I know it's not officially Autumn yet but it's grey and a bit cold outside today so I'm using it anyway #LovesOnIcon

Lazy Sunday in bed today, wrapped in a couple of blankets. My favourite kind of Sunday mornings :-) I'm having a very nice weekend, all told. Yesterday was spent with Cookie's posse and we spent the whole afternoon in a brand new geek bar that opened in Paris. The place is awesome. From the decoration to the actual name of said bar, ie The Last Bar Before The End of the World (a bit of a mouthful but still a lot of fun). There is a actual countdown at the entrance ;-) You have several tv screens, big posters of sci-fic/comics, figurines and props all over the place, the name of the cocktails all come from pop culture: to give you an idea, my cocktail was a Fulguro Poings (which is a reference to UFO Robo Grendizer), Cookie got a Precious etc. Oh, and if you order the USS IDontRememberTheName cocktail, you get the first issue of the comic. They used to have a TARDIS cocktail as well but it's been removed for now, hopefully it'll be back soon. And have no alcohool in it since I don't drink alcohol #Selfish

The room we were in looked like the interior of a spaceship, the guys and girls sitting at the tables next to us were deeply involved in role playing card games, our waiter wore an Angry Birds tshirt and while we were there they installed an old skool two-player Pacman arcade game table. They often play music and their playlist is made of tv show opening credits. Seriously... how cool is that bar?? ♥ ♥

Today's program is... well, we've only planned on going to see Lawless in the afternoon, basically, so today is very lazy, indeed. I've just downloaded the new Doctor Who and Cookie needs to catch up on The New Normal so if I manage to get out of bed, we might just do that.

Oh, and I watched the White Collar's Summer finale. Season 4 is about to become my favourite season of the show; the Peter-Neal relationship has always been a joy to see but this season it felt like the writers were outdoing themselves... ( Quick spoilers for the last two episodes )

In conclusion: I love WhiCo! And geek culture. Not that it's anything new, mind, but some things bear repeating ;-)

Cookie is busy having fun at both JapanExpo and ComicCon France today (nothing close to the real Comic Con, mind) while I'm not. My only comfort is that Deadline of Hell was yesterday and it went well and now I'm freeee! Well, I foresee another week of fixing the remaining problems but after that I should be able to breathe a little and go back to appreciate my job. I can't wait :-) To celebrate, I almost ate my weight in ice cream last night! Ok, gross exageration here, but I certainly ate more than was reasonable. And it felt good ;-) As Savage Garden would say, I believe junk food tastes so good because it's bad for us #Yummy

I'm happy because I've almost caught up on Suits (I know, I know, there haven't been that many episodes - but falling behind can start early on in the season, believe you me!) and as of yesterday I'm up-to-date with True Blood. As far as TB is concerned, I'm afraid I have been less than impressed with what I've seen so far. I could do with some Pam&Eric edits even though, let's face it, said edits wouldn't last more than two minutes? It'd be woth it, though. I'm not giving up on the show yet but I lost some of my enthusiasm. It's ok, though, at least I have Suits - what a promising start ♥

And then there's WhiCo which keeps on filling me with glee even before it started. Like with that latest clip from the premiere, especially the bit at 2:18. ( It lasts less than fity seconds but it gave me ALL THE FEELINGS ) I sound like a broken record but I CANNOT WAIT, ok? Is it the 10th+1 already??

Oh, unrelated but I wanted to share something that amused me - and pleased me. So I was watching the beginning of Snow White with my goddaughter the other day (she was all snuggled up against me and I can't get enough of those moments ♥) and came the part when the dwarves realise that the monster they believe is hiding in their bedroom is, in fact, a woman. I hadn't watched Snow White in ages so didn't remember the dialogues and I was taken aback at Grumpy's first reaction when he sees who's on the bed. His line is so incredibly misogynistic and disrespectful I couldn't believe my ears! I immediately told Chiara that Grumpy was being mean and disrespectful and no-one should ever say that kind of stuff about women (or little girls). She turned to me and then agreed and turned her attention back to the telly and told Grumpy off and then told him she was going to make him a "girl and then he'd see!" So you never know what's going on in the head of four-year-olds but I chose to believe that she was advocating the whole "walk in someone else's shoes before you start judging and being a dick to them". Genderswapping is an efficient way to teach dicks what it's like to be on the receiving end of sexism, right? You go, kiddo, you tell 'im!

I so want my nieces to grow up knowing they'll never be 'less than' just because they're women #GoalInLife

Incidentally, this made me want to go and see Brave even more than before. I also saw a Merida doll that looks both cute and fierce with her bow. I might get it for Chiara. Just because ;-)

I haven't done an episode review in approximately forever but I'm so happy to have White Collar back that I felt the urge to do one. Let's see if I remember how it's done ;-)

( Spoilers for White Collar 3x11, obviously )

Alrighty, guess I still know how those reviews works, after all lol To make a long story short, WELCOME BACK, SHOW! I really missed you and it fills me with glee that you're back on my telly ♥

I think I'll go and cruise some WhiCo comms to find other reviews to read. I haven't done that in awhile either but guess today is the day.

After a busy weekend - exam proctoring, cloak room duties, research for the paper I have to hand in on Friday - and a busy day at work, I'm home and off work till Wednesday \o/

On my way home, Cookie - who had to call in sick this morning - told me there was a big surprise waiting for me, ( and there was! )

I kept mum about the whole thing because I was afraid I would jinx it but now that the tickets are in our hands I can officially get excited about a) going to London again early February (we'll be arriving on Thursday, leaving on Saturday) and b) the idea of seeing Panic! at the Disco again ♥ It'll be my third time. Who would have thought? It'd seem I'm keeping the "A different country for each gig" theme that has been going on as far as Panic is concerned. First time was in France, second in Germany and third time - if everything goes according to plan #KnocksWood #AndAllThat - in the UK. I quite enjoy that theme ;-)

Something unrelated now - though it also brings a lot of excitement and happiness in my fannish life - is White Collar. I've been in a WhiCo mood the past week(s) and have been watching a couple of episodes every evening in order to be ready for the new episode to air. I've also been paying daily visits to the White Collar part of AO3 and reading many WhiCo fics - Peter/Neal, Peter/Neal/El, Clinton/Neal, Keller/Neal... you get the idea :-) Then last night I found this sneak peek that I'd completely missed and it brought the excitement up a notch. I rewound a couple of times and then felt compelled to pause at 0:56 and squee. Then I rushed to our bedroom and jumped on the bed to show the video to Cookie so that I could squee with her. Good times! I just can't wait, really. I've also squeed about what has been said about season 4 and ( I guess I'm entering spoiler territory ) This tidbit of intel filled me with glee!

Anyway. The gist of this entry was: busy weekend, busy Monday, happy evening, happy plans and happy shows \o/

Summing up our day yesterday is easy; it was a repeat of the day before except we actually didn't leave the house and I was the one who took a nap in the hammock instead of Sam. Oh, and instead of chilling on our computers in the kitchen after dinner, we did it in the living room. We're leaving today, which is sad, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. I thought I'd wake up to grey clouds and rain but so far it's still sunny - if a bit windy - so I think we'll be able to have our last Alsacian breakfast in the garden. Whenever the girls wake up, that is :-)

I'm caught up on both Suits and White Collar. Suits continues to be adorable and fun, I'm smitten with that show. "Play the Man" made me want to hug Mike a lot! That is, more than usual, I guess :-) The boy just looks like a cute and clueless little fish swimming in a sea full of sharks; he's just not prepared and it makes me cringe a lot of the times. But he has a good head on his shoulders, I cheered at his little speech at Harvey at the end, you go, Mike! Though you should also listen to your Dom Harvey because he does know what he's talking about and he has your back, no matter what. Suits reminds me a bit of White Collar regarding the power dynamic. Isn't that nice that USA decided to gift us with two D/s shows? I think it's nice!

Speaking of White Collar. So, ( that Summer finale )

Btw, winterlive, if you're seeing this, this is almost a copy/paste of my last comment to you. Let's pretend I didn't write the same thing in two places, thx :-)

Ok, the girls are awake and there's breakfast preparations going on, so I'll post this and join them.

Work is deader than dead today - I knew it wouldn't be particularly busy (Friday after bank holiday? In July, even? Slim chance of that) but I thought a couple of my co-workers would be there, except it's past 10.00AM and I'm still the only one present so maybe they took the day off, after all. I wish I hadn't given mine back, btw, but there you go. At least it's all quiet.

Speaking of bank holiday, I had a lovely day. Very relaxing. We slept in, I lazed around in bed while Cookie watched the Défilé - our traditional military parade - and then we went our separate ways; she met with her mates to see HP7 and I spent the afternoon at my sister's. Emma is - so far, at least - a quiet baby and Chiara seems completely smitten with her, it's the cutest thing. We had waffles and Nutella for our little afternoon tea, I talked with my sister, played with my goddaughter, hold my niece, it was just very relaxing :-)

Back to the Défilé. Every year, an army is invited as "guest star". This year, it was the Overseas Territories, and the French Polynesia troop made quite an impression, especially when they performed the Haka. In case you'd like to see it, it's here. Oh, and someone posted the the fireworks under the Eiffel Tower in its entirety; the theme was musicals.

Fannish wise, we're caught up on both White Collar and True Blood. I really enjoyed both episodes, ( White Collar first ). And then ( onto True Blood ) [ETA: Damn. I apparently screwed up the cut for TB and I only just noticed, sorry!]

Apart from that, I've downloaded the premiere of Falling Skies and Alphas. I'm not expecting much of either of them, much less Alphas - an American show about superheroes? Chances are it won't be Misfits - but I never expect much of Summer shows except for them to pass the time, so. Besides, I have White Collar and True Blood for the good stuff. No, wait, there's another show I'd like to give a go that seemed cool, Franklin & Bash. Just need to find a download.

Mother's Day has been celebrated with our respective mothers, as well as Chiara's birthday. Presents were given away, some more presents were received (YAY birthday lasting a bit longer \o/), food and cakes were eaten and time with the family was spent.
We're now back home, waiting for our Japanese food to be delivered before we start the latest Doctor Who. Great evening to end a great weekend *nod*

Said weekend wasn't the laziest, but we did have a lazy Sunday morning before we left to have lunch with my parents. We watched a couple of episodes of Law & Order: UK (it's so nice having Jamie Bamber's real accent back ♥) and a couple of vids.

Vids that I feel compelled to rec to you guys because it'd be a crime not to. They're both fantastic and, I realise, quite practical. Because from now on, whenever I'll be asked to explain why I enjoyed The Eagle so much and/or why I'm such a big fan of White Collar, I won't start writing a 2000 word-essay, I'll just link to those vids. Who needs long discourses when they have Mykonos to show the nobleness and gorgeousness of Marcus and Esca, and Tonight I'm Fucking You to show the world how much Peter and Neal love each other. If you know WhiCo even a little bit, you'll agree with me when I say that the eyefucking in that show has always been a joy to see and I'm sure you'll be happy to know that it's one of the focuses of the vid. I know, you all want to click on the link, don't you?

Anyway, if you're a fan of either/both shows and haven't seen those vids yet or if you've never watched either but often felt some curiosity, run, do not walk, to talitha78's journal and download. The Peter/Neal vid made me clap my hands in delight, it was so much fun and pretty and cute ♥ ♥ The Eagle one made me want to watch the film again, the lure of Marcus and Esca is, as always, Extremely Powerful.

Ash Wednesday today, first day of Lent. I "celebrated" by watching nicelyobsessed taste one of the new cakes at Starbucks and crazybutsound savour her venti white mocha. My life, so tough ;-) Speaking of Starbucks, their new logo has arrived! It'll take some time to get used to it but in some time, it'll be as if we always had it, right? That's how it works, usually. I tried to explain to my co-coworkers what a big deal the change was but - surprisingly! - none of them got it! Good thing I had Cookie to discuss it with, plus a couple of people on Twitter or Facebook.

After our little meeting, Cookie and I got home and I just couldn't wait to watch the new White Collar. Which I loved! ( Spoilers for the White Collar season finale )

Oh, show, how I'm going to miss you! Summer can't come quickly enough *teary eyes*

Geeky morning at la casa di Cookie & Mouse; we've had the Untitled Posse over for the night (well, we had them all for the evening for a crêpe party, then jedicathy and rosengirl for the night) and they're busy putting together Cookie's Doctor Who Electronic Playset. From the look of it, they'll be at it for some time. Thankfully, Cookie decided to feed me and is now preparing the pancakes. Not that I wouldn't have been able to do them on my own but it's always better when someone else makes them ;-) Also, she volunteered and said she didn't need help... I'm nothing if not obedient so I'm watching everyone slave around while I'm lazing around #ThatsLife ;-) [ETA; I made the second batch and the bacon and the eggs. Because I rulz too, ok? \o/]

Last night was spent eating crêpes, talking fannish and watching some tv, so I caught up on the latest The Vampire Diaries (I just love that show, I can't help it! Also, next week's episode should be all kinds of awesome!) and Communty - aww such a cute Valentine episode! And are there any better BFFs than Troy and Abed? They're just so sweet ♥

The night before I also watched the newest White Collar, which I really enjoyed and found very interesting in regards of Neal and choices and morality and whatnot. Plus, Lando Calrissian! SW ref is never not a good thing :-) I'm sad that we have to wait for two weeks before getting the new episode but after watching the trailer, I'm thinking it'll be worth the wait!

Speaking of WhiCo. I watched Tim DeKay and Matt Bomer's TVGuide interview and photoshoot (might be a bit spoilery if you don't want to know anything about s3, I guess) and omg, Tim, Matt, how so cute and awesome? I quite enjoyed the photoshoot too, especially that photo ♥

SPN has been downloaded as well, so we'll have to watch that later - actually, we have two episodes to catch on. Totally doable.

The rest of the weekend will be quiet, I think (studious too and I'll pay a little visit to my parents later today) which is fine by me because I've had a tiring week.

London D-2 \o/ Tonight, we've started planning the trip and I managed not to add "AND FIND A KRISPY KREME SHOP" every time we picked a destination \o/ It was a relaxed evening, with Pushing Daisies season 2 in the background - told you I was in a marathon mood these days.

Before that, we watched the latest White Collar (2x11) which filled me with glee, I loved it! ( Squeeing behind the cut not to spoil anyone )

To make a long story, I really enjoyed the episode, I'm glad Jeff Eastin gave it to us :-) Though I'm craving for more now *iz greedy*