Three on Thursday: Entertainment

Today I'm sharing three "entertainment" things I'm into right now with The Blended Blog! Here are some of my favorites and recommendations or what I'm looking forward to in movies, TV, books, and music... 

Movies

Wonder- I was hoping to read the book before seeing this one, but it was Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and it looked so cute that I couldn't wait. I'm not much of a crier but totally cried at the end of this one- such a sweet story! 

The Shape of Water- I actually just saw this last week. I was skeptical of the storyline "A woman falls in love with a sea creature? No, thank you" but I had a long flight and it was on. I'll admit that I was wrong to wait on this- I mean, it won so many awards, it couldn't be awful right? Right. It drew me right in, and by the end I was rooting for them. 

Get Out- I was nervous about this one because I'm not really into horror, but this was much more of a psychological thriller and WOW I was seriously taken back by just how well done this was. SO creepy, and definitely had me on the edge of my seat.

Movies (Coming Soon)

Ocean's 8 (June 8)
I've loved all of the Ocean movies, and I'm so excited about the all-girl, all-star cast! Especially love me some Sandra Bullock- it's been awhile since I've seen her in anything!

Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25)
I love all Star Wars movies and side-stories, so this will definitely be seen in theaters.

Deadpool 2 (May 18)
Ryan Reynolds action-comedy. Duh.

TV

WestWorld, Season 2 (April 22- HBO)
I already started watching this one and it's kind of confusing but also BLOWING ME AWAY. 

The Handmaid's Tale, Season 2 (April 25- Hulu)
So curious where they going to take this story now that they've finished covering the book.

Fahrenheit 451 (May 19- HBO)
I really didn't know too much about this story having never read the book, but the previews look too good to resist! And I love Michael B. Jordan- such a great actor.

Books (You can find me on GoodReads @lildesiqua)
I have a few Netgalley ARCs to read that I'm pretty excited about, and of course I want to read Fahrenheit 451 before watching the series! 

Smothered- Autumn Chiklis (expected publication August 7, 2018)

After Nightfall- A.J. Banner  (expected publication August 7, 2018)

Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury

Music (You can find me on Spotify @lildesiqua)
I know this is only supposed to be 3, but there's just too much good stuff that I've found recently! 

New Light- John Mayer



I Like That- Janelle Monae

Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea- Fall Out Boys

Trust Fund Baby- Why Don't We



(F*ck A) Silver Lining - Panic! At the Disco

Never Say Die- Chvrches

La La - The Cab

What are some your your favorite books/movies/TV/songs right now? I'm always looking for recommendations!

TBB Asks: Entertainment Edition

1. Comedy or drama? Comedy

2. Fiction or non-fiction? Fiction

3. Movies in theater or at home? Now that we have Movie Pass, in the theater!

4. Musical or play? Musicals!

5. Which meal of the day is your favorite to eat out? Dinner out of convenience. I like breakfast foods too but I don't like getting up early.

6. Favorite book ever read? Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini, Little Bee by Chris Cleave, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. 

7. Game night: yes or no? Yes! One of our favorites is Cards Against Humanity- we have all of the expansion packs too!

8. Favorite outside game to play? Uhhh, I haven't played outside in a long time, but I used to like dodgeball. 

9. Favorite TV series ever? Gilmore Girls, with Friday Night Lights in close second. 

10. Sitcoms growing up or sitcoms of today? Definitely ones growing up! 

11. Miniature golf or bowling? Bowling.

12. Favorite movie theater candy? Buncha Crunch or Raisinets.

13. How do you like your popcorn? Warm with LOTS of butter, not too salty. 

14. 3D movies with the glasses: yes or no? No, most of the time it makes me motion sick. 

15. Favorite genre of books to read? Memoirs, historical fiction, psychological thrillers, and chic lit. 

And you?

Tell me some of your favorites!

Show Us Your Books: March/April

I've hit a bit of a reading rut lately. I picked up 4 different books in the last 2 weeks and put them down. I just can't figure out what I'm in the mood for and haven't been making time to read since Erin's challenge ended. Hopefully I'll get some new ideas after checking out the rest of the lovely recommendations from other bloggers in this link-up! Here's what I've gotten through in the last 2 months:

A Wrinkle in Time- Madeline L'Engle: 4 Stars
library e-book

For the first time ever, I read the book AFTER seeing the movie, and I think I actually liked the movie better (gasp!). The story was just so much easier to follow along in the movie version and it was just so beautiful. But the book was short and quick and I'm glad I finally read it. 

Love is Love: A Comic Book Anthology to Benefit the Survivors of the Orlando Pulse Shooting- Marc Andreyko, etc. : 4 Stars
library paperback

This book gave me all the feels. I laughed, I teared up, I cringed, I cheered... as a collection it was extremely well put together, and the graphics were amazing. Through all the pain and chaos, there was still an uplifting overall spirit of hope and celebration. It took me awhile to get through (I had to put it down because sometimes the stories were too heartbreaking), but I really enjoyed it. 

White Houses- Amy Bloom: 2.5 Stars
 ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review

I wanted to like this so much more than I actually did. It had a strong premise- an intimate (fictional) account of Eleanor Roosevelt's relationship with "first friend" Lorena Hickok. While some parts were really interesting, there was too much backstory about Hick's childhood and I got bored fairly quickly.

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda- Becky Albertalli: 5 Stars
library e-book 

I'm not sure exactly how to describe my love for this book. I've always enjoyed books that have phone texts, letters, or email snippets in them, so that definitely added to it. Maybe it's because I have my own "Blue"? I thought Albertalli did a really great job portraying the male perspective too; I had no idea the author was female. I liked not knowing who Blue was for the majority of it, and that ending! This is one that I will definitely re-read, and probably purchase, and that's saying a lot since I don't remember the last time I actually bought a book!

The Invoice- Jonas Karlsson: 3 Stars
library hardback

This had an interesting premise- what if everything that made you happy cost money?  What if the sound of ocean waves crashing, the smell of fresh baked bread, and every happy memory came with a price tag? Except you don't know it, and then many years later, all of a sudden, you get a bill in the mail with how much it all cost you? It really got me thinking, and I was intrigued by how they priced out everything (how do you put a monetary amount on life experiences and memories?) and how the protagonist was going to pay it off, which is what held my attention the most. However there was a lot of thinking and talking, and mostly just between two people. If you're looking for action or intrigue, this isn't the book for you. 

The Roanoke Girls- Amy Engel: 4 Stars

ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review Hard to admit I "really liked" such a messed up story, but it was so twisted and well written. Engel just punches you in the gut sometimes and I had to read passages a few times thinking "wait... did that seriously just happen?" especially in the beginning.  Even with all of the sickening actions/behaviors, I remained fully engrossed and invested in the characters.

Currently reading: Tin Man- Sarah Winman
On deck: Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury... I started this one, but it's not really grabbing my attention right now. 

What are you reading lately?

What's New With Me: Making Lemonade

Last month was a bit of a rollercoaster and I’m happy to see it go. The biggest headache/first world problem this month was around a trip. I was supposed to go to a work conference in Long Beach, CA, and I invited Blue so we could turn it into a bit of a vacation. But it got rescheduled to October the day after I made all of the arrangements, so I had to change all of them. Being that Blue already had purchased her flight, we decided to make lemonade and go anyway. Except my boss asked me to shorten my trip by a day, so Blue got to CA the day before me. And I scheduled a studio tour at Warner Bros, but they called me 2 days later to inform me that they were cancelling that tour because of some big meeting, and could I reschedule? Uh, noooo I can’t reschedule because I’m only in L.A. for a day and seriously? Ugh. At least I got a refund. Lemonade.

I also found a new position at my current company that I was really interested in, so that got my ass in gear to redo my resume. I’m still working on it, but they filled the position. Le sigh. BUT my resume is almost completely revamped which I wanted to do regardless, so that’s progress. Lemonade.

Besides all that dramz, life is pretty good. I was able to take a long weekend early in the month and saw P!nk, Brandi Carlile, and Bon Jovi. It was my first time seeing them, and each was such a different experience that it’s hard to pick a favorite! Probably P!nk though. I wasn’t familiar with Brandi Carlile’s music at all (that was a late Valentine’s Day present to Blue), and Bon Jovi played too much new stuff, which I didn’t really care for. But P!nk was phenomenal. She’s way more talented vocally than I gave her credit for and she was flying around the arena like Tinkerbell- while singing!- which was so cool. And with these 3 (and Ed Sheeran in Sept), I think I’ve seen everyone I’ve ever wanted to, which is kind of weird because I feel like I’ve always had a concert wish list, but also kind of awesome?!

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I also attended my first craft beer festival of the season with some of my favorite people and I think I’ve found my new favorite. It’s called “Samoa This” by Southern Tier Brewing and it seriously tastes like a Samoa Girl Scout cookie, but in stout form. So. Good.

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Reading: Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury. I've never read it and I'm looking forward to see how it compares to the new show starring Micheal B. Jordan coming out later this month. 

Watching: Westworld and The Handmaid's Tale, both of which just came back for Season 2 in the last few weeks. I also finally saw Black Panther, and Avengers: Infinity War. 

Listening To: my 90’s playlist on my iPod. Ace of Base, Alanis Morissette, All Saints, Aaliyah, No Doubt... man, I miss this music!

Wanting/Wish-Listing: I really wanted a cute graphic T for Cinco de Mayo, but couldn't find any when I went shopping on Saturday. Also, Tieks. But I can't justify paying the same amount for shoes as a roundtrip flight to California. Do you own a pair? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

Buying: toiletries, a small crossbody bag because I can't find my old one, and a new nail polish because I haven't purchased one in over 2 years (Essie- Carry On). 

Creating: a post about packing 5 days in a carry on.

Celebrating: Star Wars Day on Friday and Cinco de Mayo in Old San Diego.

Wearing: Jeans, tee, and hoodie. My not-working uniform. 

Sharing: A new recipe for Chili Cheese Pasta next week! Stay tuned! 

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Going: to California! We'll be visitng LA for a day, then taking the Amtrak on the scenic route down the coast to San Diego. I'm so ready for vacation! 

What's new with you?

Linking up with Kristen and Anne.

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