What Ana Does

Is it the best bathroom on the block? I can't imagine a better one! Once I realized we were going to HAVE TO spend money on this bathroom and I'd have professional help to do it I thought I'M GOING TO MAKE THIS BATHROOM 100% BETTER. I'm not going to play it "boring."  In my overall plan, I envisioned a bold wallpaper above some shiplap/beadboard wall treatment. I wanted anyone who uses this bathroom to come out and be wowed. Blown away by this after-thought of a bathroom tucked away in the back of the basement.  I found a bunch of great options, but was completely sold when I found this Marvel comic book paper on Lowe's . So, I ordered it, despite being a bit of a splurge. My budget was good, thanks to reusing the same toilet, vanity and mirror from the current bathroom.  The other thing I changed was the light fixture -- from basic to this laquered red gooseneck from Lamps.com. I also ordered the same fixture in black, to replace the ugly sconces around t...

Thanks to some terrible weather and a nasty case of tonsillitis, I've been watching a lot more Netflix than usual. Especially during the day, a habit I usually try to avoid. Want to know what I've been binging? Here are my favorites: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel   - Set in 1958 New York City, the story is about Mrs. Maisel, a perfect upper east side wife whose husband leaves her. She ends up having a comedic breakdown on stage in the Village and her life goes careening down a completely new path. It was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, the same as my beloved Gilmore Girls , so you know it's going to be quick-fire and hilarious. It's won a much-deserved Golden Globe. And the sets and costumes are sumptuous, they pull you right in. Outlander - I got fortunate with this one. I missed the last two episodes of the newest season before we moved and I thought I was out of luck. But lo and behold, it's available on Netflix so I got to catch ...

I've been a Francophile for quite a long time, long before I visited Paris for the first time in 2010. Mostly, maybe, because of all the Paris-set movies I've loved. Here are my all-time favorites and links to watch clips or trailers. Amelie So obvious, but I really, truly, madly loved Paris after seeing this movie. And the film is legitimately in my top 3 all-time favorites and I still watch it annually. I love the Amelie character, the whimsical story, the beautiful cinematography, and filters. It's art. Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I know French because I can follow along without reading the subtitles. Watch the trailer then go find this movie and enjoy. Creme Brulee Anyone? French Kiss I took my VHS copy of this movie to college and watched it on rainy days in my first apartment. It was required for my sanity. I love this movie so much I don't even know where to start the praise. Meg Ryan in all her most adorableness. Kevin Klien as the good-at-h...

Our family is in the middle of a Marvel Movie Marathon. It started when we saw the new Thor movie. Which we loved. And the girls had all these questions about Thor. Of course, we've seen all the Marvel Avengers movies, but the girls haven't or don't remember them. So, we started watching the back library: The two Thor movies, the Captain Americas and we just started the Iron Man movies. In other words, we're using our new basement for one of the big reasons we finished it: Movie watching. Lando Just Enjoys Snuggling On the Sofa But, maybe most importantly, we're all watching them TOGETHER. We talk about the characters and try to make connections with the other movies. And provide funny commentary. Related posts: More Pop Culture posts Relive the whole basement saga!

There's frost on the ground and I just pulled out my puffy Northface coat ... so it must be November. Here's my latest list of what I'm loving right now. I've got the most fantastic print/shipping place just around the corner and I'm so grateful. With all the documents I need for the move, and all the stuff I'm shipping away, they're making my life just a little easier. And the guys there are so helpful and sweet! I used them in September to color print Alice's birthday invitations from this lovely Etsy shop , and it was super easy and not expensive. Don't you just love a small business with great customer service! Outlander: Jamie and Fergus (from EW.com) Guys, Outlander is back and I'm totally in love with it again. I have to say the Paris storyline last season was not my favorite, but this season is completely on fire. I've got a major crush on grown-up Fergus, though Jamie is still my main man. There are not many shows I consid...

Here's what I'm currently loving ... The Man From U.N.C.L.E . -- this movie was on my must-see list since it came out: the two main actors are SUPER HOT, it's a Guy Richie movie and they are always quotable (we trade quotes from Snatch almost daily) and what's more fun than the Cold War?! Oh, and I'm a sucker for Hugh Grant. But David thought it looked boring, so we didn't go. Then, David saw it on a plane without me and said it was "boring." So I waited. Finally it's out on HBO and I made time to watch it ... and I thought it was awesome. Sure, it's missing all the intensity of the new Bond/superhero movies, but it's fun and Oh! the eye candy all around. Lots of expensive suits and cool Italian cars. The one thing I would add -- just one shirtless scene. Is that too much to ask? It's S'Well! It Really Is! My S'well bottle - I don't know what witchcraft is at work but the water in this bottle stays cold,...

Here's the thing ... I'm by no means a Star Wars nerd. I generally find hardcore sci-fi stories a little remote and I always thought the plot of the Star Wars movies hard to follow, with too many holes/questions. But I really do like the characters a lot -- you can't go wrong with an orphaned hero (Luke), a sarcastic rogue (Han) and a superstar princess (Leia) all banding together to fight evil.  I just always wished they were all in a better story. But I live with a nerd and we did talk about what the new Star Wars movies were going to be about, especially with the genius storytelling of JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon (Alias and Buffy: How could this go wrong?). And he did buy tickets months in advanced, so I did book a babysitter and we met up with friends to see it who are equally enthusiastic. And the amazing thing about living where we do is the movie theater wasn't annoyingly crowded and we got our favorite seats. And ate peanut M&Ms that I snuck in and ... wer...

Today the trailer for Paper Towns came out. And it looks pretty awesome and like it followed the book very closely and that's exciting. It was a really fabulous book. And speaking of John Green, I finally sort-of "watched" his last book-turned-movie The Fault in Our Stars  because it was on HBO last night. We all know I can't watch nor read incredibly depressing stories. And kids with cancer falling in love is enough to make sad and crabby for a few days while I sort out all those emotions. But, I was really curious about the love story (John Green writes incredible love stories) and who dies at the end and how. So, I flipped the movie on (it was on HBO), got to the point of tears, and turned to another channel until I was more composed. Returned to Hazel and Gus, got weepy, turned to another channel. And repeat for two hours to get to the end. Anyway, it's important to me, a YA fan, to watch and support movies based on YA books. Because, really, there s...

I've got two things to say about the 50 Shades of Grey movie that is coming out this weekend -- as someone who will own up to reading the book. And, I'm not ashamed to admit, rather enjoyed the story. I keep reading criticisms about the book and the story that are just crazy annoying. One, can we all collectively remember this is a romance , well actually an  erotica ,   novel? And, as such, has all the characteristics of a romance novel; cheap and quickly produced. While there are different levels of writing/production of Romance novels, overall, they are not well-written. I mean, when was the last time a romance novel was up for a Pulitzer, huh!? They are written so fans can multitask while reading them. They usually have typos/misspellings, repetitive information and the characters are generally one dimensional -- which allows the female reader to put themselves into the book more completely. See? Get it? So, expecting this book to be a classic example of timeless l...

Alice is a bit of drama queen. I think all kindergarteners are, but Alice is especially so. We often catch her in her bedroom alone singing a totally made up narrative in a movie she's creating on the spot. Usually about a mermaid. Or princess. And it's usual very melodramatic and often includes rhyming lyrics. So I signed her up for the park district production of Frozen for 5-6-year-olds, thinking getting her in front of an audience would ignite a love of the theater -- or something like that. This weekend was the final performance. And while it was TOTALLY adorable and she did a fantastic job, she's still on the fence about doing it again for the next season. She's got until this week to let me know. They are doing Pirates and Princesses - the music from Princess Sophia and Jake and the Neverland Pirates . So, it's right up her alley. Meanwhile, Leah (who you can see in the video clip in the white shirt and blue dress) is now begging me to sign her ...

Lately I've been getting into a few things from the outside world more enthusastically than usual. So here's a roundup: - Death Comes to Pemberly on BBC Mystery! It's a sequel-ish to Pride and Prejudice written by a famous mystery writer. I don't usually give these Jane Austen-wanna-bes too much credit, but this seemed like fun. It was, er, interesting to see my favorite characters in all of lit -- Lizzie Bennett and Darcy -- continue their story and throw them into another crap-storm thanks to Wickham and Lydia. Lydia always ruins EVERYTHING! Once I finish it, I'm pretty sure I'll have to pick up P&P again for yet another re-read. Oh Lizzie, Iloveyouso. - Outlander.  First, you should know I didn't read these books, so I have no context. And this season is only 8 crazy episodes but if you haven't enjoyed the loveliness that is the Scottish accent, men in kilts or Jamie (hubba hubba), you really should. It's slow at times and Claire keeps t...