The Seven Year Itch (1955)

Two words: Marilyn Monroe. It's so random, but I have a serious obsession with her right now. All I want to do is sit on Netflix and watch every single movie she's ever made. I had seen Some Like It Hot about a year ago and loved the movie, but I didn't have an itch to watch all of her movies. Now, that's all I want to do!

The first movie I decided to start out with is The Seven Year Itch, which is about a man who's family goes away for summer vacation while he stays at home and is tempted by his gorgeous new neighbor. The style this movie is told is so fun and I love how the main character Richard just talks to himself throughout the entire movie. He's happy that he can drink and smoke all he wants with his wife and son not around, but his wife's presence is still always there in the back of his mind. While he seems crazy at times, Richard's loyalty to his wife of seven years is put to the test with his tempting new neighbor, who happens to be none other than the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn is so pretty in this movie, and her character is just too adorable. While she still plays the typical dumb blonde who is praised for her beauty, her character (who I don't even think has a name) simply wants a friend who isn't going to hit on her or propose to her. And what better friend is there than a married man, a man who already has a wife and couldn't possible propose? Marilyn is so much fun, from her chips and champagne, to her love for Richard's air conditioner. I knew I was going to laugh every time she walked into Richard's apartment.

Aside from Marilyn, my other favorite aspects of this movie were the colors and 1950s style. I loved Richard's apartment and office, and how colorful everything seemed to be. There were blues, pinks, greens, and yellows that all seemed to pop on screen. Then, the outfits the women wore were great. From their hair and glasses to their dresses and shoes, the style captured the 50s era and reminded me why I love it so much.

And can I just say, I love all of the books in Richard's apartment. He has a big bookcase making up his back wall that is stacked full of books. Then, he has books lining the staircase that leads to nowhere on the other side of his living room. I would sure love to live in an apartment like that!

 

I had no idea the famous dress scene was in this movie, so I was completely surprised when Marilyn stepped over the grate with her flowy white dress and it blew up in the breeze. She just wanted to cool off in the insane New York heat! Haha, but this scene was, as her character always is, completely cute and fun. I wish I could live such a carefree life, strutting around in gorgeous outfits and only having to worry about air-conditioning.

Overall, while there wasn't much to the plot, The Seven Year Itch was a cute movie with some great actors. I loved the playful nature of the characters and the unique portrayal of Richard's character. You'd think he was crazy from how much he talks to himself, but the comical nature of his relationship with his new neighbor makes his banter with himself just another funny aspect of the movie. For a short and sweet movie with the magical touch of Marilyn Monroe, go ahead and check out The Seven Year Itch on Netflix!

Purple Yarn and Confetti Stationary

It's finally the weekend! Well, for me it is. The best thing about college? Being able to have no classes on Fridays. So while I have a pretty full Monday and Tuesday (I have classes until 9pm both nights), my weekend can officially start at 2:20pm Thursday afternoon. I love having three days to relax and catch up on homework, blog work, and my reading list. I can't wait for the chance to get things done this weekend. Here's what I have planned...

-Continuing to journal. I've made an effort to journal more when 2014 started, and I have definitely kept up with that goal. I love being able to begin the day recording what's happening in my life and what crazy thoughts are floating through my head.

-I get to start off my Friday with a 10 mile run! This week is the 10 mile week for my half-marathon training, so I mapped out a 10 mile route on Map My Run and it is so long. My 9 mile run last week went really well, though, so hopefully it's not too bad!

-I got this purple yarn on sale over Winter Break at my favorite yarn shop Knitting Temptations. My mom and I got to attend the signing of Michelle Hunter from Knit Purl Hunter, so of course we had to buy some yarn while we were there. I think the color is so adorable and I can't wait to find a pattern to use it with.

-My nail polish is so chipped right now, so painting my nails is a definite must this weekend. I'm loving pastel colors right now, but I'm still debating between a pastel purple or a mint green polish for this week…

-Of course, I'll definitely be reading this weekend! I'm finishing a great book right now called Some Like it Wild by M Leighton and only have about 40 pages left. After that, I can't wait to dig into Deeper by Robin York. Just look at how gorgeous that cover is!

-I love writing letters and sending them through the mail. I bought a ton of the $1 stationary packs from Target that are just adorable. I'm planning on writing some letters to my sister and anyone else who comes to mind. There's just something about a handwritten note that is so magical…

That's my weekend! Some writing, reading, knitting, and lots of running. Maybe I'll finally treat myself to a Shamrock Shake after running my 10 miles…that'll definitely motivate me to run a bit faster. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and great start to your weekend!

Craft Corner: Cupcake Coffee Cozy

As a cupcake addict, I love it when I find fun new cupcake accessories. I saw a cupcake coffee cozy on Etsy, and did not want to spend $5 to $10 on something that I could make for free from scraps I had lying around in my yarn stash. So, I went onto good old Ravelry and found a free pattern!

While I'm not the best crocheter around, I didn't have a problem making this cozy. The directions are super easy to follow and I had my cupcake cozy done within an hour! I added sprinkles in some fun yarn to make the cupcake design more prominent.

I absolutely love how the cozy turned out and I can't wait to use it for when I have a Starbucks craving. As of today, I'm only ONE STAR AWAY from a Gold Card! So when that happens, this coffee collar is definitely going to be put to good use.

If you want an adorable and fun cupcake coffee collar like the one I made, then head over to Ravelry and download the free pattern right now! With scrap yarn and a free pattern, you couldn't get a cheaper, or more adorable, craft to make.

Craft Corner: Colormatic Cowl

I am a huge fan of Michelle Hunter from Knit Purl Hunter! and love participating in her monthly knit-alongs. I actually got to meet Michelle in January when she had a book signing at the yarn shop she teaches at, which is only about 20 minutes from my house. Anyways, she has a blog where she hosts knit-alongs that last a month, with a step to the pattern revealed each week over the course of four weeks. The last one I did was the Colormatic Cowl from October (which I didn't finish until November) and it has by far been my favorite project yet!

I'm not all that great at color knitting, so I was very excited to practice that skill with this scarf. Knitting in the round in order to form a tube, I used four skeins of yarn to knit the four different sections that make up this cowl. While it was very time consuming and I thought it would never end, I absolutely love how it turned out! All I had to do was pull up some Disney movies from Netflix, and I was good to go!

The directions are pretty long, so I won't post them on here. But, you can head over to Ravelry and download the directions or go to Knit Purl Hunter to check out the pattern and make a scarf for yourself! I made mine at a medium length, but the directions include a short version and a long version.

The best part about knitting in a tube is that it's basically double the thickness, so it is super warm to wear during the winter. I absolutely love the colors I chose, but I'm sure there are other combinations that would be so much fun! I can see making this in pastel colors for spring or fun, vibrant colors to brighten up a dreary winter day. Oh, the possibilities!

Once I have the time and no projects to work on (as if…), I would love to make this again! I definitely got the hang of color knitting and the pattern is just impossible not to love. I can't wait to try out more color knitting and see what other fun patterns I can create!

Kitchen Krazy: Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

After discovering these cookies from the baking blog Picky Palate, this is the only recipe I use when making chocolate chip cookies. The secret ingredient to making the perfect cookie? Instant pudding mix.

Every time I make these cookies, they're an instant hit. I've lost count of how many times I've made this cookie since I discovered it almost a year ago. I've even started experimenting with other pudding flavors. Pumpkin Pudding. Vanilla Pudding. Butterscotch Pudding. Next on my list? Banana Pudding. Mmmmm, can you imagine how yummy that would be?

This recipe is so simple and I can make it without even looking at the recipe anymore. The only bad thing about making these all of the time, is that I primarily make them while I'm at school. Lucky me, I don't have a mixer at school so I have to mix everything by hand. You never truly appreciate a mixer until you have to mix the butter by hand. But it's totally worth it for these cookies.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies 
From Picky Palate
Makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 or 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips (or any kind of chip/candy)

Directions 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugars until well combined. Add your egg and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add your flower, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt, stirring to combine. Add chips, stirring to combine.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, place dough 1 inch apart from each other. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through. Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Enjoy!

Note:
With the pudding mix, the dough comes out a little dry if you're mixing by hand. That being said, I've found it necessary to roll the dough by hand and not scoop with a cookie scoop in order to get the dough to stay in rounded balls. Don't worry if the dough is very dry, they still come out looking great and tasting delicious.

Sweet On Sunday #1

1. I love this Paris Locket Necklace! It's my dream to go to paris someday, so maybe I can get this when that dream comes true. 

2. These Berkley Illustration Coasters are just too cute. I love the panda smoking the pipe!

3. I have been pining after this Pan Am bag for probably over a year now. I wonder when I'm finally going to give in and buy it…

4. As a cereal addict, this breakfast sweater is kind of, sort of perfect for me. 

5. I'm always on the lookout for new baking recipes, and I about died when I saw these Brownie Cookie Sandwiches. Two cookies with frosting and peanut butter sandwiched between them? I think I've died and gone to heaven...

March Goals

It's March! I feel like the first two months of 2014 absolutely flew by and I have no idea where they went. As long as that means the cold weather is finally leaving, I'm perfectly fine with that! Today, it was around 30 degrees when I went on my run at 7am, and I know that's the warmest it's going to be over the next couple of days. Can you believe it's supposed to be in the single digits for the next 3-4 days? Again? Well, I'm just hoping that once this week is over, some warm weather will be rolling in.

With a new month, as always, comes new goals to work on. I love making lists, and goal lists are probably one of my favorites. There are so many possibilities and accomplishing a goal I set for myself is always a great feeling. I've got some fun ones set up for March!

Run everyday I know, I have a problem. How can running be so fun? I used to hate running in high school, but now it's the best part of my morning. I'm hoping to run every single day, whether it's outside or at the rec. That includes my long runs for my half marathon training. I think I get up to 11 miles by the end of the month. How crazy is that?

Watch at least 3 Bond movies Over the summer, I made it a goal to watch every single James Bond movie. I failed miserably and only managed to watch about 4. Since then, I've watched a couple more, but I still have a lot to go. Hopefully I can make a dent in that list this month and get lost in the world of the notorious Bond. James Bond.

Read 14 books This one should be no problem. My goal is to read over 170 books this year, and I'm right on track so far. I'm determined to reach this goal, and maybe even exceed it by the time December rolls around.

Write more letters I made it a New Years' Resolution to write more letters, but so far I've only written about four since January. I bought a ton of fun stationary from Target in the dollar section, so I have a ton of blank cards that are begging to be written on. If you guys want, I'd love to write to any of you! Just email me your address if you want some snail mail :)

Watch more movies Again, this is something I try to work on every month. As a film studies minor, I'm exposed to so many movies I never would have watched otherwise, and I love it. I'm trying to expand my film knowledge by spending some quality time with Netflix, and I hope I can catch some more films I've been meaning to watch during March.

Finish knitting projects There are so many projects I've started and just haven't gotten around to finishing. Not to mention I have tons of yarn that I've bought with a project in mind, but haven't even had the chance to begin them. Hopefully, while I'm catching up on my movie-watching, I'll be able to get some more projects done this month.

Cook more healthy meals Over winter break, I was making dinner with my parents almost every single night from their American Heart Association One Pot Cookbook. I had so much fun and loved the meals we made. Since being back at school, though, I barely cook meals like that because there's only me to feed, not a family of four. I'm going to be on the lookout for healthy recipes for one that I can try out. I'd love to become a better cook, and practicing is definitely key in sharpening my culinary skills.

Read books I already own I have a serious book-buying problem, so I have hundreds of books that I haven't read yet. And I'm not exaggerating. I have some that I've been dying to read, but always put off for more recent releases. I really need to buckle down and finally read through books that have been on my TBR list (and collecting dust on my shelves).

And those are my goals for March! Do you guys have anything fun planned for the month ahead? If you do, good luck and hopefully March is a happy, productive, and warm month!

p.s. How cute is this Yoda notebook? My sister and I had gotten our best friend the Darth Vader version of this notebooks for $1 at Target (best. store. ever.) for Christmas. Little did we know, she got my sister the Storm Trooper version and me the Yoda version! Haha, I guess there's a reason we're all best friends...