Our Favourite Summer Movies

White House Down

Roland Emmerich (director of Day After Tomorrow & 2012) is the king of big summer disaster movies.

You always know what you're getting with Roland Emmerich: an implausible end of the world plot, a good cast, big explosions, destroyed national monuments, & cheesy one-liners. If you are willing to suspend reality for a few hours, you will be rewarded with some epic entertainment. 

Olympus Has Fallen (the other terrorists-take-over-the-White-House summer movie) was good too, but White House Down has our vote.

Red 2

Despite never having seen Red 1, we went to see Red 2 because it was one of the only movies playing on Christy's birthday. It was surprisingly hilarious.

Mary Louise Parker's normal-girl-looking-for-adventure is truly funny. And the whole thing is worth watching just for that scene with Helen Mirren shooting out both windows of a moving car. She is so great.

(Jenny has seen both, & says Red 2 is better.)

Iron Man 3

We love Marvel. This one gets mixed reviews but we're agreed -- Pepper Potts in the Iron Man suit was awesome.

Christy saw it twice.

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You don't have to love sports to love a good sports movie.

Jenny didn't know much about Jackie Robinson going into this film, but afterwards she couldn't stop regaling everyone with anecdotes about what a fascinating & stand up guy he was.

Plus it was refreshing to see Harrison Ford play someone his actual age.

World War Z

Christy went to this with two of her friends & they might have clung to each other through most of the film. It was properly scary.

As I like to say, vampires are for teenage girls but zombies are for everyone.

Jobs

Stories about brilliant, tortured artists never get old. This film had so much to say about the creative process & Ashton Kutcher did a fabulous job portraying Jobs' complicated personal life.

Plus we loved watching the laid back, barefoot, west coast vibe of the 70s, 80s & 90s.

It kind of felt like a preview for the book, because even though it was a long film, it left us so curious to know more about this guy.

(There is a second Jobs film being made right now by Aaron Sorkin. That one will actually be based on the official Steve Jobs biography & sounds excellent.)

Star Trek into Darkness

Jenny went into Star Trek into Darkness as a skeptical non-trekkie. But the character-driven movie was awesome even without knowing the backstory or being invested in the Star Trek world. Plus it has Simon Pegg & Benedict Cumberbatch. Need I say more?

Man of Steel

While we are not trekkies, we are major Superman fans.

Even though Man of Steel had it's downsides (too heavy on the outer space/Krypton stuff, plus some drawn out fight scenes,) we totally loved it.

Henry Cavill just IS Superman. And Amy Adams brought her usual gumption & charm to the role of Lois Lane.

There were lots of shout outs for DC fans -- Lexcorp signs, Smallville references, & a 'Keep Calm & Call Batman' poster in the background.

And our friend Ethan was an extra at the Daily Planet, which was awesome.

We can't wait to see the next one, with the hotly debated Ben Affleck as Batman.

It's been a summer of good movies.

We've also been hearing raves about The Way, Way Back but missed it in the theater, so we'll have to netflix that one.
Any other good summer movies we missed out on?

Favourite Summer Movies via: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, & 16

Rome Places: Victor Emmanuel Monument

This time last year, I went to Rome on holiday with a friend. It was sunny, peaceful, epic & oh so hot.

One of the places we went was the Victor Emmanuel Monument. Or as the Romans apparently call it, The Wedding Cake.

I'm usually a history buff. When I travel, I'm the one dragging everyone through museums, reading plaques, spouting off facts from the guide books I've been reading.



Rome is a history lovers dream. But when I was there on holiday, instead of studying the history, I did something unusual.

I relaxed.

I'm sure the Victor Emmanuel Monument has a fascinating history. Maybe someday I'll get to go back & soak it up.

But on this trip? We wandered up to the cafe on the roof, which has a view of the Colosseum & big fans that spray a cool mist.






We sat in the cafe in the baking hot sun, & ordered coffee. Illy coffee. Life-changing coffee. Italian coffee.

I went on to drink lots of coffee in my week in Rome, but the cafe at the Victor Emmanuel Monument is where I had my first sip of epic Italian coffee. Let's just say, it ruined me for all normal coffee forever.

So if you get the chance to go to Rome someday, please do me a favour. Pause in your enjoyment of Ancient Roman ruins. Go to the roof of the Victor Emmanuel Monument, look out at the Colosseum, & enjoy a cup of Italian coffee for me. Your caffeinated life will never be the same.

Christy's Summer Reading Favourites

I've read so many good books this summer that I can't stop rambling about.

These are the ones I would discuss with you, if we could sit down for a coffee & a chat...

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I finished Me Before You last month & I actually still can't stop thinking about it. It covers some pretty intense issues but it's also funny & easy to identify with.

Me Before You was written by a girl from Essex & it's full of all the little daily life details that make me feel like I'm in England again. By the end of the book, the characters had drunk approximately 3000 cups of tea.

I'm kind of tempted to pick it back up & read it all over again.

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson

Also British. This one was first reprinted by Persephone Books, my favourite British publisher, but it's available in the States now too.

Miss Buncle's Book is a light, clever story of a girl in a small town who writes a very thinly veiled novel using the townspeople as characters. Romance & chaos ensue.

Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

I have read three novels this summer that I loved & want to give to everyone I meet, if only so we can all sit around discussing how great they are. One of them was Silver Linings Playbook. (The 2nd one was The Fault in Our Stars. The 3rd one was Me Before You.)

Quirky characters, deep problems handled with levity, & a man with a Kenny G phobia. What more could you ask for in a novel?

I also liked the movie but of course, the book was better.

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Dude, Lauren Graham wrote a novel. Oh hey, Lorelai Gilmore.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is about a girl trying to make it as an actress in 90's NYC. I loved her insight on New York, auditions, & the tension between going for the creative life or quitting for a stable 'real' job.

It's being turned into a TV show now, called Unfamous. Lauren Graham is writing the pilot & Ellen is going to be a part of it too, so I think it's safe to say it might be funny.

Paris in Love by Eloisa James

I'm always a sucker for a good travel memoir. Paris in Love is well-written & fun to read. By the end I was wishing Eloisa James would write another memoir about her odd & fascinating life.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

I read a lot of good Young Adult fiction this summer (have I mentioned The Fault in Our Stars?)

Jennifer Smith studied at St. Andrews in Scotland (alma mater of Wills & Kate), so I like her already. She also happens to be Lauren Graham's editor.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a fun & light novel about travel, family, & meeting a nice British boy.

Relish by Lucy Knisley

I love graphic novels. Have you read one? They're sort of like comic books for adults (although really, who says adults can't read actual comic books?)

But a lot of graphic novels are intense & kind of dark, covering topics like cancer, tough childhoods, & even the Iranian Revolution.

But Relish? Relish is my favourite graphic nonfiction. It's a light memoir about food, art & family. (Complete with illustrated recipes.)

If you've never read a graphic novel, this would be a great place to start.

Mud, Sweat, & Tears by Bear Grylls

I'm so keen on Bear Grylls & his upper class, hippy, British ways. If you like his show, you'll like this story of how he got started, complete with his climb of Mount Everest, grueling SAS training, & his backbreaking parachute accident.

How can you not be fascinated by a guy who names his son Marmaduke?

Ok, those are my Summer Reading Favourites.
What have you been reading lately?

Summer Reading images via:

PBFingers, Seattle Times, here, here, B&N, here, Browsing Bookshelves, Macmillan, & BearGrylls.com 

Learning to Love Summer

Last summer, I got to go to Rome.

I wasn't a big lover of Summer. I love sweaters, rainy Seattle, & Pumpkin Spice Lattes. In other words, I love Fall.

But after living in England for a cozy, gloomy year I was sort of ready for some heat.

Then I landed in baking hot Rome. In the middle of August. When even the locals shut down their shops & retire to the coast for the end of the summer.

But instead of being miserable & running for the air conditioning... I loved it. I basked. I soaked up the sunshine.

I thought it was temporary, the result of an overdose of English rain.  But it turns out I have actually learned to love Summer.

It's a good thing to learn. I didn't know what I was missing.

Summer in the City

We are having a pretty stunning summer in Chicago.



We would both consider ourselves Fall Girls & we even love the rain (it's cozy.) But we are soaking up the sunshine this summer.

It's been a gorgeous (read: not crazy scorching hot) Chicago summer. (Until this week! This week has been a bit melting.) July has been full of breezy hot days & blue skies.



A lot has been happening around here. Christy moved back to the States from England. Jenny married Daniel (& began a quest to de-girl-ify the apartment they now share.) Christy is about to celebrate her 32nd birthday. White House Down came out. Big stuff.

We've had so much fun starting this blog & are looking forward to sharing more with you guys. But in the meantime, we hope you get a chance to just go outside & soak up a little Vitamin D. Because summer is short, but as Martha would say, "It's a good thing."

Summer in the City photos via Instagram