Loved this movie…
Archive for November, 2008
Audrey Tautou, the French Riviera and Priceless
Sunday, November 30th, 2008Not Too Late, 2008
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
© Gainsborough Pictures
“I’ve no regrets. I’ve been everywhere and done everything. I’ve eaten caviar at Cannes, sausage rolls at the dogs. I’ve played baccarat at Biarritz and darts with the rural dean. What is there left for me but marriage?”
~Iris Henderson in The Lady Vanishes (1938)
As we approach Thanksgiving and the end of November, I’m curious as to how you are doing with your goals for this year. Are you thankful that you finally asked for a raise or set aside a couple of hours each week to paint or took that dream vacation? Did this past year burn with excitement and possibility or at least flow along with awareness and warmth for yourself and others? I often get inspired by making goal lists (such as Superhero’s Mondo Beyondo list) and books like Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser. It’s too early to talk about making your goal list for 2009, so this post is more like a reminder that 2008 is still going strong.
You’ve got the whole month of December to start a blog, put up an ad on Match, write a song, start an IRA, open an Etsy shop, get a mantra, get off the couch and walk for 30 minutes a day, forgive your last boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/boss/hairdresser/dog/whatever…, or just be grateful for where you are now.
I love the above line from The Lady Vanishes because even though Iris is something of a spoiled socialite, there is a confidence and a “gameness” in her words. She is out there living life to the fullest. And baccarat at Biarritz sounds awfully glamorous and exciting, doesn’t it?
December is coming. Where will you take it?
p.s. Some goals I’m working on for December: walk most days, hand out more House History flyers, cook a nice dinner for my husband, see snow fall, try Mexican hot chocolate, buy or make some handmade gifts, stop freaking out about the economy, take more photos and try to sell one or two, hit up the farmer’s and antique markets, see the Yves Saint Laurent show at the DeYoung, and try to keep my office more tidy.
p.p.s Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Historic Signs on the Riverfront Promenade
Friday, November 14th, 2008
Has anyone else noticed those interesting historic information signs along the riverfront promenade in Old Sac? They make for some good reading prior to your boozy dinner (or lunch) at Rio City Café. Prior being the optimum word. It’s no use trying to make sense of the Pony Express after a few cocktails.
This particular sign is behind Embassy Suites and caught my eye for some reason. It’s a laundry ticket from the Sacramento Laundry which used to be housed at Front and O Streets. A Scotsman named A.M. Cameron (along with a few others) began the Sacramento Laundry around 1903. By 1913, the successful company had 12 laundry facilities in the area and was still expanding.
By the way, what kind of Detention Home needs 20 sheets and pillow slips washed but only one napkin? Don’t they feed those people?
Reading For Pleasure
Saturday, November 8th, 2008
copyright BBC
A few years ago I went back to school to finish pre-requisites for getting a MA in English Literature. I pictured the whole thing so clearly in my mind. There would be me, dressed in tweed and cashmere, sitting in a cozy library alcove as the rain taps the windows. I would be reading Chaucer and making notes in the margins like “tree = life, journey = life” and so forth. But it didn’t turn out that way and it took me awhile to realize that I don’t actually read that much in real life. An English Lit scholar who isn’t voracious for books? Yeah. So I didn’t take classes the next semester or the next…
People are always recommending to me those human drama books made popular by Oprah and prize-wining novels from the NY Times bestseller list. I know that these books are well written and I know that I would probably love them if I read them… but honestly for the past year or so I’ve been reading a different kind of book. The romance novel.
Sneer and scorn if you will, but after a long day of work politics, traffic, lack of fresh air, and cleaning the kitchen… do you really want to read about an old man who cares for a dying ex-Nazi woman while learning how to keep bees? No. You want the Mr. Darcy knockoff who saves the Regency beauty from the evil uncle who is trying to kill her. Er, well, at least I do.
I read romances quite a bit in my early twenties but then stopped for a long time and started again when I was too stressed out to read anything but magazines. I’m very particular about which romances I pick up (which is why the library is handy for this as I tend to put down three for every one that I enjoy). Also, I only like that sort of “I’ll be at my club, but I’ll send a carriage for you at Vauxhall Gardens” type of English setting. You can keep your contemporary, western, paranormal or medieval romances… they are not for me.
Sometimes I do indulge in literature that doesn’t have a swarthy hero embracing a bosomy female on the cover. Right now I’m reading The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin. I love his benign comedy.
The point is… read what you like. It doesn’t matter what it is, just read.
Film Interiors
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
Uptown Girls screen capture by me but film copyright held by MGM (2003)
I love Alicia’s post about top movies she watches repeatedly just to see the inside of the character’s house. I have my own list (some of which I’ve spoken about already):
- Amelie
- Uptown Girls (Molly’s apartment)
- Practical Magic
- The Station Agent (I loved Patricia Clarkson’s house)
- Wallace & Gromit (it’s clay but it’s charming!)
- Green Card (on Alicia’s list as well)
- You’ve Got Mail (Meg’s apartment)
- Imagine Me & You (flower shop and all of the apartments)
- Enchanted April
- Any of The Thin Man movies (art deco heaven)
