Are you on the Mad Men train? I’ve only recently hopped on, but it’s instantly become one of the shows I most look forward to each week. It’s one of those shows that’s so honest and fearless, and that’s what I love about it. It’s very real. And I love how that’s captured in this set of photos.

P.S. You can see a whole bunch more photos – there’s a tonne more! – and at full size, over here. Well worth your while.

Images via Everyday I Show

Movie gush aside and back to my original train of thought… I really love these posters (and the title card) for the movie. Beautiful photography, crisp type, a very clean and minimal overall look, and the perfect hint of mystery and intrigue to suit the movie. Yuppers, this is the crème de la crème, alright.

Click images for sources.

(* Oh, the music. I love me a good soundtrack, and this one was beautiful! If I can get my hands on it, I want to transcribe the song playing over the credits. Gorgeous.)

Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend! And if you’ve pulling a few of couch potato moves like myself, what movies are keeping you company? I always love a great movie recommendation. xo.

Images via Nowness.

The story centers around four flight attendants (and two pilots) as they travel the globe flying for Pan Am airlines. Outspoken Maggie…

…Kate, a newly enlisted CIA information courier…

Kate’s younger sister Laura who left her fiance at the altar to experience the world she never knew…

… and my favourite, sassy Francophone Colette.

I’m crossing all  body parts this show will live long enough to mature and come into its own. It’s a visually stunning period piece (for which, I’m a like a moth to a flame), and I’m already finding myself invested in the characters and their success. There’s so much potential for growth and I really want to know more about lovely Colette and my other favourite, Kate – her CIA storyline is cause for much intrigue!

What new shows are you watching this season? I’m also hooked on Ringer (sooo bad it’s good and I can’t look away) and New Girl (adorable & geeky and I heart it). Anyone else watching Pan Am and wishing to live a jet-set life traveling the globe?

Click images for sources.

Okie dokie, enough exposition. Onto the goods! Graphic designer Patrick Sullivan, for his student portfolio, created a collection of DVD covers for the Harry Potter series. And they’re pretty darn amazing. You might even be inclined to say they’re magical.

I love the elements that each covers focuses on – the Hogwarts letter for the first film, the time turner and Patronus for the 3rd. They’re a nice link back to the magic and charm of the books. The covers are also very dramatic and capture an appropriate level of darkness and mysticality (word invention, yo!) for the series. I especially love the close-up of Harry’s face for the final movie overlayed with the deathly hallows symbol. Very striking. And you know what’s even cooler? When all of the DVD boxes are placed side by side, the spines match up like a puzzle to reveal Harry’s tousled hair, eyeglasses, and signature lighting bolt scar. Bloody brilliant! (I can’t pull that off, can I?)

It’s difficult to pick a favourite amongst this series of seven covers as each is stunning in its own right. But I think I would have to go with the 4th (Goblet of Fire) – I really like the old-world style to the symbols denoting the Tri-Wizard Tournament challenges with the dragon, mermaid, maze, and finally, the cup cleanly lined up on the vertical. And the aforementioned Deathly Hallows (7th) cover is a close second.

I’d buy these if they were real, so that’s my seal of approval. What do you think?

And I absolutely must urge you, if you’re even the slightest bit in like with these, to go visit the designer’s tumblr page where you can view them all full scale where you will surely fall in love! They’re even more incredible at the intended size.

Images via Harry Potter Criterion Collection.

“Perched atop a high mountain [...], its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.”

“Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place.”

“The Entrance Hall was so big you could have fitted the whole of the Dursleys’ house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches [...], the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.”

“Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”

Many thanks to my good friend Crissy for being so kind as to type up the quotations from Sorcerer’s Stone for me. Much appreciated! ♥

For more information about the Once Upon A Time… series, please see this post.

Click images for sources.

1. Apparently the film premiers earlier here in Oz than elsewhere in the world, and I promise, I will not say anything about the film so as not to spoil anyone.

As my ‘baby book’ can attest, one of the first things I ever dreamed of becoming when I grew up was an animator for Disney. That was “the dream” for the longest time. I was enthralled by Disney movies, and I loved to draw, so even looking back, that seems like a natural profession itty-bitty me would gravitate towards. Drawing figures, on the other hand, was (and still is) not a strength of mine. Cue slight curve ball in my plan. But, it was this movie that eventually made me realize (remember, I was 6 to perhaps 13 years old when this was “the dream”) that there was more to animation than simply the main characters. There was the entire scenery to be designed! And oh, how this delighted and enthused me.

What I think sets Sleeping Beauty apart from many others is its scenic design. Take these conceptual art paintings for example (see above and below). They’re so rich with detail down to the tiniest of cracks in a singular stone, the individual leaves on trees, or the tiny little sparkles of fairy magic drifting through the air. It’s absolutely mind-boggling the high level of skill and dedication that would have gone into every individual frame comprising an entire movie! I will agree that yes, all of the classic Disney movies portray this same astute observation of detail, and here’s where I make my case for Sleeping Beauty: tone, mood, atmosphere. This is what sets this film up on my highest of pedestals. It’s so evocative and masterfully portrays a plethora of emotions through scenery alone.

Though I am a bit of a dreamer, I’ve always been a very realistic person. I know what I can do, and what is attainable to me. After realizing just how fantastical and important the setting for the films I so worshiped actually were, I eventually shifted “the dream” to becoming a background illustrator. I wanted to be the one picking out the stone work, draping castles with fluttering fabric banners, reeling people in with the most awe-inspiring landscapes from patch-work crops as far as the eye could see, to perfectly trimmed shrubberies and vines creeping up crumbling walls. As you can see, this dream was never realized. But, I think it might be safe to say that my passion for interior design may have naturally sprung from this early desire to be a Disney background illustrator. Funny how life pieces itself together like that. So when asked what inspired me to pursue a career as an interior designer, I cite Sleeping Beauty and the wonderfully, magical world of Disney. Thank you childhood obsessions!

Images Sources: Screencaps from Magical Screencaps. Concept art from miehana on Flickr.

Elizabethtown

Candy

The Young Victoria

Romeo + Juliet

The Notebook

Elvis & Anabelle

Stardust

Bright Star

Breakfast At Tiffany’s

Moulin Rouge

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Sleeping Beauty

Never Let Me Goⁱ

I’ll admit it: I’m a gigantic sap and a sucker for tales of star crossed lovers and happily ever afters. But not just any soppy love story. I need one that will break my heart over and over with its beauty, like those listed above.

As I decided last year, February 14th will forever be “I Love Me Day” in my books. And I fully intend to embrace it today with snuggly pajamas, yummy Swedish Berries (from my brother – aw!), painting my nails, and, of course, a good old love story to top it off. I’m thinking I might need to break out Bright Star later tonight.

Hope you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day. Eat some chocolates for me. ;)

1. A new favourite :)

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It’s almost Deathly Hallows day! This probably means nothing to you if you aren’t a Harry Potter fan, so I apologise in advance. But I’m super excited, and a tad saddened, about the first installment of the final film that’s out tomorrow. Excited to see the wonders of the final book brought to life on film (I’m still reeling from seeing the exhibit back in May. I was completely awestruck.), but also sad knowing that this is the beginning of the end of the film series. I’ll miss having something new and shiny (and magical!) to look forward to. Though I will always cherish the books and the movies. In a way, I grew up with these books/movies, so they’re very dear to me. And while I prefer the story lines of the later novels, the first in the series captures a special sort of magic for me, I think because it starts to lay down the groundwork of the mythology of the series. For that very reason, The Philosopher’s Stone holds an extra special place in my heart.

How about you? If you’re a Harry Potter enthusiast, are you excited for Deathly Hallows Part I? When are you going to see it? I wish I was going to the midnight showing, but alas, my HP buddy is off living in another province so I’m all alone. My dear brother has offered to see the film with me so at least I won’t have to go by myself, but who knows when we’ll go. The anticipation shall surely kill me!

And merely for curiosity’s sake: what is your favourite book/movie?ⁱ

P.S. I couldn’t resist linking to this fantastic post either. It’s incredible!! It’s someone’s visual interpretation of the books (much like my Once Upon A Time posts). I was going to do my own for the premier, but theirs is so beyond amazing, I know I couldn’t live up to it.

Screencaps from dreamdiary & profetadiariogaleria.

1. Prisoner of Azkaban and The Order of the Phoenix are my favourites.