Sofa-side Francophile

For Saturday night, Dan handpicked this gripping French suspense film. Some husbands might choose a special wine vintage--he is my personal movie curator, and I am grateful.

Image above from HERE.
Read Roger Ebert's review.

It's supposed to be the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock didn't make, said Dan, and that was enough for me. He finds movies I really love. It's in French, so we couldn't get too far away from the TV or focus on the popcorn bowl [or, in this case, the container of wasabi peas]. I couldn't recline lazily on a sofa, because we had to sit up, stay alert and read the subtitles.

It was made in 1955, and one of the two strikingly beautiful leading actresses was the wife of the director. The story spins around a boys' boarding school, a missing headmaster, his wife and his mistress.

Then today, I rented "The Truth," the new release starring Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke. Again, in French, with subtitles. Again, I loved it. It's about a movie star who publishes her memoir, and her daughter, a scriptwriter from the States, is not too enthralled.

The leading lady is still stunning at age 76. Her hair, her eyebrows, her young-looking hands. Her skin. That leopard print coat with an open neck and long belt! The eyeliner. The starlet is aging gracefully. But also with strength, and it shows in her role.

I think this is an important message from the universe: I must go to France.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Co-hosted Zoom farewell party for a dear friend who is moving many states away. I cherish her.
2. Incorporated healthy foods into my day: salmon, baby potatoes with lemon, chives and EVOO; farm market raspberries; lettuce and tomatoes; asparagus.
3. It has been steamy and hot but I hope to set my alarm and get up and take a walk early.
4. Watching that Catherine Deneuve movie. No one wanted to watch with me, but it was good.
5. Dan and I had an important talk about how to improve things around here when Punch returns from Mimi's tomorrow or Tuesday. We've been lulled into a very pleasant vacation, which makes it easier to relax, be calm, get personal projects done and meet writing deadlines.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET FOR 6 DAYS,
FROM TUESDAY, JULY 7 THRU TODAY, SUNDAY, JULY 12

• Instacart, Kings, 1 lb. salmon; giant canister old-fashioned Quaker Oats; 1.25 lbs. organic apricots; 2 half-gallons organic 2 percent milk; loaf of bread; 2 Van's waffles; raspberry jam; EVOO; fresh chives; blue corn tortilla chips; and ingredients to make rice pudding from Ruth Reichl cookbook--cream, whole milk, eggs, long-grain rice, a lemon to zest. With tip, $119.81.
• 212 Salon, color, cut, blowout and tips, $150 plus $30 + $5, so $185.
• Barbara Eclectic, reading glasses, 20 percent off, $20.16.
• Starbucks, iced chai latte w coconut milk to bring Figgy at work during monsoon [I was in town, near her workplace], $6.66.
• CVS, 3 greeting cards, wasabi peas, nut mix, granola bars, sugar-free candy, 88 percent dark chocolate bar, more, maybe $35?.
• Falafel Hut, dinner for three, plus tip, $37.19.
• Post Office, sheet of stamps, $11.
• 5 Uber trips, with tips, to dr and back, salon and back, total $63.61.
• Chelsea Square, going out of business, amazing half off everything, including Rigaud Paris candles [Paris theme again, see?] More than half off--the Rigaud Paris candles that sell for $70 everywhere were $25 each. Total, $95.
• Chelsea Square again, for another trip to Paris, $79.97.
• Aerin.com, I love the lamp I bought there in the last couple years. The shades are on sale, $15 instead of $50. I got two other patterns so I can switch shades around, plus hairband on sale, with shipping, $83.16. 
• VESTA, $15.
• Rent French movie today, about $10?

Total spent out of pocket: $761.56.

Ongoing monthly spend as of July 12: $1,370.32.

Avg daily spend: $114.19.