I have a new addiction, thanks to PBS.

I just can’t get enough of Downton Abbey. I know that it’s a little silly to be obsessing about a show that aired their season 2 finale just a few weeks ago, but good TV is worth checking out regardless of when you decide to start watching it. Downton Abbey had been recommended by several people, and I knew was receiving a lot of buzz, but I kept forgetting to set the DVR to record it or watch it when it was actually on. But once I actually sat down to watch it, I literally couldn’t stop watching.

At first glance, the show doesn’t sound like it would ensnare audiences on both sides of the pond: The Crawley family (who live in Downton Abbey) risk losing their home due to an inheritance clause and the sinking of the Titanic (the show starts the day after it has sunk). The resulting episodes follow the Crawley family and their servants and they struggle to maintain their home. Doesn’t sound too difficult to do, right? Wrong. The new heir doesn’t really want to be an Earl; the Crawley girls are incredibly headstrong; intended suitors just don’t seem to be working out; people die; people are bribed; people are plotting; World War I devastates the country; attitudes about the different classes are changing; the dog’s gone missing…oh, and the Spanish Flu wreaks havoc on an already reeling cast. Simple? Far from it!

Everything is about this show is flawless. The costumes (which are stunning and incredible). The acting (Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern star). The sets (how gorgeous is Highclere Castle). The writing (Julian Fellows, the creator wrote Gosford Park, The Tourist and The Young Victoria, among others). It’s incredibly difficult not to get wrapped up into the lives of the Crawley’s and their servants. Julian Fellows and his team of writers have crafted fully realized characters that audiences can bond with. The show isn’t just about a bunch of entitled aristocrats who sit around sipping tea and their servants are a bunch of poor people who wait on their every whim. History and a rapidly changing culture are very present characters in this series, as audiences watch world events have very real consequences. Characters get pushed to their emotional brink before some happiness finally smiles on them, and even then, that happiness isn’t guaranteed. But, it’s that type of writing that brings audiences back for more.

Season 2 ended on Christmas, 1919. Bring on the Roaring 20s! Season 3 can’t get here fast enough!!

Do yourself a favor and check out the series if you haven’t yet. It’s perfect rainy day fare. It won’t disappoint!

Until next week (and my next obsession)!

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Oscar Fashion

The Oscars have wrapped for another year. The winners are a part of history. The other nominees are…well, let’s not go there. The Best Dressed and Worst Dressed attendees have been chosen, but Oscar’s Best Costume Design is always floating around in the back of my head every time I go see a movie.  I look at costume design the same way that I look at the score of films – a very important way to portray the emotional state of characters in any given moment. Here are my picks for Best Costume Design for 2011:

The Artist: What’s not to love about this film? I have a great love for silent films, because the story is told through so many different levels. How do you express something without talking about it?  I wish hats would come back as an accessory the way they were in the 20s (especially the ones with the netting). I also love seeing men in well-tailored suits. An additional detail that I appreciated was the fact that these clothes were clearly made in color, even though this was a black and white film. When Peppy (Berenice Beja) finally lands an on-screen role, you can easily imagine that the dress was probably made out of gold and black beading, instead of what you see on screen. The lack of color on-screen doesn’t distract; in some ways it allows your imagination to determine what the actual color might actually be!

My Week With Marilyn: Let’s face it, Marilyn Monroe could have paraded around in a burlap bag and still would look amazing in it. She’s dressed down through most of the movie, but the pieces are still classic today. She knew what looked good on her and accentuated it, even when relaxing. I wish I could fill out a white shirt and pencil skirt the way she did. I also loved her coats and the famous black and white checked pants with black sweater and white scarf.

The Help: The differences in clothing between the ladies of society go way beyond the uniforms for work. You can tell just by looking at the prints and cuts of dresses how divided these two classes of women are. The Southern Belles dress up for anything and everything; the Maids dress up for Church and Skeeter (Emma Stone) doesn’t really care what she wears.

Girl With a Dragon Tattoo: Lisbeth’s clothing probably has more to do with her own self expression than any of the other movies. Yes, it’s rough, industrial and not flattering in a traditional sense (given what she’s been through, can you blame her), but it absolutely represents her. Even when she cleans up a bit to wreck a little revenge, you don’t quite buy it as a look she could potentially get used to. The shirt she sleeps in gets my vote for fave tee of the year (you know which one I’m talking about!).

Anonymous: I’m a little biased on this one, since I studied Shakespeare for the better part of six years. I love Elizabethan collars, as impractical as they are. These pieces truly are works of art, as they are so layered and detailed. Beautiful beading, heavy silks and velvets, wigs and heavy necklaces, and let’s not forget the square necklines and those gorgeous bell sleeves. Stunning recreations of an intriguing time.

Who gets your vote for best costume design?

Until next week (and my next obsession)!

Layout by: Michelle

My Latest Obsession - Girl Scout Cookies

As I write this, I am literally eating some Thin Mints that my roommate graciously shared with me because I couldn’t find a Girl Scout to get cookies from. Usually there is a whole troop that constructs a fort of cookies on Market Street right outside my building, but I’ve yet to see them. How dare they not be there?! I need cookies!

Cookie Time really takes me back, as I used to be a Girl Scout and my older sister was before me, so this time of year has been a staple for years. I used to have a paper route (back when they had afternoon papers) as a kid and I asked everyone on my route (as well as my brother’s) to buy cookies. Talk about boxes and boxes of cookies showing up at the house! I could’ve constructed a castle with the amount of boxes that took up half the living room. I sorted and packaged all of the cookies by address and each customer received a personal note from me saying “thank you” and to enjoy the cookies.  I’m nothing if not diligent and appreciative! Some of the first customers also got some doodle or happy face that I added, but I ran out of steam and things to draw at a certain point. I was creating limited editions before I even knew what they were!

My family always bought Thin Mints (extra boxes were put into the freezer, of course) and Trefoils. I also love peanut butter, so I would always beg my mom to get a box of Tagalongs. I’d also try to sneak in a box of Samoas because I also love caramel, but I was the only one in the family that would’ve eaten it and my mom didn’t want her 9-year old gorging on a box of cookies all by herself. Every once in a while, I’ll go home now and my mom will have a box of Thin Mints in the house way after Cookie Time has ended. I’ve yet to figure out where she keeps this stash, but she’s always got a mischievous smile on her face when I ask her where the box came from.

Now, before I eat this whole box, I am going to stop talking about cookies for the moment…and go try to find a Girl Scout so I can replenish what I just ate…and get some more. Yum!

Whatever your favorite is, treat yourself to some cookies. You deserve it!

Until next week (and my next obsession)!

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My Latest Obsession - Onegin

Last week, I had the great pleasure of watching the San Francisco Ballet’s version of Onegin. I’ve lived in San Francisco for over four years and I have never been to the ballet (shock! horror!). Due to great timing, I was lucky enough to attend their closing night performance. And what a performance it was!

The ballet Onegin is based on Alexander Pushkin‘s verse novel of the same name. It’s a tale of passion, class structure, death, friendship and, at times, vanity. And since this is Russian Literature that we’re talking about (especially Romantic Russian Literature), you know the tale isn’t going to end up all sunny and rosy. People are going to love deeply, and be in an equal amount of (if not more) pain.

Onegin is actually my favorite Pushkin work, having read it while studying Comparative Literature in grad school. Tatiana (the heroine) is smart, well-read and unafraid of her emotions. The love letter she writes to Onegin is stunning and open in the way that young love typically is. Onegin’s boredom, insensitivity, vanity and obsession make him a fascinating character to behold. Pushkin’s novel been interpreted into an opera (music by Tchaikovsky) and several film versions (the 1999 version starring Ralph Feinnes and Liv Tyler is a favorite of mine), but I was particularly interested in seeing the ballet. It’s such an emotional, heartbreaking story – how would that interpret into dance?

What I loved about Onegin was that it wasn’t full of things that I had seen in other ballets. There were a lot of lifts in this performance and the interactions between characters were very emotional. People literally pull at each other as they dance around each other. There was a lot of sadness and longing in these performances which translated beautifully on stage. There were a lot full-body extensions, where the focus was on the line and the tension between the dancers, as opposed to how many times they spun or leapt across the stage. Yes, there were happy moments when the corps de ballet were all on stage dancing merrily, but the principal dancers always had a bit of edge to their dancing. The happiness would quickly become tinged with jealousy and rejection. Oftentimes principals were dancing solo, or standing up- or down-stage watching the events instead of partaking in them.

I think the real highlight of the show was right after Tatiana writes her infamous letter and has a dream about dancing with Onegin. This is the only time in the ballet where they are truly connected (the image in this post is from this very scene…look how in love they look!), and you get a glimpse of how dynamic and passionate they can be as a couple – but it’s only a glimpse. The next time we see them dance together, Tatiana refuses Onegin and casts him out of her home. It’s a powerful ending to a very emotional ballet.

If you get a chance to, please go see the ballet. It’s like unlike anything you’ve ever seen and is something that will pull at your heartstrings.

Until next week (and my next obsession)!

Layout by: Michelle

San Francisco 49ers

Hi Readers. I know that I said that this month was going to be about little indulgences for yourself, and I know that football isn’t really the most fashionable thing to talk about (although most of my girlfriends are Niner fans and they are incredible fashionistas), but I hope that you will allow me a little indulgence of my own in talking about one of my favorite things, the San Francisco Forty-Niners.

By now, everyone’s read that my beloved Niners aren’t going to the Superbowl and the Giant’s won the game in a nailbiter that went into overtime, so you’ll forgive this small rant (Williams $&@*@#**$#(#&%&!!!). Ok, I feel better now.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love football and that the Niners are my team. This has absolutely nothing to do with my geographical location (although living in San Francisco is a big bonus for this), as I’ve been a fan since birth. I grew up in Los Angeles, which meant shunning the Rams and later the Raiders when they both called LA home. I get my love of football, especially Niners football, from my dad, who grew up listening to radio broadcasts of Niner games on Maui (which is also why you’ll see a lot of Hawaiian Niner fans) before he moved to the mainland and watched games on TV. His love of the team naturally transferred onto me, as I would watch football with my dad every Sunday.

I grew up watching Niner football during that magical decade of the 80s in which superstars like Clark, Craig, Rice, Lott, Cross, Turner, Young and Montana dominated and brought the Niners four Super Bowl rings. I even lived in San Francisco my first year of college (1992-1993) when the team was still doing well (they would win the Super Bowl in 1994) and was lucky enough to meet Bill Walsh on a plane ride home for Thanksgiving. It was easy being a fan during these years, as they were a definite force to be reckoned with. It was being a fan the last fifteen years or so that have been a little tough. Time and time again, I would watch and hope for a return to the Super Bowl, only to be let down. I’ve been at a Niner gamse at The Stick when the fans collectively booed the team and coaches for plays and choices that didn’t make sense. What was it going to take for this team to win again?

When Harbaugh was picked as the new coach for the team, I couldn’t wait for football to start. I knew that the 2011 season was going to be exciting  at the very least and average season at worst. I think the team went farther than many people thought they would. The unexpected wins, seeing Smith step into his own as a QB, the agility of Davis and Gore and watching a team collectively step up into the big shoes of their history has been incredible to watch. I can’t believe that it’s over, especially after the come from behind win against the Saints last week (once again, WILLIAMS!!!) The season turned out to be an emotional and amazing roller coaster that unfortunately came to an end at the NFC Championships tonight.

As I was getting ready to watch the game today, I was remembering all the games I watched with my dad, how we would both yell at the TV when plays went wrong, and how we’d both celebrate when they went well. How he helped me figure out what all the ref calls were and the difference between a Tight End and a Wide Receiver. What a Quarterback Sneak and a Hail Mary pass are. So many happy memories that come back to the surface whenever I watch a Niner game. The team can’t always win, but those memories are priceless.

It was a heartbreaking loss, but watch out for us next year. We will be back. We are going to the Super Bowl. Count on it.

And now back to our regular programming…

Until next week (and my next obsession)!

Layout by: Michelle