Speed Reads & Tickets Please, vol. 2

She might just be keeping all her eggs in one basket.
Vogue Nippon photographed by Nathaniel Goldberg

I grew up in Oklahoma on a red-dirt catfish farm. My daddy caught fresh fish from his ponds and brought them home to fry up in his cast-iron skillet, after filleting them on our kitchen table. I literally swam with the muskrats and snakes (but don't worry, my dog was protecting me!) The fact that I was usually wearing my favorite yellow flouncy birthday dress (with a hidden tinkerbell) in those muddy waters should explain a lot about how I got here to Speed Chic...

It certainly makes the case for my obsession with all things Downton Abbey--the starched servants, silk-mousseline gowns'n'gloves ensembles, snippy repartees and posh manners dripping with tradition are a far cry from pet 'possums and dirt roads. Not to mention the meals of clotted cream and caviar--no hush puppies and chicken fried steak in these joints, no sirreee (although something about that, with a little white gravy and mashed potatoes, is floating my boat right about now.)

So when my momma suggested I read Past Imperfect by the delightful Julien Fellowes, the screen writer for Downton Abbey, I quickly complied.

You can get this, and his other novel Snobs (next on my reading list)
at barnesandnoble.com

Past Imperfect is a charming escape into the social and amorous trials and failures of the uppercrust and its wannabes in England. Grab it, and enjoy a spot of hot tea while Fellowes shares his witty, but human, inside track on debutante balls and schoolboy dreams.

As far as the cinema, I have been blessed with a babysitter most Sundays--where you'll find me parked in the sixth row center, enjoying a brief bit of solitude. Here is the rundown:

"Fantine" is such a pretty name... 

Les Miserables: I was crying within the first 20 minutes (I couldn't handle all that emotion emitting from Mr. Jackman!) Bring your tissues, enjoy the soundtrack and be prepared for the actors to belt show tunes out in all their "live", unpolished glory.

Note: The blood spatter also plays a major role in the film. 

Django Unchained: I will see anything with the lovely Leo DiCaprio in it--that said, all the actors had a lot of heart in this film, but at over 3 hours long methinks Mr. Tarentino was a wee bit self-indulgent with the plot devices and his own odd cameo.

I can take it from here, dollface...

Gangster Squad: My other boyfriend, Ryan Gosling, also merits the $7 matinee ticket price, no matter what he's starring in. Emma Stone thrills in her swishy gowns and crimson lipstick, Sean Penn takes himself seriously and the boys fight it out LA style in this noir shoot'em up. Gruesome fun is had by all.


So whether your window looks out over a big city skyline, a tumbleweed hillside or a little patch of suburban grassland, you can always change your point of view with a quick getaway and a stolen moment. Or two...

Happy trails!