Autumn in New York

Oh, friends. The last time I was here it was July. It was hot and muggy and there were fireworks, and now it's brisk and chilly and there are falling, colorful leaves. Sorry about that.

A friend mentioned to me once that there's a catalogue on the Internet, somewhere, of all the blog posts where the author apologizes for going quiet for a few days, weeks, whatever. And it's comical that so many of these exist, because on the one hand there's the early-Internet belief that still rings in our ears: "Who cares what you had for lunch?" In other words, you don't know the people you're writing for, so why apologize? And on the other hand, we all know that we come to enjoy the daily dose of levity, beauty, etc. that we get from our favorite bloggers. And so, not hearing from them for awhile feels a bit like having a phone call ignored.

All that to say, I just haven't had much to say lately. But for whatever reason, today I felt like telling you that I think the soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally is the perfect music to listen to during autumn. So, here I am, telling you that. Besides the fact that When Harry Met Sally is a great movie to watch in the fall (it's right up there with You've Got Mail), Harry Connick Jr.'s jazzy soundtrack is full of the type of melodies and older songs ("Don't Get Around Much Anymore") that sound just a little like...Christmas music. But, it isn't Christmas music, so it's totally appropriate to listen to in November. (And, as a bonus, there's an instrumental version of "Winter Wonderland" on it, but that's not your fault. You were just sitting there listening to a movie soundtrack and a Christmas song came on. It'd be rude to skip it.)

Do you (are you still out there?) have a favorite album for this time of year?

Friday Night Movie

Have you heard of The Giant Mechanical Man? It's a sweet, independent romantic comedy with Jenna Fischer (from The Office) and Chris Messina (who is super cute on The Mindy Project) who are both a little lost and directionless. Chris Messina's character is one of those robot guys you see in big cities - he paints himself silver and wears stilts. Anyway, it's a cute and funny story, with perhaps the sweetest on-screen kiss I've ever seen.



So, if you're hunkering down for a winter storm with a cartoon name, or just having a night in, I'd highly recommend it! Happy weekend :)

The Shop Around The Corner

Have you ever seen The Shop Around The Corner? It might sound familiar because it's the name of Kathleen Kelly's store in You've Got Mail. In fact, You've Got Mail is a modern adaptation of The Shop Around The Corner, so the stories are similar. Except instead of exchanging emails, the characters are pen pals. Pen pals!!

Anyway, Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan play shop clerks who can't stand each other. Meanwhile, they each have a pen pal that they're writing to and falling for...if you've seen You've Got Mail, I'm sure you know where the story is headed. Anyway, it's funny, delightful and Christmas-y. It's available to watch online through Amazon, and would be perfect with a mug of tea or cocoa tonight. Especially if you, like me, renew your crush on Jimmy Stewart every December :)

Life of Pi

Did you read the book Life of Pi? I'm late to the party, but my friend Megan recommended it recently and I loved it. The story is so fascinating, and crazy. I stayed up until 2 a.m. finishing it! (Plus, it had beautiful sentences.) The movie comes out next month and I'm so excited to see it. Doesn't the trailer look intense?

p.s. If you need a movie to see this weekend, Looper was awesome!

The Valentine Channel

"Hey Girl, did you know I have my own channel for Valentine's Day?"

This is pretty brilliant: Time Warner Cable is offering an entire channel of Ryan Gosling for Valentine's Day. Throughout February eight of his movies available are On Demand, so you can make sure you get your February fill of the meme-worthy star whether you have a valentine or not. It's definitely cheesy to watch The Notebook on Valentine's Day... right?

Image via here

NYC Dating in the Movies

After watching Annie Hall this weekend, it was interesting to see this post on Brokelyn that calculates the cost of dating in popular NYC movies.



The dates in You've Got Mail were the cheapest, mostly because they don't technically "date" each other for most of the movie. Upper West Side guys, take note: you can make a gal swoon with You've Got Mail-themed dates and spend less than $20!

Downton Abbey

Have you been watching Downton Abbey? I'm a little late to it (it aired in the UK last fall and the first season already aired on PBS in the US) but I finally gave in to the hype and watched the first three episodes this weekend.

Oh. My. Word! So, so good. It's set in the early 20th century at the ginormous country home of the Crawley family and mixes historical events (the Titanic sinks in the first episode) with the day to day life of an aristocratic family and their servants. I've always loved a good British period drama, and this one is heavy on the drama. Plus: killer costumes and sets.

Really, if you haven't watched it yet, hop to it! You can stream it online via Netflix or Amazon in the US. Hurry, new episodes start in January!

MFEO

After walking home through rainy Manhattan streets and catching a glimpse of the Empire State Building glowing, barely visible through the fog, I had a hankering to watch Sleepless in Seattle. I had forgotten how funny the kids are in that movie!

        (Jonah on the phone with Dr. Marsha Fieldstone, while his Dad is on a date)

         Jonah: He's kissing her on the lips. My Dad's been captured by a ho!

Ha! What's your favorite rainy night movie?

Images: Screenshots from Sleepless in Seattle

Better Late Than Never

Somehow, I've managed to live nearly 29 years without seeing "E.T." My parents once tried to get me to watch it during a sleepover, but everyone else had already seen it so they stayed in my room playing and I lasted through only the first five minutes before begging to be allowed to join my friends. So I'm excited to see it for the first time tonight, on an aircraft carrier in the Hudson.



It's a hidden talent of mine, to not have seen movies that fall into the category of "Movies Everyone Has Seen." And when I have seen those movies, it's when someone's found out I haven't seen a given movie, and makes me sit down to watch it. I swear, I don't go out of my way NOT to see movies, it just happens. For example:

Movies I Haven't Seen:
The Goonies
The Sound of Music
Indiana Jones (any of them)
Star Wars (any of them)

Movies I Saw 5-10 Years After Everyone Else:
Titanic
Forest Gump
Gladiator
Schindler's List
Braveheart

I have, however, seen "Son in Law" more times than I can count.

Midnight in Paris

I finally saw Midnight in Paris this weekend and I looooved it. I'm not sure how I managed to never see a trailer for the film, but I didn't, so I had no idea what it was about. Which sometimes makes things better, don't you think? I was expecting pretty Paris, and funny Owen Wilson, but it was fun to be pleasantly surprised with Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, and Cole Porter.







If you haven't seen it yet, here's a little cheat sheet to some of the historical figures.