Date Night

We received tickets to preview a new movie before it was released. This time it was Nightcrawler. I am a huge fan of the main star Jake Gyllenhaal. Any movie we have seen him in he does well, though I feel he has been typecast in to the more intense serious roles.

The movie seemed to be really long. There were points when I felt I was losing interest, but then it would come back around again. Thinking about it now, it must have been a little longer than usual since the movie started right at seven and we did not get home until about 9:30.

The story line is different than the typical movie we see coming out lately. The end was definitely different and weird, but it fit the rest of the movie. It was interesting to see the main character evolve throughout the movie. I would say the best part in the movie is when the main character is running away from having filmed a crime scene he is yelling at his "employee" about how he needs to focus on improving himself and taking initiative. There were several parts throughout the movie when the main character would talk to his "employee" and I thought this man has been a manager sometime in his life. He really sold his position.

I would not say that I was completely pleased with Renee Russo's part in the movie. I couldn't tell if she was playing the part well or just a bad actress. I almost feel Nichole Kidman would have been a better fit for that role. Bill Paxton I was surprised to see really only had a small part in the movie.

Overall, I was pleased with the movie. Probably not something I would have gone to the theaters to pay to see, but would have definitely rented it at some point. Again, a big thank you to Marcus Theaters for the opportunity to come in, watch a free movie and be given some quality time with my husband.

Dinner & A Movie

Last week I received an email from Marcus Theater  Movie Rewards offering me two tickets to watch John Wick. It's free right? So why not? My husband agreed, we picked up the tickets and waited for the time. So quit the chit chat and say if it's a good movie or not right?

First, I will say we went out for dinner. We almost did not make it to the movie after. I was not feeling well after eating. My husband drove around a little bit with the window down and things got better. Once there, we stood in line for awhile. I was pretty impressed with the line of people that were already there waiting. The irritating part of all of this was listening to people (including my husband) complain how they were not allowing a cell phones in the theater. Really people? It tells you this right in the email. I strive to understand why you would HAVE to have your cell phone in a movie theater anyway. Sit back and relax. You are at the theater watching a movie for free. Ok, rant over!

On with the movie review. I thought it was pretty good. Without completely spoiling it, I will say that there is a scene near the start of the movie that made me heart sick. However, the rest of the movie was action packed with a little bit of humor mixed in with it. Keanu Reeves did a great job playing this part. My husband did not like it as much, but was not able to articulate why he did not like it. It is okay, I will donate a thumb to give two thumbs up from our family.

#JohnWick

Baking & A Lost Kitty

Today was an interesting day. I was finally able to persuade the very cute cat who has been visiting our yard to join me on the deck. He is actually a very friendly and socialized cat. He loves sleeping in the old barrel we converted in to a flower pot. He was definitely very hungry and then slept a lot. He seems pretty comfortable with us and has not so subtly tried to make his way in to our house. We are conflicted. At this point, we do not have funds to support yet another animal in our house, but he really is a cutie and a talker!

I will call him Optimus

During this time of working with the dogs to keep them from going through windows and doors (we all know of course that the cat would then probably beat the dogs up) I also made a yummy dessert I found on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. Believe me this was as good as it looked. The only part of the recipe I did differently was spraying the pan instead of placing foil in it. I will break down the pro's and con's of the recipe.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars.

Pro's

It requires three packages of cream cheese.

It really was a quick recipe.

Con's

Both the crust and crumble required mixing sticks of butter in by hand. Necessary to ensure a complete mix up of both, it is too much work for me.

Here is the recipe courtesy of the Desserts & Sweets group page on Facebook.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars - Desserts and Sweets Group!

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
3 large eggs
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Drizzle:
1/2 cup caramel topping for drizzling after baked

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar
Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth
Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla
Stir to combine
Pour over warm crust.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg
Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.

For the streusel topping: 

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients 

Use clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.
Sprinkle Streusel topping over apples 
Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until filling is set 
Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool 
Serve cold and enjoy!

Makeover Dog Bed Day

Yesterday as I was cleaning the bedroom and picking up I picked up one of the dog beds in frustration. Our dogs have this terrible habit of biting little holes in to their dog beds. Then the stuffing either falls out through use of the bed or is pulled out by naughty dogs. So I had decided that while my husband was at work I was going to start throwing out dog beds. One at a time so it wouldn't be noted right away. The trick was how to replace it without impacting the budget. Dog beds are expensive. I didn't have an idea of how to replace it, but I was determined to start getting rid of some of these beds that leave a disaster all over our bedroom floor.
So, the first dog bed victim was located and brought downstairs. As I was walking through the front room my eyes rested on this tie blanket kit that I had found stashed away a few days ago. My brain did an instant click and I stopped. My dog bed needed a new cover. I had this kit just sitting there begging me to use it. It was decided! Today would be dog bed makeover day.
I did a little clean up around the house then started on the dog bed makeover. It took a little less than an hour to get things completed, then boom...

A quick fix, not as expensive as a new dog bed, no more mess. It is a win win! Ben seems to appreciate it the most, but he is the dog that seems to sleep on the floor the most.
#dogbedmakeoverday