Bridesmaids: A Year On...

I don't often do personal posts on the blog but I couldn't help but.  

Tonight I went to see Bridesmaids in Hoboken, NJ, as part of their "Movies Under the Stars" Series.  I saw this movie for the first time a year ago, almost literally to the day, which got me thinking a lot about the past year, life, where I am now and where I'm headed.

A year ago I had just finished working QVC's Beauty Bash on a Friday, for one of the skincare product lines I had been working in the head office for.  It was a bittersweet job, working in an industry I truly felt I had a passion for but the job situation was less than desirable.  My confidence had been knocked, I spent every day feeling as if I had just survived a skate off on "Celebrity's Dancing on Ice" and everybody around me was moving towards their goals, desires and dreams at such a rapid pace.  I felt like things were at a stand still for me, I was left behind.  I saw the film with one of my many friends that are on the express train to marital bliss and there I was, still living with my parents, no partner, no savings, career progression impossible in my current role and generally just feeling sorry for myself.

Seeing Bridesmaids really touched a nerve at the time.  My situtation was totally relateable to Annie's.  Whilst everyone was laughing, I secretly cried a little.  I thought it was really sad.  The position she was in made me feel more sorry for myself.  Then I cried at the end when everyone told her it was her own fault.  To forget blaming the World and get up and change it.  That too made me sad because I realised that I was just letting things happen to me, feeling distressed about it but then not doing anything to change it.

Tonight sat under the stars, looking across at the Manhattan skyline, Empire State Building staring back at me and Bridesmaids projected on a big screen on the Hudson, it felt incredibly poignant.  This time last year seems like such a long time ago.  A lifetime ago even.  So much has happened and even more has changed for me.  The obvious being that I am living and working in New York City.  An incredible opportunity that until now I haven't truly appreciated or grabbed with both hands.  I'm nowhere near where I had hoped to be at 27 and I don't know when I'll ever get there but I do know that every struggle I faced last year has been totally worth it to end up sitting in the warm breeze, surrounded by laughter and a beautiful view.

Where will I be this time next year?  I have no clue but I hope I'm as grateful as I am today.

Hoboken's Movies Under the Stars Series will run throughout July and August, full screening details available here

Nora Ephron

To the woman that brought us these two and many more ...

I Don't Know How She Does It: The Book

Must Remember

Talk with Paula outlining firm new approach to children's haircuts/time-keeping etc.  Talk with Rod Task outlining firm new approach to role with clients, ie I AM NOT THEIR EMERGENCY GEISHA.  Pay rise: repeat after me, I Will Not Accept Extra Work For No Extra Money!  Get quote for new stair carpet.  Buy Christmas tree and stylish lights (John Lewis or Ikea?)  Present for Richard (How to be a Domestic Goddess?), in-laws (cheese barrel or alpine plants advertised in S.Times colour supplement: where did I put the cutting?)  Stocking fillers for E&B.  Fruit jellies, Uncle Alf.  Travel sick sweets?  Ask Paula collect dry cleaning.  Persnal shopper how much?  Pelvic floor squuuueeeze. Make icing for Christmas cake: too late buy roll-on stuff.  Cards stamps first class x30.  Wean Ben off dummy!  Remember Roo!! Ring KwikToy useless bloody present co. and threaten legal action.  Nappies, bottles, Sleeping Beauty video.  Smear Test!!!  Highlights.  Hamster?  ~ I Don' Know How She Does It, Allison Pearson

You may recall that I featured upcoming SJP movie I Don't Know How She Does It in a Movie Monday post a little while back. I also mentioned that it's based on a book by Allison Pearson of the same name and last week whilst holidaying I finally got to peel open the pages.

The story follows Kate Reddy (SJP's character in the movie) Fund Manager, Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend.  She struggles to balance all aspects of her life, most importantly home versus work and tackles the familiar scenario of male/female hypocrisy.  In an attempt to prove that Women really can have it all, Kate begins to lose grip on her marriage and her relationship with her children.  Everyone expects one hundred percent and although she may be attempting it to the best of her ability, eventually something has to give.  Whilst battling sneaky male employees vying for her job, "unmaking" mince pies for the school Christmas assembly in an attempt to give the homemade vibe,  exchanging flirty emails with suave American client Jack Abelhammer, busting her ass to get back home in time to at least put her children to bed, making her husband understand that yes she does need to work as many hours as she does, trying to convince her mother-in-law that she doesn't work as many hours as she does and no her husband isn't wasting away due to her lack of attention to him and her constant, last minute, international, business travel, leaves any reader begging the question "I don't know how she does it!"

Any working mother though will recognise this all too well.  The desire to be successful, the attractiveness of being able to be your own person outside of the home, teamed with the overwhelming guilt that you're missing out on everything, from their first haircut to their ballet recitals.  Allison captures the trials and tribulations of a working mother so perfectly that I was exhausted and convinced that I was one just reading it but pleasantly amused simultaneously.  Her ability to match the emotions Kate is battling with hilarious anecdotes makes this a light, quick and thoroughly enjoyable read but by no means a guilty pleasure.  The characters and storyline is an intelligent journey through the modern world, with honest observations but in a laugh out loud manner.

Reading this the book came to life so it will be fab to see if the film has captured the essence of this read too, which from the trailer, that you can check out on a previous post here, I think it will do!

I Don't Know How She Does It is available at Amazon for £6.39 and is due for release in UK cinemas September 16th.

*Image taken from www.ioncinema.com

Hump Day Humour

So I posted this video as a little aside to THIS blog post on Sunday.  This was made over a year ago for a competition when I was desperately trying to make it in the Acting World.  I've done a hell of a lot of emotional roles in the past but I do love comedy and since posting this the other day, my creative juices have been flowing and I'm pretty sure this is going to turn into a series.  I'm not acting right now but I do miss it, so although they may come few and far between I'm going to try and get as many little sketches on camera that I can so that I can pay homage to what I really love to do.  If you've never seen the 1970 movie Love Story with Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal you may not quite appreciate my snow (grass) angels but I've posted a video at the bottom of this post that sums the movie up in a nutshell.

The dream, to be the next French and Saunders.  And, turn my mini series into Starbucks' new ad campaign.

Maybe Ellen Degeneres can make it happen.  If you wanted to be a doll you could retweet to help a girl out. 

Thanks x

Movie Monday: French Kiss

In keeping with my holiday theme I chose French Kiss for today's Movie Monday, for the following reason...

That will be me Thursday morning.

The film follows Kate (Meg Ryan) as she attempts to claim what is rightfully hers, her fiance, from the clutches of a Parisian goddess. She tackles her fear of flying and defies the Canadian government by leaving the country whilst still awaiting her visa, only to jump from one crisis to another. Luc (Kevin Kline) is her unfortunate partner in crime after a chance meeting on a plane. He epitomises everything she despises and the pair immediately detest each other. Despite this Luc attempts to help the damsel in distress, much to her annoyance and manages to hatch a plan with her to win Charlie (Timothy Hutton) back.

This film isn't rocket science but it is entertaining. Ryan's highly strung, neurotic qualities adds to the humour especially when played opposite laid back, antagonistic Kline.  In fact it is his comedic timing and analysis of Ryan's character that is the particular catalyst for most of the laughs.  My only great criticism is the ability to empathise with Ryan after being jilted.  Hutton is no George Clooney.

Tune in...
If you like romantic comedies, basically anything that Meg Ryan's in.

Tune out...
If neurotic female leads make you want to poke yourself in the eye.

Perfect for...

A saturday night alone, with a bottle of red wine and baked camembert in a box avec french bread. C'est magnifique!

Something for the Weekend...

With the holiday looming the Bank of Louisa is looking a little sad.  I've had to book champagne parties, airport hotels, purchase bikini's and travel essentials, amongst other extravagances.  With pay day so rudely positioned at the end of my holiday I really have to make sure that my fun in the sun won't be compromised with any pre-vacation activity.  Therefore this weekend the Bank of Louisa is closed.

This is me looking pissed off

I can think of plenty of things I can occupy myself with over the coming few days...mainly involving organising and packing (my mother is reading this right now and shaking her head in sheer disbelief before she utters the words "Louisa you won't though, you'll leave it to the last minute...").  I can also think of plenty of things I could be doing in order to procrastinate from doing said organising and packing.  This scenario is far more likely.  So with no further ado I hereby re-instate Something for the Weekend...the credit busting version...

Rumour has it there's a heat wave heading to England, supposedly arriving around abouts.....now.  So ultimately I'm aiming to boost my potential tannage, especially with my colleague Molly due back in the office next week, post Thailand.  As petty and immature as this may sound, as well as kind of a health risk (don't try this at home kids) I will only be in Marbella for 5 days and I do plan on beating Molly for most enviable tan when I get back, so some "tanning revision" is required.  My first recommendation therefore is to enjoy our beautiful weather, for free!  But remember, as Baz Luhrman says..."Wear Sunscreen".

If for whatever reason the British weather has lied to us, very plausible, then here's some freebies I'm vibing this weekend...

Sky Movies is showing some of my faves...

The Sound of Music.  A feel good classic.  If you haven't seen it, you must and if you have you'll want to again.  I still desperately wish I was Julie Andrews, I still fancy Christopher Plummer in this, even though he's meant to be a meany in real life, I sill think Gretel is the most adorable child and always want to squeeze her cheeks and I STILL know all the words to all the songs.  I have such an obsession with this motion picture that I am forcing the kids I teach singing to on Saturday mornings to perform So Long Farewell for their summer show.

Housesitter.  This is laugh out loud funny.  Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin have a one night stand only for her to seek out the house he built for his ex-girlfriend.  After breaking and entering, broke Hawn, decides she needs some essentials.  One thing leads to another and before you know it Hawn's passing herself off as Martin's wife, even to his parents.  The white lie spirals out of control and suddenly they're a con double act, duping friends and family!  Although nothing like The Sound of Music or Julie Andrews, I kind of want to be Goldie Hawn too.  I'm starting to sense a theme.  Basically I'm recommending films of which I wish I was the leading lady.  Her outfits in this are cute too and who doesn't love a little fashion throw back.
 

Love Story.  Personally I'm a bit of a seasonal movie watcher, aka if the films a wintry film, viewing is limited to the winter.  Technically this deals with all seasons but it's melancholy nature and it's high volume of snow covered scenes means I can't quite imagine watching it this time of year.  That said, this film is a beautiful story about Love (no kidding Louisa) with some of the most wonderful music, I even have the theme on my ipod, talk about depressing.  I think I'll probably do a Movie Monday with this later in the year but if for nothing else, watch it for Ali McGraw's adorable tartan skirts and matching scarfs, a good cry and that famous line "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

I found a trailer with French subtitles to add a little culture to the blog...or because I couldn't find one without them.  I'll let you decide.

Alternatively you can still catch The Romantics, full trailer (without French subtitles) and review on Movie Monday here!

Instead of credit busting you could do a little credit boosting.  For £10 a class or £100 for twelve, Staples are holding business start-up classes on Saturday mornings, beginning this weekend.  I'm working on a project currently and I have many more extreme plans that potentially could benefit from having a little know how before I jump into the entrepeneurial pool. These are really reasonably priced and only last an hour each week.  That way if you decide it's not for you then you've barely made a commitment time or money wise.  Or this could be the first step to making your millions!  For more information check out http://www.startupsaturday.co.uk/

Finally, neither credit busting nor credit boosting I have a little social recommendation.  This is very location based, as in if you don't live near Rochester in Kent then this is going to be utterly useless information.  If you plan to visit some day then keep reading.  One of my favourite haunts the Rochester Coffee Company are embarking on a new venture in the form of a wine and cocktail bar, Oliver's.  This is very me.  Unfortunately my household location makes me rather provincial and us provincials get rather excited when something a little bit cosmopolitan, read London, comes our way.  The members only bar has just launched but this Saturday are opening their doors to whomever, as long as you're 21 to sample the members only life.  If it's anything like their sister company then this should be a hit.  I'll report back on the findings but you can get more information over at their facebook page here.

To cheer us credit busting types up here's a picture of one of my best friends with a toy monkey round her neck, just because.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

*Image taken from Oliver's Facebook Page

Movie Monday: The Romantics

I'm a sucker for emotionally real films that usually reside on the Woody Allen-esque side of cinema. Occasionally there's the odd film replaying on Sky Movies that fits this bill, usually with a fairly good cast and more often than not one that has fallen into obscurity before it's even been released. This weekend I discovered The Romantics.

The cast was brimming with famous faces, Candice Bergen, Josh Duhamel, Elijah Wood, Anna Paquin, Diana Agron, that dude that played Seth in the OC (let's face it he's adorable but if I placed his real name here I'm pretty sure you'd have "who the hell?" faces on, this way we're all on the same page) and Katie Holmes, whom also produced it. Despite it's celebrity friends I have never heard of this movie, I'm pretty sure it's one of those "straight to DVD job-ees" and as my sister, who took her film AS level today, kept on emphasising in some random, revision, research attempt, it's only ever made $106,000 to date.

I'm really selling this for you aren't I?!

The synopsis on Sky Movies is as follows:

"A group of old friends attend a wedding, reigniting a love triangle between bride Anna Paquin, groom Josh Duhamel and writer Katie Holmes."

This was enough to seduce me on Saturday night to record a later showing for the following day.

Upon viewing, it was everything I expected it to be, dark, emotionally tortured and disappointingly honest, aka it didn't stick to the Hollywood ideals of love, romance and happy endings. For the most part it was awkward too. The relationships weren't the only honest facets of the film, there was a particularly cringeworthy scene at a rehearsal dinner when everyones drink fuelled speeches are horrifically tense and generally defy social acceptability. Refreshingly nobody looked particularly glamorous or visually beautiful either, another trait of these "say it how it is" movies that I happen to like.

Spoiler Alert!

The ending was one of those unresolved cliffhanger types, take from it what you will. Or maybe it really did just have no ending. I'm still on the fence with this.

Tune In...

If you like Hannah and her Sisters, Closer, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, hand held camera movies that give it that "you're really there" vibe and emotional disappointment.

Tune out...

If you despise all the things above which most people I know do.

This film really only caters to a specific type. Personally I enjoyed it, enough to watch it again and to own on DVD. My recommendation would be to cosy up to this stark look at romance and friendships on a rainy Saturday afternoon, with a blanket, hot tea, sticky cinnamon buns and a "love sucks" attitude.

The Romantics is showing on Sky Movies until they stop playing it.

*Image taken from www.movies.sky.com

Way back when...

As I sit here with my Christmas pudding slice and my cup of tea on this chilly night, I am reminded of the saying on my Starbucks cup today..."Stories are gifts to share..."

I am so lucky to have so many wonderful memories, including much loved friends and family, many jovial laughs, heartwarming moments and overwhelming feelings of contentment.  I have decided to make Way back when... a regular piece that documents moments I keep close to my heart.

Today is Thanksgiving.  In 2005 I was studying at Bridgewater State College, MA and I shared Thanksgiving with my good friend Jen Corey, her family and friends. 

It was a bitter cold night and we had rehearsals for our Lab Theatre Project, the "Theatre on the Edge" Festival, that was to take place the following week.  As we wrapped at 10.30pm, myself, Jen, Jamie, Mike and Alison made our way to the cinema to see Rent the movie.  It had just been released at the cinema and my friends were dying to see it.  I wasn't bothered either way, as had never seen it on stage anyway.  We were the last into the showing and had to take seats at the very front.  It was a late showing, I was exhausted and ten minutes in I fell asleep, only to wake just in time to see the final scene.  We hugged and said our farewells to Jamie and Alison in the car park.  Mike dropped Jen and myself back to her house. 

I had visited Jen's once before but only sat in the car.  We bundled into her home with her massive bag of laundry.  Both her parents were still awake, their Christmas tree was up and their home smelt of freshly baked apple pie.  The cinnamon was intoxicating. They were beyond welcoming and I truly felt as if I was part of their family.   I even remember their distinct candied apple hand soap from Bath and Body Works, perfect for such a holiday. The following morning Jen and I headed out to Mary Lou's for coffee for everyone later and then prepared for the rest of the day.  A multitude of relatives arrived to a feast of turkey, mashed potato, meatballs, amongst other delicious foods. 

As the day drew to a close, numerous friends appeared for dessert.  Some bringing their own but either way Jen's mum had prepared enough for all.  Baklava, pumpkin pie, apple pie, brownies, cookies...the list goes on.  Us college lot headed down to the basment, ate, chatted and generally laughed until late.  Friends for dessert, since 2005, has been a Corey Annual Thanksgiving Event and every year, depsite the large ocean that seperates myself from all of them, I am still invited via Facebook.  Next year, I hope to attend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Something for the Weekend

For those of you lucky enough to be in New York right now I have a couple of things I am dying for you to do this weekend, even if it's just for my sake.  Please go, take pictures and tell me how FABULOUS Fashion Week is.  For the rest of us mere mortals that are doing things like teaching drama classes to 7 yr olds this weekend, I have also included a few delightful treats you can enjoy in  the comfort of your own abode.

New Yorker Weekend

I have never once heard anybody say they do not like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, they are style guru's, especially MK and if there's any way I can emulate their courageous looks, I will.  My wish list still includes owning a piece from The Row but short of shoplifting from Harvey Nicks that wish won't be coming true any time soon.  Enter Elizabeth and James, their sister line named after....their sister and brother.  The pieces are still classic and understated with a luxe twist and yet the price tag is semi affordable in comparison to their original label.  I don't think of these as your normal celeb lines, where you're buying into the stars name rather than the actual pieces.  These are carefully thought out fashion labels from two famous actresses that happen to have a designer eye.  In fact I don't even really think of them as actresses any more.  If someone were to ask me their profession, the first word that would appear in my mind would be "designers".

So this is the first mission I am entrusting you with.  Elizabeth and James, in honour of New York Fashion Week have opened a pop up store in the West Village (address below) and they have some outrageous events being held within store that I dare you to not be tempted by.

The events are running right up until Wednesday night and you can find all details on their facebook page.

In Elizabeth and James' own words here's a brief insight into the events over this coming weekend, including your chance to have your purchases rung up at the tills by none other than MK and Ashley Olsen!

September 10th – Fashion’s Night Out

Store hours: 12pm-11pm

Event hours: 6pm-11pm

Elizabeth and James hosts a carnival with henna tattoos, tarot card readings and music by DJ Cassie Coane. Refuel by munching on a bag of popcorn as you wait to be rung up by Elizabeth and James creators Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen.

September 11th – BYOB

Store hours: 11am-8pm

Event hours: ALL DAY

Wrangle Boyfriends, Brothers & BFFs. It’s “Bring Your Own Boy” all day event at Elizabeth and James Pop Up. Bring a boy and shop TEXTILE Elizabeth and James Men’s to receive an exclusive gift with purchase.

September 12th - FabSugar Day

Store hours: 12pm-7pm

Event hours: 2pm-4pm

Fabsugar and Elizabeth and James team up for a day of Super Sweet Fun. Fab’s editors are hosting a “Fab” Soiree from 2-4pm jam packed with makeovers provided by Bobbi Brown cosmetics, fall fashion and beauty tips, cotton candy, a live DJ, a “Fabsugar” inspired candy bar, Essie nail polish, giveaways and a little bubbly. Visit http://www.fabsugar.com/ for complete details.

Elizabeth and James Pop-Up Store

632 Hudson St. between Horatio and Jane

I am most excited about the concept of meeting these icons as well as there being forune tellers, what fun!

Then totally Fashion Week unrelated I wold love it if you would visit my favourite restaurant Serendipity 3 and indulge in a Frozen Hot Chocolate on my behalf.....or even better a Frozen Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate....mmmm!

Me and the Best Bitch with our Frozen Hot Chocolates in August 2008

I fell in love with this place back when it was featured in Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney flick One Fine Day followed by John Cusack's and Kate Beckinsale's namesake movie Serendipity.  I've visited it on numerous trips to the Big Apple and the queue never deters me from entering this precious wonderland and sampling their heavenly delights!

The Non-New Yorker Weekend

For the rest of you that don't live in or can't feasibly get to NYC this weekend ie ME, here's a few treats I think you'll enjoy that mean you don't even have to leave your house!

I sampled the most extraordinary pizza back in June whilst staying in the South of France, goats cheese and honey.  I adore the mix of sweet and savoury, so this was right up my street.  Just recently I tried cooking this myself and although it didn't turn out perfect (I needed way more honey than I ended up putting on) it was still scrumptious and a recipe I wanted to share with you all including my little twist!

I took the base recipe from Gino D'Acampo's cookbook The Italian Diet but added some rosemary to the mixture to give it that extra wow factor.

The recipe feeds two so perfect for you and that special someone.  Or if you are as romantically challenged as me, then a friend.

Goat Cheese and Honey Pizza

pinch of salt
1 teaspoon dried yeast
140ml warm water
180g strong plain white flour (plus extra for dusting)
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
jar of Passata
goats cheese
honey
two teaspoons of rosemary

1.  Mix the salt and yeast into the warm water and add the rosemary.  Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.  Pour the yeast water into the centre and mix with a spoon to create a wet dough.

2.  Put the dough on a surface well dusted with flour and work it with your hands for about 5 minutes.  Then place in a well greased bowl with a tea towel covering the dough and leave for an hour for it to double in size.

3.  Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface again and divide into two.  Spread the dough out from the centre with your hands.  Place the bases on well oiled baking trays.

4.  Spread the passata on top until well covered.  In five places across the pizzas place a large spoonful of honey.  Slice the goat cheese and place five pieces on top of each spoonful of honey.

5.  Place in the oven at 220 C

Teamed with some Champagne...

...and Julie and Julia on DVD, it's pure bliss.  I saw this movie last weekend and although not groundbreaking it did have a certain comfort to it and what better DVD to relax in front of after you yourself have just been a domestic goddess in the kitchen.

Happy Friday Everyone!  Have a FABULOUS weekend!

*Pictures from dailystab.com or property of myself

You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies

My current guilty pleasure is YouTubing The Social Network trailer due for release in October for both the UK and US.  The Screenplay has been adapted from Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires (which I am making my number 1 priority to get a hold of and read) based on the creation of Facebook by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg and all the controversy it received at the time, including accusations that the idea was stolen from fellow classmates.  The movie set for release later this year is enticing me for several reasons...

1.  I remember the hype of Facebook back in 2005 when I was on an exchange program to MA, USA.  You had to have a US college address to even sign up to the site and no one in Britain had ever heard of such a thing, nor did they understand the overwhelming capacity for it to take over your life and ultimately lead you to procrastinate from doing pretty much anything.  It was a huge part of my college experience in the US and therefore is very evocative of an amazing time for me, a memory that the current Facebook just can't manifest. 

2. Justin Timberlake is starring in it.

3.  The trailer.  There are a few knocking about on YouTube but I would be lying if I didn't say that it is this one (see below) that I watch over and over and probably one of the main reasons I am so hyped up for this movie.  The trailer is edited together in rather a dramatic form, of course but it is the music used that has really caught my attention and builds the intensity.  Scala and Kolacny Brothers have covered Radioheads Creep (not that I'm aware of what the original sounds like) and it is such a haunting track, one that I desperately need to download , if anything just to stop me from watching the trailer over and over.

How to throw a FABULOUS Party, McNally Style, for under £200: Part One

My mother and I have always prided ourselves on our party planning skills and 2010 has seen us pull off a hat trick.  Secretly we dream of taking on this role professionally but we are both caught up with our other projects to actually seriously consider any such idea.  All three of the soiree's we have organised this year have had a trendy spin on them in some way or another and all have been hits for both ourselves and our guests so I thought I'd document in pictures our successes along with how we made them so....

Firstly we got Carrie-d away....

That's right, with SATC2 about to hit the cinemas (which by the way I still have not seen!) I couldn't think of a better theme for my 25th Birthday back in April.  A girls only event, we decked out our dining room New York style.

We went with the colour theme from the first movie, black and hot pink.  The floor was laden with balloons.  The table was laid to perfection by myself with black table cloths and hot pink and silver lip confetti (very Lulu Guinness) and hot pink table ware.  The room was adorning New York street signs also to give it that extra Carrie and co flair.  All decorations were purchased from http://www.partypacks.co.uk/ .  On first view their offerings do look somewhat tacky but they are like a really good thrift store, or TK Maxx, if you look hard enough you can find some buried treasures!

My mum's Strawberry Centre Piece

Fill a garden pot with cement and place a wooden stick in the centre. Place a whole small melon on top once dry and cover base with foil or spray paint, whilst fixing strawberries via cocktail sticks. The perfect accompaniment to a chocolate fountain!

My Magnolia Bakery-esque Cupcakes

Recipe taken from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook and decorated as per the darling SATC themed cupcakes Lola's in Selfridges were sporting back in 2008.

And finally the piece de la resistance.....

                                                

We projected the original film onto one of the walls, whilst playing some of my favourite tracks from both the soundtrack and in general as background music.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

Drinks were purchased from Sainsburys and there was a choice of either the classic Cosmopolitan or my personal fave the Margherita.  Both concoctions were premixed but surprisingly good and most importantly strong for a very reasonable price!  We also offered prosecco with a hibiscus flower on arrival, which went down a treat!

As you can see from the pictures above I chose to wear a simple black onesie with some sequin embellishment at the top.  I then blinged up the outfit Carrie style with my Ghetto Fabulous initial earrings (which were switched from two of the same letter to one of each....shhh don't tell Topshop!) and these outrageous wedges!

From the Coalition, with Love

Fish Tank one of many British Films funded by the Film Council

Does anybody else get the distinct impression that Britain is slowly shutting down?  After ploughing through a fairly traumatic recession along with many other countries across the World, 2010 was beginning to look up for the Nation, until the election that is.  This isn't a jibe as to who our Government is and who I think it should be, as I don't believe in forcing my political opinions on anybody.  To be honest I'm not sure I'd even have an answer anyhow but I do feel that it is important to address the issues at hand, the latest being the announcement of the abolishment of the UK Film Council today.

For weeks now we have been privy to the cuts being made across the country, some of which I agree with, others not so much.  Realistically, we all know that I'm not about to star in some major motion picture nor am I trying to fund an independent film but as an actress this news has hit me hard.  I am not by any means suggesting that in comparison to cuts amongst police, health workers and school budgets that this is anymore news worthy but I do feel that saying goodbye to the 75 employees and the minimum of £15 million pounds they invest each year into the British Film Industry is more than just a little shortsighted. 

The UK Film Council, primarily is responsible for helping to fund training for those that want to break into the industry and promoting our films abroad as well as us as a film making location.  By doing so it is generating revenue into our economy, something that I think we can all agree, is beyond important right now.  We have a Nation of talented, enigmatic and mostly out of work industry professionals that cover everything from artiste to production and already we are not utilising them, so just imagine the effect of this latest news.

Is the industry over capacitated?  Yes.  Are there people that shouldn't be following their dreams because they don't have one ounce of talent?  Yes.  Are there people more talented than me?  Of course.  But how am I, my friends or the rest of the UK arts industry meant to get ahead when yet another road block is being placed in an already challenging career path?  Jobs are already sparse due to lack of tv dramas and over emphasis on what can only be described as an unhealthy obsession with watching wannabes or has beens being bored 24/7 or eating slugs.  They can be entertaining but should they be so entertaining that our tv is saturated with it and at the expense of creating something new and giving actors and crew a chance to work?  Therefore our recent interest in building our film industry is crucial to many.

This isn't a race against America and Hollywood but if it were we would be performing worse than we did in the World Cup.  We spend a great deal of time watching and anticipating the latest Hollywod blockbusters, which a lot of the time are cliched, unimaginative and regurgitate the same actors.  Recently we have been  builidng a platform for ourselves by saying to the World "we have something to offer to film! We are a force to be reckoned with!"  in order to boost the industry in this country and showcase the talent we can provide and it's paying off, literally.  Although I know this won't just stop, I am at a loss as to how it can continue and develop without a body of people focusing on doing just that.  The Government have explained that there will still be film funding but through other means.  It all sounds pretty vague to me and no doubt a sign that yet another strained employee will be forced to take on more tasks in less time with less funds, therefore highlighting my initial worry that the energy and focus just will not be there, eventually leading to less productions, less opportunites, less UK locations being sought after and of course less revenue for our economy.  This will have a knock on effect for the obvious and the not so obvious.  After all we can't forget the hundreds of people that a film set employs, from actor to caterer, therefore inevitably shutting down more than just an integral part of our arts industry but some of our small independant companies too.

Just wake me up when Britain's open for business again.

To Whitehall Gardens and Beyond: Toy Story 3 Premiere London

Sunday turned out to be a glorious day, much to everyones relief that attended the Toy Story 3 Premiere in Leicester Square, followed up by the after party in Whitehall Gardens on the Victoria Embankment.  My life sounds pretty charmed of late, being on tv, attending preview screenings of Inception, open air concerts and now film premieres but I assure you the red carpet was not laid out for myself and there was no galivanting around the party, drink in hand, schmoozing with the stars.  Instead I was working.  This was the fourth Toy Story 3 private preview screening I had been asked to face paint at and the second I had actually attended.  The hype for this film in the UK has been massive and Sunday afternoon that anticipation and excitement had been bottled in the form of a Toy Story themed extravaganza.

As usual with these kinds of events, upon arrival, just an hour before the guests were due to appear, the gardens were full of white gazebo's dotted about the place and not much else.  Staff were busying away placing signs directing guests to "decorate your own cupcake", "funky hair" and of course us, whom were entitled "Mr Pricklepants Face Painting".  It always amazes me how little seems done and yet how much comes together within that last hour, with the final product being an absolute dream of entertainers, scrumptious food and imaginative ideas.  Sunday was no different.  As I meandered about the place, once again the team that usually handles these events had outdone themselves.  Free Toy Story toys, cake decorating, nails, funky hair, face painting, DJ, balloon modellers and an illusionist dressed as Woody are to name but a few of the delights sampled by the guests.

My mini Buzz Lightyear

My biggest grievance from the event was that us face painters were placed in such a position that the most heavenly gazebo was dangled in front of us further mocking that we were allowed into this private party by default rather than belonging.  Huge bowls filled with strawberries, stands upon stands of soft sponge cakes dusted in icing sugar filled the tent in our direct eyeline.  Not to mention the wait staff who always insist on offering us their goodies, the most gorgeous looking chicken and chips this time and I hadn't eaten lunch!  Luckily I eventually got to try all of them at the end of the gig.....ssshhh!

The event was a hit and definitely one of their best and yet my celeb spottings was reduced to the back of Kate Garraway from GMTV, whom I've met before at the Princess and the Frog Premiere, where I was photographed for the Daily Mail painting Amanda Holdens little girl (shamelessly name dropping I realise), terrible picture of me but great publicity.  I was hoping for something similar this time but no luck unfortunately.  Considering the films publicity and the effort that went into Sunday I'm utterly shocked that all they managed to grapple together was a morning presenter, an ex Atomic Kitten and a Junior Apprentice winner.  That makes Gino "Fantastico" DiCampo probably the most famous person there, whom I didn't see either, much to my mothers dismay.

Me and Lego Buzz

I work at these parties quite a lot and spend most of my time guessing what people do, who got the tickets, where they live, in between face painting of course.  There's a buzz that embraces me when working at them.  It's almost as if I've been allowed into some secret society but I haven't been given permission to properly pledge yet.  I then spend the rest of my time and the journey home flitting from feeling blessed with my life for working at such a gig and then dissatisfied with my life because I'm not attending.  Finally I sit back and end my quandries with "One day Louisa.  One day."

If anybody knows how that one day could come very soon, aka effectively give me tickets to premieres on a regular basis, one would be most grateful.

Inception: The Review

Entering the Odeon West End resembled Airport Security somewhat, as we prepared for the crew screening of Inception last Wednesday 7th July. Clear plastic sandwich bags were distributed to package away all phones and any electrical devices, including Ipods. There were bag checks and metal detector devices galore! Never had I seen such strict security measures at a screening, especially one with industry professionals that actually worked on the set. Nor did I understand it, until the Writer and Director, Chris Nolan, made his speech announcing Inception as “the most anticipated movie of 2010.” Boasting much? I had been blissfully unaware, upon my invitation, that this movie was such a big deal. Throughout his speech the prestige began to grow, upon discovery that the World Premiere wasn’t even until the following evening. Of course I had been privy to the fact that it should be a good view due to my friend’s insider knowledge from her work on set last summer in both Paris and Morocco. The trailer had even enticed my Mother who detests attending the cinema but nothing quite prepared me for the 2 hours and 28 minutes that were to follow.

As an audience member you are thrown into the story head first and are left with little time to piece the information together or pause for thought, so whatever you do, don’t see this after a hard days work or as I did, with a migraine. This is no cheap thrill. The storyline follows a gang, headed up by Leonardo DiCaprio, steal information from people’s dreams with their next big “job” being to do the exact opposite and plant an idea instead. This proves, as you may be able to imagine far more difficult and much more intricate as they strive to plant the concept in its simplest form. As you follow the cast on their dream, within a dream, within a dream scenario and all the problems they encounter along the way, you begin to want this to work as much as they do. The intricacy lends itself to more than just a detailed story board though with the special effects being crucial to both the architecture of the dreamer’s dreams and to delivering a superb visual experience for us, as the spectator.

On face value Inception is a heist movie. The film stretches much further than this genre though, with complex emotional relationships and the underlying story of DiCaprio’s struggle with his sub conscious. On the red carpet last week co star Joseph Gordon-Levitt exclaimed he felt you could enjoy the movie as just a heist film, or you could enjoy it on all the levels it has to offer. I disagree. I think it would be impossible to differentiate the action from the desperation and internal troubles of DiCaprio’s character and his unfinished business with his wife, played by Marion Cotillard. By doing so it would be, just a heist film, with a slightly interesting twist but not worthy of the anticipation and praise it so rightly deserves.


The film boasts a strong cast including Michael Caine but it is only DiCaprio and Cotillard that are given the opportunity to push themselves dramatically, delivering their characters with sensitivity and depth. This could be considered as one of Nolan’s only downfalls as it seems to leave the rest of the cast, all superb actors in their own right, as 2D throw away characters. Other than this it is difficult to criticise Nolan’s work although Toby Young gave it a go recently stating the piece as “self indulgent”. Perhaps the green eyed monster is rearing its ugly head here, as through migraine and all I left the cinema buzzing and with the overwhelming need to see it all over again. Okay Chris, boast away.



Inception is released Today in the USA and UK.