Happy Hunger Games!

And may the odds ever be in your favor!

So, The Hunger Games movie is finally out on DVD today! We only went to see it twice at the theater. I can't flipping wait to get my own copy of the movie! I loved the books and I thought the movie was very good, one of (my) best of 2012. It kept all of the important elements of the book. Granted there were a few things that were different. (I'm thinking the bread scene. Anybody agree?) I think that is just going to happen when going from pages to screen. Just because the author can imagine it, doesn't mean the movie people can make it happen on film. Anyhoo, I think that the film adaptation of the book was wonderful in The Hunger Games. 

One thing I will say though, is that it really bothers me when people are like, "Oh, I saw the movie, so I don't have to read the book." I know people do this, heck I've done it but don't disregard the book just because you saw the movie. Books give you the chance to exercise your own imagination. You don't have to let Hollywood do that for you! (Sorry about that soap box, I just overheard a little girl say that while leaving the movie the last time and it just broke my heart a little!)

Back to the topic at hand...In celebration, I'm sharing some photos from The Hunger Games Mall Tour I attended at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta. Some of the movie cast members went on tour before the movie came out back in March. These pics maybe kind of grainy, they were taken on my cell. (True to our nature, when we went to this event, both hubs and I failed to put the memory card back in the real camera. And neither of noticed until the actors were taking the stage.) Nonetheless, we had a great time and it was good times getting to see the actors before the movie was even out! And I sure have enjoyed looking back at these pics! Hope you guys like!

Hubs and Me. Waiting.

(We waited from like 5 am til like 2 pm

to meet the actors.)

Me. :)

After meeting the stars.

See that poster? It is signed

by all the stars in attendance.

Unfortunately, no photos were allowed

during the signing.

That's Gale,

in real life:

Liam Hemsworth.

And here we have tributes:

District 1's Marvel-Jack Quaid

District 1's Glimmer-Leven Rambin

District 11's Thresh-Dayo Okeniyi

District 11's Rue-Amandla Stenberg

The whole crew:

(left to right)

In purple is the MC Jenn Hobby from The Bert Show on Q100,

Jack, Leven, Dayo, Amandla, and Liam.

Friday Five: Book to Movie Adaptations

This week my Friday Five is my top five book to movie adaptions. The restraints I put on myself for list were I had to have read the book and also have seen the movie. I know that sounds kinda, well duh, but as I was thinking of my favs some movie I really like are based on books yet I haven't actually read them. (For example, The Lord of the Rings, love the movie, haven't read the books...yet.) 

1. The Twilight Saga (ALL of them! So psyched for Breaking Dawn Part 2!)

2. Harry Potter (All of them :) 

3. The Chronicles of Narnia (I love them all but especially The Loin, The Witch, and The Wardrobe from 2005)

4. The Hunger Games (Can't wait for Catching Fire!)

5. One for the Money (Y'all know I love Stephanie Plum!)

What's your favorite book to movie adaption? Leave me a comment. I HEART comments!

Impressionable and Inspired

I am very impressionable.  As defined by the dictionary, impressionable means: readily or easily influenced; suggestible. If I hear a phrase that reminds me a song, I feel I must sing it, loudly (mind you my singing is horrible, ask my co-workers, bless their hearts). I fancy myself as a somewhat crafty person and if something I watch or read inspires an idea, I've been known to craft up some kind of homage to the original. See example:

I made these shortly after I first became addicted to both the book and movie, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I'm not quite as neurotic as I once was but I will always love Twilight and be thankful for what it meant to me in that time in my life. 

So the red bracelet, more represents Edward (get it, blood is red, he's a vamp :). The charms in case you can't make them out from left to right are: a graduation cap, dice ("I'm betting on Alice!"), baseball bat and glove, music clef, Carlisle's cross, a crystal heart, engagement ring, bride and groom, dolphin (Isle Esme, anyone?), Edward's piano, and Renesmee's baby shoe.

The black beaded bracelet is for Jacob Black, of course! The charms again left to right are: an apple (like the cover of the first book, Bella's truck, a wolf, a heart, a feather (supposed to convey Jacob's tribal roots), motorcycle, and moon (for New Moon). 

As you have seen on this very blog at least once already (see this post), I have even been inspired to paint my nails in honor of certain books and movies. Here are my attempts are "Girl on Fire" nails from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins:

Not everything inspires such a response from me but the "good stuff" can certainly lead to projects for me.

I was trying to figure out why I did these things the other day, most people I know don't do this, I beginning to think this was just one of my many idiosyncrasies. But after discussing with a friend her children's summer reading assignments, it became clear. When I was in school, even on up into college, my favorite (English/Lit) teachers were the ones who had us do "fun" projects that related back to the materials we were reading in class. I was never "artistic" in the sense that I could draw or paint or sculpt but I could collage with the best! And often times I'd receive praise from my teachers on my hard work on those projects. I think that those simple words of affirmation over ten years ago have stuck with me and why I continue with my media inspired projects. (So, there's a little side bar for ya, be careful of what you say to kids cause apparently they really are listening!)

There is actually a point to all my ramblings today. If you've been following me at all, you'll have seen that I've been reading through the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich. They are ones with numbers in the titles like One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, Four to Score, etc. If you are not familiar with the books, Stephanie is Jersey girl of Italian/Hungarian descent working as a bounty hunter even though she's not very good at it. The books are a brilliant blend of mystery and humor. The interaction Stephanie has with her family, especially her Grandma,will leave you laughing out loud, literally. Almost always when they have these family times they are eating and having a family meal. In fact, the offer of a good home cooked meal is how Stephanie's mom lures her home. And if I'm not mistaken, the offer of stuffed cabbages always draws Steph home.

My most recent Plum read.

I got to thinking, I've only ever had stuffed cabbage once and it was delish, much better than it sounds. And I've sure never made stuffed cabbage. So this evening I thought I've give it a try. Only I know how lazy I am and I altered the idea just a bit. My cabbage still has all the flavors but I've layered the ingredients into a casserole so it would be easier and less time consuming. I search the net for recipes, such as this one and this one too and then I adjusted with seasonings based on our liking and what we had on hand. I'm not one to measure or do things exactly the same each time.

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Plated with green beans and mashed potatoes.

Verdict: It was pretty good. Hubs liked it, said he'd like it again! I think Stephanie and the Plum clan would approve!

Have you ever been inspired by something you've seen or read? Leave me some comments. I HEART comments!