Fashion Friday

I think NYE is a very overrated holiday. No matter what kind of fabulous-ness you have planned, it always seems like it should be better. The ONE thing I do like about the holiday is it's a chance to be as glam and sparkly as I wish I could be in everyday life. The search for the perfect NYE dress is ON. Of course I had to default to my absolutely favorite site for dresses Spool No. 72 (I fawned over their summer dresses last April). Having to pick a favorite sparkly sequined dress is what I imagine picking a favorite child is like! Here are my front runners in order of current preference:

Which one do you like best? :) Also, my dream shoes: 

And a version for more dressed down days :)

Happy shopping (and holidays)! 

Skyfall Sneak Peek

Last night I was lucky enough to see an early screening of the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall." I am a huge fan of the Bond movies. I've watched almost all of them, including the Timothy Dalton and Roger Moore ones. When Daniel Craig was named the new Bond I was a little worried but so far he's done pretty well. "Casino Royale" was a great addition, which "Quantum of Solace" was forgettable. "Skyfall" is back up to the caliber of "Casino Royale."

Don't worry, there's no spoiler alerts in this review. This vague synopsis is available on many other sites. In this film, M and Bond's relationship is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. You can't be the head of MI6 and not make some enemies along the way. One of the things I really liked about this installment is that it provides more insight into Bond's past than anything ever shown before. You get a quick look at the man behind the martini. It also refreshes some classic characters that are staples in the series. And for long terms Bond fans, they sneak in a couple homages to the early years. I always like to see who the automotive for each Bond movie are. This year it's clearly Range Rover/Jaguar that's to some over-obvious product shots.

Craig is more of a rugged action star than previous Bonds, but he can still pull of a tuxedo. And he actually looks more reliable doing stunts than some of the more suave Bonds, like Brosnan. Dame Judi Dench may be old but she still plays the role of M believably. Ralph Fiennes is an addition to the cast and I hope we get to see more of his character. The bad guy is played by Javier Bardem (don't worry, this is not a spoiler. It's never a mystery and every review talks about this). Bardem's character is one of the creepiest bad guys I've seen in any movie in a long time. This may rival his fantastic and scary role in "No Country For Old Men." They both give me shivers. Definitely go see this one in theaters, especially if you're a Bond or Daniel Craig fan. On that note, I leave you with this wonderful advertising fail and a couple good ones of Mr. Craig:

I Went to a Movie Instead of Watching the Giant's Win the World Series

I went with a longer blog title today but it's something I'm not ashamed to admit. I can't watch 9 innings of baseball unless I'm actually at the game. Baseball is boring. But do I wish I had then gone out for the celebrating and rioting? Oh yes, crazy drunk people are indeed the best part of sports. I like going to day games for baseball because it makes it completely fine to be drunk by noon, sitting outside in the sun. Now that is America's past time.

Anyway, the movie I went to see was "Argo," which has been recommended to me by several friends. Not just any friends but the type of friends where I value their taste and opinions. I enjoy movies rooted in actually history, so this was right up my alley. The movie centers around the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, where a U.S. embassy was taken over in Tehran as a protest to the U.S. harboring their deposed Shah. Everything I've read makes a very clear point to call our that this is "loosely based" on the events that happened surrounding the crisis. If you want specifics on where Hollywood decided to get creative, check out the movie's Wikipedia page. The plot focuses on the CIA's undercover operation to extract 6 embassy employees who escape the raid on the embassy. The title pays homage to the America spy's cover, a casting director for a new sci-fi movie, Argo. Best line of the movie: "Arg go fuck yourself."

The movie is directed by Ben Affleck (who also stars in it). I think people sometimes people forget that Affleck has legitimate film chops, after making a series of movie like "Jersey Girl," "Gigli" and "Daredevil". In the 90s, he appeared on the scene acting in cult movies like Mall Rats and Dazed and Confused. He hit it big when he co-wrote and acted in "Good Will Hunting." He also wrote "The Town," which I actually liked. He co-wrote and co-directed the great film "Gone Baby Gone" which his genius little brother Casey Affleck. One of  the "Argo" producers is George Clooney, so you know the film is going to have some not-so-subtle political moral of the story.

With the clout of Clooney and Affleck, they were able to score some great actors for this film. Highlights include Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, Victor Garber (who walked Affleck's wife Jennifer Garner down the aisle when they got married) and Tate Donovan. However, John Goodman really steals the show. With all the reviews he's getting about his performance I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a Best Supporting Actor nomination out of it. I definitely recommend seeing this movie in theaters.

The first Caturday of November

First, as a goodbye to October a little homage to this spooktacular week: HALLOWEEN LOLCATS!

Moving into November, remember: VOTE LOLCAT

Brought to you by: Cheezburger

The Best & Worst Restaurants of October

October has been a crazy month, as the holiday season starts to kick of. Ugly holiday sweaters are just around the corner! I decided to condense my whirlwind of eating out down to one that blew me away and one that left me disappointed.

Let's start with the good news first. I had a friend* in town two weekend ago and I knew she was adventurous enough to come with me to one of my bucket list restaurants, Bar Crudo. Bar Crudo is located on Divisidero in the heart of NOPA. Bar Crudo serves, as the name suggests, a modern raw bar with only a few cooked dishes. After going a friend was disappointed I didn't get the clam chowder, which according to her is the best clam chowder you'll ever have. However, I am a fan of raw seafood (sushi addict extraordinaire) so I wanted to take full advantage of the raw fare Bar Crudo has to offer. After ordering a refreshing bottle of cava, we started out with a plate of various oysters at the recommendation of our server. They all delivered on their promise and tasted like they'd just come out of the ocean. For our main course we had the crudo sampler for two. The sample included four different kinds of fish: ahi tuna, arctic char, scallop and butterfish. The ahi tuna tasted like poke, with it's sauce of soy, lime, ginger and green onion. The arctic char, which was topped with horseradish creme fraiche, wasabi tobiko and dill. If only I could recreate this, it would be the perfect horderves for parties. The scallop was a nice pop of flavor, with blood orange, olive, fennel and tarragon accouterments. The sampler finished with the butterfish, which I was wary of but was actually delicious. It's a very smooth fish with little flavor, so it was almost like dessert when they served it with apples, pear vinaigrette and beet saffron caviar. We finished our mean with the artisan cheese plate, with fruits, pickles, honey and marmalade for pairing. This may be one of my new favorite restaurants in the city. The space is smaller and minimalistic with pops of interesting sea-related artwork. The kitchen is open so you can see all the fresh fish. The wait staff was very nice and extremely knowledgeable. I can't wait to go back!

The worst restaurant of the month was an unfortunate surprise as it came highly recommended by several foodie friends. It's the Beast & the Hare in Mission on Guerrero, which looks adorable and cozy from the outside. It called itself  an American style restaurant with an emphasis on meat (as the name would suggest). I would more classify it as American with a very strong Italian influence.We started with the avocado toast topper with boquerones. The bread used for the toast was hearty and had a ton of avocado on it. Unfortunately we did not know what boquerones are, which is fresh anchovies marinated in vinegar (a popular tapas in Spain). We then went to a samplers of meats and cheese. We got the coppa (cured pork neck) and the smoked duck, along with the feia (sheep/cow milk, semi-soft, Italian). This came on a plate with pickled vegetables, marmalade and honey. The coppa was "meh" (yes, I'm clearly an eloquent writer). The duck was really good but not what we expected. It was served as more of a paste in a jar. I think what makes the difference if you like or hate this restaurant is the level of service you receive. We had a reservation and got there right on time, but had to stand and wait an additional 30 minutes. The place is super small so you just have to stand in the entry way. A girl at work who liked this restaurant said she had a very informative server, who explained everything on the menu and made recommendations based on their tastes. We had a server who was clearly slammed and spend a brief amount of time with us. That's too bad, as that could have potentially changed my view of this dining experience. 

*Thanks to one of my all-time favorite people Tammy for visiting San Francisco. It was amazing to have you here to adventure with. Thanks for drinking wine and trying acro-yoga in Sonoma, singing Prince songs with Lyft drivers and trying to help your single friend flirt with cute waiters. I miss you already!

Pinterest Inspired Caturday

For more furry funny check out my Furry & Fat Cuteness page on Pinterest (includes more that just cats)!

Sappiness in Yemen

And no, I don't think everyone in Yemen is emo. I'm referring to the movie "Salmon Fishing in Yemen." First off, in case you don't know where Yemen is:

There, now that you've learned something educational from this blog post, let's continue with the movie review. I was excited to see this movie. It received a lot of critic buzz and made the rounds at the 2011 indie film festival circuit  The movie is based on the success novel with the same name by Paul Torday. I haven't read the book but after looking into it, it sounds a lot different than the movie. The book is classified as a political satire and won a prize for comedic writing. I love dry British humor. I think I would have liked this movie a lot more if it had satire. Unfortunately Hollywood decided to turn it into a romantic drama. And that was the beginning of their downfall. The movie stars Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt, two skilled British actors.Their acting abilities did not equal on-screen chemistry. The premise of the movie is that Harriett (Blunt) is trying to help foster Yemen-England relations for her boss but creating a goodwill story. Somehow she decides that the perfect story would be to introduce the sport of salmon fly fishing to Yemen. The movie doesn't provide any background as to where this out-there concept came from. She enlists the non-eager British government expert in salmon fisheries with Asperger's syndrome to help, Fred (McGregor). A Yemen sheikh decides donate millions of pounds to fund this project and bring salmon to the Yemen. This is not an easy task and they go through many hurdles trying to get this up and running. I think that part of the movie is interesting.

The part of the movie I take issue with is the romantic plot line. At the beginning Harriett is dating a solider who gets sent to war, promptly going MIA. Fed is married to a very career-oriented, ambitious woman who's work requires a lot of travel. Seemingly out of nowhere, halfway through the movie, Fred comes to the realization that he's in love with Harriett after his wife approaches him and calls him out on it. Harriett's been a weepy mess because she assumes her MIA boyfriend is probably dead. Instantaneously she returns Fred's affections. I won't spoil the ending even though I think you can guess where this is going. Anyway, the second part of the movie is extremely sappy. I really think they should have left it a political British satire. Rent this one if you want a sappy British love story that makes no sense. Watch "Love Actually" if you want a sappy British move that's actually good.