She's not done yet

Because no one, including J.K. Rowling herself, is quite ready to let go of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of our beloved (and hated) Potter characters, Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon are releasing The Tales of Beedle the Bard – the book Dumbledor willed to Hermione upon his death. Proceeds will go to the Children’s High Level Group (CHLG) charity. This amazing addition to the Potterverse will be available December 4th. Amazon is also selling a leatherbound version for those with a little extra cash lyring around. I unfortunately am not one of those people, but I will be getting my grubby little hands on that standard edition!

When is a cake more than a cake?

When it's made by a bunch of half-crazed carpenters and artists turned bakers. That's when.

For a TV show with such an animatedly loud cast of characters, Ace of Cakes slunk quietly into my life. But now that the Baltimore bakery Charm City Cakes is on my radar, my goal in life is to one day get a Duff Goldman and crew masterpiece. And I'd probably be as girly as the group of librarians who requested that the cavalier, smartass Geoff deliver my cake.

Just spend one half hour on Thursday nights watching Food Network and you’ll be sold on them too.

Let the anticipation begin...

I received an email from Ash first thing this morning which made my day. Probably my week. Maybe even the month.

The Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince teaser-trailer hit the internet. Go watch it. Now. You won't be sorry. It gave me chills. I've watched it twice already and will probably watch it another million times before the day is up. Enjoy!

The family just keeps growing

I received a video today that told me I am going to be an aunt again. (And before you ask, no, it's not Karen.) Skip and Holly are expecting their second child in February. And Skylar is super excited about being a big sis. It'll be hard to see the new addition with them living in Tokyo now, but they'll be in the states for a good long vacation next summer!

A Little Self Esteem Can Do Miracles For Your Love Life

If you have not seen Penelope yet, stop reading this right now, and go see it. (I mean it, stop reading.) This gem of a movie should be on everyone's must-see list. It fits all the best criteria: quirky, heart warming, funny, clever, delightful, fun, entertaining, original. Plus it has Christina Ricci and James McAvoy (Where did he come from by the way? He's popping up all over the place in mega hits this year and setting the acting world on fire. And I love him in this!)

But I digress. Penelope tells the tale of a girl cursed with a pig's snout and hidden from the world by her self-involved mother. The only interaction she is entitled to is with the suitors who are brought into the mansion and forced to sign confidentially agreements to keep the family secret safe. But our little Penelope finally has enough and escapes her prision to have a beer (through a straw) and turns the world's prejudices on its head.

The rapid-fire dialogue between Penelope and Max/Johnnie and their fantastic kiss reminds me why I love well-written characters so much. Give me two people I can care about and it doesn't matter if one of them looks like a porker or not. I just want them to end up happily ever after ("at least so far anyway").

We are the champions...

We came in first tonight. With three perfect rounds at trivia, and one not so perfect round. But all that really matters is that we earned that $30 gift card. Free beer next week!

My Current Life Soundtrack

Mark bought the new Finger Eleven CD a few months ago because he liked Paralyzer and I liked Falling On. But neither one of us had been big fans of the band before (Plead don't get me started on the awefulness that is The One Thing). But somehow this little 42+ minute album has wormed its way into my head and burrowed in for the long haul. And I cannot help but play it. Over and over again. It seems that it's finished as soon as it starts, and by the end, I'm not ready to give it up yet. So I replay. And replay. Until my stereo begs me for something different.

My Secret Blogger Identity

I've been blogging more at work and instead of double posting, I'm just going to link to Talk's blog so that you can read my witty posts direct from the source. The Hellboy and Harry Potter blogs are mine. Couldn't have guessed, could you? (I'm such a dork.)