Perfectly Portman

Good morning lovelies! Hope you all had a warm and merry holiday weekend and are now gearing up to push through this last week of 2010. I spent my weekend with family, eating lots, baking, and catching up on some reading. This morning I woke up to news of Natalie Portman's engagement AND pregnancy, featured on my Yahoo homepage, and I have to say (as lame as it may sound now) it did get me just a little bit giddy with excitement. I adore Natalie (Garden State will always be one of my all-time favorites), and though I have yet to see Black Swan, I can't tell you how excited I am about it. Needless to say, I think it's so, so cute that she is expecting. And so, amid such sweet news, I thought it'd be appropriate to feature Natalie's January Vogue cover and a couple of pictures from the spread. As always, she is looking picture perfect and completely elegant. She looks stunning in soft, girly pink on the cover but what I loved the most were the two ballet-inspired photos in the spread (click the image to get a closer look). They have this hauntingly beautiful quality about them that just captivates you and pulls you in. Love it!

What are your thoughts? On Natalie, the film (no spoilers please!), these photos, her big news...? Let me know in comments! xo

images via popsugar.com

Picture Perfect

Can I just say how excited I was when I came across the October cover of W Magazine with Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling? While I absolutely adore them both individually, I also loved seeing pictures of them together promoting their upcoming flick, Blue Valentine, at various film festivals and whatnot. They just make such an incredibly attractive pair! I'm excited to see how their chemistry pans out on the big screen for sure; the film is about a young couple dealing with their marital problems. Apparently, the plot chronicles the relationship from its very exciting, early stages all the way to where the honeymoon phase dies out and the two start butting heads. At any rate, I have to say that Michelle matches Ryan completely. I mean, look at that cover! Stunning! Okay, I'll stop gushing now only to show you some of the other photos from the feature that popped up online recently...

How hot is Ryan? Can't get enough of him!!! Thoughts? xo

images via dailymail.co.uk

For the Love of James

Yesterday morning, as I was having my coffee, I happened to stumble upon the September cover of Esquire magazine online. And who should be right there, staring back at me, but the incredibly handsome James Franco? It's no secret that he happens to be one of my favorite actors, since I first saw him in an old film called Whatever It Takes. Since then, I have seen his fun, eccentric pieces like Freaks & Geeks and The Ape (a quirky film that was written and directed by Franco himself) and his bigger hits like Spider Man and Pineapple Express (I actually attended the premiere for the latter in Los Angeles... saw him in the lobby, and I have to say he is just as good looking in person). The man is a chameleon, going from portraying the brooding and mysterious James Dean to a lovable stoner who goes through the duration of an entire film in pajamas. And, to top it all off, he's a scholar, too -- recently graduated from UCLA only to head straight to Columbia and NYU. Sigh. Ok, ok, on to the good stuff... I present to you, a couple of my favorite photos from the Esquire spread.

I have yet to see the actual issue itself; from what I saw online, the feature was actually done in an interesting way, putting Franco under the microscope through five different perspectives. The profile takes on different art forms: poetry, narrative, and video are all included in the online version of the spread.

So, do tell... what do YOU think of Mr. Franco?

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images via esquire.com

Friday Five-ish

So for my first Friday post, I decided to do something called the Friday Five-ish. It'll basically just be a brief (or maybe not so brief, as I tend to have a problem with cutting my writing down sometimes... but I'll try, I promise!) round-up of topics. Things I am loving at the moment. Events. People. Thoughts. Anything, really. This is usually done on other blogs or sites as the "Friday Five", but I like to keep it open, as sometimes I may have lots to say and sometimes not much at all. It may or may not carry on as a weekly feature... we'll see how it plays out, how I like it, how you all like it. Never know until you try, right? This blog was essentially built on that philosophy, after all. So let's dive right in! 

1. If there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I have a huge sweet tooth. And to go off on that tangent, another fun fact: I also really like to cook and especially to bake. Lately, I've been playing around in the kitchen, toying with some of my favorite desserts. Recently, it was tiramisu... mostly because my sister and I had just returned from our trip to Italy and were feeling nostalgic (to say the least). Needless to say, it turned out good but nowhere near as good as the ones we would have in Rome. Anyway, I've really been wanting to attempt crème brûlée next, another all time favorite. I've already found some great recipes online, but I'm kind of iffy about the whole flambeé part, which involves a kitchen torch and is very much necessary, because it essentially gives you the hard sugar coat on top. I know this is a bit of a stretch here but I have to ask -- anyone out there happen to have any experience with this? Any good tips that will make the last bit a little easier? At any rate, I'll keep you all posted.

2. Something else I've been feeling the urge to try out and experiment with lately? Nail polish. I'm one of those people who always has to have perfectly manicured nails at all times, even if sometimes that means just keeping them natural with a clear coat. Most of the time, though, I stick to my 3 or 4 tried and true favorites, which are either very light (along the neutral/pink lines), super dark, or the perfect shade of red, not really paying any mind to the season or the nail trends of the moment. But now, I've been seeing pretty shades of grey, mint green, taupe, and light lavender and I just can't resist. So I think I may have to go with something completely new and different next time -- recommendations?

3. And finally, I have to say I was excited to see Julia Roberts as the cover girl for the September issue of ELLE. I've more or less been keeping up with her as she does her promotional rounds for Eat, Pray, Love because I absolutely can't wait to see the film (love Julia and loved the book, so I have to admit I'm expecting great things.. Ryan Murphy, please don't let me down!). To this day, I can never NOT watch Pretty Woman when it's on. And while all three covers were stunning, I wanted to share instead the two images from the shoot that were my personal favorites...

Gorgeous, right? Happy Friday, everyone! As always, I'd love to read your thoughts in comments! xo

images via elle.com