I am a lemming.

With other teen series turned movie phenomenons, a la Twilight and the Harry Potter series, I was always one of those slightly self-righteous people who cautiously looking forward to the movie, convinced it would never be as good as the book and who was proud to state that I "read the books before I saw the movie."

Well, I cannot say this any longer.  Monday evening I went to see "The Hunger Games" with a new friend.  I have not read the book yet.  There was a large part of me that felt a bit like a lemming... running with the pack just because it was the "cool" thing.  I knew that if I read the book I would love it, it wasn't a question of that, it was simply the fact that I hadn't had the chance to do so yet and I felt like I was breaking some cardinal rule by seeing the film before reading the actual book.

Boy, am I glad I took the leap and saw the movie when I had the chance.  Great interpretation of a book on film - from what others say it stays quite true to the book and if you haven't had the chance to read it yet you will still be able to understand and appreciate the movie for what it is.

Naturally I immediately NEEDED to read the book so, thanks to my fabulous friend Deedra, I am now (finally!) reading the first book.  I can already tell it is a series I will need to own, both on paper and on film.  Highly recommend it  :)

May the gods be ever in your favor...

Manzanita madness!

Okay, so not really madness but it was the adjective that popped in my head so I went with it.  It was actually a very low key weekend, exactly what I needed right about now.  :)  

Got down there on Thursday and stayed through til Sunday morning, it was long enough to make me glad to be home again today but short enough that it didn't totally break the bank (thanks to a super deal with Sunset Vacation Rentals as a returning customer).  

Mermaid House

I stayed at the same place my bestie and I stayed at last time we went in October of 2010, it is a small two bedroom cottage called the Mermaid House that was built in the late 40's and is just a couple of blocks from the main street and half a block from the beach.

Living Area

Living Room

If you look closely you can see how near the house is to the beach...

Mermaid in window above vintage kitchen sink

Vintage stove... what a trip to cook on, still works great!

Going with a theme here :)

Bathroom - tiny but has everything you need and a washer/dryer!

Bedroom 1 (I stayed here the first time I visited)

Bedroom 2 (master)

Hall from bedrooms back into main living space

I spent the days wandering around Cannon Beach and driving down to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, an institution in our fine state of Oregon (Squeeky cheese!).  Also enjoyed a DELISH sandwich one day from my favorite deli in the world, Bread and Ocean.

From www.tillamook.com

Can't take credit for the photo, stole it from Bread & Oceans' facebook page

For the most part the weather was pretty crappy (hey, what do you expect the first weekend of March at the Oregon Coast?!) but I was able to get a few good shots at Cannon Beach on Thursday as I was heading towards Manzanita.  

All in all it was a great trip, nice to get away... even nicer to come home again.  Now work tomorrow is another story....  ;)