"Everybody's having fun out here. They drinking, they fighting, they pissing on the streets. It's New Year's Eve!"

Another year has come and (almost) gone. Like most years, there has been good and there has been bad. I'm just going to focus on the good, though! As I'm sure you've all been inundated with a million "Best of 2010" lists over the past few weeks, I figured I'd add another into the mix. I'll keep it simple though. How about a top 3...or 2 or 4... (MY top 3...don't judge me, please!) of all my favorite subjects of the year? Sounds good to me! Here we go....

Top 4 Albums - the albums that have been in HEAVY rotation on my iTunes and iPod.

Miike Snow, "Miike Snow"

Click HERE to listen to the full album.

Robyn, "Body Talk"

Click HERE to listen to the full album.

Vampire Weekend, "Contra"

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" Soundtrack

Top 2 New (for me, at least) Artists - a couple singers I haven't been able to get enough of since I learned of their existence.

Erik Hassle

Florrie

Top 1 Movie - now, I'm not a big "movie-goer" so I have to admit this is kind of lacking. Had I seen Inception, Black Swan, the Town or Social Network, those may be among my choices.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Top 4 TV Shows - the shows that have been filling up my DVR and helping me get through each week.

The Walking Dead

Vampire Diaries

Friday Night Lights

Party Down

Top 1 Book - I've done a lot of reading this year, but there was only 1 book that I really couldn't put down this year.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Top 3 Fashion Week Shows - a fashionista's dream, FASHION WEEK! I loved so many of the collections this year, but a few really stood out.

Paul & Joe - Paris S/S 11

Click HERE to see the entire collection.

Burberry Prorsum - London S/S 2011

Click HERE to see the entire collection.

J. Mendel - NY S/S 2011

Click HERE to see the entire collection.

Top 4 Celeb Red Carpet Looks - some of the most stunning gowns show up on the red carpet on our favorite movie stars. With award season just around the corner, I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring.

Rachel McAdams at the Oscars in Elie Saab

Anne Hathaway at the Met Ball in Valentino

Emma Watson at the Met Ball in Burberry

Jayma Mayes at the Emmy's in Burberry Prorsum

Now that I've sufficiently bored you all with my picks, I will leave you for the year.

2010 was a great year and here's hoping that 2011 will be even better. Happy New Year everyone!!!

Until next time... xo

Title quote: Disco Cabbie, "200 Cigarettes"

"Harry Potter... The boy who lived... Come to die..."

The time has come that our dear friends over at Hogwarts will soon bid us adieu. Part 1 of the 2 part movie for the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, opens tonight at midnight! I, for one, am so excited to see the movie, but sad at the same time to see it come to an end. I can't even watch the trailer without getting chills!

Over the past few weeks I've spent some time remembering the last 6 movies, and how much the cast has grown over the decade since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone premiered.

Back in 2001, we were introduced to the magical world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And all the wonderful characters that come along with it. We also met teeny, tiny Harry, Ron and Hermione. Let's take a look at how much these three have grown up since then, shall we?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, 2001

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2002

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 2004

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2005

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2007

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2009

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 2010

Seven movies later and Harry, Ron and Hermione (not to mention Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) have become young adults before our eyes. I wish the three of them many more years of success post-Harry Potter. My tickets have already been purchased (WEEKS ago, of course) to see the first part of the final chapter brought to life. I'm very curious to see how they've split it up.

Happy Harry Potter Day everyone!

Until next time... xo

Title quote: Lord Voldemort, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

"Hey, Tara, see how fast I type 'motherf**ker.' Cool, right?"

Another week, another episode of True Blood gone by. I'm having a hard time deciding how I feel about season 3. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying it thoroughly, but it seems to be straying pretty far from the books, which is confusing me. Well, maybe "confusing" isn't the right word, but I don't know what is, so I'm going to use it. OK? OK. Again, by request, this is officially your SPOILER ALERT!!

I think the main reason I've been confused about this season is that it almost seems as though Alan Ball is attempting to combine a few of the books into one storyline. Which, I suppose, makes sense since there are already 10 books, with others potentially on the way, and not many television series go that many seasons. I suppose maybe I should just stop trying to constantly compare the show to the books, and appreciate it for what it is. One hour of smokin' hot men (thank you, Mr. Ball!). Due to this, I've decided to break down the episode by character, starting with my favorite, the lovable himbo Jason Stackhouse.

This week we got to see Jason's two main story lines of the season: his new dream of becoming a cop and his new love interest, the mysterious Crystal Norris. Luckily for us, his new job at the police station requires him to wash police cars shirtless. Like Crystal, I would be more than happy to pull over if I were being pursued by a cop like him! Check him out in the clip below (UPDATE: orginal clip was removed by YouTube, so here's an alternate):

I'm excited to see where the Jason/Crystal storyline goes in the show, since it makes for some quite interesting turn of events in the books (didn't I just say I'm not going to compare anymore? I'm not very good at sticking to that apparently...).

Moving right along, my other favorite parts of the episode include vamp Franklin Mott. Leave it to Tara to find herself involved with one of the craziest characters ever on TV. I've always liked James Frain in what I've seen him in (the Tudors, 24 to name a couple) but it's so much more fun watching him like this. Apparently I'm into clips today, so check out his wackadoodle multiple personalities in the following clip:

He doesn't seem like he'd be too awful to hang with, does he? Hey! At least he can text really quickly. You never know when that will come in handy. I kid, I kid. Should be interesting to see how Tara gets herself out of this mess.

I'm going to go ahead and lump everyone else together. Eric made his way to Jackson to sell out Bill and try and save Pam. And, looked pretty amazing doing so. I'm looking forward to seeing him really start putting the moves on Sookie now that he knows Bill's out of the picture. Alcide had to deal with his volatile ex-girlfriend, shirtless of course (would we want it any other way?). Lafayette was lucky enough to get some face time with a new crush, Jesus, his mother's nurse. Sam had to deal with his trashy family, while spending some quality brotherly bonding time with Tommy. And everyone else did other stuff...specific, I know.

It's hard to believe we're already half way through the season. It looks like it will continue to keep going at full speed in the next episode, as well. Fine by me!

Until next time... xo

Title quote: Franklin Mott, "True Blood"

"Let's face it, I am hotter than you."

I am more than willing to admit that although the first two movies of the Twilight Saga, Twilight and New Moon, weren't exactly great movies, I still enjoyed them (and own and have seen them multiple times). I was a little bit nervous that Eclipse, which is my favorite book of the series, would end up disappointing me. But alas, whether it was the newest director David Slade or the cast finally getting into the groove of their characters, there was pretty much nothing about the third installment that I didn't love. (And how much better did all the female characters look this time around? Kristen Stewart, regardless of the not great wig she was wearing, looked amazing throughout the whole movie.)

Something clicked in this movie that hadn't happened in the previous two, making it more than just a live action film of the book, but an actual action packed, fast paced movie that held the audience's attention the whole way through. I can't help but wonder if David Slade, the director, wasn't a main reason that Eclipse was as enjoyable of a movie as it was. I almost want to write him a letter thanking him for finally getting it right.

Now let's move on to the good stuff, shall we? Since I'm all about top 5 lists lately, I'm going to drill down my top 5 favorite parts of the movie:

1. Even though his time in the movie is pretty minimal, Charlie Swan is one of the best characters in the series. He really nails the awkward single father dealing with a teenage daughter and creates some great moments between him and Bella. From the beginning of the film when he decides to finally un-ground Bella until the end when he attempts to have "the talk" with her, I found myself chuckling with glee everytime he was on the screen. Doesn't hurt that he's pretty dreamy for a dad (although, maybe he should lose the mustache).

2. In the other two movies we were treated to a couple flashback scenes that were heavy on the cheese factor. A big part of Eclipse, the book, is taking a look at the past of many of the characters, specifically Rosalie and Jasper, and learning more about the Quileute tribe/wolf pack. Both Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone really stood out to me in this movie with their performances in their respective flashback scenes. For the most part in Twilight and New Moon they were just in the background, with Rosalie giving Bella bitchy looks and Jasper wanting to eat her. I'm glad we got to see more about their characters. Especially since Rosalie's human life/death flashback in the book is one of the most heart wrenching parts of the whole series. And a way to finally bring a sense of friendship between her and Bella.

Moving right along to the Quileutes. A touching scene between Bella and Jacob happens during a campfire (romantic, right?)/pack meeting, where Billy Black goes into detail of how the shape shifters came to be. Even though Jacob's sort of gone over this whole thing before, it's interesting to get to see more history about the "cold ones" and the Quileute wolves.

3. Speaking of Bella and Jacob, one of the main themes throughout the entire movie and book (all of the books, for that matter) is the love triangle of Bella, Edward and Jacob.

While reading the books, I was always rooting for Edward. He was the kind of guy every girl dreams will fall in love with her. But the moment Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off in New Moon, I quickly changed my mind about which of the two I'd rather spend my time with. Two moments happen in Eclipse that Team Jacob has been waiting for: when Bella and Jacob kiss for the first time, and she breaks her hand punching him for it and when Bella and Jacob share their first REAL, intense kiss prior to the final fight. I think almost everyone in the theater cheered when Bella called out to Jacob on the mountain top, asking him to kiss her. Poor Edward...he just can't seem to win lately. First Bella continually refuses his marriage proposal and then she asks another guy to kiss her. Luckily for him, she finally decides that although she does love Jacob, she loves Edward more, and agrees to marry him. I suppose I should go into more detail about Bella and Edward, but I'm not going to. Sorry.

4. This movie really brought the action unlike any of the other two. Granted, there is a lot more action in Eclipse, the book, than in any other books/movies, but how they handled it really worked. From the initial Victoria chase scene with both the Cullens and the wolves to the Jasper led newborn army fight training to the final Riley/Edward/Victoria/Seth Clearwater fight at the end, the action kept the audience (in the theater I was in, at least) at the edge of our seats.

5. And finally, my favorite part of the movie, the introduction of Forks' newest baddie, Riley. He may just be one of Victoria's minions, but kudos to David Slade and Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter, for creating a much bigger character out of Riley than he was in the book.

Unfortunately for us, he doesn't make it to the end of the movie and therefore we won't be seeing him in Breaking Dawn, but here's hoping Xavier Samuel finds his way into more and more movies in the future. Or finds himself in San Francisco in need of a tour guide...either way. What is it about the bad guy that always draws me in?

This seems to be getting a bit long, so I'm going to wrap things up. I can pretty much guarantee that I will be seeing this movie again, both in the theater and once it comes out on DVD. I'm still a bit wary of how Breaking Dawn will be adapted to the big screen, but in the meantime, I'll just focus on Eclipse and how glad I am that it really did exceed my expectations.

Until next time... xo

Title quote: Jacob Black, "Eclipse"

"If you plan in rescuing a vampire during daylight, I have seriously overestimated your intelligence."

Well, season 3 of True Blood seems to be starting out with a lot of sex, violence and blood, isn't it? Alan Ball surely wants us to get our moneys worth! I've had a request to provide spoiler alerts for these kinds of posts, so for all of you who are planning to watch and haven't yet: SPOILER ALERT!!!

Best part of the episode...we finally get to meet Alcide Herveaux!

Even though I'm all for Sookie and Eric getting together, while reading the books I also fell a little bit in love with True Blood's resident werewolf (doesn't every town need a resident werewolf?), Alcide. Regardless of the fact that he has some major ex baggage, he's still a great distraction from the fact that Bill's been kidnapped (not that I miss him).

Anyway, back to this week's episode.

Of course the main focus again was the disappearance of Bill Compton. Eric and Sookie were almost able to get some information out of the werewolf that broke into Sookie's house, but all they were able to get, through Sookie's telepathy, was "Jackson" as in Mississippi. Luckily for Sookie, Eric knows a strong, handsome werewolf bodyguard to keep her safe on her trip east. We also get to learn a little bit more about Bill's past with one of his captor's, Lorena and his wife from his human life AND a teeny bit more of a hint that maybe Bill wasn't in Bon Temps and HAPPENED to meet Sookie, but that he was there with purpose. Hopefully Sookie is careful on her quest to find Bill. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her over someone who may or may not be actually in love with her.

Moving along, we all knew after last week that something was about to go down between Franklin and Tara, and in true Alan Ball/HBO/True Blood fashion, we are treated to a pretty intense sex scene between the two (speaking of which, I'm not even going to rehash the violent hate sex between Lorena and Bill ending the episode). At least Tara and Sookie had a touching makeup at Eggs' funeral. It wasn't all naughty sex for her this week!

And finally, as per usual, some of my favorite moments star the lovable, albeit not too intelligent, Jason in all his glory. I love that he has finally figured out what he wants to do with his life (become a cop) and I love his theory that if a question is on the sample test, it won't be on the real test, so why study it? If only that were true! Judging by previews for next week, Jason will find a way to get around that pesky test with Andy Bellefleur.

So here's what I've decided about season 3 of True Blood. Rather than simply adapting the third book of the series "Club Dead", as they more or less did for seasons 1 and 2, it seems as though they're combining a few of the books into one season. Which I get, considering there are 10 books as of now, and it's pretty unlikely that there will be 10 seasons of the show. But who knows, maybe I'm wrong. Although, there have been a lot of things showing up this season that don't happen until much farther along in the series. We shall see where the crazy humans, vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, etc in Bon Temps and, now, Jackson, Mississippi take us over the next 9 episodes.

Until next time... xo

Title quote: Eric Northman, "True Blood"

"There's werewolves? Big Foot, is he real, too? ... Santa?"

I was a little bit unsure as to whether or not I should post my thoughts on the new episodes of True Blood. Because I've read the books, I was concerned I may inadvertently give things away thinking it's happened in the show already because it happened in the books. But, by request from my lovely friend Snow White, I've decided to go ahead and do it. Since I neglected to post last week, I'll make this a two episode recap.

In the first episode of the season, Bad Blood, we pick up pretty much from the exact moment the 2nd season finale left off: Sookie returns to the table after her post-proposal freak out to find that Bill's been abducted, Jason and Andy deal with the fact they just killed Eggs, Tara also deals with Eggs being killed, Jessica accidentally kills a trucker and Sam has set out to meet his biological family. Now, I have to say, the majority of this episode was mostly setting up the new season, which is fairly typical of season premieres. They don't want to go in guns blazing to end up puttering out in the end. Although we do discover a learn about a new breed of supes getting thrown into the mix: werewolves. Plus, we get to see the two best parts of the show, lots of gratuitous scenes of both Jason Stackhouse and Eric Northman. What more do you need, really? I guess that's how Alan Ball decided to start things off with a bang! For which, I applaud him.

Moving along to last night's episode, Beautifully Broken. We get to meet a few new characters this week, which is always fun. After Tara tries to kill herself, Lafayette takes her to see his mother in a psychiatric facility, whom he fears Tara will end up like should she continue down the path she's on. There he meets the conveniently dreamy nurse Jesus. From what I've read, and hopefully not giving too much away, he will become a regular feature in the fabulous Lafayette's life this season. But love isn't only in the air for Lafeyette. While accidentally ending up on a meth lab bust with Andy, Jason sees an enigmatic blonde who will most likely be popping back up in his life in the near future.

We also get to meet three new vampires: Russell Edgington, the kind of Mississippi who we learn orchestrated the kidnapping of Bill, his boytoy Talbot and Franklin Mott, a mysterious character who broke into someone's house (was it Bill's or Sookie's) looking for information about Sookie and a possible love interest for broken Tara.

Beyond meeting the newbies, we (finally) learn that Lorena was also involved in Bill's kidnapping, we get a touching moment between Pam and Jessica about how to dispose of bodies (vampire mentoring at its finest), we get some sweet brother/sister love moments between Sookie and Jason and we are treated to some great sexual tension between our favorite vamp Eric and Sookie.

All in all, a very good start to what's looking to be a very good season. I'm not shy about the fact I'm not team Bill, so let's continue to keep him out of the picture to allow for much more Eric/Sookie time. I'm excited for next week when it looks like we'll finally get to meet Alcide!

Until next time... xo

Title quote: Jason Stackhouse, "True Blood"

"Sometimes the bitch wins."

The wait is almost over! Only a little over a week left until the season 3 premiere of True Blood.

Yesterday we were treated to a brand spankin' new trailer with a pretty in depth look at the drama to come over the next 12 episodes.



I don't know about you, but I think this looks even better than I expected. Club Dead was one of my favorite books of the Sookie Stackhouse novels so I've been really looking forward to seeing how Alan Ball translates it on to our television sets each week. I am also looking forward to seeing much more Sookie/Eric interaction and meeting all the new characters, Alcide in particular.

If you need more True Blood to tide you over until Sunday, June 13, click HERE for HBO's True Blood page, which includes all the trailers and original minisodes.

Until next time... xo

Title Quote: Sookie Stackhouse, "Club Dead"

"Edward, there’s no point to forever without you. I wouldn’t want one day without you."

It's been a while since I talked about Twilight, so I figured I'd share a tidbit I discovered today. Last week the soundtrack to Eclipse was announced and I was very pleased with the array of artists included in the list.

I was able to find the full song for the first official single, Neutron Star Collison (Love is Forever) by Muse and I love it! I'm a huge fan on Muse and since Stephenie Meyer is too, their songs are always included in the soundtracks. The video will be released tomorrow, but at least we can enjoy the song today!



Here is the full track listing:

1. Metric- Eclipse (All Yours)
2. MUSE- Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)
3. The Bravery- Ours
4. Florence + The Machine- Heavy In Your Arms
5. Sia- My Love
6. Fanfarlo- Atlas
7. The Black Keys- Chop And Change
8. The Dead Weather- Rolling In On A Burning Tire
9. Beck and Bat For Lashes- Let's Get Lost
10. Vampire Weekend- Jonathan Low
11. UNKLE- With You In My Head (Feat. The Black Angels)
12. Eastern Conference Champions- A Million Miles An Hour
13. Band of Horses- Life On Earth
14. Cee Lo Green- What Part of Forever
15. Howard Shore- Jacob's Theme

The album will be available June 8. Be sure that I'll be downloading it! Although, if I had the authority to add some songs, I would definitely include one from the Robotanists. Wait a Minute Here perhaps?



Maybe it will get scooped up for Breaking Dawn.

Until next time... xo

Title quote: Bella Swan, "Eclipse"

"I always thought as different as we are, some how we could still be together. And now I don't know."

Lots of new True Blood stuff for you!

Season 3 is right around the corner and today we are being treated to a new poster, featuring most of the cast.

In case you don't remember, in the last moments of the season 2 finale Sookie and Bill were separated, after his proposal to her, by his kidnapping. The HBO/True Blood marketing team, as always, has come up with some clever promotions revolving around that fact...which leads us to believe his disappearance will be a big part of season 3, as it is in book 3, Club Dead.

Last week this poster was released:

And in perusing HBO's True Blood site, I came across this video:

Another thing Alan Ball has done this year to promote the show is create 6 minisodes, "A Drop of True Blood", which begin to air May 2 on HBO. However, we got a sneak peek of one featuring Eric and his lovely assistant Pam today.

Now, I can't help but wonder if Alan Ball got the idea to do this from Charlaine Harris' collection of Sookie Stackhouse centric short stories, A Touch of Dead, that was published last year.

Until next time... xo

"If a man doesn't fit, you can't exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater."

While home sick (again!) this week I watched, for the 400th time probably, one of my favorite chick flicks, Confessions of a Shopaholic.

For those of you who know me well, you'll know that I definitely identify with the main character in the movie, Rebecca Bloomwood, based on the Sophie Kinsella novel of the same name. What girl living in a big city, who wants to be fashionable and look their best, wouldn't relate in some way?

When the book came out in 2001, my mother immediately told me it was something I needed to read. I did, and a few of its subsequent sequels, and fell in love with the character. Ever since college, I've been very into fashion, reading all the magazines and doing my best to keep up with trends in my own way (blame it on going to school in Southern California!). Unfortunately for me, and my bank account, this would get me into a bit of trouble. I think it's pretty safe to say that a lot of young women find themselves where I did, financially, at one point or another. So much so that someone wrote a book about it!

Thanks to my mounds of debt, I was forced to figure out new ways to get the looks I want, without spending too much. I don't think any of the designer clothes, shoes or bags I own I paid full price for. Thanks to sites like Gilt Groupe for designer pieces to build outfits with, and stores like Target for cheap staples, like layering tanks and simple tees, I've been able to create a fashionable (at least I think so) wardrobe without breaking the bank. Knowing that stores like J. Crew and Banana Republic always have great stuff on sale helps, too! I can't remember the last time I paid full price for something at either of those stores. Plus, with sites like Bag, Borrow or Steal and Rent the Runway fashionistas can now rent a great dress or statement bag for an event. Just like Netflix!

Also, a great way to get money back for clothes/shoes/bags/etc you no longer wear, rather than just donating them to Good Will (or your friends), is to try selling them to a local thrift shop. While I was living in LA, if I needed some quick cash, I'd just dig through my closet and head over to the Buffalo Exchange down the street. Whatever they wouldn't take I'd end up donating to Good Will. That's how Rebecca Bloomwood pays back all her debts in the movie...although, she has a huge sale, which I don't think I have nearly nice enough things to do.

And while we're discussing Confessions of a Shopaholic, let's send some congratulations over to its star, Isla Fisher, who has been seen around town sporting quite the baby bump!

Until next time... xo