gillian flynn Archives - Popcorn and Pandas

{26} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Finished a few good ones recently. First up was The Fault in Our Stars. I wanted to read the book before watching the movie. Of course, it’s predictable and a total tearjerker, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well a male author (John Green) was able to capture the mind of a sixteen year old girl. Next, I read Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn. This author never disappoints. Although the main character, Libby, is a little unlikable in my opinion, Gillian Flynn is always keeping you on your toes with her novels and makes you want more. Heading to the beach this weekend, so if you have any beach reads to recommend, please do!

writing A ginormous to-do list of everything I need to get done before our trip to the Outer Banks. And a packing list.

listening Summer…my summer anthem by Calvin Harris. Prepping a little playlist for our road trip.

thinking That this beautifully written blog post from my friend Sascha really hits home for the working mom.

smelling The delicious homemade eggplant parm the hubby cooked this week. Fresh eggplant, tomatoes, and basil from the garden. Melt in your mouth amazingness.

watching The Bachelorette finale really threw me for a loop! I realize I am delayed on watching my shows, so sorry for being late to the party. I won’t throw out any spoilers for those who may also be behind on their TV watching, but let’s just say I was really surprised!

wishing Time would slow down a bit. My little baby is almost a year old already! I can’t even take it.

hoping I can pull off this fabulous fishtail braid at the beach next week shown in this tutorial by Nikki.

wearing Lots of leopard print this week. Feeling feisty.

loving The end of summer sales! ModCloth, Free People, J. Crew, & Zara have some pretty good ones going on right now.

laughing At how Nico loves to be chased around the house. I will crawl after him, and he will start crawling away squealing with delight…then come back and start chasing me while laughing. That belly laugh is enough to get me laughing and smiling all day long.

wanting To be with my little boy today. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m missing him a lot while at work this week. Looking forward to spending a whole week with him at the beach and introducing him to the place I have vacationed since I was a small child. Also excited that the whole family will be able to see how much he has grown.

needing A little girl (one day) so I can buy these adorable ribbons from Brit!

feeling Totally inspired by hometown friend Candice as she becomes the first plus-sized model to appear in next year’s Pirelli calendar. Doesn’t she look fantastic!!??

craving Something sweet. What else is new?

clicking On 1st birthday party ideas for my little guy.

What have you been up to lately?

Hope you are all having a fantastic week!

XO,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

{15} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Just finished a couple books including Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan, and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. Maine was an okay beach read, but I honestly didn’t care for the characters all that much. They were a bit bitchy and whiny, and while they were all family, it was pretty tough for them to all get along. It was a decent read, but not a must for me. Sharp Objects on the other hand was a really good book. If you liked Gone Girl, then you will like this book as well. This mystery/thriller is an easy read that captures your attention, and makes you unable to put it down.

writing Finished all of my thank you notes for the many wonderful gifts we received for our little guy! I’m also writing up my to-do lists for how to train our new employee who is coming in next week and will be filling in while I’m on maternity leave. Can’t believe it’s almost that time!

listening Loving this summer jam, Reload by Sebastian Ingrosso, Tommy Trash, and John Martin. Makes me wanna dance.

thinking It’s been a beautiful week here in NYC, and that I am incredibly lucky the weather has been kind to me this August.

smelling The new Bath and Body works lotion I got for my birthday, Rio Rumberry.

watching A French, indie film called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I read the book a few years ago, and have been wanting to watch the movie ever since. It’s a true story about well-known man in the fashion industry who became a paraplegic and learned to communicate and write a novel with the blink of his eye. Fascinating.

wishing That the rocking chair/glider that just arrived for our nursery didn’t feel like it was taking over the entire room. I swear it didn’t look that big in the photos! I think I’m starting to get used to it, but when it first arrived, I was in a bit of shock!

hoping For a fun, yet productive weekend ahead! Planning on finally checking out the Hester Street Fair (for real this time), attending a Brooklyn Cyclones game with friends, and putting in some more work on the nursery.

wearing An old blue/green maxi skirt from American Eagle that I’ve had in my closet for awhile now paired with a coral and white striped maternity tee from Motherhood. Old Navy white flip flops for comfort, and my vintage sunnies.

loving These sexy, fall booties from ALDO. Gah, I can’t wait to wear heels again!

laughing We’ve been listening to all the comedy stations on XM Radio during our past few long car rides. I’m usually the driver, but Zack has had to drive a bit this summer due to my pregnancy sleepiness. We find that laughing while driving is a good way to stay awake.

wanting To be with my family this week in the Outer Banks, NC on our annual vacation. It’s the one time of the year when both sides of my family all get together, and it’s one of my favorite weeks of the year. However, I know I’m staying put in NY for a very good reason! Luckily, the weather has been so great here, and I have been keeping myself distracted with a busy work schedule and prepping for the baby to arrive. I just flash forward to next year when we will have an almost-one-year-old running around with us at the beach!

needing To get my hospital bag packed. Next week I’ll be full term, and they say you could go at any time between 37-42 weeks. I know that is a big, open time frame, but you also never know when the little one will want to make his debut! Therefore, that is on the top of my list for weekend priorities.

feeling Pretty good! Sometimes it’s hard to get comfortable, and I have to pee at all times, but overall, I am feeling pretty good in these last few weeks of pregnancy.

craving Sweets. It’s probably not good, and I typically have a sweet tooth anyway…but I’m finding myself wanting something sweet almost every day now. I guess I can milk these last few weeks while I can 😉

clicking Through many animated commercials that our new clients have done. Been trying to familiarize myself with their work as much as I can.

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Love,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

{3} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Just finished Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn this week. Holy intensity! I would definitely recommend. Also read the December issue of Health magazine. Hoping I actually listen to what I read and start eating a bit healthier and getting back into my work out ways. I’ve been a slacker. Back to the reading…trying to decide the next book to open…I think I am going to go back to the Harry Potter series now that I got the last four books from my sister-in-law. Nothing like a little magic around Christmastime.

writing Still writing my Christmas cards! Luckily, I was able to get most of them out this week. However, I miscounted how many I needed, so those of you at the beginning of the alphabet (I went backwards this year) might be a bit delayed! Oops!

listening Cazzette’s Beam Me Up. Nothing like a little alien take-over causing a city to erupt in dancing. This one’s for you Charles.

thinking About the Christmas shopping that I still have left to do.

smelling Christmas Cookie candle by Yankee Candle. Also loving the Warm Woolen Mittens scent.

wishing That my tummy would stop hurting! Stayed home from work yesterday mehhh.

hoping That the bridesmaid dress I pick up tomorrow for my cousin’s wedding fits me like a glove. Naturally being of my short stature, I needed some alterations. 😉

wearing Lots of layers. Although it hasn’t been incredibly cold so far this winter, I am forever frozen, and layers are a must in this city. Today I’m wearing black leggings with a blue tank. Black and white sweater overtop, with another multicolored sweater wrap over that. Topped off with my bright yellow winter coat and Steve Madden boots.

loving That the sun is shining right now! A lot better than the rain we have had as of late. Also loving that we are having some visitors this weekend. And a maid is coming to clean before they get here, so I don’t have to tear my hair out. Loving loving loving.

wanting World peace. Yes, that would be nice.

needing Constant reapplication of hand cream. The cold weather seems to dry my hands up so quickly! Right now I am using Simply Clean from ULTA.

feeling You ever have one of those moments when you just want to cry and you don’t really know why? Well that was me yesterday. Maybe it was a combo of being sick, stressed, hormones, who knows. But just broke down. Sad panda! For no obvious reason. I think it was just one of those days. Luckily, today I am in much better spirits, and looking forward to seeing friends this weekend.

clicking Through all the advertising trades this morning for news in the ad world.

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Friday!

Love,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

{2} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Just finished the November issue of Marie Claire. Started Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn this morning on the Subway. I have heard so many amazing things about this book, and I cannot wait to get intoxicated by it!

writing I wrote my to-do list at the beginning of the week with tons of chores and errands to be completed since returning from the Thanksgiving holiday. So far, I have been very good at checking things off the list. Hope to check a few more things off tonight before my trip this weekend.

listening Anything and everything on XM’s Channel 51 BPM station. I can’t seem to want to turn the station…ever. Makes me want to dance. Yes, even in the car.

thinking About some different collaborations and blog posts that I may want to do in the future.

smelling My morning coffee…although it is now afternoon.

wishing That I wasn’t going to miss seeing my mother-in-law this weekend when she comes to town. Yes, I actually like my mother-in-law, and we get along wonderfully. Had a blast with her and the rest of the Notes clan over Thanksgiving, and wish I wasn’t going to miss out on her visit to town.

hoping That the Mayans were incorrect and that the world is not actually going to end in three weeks. I still have a lot of bucket list adventures to complete!

wearing Today I’m wearing black skinny jeans, long sleeved black tee with purple/fuchsia sweater dress, combat boots, and a pink skinny headband. On nights out I can’t seem to get enough of my navy peplum top from ASOS that you saw here.

loving The fact that my Christmas tree is finally up! To my utter delight, the deli on Courtelyou got trees this week. We quickly snatched one up and drove it home (wow feels nice to say we didn’t need to cab it home). We then proceeded to trim the tree and decorate the house all while blasting holiday tunes. Keep your eyes peeled for a post complete with photos soon. ‘Tis the season!

wanting A Hippopotamus for Christmas. Only a hippopotamus will do. Okay, so maybe not really. But while most may find this Christmas song obnoxious, I sure do love it! It makes me think of my cousins on Christmas Eve, and obviously I cannot get it out of my head at the moment. Probably because I keep playing it on repeat.

needing Lunch. My tummy is a grumbling. Hmm…I’m getting tired of the same old Murray Hill lunch options. Any one have any favorites in town?

feeling Excited for tomorrow! After work, I will be driving down to Atlantic City to celebrate my cousin, Alex’s, bachelorette! Looking forward to a much need girl’s weekend including my other cousin, Marisa, and my sister, Angela. The Fab Four reunite. Woot woot!

clicking Through a few different animation studios’ websites. Doing some research for potential new clients and new talent.

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Thursday!

Love,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.