Spring has been here in Columbus for weeks now, and I honestly can’t remember a more beautiful one!
When flowers start blooming in my neighborhood, I tend to bring a little touch of floral into my house. Not too much, because I’m not a huge flower person, but I do have my favorites…like tulips and dogwoods.
Just a little touch on my mantel makes me smile.
And since the chalkboards throughout my house are always changing, of course I try to go seasonal with them
Something I do every spring without fail is watch Steel Magnolias, so I did that this past Sunday afternoon. The movie begins at Easter, and ends at Easter so it’s always has a springy feel to me. One of my favorite parts of this movie is the opening scene. As the character Annelle walks down the road looking for Truvy’s beauty shop, the music is beautiful and I love the slice of Americana we get to see, setting the scene for what kind of small Louisiana town this is. We see gorgeous old houses, a baseball team running across the street, and a little girl on her front porch swing. I am always completely reeled in within minutes.
For anyone who MIGHT never have seen Steel Magnolias, it’s about a group of southern women in a small town, who gather at the local beauty shop and share their lives. Through the ups and downs of life (and there are some doozies!) we see their friendships thrive. As one of the ultimate girl power movies, the whole point of the title is that women are beautiful like magnolias, but are made of steel and are able to handle what life throws at them. I can’t say much more without giving away the plot. You will walk away from this movie and want to text your friends to meet for coffee. =)
Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
The all-star cast includes Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, and Olympia Dukakis. The absolute BEST thing about Steel Magnolias is that it just might be one of the most quotable movies of all time. I will leave you with just a handful of them (wink)…
Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
Truvy: “Time marches on and sooner or later you realize it’s marchin’ across your face.”
M’Lynn: Drum would never, ever point a gun at a lady.
Ouiser: Oh! He’s a real gentleman! I bet he takes the dishes out of the sink before he pees in it!
Clairee: Ouiser could never stay mad at me; she worships the quicksand I walk on.
Truvy: Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.
Clairee: Well, you know what they say: if you don’t have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me!
M’Lynn: I find it amusing. Men are supposed to be made out of steel or something. I just sat there. I just held Shelby’s hand. There was no noise, no tremble, just peace. Oh, God. I realize as a woman how lucky I am. I was there when that wonderful creature drifted into my life and I was there when she drifted out. It was the most precious moment of my life.
Ouiser: I do not see plays, because I can nap at home for free. And I don’t see movies ’cause they’re trash, and they got nothin’ but naked people in ‘em! And I don’t read books, ’cause if they’re any good, they’re gonna make ‘em into a miniseries.
Truvy: When it comes to pain and suffering, she’s right up there with Elizabeth Taylor.
Annelle: Miss Truvy, I promise that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair.
Clairee: Oh Ousier, you know I love ya more than my luggage.
Ouiser: You are too twisted for color TV!
Clairee: The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.
Truvy: Smile! It increases your face value.
Clairee: Ouiser, I’d recognize this penmanship anywhere. You have the handwritin’ of a serial killer.
Truvy: Oh, Sammy’s so confused he don’t know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt.
Clairee: Ouiser, you sound almost chipper. What happened today – you run over a small child or something?
Clairee: M’Lynn, you just missed the chance of a lifetime! Half o’ Chiquapin Parish’d give their eye teeth to take a whack at Ouiser!
Clairee: Shelby, you scared us. That wasn’t a nice thing to do to your mama. Never say that to a woman who’s marinating 50 pounds of crab claws.
Truvy: Oh sweetheart don’t. Please don’t cry or I will too. I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence.
I have a Film & Food Pairing idea for this movie, but I’ll save it for another time because a tribute needs to stand on it’s own. Enjoy your long Memorial Day weekend and Happy Spring!
I told her I’d do better than that and take photos of the whole process. So that’s what I did and she was REALLY psyched about it.
