Four Things I Loved About 'The Greatest Showman'

This year, my birthday movie was 'The Greatest Showman'.  

Keep in mind the opinions you are about to read are coming from a person who 'hates' musicals.
But keep reading and you might not find a lot of hate.
A.k.a. GO WATCH THIS MOVIE IT'S GREEEAT AND BEAUTIFUL AND EXCITING AND lemme finish this post first. Then go.
HEE HEE. #so excite

*cough* Sorry. (for real, amaris. you're 20 now. cut it out)
Ok, ok.

What I loved:
 
1. The Music & Singing

Have you been on YouTube lately? If you haven't, you need to go on there and listen to some of these songs. I personally didn't listen to the songs until I saw the movie because I didn't want to ruin the experience of it. 

If you have been following my blog for awhile, or if you know me personally, you know that I do. not. like. musicals. I personally find them severely annoying.

However.

There have been a select few musicals I have actually, truly, sincerely enjoyed. Broadway's Newsies was one of them. I had the pleasure of seeing the Broadway version in theaters with a couple of friends last year.

The other is The Greatest Showman. I loved the music in this movie. I could listen to it all day. I left the theater humming "What if we rewrite the stars..." and feeling like the musical parts did NOT clog up the story parts (read this post if you're not sure what I mean), so that I couldn't enjoy the characters to their fullest. 

If a musical can do that to me, believe me, it's impressive.

2. The Lead Roles

Out of all the people who worked to make this movie great, the ones that stuck out at me as my favorites were Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Zendaya. I admit I've never seen Jackman or Efron in any other movies before (I was never the 'High School Musical' type), but I have seen Zendaya in Spider-Man.

Whether I've seen them before or not, it's hard to put into words how good I thought each of them were in this movie. I could say 'flawless', 'stunning', 'brilliant'. But somehow, mere words fall short of how great it was to describe me sitting in the theater enjoying the life out of myself watching them. I guess you'd have to experience it yourself. (Srsly. Go watch it.)

These three made the movie for me. Basically it's the best acting I've seen in a movie that doesn't have Benedict Cumberbatch in it.

And that's saying something.

3. The dancing

'Invigorating'

'Beautiful'

'Thrilling'

Yep. I'm using adjectives because I don't know how else to explain how great it was.
I loved the dancing. People don't realize that's a lot for me to say, because usually dancing is the boring part of the musical where I leave to go refill popcorn or put more ice in my water. After all, who cares? People moving in time with the music, while having no dramatic influence on the story? Not my thing.
But this dancing? Not only was it beautiful to watch (and paired with not-boring music, what-do-you-know), but it meant something, and it made me care. That's my thing.

4. Everything
A few more worthy 'mentionable' notes:

•  The singing voice of P.T. as a child (I always love a child with a good singin' voice...)
• The dancing scene in the bar with P.T. and Philip (Loved how masculine this scene is, the drama that's woven through the song and dance moves, and just watching Jackman and Efron do their thing.)
• When P.T. is dancing on the roof with his wife (Absolutely loved that part. Also, it sorta gave me vibes from this scene in White Christmas, which I've always loved. With the pink dress and all.)
• Anne Wheeler. I loved her character, I love her dancing, I love her singing, I love Zendaya. (I know some people think Zendaya an annoying 'teenager star', but I personally love her acting. Plus, who has more perfect eyebrows...)
• P.T.'s children. They were acted well, and so sweet.

SO. After all that, maybe you'll believe me that this movie is one of the beautiful-est, danci-est, exciting-est (and what other words can I put -est at the end to sound clever?) BEST-EST movie I've seen in... a long time? A LONG TIME.
AND THAT'S ME TALKING
Yeah, me! I DON'T LIKE MUSICALS.
But THIS MOVIE.
*nods approval*
 Remember when I asked you guys a couple of posts ago "Is it as good as the trailer?" I can now confirm that question for myself.
It is.

-Amaris

Farewell, Teenage Years

Once upon a time...

20 years ago,

It snowed.

And I was born.

(It didn't snow on my birthday this year, though. 60 degrees, actually.)
In case you haven't guessed it by now, this is... more or less my 'birthday post'. I turned 20 on the 22nd of January.

Yeah. I know.
It was a fun time this year. I went to the theaters and watched The Greatest Showman (more on that in another post! #spoiler: I loved it), I got some more books to read for my 2018 goal, I decorated a galaxy cake, I got free makeup from stores with my birthday coupons, I ate French food for lunch. All fun stuff.

Most of all, I said 'farewell' to my teenage years. *pause and reflect on how old i am*

When I was 12 years old, I made up my mind not to waste my teenage years. I was struck by how many teenagers I observed only cared about being stupid and wasting time 'having fun'.  
I wanted to be different.

But I didn't realize how hard being a teenager would be. Turns out for me, the problem wasn't wasting time and being stupid. It was being anxious. A few things happened that made me be nervous to go out into public. I started to stay home more (not that I was ever a social butterfly) because I was worried to go places.

Things continued in this manner for the better part of 3 years until I decided I was tired of letting my fears control me. God had been offering me His hand for awhile, so I finally reached out and took it, letting go of maintaining my fears.
Now I am amazed at what God can do through such a weak person like me if I just let Him. Because He is the strong One.
I guess that's my takeaway from years 13-19.
We don't have to be strong, because He already is.
All we have to do is let Him.

 
Apart from that, here are the best things I learned about being a teenager:

1. It's worth it to listen to your parents.
No matter what you might think... they know more (unless it's about Instagram or somethin' like that. You know)
2. Put your worries behind you. 
What's the use of being scared if things are going to be the way they are anyways? Don't get so wrapped up in being comfortable that you can't handle things when they come at you.
3. Don't push growing up.
 PLEASE enjoy the 20% of your life when you don't have the responsibilities that you will have the other 80%. I'm just now getting my first smart phone and you know how old I am? Twenty. I'm not saying you have to be as old fashioned as me. But enjoy being young. Enjoy no phone bills. Enjoy no care insurance.
You will never have the chance again.
4. Grow in your relationship with Jesus.
The relationship that you form with Him in these years of young faith is going to carry you through the rest of your life. Make a point to get to know Him.
You won't be sorry.

~*~*~*~
Thank you, everyone, for reading my blog and staying with me!
Here's to the journey ahead.
-Amaris

Decorating Vintage Bottle Snowmen // Tutorial

It's been awhile since we've done anything crafty on this Blog, so I decided to share this snowman project with you!
A friend gave me a decorated snowman a couple of Winters ago, and I thought it was such a unique idea, so I began making some of my own each year.
The credit goes to my friend for this idea, but I'm here to share it with you!

Supplies:

• Small bottles of various shapes. I got a few from JoAnn's, but I like to keep an eye out for old bottles at thrift and antique stores too!
• Styrofoam balls. You can get different sizes depending on what will look good on the size of bottle you have.
• Hot glue. It's the fastest option. For a sturdier option, you could go with E6000.
• Orange clay. For the carrot noses. :)
• Something for snowman eyes and mouths. You can draw them on, or you could use little bling dot stickers, or glitter glue, or paint. It's up to you. I used little black dot stickers. 

o~o

Decorations:

• Various ribbons and laces of your choice. I like to keep with the same color scheme (gold/ivory/silver, occasionally pink), but you could dress your snowman up really fun with some loud colors!
• Buttons, pearls, small brooches, decorative pins, charms, chains, and anything else small and decorative. Use your imagination! You can buy lots of embellishments from craft stores, or you can collect small things from antique shops. It's up to you!
• You will also need some 'fillers' for your snowmen. Something small and decorative to put inside of your bottle to look pretty. I have chosen some cellophane glitter and some pearls for mine.

~*~*~*~

First you will need to put your 'fillers' in your bottle. Whether you chose pearls, beads, glitter, or anything else, fill your bottle about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way with it. Or more, if you like.

Glue the Styrofoam ball to the top to secure the insides.

Now is the fun part! You can start decorating your snowman anyway you like! If your bottle has a long skinny neck, you might try tying some lace ribbon around it to look like a tie, or a lady's fluffy collar.

You also have a great opportunity to play around with some decorative snowman hats. I had a little crown charm that was too big for a bracelet, so I put it on one of my snowmen! For this one, I have a ruffle-y piece of tulle that I'm using for a hat. It turned out pretty cute!

Don't forget to also put something around the bottom of your snowman! It really pulls the look together.

For that snowman on the left, I used a metal flower charm stacked on top of some paper flowers.

When all of your decorations are glued on the way you like it, follow the directions on the polymer clay package to shape and bake some carrot noses. Be sure not to make them too big! You can also use the drying type of clay; I just used my sister's polymer clay that bakes at 275.
When your carrot is cool, glue it onto your snowman, as well as some eyes an a mouth. Or you can draw them on, whatever you decided to do.

Looks like a fine lady snowman to me. :)

And there you have it!
I love this idea. It's the perfect Winter craft when I don't want to spend too much time on a project, but still want something cute. It's also a great gift!
Well, I hope you enjoyed this change of pace for The Storybook Journal. I'm sorry I haven't done a craft post in a long time! Unfortunately, crafts are not something I have a lot of time for these days. :P

Anyways, let me know if you make any snowmen!
I hope you guys are enjoying your winter.
-Amaris

p.s. The snowman on the far left was the one my friend gave me. She used a feather-y boa and some charms for her collar!

// 2017: A Summary //

First of all, you must allow me to wish you:

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

YAY 2018!!! 

Ok, on to the post. :)
~*~
Well, will you look at that.
Another year has gone by.
(I feel like I should quote a poem about time passing by right now, but alas; I do not know any poems).

It seems only yesterday I was writing last year's New Year Post.
Overall I have to say that 2017 went pretty well. There were some big changes that happened in my family, but most of them for the better, and I know that God knows what He's doing (thank goodness because I don't).

There were many enjoyable things that I did this year. From going to an old cabin to spend the weekend (and using an outhouse which was #fuuunnn), to SEEING THE MOON PASS OVER THE SUN (sorry I'm still pretty excited that I SAW AN ECLIPSE YA'LL), to getting a brand new job that I just love... with lots and lots of movies and books piled on top.

So here they are, friends. My 2017 'notables'.

// Books //

According to Goodreads, I read 12 whole books in 2017! I know it's not a lot, but it's at least one for each month, eh? And I did make my goal! At the beginning of the year I set my goal to read 11 books (why I picked such a random number I don't know) by the end of the year, and I read 12. Well, well. Good for me.
My favorite out of all of them... well, I have to pick three, actually. It's so hard to pick just ONE favorite (any book lover understands).
~Hidden Places by Lynn Austin
~The Help by Kathryn Stockett
~The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

All three very good books, all very clean (MOSTLY *glares at The Help*), and all recommended by Yours Truly.

In 2018 I hope to read 13 books. I think that every year I'm going to try to read one more than the last, and we'll see how many years I can keep up with myself. :)

// Movies //

There were some good movies I saw this year! I cannot choose favorites (as you well know), so here is a small list of the best ones I have seen.
~ The Case for Christ : Such a heartfelt, lovable movie. And thankfully not cheesy, as some Christian movies can be. :P
~ Hidden Figures : You guys, this movie was so good. If you like inspiring historical drama films, you will love this movie.
~ The Imitation Game : This movie didn't come out this year, but I saw it for the first time a couple weeks ago, and was very impressed.
~ The Walk : This is just one of those sweet, adorable, sit-down-on-the-couch-with-a-blanket-and-a-dog kinda movies. It's really quite enjoyable.
~ Forrest Gump : Oh, I loved this movie so much. It was so sweet and heart-warming, as well as funny and sad. Unfortunately, it did have quite a significant bit of 'content' in it, including language. I wouldn't watch it again without a filter, but man I enjoyed this one.
~ Beauty and the Beast : A very pretty sort of movie. Controversial? Yes. But, enjoyable? Also yes.
~ All the Star Wars movies : This is a disclaimer; I didn't enjoy the movies so much as I enjoyed the times I had while watching them with friends, which is why they are going on 'movie favorites' for 2017. :)

// TV Shows //

This year didn't involve a lot of 'discovery' shows for me, most were just re-watches. I'd like to try more shows in 2018, to see what other good ones I can find. But here are the ones I most enjoyed this year.
~Sherlock BBC, Series 4 : I know you guys have probably heard enough about this show from me. But still. I absolutely love this show. We watched Series 4 for the first time in January, and then we watched it all through again about a month ago. And it was so good. As usual.
~Call the Midwife, Season 6 : This show makes me so happy. Because there are happy things, sad things, and funny things in it. Heartwarming things, beautiful things, terrible things. All of those together make a good show in my opinion. I really enjoyed Season 6.

Aaaaaaand, that's actually it for shows. Like I said, I'm going to try to find more in 2018! I have a couple of shows in mind, but we'll see if I actually get around to watching them. :)

// Music //

Oh, I missed the Adam Young Scores! But I mustn't be like that, I'm supposed to write about what music I did enjoy in 2017, not what music I missed. You must excuse me.
~Owl City, Cinematic : Which technically isn't 100% released yet, but there are several songs already released as well as previews of the rest which I have been enjoying immensely.
~Owl City, Waving Through a Window : I love this song; it is so sweet, so like Adam.
(and now onto other things besides Owl City...)
~TobyMac, Lights Shine Bright : This is one of those great driving-in-the-car-to-work songs. It's quite fun.
~Hillsong United, What a Beautiful Name : I always like worship songs that are strictly about how great God is.
~Danny Gokey, Comback : This year, I saw this guy in concert. He is pretty good, ya'll!
~MercyMe, Even If : There are a few songs in my life that, whenever I listen to them, make time seem to stop. This is one of them. Every time I hear it, I just have to listen. And somehow, it doesn't get old.

Ok! Now onto some stuff about the blog!

// The Storybook Journal //

~My blog celebrated it's 3rd anniversary (excuse me; I mean blogiversary...) this year! September 3rd, 2015 was the day I got up the nerve to post my very first post. (Here's the link if you're really interested in embarrassing me.) Since then I have had a swell time posting on the 'ol Blog.
~This year I posted 37 posts, the most so far! In comparison, I posted 28 posts in 2016, and 11 posts in 2015 (after I started it in September, of course).
~Also in the blogging world, I won a giveaway for the first time: 2nd Blogiversary & Giveaway!, and won a blog game for the first time: Other Way, Mr. Collins!
~I posted a picture of myself on my blog. After years of not doing so.

// Other Highlights //

~I got a new job, at a place I love to work at (thank heavens for that...)
~I witnessed a Solar Eclipse, which was an amazing experience (truly, truly, truly amazing.) August 21st, 2017 will be forever etched in my memory.
~I bought my first car. Which thankfully didn't cost me a literal arm and leg.
~I got my liscense, so that I can actually drive said car.
~I went to a cabin in May with some friends and had the most amazing time playing cards and walking along riverbeds and drinking soda.
~I got to house sit a house for some friends of mine, and it really opened up some great opportunities for me to be responsible about things that I wasn't able to before, as well as having some great 'alone time', which is quite important for oh-so-introverted me.

There you have it, future-Amaris-who-is-looking-back-at-this-post-because-you-were-feeling-nostalgic!!!
And there you have it too, my blogging friends, who were curious enough to see what kind of things Amaris over at The Storybook Journal did for 2017.
I thank you for reading!  
I hope you dear followers of mine had a lovely year, and even those of you who are not my followers, but who are just stopping in, I hope you had a good year too.

Here is a verse for you; a verse that I thought was appropriate for such a post, in regards to the New Year.

Hebrews 12:1 
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Did you see that word? That 'P' word? Perseverance. It means (in my own words, of course) "to keep going".
So if 2018 is going hard, keep going. There is another year around the corner. As long as you're alive, there is always another year. Make sure you're there to see it.

Ah, what could 2018 possibly hold for me?
All I can say is: "God, surprise me!"

~Amaris

Do you have any plans for the New Year? What is the best thing that happened to you in 2017?