Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

Posts Tagged ‘tis the season’

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BBT goes to the movies

Posted by AllieB on December 15, 2010

‘Tis the season for movies. The big blockbusters come out during the summer, and then the Oscar-striving ones come out around now – Black Swan, for instance. Black Swan is a really f’ed up and horrifying psychological thriller about a ballerina, played by Natalie Portman, and her inner demons. Mila Kunis plays her rival. Both are amazing and both were recently nominated for Golden Globe Awards.

I left the theater in a cold sweat. I took myself home, poured myself a glass o wine, sat down on my couch, and reminded myself that I am not insane nor am I losing my mind. It was incredibly intense. That said – I highly recommend going to see it.

The next movie I see, I think, will be a light and breezy rom-com. How Do You Know fits this bill perfectly. There’s a love triangle betwixt Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, and Paul Rudd, and then Jack Nicholson is in it, too. I don’t so much care about the plot in rom-coms, mostly I find that it is important that I do not hate the female lead; I happen to love Reese, so we’re all set. HOWEVER, there is one detail that I’m already having enormous difficulty getting my head around, and that is that Reese’s character is an aging…wait for it…PROFESSIONAL SOFTBALL PLAYER.

No, she’s not. It’s utterly unbelievable. Refer to the photos below:

Yeah, I don’t see it either. I should mention that when I goog’ed “professional softball player female” I got a lot of returns on this Jennie Finch person, who is apparently “the most famous female softball player” ever. This is probably because she is blonde and poses in her bikini a lot. I’m not going to include a photo of her because it kind of refutes the point I’m trying to make, but here’s a link. Although, I can think of one person who once played softball – she had her own bat, even – who isn’t terribly beastly…Pallison, does this sound familiar??

Anyway, I think I will accept this egregious error in plot and see the movie anyway. Like I said, I’m kinda in the Dark Side right now after the traumatizing experience of Black Swan (again, I really think it’s a film worth watching), but nothing that a good dose of boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back can’t fix.

Annie: Pepper lies a lot. She probably hasn’t been to a movie, either. Actually, I think it’s better when you don’t know what you’re missing.
Daddy Warbucks: Punjab, buy out the 8:00 show. Let’s all go to the movies.

Posted in Arbitrary | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

On notice: Mother Nature

Posted by AllieB on December 14, 2010

Every year National Geographic has a contest for Photo of the Year. I don’t know how these people do it, but I find these images absolutely stunning, if not kind of unbelievable.

I mean…just, wow. There are tons more – check out the link.

This morning, on my way to work, I had the pleasure of enjoying Mariah’s, “All I Want for Christmas” which is truly the only way that my two minute commute was bearable. WTF is up with this weather!?!? I know it’s taking over every conversation, from office small talk to gchat taglines, but it’s really messed up. I’m glad I finally sprung for a space heater, although I’m considering going balls-to-the-wall and actually turning on my GAS. I live in a very old building (built in 1929), and the landlord and other tenants say that space heater is the way to go, but I enjoyed my grilled cheese dinner last night in socks, Juicy sweats (ha, I know), long sleeved tee and down puffy vest. That is a ridiculous amount of clothing – especially for moi, as I tend to air on the side of warm-blooded (Meet & Greet: Red-Faced Allie).

Let’s talk about grilled cheeses some more. There are few culinary delights that are more delicious than a plain, old-fashioned, diagonally-cut grilled cheese sandwich made with real butter, soft bread (wheat), and Kraft singles. Holy.Wow. Leila and Lacy have been talking about their grilled cheeses for awhile now, and I decided to buy the ingredients last night. I’ve created a monster; all I can think about is when I’m having my next grilled cheese. I think I might add in some tomatoes to my next round – that way there will be at least a modicum of nutritional value.

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Kindly cool it with the canoodling

Posted by AllieB on December 13, 2010

JustJared reports that, last Thursday,  Boobs Legsly and Ryan Gosling were seen canoodling at the Standard Hotel in NYC after his premiere of his new film, Blue Valentine (per Fleming’s somewhat adamant request, I finally watched the trailer – I encourage you all to do so…this looks like a good flick). Not only did she sneakily enter the screening of the film through a back entrance to keep a “low profile” (you’re not that famous, Boobs), but they also ate dinner at the Standard Grill after the party where they enjoyed a nice meal of…oysters.

I am very irritated with this development. Here is why:

  1. age difference (she’s 23, he’s 30)
  2. in The Notebook he loves a girl named Allie…that is my name
  3. I really like him; I cannot stand her

This is even more bothersome than the Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhall coupling, largely because Taylor Swift is so meh, IMO, although I do enjoy her music, and Boobs is just sooo annoying. What is WRONG WITH YOUR MOUTH.

Oh, whatever.

If you’re still in need of Christmas gifts and are looking to air on the side of obscure – here are some great ideas. I’m a little obsessed with these NYC vs. Paris prints – there’s a whole series of them. And surely there is someone on your list for whom a silver retainer necklace would be perfect.

Posted in Arbitrary, Celebs | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

Wishlist: Dear Santa

Posted by AllieB on December 9, 2010

SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA’S COMING!

It’s just not fair – every year there are more things that I need. More designers to choose from, new trends to explore, exciting new genres of gifts that I never even thought about…K opened the door to unique works of art on Etsy (I am a huge fan of this artist), and I never knew what I wanted my dream dining room table to look like until Nancy and Scout came along, and now I don’t know how I’ll be able to settle for anything less.

Clearly I am not asking for a dining room table for Christmas – I’m just sayin’ that there are things I want that I didn’t even know I wanted. In fact, I don’t even really know what I asked for for Christmas…I’m not too worried about it; Santa Baxter usually does a pretty awesome job, and there’s always lots of after-Christmas shopping to do.

Here are some of my greatest wants (needs):

Clockwise from top left:

  1. Flats from J.Crew
  2. Patterned scarf by YARNZ
  3. Framed vintage VOGUE covers
  4. Anything off the shoulder
  5. Chain-strap purse (Tory or whatever – though I do like that snake print…)
  6. AN ADORABLE BLACK LAB PUPPY (this is Hunter; we hang out sometimes)
  7. Burberry Trench
  8. Frye Boots
  9. Updated Snuggie from Brookstone (credit: Kayruh)
  10. I guess I need to see what this Lululemon nonsense is all about
  11. Everyday necklace to go with my cartouche from give a penny. designs
  12. Custom headboard from BedBoards Atlanta (or one from Scout would work, also)

Hmm, pricey. Perhaps I should add in a lucky #13: a winning lottery ticket…

Oh yeah, and #14: world peace.

“Wow, those must’ve been some cookies you made…”

“I didn’t leave him cookies…I left him cheese.”

Credit: Hilary.


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If I had a million dollars…

Posted by AllieB on November 29, 2010

First, I’m so glad that the days of the Barenaked Ladies are days of yore.

Second, by “a million dollars” I mean “a hundred dollars” and, as it were, I do! I spent Saturday evening in Newnan, The City of Homes – or, according to Skin, The City of Magic (?) – and it was lovely. In addition to the company, setting, and food, the evening was made even better by the truly unprecedented event of me winning a raffle/bet/pool situation when I happened to have chosen the right square in a grid of 100, winning me one hundred dollars…a C-Note…a Benjamin…etc.

An extra $100 is also an extremely uncommon happening in my life, and I’ve been deciding what to do with this unexpected windfall…I have several arrears that need to be relieved, but that’s no fun and is what normal payday is for, so no – and same goes for savings. I’m going to buy something fun for moi:

The Short List:

  1. Christmas tree for my casa – this is a definite
  2. A wreath – also a non-option
  3. Lights for decorating tree and windows – thanks for sharing, Mom and Dad (read: free)
  4. Christmas presents
  5. I’m pretty sure I’ve run out of money…

Sigh. $100 really doesn’t go all that far, does it? No, it does not.

In addition to this excitement, I did three things this past weekend that I would highly recommend.

  • I saw Harry Potter and found it to be the best one yet; I cannot wait for the second installment. Dobby….!!!!
  • Enjoyed lunch at Horseradish Grill. The Baxter Fam has been enjoying meals there since before it was even there – it used to be The Red Barn Inn. It was a red barn that served steak. Anyway, we’ve continued our faithful patronage through the years and it’s one of my favorite spots. Lunch on Friday was no exception. I ordered the Turkey Club on HF sourdough with a side of grits, but I was having extreme order anxiety about all the things that I wasn’t getting to have, so I encouraged to Jordan to get onion rings, Stanton got the She-Crab Soup, and I assembled a delicious and rather substantial doggy-bag using everyone’s leftovers: shrimp and grits, mac n cheese…so, at the end of the day, I wound up with a nice sampling of the whole menu. Mission: accomplished.
  • The Dali Exhibit at the High. Go, but don’t go on the Friday following a major national holiday when most people do not work and are trying to think of ways to entertain their out of town visitors. The body odor, frankly, is what I remember most about the experience. I think my favorite part was holing up in the gift shop with a book entitled Paintings That Changed the World. I am, after all, an art historian…the exhibit itself was expansive and provided a very comprehensive look at the life and art of Dali – I hope to return on a less crowded, less pungent day.

Merry Mehday!

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