Further Geeking Out

Here's the verdict: Harry Potter was amazing. But Tuesday was great even before that...

My best friend flew in from Houston yesterday! She's a military child, so she moves around quite a bit, but she actually spent 4 years here before heading back to Texas. It was so fantastic to see her again. Three of her friends (plus my mom) went to the airport and picked her up, and we went to my house and just talked on the porch. Nothing compares to catching up with someone in person, no matter how often you text or talk on Facebook. After a good, long chat and some homemade macaroni and cheese, we headed off to Harry Potter!

First of all, I'm not gonna be all like "people like this, I can't possibly be a fan any more" because I've loved the Harry Potter books since second grade. I'm not a jump-on-the-bandwagon fan and I also don't abandon things when they become cool. Just so you know.

Anyway...we got to the theater at about 8:30 to stand in line. I think they had 6 screens showing Harry potter at midnight. The theater here is crazy; it's called the Marcus Majestic, and it has 2 ultra screens, around 15 regular theaters, another ultra screen called the Palladium that serves full meals, a huge concession stand, a pizza place, a coffee and ice cream shop, a martini bar, a child care center, and valet parking. It's seriously insane. So, the seven of us sat around in line until they opened the doors. We were pretty far back and ended up toward the front, but at least we found seats together. It was such a huge party (I chose not to dress up this time, but there were some pretty great costumes) and everybody in the theater was screaming and singing. One of the theater workers got a megaphone and tried to get the whole theater to sing "Mysterious Ticking Noise", which completely failed. The row in front of us was filled with a lot of drama/choir people from my school (including a kid in a Batman mask) and they sang Bohemian Rhapsody, Build Me Up Buttercup, and a ton of other songs.

Then, the movie! I legitimately liked it. I think it was the first one that I would've been able to enjoy even if I wasn't a fan. There was good action, and enjoyably awkward sexual tension. ;) (Ah, those 16-year-old.) Won-won! I'm not going to spoil the movie, but I'm going to tell you that it was awesome.

This is sort of (but not completely) off-topic, but ModCloth had a list of bad pick-up lines, and there was a Harry Potter one on it. I was bored, so I ended up searching for Harry Potter pick-up lines. Here's a list of the best ones!

• My name may not be Luna, but I sure know how to Lovegood.
• If I were to look into the Mirror of Erised, I would see us together.
• I'm not wearing an invisibility cloak, but do you think I could visit your restricted section tonight?
• Is that a wand in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
• Are you using the Confundus Charm, or are you just naturally mind-blowing?
• I must need Occlumency, because I can't get you out of my thoughts.
• Did you survive Avada Kedavra? 'Cause you're drop dead gorgeous.
• I'm like Oliver Wood, baby--I'm a Keeper!
• I'm like the spine on the Care of Magical Creatures book Hagrid assigned us; stroke my spine and I'll open right up.
• I might as well be under the Imperius Curse, because I would do anything for you.

I hope you enjoyed that. I did. :)

I AM SO EXCITED...

...TO SEE HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE ON TUESDAY NIGHT.

:D

This Entertainment Weekly article had the cutest pictures ever. (Bonnie Wright looks so much older in real life. I couldn't believe it!) Though Daniel Radcliffe doesn't have the greatest fashion sense (toggle-clasped suits?) and Rupert Grint usually looks like he just rolled out of bed, they put awesome outfits on them and ended up doing great pictures. I've been trying to find these pictures, but it looks like only the cover is online. :(

Anyway, Potter mania! I'll try and post a review, but I have work and a friend visiting from Texas next week and it's going to be pretty crazy.

Costumes, Jewelry, and Crepes

Hey look! Crazy, ghost, poofy awesomeness! (Awkward posing!) The blouse is a lot poofier in real life. I'll have to take a picture of the broach, too.

This is the watch-necklace I bought thrifting a few weeks ago. It's so beautiful, and it actually works. (Though it's really loud and makes things weird when everything else is quiet.)

On to my week...I started driver's ed, something I'd been putting off for quite a while. The class is pretty boring, but I know it's important and I'm excited to drive. I won't actually drive that often, but walking isn't really an option when it's dark out. I also got my temps, so I went driving once. I didn't crash, but I have a long way to go before I can get out of the parking lot...

Other than that (and working on the movie), I've been working a lot. I started to intern for Organizing for America, so I'm doing a lot of calling people/spreadsheets/going through papers. The work isn't that fun, but overall it's so inspiring. I'm really excited to do it!

On Thursday, I went down to Milwaukee again. The Alterra on the lakefront does a mini Florentine Opera once a month, so we went to that for an hour or so. Then we headed to Cathedral Square Park for...

BASTILLE DAYS! It's a lovely little East Side French festival with great food and a lot of impromptu street performers. (And a miniature Eiffel Tower.)

These guys were spray painting this mural of the Storming of the Bastille.

CREPE CREPE CREPE. Mmmmmm. My favorite part.

Oh look, an outfit! There's that skirt!

Skirt-Summerfest. Shirt-H&M. Earrings & Bracelet-Target. Necklace-Vintage. Purse-Orla Kiley from my mom's friend.

A little story behind the purse. My mom's friend has the greatest sense of style of anyone I've met. She has a ton of purses, and that much closet space, so she brought a bunch to work for the taking. My mom snatched up this fantastic little bag for me, and it's one of the cutest purses I own. Thanks!

Cheer them on to their rivals...

...Cause America can, and America can't say no

And America does, if America says it's so

It's so!

And the anchorperson on TV goes

La de da de da de da de da de da de da...

-16 Military Wives-The Decemberists

Look! Pictures from Bob Dylan that I forgot about!

Ceiling of the Marcus Amphitheater.

Awesome lights that Bob had during a song or two. (I clearly had terrible seats, this is way zoomed and it's not even close.)

On to the weekend!

On Friday, my friend asked me to come help her with this movie. Her friend works at the county's historical museum, and they have to make a modern-day "ghost hunter" video dealing with one of the building's ghost stories. It's the city's old courthouse/jail, so there are a lot of ghost stories floating around (no pun intended. well, maybe.).

The story they chose involves Grace, a schoolteacher. She was asked by a doctor to help him write a book, which was common in those times. They ended up having an affair during the bookwriting process, and he told her Grace would leave his wife for her. When he didn't, Grace got angry and shot his wife. She was put on trial, and had to live in the jail for the duration of the trial. However, women were not usually accused of crimes, so there was no women's jail. An apartment was created for Grace on the fourth floor, where she could have tea and visitors whenever she pleased. Eventually, she was convicted and sent to the state women's prison. However, many believe her ghost returned to the courthouse after she died because it was the last place she had hope.

We spent most of our first day planning, but we also got a tour of the hidden parts of the museum. The basement is wonderfully creepy, and the fourth floor is as well. There are still old cell walls and doors, and the elevator mechanisms are ancient. I'm planning on getting some pictures of the building as well as me in the Grace costume.

To find a costume, we ran to St. Vincent de Paul, my favorite under-appreciated thrift store. After finding a perfect white poofy blouse, we figured we would look through the hats. In the pile of baseball hats and woven sun hats was this perfect flapper hat. It was only 99 cents, and I'm pretty much in love with it.

AWESOME.

I also had a great 4th of July. It was great to finally celebrate America's independence from Bush/Cheney. (And Sarah Palin's resignation!) In the morning, my family headed down to the parade. I always appreciate how my school is represented. There are three public high schools in Waukesha. The other schools just have marching band, colorguard, poms, cheerleading, etc, and so do we. However, South brings something extra: the robotics team, pushing their robot, and the step/dance team, wearing Michael Jackson shirts and white masks. We're a more unique, diverse school, and I really enjoy it.

After the parade, we headed down to Summerfest again. I brought a friend, so I actually got to ride the skyglider. (It makes my mom nervous to see my brother and I on it, though she's not afraid of heights herself, se I've never been on it before.) We did a lot of shopping, watching local bands, and trying new foods. (I had my first gyros!) I really enjoyed walking along the lakefront, where a lot of shops and smaller stages were located. We went to the Tiki Stage, which smelled like Lake Michigan and incense. (totally a good thing, actually.) This guy named Dan Rodriguez was playing there. His songs were a mix of sweet lyrics, acoustic guitar, and silliness. He did a version of the Beyonce song Single Ladies, which could have been terrible, but was quite enjoyable. After watching his set, I picked up a really cute skirt at one of the shops. Here's the pattern, and I'll be sure to post an outfit with it soon:

After Summerfest, we headed down to the Expo Center to watch the fireworks. To me, nothing says Independence Day like laying on a blanket, playing BS, eating homemade popcorn, and watching fireworks fall through the sky.

Lazy blogger already?

It's been, what, a week? Erm...

I guess I'm feeling kind of uninspired/unmotivated lately. Summer should mean I have more time to do stuff that isn't school-related, but this lack of structure just makes me feel like not doing anything. Also, it's been in the 60s all week here. So cold!

One good thing though: I went to Summerfest. If you're not a Milwaukee native, this is Summerfest in a nutshell: a ton of stages with local bands during the day and headliners at night, lasts about 10 days, a lot of beer, one admission prices, tons of international food, lots of shops, and more good people-watching than anyone could ever ask for. It's apparently the world's largest music festival, and the second largest people-gathering in the U.S. (Mardi Gras being the first).

Anyway, it's right in my area, so I always try to go check it out. A lot of times I just go during the day, but this year I saw Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson at the Marcus Amphitheater (the only stage where you have to pay for tickets). It was a good show, despite Bob not interacting with the crowd at all. Also, he didn't do as much of his older stuff that I would've liked. Regardless, it was a great show, and it was Bob Dylan. He's a legend.

The only other exciting thing I've done all week was find a new thrift shop in a church in Elm Grove, a wealthier suburb between my town and Milwaukee. I scored some awesome jewelry which I plan on taking pictures of soon. Lazy blogger indeed. Sorry...

Peace!

Renée

It was one hundred degrees...

As we sat beneath a willow tree

Whose tears didn't care
They just hung in the air
And refused to fall, to fall.

-Crooked Teeth-Death Cab For Cutie

This is generally my view right now, minus the flip-flops (no reason for shoes if I'm not leaving the house, right?). Porch swing, good independent radio, and a fantastic book. I'm completely loving it. Reading on the porch has been my favorite part of summer since I was little.

However, not all of my summer has been that chill. It's been a bit of a crazy week. The temperature has been in the high 80s to mid 90s all week, which isn't too out of the ordinary. There's a great public pool nearby, and lots of great shops where I can grab a gelato, custard(normal ice cream? psh.), or frozen drink. I've managed to "beat the heat" pretty well.

On Tuesday, I went to a small cookout with a friend. Her dad's ex-wife lives nearby, and her now adult children (my friend's half-siblings) invite us over whenever she's out of town. I know it's terrible, but I really enjoy swimming in a private pool sometimes. Plus, her brother grilled some avocado along with the brats and corn on the cob, which is surprisingly amazing!

Tuesday night was when things got a bit hectic. I got home around 11:00, and the air conditioner was broken. I'm not that much of a diva and wouldn't mind if it happened during the day. However, my family prefers it cold when we sleep, so we ended up setting up air mattresses and other makeshift beds downstairs, where it was a bit cooler. I wound up sleeping on the porch, which was more comfortable than the house, actually. This went fantastically until about 5:30. I'm used to having shades that allow me to sleep past sunrise, but that's a bit of an issue on the porch. I got back to sleep eventually, but it made for a rather sleepy day today.

Today Pride and Prejudice and Zombies finally came in for me at the public library. I've had it on hold since before spring break, and I'm ridiculously excited to read it. However, the heat kind of freaked out the city's power grid for a few hours. I was at Divino Gelato and everything shut down. Not too terrible (hopefully no gelato was lost!), but I still didn't get my book...

Tonight went well. I went to an Organizing For America "Health Care Kickoff" party. Organizing For America is essentially a continuation of the Obama campaign that works toward some of President Obama's initiatives. I was really active in the campaign last year, but I hadn't really done any political work since then, which made tonight that much greater. On top of that, I got to see people I hadn't talked to since November! The hostess was one of the members of my mom's "team" (each team covered a small part of the city), and she and her husband own the most adorable piece of land. She has an antique store in the front, her husband has a cafe in another building, and their house is attached to the cafe. The house is so beautiful and historically accurate; it's like Old World Wisconsin, but cozy. On top of that, they had part of an old stone silo and lots of room to explore. I'm going to have to stop in for lunch sometime.

Anyway, outfit post! I remembered!

Dress-Kohl's. Bracelet and Earrings-Target. Necklace-thrifted. Flip flops-Old Navy. Flip-flops are a habit I need to break. It was hot out, so I feel like I have an excuse. Sort of. Sorry for the bad picture, too. I positioned my head right with the birdhouse and the mobile, and it's not working.

The bracelet is actually a lot more gold than this.
Adorable little nautical necklace! I believe I have another one with a different picture, but I forget what of...
Lovely lacy earring. Also, my beauty marks? flat moles? big freckles? What are they called? I honestly don't know.
Carousel horse mobile from when I was a baby.

Much love, (I need a closing. I'm not sure I liked "Shine on"...hmm.)

Renée

The future hangs over our heads...

...And it moves with each current event

Until it falls all around like a cold steady rain

Just stay in when it's lookin' this way.

-"Landlocked Blues"-Bright Eyes (featuring Emmylou Harris)

I went to a good friend's grad party this weekend. It was a great time; a bit awkward at first, as many parties are, but some intense ping pong started in the basement, more people arrived, and conversations started. We enjoyed some dinner off the grill, fruit, and cake. Though we were going to all head out at 8:00, the weather was terrible and some of us stayed and enjoyed the company of a smaller crowd. After my host's eight-year-old brother beat me in chess (I'm not as good as I used to be, and he takes lessons!), the rest of us headed home. Overall, a fantastic evening.

However, grad parties always get me thinking, and this comes more with each year. I watch all of the seniors discuss where they're going to college: Harvard, Penn, Madison, Lawrence, Carthage, UWM and more. As they discuss where they'll be heading off to in the fall, I realize I'll be filling out applications in the fall, and getting ready to move away for the first time. The concept of packing up and leaving people/possessions behind isn't new to a lot of people. However, I've lived in the same exact place all my life; I've never moved away from Waukesha, I've always lived in the same house, and my bed has been in the same corner of my room for all 16 years of my life. I'm excited for college, but also nervous. What if there's nowhere to hang out in my new city? What if everyone there turns out to be stuck up? What if my classes are impossibly hard? What if the weather's weird there? What if my new friends aren't as great as my current ones? What if I hate my major? I understand I'll have time to check out colleges (and I already have a pretty good idea of where I want to go), but that doesn't make my worries go away. Change is good, but that doesn't mean it isn't a challenge sometimes.

I'm having trouble writing this because I don't want to come off as overly attached to my family and hometown. It's just something I think about. I tend to spend a good chunk of time "people watching" at parties. A lot of times, the way people interact is more fascinating than the actual conversation. (More on observations later. I do a lot of this, and it deserves its own post.)

(Here's where I was going to do outfit pictures (yay vanity!), but I completely forgot to take them. That's probably my first goal: remember to take outfit pictures, then use said pictures to improve style. I was attempting to describe my outfit, but it wasn't going too well and I decided to skip it. It was getting a bit long for a footnote. Anyway...I guess I'm ending this post? Better luck next time, self.)

Shine on,

Renée