Category: pop culture

blizzard binging

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In case you’ve been living under a rock this week, you’ve probably heard Winter Storm Jonas is making his way up the East Coast and it looks like he is going to make himself comfortable for a little while.

Getting snowed in is the perfect excuse to blow off all responsibilities (exercise, sit down. Wine, you’re up!) and binge those shows your friends and coworkers have been harassing you about. Pop some popcorn, throw on your comfiest PJs and cozy up on the couch with these shows:
     

  • Narcos: Fascinated by the recent El Chapo headlines? You should check out the story of OG druglord Pablo Escobar (Netflix)

 

  • Making A Murderer: If you haven’t seen MaM by now, you probably either don’t own a television or aren’t among the living. This 10 episode docuseries follows the potentially erroneous conviction of Steven Avery, the prime suspect in a murder case that just was just released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit. If you want to carry any sort of conversation on pop culture for the next several months, I strongly suggest checking this one out. (Netflix)
  • Master of None: Probably my favorite choice on this list. First things first- I LOVE Aziz Ansari.  If you are (or ever were) a 30 something struggling to make sense of life while fumbling through adulthood, you’ll appreciate Master of None. And I still really want a Paro  (Netflix)
  • The Jinx: Already seen Making a Murderer? Craving more? Check out The Jinx. The 6 episode series follows Robert Durst, heir to a New York real estate fortune and eccentric millionaire, the bizarre story of his life and how he became the key suspect in a string of unsolved murders spanning 30 years. (HBO)
  • Mr. Robot: A big winner on the awards circuit this year, Mr. Robot follows a young, socially anxious computer programmer who is recruited by a vigilante hacker group to bring down corporate America. (USA On Demand)
If you’re still not satisfied, I’d also suggest the following movies: People Places Things, Tangerine, Beasts of No Nation, Dope, What We Do in the Shadows and Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.

 
There you have it! Hours upon hours of glorious eccentric millionaire serial killers, simple minded Midwest murderers (OR NOT?!?!), corrupt cops (OR NOT?!?!), hermit hackers, and aspiring actors and Colombian drug lord goodness. Stay warm friends!

twosday lovin

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  1. Spotify Subscription: Some people are asked to bring cupcakes to parties, I’m usually asked to bring music. The most recent event was New Year’s. I have a few go to playlists, but depending on the audience (in other words if there are kids around) my old standbys won’t quite fly (early 2000s Ludacris probably isn’t something a 5 year old needs to hear). So rather than spend a ton of money on downloading new songs, I decided to try out Spotify Premium’s 3 month trial. The deal is you pay .99 for 3 months and have access through your phone to their entire library (after the 3 months the price jumps to $9.99 a month). Now I can go from Chris Stapleton to Vance Joy to Fetty Wap without have to jump from Pandora station to Pandora station hoping they’ll play my song. Also (back to my original point) Spotify has a ton of different playlist based on mood, genre, activity, time of day, probably one even based on your favorite color. You name it, they have it. Pretty great when your the resident DJ of the group.
  2. This watch: I’m not a label or designer girl by any means. Sure it’s nice, but it’s never been my thing. Having said that I have to say I NEED THIS WATCH. I don’t even like watches. But a watch that tells me exactly when happy hour is? YAAAS.

netflix + chills

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I just have to start by saying this: I LOVE Halloween. Once the summer ends, Halloween is the carrot dangling from the long, bloody stick getting me through dwindling hours of sunlight of September and October. I love everything about it. Costumes, pumpkins, The Monster Mash, candy, all things spooky and scary. There’s no better way to spend a chilly October night than turning on a scary movie, killing the lights, lighting some candles and cozying up with a warm spiced cider. Scrolling through Netflix searching for the perfect horror movie can be a buzzkill, so here are my favorite recent scary movies streaming right now:

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5. The Houses October Built (2014)

Director: Bobby Roe

Starring: Brandy Schaefer, Zack Andrews, Jeff Larson

Every October, haunted house attractions pop up across the country. The Houses October Built focuses on a group of friends in an RV making a documentary determined to find THE scariest house in all of the good ol’ US of A. What they find is an underground world of haunts that goes far beyond the fake blood and creepy masks. Sometimes you don’t just go to the haunt. It comes to you.

I tend to not always love found footage movies, but I found THOB to be a very creepy movie. The cast is likable and believable as friends and I really enjoyed the chemistry they had with each other. I’ve always been fascinated by haunted houses and have heard about “underground” haunted houses that are so intense I can’t believe they are legal (getting kidnapped, waterboarded and essentially tortured?! I’m good, thanks). The Houses October Built is about the closest I’ll be getting to one.

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4. House of the Devil (2009)

Director: Ti West

Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tim Noonan

Broke college student Samantha takes a mysterious babysitting job during a lunar eclpise in the hopes of earning some extra cash to move into a new apartment. When she arrives, she is told there are no actual children to watch (RED FLAG) but she is asked to watch the couple’s ailing mother. She initially turns it down, but is eventually lured by the very tempting amount of $400. After discovering a terrifying secret, Samantha realizes she made a huge mistake.

Specifically shot of 16MM film that would give it a very retro look, House of the Devil combines several horror genres, including slasher, haunted house and devil worshiping. HOTD made me nostalgic for scary movies my girlfriends and I would rent from Blockbuster (RIP) for our Friday night slumber parties as kids. It would fit right into the line up of The Slumber Party Massacre, Sleepaway Camp and Prom Night, and right before you broke out the Ouijia board and stuck the first girl asleep’s hand in warm water.

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3. Creep (2014)

Director: Patrick Brice

Starring: Patrick Brice, Mark Duplass

Josef is a very CREEPy (sorry-couldn’t help myself) dude who hires a videographer named Aaron off Craigslist to film him because he is dying and wants to leave behind the video as a token for his unborn child. Sad and kind of sweet right? WRONG. This movie is proof that when answering any ad off of Craigslist you can be communicating with a total lunatic. Don’t do it.

Creep was a movie I stumbled on after one of those nights after scrolling through Netflix for close to an hour, which is just about when I start to lose my patience. I came across scary and Mark Duplass and I was sold. And rightfully so, because now it’s listed on just about every “Best Scary Movie” list.

babadook

2. The Babadook (2014)

Director: Jennifer Kent

Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall

This Australian flick centers on a recent widow and her troubled son, 6 year old Samuel. Amelia is asked by Samuel to read a mysterious popup book found on his shelf, entitled Mr. Babadook. Samuel becomes convinced the Babadook is following them and their lives begin to spiral out of control, leading the family into utter chaos and turmoil.

Creepy kids have long been synonymous with horror movies (The Shining, Poltergeist, The Omen, The Ring…stop me because I can keep going) but the Babadook  a genuinely frightening movie that has earned its place in the Creepy Kid Hall of Fame.

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  1. You’re Next (2011)

Director: Adam Wingard

Starring: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn

Erin joins her boyfriend for his family reunion at their vacation home in the country.What follows is chaos caused ax wielding maniacs trapping them in the middle of the woods as one by one the family is picked off by masked maniacs.

If you thought your in-laws were bad, they look like the Brady Bunch next to the Davisons. You’re Next is a bloody, gory, raucous romp with one of the best twists I’ve seen in horror in quite awhile. 

What are some of your favorite scary movie picks?

twosday lovin

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What I’m loving this week…

fall tv

  • Fall TV: One of the things I look forward to the most about Fall is the return of Fall TV. I don’t watch much television during the summer because, well, there’s nothing but terrible reality on. Which, don’t get me wrong-I LOVE me some Housewives, but can’t bring myself to watch, say…Bachelor Pad. I will watch a woman on TLC eat the inside of a couch but just can’t bring myself to watch Big Brother. Don’t even get me started on the atrocity that was True Detective Season 2. Sorry. Not hating on people who watch Summer TV, but I can’t get into it. Fall TV is a horse of a different (reddish orange pumpkin spiced) color. The Affair, The Walking Dead, The Leftovers, Modern Family, American Horror Story…GIMME!!! There aren’t many things I love more than coming home from a long day at work, throwing on sweatpants (literally the moment I walk through the door) and cozying up on the couch with my remote and a glass of wine and/or a box of Cheez-Its and/or cookies (I like my snacks. Don’t judge.) and getting engrossed in a post apocalyptic zombie wasteland. Or watching the antics of the Dunphy/Pritchett/Prichett-Tucker clan on Modern Family. Or being whisked away to Montauk to be a third party to a salacious Affair. You get the point. If you’re looking for a new show, IMDB is listing 15 binge worthy shows returning this fall
  • This Buzzfeed article: Yesterday marked the halfway mark to 33 for me (I can’t even put it into words how much typing that number pains me). I didn’t live in a dorm, but the early 2000s were my golden years. I had no real responsibilities, aside from a waitressing job that allowed me to sleep until noon and stay out as late as I wanted. I had a hot pink Motorola flip phone. I watched Garden State incessantly. I loved “Hey Ya” and Justin Timberlake’s  first solo album. The OC was my must watch TV show, along with Laguna Beach (Team LC!), Newlyweds (RIP Nick & Jess) and The Simple Life (RIP Paris & Nicole. And Tinkerbell). I had a Myspace account (kids today will never know the pain of having to rank their friends in order and the angst of trying to find *the* perfect background song to express themselves), and yes even rocked a trucker hat. I will always look back on this time as one of the best times of my life, combined with very questionable fashion choices (denim on denim anyone?). At least we’ll always have memories like this to look back on…

brit

Love is Dead: Summer 2015 Edition

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dead

RIP Bennifer, Gwavin, Blaranda, & Wada (?)

What is going on in Hollywood?? First Jen and Ben, then Blake and Miranda, now Gwen and Gavin and soon-possibly (probably?) Will and Jada! My heart can’t take much more this summer. I don’t blink an eye anymore when a Kardashian ditches her current beau for her next basketball player/musician/entrepreneur conquest but when couples that have been together longer than I have been an adult (I use the term “adult” very, very loosely), it hurts my heart. Get it together guys! If Anna Faris and Chris Pratt call it quits, I am swearing off gossip blogs. Ok, that probably won’t happen, but I may need a little bit of a break.

Just do it!

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No, this is not a post or a blog about how much I love Nike. Many moons ago, I had the idea to start up a blog. It’s taken several years and several almost-started-blogs later (seriously, I am the not so proud owner of 3 blogs that have never seen the light of day) but here I am.

Why has it taken so long for me to get my ish together and do this? A few reasons, actually. The biggest culprit would be fear of failure. I’ll admit, taking criticism has not always been my strong suit. I may or may not have been known for getting a bit weepy after certain meetings in the corporate world where my work was criticized (another not so proud moment-I’m giving you a lot of these and it’s only my first post!). Another issue was what to blog about. I have many different interests, and consider myself a fairly well rounded person and I couldn’t narrow it down (Fun fact: I tied with another girl in junior high for Most Well Rounded individual. Does that make me half a rounded person?) so I had no idea what direction to steer the blog in. Well dear readers, I’ve finally (wo)manned up and decided start writing. What will you see here? Oh a little of this, a little of that. I love (in no particular order): the beach (more on this later), travel, pop culture, interior design, cooking, fashion, DIYing and bargain hunting.

I am concluding my very first post with one of my most favorite quotes by Erin Hanson.

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Take a chance. You never know what could happen.

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