nerd alert: harry potter world

warning: robert & I are harry potter nerds. we're the annoying type who watch the movies on the first day they're out & subsequently buy them on dvd. or visit platform nine & three quarters in king's cross station on a trip to london. or admit to wanting to be like sirius black (robert). so it was imperative that we take a trip to the wizarding world of harry potter at universal studios. 

this place is pretty magical and the details are just incredible: chocolate frogs in honeyduke's candy shoppe,  moaning myrtle in the bathroom, carts serving butterbeer (insanely sweet but pretty delicious), muggle t-shirts, squealing mandrakes. even employees who tell you that "the ministry requests your signature" when making a credit card purchase. and the best part- the place was filled with even nerdier harry potter fans! people of all ages dining at three broomsticks wearing house robes or scarves or carrying wands around the park, attempting to cast spells. we kind of loved it. 

 {the train to hogwarts}

{"please respect the spell limits"}

 {"anything from the trolley?"}

 {vomit-flavored jelly beans, anyone?}

 {the owl post}

 {the employees ask you if your wand has chosen you yet}

 {animated wanted poster}

 

{we got some delicious pear cider & fish & chips at three broomsticks restaurant}

 {all these potter nerds made me feel quite at home}

lomography prints

remember back in the day, before digital, when our cameras only took film? you would load your camera with film & then take pictures sparingly, not wanting to "waste" it on a shot that wasn't perfect. then, months later, you'd turn the film into walgreens & wait patiently for like a week until it came back from being processed. looking through the photos (you always got doubles, just in case!) was like christmas morning, seeing pictures you had totally forgotten you'd taken.

digital is so instant, it takes away that element of fun & surprise like you get with film. so I was excited when my sis bought me a lomography fisheye camera. I loaded it up with film & took a photo every now and again. well it's been over a year & I finally used up the film last week. I loved looking through all of the photos. I didn't even remember taking this camera to puerto rico!

{bike ride around town}

{one of our favorite couples, bob & reba, on the beach}

{bike ride to our favorite local ice cream shop, the dreamette. the chocolate-dipped cones are amazing!}

{I totally forgot I had taken the lomo to puerto rico!}

{puerto rican flowers}

{me & reba at the beach on our cruisers}

"fra-geee-lay"

I couldn't help myself. because nothing says "merry christmas" like a leg lamp.

inspired by: "cool as ice"

grace at designsponge always does these really great "living in" movie montages (see them all here). they are always based around such sweet & classic movies, like "sixteen candles" & "a league of their own". so when vanilla ice's 1991 movie, "cool as ice", came on tv tonight, I thought it would be the perfect "living in" movie to parody.

I can't quite pinpoint what makes this the worst movie ever. is it the film's catchy tag line: "when a girl has a heart of stone, there's only one way to melt it. just add ice."? or perhaps the oscar-worthy acting (my favorite line: "drop that zero and get wit' a hero."). maybe it's the styling, like ice's puffy jacket with "sex me up" on one sleeve & "down by law" on the other? or the fact the the poor director couldn't book single job for 8 years after this film came out? whatever the case, it will definitely make you laugh... a lot.

the inspiration:

the collection:

soulja sunglasses, $15. nationbuild cap , $28. drakkar noir cologne, $40. workout pants, $35. motorcycle, $9,600. single hoop earring, $18. high top sneakers, $22.

helvetica the documentary

and speaking of helvetica, robert & I watched this really interesting independent documentary (titled "helvetica") about the presence of the helvetica typestyle & the impact its had on our culture. the font is so ubiquitous, yet you probably haven't even realized that some of your favorite brands' logos are set in helvetica.

it's a great film & if you appreciate design & typography, you should definitely add it to your netflix queue.

movie series... alfred hitchcock

robert and I thought it would be fun to do "theme" movie nights & watch some films in a series. for instance, films by the same director, or with the same actor. so we decided to start with hitchcock, the "master of suspense". so far we've watched the following (posters below). some of these films I had seen before, but most of them are new to me. so far, I think north by northwest is favorite.

what is your favorite hitchcock film?