Movies We've Watched - Happiest Season

 

Last weekend, I watched Happiest Season on Hulu.  I thought it was super cute.  It was heartbreaking at times but also hilarious and heartwarming.  

This movie is about Abby and Harper.  We see their relationship blossom quickly in an illustrated montage in the opening credits and then a sweet moment with the two of them.  Then, Harper invites Abby home for Christmas with her family.  Abby accepts and plans to propose on the visit.  Right before they arrive at Harper's family's home, Harper tells Abby that she has not come out to her parents.  This results in both girls entering the house going along with the parents' assumption that they are straight.  Through it all, Harper's parents are trying to set her up with her ex-boyfriend and an ex-girlfriend shows up.  

I found it difficult to agree with all of Harper's actions at first, but I understood her more and more throughout.  Overall, it was a good romcom to get me into the season.  I so rarely get to movies around this time because it's so busy so I am glad it premiered on Hulu so I got to watch it.  I know it's not ideal for movies, but these are crazy times.

Books We're Reading - Eerie Elementary

 

Eerie Elementary is a new series Captain and I have been reading.  When we read The Witches, he LOVED it in a way that he's never loved a book before.  He wanted all of the scary books.  However, there aren't a lot of scary books for first graders.  I did a search and this series came up.  So, we learned about the pandemic safety measures at the library and put the first book on hold.  It was a hit!  So, we put the next 4 books on hold.  

This is a super cute series.  It's for kids 6-8 or a 2nd grade reading level.  Captain is a little below benchmark for his reading, but he loves listening to books, and he can now read select words on each page.  Sam is chosen to be hall monitor and starts to be in tune with the creepy school.  Mr. Nekobi is the grounds keeper and keeps all the kids safe from the school.  It turns out the school is angry and wants to absorb the children.  Sam and his friends, Antonio and Lucy, save the school in the first book.  

In the second book, Antonio and Lucy get promoted to Assistant Hall Monitors and continue to figure out how the school is haunted/possessed?  We're only 3/4 of the way through the second book so I don't know much more than that.  Anyway, if you have a young reader who likes a bit of the creepy, these are fun.

Books We've Read - Country Boy

I won the first three books of this series, Hot Off the Ice.  Country Boy is the first in the series by A.E. Wasp.  During a night of insomnia, I sped through the first book.  I have some nitpicks, but overall, I liked the story.  It was everything I needed at 3 in the morning.

It's about a professional hockey player nearing the end of his career.  He is recovering from injury and decides to spend the holiday (it takes place right before Thanksgiving) recuperating at his new house he inherited.  He has a meet cute with the current tenant of the house (and, of course, he has no idea that's who he is).  

A couple of things to know: main character has a best friend on his hockey team as well as is still good friends with his ex-wife.  Pretty much everyone suspects he's gay (you know this from page 1).  When the dude meets his meet cute, it all kind of clicks.  

There are some clunky parts with the legalities of the inheritance and the ex-boyfriend, but the main couple was cute as was all of their relationships with friends and family.  I would have been happy just to read the Thanksgiving portions - full of family, friends, sexy times.  I think the family and friendships were written really well.

I'm also reading The Nickel Boys so it's all either very light or very heavy for me.

Movies We've Watched - Dash & Lily

I binge-watched Dash & Lily on Netflix last weekend.  It was adorable.  Yes, you need to suspend a bit of disbelief as Dash & Lily are teenagers in NYC at the holidays and somehow are allowed free reign of the city as well as have the cooperation of the entire city in their scheme.

Dash is a cynic stuck at home alone at Christmas with each of his parents thinking he is with the other parent.  He's a book snob, hates Christmas, and somehow still has friends.  Lily is a wide-eyed awkward girl who loves Christmas.  Her family is very close, but her parents decide to go to Fiji for Christmas which leaves her a bit bothered.  

Lily's brother starts a little dare book in order to hook Lily up with a like-minded boy.  So, enter Dash who plays the little scavenger hunt and tries the first dare.  With each task/dare, the two learn more about each other.  Meanwhile, they are distracted by real people in their lives - an old rival (possibly a new boyfriend) and an ex-girlfriend.  

There is a fairly large supporting cast and a lot of color and music.  It was just really cute.  It's a fast, little series.  I have owned the book for a bit so I look forward to reading that as well.

Movies We're Watching - Ted Lasso

I broke down and got the free preview of Apple+ (though I haven't decided if I'm keeping it or not).  Anyway, I binged Ted Lasso to watch within the free week.  I ended up watching it in a couple of days.  I know almost nothing about football (soccer).  I don't think you need to know anything about football, but I think it helps a lot if you do.  I did need to look up relegation for example.  

It was a funny show with a lot of laughs between the sports, culture shock, and just general physical comedy, but it had a lot of heart, too.  I did feel for the characters.

Ted Lasso is an American college football coach that gained fame from a viral video of him dancing.  He's hired by the new owner of a British football club who gains the club in her recent divorce.  The ex-husband only cared about the football club (and cheating).  So, her plan was to tank the club.  However, Ted is very earnest and determined to do his best.  

I think it would have been easy to make any number of the characters two dimensional from the duck-out-of-water coach to the egotistical athlete to the model girlfriend to the scheming owner, but it never did other than to use those stereotypes to turn your expectations around.

Movies We're Watching - Staged

 

I tumbled upon Staged during a time where I was bored and wanted something to watch that didn't require any brain power.  I'm at that time at work and pandemic lockdown where I can barely function during business hours, let alone in my personal time.  

Staged is a short, little series we borrowed from the BBC.  David Tennant and Michael Sheen and a small cast of characters play, for the most part, exaggerated/fictional versions of themselves.  Simon Evans decides to direct a play during lockdown starring David and Michael and there are some shenanigans.  I found it utterly lovely.  It was funny, relatable in parts, and surprisingly touching.  Thumbs up to the surprise cameos, too.  It's playing on Hulu if this seems like something that appeals to you.  

Movies We've Watched - The Witches

 

Captain has been loving most of Roald Dahl's books.  He loved Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and The Witches.  He did not take to The BFG so far.  The Witches has been his favorite by far.  He really loves the darkness in the books.  I found this one disturbing on a few levels, but those parts just captivated him.  

There is the original movie.  I've never seen it because it seemed too scary.  Then, HBO Max came out with a version in October.  Captain counted down the days.  I tried to warn him that it may not follow the book exactly.  It didn't, but it followed the general tone and arcs of the book.  It was American-ized and softened a little.  For example, you didn't see the Grand High Witch peel off his face or the boy (turned mouse) have his tail cut off, and the end was slightly tweaked.  It was still fun and flashy.  I think it was a tricky one to adapt.  

Maybe we'll try to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together next.  Currently, we're going through the Eerie Elementary series.  Captain loves dark and creepy books which are near impossible for the 6 year old reading level!

Movies We've Watched - James and the Giant Peach

 

Captain rewards himself with the movie versions of all the books we've read together.  James and the Giant Peach is not my favorite book or movie, but he loved it.  That said, if you are a fan, I highly recommend Taika Waititi's YouTube reading of this book.  It's delightful.  We sped through the book very quickly.  

Cranberry Brussels Sprouts Receipe

I gifted myself Harry & David pears and could not eat them all.  So, I did a search for recipes and came up with this one.  I needed the oven for something else, but I normally would have roasted everything a bit longer.  Also, I'm not in love with my honey.  It made this too sweet.  I think I would have gone with a balsamic reduction drizzle.  Either way, it was good enough for one lunch, and then I gave the rest to my parents who said they liked it.  

Cranberry Brussels Sprouts Recipe (link to recipe)

Ingredients

  

• 1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts
• 2 pears cored and cut into 8 wedges each
• ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion or red onion
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 or 4 lemon wedges
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ¼ cup dried cranberries

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the Brussels sprouts, pears, and onion and toss to coat with the olive oil. Season with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
• Place the mixture on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake until the Brussels sprouts are golden brown and have started to crisp and the pears have caramelized, about 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking.
• Squeeze 3 of the lemon wedges over the pan and drizzle with the honey. Add the dried cranberries and toss to combine well. Taste and season with more lemon and salt and pepper, if needed. Serve immediately.

Fall

 How is it Fall already?  I haven't been doing much in any measurement.  

We've hit a groove with school.  The marking period ended.  Little Miss has straight A's after taking a bit to acclimate to virtual learning.  Captain doesn't really get grades, but he's improved so much and has taken to virtual learning (with a lot of help and guidance from us).  

I've been mostly "catching up" on The Big Bang Theory.  I watched the first two seasons, but then I drifted away so I picked up at Season Three and am steadily making my way through the seasons.  I still enjoy it, but I think I'm hitting some fatigue.  

I haven't read one book in months, but I may have to make myself sit and do it to get back in the groove.  On the plus side, my book buying has slowed (though not stopped).

We celebrated Little Miss's 13th birthday.  We tried to make it as special as we could without going out or seeing people.  She briefly saw some friends outside to receive gifts.  We gifted the friends with cupcakes.

These cupcakes were very involved, similar to the other cupcakes and cake I made earlier in the year.  I don't think my meringue was perfect.  It wasn't thick enough, but it was starting to separate, and I didn't want to redo it so I just stopped where it was.  It was still smooth and tasty, just not the right texture.  I don't think we also heated it high enough, but the cake part is delicious.  I don't always find plain cake recipes that extraordinary versus doctored box mixes, but this one was so good (it may have helped that I paid a lot for the gourmet cocoa).

Here is the recipe if you are interested.

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 6 Large Egg whites
• 1 1/4 Cup Sugar (250 g / 8.5 oz)
• 1/4 tsp Cream of tartar
• 2 Cups Unsalted butter, soft (454 g / 16 oz)
• 20 Oreo Cookies

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 Cup AP Flour (180 g / 6 oz)
• 1/2 Cup + 2TBS Cocoa powder (65 g / 2.5 oz)
• 1 1/8 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Large Egg yolk
• 3/4 Cup Milk (180 ml / 6 oz)
• 1/3 Cup Canola Oil (90 ml / 3 oz)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/3 Cup Sugar (275 g / 10 oz)
• 2/3 Cup Boiling Water (150 ml / 5 oz)

Instructions

To Make the Buttercream

1. In a bowl of a standing mixer, pour the sugar then add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Use a hand whisk to blend it all.

2. Place the bowl on top of a pot with simmering water on the stove. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

3. Use a hand whisk to stir the mix and cook until it reaches 130F or when the sugar has dissolved.

4. Remove bowl from stove and back to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

5. Mix until a stiff meringue has formed and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch of your hand.

6. Reduce speed to low-medium and add the butter a piece at a time, gradually increase speed to medium-high and mix until a smooth creamy buttercream has formed.

7. Measure 1 cup of buttercream and place in a medium bowl

8. Separate the Oreos cookies remove and place the filling in the bowl with the small amount of buttercream.

9. Use a fork or a hand whisk to blend the filling and buttercream then in a piping bag fitted with a round tip.

10. Place the separated cookies in a food processor and process it into a very fine meal. Remove and lumps or large pieces you notice.

11. Sprinkle the ground Oreos on top of the buttercream and mix until a cohesive buttercream has formed.

12. Fill a large piping bag fitted with a large tip (your choice of shape).

Baking The Cupcakes

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix to blend.

2. In a bowl of a standing mixer, place the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla pour the sugar on top then add the dry ingredients.

3. Use the paddle attachment to mix on low until completely smooth then pour the boiling water and mixing carefully until smooth. Let sit for 15 minutes. (do not over mix)

4. Fill cupcakes liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry from the center of the cupcakes.

5. Preheat oven to 350F, line 1-12 cup muffin tines with cupcakes liners.

6. Remove from stove and allow to completely cool before filling and decorating.

Filling and piping the cupcakes

1. Using a sharp knife, cut an inch sized circle at the center of each cupcake. Make sure you insert the knife 1" deep and as you cut around, create a cone-shaped piece you can easily remove.

2. Use the white buttercream to fill the center of the cupcakes then the dark buttercream to pipe the cupcake.