~~FaLL DeCoRaTiNg TiPs~~!

So many other blogs are posting about home decorating for fall, and you can probably see the "fall decorating" we've done here at JoP (thanks Susan?), so I felt called to share my own plans for fall decorating.

Number one is fragrance. Right now is prime time for pumpkin flavors and scents, but just between you and me, I can only handle so much pumpkin! Candles that smell like vanilla, cookies, any gingerbread product, or toffee all make me wanna barf. I only want my food to smell like food, you know? My go-to scents for cooler weather fall more into the spice-and-herb category. Right now I'm into patchouli, which is a really nice compliment to a citrus scent too. Evergreen is also nice; cedar and eucalyptus will never let you down. So.

HOT: citrus and spice

NOT: cookie scents


Number two: windows. Everybody's changing out their valence-shade colors and hanging garlands of faux leaves, but I'll be covering my windows with shrink-wrap plastic for insulation. My windows may not be "festive," but my energy bill will be beautiful!

HOT: saving energy!
NOT: buying the same curtains in a different color just because the seasons change

Number three: It's what everyone is talking about! CENTERPIECES. Also mantlepieces. A popular idea these days is to cover some fall items (pumpkins, faux or real; leaves; gourds; brown and orange things) in a cake dish and toss leaves around. Voila! But that looks like crap. Another one is to arrange some things in a bowl. Replace your stupid boring old everyday fruit bowl with a...gourd bowl! Toss some multicolored authentic corn husks in for fun.
Just kidding everybody! Unless you run a country club, I wouldn't worry about making new centerpieces for fall. Nobody will notice or care anyway!

HOT: no centerpiece/whatever you already have!
NOT: spending hundred$ on decorative pumpkins and special leaf garlands

Good luck out there, everybody. We all know the next big decorating challenge is right around the corner...stay tuned for Christmas!

Summer Reading Roundup: Far North

This is the cover of Wolf Whistle by Lewis Nordan, one of my favorite books, and what I tried to draw your attention to via highlighting or some kind of very simple text-boxing (but couldn't, because apparently this computer doesn't have a thing that will do that) is the review in the middle: "Six words of advice: Read him. Read him. Read him."

I always laughed at that review, but it's the best I can come up with right now for Marcel Theroux's Far North. I blew through this one in like two days, and I wish it would go on f

orever or that the author would write 100 sequels. Read it, read it, read it!

Again without going too much into detail, Far North's protagonist is the sheriff of an abandoned town in Siberia settled by Quaker Americans during what seems like our lifetime. Then, later in our lifetimes, the earth heats up until there's famine and disease everywhere except the Arctic Circle, so the peaceful Quaker towns they'd settled are overrun with basically everyone in the world who can make it north to look for food. Nuts!

Don't read the NYT review of this book, by the way: it's favorable enough but the reviewer gives away some exciting twists in the plot and gets a few details wrong. Which is a bad combo! I had the luxury of reading this without having heard or read anything about it before--so everything was a surprise, and I liked it that way. I should also say that this was impressive because/despite I'd never read the other big apocalyptic-dystopia books (The Road, The Stand, etc.) and this was all fresh.

Sooooooo, Far North gets an A and might be the best book I've read all summer??????????

JoP Investigates: Cagefest

One of JoP's most loyal readers (she changed my life with the cinnamon sugar Leonardo da Veggie suggestion) has taken on an epic summer project. Hilary is on a quest to watch every Nicolas Cage movie known to man. Join us as we sit down and chat about her joys and sorrows along this journey.

Why Nicolas Cage?
This is such a loaded question, it is causing me to reexamine my choices in life that have led me to this point. When I was a little girl, my dad always told me that one day – maybe not as a kid, maybe not as a tween, but one day – I would have a religious experience and "find" God. I was skeptical until the year 1997, when Con Air and FACE/OFF were both released. Since then, I knew my destiny would be to fulfill this goal of watching every Nicolas Cage film.


Are you watching them in any particular order?
No. I pick them based on how alluring Nicolas Cage's face is on the DVD art.


Did you do anything special to prepare for this? Training, stamina exercises, endurance drills, etc?
I have always been ready for this.


What's your favorite Cage movie so far?
It's a tie between Ghost Rider and Wickerman. And don't call these movies, they are films.


What's the most disappointing movie so far?
Guarding Tess, only because I wanted Shirley Maclaine and Nicolas Cage to have a love affair, and it never happened. (Ed note: Maybe we can hope for this in the eventual Guarding Tess 2).


Which film are/were you most looking forward to?
The Sorcerer's Apprentice


Who does he have the most chemistry with?
Alison Lohman from Matchstick Men


What's your favorite Nic Cage look?
I like him in his Ghost Rider leather ensemble, and I like his look in Bangkok Dangerous. But I might have a new favorite once Sorcerer's Apprentice comes out.
I am very fickle with my favorite Cage look though; so much so that I have a Nicolas Cage Adventure Set on my refrigerator.



What would you say to Nicolas if you could meet him?
There would be no talking, only body language.


Would you call this an "obsession"?
Yes


If so, how does your boyfriend feel about it?
I haven't taken that into consideration.


Are your friends/family supportive of this goal? Or are they obstacles in reaching your goals?
My family is very supportive. Nicolas Cage is really a family obsession – my sister and I watched Con Air, FACE/OFF, and The Rock basically on repeat during high school, and we all went to see Bangkok Dangerous in the theater.


Is this a project for anyone? Who should steer clear?
Some people have expressed disdain for Nicolas Cage's acting ability. I choose to not speak to these people and they can go watch the Twilight saga for all I care.


How will it feel to have seen every Cage film?
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I think it will be painful for me. When I finish an artistic compendium that I have really thrown myself into, I become depressed at the thought that it will never be new to me again. So no matter how many times I watch these films, it will never be as exciting as the first time.


How has Cage inspired you from this experience?
I sort of want to be buried in a pyramid now.


Are you tumblring/bloggin this event? I smell book deal!
No, I think JOP is the only media outlet that might appreciate Nicolas Cage as much as I do. (ed note: very true.)


Which movie icon's filmography are you going to tackle next?
I can't make that decision, it's like buying a new puppy a week after your old dog dies... I just don't have the heart.


May we suggest John Travolta?
You may.

Thanks Hilary for taking time away from "the Cage" to speak with us!