Moonrise Kingdom: An Afternoon at the Movies

I went to see the new Wes Anderson film Moonrise Kingdom at the Nickelodeon in Columbia, SC. If you have never been to the Nick then now is the time! They will be showing Moonrise Kingdom until the July 26th so go now. On a side note they also showed a trailer for Safety Not Guaranteed and it looked good too, it starts playing in August.

The Nickelodeon is a non-profit theater playing many independent films that usually aren't played in larger theaters. The small theater seats 75, and concessions are dirt cheap compared to the big chain theaters. Better yet they serve wine and beer! The $2.50 bag of popcorn was so good my mom and I finished it before the movie even started! My mom and I ordered a double glass of wine, 2 medium bags of popcorn, a large drink, and two movie tickets for under $30. This theater really is a great deal and offers a cozy movie watching experience.

As for the movie, it was a quirky fantasy just like all the Wes Anderson films I love. The audience really reacted to a dozen different funnies thrown into the story. The main characters Suzy and Sam run away together and the town joins together to find them. The combination of imagery, music, acting, and storyline ties together so well into an amazing movie I want to watch over and over.

Mermaid Tears Purse is Complete

My Mermaid Tears Purse is finally finished! You can get the pattern for free here at the Bernat yarn website. It is rated as intermediate but I thought it was really easy. I did modify the strap making it a cross body bag. To do this I just chained 13, slip stitch to first chain, and single crochet in the round, creating a tube. I would suggest making the strap 1/2 a foot shorter than you think it needs to be because once you put stuff in the bag it pulls it down. These photos are with the bag empty. As I mentioned in a earlier post I used sugar & cream yarn from Michael's and peaches & cream yarn from Wal-mart. If you have any questions let me know!! I really loved making this bag and I've been using it for a few days and its great.

Hunter-Gatherer Brewery & Alehouse in Columbia, SC

Lamb Gyro

This past weekend I went to see Moonrise Kingdom in Columbia, SC at the Nickelodeon. After the movies my mom, her two friends and I ran across the street to Hunter-Gatherer . The atmosphere was woodsy and cozy with the scent of barley in the background. Seating arrangements were so pretty, every table was unique. Between the four of us we ordered the hummus platter, lamb gyro, HG burger, and HG BLT, and tuna steak. The hummus platter was delicious and we ate it as an appetizer. It came with warm, soft pita, large, thin carrot slices, and celery sticks. The hummus was pretty generic but tasted very fresh. I ordered the lamb gyro. On the menu there is a choice of lamb, chicken, or portobello. The pita was similar to the type served with the hummus plate. I loved the gyro and I've been craving another ever since!! All of the veggies were cut just to the right size, the lamb was yummy, and the tzatziki was fresh. It came with a greek salad with plenty of goat cheese, and wonderful crisp lettuce. My mom ordered the HG Burger with pimento cheese. She said it tasted like it was grilled outside on a charcoal grill. Another friend ordered the BLT. She said it was a big disappointment, the lettuce was soft and wilted like they had thrown the entire sandwich on the grill. The tuna steak was one of the night's specials. I sampled some of it and it was amazing!! Perfectly cooked and seasoned on a bed of garlic green beans. I totally am in love with Hunter-Gatherer and I want to go on a date night there with the boyfriend ASAP.

I WILL do this stuff!

Okay, so I know everybody has that stuff they want to do before they do and places they wanna go... well I'm no different! Duh, I know everyone wants to travel and experience the world and blah blah blah. But, I don't want to just talk about it so I am going to tell all of yall about them (; That way I'll have to do it, right? haha! okay so here's the list, in no particular order: (obvy there's gonna be too many to actually do but what's life w/out dreams??... ) oh and I'll keep the list coming, and feel free to add suggestions!


1) Caño Cristales, a river in Colombia’s Sierra de la Macarena.

2)  Bridges Park, Ireland 

3) Giethoorn in Holland

(Village with no roads!?)

4) Lalibella's Rock- Ethiopia (churches hand-carved from stone) 

5) Hollywood (:

(preferably behind the scenes...so awesome)

 

The Best of Buddha

My favorite Buddha: Quotes, Sayings, Teachings:

1) There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth;  

    not going all the way, and not starting.

2) Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, 

    and the life of the candle will not be shortened. 

    Happiness never decreases by being shared.

3) You will not be punished for your anger,

    you will be punished by your anger.

4) Do not believe in anything because you have heard it

  Do not believe in anything because it is spoken by many.

  Do not believe in anything because it is written in religious books. 

  Do not believe in anything on the authority of your teachers.

  Do not believe in traditions just because they have been handed down.

5) Friendship is the only cure for hatred, the only guarantee of peace.

6) If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.

7) We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. 
    With our thoughts, we make our world.


8) Love can never possess. Love is giving freedom to the other. Love is an unconditional gift, it is not a 
    bargain. 


9) The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear. 


And my very favorite... 

10) You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

I hope yall enjoy these as much as I do. I will put up a few every week because reading these always makes my day better :)

XoXo, 

Douglas

Mermaid tears Purse photo update

It's growing! Check back for more photos

Mermaid Tears Crochet Purse

I have been working on a pattern I found on raverly.com that came from the Bernat site. It is called the mermaid tears purse. I have seen a lot of pins on Pinterest with the scale-like crochet pattern. It is so simple, just a bunch of double crochet!!!

I started using yarn from Michael's (sugar and cream by Lily) but 2 skeins didn't get me far, I had to buy 3 more from Walmart. I had no idea that they carried a totally different brand called peaches and cream!!! Sugar and cream is $1.99 a skein at Michael's and peaches and cream is $1.77 at Walmart. The sugar and cream is so much softer and silkier and I think they have better more "useable" colors. I was surprised that the aqua blues are almost identical. But the sugar and cream yarn is so much more
superior in texture.