this is the "before" part on a episode of intervention.

i have lost all ability to speak in one tense, so i know that this post is all over the place, okay? i know.

i don't know how it happened.

(okay i mean i kind of do, but.)

a while ago i started watching the lizzie bennet diaries.

which, if you don't know what lbd is, it's basically a modern day pride and prejudice, told through a vlog developed by bernie su and the brilliant hank green and it is EXCELLENT.

so i'm watching roughly like 15-20 episodes a day of the lizzie bennet diaries and i'm like "man. this is bringing back some great pride and prejudice memories." 

and then a few weeks ago i was on tumblr, and i don't even know who it was, but SOMEBODY must have just watched the keira knightley version of it, because there were about a million photosets of it on my dash. and i'm sitting there thinking, "MAN it's been a long time since i watched that movie. maybe i should watch it, especially since i've had p&p on the brain lately" and at that very moment kate texted me and was like "abbi i am seeing all this pride and prejudice on your tumblr and i have to watch it right now?!" and i was like, "KATE. sit down, shut up, and i will find us a link to watch it online," only i said it nicer than that.

so we watched it. and guess what? it was perfect. one of the most visually stunning films i've ever seen, and it was better than i remembered.

and then the next night, i'm sitting on my bed and i thought "...would it be weird if i watched that movie again tonight?"

so i watched it again.

i watched it 4 times that week.

(as kate put it, "well it's a day that ends in y, so i'm off to watch pride and prejudice."

and on black friday i looked on amazon and of course the dvd copy of it was only 5 dollars, and i was sick of watching it on my computer, so i bought it.

and then i was like, "well i can't find my copy of the book, so i guess i should just go buy another copy of it."

and then on cyber monday i was looking on amazon again, and the bbc version with colin firth which is also excellent was on sale FOR LIKE 6000% OFF, so i had to buy that too.

and you guys, if we can be real for a second, when i received all of these things in the mail, i had a moment where i sat on my floor and i put all of these versions of pride and prejudice around me in a circle. and i just sat there in silence and gazed at all of them lovingly. 

i have now become a person who tries to fit pride and prejudice into every day conversation. the other day nick and i were talking about a friend who has unrealistic standards in women, and i almost blurted out, "SOUNDS LIKE A REGULAR DARCY, AMIRITE"

this is who i am now.

things you should be watching on netflix.

if there's one thing i love in this world, it is netflix.

my dad signed my family up for netflix back when we had the first dvd player in our neighborhood, back when we got 4 dvds at a time.

netflix and i have had a long and loving relationship.

and since it seems that every day they are adding more wonderful things to watch, let's consider this part one of a never ending series called, things you should watch on netflix.

this is movie edition, because i just can't fit movies and tv into one post, it's too much.

so next time you're bored and looking for a movie on netflix, here's a few that i love.

keith.

i know. you are like, "abbi. that movie poster is cheesy. this movie has jesse mccartney in it. it's actually ~called keith. also it has jesse mccartney in it." but y'all, bear with me on this one. this is a great and wonderful movie. i was a skeptic like you, until years ago a friend recommended to me and i thought "why not" so i watched it and 5 minutes after it was done i bought it on amazon because i had to own it immediately. word of wisdom: do NOT look up any kind of synopsis for this movie. just don't. watch it without any prior knowledge because it's so much better that way. 

jesus christ superstar.

guys. okay, one time in like 2001 they made this other version of this musical and y'all, it was the worst. they filmed it on like two stages in london and the guy who played jesus looked like yanni and i was just offended. but this, this version is so wonderful. one of my favorite musicals of all time, and i think the film does it justice. watch it.

a league of their own.

honestly, if you have not seen a league of their own i don't even know what you're doing on this blog because i live my life for lady heroes and this movie is all about lady heroes.

charlie bartlett.

quirky and funny and a little weird, young anton yelchin becomes a psychiatrist for the kids in his school by offering them therapy and drugs out of his own personal stall in the school bathroom and he looks mighty fine doing it. also, young robert downey jr and also kat dennings and that girl who played paige on degrassi.

the vicious kind.

okay, i want to start this one with a warning. this movie is not for everyone. it has a lot of language and one kind of weird sex scene and is overall just sort of a dark movie. BUT. that being said, i think it is a really interesting story and some of the best acting that adam scott has ever done. also, adam scott with a beard, so.

best in show.

i don't really even know what to say about this movie other than it's hilarious and i feel genuine sadness for people who haven't seen it.

footloose.

i know. but that guy who plays ren is so gorgeous that it makes it okay.

like crazy.

more anton yelchin.

for those of you who haven't seen this movie, i hesitate to even put this on here because like SAVE YOURSELF. but then i'm like, most everyone i know has seen and cried over this movie, so it's really on here for those who are a glutton for punishment and want to torture themselves again and again. 

do you like any of these? what are some of your favorite movies on netflix? i'd love to know if you watch any of them and what you think!

PS. RIP, MOVIES THEY TOOK OFF NETFLIX AND THEN I CRIED:

happythankyoumoreplease

kissing jessica stein

obligatory thankful post.

i'm a huge fan of looking back and seeing how i felt a year, 2 years, 10 years ago.

so i know you're all sick of seeing these sappy posts, but someday i'd like to look back at this and know what i'm thankful for.

so here, in 2012, i'm thankful for:

-school. i made the right choice by transferring, and i am happier than i have been in a long, long time.

-pride and prejudice. and by extension, the lizzie bennet diaries.

-chai tea.

-doctor who.

-my job. francesca's is a wonderful company, and i have the sweetest, funniest, best co-workers in the world. how rare to actually enjoy going to work.

-carey mulligan.

-top knots and leather jackets and big gold watches.

-the writing of john green, sarah dessen, and david levithan.

-a patient mother, a caring father, a hilarious sister, an intelligent brother.

-andrew garfield and emma stone's relationship.

-parks and recreation.

-friends in states all over the country, and few a little farther out.

-my church. when i left school and moved back here, i was able to find a loving community that inspires my ever-changing faith. 

-nick, my best friend and confidante and love of my life.

-pitch perfect, celeste and jesse forever, ruby sparks, the perks of being a wallflower.

-my trip to arizona in march, where i got to spend time with 3 of my best friends in the whole wide world-kate, marci and lauren.

-liam, niall, zayn, harry and louis.

-netflix. bless it.

-the pair app, which is technically an app for couples in long distance relationship, but that leila and i use for each other.

-lady heroes, both real life and fictional. (tami taylor, the gilmore girls, buffy summers, leslie knope, and so on.)

-ed sheeran and his music. (and the fact that my very best friend in the world won tickets to a private ed sheeran concert next month and she's taking ME.)

-the internet. it's cliche, but it has brought me more happiness than i could have ever imagined, because it has brought me all of YOU. i love each and every one of you who takes the time to read the nonsense posted here, on tumblr and on twitter. you are all so witty, and kind, and some of the smartest people i know. whether we talk each day or we've never spoken at all, i appreciate you. 

i hope you had a great day today, my loves. 

(be careful out there tomorrow.)

a word on internet friends.

sometimes, you meet someone on the internet.

sometimes, that someone is sydney.

sometimes, you're so nervous about meeting her for the first time but that nervousness is gone the second you hug her.

sometimes, you stay up until 3 am the first night you're together and your body, which usually likes to be in bed by 10, doesn't mind.

sometimes, sydney pulls a pair of running shorts out of her bag to sleep in and you yell "NO" and pull the exact same pair out of your drawer. 

(sometimes, she pulls out a pair of yoga pants the next night and you have those too.)

sometimes, you spend an entire afternoon in a bookstore and you feel like you might cry, because you've found someone who wants to be there as much as you do.

sometimes, you google "twilight tattoos" and you are laughing so hard you have to lean on each other because your body can't hold itself up any longer once you know this exists. 

sometimes you go to dinner with not one, but four internet friends and you realize you have every hogwarts house represented at that table. (gryffindor, hufflepuff, slytherin, ravenclaw)

sometimes you go see breaking dawn together and you're expecting it to be kind of horrible, and it kind of is, but it's also hilarious and unexpected and the perfect storm of good and bad, and you know it will never be as good as it is with the 4 people you saw it with.

sometimes, you watch buffy the vampire slayer with the person who inspired you to watch it and you scream and you cry and it all comes full circle.

and sometimes, you drive sydney to the airport after the shortest 4 days of your life and you hug her and she yells "THIS IS THE DARKEST TIMELINE" and it is, and you drive home and you try not to cry because you've found a soulmate and a best friend and she doesn't live next door to you.

i've been fortunate enough over the past year and a half to meet several of my dearest friends from the internet, and i am always so shocked at how effortless it is. 

i think we've got a special piece of the world that not everyone understands, when we become friends with someone who lives halfway across the state/country/world. we get to know them by talking talking talking, all the time, and by the time we meet, if we're ever fortunate enough to do so, it feels like visiting an old friend, instead of a new one. 

i know chris hansen will tell us it's a bad idea, and in some cases people are weirdos, but i've found more often than not, people are good and kind.

have a good start to your week tomorrow loves. i hope you had a great weekend.

lately.

loving:

nick. i know that's cliche and i don't want to be ~that girl on my blog, because i know i love him and you know i love him so we don't need to talk about it all the time. but this man is patient, and kind, and is loving me through all the crazy that i am.  it's been a rough couple of days lately, and i read this article in a magazine that was like "are you a highly sensitive person??" so i took the quiz and to no one's surprise, i am. the day after the election i was feeling so run down by seeing negativity everywhere, so nick, saint that he is, took me to see wreck it ralph. it was the CUTEST movie, and i was feeling so much better, until i checked my phone and had several texts from friends telling me about the horrible things people had been saying to/about them. poor nick. i spent the entire car ride sobbing, going "i don't know why people are so mean!" and luckily he did not tell me to suck it up, or rub some dirt in it, or whatever men say to each other. he just holds my hand, or kisses my forehead, or tries his hardest to make me laugh. i have done nothing to deserve someone this patient, so i am grateful for him. 

reading: 

why we broke up. it is SO good and y'all should read it. but it's about to be put on the back burner, because REACHED COMES OUT TODAY. last year when crossed came out, lauren and i read the entire book in a day and exchanged over 300 texts about it. it was beautiful. 

but i also need to mention, if you didn't see my 7 tweets about it, you HAVE to read every day by david levithan. i believe every once in a while, a book comes along that changes the way you read. this is one of those books. read it.

watching:

buffy the vampire slayer (still.) at this point i can't even tell if i like this dumb show anymore or if i just like the feeling of my heart being ripped out and spit on, over and over and over again. 

anticipating:

SYDNEY IS COMING TO SEE ME. IN TWO DAYS. we are going to laugh and cry and watch buffy the vampire slayer and cry and just sit around and just soak up each others awesomeness and cry.

listening to:

red. specifically, all too well.

for those of you who listen to taylor's music and love all too well as much as i do, here's a great visual that my friend bridget sent to me, and i'm pretty it is actually a self portrait.

(also, once i get it in my hot little hands, one direction's new album.)

working on:

cleaning and organizing my room.

ha. ha ha. ha ha. ha. ha. ha ha. ha ha. ha ha ha ha.

wishing:

i was better at nanowrimo. the first day i was like "YES, THIS IS MY YEAR! I CAN DO THIS! I CAN WRITE A NOVEL!" and by the second day i was like "no, maybe next year. i cannot do this. i cannot write a novel." and now the nanowrimo people keep sending me all these emails being like "keep writing! your novel is on it's way!" and "meet with other writers in your area to share your progress!" and i'm like "i cAN'T, I DON'T EVEN REALLY HAVE ANY PROGRESS TO SHOW THEM."

how are YOU?

cruise.

better late than never?

here's waaaayyy too many pictures of the cruise mama and i went on for my 21st birthday.

we had the best time. 

i'm ready to go back.

we shopped in cozumel, went to a private beach in belize, went ziplining and held monkeys in roatan, and swam with the dolphins and the stingrays in grand cayman. 

i sang karaoke (!!!), was a contestant on a "game show," and won harry potter trivia ON my birthday. 

it was beautiful and relaxing and so fun to spend time with my mom, just me and her.

obligatory "king of the world" picture

my new boyfriend. sorry nick.

 stingrays are weird.

lately.

loving:

 pitch perfect. y'all, you have probably seen me talking about it on twitter and tumblr, but if i can't talk about it on every from of social media then what is the point of this. it is....literally...so good. i saw it twice in one week (once with kate, once with nick) and it's still nOT ENOUGH. go see it if you haven't. go.

reading:

the casual vacancy, kind of. guys TO BE HONEST i am having a hard time getting into it? i'm not very far into it so i don't think i can accurately judge, but. have any of you read it? what do you think of it?

watching:

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. 

anticipating:

MY CRUUIIIISSSEEE!!! i leave in TWO. DAYS. (it'll be pretty quiet over here (though....isn't it usually? oops.) but there will be something happening over on my tumblr, as always.) also, my birthday. in exactly 7 days.

listening to:

50% pitch perfect soundtrack, 50% taylor swift's new single(s)

working on:

fitting all my clothes into one carry on suitcase. why must i always overpack.

wishing:

i didn't have to take a test in my nutrition class tomorrow. it's the only thing standing in the way between me and birthday week! 

i'mmmmm gonna soak up the sunnnnn

in 22 days, i will be here.

for my 21st birthday, my mama is taking me on a cruise! 

we'll be going to belize, grand cayman, and cozumel (!!!!!!!!)

i have never been on a cruise! i don't usually take big vacations, so this is a prETTY big deal for me. (and 7 days after that, my dad is taking me to las vegas!) 

i know that we will be doing a lot of cruise-y things (probably, i don't even know how a cruise goes down) but i also know that i will probably be reading...a bunch.

i know i ask y'all this often, BUT what is a book i simply have to read??
i'd love to load up my kindle before we leave.
i'll read just about anything (i just finished dark places by gillian flynn and oh my GOSH)
thanks, loves!

(SO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS IN THIS POST!!!)

better late than never?

welp, these are a little late.

but here's some shots from when marci came to visit!!

we:

-ate. and ate and ate and ate.

-saw celeste and jesse forever down at the esquire.

-went to the melting pot for kate's birthday!

-did some vintage shopping down on broadway.

-talked until our throats hurts.

i love kate and i love marci.

proof that friends you meet online will not always kill you.

:)

my love.

*a little backstory: as most of you may know, the hunger games is more important to me than basically anything, and has been since 2008. it has been a huge part of my life and brought me closer to people that i otherwise never would have met. despite this, it has never reached some of those closest to me, like nick, my mom and many other family members. but i never beg, i never plead, because if someone i love is going to read it, i want them to read it because they want to.*

on wednesday, nick said, "i have a surprise for you but i can't tell you until it's complete!" and i do not handle surprises well. i whine and i beg and i cry and i pull on your shirt and i lock the door so you can't leave until you tell me what the surprise is, and i did all of those things to him, but he wouldn't tell me. "when the time is right, i'll tell you," he said.

today in the car, he asked, "can i borrow the hunger games so i can loan it to my family? i want to rewatch it for a few reasons. because it's been so long since i saw it in theaters and....because i just finished reading all three books."

and i burst into tears.

he spent a month reading them all and keeping it a secret, so that when he finished them all he could surprise me.

so our friday night was spent doing what i love most: eating and laughing and talking about katniss and peeta.

baby girl's 3rd birthday.

on saturday, my precious niece turned 3. 

AND marci came to town! (she gets her own post later.)

emmi loves mickey and minnie mouse, if you can't tell.

there was pin the bow on the minnie, a mickey pinata, bracelets made out of fruit loops, and black frosting galore.

i love this life.