An Unlikely Housewife: Inspiration: Julia Child (Meryl Streep)

I'm watching Julie and Julia for the second time and, of course, I'm completely inspired.

image from http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/2010/01/top-35-acting-performances-of-the-decade/

I'm unsure as to who is the true inspiration in this movie. Is it the character or the actress portraying the character? Although, let's face it, who doesn't love Meryl and who doesn't love her acting skills (which are impeccable)?

However, let's focus on Julia Child for this post.

I couldn't help but laugh when she explains to Amos in the movie that she prefers shopping for food rather than clothes. I believe I came to that same revelation about two years ago. I had that revelation while I was in Whole Foods. Living near Town Center was difficult. You would think with all of the clothing stores in that area, that would be the draw for me. But that was not what drew me there. Whole Foods was like a siren. Driving past was like placing a glass of 20 year old aged scotch in front of an alcoholic. I can remember days when I had to talk myself out of turning into the parking lot.

"No not today. If you don't go for another two weeks, you can go when you get paid again."

"But it'll just be for a minute"

"No it won't. It's never just for a minute. And you don't have two hours to spend."

When we had our regular girls' night, I would use that an excuse to go to Whole Foods. So I was guaranteed at least one day a month when I knew I'd get to go. I would stop by on my way home from work to pick out wine and pick up goat cheese.

I'm getting off topic...

It wasn't necessarily just the wine and goat cheese that drug me there repeatedly. And it wasn't just the fact that it was Whole Foods. It was the food. All of it. If I allowed myself, at any grocery store (alright not any because I can't stand WalMartsy), I would probably spend two hours. Just...looking. But particularly in stores that have elaborate selections. Cheese and meat sections are particularly dangerous.

Whereas with clothing stores, I get impatient. I get bored. You buy an article of clothing that looked great in the department store mirror (which I swear is lit a certain way to make you look great in it and is bent in a way to make you look ten pounds thinner than you are) but then when you get home, it's just...meh. Then what? You can return it to the store or just wear it and hope that a nice accessory will dress it up and hide the fact that you don't feel fabulous.

But food...food you have the glory of mixing and mashing and adding and decreasing and simmering and a hundred other options to jazz it up. Let's take a simple steak. The options are a hundred times over and can be dressed up or down in a fashion that teases the tastebuds.