The Creative Exchange

I used Gimp to pull out the color and played with the color balance until I got the right effect. Lastly, I added the word using LittleLordFontleroy font.

Pink Saturday

This was 3 weeks ago but...Handsome joined us outside and saw the jump rope laying on the ground. Goddess had been trying to jump but couldn't. He came out and picked it up, we all stopped to watch thinking the same thing, "there is no way he is going to be able to do this". Handsome for a long time had a coordination problem and sometimes still does. Well, don't you know, he picked up that rope and jumped!? He did. It wasn't long and the jump rope ended up back on the ground but it just goes to show, you never know what your kid is capable of.

This was 3 weeks ago, this are much different today as we have over a foot of snow.

The Moleman of Belmont Avenue - A REVIEW

ORLAND FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE

The Moleman of Belmont Avenue
a film by Mike Bradecich & John LaFlamboy 

Running Time: 96 minutes


Starring:
Mike Bradecich, John LaFlamboy, Robert Englund, Tim Kazurinsky,
David Pasquesi, T.J. Jagadowski, Susan Messing, Gregory Hollimon, Brian Boland

A pair of bumbling landlords reluctantly hunt the subterranean creature that is eating their tenants' pets. Featuring the original Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund, and a supporting cast rounded out by the talents of the famed Second City theater in Chicago.

Marion and Jarmon Mugg have never had to work very hard.  They’ve never had much responsibility, and no one has ever put any expectations on them to perform or achieve, well… anything.

But two years ago their mother passed away, leaving them the brownstone apartment building that has been in their family since its days as a speakeasy during Prohibition.  In that short time, Marion and Jarmon’s slacker ways have run the building literally into the ground.  The tenants are moving out,  no one but them and their friends drinks at the bar on the ground floor, and the building’s pets are beginning to mysteriously disappear.   If all that isn’t enough to make them sit up and take notice, there’s also a good chance that a monster is living in the basement.

“The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue” is a horror/ comedy that explores what happens when a terrible situation is dropped into the laps of the two people least equipped to deal with it.  The Brothers Mugg can either step up to the plate and finally grow up, or they can wait and clean up the mess as a mysterious creature eats every living thing in the building, one by one.

http://molemanmovie.com/index.shtml

The 411:

The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue has been nominated for Best Feature, The Cast has been nominated for Best Ensemble, and Robert Englund has been nominated for Best Supporting Role, there is a whole lot of nominations going on at the Orlando Film Festival this weekend

What I Can Tell You:

This is one of those movies that you start out thinking, "what the heck is this?" Then as it rolls along you realize the gems inside it. Like "my foot, your ass are getting married." or "oh yeah, do that!" 

This movie is about two grown brothers whose recently lost their mother. She was the owner of the apartment building for years and while one (Marion) was home trying to take care of it. The other (Jarmon) was off raising llamas and has returned to help get the building in order.  Without gas or electricity (well, they do have some electricity, they get it by splicing into the church next door).

Tenants are moving out (well the few that actually have somewhere to go) and all the pets are disappearing. While walking the hall one night they see a creature trying to grab a dog through a mail slot. The "moleman" literally is taking the pets right out from under the owners nose in their very own apartments. They must do what they can to not frighten their last remaining tenants while capturing the moleman.

This is complete satire and while it is cheesy, pathetic, and ridiculous at times I think that is exactly what these guys were going for. The movie budget was only 350,000 and looks more like 35,000 but whatever, it is funny. There are some really funny moments most involve the brothers and one of their tenants, a drug induced slacker, think older Bill and Ted type dude.

I think it will be even funnier the second time around!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary screener copy from Big Tree Productions

New Strawberry Shortcake DVD In Just A Few Days

Adventures in Playland Taken To A Whole New Stage!

Imaginations Soar to Dazzling New Heights When

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE: BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG DREAMS

Blossoms onto DVD November 1st

Arriving just in time for the holidays, our deliciously sweet girl next door takes a new turn as STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE: BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG DREAMS comes to DVD November 1 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. 

It's time to dazzle and dream with Strawberry and her friends as they compete for some berry special prizes.  Whether it’s spinning and twirling in the annual dance-off, or beating a world record, there is nothing these girls can’t try.  But when the road to success seems overwhelming, they soon discover that the real key to being a winner is just having fun with your friends.

Strawberry Shortcake: Bright Lights, Big Dreams DVD Special Features

·         Printable Coloring Pages

·         Music Video

To Own:

About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.

See Mix Drink

Have you tried mixing a Mojito? What about a Rusty Nail? Or a Cosmopolitan? With See Mix Drink: A Refreshingly Simple Guide to Crafting the World's Most Popular Cocktails by Brian D. Murphy, the first-ever cocktail book to offer instruction through info-graphics, making the drinks you love at home is as easy as, well, See, Mix, Drink.

This unique, illustrated guide graphically demonstrates how to make 100 of today's most popular cocktails. For each drink, color-coded ingredients are displayed in a line drawing of the appropriate glassware, alongside a pie chart that spells out the drink's composition by volume for intuitive mixing. No other cocktail book is this easy or fun. Instantly understandable 1-2-3 steps show exactly how each drink is prepared, and anecdotes, pronunciation guides, and photographs of the finished drinks will turn newbie bartenders into instant mixologists.

Brian D. Murphy’s favorite mixed drink is the Old Fashioned, having been inspired to try it after watching Mad Men. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife Nicole and their three pets Kate, MeowMeow, and Maya.You can learn more about Brian on Facebook.com/SeeMixDrink.

The 411:
What I can tell you as a former bartender is that this book makes trying new drinks easy. It also made me want to run out to the liquor store and stock up on some bar friendly staples like tequila, rum, lime juice, brandy, etc.

Drink Breakdown:

• The book is broken down into spirits; brandy, scotch, gin, etc....
• Then each drink is broken down. The glass it would be served in has colored layers marked with a percentage of each part of the drink.
• All the tools you would need to make the drink are laid out for you.
• There is a description of the drink; sometimes a date and origin information. 
• A key tells you the best time to drink it, with a meal, morning, anytime, etc.
• The amount of time it takes to create the drink 
• Calorie proportions
• Written & graphic instructions
• A color photo of the finished product.

The only thing that would have made this book better would have been if it had color photos, al la Pioneer Woman style
 .
I want to try a Black Magic which is basically a black Russian with lemon juice. 

There are so many drinks in here that I have never heard of but want to try and from a non-drinker that says a lot!

Happy Mixing

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Book Group.

Coupons For Some of the Hottest Toys!

$3 off on Bratz http://www.bratz.com?section=coupons&source=social 
$3 off on Moxie Girlz http://www.moxiegirlz.com/index.php?section=coupons&source=social 
Up to $10 off on Little Tikes http://www.littletikescoupons.com/?source=social

Celebrate Halloween with Pocoyo

It’s that spooky time coming up on October 31 and Pocoyo will be celebrating the occasion with fun and FREE Halloween ideas. 

Check out the following link where you can download Halloween-inspired Pocoyo wallpapers, screensavers and a Pocoyo themed Halloween activity book…all for FREE!

http://www.pocoyo.com/img/halloween/halloween_en/LA_Halloween_en.pdf 

The activity books includes:

• Halloween themed coloring pages
• Spooky recipes for parents & children to make together, including Halloween pumpkin soup, mummy turkey dogs and scary cookies
• Monster costume idea
• Pocoyo printable mask to color!

In addition to the Halloween activities, there are many other fun games and activities available on www.pocoyo.com
!

Pocoyo is fast becoming the world’s most popular preschooler with a hit television series that entertains audiences on over 150 networks around the world, including Nick Jr., PBS and Univision in the U.S. The show follows the adventures of the fun-loving Pocoyo and his friends, Elly (the elephant), Pato (the duck) and Loula (thedog), and engages audiences with music, dance and humor, encouraging children to learn through laughter. Pocoyo has charmed parents and pop culture mavens as well: Pocoyo has amassed more than 50 million hits per month on its YouTube Channel, and more than 600 million hits in the last two years alone; he has over 550,000 friends on Facebook; and 11 million unique visitors have experienced Pocoyo’s online virtual environment, www.pocoyoworld.com.

Martha & Friends Halloween Show on Friday

In “Halloween Horror Show,” little Martha and her friends Lily and Hannah dress up as "Glampires" for Halloween, giving Kevin the idea to make his own monster movie. But only when Francesca and Sharkey get lost in the spooky Intimidation Woods, does Kevin's modest idea for a scary movie turn into a spectacular production!

The episode also features fun Halloween projects that kids can do with friends or family with step by step instructions online. Get Glampire make up like Martha and her friends, make scary homemade sound effects or create your own DIY trick-or-treat bags.

“Martha & Friends” is an animated multimedia series for kids that is designed to inspire creativity, foster independent thinking and celebrate friendship. Created by A Squared Entertainment in collaboration with lifestyle guru Martha Stewart and MSLO, the series features a 10-year-old Martha as a problem-solving, craft-loving, generous spirit who, along with her three best friends and two dogs, Francesca and Sharkey, show kids how easy it can be to do-it-themselves.

Kids can also visit www.marthaandfriends.com to play games, watch more episodes, find craft projects and meet the characters.

Let me know what you think!

Please Read (if at all possible) The Girl Project by Kate Engelbrecht

Yesterday I mentioned that I read two books mostly compiled of photos. Here is my second one!

Please Read (if at all possible) The Girl Project by Kate Engelbrecht

Female adolescence through the eyes of teenage girls for a teenage-girl audience. This empowering volume introduces the reader to an insider’s view of teenage girlhood. Through their participation in The Girl Project-created in 2007 by Kate Engelbrecht to explore the personal realities of modern female adolescence-teenage girls contributed intimate, heartwarming, diarylike text entries and photographs that capture their personal and private moments. To date, over 5,000 girls between the ages of 13 and 18 have sent in photographs, along with anonymously completed questionnaires that communicate their view of themselves and the world around them. This collection of images and text details the private and personal lives of adolescents, which together reveal an amazing narrative communicated as only teenage girls know and understand. The girls touch upon universal issues, such as their struggles with self-confidence and body image, relationships with peers and family, and their dissatisfaction with how they are presented by the media and in popular culture.


Teen readers will be rewarded with a wonderful set of sincere, deep messages and the reassurance that they are not alone.  

The 411:
Wow! Amazing book featuring personal photos and comments from girls 13-18 years old. The Girl Project was started by Kate Engelbrecht who sent 5,000 Kodak, single use cameras and questionnaire to girls who responded to her shout out!

Reading through the book was like taking a page out of my own diary. These girls were honest, sincere, smart, witty, scared, angry, pissed, compelling, brave and more. There were so many I wanted to high five but just as many that I wanted to hug! Above all, their voices were the same; regardless of their upbringing, color, location, age, foundation, they all want the same things; growth, challenge, love, friendship, opportunity, etc resonated from their words. Very empowering!

I believe this to be a book that all girls, parents, teachers, counselors, doctors, should read and learn from. This is an intimate glance into what our daughters are thinking and feeling.

Amazing resource and a wonderful compilation of our future woman!
 
Beautiful Book!!!!


Links

The Girl Project or TGP on Facebook
The Girl Project Blog
The Girl Project Website
TGP On Flickr

The True Story of Puss N' Boots on DVD and Blu-ray - An Amateur Review

The True Story of Puss 'N Boots came out October 4th from Phase 4 Films.  

Synopsis:
A young farmers son inherits a strange talking cat with magical boots. With his cunning wit, Puss helps him win the heart of the Princess while battling devious suitors that are after the throne. 

The 411:
This movie stars William Shatner as the voice of Puss 'N Boots.

In this movie adaptation, the storyteller, explains that he witnessed a story and he has decided to tell to the young and old.  Then our story begins with the Chamberlain, Queen and Jester discussing how they must find a husband for the princess.  The princess wants a dancer and the Queen doesn't feel she needs to marry. My favorite parts of the movie starred the Queen! She is huge, lazy and uses a fly swatter to wake her husband.

Next we see the princess who is dancing and singing badly and our hero Peter, whose dying father willed the family's cat to him and instructs him to make the cat, boots out of the leather in a trunk upstairs in the attic. He dies telling his son to always have trust in his cat.

The princess loves dancing so much that she goes out to a tavern masked and sings with her strange back up dancers.

The cat introduces Peter to the Princess and they fall in love much to the Chamberlain's dismay.

While I like the graphics and think the story is OK. There were many disturbing moments. The princess's singing and dancing for one. AWFUL!  The princess and Peter talking in front of a big bed and than kissing right before the princess starts singing "I feel pretty" the next day. Strange message! But the worst part of the whole movie was William Shatner's voice! Ugh...never have I heard something more disturbing. When I asked my 6 year old her thoughts on the movie she said, "I didn't like the cat's voice". Huh, she didn't like it for the same reason and she doesn't even know who William Shatner is.

The lesson behind the movie is a good one and could be lost in the translation, You don't have to be at the top of the food chain to finish first. If given the opportunity and with confidence, even a miller's son could marry a princess. 

If you are going to watch, watch it with an open mind. This movie stays truer to the story and is dark at times. However, as a fan of animation, especially the 3D animation that doesn't require glasses it is worth a watch.

Rated: G

Time:  79 minutes.

To Own:

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy for my personal opinion of this movie.

ABC Wednesday - My Oxymoron - Ordinarily Ornate

An Ordinary Day, Featuring my Beautiful daughter sitting on an Ornate well at the Ringwood Mansion, in Ringwood, New Jersey.

Clary's Rose

A photographer always has their camera with them. Thank goodness I did because while visiting my girlfriend, I noticed these beauties on her dining room table. Beautiful and soft just like a rose should look.

Color Carnival Sunday #4

Hello everyone. I didn't put up a new Color Carnival because someone posted and I didn't want to mess it up for you.

Happy Tuesday. Please leave your link below so everyone can visit you. If you are confused on the new format, please know you are not alone. We took a vote and we are doing away with the voting system. Link away and have a great week!

Storage Wars Season 1

Follow four professional buyers and their teams as they scour repossessed storage units in search of hidden treasure in Season 1 of the new A&E original real life series, STORAGE WARS. Part gamblers and part detectives, these seasoned veterans negotiate the fascinating and obscure world of storage auction and consignment, finding everything from dead bodies to the world s most valuable comic book collection and paying as little as ten dollars for items valued in the millions. Each episode of STORAGE WARS follows a group of bidders as they get a quick peek inside the units, aided only by a flashlight. They then must assess on the spot if the unit is worth a bid and how high they re willing to go. The high-stakes fun begins as they see if the resulting buy is full of mostly trash...or true treasure. Driven by Dan Dotson, one of the most successful and outrageous auctioneers in the country, STORAGE WARS cast of buyers is as colorful and varied as the treasures they uncover.

The 411:

We love A&E's Storage Wars. My husband and I got into at the end of the Season and were excited to see the first episodes.

The show follows bargain and resellers Darrell, Barry, Dave and Jarrod and his wife Brandi. The players bid on auctions in the California area run by fast talking Auctioneers Dan and Laura.

We have our favorites and I won't get into that but we really like this show. Owning a storage unit of our own we wonder what these guys would say about our unit if they were bidding on it! Probably "loads of junk" but the sheet metal and musical instruments would be worth a bid!

Beside the obvious scripted parts and colorful personalities it is fun to take a peek inside storage units. You find yourself wondering why someone would  just leave their stuff to be ransacked, tossed about or resold.

If you haven't seen the show; the bidders attend auctions at storage units and bid on the unit based on a looksee. They can't touch anything or walk inside. These guys are pros and can tell if a unit is good by a quick peek. I love watching them upset each other by trying to claim a worthy unit. I also love when a unit turns up having nothing but junk when they paid for it.

After they win the unit, they go through it and decide what is worth keeping and reselling. A lot of times they find something worthy which they bring to some expert in the particular field and we get a history lesson on the item along with the value.

As far as reality shows go, it is entertaining. Does it have a long shelf life? That is up for debate!

Peppermint Patties Recipe

Peppermint Patties

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons shortening

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine condensed milk and peppermint
extract. Beat in enough confectioners' sugar, a little at a time,
to form a stiff dough that is no longer sticky.

Form into 1 inch balls, then place on waxed paper and flatten with
fingers to form patties. Let patties dry at room temperature two
hours, turning once.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate with
shortening, stirring often.

Remove from heat. Dip patties, one at a time, into chocolate by
laying them on the tines of a fork and lowering the fork into the
liquid. Let cool on waxed paper until set.

Source - Delicious Candy Recipes

Olly Oogleberry Is An Adorable Alien Here To Teach About Discovery

Olly Oogleberry and his friend of misfit aliens have landed and they are looking for a few earthling to join their UFO army.

As a subscriber, fan and follower, you'll be one of a very special group of earthlings informed of Olly's every move as he travels across our glorious galaxy. Be the first to know of special offers as well as fascinating UFO sightings, space news and who knows what else. The suspense is killing us, too...;-)

My daughter is in love with all things having to do with nature, outer space and art. She loves that Olly came to be over 30 years ago. Inspired by a simply drawing by creator Lou Hughes who doodled in math class when he was just 12 years old, Olly is now the ambassador for children to open their eyes and see all that is good and wonderful in the world and beyond. She is totally inspired and thinking of starting her own character from her drawings.

What I love about Olly Oogleberry is that not only is this a cute character for kids because of his look, color and adorable personality. He also is educational. Beside all the cool products, the website is full of interesting information on earth, space, science, brain teasers, games, puzzles, videos on possible UFO sightings and more!

Christmas is only 62 days away. Olly is an adorable character and if you are looking for something you know they don't already have, this is the way to go! Preteens will go crazy for this stuff too! How cute is this?

Plus, the release of Olly's first book is scheduled for December 7th! You can pre-order here.

Be sure to join the Olly Army on Facebook and Twitter. 

We are praying for a stuffed Olly in the future, so we have joined to keep informed.

Conair Xtreme Instant Heat™ Multisized Hot Rollers

These are not your momma's hot rollers ladies! Conair is constantly revamping the products we need and want to do our hair. It is something I have always loved about them. Constantly updating and staying on the cusp of what is hot is why they have been around as along as they have.

In July, I reviewed the Spin Air Brush and love it still using it at least twice a week.

For the past two weeks I have been using Conair's Xtreme Instant Heat Multisized Hot Rollers and LOVE them.

Back in the day, I used hot rollers. We would heat them up, it took forever, they were really ugly with those metal pins you tried to use to anchor your hair. I have super thick hair so they never stayed. They gave your hair a weird crimp effect but I used them anyway. I even remember I had a set where the top got red so you knew they were ready to use. Weird.

These are nothing like that!

They are ready in less than 5 minutes. I love the sizes. They are made with a nice soft cushion to protect your hair. Imagine on the old types, we weren't only heating the hair up, but we were using hard rollers with hard metal pins and we wonder why we all looked like we had put our finger in an electric outlet. Dry frizzy ends no more.

The Conair Xtreme Instant Heat Hot Rollers are easy to use and the clips make anchoring the hair very easy. You get a curl that looks and feels soft. I was never a big hair person, more of a wash and wear kind of girl but lately, I like to play. This has been perfect for trying out different ways to curl my very long, very thick  hair.

Autumn Shadows Highlight the Halloween Parade

Yesterday was the busiest day ever. Fun filled, hectic, frantic, exhausting and a little mommy guilt sprinkled in for good measure. More on that later. Here was one of the reasons for the exhaustion. Who doesn't love a good parade?

HexBug Nano Cub Scout Party

Tonight my Cub Scout Den met to discuss our Halloween Terror Trail Skit. They are doing Zombie Camp Out tomorrow night and all of them have to dress as Zombie Cub Scouts so this was the perfect time to introduce them to the newest Hex Bugs!

Our boys were super excited to hear what roles they would be playing in the Town Terror Trail and what better way to start off our meeting with some parent provided snacks and a project. When I walked in with the box, you could hear a pin drop in a group that was running around playing Zombie Tag (their favorite game).

I walked to the center of the room and said, "before our snack, we have a project to do are you up to the challenge?" They ran over to me and screamed "yeah".

Placing the box on the floor, I told them we had a NEW Hex Bug track to put together that glows in the dark.  They ran to the box and I told them to work together to create a massive track for our Hex Bugs. Most of the boys had been to our prior Hex Bug party and got started, the new boys, watched for 2 seconds than raced into the mix. The boys all worked together to create a track while the parents unsure what was going, quietly watched and put out our Halloween Snacks.

We had Zombie Punch and a mom made eye ball cake balls that were so good I wanted more but was kind enough to leave them for the kids. So getting her recipe!  Another mom made mummy dogs, little hot dogs with cheese wrapped in crescent rolls and there were chips for the entire den plus the rest of the school if they were there.

If the boys put it together I tricked them by saying, "awesome..good job..you can take it apart now." They all looked at me until I brought out the shoebox containing the Hexbug Nano Bugs and asked them to put their hand in and see what they got. Some got the Limited Edition Hexbug Nano Halloween Zombie Bugs and some the Glows in the Dark Hexbug Nano Galileo Collection bugs.

The boys were in love with the Hexbug Nano Halloween Zombie bugs which come in their own coffin shaped packaging with a glow in the dark exoskeleton as were us parents. We all love them!

As the boys raced their bugs I handed out copies of the paperwork I received from MommyParties about the bugs including recipes and games to play at their own home, plus showed them the play sets. Some of the parents were very familiar with Hexbug and some had no idea. The dads were really excited and two got down to play with the boys changing up the playgrounds, disconnecting and connecting the sets easily.

Finally we turned off the lights so we could all watch the action. So much fun. Wish I had a picture of that. Will try to video tape it the next time so you can see it.  It is so cool! After 30 minutes we told the boys they had to dismantle the set because we had to get our Cub Scout Meeting going. While the boys did, I got many questions. How much? Are these in the stores already? What is the age? Can I have one? I did give two extras to two of the dads. They were had to stop playing with them on the table because they were distracting the kids. I think they are perfect gifts and stocking stuffers for the holidays. The price is very reasonable and moms, dads, and kids love them. 

We had the best time and Handsome and his friends love their new HexBug Zombie Bugs. My personal favorite part was listening to them at the end when we left the building. They were all walking together and talking about how their bug was glowing on their hand and how it was going to be their new night light. So happy to be able to share this with the Den!

Goddess was so insulted that she didn't get to participate in the party but I did have a Zombie bug put away for her and a blue robotic Larva, hands down the coolest toy ever.

MommyParties and Innovation First Labs, my Cubs want to say thank you for the "best Cub Scout Meeting ever!!!!

Disclaimer: We received all the tools to throw this Halloween Cub Scout Meeting courtesy of MommyParties and Innovation First Labs, Inc.

Keri Luxurious Lotion Giveaway

In My Honest Opinion:
I love anything that smells good but when it comes to my lotion I want it to also feel good. It should go on smoothly and easily. It should smell nice but not too overbearing as I love to wear perfume. It should also make my skin soft without a greasy feeling. Keri Lotion, does all of that. The one I tried was Keri Luxurious. Last week it was being kept in my car since the weather is changing and my skin gets drier during the colder months I like to use it daily. I am in my car a lot! Last week I brought it in to use on my entire body. I love the smell, a slight scent which I like a lot. The bottle reads apple but I don't smell apple. It just smells really pretty and light to me.  My knees, heels, hands and elbows are completely different since I started using Keri. I love it and now know I need one for the car and one for the house so I don't have to keep bringing it back and forth!

This Or That - The Pumpkin Patch

I love Autumn! This past weekend my Uncle took us to a Pumpkin Patch. My favorite part were the hidden pumpkins!

Snow Flower & The Secret Fan

I just about busted a finger tying as quick as possible to 20th Century Fox for permission to cover this movie. This book was mentioned to me in 2008 by my son's Speech Therapist who insisted I read it. She claimed it was a wonderful book and that her whole reading group loved it. Not one to turn close the cover on a good read, I headed to pick up a copy.  My review is here.

This was one of these books that you HAVE to pass on once you read it and I did by passing it on to one of my Laotongs (yes, I know you are only supposed to have one but I love my girls) Clarissa.

In My Honest Opinion:
Today, Clarissa and I watched the movie. We didn't have any expectations and enjoyed it although I found it more confusing than she did.

Our only grievance was we wish it was more about Snow Flower and Lily. The movie ties in modern day descendants Nina and Sophia who share the same relationship as their ancestors. Because the book was so profound this tie in although perfectly fine and relevant confused me. For those who have not read the book, it will  be fine!

There were beautiful tie ins. Both actresses did a phenomenal job and the most heart wrenching parts of the books were down played although I found myself tear up twice.

Friends that last a life time and the love between woman is one of the most beautiful things we have in life. You are lucky to have one "real" friend and stuck gold if you have more. I see the love of female friends every day and always tell my girlfriends I love them like a sister.

We were also pleasantly surprised to see Hugh Jackman show up in the movie. Thoroughly enjoyed it although I had to force myself to wake up twice.  I was way too comfortable. If you haven't read the book. See the movie first, than read the book. The book is truly beautiful. My favorite moments were when the movie focused on Snow Flower and Lily's life and if I hadn't read it first, I wouldn't have felt that way.

Do you have a laotong relationship?