Homage to Frida

Ian and I recently watched Frida, the biography film about Frida Kahlo (starring Salma Hayek). I have loved Frida Kahlo since high school and have always found her art eerily intriguing. Watching the film, I was blown away by the passion depicted by Hayek and the struggle and inner turmoil endured by Kahlo that I didn't even know about. The film showcased her extraordinary life and tortured art. When Ian and I went to the library yesterday, I decided to check out a HUGE art book on Frida and it has been SO inspiring! I made a painting inspired by Frida and her work yesterday too.


As some of you know, I majored in Spanish in college, so Mexican culture was a big part of my education and it continues to inspire my work, so it's no surprise that I love Frida Kahlo so much. This painting I made includes the bright colors that she was known for using, as well as other elements from her work: portrait interpretations, death, banners, and even a floral headpiece like she wore on a daily basis.

I based the painting around Día de Muertos, a mexican holiday festival in November celebrating deceased loved ones. Sugar skulls are one of the most prominent themes of Día de Muertos and are HUGELY inspiring me this fall!

I thought this little family portrait would be a cute fall gift for someone, even personalizing the banner too. I thought about sticking some listings for custom made ones in my etsy shop. What do you think?

It feels good to be painting again after a long reprieve and this week I'm going to continue doing more. I'm also going to be posting a feature post on Frida Kahlo and her work so I can share why she's so inspiring to me!
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Inspired by Water for Elephants

The other day on my day off, Ian took me on a special day out to a nearby city where we went out to lunch, shopping, and then to a movie: Water for Elephants. I read the book last summer and LOVED it! It's a very polarizing book: you either love it or you hate it. The book got passed to me because the 2 people before me hated it. I HIGHLY recommend that you read it! So naturally, since I loved the book, I wanted to see the movie and compare.

The movie TOTALLY exceeded my expectations! It was wonderful and SO inspiring in many different ways! The fashion that Reese Witherspoon wears was enough to make me swoon. Plus the adventure of running away with the circus is always mesmerizing. The 1930s is one of my very favorite decades and I think it often gets overlooked, but the depression was a true test of character and this circus was right in the thick of it. The movie will be ranked among my very favorites and I recommend 100 times over. :) Here are some pretty inspiring elephant images to celebrate!

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Pretty things planned for the blog this month! Ink Blots has really got my wheels turning and I'm ready to get back in the swing of things this month! Anything you'd like to see? SERIOUSLY-- leave a comment!
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Bon Appetit!

Everyone has those few AMAZING thrifted finds that they're SO proud of. It's like finding a rare gem amidst a pile of gravel. Like finding a 4-leaf clover. Like finding the limited edition Carmen SanDiego decoder ring in the cereal box before your brother does. This weekend, Ian found something for me at a garage sale that I've been seeking for almost a year: Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking!


It is an ancient 10th printing and it was only 25¢! BOY what a find! It still had crumbling remains of the dust jacket too, with a picture of the 3 authors cooking on the back: Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. But the real gem is the first recipe I looked for inside: her famous Boeuf Bourguignon.

Quoted from the cookbook:

"As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf borguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man."

I have to say that my admiration of Julia Child grew first after seeing one of her original filmings in my sophomore science class, then more after seeing Julie & Julia. It was such a cozy wonderful hug of a movie (especially since the main character is a BLOGGER!! HA!).


I'm not sure if I'll ever be the one to cook gourmet creations out of this cookbook, but Ian is a wonderful chef and I can't wait to see what he does with it. haha

As Julia Child would say,
Bon Appetit!
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cinemagic

I was talking to Allie the other day about Sarah Dessen books, which led to talking about How to Deal, one of my favorite movies. It's a pretty old one and I started to wonder how many of my friends had seen it. So that's what inspired this post. I decided to blog about a few of my favorite movies.... excluding musicals because there's too many of those. haha

How To Deal

year:2003
produced by: Focus Features
starring: Mandy Moore and Trent Ford
genre: dramedy
favorite quote:"Some people fall in love. I had to crash into it."
plot: A teenage girl is bordering on self-actualization but is confused by her mother's and sister's relationships, her best friend's pregnancy, life as a teenager, and the mere idea of love. As Halley Martin tries to find herself, her world seems to get more and more confusing with the introduction of a boy. Could it be love? Or is her heart getting tangled with her teenage mind?
review: I think Mandy Moore's character is COMPLETELY relatable. I love a movie with a plot like this one. SO much to think about and contemplate about your own life, while watching hers unfold.



Away We Go

year:2009
produced by: Big Beach Films
starring: John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph
genre: dramedy
favorite quote: "Do you promise to let our daughter be fat or skinny or any weight at all? Because we want her to be happy, no matter what. Being obsessed with weight is just too cliché for our daughter."
plot:An indie couple, hopelessly in love, finds out that they are expecting a baby. With their broken down house, and low prospects for jobs, they decide to relocate and start a new life together. Traveling to locations around the country, reconnecting with old friends and family, they soon find out their perfect place in this world we live in.
review: omg LOVELOVELOVE. It's one of those movies where you get that warm feeling inside like everything will be ok...



Breakfast at Tiffany's

year:1961
produced by:Jurow-Shepherd
starring:Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard
genre:drama
favorite quote:"You could always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you."
plot:Holly Golightly, a poor and carefree girl in the city meets a new neighbor whom she deems "Fred." While increasingly enjoying each other's company and having new adventures in love, they find out secrets about one another that make it hard to overlook. Each trying to start a new life, each trying to cling to something familiar: a love for someone.
review: I never thought I would like old movies until I watched this one. I want to be like Holly Golightly when I grow up. She's poor and still happy. She requires very little but companionship. This fact alone makes Breakfast at Tiffany's an adventure in coming into your own.



Up

year:2009
produced by: Walt Disney Pictures
starring:Ed Asner and Jordan Nagai
genre:adventure animation
favorite quote:"Sometimes, it's the boring stuff I remember the most."
plot:After the death of the love of his life, Carl Fredrickson longs for something more. After having the "final straw" with the modernization around him, he decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of finding Paradise Falls and having a "real adventure." Along the way, he finds that clinging to past memories can be both nurturing and detrimental. Having memories is one thing, but living in the past is another.
review: This movie taught me not to wait on my dreams. By living in the past and not striving for more, you might miss the life and the world around you. Love is the strongest force there is, and you're never too old to have an adventure.



ok so i like love stories. I like stories about finding yourself. I like stories that make me think. If you haven't seen these yet, (which you probably have because they're pretty common) then you seriously need to. I have so many favorites, but these are just ones I've been thinking a lot about recently. I've been feeling cinematic. :)
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