How awesome is this branch book shelf by Olivier Dolle?
Branch by Olivier Dolle
I kinda wish I had seen this before we put together Michele’s nursery wall mural… but this just means that I get to put it in MY HOUSE!!!! I think it will look good over the TV, since Minh wants to keep the TV wall “simple” (meaning no elaborate shelving or clutter).
via HomeDSGN
I love watching movies.. and all kinds, too. Dramas, documentaries, comedies, suspense thriller, horror, independent, etc etc.. I’ll watch them all. Minh doesn’t LOVE movies as much as I do.. actually, I often think that he only watches movies because I want to watch movies. He gets sleepy/lazy afterwards, which does not make for a fun Minh.
Some of my favorite movies to watch are the ones that inspire me to go out and do something… and when I say “do something”, I’m not talking about saving the world or making a difference. I’m talking about going out to climb a mountain, sign up for a ridiculous race, run the “Best Race Ever” , bike hundred of miles across the state/country/continent…. you get the picture. So.. here’s a quick list of some of those movies that make me want to go out and do something… Maybe it’ll inspire you to go out and do something this year!
Race Across the Sky (2009 or 2010)
No surprise that this movie would make the cut of inspirational films. The Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race is on EVERY mountain bikers’ bucket list. I like watching the pro/elite race just like everyone else, but the real inspiration comes from the “normal” people riding that grueling 100 miles. The ones that have been doing it for years on the same bike with the same helmet and the same outfit.. or the ones that bounced back from something terrible only to make the 12 hour cut-off for that coveted belt buckle. Whoever you’re cheering for, watching the movie will either make you want to go out and ride or make you think people are CRAZY for putting themselves through that kind of hell. Me? It definitely makes me want to go out and RIDE!
Ride the Divide (2010)
The Great Divide Race usually solicits a response along the lines of: “Are you CRAZY? Do you want to DIE?!?!?” No, I’m not crazy.. and YES.. someday I would like to die.. but until then, I want to have fun and go on adventures. This is one of those adventures that I want to go on. Maybe not the entire race (which is completely solo and self-sufficient), but accomplish chunks of the race over time. How fun would it be to say that you rode your bike through the middle of the country.. BY YOURSELF!!! Best part about this race (if I ever do muster up enough gumption to actually do it) is that you can take AS LONG AS YOU WANT (I think within reason).
Bicycle Dreams (2009)
Another documentary about a race that traverses a LONG LONG LONG distance… but this time instead of dividing the country from north to south.. you set off from Coast to Coast… 3000 MILES!! This movie follows the epic journey that is the Race Across America (originally known as the Great American Bike Race, started in 1982).. across the dessert, over the mountains, traversing the Great Plains, grinding up seemingly un-ending switchbacks…. seeing America as few have seen it before. Another film that makes me want to go out and ride.
Hood to Coast (2010)
I had never even heard of Hood to Coast until I watched a trailer for a documentary about it before the 2010 Race Across the Sky showing. But.. like the spirit of the Ragnar Relay, which is really all about the experience and camaraderie and not about the race, Hood to Coast is one of those experiences that lasts a lifetime. From the base of Mount Hood to Seaside Beach, this race traverses all the beauties of Oregon that some people so rarely see. And the race draws all kinds of participants, from the elites and seasoned veterans out to win to the newbies just out for a challenge and a good time. The movie is not only enjoyable for hardcore runners who want to be inspired for their next challenge, but also non-runners who will gain a little more understanding on the craziness that drives someone to run a 5k, 10k, marathon, or ultra.
Run, Fatboy, Run (2007)
Steering away from the documentaries… here’s a HILARIOUS movie about a normal guy (Simon Pegg) who’s just trying to get his ex (Thandie Newton) back before she makes the mistake of her life by marrying a complete JERK (Hank Azaria). If you’ve ever hit “the WALL”, then you’ll totally relate to this film.. and by the end I wanted to sign up for my first marathon (DONE!).
Spirit of the Marathon (2007)
Speaking of marathons… how about a documentary about one of the BIGGEST marathons in the world? From what I’ve read/heard, THE big marathons to run (and qualify for) are Boston, New York, London and Chicago. This documentary follows the story of six runners (of varying levels of competitiveness) competing in the 2005 Chicago Marathon. It’s not just their story during the marathon itself, but how they prepared, what they’re motivation is, and all the struggles along the way. Having run two marathons (woefully unprepared) myself, I know what it’s like to hit the wall, want to give up, deal with injury, and finding the little bit of strength/will-power left to just keep going. Available on Hulu.
Touching the Void (2003)
Steering away from races, biking and running, for a moment…. here’s a great story about the will to live and having to make life-or-death decisions in perilous situations. I first watch Touching the Void with my friend Karen. Based on the 1988 book by Joe Simpson, this is a great story about two climbers (Joe Simpson and Simon Yates) and the sacrifices they made during their journey in the Peruvian Andes. I don’t want to give anything away, but tough decisions are made (and nobody dies). Part documentary/interview, part reenactment.
127 Hours (2010)
Based on the New York Times Bestseller Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston, this wonderfully filmed movie recounts the life of Aron Ralston and his entrapment in a canyon for… wait for it… 127 hours (go figure). James Franco does an amazing job portraying Aron Ralston and his mental struggle during this ordeal. Another great movie about the will to live.
Not Movies.. but Inspirational Nonetheless
NBC Sports coverage of Ironman World Championships (every year)
Every year, around December, NBC airs a special on the Ironman World Championships. Minh downloaded pretty much every single one that he could find, and I’ve watched all of them since they started doing this special, even the 25th anniversary special (which is the best). I love watching this every year because it reinforces my love for racing. It also makes me feel like a horrible person… I either want to (1) quit my job and train full time so that I can aspire to become a pro (not happening in my lifetime) or (2) hope for a life-altering struggle in which I come back to do something incredible (lose a leg, get a horrible, incurable disease, or the like).. which no one should ever hope for anyone, let alone oneself. But.. seriously.. have you watched this thing.. it’s all about the pros and then the stories of overcoming personal struggle or life’s curveballs. It’s amazing.
Molly’s Run (2009)
I had the privilege of seeing Molly Sheridan speak last year… which made me want to run the Badwater Ultramarathon… SOMEDAY!!! To go from non-runner, to marathoner, to ultramarathoner in such a short time and so late in life…. it’s reminiscent of Michelle Barton (the most kick-ass ultramarathoner out there). Her journey and race was documented in a great short by Justin Yurkanin.
You vs. Second Place (2010)
Awesome promotional videos by Versus.com… Just watch… You’ll never want to be second place ever again…
So.. do YOU have any inspirational movies or videos that make you want to get out and DO SOMETHING?
With the Christmas season officially over last week (Christmas season ends with the Feast of the Epiphany in which three wise magician kings travel from “the East” to bring presents of gold, frankincense shampooo, and myrrh/Nintendo DS to the newborn Baby Jesus in Bethlehem – if you didn’t get the reference, you need to go watch some Top Gear). Anyway.. lucky me.. I have a birthday that falls about mid-year.. so plenty of time to round up my wishlist of birthday presents… and since I didn’t get anything I had posted, but got awesome presents nonetheless (and really.. that’s not what Christmas is all about.. though I wouldn’t turn presents away), all my old wishlist posts still apply…..
First things added to the wonderfulness….. here are some {Food} of the Month Clubs that would make great gifts for that food-lover in your life… like me, or you, or someone else special… like ME! ::wink wink:: To be honest.. I’ve always wanted to join a {Food} of the Month club, but could never bring myself to commit to it.. just like magazines.
Tell Tale Preserve Society
This one’s #1 on my {Food} of the Month Clubs I would like to benefit from (or join).
Based out of San Francisco, the Tell Tale Preserve Company is all about trial and error and sharing their victories with the world. Scheduled to open at 33 Maiden Lane (off Union Square) in Spring 2011, for now you can become part of their “secret society” of food lovers by ordering their monthly Society Bag. For the SF locals, you can pick up at the Ferry Building on Tuesdays between 8:00AM to 2:00PM, or if you’re not one of the lucky ones living in the Bay Area, it can be shipped to anywhere in the world (for a price).
Click here to buy: Tell Tale Preserve Society
Foodzie Tasting Box
I can’t remember how I first found Foodzie.. It must have been from Tastespotting or Tasteologie. In any case, what’s great about Foodzie is that the goods (which you can buy individiually or the monthly subscription) come from ALL OVER the place. It’s like etsy, but for food instead of creative arts and crafts. Each month you’re surprised with picks from all sorts of types of food connoiseurs… baked goods, jams, preserves, candies, salty snacks, you name it.. they’ve got tons of great food to spice up your next party or gift to your favorite hostess. I could browse their website for hours.
Click here to buy: Foodzie Tasting Box
Anchor’s Chip of the Month Club
As much as I love chocolate and sweets, I also love chips. I know their bad for you and all that “healthy, mumbo-jumbo” that I sometimes spew … but who can resist the delicious delicate nature of perfectly seasoned potato chips? Seriously, I used to open up a bag of chips (one of those big bags for Superbowl parties, not those little snack-sized ones you put in kids’ lunchboxes) while watching TV or reading or surfing the web… and before I knew it, the bag was nearly empty.. CRAZINESS!! I’ve since learned to regulate my chip-eating by pouring it out into a napkin or small bowl and regulating it that way.. but still.. good chips are addictive.. which makes Anchor’s Chip of the Month Club almost too good to be true (or to resist)…
Click here to buy: Anchor’s Chip of the Month Club
Stonewall Kitchen Specialty Food Club
I didn’t even know Stonewall Kitchen had a subscription club. That makes this company even MORE AWESOME!! I love the mixes and jams from Stonewall Kitchen, which I discovered when I was in college at CalPoly Pomona. Their jams and baking mixes are so good.. and although you can find Stonewall Kitchen at most of your local (big chain) supermarkets and food-specialty stores, how great would it be to get it in the mail?
Click here to buy: Stonewall Kitchen Specialty Food Club
Lake Champlain Chocolate of the Month Club
Anni and I visited the Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory when we were in Vermont for a wedding over Labor Day 2009. The factory wasn’t in production that day (because it was a holiday weekend), but we still got to see the factory floor and taste the chocolates. While they aren’t the best chocolates in the world, they’re pretty damn good. Like Stonewall Kitchen, you can buy Lake Champlain Chocolates at most local (big chain) grocery stores… but opening a package of chocolate once a month would be like Christmas all year round.
Click here to buy: Lake Champlain Choclate of the Month Club
More from Amazing Clubs
You can probably do a Google search and come up with all sorts of “food of the month” clubs…. or you can head over to Amazing Clubs for more monthly food/gift subscription wonderfulness.
Happy Eating.. and buying.. and of course.. eating what you’ve bought!
NOTE: I did not benefit from any of the above mentioned companies for mentioning them on my blog.. although anything they’d like to send me will not be turned away. 
My dream house would revolve around this amazing spiral staircase:
Isn’t that just beautiful?
The Rainbow House, London by Ab Rogers Designs (via Plastolux)
Want to help out this little guy?
Life Rearranged is raising money to help Cliff - an orphaned boy with Down Syndrome in Eastern Europe… ONE DOLLAR AT A TIME…
Everyone can spare a dollar during this time… Skip the soda with lunch and donate it to a good cause.
While you’re over there reading Cliff’s story, check-out this awesome, unrelated giveaway for a new Silhouette .
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Of all the normal Christmas “traditions” my family has, we only kept one of them this year. First, let me clarify the idea of “traditions” in my family. I wish we had more traditions, like Christmas pajamas and expected stocking stuffers, but we don’t. Out typical Christmas traditions are as follows:
Pretty much the only “tradition” we kept this year was having prime rib for dinner (that’s a Christmas staple!). Everything else was pretty much thrown out the window, which bothered me at first, but eventually turned out for the better. Anni and Morgan were able to spend Christmas Eve at Morgan’s house with his family for their traditional Christmas tacos and enchiladas (now there’s a family very set in the Christmas traditions and sometimes not very flexible about them). Anthony and Nina were actually able to EAT dinner with us instead of showing up for dessert (as they usually do for our family dinners). And my aunt was able to get here BEFORE 6:30PM because she got off work a little earlier on Christmas Day than she did on Christmas Eve… so overall.. it was a good Christmas.
Mom was too tired to go to Mass a Midnight (which was fine by me), so we ended up going to mass Christmas morning. When we got home, Anni made GF chocolate waffles..
chocolate GF waffle batter.. YUM!
Then we opened presents!
The MORNING tree...
Awesome "Italian" presents from Minh and a super comfy, cute scarf from Anni
I spent the rest of the day getting dinner ready, which turned out AMAZING!
The COOKBOOKs used for Christmas Dinner
The Christmas Dinner Menu:
The DELICIOUS ribeye roast... cooked perfectly...
After dinner, we all gathered in the living room to open presents.
The EVENING tree..
Grandma got a BRAND NEW 32″ LCD HDTV, that we all watched Morgan and my uncle mount to the wall.
"What's THIS???"
Didn’t get any shots of everyone else opening presents, but it seemed like everyone like what they got, which is always a good sign.
Here’s a shot of my Christmas HAUL:
The 2010 Christmas "HAUL"
And here are some things I see in my future from other’s presents:
Overall.. it was an AWESOME CHRISTMAS!!! and all traditions can get thrown out the window as long as holidays are like this. Now just waiting to close out 2010…
All you moms and crafters and people who generally like cool things need to check out this AWE-MAZING giveaway from Laura Winslow Photography… $2000+ worth of goods/services from 59 amazing vendors and ONLY ONE lucky winner!!!
Check out ALL the contest details HERE! and GOOD LUCK!
Pretty sweet giveaway going on over at Curbly today. They’re giving away a NEW Silhouette SD Digital Cutting Machine.
Win a Silhouette SD Digital Cutting Machine from Curbly
This product would be awesome for all sorts of projects: papercrafts, scrapbooking, sticker cutting, fabric transfers… the possibilities really are endless. You can check out the Sillhouette Blog for inspirations, tutorials, and some free downloads. I especially like this glass etching tutorial:
Hurry over to Curbly and leave a comment to enter their giveaway. Entries due by Tuesday, November 23.
Question: If you had $500 dollars to spend at Chronical Books (one of my FAVORITE publishing houses), what would you get?
Now’s your chance to win my picks listed below during Chronical Book’s Happy Haulidays contest. One lucky blogger (hopefully me) will win their own “haul” of books up to $500 and one lucky commenter on that blog (hopefully one of you) will win the same “haul”. It’s a bit of a complicated contest, but the winning blog will be chosen at random, as will the winning commenter. You can check out a list of all bloggers participating here.
So.. what would I get? (in no particular order)
The Exquisite Book – $29.95
I Love Macaroons – $14.95
Farm Together Now – $27.50
Chicken and Egg – $24.95
From Seed to Skillet – $30
Flour – $35
Lobel’s Meat Bible – $40
Blackbird Bakery Gluten-Free – $35
Tartine – $35
Whoopie Pies – $16.95
All Cakes Considered – $24.95
Field Guide to Candy – $15.95
Tartine Bread – $40
Paper + Craft – $19.95
Little Book of Letterpress – $24.95
The Sock Monkey and Friends Kit – $17.99
Paper Doll Parade Notecards – $14.95
Animal Greetings Mix & Match Stationery – $8.95
Animal Parade Notecards – $12.95
Masha & Friends Notecards – $12.95
Old School Letter Set - $15.95
Be sure to leave a comment if you’d like to try to win my list of books. If you’d like to enter your own list into the contest, just post a list on your own blog and submit it to the contest website. All entries due by December 10, and winners will be announced on December 13!
Knock-Knock!
Who’s there?
The cutest ring EVER!!!
Knock Knock! Ring by Pat Kim ($75)
How awesome is this Knock Knock! ring from Pat Kim?? And it comes packaged in this adorable mini shipping crate.. Just in time for Christmas?
