to catch a thief

my mom visited this past weekend for mother's day.

we had a wonderful time...

we played a little with instagram and photo booth...

(and on my new mac book air laptop)

and watched "to catch a thief"...

 here is a little info on this alfred hitchcock gem..

The Cat Prowls Again?

Is it true, or just a rumor - that John Robie, former cat burglar of Paris before the war, is once again on the prowl? Fashionable resorts on the Riviera are being regularly looted by a skillful jewel thief. Robie, once a hero of the French Resistance Army, was said to have reformed - however, the style of this new crime wave is certainly his. Even if he's innocent, he'll need all his old adroitness escaping the suspicious opinions of a doubtful police.

Robie, wearing a black and white horizontally-striped shirt and a red kerchief (resembling a cat collar) is cutting roses in his outside garden - he is semi-retired, cultivating grapes and flowers. After hearing the screeching tires of an approaching police vehicle with five officials inside, he quickly runs upstairs to his bedroom. When the police arrive and surround his home, his maid Germaine (Georgette Anys) calls for him - he effeminately walks down the stairs where a few officers greet him, describe their accusations, and command him to go with them to Nice for questioning. When he returns to his room to change his clothes, he locks the door, fixes up a shotgun, and fires it. As the men break down the door, his car is heard roaring away - but he is on the roof looking down at the scene. When the police finally catch up with his car after chasing him through spectacular scenery [a similar car chase returning to Robie's villa symmetrically ends the film], and both cars are blocked by a herd of sheep, they realize that they have been diverted - Germaine is driving his car.

To clear his name, Robie realizes that the only way to prove that he ISN'T the Cat is a very dangerous proposition. He has to investigate by himself (as a very skillful policeman) and find the real thief who is imitating his crimes. By putting himself into the thief's perspective, by imagining and identifying himself as the Cat burglar, and by anticipating and outdoing the copy-cat burglar's next move, Robie will use his burglary experience to ultimately unmask the real culprit:

grace kelly is so gorgeous...

and cary grant is pretty

    handsome himself....

and they made a grace kelly barbie doll based on her character in the movie....

i want.... 

"What I can't understand is how this thief can imitate me so perfectly. It has to be someone who knew every detail of my technque. Maybe somebody in the police...He picks perfect victims and only the right stones. Goes up walls, over the roofs, down through the skylights. Leaves no clue and then disappears in the night...If somebody caught this imitator, we'd all be off the hook, wouldn't we?...No one believes me, but the police are chasing the wrong man. Someone's got to start chasing the right one...I've got to catch this imitator myself...I can anticipate him, try to figure out his next move, and then get there ahead of him and catch him with his hands right in the jewel case...The biggest problem is time. I've got to hit this copy-cat before he hears I'm after him. To catch him in the act, I need better information than he has, the kind that takes months to dig out.

here is the movie preview...(click on the arrow)

grab some popcorn and watch this movie...

it was so fun...:)

bye...more later

the book thief-preview

the book thief

Part 1: DEATH AND CHOCOLATE

First the colors.
Then the humans.
That's usually how I see things.
Or at least, how I try.

***HERE IS A SMALL FACT ***
You are going to die.

I am in all truthfulness attempting to be cheerful about this whole topic, though most people find themselves hindered in believing me, no matter my protestations. Please, trust me. I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's. Just don't ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . . Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist – books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

if you get the chance, read this book...

its really good...

Book Review on The Art of Racing in the Rain

 

{my adorable huge baby puppy dog Moses}

Wow! The month of April went by super fast! This is Chloe by the way. My sweet adorable mother asked me to write a book review on The Art of Racing in the Rain. Well me being the procrastinator that I am... have decided to write it right now! Hey, I wouldn't be me if I did it on time.

Let me just start of by saying that I really enjoyed this book. I laughed. I cried. I got angry. I got sad. I felt happy. I felt every emotion while reading this book. This book is told through the eyes of an adorable dog named Enzo. Enzo reminds me so much of my dog Moses and my childhood dog Cherry Pie. I don't know if that is the reason that I connected so much to this book, but I bet it played a huge part.

The beginning of the book actually starts with the end of Enzo's life. Enzo knows that it's time for him to leave this earth. He is actually looking forward to it though. He truly believes that since he lived a good life as a dog and learned as much as he could about the human race, that he will be able to return in another life as a man. The only thing that is holding him back from leaving is his owner and best friend Denny, and Denny's daughter Zoe. He doesn't want them to be sad and alone. But he knows that he has done on this earth what he was sent here to do.

Denny is a race car driver. It is his passion along with three other things. His wife Eve, his daughter Zoe, and his best buddy Enzo. Enzo watches Denny's life fall apart over the course of several years and stays by his side the entire time. He watches Denny's wife Eve get sick. He knows she is sick long before anyone else knows. He watches Denny go through some serious accusations with a minor and a custody battle over his daughter Zoe with Eve's parents. It is truly heartbreaking to see all the pain that Denny endures. Enzo knows more about it than anyone. He sees things that no one else sees. He develops a love for all Denny's passions as well. He becomes passionate about racing and wants Denny to succeed at it for the both of them. I don't want to give away too much about this book because I highly recommend reading it if you haven't yet.

So rather than tell the whole story I will give you some of my favorite quotes and analogies. There were a lot of great ones throughout this book. Here are a few of my favorites lines from Enzo:

"I will never tire of watching tapes with Denny. He knows so much, and I have learned so much from him. He said nothing more to me; he continued watching his tapes. But my thoughts turned to what he had just taught me. Such a simple concept, yet so true: that which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves."

"I had always wanted to love Eve as Denny loved her, but I never had because I was afraid. She was my rain. She was my unpredictable element. She was my fear. But a racer should not be afraid of the rain; a racer should embrace the rain. I, alone, could manifest a change in that which was around me. By changing my mood, my energy, I allowed Eve to regard me differently. And while I cannot say that I am a master of my own destiny, I can say that I have experienced a glimpse of mastery, and I know what I have to work toward."

"People, like dogs, love repetition. Chasing a ball, lapping a course in a race car, sliding down a slide. Because as much as each incident is similar, so it is different."

"The true hero is flawed. The true test of a champion is not whether he can triumph, but whether he can overcome obstacles- preferably of his own making- in order to triumph. A hero without a flaw is of no interest to an audience or to the universe, which, after all, is based of conflict and opposition, the irresistible force meeting the unmovable object...... The sun rises every day. What is to love? Lock the sun in a box. Force the sun to overcome adversity in order to rise. Then we will cheer! I will often admire a beautiful sunrise, but I will never consider the sun a champion for having risen. So. For me to relate to the history of Denny, who is a true champion, without including his missteps and failings would be doing a disservice to all involved."

"She looked over and saw us. She was not a bad person, I knew then. One can never be angry at another driver for a track incident. One can only be upset at himself for being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Please. Go read this book. Any book review I could try to do, just wouldn't do it justice. Also, in honor of the rain theme for April, and another great book, I will leave you with this clip from The Notebook, or The Trapper Keeper as my husband Sean calls it...

check it out here  (for some reason it won't play on the blog so I had to link to it)

Oh gosh I just love the rain. Oh and Ryan Gosling is not too bad either... ;)

holly golightly and the london fog

if you want something fun to do on a rainy afternoon...

try this.....

watch "breakfast at tiffany's and sip a london fog:)

here is a look at the opening scene (my favorite scene:))

all the stuff in between is delightful and beautiful...

(i think she might be the only women in the world who could get away with those adorable bangs)

and the end....

well...

have a look...

and i think that george peppard looks like chris pine...

or tony dinozzo on ncis...

it's a treat to watch and once again, new york looks like the most amazing place to live...

Holly Golightly: You could always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives  

you. I must say, the mind reels.

Holly Golightly: A girl can't read that sort of thing without her lipstick

`````````````````````````

the london fog

a london fog is a vanilla black tea latte...

i prefer to make mine with hot cinnamon spice tea from 

harney & sons 

it is available at barnes and noble...

their tea bags are beautiful and the tea is delicious...

(black tea has the highest amount of caffeine of all the teas but it still only has 20% of the amount found in coffee)

first you brew the tea...

then steam or heat 2 tablespoons of 1% milk (skim milk does not froth well and there are only 6.7 calories in one tablespoon of 1% milk)

then add a splash of half and half...

i sweeten the milk just a little and then froth it and pour any liquid into the tea and spoon the foam on top...

then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar...

(if you want to sweeten the tea use a little turbinato or raw sugar)

this delicious latte has less than 40 calories and tastes amazing..... 

and my favorite toast is a raisin bagel from winco (they are the best, small and dense)

toasted, with butter and homemade raspberry peach jam...

now this was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon....

bye...

more later... 

Singin' In The Rain

Maddie here.  With the theme for April being Rain, I decided to write up a little post on the film
Singin' In The Rain!
My first memory of this movie takes me back to a day I spent at my grandma Dallyne's.  I'm not
sure if I stayed home sick from school that day, or if I was just spending the day at her house,
but I told her I wanted to watch a movie. She had all of the classics on hand, but I'm pretty sure
I wanted to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Rescuers Down Under, or one of the many
other cartoons she had.  But she convinced me that I should watch Singin' In The Rain.
"But it's an old movie!" I complained.  She said "It doesn't matter, you'll love it, it's fantastic".  So, I gave in and she popped the tape into the VCR.
This movie is indeed fantastic.  It's one of those movies where, when I hear the name, it takes me back to sitting in my grandma's guest bedroom, looking through her jewelry box while she would sing and dance along.  She knew all of the words of course.  And I smiled ear to ear watching and listening to her.

The plot from Wikipedia:

Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is a popular silent film star with humble roots as a singer, dancer and stunt man. Don barely tolerates his vapid, shallow leading lady, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), though their studio, Monumental Pictures, links them romantically to increase their popularity. Lina herself is convinced they are in love, despite Don's protestations otherwise.

One day, to escape from fans, Don jumps into a passing car driven by Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). She drops him off, but not before claiming to be a stage actress and sneering at his undignified accomplishments. Later, at a party, the head of Don's studio, R.F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell), shows a short demonstration of a Vitaphonetalking picture<sup>[3]</sup> but his guests are unimpressed. To Don's amusement and Kathy's embarrassment, she pops out of a mock cake right in front of him as part of the entertainment; Kathy, it turns out, is a chorus girl. Furious at Don's teasing, she throws a real cake at him, only to hit Lina right in the face. Later, after weeks of searching, Don makes up with Kathy after he finds her working in another Monumental Pictures production, and they begin to fall in love.

After a rival studio has an enormous hit with its first talking picture, 1927's The Jazz Singer, R.F. decides he has no choice but to convert the new Lockwood and Lamont film, The Dueling Cavalier, into a talkie. The production is beset with difficulties.<sup>[4]</sup> By far, the worst problem is Lina's grating voice. An exasperated diction coach tried to teach her how to speak properly, but to no avail. A test screening is a disaster. In one scene, Don repeats the line "I love you" to Lina over and over, to the audience's derisive laughter.<sup>[5]</sup> Then in the middle of the film, the sound goes out of synchronization.

Don's best friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), comes up with the idea to dub Lina's voice with Kathy's, and they persuade R.F. to turn The Dueling Cavalier into a musical called The Dancing Cavalier, complete with a modern musical number called "Broadway Melody". When Lina finds out, she is furious and does everything possible to sabotage the romance between Don and Kathy. She becomes even angrier when she discovers that R.F. intends to give Kathy a screen credit and a big publicity promotion. Lina, after consulting lawyers, threatens to sue R.F. unless he cancels Kathy's buildup and orders her to continue working (uncredited) as Lina's voice. R.F. reluctantly agrees to her demands.

The premiere of The Dancing Cavalier is a tremendous success. When the audience clamors for Lina to sing live, Don, Cosmo, and R.F. improvise and get her to lip syncinto the microphone while Kathy, hidden behind the stage curtain, sings into a second one. While Lina is "singing," Don, Cosmo and R.F. gleefully open the curtain. The deception becomes obvious when Cosmo replaces Kathy at the microphone. Now exposed as a fraud, Lina flees in embarrassment. Kathy tries to run away as well, but Don introduces the audience to "the real star of the film." The final shot shows Kathy and Don kissing in front of a billboard for their new film, Singin' in the Rain.

My mom and I watched this clip together, and all of the memories came rushing back :)
Gene Kelly is quite the cool cat.  That man has got moves.

This movie is just the ticket to get you in the spirit of spring showers!

So, remember this month, to put on your favorite wellies and get out there and sing and dance in the rain!

and as always, remember to treat yourself to a hot cup of tea :)

grandma j’s red plum jam

3 pounds firm red plums, peeled and cut into eighths

(pits discarded. (duh-i thought it was cute that grandma added that:))

½ cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

7 ½ cups sugar

1 (3 oz.) package of pectin

Place plums, water and lemon juice in large non-aluminum stock pot.

Stirring often, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fruit is soft. You should end up with about 4 ½ cups.

Stir in sugar. Return heat to high and bring back to a rolling boil while stirring. Continue to stir and boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Let rest for 1 minute, then skim off any foam.

Process in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove, let cool, and label jars.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Total time:35 min

Makes about 4 pints.

grandma liked hers on homemade wheat toast (slightly burned)

i like mine chunky like this, on sour dough

bye...
more later...

strawberry cuppa chocolate

As featured on NBC Today Show as the top 10 Skinny Foods all dieters should try.

Decadent chocolate paired with a hint of strawberry in this seductively delicious cup. Rooibos, or red tea, provides the base in which these two flavors mingle. Sipping this delicious dessert tea together may inspire a long and loving life for you and your sweetheart.

this tea...

so yummy....

check it out here

Caffeine:

Rooibos (Red Tea) is naturally caffeine-free. More about caffeine.

Steeping Instructions

Steeping red tea is easy. Simply heat fresh, filtered water to a rolling boil. Then pour water over tea and steep for 5-7 minutes if using a tea bag or full-leaf.

Ingredients

Rooibos, carob, cocoa kernels, chocolate flavor, strawberry flavor, sweet blackberry leaves and bourbon vanilla beans

Calories

0

Country of Origin

South Africa

all i have to say is...

if you want chocolate and you don't want calories...

try this..

bye...

more later...