I LOVE IT: Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo.


This is one of my all-time favourite movies.
I've loved James Dean since forever ago because he is the epitome of the all-American bad boy with a real heart.

He is utterly perfect in his role as Jim Stark, a high school teen just trying to fit in and unfortunately, not succeeding. He befriends a kid who is more of a loner than he is, Plato, played by Sal Mineo, while falling in love with a girl named Judy.


Jim, Plato, and Judy find themselves at odds against everyone else by the end of the film with a tragic outcome.

To me, this film represents what every teenager thinks of themselves, of their parents, of their friends, of their enemies, of their boyfriends, of their girlfriends, in some way or another. It's relatable on a totally unrelatable scale.

If you haven't seen it, make sure you do. It's a classic and well worth a watch.
5/5 stars

"You're tearing me apaaaart!"
-James Dean as Jim Stark

I SAW IT: The Love Guru

The Love Guru (2008)
starring Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, and Justin Timberlake

You know what's ridiculous? This movie!

It got some pretty bad ratings but I actually found it funnier than a lot of comedies out in recent years. The basic premise of the movie is as follows: Mike Myers plays Guru Pitka, also known as The Love Guru. He is always trying to outdo his rival and childhood friend, Deepak Chopra. He tries to gain celebrity by getting an appearance on Oprah and counseling one of the Toronto Maple Leafs on how to win his wife back. To me, that is a winning storyline. Most likely because I love the Leafs, I love Mike Myers, the Leafs coach is a midget in the movie, and Justin Timberlake plays the well-endowed French goalie of the Los Angeles Kings.

(See below and just try and tell me that picture is not hilarious. Just try.)

WINNING storyline for sure. Jessica Alba also stars in it and I even thought she didn't do too bad of an acting job. Oh, and there is a special appearance by Kanye West.... who would have guessed? Probably half the population as he's well-known for his guest appearances now. A little bit of romance, a lot of comedy, and a midget. Can't beat that.

I don't think it should have gotten an Oscar or anything.
But I think it deserves a worthy 3/5 stars.

I DID IT: Boot Camp, Week 2

I thought boot camp would get easier, but no, it's only getting harder.

On Monday, we did a boxing/kickboxing class. By the end of the class, I was pretty sure I had pulled a muscle in my leg and I could barely lift my arms.

Last night, we did mostly cardio and abs. HARDEST CLASS EVER. We did a human obstacle course and I nearly cried a few times because I didn't think I could make it through, but we all survived somehow.

It's so strange though. At times, I just want it all to be over and to go home and lay in the bathtub and then go to bed... not in the bathtub, in my bed. Yet, I still look forward to every session. It's ridiculously difficult but so much fun. I guess that's the best kind of exercise.

Who knows what next week will bring...

I WANT IT: Tod's Sandalo Cinturino and Fibbie Shoes

I love the way these heels look. I just know that I could never walk in them and if I did, I would look ridiculous.

These heels are made by Tod's and retail at $745. When I see them, I want to throw on a khaki dress, pull my hair back into a bun, get a spray-tan, make my hair look bleached by the sun, and pretend I'm an archaeologist in Israel, but in heels, and not really working, just posing for pictures instead.

Tod's makes some cute stuff. Neiman Marcus carries them, which is where I found these shoes in the first place.
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod94740006&parentId=cat7000738&masterId=cat6230731&index=2&cmCat=cat000000cat000470cat000478cat1580734cat6230731cat7000738

I HATE IT: Riders Jeans by Lee

Now this one really upsets me.

Stacey London from TLC's 'What Not to Wear' is the celebrity endorsement for Riders Jeans. Love her, love the show.

Riders jeans are supposed to 'instantly slim you' if you buy the correct size because of the 'no-gap waist, tummy control panel, and slimming stretch denim.' Sounds all good, right? I thought so too, until I checked out this picture they have of one of the models wearing the jeans.

Check it.

Those look like the most unflattering jeans I've ever seen a person wear. Ok, I admit that's an exaggeration, but for a company whose brand is based on making jeans that flatter your body and make you look slimmer, this is an abomination.

I do delcare, an abomination.

The website for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.ridersjeans.com/Home

I WANT IT: Filson Wool Duffle Bag

Plaid is the new tan. Well, not really, but kind of. There is a plaid-craze going on. Someone should make a movie 'Attack of the Plaid' where people get infected with the plaid-craze, and they all start wearing plaid, and the heroes have to stop them or else we'll have a plaid-infected universe and all die of the plaid. I should patent that idea before someone steals it.

Back to the bag.
http://www.filson.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3359052&cp=2065674.2065687.3373308&parentPage=family

This bag is from a company in the States called Filson and the reason I love it is.... the plaid (specifically the burgundy plaid as pictured above). Yes, I have the plaid-craze. It has leather trim, which reminds me of my riding tack and all the good leathery-ness of it. It would be a good bag to take to the cottage on weekends in the fall/winter or to Blue Mountain for a weekend skiing trip. Unfortunately, like most things, it's too expensive to purchase, approx. $250.

But I can admire from a distance.

I WANT IT: Moni Moni Misty Bag

The Misty Bag from Moni Moni.... let's talk about it for a minute.

Why is this bag so expensive? When I say expensive, I mean almost $500 expensive. Well, I'll tell you why it's so expensive. It's handmade in Tuscany (drool) with a special technique. Instead of dying the material and then stitching it together, these bags are stitched together and then dyed, so that the dye makes shading in the creases for that worn-in look.

Voila!
http://www.monimoni.bigcartel.com/product/moni-moni-misty-bag

If I was a rich princess who lived in an NYC apartment on the Upper East Side, I would have this bag. Actually, I would probably have an even more expensive bag.

I DID IT: Boot Camp, Week 1

I completed my first week of boot camp. Crazy, but it's true. And to admit 'I love it' would be an understatement. Who knew that working out with a group of crazy women and one crazy instructor could be so much fun? It actually takes me back to my grade school days when we would run like mad around the soccer field or play a good game of Dodgeball, except I'm older and running around is a bit harder.

Our first night at camp, we got measured. I mean measured measured. She measured our arms, legs, chest, waist, stomach fat, leg fat, weight... EVERYTHING. We get measured again in 4 weeks to see the progress and again at the end of the 8 week camp.

We then started with some basic warm-up drills and stretches, which steadily progressed into lunges and squats. About 10 minutes into the class, I was DRENCHED with sweat. I repeat, DRENCHED. But I guess it's a sign we were working hard. We then did pushups/situps/triceps for what seemed like forever. The next part was the worst part in my opinion. This is where I felt like giving up on life. We did mountain climbers on mats, while our partner would run across the gym doing mountain climbers on these frisbee-things that slide. And then we'd switch it up. There is no way to describe how hard it was until you've tried it yourself. The class kept going with some running and then abs work and slowly ended with some soothing stretching to the sound of Alicia Keys' version of 'Empire State of Mind'.

It was quite the first class. I gotta give it up for our instructor, Amanda, though. She always has so much energy and keeps us going, even when we feel like dying out.

Our second class was even better. We were all still sore from Monday's workout, so the stretches at the beginning and the first lunges and squats were killer, but our bodies can do so much more than we think they can and we all managed to get through it. We then did the whole 'sitting against the wall as long as you can thing.' I actually enjoy doing that, so it was kind of like a break for me. We followed up with triceps/biceps exercises, moved onto some legs, and then hardcore into the cardio.

We did a mini-relay doing fast-feet across the floor while throwing a basketball back and forth to our partner, jumping jacks at the end and racing back to the finish. After doing that for a bit, we moved onto the serious relay. It was pretty much like a suicides relay, except we had to grab basketballs in between and race them back to our team, and do jumping jacks and burpees. Seems like a lot to do at once, and it was. Proud to say that our team won with 13 points overall. We then had to do abs work with our team by lying on our backs and doing sit-ups to throw the ball back and forth to our teammates. Again, our team was so pro with great rhythm. We then did the final exercise of passing the ball with our feet to each other while lying on our backs. Harder than it sounds. Some final stretches and we were done!

Surprisingly, I don't feel as sore today. I'm taking that as a good sign that I'm getting stronger already. I really enjoyed the competition aspect of it and I like running when I know it's for a purpose. I find myself smiling through the whole thing and cheering other people on. I think this may become an addiction; an addiction to boot camp.

Watch out, world. I'm coming for ya.

I WANT IT: Guess Rumala Boots

These might be the best over-the-knee boots I've seen all season. Called the Rumala boot and made by Guess. I would have totally bought them if my legs didn't make up for only a 1/4 of my height and if they were in my size. Unfortunately, but fortunately for my bank account, I do not have long enough legs to pull these off. But anyone who is a size 6 (the only size they have left) and is 6ft. tall, you should buy them and brag about them. I would.

Check it!

http://shop.guess.com/ProductDetails.aspx?style=GWRUMALA&image=GWRUMALA-BLKLE&mr:trackingCode=72A42525-D981-DE11-8C0A-000423C27502&mr:referralID=NA

I SAW IT: Paper Heart, The Way We Were, and The Graduate

This post will unofficially be titled, "3 Girls and a Pizza Box."

This past weekend, we watched a few movies, which we were way overdue on seeing. I must add that this movie night was complete with pizza, snacks, alcoholic beverages, and LOTS of chocolate.

Now for a brief review of these cinematic adventures:

Paper Heart (2009)
starring Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera
This movie is pretty much a mockumentary with Yi taking us on a quest to find out people's opinions on love, the one thing Yi doesn't believe in. Cera also stars as the guy Yi, who would have guessed, falls in love with on this quest.

Cera is (actually was... now) Yi's real life boyfriend, which is pretty cool and makes the story way cuter. On that note, Cera's from Brantford (local boy!) which is the reason I wanted to see the movie in the first place. I've been a fan of Cera's since Arrested Development (may it rest in peace) and he has gone on to do some very very funny films. (On a side note, we had a discussion the other day and some of us agreed that it's time for Cera to break out and do a drama or dark comedy, instead of indie films or regular comedies)

Back to the review..... overall, the movie was good. I wouldn't buy it, but it wouldn't kill me to see it again either. Yi can be a little too weird for me at times, but hey, everyone's different. Cera is adorable as always and the storyline was solid. I give it a 3.5/5. Do yourself a favour and rent it for Cera.

The Way We Were (1973)
starring Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford

Is there any point in reviewing this movie? Everyone else in the world has probably already seen it since it's a classic. Well, short and sweet then.... great great movie. Great acting, great story, great music (go Babs!), great scenery.

This movie was special for us because it's filmed partly in New York City, where we had an encounter with Barbara Streisand this past September at the Russian Tea Room. And wouldn't you know it? Barbara Streisand stars in the movie. That is the formula for a perfect film.

It rates as a 4.5/5 for me. (Oh, and wouldn't Hubble be a really cool name for a kid nowadays? Yeah... it would.)

The Graduate (1967)
starring Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, and Katharine Ross

Again, any point in even reviewing? This movie is LEGENDARY! An affair with an older woman and then falling in love with her daughter? Ok, I take it back. THAT is the actual formula for a perfect movie. I want to go buy it and watch it again this very minute.

It's so refreshing to see some older films and the quality in how they were produced. Nowadays, quality goes out the window. It's all CGI and sex (not that there's anything wrong with that.)

This movie garners the almighty 5/5 rating. (BTW, Dustin Hoffman was pretty good-looking in his younger days. And a stellar actor)

I GOT IT: Klean Kanteen Water Bottle

Normally, I would never post something about a water bottle. Who would? Well, the answer is me, but not normally. The reason for this post is because I would like to shout from the rooftops "I LOVE MY NEW WATER BOTTLE!",

but I have no rooftop to shout from upon.

Therefore, you may read this entry.

Check it!

It looks like a normal water bottle..... right?

Well, it pretty much is, except that it's environmentally friendly and good for you, unlike dreadful plastic! It's made from stainless steel, which is safe and doesn't require a yucky plastic coating that will wear off and you'll end up drinking it and getting cancer. It's super lightweight and doesn't sweat cold beverages. And it's the perfect size to take on the go, to the office, to the gym, to the dentist. I actually read about it in a magazine about 2 years ago and I wanted it so bad that I looked it up online, but the shipping was too expensive, so I didn't end up buying it. But lo and behold, I walked into Chapters today and there it was.... sitting on the display right in front of the main door.

Meant to be? Oh, yes.

Head to your local Chapters and be really great and get one too!
Or pay the ridiculous shipping online!

http://www.kleankanteen.com

I'M DOING IT: Booty Camp

Tonight is my first session of Booty Camp.

I refer to it as Boot Camp,

'cause saying I'm going to Booty Camp makes me sound like a hooker.

I heard about it from an old friend of mine and signed up.

It's an across-Canada camp for women only,

and it's an hour workout 2 nights a week in the evening,

which is great for those of us who sleep through our alarms on a regular basis.

Not naming names....

This is the link for those interested.
http://www.bootycampfitness.com

This session is SOLD OUT, which is a good sign, right?

I'll try and post updates on how it is

(but we all know I'm terrible at posting on a regular basis).

Key word there is TRY.

I suspect I'll be mighty sore in the morning,

but as they say, it's a 'good sore.'

Pray for my muscles, please. How bad can it be though?

Can't be worse than walking miles on end through New York City

for 7 days straight and contemplating amputating my feet and legs

and hiring someone to push me around in a wheelchair for the remainder of the trip.

Or can it?