just percolating...
Last weekend, the Hubby and I dusted off some fancy-pants clothes and headed out to Canada's National Arts Centre to attend the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. I had been invited as a member of the media last year, and was thrilled to be invited again this year because this event is just spec-tac-u-lar. In addition to the actual show, there are some pre- and post-show activities to book-end the experience. Before the show … [Read more...]
Yes, it's been a long hard winter. You may even feel that it's aged you a bit along the way. But did winter actually feel any easier when you were 29? Well, duh. Everything's easier when you're 29, right?!! A new movie hitting the screens soon is taking that concept to a whole new -- and thought-provoking -- level. (Granted, I think it could make a great comedy too.) Despite joking with our girlfriends that we're 29 years … [Read more...]
My kids tell me that *everyone* in their class is going on a trip to Florida for the March Break. Naturally, since I am typing this up while looking out at a ton of snow still on the ground, it goes without saying that we are not in this *everyone* crowd. But we're not crying in our hot chocolate (okay, maybe just a little ;)) ... we've got some fun things planned for the kids, including a night ski on Gatineau's cross-country ski trails. And … [Read more...]
Monday's are always such a good day to give something back to my friends who come by and spend time here at Coffee with Julie! Especially when Ottawa is so grey and gloomy right now. Today, I have -- thanks to Sara at Allied Integrated Marketing -- two family passes (each pass admits two adults and two children) to the upcoming Ottawa premier of The Penguins of Madagascar movie. Here's the movie synopsis: “Super spy teams aren't … [Read more...]
It's Monday. Let's do a giveaway, shall we? Remember how excited and captivated you were as a kid to see the movie ET for the first time? I can remember clearly that my neighbours had seen ET at drive-in show (oh, those were sooo cool!) and I was just bursting out of my skin for my parents to take me too. When we did go, I certainly wasn't disappointed! Now, in 2014, we'll be able to re-live that fun again ... and introduce it to our kids! … [Read more...]
Tonight is the night! It's pajamas and tiaras, accompanied by yummy food and great gals. I did do my best to cram in as many of the nine films that were nominated for best picture this year. In the end, I saw: Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Lincoln, and Silver Linings Playbook. I also really wanted to catch Argo and Zero Dark Thirty, but that didn't happen. But just because I haven't seen most of the films and just because I haven't read … [Read more...]
The other day someone mentioned the Oscars. Oh! That means it's time for my annual cram-fest ... where I see how many nominated movies I can manage to see before the actual event. This year's Oscars are on February 24th, which means I have 17 days to see what I can squeeze in and not feel like a pop-culture wallflower (aka a parent). Last year, out of the 10 films that had been nominated, I'd seen three. This year, there are nine films … [Read more...]
On several occasions, I've overheard Stella say this to someone who's asked her about me being away on a trip: When mom is away, my dad gets bored and watches Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movies at night. I don't like it! The music is so loud that I can hear it in my bedroom -- and it can be really scary and eerie! Not only do I find it sweet that she thinks he's bored without me (even though I don't actually believe that for a minute!), but … [Read more...]
Hubby and I are having one of those weeks where we are feeling burnt out and tired. On Tuesday evening, we decided to order-in pizza (haven't done that since mid-January!) and eat dinner with the kids in front of the television. Sort of a comfort-food and comfort-visual evening. It's fairly impossible for us to find anything that we all want to watch due to a combination of ages and interests. The only thing we can ever manage to agree upon is … [Read more...]
Yesterday, I did something unusual. I went to see a movie that was filled with frightening scenes and macho bravado. And I drank it up all. Liam Neeson in the film The Grey. Photo credit. It’s old fashioned and sexist to believe that men should all be strong and brave, just as it would be to believe that all women should be nurturing and gentle. But the news has been filled with stories of weak, dishonourable men as of late. And it is … [Read more...]
Wandering around Brooklyn and Manhattan, it is impossible not to notice the street art everywhere. Some of it could rightly be called the more derogatory term of "graffiti" but a lot of it is truly "art." If you could spray paint on the surface, then in all likelihood, someone had. I am more interested in street art these days than I used to be, and I attribute this to the documentary-styled film "Exit Through the Gift Shop." I've embedded a … [Read more...]
It's not that I don't have a bazillion things I'd love to write and share with you, it's just that I haven't had two moments to myself lately. (I'm not exaggerating, honestly. We've had guests from Australia for the past three weeks. It's been busy but soooo amazing to have them here!) Things will be calming down soon, but in the meantime, I have called upon my bloggy buddy Andrea to help me out. I call her my "bloggy buddy" because we both … [Read more...]
So, I was late to this kissing game. It was at a grade 9 dance, Bobby (yes, that really was his name!) and I slipped outside of the gymnasium and went for a little walk. He was a gorgeous boy, with dark hair that fell into his eyes. I'd been admiring him in Science class ... sitting there all tall and handsome in his football jacket. And now, here I was, holding his hand in the dark. We leaned against a wall where we couldn't be seen and … [Read more...]
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Every year, one of my BFFs hosts a very fun Oscars party. It's just girls and we all show up in our pjamas with tiaras and boas. (And somehow, every year, my hubby forgets this and asks if I'm really going to wear my pjamas outside the house.) As you can imagine with any gathering of women, the food is plentiful and so is the wine. Plus, the hostess gives us each an old fashioned loot bag -- like you would receive if you were a kid going to a … [Read more...]
When I was younger, there was no way I'd walk into a movie theatre alone. Because ... What if someone saw me? What would they think? And I would wonder to myself about that lady sitting alone in the movie theatre ... Is she lonely? Does she not have a partner or friend to come with her? And despite having a house full of love and a pocket full of wonderful friends, I am often that lady sitting alone in the movie theatre. When I have a night to … [Read more...]
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Looking back, I can see why my parents continued to fork over what was a considerable sum of money so that I could keep up with my dance classes. I still have no idea how they managed to afford it since I find two children's activities costly, and they had four. But they did. Somehow. Sure, they knew I loved it. And I begged to take as many classes as could humanly be squeezed into a highschooler's schedule. Only now, as a parent myself, do I … [Read more...]
I'll be the first to admit, I haven't been out to the movies much in, say, oh ... the last seven years. Yes, coincidentally, since I've become a parent. So, I might be wrong here, but the movie Julie & Julia was the first movie that I know of with blogging as a central focus. Even though I couldn't care less about Julia Child, and cooking in general for that matter, I was excited to see this movie. And that had everything to do with the … [Read more...]
Is it just me, or are kids' movies pretty creepy? In our house, we rarely watch one of the latest, hyped-up kids' releases. Call me crazy, but I like my sleep. Getting up in the middle of the night to tend to nightmares is not my idea of a good time. Granted, my daughter may not be the average child. She is a bit of a thinker, shall we say. And thinking can lead to ruminating, and ruminating can lead to obsessing. Take for … [Read more...]
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