If my Valentine you won't be

Origianlly Posted Feb 2008

If my Valentine you won't be

I'll hang myself from your Christmas tree!

Since Valentines Day is soon approaching I thought I would share with you my favorite romantic movies. Don't worry all you people without someone to love …this blog is for you the most.



Are you crushing on a much, much, much older woman?

Harold and Maude…

is the movie for you…and it's in my top three favorite movies of all time. I love this movie and before I was married if a guy mentioned to me in a conversation that he appreciated this movie he could go straight to third base with me …no problem.

Harold and Maude is the purest form of a love story. It makes me unbelievably happy....did I mention that Cat Stevens provided the entire soundtrack. Each scene of that movie is a work of art as well as a perfect example of symbolism (some of the symbolism I still don't get after watching the movie over 60 times). If you have not watched this movie…watch it …it makes you want to go out and live life to the fullest and buy Cat Stevens Tea for the Tiller man.



Maude: A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they're not dead, really. They're just... backing away from life. Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt, even! Play as well as you can. Go team! GO! Give me an L! Give me an I! Give me a V! Give me an E! L. I. V. E. LIVE! ...Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room.



Do you want to hang yourself this Valentines Day?



Splendor in the Grass

This movie tears me to shreds. A couple of years ago for Valentines day I was over at my friends moms house while my friend went on a Valentines date with her boy friend… my friends mom and I watched Splendor in the Grass it was playing on AMC…well as I ate a heart shaped box of chocolate (that my mom bought for me no doubt)…I watched what seemed like was going to be an innocent movie about young love starring a young Warren Beatty and Natalie Woods…well people let me tell you it is not a innocent movie about young love…it s about desperation, heart break, and total complete mental break downs…I love it…ahhh to be young again.

Anyway everyone should watch this movie with a bottle of pepto- bismol because it makes your stomach turn in ways that just aren't right.



--Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, glory in the flower, we will grieve not; rather find strength in what remains behind.—



P.S. Jean how easy is this movie to make into a porn …Splendor in her Ass...they should not make it this easy.



Get you boom box out men…



Say Anything

This movie is pure greatness from beginning to end…I am a believer in the power of a Cameron Crowe movie. I wanted Lloyd Dobler to teach me to drive and stand out in front of my house blaring some Peter Gabriel. It's a movie about getting the girl you want and then having to fight to keep her. My favorite character is the heart broken Corey Flood played by Lilli Taylor because she would write these really mean songs about this guys she was obviously still in love with…"I wrote 63 songs this year. They're all about Joe. And I'm going to sing each and every one of them tonight." ---COREY at the party

Watch it or Watch it again…it rocks.

"I gave here my heart and she gave me a pen"-- Lloyd Dobler



Happy Valentines Day...from everyone favorite love guru!

NC Trip Wrapup FEB 2008

Ben and Maria's Dining Reviews

The Corner Kitchen

Ben ***1/2
Ordered: scrambled eggs, grits, toast and bacon comments: I loved the food her especially the bacon it was top notch

Maria ****
Ordered: Waffle w/ fresh fruit compote
comments: cute, cozy and the food and service were great.

The Bistro (at Biltmore estate)

Ben***

Ordered: Rib eye and French fries

Comments: pretty good food in a nice atmosphere

Maria***

Ordered: Salmon over pilaf with roasted tomatoes

Comments: the food here was really good my salmon was perfectly cooked …but I ordered a ice tea and after taking a couple of sips noticed a pair of bright red lipstick mark on my glass…I calmly asked the waiter to bring me another glass trying not to be a snot…he bought me new glass but did not apologize at all so I was a little upset when he didn't take the tea off the bill.

Charlotte Street Pub and Grill

Ben***1/2

Ordered: Pub Burger w/ fries

Comments: I loved this place and would love to go the pub part one night for drinks

Maria***

Ordered: The Organic Sandwich w/ pasta salad

Comments: my sandwich was really good and the pasta salad was amazing.

Mamacito's

Ben**

Ordered: chicken tacos (I ordered the wrong thing)

Comments: not a good place for people with social anxiety…very crowded and loud…but Maria's burrito was good

Maria***

Ordered: Steak Burrito

Comments: yummy burrito place was a little congested and the counter was soup natzi-ish.

Bens Asheville Coffee Adventures

Corner Kitchen ****

Ordered: a cup of coffee

Comments: really good cup of coffee one of the best yet

The Bistro ***

Ordered: a triple espresso

Comments: served in a weird cup that was to hot to hold…but it was good when I finally could drink it

The Driploator **1/2

Ordered: breve latte

Comments: not worth the drive

Welcome to the NC 7

Welcome to the NC 7

Friday

Today was our last day alone together the next day Max was going to be home from school.

We decided to take a drive on the Blue Ridge parkway it was voted one of "America's Favorite Drives and" winds its way over 469 miles through mountain meadows and breathtaking vistas.

We drove about 30 miles of it stopping along the way in the town of Black Mountain. We went to Black Mountain so we could try out the Drippilator a local coffee shop (for Ben of course).

At first Black Mountain was ugly kind of like coming into Houma on old hwy 90 by the A-Bear Motel (anyone?) …but when we got to the downtown area it was really cute.

I was not impressed wit the Dripolaor at all…my chai latte smelled like hot dog and my cinnamon roll was dry and gross tasting.

After our coffee adventure we stopped off at the folk art center…this helped me discover I am not a big fan of folk art…how many quilts can one person see in a single day.

We then headed of to the Arboretum we weren't sure exactly what it was …so here is the wikapedia definition of a arboretum A place where an extensive variety of woody plants are cultivated for scientific, educational, and ornamental purposes….

We saw a really cool bonsai exhibit and then we pretended to be Rocky and run up theses series of stairs.

After our Arboretum adventure we headed downtown to a couple of book stores Ben wanted to visit….one was really cool and had really rare and first edition books.

For lunch we headed to the Charlotte Street Pub and Grill which was a really neat place…it was a smoky pub downstairs and upstairs it was a fine dining room.

After lunch we took a nap (we should really already be living in a retirement community…I swear)

After our nap Ben was kind enough to go pick up Max as well as go to the store to buy steaks to cook for dinner.

Ben cooked me a wonderful dinner and we watched an amazing sunset together…very romantic!

Welcome to the NC 6

Welcome to the NC 6 Thursday When we woke up on Thursday morning and looked out the window the weather was gorgeous we knew right away today would be the perfect day to visit the Biltmore…which I guess is the biggest tourist attraction in Asheville…It's the largest residential home in America and is owned by the Vanderbilt's. We set off early and dropped Max off at school. We then headed over to the area were the Biltmore was and had breakfast at a wonderful little restaurant outside the gates of the Biltmore in Biltmore village. Biltmore Village looks like a little Christmas Village its very Dickensesque. Of course Ben and I loves it and had to pretend we lived in the little village. We ate at a restaurant called The Corner Kitchen and it was wonderful. yummy fresh apple cider waffles are sooo yummy We now had all the fuel we need to tour the largest residential home in America. We drove through the gates and we were first surprised by how large the grounds were…we drove and drove and drove and saw no signs of civilization…it was just rolling hills, rushing waters, and tree canopied roads. We finally made it to a parking lot and then where taken by shuttle to the house itself. When the house came into full view my exact words where "Holy Crap Balls" I knew it was going to be big…but it was breath taking. We arrived at the house and went through the front doors …we decided to do the audio tour because we wanted to learn everything we could about the house…the audio tour was great we learned about the family, the history, the architecture, and the art in the house…I wont say anything more about the inside of the house…because I don't want to spoil it…but it was 100 times better than touring a plantation house…or any episode of cribs. After the tour which took about an hour and a half…we headed over to the original stables which have now been transformed into gift shops and restaurants….we went into the gift shop to look for a painting I had saw in the house…I wanted to price a replica of it…we saw it and decided to order I online when we got home. There was free wassail in the store and Ben took advantage…while I was buying postcards …he was chug a lugging. We walked around the garden for a bit but decide to wait until spring to do extensive tour. My Emo shot Bens upset he doesnt have any Mardi gras beads to give her Next we were off to the winery on the property. We decided to eat lunch before we did our wine tasting. We ate at the restaurant at the winery called The Bistro. ..ket.com/albums/f93/mmmarti1/Picture20088.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0"> After the Bistro we headed toward the tasting rooms. We tried many different wines and found a couple we really liked. After our free samples we headed over to the premium table and for a small fee we tasted more generous samplings of some yummy wines. We decided to head over to the Farm on the property next…because there's nothing like half drunken girls meeting a farm animal…that's definitely a pay site! Anyway we looked around and got to see a blacksmith at work as well as wood worker (lol…ok I will stop). Ben and I are in to Pony Play...lol (anyone? HBO Real Sex?) One of the few pics of us together The fun at the farm ended so we headed over to the greenhouses... the flowers and plants were so pretty…I was so excited about the lilies I felt like a little old lady. Ben really wanted to go find the bass pond...but we had no more time Our whole day was gone so It was time to head to Max's school to pick him up. After some cartoons and Degrassi it was bed time.

Welcome to the NC 5

Welcome to the NC 5

We headed into the Chimney Rock café and had Chimney Rock Burgers and fries before heading back home.

At home we rested until we picked up Max and then we headed to the Asheville Pizza and Brewing company…which is Pizza Place/ Pub/ Movie theater….we had Max so we had to skip the movies playing and we headed to the back were they play classic cartoons.

Max was in heaven he loves cartoons and he loves the claw machine…he won a parrot so they night was golden….not to mention free sundaes.

After our night of fun we were done for night.

Ben and Maria's Dining Reviews

Chimney Rock Café

Ben
Ordered: Chimney Rock Burger w/cheese
**1/2
comments: cute place: nice area

Maria: Chimeny Rock Burger
**
comments: nice place but I was to exhausted to really enjoy it.

Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company

We ordered a ½ cheese ½ pepperoni pizza

Ben
***

comments: Ok pizza: weird looking on the inside

Maria

**1/2
comments: The pizza Ok but I bet there specialty pizzas sre better...they looked out of this world. I had a local beer The Brown Bear Ale and it was awesome! I would love to go back to watch a movie. Max loved it!

Wednesday

Another great day mostly b/c it started out great back to the Paris Bakery.

We dropped off Max at school and I took Ben to the place with the best croissant I had ever had. We ordered a variety of croissant and bread and butter to split….oh my goodness! Oh goodness! This place is great.

After our excellent carbtastic breakfast we headed home for a little lounging before heading downtown.

We walked around downtown for about an hour and we tried out a new coffee shop…it was called the World Coffee Café and the inside was a really neat looking it had a kind of Moroccan them going in the room we sat in.

Me having Coffee with the Freewheeling Bob Dylan

This is the cover of Ben and my new Folk Album.

After strolling we headed home …we ate our left over pizza from the night before and watched a movie ok not we didn't we watched more Degrassi.

Ben went pick up Max at school and he brought him to karate because I was feeling a little sick.

The rest of the night was uneventful…so we went to sleep early to prepare for our adventure the next day.

Maria and Bens Dining Reviews

Paris Bakery

We split a chocolate, almond, and plain croissant…as well as a piece of right out of the oven bread.

Ben ****

comments: delicious pastries and great service.

Maria ****

comments: I love this place: best croissants ever!

Bens Asheville Coffee Adventures

Paris Bakery

Ordered: coffee

***1/2

Comments: reminded him of a French man dirty and smoky and he loved it!

World Coffee Café

Ordered: coffee (Bolivian)

**

comments: kind of weird and wooden tasting.

Welcome to NC part 3

Sunday Feb 3 The Arrival

I was really excited when I woke up on Sunday morning b/c Ben was on his way to Asheville!

He was still 6 hours away so I needed to kill some time. We headed over to the Paris Bakery…it is an authentic French bakery Peierre and Martha Lestieux own and manage the Paris Bakery. Pierre has worked as a pastry chef for over 25 years. The display case at the bakery was like a fat girl's heaven…éclairs, tarts, cookies and an assortment of croissants.

Max ordered a chocolate croissant and I had a plain croissant both were great. Best croissant I have ever had…hands down.

After breakfast I tired to find a playground so Max and I could have some play time outside but I couldn't locate one so we headed home and played Max favorite game Fast Car (this has nothing to do with the Tracy Chapman song)…we just push around Matchbox cars as fast as we can and then crash them…

After fast cars Max decided to paint while I read my book.

After Max created a master piece he took a long nap…and I talked to Ben he was about 3.5 hours away….ahhhh…just get here already.

o while Ben drove and Max slept I watched lots of Degrassi …I love that show…it goes there.

Ben finally arrived at around 3:30 PM and needless to say after much kissing and hugging and a couple of tears by me…I helped him settle in. (I miss Ben when he's away even for a couple of days)

Ben was hungry so the three of us headed downtown to get a bite to eat…we decided on the Old Europe Café a place Ben saw online and wanted to try…it was good…we sat outside to take in some of the streetmosphere.

All of a sudden two men and a relatively attractive woman came in and sat at the table next to ours…she was some kind of model and the guys began to taking pictures of her. I was so glad Max was being well behaved because I felt like at any minute he was going to scream "I don't want my picture taken."

The "model" had a little tiny dog which she said was uncomfortable on the ground so she asked the waitress to bring a pillow for the dog….Oh my goodness.. I was trying to get Ben to fall in love with Asheville he would never buy into this pillow for a dog crap…I looked around and thought wait were we just transported to L.A….

Ben just laughed and we finished our sandwiches and headed home. Max went to bed and Ben and I watched some TV before crashing.

Restaurant Review: based on a 4 * scale just the way Ben likes it

Old Europe Café

Ben

***

Ordered: Club Sandwich w/ potato salad

Comments: very fresh…nice atmosphere.

Maria

**1/2

Ordered: Chicken salad sandwich w/pasta salad

Comments: I love the pasta salad…would love to try this place for dinner the wine selection looks great.

Stay tuned for…

Bens Coffee Adventures in Asheville

as well as

Ben and Maria's trek of love

Welcome to the NC part 4

Monday

Monday was rainy and freezing but that didn't stop Ben and I from hitting the town. We dropped off Max at school and headed over to a coffee shop we spotted near Max at school.

Ben loves coffee in any way shape or form so we thought it would be fun for him to try different coffee around the city and rate it. (see bottom of blog).

After Ben was caffeinated we headed downtown so I could bring Ben to Malaprops a really cool bookstore and café. Ben looked around and I wrote post cards …I am all about the reemergence of the art of sending post cards. You have to be concise and say exactly what you need to in as few words as possible.

After that we walked around in the rain until lunch time. We had a wonderful meal at Chorizo's a Latin restaurant. I had the big fat burrito and Ben had some steak dish with a fired egg on top…it was great! He even discovered that he may actually like sweet potatoes.

The rain started to get to us so we headed over to the house to lie around and watch …Degrassi!!!!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful I took max to karate, we ate at Old McDonalds and then we all crashed.

Ben Asheville Coffee Adventures

Place: Mountain Java

Ordered: Breve Latte

Rated: **1/2

Comment: Asheville's CC's…but not as good: generic.

Bens serious about coffee

Maria and Bens Dining Reviews:

Place:Chorizos

Ben:

Ordered: Biztec Conheuvo

***1/2

Comments: very fresh. Filled with spices.

Maria:

Ordered: Big Fat Burito w/ grilled veggies

***1/2

Comments: yummy! Best burrito I have ever had.

Tuesday:

aka the most relaxing Mardi Gras ever

On Tuesday Ben and I went to Chimney Rock. In honor of Mardi Gras we jammed to Rebirth while driving up the mountain. We got there really early and walked around the downtown for a little bit. The town of chimney rock is picturesque it was adorable. I am sure during the summer it's bumping…but it the dead of winter it was deserted. We walked along the river until around 9:30 and then headed into the park.

Just tell me did Mr Petit touch you inapproriately?

Today was going to be a challenge…Ben "fried chicken and biscuits" and Maria "couch potato" Martin were going to hike the Skyline trail…which was marked as strenuous to moderate.

The first 20 minutes was completely up hill and almost killed us but we made it all the way to the top and got to see the waterfall from the Last of the Mohicans…pretty cool stuff.

Ben thought Devils Rock looked like Ben Kingsley I thought Robin Williams.

I am a very private hiker as in I don't want an audience I take every step like its my last…Ben say I am over cautious but I disagree…I just don't want to plummet to the bottom of a mountain…so it takes me extra long to reach my destination but….

After finishing the skyline trail we headed over to the chimney rock café for some lunch….