I Re-watched Sex and the City and It Changed How I Feel About Aiden

I’m Stanford!!!! This is the first time I’ve written in months and if you’re wondering why I’m writing this, of all things, I have no answers. I do, kinda, have a reason for this post.

So let’s go back, why am I re-watching Sex and the City for the 16 billionth time? I started listening to this new podcast called The Bradshaw Boys. It’s 3 straight guys watching Sex and the City for the first time (mostly) and then discussing it. Super hilarious and fun, highly recommend. At first, I wasn’t going to go back and watch the series with them since I’d already seen it multiple times. As they started going through the episodes, I really just couldn’t help myself and jumped in around Season 2.

One of the surprising things is the newfound annoyance with Carrie. I mean, come on girl, how are you trying to make this relationship with Big work if you never tell him how you feel about things? Every fight they ever have is about how she needs/wants something from him emotionally and is too scared to ask for it. This leads to her inevitable explosion and makes it a giant deal. I don’t wanna say the Big is innocent here, not at all. Anytime she does finally ask what the deal is, he’s usually super vague. I don’t, by any means, think their relationship is something to strive for. I do, however, get where she’s coming from a little. Personally, I find when I really like a guy; I hate bringing up any relationship talk. If you’ve been dating around a while, you sort of get the clue that when you bring that stuff up, it can blow up in your face. You either hear something you don’t like, or get rejected, and so it ends up just nagging you until you explode. I will say that sometimes when she does explode on him, it gets her the results she was looking for. For instance, when he doesn’t tell her he loves her in Season 2, she gets pissy and leaves him at a party. The next day, he actually says it over the phone. Thus, starting the cycle of silence, fight and reward. This is extremely toxic and pretty immature behavior, but I’ve been there. Should they have ended up together? No. You cant allow someone to treat you a certain way for X amount of months and then be surprised when they don’t get the hint that it’s not actually what you want.

I’ve never really been “big” on Big, but on the “Big vs. Aiden” debacle, I’ve always been Team Aiden. He was so sweet and soon much better than Big! I would argue Carrie was over correcting. By that, I mean she hated how badly she was treated by Big, so she went super left field. She needed the opposite of Big and she definitely got it. I always thought he was great, but in actuality, he’s kinda blah. He’s just there all the time. In her space and her life, but doesn’t really add anything. I don’t think he could ever actually hang out with her and her friends. He immediately tried to change her with the smoking thing. Literally all they do is lounge around her place being boring. We give “nice” guys such a huge pass, simply because they’re nice, but let’s please up the bar ladies. Maybe if we did, there’d be more nice guys to go around! Nice should be base level, what else does he have besides nice? I think Carrie stayed with him half of the time, just because he was nice, and then the rest of the time, just because she felt bad for him because he was nice. Think about when she first said, “I love you” to him. She said it right after he did and she had just cheated on him with Big. She didn’t love him, clearly. Also, they just truly did not mesh well. He didn’t like smokers; he liked the outdoors and loved staying in with his dog. She liked to party, smoke and be glamorous. She literally never went to a single party or outing when they were together, I mean what up with that? At least Big could keep up with her, her friends and her lifestyle. I get it nice is so refreshing. Dating a bunch of crappy dudes will really have you reaching for some boredom in your love life. It’s easier and you think that’ll mean predictability and that it’ll work out better. Spoiler alert, it doesn’t. Nice just translates to “I’m saving myself from getting hurt this time” which isn’t always the case, especially with Carrie.

It’s probably true that every time you watch a series again, you get something different out of it. You hopefully have different experiences all the time, so you watch things though a different perspective. I know Carrie’s overcorrecting because I’ve been there myself. On the Big vs. Aiden thing, I’m neither. I’m more of a Harry-Smith-Steve gal myself.

My Favorite Things in 2018

Does that title rhyme slightly? Just me? Great.

I wanted to do this wrap up of the stuff I really loved this year that I didn’t talk about and/or barely talked about. Sort of like a giant Sunday Summary, A.K.A that thing I don’t do anymore (but can still be viewed if you’re into that).

Best Hair Product of 2018:

The Tragic Before

Technically, this isn’t a product. HOWEVER, I discovered this dry shampoo blow drier trick and it is a game changer. Had bun hair all day and then someone wanted to hangout (and i did not want to have bun hair) so I tried this trick. Here’s the post I did and how it ended up going for me, but spoiler alert, it works.

Best Book in 2018:

If you need to know anything about me, it’s that I love to read. I’ve been slacking slightly with how much, but I’ve been picking up major speed with it lately. I’ve read roughly 20-ish books this year, which is kind of a lot. Trying to narrow it down to the best was hard, but some of the books I read just sort of ran together. Really thinking about doing a monthly post about the books I read the month before (mostly just to push myself to read more). OKAY on to my actual pick: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. I know what you’re thinking “Self-help book? That’s for sad weirdos.” Here’s the thing: You’re right! BUT, I’d argue that everyone is kind of a sad weirdo sometimes! I read this when I really needed something to give me things to do after I quit my job and when I needed a distraction from going down the “what if I have to move home because I can’t find a job” hole. I would honestly read it again, that’s how much I liked it. If you’re stuck in place in your life where you have no idea what you’re doing, read this. If you wanna make a crazy change, read this. It’s 2019, the year of making goals and gettin’ bread—as the memes say, so read it!

Best Makeup Product of 2018:

Okay I almost put something else for this that was expensive and to be fair, very good. I feel that I should instead pay homage to a brand who had my back when I was too broke to go to Sephora and get new stuff. That’s right I’m talking about ELF. You wouldn’t think with $1 brow pencils and $3 concealer would be worth putting on your face. I’m here to tell you, your assumptions are wrong. My brows are perfectly filled and my pores CONCEALED! Was actually not a fan of the bronzer cause it was too glittery for my tastes but that doesn’t mean it’s not quality! Okay done with my spiel.

Best Skincare Product of 2018:

Spoiler alert it’s like 2 dollars. Spoiler alert again, it’s lemon juice. I started using it and it felt like a miracle. Then I stopped for a few weeks recently, because I’m skeptical person and sometimes I don’t feel like buying lemons ya know. Started using them again and wow I forgot how good they are. My skin just has so much less redness and blackheads! It’s so great and so cheap.

Best Movie of 2018:

I know you all want me to say A Star is Born, but I’m sorry I can’t. The music is amazing, yes. Bradley Cooper is hot, yes. I absolutely knew what was gonna happen at the end and so I didn’t like it as much. Maybe if there was a world with no spoilers and people wouldn’t have talked about how amazing it was and subsequently ruining it. I also really don’t watch movies in theaters that much. I’ve seen maybe 3 movies this entire year, so I fell like I can’t say what the best movie this year is. I can say what the best movie I saw this year. It’s not new, it’s just new to me. Okay, it’s Steel Magnolias. This is a weird pick for me, since every time anyone would bring this up I’d immediately think “How can that be good? It sounds so corny.” It was on Netflix a few months back and it was a rainy Saturday, so I thought I’d give it a try. It’s set in a small town in Louisiana—hence the name. The thing about movies centered around the South is they’re always over exaggerated. Every other word is “crawfish” or “gumbo” or “pea-can pie!” I get it, its a movie, but that why I never really like them. This one doesn’t do that. Overall, its pretty reflective of life in smaller southern town and I loved it. I cried, I laughed and now I know why it wont so many awards. It’s not on Netflix anymore, but find it somewhere because it’s so good.

Best Show of 2018:

Okay this is so hard because I’ve seen so many good shows this year, but there’s only one that filled me with the most joy every time I turned it on: The Great British Baking Show. Am I late to this game? I really don’t know but this show is so good. I really loved watching to the point of watching two seasons in a about a week. I did it in a weird way where I watched seasons 5 & 6 first and in my humble opinion, those are the best seasons. After that, they change the hosts and Prue isn’t one of the judges and I need her color coordination in my life. I love the accents, the stuff they come up with and  Paul Hollywood is a cutie, I’m just gonna throw it out there. Really into shows that make me laugh and aren’t super dramatic lately and this one definitely fill that for me. I even watched it twice, so if you haven’t yet, here’s your notification.

Best Clothing Purchase of 2018:

This was the year I bought so many clothes, it’s obnoxious. Trying to “re-vamp” my wardrobe and also buying things for a 9-5 job was tough. I think the best purchase and the thing I got the most use out of were my Lululemon leggings. As you know, I’m more of a quantity over quality gal. Trends come and go a lot for me to be buying something that I may not wear in a few years that costs an arm and a leg. Also let’s keep it real, I’m still washing my clothes in a laundry mat for god’s sake. I’m in no place to be buying anything over 50 bucks. I completely believe in a good splurge for things that may be expensive, but you’ve been lusting after for a while. Hence, my purchase of these leggings. I really wanted to see if they are so different from the $20 Forever 21 leggings and I’m here to say yes they are. They fit like a glove, the length is always perfect (aka no bunching at the bottom) and they stay in place when I’m running. I still only have one pair so far, but 2019 I’ll be getting some more and really coming into my basic white girl form.

Best Workout of 2018:

 

So, I’m splitting this up by home workout and workout class, okay great:

Best home workout is always Tabata with Raneir Pollard hands down. He’s so fun and at the same time, the workout is always intense. It’s always my Monday go to for a good strong beginning to my week. Also, they just uploaded a new one!

Best workout class I’ve been to in the city is Yoga sculpt at Corepower yoga. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, If I were a richer woman, I’d be doing yoga twice a week at minimum. This particular class is not only yoga, but a little bit of cardio to satisfy my needs. They have them all over, so check them out if they’re near you!

 

Cheers to 2019! Can’t wait to make many more posts and let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see more of on the blog 🙂

5 Netflix Original Christmas Movies From Worst to Best

 If you’re traveling home for the holidays, your mom probably still has a bunch of DVDs of old as hell Christmas movies you liked when you were like, 7. Netflix is the easiest way to watch movies, these days. No sifting through a million DVDs and starts in mere seconds. While packing and avoiding said packing, I binge a few of these Netflix original Christmas movies. Could they be more corny than Hallmark movies?? Let’s start with number 5:

Christmas Wedding Planner

The gist:

Kelsey plans a Christmas Eve wedding for her best friend and cousin Emily. Trouble ensues when Emily’s ex boyfriend Connor shows up.

Why it’s the worst:

Not even 15 minutes into this movie I said, out loud, “Can I even get through this?” We hear the main character’s inner monologue constantly and it is nauseating. She’s extremely huffy, scatter-brained and says things like “I am a fierce warrior!” to herself. This can’t even be described as corny, it’s just bad. I felt like I was watching a bad scripted reality show. Joey Fatone makes a random appearance and he’s probably the only decent thing in this movie. The ending is the most terrible thing ever. I feel like they got sick of filming it and said “Let’s just wrap this up and make it happy as quickly as possible.” Please save yourself life is too short to watch this movie. Watch the video below but there’s spoilers (but really who cares about spoilers for this movie).

The Princess Switch

The gist:

Baker goes to a foreign country for a baking competition and meets a princess who looks exactly like her. They decide to switch lives because the princess wants to be normal for a few days. Trouble ensues.

Why its #4:

This movie made absolutely no sense.  These two people look exactly alike, but no relation. Uh, yeah sure, Jan. They threw in the obvious necessary tropes such as: “too smart for her own good little kid”, “foreign person who has to have a fake British accent because no one can do any other accents”. Vanessa Hudgens was such a random choice for this movie, but after watching it, I could not tell you what else I’ve seen her in besides High School Musical. Like no shade, but how is she still famous? Also another movies where all 17 loose ends got tied up in the last 7 seconds of the movie. Not the worst thing i’ve ever seen, but still up there.

Christmas Inheritance

The gist:

Rich party girl goes to the small town where her father’s multi-million dollar company got started. Trouble ensues. 

Why it’s #3:

This one wasn’t too bad really. Here’s a small snippet of the script(not really but you get me)

“This is a small town lil lady!”

“Sorry I’m rich and I don’t get it”

“I’m being an asshole guy because I like you!”

Also see: Undercover Boss and The Simple Life starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Riche. Super folksy, not too bad. Got through it very painlessly and almost kinda cute. 

 A Christmas Prince

The gist:

Girl tries to get a story on the Prince of Aldovia. She’s mistaken for his little sister’s new Nanny. Trouble ensues. 

Why it’s #2:

If you’re a new follower and haven’t been acquainted with my scathing review of this movie please enjoy. It’s a bit of a messy post since it’s one of the older ones, but worth it, I think. It’s definitely a love-to-hate-it type movie. Hallmark style corny featuring all the classics: mean-but-misunderstood-little girl, playboy-prince-with-an-actual-heart-of-gold, different-from-all-the-other-girls- girl complete with “takes off glasses and now she’s pretty” makeover. A must-see if you haven’t yet and yes I will be doing a review of the second movie because how could I not?

The Christmas Chronicles

The gist:

Two siblings stay up late on Christmas Eve to catch Santa on video while their mom is working late. Trouble ensues.

Why it’s the best:

This right here? My kind of Christmas movie! Think Santa Clause 1 and add troublesome Charlie from the Santa Clause 2 and subtract annoying whiney Charlie and add cool little girl. Just the right amount of corny and funny, I definitely cried( I cry at almost everything now but still). Kurt Russel was so good and snarky (Tim Allen Santa vibes) even Goldie Hawn makes an appearance! If you wanna spice up your Christmas movie watch list, please add this. I loved it, 10/10.