Disney Date: Monsters Inc

Hi everyone!

This week's Disney Date didn't go down as planned. Things still turned out pretty awesome for us, but this week's movie is going to be a 2 part blog post because the original date we planned still hasn't happened yet. We have to wait on it a bit :) However, we still had a fun and super cool date night, so you still get to hear about our adventures!

Without further ado, welcome to this week's Disney Date: Monsters Inc!

A thumbs up is in order.

Monsters Inc. was a genius movie, for me. I didn't find it quite as funny the second time around- Alas, the pressure I place on Pixar to be perfect! And I suppose I am quite a bit older (ugh, time flies) but I was re-impressed with the ingenuity of a world  built around the idea of the monster in the closet. And why the monster would be in the closet, and why the parents never catch them, and as a side bonus, the truth behind the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti, Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman. As it seems I always am (there's that pressure!) I was so impressed with Pixar's creativity and execution. Plus, I got a huge kick out of watching Max giggle at it, since he'd never seen it before (and he thinks I'm the one who grew up in a cave!).

The adorable solution to the monster's energy crisis turns out to be the power of laughter. So, with that in mind, Max and I decided an ideal date would be a trip to a comedy club. Something we're a bit nervous about (there's nothing more painful than not-quite-funny) but also excited for, because we've never gone to a comedy club together, or as a date at all! (I've been to one- the Second City in Chicago. Kind of a tough act to follow...!)

So, we picked a day and headed downtown at the appropriate time, arriving with enough time to pick good seats. But suddenly, a rather large hitch in our plan: the comedy club is also a bar, which I hadn't realised, and therfore I'd also neglected to bring my ID (we walked, and all I had was my camera). I suppose my born in the barn roots were showing a bit, there. But though we had plenty of time to pick seats, we definitely did not have time to make it all the way home and back downtown. So, huge kink in plan A, which was kind of sad because we watched Monsters Inc on Monday or something crazy and waited all the way till the weekend to go to the show. Boo!

Boo from Monsters Inc making a boo face!

So suddenly we had a free evening. Luckily, it was a summer Saturday night in downtown Halifax, so it's not like its that hard to fill a free night!

Extra luckily for us, this weekend was the Tall Ships Festival, meaning there's a plethora of simply stunning sailing ships in town, parked along the Halifax and Dartmouth waterfronts. So we took to the waterfront instead, and spent our evening moseying along the crowded walkways and admiring the ships.

Top: 2 of the ships; Bottom: A mast reflection in a waterfront building's windows and myself at the waterfront

I have to admit, few things have inspired wanderlust in me like these ships did. They were gorgeous, and moveable homes which travel the world. What more could a girl ask for? Alas, my wanderlust is matched stride for stride by a persistent sea sickness. So maybe someday, if I conquer that plague... Max was equally delighted, especially once we discovered the pirate bouncy castle park (I kid you not). And equally inspired with wanderlust, although his main issue was concern about the vegetarian fare on a round the world voyage. I guess the life of a pirate is probably not for us. At least the bouncy castle pirate kingdom was ours for the taking!

The evening was perfectly finished off with a fireworks show, followed by all the ships honking and blowing their whistles, a sound which echoed all around Halifax and faded into the dusk perfectly. The slight chill, haunting sound, and smoke on the waterway leftover from the beautiful fireworks show is one of my favourite summer memories so far.

Sushi and Fireworks! Huzzah!

Though it was now around 10 pm, our night was not complete. Our Monsters Inc inspired dinner had yet to be eaten! We'd planned to eat a bit earlier but not much about the night was going as planned (which we figure is actually perfectly suited to a Monsters Inc date!) so we headed homewards. Because on our own little street is one of the very best sushi places in town, the Wasabi house. *wipes away drool*


We chose sushi because sushi is the special date Mike and Celia are enjoying when Sully barges in with the bag of terror that is Boo. (By 'terror', I really mean 'adorable'. But this is the monster world, things are a little backwards!) In any case, a sushi dinner seemed like just the thing. And really, I'd never pass up the opportunity for a good sushi dinner. (It was delicious!)

And so, though the evening was nothing like we planned, it was fantastic. Never the less we plan to re attempt the comedy club this week, braving amateur and student night. At least now we know liquid courage is available, if needed!

Until then!

Sarah & Max

50 Disney Dates

Let the Games Begin!

Well, I've been struggling over how to start this, this much more personal project than my other foray's into the online blogging world. But I suppose the best way to start is to just start!

My name is Sarah, and I'm a 20something lady living in Halifax, NS (for the moment, anyways- things change fast around here!) with my Fiance, Max. I'm Canadian, he's Dutch; I grew up ranching for a living, and he's vegetarian; I'm a bibliophile and he's dyslexic. But in spite of some obvious and often humerous differences, we go together like the sky and the stars. Like the beach and the sea. Like a rose and a garden, like thunder and lightning. Like Walt and Disney.

Which brings me a little closer to my theme here. At the moment of course there's no one to read this, and its a shout into the dark where a million others are shouting out their thoughts and feelings and hopes and dreams. But Max and I have a beautiful thing and I'm proud of it and often in awe of it and even just for me I want to record our moments and our time together because time always moves so much faster than I expect it to and I always want to remember everything (but never do). So I'm going to write it down for me; and if I'm lucky, maybe it'll speak to you, too.

But I wouldn't just blog about a love story. In part because our love story began quite a while ago. Instead, I'll start in the middle but with a new adventure:

50 Disney Dates

10 Disney Princess Dates: The original Disney classics, from Snow White to the more modern Enchanted; 10 Disney Animal Dates, including from dogs to lions and everyone in between; 10 Disney Legend Dates, classics, featuring fare which doesn't quite fit elsewhere, such as Alice in Wonerland and Pinocchio; 10 Pixar Dates, bringing in the new era and changing up our movie fare, and last but not least 10 Disney/Studio Ghibli Dates, bringing something entirely different but equally magical to the table, for a grand total of 50 Disney Dates.

The plan is simple: Watch a movie; plan a date inspired by the movie; and plan a meal inspired by the movie ('meal', by the way, will be loosely interpreted. Not everything eaten will live up to full meal standards.) And the key: enjoy, be inspired, and fall further in love with the famous magic of Disney. Will Disney live up to the challenge? We will we be able to think of 50 unique and affordable dates? Well, I guess you, me, and my computer will find out!