So as you've probably read, I've finished high school (yay), and been accepted into a five-month program starting in March (yay 2x).
However, as you may notice, it is only February.
I don't start the program until the 7th of March, which gives me almost a month of no school or work (gasp).
Now what could I do with a whole month....
DISNEY MOVIE MARATHON!!!
About halfway through January, I decided that one of things I wanted to do this month before I left home, was to watch all of my favourite Disney movies in chronological order of when they were released. Now, I started to make the list and realized that it was just way too long for me to finish in a month. I like too many movies. Oops. So I had to narrow it down to movies released 2000 or earlier, and they all had to be cartoon.
And then I thought, "How can I make this into a blog thing? Because this really feels like this could be a blog thing." And I came up with the idea to do a "30 (or 40, or 50, doesn't really matter) Thoughts I Had While Watching ___________" post for each of the movies I watch, complete with gifs if I can find them. I'll scatter these with other posts as well, otherwise I think you and I would both go crazy.
Here's the list (in order because it's me, so of course it's in order):
- Pinocchio (1940)
- Bambi (1942)
- Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- Peter Pan (1953)
- Lady and the Tramp (1955)
- 101 Dalmatians (1961)
- The Jungle Book (1967)
- The Aristocats (1970)
- Robin Hood (1973)
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
- The Rescuers (1977)
- The Fox and the Hound (1981)
- The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- Aladdin (1992)
- The Lion King (1994)
- Pocahontas (1995)
- Hercules (1997)
- Mulan (1998)
- Tarzan (1999)
- The Tigger Movie (2000)
I hope you all will join me in rewatching some of the greatest cartoon movies of all time. What are some of your favourite Disney movies? Did I include them on my list?
I have a confession to make. It's been a long time coming. I feel like you guys know me well enough. You deserve the truth.
I have an unhealthy love of mugs.
I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love mugs. Collecting them, drinking out of them, even taking pictures of them. I'm obsessed guys. And today, I thought I display some of the evidence of this obsession by showing you some of my favourite mugs.
I bought this one very recently from a store called Pier One Imports. I think it's really cute and it's very autumnesque (yes I know this isn't a real word). I haven't actually had anything to drink out of it yet; I'm waiting until I'm over this cold.
My friend Kara brought this one back from Paris
with her (only slightly jealous). I love the detail
on the mug and the little spoon beside it is just
adorable. It's not too large, so it's perfect for a
mug of something when you don't have time to
curl up with a good book or when you don't
want a big cup of something.
This one is also from Kara. It's a little early for this one, but in a few weeks, when the snow's falling and there's a fire in the fireplace and my Mum's got Amy Grant playing on the stereo, I'm sure this will be filled with hot chocolate and lots of marshmallows.
Ooh, I love this one. It's got a quote by C.S. Lewis on
it that says, "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a
book long enough to suit me." It was given to me by my
friend Sarah when I had my concussion. It's really big
and perfect for curling up on the sofa with a book.
This one was a gift from my Grandparents when I was pretty young. Maybe six? I don't use it too often anymore, but I think it's really cute. Definitely one of those things that you keep to look back on later. My siblings and I all have one and every once in a while, we'll pull them out and all have a coffee or hot chocolate together.
Another mug given to me by the amazing friend Kara. You think she knows me? It's got two faces, one on each side. We have this thing with Spongebob and Spongebob's faces and I grin like an idiot every time I pick it up.
I found these mugs in a cute little store where we were cottaging this past summer. They were on the bottom shelf and obviously had been ignored due to a little chip on the edge. I bought them both for a dollar.
This one was given to me by my other wonderful friend Hayley. When you pour hot water in it, the TARDIS disappears from the street and reappears in space.
So what have learned from this post today? We have learned that Sarah is obsessed with mugs and she has friends who know her very, very well.
So one of my favourite bands released their new album about a month back and it's beautiful. It's so raw and real, I'm in awe of the songwriting. I'm going to do a review of my favourites ordered by their appearance on the album, although that's going to be very, very hard because literally every song is my favourite. However, I thought you should all have a bit of backstory before you listen, so you can appreciate the beauty and pain in this album.
Basically, "Astoria" is the past four years for Josh and the highs and lows that he went through. Having Call Me Maybe become huge, being nominated at the Grammys, going on arena tours and getting engaged. His mother being diagnosed with Dementia, his fiancee leaving him, spending lots of time in and out of the hospital, losing his motivation and drive. This album is pretty much his diary of the past two years. He got tons of people who had been there with him in the crappy parts to actually play and sing little bits on the album. If you want to find out more, the video below goes into the making of Astoria (there is a bit of swearing in it, be forewarned).
If you know Marianas Trench, you'll know that their opening songs and their closing songs are always the best. This one is no different. It's a medley of a whole bunch of different styles and really intense and it definitely sets the scene for the rest of the album to follow. 3:00-4:30 is the best part of the song in my humble opinion, because minor key and his falsetto. Language warning if you don't like that kind of thing.
I heard the chorus first on a little preview and was immediately grinning. It's totally got the 80s party vibe and his high notes here are beautiful. I love, love the cockiness in the line "Don't say you don't miss me that much, don't say I don't still make you blush". It's about a relationship that maybe it's going the greatest. Then the guy is saying, "Is this really that bad? Are you really going to call this off? You can see the chemistry we have, don't deny it."
I can relate slightly to this one and it's another upbeat song. The way I see it, it's about two people who used to have chemistry, who would banter a lot. Then they moved away and kind of lost touch, then when they'd see each other again, they'd be all polite. They'd ask each other how they were doing and ask about their lives. But the chorus is talks about missing the bantering, the chemistry, the "war". It's fun. I like it.
Don't even get me started on this one. Ugh, it's so beautiful and simple and I love it so much. It's just a ukulele and a violin. It's him singing about his relationship with his fiancee. It hits me right in the feels every time I listen to it. The bridge is the best part of the whole song because it has references to all of the songs he wrote for her. If you're not a Trencher, I've written the lyrics of the bridge below, and bolded the song references, just because you have to see this. It's amazing.
"Every masterpiece I'd write again You'll always be my porcelain I crossed my heart But I stuttered too So truth or dare Was I good to you Haven't had enough of you all to myself Still right beside you In sickness and health For ever after You will be my home And there's no place like home"
This one is beautiful. It's the one that you get your lighters out for when they play it live. It's slow, but not soft. There's a different sort of vibe, less put together. I don't know how to describe it. It's more... messy? The guitars aren't perfectly mixed and it sounds so good. The song's about being in a relationship and slowly growing apart. The slow fade. The chorus talks about how they're young and it should be the time of their lives, but they miss each other.
I tear up every time I hear this song. My parents can't listen to it without crying. Basically, don't listen to it unless you're ready to feel all the feels. Josh wrote this song about his mother and how she's slowly forgetting him. He says he isn't ready for it all, he still needs his mum, but he's going to be there for her. He'll help her back into the bed and be her forget-me-not. It's beautiful and so sad.
Kay, I love this song for so many reasons. First, so many references to other songs in other albums. Porcelain, Masterpiece Theatre, Ever After, Celebrity Status, they're all in there. And it makes me so happy listening to it because I feel like so many artists kinda throw out their old music when they make new stuff, almost ashamed of it. With these guys, they embrace it. They make it part of who they are today. Second, I absolutely love the medley, the way they managed to combine so many different styles of music into an amazing piece of art. Just when you think it can't get cooler, it does. Then I love the lyrics and the meaning. It's all about not forgetting your past but moving on and saying goodbye. He's saying goodbye to the past couple years of his life, his "Astoria". He's grown up, he's moved on, he needs to say goodbye to his past. The first song sang "Tell me I survive you, Astoria". Then this one sings "How did we survive you, Astoria?" A conclusion. An ending. I could literally copy and paste the entire song lyrics here, but I've narrowed it down to three lines that I absolutely love.
"I'm so afraid of trying something new
Cause every start begins with saying goodbye to you"
"(How did we survive)
We went through hell in Astoria (How did we survive) We lost ourselves in Astoria (How did we survive) I gave in to sickness Can you find forgiveness For a dear old friend So Astoria can end"
"I hope you know that I don't blame you my dear friend
Always will love you still But Astoria must end"
Anyways. This album is amazing and beautiful and this was possibly the hardest album review I've had to write because there are ten amazing songs I didn't even include in this list. You should all go listen to it, because it's priceless.
I like stories. I'm sure that's no surprise to you all by now. I love the characters and the way they interact and develop throughout the story. And of course, I love the relationships.
Now, I have many favourite pairings.
Anne and Gilbert...
Katniss and Gale...
Kevin and Jane...
But my current all time favourite is Emma and Neal. Swanfire. (Spoilers for season three ahead. If you want to skip my ramble, but still want Swanfire feels, head to the bottom. There's my fan edit video down there. ^^)
*SPOILERS FOR SEASON THREE*
They're just so incredible! They have this intense past that makes them wary of love and trusting anyone. Then they create a deep history together. Then they meet each other eleven years later as broken, hurting people and realize that they're still completely in love with each other. And that terrifies Emma. The idea of loving the same guy that messed up her life earlier, even if he thought he was doing the right thing, is a frightening prospect. And for him, he feels hopeless. He knows he's done wrong by her. He can see the weight of his actions weighing on her shoulders. But he still loves her.
Then he "dies" and Emma is left grieving even more than the first time he left her. The first time he left, she was mad and angry and had sworn never to see him again. It was completely over in her mind. When they met again, hope and fear began to spring up inside her. Maybe it wasn't over. Maybe they had a chance. Maybe they could make things right. Maybe she was completely terrified that she still loved him after all this time. When he died, not only did she grieve over him, but over the chance that they had and then lost. She had spent eleven years thinking he didn't love her, only to learn that he had loved her, deeply, but wanted to do the right thing. The grief is mixed with a different kind of anger. More of a "what if?" kind of anger.
While Neal is "dead", she reaches out to other places, trying to fill the gaping hole that he left. She needs something to fill it. She's been with Neal again and it's only grown the pain and need for something in her life. Here, we see her with Hook.
I'm sorry Captain Swan shippers, but it is my firm opinion that to Emma, for a good portion of the beginning of their relationship, Hook was an attempt to fill a hole. I don't think Emma really had any strong feelings towards him until some time into season four.
It's funny, because Neal does the same thing with Emma. He has Tamara, who he tells Emma he "needs". It's my humble opinion that he's also trying to fill a hole. He can't have Emma, so he reaches out for anything that will numb the pain.
Echo Cave changed a lot in the dynamic of their relationship. For the first time since they met again, Emma is transparent with him, telling him exactly how she feels. I know she told Neal she loved him a few episodes earlier, but I think there's a really big difference between the two occasions. The first time, he was about to die. She didn't have to face any consequences of her confession. He would be gone. This time, she is telling him she loves him knowing that there will most likely be ramifications later.
After Neal gets out of his prison, he makes the bold declaration that he's never going to stop fighting for her, ever. He knows she loves him, he knows she's scared, and he knows that he's going to have to fight hard to win her trust back.
And this is where the writers did two horrible things wrong. They put Emma with Hook and they killed Neal. And I can't believe they did either. In my mind, Emma and Neal should have been end game. They'd been through so much and come so far, it seems unfair, cruel even, to have them not end up together. For heaven's sakes! They have a child together! Even if the writers had to stick Hook and Emma together, why did they have to kill Neal? It's just cruelty.
Anywho! If you've skipped my rant, my video is below.
Is anyone else really excited for season five to start??
Also! My sister Victoria and I have started up a book blog over at Sparrow and Acorn: Book Reviews if you want to check it out.
Do you ever have one of those days that just goes so perfectly that you can't imagine how it could have gone any better? Last wednesday was one of those rare beautiful days. I'd been volunteering at a theatre camp for kids aged 8-13 the previous week and then that week from 9-4 every day, so my perfect day started with sleeping in until 10:30.
Around noon, my mum and I got on a bus to go down to Toronto, an agenda for the day in our minds. First, we'd look at where I'd be going to film camp/school in August, then look at my top University choice, Ryerson. After, we'd spend the afternoon walking around downtown Toronto, go out for dinner and then go to see Marianas Trench at Nathan Philips Square.
We started at this place called Honest Ed's because being the snowman I am, I needed sunscreen if I didn't want to resemble a tomato lobster at the end of the day. Two warehouses long and three floors tall, it was like a giant flea market/dollar store. The whole time we were in there I just thought, "I'm definitely coming back here when I need to go dorm/apartment shopping."
They had pictures of celebrities who'd visited this place
all over the walls.
After Honest Ed's, we subway-ed over to Ryerson to look at the campus, which I thought was pretty cool. We stopped for coffee in one of their little cafes.
One of the campus entrances is right on a main street in
Toronto, but when you walk in, it's like stepping
into a whole other world.
Om nom.
The coffee shop we stopped at was connected
to the school I'm hoping to study at.
After we left Ryerson, we had most of the afternoon to just hang out, walk around and take in the city.
Pretty. ^^
And it just so happened that whilst walking down a wonderful, blessed street called Queen's street, I see two people casually eating sushi outside the restaurant. I pause. Gee, they look awfully familiar. My heart stops when I realize who they are. Mike and Ian from Marianas Trench. Sitting there, eating sushi. In the middle of the afternoon. Casually, as if they have no idea they are part of one of the coolest bands in the world.
"Mum, those guys are from Marianas Trench," I nudge her.
"What? Really? Where?" She begins to look around.
"Behind us."
"Do you want to go say hi and ask them for a picture?"
"Yeah."
Slowly and fairly nervously, I approach them. We meet them and talk for a few minutes. We talk about Pop 101, one of their songs that we love. They ask where we're from and we tell them. Miraculously, they actually know where it is. My town's pretty small. I ask for a picture and they oblige happily.
And I shook wildly for the next hour as I tried to regain any sense of sanity still left in my brain. They were so nice!
Next, we went to have dinner at this place called Marche's, which is kind of like an indoor supermarket of restaurants. That's the only way I can think of to describe it.
I could have gone much more fancy with my food,
but I wasn't super hungry, as any appetite had disappeared
after meeting Mike and Ian.
Then we walked over to Nathan Philips Square to get standing space so the band didn't look like ants.
This is what the square looked like three hours before the concert.
Finally in our spots.
In the end, I was super happy with where we were and as you'll see in the pictures below, we were pretty close. I have like over 150 pictures, so it was pretty hard to narrow it down to nine. ;) They were incredible and I would definitely go to see them again. In fact, I am in October!
During Ever After.
Mike rocking out.
Josh's facial expressions were the best. I have a collection
of my favourites in my photo library.
The whole stage.
During the first couple of songs the hat, scarf and jacket
were lost.
Then a bra was generously donated by a screaming female
fan. Pants a little low there, Josh?
They stopped in the middle of the concert to do a
four part a cappella song, which was beautiful. They
got the crowd to be completely quiet and it was amazing.
Love this picture.
Yes Josh, reppin' the home
country.
It was such an incredible day. One of those days when you're just super happy to be alive and here on the planet. Ooh! And bonus, I didn't get sunburnt. Not even a little.
I've just reached the end of Friends for the first time and I refuse to believe that there was actually an end. It can't just end. It couldn't have just ended! I need to see Chandler and Monica's babies grow up! I need to see if Ross and Rachel get married (again)! I need to see if Joey ends up with anyone besides his chick and duck! Aghhhhhh!
So, in the spirit of stubbornly refusing to believe that this show is over, this post is dedicated to all things Friends. A collective of GIFS and my favourite moments and pictures, etc. And if you never read My Life In Gifs post, you should know that Rachel Green and I are kinda kindred spirits.
And you can't tell me that part of you didn't squeal just a bit inside when this happened...
And I love this line...
Let's not forget the brilliantness of Pheebs
The show was amazing and brilliant and if you haven't watched it, what are you doing with your life? I love the characters and the writing was genius and I don't want it to be over. Even though it ended like ten years ago. Yes, I'm slightly behind on the times.
