At the Movies: Cinderella

This afternoon, three twenty somethings and a little girl went and the new "Cinderella". We sat in a dark theater and prepared ourselves for what was about to be shown on the big screen. 

Ever since the 1950's release of the beloved Disney movie, millions of little girls have dreamed about meeting their fairy godmother, wearing a pretty dress and going to a ball where a handsome prince would whisk us off our feet into "Happily Ever After". 

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And if you say you don't, you lie. The end. 

While sitting there, I ooh'd and ahh'd over:

- the beautiful scenery

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- the horse (!!!)

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- the beautiful Lily James (her eyebrows are on point)

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- and the handsome prince (who has perfect blue eyes and teeth, by the way)

via Walt Disney

But the perfect location, the pretty boy and amaze balls eyebrows aren't the thing that stuck out to me. In the beginning, before her mother passed away, Cinderella's mother says:

have courage and be kind

Now, that point is never going to be revolutionary or life changing to many people - because we've all heard it before, but it made my movie going experience a little different. I sat there and tried to think of things that required courage and kindness, and not just in my own life.

It takes courage to quit a job that isn't working.

It takes kindness to ignore the awful comment that someone said to you in the hallway last week.

It takes courage to sign up for the gym and to make it a habit.

It takes kindness to continue with your life after someone breaks your heart.

Cinderella, unfortunately, has her confidence, courage and kind heart shaken almost every day of her life after her father passes away. Her stepmother and step sisters are ugly, both inside and outside. They speak to her as though she's nothing. They ignore anything she offers. And they laugh. There's nothing courageous or kind about them. Yet, it's still there. 

Cinderella continues showing her heart. She keeps the house going because it was important to her parents. She is kind to all creatures, and never complains. Not once. She changes the conversation to reflect her pain in a different light.

So where does this leave us? The "little girls" of this world who have to live each day with their own version of Cinder-hell, and keep waking up each day? 

We get a choice.

We get to say "yes, world, that really sucks and I'm going to pull myself up by my boot straps and have courage. And be kind"..because that's just it. We all have terrible days. We all have moments where the ugly step sisters of this world (let's be honest, girls suck..) make you want to run away, shut everyone out and stop living. But we don't. We don't because of grace. Because there is a prince in the world who wants to take whatever crap we're going through, give us a kick ass pair of shoes (or whatever your hearts desire), and wants us to live happily ever after.

Yes, I made God into the prince charming. But it's true. Whether or not you believe in it. In Him. But simple, we get it. We get to choose whether or not we believe, but that choice doesn't reflect his love for us. We're loved no matter what.

So all, 

have courage, 

be kind 

and remember you are loved  

and deserve a happily ever after,

C

Wednesday Weekday Update [3.11.15]

I'm feeling a bit better on the "sickness front", so this week has been better! Here's a little bit of an update for this week (so far!):

THANKFUL FOR//: I've been thinking a lot about my job and my life since I'm turning 25 next week (9 days!) - and it's definitely not what I thought life would be like. BUT - I have a fabulous family, the best friends I could ask for, a fun job that's fairly stress free, and a cute boy that makes me laugh! Life is pretty damn great.

One of my favorite parts of the week so far? My cute little ones and my favorite sister in law Face-timed me the other night - and I LOVED it.

EATING//: I've been eating a lot of turkey sandwiches lately. And I figured out that I don't like crusts on my sandwich - like a four year old! Crazy.

Also, Easter candy is out and I bought some Reeses eggs the other night. Best. Purchase. Ever.

LISTENING TO//: Like I've previously said, I've been getting a lot of my new tunes from my job! A couple of songs I've really been into lately are:

1// Psychosocial - Brooke Fraser

Brooke sings with Hillsong United and has branched off into her own solo career. The song is haunting and the video is just cool. I look forward to other songs from Brooke!

2// Ride It - Ginuwine ft Rhianna

I've talked about this song before, and really - I still just like it.

3// Geronimo - Sheppard

P.s. my favorite part of the video is the girl's blue hair.

FEELING//: I'm definitely feeling a lot better, thankfully - and actually, I'm just excited about being able to hear again. There for a while my ears were stuffed up too - which is so not fun! 

THINKING ABOUT//: Next week! My birthday is a week from Friday (like I said earlier) and I've just been thinking a lot about..the food. Ha! My plan is to go to all of my favorite restaurants in town and go to my favorite movie theater. And cupcakes! Lots of cupcakes.  

*I've successfully talked about Reeses Eggs and cupcakes in this post. Oh, marathon training.*

WATCHING//:  I've been watching a lot of Big Bang Theory and Gilmore Girls, like I've said before (yay Netflix!), but I also may have added a few episodes of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"! 

"Kimmy" is about Ellie Kemper's character, Kimmy who escapes from a doomsday cult and has adventures in New York City. Ellie Kemper is adorable and perfect for the role, but I'm not 100% sure I'm into the show quite yet.

It's also produced by Tina Fey - and you can't go wrong with the Tina.

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READING//:  I'm on a Rainbow Rowell kick lately, and started "Eleanor and Park"! Look forward to a post about the book in the near future - it's fantastic so far!

LOVING//: These pictures from my week:

Hannie and Jax. Soo tooooot.

Taking one of my new pairs shoes out for a spin this morning! 3 miles and the weather was pretty great. I loved it.

I might have snuck a picture of the man friend making me dinner the other night. 

He'll totally love it ;) I did.

Have a good rest of your week,

C

Monday's Mixtape [3.9.15]

Hey, howdy! I hope you all had a good weekend. I'm still a little sick, so that was my weekend. A lot more relaxing and watching Netflix. 

This week's playlist has something to do with the rain outside! Here's some rainy day, chill songs - enjoy! :

1// Holding Out for A Hero - Ella Mae Bowen

I'm all about the original version by Bonnie Tyler that was featured in the original Footloose, but when they remade the movie in 2011 - they also featured a remake of Tyler's song. It's a lot slower, but Ella's voice is beautiful - so I always keep it in rotation.

2// Come Pick Me Up - Ryan Adams

I can remember sitting in my friend's car my freshman year of college and falling in love with this song. It's a tad sad, and he cusses a bit - but I really love it. And Ryan's voice is awesome. Especially live.

3// Oats in the Water - Ben Howard

Ben has one of my favorite voices, possibly ever. "Oats in the Water" gives me chills.

4// Free Fallin - John Mayer

"Free Fallin" by Tom Petty is my favorite song of ALL TIME, so I feel a little bit like a traitor adding this version to my list - but, John's version goes with a rainy day. So, win.

5// Spanish Dancer - Patti Scialfa

Whether you listen to this version or the version by Emmy Lou Harris - it's just..good. And my daddy would be proud of this choice!

Hope your Monday was great!

C

Friday Favorites [3.6.15]

The sun finally came out this week, and that makes me feel a hell heck of a lot better!

Let's talk about some favorites for the week:

1// Juice Junkies

This little bottle of juice was life changing this week! I have been feeling pretty blah, and this thing kicked my butt. And I loved it. 

I want like 6 more bottles.

2// "The Cowboy Rides Away" tour CD

I picked this little gem up at the library this week, and can't stop listening. I really wish I would have been able to see señor George on his final tour, but sadly, I wasn't. I'll just have to listen to the CD over and over and pretend I was.

Favorites? "Run" with Miranda Lambert and "Cowboys Like Us" with Eric Church.

3// Baseball Lacelets - okay, I haven't actually bought one yet, but I'm about to!

Two sisters customize leather baseball laces and they're super cute! I haven't chosen my saying yet, but I'm hoping someone reads this and gives me a gift card for my birthday! Check them out HERE!

Which is in TWO weeks. Crazy. Two weeks til 25. TWENTY FIVE. Bah.

4// A new circuit work out! It was a good time when there was snow on the ground:

5// NEW SHOES.

I'm going to be talking about these things until I get them. 

And then WAY after. Forever. I love them.

Have a good weekend!

- C

Wednesday Weekday Update [3.4.15]

After my racing this weekend, I've been given a sore throat and a run down body the past few days (#bummer), and so I've been doing a whole lot of Gilmore Girl watching. Rory just got to college, if you wanted to know.

Here's some other things you should totally know:

1// Manning is almost  BACK! And that makes me wanna do this:

Any reason to see Peyton dance, right?

2// THIS is a great yoga workout. Especially for runners. Runners do love their yoga.

3// They've chosen a GASTON for the live action "Beauty and the Beast". It's not nearly as exciting as Emma Watson being Belle - but he's pretty handsome, and I approve!

4// I found my new favorite Twitter account, Brooding YA Hero! Go follow, now!

5// I might have bought two new pairs of running shoes today.

My shoe closet is going to be 90% running/athletic shoes one day. And I'm totally okay with that.

Stay dry and warm, my friends!

- C

Be there anyway.

"Show up anyway. Love anyway. Dig anyway. Plant anyway. Choose anyway. Define anyway. Be there anyway. Keep going anyway." - Hannah Brencher

Monday's Mixtape [3.2.15]

After a week of shit Winter Wonderland, I was glad the weekend came! My race on Saturday was cancelled, but thankfully Sunday's wasn't. I was able to carb-load and slip and slide my way into finishing my 5th half marathon!

All in all the course was fairly ice/snow free (thankfully!), but parts were a bit slick. You just had to be careful. And I really don't have any other course complaints other than that; I was just glad to finish with these two:

My two favorite, kick ass running partners! You two are the BEST.

Onto this weeks mixtape is a few of my favorite songs to run to. Enjoy!

1// You Make My Dreams Come True - Hall and Oats

I'll start with the cheesy 80s song first! I fell in love with this song when it was featured in "500 Days of Summer" (which I also LOVED). It has a fun beat and makes you just want to dance. Or run. Whatever comes first.

2// Dirt Off Your Shoulder - Jay Z

Confession time: I love old school Jay-Z. LOVE. There was a point my freshman year of college where, in my room, Jay-Z was on constantly. 

"99 Problems" also gets played often on my runs, but I think "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" wins by a nose. 

3// I Bet My Life - Imagine Dragons

I've talked a little bit about this song before. It's become a favorite of mine in general, but it's fast paced beat makes it a good jam while doing some cardio! They played it at spin class the other day as well, and it was a good way to end the class.

4// Pom Poms - Jonas Brothers

Another confession: I went and saw the Jonas Brothers movie the first week it was open.

But for real, try not to love this song - go ahead. I'll wait.

5// Riser - Dierks Bentley

I try to steer away from the cheesy country songs, just because they tend to be too much. But, I added this song to one of my playlists recently, and I can't stop listening. It just reminds me that if I can make it through the next mile - I can do anything. Running is all in your head anyway.

- C