🙂 After all one of a fangirls favorite thing to do is share their loves with others.
Beach Party Series
I grew up watching these Beach Party films when I was a kid. My sister and I used to try and copy the dances and learn how to move just like them! These films were silly and loads of fun, the perfect films to watch for a good time. It starred Frankie Avalon as “Frankie” surfer and singer staying at the beach for a good time. His girlfriend Dolores aka Dee Dee, was played by Annette Funicello, came along with all the friends. They would hang out and have fun, getting into a fight and breaking up, but always reuniting at the end. There was also Bonehead (called Deadhead in the first film) who was kinda dumb and never understanding that the ladies wanted him. The group also always ran into a motorcycle gang called “The Ratz” or “The Rat Pack” that were lead by Eric Von Zipper. These were also musicals and had amazing songs + dancing.
In Beach Party, Frankie, Annette, and the gang are hanging out at the beach. Anthropologist, Dr. Robert Orville Sutwell, played by Robert Cummings, is studying the sex lives of Southern California surfing teens. He saves Dolores from Eric Von Zipper, paralyzing him with an “African” Vulcan touch, and Dolores develops a crush on him. This makes Frankie jealous, who starts flirting with a Hungarian waitress. Dr. Sutwell’s assistant Marianne has been in love with him for a long time and tries hard to win him over. The whole crew sing, dance, and have a groovy time. Also keep your eyes peeled for a cameo by Vincent Price.
In Muscle Beach Party, the sequel, the gang is back only to discover their beach is getting taken over by body builders? Will they be able to get rid of them and get their spot back? Also, an Italian contessa is after Frankie, and he seems to be enjoying it. Is this the end for Frankie & Dee Dee?
In Bikini Beach, the teens are back on the beach only to face a new threat! Millionaire Harvey Huntington Honeywagon III is going to try to turn it into senior citizens. He also thinks that the teens are no better than animals. Frankie and Dee Dee also face a threat to their relationship, when British rocker “The Potato Bug”, Peter Royce Bailey (played by Frankie Avalon and a parody of the British rockers coming to America) is interested in Dee Dee and she seems to like him back.
Pajama Party was a bit different from the other films in the series. Frankie Avalon wanted more money and the studio replaced him with Tommy Kirk. In this Annette plays “Connie”, once girlfriend to Big Lunk {Deadhead in the other films} but realizes that his lack of brains and romance means it is time to move on. She meets Gogo, Tommy Kirk, who unbeknowest to her is actually a teenage martian preparing an invasion to Earth. Aunt Wendy (Elsa Lancaster) is an eccentric and rich woman, aunt to Big Lunk and always opening her house to teens. Her neighbor, J. Sinister Hulk; and his minions, Chief Rotten Eagle and Swedish Helga, are trying to con her out of her cash.
In Beach Blanket Bingo, Frankie and Dee Dee are back. In this they are at the beach and run into the singer Sugar Kane skydiving. Frankie saves her life when she falls into the ocean and starts falling for her charm. In reality this isn’t Sugar Kane, but her stunt double Bonnie. Bonnie is upset that her boyfriend Steve isn’t more interested and uses Frankie to up his jealousy. The Ratz are back and Eric Von Zipper falls for Sugar wanting her as his own. Also Deadhead falls for a mermaid. Another zany summer at the beach!
So when Teen Beach Movie came out by Disney, I had to watch it. I loved it as it was the perfect homage to the series I grew up with.
What a group of good-looking men. I was such huge fans of them all, following their careers very closely. I had a super huge crush on all three of them growing up. My love of Lawrence Brothers first started with their TV show, Brotherly Love
Brotherly Love took place in Philidelphia, “the city of brotherly love”, and follows the trials of a blended family. This series starred the Lawrence brothers, but only lasted two seasons, I’m unsure as to why. I remember it being awesome!
Anyways, Joe Roman (Joey Lawrence) parents are divorced and he moves away with his mom. His dad remarries a woman, Claire, and they have two children; Matt (Matthew Lawrence) and Andy (Andrew Lawrence). Their dad is a race car driver and owns a garage. When he dies in an accident while racing, Joe returns home to take over the garage. A now 20-year old Joe tries to work with the family, being a father figure for Matt and Andy. He is cocky and arrogant, but an all around good person.
Matt is 15, and a bit of a nerd. He is a germophobe and a neat freak and has trouble with girls. Andy is mischeveuos and a cute little kid.
The series is rounded out by Lloyd, ex-coast guard and fellow mechanic, and Louise, female mechanic and ultimately the love of Joey.
This series was adorable and fun. I miss it. 😦
The Office
Remember when this TV show came out? At first I didn’t watch it as I didn’t understand what it was about. A bunch of people working in an office that produces paper? Sounds boring to me. BUT, I had a friend who absolutely loved it. He wouldn’t stop talking about it so I decided to check it out, and loved it too. It is absolutely hilarious.
Michael Scott is the head of that division, and played by Steve Carroll. He is so silly. I just love how much he hates Toby, this guy that works with him.
Then there was Dwight, the brownnoser who was always sucking up to Michael and trying to control everyone else. He was so strange and hilarious.
And the handsome, prankster, Jim played by the handsome John Krasinski
One great show.
Once Upon a Time
Now I know how obssesed everyone is about this show, but I only loved the first season. The second season opening moved really slow and I had a difficult time finding a way to watch it online (as I don’t have cable or netflix). Oh, well. The first season was amazing, and I had to watch every single episode asap.
So the plot of Once Upon a Time, is that all the fairytales by the Brothers Grimm are all connected and exist in a parallel universe. Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming have sent their child Emma, to our world in order to save her from the Evil Queen. Emma was raised as Emma Swan in foster care.
On her 28th birthday, Emma arrives home to find a little boy named Henry. He tells her that he is the son she gave up ten years ago, and according to his book of fairy tales, Emma is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and the only one who could save the people of his hometown in Storybrooke, Maine.
She returns him to Stoneybrooke and stays in the town becoming sheriff. Her appearance causes the town clock to strike, which it had never done before, fulfilling a prophesy that on Emma’s 28th birthday she will begin the final battle, and return the fairy tale characters memories. These memories had been wiped by the Evil Queen, known as Regina Mills in the “real world”, the mayor and adoptive mother of Henry. Yeah things get complicated really fast!
I loved the story as it was written extremely well. Ginnifer Goodwin is perfect as Snow White as she is just so adorable.
Rumplestilskin was absolutely perfect and one of my favorite characters as well. I espechially loved the Belle and Beast storyline, with Rumplestilskin being the beast.
And let’s not forget Sebastian Stan as the Mad Hatter. Oh, that storyline was just heartbreaking.
Whether the rest are as good, I can’t say, but that first season was an absolute winner!
I love this book so much that words fail to express how I feel.
It all started one day at the library. I was about six years old and complaining to my mother that I couldn’t find any books to read. Nothing just felt right. You know what I mean, when a book synopsis just connects to you, and you know you need to take it home to read?
So my mother eager to get home, pulls a book off the shelf and suggests that I read it. Instead of paying attention to whatever novel she had in her hand, I saw the one behind it. It was The Phantom of the Opera; a slender, abriged, children’s version.
It became my new favorite book and I would check it out all the time, completely annoying my mother.
Later on I read the original, whole version; which I also love. It is written so well, if you haven’t read it yet I highly recommend it.
So the story is written as a history/biography of the “ghost of the opera house.” It recounts the story of poor Erik. Born deformed, sent to live with gypsies, becoming an architect; but never finding love or support. He finds a young girl who he trains to be a singer, only to find her love false, therefore evoking in some very bad decisions. But he’s not evil, just misunderstood.
At least that’s my take on it.
I just connected with this poor man. He was bullied and betrayed because he was disfigured. No one paid attention to his genius in building and composing. He was living a life alone in isolation. I wanted to go underground with him.
I would have gone off with him and loved him unlike Christine Daaé, she’s a total jerk and loser.
I also really, really love the 1925 film.
The film was not only horrtastic, but simply, and honestly amazing! It also stayed very close to the book, making only a few changes, and doing a much better job than some other versions (the 1943 one, so bad 😦 ). In fact this year marks it’s 90th anniversary!
Not to mention the amazing make up job that Lon Chaney did that just creeped you out. Absolutely amazing!
And the fabulous masquerade scene that is one of the first color shots in the history of film.
Erik: [at the Bal Masque as “The Red Death”] Beneath your dancing feet are the tombs of tortured men! Thus does The Red Death rebuke your merriment!
Now I have mixed feelings about the 2004 film starring Gerard Butler. I won’t go too into it as I plan to review it for Horrorfest IV. I did love Gerard Butler and his singing.
But I didn’t like the way they tried to make it that Christine saw him as a father figure. My biggest issue however was the way he looked. Only half his face was disfigured! Why couldn’t Christine just sit on one side of him? I mean otherwise the Phantom was a really attractive guy.
Anyways, however he is shown I love Erik, the Phantom. I defintely would have picked him over stinky Raoul.
I’m writing a series of posts on the book that will be coming in the future. If you love anything Phantom, follow me and keep your eyes peeled.
So when I was a kid, one of the shows I liked to watch on Saturday mornings was Batman: The Animated series. Now this is the series that ran from 1992-95, starring Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) as the Joker and Roddy McDowell as the Mad Hatter.
So the other day I was talking about it and thinking about it and decided I would rewatch it. Now for those of you who have prime on Amazon, you can watch every season for free. Lucky us!
So I’ve been watching it for a while when I start watching the episode Robin’s Reckoning: Part 2. In this episode Robin has found out that they man who killed his parents is at large and is trying to go after him and kill him to avenge his parent’s death. In the begining of the episode we have flashbacks to when Robin first lived with Bruce, along with showing us Batman’s flashbacks as he remembers when he first ran into the killer. They meet up in the present and have it out with the killer.
Now as I’m watching it, there is a scene where Batman comes riding in on a wrecking ball. Yes, a wrecking ball. All I could think of when I saw it was:
Now I hate Miley Cyrus and I hate her music and her songs. I never listen to any, but this has been playing nonstop and images from the video have been all over the internet, due to all the controversy. So all I can say is:
![Erik: [at the Bal Masque as "The Red Death"] Beneath your dancing feet are the tombs of tortured men! Thus does The Red Death rebuke your merriment!](https://janeaustenrunsmylife.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/unknown-15.jpeg)
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