Chicken pot pie has a lot going for it. When you’ve got creamy chicken and vegetables inside a warm flaky crust, what’s not to like? Peas, as it turns out. They’re all but universally included in pot pie. Couple that with peas’ number two spot on my allergy ranking and pot pie winds up on the unsafe list. Over the weekend, Rachel got our date night off to a tasty start by making pot pie sans peas. She even cut the steam vents with the letters M and R.
We’ve both been wanting to see Black Swan since we heard Natalie Portman was starring in a “psychological thriller,” even before there was any of the buzz about Mila Kunis. We made our way to the Krikorian, one of the only movie theaters in the area (and one of the silly ones that insists on using MovieTickets.com instead of Fandango for online sales), spent six bucks on popcorn, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
My experience with Tchaikovsky and Swan Lake goes all the way back to my family’s extensive collection of cassette tapes, listened and relistened to on the long car rides we had to pretty much everywhere. Between the dramatization of the ballet and the historical fiction adventure of a couple of kids meeting Tchaikovsky while he was writing The Nutcracker, I learned to appreciate the Russian composer (Note: This is what Mark and I did instead of playing GameBoy). Tchaikovsky had a big impact on our culture, not just music. In addition to helping expose the Western world to Russian music, the guy helped write The Nutcracker into the Christmas season.
Without spoiling too much of the movie, which I recommend seeing, I enjoyed the way the musical themes from the ballet score were woven into the soundtrack. There was also some great layered storytelling going on as Nina’s life reflected the nested story she was learning to tell, played out the story she was learning how to play. Natalie Portman acted wonderfully—I hope she gets the academy award for it.
As it turns out, as of this weekend Rachel and I have been married for two years and seven months. How about that, eh?
2 responses to “Date Night”
Congratulations! And I’m glad you enjoyed the movie, too. I loved it, and not just because of the title.
Haha, it totally is the perfect movie for your name.