You Inspire Me: alot o' curls and a high & tight

This weeks inspiration is Ashley from Alot of Curls and a High&Tight. Ashley and her wicked cute puppies live in Germany...and are waiting for her hubby, Dave, to come home from deployment. I love her blog, even though she is a a Yankees fan!

Ashley's movie recommendation was Mystic River. I've seen bits and pieces of this movie, but this is the first time I've seen the whole thing.

Like Shutter Island, this movie takes place in Boston (aw yay, a Yankees girl recommending a Boston flick!) You guys are killing me with the Boston movies! Atleast the accents are better in this movie. One of the first scenes takes place at a Boston bar, which really made me miss home. If you are ever in the Boston area you need to check out the Somers Pubs.

To the movie! The movie revolves around three school boys who are best friends, one encounters a horrible experience that effects him for the rest of his life. Fast forward to adulthood, the daughter of one of the guys is murdered. Much like an episode of Law and Order, you think you know how it will end..but after twists and turns...you have no idea the way it will end.

Sean Penn won Best Actor and Tim Robbins won Best Supporting Actor. Both give such a real performance in this movie. Sean Penn shows so much emotion (such an ugly-crier!) and Tim Robbins plays the withdrawn tortured man like it's real life.

 Great movie, a little slow...but two thumbs up!

Ashley's book recommendation was Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. I actually read Dear John a while ago, before the movie came out.  

 Spoilers: Stop reading if you plan to read the book! To me, Dear John is not Nicholas Sparks' best book. After finding out that someone needs money, and that someone else has the means to get the money...you know how the book will end. 

The characters in the book are amazing. I gushed and said "aw" every time something sweet happened. The relationships make sense. This is the reason why I hated the movie so much. Why change character relationships, which in turn....effect the entire point of the story.

Most books by Nicholas Sparks make me cry. When I finished Dear John, I just closed the book and said "eh, it was alright." I wanted to like it more, but after reading other books by him...I was a little disappointed!

My recommendation? Read A Walk to Remember, the book and the movie are both amazing! And as of this week, Nicholas Sparks has a new book out....and is already promoting the movie.

Ashley told me she loved broccoli salad, she told me she doesn't use onions and adds almonds. Danny hates broccoli, so I made sure I made this while he was out! It was so yummy, I am definitely adding this to my recipe collection!

These recommendations were great, thank you so much Ashley!