Home Alone

Home Alone is the only movie I've ever seen in theatres twice. I absolutely love it and watching it always reminds me (as I am sure it does many) of the Christmases of my childhood. If you love that movie as much as I do and have $2.4 million USD, you can live on the set of the movie (circa 2011-style) permanently.

The house is for sale in a suburb just outside Chicago! Via Cup of Jo. Photos of the movie set and how those same rooms look now via AOL.

Pictogram

These movie poster re-makes are brilliant. See more here.

Cinema

I haven't been to the movies in awhile, but plan to go over Christmas. One of Greg's family traditions that we've adopted is to go to a movie on Christmas Day/Boxing Day. This year I'm hoping we'll catch How Do you Know, Little Fockers, The Fighter or Love and Other Drugs. I will leave the final decision up to my sweet husband. Image via Julia.

B-Movies

Greg has a penchant for made-for-tv-movies that he's passed on to me. With Christmas around the corner, every evening W has b-movies on to enjoy. The tradition of watching even a few minutes of such a flick at night before heading to bed has become one of the most looked forward to moments of the day for me. Tonight's offering? Holiday in Handcuffs (yes, with Sabrina the Teenage Witch).

Elizabethtown

After an extra long week at the office, I'm slipping into the comforts of ice cream and enjoyable music soundtracks, such as my beloved Elizabethtown (I'm particularly enjoying this song and this song... oh and this one too). Image via Le Love.

Wishbone

Last evening, before catching Date Night (hilarious! Tina Fey is fantastic), I happened upon two wishbone (ahem... knock off) chairs at Homesense. I am trying to determine where in our home the pair could be placed. I'd love to add a Danish flare to our happy abode. Images via Alvhem.

Movies

This photo, noticed via Le Love, (a) reminds me that I still need to catch (500) Days of Summer (Zooey Deschanel has a great voice and bangs - in fact I'd love to wear my hair like hers for our wedding) and (b) reaffirms my love of the full fringe.

Speaking of movies, Greg and I caught Up In the Air on Christmas Day (a tradition of his that I've tagged along in adopting). It was amazing; the end in particular was amazing. Next up on my viewing hit list is The Young Victoria, which I hope to catch with my grandma soon.

P.S. Here's my new favourite blogging tune.

Read

I'm currently coming up to the back end of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - a layered-cake novel that skips forwards and backwards in Pippa's life. Hers is a life married safely to a man thirty years her senior, estranged from her family and stuck smack dab in the middle of a retirement community at age fifty. I purchased the book in a bin at Chapters a few weeks ago. I hadn't heard of the author, Rebecca Miller, and felt safe that this wouldn't become another novel turned movie. It seems every book I've read in the past while has become a movie!

Of course my bubble bust this morning when I found out that Pippa Lee is indeed a movie - complete with a full Hollywood cast of Robin Wright Penn, Keanu Reeves, Julianne Moore, Alan Arkin and Winona Rider. Was I the only one oblivious? I think Wright Penn is a great choice to play Pippa and am now curious to watch the flick.

The next book on my 'to read' list is Manitobian Miriam Toews' The Flying Troutmans and its dysfunctional family road trip. I caught Toews on a CBC spot over the weekend that reminded me to snatch up this novel. Toews' A Complicated Kindness was a fantastic read and I'm excited about her ventures.

The Exception or The Rule?

I am certainly not a film critic; this winter I have enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire but also saw Paul Blart: Mall Cop on opening night (Greg's pick). I go back and forth in my mind over whether I fancied Rachel Getting Married, while I am certain How to Lose Friends and Alienate People would have been better sent strait to TV. Good Will Hunting is my favourite movie. I love North Country and No Country for Old Men. Fargo makes me laugh. Mary Poppins reminds me of my childhood. Marie Antoinette is the most asthetically pleasing movie I've ever seen. Rosemary's Baby scares me. I was one of the few people who liked Punch-Drunk Love.

This weekend we checked out He's Just Not That Into You at City Centre. I remember scanning the book a few years back and chuckling out loud. In the silver screen version, I laughed and I cried (I often cry at movies, so you may not). It is a fun movie for everyone (single, attached, happy or disgruntled) in the lead up to Valentine's Day. The 'documentary' vignettes are a highlight. You will be certain to laugh out loud over views on being dumped and caller ID. This is not an Oscar-worthy film, but it is casually enjoyable.