Book Club Tuesdays: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins *Spoilers*

 

"Anna can't wait for her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a good job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's not too thrilled when her father unexpectedly ships her off to boarding school in Paris- until she meets Etienne St. Clair, the perfect boy. The only problem? He's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her crush back home. Will a year of romantic near-misses end the French kiss that Anna awaits?''

My Rating: 9.5/10

My Comment: I loved this book times a billion. Ok maybe I'm being a little bit biased because I am obsessed with Paris. I must be honest with you that I did take long to read this book but that was only because I didn't want it to end :P. The only thing that irritated me about this book was that she was so reluctant to go to Paris. I mean, come on! It's frikken Paris for crying out loud!! Anyways I loved the build up to the ending, makes me wish that I had a St Clair, anyways back to reality... This is the perfect read for summer or even winter. Enjoy your day x

Love Heather

Forks over knives (2011) *Spoilers*

Directed by: Lee Fulkerson

Starring: Joey Aucoin, Neal Barnard and Gene Baur

Genre:  Documentary

IMBD Synopsis: ''What has happened to us? Despite the most advanced medical technology in the world, we are sicker than ever by nearly every measure. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug and major medical operations have become routine. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country's three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to "battle" these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases. Could it be there's a single solution to all of these problems? A solution so comprehensive, but so utterly straightforward, that it's mind-boggling that more of us haven't taken it seriously? FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the so-called "diseases of affluence" that afflict us can be controlled...''

My rating: 8/10

My Comment: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I am a vegetarian and have been one for a year and a couple of months. I am not trying to push my beliefs onto anyone and if you are not a vegetarian, I would suggest eating organic meat. The movie is basically about how more and more processed food is being developed and the tastier the food, the more we eat it. The film is a study about how unhealthy meat and dairy products are getting and how nowadays they are linked to cancer. The movie also teaches us how to read labels correctly. For example and 100g tub of yoghurt says ''low fat'' but when you look at the ingredients and the nutritional information, it's basically sugar. We need to be kind to our bodies, and ask yourself this question: "Would I rather eat a chocolate bar and feel good now and guilty tomorrow, or eat a piece of fruit and feel good for a lifetime with no guilt''. A healthy diet should be 80% organic and 20% what you want. Enjoy your day

Love Heather

Popcorn Bites: Fiddler on the Roof (1971) :) No Spoilers :)

Directed by: Norman Jewison

Starring: Topol, Norma Crane and Leonard Frey

Genre: Drama, Family, Musical

IMBD Synopsis: In pre-revolutionary Russia, a poor Jewish peasant must contend with marrying off his three daughters while antisemitic sentiment threatens his home.

My Rating: 7/10

My Comment: I don't have much to say about this movie other than the fact that I loved the songs, and love the writing because it was a good story. Sorry for the short review today. Enjoy your day :)

Love, Heather

Bridesmaids (2011) *Minor Spoilers*

 

Directed by: Paul Feig

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rose Burn

Genre: Comedy, Romance

IMBD Synopsis: "'Annie (Kristen Wiig), is a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. Annie's life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian's maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she'll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you'll go for someone you love.''

My rating: 6/10

My Comment: To be honest with you guys, when I watched this movie for the first time I didn't like it. That's mainly because I was expecting something totally different. And the part where everybody gets food poisoning in the bridal store really grossed me out. I found this movie similar to The Hangover but the female version. The second time I watched it, it was with a friend and I enjoyed it more since I knew what was to be expected. I loved Melissa McCarthy's performance in the movie though and one of my favourite parts of the movie was the plane scene. When you watch this movie, watch it with one of your best girl friends and get a huge bowl of popcorn ready. Enjoy your day x

Love Heather

Stir fry quinoa- Vegetarian meal

 Ingredients:

1. Quinoa 1/4 cup
2. Stir fry (any kind)
3. Onion* optional
4. Tomato* optional
5. Olive oil
6. Garlic* Optional
7. Spices* Optional
8. brown rice *optional

Directions for stir fry

1. Coat the surface of the frying pan with olive oil. Get rid of all the excess with a paper towel.
2. turn the stove onto a medium heat.
3. While you wait for the pan to heat up, get your stir fry ready.
4. Throw that in with your oil and keep stirring it for 10 minutes.
5. Mix in some garlic, onion and tomato to give it a sweet taste

Directions for quinoa

1. Measure out 1/4 cup of qunioa and pour into a microwavable dish.
2. Cover the quinoa with 1 cup of water
3. put a lid on the dish
4. Cook in the microwave for 10 minutes.
5. Add any spices you want when serving it with your stir fry

If you want a more filling meal, cook some brown rice

A hard day's night (1964) :) No Spoilers :)

Directed by: Richard Lester

Starring: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

Genre: Comedy, Musical

IMBD Synopsis: ''The Beatles--the world's most famous rock and roll band--travel from their home town of Liverpool to London to perform in a television broadcast. Along the way they must rescue Paul's unconventional grandfather from various misadventures and drummer Ringo goes missing just before the crucial concert."

My rating: 7.5/10

My Comment: Many people that know me, know that I am a huge Beatles fan. Some people even call me an ''old soul'' but instead of it insulting me, I see it as a compliment. I just love the 50's, 60's and 80's those three decades (in my opinion) where the best times for music and movies. Nowadays we have computers that do everything for us where as in the older days they had to work ten times harder. What I suggest to you guys is to watch at least one old movie a month before the 21st century. Trust me, your life will change. Anyways enough rambling and back to the movie, I loved the humour of the film, Ringo was by far the funniest of the group. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack but then again that's just me being biased since I love The Beatles. Definitely give this movie a chance even if old music and movies aren't your thing. Enjoy your day, afternoon or night :)

Apologies, update and new schedule (Heather)

Ok, first of all I want to start off by saying that I am really sorry for Imani and I not blogging a while. Things have just been crazy with exams. Since I am done, I will be carrying on. Please be patient with Imani's blogs though since she is still going to be a while longer since she is writing matric finals.

I have just completed my Early Childhood Development certificate and hopefully I will be able to start with my degree in a year's time.

I would also like to mention that I will be posting things a little differently from my side. As most of you who have been following would have noticed that I do book reviews on Tuesdays, Fitness posts on Thursdays and movie reviews and Saturdays. But from now on it is going to be: Tuesdays will still be book reviews, Thursdays will still be fitness but Saturdays will be Recipes and daily I will post movie reviews because there is so many that I want to share with you guys.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.

Love,
Heather McIntosh