Categories
Everything Else

Love, Simon

So I’ve seen a few movies recently (yep, I’m talking about you A Wrinkle in Time & Black Panther), but my favorite for a sweet coming of age, love story is Love, Simon. It’s out in theaters today!

Love, Simon Suzs Treats

Here’s a quick view of the film from the trailer.

This is one of the first times I’ve watched a movie where the main character (Simon, played by Nick Robinson) is in high school & instead of seeing myself as the teenager, I saw myself as the parent.

Yep, I’m getting old.

But I did LOVE how Jennifer Garner & Josh Duhamel played Simon’s parents with hilarity & grace & love.

Love, Simon is directed by Greg Berlanti (Dawson’s Creek, Brothers & Sisters), written  Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger (This is Us), & based on Becky Albertalli’s acclaimed novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda which I’d now really like to read.

The core theme of Love, Simon is that everyone deserves a great love story. & 17 year old Simon Spier is trying to figure that out as a closeted gay guy who’s fallen for an anonymous classmate who he’s connected with online. I laughed & cried through him wrestling with coming out to his family & friends along with trying to identify the mysterious Blue.

Go check out Love, Simon with friends this weekend, or with your middle or high schooler (it’s appropriately rated PG-13)!

While 20th Century Fox did provide me ticket to the screening of Love, Simon, I wasnt otherwise compensated for my review & my thoughts are honestly my own.

Categories
Everything Else

A Wrinkle in Time review

A Wrinkle in Time came out in theaters today! Do you have tweens? Kids I’d say 8 & up? Read A Wrinkle in Time together then go see this movie! I always say to read the book first, but I didnt for this film. So you can be like me & watch the film & then request the book at the library too!

Suzs Treats Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time starts telling the story of Meg Murray’s family- her scientist parents & their relationship. Her Dad disappeared 4 years ago & Meg’s having a lot of trouble at school.

suz treats mr murray wrinkle in time
Chris Pine is Mr. Murry in Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME.

Meg’s super smart brother Charles Wallace (played by the adorable & talented Deric McCabe) is trying to help. He brings around Mrs Whatsit, played beautifully by Reece Witherspoon, who shows up surprising Meg & her mom. Then Charles Wallace takes Meg & her friend Calvin to meet Mrs Who, who speaks mostly in quotes, played awesomely by Mindy Kaling.

Suzs Treats Mrs Who
Mindy Kaling is Mrs Who in Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME.

& then the kids are off. (I’ll let the details come out when you see the film.) But know it’s magically & I didn’t understand the science behind the how.

I LOVED the costumes of the Mrs. Their make up & wardrobes were fanciful & amazing. I mean just look at Mrs. Whatsit below!

storm mrs whatsit suzs treats
Reese Witherspoon is Mrs. Whatsit and Storm Reid is Meg Murry in Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME.

then there’s Mrs. Which – oh mama Oprah. Her hair, costumes & her words amazed me! Y’all know I watched her show back in the day religiously. Loved seeing her in this film & knowing that with her role in A Wrinkle in Time, she will help guide a whole other generation of women, young women & girls to believe in themselves.

Oprah Winfrey is Mrs. Which and Storm Reid is Meg Murry in Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME.

I loved the Mrs. as the “fairy god mothers” of this Disney film. They helped guide these middle schoolers on their journey to try to find Mr Murray & bring him & them back home.

Storm Reid is Meg Murry, Deric McCabe is Charles Wallace Murry and Levi Miller is Calvin O’Keefe in Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME.

I loved the self confidence journey we watched Meg go through. The theme of being your own warrior is one I want to instill in my own kids & I’m sure you do in yours.

For adults, does it have cheesy parts? Slightly slow parts? yes. Will the tween crowd love & swoon over Storm & Levi? Absolutely!

I was given pass to see A Wrinkle in Time in exchange for this review, but the free movie pass didn’t sway my opinion or review.

Categories
Reading

What I’ve Been Reading

I wrote my 2017 reading list about a year ago about trying to focus my 2017 reading on more serious political books & memoirs & mix in a few light-hearted books here & there to keep me sane.

So here’s what I’m reading now. A little light & funny. A little heavy. A little gory. & a little calm for the soul.

What’s on my end table: I’m finishing up Fire & Fury by Michael Wolff & also What Unites Us by Dan Rather.

What’s on my kindle: Clash of Kings (Game of Thrones book 2) & Present over Perfect by Shauna Niequist.

What I’ve read in last year:

  • Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (started 2017 with this one & it ended up being so appropriate with what happened in Charlottesville etc)
  • In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson (called my dad & made he & my mom listen to this pre-WWII book on the US ambassador to Germany)
  • Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (such a great read on the Great Migration),
  • Our Kids by Robert Putnam (didn’t make it all the way through for book club but reminded me of sociology books),
  • I’m Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi (laughed til I cried),
  • Wild by Cheryl Strayed (an adventure & come to find yourself story that had been on my want-to-read-list for years)
  • The Magnolia Story by Chip & Joanna Gaines
  • The Book Thief (everyone should read this WWII novel),
  • Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean (another one for book club that I didn’t make it through, reminded me of a college text that I’d have slept through),
  • Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel (didn’t finished by book club but I enjoyed reading the stories of these vets, want to watch the movie)
  • Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (I didn’t know his back story & it was a fascinating read)
  • Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (loved this book then had to see the movie)
  • Game of Thrones by Martin (so much content on the characters I love from the series)
  • What Happened by HRC (just finished it this week. I didn’t make it through a chapter without crying over what could have been vs what our current reality is)

What’s on my To Read list:

  • 13 Reasons Why by Jay Ashley (I watched the show on Netflix, been meaning to read the book)
  • Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst
  • A Wrinkle in Time (not sure why I never read this one in HS, movie review coming soon!)
  • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (I requested this one at the library & it arrived at the same time as 3 others, so it’s back on my to read list)

Upcoming books I have my eye on:

  • Yes We (Still) Can by Dan Pfeiffer
  • The World As It Is by Ben Rhodes
  • & my old school BlogHer buddy Jill Krause’s 50 Things to Do Before You Deliver (not having more babies here but I love reading her words & so excited for her!)

I’ve also been on a podcast kick while traveling & at work. I’ve found I can best focus on work & tune out my co-workers/background noise while listening to Pod Save America & the other Crooked Media podcasts, Stay Tuned with Preet & I’m trying to figure out how to listen to Jen Hatmaker’s For the Love here at work too.

What am I missing? Any books you’ve loved recently? What’s your favorite podcast? As summer (ok, spring!) is almost in sight, we tend to be in the car more & I do love reading while traveling. 

 

Categories
Everything Else

Black Panther

Confession, I’m not a Marvel fanatic. But my husband is, so I’ve seen most of the recent Marvel character movies. Including one 2 days before Zach’s water broke as I was uncomfortable AF in the theater chair (but that’s another story for another post).  But I did see the one where the Black Panther character was introduced & kinda knew the Marvel story line with him.

 Suz's Treats Black Panther

So when I got to invite to attend the pre-screening of the new Black Panther film last week, I immediately replied for husband & I to go. Kid duty ended up meaning that he stayed home while I went. After all the hype going into this film, I was excited, but since I’m not a huge super hero movie lover, I wasn’t sure it would live up to the talk.

Suzs Treats Black panther

Oh but it did! In case you weren’t one of the millions of people who went to see Black Panther when it opened nationwide this weekend, I’ll keep this post spoiler-free.
But y’all! This isn’t just a Marvel character movie. The timing on this one is so perfect for our time. It’s a film about the Black Panther – T’Challa (played by Chadwick Bodeman) returns home to Wakanda after his father T’Chaka (played by Lupita Nyongo) died (in a prior Marvel film) to succeed to the throne & take his place as king.
Suz's Treats TChalla
T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman)..Photo: Matt Kennedy..©Marvel Studios 2018

It’s a film about Africa & it’s hidden gems – debates on pro/con of keeping your countries “gems” for yourself or sharing your wealth. The scenery was breathtaking. The technology was amazing- futuristic & so cool. Wakanda is not an actual country & it’s power source, vibranium doesn’t exist, but the film-makers did an amazing job of working in nods to Africa costumes & customs.

Wakanda Suzs Treats
Talon Fighter over Wakanda..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018
It’s a movie about family. About being a king & what the responsibility of being a leader is. & the support it takes to continue to be a leader. & in Black Panther, that support was so amazingly female!
Suz Treats
L to R: Ayo (Florence Kasumba) and Okoye (Danai Gurira)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018
Oh my goodness, I just loved the STRONG female characters in this film. His ex-girlfiend Nakia (played by Lupita Nyongo), General Okoye (played by Danai Gurira), mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett) & super scientist sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) stole the movie for me. Made me laugh out loud & cheer them on!
Shuri (Letitia Wright)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018
L to R: Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and Shuri (Letitia Wright)..Photo: Matt Kennedy..©Marvel Studios 2018
Suzs Treats TChalla & Nikia
L to R: T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018
The film wasn’t all female of course. T’Challa was helped by friends such as Zuri (played by Forest Whitaker), W’Kabi (played by Daniel Kaluuya) & CIA guy Everett K Ross (played by Martin Freeman). Plus cousin Erik Killmonger (Michael B Jordan) & in the “bad guy” role, Ulysses Klause was played by Andy Serkis.
Suzs Treats Black Panther
L to R: Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya) ..Ph: Matt Kennedy..©Marvel Studios 2018
Zuri (Forest Whitaker)..Photo: Matt Kennedy..©Marvel Studios 2018
FBI & Klause Suzs Treats
L to R: Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) and Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018
If you couldn’t get to the movies with your significant other for a belated Valentine’s day night at the movies this weekend, go soon! I think you’ll enjoy it, especially if y’all are into the Marvels characters. Also, have you seen the Wakanda the Vote initative?! Love it!!! Text WAKANDA to 91990 to register to VOTE!
While I did enjoy the early pass to see Black Panther, my review was not swayed by their generosity.
Categories
Family/Travel Travel

Surprising Papa

My grandfather that lives in Charlotte turned 93th in the middle of January. My mom & her two sisters concocted the idea for them to plan to go spend a long weekend with him in February to celebrate his birthday & to have his grands & great-grands arrive Friday to surprise him with a big family visit & dinner Saturday. & it worked!

Tine & her family were the first grands to arrive late afternoon taking Papa by surprise. We left after work Friday & after a bunch of traffic leaving town, made it through north Charlotte without a traffic blip & arrived just after dinner. We snuck as quietly as two super excited 5.5 yr olds can sneak down the hallway & yelled surprise! My cousin Preston & his family showed up not even 5 mins after us. Just in time for the 5 great-grands to help Papa blow out his candles on cake #1!Suzs treats Papa greatgrands cake

All the family stayed at a nearby hotel with the cousins & kids being 3 rooms in a row making for lots of little cousin fun & late nights! We had breakfast together Saturday morning, all headed uptown to ImaginOn then Mom kids & I had lunch at the nearby 7th St Market.

Suzs Treats ImaginOn

Saturday afternoon, Jason & I took off to NoDa Brewery while the grandparents watched the littles.

Suz's Treats NoDa

We all met back up to get ready for dinner complete with lots of “look at my twirls” from the little girls & try my drink & hair wand from the bigger girls. Then it was dinner time. We had our own dining room but 5 kids 5.5 & under meant lots of Clubhouse shenanigans!

Suzs Treats Papa dinner

Followed by another late night at the hotel with kids running & bouncing from room to room before finally crashing at 11p! So much fun! So tired Sunday morning! We all decided to head back towards home in the rain Sunday morning. & thankfully all got home uneventfully.

Lucy & I even had time to make it to her first girl only birthday party for a classmate. Spa themed & Lucy left with make up on! This was such a wonderful weekend!