Twilight, Travel, and Treats

My hubby and I were finally able to watch the latest Harry Potter film. It was quite clear that we aren't dealing with little kids anymore. Although these movies didn't make me all hot and bothered for the actors I couldn't help having a peek at what our Hogwarts students have grown up to become.

My favourite images

I almost don't recognize Daniel Radcliffe in some of these.

Emma Watson making Burberry look so lovely. By the way I've been pining for that coat on the right for the last year. But it begs to be worn really over only lingerie. Not too practical in Vancouver.







Do you find the Hogwart gang sexy? Remember we aren't including Cedric Diggory in this lot.

Hey all,

I delved right back into Twiight fanfic after The Host because I honestly needed to keep reading something!

Things I found that I thought I'd share

Heat of the Blue Flame by 107 Year Old Virgin

This fic is incomplete. It still gets through lots of good stuff so definitely worth a read. It's the kind of story that makes me remember what it's like to fall in love. To have someone who can pull you out of the numbness of just existing.
Edward is a photographer. Mysterious and hot as always. Bella is his angst normal girl subject. It's a very sweet story that moves quite quickly so you aren't left hanging for too long.
The author 107 Year Old Virgin is quite famous in the fandom so I'm sure you will be seeing me rec more of her stories.

More stories from Danieller123 author of Under the Apple Tree (you all know I loved that ff so I couldn't resist peeking at her other stories)

What Are the Chances

This is a weird fic but feels brilliant. Reminds me of a short story you might receive in a couple paragraphs everyday in the paper. Considering how few words there are the characters and story is rich. It is written by danieller123 of Under the Apple Tree fame (see other rec here).
It is very sweet and even though there are currents of age difference which reminded me of Celine Dion it was not in poor taste.
This story is finished and the ending leaves you feeling a bit incomplete but actually more at peace. You'll have to read it to find out :)

Men Without Eyes

This story is about Edward in a wheelchair. No, he's not blind. But he is crotchety and it's assumed that he's hot. Bella is the new neighbour across the street. It is also incomplete so it's a short read. It still has a ways to go so if you get frustrated easily maybe save this one for a later date when it's further along.

So I must be the last Twilight fan left who had not read The Host? I was finally convinced by my friend YS to read it because she had been hounding me for a year.
Well I just finished it. It was a very interesting story and something that I'd never conceived of. In some ways it reminded me of Twilight.

Spoilers

The story is basically invasion of the body snatchers but told from the body snatchers point of view. Oh and picture the body snatchers are angelic altruistic creatures called Souls. What if suddenly one actually feels bad for being a parasite because the host body's mind becomes her friend. And the Soul falls in love with the Hosts' true love because she keeps reliving all the steamy memories. That's quite a pickle.

Having the parasite build a conscience really reminded me of the angsty vampire.

Overall a sweet love story and I was happy to feel like Stephenie Meyer was able to show off her writing a bit more. It's still a YA book with minimal lemons but I wasn't expecting more.

I'm now feeling like I want a sequel. So I went cruising for fanfic.

The Host Fanfic I enjoyed

Unbreak My Heart by IsabellClair
This is The Host from Jared's POV. What I was looking for but warning it is far from complete so don't be disappointed when you reach the end.

Anything But by RawSugar
Interesting twist to The Host epilogue and is a nice extension of the Wanda/Ian story with a steamy twist.

Brighter by ianlover1
This was where I went when I was looking for Host lemons. You must take two seconds to register at The Host fanfic archive since it's for mature readers. Somewhat satisfied my lemon cravings.

All in all I am still starved for The Host fanfic. In fact I felt so thirsty that I quickly reverted back to Bella/Edward fanfic just to put out the edginess. But that will be my next post...

So after having watched a couple episodes of Glee I've come to appreciate the cuteness that is local boy Cory Monteith.

But I'd never really thought of Mr. Shue as a hottie. This is what I had to go on.




Something about his face just looks off. My friend DQ and I were trying to figure it out. Eyes too small and close together? Nose too big? Forehead too high with hair too closely curled? I feel awful picking apart this guys face but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Well I've now realized it's a moot point. I don't know how I missed this December cover of Details magazine but damn!











I didn't know I cared about abs do much and the nice V until I saw these and needed to post.

By the way DQ let me know if I'm just being hormonal eg ovulating and imagining things.

cross posted with Twi-Mobile

Want a new gorgeous way to catch up on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs all in one place on your iPad for free?

Up until tonight I've been using the Twitter, Facebook, and Google Reader to catch up on all my favourite people and blogs.

I thought those were adequate but boring.

Enter Flipboard - voted #1 app for iPad in iTunes. It puts your Facebook, Twitter, and blog/RSS news feeds all in one place.

That's my Flipboard home screen - Twitter, Facebook, and Google Reader all in one place. I declined putting CNN, Sephora, or Bon Appetit magazine on there but you can add almost anything that has a twitter or RSS feed.

My Twitter feed on Twitter app
My Twitter feed on Flipboard
I even made a page just for the twitter feeds of some of my Twilight besties. See how pretty their Twitter feeds look now?
This is Honolulu Girl's Twitter feed
I had actually stopped blog surfing for a while because Google Reader was just getting too boring.
But with Flipboard I'll definitely be starting again. See the before and after?
Once you've added facebook, Flickr photos, and whatever else you follow onto your Flipboard you're set.

You can also post to Twitter and Facebook from Flipboard. You can attach photos or link to the page you're surfing. Very easy.
Despite the pros there is one major con - and this is a biggie which they are trying to update asap because it's a huge issue - there is no refresh button. It's not in real time and can have up to a 10 minute lag in updating. Twitter users and even some Facebook fanatics won't stand for this. It's not a big deal for the Google Reader though.

Let me know what you think - it's free so no harm in trying - here's the itunes link. Note there is no iPhone version of this and not sure if there will be in future.

By the way, have you guys figured out I'm trying to avoid turning on my computer ever again and just living off my iPad? I did this whole post on Blogpress using screen caps from the iPad. Love it!

My youngest turned 5 recently and wanted a Lego birthday. I debated between making him a Lego cake covered in fondant or doing something easier. Since he loves chocolate I decided to make chocolate Lego men on cupcakes instead.

I started out with a Lego figurine ice cube mold from Lego.com (thanks Santa).





Since I was making these for kids I opted to melt chocolate chips rather than really going through the task of tempering chocolate. The chocolate chips can result in an oxidized waxy look after a couple of days but the kids wouldn't care.





Since I'd be refilling the piping bag very often and remelting the chocolate I used a ziploc bag with the corner cut off instead of my standard parchment paper cones.
Goes in the freezer for 15 minute and pops out of the silicone easily.





Stays smooth and shiny for a day so if you care about this don't make then too far in advance.





Where are the Lego CSI guys? Note overfilling the mold is hard to fix unless you remelt them - or just let the birthday boy eat your mistakes!





Finished products on vanilla Italian meringue buttercream (Martha Stewart recipe) on devil's food cupcakes.

All in all a hit with boys young and old.

Ever wish you took better pictures when you were in Forks? Never had the chance to go but would love to pay $0.99 to live vicariously? Wish you had nice enough Twilight photos for high quality wallpaper on your iPad or iPhone?

I got a lovely email the other day letting me know about this cool Alone in Forks iPad app. Went to check it out from my iPhone 3GS but didn't want to update my software. So I installed the app on my iPad but I'm sure it looks as good on the iPhone.



It has a vast collection of pictures from Forks, La Push, Port Angeles, and also Twilight filming locations in Portland taken by the talented photographer Angel Abreu of Majic Moments Photography.

Here's a sample of some of the pictures. With the installed app they come in hi res so it makes for beautiful wallpaper.














Not only are there lovely pictures but they are also geotagged which means you can see exactly where they were taken on GoogleMaps. Especially good if you are driving around doing your Twilight tour in Forks or Portland and trying to find a specific location.





What are they missing? I didn't see any pics from Canada but I can't blame them for not coming up North of the border. Maybe that will be added in an update later on.

Go ahead and check them out in the iTunes app store.

What started out as a bad start to the Christmas holidays has become wonderfully warm again. I know it's not the giving but the receiving that is supposed to make you happy. But this year the receiving was oh so good!

I'm so very happy with my Tiffany earrings from my hubby and multiple Tokidoki items from Sephora from my sister and sister-in-law.



First off I've never used a flat iron before because I've always thought my stick straight Asian hair was straight enough. I was wrong. It's now straight but better!




Click the image above for a review of this eyeshadow palette.

It's super cute and inside there's an awesome cow holding a nice weapon.




All makeup should be this cute.

Plus don't forget these shoes my mom paid for earlier this month





But the most thrilling of course were the unexpected Twilight ones.

An eclipse skinny tee and an exclusive HMV eclipse folder from Hong Kong.

Do you know who I got these from? My parents. Picture my straight laced Chinese dad going through HMV in Hong Kong looking for merchandise with Edward Cullen on it. God bless them - I really do love my parents. They don't judge this stuff but embrace it. I guess it's no different than when my kids love Lego. Except I'm reading all sorts of fanfic about Edward doing not so pure things. But they don't have to know that...

Speaking of impure guess what my secret Santa brought me?



Yes it's a sterling silver helicopter coinbank from Birks. I swear everyone in our family was wondering why the hell I was so happy to receive it.
Hoping only maybe my Secret Santa knows I have an obsession with MotU Edward. Yeah for having a luxury Echo Charlie worthy of Edward Cullen, CEO. Thank you Santa!

So what was your favourite Christmas gift this year?

So we were watching The Sound of Music during our family Christmas party and I suddenly had a revelation. I've seen that movie many times as a young girl but not as an adult. Especially not as a grown woman who spends half her free time reading lemony fanfic.

I suddenly realized why many women have been watching this movie for years.
Christopher Plummer is hot.



I couldn't find a pic online to do him justice.
Something about that gorgeous aloof powerful man who suddenly dumps the bitch and admits his love for the lowly nun. It just screamed Edward Cullen all over it. Seems so many fanfic Edwards have followed this recipe and it works.

Doesn't the Baroness remind you of a bitchy Tanya?

Granted that Julie Andrews is just too blonde to be Bella. But I'll let that slide.
I now have to put this movie on my ipad. Maybe a bit for the cute musical numbers but now definitely for the eye candy.

It is now even more disturbing that this is my mother in law's favourite movie. Up until tonight I'd never questioned her motives.

Does anyone know a twilight fanfic version of this? I know it wouldn't have the musical acts but even the story alone would be enough.