Favorite Movie Soundtracks

Oh look, Tuesday Topics on a Wednesday... oops. But I wanted to play along so I'm showing up a day late. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of soundtracks in general. I usually like one or two "signature" songs and then move on, and I'm not a huge movie buff, so I had a hard time putting this list together. Here are a few off the top of my head...

Moulin Rouge

I actually bought this on CD when it came out, that's how much I loved it. Of course I knew (and sang...loudly and often) Lady Marmalade with my friends whenever it came on. I sang Mya's part (what ever happened to her?).  Also, I had no idea Nicole Kidman or Ewan McGregor can actually sing. How is it that some people just get all the talent?! Anyway, I love how this mixes so many different sounds, and of course the musical/theatrical feel of this.

Favorite Track: Hindi Sad Diamonds- John Leguizamo, Nicole Kidman, Alka Yagnik

Hidden Figures

This soundtrack is almost exclusively Pharrell Williams, with a sprinkling of others, but that's okay. I still love it. A lot of feel good, upbeat tunes that remind me of the great characters in this film.

Favorite track: Mirage- Mary J. Blige

Rent

Ahh, a classic from my high school days. I remember seeing this on Broadway no less than 4 times (because student discount tickets + drama club/ band nerd). Usually I don't like when Broadway shows find their way to the movies, but this one is an exception. (It's not better than the live show, but it'll do.)

Favorite Track: Take Me or Leave Me- Idina Menzel, Tracie Thomas

And of course because it's one of my favorite movies, Love Actually. Choosing a favorite track was difficult because I was really wowed by Olivia Olsen's rendition of "All I Want For Christmas," but I also loved the horns in the opening wedding scene. 

Favorite Track: All You Need Is Love- Lynden David Hall 

What are you favorite move soundtracks?

Linking up with Jenn!

What's New With Me: April

April flew by in a blur. At work, I was transitioning job responsibilities and updating my coworker on what she missed while I was covering for her since December. At home, I was... well, apparently eating a whole lot (and have the pics to prove it)! Here's what I was up to in April.

I have definitely mentioned it before, but DeLorenzo has the best tomato pie in NJ. I was finally able to take Blue there for the first time after a trip to Riverhorse Brewing Co, also located in central NJ. We shared a regular pie and a white clam pie with late onions (For those wondering, "late onions" just means they put them on towards the end of the cooking time.) Also, tomato pie is NOT pizza. It's made differently.

Keebler celebrated his 5th birthday. I got him a cat house (tent?) and the KONG Cat Hugga Wubba cat toy. Kristen previously recommended this, and I am seconding her recommendation. It's catnip scented and has a little bell in it's head and Keebler is OBSESSED with it. He hasn't gone into the tent thing yet, but I think it's because the entrance may be too small for his fat as to fit through. We may have to cut it open a bit. Also pictured: cat wine. Also available for dogs. (Does not actually contain alcohol.)

After purchasing my desk, we made our way to the grand opening of The Halal Guys in Union, NJ. Now I'm used to waiting for their cart food in NYC, but I was not expecting to wait 30 minutes before even entering this brick and mortar one. And I was concerned that it wouldn't be as good as the original, but it was exactly as I remembered it. They've franchised and popped up in a few states but if you haven't heard of them, it's basically a platter of gyro beef, chicken or falafel over yellow rice with a side "salad" of lettuce and tomatoes and pita bread, topped with white and/or hot sauce, or the same in sandwich form.

Had dinner with my good friend Marissa before she and her husband moved to Colorado. On our way, I finally got a glimpse at the 9/11 Memorial reflecting pool (and no lines!). Fun fact: I was her first NYC friend! She moved to NYC back in 2007, and she actually hired me at one of my first jobs out of college (she's the same age as me, but it was a small company). We became fast friends.

Easter was spent picnicking in a park with my mom before a torrential downpour that lasted .5 seconds... just enough to get us soaked and retreating back to my apartment. I may or may not have mentioned that the Easter Bunny would always forget to visit me as a kid, no matter how many carrots I left out. But this year my basket contained chips, cookies, sassy wine glasses, and a fake plant (because I cannot be trusted to take care of real plants). Best. Basket. Ever. 

I cleaned out one of my closets and found an unopened Stars Hollow LitCube box (oops). But how cute are these goodies?! The blue case houses a full manicure set, and I'm still trying to figure out how I'd like to utilize the Copper Boom pouch. Rory sits on my bookshelf (duh).  

And uh... I ate more food. A ragu pasta dish at Eataly (my first time there), Cuban cuisine complete with sangria, beer flights and an amazing chicken/bacon/cheese/chipotle mayo and BBQ sauce sandwich at another new-to-me restaurant, and some of the best macaroni and cheese in Hoboken. 

Not pictured: I bought a desk, visited a new brewery, introduced Blue to a new craft beer spot, and went on a double date to a new-to-us Thai restaurant (yes, more food lol). Oh yeah, I also so John Mayer at Madison Square Garden! He was even better than anticipated, which I did not think was possible. I also had no idea that he had a jazz trio.

On deck for this month is a concert, food truck festival, double date(s), and a show. Busy, busy month! What's new with you? 

Linking up with Kristen and Gretch!

5 Cocktail Recipes

As much as I like a good drink, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to cocktails. As in, if a cocktail contains more than 2 ingredients, I'm out. When compiling this list, I decided to break it up by my personal favorite by season. Also, I just realized that 3/5 have bourbon (though you could do the first one with vodka). I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but bourbon is my liquor of choice (it says so right over there -->). I enjoy it so much, that I actually went on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail awhile back. Anyway, let me know if you try any of these!

The Classic (with a twist): Kentucky Mule
This is my favorite cocktail. I'm sure you've heard of the Moscow mule. This is similar, but with bourbon instead of vodka.

Ingredients:
ice
2 oz. bourbon
4-6 oz. ginger beer
1/2 oz. lime juice (I use 2 small squirts)

To make:
Put in ice. Pour in all the things. Stir.
*Tip: Invest in copper mugs/Moscow mules. You can get them at Target for $25, and they're awesome. They really do keep the drink cooler longer as well. (I've tested this for you.)

photo cred

Fall: Smoked Apple
From: Black Button Distillery

Ingredients:
1 part bourbon
1 part apple pie moonshine
1/2 part ginger ale
ice

To make: Pour ingredients in glass over ice.

photo cred

Winter: Minty Hot Chocolate Rumchata (large batch)
From: An old blogger

Ingredients:
1 bottle (750mL) Rumchata
2 cans of Sweetened condensed milk
1 carton of Heavy whipping cream
2 bags of broken up Andes Mints (or the chips)
4 cups of milk

To make: Throw everything in the crockpot, cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
 *Tip: Let the Rumchata and chocolate lay together in the fridge overnight the night before will make it extra yummy. 

photo cred

Spring: Maker's Mark Makerita
For: Cinco de Mayo

Ingredients:
ice
1 part Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1 part fresh squeezed lime juice
1 part orange liqueur
3/4 part light agave nectar

To make: Fill shaker with all ingredients. Shake and strain over ice in highball glass. Garnish with salted rim (optional). 

photo cred

Summer: Orange Creamsicle Cocktail
From: Friend's bachelorette party

Ingredients:
1 part vanilla vodka
6 parts orange soda (cold)
Reddi-wip (optional, as desired)

To make: Pour orange soda over vodka. Top with whip cream. The end.

photo cred

What's your favorite cocktail? 
Linking up with Jenn!

Add It To My List

To Buy: Fight The Power pin ($10- junk-o.com)
I've never been a big pin person, but I would be if there were more like this. There's also a "Fake News" one available, and coming soon "Resist" and "Nevertheless, She Persisted."

To Download: WTForecast? app
My new favorite weather app. Effective and funny on the daily. If you're not cool with all the colorful language, you can change the setting to less or none. Available for free in 20+ languages (including ig-pay atin-lay)!

For Your Furry Friend: KONG Cat Hugga Wubba, Cat Toy ($3.09- Amazon)

Kristen previously recommended this, and I am seconding her recommendation. I got this for Keebler's birthday and he is OBSESSED. Best $3 I've ever spent. Also pictured: cat wine. He was less thrilled with the Moscato and has yet to try the Pinot Meow, but my friend's felines loved it. Also available for dogs. 

To Watch: The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)  4/26
Obviously, I can't watch this until I've read the book (which I just got fo free Amazon Prime Reading- woot!). And I know nothing about the story at all, but it's received great reviews and has Alexis Bledel and Joseph Fiennes, so I'll be all in. Have you watched this yet?

First Dates (NBC) 4/7
Brought to the U.S. by Ellen DeGeneres with narration by Drew Barrymore comes First Dates, a reality series where you get set up on a blind dinner date and figure out if you want to meet up again or not. I've only watched the first two episodes so far, and I'm loving it. People be cray, man.

Married at First Sight (Lifetime) 4/20
Finally! After FYI/A&E dropped the show, I thought all hope for a return was lost. However Lifetime picked it back up- huzzah! I love getting a glimpse at people's lives/relationships (why I love blogging too!). Have you been watching this one? See where the past couples are now!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (HBO) 4/22
Another one that I've put on hold until I read the book, which has been on my TBR list since 2012. So maybe it didn't' get the best reviews, but I'm interested in the story and there's Oprah.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) 5/19

To Eat/Find: Cookie Dough Eateries
I had no idea this was even a thing until I saw it on Miranda's post. A place where all they sell is raw cookie dough. Now yes, I know I can make my own, but obviously I have to try theirs as well. SO MANY FLAVORS AND OPTIONS! I found one in NYC, but apparently they exist in Fl too.

What are you recommending this month? 

Shit Blue Said

Blue: I'm having a very klutzy day.
Me: What happened?
Blue: I knocked over an entire bag of dry cat food. The kitchen was covered. It was a fucking mess and I wasn't caffeinated enough to handle it.

Watching Superbad...
Me: Is that baby Emma Stone?
Blue: Yeah, pebble.

Blue: [Our friend] Mark got a new car, he picks it up today. He got a Subaru.
So I told him he was such a lesbian.
He agreed and said he needed Birkenstocks and an Indigo Girls CD.

During a Senakot ^ commercial...
Me: Damn can't you just ease us into that shit?
Also Me: No, that's why you use Senakot.
Blue: Literally shit Dani said

Battle of the berries...
Blue: Ben and Jerry's stole my idea. They're making Fruity Pebbles, Lucky Charms and Cocoa Krispie ice cream.
Cocoa krispies and fruity pebbles are like the same
Me: No they're not. 1. one is chocolate and 2. Fruity pebbles are fruit shaped
Blue: No, fruity pebbles are like flakes.
Goes to google... see, they're flakes
Me: No, there's a banana there's an orange and that's a berry
Blue: No they're flat!
Me: You're a berry... a wild berry
Blue: You're a dingle-berry

Regarding baby sprinkles...
Me: Sprinkles are stupid
Blue: Yeah stop milking your friends
Me: Seriously I'm not a cow
Blue: But that's for an udder conversation


Blue: FedEx and UPS are actually going to merge.
Me: Really?
Blue: Yeah they're gonna called Fed Up.
Me: D'oh.
Blue: Funny how the word gullible isn't in the dictionary.


Stuck in traffic:
Blue: You're blocking my tacos. It's a tac-block
Later... 
I got excited and got more tacos than I wanted. Give me one of everything! $17 of the shits is what I got.

Blue: Ideas and concepts mean different things to different people. For example, " clean eating" to me means simply using a plate that didn't come out of the sink or draining rack.

In text...

You can find other Shit Blue Said here: Vol. 1,  Vol. 2, Vol.3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5

7 Budget Tips

Do you remember how you got into blogging? I started with personal finance (or "pf") blogs. When I graduated college, I left with mountains of debt, crappy credit, and basically no real sense of how to handle money when I got my first job. Obviously I knew I had to pay my bills on time, but I had no clue how to budget the rest. So I found personal finance blogs, and read stories of how others got out of their debt- and became inspired and gathered tips that I could use to start to manage my finances. Here are a few that helped the most, and ones I return to time and time again. 

1. First, figure out where your money is going by actively tracking your spending. When I started attempting to take control of my finances, I did this for three months to get a total sense of where I was spending. Now when I need a financial "tune up" I'll do it for a month. It can be an eye-opening (and occasionally cringe-worthy) experience, but knowledge is power and once you know where you may be going overboard, you can start taking steps to correct it. 

2. Pay Yourself First! This was one of my biggest mistakes- not saving. I figured there was no room for savings- I was wrong. There's always room, and it really is a must. I started by establishing a set amount for an emergency fund. After that, I became really bad at saving again, until I started automating my savings. The thing is, if I don't see it, I can't spend it. It goes right from my paycheck to my savings account. So yeah... #3...

3. Automate savings and bills. This saves time and unnecessary worry because you won't be wondering if there was a bill you forgot to pay, and saves money because you won't have late fees. 

4. Shop at home before you go grocery shopping. Before you write your grocery list, dive into the freezer, pantry or wherever you hide the things you bring home from the grocery or drugstore. It’s surprising how many of us duplicate purchases without realizing it, and there is some satisfaction to be had from actually using up those frozen or canned goods before buying more. (For more on how I save on groceries, click here.)

5. Define YOUR Wants vs. Needs. This may not sound like a budgeting tip, but it is. For instance, some people love to stay home and have all the comforts that that affords them, one of them being cable. I hardly ever watch TV, so cutting my cable was a no brainer. Some people may need their Starbucks or DD fix every morning; I like bringing my coffee from home and drinking it during my commute. Figure out what's a must for you and what isn't, and cut out the excess. (Here are some other things I won't pay for.) 

6. Delete all those pesky sales emails! Unsubscribe! I just started using Unroll.Me and it's wonderful. See a list of all your subscriptions and instantly un-enroll. 

7. Budget in the fun stuff for less. My local movie theater has 1/2 price movies every Tuesday, and I bring my treats from the Dollar Store. I use Groupon and Living Social (with Ebates) for local deals. BYOB is my friend. 

What are some of your budget tips? 

Show Us Your Books: March

Time for another round of Show Us Your Books! I didn't read much this month because I was struggling through On The Road (which I eventually just put down for something I was actually interested in). I also recently start my first Jonathan Tropper book, Currently reading: This Is Where I Leave You), and it already seems like he's going to be a favorite author of mine! I just love the way he's telling the story- and his wit and imagery are outstanding! Anyway, here are my recent reads. 

Falling- Jane Green: 4 Stars

Read if you like Jane Green and/or romance novels in general

Netgalley

Wow. I honestly did not expect to like this story as much as I did. I thought I had it all figured out a third of the way through, and was so shocked towards the end! I loved the organic chemistry between Emma and Dominic, and how realistic Jesse's character was. I could relate to the strained relationship between Emma and her mother as well. Though Emma practically ran away from home and her family, they were there for her when she needed them most, and finally understood her relationship with Dominic. By the end of the story, I was crying happy tears for those who finally found "home."

Payback and a Bottle of Merlot- Bria Marche: 1 Star

Read this if... just kidding, don't read this!
Amazon Kindle Free

I picked this up for a book challenge where the topic was read something with an alcoholic beverage in the title, and because it sounded like a quick, easy and cute story. It was not quick nor easy. It dragged. It would have been a DNF if it weren't for that challenge (which I didn't finish anyway, but that's besides the point). I felt nothing for any of the characters, the plot was beyond unrealistic- more like fantasy- and it seems like it was written for and by a high school girl, but ya know, with a lot of Merlot. 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian- Sherman Alexie: 4 Stars

Read if you like raw, quick YA

own

This might be the first time I ever finished a book in one sitting. Touching and poignant but realistically told from a young man's POV. It includes some heavy topics (alcoholism, racism, violence, bullying, death, poverty), but was told with just enough humor and emotion. It' somewhat sad, but also hopeful. I also really enjoyed the comics throughout. I totally understand why everyone loves this book. 

What have you been reading lately? 
Linking up with Steph and Jana!