Overheard in the restroom line at the Ren Faire...

A young woman was talking to her mother about how her son has hit the terrible twos and she's certain he gets his bad behavior from his father… 

Young Woman: Did I throw fits all the time?

Her Mother: Yes. All the time. I used to have to call your dad at work to talk to you.

YW: But that's not because I was horrible; it's because I wanted my daddy.

HM: You were horrible.

YW: I was sweet, though.

HM: Honey, you put a puppy in the oven.

A thousand times Wes.

I just got back from seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was wonderful.

Wes Anderson's films are polarizing. People usually adore them or loathe them. I fall into the former category. I think he's a rare talent. His films are always so beautifully art directed and shot, and I love that you can look at one of his films and immediately tell it's a Wes Anderson.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is perhaps his most gorgeous film yet. It was filled with lots of beautiful images and stunning shots. And the characters and story were great, too. I was delighted from credits to credits.

A key component of the unique Wes Anderson aesthetic is his ubiquitous centered shot. They're so beautiful. I love when he centers a shot and then swings the camera around 90 degrees to another centered shot. There are lots of those in Grand Budapest Hotel, and indeed, in all of his films. Check it out, and note the double 90-degree pan around from Moonrise Kingdom at the 25 second mark:



I have always been drawn to symmetry.

And finally, if you do treat yourself to a viewing of Grand Budapest, you will surely leave the theater craving the scrumptious pastry that plays a pivotal role in the film: Courtesan au Chocolat. Happily, you can click here to learn how to make it.

And make one for me while you're at it.

"See you later" should not be taken literally. That is a courtesy, and no more.

Before we went to Spain, I did a bunch of research. I learned about tapas and Kristen warned us all about the cult of jamon. Ever wonder what foreigners are told before visiting us?

Here's a little of what an inquisitive Japanese traveler might encounter.

If you put your bent middle and index fingers of both hands in the air, you are making finger quotation marks. It means you do not believe what you are saying.

And what the Russians are saying, aside from "Butt out of what we're illegally doing in Crimea!"

Everything is the same as ours, only with far less booze.

Bon voyage to us all!

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train."

Tonight I headed downtown for a delightful evening of Oscar Wilde's finest work. I couldn't help myself from mouthing along some of the lines of dialogue, and as I was sitting in the front row, I hope I didn't distract the actors. The play was an utter delight!

"Mr. Worthing! Rise, sir, from this semi-recumbent posture; it is most indecorous!" was just one of the things I was silently saying along with Lady Bracknell.

"You are the most advanced Bunburyist I know."

"Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained 35 for years."

Lady Bracknell was played by Sian Phillips, who played the vicious, scheming Livia in "I, Claudius." She doesn't look much older than when she played the wicked empress all those years ago.

And now I want to go watch the Colin Firth/Rupert Everett version and see Judi Dench deliver those withering lines in all her frosty glory.

New Sherlock tonight!

This gifset ends in the most satisfying way.

Episode 2 tonight!

Point here if you enjoy delightful things.

So, after years and years of riding the New York Subway (which is, without a doubt, the most superior subway in the world, as I so emphatically thought to myself last night while waiting an unbelievable 25 minutes for a DC Metro train at L'Enfant Plaza) I never noticed that at every station there is a black and white striped board which train conductors must point to whenever they pull into the station. It's a safety precaution, and a rather clever one at that. They are on camera at the time and they do it to show they are awake and alert.

Some awesome people took marvelous advantage of that fact, and bless them for doing so.

I cannot believe it, but I am nostalgic for Blockbuster.

This video is everything. And you didn't even have to leave your house to watch it.

It's the final countdown!

Just under 24 hours to go! Netflix has un-made a huge mistake and the Bluths shall return to us. In celebration, here's a veritable Bluth-fest for you:

A visualization of every recurring joke in the series, and the episodes in which it occurs. Click on a joke and see which episodes it's in, or click on an episode and see which jokes are there. It's a glorious thing.

NPR did something similar, with even more detail.

53 jokes you probably missed. Did you notice George Sr.'s yarmulke tan line when he was arrested in Mexico?

And 53 more. GOB's Segway causes segues!

And finally, four teaser clips have been released. This is my favorite:

"Now the story of a wealthy man who lost everything. And the one next-door neighbor who had no choice but to keep them all together."

This weekend I went to see The Great Gatsby with Jen. I thought it was a pretty good adaptation of the book, despite Eric declaring it was no good for "many reasons," none of which he could articulate, and despite Tobey Maguire being miscast as Nick. (Don't you find Tobey Maguire is often miscast? Just me?)

Anyway, I stumbled upon these, and it just goes to show that the wisdom of the Bluths is eternal.

Find more of them here.

Today I feel jealous of England.

I hear there's always money in there.

Not a bad way to spend a weekend.

My little pumpkin had her third dance recital. Cuteness abounded.

Everything was a blurry mess until I fired off a frantic text to Kris all, "Kristen! Quick! How did you show me to shoot action in low light?" Then everything was fine.

This one might be my favorite.

Nope, this one is my favorite.

The tap number required some swagger.

Curtain call with cousin Jordan.

Signs

Did you see Paperman? It's the beautifully animated short film that won the Oscar a few weeks ago. It is truly lovely to look at, but if you're wondering why I didn't remark on it when I posted about the short films, it's because something about it didn't sit well with me. It reminded me so much (too much) of a live action short I saw a few years ago. I couldn't remember the name or where I'd seen it, but I knew that Paperman's entire plot had been lifted from this other film.

We did not come up with this idea.

Well, I finally figured it out. It's called Signs and you should watch it. If you've seen Paperman, you'll see the case for plagiarism can easily be made. But you know what they say: "In literature it's plagiarism, in film it's homage."

And even if you're like, "What are you even talking about with these short films? I don't watch that stuff.," you should still give Signs a watch. It's well worth your twelve minutes.

Sleepover Cupcake Decorating Party

So, this weekend Julia had a sleepover with her friend Lexus. Since I was visiting, I decided to put my cake decorating stuff to good use and organize a cupcake decorating party for them. A good (and sugary) time was had by all. The girls started off by sampling the cupcake batter and went full-on into shoveling in the frosting. Check it out.

The first rule of a good decorating party is lots of pretty frosting colors. The girls chose these five.

Then they decided which decorating tip should go with which color.

When were were mixing up the batter, I let them crack the eggs. Julia picked up an egg in each hand, slammed them down simultaneously on the table, and cracked them into the bowl. Then she declared, "I learned that from Nicole."

The decorating begins. 

Note the crazy makeup from their beauty salon party, immediately preceding the cupcake decorating party.

Julia shows excellent technique by squeezing the piping bag at the top.

She's delighted with her work.

Decorating quickly turned to eating...

Lexus dives right in...

...as you can see.

Jules does the same.

Completely crazed on a sugar high.

Some of the finished cupcakes. The girls are true artists.

The aftermath...