I love to read and I love movies almost as much. And I almost always love it when my favorite books are made into amazing movies. But there is a little bit of pressure associated with that. Will they get the casting right? Will they do the book justice? Will they change the ending? (Ahem– Dear John!)

Some of my most recent favorites from my 2009 and 2010 reading list are about to be released at the theater.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett- one of my favorite books ever. I am so excited to see how the casting works and how the film is received by viewers and critics. It is set in the south and was pretty true to Southern culture in the 60s and I wonder how that will be translated for today’s audience.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen- another of my favorite books of all time. The trailer for this movie leaves me so excited and I think everything just looks so beautiful and magical. The story is suspenseful and it is set in a very dark time, but I think they got the casting right on this one. I love Reese Witherspoon, but I’m not usually a Robert Pattinson fan. But when I saw him in the trailer, he transformed in my eyes. I’m just so excited!

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin (in theaters May 6- maybe I can schedule my delivery date for May 7 so I can make sure to see this while it’s in the theater!)

I am a little confused why John Krasinski’s character has a strong presence in this movie when his character really was more present in the second book, Something Blue.

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (this one doesn’t come out until 2012, but I’m still excited!)

This Nicholas Sparks book was very suspenseful and that made it one of my favorites of his. And Zac Efron is going to be in the movie, so that’s kind of exciting!

What movies are you looking forward to seeing?

I wanted to share a great discount with all of you from another sponsor, Ashley Brooke Designs.

Ashley Brooke Designs is currently offering 10% off all custom illustrations. You may have been waiting to take the plunge on your ABDesigns order and now may be your opportunity!

This is perfect for girls who are recently engaged and looking to do custom save-the-dates, invitations, or thank you notes.

Ashley is also offering all Blue-Eyed Bride readers an additional 5% off! Just use the discount code ABDhitched_BEB at check out.

Sale ends March 6, 2011 and is not exclusive for wedding stationery. It can be used for all of your “unnecessary necessities.”

Y’all! I could not wait to tell you about this amazing giveaway. Tracy Turpen, one of my fabulous sponsors and an amazing wedding and family photographer, is doing a giveaway for free wedding photography.

If you aren’t familiar with Tracy’s work, visit her website and her blog to familiarize yourself.

This contest is not just for weddings in the Carolinas- Tracy and Tyler are going to go anywhere! They are just looking for the best story and the bride and groom that they feel are most deserving.

Tracy will blog about the finalists on her blog and there will be a public vote via Facebook.

All engaged couples with wedding dates between May 21, 2011 and April 3o, 2012 are eligible.

The flyer announcing the details of the contest is below:

Remember, email Tracy at contest@tracyturpen.com to enter!

We have had a great time in Dallas, but are getting ready to head home to see TC and the dogs.

Hudson loves to be here with KK and Poppie and all the fun toys at their house. At Thanksgiving, they bought him a Cozy Coupe car to keep at their house so he would have some outdoor toys when we are here for long stays. He loves his Cozy Coupe and loves his Poppie because he plays with him outside!

KK, Hudson, and I drove over to Shreveport and had lunch with my aunts and uncles and then drove on down to Baton Rouge. I know that drive like the back of my hand and it is not the most exciting. But it’s always fun to go back home. I grew up in Baton Rouge and Ruston, Louisiana, so it’s important to me to bring Hudson back to those cities.

We took Hudson to Coffee Call in Baton Rouge for his first beignet experience. We just love Coffee Call!

And it’s safe to say that Hudson loved the beignets!

We got back in the car and drove down to New Orleans to have lunch with my mom’s best friend. She has the most wonderful house in old Metairie. We had a great lunch and KK got to have some good turtle soup.

After lunch, we drove toward the garden district so we could stop into Camellia Grill and take Hudson on his first street car ride down St. Charles Avenue.

So many of my childhood memories are at Camellia Grill sitting at the counter eating delicious food, so I’m excited Hudson got to go there, too.

Hudson loved the street car ride. There were three little girls that got on and he couldn’t take his eyes off of them for a while, but he finally started looking at the window to enjoy the ride. KK and I were enjoying the view of the gorgeous houses. We took the street car all the way to Canal Street and then met up with my cousin for some shopping on Magazine Street.

We had a great little trip and I know Hudson was happy to be done with the road trip. He did a fine job in the car, but he never got any great naps. He did get to eat some great food though– but I think that may have been more important to KK and me!