HOLY NEW MOVIE TRAILER, BATMAN!

Hey remember earlier today when we had that post about the viral campaign for The Dark Knight Rises? Well if you did everything in the dossier and found graffiti in various cities you could unlock the brand new trailer that is playing before Avengers this weekend!  Well it's already been unlocked!  Here it is!




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WANTED: "The Batman"

Over at TheDarkKnightRises.com the viral campaign for the film picks up in a big way with a full police dossier on "The Batman."  If you haven't seen the first two there might be some spoilers, but the idea if you not seeing the first two is just ludicrous.

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Want to See Something Amazing?

Check out the trailer for Samsura from the director of Baraka and editor of Koyaanisqatsi.



If you can go watch it in HD on Apple.



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Homemade Granola

One of our favorite lunch spots in Little Rock is Community Bakery. They've got amazing sandwiches, an ever-updating soup list and a drool worthy dessert case. On a recent lunch trip, I realized they also have homemade granola and had to give it a try. I was hooked immediately. We went back the next week. After that I knew I had to make it myself. I perused the internet for a good recipe and ended up mostly just winging it based on the ingredients I had on hand. It turned out amazing. This is something that's going to become a Nickels household staple.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• splash orange juice
• 4 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Whisk together the first eight ingredients until the sugar and salt are dissolved. 

Mix in the oats. 

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and pour a thin layer of the mixture onto each, spreading evenly. Try to resist eating it at this point. {This will be a difficult step, as it smells amazing}

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Add the almonds and walnuts, toss, and put back in the oven for 20 more minutes.

Enjoy!

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For the Men in Your Life...

Anyone else find it sad how many fashionable clothing options there are out there for guys, and how few guys take advantage of said options? Fashion has made it fairly simple for the male gender, as their options are fairly limited. Sure details change from season to season, but year after year it's all still boils down to a few staples- shirts, pants, shorts, suits. Despite how easy they've got it, there are still so many out there who just don't care. Here's how I'd dress the man in my life if I ran things!

Shirt- Banana Republic
Pants- Jack Spade
Jacket- G_star
Belt- Fossil
Shoes- Steve Madden
Bag- Jack Spade
Glasses- Super

Leather was big this spring/summer and I don't know a single guy who doesn't look immensely cooler in a leather jacket. Another big trend for the men was {surprisingly} gingham. I guess it's a bit like a dressed up version of the plaid that doesn't seem to go away. Justin's actually got one of these already {which I may have borrowed once or twice} and it looks super sharp on him. I love how the mix of black and brown looks pulled together without trying to hard. It keeps things interesting!

Shirt- Gap
Shorts- Gap
Wallet- Will Leather Goods
Watch- Diesel
Shoes- Sperry
Belt- Gap

Lately, ladies can't walk {or click} into a store without being bombarded by brights. What we forget is that they can work for the guys too. Mixing different brights is a playful take on the casual outfit. Just as long as you tone it down with a few neutral accessories. That wallet comes highly recommended by Justin, by the way. Just don't ask him who Will is...

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An Angel of a Winner

Remember this giveaway we did recently with Angel Court Jewels? Our adorable winner passed along a few pics of her enjoying her newest addition to her jewelry wardrobe and they were too cute not to share!

Congrats again Haleigh!

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Light Fixture Makeover

The light fixture that hung over our dining room table was a complete eyesore. It had probably been hanging there since the early 90s and was even broken in places. It completely clashed with the eclectic Hollywood regency look I'm striving for in our home. It was just bad.

But when your house was built in 1930, there are probably a lot of things about it that are bad {as well as lots of things that are charming!}. We've already done a lot of updates to our home and by the time it came to smaller things like switching out light fixtures, it just wasn't really in the budget. So rather than dropping $400 {or more} for a light fixture, or staring at a hideous one, we set about creating one ourselves.

We started out with a second hand brass light fixture from Habitat for Humanity reStore, a couple of cans of spray paint, some acrylic gemstones and jewelry wire. The rest is pretty self explanatory!

I didn't worry about choosing the "crystals" in one color because I knew I'd paint them so that their finish would match the rest of the lamp. I just chose shapes and sizes that I liked. Once they were painted and dry, I strung them onto the jewelry line in a pattern I liked.

Afterwards I tied the onto the light to add a bit of embellishment.

Justin is normally our resident electrician, but after I spray painted the wires, he couldn't tell which were which and juuuuust to be on the safe side we had an electrician come switch out the new for the old. Luckily when we flipped the switch our house did not burn down. Thankfully.

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Stella and Dot Winner

We had such a huge, overwhelming response to our Stella and Dot giveaway! Thanks so much to everyone who participated! The time has come and our winner has been chosen! We really hope you enjoy your gift certificate and find something amazing to use it on! Keep us informed!

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Budget or Binge? :: Color Block Dress

This little number by Heidi Merrick {and her fraternal twin sister} caught my eye a few months ago. A color block shift dress is as good a closet staple as they come- appropriate for just about any age or event. I don't know a lady who would mind having either of these two lovlies hanging in her closet!

C&C California Colorblock Dress- $88
Heidi Merrick Huntington Dress- $437

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Prometheus Viral Campaign Continues

From collider.com

Today a new piece of the puzzle that is Prometheus (for more coverage on the film click here) came out. For those of you who aren't aware the film is a quasi-prequel to Ridley Scott's Alien. One of the film's stars is Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class, Shame, Inglorious Basterds) as an android named David. Here's a nice preview of what his character (and phenomenal acting) will be like. If you didn't know androids play a pretty big part in all of the Alien series. Check it out now!

 

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The Cabin in the Woods Review

If you read my post from last week detailing my absence from the blog you saw down at the bottom that I said I was going to come back with a review of Drew Goddard's Cabin in the Woods.  We saw it yesterday, but I don't want to tell you anything about it.  At all.  It's really good though.  I also recommend if you haven't seen it to go out and watch it as soon as possible.  It was co-written by Joss Whedon (Creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly Dollhouse, and director writer of this summer's The Avengers) and Goddard and they've crafted a well written insightful horror film that everyone should see.

The film is rated R as are most standard horror flicks, but it's still so much fun.  That's all I can really say about it.  Fun. I don't understand why it took four years for this film to come out either, but interestingly Chris Hemsworth (Thor) stars in it and at the time of production neither he nor Whedon knew they'd have anything to do with Avengers.  If it helps, at this time Rotten Tomatoes is giving the film a 93%.  Do yourself a favor and go see it! In the meantime, since I'm not telling you anything about the film, why don't you listen to/watch the music video for Alex Clare's "Too Close".  It was the song I also mentioned at the end of my last big post.

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New Pictures from The Dark Knight Rises

With all this talk of The Avengers lately it's pretty easy to forget that there's an even bigger superhero movie event coming in July.  Here are some new high resolution stills from www.collider.com.

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Pouf

Dress worn as Top- Forever 21, Skirt- Anthropologie {similar here}, Shoes- Target, Shades- Kate Spade, Earrings and Necklace- Angel Court Jewels, Bracelet- Old

Don't forget our Stella & Dot giveaway!

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J K Rowling's New Book

This morning the title and brief synopsis for Harry Potter scribe J K Rowling's first post Potter book was released.  Back in February it was announced she was writing an adult novel.  The title you ask? The Casual Vacancy.  Here's the synopsis taken directly from her publisher, Little Brown Book Group:

When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.


 The novel comes out September 27, 2012! Today she also launched her official website.

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Meringues

It's rare {as in never} that I crave a meringue. I have quite the sweet tooth, and if I'm going to let myself have a cookie, I usually want it sticking out of a cupcake. But I saw a photo of a meringue this morning and, for some reason, had to have one. I perused a few online recipes and realized that they are super easy to make and require very few ingredients, most of which I already had {what is the purpose of cream of tartar, by the way?}.

It turned out that they actually were incredibly easy, and nearly foolproof. The hardest part was the wait for them to be ready to eat. I happened to have had some pastry bags and one last tip, so I piped little clouds, but you could just as easily make meringue dollops and they'd be just as tasty! Here is the recipe I used. The only thing I wish I had done differently was to add more food coloring, like the recipe says. Mine turned out a bit grayish, rather than the lavender I was going for. Still taste good though!

Yes, that's our Save the Date. Framed. Next to our mixer...

 

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Stella and Dot Giveaway

We're super excited to announce that we've got a Stella & Dot giveaway for you jewelry lovers out there! They've got a huge selection of on-trend jewelry and they want you to have $50 to spend there! Here are a couple of pieces I'm currently lusting after.

So how do you enter to win this $50 gift certificate? Easy! Follow Stella & Dot on facebook, follow us on twitter and leave a comment below! Bonus points if you share this post too!

We'll pick our winner next Wednesday (April 18th)! Good Luck!

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Sorry for the absence

Justin here.  So lately I haven't had the opportunity to post very much for various reasons and I want to apologize for that and let you know about what's been going on.  Aside from my day job I just recently put on the Little Rock Film Festival's very first Little Rock Horror Picture Show back in the middle of February.  We showcased some of the latest and best horror and genre films from around the globe. It was a huge success and will happen again next March so be sure to look for it and attend! Here are the two trailers for the two big winners from the festival:

Audience Award Winner Madison County.


Grand Jury Prize Winner Exit Humanity.


Since the Horror Picture Show I've also been tapped as the Shorts Programmer for the Little Rock Film Festival which is this May 29 - June 3.  So every single night when I get home from work I sit down and watch every short film submitted to the festival and the best ones I find will be showcased in the festival itself.

Also following the horror festival I served as Assistant Director on the short film Side-a-roadia from Europa (written by Mallory and me) and Going to Hell director Bruce Hutchinson.  Side-a-roadia stars Warren McCullough who was also the lead actor in Europa. Side-a-roadia is now in post production and should be finished sometime this late summer or early fall.

Warren McCullough and I decided to make another short film and are over halfway through pre-production on the Film Strangers. I wrote it and am serving as producer and Warren is acting and directing this story of two brothers estranged for twelve years due to violence in their past who have now come together and must deal with violence again in the present.  It's our way of turning the southern gothic genre on its head and we're both really excited about it.  Mallory designed the poster for it which I'm including below.  In the meantime please go like Strangers on Facebook! The more likes we have the bigger and better the film will be.  We'll also be updating you on the film over the course of production and post production.

Now for the blog, you can start looking forward to more movie and music posts from me in the near future including our review of Cabin in the Woods sometime this weekend.  Also Mad Men is fantastic this season if you're not caught up and watching it you should be. and the song "Too Close" by Alex Clare is pretty awesome so go listen to it.

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Budget or Binge? :: Floral Tank

I've always loved a good floral tank top for summer. Throw in some fun cutouts in the back and I'm sold. These are two great options because they're so versatile. They'd look great as a splash of color under a cardigan or blazer for work, but work just as well paired with jeans for a night out. They really are worth taking a closer look at too. The surprise details in the back are what make these extra special.

Topshop Floral Lattice Back Top- $52.00
Milly Sammie Birch Tree Print Top- $275.00

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Easter Ideal

For the last few years, my family has celebrated Easter sharing brunch at the local country club. No matter how you and your family celebrate the day I can bet one thing- and that is that you dress up extra special. I can remember in my childhood each year having a new, special Easter dress. At the time, my mother got more excited about it than I did. But now I get just as into it, if not more. I didn't have the chance to do any special outfit shopping this year, however, if I had I think this might be the outfit I would have chosen.

Dress- Topshop, Necklace- Angel Court Jewels, Bag- Asos, Jacket- Topshop, Shoes- Report Signature, Belt- Asos

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Quick Hit: Leopard Remix

If you saw yesterday's post, something in these {terribly unflattering} pics might look familiar. This is how I remixed my leopard top for last night's mini-street-fest which takes place monthly in our neighborhood. I took the ensemble from office appropriate to casual cool by switching out the slacks for shorts, beady necklace for cool chains and pumps for easy-to-walk-in boots and throwing on a hat.

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