To Do list №13 December

What can you say about 2020 that would fully express how difficult it's been, a double dose of cheer is truly needed this holiday season. I hope this To-Do list sparks some joy.

Sagittarius season from Elite Daily

https://www.elitedaily.com/p/the-emotional-meaning-of-sagittarius-season-2020-is-about-enthusiasm-44287362

Sag season encourages you to take more risks and, more importantly, it reminds you to have faith in your actions. It's everything you never knew you needed, especially after swimming through the depths of the underworld in Scorpio. Confident and lively, Sagittarius' zodiac archetype points its arrow aimlessly towards the infinite sky with hope and wonder. This mutable season is here to fuel your inner explorer and spontaneous gambler. Everything has a consequence — whether it's good or bad — so it doesn't hurt to look on the bright side every now and then.

Mistakes are part of life, so there's no use in planning your every move. First, it's not realistic, and second, there's no chance you're going to get away with overthinking things during Sagittarius season. Though no one wants like the idea of failing, the season of the archer reminds you to look beyond the idea of being wrong and/or defeated. 'Tis the season of self-discovery, so you might as well make it an adventure.

After a long Libra season, and cathartic Scorpio season, the sun has finally come out and it's as bright as ever. This feeling of hope has everything to do with Sagittarius season and the freedom-loving nature stemming from its zodiac archetype. What inspires you? What makes you feel the most alive? Sagittarius' glyph is symbolic of the centaur's arrow pointing toward infinity, along with the endless possibilities that exist all around you. This mutable fire season is all about expanding your horizons, but in order to do that, you must be willing to step outside of your comfort zone.

Little Women

Both versions on the list this year! So much fun. A little insight to Greta's version;

“You know how with each new draft of a script you have a different paper color ... so you have the pink draft, the blue draft, the green draft, and it goes to everybody, and you have the possibility of a bunch of notes?” Gerwig says. “This was just one of those things where I thought, ‘I know what I want to do here. And I don’t want to debate it. I want to just do it.’”

The 1868 novel about the March sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy — ends with the headstrong, spirited Jo giving up writing, marrying, having children and opening a school. But in real life, Jo’s creator, Alcott, never married, never had children and continued writing, becoming a wealthy and famous author. “Jo should have remained a literary spinster,” Alcott wrote later.

Gerwig thought she could close her “Little Women” by blending the two narratives, creating a movie within a movie that delivered the pleasures of a romance inside a story about Alcott realizing her artistic ambitions. 

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-12-16/little-women-greta-gerwig-saoirse-ronan-florence-pugh

The Preachers Wife

This movie is filled with chills and nostalgia. Gorgeous acting and of course- Whitney's voice! 

The motion picture was developed by Denzel Washington's Mundy Lane Entertainment. The screenplay was written by Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott. Credits are given to Robert E. Sherwoodand Leonardo Bercovici for the 1947 film The Bishop's Wife, and to author Robert Nathan (for his novel The Bishop's Wife).

The role of Julia was written with Whitney Houston in mind. Denzel Washington says that he first considered Julia Roberts for the role, but quickly turned to Whitney Houston. Houston admitted that she was reluctant to accept, feeling she could not do justice to a role that required her to play a dowdy housewife. Only after reading the script a second time and seeing parallels between her own life and the role of Julia did Houston accept.Houston was paid $10 million to appear in the film.

Filming began in early January 1996. Trinity United Methodist Church in Newark, New Jersey, served as the Biggs' New York City church. The production leased the church, and began renovating it in February 1996. The interior was painted, new carpet laid, and the main doors repaired. The production team designed a pulpit and altar rails that more accurately reflected the design of Baptist churches. After filming, the church kept the pulpit, and the production crew worked with architects from the United Methodist Church to design and install rails more fitting of the Methodist style. The production filmed in several crime-ridden areas of New York City to achieve authenticity.  

Mean Girls

Maybe it's not a holiday movie, but this scene and story live inside our hearts rent free.

FUN FACTS:

Mean Girls was is actually inspired by Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book about teenage girl behavior, cliques and high school popularity, Queen Bees and Wannabees. 

Tina Fey has stated the man behind the famous "You go Glen Coco!" line is, in fact, her brother's pal. "He’s a film editor in Los Angeles, and I imagine it’s a pain in the butt for him," Fey said.

Rachel McAdams is eight years older than Lindsay Lohan, although they both played high school students.

The first draft would have been rated R. Even in the PG-13 movie, we had to take a lot of things out. We had a tough time with the MPAA. I remember thinking, If this was a movie about a boys’ school, ‘Is your cherry popped?’ wouldn’t have to come out.

Tina said Shane Oman (Regina’s BF after Aaron) is actually named after a stage manager at Second City.

Costume designer Mary Jane Fort got yearbooks from small towns to research what kids in those schools would be wearing. Lindsay had over 50 costume changes throughout the movie.

Lindsay Lohan has said that early on, she was interested in playing Regina - we could have ended up with a completely different Mean Girls. But producer Lorne Michaels and director Mark Waters decided to work backward instead, casting her as the nice girl who would end up turning into a Regina wannabe.

Lohan might have aspired to playing the meanest of all the mean girls, but Amanda Seyfried - the actress ultimately cast as spacey Karen Smith - came closest to taking the Regina George spotlight from Rachel McAdams. According to director Mark Waters, Seyfried's version of Regina would have appeared substantially different from the one we've come to know (and loathe).

Waters told Vulture: "The person who was neck and neck for the role of Regina - and we agonized over which one we were going to cast - was Amanda Seyfried. She tested for Regina and was kind of brilliant and very different than Rachel's approach. She played it in a much more ethereal but still kind of scary way. She was more frightening, but oddly, less intimidating."

Amy Poehler's Mean Girls character may have called herself a "cool mom," but it took some extremely cool acting chops to successfully pull off the hilariously awkward scene in which Poehler's chest becomes a snack for a Chihuahua. Amanda Seyfried told Entertainment Weeklythat shooting the scene was one of her favorite behind-the-scenes moments.

Seyfried described the logistics: "They, like, pinned a piece of a cocktail wiener into her bra. I thought this dog was going to tear her apart. It was very effective. She was such a pro through it. She's trying to do her lines and being so professional, and this dog is chomping on her fake boob. I'll never forget that."

Ghosts, by Dolly Alderton

Highly anticipated, and greatly reviewed, after reading her book, "Everything I know about love" I instantly added "Ghosts" to my Wishlist. I haven't read it yet, I recommend reading the latter and giving this one a try also. Here is a review from the Guardian;

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/21/ghosts-by-dolly-alderton-review-a-sharp-eyed-debut

Quick-witted Nina Dean, the heroine of journalist Dolly Alderton’s debut novel, is a likable food writer who lives in north London. The challenges she faces as a privileged single thirtysomething may, at first glance, seem like familiar terrain for a millennial novel to explore. Nina wrestles with generational conflict with her parents; the difficulties of maintaining friendships when husbands and babies arrive; and the quiet thrum of the biological clock alongside the vagaries of online dating and, more broadly, of a life increasingly played out online.

No doubt Nina’s sharp-eyed observations on these zeitgeisty issues will remind many of Alderton’s bestselling memoir Everything I Know About Loveand the conversations on her The High Low podcast. In Ghosts, the social commentary is often showcased in satirical set pieces where, occasionally, slightly laboured jokes undermine the overall comic force. Nevertheless, these comic turns often made me chuckle: the depiction of a hen do dominated by a passive-aggressive maid of honour is brilliant. The subsequent wedding with the best man’s speech delivered by a “childhood friend who, regrettably, was in an improv group in his spare time which explained the numerous wigs and props that he used [in his] rambling anti-anecdotes” is sharply done too.

Vegan Rhubarb Custard Pie

http://thisvibrantworld.com/vegan-rhubarb-custard-tart/

Check out her site for the directions!

• 150 g flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 100 g margarine
• 2-3 Tbsp ice water
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 100 ml soy milk (or plant based milk of choice)
• 50 g sugar
• Pinch of turmeric (optional for colour)
• 30 g corn flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 300 g rhubarb
• 15 g sugar

Rhubarb Custard Pie

https://www.thespruceeats.com/classic-rhubarb-custard-pie-4038847

• For the Pie Crust
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Optional: 1 teaspoon sugar (scant)
• 8 tablespoons butter (chilled, cut into small pieces)
• 4 to 6 tablespoons water (with ice)
• For the Rhubarb Custard Filling
• 3 cups rhubarb (diced)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon butter

Check out her site for the directions!

Your very own luxurious Santa hat! Tutorial from my personal YouTube page :)

The Sequin Selkie dresses, launching tomorrow 7PM PST

The Ice Blue Royal Puff

The Royal Puff is a new take on the puff dress, featuring a longer bust and full sheer chest coverage with a frilly Victorian collar at the neck. Very royal indeed. Frosty nights in Winter are the inspiration behind the glittering ice blue, perfect for dressing up to open presents, light the candles and spin the dreidel.