Review: Before I Fall

"So how was Christmas for you guys? Did you get lots of nice black t-shirts?" ~Gerard Way (I hope you got lots of nice black t-shirts. I know I got a nice black Taylor Swift t-shirt. Does that count?)

You know what's not fun? Trying to type a blog post on your iPod and watch 'Teenagers' at the same time. That's what. I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I apologize for taking so long to get a post up, but you know how busy the holidays are. Anyway. I recently finished Before I Fall. Ok, so maybe not recently, but I was busy with Christmas stuff. You understand right? Anyway, Before I Fall was really awesome and now it's review time!!!

(I found it funny that they put the 'i' directly on her nose!)

I read this book for leisure, but it can be really intense depending how your reading it. I thought it was wonderful with a great storyline, though it was somewhat predictable. In the book, the main character died and got to live her last day of life seven more times. Well, of course, everyday she changes something, and learns something new each day.

Before I Fall really made me think, something I always like. I highly recommend this book for girls. Not guys. Just don't guys. Another thing I noticed about this book was whenever Oliver introduced a new character, she gives them full names. I hate coming up with names and I'm really bad at it. So this chick must be talented. I can't wait for her write another book.

So, if you wanna read this book, check that out here. Also, if you want a better summary (yeah, I know I'm super bad at summaries) there's a video that explains the book down below. I hope that Lauren Oliver writes more books soon, because I would most definitely be interested in reading them.

Review: Inception

SPOILER ALERT! 

(we don't want to ruin your fun kids)

We started to write this blog post at 2:00 Am, but we got distracted by the wonder of YouTube and never finished. And by we, we mean your ever wonderful main blogger, Alice, and her best friend Hollie from her sister blog (which you can check out here) (To avoid confusion Hollie will type in italics)

Hey guys, just taking the italics for a spin, you know testing out how they work? Anyway, I got my father a new blu-ray play for "the holidays" (That means Christmas where I come from) and the movie Inception, and Alice and I decided to take it for a spin. 

We already gave you the spoiler alert so here's the Weird Name Alert!

The main character is Mr. (Dom) Cobb. He's a skilled extractor of people's dreams along with his beginning crew Arthur and  Nash. The movie opens with Cobb face down in the water with (nameless and faceless) children building a sand castle (and immediately you are confused or at the very least question filled.). Cobb is then drug into a Japanese castle where he wants to extract a Japanese man's thoughts for the Cobol company. Unfortunately the mission fails due to Mal (Cobb's sub-conscious projection of his dead wife) and then they are hired by the Japanese man to plant an idea into the head of a major competing company . Cobb assembles his team, including four new crew members, Eames, Ariadne, Saito, and Yusuf. They figure out how to implant this idea into Robert Fischer's head. The decide to sedate him on a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles and go in to his dream. On the first level of the dream the projections are armed and shoot Saito, but he doesn't die. They use his Uncle Peter to provoke thoughts about his Mr. Fischer's father. After kidnapping him into a van driven by Yusuf, they go into a second level of the dream. This time they're in a hotel. There they turn Robert against his uncle and convince him to go into a third level of the dream. This time they're on a snowy mountain. There they must break into a safe for Robert to get the idea he needs for the idea to be successful. He gets shot by Mal and plunged into Limbo along with Ariadne, Cobb, and Saito. Ariadne and Robert get out, but Cobb must stay behind to find Saito. Eventually he does and they get out alright and Cobb get to see his kids once again.

Now, you have to understand, that when we watched this, Hollie had already seen it once, and I had not, so I was waaaaay more confused that she was. Because it is confusing. It's a very confusing movie. I think you could watch it 20 times and when you watched it again there would still be stuff you missed the first time. This can be both good and bad, depending on your preference and state of mind. I personally like a movie that gets me thinking (I think this movie made me think more than any other I've seen before, thought Eat Pray Love comes in at a close second) and I highly recommend that you don't watch this movie too late or your either be too tired to catch everything or you'll fall asleep, like Mr. Shepard (My dad). All in all, this was a great movie. The guy that came up with the idea for it (Christopher Nolan) must be crazy or something, because I could never come up with an idea like this. It's so intricate and intense. My eyes were glued to the screen. I literally had to remind myself to blink. Be like 'Yo, your eyes are getting all dry. Gotta blink, man. And close yo mouth before you let all the flies in.' 

This is a movie that really makes you think. Trust me you get so deep into this movie an earthquake could happen and you would even know it (that is until the picture went out on the tv). I absolutely love this movie. every single aspect of it leaves you with a question, some are answered, some are not (and the ones that aren't answered surely stay with you for a while until you convince yourself to watch it again just to see if it really was answered and you didn't realize it... yeah it's good). Just go watch it.Plus I love love love LOVE Christopher Nolan <3

Lucky's 10 Classic Pieces: My Picks

Yesterday, I posted Lucky magazine's 10 Classic Pieces and since the pics I put in were Lucky's examples, I thought I would put in my chosen pictures for all 10 pieces. They aren't necessarily my favorite, just ones I like.

1.THE BOOTCUT JEAN

Reese Low-Rise Boot-Cut Cord, Delias
http://www.delias.com/, $44.50

2. THE STRIPED TEE

Zoe Striped Dolman, Delias
http://www.delias.com/, $29.50

3. THE ARMY JACKET

P.S. These are kind of hard to find. I usually just go to Google or Ebay and type in 'Black Parade Jacket'. Any of you guys that are familiar with My Chemical Romance know that this comes from the Black Parade album. I've always wanted one of these jackets. I will get it someday. I also like their new Killjoy jackets, especially Ray's...but anyway. (For any fans, I just found out that if you pause the Na Na Na music video at about 1:27, the dead guy in the sand looks like he wearing one of these!)

4. THE SLOUCHY CARDIGAN

AE Pocket Cardigan, American Eagle
http://www.ae.com/, $39.50

5. THE MOTORCYCLE BOOT

Hondd, Steve Madden
http://www.stevemadden.com/, $99.95

6. THE PEACOAT

Double Breasted Solid Wool Peacoat with Pop Lining, Rue 21
http://www.rue21.com/, $29.99

7. THE SLIPDRESS

Ruffle Maxi, Delias
http://www.delias.com/, $49.50

8.THE TRENCH

Houndstooth Big Button Trench Coat, Rue 21
http://www.rue21.com/, $39.99

9. THE BALLET FLAT

Nitasha, Steve Madden
http://www.stevemadden.com/, $69.95

10. THE PLAID BUTTON-DOWN

Long Sleeve Cotton Check Shirt, Burberry Brit
http://www.burberrybrit.com/, approximatley $300

I hope you enjoyed my picks. I don't know if I will post again before Christmas, but I hope. The next post may be a Before I Fall review. Happy holidays! ~Alice

Lucky Magazine's 10 Classic Pieces

Well readers, all is festive at the Bradley household. The halls have been decked, the candy dishes filled and the tree is sagging under the weight of ornaments of all sorts. Our tree has always been one of a kind. There's ornaments I made when I was in elementary school. ornaments that say 'Baby's First Christmas', and a lot of Wendell August Forge ornaments (my mom has always been a fan).

Today, I'm writing my first fashion post. I'm not being very original though; I got the idea from Lucky, one of my favorite fashion magazines. They ran an article in their December issue (also their 10th birthday issue, a very good issue, I recommend you go pick it up) that included what they thought to be 10 classic pieces that never go out of style. I agreed with it completely and this post was born! So, on to the 10 classic pieces.

1. THE BOOTCUT JEAN

Never too tight, never too baggy (when you get your size), these jeans are classic indeed.



Stretch Jeans, Martin
martinclothes.com, $178


 









2. THE STRIPED TEE

 Ahhh, stripes! I loves stripes, especially on sleeves. Please don't ask why, because I don't know the answer to that. Every girl definitely needs one or two striped shirts. At least.



Cotton "Bio Mariniere" Top, Petit Bateau
212-988-8884, $83









3.THE ARMY JACKET

This is one of my personal favorites. I L-O-V-E military jackets of all kinds. I especially like this one, with the original army green. I also like the collar and concealed zipper. The article says, "Once, it was a trend; decades later it's a staple that makes any outfit cooler." 

Cotton-Blend Field Jacket, Alpha
Kaufman's Army and Navy, $80

4.THE SLOUCHY CARDIGAN

I like cardigans a lot. They are definitely the go to item when you want to where your favorite summer tank in fall or early spring. Plus, they are super comfortable.

Cable-knit Cardigan, Heritage by Banana Republic
$130

5. THE MOTORCYCLE BOOT

Like the military jackets, I have a weakness for boots. Really any kind of boot. Uggs, motorcycle, rain boots, leather, and even combat boots; I love them all. But Lucky hit the nail on the head with this one. Motorcycle boots really are classic.

Leather "Engineer BR" Boots
thefryecompany.com, $198

6. THE PEACOAT

Ah, the peacoat. Recently, I have been sporting a purple peacoat and I love it. They're very classic and chic.

Wool Peacoat
gap.com, $128

 7. THE SLIPDRESS

I really don't have much to say about this one. I don't wear many dresses....so.....



Silk Slipdress, L'Agence
ronherman.com, $375



8. THE TRENCH

Who doesn't love trench coats!? Personally, they make me feel like a spy, which just ups their coolness.

Nylon-Blend Trench, Gryphon New York
bergdorfgoodman.com, $480

9. THE BALLET FLAT

Mmm, I do love a good pair of flats. Comfortable, yet stylish, and they can make the biggest feet (like mine) look smaller. So flats are all around, well, flattering.

Mettalic Suede "BB" Flats, Bergdorf Goodman
212-558-1855, $260



10. THE PLAID BUTTON-DOWN

Well, lets see. I love plaid, so, check. I love anything you can wear over something else, check. And i love button down shirts, check!

Plaid Cotton "Reverse Seam Shirt

stevealan.com, $158



If you guys read this whole thing and made it too the bottom I'm really proud of you so I'll finish up real fast, with just some up dates. Um, my brain was recently hit with a bunch of good blog ideas, so hopefully I'll be posting more. Since all the pics you see above are the examples Lucky chose, I'll probably post my picks tomorrow. If you enjoyed this post and want to see more fashion article and things like that, I encourage you to check out my friend Hollies blog, Hollie Hearts Fashion. I hope everyone survives Monday tomorrow!!! 

Review: Lock and Key

It's just another boring day in Applied Computer Literacy as I sit typing this, listening to My Chemical Romance's 'The Kids From Yesterday'. Me and Scott here have finished all our work, giving us the ability to do whatever we please on the computer for an hour. He's having too much fun virtually killing people, so I chose to write a new post.

Last night, I finished Lock and Key, the book I decided to try after giving up on the oh-so-freaky Going Bovine. Lock and Key was written by Sarah Dessen, and I am rather impressed with her work, since I've also read another one of her books, Just Listen. Both books were fabulous, and today I'm going to focus on Lock and Key.

P.S. There are a couple other covers. I just like this one better then the rest.



There are a lot of good things I could say about this book. Many, many more than bad things, which are actually kind of hard to think of. I liked the characters. Some of them are kind of average, but I think you'll have that with just about any book. I've found that Dessen's characters are usually pretty good, and usually original.

The story was pretty one of a kind, something I definitely look for. It was like you were reading about a certain part of the main character's (Ruby) life, and then it would go to a different part that you almost forgot about, but now that your back to it, it's a pleasant surprise. Yeah, I know my head is messed up.

This story is definitely for girls. It has a little of every element, good (friendship, family, love) and bad (moving, abuse, loss of love). I think the story it tells and can teach lessons to many different kinds of people. It certainly makes you think.

All in all, I would rate this book 4 out of five stars. I really enjoyed it and plan on reading more of Sarah Dessen's novels in the future. If you want to check it out, you can but it here. You can also check out reviews and a summary at the link.

One last thing, I promise. I was thinking about it early, and I thought it might be neat it I put a list of who I might cast for characters if they mad this book into a movie. Here you go! (Keep in mind, I hardly ever use the descriptions in books to decide what a character looks like so....)
Ruby (main character) - Don't hate me anti-Twilighters, but I think I would cast Kristen Stewart for this role.
Nate (Ruby's new friend)- maybe Chad Micheal Murray in his younger Cinderella Story days....
Ruby's Mom- Sigourney Weaver
Olivia- Giovonnie Samuels

These are just a few of the characters, by the way. Well, that's all for now. I hope I didn't bore you too much. My next post will probably be a review on Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver or a list of some of my favorite quotes. Have a good Thursday!

Name Change

Hello all! You may have noticed the name change. I've been playing around with different names in my head for a while, and my dear friend Hollie (check out her blog, Hollie Hearts Fashion) helped me with this one. I'll probably keep it for a while, see if it grows on me. If not, I guess it will change again. I'm kinda of waiting for the day this awesome name is just going to fall out of the sky and hit me in the face.

Also, I must tell you, I tried this new game I saw on YouTube. It is called QWOP and it is soooo stupid, but kind of addicting at the same time. You see, your trying to make this guy run, but he has, like, not bones or joints. I keep trying to find a pattern to make this dude run, but it's just not working. So if your looking for a time waster, you might want to check it out. But, if you're at work, or actually trying to be productive, don't even think about it. Trust me. Have a happy Monday!

An image from QWOP

P.S. If you think you can handle QWOP, check it out here.

Special Birthday Shout Out

I just wanted to wish my sister from another mister, Hollie, a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you have an awesome birthday, sis!

Review...kinda: Going Bovine

Sooo....you know I how I said that if I posted a Going Bovine review really fast it meant it was so good that I read it really fast? Well, I lied. And you know how I said that the beginning was really good? Well, I didn't lie on that one. It was good. But then everything went downhill. Fast. And it got strange. Fast. And I'm using grammar that would make my English teacher cry. A lot. So, if I were you, I wouldn't even try to read it. I still think the writer, Libba Bray, is amazing, however. I would highly recommend Libba's Gemma Doyle Trilogy if you are looking for a good read. Remember to check in tomorrow for the special message! Have a good Thursday!

Review: The Thief

After much hard work, I finally finished one of the books I'm being forced to read for an English festival. The first book I read (The Hunger Games) was AMAZING! Then I moved on to The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, and I have to be honest, it was pretty awful. Would you like to hear about it's awfulness? (Is this a word? I hope so.) Too bad, I'm going to tell you anyway.



Considering this book was written from a male perspective, I should probably get a guys opinion on this book (I really shouldn't read my post out loud while I'm typing, because my friend Scott here just said, "It was amazing!"), but I'm not going to. I think that was actually one of the biggest problems for me. I don't like reading things from a male perspective, being female and all. So a lot of guys would probably like this book.

When I read, I like to have some sort of connection with the characters, so I can relate to what they are going through. That really didn't happen with this book. Again, there weren't many female characters in this book, so that's probably why. Also, it was all action, no romance. I love a good romance. So I guess it wasn't necessarily a bad book, it just didn't appeal to my personal taste. I would recommend this book to people who like action books or people that enjoy being bored out of their mind.

Today I started reading Going Bovine by Libba Bray, and it's pretty good so far. So hopefully I will have a review for you soon, which means that it was a good book that I read really fast. Have a good week!

Wanna buy it? Get The Thief here.

P.S. Check in Friday for a special message ;D

Taylor's Secret Message

Hello all! Just so you know, I hope that I will be posting more frequently in the future, since it's time for me to start hybernating. Like my dear friend Hollie, I am no friend to the cold. I think this dusting of snow we recieved in my town makes everything beautiful, but is also cold and wet. Therefore, when winter comes, I usually bundle up inside with a good book and hot chocolate.

On to the important part! (I apologize, I know my rantings can become long winded and boring.) In my last post (the review on Taylor Swift's Speak Now), I mentioned Taylor's secret messages in the part of the review about the song Innocent. I thought I would post about that, since it most likely sparked the interest of every T-Swizzle fan that did not previously know about this.

If you were to look inside the copy of Speak Now that you have hopefully bought by now, you would find that little book with all the lyrics in it that you can find in most other CDs. Taylor Swift's 'little books' are unique however, because here lyrics contain what looks like random capitalized letters, but is much more. Written out, they spell secret messages that tell you more about the song. I'm not going to give you a list of all the messages of course. I'll let you do that for yourself.  ~Love Alice
P.S. I apologize for any typos. This was a quick post!

Review: Speak Now

Taylor Swift's Speak Now has been out for about a month now, so its review time!!! I love this CD, with its mix of slow, sad songs, faster songs that you can relate to so well, and those songs that just make you want to dance!

This is a list of the songs and what I thought of each one. They each are very meaningful in there own way. These are in order, by the way, so this also the track list.

1. Mine: I think my favorite part about this song is the story it tells.
2. Sparks Fly: I think the chorus is awesome. It really stands out.
3. Back to December: This songs is sweet. Its a change for Taylor. Most of her songs call out the wrong things guys have done to here, but this one is an apology.
4. Speak Now: This song is SO CATCHY! I know all the words by heart now, and I just can't not sing when it comes on.
5. Dear John: This is a slower song, maybe my least favorite on the CD. It's not that I don't like it, I just like songs that I can sing and jump around too.
6. Mean: This is a great song. It has a great beat and cute lyrics!
7. The Story of Us: I think I would describe this song as clever. Cleverly written, I suppose. This is another great one to sing along to.
8. Never Grow Up: Mmm, I love this song. It relates me, since, unlike most other people, I have this aversion to growing up.
9. Enchanted: When I hear this song, I can't help but see people wearing, like, eighteenth century.
10. Better Than Revenge: Definitely on of my favorites of all her songs. She posted this on her site: 'The song "Better Than Revenge" is about a girl, who a few years ago, stole my boyfriend. I think she probably thought I forgot about it, but I didn't.'
11. Innocent: She performed this at the VMAs, and even though I don't think she ever said it, it's for Kayne West. The secret message (more on that later) is quite ironic, making this song even better.
12. Haunted: I don't know why, but I haven't listened to this song very many times. It has an awesome strings part though.
13. Last Kiss: Huh, another one I haven't heard too many times. I guess I always start at the beginning of the CD and sometimes I don't hear the whole thing...
14. Long Live: This song (which is very awesome) is for her band and her fans. I think it's really neat and unique that she wrote that.

All in all, this CD is AMAZING! It's so fun to watch Taylor come out with all this new stuff, watch her change. If I were you, and I didn't have this CD, I would DEFINITELY buy it. The audio of her songs that you look up on YouTube are changed for copyright reasons. So, if you want to buy it (you know you do) there's a variety of options!

There's the good old plain CD, which you can get here. Or, if you want a little bonus (who doesn't!?), you can get the Target addition with bonus tracks over here. And, if you think you can handle it, get tons of stuff, like the CD with a bracelet, hats, gloves, scarves, or my personal favorite, the guitar picks, ALL at the Taylor Swift Online Store! Happy shopping!

Review: Eat, Pray, Love the book (Hollie style)

Hello there, it's Hollie Elizabeth Shepard from over at heartsbyhollie.com (if you'd like to read my blog too {Hollie hearts Fashion} click... here). My best friend Alice asked me if I would write a review on the book Eat, Pray, Love because I've actually read it (more than once) and of course I happily obliged (anything for Alice!). So without further ado (or rambling) I present to you Eat, Pray, Love the book review.

In the beginning, our author explains that she's writing this book based on an ancient religious necklace (that I can't remember, let alone spell) that has 108 beads(well actually it has one more which is why there's a preface {it symbolizes the 109th bead]), therefore the book has 108 chapters each one symbolizing a bead.

Book One, Italy

I promise I'm going to do my best not to spoil anything (no promises). The book opens (and actually is about 1/3 filled with) things about her divorce and how it basically ruins her life. It also explains how she got the idea to go on this 1 year trip and write a book about it. And of course it wouldn't be a book about Italy without actually talking about her trip to Italy! 

Fav quotes from this section!

"Vegetarian except for bacon" (A personal life philosophy lolz)

"Do you think Rome has a word? Yes, Sex. It's the city of Sex"

Personally, the Italy book is my absolute favorite! (honestly after this part it really gets boring). It's one of the few reasons I'm so obsessed with Italy now. She vividly describes her "no carb left behind adventure", all of her friends in Italy, and just the plain charm of several cities of Italy. Honestly, it completely changed my whole look on life. It teaches you that sometimes in life you just need to put all your stresses aside and enjoy what you love. This part at least is a must-read!

Book two, India

From Italy, she travels to an Ashram (a solitary, religious institute)  in India. There she struggles with her studies and meets Richard from texas whom nicknames her Groceries. Eventually she makes peace with the "universe" and gains spiritual balance.

Honestly, I thought Richard and Liz were going to fall in love, and I was so disappointed when they didn't, beside that let down, I also had higher hopes than this book reached. I hoped that it would be more inspiring than it was, but sadly, unlike the first chapter, it was not. I found my self wondering when (or if) this chapter was ever going to end!

Book Three, Indonesia (Bali)

Here she rents a house and see an old friend. He tells her she should heal by looking for love and she meets two men whom she's extremely interested in. I won't spoil anymore! 

This book just made me angry! She fell in love too fast (and in my opinion, with the wrong person!) I don't like the character she fell in love with. He in my opinion is totally not her type. UGH! I'll stop ranting....

Over all, I personally loved the book!I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a a good read! 

With Love, Hollie *heart*

Review: Eat Pray Love

Like any other boring night at the Bradley household, we headed to the movie rental place. I had intentions of getting Vampires Suck (for Twilight fans and haters alike, this movie comes out on Tuesday), but ended coming home with Eat Pray Love.

Eat Pray Love features Julia Roberts as Liz Gilbert. In the film, Liz is struggling to find herself. She decides to travel to Rome, India, and Bali for a year, and she learns a lot while she is abroad.  I won't give you too much detail. Wouldn't want to ruin it for you!

As odd as it may sound, my opinion changed drastically throughout the course of this movie and even after it was over. At the beginning of the movie, I was very interested, and it held my attention for a while. Then, once she left Italy, I began to lose interest, and continued to down until the end. So I would probably rate the first half four out of five stars. Towards the end, I'd probably only give it three and then two stars. But once I got to thinking about it, I couldn't stop. I wonder now if that was the creator's intention. Did they really want to tell you the story of some writer from New York that spontaneously decides to travel around the world?

No, I don't believe that. I think they wanted to transmit a message, and knew that with people's attention span these days, it would hold peoples attention if there was a story to go with that message. So, after all this ranting that was going on inside my head (it can get pretty busy up there), I decided that this movie, no, this message is a good four out of five stars.

As I said before, my brain is usually going 100 miles an hour. So...as nerdy as this may sound, I took notes while I watched Eat Pray Love. I knew if I didn't I would forget all my thoughts by the next day. I basically wrote down what I liked and didn't like. Unfortunately, I wrote down a lot more negative than positive things. For example:

• They fall in love too fast.
• All of the men look alike! Most of the men had dark hair.
• I think Liz thinks too much.
• The main character is interesting, but I found her somewhat hard to relate to.
• It was definitely hard to keep track of how much time was passing. There were parts where I thought maybe a couple weeks had gone by, when really a couple months had elapsed.
• Some of the accents made it hard to understand. (I recommend subtitles!)
• It was somewhat long and drawn out.
• The ending was disappointing.

There were good things about it though:

• The characters were interesting.
• There were some good quotes (I'm a quote addict).
• The scenery is nice.
• It was nice to see other cultures.
• There was interesting symbolism. I'll let you find that on your own.

All in all, I think I would recommend this to certain people and not others. Some women would definitely like this. Some would not however. I think you have to kind of like all that deep emotional stuff to appreciate Eat Pray Love. Men- don't even try. Most of you will be snoozing in the first five minutes. This is DEFINITELY a chic flick.

I hope you liked the review and found it useful. If it sound like your kind of thing, you can buy it right here. If you're interesting in reading the book (I know I am...), you can find that, in the hardcover, paperback, audio book, or Kindle addition all right here.

Hello everyone!

My name is Alice, and I am new to the blogging world. I'm excited to have the ability to share my opinion with others. I've never been much of a public speaker, and I think blogging will be a great way to get my words out in the open.
I have alot of interest. I love to read and write. I love, love, love music. So I plan on posting alot of review on books, the music I've been jamming to lately. I warn you, I have quite a variety of interest and my thoughts can be quite scattered at times, but thats just the way I am. I hope my blogging adventure will be fun. Let the journey begin!