Happily Ever After

Mr. Frank: I think this could be the one, Doll.

Lilly Faye: Imagine us owning a country home in France!

Mr. Frank: I can picture us living here forever.

Lilly Faye: Me, too!

Lilly Faye: I've always dreamed of living in a place like this.

Mr. Frank: We've worked hard. We deserve it.

Mr. Frank: What do you say, Doll? Should we put in an offer?

Lilly Faye: What about your sister?

Mr. Frank: Ceecee said she'd come visit us at Christmas.

Mr. Frank: Are you worried about your blog staff?

Lilly Faye: They'll understand.

Mr. Frank: Let's take the plunge, Doll. There's nothing stopping us. Let's buy this place.

Lilly Faye: I'll write to Diz and explain everything.

Dizzie: Hey, Alfie! I got an email from The Boss! Listen to this...

Dear Dizzie,

Thanks again to you and Chad for our wedding gift of frequent flyer miles. Saving money on transatlantic plane tickets made it possible for us to sail around the South of France on our honeymoon. It was unbelievably romantic!

We used the money from my Canine Bride modeling job and Frank's walk-up restaurant profits to rent a tiny apartment in Paris for a month.

Frank is attending Le Cordon Bleu, and loving it. He hopes to become an instructor there one day. He busked with his tuba along the Seine in the evenings when we first arrived. As it turns out, the French are more fond of tuba solos than Americans, and Frank quickly became a sensation. He's now playing to standing-room-only audiences in neighborhood jazz clubs on the weekends. I'm so proud of him.

I got a job modeling for The House of Diog here in Paris. I missed modeling more than I realized. It feels good to be back on the runway again!

Frank and I are doing so well, we've decided to put down roots and buy our own French country home. We've found one that we've both fallen in love with. I'm including a few photos.

Frank asks that you look in on his sister Ceecee from time to time. Better yet, send Alfie around to visit her. Those two are so much alike, they really should get to know each other better. 

Alfie Cat: How dare she compare me to that she-devil! We're nothing alike!

Dizzie: Wait, there's more...

I could not have imagined a year ago that I would be married to the fellow I love, a musician and chef, no less, living in France, and modeling at a Paris fashion house at this point in my life! It's proof that you should never give up on your dreams. They can come true when you least expect it.

Be happy for me, Diz. 

Frank and I finally got our 'happily ever after.'

Love,

Lilly Faye

The Elopement

Lilly Faye: Let's say our goodbyes before we leave, Frank.

Mr. Frank: I'm excited about going to France with Doll Face, and attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, Sis. My only regret is I won't be here to cook for you every night.

Ceecee: Don't worry about me, Frank. I need to cut back anyway. Your food is a bit rich.

Ceecee: The nights will be a lot longer without you, though.

Lilly Faye: I'll miss you, Alfie.

Alfie Cat: I'll miss Frank's cooking on movie nights. I can't believe I won't be getting any more of his shrimp.

Lilly Faye: Dizzie, you've been the best unpaid blog intern a boss could ever hope for. I'm confident you've got a future in entertainment journalism. You've shown a lot of initiative, especially with your reporting from the Oscars and the Golden Globes. 

I'm giving you the blog password for safekeeping. Don't go overboard ordering cases of Oinkies.

Dizzie: Thanks for taking a chance on me when I was just a young pup, and giving me my first job, Boss. I'm gonna miss you. I don't think I've ever said this before, but I love you, Boss. Sniff.

I want you to have these frequent flyer miles as a wedding present.

Lilly Faye: I thought THE MASTER locked his miles in a vault after the last two times you helped yourself to them.

Dizzie: These are a gift from Chad, my pal on the Scandalous Hollywood Insiders Tonight television show. He said he does so much flying in his job, he could never use up all his miles before they expire. He wants you to have them. 

Chad says to tell the flight crew you and Frank are getting married, and they might bump you up to first class, or at least give you an extra bag of nuts.

Lilly Faye: Frank and I are ready to leave for France, Cali. We've decided to elope! I'm sorry you won't have the chance to be my bridesmaid after all.

Cali: I'm happy for you, Lilly Faye. You finally got your fella! Don't worry about anything here. I'll keep an eye on your place while you're gone.

Lilly Faye: How's Ceecee, Frank? Is she going to be alright?

Mr. Frank: Her knitting needles were clicking like crazy when I left the house, but she's happy for me.

I love you, Doll.

Lilly Faye: I love you, too, Frank.

Mr. Frank: Let's get to the airport, Doll. We don't want to miss our flight!

Dizzie: No, we sure don't.

Mr. Frank: You're not going with us!

The car door slams.

Lilly Faye: Buckle up! 

Vroom!

Bringing Back the Magic

Lilly Faye: I thought once Frank and I got engaged, we'd be seeing more of each other. Instead, he's too busy with his walk-up restaurant to take me out at all!

Alfie Cat: Are you sure you're really engaged, or is this like one of those fake reality dating shows where two people only pretend to get engaged to advance their television careers, then they break up a few weeks later when no one's looking?

Cali: Girlfriend, you need to remind Frank that you're in demand, and he'd better snap you up before someone else does. That should do the trick. Males are very competitive.

Dizzie: I have an idea, Boss. I read in the paper that Trombone Shorty is coming back to town. Didn't Frank take you to see him on your first real date last September?

Lilly Faye: That's right, Diz. You're brilliant!

Later that afternoon...

Lilly Faye: Frank, I just realized it's been exactly one year this month since you moved in next door, and the anniversary of  our first date is just a few weeks away.

I'll always remember that night. You brought me flowers, and bought me dinner, and took me to that jazz club to hear Trombone Shorty.

Mr. Frank: I remember that night like it was yesterday, Doll. Things didn't go the way I'd planned, but you were such a good sport about it, I knew you were the girl for me.

Lilly Faye: That's so romantic, Frank. 

Guess what? Trombone Shorty is coming back to town! I asked Dizzie to order a couple of tickets for us. I want to recreate the magic of our first date.

Mr. Frank: I gotta polish my tuba, in case Shorty asks me to sit in!

Lilly Faye: Please leave your tuba home this time, Frank. I don't want anything interfering with our special date. It's going to be a night to remember!

Mr. Frank: I know it is, Doll. Smooch!

Lilly Faye's Movie Review: Still Alice, starring Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, and Alec Baldwin

Dear Readers,

In Still Alice, Julianne Moore plays a professor of linguistics diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease at age 50. Still Alice does a good job of showing the progression and the devastating effects of the disease from both the patient's and the family's point of view. Of course, no movie can fully portray the prolonged heartbreak the disease causes in real life.

The movie is based on the novel, Still Alice, written by Lisa Genova, who has a Ph.D in Neuroscience.

Julianne Moore has won many awards for her performance in this movie, including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Academy Award.

Dizzie: She did an excellent job, but the role was well within her capabilities. I don't think it was a big stretch for her, Boss.

Lilly Faye: That's what happens with an actor as good as Julianne Moore, Diz. She makes it look effortless. I thought she gave a moving and sensitive performance.

The real surprise was Kristen Stewart, who plays Alice's youngest daughter. This was her best performance, by far. Maybe she learned a thing or two from working with Julianne Moore.

Frank, please tell everyone what you made for dinner.

Mr. Frank: Pan-fried sockeye salmon sauced with brown butter, capers, and slivered almonds. I served it with new potatoes, and a wedge salad consisting of iceberg lettuce, avocado, and dried cranberries, topped with blue cheese dressing.

Dizzie: I'm sorry, Frank. I don't get the excitement over wedge salad. It's just a big chunk of iceberg lettuce.

Mr. Frank: It's a mid-century classic that's back in style. Huff.

Alfie Cat: I loved the salmon, and the whipped cream on the fresh berry parfait.

Dizzie: I missed my chips. Why can't we have chips every night?

Lilly Faye: I loved every bite of the entire meal, Frank.

Mr. Frank: Thanks, Doll.

Lilly Faye: You can watch the trailer for the movie by clicking here:  Still Alice.

Time to rate the movie, boys!

Dizzie: I give it One and a Half Paws Up!

Mr. Frank: Two Paws Up! I liked that many of the scenes revolved around food.

Alfie Cat: Two Paws Up! I stuck around for it, so it must be good.

Lilly Faye: Two Paws Up! The acting was excellent all around.

Dear Readers,

Still Alice is very well done, and definitely worth seeing if you're a teenager or an adult. I don't think younger children would get much out of it.

While it isn't an uplifting film due to its subject matter, Still Alice isn't nearly as grim as I expected it to be, either.

Love,

Lilly Faye