Rupert Penry-Jones

Do I have any Spooks fans out there? How about Jane Austen fans? If not, keep reading, I may make a fan of it you yet!

Today's post focuses on Rupert Penry-Jones who I first saw in the 2006 BBC adaption of Jane Austen's Persuasion. He is Capt. Wentworth who, for those that don't know me in real life, if my FAVORITE Jane Austen guy. I love him more than Mr. Darcy. More than Mr. Knightley (even though I do adore both Jeremy Northam and Jonny Lee Miller) and more than Edmund Bertram. Capt. Wentworth is hands down the best. I can argue this point to the end of time. And Rupert Penry-Jones is my favorite portrayal of him.


He was also on the British show Spooks which, regrettably, I haven't seen. Despite the fact that it has, like, ALL of my favorites in it. But Mr. Penry-Jones was on it for quite awhile and, I believe, met his wife while filming the show.

And, let's not forget about his role in The 39 Steps, which was incredibly under rated. But he does a great job in that one as well.

He was also in the film The Four Feathers with Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson. It is a violent, but very moving story about a young man (Heath Ledger) who is in the military to make his father proud, but once war breaks out, he gets scared and leaves the military. Before his friends are shipped to Sudan. Rupert Penry-Jones is one of his friends who gives him a white feather as a sign of cowardice before he leaves. Heath Ledger's character then decides to redeem himself and save his friends. It's very interesting. You should check it out.

And then, last Christmas I was watching all the Hallmark Christmas movies with my brother and sister in law and saw his name on the opening credits of one of them and went "oh my gosh, what?!" neither of them care as much as I do about actors and actresses and did not understand my excitement until he was on the screen and my sister in law went "ooooooooooooooooh! HIM!" and then we enjoyed the rest of the movie where he plays the king of a small European kingdom.
He hires a maid from New York to be the nanny for his 9 year old daughter who has been struggling since her mom died several years earlier. Is it cheesy? Yes. But it's also adorable and I've added it to my list of Christmas movies I watch every year.




And, in case you need a great end to your night, here he is reading a bedtime story:

And, in honor of Rupert's birthday, I will be watching all the things and eating delicious Leige waffles. Have you ever heard of Waffle Love? These are kind of really similar to those. I found the recipe on the back of a box of Belgian pearl sugar-which is the secret ingredient to making these delicious waffles! Also, they are not a light and fluffy type waffle, but dense and very very delicious.

BELGIAN LEIGE WAFFLES

3 1/2 cups of flour
1 packet yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
8oz softened butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
8oz Belgian pearl sugar

Add the yeast to the lukewarm milk and set aside. In a bowl mix together all dry ingredients except for the pearl sugar. Then add the butter, and eggs mixing well. Slowly pour in the milk and mix until well combined. Do not add the sugar yet. Let the dough proof until it is about double in size and then mix in the sugar.

Heat up your waffle iron and separate the dough into balls. I like to make smaller waffles so that you can try different flavors together, so I make my dough a little bit bigger than a regular sized cookie scoop. Then cook them in your waffle iron. It usually takes a few minutes to get them nice and golden crown. You'll hear the sugar pop as it heats up. These are a little messy, so be prepared to clean up your waffle iron after you make them, but they're so worth it!
I usually have a few different toppings available. They taste SO SO GOOD with Biscoff cookie spread over them with some fresh whipped whipping cream and strawberries on top. I also like cutting a slit in the side of the waffle when it's still hot and slide a piece of chocolate inside and let it melt. So yummy. The sky is the limit really! So go have fun and make these delicious waffles!!

Andrew MacMahon

A few years ago my best friend Katie invited me to go to Vegas to see my favorite band, The Fray, play live. I had seen them once before, but they were my favorite band. And, I hadn't taken a vacation in years, so I agreed and we made plans.

Well, The Fray was headlining with Jack's Mannequin who I had heard a time or two but couldn't name any of their songs, let alone who was in the group. I was really lucky, though, because Katie LOVED them and it was a very educational week for me. I heard all of their music and fell in love with so many of their songs. I bought all of their music as well as all of Something Corporate's music because Andrew MacMahon is the genius behind both of them.

Katie also introduced me to Andrew's documentary Dear Jack which is his journey through cancer. It's on Netflix. There is some language, but over all, I think everyone should watch it. It is very raw and real. It is a front row seat of Leukemia. And it is powerful.

So, I became obsessed with everything Jack's Mannequin. I picked up one of their t-shirts at the show in Vegas and I wore it out. I still have the shirt somewhere in my room, but it's sooooo thin now, I can't wear it anymore. But I don't want to get rid of it. I LOVE that shirt. LOVE it. It's so soft and well worn, I just can't part with it. I'll figure out something to do with it, right? Right.
Any way, if you want to check out my introduction to Jack's Mannequin, you can check it out HERE.

One thing I love about Andrew MacMahon is that he LOVES jumping on his piano. He's done it at every show I've been to. It's awesome. And what's more awesome is his incredible talent. Currently he is playing under the name Andrew MacMahon in the Wilderness. He was actually just in my area and I couldn't go the night he was playing her and I nearly died to death. But it was okay....or it will be.

Here is his current top song:

I think the thing I love about this particular video for the song is that it focuses on his family, particularly, his daughter Cecelia for whom he wrote the song. There are three lines that I absolutely adore from the chorus and they are:

For all the things my eyes have seen the best, by far, is you.

For all the places I have been, I'm nowhere without you.

For all the things my hands have held the best, by far, is you.

I have stitched all three of those and framed them for people. Two of them for a dear friend who got married. I couldn't think of a better sentiment than those first two lines quoted above. And the last line I gave to a friend who was having a baby. Because Andrew has phrased them so perfectly. I love his perception on life. I really want to meet him one day. I have the utmost respect for him.

Also, have you heard that new Lindsey Sterling song for Pete's Dragon? Have you wondered who that guy is singing on the track?! It's ANDREW McMAHON!!!! And I love it. GO FIND IT, if you haven't already.

As I've been relistening to his music for this blog post, I am reminded how much his music has affected my life, my writing, my world. We need more artists like him in the world. And, in case you are new to his music, let me give you a list of songs you need to go listen to RIGHT NOW!!

Dark Blue
Swim
Cecelia and the Satellite
The Resolution
MFEO Pt. 1 - Made for Each Other / Pt. 2 - You Can Breathe
High Dive
All Our Lives
Hostage
The Mixed Tape
Amelia Jean
Rescued
Amy, I

And, once you've listened to all of those, you'll need the rest of his music and you'll be a fan. And I'll be happy. Because I know you're all out to make sure I'm happy. Haha.

But seriously, make sure and check out his music HERE and his website HERE.

And so because whenever I'm down I listen to Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, and now Andrew MacMahon in the Wilderness, I made double chocolate cookies. They are so so delicious. I LOVE them.


Double Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Averiecooks.com (she calls them Sofbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies)


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 ounces (1/4 cup) brick-style cream cheese (get the brick, not the whipped or spreadable kind.)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips


Okay, so start by pre heating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. creaming together the cream cheese, butter, sugars, egg and vanilla together for about 4 or 5 minutes. This is important. Don't just mix it a little bit and call it good.

Scrape the bowl and make sure everything is well mixed and then add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix this until just combined. Then mix in the chocolate chips and make sure that everything is mixed in super good so that you can back them!!

Averie differs from my recommendations here, so if you want to try her cookies, you'll need to follow the link above. I tried her way first and didn't like them as much. Once everything is combined, I used my regular cookie scoop, patted them down so they were a little flat on top and just put them on the tray and threw them in the oven. I baked mine for about 10 minutes and then pulled them out, let them cool just a bit and then transferred them to a cooling rack. This method gave me about 24 cookies. And they are delightful. 

Chris Hemsworth

A number of years ago everyone was talking about how much they disliked this movie that wasn't as good as Iron Man and that Marvel was very hit and miss with their movies. Their last movie, The Incredible Hulk, had not done so well. And now they gave us this new movie with this new actor that no one in America had ever heard of and it was full of Norse mythology and what was Marvel thinking?
This:

This is what Marvel was thinking:

And I think they were geniuses. Because Thor was actually a really good movie. I remember seeing it the first time. My best friend and I went to see it in 3D at the cheap theater. Because I hadn't heard anything about it. I wasn't a comic book reader yet and knew literally nothing about Thor. BUT, after watching the movie, I quickly learned. Haha. I think I stopped at Barnes and Noble on my way home from the theater to pick up a Thor comic book. And then looked up the animated Avengers series. AND I even learned how to pronounce the name of Thor's Hammer, Miljnor, though I love Kat Denning's pronunciation in the movies (mil-mya!). And then, I had to know who played Thor. Chris Hemsworth. Never heard of him before. But he is super attractive. And then I saw a picture of him and his wife! And they're so cute! See:

And they have three kids that are also so cute!!

And then a bunch of other movies came out with him in them and I was like, 

"thank you, Hollywood. You are very smart!" 

And then I saw his brother, Liam, in the Hunger Games and I was like "their whole family must just be beautiful people" and they are. And the world has been blessed because of them. 

I'm pretty sure he has prettier hair than
me in this picture.

Any way, Chris Hemsworth has been on my future BFF list for a long time and I would love to work with him one day if I ever make a movie with the most ridiculous budget so that I can afford to hire him. But that's neither here nor there. We'll take it one day at a time, you know? 

Any way, in honor of his birthday I'll be watching all both of the Thor movies, all both of the Avengers movies. I'm definitely watching The Huntsman: Winter's War because it was better than the original. The first 10 minutes of Star Trek (you know, until he dies, then I turn it off. haha), and if you want to know what else he's in, check out his IMDb page HERE!

Any way, I have so much respect for the Hemsworths and think they are the most amazing people. 

And to celebrate Chris's 33rd birthday today, I made a classic treat, because he has become one of my favorite actors that I will always go back and watch his movies, making him a classic. So, without further ado, I give you.....Rice Crispy Treats!!!

Rice Crispy Treats

1/2 cup butter

8 cups miniature marshmallows

9 cups Rice Crispy Cereal

1 Tsp. Vanilla

A pinch of Salt

I took my old family recipe and a few other ideas I got from Pinterest and kind of created my own. So, they are the classic recipe, but with a little bit more flavor. The vanilla just adds this little extra umph that is so so good. 

So, grab a 9x13 inch pan and lightly spray it with non stick spray. Some people line theirs with tinfoil and then spray the tinfoil, I say do whatever you like best. 

Then, melt the butter in a big pan on your stove. Once the butter is melted, add the marshmallows and stir them until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the cereal. Mix until well combined and then pour into your prepared pan. Press into pan and then wait for them to cool. Once ready, cut and serve!! Yuuummmmm!!!!