ape assault

Ok, I realize this was probably very traumatizing for Christina Ricci but I think it's pretty hilarious. This monkey she was shooting a movie with copped a feel in the middle of a take and she freaked out due to a deep seeded fear of primates. The newssource is actually using the phrase "sexually assaulted." Come on, that's funny.

psst....summer shoes are out!

I can see it now....a cute denim skirt and an even cuter white summery top and my pick of printed ballet flats. Maybe even an armful of daisies, a bike with a basket and a puppy. It's a storybook summer in one shoe!!

hello gorgeous...

Sweet baby Jesus these are nice boots...

baby ring

The Baby Ring post Jordan put up on her blog makes me more than a little bit weepy eyed.

be still my pajama clad heart...

Ever since the day I outgrew my very last pair of one-piece pajamas with feet I have mourned their loss. Spent the remainder of my youth and subsequent adulthood saying to anyone who would listen "Why do they not make pajamas with feet in adult sizes???" Well, it seems my prayers have been answered! Enter Jumpin' Jammerz -- adult pajamas WITH FEET!!! They come in a multitude of warm and cozy fabrics, with trap-doors in the bum and without, with sticky feet grips and without and even with fun little skull patterns. These PJ's are just asking to be worn for a full-day of loafing around the house or on a fall camping trip or to the office, out for drinks, on a date, to a meeting......have I gone too far? Do I love them too much?

michael clayton

The quest for Oscar movies continues. Last night it was George Clooney's latest effort, Michael Clayton. Now I liked this movie quite a bit but later in this post I'm going to get into a tirade about what I didn't like about this movie. Before I get there, let's at least cover the things I did like about this movie.
First, the casting. Tilda Swinton is so good and most people wouldn't know who you're talking about if you dropped her name. Go back and watch her movies and she'll knock even the Oscar darling Cate Blanchett right off her throne of Catey excellence. I even went to see that awful movie The Beach just cuz she was in it. Go back and rent Orlando and you'll see acting like you've never seen before by anyone. Better yet, read the book by Virginia Woolfe and then watch the movie. So good. Good enough to win her Best Supporting Actress category? I would like her too but Cate Blanchett will most likely win it cuz she's not going to win in Best Actress. Just my opinion. Tom Wilkinson also excellent and this is one of his best roles. Not as good as he was in In the Bedroom though, but excellent nonetheless and completely deserving of his Best Supporting Actor nomination. George Clooney was good. Not all good enough to win for Best Actor against Daniel Day Lewis. Not by a longshot. But he was perfectly fine. Generally I don't belong to the "George Clooney Can Do No Wrong" club. He's pretty handsome, I'll give him that but otherwise I don't buy that he's this Hollywood legend in the making. But he was good in this for sure, it just didn't hit me as the performance of the year or anything. And Sydney Pollack? He's just good all the time really. He's in everything, he directs everything, he produces everything....he's a given great factor in a project.
Other good points, the writing. It was written in a way that was intricate enough not to be a movie for stupid people (ie: explaning every last detail) but not so confusing you left the theatre saying "now how did he know to do that?" It moved fairly quickly without really lagging, although with a running time clocking in at over 2 hours I'd by lying if I said I wasn't wanting it to hurry up and end. It was thrilling and interesting with only a teeny bit of predictability.
Now, my problems with the movie which almost don't have anything to do with the movie itself so much as the team behind it. Michael Clayton was almost the all-male cast version of Erin Brokovitch. The little guy going up against the big bad global conglomerate scenario yet again. This time though instead of 3 kids and big boobs, the main character had 5 o'clock shadow and a mob debt. Take away the biker boyfriend and the sad faces of cancer patients and throw in a car bomb and a couple of assassins and you've got Michael Clayton. Maybe movies named after a person have to be the same? Maybe that's a rule I wasn't aware of? Hmmm. But as I said, the little guy going up against the big guy? Still interesting and there's a reason why people keep making these kinds of stories -- cuz people like to see that. I like to see that.
Now on to my bigger problem and that's Steven Soderbergh. There was a point when I considered boycotting all his films mainly because I thought he really just wasn't that good a director. The reason? He stopped actually making unique movies! In 2002, his list of movies consisted mostly of biographies and re-makes and a couple of real stinkers. He hadn't really made a good movie since Sex, Lies and Videotape. Everyone is entitled to do re-makes but that can't be consistently what you do -- it's a cop-out. Oh and guess what his next crop of films are? Biographies!! In general, I think he gets way more credit than he deserves and hoping nobody notices and the seemingly never-ending collaborations of him and George Clooney just irritates me even more. Imagine if George teamed up with someone who's actually great? The results could be outstanding! Attention George -- Steven Soderbergh is stifling your creativity!! You are twice the director he is and you've only directed a couple of films!

So yes, I have a bias going into any film that Steven Soderbergh has anything to do with so this movie was facing an uphill battle to begin with. That being said, it was pretty damn good but I could have done without the Erin Brokovitchy-ness of it all.

still hangin' tough?

According to the New Kids on the Block website, there appears to be a big comeback in the works. The homepage of their website is currently featuring a supremely corny video reminiscent of an Oscar tribute reel with phrases like "5 kids rose up from the Boston street" and various slow-motion shots of teenage girls and sweet 80's dance moves. Towards the end of the video you hear what you can only assume is the beginning to a new NKOTB track and something to the effect of "Are you ready?" Personally, I don't think I'm really ready. Of course, like any other self-respecting woman my age, I most certainly did my share of swooning over these boys with the t-shirts and the buttons and the "who's your favourite New Kid" arguments with my friends. But a comeback? I don't know if these guys have the chops for it -- they're too squeaky clean. Who knows though? Maybe the kids of today will eat it up. Joey is still my favourite and I won't tell you what I was doing on the NKOTB website in the first place...

puppy vs. robot

Dennis posted this video and I have to share it with you. I could watch this video all day. In fact, I'm thinking of doing just that tomorrow. This is two and a half minutes of why puppies are awesome forever.

baked chicken fingers and winter chopped salad

Tonight for dinner we made this recipe from the lovely collection over at 24 Boxes.  I can't get over how delicious it was.  I know what you're thinking, baked chicken fingers?  How delicious can they be?  I was thinking the same thing and was frankly more interested in the salad until I tasted them.  Marc is Italian so we've breaded a lot of chicken in our day but this really was different.  The breading is done with a bit of buttermilk and tabasco sauce and talk about finally bringing breaded chicken to life!  Even more astounding was the accompanying salad!  Anytime we get asked to contribute salad to a potluck or something I think this might be it.  Goat cheese, dried cranberries, nuts (we used hazelnuts instead of pecans), apples, avocado oil.....it was like a party in my mouth.  If you want a great light supper be sure and check out her recipe.  We opted not to include the chicken in the salad as well because we were using it as a side-dish but we'll totally re-visit this as a "meal" salad in the summer for sure.  

Baked Chicken Fingers and Winter Chopped Salad

the genies: northern film makes good!

Ahh we are just so smack in the middle of awards season and before we get too swept up in the U.S Hollywood machine, we can't forget about our own homegrown Genie Awards, or the Canadian Oscars as we like to call them.  Those nominations came out today and it's pretty exciting as it was a good year for Canadian films.  The big winner of the year looks to be Shake Hands with the Devil -- the story of the Rwandan genocide and the actions of Canadian General Romeo Dallaire.  I saw this film at Cinefest this year and it just blew me away.  I said then and I still believe it now that this is such an important film for so many reasons.  Everyone should make a point to see it as it will truly make you think about your role in the world and just how much you're willing to turn a blind eye to.  It really and truly will make you think.  The production company, Barna Alper Productions has shot a number of things here in Northern Ontario and we've had the pleasure of working with them on a couple of their projects so we are thrilled to hear about their pile of nominations (12 of them to be exact)!  

Another exciting nomination, the film That Beautiful Somewhere which was shot in North Bay.  One of the producers is involved with our organization and we are over the moon for him!  Congrats Bill!!  We were lucky enough to make a visit out to the set while they were shooting (that's right ladies, Roy Dupuis in the flesh!) and to see it get recognized is so great.

Check out the Genies website for a full list of nominations.  Obviously, it goes without saying that Away From Her is all over the place with nominations.  A curious note, Ellen Page's nomination for Bruce MacDonald's film The Tracey Fragments.  From the accounts I've heard, it's not that great a movie.  I wonder how much of her nomination is capitalizing on the Juno machine and how much of it is actually because her work in the movie was genuinely good.  Interesting.  Check out the Best Director category though -- talk about all the Canadian heavy-hitters all in one place -- Sarah Polley, Denys Arcand, David Cronenberg, Bruce MacDonald!  So exciting.  

the bitch is indeed back.....but in Sudbury?

Yes that's right, it's official. Elton John at the Sudbury Arena. Mom's hold on to your hearts!!! The whole town is aflutter with the news and rightly so. I can't say I'm a fan (although "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" is a tremendously great song) but I still love that he's coming. Big acts often mean other big acts and big acts often mean smaller acts too. All in all, more concerts lead to more concerts and that's nothing but a good thing. For those interested, tickets for the March 2nd show go on sale this Friday at 10am and they are a whopping $140. Check out http://www.greatersudbury.ca/ for tickets. Too rich for my blood I'm afraid. If the tickets were a bit cheaper I might consider going just for the sake of seeing him but I can't justify the ticket price this time around. Free tickets though? Now that's another story. I'd go see anyone if I had free tickets. Years ago a boyfriend and I went to see The Nylons at the Casino cuz someone gave us free tickets. That's right....The Nylons. It was everything you're probably guessing it was.

Happy Birthday Dennis!!

Happy you day boss man! Harriet rocked this insanely photoshopped card of all my co-workers and I just had to use it as the B-day greeting image! That's me in the pink balloon, Murray the office puppy in the middle and the birthday boy himself holding him up. Love it! So Happy Birthday Dennis! Enjoy the $100,000,000 worth of movies!!!

subtletey thy name is not john travolta

Huge thanks to Alison for passing on this outstanding Defamer link!  It's a well-known fact that the ladies all love the Viggo but who knew that John Travolta wants a piece of the sweet Viggo action too???  The slow motion reply suggests he was, in fact, checking out Cate Blanchett but come on, we all know the truth.  This is a truly great unexpected bit of trash and reason enough to pay closer attention to the awards show crowd shot!  Those eyes and the way they undress him!!  Such scandal....

SAG awards

OK so we didn't get to see it here in Canada. At least I didn't cuz I'm lacking the right cable channel. I did get to see snippets of the fashion pre-show over dinner at the M.I.L's and I have a few comments:

• When Ellen Page was asked what designer her shoes were her response was "Uhm, I'm not really sure." Reason #42 why we should all love her. God bless the little Maritimer for admitting fashion ignorance while on the red carpet!!! Ellen Page you're my hero;


• Angelina's butt-ugly "Derelicte" style dress: Everyone is saying today that she topped many 'Fave Dresses' lists. I guess I missed the boat on dresses that look like big dirty garbage bags. But more importantly, tell me she's not hiding like 10 babies under that dress. She's totally having twins. Just admit it already. A dress like that kinda admits it for you though...


• Lastly, I just love this picture of Adrian Grenier. You can just hear his inner dialogue from here. "Do not look down. Do not look directly at Carla Gugino's bazoombas even though they're 2 centimetres from my face. I bet if I stick my tongue out I could totally lick one of them. Eyes up, eyes up, eyes up, sweet lord keep eyes up..."
  
  

weekend o'movies review

Because it's Oscar season, one of my favourite things to do in the lead-up is to try and see as many Oscar movies as I can get to. Sometimes that can result in multiple weekly movie trips. Sometimes even multiple daily movie trips. It's just super.

This weekend was the start of it all and we kicked it off by being the last group of people in the free world to see Juno. It was well worth the wait. This movie is perfect in so, so many ways. It's perfectly cast, perfectly written, brilliantly scored and just the right amount of heartbreak and sap to please almost everyone. My parents even liked it! Dennis and I both talked about liking it because it seemed so real and seemed to be the actual way 16 year old kids would react etc. Our teacher friend Alison quickly dispelled that myth insisting that 16 year old kids are not, in fact, that clever at all. I tend to believe her. But you can agree that the subject matter was handled without the slightest bit of "after-school special" to be found anywhere. I laughed almost the whole way through, my heart broke in the minutes after Juno's delivery when she finally cries and then all was right with the world when they sang their duet on the steps. Speaking of their duet -- I had absolutely no idea that Kimya Dawson did the music for this movie and was SO happy when I saw her name show up on the screen! I could not have picked better music for this movie if I tried (and I often do that very thing in my head after I see movies). The Mouldy Peaches, Belle and Sebastian, Sonic Youth, Cat Power....be still my heart. I distinctly remember in 2002 when we got Kimya Dawson's solo record "I'm Sorry That Sometimes I'm Mean" in the mail at the radio station. My co-host and I played the crap out of the song "Anyone Else But You" followed closely by "Everything's Alright." My heart got all nostalgic and fuzzy when I heard the first few notes play in the movie. I know, silly but I can't help it. Her music is just so fun and honest. Anyway, music aside, this movie made me want to be 16 and in love. Hell it made me happy to be 30 and in love! Ellen Page was just too adorable and who doesn't love Alison Janey as a mom? Her role in American Beauty I think is one of the most heartbreaking roles in all movie history. But the dogs, the turtlenecks -- loved it. Even Jennifer Garner who I usually think is about as interesting as a set of patio furniture really turned it out for this. I was completely on her side and thought she did a really stellar job. Loved every second of this film and I can see it being a multiple watcher for sure.

Sunday we switched gears and went to see No Country For Old Men. This movie was a huge reminder of why the Coen brothers are probably my favourite filmmakers. Fargo is easily one of my favourite movies and this movie had so many Fargo-esque moments I couldn't help but love it. The whole small time cop paired with dim bulb small time cop wrapped up in a crime much bigger than they are was reminiscent without being a rip-off. I also love the way they are able to capture the regional nuances of small town life. They did it with North Dakota in Fargo, this time it was rural Texas, trailer trash culture in Raising Arizona....few do it better I say. Also, this movie had zero music!!! Not one note! And yet they managed to keep me on the edge of my seat more than any cheap horror movie laden with pulsing "something's about to happen" music ever has. I love how they can so easily use dead silence to their advantage, not to mention vast scenery and slow-moving scenes. They use the same cinematographer every time and I think this is an example of a creative team at work without going back to the same old tricks. A Coen brothers film is very recognizable -- big fat scenic shots, a variety of point of views, specific colours -- same as a Tim Burton film is very clearly a Tim Burton film. Casting wise, darn near perfect I'd say. Josh Brolin??? Good on you! And really, I could generally take or leave you but this time you finally stepped up your game. Where have you been hiding this?? Perhaps you'll be more than just the stepson of Babs? And what do you say about Javier Bardem other than creepy with a capital creepy. Forget Hannibal Lector my friends. From now on your nightmares will be that Anton Chigurh is coming to gitcha. Holy crap was he scary. I loved this movie in a hundred different ways.

On a side note, Ellen Page's new movie Smart People looks to be potentially quite charming. Happy to see Thomas Haden Church again but to be honest, the Dennis Quaid and the Sarah Jessica Parker presence doesn't really make me want to run to the theatre. It's got great producers though so I'll go anyway.

weekend round-up

I think this weekend really just helped to plan for next weekend. Meaning, next weekend I don't think we're going to leave the house. Once again we fell victim to a full and complete night at the Townehouse. This was the second weekend in a row and I think I'm officially too old for that kind of nonsense. But more on that later...

Friday night's plans were a initially ruined but quickly fixed. The plan was to check out the Banff Mountain Film Festival with the folks but waiting until the last minute to get tickets proved not to be the best strategy. Sold out! As if! Too bad for us. Instead we all went for a lovely dinner at Simon's and then out to see Juno which was just all kinds of lovely (see following movie review post).

Saturday was the Habitat For Humanity fundraiser at the Townehouse. Over the last few months Marc's been playing with a couple of gals and Saturday was their first official gig. It was the first time ever on stage for the ladies so they were plenty nervous but it turned out pretty great. They call themselves Jean Wells and it's mostly original material from Melissa and Jenny with a couple of covers thrown in for good measure. After seeing them, I think Jenny might actually have been the secret long-lost member of Plumtree. Her writing is so dead-on poppy it's a bit scary. And Melissa, well she's just pure folky goodness. It was a lot of fun and of course, I always like a chance to see Marc play. It's been forever and it's good to see him pick up this gig. I have no pictures but I'll try and track some done. The ladies are so adorable I just wanted to put them in my pocket. It was a great crowd and piles of money for HFH was made. Of course, one thing led to another and before we knew it it was well past an acceptable bedtime. Another fun/not actually fun at all aspect was me being the sober driver in a very large group of very drunk people. You know what I'm talking about. When everyone else thinks everything is SO funny and you do not? Then you get stuck with the dreaded job of "stuff watcher" and spend large chunks of the night watching an empty table? Good times.

As a result of yet another weekend night gone awry, Sunday we slept in and then took a nap almost immediately after breakfast and morning coffee. Oh yeah, one of those mornings. It's reached the point for me where staying up super late, alcohol or no alchohol, results in the exact same morning after state. I almost think I should just drink my face off since I wake up feeling like I did anyway. Thank god for Sunday matinees, the cure-all (again refer to movie review post). Best to follow them immediately with a casual family dinner sans children. Thank god for my mother-in-law Gemma and her homemade lasagna. I don't think I've ever seen my Dad happier than he is when it's "dinner at Gemma's" night. You can almost see tiny tears forming in the corners of his eyes...

good cheese vs. awful cheese

Annie Leibovitz did a series of photos for Disney featuring celebrities as Disney characters and wow. Normally we all love the Annie. The Annie can do no wrong. These however are so high on the cheese scale they're almost unforgivable. I say almost because the photo of Tina Fey as Tinkerbell completely saves the day. It is truly priceless and perfect (Dennis don't say I never posted anything just for you). The photo of J-Lo and her man on the other hand, is so over the top cheesy it actually hurts to look at it. Look how seriously they're taking this! "We are so in love on our carpet. Marc honey, furrow your brow more so you look extra serious and maybe nobody will notice you don't seem to have any legs." Thanks to Lainey for providing this lovely Friday injection of cheese. Check out the link to see the other cheese-worthy offerings (seriously, Jessica Biel as the worst Pocahontas ever).

it's really all about...

...having a pet when you're sick at home. They're soft and furry and just give you a whole day of constant love. What more do you need when you're feeling pathetic? This is what was staring me in the face when I woke up from my mid-morning nap yesterday. Way better than chicken soup....

slow cooker success #2: thai chicken

Now this post deserves a bit of a pre-amble. I'm calling it a success cuz it was indeed tasty and we decided that we liked it enough to keep tweaking it. But it wasn't perfect. It doesn't make nearly enough for lunches the next day so the next time we make it we'll try doubling the recipe. It's also not as flavourful as we'd hoped. Maybe for a Thai food newbie it would be just fine but for us, we found it slightly lacking. We added a mountain of baby spinach at the end just to fill it out a bit and that certainly helped. Definitely do not forget to sprinkle with the cilantro and peanuts when you serve it -- it really does make all the difference. We know because we forgot and had to do some last minute plate doctoring halfway through eating.

But as I said, we're willing to keep trying cuz it's a great jumping off point and did get better in the fridge overnight.

Ingredients:
8 chicken thighs
1 cup hot salsa
¼ cup peanut butter
2 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp ginger, grated
½ c. peanuts, chopped
2 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:
Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix together remaining ingredients, except peanuts and cilantro.
Pour over chicken. Cover; cook on Low 8-9 hours or High 3-4 hours. Remove chicken. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.

ok that's it I promise...

Continuing with my ebay fun, I also completely robbed someone of these adorable, no longer made, black flat Fluevogs. And I do mean robbed. Based on my brown Fluevog flats which I paid almost $300 for, these ones had to have been in the same retail ballpark. I got them for $40 on Ebay and they're practically new! The girl selling them bought them online and they were the wrong size, she loved them so much she was determined to wear them anyway but after 1 night of squeezing her feet into them she decided it was not going to happen. Welcome to our little Fluevog family little black shoes!! I'm sure you and the others will get along swimmingly!

dear tv writers...

I'm at home and I'm sick.  It's 8:00pm and without a lie, every single channel I have is playing either a game show or a reality show.  There is no actual TV to be found.  I am sick!!!  If I can't lay bundled on the couch and watch TV what am I supposed to do???  You can't actually expect me to watch Deal or No Deal do you?  For the love of everything holy, please come to some kind of settlement.  For the sake of all sick people everywhere.....

a pretty red bag...

...I can't resist! Today my ebay stalking of a vintage bordeaux suede Coach Gallery tote came to an end. I had decided that if it stayed under $100 I would make it mine and with 2 minutes remaining I pounced. And what timing after my current felted bag bit the dust last week! This one has a glorious pink lining, little brass feet on the bottom to keep it pretty and I got it for an insane price considering what it retails for.

what???

Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment from an overdose? I totally did not see that one coming at all. He always struck me as one with his head on straight. That's a shame...

the united states of tara

So today I discovered that Showtime is producing a new half an hour single camera comedy series called "The United States of Tara." That's fun news for someone like me. Toni Collette is set to star and the outline states that Tara is a wife and mother of two children, who happens to have multiple personality disorder, two of her identities being a lustful teen girl and a macho adult man. It's being written by Diablo Cody, the woman behind Juno and is being produced by Steven Spielberg's Dream Works. Supposedly very "Weeds-esque" which hopefully is a good thing. I fancy Toni Collette quite a bit....if only I got Showtime.

oscar buzzzzzzzzzz.....

I used all the z's because of the extreme z's factor that might come with an extended writers' strike and yet another cancelled awards show. As mentioned before, I love a good awards show and I especially love the Oscars. My secret desire is to have someone to watch the fashion pre-show with as Marco just hates it all and my "she looks like a fat cow" comments are kind of lost on him. Anyway, the nominations came out today and it's quite the race for a few reasons. Many of my comments will be similar to my Golden Globes rant but I'm going to do it anyway cuz it's super fun for me. Here are my thoughts on some of the category races for 2008:

Best Picture

I will always pick a Coen brothers movie over just about anything else so for me, No Country For Old Men has to come out on top. That being said, any movie with Daniel Day Lewis in it as the bad guy has an edge right out of the gate. There Will Be Blood could have been a movie about a boy and his dog who get lost on the family vacation and would probably still win. As long as it's not Atonement I'll be happy -- I haven't even seen that movie and I think I hate it just because of it's over the top melodramatic trailers and Keira Knightley's big stupid face. She didn't get nominated for anything so clearly I'm not the only one who thinks she's overrated.

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis hands down. He's just that good. And tall. And handsome. Poor Johnny Depp...if only you were in this category alone. And where's Ryan Gosling for Lars and the Real Girl?? Did you not see that movie Academy?? Oh well, at least it got a Best Original Screenplay nod.

Best Actress

I SO want it to be Julie Christie because I love the whole Hollywood icon does indie movie comeback not to mention that this was one of the best films I've seen. She is so stunning on the screen that you can't help but be mesmerized. I just don't know if enough people saw Away From Her for her to win though. Especially when you have Oscar darling Cate Blanchett in your category. I LOVE the Cate but my heart just wants it to be Julie. Laura Linney would make me happy too though only cuz she's done so many great films and has never won (even though talent-less horseface Hilary Swank has TWO!) and of course, Ellen Page would just knock everyone on their ass if she won and that would be great too. But as much as everyone loves Juno, I just think that Julie Christie's role was so much more complex and ultimately a better contender. But beware the foreigner -- the Academy loves them and Marion Cotillard could easily steal it from all of them. Notice the absense of one fat-lipped Angelina Jolie? teehee, teehee.....

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck for real???? You go short little mini-Affleck! Part of me just wants to pat him on the head for being invited to the big kid's table. Maybe now he'll stop making those American Pie movies for pete's sake....and those stupid Ocean's 11, 12, 13, 14 etc movies. Seriously though, it'll probably be Javier Bardem. People love him, he makes consistently great movies, he goes out with Penelope Cruz...what else do you want? Phillip Seymour Hoffman? We love you too but you just won last year and you don't have an accent....

Best Supporting Actress

People say she shouldn't win because she's actually playing a man. That's bullshit. Bob Dylan can't be an easy role to play and she if she did it that well then by all means, give her a statue. So she's got boobs...big deal. So does Phillip Seymour Hoffman....

Best Director

Again, I find the Coen brothers darn near perfect (well except for The Ladykillers, that stunk to high heaven) but throw in P.T Anderson and you got yourself a ballgame. Add to that mix a foreign film director and you just never know. I'm still going to say the Coen's just for fun.

Best Original Screenplay

I want Diablo Cody to win just because she used to be a stripper/phone sex operator and has a big ol' pin-up tattoo on her arm. What a great story. Take that Ratatouille!

Best Adapted Screenplay

Sorry Coen's but you do get ousted in this category in favour of countrymate Sarah Polley. Whooda thunk it that the little girl from Road to Avonlea would bust out an Oscar worthy screenplay? I love it! Lots of Canadian filmgoers have seen big things like this coming a mile away for her. She's crazy smart, dedicated, well-respected and constantly speaks out in favour of the importance of telling Canadian stories. It's perfect that the one that would do it for her is an Alice Munro story. She's got some serious competition in this category but I do think that she's got a decent shot and that's not just my Canadian pride talking either. Away From Her was brilliantly written and can totally stand up to just about anything.

Best Costume Design

If Colleen Atwood wins yet another Oscar I will barf. She didn't even have to get out of bed to do the costumes for Sweeney Todd! She just leaned over and pulled out her big cardboard box of costumes for Tim Burton from under her bed and said "here take whatever you want...I'm too tired to put any kind of thought into this." Besides, any film that takes place in Elizabethan times should just win automatically.

Best Original Song

Seriously? 3 songs from Enchanted??? I saw that movie. Those songs were not that good to take up almost the whole category. Certainly not any better than "Walk Hard" from Dewey Cox. The songs in that movie kicked ass! "Raise It Up" from August Rush?? Who even saw that movie??? It looks like the worst movie ever! Maybe the Academy thought that since There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men are so dark and evil and taking up all the other categories that they needed to lighten the mood a bit.

If you want to see the complete list click here.

jordan catalano did what???

He made out with Paris Hilton that's what!!! He went from Cameron Diaz to Scarlett Johanssen to Paris Hilton??? Mega trade down I'd say. Thanks to Lainey for bringing this vital news to our attention. Oh Jordan Catalano....why do you have to be, like, how you are?

Photo from DListed.com

the etsy lurkers

Ever notice how sometimes you can be poking around the piles of great stuff on Etsy and then you come across something that looks like something I would have made (me being completely un-crafty or artistic)? That happened to me tonight. Here is a pair of hand-painted white pumps selling for $30. It looks like someone doodled on them with a Sharpie! These are just awful and someone needs to tell this poor girl making them that the other quality Etsy-ers are making her look bad.

On another note, I did find these vintage Salvatore Ferragamo flats that I might stalk for awhile. I never see these in my size and I'm tempted to pounce cuz they're only $45. What do we think? Cute? I'm wary of the buckle -- too big? Thoughts?

my kinda card

As a rule, I'm not a Valentine's person. Yes, I'm one of those people who doesn't like to be told when to be romantic nor do I like romance forced upon me by the calendar. That being said, I saw these cards on Jordan's website this morning and if one of these greeted me on Valentine's Day I wouldn't barf. Kudos to Little Miss Pretty for being cute without being schmoopsy.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas

Here's that recipe I promised to post a million years ago.  It was our Slow Cooker Success #1 and I think I could eat it every day.  Definitely one of those dishes that just got better the longer it sat.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

chicken (how ever much you want in whatever form, we used about 8 chicken thighs)

flour tortillas or wraps

shredded cheese

About 1 large can of enchilada sauce  (you can buy it or make your own, we made our own with the recipe below).  The amount of sauce you use depends on how much chicken you're making -- you want to make sure the chicken is covered entirely in the crock pot.

Enchilada Sauce

3 tbsps oil

1 tbsp flour

1/4 cup chili powder

2 cups chicken stock

10 ounces tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

In a saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds.  Add stock, tomato paste, oregano and cumin.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.

Empty enchilada sauce into the crockpot and place chicken into the sauce.  Cook on low setting all day.  Scoop out chicken and shred with a fork.  Spread tortilla on a plate and arrange some chicken into a line down the middle.  Sprinkle shredded cheese and ladle some sauce over it.  Roll the tortilla up, ladle more sauce over it and sprinkle with more cheese.  Place in the microwave for about 20 seconds to melt the cheese. We paired it with some simple lemon rice but do whatever you want then pig out.

Hot Bunny Radio Playlist for January 17th

CKLU 96.7 fm   

6-8pm

* denotes Canadian talent

italics denotes a new release

• Paul Westerberg -- Things -- 14 Songs
• Nathan Lawr -- Kissing Queens -- The Heart Beats A Waltz *
  
• The Be Good Tanyas -- I Wish My Baby Was Born - Chinatown *
• Ryan Adams -- Sweet Lil Gal (23rd/1st) -- Heartbreaker
• Will Gillespie -- Whistlin' -- The Whole Story *
• Tom Waits -- Downtown Train -- Beautiful Maladies
• Shannon Lyon -- Soul of the World -- Someday Mourning *
• Bob Wiseman -- All The Trees -- Sings Wrench Tuttle: In Her Dream *
• David Byrne -- Back In The Box -- David Byrne
• Shotgun & Jaybird -- 3 1 8 6 4 2 9 7 5 -- Trying To Get Somewhere *
• King Apparatus -- Buy Our Stuff -- Marbles *
• United Steel Workers of Montreal -- Tracie Dean -- Kerosene & Coal *
• Madder Rose -- Drop A Bomb -- My So-Called Life O.S.R
• The Golden Dogs -- I Don't Sleep -- Everything in 3 Parts *
• The Ramones -- Blitzkrieg Bop (Live) -- Strange Currencies
• Blake Babies -- Look Away -- Sunburn
• Greg Hobbs -- Cupid's Arrow -- Thunder & Dust *
• Imperial Teen -- Freaks -- Wig in a Box: Songs Inspired by Hedwig & the Angry Inch
• Flashing Lights -- Heart Like Mine -- Where The Change Is *
• Kate Maki -- Highway -- On High *
• The White Stripes -- Ball & Biscuit -- Elephant
• The 5.6.7.8's -- Arkansas Twist -- The 5.6.7.8's
• Luscious Jackson -- Fantastic Fabulous -- Electric Honey
• Daniel Lanois -- San Juan -- Shine *
• Luke Doucet & The White Falcon -- The Lovecats -- Blood's Too Rich *
• Social Distortion -- Bad Luck -- Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell
• Ween -- I'm Dancing In The Show Tonight -- The Mollusk
• Hi Lo Trons -- Posing In The Sun -- Hi Lo Trons *
• The Beatles -- Oh! Darling -- Abbey Road
• Heavy Trash -- The Hump -- Heavy Trash

Notes this week:

• The Lovecats cover = crazy fun;
• Kate Maki CD release party February 9th @ Little Montreal;
• The Beatles in honour of Brittainy's cheesy Abbey Road tourist shot;
• Try to listen to that 5.6.7.8's song and not do a little arm's above the head wuh-hoo during the chorus.  It's impossible.

I'm a junkie for the junkies

The announcement has officially been made that Ryan Adams will be joining the Cowboy Junkies on stage as one of the "special surprise guests" at their February Massey Hall show.  That is excellent news.  For those of you out of the loop, the Junkies are re-staging their famous 1988 "Trinity Session" album in all it's glory and are being joined by some of the folks that showed up on their DVD last year.  "Trinity Session" is probably in my top 5 favourite albums to listen to on vinyl.   This record does stuff to me that very few other albums do.  I think I can feel it in my bones, it's that good.  Watching them play our local summer festival under the stars a number of years ago is still one of my favourite festival memories.  Anyway, the only other person I know who feels remotely the same way about this record is  fellow Junkie lover Michael and earlier this summer he picked up tickets for his wife Brittainy and Marc and I.  The show is fast approaching and I think the announcement of Ryan Adams has officially solidified Marc's excitement too.  I would be fine just with Margot myself but if you've seen the DVD, Ryan Adams adds a whole other dimension to this outstanding audio experience.  The only thing that might send me over the moon is if they also announced Natalie Merchant will be joining them too.  This concert is also a reason to go to Toronto which is also a fun time.  Toronto in February though.....not my favourite thing.

point of order

The term is windchill factor. It is not windshield factor.  It means that the temperature outside is -20 degrees Celsius and when the wind blows, it feels like it's -30 degrees Celsius - as if the wind is chilling the air, hence the term windchill factor.  Let's pretend for a second that the term is, in fact, windshield factor.  What would be the explanation behind the origin of that term?  The temperature when one has a windshield in front of them is -20 but if you were to take that windshield away it would feel like it was -30?  Let's think about that for half a second and we'll soon realize the stupidity of that reasoning.  So everyone repeat after me....windchill factor.  WIND......CHILL.

weekend round-up

Well this weekend was just lovely, lovely, lovely. Thankfully it all began literally immediately after work with a 5:15 appointment at my spa with the lovely Carrie, the girl who does my eyebrows. Eyebrow waxing lovely you say? Why yes, I think so. But that's just me.  Quick trip home and then out to meet the ladies for dinner at Alexandria's.  As my Facebook status currently states, I think I've figured out the detailed chemistry that is "dinner with the ladies."  It might start out innocently -- chats about work, shoes, appetizers etc.  Then multiple bottles of Cote Du Rhone later and we're giggling, shouting, hassling the poor men at the next table, sort of eating, talking about boys and inevitably end up at a bar where it just gets worse.  I'm pretty okay with that but I'm going to stop thinking that it's just dinner and pleasantries.  It's going to end badly for Tara and I just need to accept that.  Silliness aside, we ended up at the Townehouse for a night with Cindy Doire who I've mentioned before as just kicking ass.  She's got great original material but picks great covers like James Brown's "It's a Man's World" and sings it with one of those voices that makes you want to go home and do dirty things.  After saying hello to 4am, I called it a day.

      Obviously, Saturday hurt so we didn't do too much.  To add to the loveliness of the weekend though, Marc went for groceries (and didn't make me go with him, yay!) and stopped in for a visit with Hazel at our new favourite downtown fromagerie and came home with yummy cheese, the best sundried tomatoes we've ever had and 3 lemon crepes for a snack.  Do I need to say again how happy we are to have a fromagerie downtown?  I think not.  Homemade pizza for dinner and some bad movie watching then off to bed.

    Sunday we hit an auction with my parents cuz Marc and I super love auctions.  Our preference are the highwayside auctions with farmers and strange people bidding furiously on strange things.  This one was just in a hotel by our house and it really sucked but it was fun to go anyway and hang with the folks.  Laundry and afternoon workout led to a luxuriously long shower where I did all my Sunday pampering (exfoliate with my far too expensive for everyday Guinot exfoliating creme, loofah, use my fancy lotion and all those other things I can't be bothered with during the week).  Dinner with the family where I pigged out on my mom's yorkshire pudding and then home lest we spend too much time out in this FRIGID weather.  

This week will be more of the same work craziness but luckily will end with the Banff Mountain Film Festival with my parents and Marc's first gig with his new band.  He started playing with a couple local ladies a while back and they're playing a Habitat For Humanity benefit on Saturday at the Townehouse.  I still haven't heard the fruits of their labour so I'm pretty pumped.  They're called Jean Wells and the only things I do know is that they do some fun covers (Be Good Tanyas, Neko Case and the like) and Marc will be busting out his banjo skills.  Sudbury folk be sure and come out!!

blessed be the puppies

I love this picture from today's Globe & Mail "Day In Pictures" section. The caption reads "A priest blesses a dog during the feast of San Anton, the patron saint of animals, in Madrid."

i'm so weak...

I caved yesterday and bought this dress on ebay (that also came with a cute little Anthropologie camisole). I really, really love it. At first I thought maybe it was too 1980's secretary but the more I looked at it the more I loved it. Encouraging feedback from both Kaili and Marc helped to push me over the ege. I love the cut, the colours, the ruffles....all of it. AND initially I lost the auction but then found that the seller had another one with a "Buy Now" option that was almost $30 less than the auction price. Take that leila246!! I don't think I have shoes to go with it though. I do have brown boots but I think something a little dainty is called for no?

the best according to chart

If you've picked up this month's Chart magazine you got a big ol' blast of what they consider to be the best music of 2007.  I took a crack at my own version earlier this month (click here for a refresher) but of course, who am I anyway?  Well, who is Chart magazine for that matter either.  Nevertheless, being a national magazine with close ties to the campus radio community, its opinion matters.  Even more than mine I'm afraid.  So in their Best 100 albums of 2007, these are some of my comments:

• At #1, Julie Doiron's Woke Myself Up:  Now how kick ass is that?  Julie was my awkward teenage girl idol in high school and has stuck around ever since.  For me, it's really hard to top Goodnight Nobody  -- "Snow Falls in November" might be the best winter song ever written and just might be my life motto.  The fact that WMU brought back all her old Eric's Trip bandmates gave it that extra something special right out of the gate.  I love this record.  That being said, I'm super surprised to see it at #1.  I know a lot of people who could take or leave her and it's not like her music is toe-tapping and happy.  Most of it is sad.  Like really sad.  WMU is almost entirely about complete heartbreak and the crumbling of her own marriage (or so they say)!  I guess a lot of people had a sad 2007 and found something to relate to?  Either way, I'm pumped -- yay Julie!!
• At #4, Immaculate Machine's Fables:  This record is such a triumph for Canadian indie-pop and in my opinion, is the best thing they have ever done.  Just try to listen to "Jarhand" without dancing -- you won't be able to do it.  What a year for Kathryn Calder and hopefully a year with The New Pornographers and touring with this great record will just crank up what's to come in the future.
• Albums deservedly in the Top 10: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible, Feist - The Reminder, New Pornographers - Challengers
• Albums I wish were in the Top 10 ("wish" being a relative term; I'm not going to lose sleep over any of this): Weakerthans -- Reunion Tour, Joel Plaskett Emergency -- Ashtray Rock, Sadies - New Seasons, Wilco - Sky Blue Sky, Neko Case (see next point), Shotgun and Jaybird - Trying to Get Somewhere
• At #64, Neko Case Live From Austin, Texas:  This should be way higher up on the list.  At least higher than Carolyn Mark's record.  Put the 2 side by side and Neko will not only rise above but Carolyn Mark will actually become invisible.  Like right before your eyes.  Carolyn who?
• At #65, !!!: How do you pronounce that?  I don't think I'm hip enough to listen to this band if I don't even know how to say their name;
• Overall, I happy to see so many Canadian indie projects all over this list and big wigs like Bjork and the White Stripes happily outnumbered.

On another note, check out page 27 for a big fat review of our chum Nathan Lawr's newest record A Sea of Tiny Lights.  Yay Nathan -- you's all in print!  It's a great record and you should indeed check it out if you're a lover of finely crafted songs and layers of lovely sounds.

dewey cox is my hero

Dennis and I went to see Walk Hard tonight and it was just plain old buckets of funny, which for a parody movie is a rare blessing. It's almost worth the price just to see Jack White as a mumbling Elvis Presley, not to mention the brilliantly over the top Beatles played by folks like Jack Black and Jason Schwartzman. Despite the strange things happening with Jenna Fischer's stomach skin and one too many penis shots, it was super funny. John C. Reilly should have almost have been a folk singer for real -- he's got a completely folk-ready voice. This movie only solidifies the fact that I truly believe he can do no wrong -- silly comedy like this or something like The Anniversary Party -- he's just kick ass and quite frankly, the casting itself is probably what makes the movie so funny. The wrong people in this movie would have easily killed it. And if "Walk Hard" isn't nominated for Best Song at the Oscars then those people are just stupid. They had some pretty heavy-hitter songwriters on board for this and it shows. Funny/cornball-tongue-in-cheek lyrics aside, the songs are actually well-crafted. And all this for $2 Tuesdays!! Good lord there are few things better...

irish delights

Avoca has such glorious and pretty things on their site that I don't quite know what to do with myself. Should I remedy my problem by placing a massive order? Should I be concerned that being an Irish website my massive order will most likely cost me a week's paycheck? Probably. But everything is so pretty.....

talk about an upset...

Did anyone have the pleasure/pain of seeing the Golden Globes lame-o press conference last night?  Wow.....it was all kinds of bad.  I am a sucker for glitzy awards show -- I fully admit it.  I love the dresses, who looks ridiculous and who looks drunk - I love it all.  The fact that the Golden Globes has booze makes it all that much more worth watching (remember George Clooney's drunken acceptance speech a few years ago?).  Of course because of the writers' strike we got a sterile reading of the winners' names by Hollywood gossip mongers Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell.  Of course it was super boring.  On the plus side though was the icy, icy repertoire between Billy and Nancy.  I don't know what happened before they went on-air but someone must have been bitch-slapped because those 2 were NOT enjoying each other's company one bit; adding quite a delicious edge to the between awards banter.  It went something like this:

Billy: Wow that was quite an upset with Marion Cotillard winning over favourite Ellen Page.

Nancy: Really?  You think so?  I think you're wrong and stupid.  Marion Cotillard was clearly the best choice.

Billy: Well clearly people are meant to disagree Nancy. By the way you look like Gerard Depardieu in that dress.

Nancy:  I hate you.

Billy: I'm going to kill your whole family.

So for a celebrity trash lover like me, it was worth watching just to see if they would make it through the whole telecast without shivving each other.  But in all seriousness, there were some huge surprises, at least for me anyway.  Here are my notes for the night:

• Too bad for anyone nominated for anything against Daniel Day Lewis: he's perfect in every way so you should just forget they ever said your name;
• Julie Christie:  As I've said a million times, Away From Her is so good it hurts.  Normally I'd be all about the Cate Blanchett but in this case it's all Julie all the time (take that Keira Knightley -- go learn how to be a real actress with your sour lemon face)
• Marion Cotillard!  What an upset!  You go french lady (even though all us Canadians wanted the nice girl from Halifax to win).
• Julian Schnable over the Coen Brothers?  And Tim Burton? And Ridley Scott?  Who the freak is this guy???
• Mad Men??  Who is watching this show anyway?  It better be great for it to beat out the Tudors in my book.  Not to mention John Hamm beating out Michael C. Hall and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers;
• David Duchovny over Alec Baldwin and Steve Carrell?? And over anyone else in this category??  Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this guy is mega annoying...
• Yay for Tina Fey!!  Bad news for Dennis is that he didn't get to see her walk the red carpet in a tight dress....

And that's about it for my thoughts.  If the Oscars get cancelled I'll be sad.  I'm on side with the writers but I also need a girly red carpet once in awhile too.

it's really all about...

...Steve McQueen. Seriously...he's so handsome. Like the kind of handsome Hollywood leading men of today just don't have. Over the holidays I was helping my grandpa decorate his apartment and found a rolled up Steve McQueen poster buried at the top of the linen closet under a pile of old decorations. Perhaps my grandma passed on more than just her dark hair to me. Oh Grandma....such secret crushes you had!!

squash-tastic

...from this point on the only squash soup recipe I'll use is the Smoky Squash Soup from French Food at Home. I know I already mentioned it in my Weekend Round-Up post but it really deserves more specific mention. Now, I love squash. I really love squash. Therefore squash soup is the equivalent to a giant pot of food perfection for me. We've tried a lot of squash recipes and while those are quite good, this one is SO good it's worthy of being the go-to squash soup for me. Except for a curried squash soup...so maybe I have 2 go-to squash soup recipes depending on my mood. So well played annoying Laura Calder....well played. If you share my love of the squash, please try this recipe. It's beyond delicious.

Smoky Squash Soup Yield: 8
Ingredients:
4 pounds squash or pumpkin, seeded, cut into 1" chunks and peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
6 x slices smoky bacon, chopped
1 x medium onion
Water or stock, as needed
1 cup cream or milk
salt and pepper
pinch nutmeg
About 2 Tbsp crème fraiche or sour cream (optional)
About 2 Tbsp chopped chives (optional)

Directions:
Heat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC. Toss the squash chunks with the oil in a roasting pan, and bake until very soft, about an hour. Fry the bacon in a soup pot, remove to paper towel to drain, then crumble and set aside. In the same pot, with a spoonful of the bacon fat left in, gently sauté the onion until translucent.
When the squash chunks are cooked, add them to the pot with a little water or stock. Purée with a hand-held blender, adding more water if needed to make a thick soup. Stir in the cream, heat gently, taste, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Ladle the soup into bowls. Put a dollop of sour cream in each, sprinkle with the bacon and chives, grind over a little black pepper, and serve.

lazy day with brit...

Oh Britney, why do you make it so easy? Because I know that when I take my new loser boyfriend shopping for expensive cars I also like to wear my old wedding reception dress from one of my past marriages. It makes me feel special, pretty and not all pathetic or sad. Not to mention it's super figure-flattering...

Weekend round-up

Well as you may have guessed, I spent the weekend recovering from my first week back at work after my Christmas holidays.  Needless to say, the week sucked pretty huge.  And knowing that I'm going back tomorrow not really any further ahead than I was on Friday isn't making me all that jazzed about hauling my butt there.  So things around the Tamarco household were pretty chilled out.  Friday night we hung around the house and watched some VERY bad television.  Like we're talking "When Good Pets Go Bad" kind of bad.  We're not sure what got into us but it happened.  

     Saturday I took my 2 oldest nieces to see Enchanted and I honestly liked it more than I thought it would.  First of all, it wasn't Alvin & The Chipmunks which was their first choice so that's automatically a point in the Enchanted column.  I've never had to veto their movie choice until this weekend.  I really, really couldn't see myself sitting though that movie.  I think it would just make me too sad to remember the time when Jason Lee used to make good movies.  So thankfully we were dealing with a 7 and a 6 year old so a princess movie was still very high on their list.  I can totally see why Amy Adams got nominated for a Golden Globe - that's not an easy role to play at all and she was really great. Not Junebug great, but still great. The movie was very girly and very romantic and honestly had some pretty funny moments.  Saturday night we laid low, grabbed some quick sushi downtown and proceeded with the vegging. 

      Sunday was a full dismantling of the Christmas tree therefore I was sad.  Now my living room corner just looks empty and lonely.  To cheer up, we went to see Margot at the Wedding with Miss Gomm and while it was a really good movie, it kind of made me happy I don't have a sister.  Sisters are just awful to each other!  My biggest concern growing up with a brother was getting sat on and tickled until I cried; I never had to worry about full-on attacks on every part of my being like I would have with a sister.  Aside from sharing the theatre with THE loudest group of people I've ever had the pleasure of sharing a row with, it was a great movie. Seriously, who brings all 3 of their kids to a movie like this??  And little kids to boot!  At one point in the film the main character is pleasuring herself for god's sake!  Yeesh.....anyway it's the latest movie from Noah Baumback who did The Squid & The Whale which we completely loved.  If you didn't, then don't go see this one.  It's very much the same style with untold background stories and a somewhat incomplete ending and very frank dialogue between family members.  The missing info is probably one of the things I like the most about him.  He doesn't make movies for stupid people like seemingly everyone else in Hollywood does.  And by stupid people, I mean the people that require every piece of background history, a nice ending wrapped up in a bow with no unanswered questions and characters with zero mystery.  Nicole Kidman was actually quite good and that's saying something for me because I am really not a fan at all.  At least the woman makes decent movie choices though, I'll give her that much.  She doesn't really pull the Julia Roberts thing and do stupid romantic comedies in between meaty dramatic roles.  Except for maybe Bewitched....that was pretty stupid.  Anyway, it was a good movie and we got to hear all about Miss Gomm and the gang's holiday trip to Bequai.

Sunday night we made a big batch o'burgers after watching the people in Margot mow down on summer BBQ for 2 hours.  I also made the Smoky Squash Soup from French Food at Home for lunches this week.  It's pretty freaking tasty.  Even though I really don't like the host and her seemingly endless stories about living in Paris with her silly friends.  We get it! You lived this idyllic life in Paris and spent your days cooking and strolling around parks in a big hat!  Must you rub it in?  Just cook your food and shut your trap.

.

Hot Bunny Radio Playlist for January 10th

CKLU.96.7 FM

* denotes Canadian talent

italics denotes a new release

This is a playlist from 2 June's ago.  It's a bit slow, a bit sad and was created for the purpose of allowing me to wallow in this nostalgic state of mind that I was living in at the time.  This time around  it's sprinkled with some new releases.

1. United Steel Workers of Montreal -- Small Town Banks -- Kerosene & Coal *
2. United Steel Workers of Montreal -- Out In The Cold -- Kerosene & Coal *
3. Great Lake Swimmers -- Your Rocky Spine -- Ongiara *
4. Willie Nelson -- Can I Sleep In Your Arms -- Red Headed Stranger
5. The Weakerthans -- Left & Leaving -- Left & Leaving *
6. Van Morrison -- Crazy Love -- Moondance
7. Sarah Harmer & Jason Euringer -- Trouble In The Fields -- Songs For Clem *
8. Ron Sexsmith -- Speaking With The Angel -- Ron Sexsmith *
9. Rilo Kiley -- A Man/Me/Then Jim -- More Adventurous
10. Oh Susannah -- I'll Keep It With Mine -- Oh Susannah *
11. Neko Case -- South Tacoma Way -- Furnace Room Lullaby *
12. Natalie Merchant -- Beloved Wife -- Live In Concert
13. Luke Doucet -- Wallow -- Broken (and other rogue states) *
14. Lucinda Williams -- Reason To Cry -- Essence
15. Leona Naess -- Ballerina -- Leona Naess
16. Kristen Hersh -- Your Ghost -- Hips & Makers
17. Kate Maki -- Strangest Dream -- Confusion Unlimited *
18. Johnny Cash -- Give My Love To Rose -- American IV: The Man Comes Around
19. Joel Plaskett -- Unconditional Love -- Down At The Khyber *
20. Jeff Buckley -- Last Goodbye -- Grace
21. The Jayhawks -- Take Me With You When You Go -- Hollywood Town Hall
22. Hayden -- I Should Have Been Watching You -- Skyscraper National Park *
23. Hawksley Workman -- Don't Be Crushed -- For Him & The Girls *
24. Gillian Welch -- Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor -- Soul Journey
25. Feist -- Lonely, Lonely -- Let It Die *
26. Emmylou Harris -- All My Tears -- Wrecking Ball

Notes this week:

• U.S.W.M = holy crap that's good!
• Crazy Love: The opening few notes of that song still give me goosebumps;
• Beloved Wife:  A song about a couple that was married longer than a lot of people have been alive.  It's sadder than sad;
• Ballerina: Click here to read about why I love this song;
• Kate Maki CD release party February 9th at the Montreal Deli!! Tell all your friends!!
• New Luke Doucet: we'll play it next week;
• New Hayden record out this month!  Fun news even though one time he glared at me on Queen Street West in Toronto.

embarrassment of the day

We had a bit of a snowstorm overnight resulting in a bit of a slippery walk to work this morning. While walking I took a spill and landed flat on my rear. To add to the embarrassment of falling down in the snow, there was a man behind me who saw it happen. Add to that embarrassment that fact that he then said "Are you okay MA'AM?" So in a nutshell, I fell down, somebody saw it happen, then I got "maam'ed."

And he wasn't even younger than me!! Regardless of his intentions which were nothing but the best kind, it was a terrible way to start the day.

tiny living

I love this story so much! Kaili brought it to my attention and I just have to share it! What is considered to be the smallest house in all of Toronto is up for sale. The story is that Toronto contractor Aurthur Weeden built the home in 1912 on a narrow strip of land that the city forgot to turn into a proper driveway. It's near the corner of Dufferin and Rogers Road and the lot is just 7.5 feet wide and 113 feet deep. Size aside, the whole house has been entirely redone and has a renovated bathroom and kitchen, lovely wood floors and an adorable back patio. Now I could never, ever live here. I have way too much stuff and love all of it. I can't even conceive of having to live as minimalist as these people clearly must. If you can though, this little piece of heaven can be yours for $179,000!!

as found in nature

I saw this on one of the blogs I read, clipped the image for future use but can't remember where I stole it from. Regardless, this might be my necklace hanging solution (not the toilet paper role thing though). I was seriously loving those tree necklace hangers I had posted about but considering I live in Northern Ontario and can find the materials for this literally in my backyard I might give it a go. I just really love the earthy feel of it and lord knows I've got enough wall space in my bedroom to do it. It's like the necklace tree except the real thing!

there's no place like home

The following video really is worth committing to a 20 minute sit-down -- it's that excellent. Lisa sent Marc and I this old promotional video of Sudbury from the 70's and I can't get enough of it. It's very much in the style of those "My Body and Me" filmstrips I had to watch in elementary school (yes, I said filmstrips) -- all grainy and kitschy. I'm a Sudbury girl and although this isn't the Sudbury of today, it is a bit of the Sudbury of my youth. Thankfully things were on the upswing when I started coming of age but this would have been the Sudbury that my parents got full on. Who knows if they ever got offered a cigar in the old Holiday Inn restaurant though. Anyway, here's part one and you can access the other 4 from the right side bar menu.

and so it continues...

Are these JCrew Crewmutts ads going to get any cuter??? Is it even possible?? I can't even talk right now due to the overwhelming puppy love that's consuming me. The litte tongue and the fact that he's almost too fat for his little t-shirt??? Too much...

it's really all about...

...the flowers growing out of the Coliseum floor. It was the summer. It was our honeymoon. It was way better than this rainy, brown, sloppy, not-quite-sure-if-that's-sand-or-dog-poo-on-the-sidewalk look that we've got going on here now.

teenage vampires in love

I ordered the first book of Stephanie Meyer's vampire trilogy over the holidays and when "Twilight" arrived in the mail last Friday I was so desperate for some light holiday reading and quality sofa time that I dove right in and didn't look up until last night when I finished it. Talk about some great fun page turning! I'm completely on board with the Twilight phenomenon now and I'm not afraid to admit it. Eclipse is on back order and quite frankly cannot get here fast enough. I absolutely have to know what happens to Bella and Edward and the whole vampire/human love thing -- it's like a soap opera!! Of course I love it! The blog world has only slightly given away what's to come in book 2, not enough to ruin it but enough to just dangle the carrot in front of me a bit more. Team Jake or Team Edward -- they say you must choose. I can't imagine not being on Team Edward. Come on, you always choose the handsome mysterious vampire over the boring local don't you?? I realize I don't know what's to come in Eclipse but for now I'm 100% Team Edward. Two thumbs up for the silly vampire fluffy read!!!

dear j crew delivery man

I'd almost forgotten that we hit up that last crazy J Crew sale over the holidays (the one with the extra 20% the already ridiculous prices) and then today the J Crew man came and brought a box o'goodies!!  Yay for forgotten ordered clothes!  The nice man brought me 2 wool merino wool cable-knit sweaters -  one an apple green cardigan and one an flame coloured roundneck, and a lovely pair of dark brown corduroy pants.  Marco landed an outstandingly soft sherpa fleece hoodie that I don't think he's taken off since it came in the door.  Also in the box, the catalogue of new spring arrivals.  Needless to say, I'm in love with about 100 things.  Things like this Campo de' Fiori silk tank (although not for $198) and the ballerina dress in the same fabric, this cashmere shrunken polka-dot cardigan, this Bahia print tissue tank and this cotton dress makes me want to go to every garden party I can manage to get invited to.  Also, in preparation for the spring, this wellies make little hearts come out of my eyes.  

slow cooker success #1

Tonight was the trial run of our new slow cooker that Santa brought and I gotta say, food aside, I'm completely a slow cooker lover in every way!  First off, coming home and unlocking the door to a house oozing with delicious cooking smells is almost the best thing in the world.  Especially when you barely had to do anything!  Dinner is ready as if prepared by magic house elves a la Harry Potter.  Tonight's trial was chicken enchiladas that were so incredibly delicious and tender I want to eat them every day.   And they were dead simple!!  AND healthy to boot! All we had to do was make a bit of lemon rice for the side, dig out some flatbreads and after a little bit of how's your father we sat down to a really out of this world meal. And despite that little voice in the back of my head that was concerned the house was burning down while I was at work, apparently that doesn't happen. The plan is to use it once a week and build up a small recipe collection at first -- things that we can master easily with things we usually have in the house and then move on from there. My name is Tara and I might marry my slow cooker.

british booty

Pals Brittainy and Michael spent Christmas in London and as a thank you for loaning them our giant suitcase they returned it stuffed with loot!!!  Talk about a good deal for us!  We scored some lovely savoury treats from Fortnum and Mason, an outstanding and wee bit legendary British grocery and everything else store.  Really, a bit of a foodie's dream come true.  Hidden in our suitcase were some fruit jellies, a jar of Balsamic jelly that I can barely wait to use and a drool-worthy tea selection.  After a quick visit to their website, I've decided that a person could not go into that store and keep their purses closed.  I'd buy one of everything!  Okay maybe not the tea cannister that's about $400...but lots of other goodies.  Good news is that they have international delivery.  I feel more British already....