Am I Wearing Pants?

Silly question, right? WRONG.

I truly feel like I shouldn't have to ask this question, but are you wearing pants? No really, are you? You might think you are, but you may be wrong. Faithful readers, there is an epidemic among us. No, I'm not talking about the 80's mom jeans cutoff shorts that are currently sweeping the coast of FL, but the winter equivalent - leggings worn as pants, or as my colleague Julia calls them - "nopants". 

As we're only now embarking into the territory of cooler weather down here in the sunshine state, It behooves me to make my yearly PSA in a more public forum. LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS. I don't care if you look like this:

or this:

or this:

It is UNACCEPTABLE, skinny bitch or not.

Now, I want to be clear. I love leggings. I own many MANY pairs in several fun and functional colors. They're comfy, warmer than tights, make just slightly too short dresses appropriate, and look great in a pair of boots. Wearing them properly is key. 

"But Sarah, how do I truly know if I'm wearing them appropriately? 

Or, if I'm wearing pants at all? 

Now you've got me concerned!"

I'm so glad you asked. 

Buzzfeed published this handy flowchart to help you figure it out!

She thought she was wearing pants. Nope, doesn't look like it. 

Dude leggings - also not cool:

Dude leggings = no good

However, if you insist, then I will think of you like this:

Do you really want that?

No? 

Then remember:

Aca-AMAZING

There comes a time in every movie fanatic's life where a movie just digs deep down into your soul, wraps around it, and spits it back out in cinematic mastery. The product is completely dependent on the person - their interests, their values, likes and dislikes, hobbies, passions, sense of humor, weirdness, empathy for the human condition, and just plain awesomeness. I have found such a movie. 

That's right. The movie that has taken the acapella community by storm! It's no surprise with the success of Glee, The Sing-Off and the overall embrace of most things nerdy. This movie truly has everything that I love. Friendships, coming of age, overcoming adversity, quirk, sarcasm verging on satire, and lots and lots of acapella covers. 

Plot summary attributed to my most favorite movie review site: Pajiba
Pitch Perfect follows Becca (Anna Kendrick with extra eyeliner, so you know she’s tuff enuff), a reluctant freshman at Barden College who’s father, a professor there, strikes a deal with her: If she attends college for one year and really tries to give her classes and activities a chance, he’ll let her move to LA and pursue her dream of becoming a music producer/DJ. And that is how, with Bella Swan-like sourness, Becca ends up joining the Barden Belles, the prissy all-girl a cappella group led with cheer-o-cratic precision by seniors Aubrey (Anna Camp) and Chloe (Brittany Snow). And because the Belles disgraced themselves the previous year at Nationals, they’re forced to take in a motley crew of singers along with Becca including the real star of the film, Rebel Wilson as “Fat Amy.” What follows is an entirely predictable, utterly enjoyable underdog story as the Belles face off against the all-male group on campus, The Treblemakers through a series of competitions and skirmishes on the road back to Nationals.
Read more of this awesome and accurate review at http://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/pitch-perfect-review.php#kUXsvV810Ek8Lrtl.99 

Ok, enough of that, back to me. It's sweet and funny and endearing and also completely weird and random and sometimes gross (prepare yourself for two scenes that should never be repeated on film anytime, anywhere). Anna Kendrick does her best alt-girl and Elizabeth Banks kills as an Acapella Announcer (oh that there were such jobs for real), but the two standouts in my mind are Rebel Wilson and Skylar Astin. 

Skylar Astin

This kid is presh. He's so cute that I can't even finish the word. His character Jesse, love interest to Anna Kendrick's Beca and the newest member of the Trebletones (rival aca-group on campus), is the kind of guy that everyone loves, is a truly good and genuine person and has that enigmatic personality that makes you wish he were real, 10 years older, and single (what, only me? ok). Oh and he can also sing the hell out of some acapella. Totes adorbs. (He apparently also turns me into a tween - not the first to do so, I assure you)

Rebel Wilson

And then we have Rebel Wilson, now forever to be known as the girl who steals every movie she appears in. In her most major role to date, she completely owns every scene she's in and charms the pants off her viewers with comedic timing of her completely amazing one-liners. Trying to figure out where you've seen her before? Four words: Mexican Drinking Worm Tattoo. Still trying to figure it out and wondering what other cracked out movies I watch? One word: Bridesmaids. If you haven't seen it, do. If you don't remember her, watch it again immediately. 

These were the two standouts, but seriously, this movie had a motley crew of personalities, one weirder than the next, including a psychopathic Asian beatboxer, a lesbian gambling addict, an aspiring acapella singer who also does close-up magic, and a college radio DJ with some serious abs. 

I just can't tell you how happy this movie made me. It was like a breath of fresh aca-air and I couldn't be more excited to buy the dvd (or bribe my brother to download it illegally and send it to me - just kidding, but not really. If you're in law enforcement I'm totally just kidding and get back to that pesky war on drugs). 

I leave you with one final super cheesy recommendation:  

*I was not paid to write this endorsement. I am actually this huge of an acapella nerd.

Butter

Sooooo, I haven't blogged in an embarrassing long time. I have good intentions of getting back into it, but I'm not promising anything. SO much has changed in my life since I've visited this forum and you might think that would be a great place to start - new job, new(ish) town, new friends, new life basically. 

But no, that would be way too easy. Instead, my return to the world of blogging will revolve solely around butter. Yep, you read that right. Butter. You may be asking yourself, "Why butter? Is Sarah picking up where Paula Deen left off?". It's a great question. No, I do not want to develop type 2 diabetes or contribute to the arterial blockage of my fellow Americans. However, it occurred to me as I was driving home yesterday that several things I'm digging right now revolve around butter in one way or another. 

Exhibit A:

BUTTER: THE MOVIE. I saw this recently in the comfort of my own home through the On Demand services of the evil Comcast (why is Comcast evil? If you don't know first hand then I will explain it to you in a subsequent blog/rant combo that I like to call a blant). This movie is PRECIOUS and HYSTERICAL and RANDOM. It's not the best movie of all time, but it is a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon that will leave you feeling warm, fuzzy, and wondering how Jennifer Garner gets her hair so freaking shiny. 

It will actually be out in theaters soon, if not already, but I paid the same amount to watch it in my pajamas, on my sofa, and with unlimited access to snacky snacks that did not require me to take out a second mortgage, thus contributing to the downfall of the movie theater.Buuuut that's another topic for another day. (See how I'm already racking up ideas for this triumphant return to the world of blogging?!)

Exhibit B:

Fiona Apple: "Hot Knife" from the ridiculously long-titled album "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do"

I am completely enchanted by this song. I'm still in the process of delving into all the tracks of "The Idler Wheel...", but this one struck me immediately and I've had it on repeat for the past week. I just can't get enough of the cyclical nature of the lyrics, the spirit within them, the rhythm of the rounds, and the lyrics that compare a couple in the first throws of a relationship to butter and a hot knife. It's just cute and hot and charming and reminds you of those butterflies you get in the first few weeks of a new relationship. I especially like these two stanzas:

I'm a hot knife- if I'm a hot knife- 
I'm a hot knife if he's a pad of butter 
If I get a chance, I'm gonna show him that 
He's never gonna need- never need another. 

He excites me 
Must be like a genesis of rhythm 
I get feisty 
Whenever I'm with him...

Besides, how can you not love a song that's almost completely and solely accompanied by a timpani with a little piano thrown in for good measure?!

Exhibit C: Martha's Ginger Pumpkin Bread

It's a balmy 88 degrees here in Tallahassee, which in Florida culture means FALL IS HERE! Even though I'm still fighting the frizz and wearing flip flops, it is time to stock up on the pumpkin and get to bakin!

This is one of my all-time favorite pumpkin recipes, which, you'll notice, calls for quite a bit of butter (see what I did there? It's called thematic consistency, actually I just made that up, but we'll go with it). I prefer to cut the butter requirement to just one stick and it actually turns out better in my opinion. 

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (1 3/4 cups)
• 3 large eggs
• Sugar Glaze, (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch (6-cup) loaf pans (see note, below); set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pumpkin, melted butter, and eggs; add flour mixture, and stir until just combined.
2. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes; invert pans and transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely. Glaze, if desired.

So friends, enjoy the butter related revelry and I make a not so solemn vow to attempt to blog every once in a while, which will be 100% more than I have done in the last 9 months.