2013 Favorites in Film, TV, and Books

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I worked Christmas Eve then spent a relaxing day at home with family on the 25th. A nice quite holiday, but fun.

I can't believe tomorrow is New Year's Eve already. 2013 has went by crazy fast for me. The past few months in particular feel like one big blur for me. Hopefully the new year won't go by quite as fast.

Since the year is practically over, I though some sort of review post was in order. I decided to share my favorite movies, TV shows, and books that I watched/read this past year.

Movies
2013 was the second year that I've kept track of every movie I watched. This year the total is 108 films, with 74 being ones I'd never seen before. Just three films short of how many I watched in 2012. Looking back I didn't watch nearly as many old movies or musicals as I'd like. Out of the new ones I watched, these are my favorites:

Monsters University (2013)

Monsters Inc is one of my favorite Pixar films, so I was really excited for this one and it didn't disappoint. Seeing a different side to Mike and particularly Sully was neat.

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick note wishing everyone the merriest of Christmases!

Deck the Halls

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
'Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la la la la la."

  

Christmas Favorites: Movie Edition

Watching Christmas movies is my favorite way to spend a cold December evening. There are many good ones to be watched each year and most of mine are favorites that I grew up on. But last year I began expanding my horizons a bit after I discovered some of the Hallmark Channels Christmas films.

Sadly, though, this year between work and other activities there hasn't been much time for movie watching. I've been able to fit a few in, though not as many as I'd like. Hopefully I'll be able to fit in more these next few weeks, especially since I have a lot of Hallmark movies sitting on the DVR begging to be watched!

Anyways, today I'm sharing my all time favorite Christmas movies. They're in no particular order, as I doubt I could pick one as better than the other.

P.S. Please pardon the wonky formatting. I keep trying to fix it, but it just keeps getting worse!

Eloise at Christmas Time

{2003}

STARING
Julie Andrews as Nanny
Sofia Vassileva as Eloise
Gavin Creel as Bill
Sarah Topham as Rachel Peabody
Rick Roberts as Brooks

Bill: So, how's that Christmas list coming?
Eloise: Still one or two items short.
Bill: How many you got so far?
Eloise: Seventy three. What? I think it's nice to give Santa lots of options.

NYX Haul

On my last Amazon order I added in the NXY blush in Pinched and the Natural Eye Shadow Palette. I've really been enjoying both products, so when NXY was having the fall sale on their website I filled up my basket with some fun new items to try. Since it was my first order I used their 25% off your first purchase code and spent $25 so I could get free shipping. So between all those deals, I really scored!

Christmas-y Portraits

Christmastime is such a fun time of year for anyone who likes photography. All the pretty decorations and lots of twinkle lights provide many opportunities to get creative and have some fun.

Every year I like to take portraits of my siblings with lights in the background. Christmas bokeh is so awesome, and especially so with portraits.

One year I strung them in the dinning room window. Another I placed them on top of a tablecloth on the stairs with Daniel sitting at the base. I've also done some in front of the Christmas tree.

This year I tried doing white lights on the garage door, but we didn't have as may of those lights as I though and it didn't look very good. So Tiana and I moved all the lights and draped them on the branches of a tree in our front yard. I have to say, I think I'll be doing this set up every year!
(photos of me taken by Tiana)

The Sound of Music LIVE! (2013)

As you may have known, last night was The Sound of Music LIVE! on NBC. Even though I can count on one hand how many times I've seen the 1965 film, I definitely enjoy it, even if it's not one of my top favorites. It's not hard to see why it's such a classics, though, and so I was excited when I heard the were doing to be broadcasting the stage version live on NBC.

Knowing that this was going to be the stage version adapted for television, I wasn't worried about story and songs being different or anything like that. Being a Broadway fan, just being able to see something like this is exciting and fun!

Spidey's Back!

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I'm a big Spidey fan. When I first saw Spider-Man years ago I didn't think much of it. But this past year we watched The Amazing Spider-Man, which I loved, and then Spider-Man and it's sequels. It was after that when I became a fan.

Which, when you think about it, it's kinda funny. Spiders are pretty much my least favorite thing in the whole world, yet Spider-Man is my all time favorite super hero. Yes, I like him even better than any of the Avengers, which are most peoples favorites.

Even though I think The Amazing Spider-Man is fantastic as a whole, I prefer Toby Maguire's Peter Parker much more--I'll save all the details for a future blog post. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the new reboot just as much.

Anyways, today Sony released the official trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2.


It. Looks. AMAZING.

No pun intended.

I'm not one who usually goes to the theater, but I might just have to go and see this one. Just maybe.

Christmas Favorites: Music Edition

(Note: I FINALLY got this post up. Whew! My computer died last week, so I had to buy a new (much faster) parts, which arrived yesterday. Now that it's up and running, I've been installing things Lightroom and Photoshop so I can finally edit photos again. Now I can share all those posts I have ideas for in my head. :) )

Now that Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas season is upon us, I decided to do a little themed series here on the blog called Christmas Favorites. Each post will feature some of my favorites for a particular category, and this weeks is music. So without further ado, I present Christmas Favorites: Music Edition!

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When it comes to music at Christmastime, I like both the original classics and some modern renditions. Most the artists I like are either classics (Andy Williams), have strong vocals (Jackie Evancho), or big orchestras (Boston Pops). Some of my favorite songs are Carol of the Bells, The Christmas Waltz, and Ding Dong Merrily on High.

If I listed all of my favorites, it would go on forever, so I narrowed it down to fifteen that I really like. Which is still a lot, but hey, there are way too many good ones!

I've also made a YouTube playlist of all the songs listed below. You can either listen to them all, or skip to the ones you haven't heard if you're up for something new!



Carol of the Bells :: The Boston Pops

Ding Dong Merrily on High :: The Priests

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas :: Johnny Mathis
Whenever I hear Jonhhy Mathis I think of Christmas. It's kinda odd as we never owned any of his Christmas songs growing up--or any songs for that matter--but I guess I just heard him enough on the radio and in the stores over the years. Hearing him sing just makes it feel like Christmas.

The Christmas Song :: Nat King Cole

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year :: Andy Williams

The Christmas Waltz :: Michael W. Smith

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen :: The Priests

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas :: Susan Boyle

Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen :: The Piano Guys
The Piano Guys + Christmas = Awesome!

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town :: Ray Conniff

Holly Jolly Christmas :: Michael Buble

The Christmas Waltz :: Peggy Lee
Classic Christmas right here!

Jingle Bell Rock :: Bobby Helms

Ding Dong Merrily on High :: Jackie Evancho

Winter Wonderland :: Johnny Mathis