enter fangirl mode...

While it feels like my life lately has been a ton of fangirl squealing, I actually HAVE been super busy doing sessions & editing!

But today....today, the fangirl in me came out again today. I have zero shame for the fangirling I do for my show. Which is why I was pretty stoked to run into Colin O'Donoghue today in Nashville! He's in Nashville filming a movie before Once Upon a Time goes back into production - lucky us! So yes, I took today off to get my picture with Captain Hook.

Such a sweetheart he was, immediately signing our stuff (and now that I've got my S2 DVD signed, I need the rest of the cast to sign it!), engaging in a quick conversation about how different he looks (because let's face it: he looks so baby faced without the scruff and guy-liner!) & taking photos with us!

Since we didn't expect to actually get him until our Vancouver trip to the set of the show, we were super excited to see him today!

/endfangirlmode

Moving on, little man & I went to see Maleficent! I have been SO EXCITED for months that they were making a movie about Maleficent. I was less than thrilled when Jolie got cast for the part, but....considering she's one of the greatest Disney Villains of all time, I sucked it up!

Ever since he was little, I've had the tradition of taking Kadin's pic in front of the movie poster we're going to see. Thank goodness he still lets me do it!

SIGH. This falls in the "Aunt Nicole is such a sucker" category. I let him get churros, a large popcorn and a large drink all before we had dinner.

I was so captivated by Maleficent. I kept hearing they changed the ending, and wasn't sure what I would think, but I loved it! And I love that Kadin watched Sleeping Beauty the night before we went so he could compare the two - love this kid! They really did a fabulous job on the story - on Maleficent's back story, and bringing the whole Sleeping Beauty story back in the spotlight. 

And I probably never saw myself saying this, but...Angelina was actually the perfect casting for the role.

After letting Kadin digest all that ridiculous junk, I took him to Johnny Rockets. Is it any surprise he wasn't very hungry & barely ate any of his dinner?? The perks of being the awesome aunt. (Plus the little runt talked me into buying him another wrestling set. These kids will kill my credit card!)

I could sit at their booths all day -- I love the nostalgia! I wish the jukeboxes worked....

Back to photo editing I go....Happy Mid-week!

On Wednesday's we wear pink

10 years ago today, the cult-classic 'Mean Girls' was released. I have zero shame in the fact that I rocked some pink today in it's honor. The "that's so fetch" line was in heavy usage at the office today -- the inner high school bitch in all of us had a blast. This movie is such a silly guilty pleasure! 

E! listed the 20 Best Mean Girls quotes last year on the infamous October day....LOVE this article! 

In other news & total random ramblings, I started putting serious consideration into going back to school -yes again- to get my Masters Degree. I've been slightly toying with the idea in my head for a few months, and really haven't made 100% decisions yet, kinda. I sent off an application today....I guess we wait and see! And then I suppose it will all come down to do I really want the stress of school again & do I want the lovely student loans bill to go up. I would never be thinking this if so many classes weren't available online. How do people manage life, business, work & actually having to go to school after HS!? 

Also, tomorrow is May! Which not only means one of my favorite months is finally here  --- because I have SO many epic plans & trips in May this year -- but because it's time for one of my very favorite internet meme's ever!

Happy mid-week, y'all! 

Oscar Time...

Happy March! So happy it's here -- the TV nerd in me can't contain my excitement that Once Upon a Time finally comes back this weekend!

So much went on this weekend, but since I haven't even pulled pics off the camera yet, we'll save that for tomorrow.

And instead, we'll move onto the Oscars.

Am I the only one who thought "Blue Jasmine" was good, but not over the top great? Apparently so, because Cate Blanchett sure made a sweep at all the awards shows.  (Although, I may just be bitter that she beat Queen Meryl!?) This year was the first year I had seen every single film nominated for best picture, so it was a good watch this year! I've said a million times that 12 Years a Slave was the best movie of 2013, so I'm really glad it won Best Picture!

Anyway, totally starting with this girl:

Lupita Nyong'o. I couldn't help but tear up with her when she won. (And her speech was so moving  & heartfelt!) She was so INCREDIBLY powerful in 12 Years a Slave. I didn't see this going to anyone but her. Also people, she looks like Cinderella! Love her dress & headband!

Jared Leto also made me cry with his amazing speech about his mom. (Also, his eyes are oh-so-dreamy!) This was another win I didn't see going to anyone else. If you haven't seen Dallas Buyers Club, you absolutely must, no excuses not to have seen it!

And of course: Bette Midler wins when it came to the performances of the night. Not only did I loooove this red carpet dress (her performance dress, not so much), but she was totally CC Bloom for two minutes and sang "Wind Beneath My Wings", which of course is only from one of the greatest movies ever made. I may have started fangirling when she started singing.

Looooove Calista Flockhart's dress! I'm not usually a big fan of white, but this screams class & elegance. 

Swoon. Could Bradley Cooper get any hotter?? Didn't think he could, but he showed up like this. Totally the best dressed guy there.

However, my favorite guy of the night was at Elton John's Oscar party. Swoon....I love love love me some Tony Goldwyn! Oh how he's gone from being the bad guy in Ghost to the ridiculously hot Fitz on Scandal. He always looks good in a tux! (or...anything!)

I thought this was a pretty good year for the Oscars! I didn't disagree with too many of the awards, and it seemed to me like everyone got more time for their speeches!? Multiple great speeches this year, complete with an "Alright, Alright, Alright" from McConaughey! 

Weekend Shenanigans

It has been a whirlwind of a weekend! I'm finally having some down time, so obviously I'm using that time to watch one of my all-time fave movies - "Beaches". I'm really not in the mood to cry, so I don't know why I'm watching...sigh.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Valentines....I'm pretty sure I had the two cutest Valentines dates ever!

The kids & I went to see the Lego Movie & dinner - and then because Aunt Nicole is such a sucker, in their Valentines bags this year I put Target gift cards, sooooo we wound up at Target at the end of the night to let them shop. Love, Love, Love these kids - it doesn't get any better than having a night out with them.

Kadin LOVED The Lego Movie - Paige & I thought it was kind of lame. It's getting such rave reviews, I was really surprised we didn't like it! It had a few funny spots, but it just didn't hold my attention, which was such a bummer, I really wanted it to. Great cast, and a great concept - at one point Paige leaned over and said "This is the most bored I've ever been in the movies before!". Kadin, meanwhile, was in total HEAVEN. 

Saturday was all about celebrating! Larry's oldest son turned the big 1-4 this weekend! I'm so glad he's able to come out with all of us often. I've watched him grow up into such a wonderful young man - full of so much talent & potential! I just know his future is going to be bright, and so glad I'll be able to tell everyone I knew him way back when ;) 

Christian picked dinner & a movie, so it was deja vu -- but I'm pretty much at the movies every weekend, right!? He picked Vampire Academy, which is definitely a good movie for his age group.

All these kids are growing up way too fast....I really need to stop time! (And I say this right after we scheduled the appointment for Paige to get her license. Sigh. Aunt Nicole isn't ready for this!)

Sunday Social time....

I worried about the snow forecast, and what do we have on the ground? Nooooothing. Everyone is so disappointed - except me, that is! I think I might be the only person in town that is thrilled that Nashville is always "on the line" & rarely gets the white stuff? This let me do my session this morning with zero problems -- except freezing my ass off!

This weeks Sunday Social is sooo right up my alley....it's all about TV/Movies!

1. What is your favorite thing to watch on a girls night?It really depends on what we're in the mood for! However, a big hit on girls night with my bestie is Dolly's "Straight Talk"! 

2. What is your favorite thing to watch on your day off?It depends on if something is on or not! My shows are on hiatus right now, so I've been re-watching Once Upon a Time & Scandal earlier seasons or re-watching Army Wives on most of my days off right now! BUT....if I happen to catch Snapped on or turn on the ID channel - it's all over, that's all I'm going to watch all day....

3. What is your favorite thing to watch when you're sick?
Friends or Golden Girls - forever the greatest show ever made. I know it drives my brother in law NUTS that my sister & I constantly quote them verbatim. I watch them at some point every day!

4. What is the last movie you saw in the theater?Dallas Buyers Club, absolutely fabulous!!

5. What are your top three favorite movies or tv shows?
Movies: Steel Magnolias, Beaches, Something Borrowed
TV Shows on now: Once Upon a Time, Scandal, Downton Abbey

Dallas Buyers Club

I really should have some sort of stock in a movie theater....I don't think we've gone a week without going to see a new movie in a loooong time.

Friday night, the girls & I went out to see "Labor Day" with Josh Brolin & Kate Winslet. I'm such a sucker for sappy love movies, but this one didn't do it for me. It was good - but it moved so slow. I wanted it to be better than it was.

Saturday after taking advantage of a GORGEOUS day -- 61 degrees meant I was able to have an amazing session in the morning & a nice jog at the park -- Larry, Christian & I decided to go grab dinner & a movie.

Oh, and because I'm, you know, a Starbucks addict, Christian and I also made a quick stop....and snuck in all the important stuff into the movies.

(By the way, fellow photos, the Kelly Moore Mimi bag not only successfully carries my gear & every day stuff -- it carries a Venti Starbucks!) 

We went to see "Dallas Buyers Club" with Matthew McConaughey & Jared Leto. Wow. If you haven't seen this movie - you MUST. This movie is brilliant work, by all involved.

I went into the movie knowing they had dropped a significant amount of weight to play AIDS patients, and that was really it. What a story they told. McConaughey plays Ron Woodruff, a guy who is beyond homophobic & contracts HIV - and of course doesn't believe it, since he insists he only has sex with women. It's not until he does a little research and flashes back to having unprotected sex with a woman, a drug addict sharing needles, that he truly believes that his diagnosis is true. His 30 days to live diagnosis immediately prompts him to take matters into his own hands, and not trust what doctors tell him - or try to treat him with.  The intro to the situation really makes him look like a total ass you don't want to root for. 

The story delves into his desire to get his hands on un-approved drugs claimed to help those diagnosed with HIV. This launches him to start a business to help others with HIV - including Jared Leto, a cross dresser who was utterly & completely unrecognizable -- not only because of the cross dressing, but because of the significant amount of weight he lost for the role.

I can usually tell how good a movie was based on how much we talk about it in the car on the way home -- we could not stop discussing this one.  It's out on DVD on Tuesday, and it's worth the trip to your Redbox to see it! 

It's that time of year again....

Being the movie/TV nerd I am, I loooove Golden Globes time! So yes, we DID have a mini-party at my place last night to watch the show. (We may have just used the Golden Globes as an excuse to get together and drink wine, though.) I was striking out left and right  – NONE of my people were winning! My only prediction that won was Best Drama – 12 Years a Slave. I cannot even begin to stress how great this movie was. There were some scenes in the movie that were difficult to watch, but so overwhelmingly powerful --- it deserved its win.

A few ramblings from the show:

1. Because of what a powerful, moving film 12 Years a Slave was - I was SHOCKED to see Chiwetel Ejiofor & Lupita Nyong’o  weren’t the winners in their categories. American Hustle was a good movie, but it definitely wasn’t on the level as 12 Years.  I know I cry easy at movies, but….when grown men start sobbing in the theater, you KNOW it’s a good movie.

2. Seriously? Kerry Washington ignored again? Have you voters WATCHED SCANDAL!?

3. I would marry Johnny Depp at 4:00 tomorrow…..if he washes that blonde out of his hair.  What the fresh hell is this? I know it’s for a film, but….no Johnny Depp. No.

 

 4. Cate Blanchett’s Armani dress was to die for. I wasn’t overly crazy about the back of it, but the head to toe lace was absolutely gorgeous.

 

5. Chris Pine. Sigh. He gets hotter every day.

6. The greatest part of the night is summed up in two words: Emma Thompson. There are few people who can get away with A) Walking out barefoot with Louboutins in one hand & a Martini in the other. B)Tossing said Louboutins behind her back C) Shutting you up when you applaud her entrance. Emma Thompson is one of those people.

7. And finally, even without presenting, Meryl Streep is STILL the Queen. 

Practically Perfect in Every Way...

I hope everyone is staying warm -- I know I whine about it all the time, but holy hell do I loathe winter. 18 years in Tennessee, and I still whine when it's 40 degrees, so I'm sure in for a shock when it's 10 degrees on Monday :/

A few weekend musings....

The title of this entry may be one of my very favorite lines in Mary Poppins - and it's beyond fitting for this entry. Larry, Christian & I went to see Saving Mr.Banks last night. What an incredible movie! Easily one of the best movies I've seen in the past year. The story behind "Mary Poppins" & how the film was made, Tom Hanks completely exceeded my expectations as Walt Disney (who totally hung the moon, y'all, not even kidding!) - and Emma Thompson was brilliant as PL Travers.

Mary Poppins was way before my time - the movie was 19 years old by the time I was born. But naturally, Disney movies are timeless (says the 30 year old with an intense Disney collection) - I saw the movie as a small child & the book nerd in me added it to my collection in middle school. I was actually really surprised at the # of adults in our theater who had never actually seen or read it! However, even not having seen it -- I was NOT the only one who cried during the film. I do think you'd enjoy the movie more if you've seen/read/have an appreciation for Mary Poppins.

A few things I loved: the in depth look at PL Travers background - and trying to show she wasn't just trying to be a hard ass - she had a personal, genuine attachment to Mary Poppins that was so incredibly deep. A touching moment in the movie I thought was Disney admitting he understood her attachment, and he felt the same way about Mickey Mouse. The story behind her personal life & her fathers struggles were heartbreaking. The only remotely "negative" thing I could say was they made it seem as though Travers loved the outcome of the movie, when it was so well known that she was not happy & refused to work with Disney again.

An incredible touch in the credits is listening to some of the original recordings from the writers room between Disney writers & PL Travers,  so if you go see it, stay for the credits - a great party of history folks haven't heard before, it was fascinating!

"Adults are only grown-up kids, anyway" - Walt Disney

Movies (we also saw the latest Madea movie today! Not nearly as funny as the other Madea movies, what a bummer!) & Shopping were the extent of the weekend, really. And -- to probably everyone's surprise - I bought NOTHING at Opry Mills. How I didn't find a new pair of shoes is beyond me - and this is probably the first time I left H&M empty handed. What I need is for them to bring my damn bookstore back....

Today is also P's birthday! I was searching twitter earlier and found these two tweets from folks - greatest tweets ever:

Patty Loveless has a voice straight from Jesus.
Tomorrow is Patty Loveless' birthday.  I'm so thankful she was born.

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people in the world! Girl has serious talent and outshines everyone else. (Also, she's all kinds of humble. She never plays the "I'm way more awesome than you" card  -- even though she totally could!)

1996 & 2011

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Happy Black Friday!

If anyone tells you being an aunt is cheap, they are liars. Being an awesome aunt is totally expensive.

Since I always crash at my sisters house the night before a holiday, Wednesday I decided to go early & grab the kids to go to the movies. Being the movie freak I am, I spend a lot of money at the movies....but man, I bring the kids and I'm SUCH.A.SUCKER!

And after this, we added more junk, because I can't seem to say "No" when they ask for funnel fries. $75 later, we were finally in our seats to see Frozen! 

Frozen was seriously adorable. I mean, I'd probably say that anyway, because I'm a Disney nerd....but it really was adorable & so sweet. And I may or may not have cried at the end. The greatest part however, was all three of us loved it, and Kadin talked about it all weekend.

Love Love Love my babies!

We had a pretty un-eventful Thanksgiving....we had to do it at lunch so Mom could go home & get some sleep since she had to be at work at 6. And of course this was great time for the sis, niece & I to watch movies & get a slight nap in ourselves. Black Friday shopping is serious business, y'all! 

with my favorite girl! 

at the top of the "thankful" list this day are these two adorable kiddos!

This totally might have been one of our best Black Friday's ever! We got in line at Target at 6 to wait in the ridiculous cold. Brr. 8 came pretty quickly though, and we were only about 50 people back in line, so we were the first people at the area we wanted to be in. We're so not the ones who run to the TV's -- we go straight to the DVD's. We snatched the DVD's we wanted as quickly as possible. My receipt said I saved $58 just on the DVD's I bought, so....say what you will about Black Friday, but the savings are great! (And we have a blast!)

Did anyone else spot a ton of freaking kids out this year? And not just kids....there were SO many kids out in no winter coats, some babies without socks. Have people never actually SEEN what Black Friday entails?! This is totally not a place for kids. Sigh. 

We successfully shopped for 9 hours - now THAT is a successful Black Friday. I have zero clue how much money I actually saved, but I came home with bags and bags of stuff! Who could pass up some of the sales? The crowds were pretty massive but we timed everything so perfect...the longest line we had to wait in was Starbucks in Opry Mills! By midnight, we were in need of that caffeine to keep going, so of course it was worth waiting for.  Old Navy was the only store that we didn't get what we wanted - mainly because the line to check out was to the back of the store. Although 50% off the entire store was a great deal - I didn't want anything that bad there. (And yes, I looked online for what we wanted!)

My best deals were my DVD's & all the awesome prices at Disney Store -- in store & online. Who could pass up the $4 stuffed characters, and the free monogramming of the blankets?! 

However, my favorite purchase was for myself....

Because what's greater than a Snow White pez dispenser?!?!

It's time for a nap - because I'm going back out tonight! Happy Shopping, y'all! 

Forget the Emmy's...

Yes, forget the Emmy's....You know what's REALLY important right now? Happy Meal toys.

McDonalds decided to have Wizard of Oz toys in their happy meals to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the movie)....

I mean, these are adorable! I'm missing the Tin Man & Glinda the Good Witch, but I'll have them this week! Let me just say, getting these was no small feat. Thank goodness my mother & my friends are just as crazy as I am, and were scouring all over Nashville for these. My phone was filled with texts from everyone telling me which location had which toys. (Also, who knew McD's would let you buy the toy without having to buy the actual meal?!)

We saw the movie in IMAX 3D this week too (while rocking some red shoes, of course!). It always boggles my mind when I hear someone say they don't like Wizard of Oz -- this movie is SUCH a classic. I know people groan when they hear a classic has been put in 3D, but they really did a great job with this movie. It was so incredibly clear, not to mention SO larger than life. It's only in theaters for one week, so seriously, if you have an IMAX nearby, go see it! (Oh, and because again, we're movie junkies, we saw Prisoners this week too! What an amazing -- but slightly disturbing, at times hard to watch-- movie!)

And I mentioned ruby red shoes -- it's officially that time: I dug out the boots & closed toed flats this week! Part of me sure loves my fall and winter boots, and the other part of me mourns having to put all my open toe shoes away. I work so hard on my nails, damn it! 

To help the pain of putting away my summer clothes (which I actually haven't done yet -- I will wear the hell out of these until it's definitely too cold to do so!), I told myself it was time to go shopping! Which really is the truth -- I'm losing weight & a lot of my clothes are becoming big on me, mainly my jeans. (Hooray!) And, I have a family reunion in a few months - which means a full new outfit is required! But, I walked out with.....

Zero pairs of jeans - MORE new shoes (two more pairs to be exact)! I spotted these five minutes after walking in and was convinced my life wouldn't be the same without them, and had them in hand in seconds. I mean every girl needs sequins in her life, it would have been practically illegal not to buy them! 

Oh well, it's the official start of fall this week, so it's a legit reason to buy new shoes, right?  Happy Fall!

Old Timer's Festival...

We've had a busy - but fun - week!

Because we're basically movie junkies, we hit the movies twice over the weekend - and saw the same movie!

Friday & Sunday we went to see the new Robert Deniro/Michelle Pfeiffer movie. Because we love most of Michelle Pfeiffer's work, we went to see it opening night because we loved she was doing another Mob movie. (Who in the world doesn't love Married to the Mob!?) And of course we loved it -- and when one of my friends mentioned she couldn't believe we all went without her & wanted us to go again Sunday....we jumped on it! (Go see it if you like Mob movies, btw. It's funny, and has some sweet moments too. Deniro and Pfeiffer are total badasses, it's worth your money.) 

When I wasn't with the friends at the movies....I was with the fam, I know, I know, no shock there, since I spend alot of my time at my sisters. Our sleepover the other week had us playing "Hollywood Buzz" on the PS2 (Kadin has informed me that I have "a lot of Hollywood knowledge" in my brain)-- and I happened to make a comment that we should have gone to the Fair, but I forgot it was in town.

That immediately made Kadin say "Well, the Old Timer's Festival is here Saturday! We'll go there!! And get funnel cakes!" So needless to say- we took a night out to go to the Old Timer's Festival.....I expected just little man to go with us, but Paige came with us too! It's not often we get the 15 year old out with the whole family! She & I ended up riding most of the rides together, and we had a blast. I'm super fortunate in the aspect of being close to my girl, so I love our moments like this when we have time to gossip! And, of course we started planning the Sweet 16 party- today I made reservations &  put down the deposit! We always split up friends/family parties, but she wanted something special for her friends party, so naturally- it was Aunt Nicole who offered to foot the bill! 

with my babycakes!

with my mr.handsome. so flipping adorable I CANNOT.STAND.IT.

told you, he's obsessed with funnel cakes. 

The Old Timer's Festival is just really super small, in a parking lot basically of a park near my sisters house --- some rides, some games, and then your usual fair food places set up. (And we're in the south, so our fair food includes Fried Oreos, Snickers, any other junk food you can think of) But it was good for a little night out....

Kadin & I rode this ride called "Berry Go Round" - which was basically like the Tea Cups at Disney, except in the shapes of....Strawberries. He was ridiculously amused at showing me how strong he was with his ability to spin the strawberry around, as evidenced in this video: 

Seriously. I love love love this kid.  Paige & I rode the Ferris Wheel....and I promise, it was as podunk of a Ferris Wheel as you can possibly picture in your head. As we got to the top, the dude sped the ride up a little bit, and we had that instant moment of panic.....

We called this the "this redneck is going to kill us on this ride!" shot. 

Ferris Wheels are supposed to go slooooow. I don't mind fast rides, but...I do mind a tiny ferris wheel that doesn't even appear it can hold the weight of us on the the slot we were riding in, going a little faster than normal. Mental note never to ride that one again.

They had one of those fun house things, and I was SO tempted to go in to take pics, but it was SO teeny tiny that I didn't really think there was much to shoot. I spotted this to the side and my sister & I immediately started singing "You're the One that I Want" - too bad Kadin doesn't appreciate a good Grease singalong! So I had to settle for pics of Kadin coming out --- and the damn thing wasn't even working, it wasn't moving at all, so the kids just walked through. Boo!  But he totally pulled off one of his wrestler poses --- he cracks me up! 

We capped our night at the hot air balloon. If this thing hadn't been tethered, I would have been ALL ABOUT this! How freaking awesome....but they had it tethered, so you went through all this hassle to get in it, just for it to lift you a little bit. I didn't think it was worth the money. (And that would be my sister coming out in me!) But it was fun to watch....(can you spot Mom & Paige in it!?)