Reading & Watching....

I've been watching a lot of movies as I finished up Wilderness Doodles.

Bill Cunningham recently passed away at 87. He was a NYTimes Fashion photographer. Watch his documentary. He was so interesting. RIP Bill. Here here is his obit.

Another great is Iris Apfel. She is the grand dame of style. You can watch her documentary on Netflix streaming.

Here is some light and fun Summer reading choices for you.

A sparkling talent makes her fiction debut with this infectious novel that combines the charming pluck of Eloise, the poignant psychological quirks of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and the page-turning spirit of Where’d You Go, Bernadette.

Reclusive literary legend M. M. “Mimi” Banning has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion for years. But after falling prey to a Bernie Madoff-style ponzi scheme, she’s flat broke. Now Mimi must write a new book for the first time in decades, and to ensure the timely delivery of her manuscript, her New York publisher sends an assistant to monitor her progress. The prickly Mimi reluctantly complies—with a few stipulations: No Ivy-Leaguers or English majors. Must drive, cook, tidy. Computer whiz. Good with kids. Quiet, discreet, sane.

When Alice Whitley arrives at the Banning mansion, she’s put to work right away—as a full-time companion to Frank, the writer’s eccentric nine-year-old, a boy with the wit of Noel Coward, the wardrobe of a 1930s movie star, and very little in common with his fellow fourth-graders.

As she slowly gets to know Frank, Alice becomes consumed with finding out who Frank’s father is, how his gorgeous “piano teacher and itinerant male role model” Xander fits into the Banning family equation—and whether Mimi will ever finish that book.

Full of heart and countless “only-in-Hollywood” moments, Be Frank with Me is a captivating and unconventional story of an unusual mother and son, and the intrepid young woman who finds herself irresistibly pulled into their unforgettable world. - Harper Colins

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down” (Booklist, starred review). Simon and Schuster

Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal…
A murder…a tragic accident…or just parents behaving badly?  
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. But who did what?

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive. Penguin Random House

Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a nineteen-year-old waitress as his passenger. The ensuing accident has endangered the Plumbs' joint trust fund, “The Nest,” which they are months away from finally receiving. Meant by their deceased father to be a modest mid-life supplement, the Plumb siblings have watched The Nest’s value soar along with the stock market and have been counting on the money to solve a number of self-inflicted problems.

Melody, a wife and mother in an upscale suburb, has an unwieldy mortgage and looming college tuition for her twin teenage daughters. Jack, an antiques dealer, has secretly borrowed against the beach cottage he shares with his husband, Walker, to keep his store open. And Bea, a once-promising short-story writer, just can’t seem to finish her overdue novel. Can Leo rescue his siblings and, by extension, the people they love? Or will everyone need to reimagine the futures they’ve envisioned? Brought together as never before, Leo, Melody, Jack, and Beatrice must grapple with old resentments, present-day truths, and the significant emotional and financial toll of the accident, as well as finally acknowledge the choices they have made in their own lives.

This is a story about the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down. In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love. - Google

That is what I am reading and watching, anything good you have to share?

accessorizing, organizing, watching, cooking

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We get a lot of guests. And some are more rewarding than others. Last week Justine and her daughter Kenalee came for a last minute overnighter. Justine was running in RAGNAR. As a thank you gift Justine gave me this set of her grandmother's pearls. This is completely excessive on so many levels. Too think she would give me something so personally meaningful. I am touched beyond words. And the fact that I really do like pearls, but only special pearls. I have my lovely 10th Anniversary pearls. I have my mother's wedding pearls and now these.

 

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This is the Summer of skirts and some new bigger accessories for me. The long R necklace came from the Velvet Button Boutique on Monroe St. And looks great with grandma's pearls. And I got all these new earrings on etsy. I searched retro, mod, 60s, 70s... Some actually are from the 70s!

 

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I am always decluttering and on a quest for more organization. I found 14 of these ceramic dishes at commercial kitchen supply store. Since I have 8 of these small drawers in my office they are a find. I also found out that I have way more black pens than I ever thought. But now I will use them instead of buying yet another box.

 

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Season 3 is coming soon! Airs June 28 - August 2.

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And Orange is the new Black is what I am watching this week as I work on "Dear Rae". Well that, and I am rewatching Gilmore Girls. An interesting combination for my work day. Finished "Grace and Frankie" and am glad it was renewed for next year.

 

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Made these Salsa Verde Enchiladas this week. Very good. Got a rotisserie chicken at Costco. My first and it was really big and had more then enough chicken for this recipe. This will be a do-over recipe. Next time I may try and use a crunchier tortilla. But made according to the recipe it is gluten-free.

 

2 books and 1 movie

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I won't even go on about how cold it is in Wisconsin. We know it is cold everywhere. I say stay in and read and watch movies! Here are 2 books by Ruth Ozeki that I just read. And enjoyed both. She has another book that is now on my list.

A teenage girl in Tokyo sees no escape from the bullyingof her classmates, and her sense of isolation is deepened by an unhappy family life. Before she takes her own life, Nao is determined to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who is more than one hundred years old. Nao finds comfort in writing in her diary, addressing an imagined reader and friend.

On the other side of the Pacific, Ruth, a novelist living on a small island off the coast of British Columbia, finds a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the beach—possibly debris from the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. Inside is Nao's diary, and Ruth becomes obsessed with finding out how the story ends. - Wikipedia

 

 

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Odd name, but another good read.

Jane Takagi-Little is a Japanese American journalist who is hired to work for a Japanese production company. The company works with BEEF-EX to promote the use of American beef in Japan by creating a Japanese television show called "My American Wife." Jane works as the host and creative producer for the show, on which every week an American wife is shown living "her life" and cooking meat.

Parallel to Jane's story is the life of Akiko Ueno, a former manga artist who specialized in horror scenes and is reluctantly married to a man working for BEEF-EX. Her husband cares only that Akiko has a baby and forces her to watch "My American Wife" and cook the recipes, believing that it will allow her to conceive. However, as Akiko's independence and sense of self grows from watching the show and cooking for her husband, her complacent life and relationship with her husband becomes volatile. - Wikipedia

 

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And then there is this little sleeper movie. We watch a Netflix movie for 10 minutes and move on if it doesn't hold our attention. It is streamable, give it 10 and see what you think.

In a bungled plot to pay back her husband's infidelity, a jilted wife finds herself forced to star as King Lear in a spectacularly terrible production, with her husband's younger lover playing the role of the king's fool.

Stay in. Stay warm. And soon Winter will be half over. I hope.

 

beauty is embarassing by wayne white

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If you like contemporary art, puppets, Peewee Herman or quirkiness you will probably enjoy this documentary Beauty is Embarrassing by Wayne White.

We watched it on Netflix, it is streamable. They say... Get to know Wayne White, one of America's most unusual and arresting artists, with this snappy documentary that traces the ups and downs of his career. The jovial White discusses his art, strums the banjo, plays with puppets and simply enjoys life.

Cast: Wayne White, Mimi Pond, Woodrow White, Lulu White, Gary Panter, Mark Mothersbaugh, Ric Heitzman, Billie June White, Willis White, Paul Reubens, Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, Matt Groening, Todd Oldham, Paul Zaloom
It was a delightful surprise.

slings and arrows

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we like to have a series that we are watching. That way is there is nothing on we can just watch the next one in the queue. This one does not disappoint. There are 18 episodes, 3 seasons.

Slings and Arrows is a Canadian TV series set at the fictional New Burbage Festival, a Shakespearean festival similar to the real-world Stratford Festival.

The blackly comic series first aired on Canada's Movie Central and The Movie Network channels in 2003, and received acclaim in the United States when it was shown on the Sundance Channel two years later. Three seasons of six episodes each were filmed in total, with the final season airing in Canada in the summer of 2006 and in the United States in early 2007.

Review

"A winner: funny, touching" -- E! Online

"Achieves perfect pitch with its mix of dark wit and drama" -- The Washington Post

"One of my all-time favorite television series. Filled with irreverent, hilarious dialogue and heart-felt performances" -- TVGuide.com

"Sophisticated and cutting yet sincere...A" -- TIME Magazine

4 of 5 stars. -- Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 2007

An exceptionally well crafted, beautifully nuanced and wonderfully smart series. -- San Francisco Chronicle

Backstage masterpiece this one-in-a-million TV show. -- The Phoenix, July 2007

Charming and complex and lovely. -- The New York Times

EW Pick...A -- Entertainment Weekly

Funny, tragic and exhilarating, "Slings" memorably celebrates the nobility of human dreams and the intoxicating impact of live theater. -- Newsday, July 2007

(Thanks Laurie, this is as enjoyable as you said it would be.)

A Cat in Paris & Giveaway

 

loved the illustration style and use of color in this little animated film. And it happens in Paris, always a big bonus for me. This is streamable on Netflix.

In this Oscar-nominated animated feature, little Zoe discovers that her cat, Dino, moonlights as the companion to Nico, a burglar with a heart of gold. Soon Zoe is drawn into a thriller filled with gangsters, jewels and the rooftops of Paris. - Netflix

As you know Zinio is giving me 10 free digital magazine subscriptions. You can take a peek here at www.zinio.com.

If you would like to get in on the giveaway you need to do 2 things.

1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/outsidethelinefonts

2. Share this post.

I’ll choose one winner daily and contact you through Facebook.

Each person can only win one magazine but you can up your chances by entering daily.

Enjoy and Happy Holidaze!

doc martin

This Doc Martin...

Not my new shoes (Dr. Martens)... OK that was just a chance to show off my new shoes... but aren't these fun? Last year I got the black and white polka dot pair. But I digress.

If you like British TV you may like Doc Martin. Shortly they are starting their 6th season so there is lots to watch. I think this is what I will watch next week as I start to draw my flower border font. I like having something streaming on my computer as I draw.

You can stream the 39 shows. There are 2 feature length movies that are prequels. I would recommend watching those first as they set up the show. Those are on disk though.

Crippled by a sudden -- and altogether inconvenient -- fear of blood, flashy surgeon Dr. Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes) abandons his bustling London practice and sets up shop as a country doctor in this medically minded British sitcom. At first, he's a source of irritation for the ailing locals, including a pretty teacher (Caroline Catz) who catches his eye. But it doesn't take long for the quirky community to feel like home. - Netflix

(Thanks Chris!)

chalk artist Dana Tanamachi

Brooklyn-based chalk-lettering designer and graphic artist Dana Tanamachi is definitely someone to watch.

I am amazed at her work and would LOVE to paint the back of our front door with black chalk paint but I absolutely HATE the feel of chalk on a surface. I don't even like how chalk feels against my fingers. But it is wonderful to see someone use this medium so beautifully.

Go here and be prepared to swoon at all the lovely chalk typography. http://www.danatanamachi.com/chalk/

(Thanks Nancy!)