Paris 2010

Paris 2010
Garden at Versailles

Thursday, July 29, 2010

My day

I went to Seattle today to have lunch with a good friend who is in the area visiting relatives.  We ate at a great little French restaurant called Le Pichet (the pitcher).  Here's their website:

http://lepichetseattle.com/pages/home.php

It was a little bit of Paris!  It looked exactly like the restaurants we had been to when we were there.  It was so good to see my friend Mary again after many years.  The weather was perfect; the sun came out in the afternoon.  It was a great day!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Curb your Enthusiasm

I finished watching the 7th season of Larry David's series on HBO called Curb your Enthusiasm today.  The DVD came out recently and I was able to pick it up from my local library.  This season is a special one since Larry reunited the Seinfeld cast to play themselves on Curb in a very satisfying reunion.  This is actually funnier than the finale for the Seinfeld series (which they make fun of on Curb).  It's really great to see Jerry and Larry (and Jason, Julia & Michael) interact and see the old sets from the show.  Of course this being Curb, everyone is playing heightened versions of themselves and they do a lot of improvising.  The DVD has some good bonus features including an interview with the cast.  For a big Seinfeld fan like me, this was a must see and as Jason Alexander commented, we are not likely to see it again.  Larry David is brilliant to have come up with this show within a show idea and he also sprinkles bits and story lines from Seinfeld throughout the episodes of Curb.  I should probably point out that there is adult language and situations that are for mature audiences.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

book news

I went to Seattle today and checked out a favorite bookstore of mine called Elliott Bay Book Company.  They moved to a new location which is more out of way for me but the new store looks good, same wood floors and big selection of books with recommendations from the staff.  They don't have used books anymore but they have a bargain book section and I found what looks like a great one.  It's called Case Histories and is written by Kate Atkinson.  It's a mystery with a glowing recommendation on the cover from Stephen King no less!  Here are some reviews -

http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/case_histories/

I hope to read it soon and when I do I'll post a review.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

4th season of Mad Men premieres tonight!!!

I think AMC's summer series Mad Men is arguably the best show on TV these days.  The show takes place in the 60's and revolves around a Manhattan advertising agency.  It's very historically accurate, the acting is brilliant, the writing is outstanding, the costumes are fantastic and it's critically acclaimed.  Mad Men has won back to back Emmy's and is up for that honor again this year.  The only problem is that very few people I know watch Mad Men which frustrates me to no end!  Well, now is a good time to start watching since things will have changed since the end of season 3 and you should be able to catch up.  There are many blogs that discuss the show including Entertainment Weekly -  check out Ken Tucker's reviews of the show on http://www.ew.com/.  Anyway, I'll be watching!

Jon Hamm

Don Draper


Thursday, July 22, 2010

Anniversary Trip to Europe

The London Eye
I have started to add some photos from our recent trip to Europe.  I plan to talk about that trip a lot and add more pictures as soon as I can.  We went to Bath (in England), London, Paris, Bruges and Amsterdam and followed the advice from Rick Steves' travel books.  It was fantastic! 

Dragon Tattoo movie

I just read that David Fincher (who directed Se7en, Fight Club and was nominated for the Best Director Oscar for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) will direct Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Daniel Craig (the current James Bond) is in talks to star as Mikael Blomkvist.  Ellen Page (Juno, Inception) has been talked about to play Lisbeth Salander but she would not be my first choice for the part.  I think they should cast an unknown actress but of course nobody asked me!
hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/07/21/girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-casting-whos-in-the-mix-now/

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Current book

I just started reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. This is the 3rd book in the so-called Millennium trilogy that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, followed by The Girl Who Played with Fire. I read the first 2 books in the series quite awhile ago but the latest one does a great job of recapping what went on previously so I didn't feel lost. I think this one could probably be read without reading the first 2 but I recommend reading them all in order. I actually haven't gotten that far (I'm on page 50) but I hope to get some reading done soon.


They have already made movies of the first 2 books in Sweden but I haven't had a chance to see them yet. Soon Hollywood will be making their versions. Right now they are considering a bunch of actors (I've heard Brad Pitt's name mentioned) and I'm curious to see who will end up with the coveted parts of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomquist.


More on this book later once I get into it some more! I like it so far...:)

My first blog post!

I always wanted to start a blog so here goes! I read all the time, one book after the other and actually don't feel like myself unless I'm into a book! I'm really passionate about books and hope to encourage others to read more. I'll tell you what I'm currently reading, what I plan to read and whether I liked the book I just read. I am a member of a great online book club called goodreads (see what your friends are reading is their slogan) and I have met great people through this site. Check out www.goodreads.com to meet other people who love to read! It's a lot of fun.


I am also a huge movie fan and my husband and I usually watch 2 or 3 movies a week. I'd love to talk about the movies I watch and also I have some favorite TV shows that are fun to discuss.


I try to keep abreast of what's going on in the world of pop culture. Also, my husband and I recently took a trip to Europe and I plan to talk about that and hope to post some photos. Oh, and one other thing about me is I'm a big fan of Seinfeld and I can usually find a Seinfeld quote to apply to any situation!


So that's my introduction to this blog. Hope someone out there finds it interesting!

Garden

Garden
Versailles

The Louvre

The Louvre
Paris

Paris

Paris
The Seine

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe
Paris

Paris in May

Paris in May
Paris

The Louvre

The Louvre
Paris

Chihuly glass sculpture

Chihuly glass sculpture
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Monet's Water Lilies

Monet's Water Lilies
Orangerie Museum, Paris

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey
London

Bruges

Bruges
View from our hotel window

Amsterdam

Amsterdam
canal

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe
Paris

Lilacs in London

Lilacs in London
St. Paul's Cathedral

The Royal Guard

The Royal Guard
London

Music man

Music man
Bruges

Joy at the Palace

Joy at the Palace
London

Guard

Guard
Tower of London

Jackson in Bruges

Jackson in Bruges
Belgium

Canal bridge

Canal bridge
Amsterdam

Houseboat

Houseboat
Amsterdam

British police

British police
London

Oscar Wilde's Grave

Oscar Wilde's Grave
Paris

Rhododendrons in the park

Rhododendrons in the park
Amsterdam

Versailles

Versailles
Joy in the palace

Winter scene

Winter scene
wow!

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year
dragon

Sweet peas

Sweet peas
love 'em

Pretty bouquet

Pretty bouquet

Princess Diana Fountain

Princess Diana Fountain
Hyde Park

Gardens

Gardens
Versailles

End of summer daisies

End of summer daisies
Our yard

Cool art

Cool art
Tate Modern, London

Penguin party

Penguin party
penguins

Pretty kitty

Pretty kitty
My sister's cat

Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm
Is he a great looking guy or what?

Mad about Don

Mad about Don
Mad Men

Love Monk!!

Love Monk!!
Love To Tony

January and Jon

January and Jon
Beautiful people

Jon and January

Jon and January
Mad Men actors

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa
The Louvre

Royal Crescent

Royal Crescent
Bath

British phone booth

British phone booth
London

Harrod's Department Store

Harrod's Department Store
London

Versailles

Versailles
bedroom

Trafalger Square

Trafalger Square
London

Tower of London

Tower of London
London

Seattle Public Library

Seattle Public Library
Seattle

Lavender

Lavender

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas
beautiful

Coffee love

Coffee love
yummy