An Irish Bachelorette

A few months ago, my twin sis got hitched. Part of my maid of honor duties were to ofcourse plan a bachelorette shin-dig like no other. She was not only marrying the love of her life but she was also getting rid of our proud Irish last name—O’Banion. Our family celebrates St. Patrick’s Day almost as festively as Christmas! My mom makes corned beef and cabbage, my family comes over and ofcourse we drink a bit here and there ;). Well in my quest to create the best bachelorette weekend ever and to theme it in a way that I know she would never forget, the answer was easy—an Irish inspired bachelorette! We had to give that O’Banion last name a proper farewell, right? Planning a bachelorette party 5000 miles away is no easy feat…fortunately the internet and some mutual friends (and bridesmaids!) of ours were able to help me out along the way.

Once the bachelorette finally came, myself, the bride and 14 other girlies were off to Viva Las Vegas! Christian was en route to the Bachelor party at a mansion in the desert with the groom + 40 frat boys and college buddies of his (yes 40!) with a no camera policy (I’ve still yet to get ANY details about how the bachelor party was). Vegas was an easy decision for us—clubs, pool parties and a 24 hour city! I provided each girl with a Vegas tote bag filled with leprechaun loot, Irish-inspired necklaces & buttons, and a mini leprechaun top hat to wear while we paraded my twin sis around The Strip. We dressed the Bride in a gold-sequined mini dress (leprechauns do need to protect their pot o’ gold don’t they?), gave her a scrapbook in which every girl made a page about their friendship (tears were flowin’ ofcourse!) pre-partied in our humongous suite at Planet Hollywood and hit the town! The weekend was the best weekend in Vegas to date--a mixture of pool parties, the luck o’ the irish, sushi at Sushi Roku, plenty of dancing and the bride-to-be standing on a poolside cabana couch yelling ‘THIS IS THE BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!’ at the Wynn’s fancy-shmancy poolside club, XS. Mission accomplished? I’d say so :).

And ofcourse since St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, I can’t help but to share a few snippets of this crazy bachelorette party weekend…ya I pity her because she’ll soon be working on my bachelorette party…I’m curious what she’ll have up her sleeve! Although I don't think she can top this...typical twin quarreling words ;)

{Road trip!}

Movie Madness!

There’s something you don’t know about me—I LOVE movies. I’ve been a big movie fan ever since I can remember when my twin and I would watch movies such as Milo & Otis, The Brave Little Toaster, Jaws (c’mon TBS had Jaws playing all the time!) and ofcourse the entire Disney collection over and over. But it was in a college World Film class that I really developed the need to love all types of movies—the Hollywood ones, the foreign ones, the unknown ones, the film festival ones and yes, even the really really f*cked up ones.

I’m joining Ellen at Company of Clever again today for her Friday List Link-up! I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite movies, those movies that I could watch over and over again. I love LOTS of movies and the list keeps growing (got any recommendations??), but for now, check these out! Warning: this is a really broad range of amazing flicks--in no particular order--and some are definitely not for everyone! I have a strange taste in movies I must say. Click on the movie posters for the trailer!

Enjoy the show…!

ANIMATED

1. Finding Nemo – or as we call it ‘Finding Neems’ is an all-time favorite between me and my best friends Smitty + Ink. We shout out one-liners such as ‘What’s a mollusk?’ and ‘Awwww you made you ink!’ sometimes non-stop in a day and never get sick of it. Dory, Crush the turtle, Sharks trying to kick the fish-eating habit, to name a few are too cute. Who wouldn’t love watching Marlin the Clownfish darting off to P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney to rescue lil Nemo? And remember…fish are friends, not food!

2. How to Train your Dragon – I LOVE this movie. The cleverness of the story of a colony of Vikings fending off dragons with ofcourse one of its own lil warriors vowing to protect one of ‘em—Toothless! Toothless the Night Fury is adorable, I may have watched the movie and after a few minutes of silence said to Christian ‘…I want a dragon!’ The ending is so so so sweet and cute lil Toothless reminds me of my black cat Migs (awww RIP). I’ve never met someone who DIDN’T love this movie! It’s definitely a feel good movie :).

3. Up – After the heart-wrenching first 20 minutes, the entire movie symbolizes what I live for—ADVENTURE! There are too many hilarious aspects of the movie that will leave a smile on your face: Russel the boyscout’s naivety and just trying to get those damn boyscout badges, Dug the talking golden retriever, Kevin the female bird and Mr. Frederiksen make a perfect pack of explorers venturing to Paradise Falls (based on Angel Falls, Venezuela!) in a house attached to a bazillion balloons. I won’t say what it is to avoid spoiler alerts but the message of the movie is pretty powerful too. And I’ve already let Christian know numerous times that I’m dying to have an ‘Our Adventure Book’ :).

DRAMA

4. Requiem for a Dream – this is one of my favorite movies of all time. I think the best types of movies are ones that stick with you long after the movie is over—this was the first one that had that effect on me. It’s a very raw, real yet artistic take on the lives of addicts living in Coney Island(?), New York. The acting is great, the scenes are powerful and, I won’t lie, it’s definitely shocking. Most people I talk to about this movie don’t like it…it’s a really heavy film but it’s amazing.

5. The Shawshank Redemption – This is probably the first movie that became a favorite of mine. When I was younger and supposed to be in bed, my mom was watching this downstairs and I was sneakily sitting on the stairs watching it too and she didn’t know :). Since then I’ve watched it COUNTLESS times. I don’t think a synopsis is necessary since it’s rated #1 on IMDB’s list of the Top 250 movies (that should say enough about how wonderful Shawshank is) so plenty of you are also probably big fans! If you haven’t seen it, take my (and IMDB’s!) word for it, and go rent it right this second!

6. The Fountain – This movie mesmerized me. It takes place in 3 different eras of time with the same couple-Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman (the brief bathtub scene is pretty hot!)-transcending time and trying to find the Tree of Life. It’s one of those that ya need to watch 2-3 times to really understand it fully and it’s devastating but at the end, it gives optimism. The music, switching between eras (16^th century Spain, present day and the future), and beauty of the scenes themselves and the creativity of tying each era and scene together captivated me and I think I sat in the same exact position (nearly hypnotized!) throughout the entire movie staring in wonderment.

7. Forrest Gump – ok c’mon, who doesn’t love Forrest? And Bubba? and Jenny? It’s no secret that Tom Hanks is a damn good actor and Tom as Forrest Gump first in Alabama, then in ‘nam, next as a ping pong star then an across-the-country runner and a father/husband is an amazing story. And the one-liners in this movie are classic! Life is like a box of chocolates, ya know ever know you’re gonna get :)

COMEDY/CLASSICS

8. The Goonies – BLAST FROM THE PAST alert! A group of youngsters venturing to find hidden treasure and a sunken ship while trying to evade booby-traps and underground passageways will bring out the adventurer in anyone.

9 and 10. Ace Venture Pet Detective (#1) & When Nature Calls (#2) – The escapades of Ace Venture Pet Detective trying to find a missing dolphin (1) and albino bat (2) never fails to put a smile on my face. My older sis took me to see this movie when it came out and I think it was the first time I laughed so hard at a movie that tears flowed down my cheeks. Over ten years later, we still don’t get sick of saying ‘Bumblebee tuna’. Then the 2^nd one came along and “Shacaca!’ and “excuse me your balls are showing’ make for the best ice-breakers in an awkward situation or just in the middle of a conversation in general. And yes I did bust out some Ace one-liners at my twin sister’s wedding just before she walked down when she needed a bit of comic relief!

ROMANCE

11. The Notebook – I love this movie AND the book so much! Before the movie, I read the entire book on a flight from LA to NYC when I was 17 and my sister was trying to mask my endless sobs from the whole plane (“Yes she’s ok, it’s just a really good book”…’Rachael, shut up! Everyone is staring!’). Many movies fail to live up to the book but Ryan Gosling as Noah Calhoun and Rachel McAdams as Allie as two lovers during a summer fling lasting a lifetime is quite possibly the best love story-turned-movie ever. Oh and Ryan’s HOT…me and my BFF Ink saw him at California Pizza Kitchen at Los Angeles Airport just before the movie came out and after we said hi to him and said we couldn’t wait for the movie HE SAID HI BACK TO US AND SMILED…I REPEAT, HE SAID HI BACK TO US!

DOCUMENTARIES

12. Dear Zachary – you WILL need a box of tissues for this excellent documentary, actually make that TWO boxes of tissues. This covers the appalling story of Dr. Andrew Bagby who was tragically murdered by his ex-girlfriend (also a doctor) filmed thru the eyes of Andrew’s best friend who is also a filmmaker. What started out as funny but heart-breaking interviews from all of Andrew’s friends and family to remember their long-list friend turned into a movie to be presented to the son Andrew would never meet—Zachary (psycho murderer ex-girlfriend found out she was pregnant). I laughed, I bawled my eyes out, I sympathized and then was completely horrified with events later in the documentary—HORRIFIED! Watch it. Then watch it again because as soon as I watched it the first time, I started it over…yep twice in one night. Then again the next night ;).

13. War Photographer – my friend Fred sent me the link for this movie (which you can watch for free here) with only a few words: ‘you gotta watch this.’ The documentary follows award-winning war photographer James Nachtwey throughout his photographic treks in post-war Kosovo, the West Bank, and warring Indonesia, to name a few. With all of this sorrow, suffering and danger this man witnesses and risks his life for, you wonder how he could keep doing it and not have a permanently broken heart. His pictures are breath-taking and his strength to withstand these sorrow-ridden parts of the world is impressive. The hunger camp in Africa is indescribable.

MOVIES I SAW RECENTLY:

14. Drive – my friend Smitty said it best: Drive is very much a movie from our generation. Artistic, musical, and there’s something about it that seems new but 80’s at the same time. Ryan Gosling (again!) is a stunt driver by day and getaway driver by night until he gets involved in some bad ish. Now he just wants to protect the girl so he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do! And he’s so badass at it! It’s more violent than I expected, not one of my ultimate favorites but I definitely enjoyed it.

15. The Artist – Oscar Winner 2012 hollaaaa’! And very rightfully so…this movie is magnificent! And I really want to go see it again. I hadn’t even seen the movie trailer for this French movie when I went to see it…that was a funny discovery—it’s a silent movie!! A so simple, so emotional, so magical, so beautiful glimpse at the life of silent film star George Valentin during the 1920’s. It’s a totally different experience to watch a movie without words and it brings a whole new appreciation for watching a ‘moving picture’ :). Definitely adding this to my favorites list and gets me thinkin’ who needs the hoopla from all modern movies! Not only talented actors, but also a very talented lil doggie :)

OK…now your turn, what are your favorities? And I’m always taking recommendations! :)

All image credit from IMDB

Winter Weekend in Prague

The best thing about best friends is that no matter where you are, or what you do, even if that includes sitting in an empty room for hours on end, is that it’s always gonna be an amazing time of hilarities and atrocities. One of my best friends Smitty just flew back to California a few days ago after 13 crazy days and nights of crimin’ the streets of Prague and Amsterdam with ME (aka lucky duck). This was her 3rd trip out to visit in the last 18 months so touristy stuff was definitely put on the backburner and all that was left was pure fun to be had. Last summer, she lived on our couch for 3 whole months and we were lucky enough to have our other best friend (we call her Ink!) come join us for 2-3 weeks before she went off to a wedding in Poland—definitely some of the best weeks ever (well for us three amigos, Christian was all by his lonesome most nights! Sorry schatje!).

The last two weeks with Smitty were exhausting but nothing less than awesome. And I’ll admit it, we have only a handful of pictures from Amsterdam…but on the other hand, we have plenty from our escapades in Prague. Smitty is contemplating teaching English in Prague in the Fall (which means I’ll be a regular customer on Easyjet’s Amsterdam-Prague route!) so it was a no-brainer that we should jetset off to Eastern Europe to check it out. I had been to Prague a few years ago when romantic lil' Christian took me for Valentine’s Day but I’m always up for a trip anywhere with my best friends. As soon as we landed in Prague, the debauchery started. We hightailed it to our hostel, dropped off our backpacks and started the night with traditional Czech food at a brewery/restaurant called U Fleku (we may have been serenaded by Polka music too! Haha). The cobblestone streets of Prague glistened under the street lamps as our boots clicked underneath us. It was easy to wander in and out of dungeon-like bars, clubs and to end the night with a 5AM wander along the Charles Bridge...not too shabby for Smitty's first glimpse of the one and only Charles Bridge!

The next morning, we (as we always did in California) dined for 3 hours at a cute little American-founded bagel spot called Bohemian Bagel. This was basically the time where catching up on all everything took priority over sightseeing. Once we walked outside however, we wondered why everyone was dressed in costumes—huh?!? After wandering across the Charles Bridge and seeing a bustling street party below, we soon knew why—CARNIVAL! It was the weekend before Carnival and I had NO idea it was celebrated in the Czech Republic. So once we saw tons of people adorned in costumes and smiles, we did as anyone else would do—we joined in on the fun :) and there went our plans for the rest of the day! We grabbed a freshly roasted sausage and beer, laughed at all of the clever costumes (and saw a texting goat) and warmed up next to a bonfire with a Czech beer in hand :). The rest of our time in Prague didn’t include any of the touristy activities you’d expect…but more beer tasting and getting the feel of how beautiful the city is. And ofcourse when we left, Smitty said “I could totally teach English here!”

Once we returned to Amsterdam, best friend time meant movie nights (Drive is highly recommended! Definitely more violent than expected but good!), wine nights almost every night at our favorite place Bo Cinq, really late nights sitting next to the canals and dancing at Studio 80 and Boom Chicago and looking forward to when the next trip out for Smitty would be. Fortunately, past experience proves that Smitty usually buys her next ticket out to Europe within 2 months of returning to California, so…now we just wait for Smitty's Europe trip #4! :).