I love a good, sadly funny movie and The Descendants really fit the bill. Armed with popcorn and a few tissues, I was ready to take it on. The premise has Matt King (George Clooney) living in Hawaii and with two difficult daughters and a wife on life support after a boating accident. To add to his burden, King is a Hawaiian land baron, tasked with decision of what to do with 25,000 acres of paradise on Kauai. The sole decision-maker of many royalty-descended cousins, he must choose to keep the land unspoiled or sell, making all the cousins extremely wealthy and sharing the land with the world, albeit through resorts and golf courses.

The two daughters are maladjusted, wild kids. Shailene Woodley plays irreverent teenager, Alexandra, with a penchant for drinking, drugging, older men, and cursing at her father. Amara Miller makes her film debut as younger daughter, Scottie, who is equally disrespectful to her father. Rounding out their little group is Sid (played by Nick Krause) who provides much-appreciated comic relief. You root for every flawed character and realize that living in this beautiful Hawaiian paradise does not mean life is a vacation.

When King finds out his wife was unfaithful, he has to express his grief and work through it on his own. There are several scenes where the family talks to Elizabeth, while she lies comatose hooked up to machines. Mouth agape and pallid complexion, Patricia Hastie was the silent and unmoving actress the story rotated around.

Without giving away much more, there are plenty of opportunities to laugh and a few to cry. This may be George Clooney’s strongest role yet, his eyes expressing a genuine pain that makes me want him to get married. And it doesn’t get better than watching Hawaii as a backdrop.

As the final hours of Thanksgiving weekend wind down, take the time to reflect on everything good in your life. Why are you thankful this year? For your families? Friends? Jobs? Health? I am thankful for all of the above, plus pumpkin pie with sharks.

I hope you all had a thrilling holiday!

Well, friends, here is my first pizza review. And itsa no good!

One fateful night we opted to get a pizza delivered. Oh, if I could undo that decision I would. But then this post would be blank. Anyway, Mr. Betty and I drove by a pizza place many times and finally decided to try it. Delivery is not easy to come by in Austin, so having someone bring food to my door was treat enough. (Although they charged us for the delivery, which they should have mentioned on the phone when I placed the order. Point deducted!)

One large cheese pizza. It was quite small, smaller than a Jersey-sized medium pizza. This was no hardship though, as we wanted less, not more.

Craig O’s gave us the option of regular or thin crust. We chose thin, and I don’t know if that was the first mistake. The dough didn’t taste homemade. Like maybe it was just a frozen crust…? The cheese was thick, stiff, not gooey, yet somehow very greasy, and all-around terrible. The pizza was hard and couldn’t be folded. I had no problem with the sauce, other than it was covered by too much cheese.

Craig O’s, you get a D+. See you in hell.

I’m giving thanks for this month’s Birchbox! My November box included:

• -Anastasia Beverly Hills HydraFull Gloss
• -Guerlain Shalimar Perfume
• -Kerasase Elixir Ultime
• -Thymes Body Lotion (plus a little extra in Kimono Rose)
• -Two Paperdolls Coasters

Thanksgiving is a few days away, so I thought I’d share a little miracle I call fresh pumpkin. I always used the canned stuff because I was intimidated. Pumpkins are so big. Is that thing going to fit in my oven? And from all the jack o’lanterns I’ve made, I know what a pain it is to scoop out a pumpkin. And so messy. Opening a can is infinitely easier.

But I got over my fears/laziness and decided to do this thing. So I bought a pumpkin slightly larger than a basketball and cut it in half. I was pleased at how quick it was to scoop all the seeds and stringy insides out. Without having to navigate through a little hole in the top (jack o’lantern style) you can really go for it.

Place the pumpkin on a baking pan, dome side up. Fill the pan with water and stick into a 350° oven for an hour. Stick a fork in to check and if it goes in easily, it’s ready. You can peel the pumpkin before roasting, but that would be crazy. It separates and peels off very easily after roasting.

Let the pumpkin cool and peel and cube. Then puree. That’s it! You can freeze and use it all year long. I made soup out of this batch, blending with sauteed onions and garlic, veggie stock and some spices.

What are your favorite ways to use pumpkin?

I’ve decided to highlight the occasional music video. I love videos and even though MTV doesn’t care anymore, I still do. Let’s bring back this fun art form! Somebody write a letter or get on a soapbox or something! I’ll lead the charge. No..forget it. I’m tired.

Anyway, for my inaugural video spotlight I chose Say, Say, Say by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. This song totally rocks! I love the harmonies between McCartney and Jackson. Talk about a duet of epic proportions. While Paul is obviously a renowned songwriter, it was Michael Jackson who wrote the lyrics this time and they are awesome. Paul plays most of the instruments. This song is fun, 80′s, and features both musicians at their best.

The video is pure magic, with “Mac and Jack” playing lovable con men hawking wonder potion, hustling at pool, and putting on Vaudeville shows. Michael’s older sister La Toya makes an appearance and was lovely when she was younger, wasn’t she? The late Linda McCartney classed up their whole swindling operation and makes me miss the days when Paul McCartney was likable and not constantly getting married. Her quiet beauty fit in nicely with the egos and antics of the two stars. I love everything about this.

What do you think? Isn’t it great? Any favorite videos you’d like to see blogged? Post in comments.

I do not travel light. I’m not a girl who can get away with not carrying a purse. I envy women who can freely go about their lives with just the contents of their pockets. The things I need at all times do not fit in a pocket:

• -Cell phone
• -Keys
• -Selection of lip glosses
• -Pen
• -Hand lotion
• -Wallet
• -Sunglasses

Add to this list: mints. Yes, I am addicted to mints. If I forget to throw some in my bag I will buy some while I’m out. More often though, I grab a pack from my stockpile and throw them in my purse everyday. So I have eight or nine tins of mints shaking around the bottom of my bag. I am a walking maraca.

Spry mints were recommended by my dentist. Made with Xylitol, which is proven to fight cavities, these tasty little guys come in peppermint, berry, and lemon. I keep a container on my kitchen counter and one at work. The berry flavor is amazing!

I received my first pack of Minteas in a Birchbox and love them. So far I’ve tried the Matcha Chai and Cocoa Mate. The mints themselves are shaped like little tea leaves and last forever.

The beauty of mints is that they are small, inexpensive, satisfying, and great to share. No one turns down a mint. Mint gives you good breath and can aid in recall. That’s right…mint makes your smarter. And prettier.

I live in Austin, but I am not a native Texan. My roots are on the East Coast, which I love tremendously. There are many things I miss from back home: family and friends, the Atlantic Ocean, public transportation, the watch it, buddy attitude, and changing leaves are only a few. And dear God…pizza. Never again will I take for granted a decent slice of pizza.

Before moving to Austin, we had a favorite pizza place. They delivered the perfect pie every time. It was inexpensive and delicious, and we always ordered a salad, too. I realize now that this is my comfort food, and what I would order as my last meal on death row. We ordered it so much, in fact, that one day the delivery guy just showed up at our door with a pizza when we hadn’t ordered one. They had lost the address and just assumed it was ours! We cut back after that.

Now I’m living in a pizza desert. Where crusts are frozen and a normal topping is barbecue chicken. Many places serve ranch for dipping. Ranch dressing. On pizza. Austin is a cool city and there are many East Coasters out here. I believe that my pie in the sky awaits me. I just need to find it.

This pizza is my Mordor. I will fight orcs hipsters and ringwraiths college students until I complete my journey. I will hurl their thick crust in the boiling evil ranch lava and take that magic boat with Gandalf into pizza heaven…or something. The metaphor kind got away from me on that one.

My criteria: thin, handmade crust. Slices should be easy folded and not too greasy. A plain, cheese pizza is the only way to accurately test these things, with oregano and red pepper flakes adding to the flavor. No toppings! Sauce should be tasty and not too sweet. And what I consider the cardinal sin, cheese should not be overdone. You should see the sauce through it.

I will update you on this quest. If you already know the perfect slice in Austin, tell me in the comments. This is about the destination, not the journey. If you can shorten my quest, for Pete’s sake, do it!

Recently I treated myself to a couple hours at the spa. Austin has many places where you can pamper yourself and my favorite is Viva Day Spa. They have two locations, and I prefer the south one, because I’m a southern girl (by Austin standards.) I’ve had relaxing massages, wraps, and aromatherapies in the past, and this time I decided on a deluxe facial.

Before my session started I relaxed with cucumber water in the spa’s amazing circular room and filled out a questionnaire about my skin and what I wanted from my facial.

My esthetician brought me back to a private room that was filled with relaxing spa music and smells. I put on my towel dress and got into the heated bed. Already I was more relaxed!

My facial package included cleansers, exfoliation, steam, a variety of serums and masks, extraction, cold compresses, calming agents, moisturizers and sun protection, with a neck and shoulder massage. I added on moisturizing hand and feet massages, a lavender scalp massage and an organic plum eye treatment. The whole process took about two hours and was worth every penny. I took my glowing skin home and promptly fell asleep.

Most of us probably aren’t taking time out to treat ourselves and relax. We block out plenty of time each week for work, in face, most of our time awake is reserved for work. But how often do you block out a measly fifteen minutes to drink a cup of tea and decompress?

I’m pledging to take more me time, even if it’s only a few minutes a day. And I already booked my next facial. Here’s to me!

What are your favorite ways to treat yourself?