My Top 5 Flicks That Make Me Want to Get My Groove On

There are lots of amazing dance movies out there. Most of them make me embarrassingly attempt to perform their signature routines myself. I'd be lying if I said I've never done the "Maniac" routine from Flashdance alone in my apartment. Below are the movies that make me dance along the most (or at least attempt to). Fair warning: 2 of these aren't strictly dance movies BUT they include dance routines that are seriously AH-MAZ-ING.

My blog's first gif! Yay internet!

Center Stage

I have to start with a true classic, or at least a true classic for my generation. This is the story of a girl with bad feet and poor turnout who realized she needs to find her inner rebel ballerina while wearing red toe shoes that I would wear every day if I could get my hands on them. Ok, that's a TERRIBLE summary, but this is a classic underdog story with beautiful dancing, mediocre-at-best acting and boys that dance! What's not to love? If only I hadn't quit ballet at age 9!

You can't tell, but they're doing Thriller

13 Going On 30

This movie is completely adorable but if the only five minutes you see of it are those in which most of the cast performs the Thriller dance routine, your life will be better for it. Watching Mark Ruffalo clearly counting out the beat in his head while he does the moves is probably the most endearing thing ever. 

Now I can't stop with the gifs. They're amazing.

Footloose

The above gif (my new favorite Internet thingie) shows my favorite dance move from the famous scene in Footloose where Kevin Bacon (and his stunt double) is SO MAD that the small town he's recently moved to does not allow dancing and he just has to DANCE. So he goes to a conveniently abandoned warehouse or mill or something and just dances his little wife-beater clad heart out. I'm so obsessed with this movie I can't even describe it. The soundtrack, the choreography and, hello, KEVIN BACON. Love love love.

So Baby's lift was better than Emma's, but it's still the best duo dance move of all time.

Dirty Dancing (and now, Crazy, Stupid, Love)

I'm not even going to get into this one too much. If you haven't seen this movie, I don't think I want to know you. Also, this movie is so awesome that its best and most climatic dance move is replicated in another awesome movie, Crazy, Stupid, Love. I'm probably going to force my husband to learn how to do lifts with me. I think it's something we need to do at weddings, tailgates, what have you.

These two are presh.

Slumdog Millionaire

This movie is incredible not even in a guilty pleasure way. The part that makes me want to take a Bollywood dance class (I made that up, but I think it should be a thing.) is the finale dance routine to "Jai Ho." Also, my husband is obsessed with this dance and whenever it comes on, I think of him doing the sweet Indian dance moves. He even threatened to do the Jai Ho routine flash mob style at our wedding ceremony. A small part of me is sad that didn't pan out, but I don't think the priest would have been too thrilled.

Honorable Mentions: (and by that I mean already mentioned on this blog in previous posts)
Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Girl Power Movies)
Newsies (Camp Eberhart's Lip Sync)

Happy Things This Week

Happy Things This Week by carlyvg featuring a biker jacket

The Saving Grace of the VMAs

So last night was the MTV Video Music Awards. Unfortunately as what is becoming the usual, it was an ADD nightmare of over the top seizure-inducing light show performances, Lady Gaga self-righteousness and a very disturbing dance medley tribute to Britney Spears (whom I love by the way) done by young girls dressed in her music video outfits. Seeing what I'm guessing was a 10-year-old in a mini-"I'm a Slave 4 U" outfit is something you can't unsee. There were a few saving graces of the show. The combined efforts of Russell Brand, Tony Bennett and Bruno Mars in tribute to Amy Winehouse was actually moving and celebrated her great talent. Britney Spears was sweet and humble accepting her Best Pop Video Award with emotion in her voice. And finally, the saving grace of the VMAs was the performance of "Someone Like You" by Adele. This performance brought me to tears and even though I'm kind of a big baby, it's not often that a musical performance does this. She proved to everyone that a truly great musical performance only takes one pure, gorgeous voice and poignant feelings behind it. Enjoy.

Sweet Jams of the Moment

These are the songs currently rocking my world right now. Since I tend to be a smidge too wordy, I'm going to let them speak for themselves as much as possible because they. are. rad.

Carousel by Vanessa Carlton
So glad she's back with her new album!

Love You Like a Love Song by Selena Gomez
If she's good enough for J Biebs, she's good enough for me.

Lyle by Magic Punches
This is the perfect song for when you're not ready to let go of summer. Also, Magic Punches is my friend from ND's band, and they're awesome and everyone should listen to them.

Wonderland by Natalia Kills
Natalia Kills is like Gaga but less self-righteous, therefore more awesome. Sorry Gaga fans, don't be mad, just listen to this great song.

Blood by The Middle East
This song is played at the end of Crazy Stupid Love and it is perfection.

The following songs are inspired by my survival of the hurricane and happen to be on my current playlist:

Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones
This song played in an episode of Covert Affairs recently and reminded me how much I LOVE IT. Plus, hurricane appropriate.

Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall by Coldplay
This is Coldplay's latest single and it's awesome. I love them. Gwyneth is so lucky.

Crown of Ages by The Ettes
Pure girl rock. From Whip It. Mentions rain, so again, hurricane appropriate.

What the Water Gave Me by Florence + The Machine
Everything Florence Welch does is completely beautiful. Her new single is no exception. If I were an artist, I'd want to be her.

Matt Nathanson's entire Modern Love album, which you should just go buy. I genuinely like every song, which is about as rare as a unicorn. We're going to his concert the end of September and I will sing along to every word!

That's my latest playlist, enjoy and download the ones you like, especially Magic Punches!

Girl Power Movies

Since I'm living the life of an Independent Woman, I decided to do a post about movies that celebrate the ladies. Here are a few of my favorites:

Whip It!

I legitimately researched roller derby and purchasing roller skates online after I saw this movie the first time. I also came up with my own roller derby name: Barbie Maul. This movie makes me feel like little, cowardly me could put on some roller skates and kick some ace. It's seriously a really enjoyable flick with a phenomenal cast (Kristen Wiig anyone?) so you should probably go see it right now.

Elizabethtown

Now this might be a controversial pick for a few reasons. First, this movie was one of the few Cameron Crowe movies that was not very well received because, well, the plot is a little odd. Second, the MAIN character in this movie is a super whiny guy, played by Orlando Bloom, who is not a lady. However, Kirsten Dunst plays this awesomely quirky, spontaneous, creative force of nature who takes this whiny depressed guy and SAVES him. She is the hero of the movie and she's super cute while she does it. If that doesn't say girl power, I don't know what does.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Do I even need to explain why this movie is all about girl power?! This 80s classic with the cast that doesn't quit was introduced to me by 2 of my favorite kick-butt ladies, Melissa and Stacie, my best friends from high school. It's about a repressed private school girl who enters a contest to be on Dance TV behind her strict dad's back. It's ah-mazing. The music, the dancing, the clothes, the HAIR. Seriously, if you are a child of the 80s and have not seen this movie, right this wrong immediately. Um, plus, it's SJP pre-Sex in the City. It's so great to know she's been fabulous for 3 decades.

Last but certainly not least, Erin Brockovich

This movie is so good in so many ways. Even though Julia Roberts' Oscar-winning role is not a lawyer, this movie shows me what kind of lawyer I want to be. Erin Brockovich shows ladies how to fight for what they believe in and to fight for making something of themselves, without needing a man to support them. Don't get me wrong, there are men who are great in this movie, but Erin relies on herself to be successful, even with 3 kids and no money. Don't get me wrong, I love my hubby, but I love that I could make it on my own if it was ever necessary.

The whole point of all of these female powerhouses is that they do things that are incredibly scary and incredibly brave. They take leaps of faith in themselves, and the more movies we have that encourage women to do just that, the better. The Spice Girls had it right all along. GIRL POWER! (Oh and Spice World would have been another excellent choice. Another post, that movie is special.)

Under $100 outfit

Under $100 outfit by carlyvg featuring butterfly tops

Storytime from the Road Part II: Dead Mouse Gate 2011

He's super cute, right?

Friday afternoon (it was 4 p.m., is that afternoon or early evening? I never know, it's a limbo time.) I was on my way into my apartment after work. I was on the phone with my mom because I utilize my I'm-very-lucky-to-have-it 15 minute commute home from work to chat with her. So I get into my apartment and my cat greets me at the door, meowing at me. I figure this is just like usual, he's telling me he's pissed I left him to go to work, which he does every day when I get home. I'm not lying, he meows constantly when I get home until I pick him up and pet him, like he might die without immediate snuggling. Anyway, I ignore the meowing briefly so I can go into my bedroom and change into my comfy after-work clothes. It should also be noted here that I took off my shoes when I walked into the apartment. (Very cute grey suede wedges, by the way.) Now I'm still on the phone so I'm somewhat in autopilot with the whole changing thing and I have a tendency to pace when I'm on the phone. Drives Zac (my cat) crazy. Anyway, I'd taken off my jewelry and was walking back out of my bedroom for whatever reason when something revolting stopped me dead in my tracks. I realized I've ruined the reveal here with the title but that's ok. Laying there in the little hallway between my bedroom and my bathroom is a DEAD MOUSE.

A little background info: I am ridiculously irrationally freaked out by mice in any form. I can't explain it because I'm not always such a wuss and I haven't always been afraid of mice. But the past 2 years, since we've lived in our old apartment building, I've had a lot more exposure to mice and I've spent more time than I care to admit standing on furniture screaming at Danny and Zac to find and destroy them without me seeing.

Back to the story at hand, I see this dead mouse and of course I start screaming bloody murder. Actually it was more like "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, deadmousedeadmousedeadmouse," at a high pitch and decibel level. Woops, sorry Mom! He's still on the phone, riding in the car with my dad who I can hear saying "What's wrong? Is she ok?" because my screams were loud enough to alarm him through the phone at my mom's ear. My mom, being the graceful and in-control lady she is, proceeds to talk me down off the metaphorical ledge for all of 5 seconds until I realize that I had walked RIGHT BY this dead mouse BAREFOOT and I could have stepped on it with causes we dissolve into a new round of screaming. It's here where my mom says: "You never used to be afraid of mice, I wonder why it's such a problem for you now." NOT HELPFUL, MOM. I don't have time to analyze my psychoses right now, ok? Of course, it was a totally benign and well-intentioned comment but I'm illogical in the face of danger or in the face of a tiny dead rodent that poses no danger to me whatsoever.

Finally, I pull myself together long enough to conclude that something must be done about the mouse corpse. For this task, I of course first turn to Zac and say "Good boy! You are such a good hunter! Could you please get rid of it now?" He looks at me blankly then meows once, which I take to mean: "Bitch, please." Then my next logical step is to whine repeatedly about Danny not being in town and moaning to the gods of rodent behavior that this is only supposed to happen in winter when mice come indoors thus leading me to believe it was safe for Danny to be gone in August and September.

After listening to all of my ridiculous lamenting and avoidances so as not to deal with this myself, my mom, the great mom that she is, manages to both sympathize with my irrational over-dramitization of my plight and inspire me to action. She makes the useful suggestion of covering the dead mouse with something like Kleenex and then sweeping the whole thing into a container that I can dispose of.

Kleenex in hand, I approach the mouse body cautiously, as if it could re-animate into a mouse zombie at ANY second.

Google actually had image results for mouse zombie, and this picture was the least gross.
The Internet is a strange and terrifying place.

Side note: this thing was not in good shape, Zac had done quite the number on him. I throw the Kleenex over the body from a good 2 feet away and it floats down to the mouse, unfortunately leaving the tail exposed. The tails are what really get me. They're not like good animal tails like fluffy cat and dog tails. These are skin tails and they are creepy and gross. Anyway, after gagging and a little more screaming, I pull the Kleenex over enough so it covers the whole thing. I then get a Solo cup and a hand broom and really brace myself for what will surely be the most harrowing part of this Herculean (in my mind) task.

Poor little dead mouse's final resting place.

I sweep the mouse and Kleenex into the cup on the second attempt. On my first attempt, I missed and the mouse fell out of its funeral drapings and I jumped away screaming again before bravely replacing the Kleenex and trying again. Thank God, when I get it all into the Solo cup, the Kleenex is covering the mouse body so I don't have to see it up close. I then run down the hall to the point of panting, clutching the red Solo cup away from my body as far as my arm will stretch. I get to my trash chute, wrench the door open and throw it down. SUCCESS! I jog back to my apartment, gloating to my mom, the poor thing, about my victory over a small dead animal and we say our goodbyes. Her goodbye includes some continued laughter at what a crazy person she has for a daughter. But I am oblivious to this at the time because I am bathing in the glory of my triumph and I text Danny to tell him that I am a hero.

Ten seconds later, I text him to beg him to please come home as soon as possible so I never ever ever have to deal with another mouse, dead or alive, again. My glory was short-lived.

And so closes the story of Dead Mouse Gate 2011.

Story time from the Road

Handwriting a blog post is difficult for many reasons. For one, it's counter-intuitive. I mean, a blog by definition requires a computer and the Internet. But, much like Sarah Palin, I'm a maverick. Our similarities end there. Well, we also share a taste for expensive clothes, but that's it, I swear! I can't even wink! Now I'm sure you're thinking "Carly, I'm reading this post on the Internet and it was clearly written by computer. You are a liar." but here's where semantics come into play friends. This post was merely transcribed by computer, but I promise every word you are reading on your screen was first written in my borderline-illegible handwriting in the Moleskine notebook that my husband gave me for Valentine's Day after I told him I was going to start writing again. (How freaking cute is he? Such a sweet present.)

So back to how posts by hand are challenging. In this specific instance, my obstacles to successful post composition include: 1) a lack of stable writing surface because I am on a bus to New York this Saturday morning, 2) a lack of caffeine as 1 small cup of coffee after waking up at 5:30 a.m. to catch said bus is not doing it for me and 3) a lack of patience because the aforementioned bus was stopped for 20-30 minutes twice, on either side of Baltimore. Apparently there is some giant motorcycle brigade traveling up I-95 North to NYC this morning and we had to stop and wait for all 18 MILES of motorcycles to pass us and then our driver thought he'd take an alternate route only to be stopped to wait for all 18 MILES of them to pass us again. Yes, 18 MILES.  I mean, this obviously happened because I thought I was being so smart taking the early bus from DC2NY (that's funny because it works in the sentence and it's the name of my bus company! Oh bus trip humor!) because there'd be less traffic! No one gets out of bed at 5:30 or 6 to drive to New York on a Saturday morning EXCEPT 18 MILES OF MOTORCYCLES!!!

My favorite part was as they were passing us, some would wave like we were spectators in a parade who were EXCITED to see them. I may be a small-ish blonde girl listening to Glee songs on my pink iPod shuffle but I swear I had enough rage in me to take down one of those burly waving bikers. If I wasn't stuck on a bus.

So here I sit, next to a woman with 3 bags shoved under the seat in front of her (one wonders how many she stowed under the bus) and I push through my lack of writing surface, caffeine and patience as well as a borderline crippling pain in my wrist that I'm pretty sure is a sign that I injured myself in the adventure I'm about to impart to you. Prepare yourself for a complete and total shift in focus for the next post because I'm about to drop quite the tale on you.

Happy Things This Week

Happy Things This Week by carlyvg featuring metallic shoes

2 minutes to happy

So last night this happened:

Try to watch that and not laugh along with Anderson. His giggle is high-pitched, adorable and infectious and he loves potty humor. He just giggled his way further into my heart.

What I'm Watching Wednesdays

That's right you crazy kids (all 4 of you), since I was out of commish this weekend on blogging, you get TWO posts in one day, contain yourselves! Also let me say on a completely unrelated note that I'm watching Gone with the Wind on Netflix Instant right now and they only have it listed as TWO STARS. Um, hello? It's probably one of the greatest movies of all time. You're fired Netflix ratings guy. You. Are. Fired. Anyway, onto What I'm Watching Wednesdays, in which I regale you with more of my television obsessions and encourage you to follow my lead by being thoroughly entertained by these marvelous shows! First,

Iron Chef America! How great is this picture of the Chairman, seriously? For those of you unfamiliar with this magical program, ICA is a competition show on Food Network where one very accomplished chef from a prestigious restaurant pits him or herself against one of the Iron Chefs (Bobby Flay, Cat Cora, Mario Batali, etc.) by each creating a 5-course meal revolving around the Secret Ingredient. Oh and they do this in 1 hour. The picture above is the Chairman, whose role still remains unclear to me except that he announces the Secret Ingredient before the battle and makes that face. This show is great because they do some wildly creative things with food and the elements of competition and cooking against the clock make it exciting.

Pretty Little Liars. The only show ABC Family could have created to fill the Greek-sized hole in my life. (RIP Greek!) I realize this show focuses on high school students and I am a decade (!) out of that holy institution, but it's irresistible! I don't want to reveal too much but basically the show revolves around 4 friends who have a scandalous secret to keep after the death of their manipulative ringleader friend Allison and they are terrorized by an anonymous pot-stirrer called "A" with texts, emails and threats. It is awesome. They've really upped the stakes this season and I can't miss an episode!

I've loved the Office since Danny introduced me to it in Season 2. We spent one of our long distance weekends watching about 25 episodes to catch up and I've never missed another one. It's obviously not on right now because it's summer but thanks to Netflix, I get to watch my favorite episodes whenever I want. So, totally normal behavior, I've watched the Jim and Pam wedding episode approximately 10 times and cried every time. It is so sweet and adorable and truly, if you're planning a wedding, it's a wonderful way to be reminded of what really matters when you are getting married, each other. It's not too often a sitcom can be touching and ridiculously hilarious with multiple viewings, but the Office does it all the time. (Silent prayer that it can still be good without Steve Carell!)

I love Jillian Michaels

Let me start by saying that, for the most part, I do not enjoy exercising. I'm not one of those people who is addicted to the gym or who goes running because "it relaxes me." (That's a concept I will never understand.) I work out because I love food and eating and I don't feel like being 400 lbs. In order to keep up a workout regimen, I need two things: variety and motivation. Jillian Michaels work outs give me both. I started with the 30 Day Shred and I'm not kidding you, there is not a more effective 30 minute program out there.

I am now the proud owner of 3 more Jillian Michaels DVDs: Ripped in 30, Burn Fat Boost Metabolism and No More Trouble Zones. The 30 Day Shred and Ripped in 30 are similar in that both DVDs contain multiple 30 minute workouts made up of strength, cardio and ab moves. Burn Fat Boost Metabolism and No More Trouble Zones are 50 minute workouts of circuit training with a wide variety of exercises including strength, calisthenics, kickboxing and ab exercises.

Ok, let me tell you why I like these. First, no move lasts longer than a minute. As a sufferer of exercise ADD, this is ideal for me because even I can keep myself motivated for 1 minute. Second, there is always some sort of punching involved at some point in the workout, which is a great way to get stress out and I feel like a badass. Third, and perhaps most important, THESE WORK. Quickly. I noticed results within a week of doing these semi-regularly, now I'm at a point where I can actually see my abs. Like, 4-pack abs! I know you're thinking, wait, that's not a 6-pack, but Jillian's not Jesus, ok? I still have a little more to do before I can count 6 little ab-y sections when I flex. Maybe I should buy Jillian's Six Week Six Pack next?

So I assure you I don't do these kind of promotional spiels often, but my love for Jillian and her workouts runs deep. Trust me, coming from this lazy bum, that's saying something.

Happy Things This Week

Happy Things This Week by carlyvg featuring button jewelry

What I'm Watching Wednesdays

I love television. I promise I try not to watch too too much and if there's nothing on that I'm feeling, I do have the willpower to turn it off and pick up a book or go outside. That said, there are some shows that I just can't help but get hooked on. And so What I'm Watching Wednesdays is born. 

White Collar is a USA original series and I assure you that it will not be the last USA show I mention on this blog. Some may call these shows "formulaic" but isn't that the case for lots of television? If the characters and plot are good, it's fine if the episodes follow a pattern. White Collar is awesome. It's about a conman who cuts a deal after he's caught and pays back his debt to society working as a consulting in the FBI's White Collar Crimes unit. Matt Bomer plays this charming conman, Neal Caffrey, and he is witty and impeccably dressed and super handsome. He's the best reason for watching this show but I'll give you one more: Tiffani Thiessen, aka Kelly Kapowski, is in this and she's ADORABLE, in an upbeat, perky, but grown up Kelly kind of way.

I am SO excited this show got nominated for an Emmy, because if it hadn't been, I would not have heard of it, found it on Netflix Instant and watched the first season in its entirety this weekend. It's a phenomenal series focusing on an English estate and all the drama with both the aristocratic family upstairs and the servants quarters downstairs. If you've ever seen Gosford Park, this is a similar idea, but I think even better. Any Jane Austen, Henry James or Bronte fan will really enjoy this. The only thing not enjoyable is that it will not return until January of 2012 and I hate waiting to find out what's next!

I used to plan my wedding in my head, even before I was engaged and now I plan my house in my head, probably long before Danny and I can buy one. House Hunters is the ideal source for feeding my imagination. The show focuses usually on a couple who is looking to buy a home. They get to look at 3 options in their price range, trying to include as many items on their wish list as possible. It's absurdly addictive and as Danny and I could be potentially moving in 10 months, it's fun to see what's available in some of the cities we could be moving to. If buying a home could be in your future, try an episode, you really can't watch just one.

I know. This show is trash. It's partially responsible for the demise of American intelligence levels. I CAN'T HELP MYSELF. Seriously, if a marathon is on MTV, even if I've seen the episodes, it takes all of my willpower to change the channel and sometimes even that fails me. I am utterly captivated by the misadventures of these ridiculous people. The fact that fame has completely gone to their heads just make them that much more hilarious to watch. This season they're in Florence, and I can't wait to see what new meaning they bring to the term "Ugly American."

Camp Eberhart's Annual Lip Sync

When I was a camper/camp counselor at the BEST summer camp of all time, Camp Eberhart in Three Rivers Michigan, a summer tradition was The Annual Lip Sync (sometimes bi or tri-annual, but that's irrelevant). The cabins would all compete against each other in a battle of who had the best choreographed lip-synced routine to a chosen super awesome song. As a camper, I lip-synced to some of the world's best pop songs and I was an audience member to some truly epic routines, often from surprising sources, such as the 13-15 year old boys of Cabin 15/16 (yes, the cabin numbering got confusing at times). The following are the Hall of Fame, should-have-their-own-VH1-show-where-quasi-celebrities-talk-about-them, lip sync performances (and I'm putting in YouTubes of the songs so you can hear them and lip sync to them yourself):

"Leader of the Pack" - This particularly awesome 1960s jam by the Shangri-Las was very wisely chosen as the lip-sync entry by the junior girls, aka the 7-9 year-olds of Camp Eberhart. Now I'm sure you can imagine that anything where tiny little girls are doing basic choreography in (sort of) unison is highly adorable. They could all be doing the sign language alphabet without background music together and it would be cute. But with this performance they went above and beyond the cute factor by being good. This is more of a story-telling song so they proceeded to act out the verses, including a little girl dressed in a too-big leather jacket as "the leader of the pack" and a little girl in a too-big frothy prom dress as his lady love. But the best part, by far, was when the motorcycle sounds played during the chorus and this group of 25 tiny girls would all turn toward the audience, put their hands around imaginary handlebars and rev their Harleys. This makes you want to be a camp counselor doesn't it? Well you should, because to date, it's still the best job I ever had.

"Blinded by the Light" - This song by Manfred Mann is terrific, even if I still can't figure out the words after countless listenings. In the Lip Sync Hall of Fame forever, this song was performed by the group least likely to care at all about the lip sync, the afore-mentioned 13-15 year-old boys. At most lip syncs in my camp career, their performances would involve a lot of acting too-cool, tripping on themselves or moshing. But "Blinded by the Light" had a magical effect on these boys. It inspired them to do sparkle fingers in unison and actual synchronized choreography. It was like seeing a unicorn and every time I hear this song I will be forever reminded of these boys who decided to show that they really were too cool and rocked out hard.

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" - I'm sure this seems like an obvious choice when you have groups of girls and boys doing choreographed dance routines, but this performance was special. This lip-sync didn't actually occur at The Lip Sync, it was a special performance during the water show. I know, you're all, what does a lip-sync have to do with a water show? Well we did this lip sync on windsurfing boards, that we paddled into the middle of the swim area, stood up on and did sweet moves that I still remember and do every time this song comes on. Did some of us fall off our boards? You bet. But those of us who fell, myself included, climbed right back up on that board dripping wet and waved our arms in the air like we just didn't care. Those girls, wait for ittttttttttttt, just wanted to have fun.

"I Think We're Alone Now" - Um, it's Tiffany. And this song has lyrics that were meant for acting out. No additional explanations necessary. (Except that this was another tiny girl performance and thus even more amazing.)

I could watch this video every day for the rest of my life.

"Seize the Day" - The all-time BEST lip-sync song of all time, hands down, no contest. This routine I'm particularly attached to because I was co-choreographer and I love Newsies as much as I love cupcakes. (And so began my Christian Bale lifelong love affair, no matter how weird he is or how much weight he loses for a role.) The moves for this routine were particularly awesome, as they involved a triumphant fist in the air every time "Seize the Day" was spoken in the song, which is a lot. It was almost a pre-cursor to the Jersey Shore fist pump, but I digress. The best part was that at the end of the song, our girls, faces smudged with "newsprint" to look like they just wanted to sell papes for a reasonable wage, reached down at the end of the song, grabbed the strategically placed newspaper at their feet and flung it into the air so that the stage was raining papes at the end. You have chills, don't you? I know, me too.

The Annual Lip Sync is a perfect example of how amazing camp was. I'm confident I will share more camp propaganda with you because it definitely is responsible for large chunks of who I am. And for my love of Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There For You," complete with hand signal choreography.

My Work Outfit Today

My Work Outfit Today by carlyvg featuring platform pumps
I basically wore this outfit to work today. Except the purse, which I love and in my head, I had that too. I'm really feeling navy + nude/cream lately. It's kind of my new favorite color combo. Also, I love polyvore, it's so fun to play stylist on that website and it honestly helped me pick out my outfit for today. Seriously, it's like playing paper dolls. I highly recommend it.

In Appreciation of Marriage

That handsome man you see above is my husband, watching me walk down the aisle to begin our life together. We've been married just over a year now and it has been the best, most challenging, most rewarding and most surprising adventure of my life. I find myself reflecting on how much I enjoy marriage to Danny especially lately because he has to be away from me for two away rotations. 1 week down, 7 to go. With him gone, I am living the life of a pseudo-single girl again and I can't say I enjoy the change. It feels like a crucial part of my support system is gone, even though I get to talk to him every day. It's like when you hang a big poster on the wall and you only put a small amount of tape in the four corners and it's all billowy and not really stuck to the wall and then you realize "Oh! I should put some tape right in the middle!" Well I feel like I'm missing my middle piece of tape. I'm still stuck to the wall, I'm just not stuck to it all that well. Does that make sense? If not, try hanging a big poster and you'll get what I mean.

The thing is, although it wasn't 100% jelly beans and rainbows the entire time (because nothing worth doing is, even though jelly beans are delicious), Danny and I have become a team during our first year of marriage. We tackle things together and we can trust each other to hold one another up when we find ourselves struggling. That's not to say we weren't there for each other before but there's a gravity to our support for each other that wasn't there before we got married. Now I'm all about being an independent lady and girls are just as good if not better than boys and all that awesome girl-power empowerment. But here's where you're going to get a slightly hot button opinion from me for the first time. Anyone who is in a relationship and doesn't want to get married (which is a totally fine and valid life choice) that says "It's not like anything is going to change, it's just a piece of paper!" Well, they're wrong. Because even though Danny and I were the same people we'd always been, things changed the day we got married and I'm not just talking about giving up closet space. When you stand up in front of everyone you know or even just a justice of the peace and make solemn promises to each other and become husband and wife, there's a shift in your reality. You become part of a "we" in way that you were not before. As a direct result of this shift, marriage has changed me for the better. I'd like to think I'm less self-centered now because when I think about big decisions or even small ones, I think about them now in terms of "how will this affect US?" rather than "how will this affect ME?" Being married has also given me a sense of calm and security that I never had before even though I knew Danny loved me and was committed to me. It's not just a security in being loved, it's a security in having someone next to you on your life's path.

I don't mean to make you gag, and I know that this is a lot of "us" and "we" talk for an only child, but that's what marriage has changed for me. I hope it continues to do this because honestly, I love it. I love that when I'm looking through our DVR trying to decide what to watch I save the new episode of The Office to watch with him. See how selfless I've become? It's crazytown. So thank you marriage (and Danny) for making this only child a team player. I promise I'll be back to talking about myself tomorrow. And just to lighten up this mushy love talk:

Doesn't Ron look almost as content as Danny above? I think so. And I'm very happy that the sight of me walking down the aisle made Danny as happy as a bacon-wrapped turkey leg made Ron. That's seriously high flattery folks.

Red Sauce

I realized I've been blogging for a week and have not done a single cooking or food post. This is crazy because I LOVE food. Making it, eating it, even looking at it. So I figured my inaugural food post would be my recipe for my favorite food: spaghetti and marinara or red sauce. There is a restaurant in my hometown called Rocco's. It's this amazing red-checkered tablecloth, mom and pop Italian restaurant. It's always the first restaurant I want to go to when I'm home, and it has the BEST marinara sauce ever. Since I first started cooking I've been trying to make my own awesome red sauce and after years of tweaking and effort, I think I've finally done ok, but like all of my recipes, it's a work in progress.

Ingredients:
1 28 oz. can San Marzano pureed tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup wine (red or white, your choice)
Olive oil
Crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper
Flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
Sugar (sometimes)*
Parmesan cheese
Spaghetti (or linguine fini, angel hair or another long-cut pasta)

Directions:
1. Chop your onion and garlic. In a saucepan, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes.

2. Add crushed red pepper to taste and saute a little longer. I like it spicy, so I am pretty generous.

3. Add the red wine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes to let the wine-onion mixture reduce.

4. Once the wine has reduced, add the San Marzano tomatoes. A quick note about tomato choice. It is crucial. I've used various brands of canned tomatoes from the grocery store and I'm telling you, the San Marzano brand of San Marzano tomatoes that is stocked at Whole Foods is THE best brand of canned tomatoes out there. I prefer my sauce fairly smooth, so I use the pureed tomatoes for my marinara, but I've also used their whole, crushed and diced and they are all amazing. Worth every penny.

(Sorry, I haven't mastered pouring and iPhone picture taking at the same time yet.)

5. Season with salt and pepper. Be careful not to oversalt because you will be adding salty pasta water later and can always add more to taste at the end. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to low to keep it at a low simmer. Cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, but I tend to think the longer the sauce simmers the better, it makes the flavors richer. 

6. While the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of very salty water to a boil. It should be so salty that it tastes like the ocean.  When the water is at a boil, add the pasta and cook according to package directions. You know how most pasta boxes say a range of time like 11-12 minutes? I recommend cooking at the low end of that range, maybe even a minute less because the sauce will be hot when you add it and it will keep cooking a bit and you want it al dente, not mushy. Also, before you drain your pasta, save 1/2 cup of that salty starchy pasta water.

7. Also while the sauce simmers, chop your parsley. (Gratuitous instruction just so I could insert the picture.)

8. At this point, add the pasta water to the simmering sauce. **If you really want your sauce to be like a restaurant's sauce, or at least like Rocco's sauce, you can puree it at this point with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. I did not want to deal with that last night, so I just enjoyed it as is. I would recommend blending before adding all the pasta water ahead could make the sauce too thin once it's blended.** Ladle a few ladlefuls (Is that a thing? Ladleful? Spell check says no.)of sauce onto the drained pasta and combine, reserving some of the sauce for topping the individual portions. Divide the pasta among your serving dishes, ladle a little bit of sauce over the portions, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then with the chopped parsley. Then eat until your tummy hurts.

Seriously try to look at that and not want to shovel it in your face. Sorry to be unladylike but I had just worked out and that's exactly what I did and I'm not even ashamed. And please don't judge me for my overzealous use of parmesan cheese. I couldn't help myself.

At least I didn't lick the bowl. Scrape it with my fork so I got as much sauce as possible? Yes. But I did not resort to licking.

*One final note about the sugar: Your use of sugar should depend entirely on how sweet your wine and your onions are, so basically it's a matter of taste. Taste the sauce before you add the salt and pepper, if it has too much of an acidic bite to it, add no more than a teaspoon of sugar, taste and add a bit more if needed. With the red table wine I used today and a pretty sweet yellow onion, I didn't even add sugar in this batch. It's different every time. 

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

I had the pleasure of going to see this delightful movie last night. I don't want to give anything away but it was wonderful. It was funny, poignant, surprising, adorable and honest. I know I'm gushing, but I can't think of anything bad about this movie other than the fact that it ended. Even that, though, wasn't bad because I thought it ended at a great point. The individual performances were remarkably well done and had enough subtleties to them that I want to see the movie again soon so I can catch other little things that these talented actors do in their performances. The best part of this movie is the way it explores the intricacies and different personifications of love. This movie stuck with me after I watched it and made me think about my own relationships, past, present and future. In the end, I think that's really the mark of a good film: how it affects its audience, if it stays with them after they leave the theatre and makes them think about something in a new way. By that standard, this was an excellent film and this didn't hurt the movie's quality either:

He makes eating Sbarro pizza sexy. 

How does that even happen!?

Guilty Pleasure Tunes of the Week

There are so many sweet guilty pleasure jams out there that I decided to make it a weekly series. There was an entire VH1 special dedicated to the best Awesomely Bad Songs and guess what? I loved pretty much every one of them. I love legit music too but there is just something special about screaming the words to a super cheesy pop song while I'm driving along the highway. So here it is, the inaugural Guilty Pleasure Tunes of the Week:

"Digital Getdown" - *N Sync

Now I know this song is kind of inappropriate as it's basically about gettin' it on cyber-style, but it's *N Sync, so it can't be too scandalous. And the lyrics are HILARIOUS. "Digital digital getdown, just you and me, we'll be 20,000 miles away but I can see you and baby, baby you can see me." Priceless. Oh to be a fly in the room when they chose this song for their album. But honestly, I dare you to not start singing along by the final chorus.

"Leave" - Jo Jo

Who knew a 13-year-old girl could be SO emotional about breaking up? Don't they only hold hands at 13? (Or at least that's all they did back when I was 13.) The best part about this song is the chanting between lines of the chorus. She thought this boy could have been the one, you guys. That's the point in the song where I have to stop singing along and go "YOU'RE 13!!" But it's still cheesy pop gold.

"Wishing Well" - Terence Trent D'Arby

I don't even know if this song is a guilty pleasure but it's from the 80s, and he has amazing dreadlocks but is not a reggae musician, so I'm going to go ahead and call it a guilty pleasure. My mom had this album, on cassette tape I believe, and we used to listen to it in the car and I'm pretty sure at age 5, I just liked a song about wishing wells because those were really fun. It's a pretty good song with the exception that the lyrics are hard to understand at parts, but more fun for the listener who makes them up, right? For example, I end the chorus with "a wishing well, a crocodile chair." Nailed it.

"I Wanna Be Bad" - Willa Ford

So when I was looking this song up on YouTube, this one was labelled "Dirty" and I watched it to make sure it wasn't too inappropriate for posting. Oh my how times have changed. Willa, you were ahead of your time in both being over-sexed and use of autotune, but today, this video would never be banned by MTV. It is, however, a horrible song with a horrible message but damn, if it isn't catchy. Willa, it's too bad you didn't make a song called "I Wanna Read" because I'd feel way less guilty about liking it.

"Take on Me" - A-ha

Another 80s gem and the video is Ah-mazing. The whole thing takes place in a comic book. This song also features some amazing falsetto. And most importantly, it's featured in the only funny part of one of the worst movies of all time, Corky Romano. I'm sorry, but the image of Chris Kattan driving in an orange Miata while hitting the high notes in this song is forever burned in my brain and it pops up every time I hear the chorus. Glorious.

True Confessions

You might find yourself horrified by the following information, but let me tell you that I'm making steps to correct some of these egregious errors in my development thus far.

1) I've never read the Anne of Green Gables books. And I OWN them. With the odes to Anne all over the internet lately, I actually started reading the first book and let me tell you, I can already tell that Anne and I are going to be friends. Girl knows what's up. I don't know why I never read these as a child. I mean, I loved reading and devoured a lot of the girl childhood classics: Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew, Babysitters Club, etc. I know I tried reading the first Anne book once and I guess I was itching to help Nancy solve another mystery or something because I never got into it. Now though, as a 27 year old woman, Anne is speaking to me, so maybe it just wasn't the time.

2) I'm a lawyer but I've never seen an episode of Law and Order. Not the original, not SVU or CI or ABC or whatever the other letters-spinoffs are. This one I'm actually quite proud of and I'm not sure why. Everyone I tell this factoid to is dumbfounded. Partly because I'm a lawyer and partly because there are at least 3 episodes of Law and Order:Something on at every single minute of every single day. Somehow I've managed to avoid them and I'm going to soldier on with that, despite the reactions of disgust and shock I will continue to receive.

3) I think the original Godfather is better than Godfather Part II AND I did not see either movie until just last year. I saw them right before I got married a little over a year ago because my husband couldn't be married to someone who had not seen the Godfathers (of course part III doesn't count). Somehow, after I watched and enjoyed both movies, I still managed to horrify my then-fiance as the credits rolled on Part II by saying "Well, that was good, but the first one was WAY better." Apparently it's some universally acknowledged truth that Part II is even better than the original because of DENIRO, the god of Italian-American actors. Honestly, I felt kind of meh about his part in Part II and (Spoiler Alert!) I HATED that Fredo got killed. HATED. I don't care if he broke Michael's heart, killing Fredo is like shooting a puppy. Sonny in Part I? I got that, he was a hot mess. But Fredo? Not cool, Coppola. Not cool. The original Godfather also has Marlon Brando, who I've been enamored with in everything I've seen him in, starting with Guys and Dolls. Plus, Pacino is smokin' hot in Part I, especially the beginning, so another point in its column. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that I is better than II. Sorry Danny, you're not changing my mind on this one.

Ahhh-mazing.

See what I mean? Sizzle.

I will be continuing to do the occasional True Confessions post here and there, because I feel like it's good that you all get an accurate picture of the person whose blog you're reading. Hopefully none of them are deal breakers, but if they are, whatevs, I don't like you anyways. (I often revert to grade school maturity levels as well, one more thing to know.)

Inspired by my Blog Title

So in honor of my blog's title, I thought I'd write a post about how my marriage is aided by my husband's and my use of our iPhones. Danny, my husband, is a med student and he's doing 2 away rotations for the next 7 and 1/2 weeks (8 weeks in total), which, in my melodramatic way of looking at these things, is the worst thing ever. Thus, we are forced to expand our media of communication since we do not have that easy access to each other that I took woefully for granted. Thank. God. For. iPhones. Because of these magical devices, we have communicated via the following means today:

*Facebook - Just commenting on a few posts, some comforting witty banter about our cat and Ron Swanson, two of my favorite things I promise you will hear more about as this blog continues.

*Texting - I still resist this so-hip-it's-not-hip-anymore way to get in touch because I am a disaster with texting. I am slow and hate auto correct and get super frustrated, but it's still convenient when you just want to say "hope you're having a good day babe."

*Words with Friends - I consider this communication because we occasionally trash talk each other on the app and I like knowing that he's thinking of me at some point during the day, even if it's just to curse on that SWEET triple letter triple word score I just dropped on him.

*E-mail - My husband sent me an article on the orthopedic benefits of yoga with a little note attached. He's hoping to do his residency in orthopedic surgery and my mom's a yoga teacher, so it's not as random as it seems. Very thoughtful of him.

*Real-live phone conversation - He was on call last night so we didn't get to talk for more than 30 seconds yesterday and it was SO good to hear his voice this afternoon. Um, did I mention he's been gone only 5 days so far? Obviously I am not handling this well, thank god for my new blogging/internet collaging (see previous 2 posts) pasttimes.  

*Instagram picture message - So he could see this (see below) picture of our cat meowing at the door to be let out. That's let out into our hallway which is in no way exciting and I cannot explain Zac's obsession with it. Oh yes, if you have not read my little "about me" blurb, my cat's name is Zac Morris, without the K so he could be unique. 

*Video chat - Now this isn't actually on our iPhones since I don't have Facetime b/c I have the original iPhone 3G, yes that's right, the one they don't even make anymore. [Aside prayer to the Apple gods: Please let the iPhone 5 get released as soon as possible, thanks!] Plus, let's be honest, it's way better to video chat on the much larger computer screen, but STILL, we are so good at keeping in touch via Apple products! Thank you technology for keeping our marriage going despite being 700 miles away from each other! 

One final note: you could obviously do pretty much all of these things with other smart phones but I am an Apple snob, sorry. You will see more lauding of their products by me on this blog I can assure you, but please don't think I'm an actual snob. I don't think I'm better than you in any way other than my taste in electronics. Oh, and in my Words With Friends skills. Seriously, I'm goooooood.

Rehearsal Dinner Guest Outfit

Rehearsal Dinner Guest Outfit by CarlyVG featuring a crinkle dress

Happy Things This Week

Happy Things This Week by CarlyVG featuring hair clip accessories

My Top 5 Guilty Pleasure Movies

We all have them. The extra-watched DVDs that are our secret shames. I have my fair share quite honestly but these are my top 5 guilty pleasure movies. The movies I love every time I watch them but when people notice I own them, I hang my head a little as I admit, "Yes, and I may even know most of the lines." I love them in all their embarrassing glory!

#1: Twister

Ok, so I have a terrible fear of tornadoes, but that doesn't stop me from being RIVETED by this movie every time it is on TBS or every time I pop it into my DVD player. I can't explain why I love this movie but I adore it. A few reasons most likely include: 1) Helen Hunt somehow makes meteorology both badass and sexy. 2) The supporting cast is ah-mazing. Um hello, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Cary Ewles, Cameron from Ferris Beuller? Delightful. 3) It's an action movie but it's not graphic, which I very much enjoy. I've never been a horror or gore type girl, but I do love a good thrilling action sequence, like Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt strapping themselves to pipes and literally getting sucked halfway into the eye of a giant tornado. I'm sorry, but if you're not staring at the television with mouth agape as you watch that scene then you're probably dead inside. Just kidding, but your taste in action sequences is suspect at the very least.

#2: A Knight's Tale

3 words: Heath Ledger's Hair (except in the first 15 minutes). God I miss him. Don't get me wrong, I love lots of his other movies, but this movie to me is my favorite version of Heath. In this movie his character is impulsive and cocky and my favorite part is that he is such a boy. He puts his foot in his mouth with the girl he loves and has to win her back and oh yeah, he has to win all these jousts and pretend to be a knight all while classic rock songs play. I'm sorry but I don't even feel guilty about this guilty pleasure because it's AWESOME. Win. (Please note that I did not say winning, because he-who-must-not-be-named, Emilio Estevez' brother, is not to be encouraged.)


#3: Empire Records

"Well Sinead O'Rebellion, shock me shock me shock me with that deviant behavior." So that's one of my favorite quotes from this movie, which I think I have seen more than any other movie in the world. Truly. I know it by heart and I wish every day was Rex Manning Day. It's the story of a varied bunch of kids working in a record store that is on the brink of being sold to MusicTown, a Sam Goody-esque music chain. As time goes on and record stores are a thing of the past, I love this movie even more. It also made me always want to have a vinyl collection which my husband and I have started, so thanks Eddie, for teaching me that a record is like a life. Watch this movie, it will make you wish you worked there.


#4: Never Been Kissed

Don't get me wrong, this whole movie is great, but when I'm down, all I need is the last scene of this movie. Every single solitary time I see Josie standing on that pitcher's mound and the clock runs down to zero and then the opening strains of The Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" start to play, my heart starts to do a little pitter pat. Then, (SPOILER ALERT) Michael Vartan jogs oh-so-casually down the stairs of the stadium wearing a sweet v-neck sweater and runs right to her and lays one on her. I may be alone on this, because this is a movie that specializes in cheese-fabulous, but I think it's one of the best movie kisses of all time, maybe THE best. Ugh. I'm playing "Don't Worry Baby" right now.


#5: Blue Crush 
So I took surfing lessons at my cousin's surf school pretty much completely inspired by this movie. I know that this may come as a shock to readers (are there readers yet?) but I am actually not Kate Bosworth, or her surfing stunt double. I know, I know, you're clicking away in disappointment, but stay with me because reliving this movie is WORTH IT. Ok first, the acting is somewhat terrible, especially because some of the actors are professional surfers who were never never ever meant to act. But it's terrible in one of those awesome hilarious ways. Also, Kate Bosworth is ripped in this movie. Like I'm buying P90X DVDs tomorrow to get her back muscles ripped. Go girl. And finally, the surfing in this movie is just plain rad. (I am such a surfer dude!) Needless to say, surfing is really hard and I will never be as good as Kate Bosworth's stunt double but it's amazing and it makes me wish that I had been shredding waves my whole life. Instead, I shred cheese. BOOM ended it on a cooking joke. Keeping you all on your toes.