Winter Is Coming

I was on the phone with England again yesterday (he had just returned from York!), and we started discussing the topic of Christmas.  Mom found these cool, battery-powered light strands that I will stow in my bag so we can hang them on whatever little tree we find in Paris.

Apparently, restaurants are already starting to fill up with Christmas dinner reservations, so we need to get on that soon.  Taylor also mentioned that it would be a good idea for me to wait and find my Christmas presents to give to the rest of the family while in Europe, rather than finding them something here to give before. I have to say, I'm liking this idea.  I tried to brainstorm some gift ideas the other day, but to no avail.  Last year I had some excellent ideas, so I'm feeling the pressure to live up to them, but I'm also feeling the pressure of the fact that I'm getting on the plane in six and a half weeks!  Gifts from Europe would be a lot cooler...

And seeing as how I'm having a rather rough semester, school-wise, it would be another thing I don't have to worry about before finals arrive.  So get ready, family, for mid-January Christmas gifts from Taylor and I!

(photos collected from x-entertainment, peanuts.wiki, and ctecentral.wordpress)

A Type of Coincidental Beauty

The trees through the porch screen window look like a cross-stitch.  Kindof a cool, unintended effect.

(photo by e.hunt)

Perpetual Jaywalking

Today has been the perfect fall day; lightly warm outside, ominous cloud cover, lots of leaves falling and whipping around in the wind, and a gorgeous array of tree leaf colors.  And then I walked out the door to see this Daddy Longleg guy hanging out by the pumpkin.  I could not have planned a better Halloween-like set-up if I tried.

(photo by e.hunt)

Complications of a Mastermind

I have less than two months before packing up and leaving for the epic Christmas in Europe trip, and quite a few things on the to-do list to get ready.  First of all, I need to nail down the last couple attire requirements: a puffy winter coat with a hood, and fleece-lined leggings.  Not buying things like this in the past has been a way that I have protested winter in general, but since we will be walking around out in the full-force winter of Europe, I am giving in.

Next, we have to book our transportation between cities.  We've figured out which commutes will work better for train or air travel (or by Chunnel!), but we haven't actually looked up times and fares yet.

Today, however, we did book our Star Wars tickets!!  Taylor got the email this morning and immediately got online to reserve our spots.  We are going to a theater in Edinburgh on Thursday, December 17th at 9:30pm.  Because it is open seating, we'll have to get there plenty early to secure good spots though.  So excited.  We had been waiting for this email a long time,

(photos collected from handluggageonly.co.uk, 99traveltips, and hitfix)

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Autumn

It's cold.  Like, really cold.  So cold that yesterday I wore a sweater, scarf, hat, and gloves on my ventures outside.  And now, in what is true irony, I have a cold.

(photo by e.hunt)

Those Who Don't Believe In Magic Will Never Find It

I saw a beautiful sunrise on the way to work yesterday.  I guess there are some benefits to waking up before dawn most days of the week.

(photo by e.hunt)

Movie Review: In a Spectral Trance

To get in the Fall/October/Halloween mood, I watched Tim Burton's Corpse Bride last night.  It is along the style of The Nightmare Before Christmas, taking a seemingly morbid idea and turning it quite human.  He used the same stop-motion technology in making this film, and it adds so much texture and charm that it makes up for the slow storyline.  Boasting the voice talents of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Christopher Lee (who steals the show as an angry old priest), the characters make you a little more invested as well.

Taking place in the dreary and grey victorian era, Johnny Depp is Victor, a shy, introverted artistic type who is set to marry Victoria, who is also shy and dainty.  They have never met.  They fall in love upon meeting for the wedding rehearsal, but Victor can't quite get his vows straight.  He runs to the woods to practice, placing the ring on a twisted branch, which happens to be the decrepit finger of the corpse bride, voiced by Bonham Carter.  She accepts, bringing Victor downstairs to the world of the dead, which is colorful and lively.  They have a skeleton band, a motherly spider, and a sense of humor that the living people lack.  Quite intriguing to our young Victor.

Eventually, due to living vs. dead complications, the dead community comes upstairs so Victor and the corpse bride can actually get married in the church.  The ending makes this story much more mature than its intended audience of children, which makes this movie worth watching.  The visuals alone would make it watch-worthy, but Burton has a way with making the outsiders and weirdos lovable.

(photos collected from frank.tv, moving-picture, erinaphernelia.buzznet, and drafthouse)

No Blades, No Bows, Leave Your Weapons Here

I took a couple days off work this weekend and ended up going down to Springfield.  A few friends were going to be in town for a wedding so the plan was that I would meet up with them after the reception and we would make the rounds downtown.  I ended up going down the night before as well, spending a few hours holed up at the Mudhouse then meeting up with an old friend at one of the fraternity houses.  Just needed to get out of town for a couple days, ya know?  It's the perfect time of year to make the Ozark drive too, just look at this landscape!

(photo by e.hunt)

Will Our Actions Echo Across the Centuries?

Look at my new hair!  For the first few days every time I looked in the mirror, I thought 'Superhero!' or 'Mermaid!', which are both pretty awesome occupations.  Now that I'm used to the darker and somehow brighter at the same time look, it feels more natural.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out and it's been such a nice change from my same old look.

(photos by e.hunt)

I'm Much More Me When I'm With You

Yesterday was the four-year anniversary of Kindof Maybe.  Feels like yesterday that I was writing the anniversary post from last year.  Time flies when you're having fun (and working, and studying, and traveling, and etc)!  Again, thank you all for reading!  I love sharing my writing and pictures with you and plan to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  I appreciate you all!

(photo by e.hunt)

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Today, I served coffee to John Goodman.  Yes, this John Goodman.

He came in with one of our semi-regulars, and I thought it looked like him, but didn't really know.  Then our regular asked, "Do you want anything, John?"  And when he responded, I knew it was him. Also, I had been told by my fellow baristas that he grew up in the area and sometimes comes into our store.  He was very polite and asked for a large dark roast coffee and a croissant.

Before they left, our regular came up to get refills, saying, "Mr. Goodman would like a topper, please."  Because he called him that, I knew he wanted some recognition, so I said that I recognized him by his voice, and he went on to say that they went to high school together and were on their way to a reunion.  And on their way out the door, John Goodman looked over at me, waved, and said, "Thank you."  Pretty nice guy for having been in 142 movies, and still going strong.

(photos collected from drnorth.wordpress, dailyfilmdose, rolling stone, and movpins)

Like A Fine Red Wine

I'm getting my hair dyed this Tuesday, and I'm thinking of doing an all-over color rather than just subtle highlights.  I'm ready for a change in my look, and while I feel like I've found the best cut, and the best makeup looks, I want to switch something up.  A new season, a new color, right?  I'm thinking a really deep, burgundy red.  The kind that has some really nice purple undertones in certain light.  It'll still look fairly natural, but add a bit of fall spice to all my neutral clothing.

And this one is a little too pastel for right now, but I do think it looks really cool pulled up like that.

(photos collected from aelida, hairandsalons, youtube, and jotokyo.blogspot)

The Treachery of Contrast

I've been really into fall florals this year.  It's a little darker and more unexpected than the traditional 'April showers bring May flowers' kind of floral.  I also like the fall palette background colors behind brighter blooms; makes for a nice, almost oxymoron mix.  And you can't really beat the beauty of nature, even in all its simplicity.

(photos collected from urbanoutfitters, galmeetsglam, flickr, xovain, wonderlandpdx, thisisglamorous, anthropologie, and natalie-dressed)

Shocking, Positively Shocking

I just got off the phone with England, darling.  England.  Taylor and I looked up movie times for our two must-sees, Spectre and Star Wars, and found out some surprising news.  Spectre comes out over there at the end of this month, so we will be seeing it beforehand on our respective side of the pond, and then hope it'll still be in theaters when we're in London.  You can't go to London and not see a James Bond movie.  And Star Wars, well, we thought it was coming out Christmas Day and we were all excited to see it in Paris on opening night (seven hours before everyone else we know!), but today we found out that it is coming out the 16th, 17th, or 18th depending on what country you're in.  In Edinburgh, where we will be, it comes out on the 17th.  Taylor signed up for the email reminder of when tickets go on sale so we'll still be going opening night, and still ahead of all our friends in the US.  So excited.

(photo collected from etsy)