in memory of september 11th...



photos: "The Pool Where It Once Stood" & "A Rose For The Lost"
by Lelann Gillham for © Lelann Azalee Photography

the newsroom


It's rare when a television show comes along and truly captivates you. Some do it with humor and wit, others with drama and intensity. The new HBO show The Newsroom created by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network, Moneyball) has all of those qualities, not to mention wonderful actors (Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, and Sam Waterston) and filled with fast paced dialog, and likable intelligent characters. The first five minutes of the pilot episode actually made me smile, laugh, cry, and shout for joy. Jeff Daniels' lead character Will McAvoy says the things we wish journalists in real life would say about politics and the current standing of our country, and what we used to stand for. The Newsroom is a breath of fresh air and something we greatly needed at this time in our country. Let's just hope it makes a big of an impact as shows like it's predessesor The West Wing. It seems to have all the potential and talent needed, now its just needs that social media bang and not just a slow fizzle that eventually catches on, if ever.

*watch it Sunday nights at 10 pm on HBO

favorite looks for summer

I did a new Pinterest Board for the fabulous Elizabeth Banks and one of her new contests that she brilliantly comes up with. So check out my board and see if you like my picks for my FavoriteLooks4Summer!


wildlife waystation



beauty tip

Beauty nail tip update I found from The Beauty Department that I'm obsessed with. I have a love for turquoise and now my nails can look like my favorite stone...

*my color choices for this technique: Diwali by Chanel & Turquoise & Caicos by essie



NAILED IT!

photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess
""It seemed many of you were fans of the “Robin’s Egg” & “Gold Leaf” color combos, so we thought we’d do one more nail art combining turquoise with gold. In this tutorial we’ll teach you how to make your nails look like turquoise stones, but instead of using black as the accent color (which would make it quite literal) we’re using gold for a slightly softer and more glamorous look. Here are the 6 simple steps:
  1. Start by painting your base with a nice shade of turquoise. We used this one.
  2. Next, take a small plastic sandwich bag or plastic wrapper and crinkle it up. Hold most of it of it in your palm and make a “flower-y” shape with the rest as you see in the photo above. You’ll use this like a stamp.
  3. Paint some of your gold polish (we love this one) on the plastic. Doesn’t matter how you paint it on or where.
  4. Note: Dab the plastic bag/wrap on a piece of paper once or twice before you start to remove the excess polish. Now dab it on your finger. Then do the next finger. You’ll need to re-apply gold polish to the plastic bag every couple fingers.
  5. After you finish dabbing the gold on each finger, clean up the edges with nail polish remover and a paint brush.
  6. Add our favorite quick drying clear coat and you’re all set!
Show us your version on twitter. You can honestly do this in any color combination you want. Can’t wait to see which colors you choose.""

snow white and the huntsman


I've been excited for this film for quite a long time now, and I have to say it didn't dissapoint. In fact it surpassed my expectations! I've seen it twice now, and I'm pretty sure this is going to be one of those movies that when I go to my "movie pantry" I'll reach for it 8 times out of 10. It should last for a very very long time! I can't even go into detail about the Kristen, Charlize, and Chris, we would be here all night reading a novel. They all blew my mind with their stunning abilities to make me go "WOW" every second of the film. Haven't seen it... then GO! NOW! 

fashion photo friday

Now I know it's weird when blogs blog about other blogs... but I have to say WhoWhatWear is one of my fav sites and this is just such a great "fashion photo friday" post I had to share it...
featuring:

       

                                  

celeb instagrams

Sometimes I come across celebrities with amazing instagrams posted on their twitter pages 
so I'm going to start a designated post for those who make me smile with their perfect little pieces of life taken with their cell phone.




This posts instagrams come from the fabulous Taylor Swift!

serena



The movie I can't wait for next year... Serena 

Ron Rash is one of my favorite authors and this novel is a masterpiece. I was able to vividly picture the entire book into a film in my mind, and even though my main characters did not look like Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. I couldn't choose a better casting, especially with Jennifer as Serena. She seems to be type casted quite a lot recently, but at least she has the best "type-casting" of any 21 year old in Hollywood. Serena is another naturally gorgeous, powerful, and ruthless female protagonist for Jennifer Lawrence. It's the kind of character she does best, and I have the feeling she'll leave me hypnotized and restless. Hopefully this wonderful poetic book will be translated into film with justice to the author's original work. Fingers crossed.