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Friday, November 26, 2010

Ask Wandering Chopsticks 15

5.11 May Flowers 19

My favorite blue pitcher,that sometimes doubles as a vase, is broken. :( A casualty of cousin A's bridal shower. Her new husband accidentally tripped over a hose and broke my other two pitchers as well. Those I was fine with, everything else that was borrowed could've shattered and I wouldn't have cared, but this was one of my very favorite kitchen items.

It was from Target's Global Bazaar Scandinavian collection, which I've only ever seen that one time when I was in Oregon visiting my parents. I think only another bargain hunter, or nester, can appreciate what it's like when you spot that perfect item that you instantly love that will go perfectly in your home.

I remember a long time ago when I was a kid and opened a cabinet up high. A bunch of dishes fell out, crashing onto the kitchen floor. I was petrified my mom would be so mad at me. But she just checked to make sure I wasn't hurt, and then swept up the shards. No recriminations. *Sigh.* I know they're just things, and things don't matter as much as people as my mom taught me long ago, but I still mourn my lovely blue pitcher just the same.

5.11 May Flowers 20

And the pitcher filled with cosmos you've seen before.

7 Random Things Meme 2.1

The past two months have been crazy busy with work and family stuff. I've been trying to finish up old, old restaurant posts. Several of them have closed before I even got around to revisiting them, much less blogging them. And of course, my usual spiel about trying to catch up with returning comments and emails. Sorry about that! Sometimes there just isn't enough time or brain power to do much of anything.

There are a couple of giveaways coming up that I'd like to get out before the end of the year, so watch out for those too. I like to think of the giveaways as "thank yous" for reading the blog.

Bloggers like to win giveaways too! I won this copy of "Britain and Ireland: A Visual Tour of the Enchanted Isles," by Robin Currie from Smitten by Britain. Thanks again Melissa! I love the book! How could I not love a book with Eileen Donan castle on the cover?

Ask Wandering Chopsticks 15 1

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! Got Thanksgiving posts and some lovely recipes to share when I get a moment. My friend DP stopped by with a couple of pies and these flip flips for me. She literally just came in from Brazil that day too.

Ask Wandering Chopsticks 15 2

Did anyone get any great deals during Black Friday? Target was a little insane at 4 a.m., but I got my "Big Bang Theory Season 3" for $12.99. Although, I like Season 1 best for the smart dialogue and physics references. I think Sheldon's become a caricature as the series goes on. Sure his quirks make for funny television, but the show is rapidly devolving into a show just about that and little else.

Wasted my time and money on "500 Days of Summer." Not even worth the $5.99 I paid for it. I think it tried too hard to be profound and fell flat. She wasn't as into him as he was into her, and just dragged the poor guy along for more than a year. Sure she told him from the beginning that she didn't want a boyfriend, but she had no problem stringing him along. Think if it were reversed. If a man slept with a woman and continued to date her for more than a year and introduced her to all of his friends, and then broke up with her by saying that he told her from the beginning he didn't want a girlfriend? Yeah, he'd be labeled a jerk. That's the point in which most romantic movies then have the girl get all "empowered" and moving on to bigger and better things, while the guy gets his comeuppance. Summer never got hers. Sure it's a movie, but a movie about a poor guy moaning about the loss of a girl who wasn't so great to him in the first place? Ugh! At the end of the movie, I just felt annoyed. I think "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" did the whole break-up lament better. And at least I believed they were in love at one point.

Also, got "Julie & Julia" for $5.99. Like pretty much everyone else, I wish they had just done a biopic of Julia Child, but I didn't hate Julie as much as I thought I would, mainly because Amy Adams made her likeable.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? I think it's time to move to my usual holiday film standby of "Love Actually."

Anyway, got a recipe question? Restaurant question? Just want to say, "Hi?" Did you miss Ask Wandering Chopsticks 1? Or click on the "Ask Wandering Chopsticks" tag below for previous editions. Otherwise, what's on your mind? You have until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, November 28.

*****
1 year ago today, Happy Thanksgiving!
2 years ago today, Charlie's Trio Cafe - Alhambra.
3 years ago today, Ryan Gosling's restaurant, Tagine - Beverly Hills.

4 comments:

  1. I actually liked the movie 500 days of Summer, but I understand people's gripe with it. I guess I see the movie more as a story about what it feels like when somebody doesn't love you back the way you love them. How you can feel so enamored with somebody and everything feels right but in the end you just weren't the one for them. (Spoiler alert) I think the last part of the movie sums it up well, when they're sitting on the bench and she explains how she knew he wasn't the one. The subtle pain in his face was heartbreaking and I guess I could relate. Maybe I just like the movie because I could relate to it personally.

    I love the movie "Love Actually" but my friends make fun of me for it :(.

    My question: I was wondering if you know any good blogs for me to read from northern CA. I would love to read a blog that has recipes and restaurant reviews and focuses more on Asian foods (although deviation from that sometimes is ok). Pretty much your blog, but for Norcal folks. I currently live in the Sacramento area, but travel to the bay area a lot.

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  2. hi wc - just wanted to say hello!!! and that i also love 'love actually'! so many storylines in there, it's hard to keep track! it's one of the few chick flicky type movies that i like. otherwise, my holiday standby movie is eddie murphy's classic "trading places"!

    i haven't watched 500 days of summer. i just know that the Smiths are on the soundtrack. if it sucked that much, maybe we can do a trade? i'd still give it a go and watch it.

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  3. I too am a sucker for bargain bin DVDs.

    I love Amy Adams but, yeah, I wasn't such a big fan of Julie in that movie. Still, that bruschetta she made towards the beginning of the movie looked so delicious that I went out and made some, and now it's one of my favorite dishes.

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  4. Phuong,
    I think we've all been there. My problem was her character toyed with him for more than a year before finally cutting him loose. She knew from the beginning he wasn't "the one," but continued seeing him until she wasn't happy anymore. They had moments of happiness, but I think it was obvious early on that she was never going to feel that way about him.

    I guess I had just heard it hyped so much that I expected this great love story to justify his heartbreak. And I never felt that. So I didn't like her character at all and wasn't sympathetic to his character either.

    How could your friends not like "Love Actually"? Everyone likes it! "Valentine's Day" tried to do the same thing but was waaaay too contrived.

    There are a bunch of NorCal food blogs. I just don't read very many of them. Blog reading is a little subjective. I'm sure if you click around enough, you'll find some that will appeal to you.

    CC,
    I watch "Love Actually" several times a year. Am not an Eddie Murphy fan and don't think I've seen that movie.

    The Smiths are mentioned because he likes them and she likes them, so he likes that she likes them. He plays them and sings along too. But it's definitely not shoegazing music. A lot of people like the indie soundtrack though.

    I think I hated it because I heard it hyped so much that I expected something more.

    Andi?,
    But bruschetta is so easy. I make it all the time when tomatoes are in season. I think a lot of bloggers didn't like her character because she was so self-absorbed and angsty. And really, was Julie even necessary for us to want to see more of Julia Child?

    It did make me order Julia Child's "My Life in France" on Amazon though!

    ReplyDelete

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