This summer, I fell in love with Take this Waltz, starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogan and Sarah Silverman. This ultra charming and poignant film by Sarah Polley went through the usual back and forth between my mom and I, where one of us watches a movie, freaks out over it and pleads with the other one to see it. In this case is was her nagging me, and the movie sucked me in from Michelle Williams' powder blue toe nails to all of its many rich hues, set design, scenes of Toronto, cute styling and seemingly idyllic love lives (I became inspired to redecorate my apartment with colorful Chinese paper lamps Christmas lights after watching). But most importantly, I found Michele's character's conflict between finding excitement in all things new versus the comfort and often boredom with the familiar (in this case, with relation to her romantic relationships), to be the incredibly touching. I face this confusion all the time, thinking maybe I'll find the key to happiness if I move apartments, try a new gym or find a new boyfriend. Yes, searching for excitement by trying new things  can provide a momentary feeling of fulfillment, but ultimately, the movie shows how new things quickly become old too, and sometimes endlessly searching for the new can cause you to alienate and miss the beauty of what's right in front of you. At the end of the movie, Sarah Silverman says to Michele, "Life has a gap in it... It just does. You don't go crazy trying to fill it," which kind of says it all.

xo,

Lily