Little Happies -- Movies and Shows That Make Me Smile

This week's Little Happies are brought to you by Stephanie's favorite movies and shows, plus movies and shows she's watched recently and really enjoyed. 'Cause sometimes, you just need a little happy distraction to get you through the infertile day-to-day. :)

--one--

The Sound of Music

Let's start with my all-time favorite movie: The Sound of Music. I've loved this one since I was little. So you can imagine how shocked I was when my husband told me he'd never seen it. GASP! We remedied that one quickly. The lead actress, Julie Andrews, just has the prettiest voice I ever did hear. And the songs always cheer me up no matter what mood I'm in. When I watch it, it's like I'm hanging out with all my best friends again. I especially love the songs My Favorite Things (duh!) and the lesser-known I Have Confidence. Check out these applicable-to-my-life-right-now lyrics from the latter: 

Oh, I must stop these doubts, all these worries

If I don't I just know I'll turn back

I must dream of the things I am seeking

I am seeking the courage I lack 

Thanks for being a classic, The Sound of Music. Thanks for making me fall in love with musicals at a young age. Thanks for a great story! Thanks for being my favorite pick-me-up ever. 

--two--

Up

Alright, so if you've seen this movie, you know what I'm about to talk about. That opening sequence. It makes me wanna cry just thinking about it! (Skip this next part if you don't want any spoilers.) The way Carl and Ellie fall in love, the way they view their life as one big adventure. How Ellie dreams of having babies and then they sadly find out they're infertile. Yet, they still treat life as an adventure and continue to fall madly in love until the day she dies. So perfect. When I watched it a few years back, the infertility stuff didn't hit me as much, but obviously now it does. What strikes me most are two things: 1.) How beautiful their life is, even minus kids. 2.) That Pixar wrote a whole story about an infertile couple. Thanks for thinking of us, Pixar! 

I should also mention that this movie inspired John's proposal to me. He made me an adorable adventure-themed photo book that he randomly gave to me one night, which ended with a picture of my ring and the words "Will you marry me, Stephi?" Of course I said yes!! And of course I love this movie even more now. 

Our Adventures photo book 

"Will you marry me, Stephi?"

--three--

Back to the Future

Another one of my all-time favorites! I can't look at this picture without hearing Huey Lewis & the News's "The Power of Love" blasting in my head. 

Perhaps I just like movies with a good adventure. Perhaps I just like nerdy movies. This one is definitely both. The Doc and Marty McFly are awesome characters and the way the writers weave the stories of the three movies together makes me happy. My mom reeeeeally likes this movie. She even named her car after the main character, Marty. So maybe that's why I love them so much: we used to watched them quite a bit growing up. But maybe it's because they're just made of pure awesome. I guess we'll never know...

Two of my favorite quotes:

You are my density... I mean destiny.

ONE POINT TWENTY ONE GIGAWATS?! Great Scott!!!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, that means you need to stop what you're currently doing and go watch the trilogy. I bet you'll like it!

--four--

About Time

While I wouldn't classify this one as an all-time favorite, it's one John and I discovered recently and loved. At the beginning of the movie, the main character finds out that all the men in his family can time travel back in time and change any events in only their own timeline. I just love all the twists and turns this story takes. Plus, Rachel McAdams is super cute in this movie. (Warning: there's a tiny bit of un-Catholicness to this one. If you can look past it, the rest of the movie is very lovely!)

Another plus about this movie? This song: "How Long Will I Love You" performed by Jon Boden. We discovered it while watching the credits of the movie and now it's one of our favorites. A cute love song, indeed.

And a memorable quote for ya:

We're all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is our best to relish this remarkable ride.

--five--

The Decoy Bride

John and I found this little gem recently on Netflix. Is it a really good story? Nah! Is it predictable? Absolutely! Is it cheesy? You betcha! But does it have charm? Yes, and lots of it. 

It's the love story of a man engaged to a famous woman just trying to find a secluded, un-paparazzi'd place to get married. They end up on a Scottish isle and, of course, all crazy breaks loose. The leading lady in the movie is played by Kelly MacDonald, the voice of Merida in Pixar's "Brave" and I just love her accent! And the leading man is played by David Tennent, the tenth doctor from Doctor Who. So, while the story was cheesy and predictable, the actors were fun to watch. I'd highly recommend it as a good date-night-in movie. And it's streaming on Netflix, last I checked, so it's easy to get ahold of and watch. 

Speaking of Doctor Who...

--six--

Doctor Who

I can't write a post about our favorite movies and shows and not mention the Doctor!! 

John and I got hooked on this several months ago when a teen in my youth group just couldn't stop talking about it. She warned us about the first new season, saying you sort of have to get through some of the slower first episodes to really enjoy the rest. I'm glad she said that because we probably would have given up on it way too early. The longer you go, though, the better it gets! Oh, it's just so good!! And so perfectly nerdy! We love these characters, love their stories, love love love watching!! It's our go-to when we have nothing else going on. 

If you're not a Whovian yet, please give it a watch! Let me know what you think. If you really aren't digging the first season, skip to the second and watch David Tennant in action. But just NEVER mention it to a Doctor Who fan, because they'll judge you, and harshly.

Here's one of my favorite Doctor Who quotes, also very applicable to my life right now:

The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things... The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant. 

--seven--

Parenthood

I know I've mentioned this several times on this blog, but it's so worth mentioning again. This show is wonderful! The characters are so easy to love. The stories are so real. The music is great! Fair warning though, after the first few seasons, every episode will make you cry. Oh, man. You really fall in love with these family members and watching normal sad life stuff happen to them will make you feel like it's happening to your aunt/cousin/mom. Maybe that's not what you like in a show, but I love it!

I also love that one of the characters has a whole infertility/adoption story line. I really connected with the show after that. I won't tell you much more, I'll just encourage you to watch! All of the seasons (minus the most current one) are on Netflix instant streaming. And the current ones are on Hulu. I hope you like it! Just try not to watch whole seasons in one sitting like I did. Oops. But a good oops.

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There are lots of other movies and shows that make me smile, but these are the ones I thought of for now. What do you think? Do you love any of these as much as I do? And what are the movies and shows that make YOU smile?

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