What’s it all about?

“Ram Bowen (Paul Newman) and Eddie Cook (Sidney Poitier) are two expatriate jazz musicians living in Paris where, unlike America at the time, Jazz musicians are celebrated and racism is a non-issue. When they meet and fall in love with two young American girls, Lillian (Joanne Woodward) and Connie (Diahann Carroll), who are vacationing in France, Ram and Eddie must decide whether they should move back to America with them, or stay in Paris for the freedom it allows them.”  – via IMDB

It’s a diamond. It rolls out at a pretty measured pace giving you time to soak up this relaxed jazz milieu and so good choice for a Sunday afternoon.

Here’s my 5 on it…

1. Star. Studded! It’s like a film with all my favourite people and to have Paul Newman AND Sidney Poitier in one film. *swoon*
2. That scene where Ram only has eyes for Connie, and tries to steal her away from Eddie.
3. The  interesting subplot around African Americans seeking refuge in Paris from the racial tension of the US. Sidney’s love of Paris freedom vs Diahann’s commitment to support her community back home.
4. Wardrobe inspiration. From Diahann Carroll’s winter coats to Joanne Woodward’s lingerie
5. In 5 words I’d describe it as: edgy, political, provocative, chilled and very jazzy!

It’s as simple as mixing in a tin of butterbeans with a tin of tuna, then flavouring with chopped parsley, red onion, cherry tomatoes and a few extras. It really doesn’t take too long to prepare and doesn’t break the bank either.

I adjusted the recipe slightly and added salt and pepper, the beans were just to fresh for me otherwise, even with the dressing.

Also I didn’t have dijon mustard just regular old English mustard. I wasn’t sure what difference this would make but I read somewhere that the only difference between the two is that Dijon has vinegar in it so I added a little white wine vinegar to the dressing mix and it was delish.

Was excited to hear I tempted one of my Twitter buddies @MissKHart to try the recipe. If you give it a go let me know how it turns out

RECIPE

Oscar-nominee Viola Davis rocks a TWA and looks stunning with it in a photo shoot for LA Times Magazine. Stun-ning!

Honestly love the overall look for her in this shoot but her hair and face is everything. The interview was interesting too and here’s a few highlights I picked out:

1. She has a 19-month old daughter named Genesis. Beautiful name.
2. LA Times name her “one of the most electrifying actresses of her generation.” Yay!
3. On her move into film production, Viola says: “I am doing this out of necessity. If I am not the instrument of change, I can meander through this business and be the black woman who always has two or three scenes but with fabulous actors around me.”
4. On the role that changed her career: “You can be in the business for 23 years, which I have been, and suddenly something happens that wakes people up. For me, that was being in a movie with Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman [Doubt]… It makes people realize you’re there. Otherwise you’re that black girl who had a guest or costar role in a TV show here or there.”
5. A film she’s already looking into producing is “The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, a sweeping novel about an African-American woman struggling to farm the Badlands in 1917…” Looking forward to it.

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The 3-part series follows “members of different faiths searching for the perfect partner”. Episode 1 followed the Christians and introduced us to Katy, Richard and my gorgeous friend Lorraine.

Before I talk about the show here’s a few fab things about Lolly:

1. She’s one of those friends who can create special moments in your life and I have proof. You may or may not remember I had a trip to St Lucia a few years back and another to Atlanta. She organised both trips and they were amazing. In between, those highlights she’s been a great friend and a real inspiration.
2. She’s head-to-toe gorgeous and her fashion sense is on point! She’s definitely the Tracee Ellis Ross of my girlfriends, which I’m sure she’d love to hear as she’s a huge fan of hers.
3. She blogs! I’ve mentioned her a few times in my blog but if you haven’t checked her out yet head over to Get Me Lolly.

I actually didn’t know anything about the show or her taking part until it was officially promoted on BBC and having watched it I haven’t even got back to her with my feedback. Just mentioned I was doing a write up on le blog…

So back to the show, what did I think?

I quite enjoyed it. Lorraine wasn’t featured as much (she explains why in the video below) but all 3 individuals and the guest interviews were interesting.

Overall, I think the production company did a great job of giving an insightful and balanced view of Christian dating.

There were a few question mark moments… I instantly warmed to Katy and Jake, they both seemed to be beautiful people but to fall in love in just 2 weeks? Hmmm

Maybe it’s the editing but it just didn’t come across that they’d spent enough time with each other to get that deep.

That awkward moment on Richard’s date where the woman decides she needs to speak ‘gangster’ and berates Richard for saying non-ghetto words like Lush! Uh huh, I have no idea what she was thinking so I’ll leave it there.

I also wish they set up Lolly with someone other than Richard who seemed to have a very specific idea of the type of girl he was attracted to. Whilst I’m glad they had fun it seemed like a bit of a wasted opportunity for Lolly to meet someone with the potential for it to become something.

Anyway Lolly posted a video update sharing her take on the show and a bit of background as to why she decided to take part.

Strictly Soulmates: 9pm Thursdays on BBC Three

Fascinated to see how things pan out for her this year.

“The student brief was to brand and design a new chocolate bar to be sold in Selfridges & Co. I decided to name my brand Elixir, referencing the medicinal powers that chocolate is often said to posses. The packaging itself references pharmaceutical design from the mid-late twentieth-century as I thought this would provide an interesting break from the often decorative chocolate wrappers of competitors, as well as reinforcing the brand identity. Each flavour in the Elixir range is differentiated by a single block colour and an element symbol, similar to those on the periodic table. Once collated the chocolate bars would be sold as a variety pack, housed within a labeled prescription bag.”

Does this image mean that the brand is now becoming more fashionable. Will it ever be up there with Campbell’s soup and Coca-Cola?

What do you think?

An excellent way to make a point I though, what about you?

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…though Suits is much less Bridget Jonesy and completely absent of dancing babies, it does have some excellent scriptwriters, brilliant (brilliant!) characters and is just thoroughly entertaining.

What’s it all about?

“On the run from a drug deal gone bad, Mike Ross, a brilliant college-dropout, finds himself a job working with Harvey Specter, one of New York City’s best lawyers.” says IMDB

So here’s my 3 on it, usually 5 but I don’t want to give away too much.

1. Excellent scriptwriters. The dialogue in this made it immediately watchable. No wonder the show, which apparently didn’t get a huge amount of promo in the US, became a surprising hit. The comedy in this isn’t lazy slapstick it’s real good quality wit and I love it!
2. Brilliant (brilliant!) characters! The show might centre on a top lawyer (Harvey Spector) and his protégé (Mike Ross) but the supporting cast deserve top billing too. Donna, the hilarious PA with power; Jessica, the big boss with the type of sophistication that makes you want to sit up straight and Louis, Harvey’s nemesis and the firm’s resident bulldog, fierce with a bark that occasionally backfires.
3. Thoroughly entertaining. A lot of shows tend to be satisfied with being filler (*cough* Pan Am *cough*) this however is the good stuff. Don’t get me wrong, not all the storylines are hugely innovative BUT good acting and great scriptwriting more than make up for it.

Suits begins in the UK 9pm  January 17, 2012 on Dave. What do you think? Will you be watching?

UPDATE: The fab Musings of Ondo Lady has also written about the upcoming series. Check it out on her blog.

I really need a new camera. My iPhone 4 has done a lot for me I can’t lie but there’s only so much you can do with instagram and picframe (though I do <3 them both)…

This camera really reminded me of one my mum used to have decades ago. That leather finish and silver buttons makes it look more manual than digital and many have noted its leica-esque appearance.

UK prices have yet to be announced but US estimates are around $1,650. *whistles*

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Well that’s what I’m imagining whilst I flick through these images of this brand new resort which charges up to $10,000 a night. That said when I checked for a week’s break in August I was quoted $1,490 a night… *cough* It is beautiful though.

Shockingly I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed it on the blog yet. It’s definitely one of my favourite films I own, so without further ado here’s my 5 on The Way We Were.

Two desperate people have a wonderful romance, but their political views and convictions drive them apart. – The Way We Were Synopsis, IMDB

1. The relationship between Robert Redford (Hubbell) and Barbara Streisand (Katie) is so complex. Katie seems to fight both for and against the relationship, whilst for Hubbell it seems the things that he loves about her are also what makes things so challenging.
2. Katie’s “can’t take a joke” Morosky.  She’s so pushy, can’t take a single joke about politics and has a great deal of contempt for the comfortably wealthy which are basically all of Hubbell’s friends yet she’s so incredibly vulnerable. One scene in particular, she calls Hubbell after they have a major break up. That scene by itself is enough.
3. Hubbell “things come to easy” Gardner. It has to be said Redford was pretty well cast as the all-American jock who is likely to live a comfortable life with little effort. Yet it’s shown pretty early on during a short story class that, that’s a life he doesn’t necessarily like the idea of. No wonder he’s so refreshed by Katie.
4. The political story is pretty fascinating. I can’t tell you many Hollywood films I’ve watched where the female lead is also the head of the student communist association. They don;t delve into it too deeply but enough to prompt a wiki search into the fascinating period of the Hollywood blacklist.
5. That scene where Katie tells Hubbell she now gets her naturally curly hair ironed. “Does it hurt?” Hubbell asks with wide eyes. Raise a hand if you’ve ever had that conversation.

In the documentary (I have the special edition DVD) Barbara  Streisand mentions that she was once told, if a film has 5 good scenes in it, it’ll be a hit. This film definitely has more than that and I’d highly recommend it for your movie library.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

And so it’s more the footwear that struck me with this cruise collection lookbook but I thought I’d share the rest for your perusal?

H&M Cruise collection will be available online from January 19, 2012.

What do you think of the H&M/Versace collabo?

Here’s a cute idea. A book with pre-perforated corners to allow you to mark where you are, with grid paper on the inside and apparently the same card used to stiffen collars on the outside…

Official blurb:

“Hum is a collaborative line of stationery from design firm Graf and stationery makers Hightide. The project initially began as a custom made line for use within the Graf company, but they eventually decided that it would be a waste not to share it with everyone else.
Subtitled “quality to create fresh ideas in daily life”, each product is designed to help you ‘think, catch, draw or stock’ – the process by which creative ideas are produced. The vivid colours are energizing and inspiring, and every last detail is geared to propel your ideas forward.

Check out the Yaginoyama site if you can… it’s very cool.

Apparently I’m a bit late with sharing this recipe as it’s a traditionally served on Christmas Eve, nevertheless here it is.

Looks like a pretty sweet and crunchy combination of pomegranates, apple, beetroot, oranges and more. Hit the button for the recipe and let me know how it tastes.

RECIPE

Was immediately drawn to the glassware with the gorgeous typographic details and, the quirky desk and cabinet with the mix and match doors.

Also found some interesting blurb about them on their Facebook page:

“Our style is provocative, personal and not too formal. We believe that the time right now is a time for mixing the elements rather than matching the elements.

Each year, we presents two collections: Everyday and Moments. Everyday is presented in January and contains new products as well as popular products from the existing range, while the Moments collection, presented in August, mainly consists of novelties and seasonal accessories.”