The Hunger Games: REVIEW

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So yesterday I went to see “The Hunger Games”. There was a lot of buzz about it and a lot of talk how big this will be. Movie got 19 million in US only in midnight screenings.  And I kind of didn’t get all the buzz. You have to know that I have not read the books. 
I haven’t planed to write this, but today I just feel like I have to. First impression of the movie was good. I kind of like this post-apocalyptic worlds where order is different and so on. You know, partly fantasy, but very possible one. 
!!! If you want to see this movie: SPOILERS!!!!!!!Movie is set in this post-apocalyptic time in US. World is divided in 12 districts controlled by capital, where rich get richer and poor don’t exist. Capital is enforcing there rules with peacekeepers and it’s using districts for resources. Now before this there was some kind of rebellion and in reminder of that and in honour of capital there are every year The Hunger Games, where 24 teens (boy and girl from each district) fight each other till one stands.  

Panem Capitol

I wrote that there was some kind of rebellion in this world. That’s because in the movie, they mention it ones with a short video and most of why is left out. Therefore the whole movie I was left wondering what happened here before, why hunger games?However this is not the only area that is a bit shallow or in some sense not explained. But then again, movie is already around two and a half hours long. So it seems that the creators had to make some tough cuts. For the same reason, we also don’t get to see characters develop so much. As much as I like Katniss, she appears shallow. At the beginning she is strong and stubborn (volunteers in place of her younger sister) and then in capital she is “thought” to be “nice” and appealing so that she can get sponsors.  But we don’t get much of her development. It seems that she just gives herself in to it. There is much that kind of disturbed me.  But most importantly, movie didn’t have that hook for me, I was not “in the movie” as I would like to be. It didn’t get me cheering for characters, or anticipating what could happen.  

Ok, it might sound like a terrible movie. It’s good, it’s not brilliant. If they do sequel I don’t know if I’ll watch it, but it’s worth considering.  Creators seem to know for what kind of public they are making it. They handled killing scenes extremely well. Also cast is good. I really liked Jennifer Lawrence. Not just that she is very good looking, she handled her character well. And she was already great in her previous roles, like Mystic in X-Man: First Class or in Winters Bone. There is also some good looking guys for female public. You get Liam Hemsworth who is average in acting but probably get casted for his look. Surprise for me was Lenny Kravitz, I think he was really good. 

Katniss looking like Princess Leia from Star Wars

So I guess this is it. I hope you like this. If you watched movie comment below how you thought it was. 
 



I give this movie 7 out of 10

BYOB transformed Ikuinen Galleria

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11 beamers, 2 computers, few DVD players and a bunch of creative film/video makers. 

That’s all it takes to transform Ikuinen Galleria and corridors around it. Bring Your Own Beamer event did just that. 


BYOB happened on 28^th of March in Ikuinen Galleria, Finlayson, where many creative student broth their work and projected it on all possible surpasses. However BYOB was not only about showing your work. It was great opportunity to get together, meet other creative people and just talk, enjoy.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer) is a series of one-night-exhibitions hosting artists and their projectors. It was organized already all over the world and it was about time to bring this event also to Tampere. However organizers made it even easier than usually. Everything was already there; beamers, computers, DVD players, power and some food and drinks. We only broth our works and enjoyed. So big thanks goes to Satu Leskinen and Elina Ylhäisi for organizing everything.
http://www.byobworldwide.com/
http://www.ikuinengalleria.tamk.fi/

Dinner a la Downton Abbey

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Were you as enthralled with Downton Abbey as I was? We are such PBS and Masterpiece nerds. What a fascinating look into the people who lived in that magnificent house both upstairs and downstairs. Many of my relatives are from England, so we've had the good fortune to tour estates like that. Watching the show made those tours really come to life for me.

I thought it would be fun to create a party around the Edwardian era, when dinner itself was an event worthy of proper attire and merriment. When A-Line magazine in Cincinnati asked me to style a celebration for their anniversary issue, I jumped right on it! I couldn't wait to transcend that romantic and fomal style into a newer, more modern form of entertaining.

I started styling the party with, of course, a color scheme. Colors that I would have in the past described as "old lady" colors, I've been viewing with a new enthusiasm. The soft, grayed out colors of peach, lavender, soft gold/silver and mauve are given a modern twist with pops of tailored and masculine navy blue. I can just see The Dowager Downton pursing her lips in distaste now. Ha!




For the table settings, I layered beautiful antique pieces like this delicate gold-edged china and cordial glass from Oma's Vintage Plates onto a slightly tarnished silver drink coaster. Those sat on top of a boldly shaped dinner plate (these I picked up from Home Goods), and a round gold brushed charger. Since my focus was to prevent the setting from being too formal and stuffy, I paired the feminine pieces with natural and more masculine ones. The napkin is a bold navy stripe amid the gold filagree plate. The lace tablecloth was draped over a round thick, unadorned walnut table and the chairs were woven with hemp cord which brought a natural and informal texture to the seating arrangement. The flowers were full of opening petals, varying shapes and loosely arranged in the classically shaped silver bowl.


The ribbon chandelier was really fun and simple to create. You know I don't sew, but I am capable of using a needle and thread when in the sights of a finished project. I purchased large plastic crystals from Michaels Craft Stores and sewed them to the cut ends of 1.5" and 1/2" navy grosgrain ribbon. I then printed out letters on cardstock to spell out the honored birthday girl's name. To install, I folded the top of the ribbon over the arms of the chandelier and taped together with double sided tape. Easy on, easy off and no damage to the existing lighting. That's how I like it!

The invitation and ephemera were hand painted by me--shocking if you know how much I love my sweet computer. I pulled out the trusty water colors and created little floral vignettes and navy pinstripes for the envelope liners. I had a good time with wording on the invitation, referring to "Lord and Lady Madison of Hamilton County" and adding a little bit of fun at the end suggesting that English accents were optional. I want guests to expect a fun time, rather than a party where they'd have to recall Miss Manners on which fork to use and when.



I left the food decisions to my able foodie experts. Look at that incredible painted cake from Sugar Realm! Jen from Two Chicks Who Cater created the most inventive menu with the spirit of an Edwardian dinner party turned modern. I can tell you that those cornish pasty pops were fabulous. It was a brilliant update on the traditional foods of England at the time! The beautiful photo of Madisono's Pink Grapefruit sorbet ended up being the cover of the A-Line magazine issue. Beautiful work!

Lest the men think themselves at a ladies tea party, we gave them some man time in a separate "parlour" to taste some whiskey and smoke pipes just like their grandfathers did back in the day.
For the party favors, I filled mixed tea cups with moss and a sprouting spring bulb. Each had a thank you tag and were gifts to the guests from the conservatory gardens...I mean the the flower store. (It's so easy to get carried away in the aristocratic fantasy land.)
And since I'm a big fan of fun at a party, I adjusted this simple game to get people talking to each other comfortably. Laughter really loosens up the awkward moments when guests may be otherwise self conscious. This game had the guests creating their own aristocratic name. Mine is Lady Elizabeth Mills of Toronto! What's yours?
This event was so amazing to plan and see come to life. I couldn't have done it without all the vendors who helped me like Joni from Sprouts, Sharon D (you know who you are!), Lindsey & Sam Huttenbauer, April Combs, Mike Fleisch, Jeb Brack, Matt Madison (who always does my heavy lifting!) Ilene Ross and of course we'd have nothing to show if it weren't for the amazing photos taken by Gina Weathersby of Kiwi Street Studios. Thank you all again and again!

More party supplies I love

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You may have read about my impulse party supply shopping spree I went on last Thursday here. Lest you think I have no control at all, I will show you the other items that I loved but put on the waiting list for future purchases.

How about these adorable favor bags from Papernook. I love that clean line silhouette, font and sophisticated color palette. It's nice to have party decor that doesn't scream at you and this feels earthy and bright.

Source: etsy.com via Margot on Pinterest
And yes, these are glass straws! Awesome to peek out of an adult kind of fruity drink, eh? This set comes from Soul Flower Arts.
Source: etsy.com via Margot on Pinterest
And what about this simple garland from Couture by Ayca? Not just for parties, I would love to see this on my mantle at Christmas for a red and white theme or even on the headboard of my bed.

Source: etsy.com via Margot on Pinterest

Pink and Gold Parisian party

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I'm really excited to be styling this pink and gold Paris themed party for an upcoming bat mitzvah. I've been sending not-so-subtle hints to the mom about how great I think this could be for a while now and we are finally going forward. Woohoo! There's nothing like a new party idea to make my creative juices flow. We'll have to wait until the fall to see the finished product, but here are some of the images from my Pinterest board that inspire me:

Source: erineverafter.blogspot.com via Margot on PinterestSource: everythingfab.com via Margot on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Margot on PinterestSource: weddingchicks.com via Margot on PinterestSource: mochatini.org via Margot on PinterestSource: etsy.com via Margot on Pinterest

How to wallpaper your stairs in an hour!

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Or, I could have used the title "Why procrastination ALWAYS works for me" because that's also true. I am known for my, shall we say, slow progress on some home improvement projects. Either I haven't come across the perfect color/style/solution or I'm just too tired or uninspired to start/finish, or something more fun grabs my interest. In the best case scenario, I just leave the space alone until the inspiration strikes. Worst case, I dive into the first part without thinking too far into the "how in the heck am I going to finish this" part. This was the way with my stairs.

Last fall, I decided that the carpet on the stairs was so stained, I couldn't possibly have it remain one more day. So, a week before I was hosting a baby shower at my house, I frantically ripped it out. Underneath that disgusting carpet was an equally gross 75 years of grime plus about a million staples and nails. My mother and I spent a good several hours removing the hazards so that our feet would not become fleshy pin cushions. A week later, I stripped the stairs of the grime and old shellac (or whatever they used back then). This I did in my usual multitasking A.D.D. way; running up to spray the chemicals, running back down to make some proofs/check facebook, running back up with the only rubber glove I could find (a lefty) awkwardly positioned on my right hand to scrape the toxic waste into a bucket, running back downstairs to check emails, running back up again to spray the next step. In this fashion, the stairs were at least stripped by the party. The polyurethane staining of course came a few months later when I was ready to deal with them again. Then, thinking that she could incite me to make a final decision, my mother kindly primed the risers and awaited further instructions. She is the exact opposite of me and will finish a project faster than a dog with a meaty bone. I make her crazy.

I knew that I wanted to do something patterned on the risers after seeing this photo on Pinterest. I just wasn't sure what that final pattern was going to be. I even spent an entire Sunday working on one of my patterns and making elaborate templates for hand painting the stairs. In my heart I feared that it was so complicated, I would get about half way up the stairs and give up. Then my sister brought up the idea of using wallpaper on the risers. This gave way to months/hours of ebay and wallpaper store searches. I even went so far as to order samples, but nothing was quite right.





But yesterday, as I was perusing the paper section of TJMaxx, I saw The Best Solution Ever. For $5.99, there were rolls of decorative shelf liner with the color and basic pattern I'd been searching for. Heart racing, I attempted to calculate how many rolls I would need based on the measurements that have been post-it noted to my computer screen for these many months. Only remembering the number 8, I chose to just buy every roll available in my pattern.

While I was on a "Margot is an absolute genius" rant last night, I proclaimed how perfect this method is for someone like me. There is no gluing or taping because shelf liner paper is self sticking. And get this, I didn't even need a ruler because shelf paper already has a ruler on the back! After a while, I didn't even bother to use the counter top. I just sat on the stairs with my scissors and trimmed away. In the end, I got that job done in only one hour! (Yes, plus nine months, but who's counting?)

Raspberry Crumb Cake a la Bob Vivant

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I spent the most delightful Sunday morning last weekend. Husband and children on various excursions, I had only my dog to make his small food and walking requests. So I ate my marmalade toast and drank my tea in blissful silence, all the while reading the lovely story-foodie blog Bob Vivant on my iPad. I "met" Bobbi via emails a few years ago when my good friend recommended we take her on our next morel foray. While the dates of that foray are still in the works (you only have a few weeks a year to even try!) we finally met in person in Chicago a few months ago. Of course I loved her. Her narratives are full of beautiful, unassuming, warm and often humorous language, just like Bobbi in person. They also always show a beautiful photograph of her most recent culinary creation and include the well-written recipe.

Having been duly inspired, I set out to recreate her rhubarb crumb cake with the raspberries I found on sale at our local green market. It was an easy recipe, even for this baking-challenged gal, and the reviews were raving. The texture is dense like a brownie and the almond flavorings sublime when paired with the fruit. We ate it with Madisono's Madagascar vanilla gelato but I can tell you that it's just as good the second day with a cup of Twinnings Earl Gray tea. Find her recipe here and enjoy!