Month: July 2014 (page 1 of 2)

Fancy

I love Iggy Azalea’s song entitled, Fancy. Even better the video is an adorable homage to Clueless:

The great Jimmy Fallon, impersonating Neil Young, sang it a few weeks ago and I liked his spin on it:

Happy Thursday!

My Summer Playlist

Beach Fashion 1956

I grew up in a household where all genres of music were played. In our house we do the same thing. Even though we listen to everything, I seem to go through phases of listening to one genre or album more than another.

At the moment, I have been going through a bit of a 70s phase. A mellow 70s phase. I don’t care if it is considered “cheesey” or “corny” kinda music, I’m enjoying grooving to my tunes. I’m just missing the truly long hair, a nice big pair of sunglasses and some bell-bottoms. It has sorta become my soundtrack of the Summer. I thought I would share a bit of what I’m listening to with you.

A 70s Summer Playlist

{Image found HERE. Pinned HERE}

I Scream! You Scream! We All Scream for Ice Cream!

It’s been pretty hot lately! We have been eating a lot of cold things to stay cool and I have been very inspired by my ice cream Pinterest board. Here are just a few things that have caught my eye:

Jennifer Michie Ice Cream Pins

1. Blackberry Pie Frozen Yogurt: Amanda K. By The Bay
2. Cherry Almond Ice Cream Cake: Love, Life & Sugar
3. Copycat Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip: Something Swanky
4. Classic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream: Drizzle & Dip
5. Blueberry Pie Milkshake: Saveur
6. Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream: Your Home Based Mom
7. Tangerine Sherbet: Shutterbean

{Don’t follow me on Pinterest already? Click HERE}
{Ice Scream! You Scream! We All Scream for IceCream! board HERE}

The Last Day

Jennifer Michie Five Guys Fries

What could be a better way of celebrating the last day of school then an order of Five Guys french fries?

Here’s to Summer! Long may you last. And to the weekend, we are so happy that you have finally arrived!

A Gentleman

James Garner

There are few men today, who are truly a gentleman, a real man’s man. James Garner was one of those men. I grew up watching re-runs of The Rockford Files and Maverick on TV and fell in love. He was charming, he was funny, he was handsome, he was generous and hardworking. I always had a bit of a crush on him.

He was unique in that he appeared to seamlessly transition between TV and film in a time where actors simply did one or the other. I loved him as Doris Day’s husband in The Thrill of it All, he was hysterical! They partnered again in Move Over, Darling. He played opposite Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria. He was a cowboy, a detective, a comedian, a gentleman. He has played many characters, there are numerous films that I love him in, but one might be more special than all the others to me: Murphy’s Romance.

There was something about this movie that just captivated me. It was my Birthday movie of choice this year. Mr. Michie put up the vintage projection screen for me and we ate cake in the dark and watched Murphy’s Romance. I love that movie! It has everything: Sally Field, Carole King singing the theme song, the cowboy element and it had James Garner, who you just fell in love with as the movie went on.

The world lost a gentleman this week and I was sure saddened to hear it.

The Blunder Years

Breakfast Club Movie Poster

I have long been a fan of This American Life. An episode aired at the end of the May that I missed and as I have been catching up with some podcasts here and there, I listened to it this morning. It was called: “Is That What I Look Like?”. In the third act, entitled the “Blunder Years”, Ira Glass talks to Molly Ringwald and what it was like to sit down with her 10 year old daughter and watch The Breakfast Club together for the first time.

I was still a little kid when this movie came out. It wasn’t until my early teens that I saw it. And, I got it! That was the magic, one of the many magic things about John Hughes, he got it. I think that there is a piece of us that identifies with each of the characters. There was always something in one of this films that you could identify with, you knew these characters, they were believable. They were your family, your friends, your neighbours. He understood teen angst and not in the whiny way that is mostly portrayed like today, but the real angst, where you are just trying to make it and you know there has to be something better out there than High School. It is a movie that I think all teenagers should see.

I remember a few years ago, Mr. Michie showed it to one of his Media classes and they had never seen it! I was shocked! This is a move that should be in your film viewing repertoire! I was an 80’s girl, to this day, that collection of John Hughes films are some of my favorite. If they are on TV, I have to stop and watch it.

Growing up, The Breakfast Club, somehow always seemed to be on TBS at least once a month. I would get home late from babysitting, my sister would get in from waitressing and we would sit down, get a snack to unwind, talk about our evenings and watch The Breakfast Club. To this day, we still randomly yell lines out to each other. Sometimes, all we need is one line, one word to sum up a situation, we get the rest, we have the unspoken language of sisters to fill in the blanks.

I can’t imagine how nerve-wracking and awkward and scary and slightly exciting, it must have been for Molly Ringwald to sit next to her daughter and watch this film. A little girl on the cusp of becoming a teen, the things you wonder if she knows about, if she doesn’t you would like to keep it that way, for as long as possible. It was insightful for Molly Ringwald, her daughter’s take on it and to which character she identifies with. The styles may have changed, the hair, the clothes, the time period, but to this day, I think that this is not a dated film, it is still poignant today.

I enjoyed listening to it, while cleaning the kitchen and I thought you might too:

Summer Squash Pizza

Jennifer Michie Summer Squash Pizza

I love vegetables! One thing I truly miss living in London is the roadside vegetable stands and pop-up Farmer’s Markets that exist in the South. The places you stop by on a hot Summer day, the vegetables still warm from being picked out of the fields. A Southern staple is yellow squash. I have not been able to get it in England until recently. Last year we noticed that Whole Foods was selling it and like crazy people we stocked up.

This year, I have done the same. Stocking up, slicing it and throwing it in to the freezer, so we have it as a side dish or to throw in to soups, pastas, risottos or in a vegetable medley. I picked some up on my way home from work on Friday and an idea started buzzing in my head. I knew just what I was going to do with it. Mr. Michie was on a school field trip on Saturday and I decided that I would make pizza for dinner. I have played around and around with this one particular dough recipe we like, making adjustments and tweaks and I have finally perfected it to satisfy our tastebuds.

I made the dough early in the day, so it had plenty of time to rise and just be. Before, Mr. Michie got home, I sauteed thin slices of yellow squash and cubes of pancetta. I also slowly cooked down an onion, till it was golden yellow and tender. Once he arrived home we got to work. I shaped the dough and brushed it with garlic oil and a little salt. We sprinkled freshly grated mozzarella over the top and then layered on onions, squash and pancetta. We finished it off with little dollops of ricotta, here and there. Once it was out of the oven it had a sprinkle of freshly chopped basil and some oregano.

It was wonderful. It was the taste of Summer in your mouth, the salty, the sweet, the savoury. It is most definitely a combination that we would make again.

{We have tried many different dough recipes over the years and this has become our favorite. I have made my own tweaks to the dough, but this is the recipe I used before I took the leap to start changing things: Annie’s Eats Homemade Pizza Dough}

After The Rain

Jennifer Michie Sunshine

As a line from Night Moves, my favorite Bob Seger song states:

“I awoke last night to the sound of thunder, how far off I sat and wondered?”

We had one H-E-double hockey stick of a storm last night. Mr. Michie and I moved in closer to each other, it is very rare that a storm makes me nervous, but the lightening last night was unreal. It flashed and lit up our room like we had turned the lights on. Our room was so bright I could have read my book. It didn’t stop, there wasn’t that moment in between, it was like someone was turning the lights off and on really quickly.

The rain lashed against the windows, our window was cracked to help ward off the stifling air in the house from the heat and the curtain blew, while rain splashed on to the windowsill and the thunder rolled.

This morning the air was cool, there was a soft mist swirling around the train tracks and the sun was shining bright. The air was clean. Everything felt fresh. Today is going to be another hot day,  now I’m from the South, so I’m used to heat, but it even gets me down at times when it is blazing and their is no air-conditioning, it feels as if you can’t get cool, no matter what you do. I told Mr. Michie we might just start eating banana splits for dinner as it is too hot to cook.

I’m so happy that it’s Friday today, I have a few things planned this weekend and I want to get caught up on my laundry, but I plan to just enjoy being. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, wherever you may be.

Just Dance!

It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week and it has just been crawling by. Work is keeping me busy, getting all the studio spaces ready for next year, placing orders and tying up any loose ends. But, I feel that I should be farther in the week than just Wednesday. I’m ready. I’m ready for my summer to begin. I’m ready for that sweet taste of freedom.

I came across this video while reading the news this morning before I left to catch the train. It made me smile. It makes you just want to DANCE! And as it is Wednesday and we are 1/2 way through the week, I think that calls for dancing. I dare you to try and sit still while watching this. I couldn’t, my feet were tapping, my head was bobbing, there might even have been a “jazz hands” moment or two, but I’ll just keep that one to myself.

Enjoy!

We Can Dance – Movie Dance Tribute: Part 3 from Robert Jones on Vimeo.