Lauren!

Today my bff Lauren is arriving via airplane for a most fabulous New Years Eve celebration here in Baltimore. I CANNOT WAIT!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful & safe NYE! See you in 2011!

Potter, Harry

Am I the last person on earth who hasn't read these books? Probably.

My goal is to finish the series by the time the last movie comes out in 2011 (I think that's when it's coming out). I'm on book 3.....I have a long ways to go but I can do it.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

While reflecting on old blog entries, I noticed my very small habit of posting movie recommendations (here and here). I don't do it much, but when I see a movie that is pretty original I hope you don't mind that I like to share it with you.

Since the year is coming to a close I thought it would be nice to talk about a director that I'm quite fond of - Jean-Pierre Jeunet. He's a self-taught french director/writer (I loooove the francais) with a TON of movies under his belt. I happen to adore every french movie he's ever created. However, in what I find an interesting choice he also directed Alien: Resurrection - it seems really out of place compared to his other stuff. -but that's what makes him pretty awesome.

Anywho.... he wrote and directed my all time favorite move Amélie and ever since I watched it, I have been somewhat of a stalker of Jean-Pierre.

My top three movies he's had a hand in are:

1. Amelie

2. Delicatessen

3. The City of Lost Children

His newest film, Micmacs, is out on netflix and I cannot wait to get it.

My hope with this post is that you watch at least one of his movies- I'd really like to hear your opinion. And please feel free to suggest a movie to me. I LOVE getting a good idea for movie night!

sc

National Cathedral

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We were fortunate enough to get 4 passes to the National Cathedral's Christmas Eve mass. I had never been to the cathedral before, have you? First of all, it's enormous. And second of all, it's enormous. The architecture and artwork inside and outside the church was unreal. I wish I could have spent a longer time touring the grounds.

We're anticipating lots of snow here on the east coast so we're off to enjoy the day. Have a great rest of the holiday weekend,

sc

Rachel Perry Welty

I'm really diggin' Rachel Perry Welty's photos of everyday objects. Check out the patterns she creates using bread tags, fruit stickers, take-out containers, and even flour. I heart pattern.

me want coooookie

um. check out these cookies given to me by a 2nd grader. He LOVED explaining how to attach the licorice tail. (you need a chopstick to make the hole). mice!

so darn cute

I'm glad I have students like this at my school :).

One more day til Christmas vacation. I am really looking forward to having some time, time, TIME.

4 more days

Oscar is getting sooooooo excited for Christmas.

The Stone Forest

One of the locations we were fortunate enough to tour in China was "The Stone Forest" near the city of Kunming in the Yunnan Province. The Stone Forest is exactly that - a forest of stone- and not surprisingly one of the 1000 places to see before you die.

While touring the park we passed massive stone formations that seemed to go on and on in both height and distance. I did a google search of the forest and apparently the stones are believed to be over 270 million years old. pretty crazy.

We went to the forest on a very rainy and very cold day but it did not "dampen" (har, har) our visit. I wish I could go back and photograph the area more but since I won't be going to China any time soon, these images will have to do. Thanks for looking,

SC

Watch this movie: Son of Rambow

We watched this movie a while back and I have been meaning to blog about it. Have you seen it? If not, you NEED to watch this movie over the holidays. It's not the typical holiday movie, in fact it's set in the summer, BUT I guarantee you will come away from it feeling fortunate for family and friends. The review below sums the movie up best.

"Written and Directed by Garth Jenning’s, the same dude who did Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, this is one of those films that stands out as an original, a crowd pleaser and a celebration of visual style. This story of two young kids in England in the 80’s that want to make a movie like Rambo, its much more then the sum of its parts and was an excellent watch. Both young actors in the film are rookies, this is the first film for the both of them. Will Proudfoot comes from a very strict religious house hold, he isn’t allowed to listen to music or radio, and Lee Carter is the school bully, and doesn’t really have parents, they left him with his teenage brother. They form a friendship on unreasonable ground since Will Proudfoot is a free spirit and gullible as hell.

I forgot to mention there is a whole scene about pop rocks and coke."

Oh, and Gossip Girl fans will love that whose-his-face is in the movie with his authentic British accent.

Happy Friday

Beijing bakery

Become a fan!

Go to the Sweet Cakes Ltd. facebook fanpage and "like" it (here). They only need 30 more fans to match their goal of 250. Once they hit 250 they plan to give away a home-made smore kit! um....I seriously hope I win.

jetlag

I took this shot at a mall in Beijing. It sums up how I have been feeling these past couple days. I wake up at 4am every day (why 4am?), drag by 7pm...it's a vicious cycle. Vicious I tell you.

Anyone have suggestions for a quick cure to jetlag?

the Great Wall

While walking the Great Wall of China, I couldn't help but notice the hundreds of locks fastened to the side of the wall. The locks are placed there by couples who want to express their "eternal love." I guess this happens all over the world, including Paris, other parts of Asia, and in a place named appropriately: Lovelock, Nevada which has cleverly found their niche market.

Kind of cheesey, right? But I'm a sucker for that stuff....and had I known about the locks I would have attached one for Kyle and I, or for my brother and his fiance Maria. I think that would have been a cool wedding gift for them.

Being at the Great Wall was one of the more surreal moments in my life. I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed the experience.

SC

back to America

I have returned! I am back from my trip to China and am currently recovering from the brutal jet lag. The trip was exciting, eye-opening, and welcomely tiresome as our hosts filled each day with tours, meetings, banquets, and site-seeing.

One of the many highlights of the trip was visiting a Cloisonné factory. We were lucky enough to see artists at work as they meticulously used copper wire to create elaborate designs on the vases.

I remember cloisonne from my high school art days and frankly it's hard as heck to complete let alone stay sane throughout the tedious process. Knowing this allowed me to appreciate these women and their artwork at a much higher level. If you're not familiar with the cloisonne process and would like to know the history, you can read about it here. My short version is this:

*artists solder metal wiring to a base

*the wiring serves as a compartmental design outline

*the artist fills each compartment with enamel-over and over again

*the cloisonne is fired in a kiln

*voila! shiny cloisonne

Enjoy the pics of their studio space below.