Ten Nice Things You Can Do For Someone Else

• Make a crossword puzzle with all of your inside jokes with this Crossword Puzzle Maker! Super easy and there are tons online to search from. You could also do a Word Search. 

• Send a homemade card or letter to his or her address, even if you live together - because everyone loves to get mail! I made this one for a friend's valentine. He loves Chopped on Food Network!

• Plan a surprise day trip to somewhere they like to go and tell them what they should wear and bring that morning -- Ideas that are nice are apple picking, going to a special hike or forest, antiquing, walk the ocean!

• Make a favorite snack or drink as a surprise treat on a random week night.

• If you live with the person, draw a hot bath and a cup of tea for when they get home. Candles are not optional.

• Make a collage like you used to in middle school with clippings of his or her favorite celebrities OR a magazine article in Publisher. I made this one for my BFF's bridal shower.

• Write a funny note and hide it somewhere for them to find at a later date. I've hidden some in the microwave!

• Massages, foot rubs, and head rubs are always nice :-)

• Have an early movie date when it's cheaper and sneak in donuts and coffees. You just need a big bag and good balance. You have the whole day ahead of you after!

Fold his or her laundry... everyone hates folding laundry.

The Rise of the Tall, Blond Viking

Have you noticed how many male celebrities are tall, blond and handsome? I have. It's scary how much they look alike. Since I have journeyed from adolescence into womanhood, there have been several hot male stereotypes- such as...

• The Pirate

• Hipster Lumberjack

• Abercrombie Model

• Boy Band Member w/Frosted Tips 

• Prepster 

• Grungy/Dirty Hipster 

As you can see, I have no shortage of examples of male hottie trends. But now, it is time to move on to the look de jour and one I personally feel is timeless. 

The Tall, Blond Viking

The Viking stereotype, as I am defining it, is a man who is tall with broad shoulders, a ripped body, long, blond hair, and blue eyes. He has to be handsome, but rugged and not a "pretty boy". So someone like Chris Pine would be out because of that. 

The characters they play have to be rugged as well. They also have to be natural leaders, strong on the battlefield, faithful to their people, and a hot lover.

Let the dreaming begin, right?

Below I have three current actors who fit the bill. The idea came to me when I thought about just how similar they all look.

Chris Hemsworth

It is no surprise that this actor actually plays Thor, god of thunder. 

Charlie Hunnam

Jax Teller! He definitely looks like a viking and is featured in a King Arthur flick as, you guessed it, King Arthur. He has that not-of-this-time vibe and looks that can kill.

Travis Fimmel

This actor actually PLAYS a viking. I don't know what came first, the chicken or the egg, but Travis could be Charlie's twin. The similarities are out of control.

I AM SERIOUSLY hoping that this trend is here to stay. Give me long blond hair, a great body, and piercing blue eyes ANY DAY.

Five Ways Dawson's Creek Ruined Us

5.) Your boyfriend will not restore a boat for you, name it "True Love", and take you away for the summer on it.

4.) Your childhood and adolescence will never be woven into a successful television series.

3.) "Kiss The Rain" will not play as you kiss your high school crush. 

2.) No man will ever brush your hair at a ski getaway, followed by romantic first-time sex. 

1.) No man will ever buy you a wall.

Halloween Double Feature Ideas

A few weeks ago I posted about a Movie Bingo Party night for you and your friends, but wanted to include some details I had used for my own Halloween/Horror themed bash.

Instead of letting my friends vote on the two films, I just picked two on my own. I wanted to pick a scarier one to show first, followed by something more creepy and Science Fiction. Depending on the palates of your guests, you might want to do it this way, too. I have a few friends who are a... 

I also created different Bingo sheets for these based on general horror themes and also the movies. My friends tend to get way too competitive, so I need to work on making my choices more obscure and harder to get.

If you want more details, go to my original post: Bingo Movie Party <3

Horror/Halloween Movie Ideas:

• The Fly

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre

• Rosemary's Baby

• The Shining

• Last House on the Left

• The Evil Dead

• Funny Games

• The Descent 

• Halloween

• The Exorcist

• The Blair Witch Project

• Psycho

• Bride of Frankenstein 

• Alien

Awkward Crushes- Five Celebrities I Find Oddly Attractive

5. Adam Goldberg

This one started after watching Two Days in Paris with Julie Delpy. I have a thing for funny dudes. I also follow Adam on Instagram and occasionally comment- I like his photography. He's a great actor, but not so high up on the celebrity totem pole that I don't stand a chance... right? 

Best Works: Fargo (TV Series), The Hebrew Hammer, Two Days in Paris, A Beautiful Mind

4. Jason Schwartzman 

Rushmore, man. Any character with that attention to detail has the potential to be a male suitor of mine. He always makes me laugh and he is so uniquely good looking. 

Best Works: Everything with Wes Anderson.

3. Louis C. K.

He's probably the funniest guy on television and seems so down-to-earth that I can't help but be in love with him a little bit. He's a ginger, balding, and has a little bit of a belly-- but I don't care. He seems like he would be a tender lover and a good friend.

2. Richard Dreyfuss

Ever since Jaws, I have had a crush on Dreyfuss. I've watched most of his movies and even find myself looking forward to hearing his maniacal laugh. Not exactly a dreamboat, but something about him always draws me in. Maybe it's because he is the only cute actor in Jaws and I loved it so much I had to have a crush on someone?

Best Works: American Graffiti, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Apartment, Jaws, Mr. Holland's Opus, What About Bob, Stakeout

1. Adam Scott

My ultimate weird crush. This one started after watching The Vicious Kind with R.K. Simmons and Brittany Snow. I identified with the character, in a strange way of course I am not really like that character at all, and found myself more and more drawn to Scott. Most recently I watched The Overnight with Scott and Schwartzman together (picture below), which made me seriously consider the implications of sex with friends. 

Best Works: Step Brothers, The Vicious Kind, The Overnight, Parks and Recreation, Party Down

_______________________________________________________________________

My ideal afternoon.

Fall is in the Air

Things to Look Forward to Now That Fall is on the Horizon...

I am a bit of a Summer girl, living on the coast of New England... actually I am a huge SEASON girl. I love looking forward to each season and the special feelings it conjures, the way it grounds you and helps you look forward to the things that come. Seasons give us an opportunity to revisit old feelings that we have about the past and to remind us of the relationship between seasons, ourselves, and the world around us.

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

Fluttering from the Autumn tree."

Emily Brontë

• Sleeping through the night comfortably with the windows open and a light blanket across you.

• Warm, luxurious baths.

• Apples, pumpkins, squash, and stew.

• Football.

• Hot toddies, cider, pumpkin beer, stouts, and scotch.

• Fireplaces.

• Halloween & Thanksgiving.

• Foliage.

• Sweatshirts, jackets, sweaters, scarfs, boots, and hats. 

• Reminding ourselves that all that dies is reborn again, like the leaves on trees or the grain we harvest.

Shemp's Top Ten Super Nintendo Games of All Time

10. Aladdin

This whimsical video game, filled with shiny gems to collect, passwords, and scary bosses was one of my absolute favorites. After the success of Aladdin, this video game allowed kids to really live out their Agrabah fantasies. 

9. Donkey Kong Country: Diddy Kong's Quest

This was the follow up to Donkey Kong Country, sans Donkey Kong. The introduction of Dixie Kong and her amazing helicopter ponytail made for a fun game with two cooperative characters with their own skills. Being able to switch between Dixie and Diddy made the game fun and added an extra strategic element. The graphics are absolutely fantastic, with bright lights and quirky lands. 

8. Street Fighter II

This is probably my favorite two person fighting game, although it was hard not to put Mortal Kombat on this list. Each fighter has his or her own special characteristcs and we know that we all had our favorites. I was either Zangief, Chun Li, or E. Honda. 

7. Yoshi's Island

Touch fuzzy, get dizzy! Man was this Mario game even more trippy than some of its predecessors. As a kid I loved it because it is just so adorable. Yoshi carrying around a baby Mario, shooting eggs and collecting flowers? What could be cuter?

6. Earthworm Jim

This game was nasty and I loved it. I miss whipping Jim's head at enemies or shooting them with the blaster. 

5. Super Mario World

What a world... so much to explore; hidden lands, bosses, secret passageways, colored blocks, two brothers eating mushrooms and going up and down pipes! This game took what had already been introduced in previous Mario's and added color and pizzazz. 

Each boss is a challenge and fun to beat, leading up to Bowser and his strange world with AMAZING thematic music. And the ghost houses that pop up always get to me! 

4. Super Castlevania IV

Dracula, here we come! Despite the simplicity of the controller, i.e. walk, jump, whip, this game was very difficult! The slightest mistake would result in plummeting down and having to start ALL OVER AGAIN.

But I found myself addicted to the simplicity, the macabre visuals, and the music. This is a great game. 

3. Donkey Kong Country

This game, like the one above, took a previous game and just set it on fire. This one has so many amazing bonus levels and creative bosses. The music, like all of these games really, is so fun to listen to as you go through.

Although it does not have some of the options that Diddy Kong's Quest does, like putting the other character on your shoulders and throwing him or her, you can still switch off and get the benefits of both Diddy and Donkey as they try to search for his lost banana hoard. The bonus rounds collecting golden miniatures of the different animals you can play is a huge plus!

2. Super Metroid

This game is an addiction of mine. I have played this game many, many times. Each time I try to shave a few minutes off and collect every possible energy tank. This is a solo-player game, where the main character basically kills all of the aliens while acquiring different tools and gadgets in a very deliberate order.

Why is this game so good?

The music and graphics are great for this time. It is difficult at times... but not so difficult that you wonder if there are glitches in the game or throw your controller at the television. Samus is cool too and maybe every once in a while I die just on purpose to get a view at what is under that suit.

1. Chrono Trigger

I think that this video game would make an incredible film interpretation. Crono is set off on a journey to save the world by going through time. As the story unfolds you discover that perhaps there is an entity making these events happen and perhaps it is not so random. As you go through time you are still in the same world, seeing how the decisions of the future and the past affect Guardia and the surrounding lands. Hell, you get to see the advent of magic in my favorite level --> Zeal.

There is strategy, compelling stories, great bosses, and the opportunity to play it over and over again, continuing with what you had gathered the previous game (New Game Plus). 

Each character in your team has their own magical set of skills or physical skills and three team members go off each time. 

           Ayla        Frog       Lucca      Crono        Marle      Robo      Magus