Little Hollywood

Between Iron Man 3 in Wilmington and Safe Haven in Southport it really is like Hollywood has come to town.

Facebook, Twitter and my email are hopping with celebrity encounters. I haven't met anyone yet but here are some fun pictures of what is going on around here.





GP getting a cooking lesson from Keith Rhodes at Catch.
http://catchwilmington.com/





Spotted outside of Manna in Wilmington with Style Girl, Jess James.
Mannaavenue.com
stylegirljessjames.com





In Southport, a picture of the new set for Safe Haven, from the water.
(Picture courtesy Captain Betsy)





Josh Duhamel and Julianna Hough.
And no, I had no clue who they were until someone told me he is married to Fergie and she dates Ryan Seacrest.(Picture courtesy US Magazine)
Here are some close ups of the set that I took this weekend. Filming has started in earnest so I'll keep you posted.

I guess the market is going to be a gas station too

Entrance to the "market"

Adorable herb garden in a wooden boat



View from the set

Zooey Deschanel's boyfriend is one of the screenwriters so she was here for a while. I didn't run into her either but I really don't get out much. She signed the wall of my favorite coffee shop, Moore Street Market.



She stayed at a local B&B and the owner asked her if she worked.
Her reply was, "I play piano" - both true and kind of sweet. It has to be pretty refreshing to hang out with people who have no idea who you are.

It is just a matter of a week now before this onslaught.



The fairies came in the night to bedeck and bedazzle.

They are supposed to be filming the parade for the movie so we've all been roped into particpating in the Parade by the possibilty of being on the big screen (yawn). By all I mean some of my co-workers and my children.

I guess this is ours because someone sent me a picture of it. We will share it with a 5 year old beauty queen so that should be good times in 100 degree heat. I may just throw the kids on there and wave from the shade.
Bring on the little fans with misters. I'll probably be there with my camera pointing right back at the crowds. It should be totally over the top this year. Our little town could have as many as 50,000 people here for the day.
Thank goodness we can walk wherever we need to go because one thing about the coast, there are only a couple of roads out of town and they are sure to backed up for miles and miles.

Happy Independence Day!
xo

Mother's Day

I woke up this morning...crying. I know, horrible right? I miss my grandmother. My middle child (who reminds me the most of her and is therefore a comfort at these moments) was at a sleepover and did not want to come home because she feels she has an annoying little brother. Sigh. He is pretty annoying. I did not let on I was sad and needy. I played it cool.

So then I had another good cry, got a sympathetic hug from Jack who was then out the door for tennis. I spent a good part of the morning trying to cheer myself up. I looked at some of these funnies and I did laugh out loud a few times.



I would really like to say that about 20 times a day. It WOULD save a lot of time and besides, it is mostly true.


This makes me happy. I began to feel better. I don't know that woman but I love her.



Amen. No need to go to church after reading that one. Check.



Okay, maybe it was good middle child was having a nice peaceful morning somewhere else.

Then eldest daughter woke up and she'd bought me a nice funny card and an Amy Winehouse cd (Frank), and some gum which was thoughful because middle child always eats my gum. I go to get a piece after lunch and end up exclaiming, "Sadie" like Jerry says "Newman." The presents had a bow and everything!

We laughed over the fact that her boyfriend got his mother a card in Spanish (she does not speak Spanish) and he ate half the box of chocolates he bought her. I hope she is taking notes but it was funny. She then went to work but we ate cake together for breakfast first - just because.
I think I have done a fairly good job as a parent so far.



I am not a fan of forced holidays like this. I wanted nothing and I had no expectations.



It would be nice if they remembered though. My son, unsurprisingly, completely forgot, wanted me to take him shopping and acted like I was that witch with the flying monkeys when I said no but that SO wasn't going to happen. Next outing I do plan to see if this book exists in the 9 yr old version. ;)


I started to feel a little blue again but we tried a game of old fashioned Scrabble. It was okay. He has the attention span of a gnat sometimes (or maybe that is my patience span - so hard to call it) so I sent him outside.


First I thought I would start to read my favorite biography in the world, "The Last Lion," again for some entertainment and inspiration but I started to fall back asleep.



This is funny, come on....


I then downloaded "David Sedaris Live." On a day like this, instant gratification is such a really positive thing. I laughed a bunch and then still kept trying to fall asleep.



Oh wait...Yes, I am probably depressed but it is okay. It happens. Life is particularly laden with heavy responsibility right now and what the hell, I miss my grandmother like crazy today. I am laden with thoughts of tomorrow and all I have to do and what I could be doing now to mitigate it but instead am choosing not to because I worked about 70 hours last week and I am tired.


I know the drill. And I have a lot to be grateful for. Jack is making shrimp and some argula salad for dinner later. At some point I might get off my bum and take an hour power walk or not, depending. Middle child will come home and everyone will be together for dinner - for better or worse.

In no time at all I will back to my normal self. I always do get over these blues.



In the meantime...


And for real...


Because tomorrow it is back to this whether I feel it or not.


When I will be sure to be...



Everyone deserves a day to just be however they feel and today I am just so...



And am wanting so much for the world to have no expectations of me either. That is the best Mother's Day gift I can think of at the moment.






xo

Short hair club

Have you ever just wanted to cut off all your hair and join the short hair club?




I kinda want that outfit too. Maybe I just want to be in the Michelle Williams club. Hmm?












































Does it seem like a bold and brave thing to do, something you are afraid to try or sure you can't pull off or just of no interest?
Remember these members...
















































































































Well I was over having hair.




Completely over it. It is way too much trouble by the ocean. It is hot and wicked humid a lot of the time and it rains often and so why bother? That was my decision. I texted my hair lady on a Sunday and she squeezed me in because she was as pumped as I was.
Of course I woke up the next day and was kind of having a rocking hair day and I had a moment of panic but it passed as soon as I walked out the door.
My hair can go from this...




To this...




In a matter of minutes if the conditions are ripe and so mostly I found myself wearing it up. I am not saying each look doesn't have it's charm ;) but you try dealing with it!












I also admit that I'd been a member of the short hair club twice before. Once in 10th grade I chopped it all of and wore a kind of shag/bob like do for many years after it grew back out and then the year I started dating my husband I cut every bit of my hair off again but that was 20 years ago.
Ta da!




Gone. No more! Whoo hoo! Next up, maybe blonder but planning to stay short for a long time, if not forever. Don't I look happy? I get tons of compliments too.




Instagramed!
I don't miss it. But I do kind of look like a completely different person. I've been able to do a few things incognito here lately and I gotta say, that was almost as fun as the two minutes it takes to fix my hair in the morning!




Short! But you could never see those earrings through the mane amd they are fabulous!




With my new glasses, Olivia says I look like a retired actress. Yup, it is official -washed up at 42!







Two minutes. For real. I have discovered that my eyebrows matter more but there is always gonna be something! I did buy a bunch of new clothes to go with the new do. It really called for that, I swear.
xo