My life is like a movie…

October 19, 2015October 18, 2015michelleleighwrites Leave a comment

So where are my chick flick girls at?

27 Dresses…do you know that one…

I’m sure you do, if you’re like me and love love and weddings.

I love a good love story. And I will pretty much watch anything with Katherine Heigl in it, because I just don’t know what it is, I love her acting, she’s always relatable.

I recently realized what trying to act like an adult means. It means watching as each of your friends begin to get engaged while you just try to get your feet planted on the ground firmly for once. It takes time, and patience, two of which I don’t have.

Anyway, I digress.

I have been asked to be in 4 weddings all coming up within the next year or two. Give or take.

One of which is my brother’s wedding, which is quickly creeping up on us! I swear time flies!

And I can already feel that my best friend will be getting engaged relatively soon too.

So all I can do is, sit back and laugh as I just can’t help but compare myself to Jane from the movie 27 Dresses.

“Always a Bridesmaid Never a Bride” ha! That’s essentially the plot. Plain Jane goes through life offering her wedding planning services to everyone and making sure their days go perfectly while she lets her love life sink into an non existent black hole of dreams and no action.

But as you all know, a good chick flick always finishes on a happy note, so you see where this is going, SPOILER ALERT, she gets the guy.

It’s official my life like a movie….so where the hell is my James Marsden???? I want to get drunk and sing Benny and the Jets with some cutie! 😉

Currently taking applications for wedding dates 😉

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All cynical kidding aside, I am thoroughly excited for each of the weddings I have been apart of already and will be a part of. And on that note I want to share some AMAZINGLY exciting news with you. My good friend, who I have known since high school, through college and even after, recently got engaged and we met for coffee over the weekend to catch up, because life gets hectic and time runs away from you. I had a little engagement gift for her; just a wedding magazine and a little bottle of champagne for her and her fiancé to share in celebration. But little did I know she had a little favor to ask me!

I was so surprised and excited! I can’t wait to help one of my greatest friends plan her special day! This is my first go at Maid of Honor and the title is most certainly not lost on me, because it is truly an honor. I’m already thinking of Bachelorette party ideas! YAY! This is going to be such an exciting time for her and I can’t wait to join in and help her!

Sometimes when life gets crummy and you feel like you’re drowning and maybe you feel like you’ve lost direction, magical things can still happen and shift your mood. So thank you my friend. xoxo

And yes girl, I will hold your dress while you pee! 😉

-<3-

My Top 8 Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen Movies + Style Steal

August 13, 2015August 11, 2015michelleleighwrites Leave a comment

8. The Little Rascals*

Alfalfa is wooing Darla and his “He-Man-Woman-Hating” friends attempt to sabotage the relationship. – via IMDb

(*I know they are only in it for like 10 seconds, but I freakin’ LOVE this movie!)

7. New York Minute

One day in New York City, as Jane Ryan tries out for an overseas college program and her sister Roxy schemes to meet her favorite punk rockers, a series of mishaps throws their day into chaos. In order for them both to accomplish their goals, the normally adversarial sisters decide to unite against the forces around them. – via IMDb

6. Getting There

Taylor and Kylie Hunter are celebrating their 16th birthday and now they are licensed to drive. They plan to go to Salt Lake City, Utah with their friends for the 2002 Winter Olympics. When they stop at a local restaurant on their way, they notice that their car is stolen and their adventure becomes a misadventure when they board the wrong plane to San Diego. They make it to Salt Lake City but they don’t make it to the Olympics. Now they decide to create their own fun to celebrate their 16th birthday. – via IMDb

5. The Challenge

It’s an action adventure/adventure comedy. They play estranged twins with very opposite personalities. Lizzie is very focused and driven, while Shane is more relaxed, but concerned about the environment. Both girls are chosen for a Survivor-like popular game show with college scholarships as the prize. – via IMDb

4. Our Lips Are Sealed

Follow Mary-Kate and Ashely halfway around the world in this Aussie adventure jam packed with non-stop action, laughs, super spies and surfer guys. The extraordinary escapade begins when the girls eyewitness a crime and are forced to go undercover in the FBI Witness Protection Program. Unfortunately, not even the FBI can save the girls from their own blabbermouths as they blow their cover in town after town, until there’s only one hiding place left – Australia! – via IMDb

3. When in Rome

Leila and Charli Hunter are in Rome to participate in a Summer Intern Program. After they begin their jobs, they are immediately fired due to careless mishaps. But Derek Hammond, who owns the company, decides to re-instate Leila and Charli. But while in Rome, Leila and Charli find true romance that will take them joyriding to see the sights throughout the city of Rome. – via IMDb

2. Holiday in the Sun

Sisters Alex and Madison are whisked away to the Bahamas for winter break but soon find themselves crossing paths with a man smuggling stolen artifacts. – via IMDb

1. Winning London

When Chloe and Riley Lawrence are invited to London to participate in the International Model UN competition, they enjoy seeing the sights and find romance with cute British boys. – via IMDb

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***BONUS***

STYLE STEAL:

LISTEN as you read!

Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen were idolized for me growing up. I used to love watching their movies, their tv shows, reading their books, I even had their dolls. I was always intrigued by their style and how they always looked so cool. In every film the girls would have fun style and funky trendy names to match.

I was always an Ashley fan, so I am going to try and recreate Alex’s summer style
who was played by Ashley Olsen in….

Holiday In The Sun

OUTFIT INSPIRATION:

MY RECREATION:

HOW I ACHIEVED THIS LOOK:

MLW- just a shout-out to MichelleLeighWrites ❤

I basically had to make the shirt.

I used a white wife beater.

I cut a V-shape near the chest, to match the style of Ashley’s shirt.

I just used a black and a red sharpie and drew some similar doodles like Ashley has on her shirt.

I found that drawing on the wife beater was a bit difficult because of the ridges so I drew dots to form my shape and then went over them, connecting them. It just made it neater. *Also I put a piece of scrapbook paper between the two layers because I didn’t want the doodles to bleed through to the back.

I also trimmed a bit off the bottom of the shirt too.

I hung it to dry, just for a bit before putting it on. And because I needed to air out that permanent marker smell, lol.

My hands suffered a few causalities… 😉

Then I just paired the shirt with a few pieces from my closet; a bright red skirt, a black cropped tank and a pair of white skips. I kind of felt like my red skirt was a bit short, I would probably wear leggings or tights under it if I were to wear it out. So I also showed a red pair of jeans as an alternative. But if you have red shorts, that’s what Ashley herself is wearing. I didn’t have any so I worked with what I did have.

I just scrunched my damp hair with some moose and hairspray, curled the front two pieces of my hair to frame my face like Ashley has her hair. I added some lip gloss and !Viola! I didn’t really have any other makeup on, Ashley’s look is very laid back casual.

Do you have a favorite Ashley or Mary-Kate fashion look?

** I broke out the trusty old digital camera for these pics. I know they aren’t the best, but hey at least it’s a step up from just using my cellphone, right? #Babysteps

*I only take credit for the images in my recreation, I do not take credit for any other

screencaps or other images used.*

So what’s your favorite Mary-Kate & Ashley movie?

-<3-

Hallmark Channel; My Guilty Pleasure

July 30, 2015July 30, 2015michelleleighwrites 4 Comments

So here it goes, I’m about to come clean. I love crappy movies! There I said it. And by crappy I just mean movies that don’t get noticed or deemed “good” by society and the media.

TV networks like Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel, are known for their romance movies.

Yet I feel they get completely underrated. Why… because they are TV movies? If so, I beg to differ, TV movies are so damn good!

Hallmark’s slogan reads…

“The Heart of TV”

(And I’ll prove to you why that’s true!)

This summer I’ve been working my way through my on demand Hallmark movies list. So far I’ve watched 5 movies. And although some were better then others, I enjoyed each one in a different way, and for different reasons. Hey, give me a guy, a girl, and a love story, and chances are I’ll find something to love about it. The plotlines are sweet and there is always someone from some other WB/CW or Fox show that you will recognize. Always! It’s the best, lol.

Nearlyweds

When Erin (Danielle Panabaker), Casey (Jessica Parker Kennedy) and Stella (Britt Irvin) discover that a paperwork error has annulled all their marriages, they reassess their relationships with their new nearly- husbands. Erin finds herself competing with mother-in-law Renee (Naomi Judd) for the loyalty of David (Ryan Kennedy), Casey questions Nick’s (Travis Milne) commitment, and Stella deals with balancing her desire for a career with Mark’s (Steve Bacic) expectation for a stay at home wife. With the pressures of marriage all around, all three couples must again decide whether to make the long walk down the aisle…or to walk out the door and start over. The three friends navigate the highs and lows of their new marriages together, but ultimately must make their own decisions about the futures of these relationships.

Midnight Masquerade

Young businesswoman Elyse Samford’s (Autumn Reeser) life takes a turn when she inherits Samford Candy, a multi-billion dollar corporation, from her retired father (Richard Burgi). A trademark infringement lawsuit against a rival company brings Elyse to Higgins Attorneys and Sons, where Rob Carelli (Christopher Russell), a young, too-nice-for-his-own-good lawyer, is bullied by his boss, firm founder Carter Higgins (Chris Gillett), and his two arrogant sons (Damon Runyan and Danny Smith). Despite his workplace woes, Rob becomes instantly smitten with Elyse.
With Halloween just around the corner, Elyse invites the Higgins law firm staff to an opulent masked Halloween costume ball. Rob obeys an order to remain in the office working that night, but has a change of heart when his spunky, 12-year old niece, Ruby (Helen Colliander), convinces him to attend the ball wearing a prince costume. After a magnificent waltz and magical exchange with the handsome “prince,” Elyse yearns to locate this mysterious man and hopefully find the romance her life has been missing.

Bridal Fever

Three attractive girlfriends, each in their early 30’s, are desperate to get married to Mr. Right and manage to find success with the advice of a romance novelist with plenty of experience. She’s been married eight times! Stars Andrea Roth and Delta Burke.

Recipe For Love

Lauren Hennessey (Danielle Panabaker) has always loved to cook and is a proud perfectionist at her job at “Food & Entertainment Magazine’s” test kitchen while she dreams of being able to finally afford culinary school in Paris. When her boss offers her a bonus if she agrees to ghostwrite the cookbook of a difficult celebrity chef, Lauren sees her dream becoming a reality as soon as she can tame the notorious bad boy chef in question, Dexter Durant (Shawn Roberts). Slowly peeling back the layers of Dexter’s tough-guy persona, she starts seeing a different, vulnerable side to this big-shot chef. Suddenly, their dueling culinary styles become the perfect complement in the kitchen and an attraction between them starts to boil over. As the cookbook nears completion, Dexter and a scheming young chef must face off in a final cook-off, judged by celebrity Peter DeLuise (as himself). Will Dexter win the competition and Lauren’s love? *Loved this one!

How To Fall In Love

Still suffering from the ugly-duckling syndrome that branded his youth, Harold White (Eric Mabius) hires Annie Hayes (Brooke D’Orsay), the pretty and popular girl he knew in high school, to be his dating coach and help him shed his wallflower approach to romance. Annie even enlists her friend Kim (Kathy Najimy), a waitress at a local diner, to be Harold’s practice date. Annie draws Harold out of his shell and teaches him to win over a new love interest with the help of their shared passion for classic love songs. But when sparks unexpectedly fly between “student” and “teacher,” both Harold and Annie must learn how to make up for past mistakes if they’re going to hold onto true love. *Loved this one!

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Although Hallmark movies can be at times filled with cliché romance, cheesy and often cringe worthy acting moments, and the dialogue can be a little too fairytale, or overdone. I enjoy them. The endings leave some to be desired, as they seem to have a good storyline and great potential but they force a wrap up and tend to fall short. Sometimes I feel a movie is so good and then it wraps up so quickly and it often ends with a wedding and I’m just like wait a minute didn’t these people just meet? So unrealistic. Although I have to admit, when I write my love stories marriage is usually where my story tends to drive toward. In many ways I think I love Hallmark movies so much, because I can see writing something like that, myself. Hell, I probably already have. I would totally jump on the chance to write a Hallmark movie. Because in the mist of all the things you can find wrong, there are moments of pure heart. There is love. There is story. There are characters that you for some reason are drawn too, characters you can relate to, characters that you care about. These movies pass the time, they are relaxing and funny. They are entertaining and light, you don’t have to think, you just have to enjoy and laugh along the way. They can help you escape from a long hard day, and unwind. These movies are truly the heart of TV.

I already found a bunch more titles, that I can’t wait to watch! Signed, Hopeless Romantic 😉

**I do not take credit for any images used.**

-<3-

Jennifer Lopez; The Actress.

March 12, 2015March 9, 2015michelleleighwrites 1 Comment

We all know her as Jenny from the Block, She’s real and her Love don’t cost a thing.

But as her music career continues, I find that her movies are what I love most. I just love how in every role she plays she makes her character so relatable.

But needless to say I can still get my groove on to On the Floor and when Let’s Get Loud comes on you know I’m running to the dance floor. #partystarter

**My favorite JLo films.**

Selena (1997)

Jennifer played Mexican American singing sensation Selena Quintanilla. The resemblance is really something and even though she lip sung the songs out of respect to the artist Selena’s memory, I remember hearing how hard she studied Selena’s gestures and stage movements to get things just right. That’s dedication and it’s definitely one of my favorite Jennifer Lopez films and films in general. I had a serious obsession with this film when I was a kid, I was so heartbroken by Selena’s passing. She was a true artist. And a generous soul. Til this day whenever it’s on, I watch, but I will admit I usually don’t stick around for the end, gets me every time. But on a lighter note I will do the washing machine and belt out the not so correct words to “Como La Flor.” I own the soundtrack and can’t understand what she’s saying. haha. Rosetta Stone where you at?

WATCH JLo pay tribute to Selena during one of her concerts.

The Wedding Planner (2001)

Jennifer plays wedding planner Mary Fiore. To say I was obsessed with this movie would be an understatement. This is the movie that put me in the “I wanna be a party planner” phase of my life. That scene where she finds the F.O.B (father of the bride) drunk and hiding out. And she instantly whips open her blazer and you see a party planning fanny back essentially full of little things everyone may need in a crisis. It’s freakin genius! She’s just perfect the entire movie! I freakin’ love it! And well Matthew McConaughey is her love interest so um yea…there’s that. 😉

Maid In Manhattan (2002)

Jennifer plays maid and single mom Marisa Ventura. Um… I still adore this movie. My favorite scene is when she’s getting ready to meet her man (that guy that kinda looks like Liam Neeson but isn’t), to “end things” and they show her getting ready, her hair, makeup, and omg the outcome is just magical. I was always so jealous of her dress! Oh and fun fact her kid is played by Tyler Posey, the Teen Wolf kid. He was such a cutie in the film!

Enough (2002)

Jennifer plays Slim Hiller, a mom and wife. Her husband constantly cheats [who cheats on JLO?] and becomes abusive when she confronts him, endangering the lives of her and her daughter. When it seems like there’s no hope for safety, Slim takes things into her own hands and it’s pretty KICK-ASS. Enough is ENOUGH. Seriously her most badass role to date, in my opinion.

Shall We Dance? (2004)

Jennifer plays Paulina a dance teacher. This film has kind of a strange dynamic because it almost seems as though Paulina is falling for her dorky, dance challenged, older student played by Richard Gere. But then we just see how it’s just about dance. At the root of the story the movie is about using dance as a form of fun expression and shaking out of your shell. And Jennifer Lopez at the root is a dancer; a true, crazy talented dancer. I mean home-girl was a fly girl on in living color, need I say more? Plus her clothes in this movie make me want to take a dance class, just so I can dress like that. 😉

Monster In Law (2005)

Jennifer plays Charlie a bohemian soul, she holds many jobs such as yoga instructor, dog walker, but she loves to paint. Charlie meets an amazing man and is engaged to him rather quickly. But the honeymoon phase is cut short, that is even before the honeymoon even gets to happen, as Charlie has to deal with his crazy overbearing, overly possessive, mother. This character is spunky. I love her outfits in this movie yet again. Everything always looks kind of thrown together, but creates a style in itself; it’s a style that lets the world know she’s a creative soul. Her wedding dress in this film makes her look like a Latin princess. Can you say va va voom! And there’s also this other little tidbit that I adore, Charlie wears a question mark necklace throughout the film. And when asked why, she says “Oh, ’cause I just don’t know.” Which I found really cool and an amazing little character trait. I mean the world is full of questions, no? Hey look that was one right there. And the necklace complements the free spirit in her character. This “go with the flow” Charlie is very different from The Wedding Planner’s uptight, “everything in its perfect place;” Mary Fiore. But yet Jennifer rocks both roles.

The Back Up Plan (2010)

Jennifer plays Zoe, a woman who is looking to become a mother on her own and on the day she is artificially inseminated, she meets the man of her dreams. Is it me or do all the guys she co-stars with kinda look alike? Hmmm JLo’s got a type. I kid, I kid. So the two must navigate a tricky situation and see if this is indeed something they can work through. It’s a backwards story, but a sweet one. Definitely not my absolute favorite, but I watch it every time I see it on, so I had to include it. There’s some comedy in there too that you just can’t deny. Worth watching!

And I don’t know about you guys but I’m super interested in seeing her newest film [that she produced] The Boy Next Door, look scandalous. 😉 #GetItGirl

Thanks for entertaining us Jennifer, you are a super woman. Considering you had movie after movie some released during the same year and on top of that a music career too. You are a force to be reckoned with and an inspiration. We love you J to the Lo. 😉

* I do not take credit for any images, gifs, or videos used. *

-<3-

Michelle Leigh Writes

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Movies

My life is like a movie…

My Top 8 Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen Movies + Style Steal

Hallmark Channel; My Guilty Pleasure

Jennifer Lopez; The Actress.