Sachertorte, dirndls and Maria von Trapp.

What do these things have in common? You guessed it! I’m going to Austria!

One sunny afternoon in June, Brian let me know that I may have the opportunity to go to Austria with him. Brian works for Young Life and his region is putting on a camp in Austria. I had little information, but he then said, “We leave the 26th of December and we will probably get to ski.”

We are going to Axams, Austria (outside Innsbruck). Fact: The 1964 and 1976 winter Olympics were hosted in Innsbruck, and many of the ski events were hosted in Axams.  AT OUR RESORT! It is only a little beautiful. Take a gander at the hotel where camp will be:

The extra bonus here? Brian and I are going to travel after the camp. We are going to Salzburg and Vienna to get our tourist on. I can’t wait! I freak out about how much fun it is going to be and Brian quickly reminds me that it is going to be a ton of hard work… to which I say…

Then I ignore him and get excited again!

Happy Christmas season you crazy fools! If you want to get me a present, feel free to get me anything Tyrolean, Austrian or Bavarian – Those are all kinda the same thing right?

I guess I have some research to do.  Also, the captain is a terrible winker! Let’s just blame the Nazis. On another note, you can bet I'm excited for the Carrie Underwood Sound of Music special!!

Did Harry Potter make me single?

I have had a really busy week. Because of this, spending my only veg time writing posts was not on my list of things to do. Food and TV won this week. Sorry! But I’m really not sorry. Then I was all of a sudden motivated. Why? Because I realized I have never really written about my love for Harry Potter on here before. What’s that you say? “Laura, you reference your love for HP often!” Wrong. Yes, I reference it, but there has never been a post dedicated to my love for the wizarding world.

So here we go. I love Harry Potter. It is my favorite book series of all time. Over the years I have re-read a bunch of the books. Book 3 was my go to during high school. But I mostly devour 5 through 7 at the pool each summer. Note: book 7 came out the summer before my senior year in college. So we have only been blessed with the entire series for about 5 years now. Crazy right!?  

I just started the series again. I can honestly say that I have never read the entire series in consecutive order before. I would re-read later books again, but usually just before the next one came out! I remember making my high school boyfriend take me to the midnight release of book 5. Poor guy. He didn't read them, and I was a crazy 16 year old obsessed with children’s books. He dumped me when he left for college a month later. I wonder if it had anything to do with my ignoring him to read that book? Huh. I guess we’ll never know. When I say ignoring him, I really mean it. After he chauffeured me around and stood in line with me to get that book, I had him drop me off at home and I stayed up all night reading. I am pretty sure he didn't hear from me for the next 5 days. I was such a charming teen…

My fave of all time is Half Blood Prince (book 6). I love it more than the others because there is romance!

Here I am in college dressed up as a quidditch player for a sorority date party. Libby was my date (no comments please).

The movies! Duh, I love them too. Awesome job Warner Bros. Did I go to midnight showings? You bet I did. Did I dress up? You bet I did.

We were 22 when this happened. We are wearing our graduation gowns from college. This would be embarrassing, but it isn't! Harry Potter is awesome. I’m not embarrassed in the slightest. Although, I got dumped that summer too…. Maybe there is a theme here. Crap! I love Harry Potter, but has Harry Potter kept me from love?

Have a great weekend folks! I'll be out at the Antone Ranch with the horses and a HP book!

Summer is here!!!

My weekend was AMAZING! Summer has finally arrived in Portland. I’m talking highs of 85ish to 92ish. So it is nice and bearable. Not 117! Like my friend Hanna is dealing with in AZ. Oh Oregon summer, how I love thee.

It all started on Saturday. I took a little bridge walk with some of my women. We went down the East bank, over the Morrison, up the waterfront and back over the Hawthorne. A short and sweet walk.  Just long enough to finish our iced coffees and catch up on super important life stuff. Like what level of “Britney breakdown” Amanda Bynes has reached. Life changing topics. She is not yet at the umbrella vs. car, shaved head phase… she is on her way though! (In case you were curious about what we decided)

Then I did this for the rest of the weekend:

Yes, I am re-reading the HP series for like the millionth time. What of it!? HP is amazing and Brian is about to hear Harry Potter references that he doesn’t understand for the rest of the summer. He will hate it. Maybe I should start working on an online dating profile now…  Just to get a jump on the inevitable.

Marina and I also went to see the Bling Ring. It was SO good! Especially if you know stuff about the accused or watched Pretty Wild on E! (I did both). Then we spent the rest of the evening downtown. It was perfect out at 10pm, so we wandered.

I hope your weekends were equally as awesome! Happy short week amigos! (Even though you’re probably mostly amigas)

A look back at an old favorite: Troop Beverly Hills!

One of my favorite movies of all time is Troop Beverly Hills. Why? Because it is undeniably amazing. Let us go over a few reasons why it rocked then and continues to rock now. Shall we?

The best cinematic display of 1980s fashion! 

They wrote a song called cookie time.

Tori Spelling was a Red Feather.

The Freddy.

Phyllis Nefler taught us all a lot of important lessons. For example, you can have a black belt in shopping, never get a perm, true friends will always be there for you when your parents forget your birthday, and most importantly, you can do anything you put your mind to and you can be fabulous doing it!

"Are you drying your nails or do you have a question?" 

Thank you Phyllis Nefler!

Beverly Hills what a thrill! Beverly Hills what a thrill!!!

Random post today, but I am sure some of you are Troop Beverly Hills fans! If you have never seen it, I urge you to get your hands on a copy. You wont regret it!

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Tricks vs. Trix

Pretty Woman taught us that you don’t want to “turn tricks.” BUT General Mills taught us that "Trix are for kids."

Tricks vs. Trix

It just doesn't make sense. Didn't General Mills (not a real general btw) know that the word tricks/ trix had a different meaning? Did no one on their marketing team find it at all inappropriate?

So the rabbit was silly for thinking that he could have Trix. Duh, they were for kids. And oh my gosh, remember Trix Yogurt!? Gross. Google image search Trix Yogurt. Why our parents thought feeding neon colored yogurt to their children was okay is beyond me!

Okay n/m I’ll Google for you:

I really have nothing else to say. Or anything to say at all. I know this was super random. Except that it isn't! I'll let you in on how my mind works real quick. I thought of this because I heard "Kiss" by Prince on the radio, which of course sent my mind to think of Pretty Woman. It then spiraled quickly.

Moral of the story: Don’t turn tricks. Also, Trix are for kids… and probably terrible for you. So maybe we should all just stay away from both.

Pretty Woman on the other hand? It's good. Watch it.

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Let’s talk about love.

Not in real life. But since it is almost Valentine’s Day, I thought we could discuss the “love revelation” in TV and movies. Next week we can talk about all things heart shaped and glittery.

Last night I was watching The Mindy Project on Hulu and in the latest episode BJ Novak realizes that he is in love with young Susan Sarandon. The reason he comes to this realization is because Mindy prompts him by asking who he would want to see on his last night of death row. First of all, where was she going with this? They had only been dating for two episodes! He was obviously not going to say her. That would be insane. They had probably literally been on 4 dates and likely don’t even know each other’s middle names. He chose young Susan Sarandon, his best friend, who he has clearly been in love with for years. Poor Mindy, it was a pretty hilarious and unfortunate When Harry Met Sally moment. Question:  Why didn't BJ Novak say he would want to see his family?

The weirdest love revelation we should really discuss is in Clueless. Yes, it is based off of Jane Austen’s Emma, BUT in Emma Mr. Knightly is her brother-in-law’s brother. I have met my brother-in-law’s brother once or twice. In Clueless, Josh is her former STEP-BROTHER! They are SIBLINGS!!!! In the movie you don’t think much of it because you assume Mel is kind of a serial-marrier due to gold diggers and was likely only married to Josh’s mom for a hot minute. But still, they probably all lived in the same house and did Christmas morning together etc. (excuse me Hanukah… Horowitz) Plus, Josh is practically living in their house during the entire movie. At one point, Mel responds to Cher’s inquiry about it by saying, “You divorce wives, not children.” So there Cher, when you have that revelation in front of the fountain (“Oh my god! I love Josh!”) you are declaring romantic love for your sibling. The extra weird part is that he reciprocates after calling himself a “brother type” earlier in the movie. Although, they probably DID know each other’s middle names because they are siblings and all. I’m not sure why I find knowing middle names significant when declaring love. It really has nothing to do with anything.

From siblings...

...to kissin'

I must mention that Clueless is one of my favorite movies of all time. I just had to reflect on the whole sibling thing for a minute. It really just makes the movie funnier and makes me love it (and Cher and Josh) more.

Writing this post has given me my very own love revelation about cheesy shows and movies. Who cares if it is unrealistic! They give me butterflies and make me giddy. This would be embarrassing but I'm pretty sure you guys know what I mean.

A list of some of the great ones:
- Rachel realizes that she loves Ross too! Once after seeing the broach he bought for her, and later when she is about to fly to Paris. (Don’t worry guys, she got off the plane)
- Kathleen Kelly realizes she loves Joe Fox on the day she is to meet NY157. Good thing Tom Hanks is really good at getting Meg Ryan to fall in love with him!
- Melanie Smooter Carmichael realizes that she gave her heart away a long time ago.
- Harry realizes that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Sally, and therefore wants the rest of his life to start as soon as possible!

Don’t even get me started on the movies where there is a bet involved and they end up falling in love.

What is your opinion on the whole “love revelation?” Do you think it is stupid? At all plausible? Do you think these types of romantic movies and shows sets us up for disappointment? I have heard crazy arguments against the romantic comedy and how it is damaging to girls perspectives etc. How you need to go through “real life experiences” with someone before you truly fall in love. Blah blah blah… No really, tell me your opinion! You already know mine.

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The cry face of Claire Danes.

For many years the “Claire Danes cry” has been a running joke with my friends. I can just shout out a weird cry noise and they know exactly what scene of Romeo and Juliet I am referring to. This is of course followed by hysterical laughter.

Over the years, Claire Danes' cry has been all over my TV. She would cry over my main man/ not so secret 90s crush Jordan Catalano (MSCL). She would cry about having scarlet fever (LW). She would cry about her man drinking poison (R&J). It was just madness.

To my complete and joyful surprise! There is a twitter account for Claire Danes and her crazy cry face. @ClaireDanesChin exists and I find it absolutely hilarious! Thank you Homeland for bringing the cry face back into our lives. Merry Christmas to me!

I leave you with a Claire Danes crying supercut.

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Endless possibilities and Harry Potter.

It is Friday and I am in SUCH a good mood! My coffee tastes extra caffeinated and my weekend plans are taking over my brain. Endless possibilities my friends. Endless. Reality is that I will probably do a bit of cleaning… but why rain on my own parade? I’m sure I will fall in love with a tall, handsome, Jesus loving stranger this weekend! Why the heck not? It could totally happen.

I also thought I would share a gem that was sent to me this morning. Here is a video that was recorded by my friend Hanna at the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 1). We were in line (in the rain and cold) saving spots for some tardy friends. *Warning: Hanna F-bomb in vid.*

Obviously a killing curse is involved… what else? Truth is, I forgot about this. Thankfully I am now reminded that Lauren and Marina owe me FOREVER.

Happy weekend!

Black Butte and Katy Perry

Black Butte was super relaxing. Fall foliage, vino and the Katy Perry movie… yep, that describes my weekend pretty well! No other words needed.

There was a Harvest Fair happening in Sisters. So that was awesome! 

We took long walks in the cool autumn air.

Pretty fall foliage!! 

Did you guys see the Katy Perry movie? If so, did it make you guys like Katy Perry? I have always found her so annoying due to her songs and outfits. But now I like her! Not necessarily musically, although some songs are catchy, I just like HER. The breakdown due to the demise of her marriage made her human and now I am rooting for her. Why she is dating John Mayer is beyond me. She is better than that!

I hope your weekends were relaxing too!

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I am injured.

Somehow I tweaked my neck and can’t fully turn my head to the right. Okay, when I say “somehow” I am lying. I know how… and no it was not from something cool like tumbling or wake-boarding. I am pretty sure it is from jumping up and down on the ottoman in my living room and launching myself into the adjacent chair.

You must be wondering, how could this happen? Well, Lauren was over at my house and I was appalled that she hadn’t seen the preview for Pitch Perfect.

The exchange:
Me: I can’t wait until we can go see Pitch Perfect.
Lauren: What is that?
Me: You haven’t seen the preview!? WHAT!? Shut your face! We. Need. To. Watch. It. Right. Now. Now! (Each period represents me jumping up and down and wigging out.)

That is how I hurt myself. Glorious. It is just so incredibly ridiculous. My sister recently hurt her neck too. But she did it running Hood to Coast... not quite the same thing.

In case you live under a rock like Lauren and haven’t seen this:

Oh! Other than my pathetic injury, I recently had a triumph as well. Someone found my blog with the search, “how to be confident doing things alone.” VICTORY!

Happy Friday to you all! I love short weeks.

The Lucy One: For the love of Zefron

Alright folks, let’s talk about The Lucky One. Thank you Nicholas Sparks for another silly romance movie, they are the best Monday night movies around.

Things I learned from this movie:
- If I have PTSD, I will be miraculously healed by walking from Colorado to Louisiana.
- If I have one tattered walled sized photo of an individual, I will be able to find said individual in a small town. I will not need any other information… because in this small town, they aren’t concerned with stalkers, internet trollers, abductors or any thing else of that sort.

Okay, enough about the ridiculous. Let’s talk about what was so amazing about this film.

Zac Efron is so freak yeah attractive! I coach teenagers and a while back they asked me what celebrity I would “realistically” date because we were around the same age. I was not allowed to say John Krazinski, Jason Segel or anyone else above 30 (I like the funny guys. Sue me). I said Zac Efron (24) or Kellan Lutz (27). This time we are obviously going based on looks. They proceeded to laugh at me (like usual). Some of them claimed that both actors are teenagers. I reassured them that just because they play teenagers in movies does not make them teenagers in real life! They are my age; therefore I clearly have a chance of dating/ marrying one or both of them!

Okay another weird thing about the movie. We are used to Zac being a teenager in movies, so for him to play his own age was a little weird.

Wow, enough with the tangents. It was a cute romantic movie. Honestly, it was exactly what I expected. But really, wasn’t your favorite part of the movie when Zac had his shirt off? It was mine. Even though it didn’t happen nearly as much as it should have.

I would like to thank:
- Nicholas Sparks for giving us this masterpiece.
- The production team for casting Zefron. We will be forever grateful.
- Zac's personal trainer... for obvious reasons.

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Recap of the Golden Globes. PS. Madonna isn't British

Golden Globe Awards, Emmy awards, Academy Awards, SAG awards… Oh My! (okay, that doesn’t really flow… whatevs.)

I am sure you all tuned in to the Golden Globes last night! I LOVE awards season. I just love it! It is so fun to see our favorite celebrities dressed to the nines, getting recognized for their hard work, all while being forced to do interviews about their personal lives.

“Who are you wearing?” is my second favorite question. My favorite is “Who are you dating?!” Haha!

The Golden Globes is my favorite of the awards shows. It is a real party! They are at tables socializing, drinking and all together having a good time among their colleagues. At other shows they are just seated. Clearly lacking in forced socialization and fun. Plus, the Globes are casual enough that it can be funny! The Oscars are so serious! I love them too, but there simply isn’t the lightness that comes through like there is during the Globes. I also enjoy that it is both TV and film. It is nice to have it all in one shebang.

How much did you enjoy Ricky Gervais!? He was hilar like usual. I was annoyed by Madonna though. Just take the joke Madonna, don’t fire back with your fake accent and strangely toned man-lady arms.

My best dressed vote goes to Claire Danes. I know it is annoying that I chose the winner of the night as my best dressed… but did you see the back of her dress!? This photo does not do it justice. It was all metallicy and shimmery. I also really liked Charlize Theron, but her dress just didn’t seem out there enough.

My worst dressed vote goes to Amanda Peet. Shower curtain from anthro as a dress with eighth grade eyeliner and hoop earrings. Not to mention, strappy sandals from BP that she wore to winter formal...

I hope you all enjoyed the show as much as I did!

Tears are the sign of a cinematic great.

Last night I saw The Help with my sister and her co-worker my new BFF Anne (with an E, like Anne of Green Gables).  I was beyond excited to see this movie. I loved the book, and by book I mean audio book. Side note: I commute to work and love listening to audio books. It makes car time much more enjoyable. That, and radio DJs are the absolute worst. Listening to my iPod is okay I guess. But when it is early I would much rather zone to a story and sip my coffee. It is either that or lame attempts to be alert enough to sing along to something. IMO singing and car dancing should be saved for the drive home.  Also, I need to listen to books because I went to Portland Public schools and never learned to read. (This is clearly a yoke. I can read… sort of)

Back to The Help. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Yes film. I cried twice! Well, I cry often… so that isn’t saying much and probably shouldn’t be what defines it as a film/ cinematic great. I must admit that I cried when I watched Cheaper by the Dozen (that is the lamest movie I can think of that I cried at).

The Help was incredibly well made. The time period, the clothes, the food. I was very pleased. I went in with extremely high expectations and was not disappointed. There were a few things that bugged me though. Why do screen writers change things that don’t need to be changed? Like names etc. It adds nothing to the story! Idiots. Also, they took out a lot of the fear that was communicated in the written story. The screen writers decided to gloss over a lot of the racial tension that was highlighted so well in the novel. It isn’t a secret that things were volatile in Mississippi in the 1960s. At least they left the historical events in there. But that was really it. I guess I understand the need for mass appeal in order to make good money/ be a box office hit.  

Anyway, go see it. It was awesome! One of the best moments was after the credits rolled. I turned around and looked at the audience. It was a theatre full of women and as I glanced around EVERYONE was wiping tears off of their faces (myself included). It was hilar! I would say, all those tears means it's a film worth seeing.

PS. Emma Stone is my new Rachel McAdams. Still love Rach, but need to make some room for Emma.