Must-Watch Classic Movies While You Have Some Downtime

We all need some lightheartedness right now. For me, one of my favorite things to do when I’m feeling down is pop on a fun movie. I’m a huge fan of classic movies and musicals, and they feel like such a nice escape when I’m feeling overly stressed or sad. Since I’ve tried to basically make this one of my personality traits since I was a teenager, I thought I’d run through some of my favorites that are available to stream. Buckle up, because I couldn’t narrow it down under 15.

Singin’ in the Rain

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1952 - Rent on Amazon

This is for sure one of my favorite movies, and one of the first ones I turn to to cheer me up. It’s a musical about the difficult transition in Hollywood from silent films to “talkies” in the late 1920s. It stars Gene Kelly as silent film star Don Lockwood, Debbie Reynolds as young up-and-coming actress Kathy Selden, Donald O’Connor as Don’s best friend Cosmo Brown, and Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont, Don’s frequent costar. The problem with the transition is how to make Lina’s grating voice appeal to audiences, but Don, Kathy, and Cosmo have something up their sleeves. Highlights of the film include the famous “Singin in the Rain” sequence of course, the “Good Morning” sequence where Don, Kathy, and Cosmo stay up all night coming up with their plan, and the elaborate film plan Don & Cosmo come up with (this includes the dance sequence with Cyd Charisse in the green flapper dress you may have seen before). It’s such a heartwarming movie that I think it should be the first one you watch out of this list!

Funny Face

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1957 - Watch with Amazon Prime

I’m a huge Audrey Hepburn fan, and this is one of my favorite films of hers. Funny Face is a musical about a fashion photographer (played by Fred Astaire) who discovers a book shop clerk (Audrey Hepburn) and makes her a model. It also stars Kay Thompson as the editor of the fashion magazine. Most of the film is set in Paris and includes music by George & Ira Gershwin. Highlights include the darkroom sequence, the photography montage in Paris, and Kay Thompson’s “Think Pink!” song at the beginning of the film.

Easter Parade

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1948 - Rent on Amazon

Judy Garland and Fred Astaire star in this Irving Berlin musical about stage performer Don Hewes (Astaire) who finds a new partner in chorus girl Hannah Brown (Garland) after his old partner (Ann Miller) decides to do a solo act. At first Don tries to make Hannah into a clone of his old partner, but he finds their real strength as a team comes when he allows Hannah to be herself. This movie has some of my favorite musical numbers, from Fred Astaire’s “Drum Crazy,” to Ann Miller’s “Shakin’ the Blues Away,” to Judy Garland’s “Easter Parade” at the end.

Summer Stock

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1950 - Rent on Amazon

This might be my favorite Judy Garland movie if I had to pick just one. She plays Jane Falbury, a woman running a small and ailing farm. Jane is in the middle of struggling to make ends meet when her sister (Gloria DeHaven) brings her boyfriend (Gene Kelly) and his theater troupe to the farm to put on their show. Jane is against it at first, but decides to let the group perform there as long as they pitch in, and she soon feels the pull of the theater. Judy Garland’s famous “Get Happy” number is from this movie, and Gene Kelly also has a stunning dance routine where he’s inspired by the sound of a squeaky floorboard and a newspaper.

High Society

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1956 - Rent on Amazon

This is a musical version of The Philadelphia Story, where Grace Kelly plays Tracy Lord, an heiress who must choose between three suitors: her jazz musician ex-husband (Bing Crosby), her boring businessman fiance, and an undercover tabloid reporter who falls for her (Frank Sinatra). Highlights include Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm (playing a tabloid photographer) singing “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and Sinatra & Crosby’s rendition of “Well, Did You Evah?”

Meet Me in St. Louis

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1944 - Rent on Amazon

This is another of my favorite Judy Garland films. Meet Me in St. Louis shows a year in the life of the Smith family, starting in the summer of 1903 and leading up to the World’s Fair in St. Louis in the spring of 1904. This is one of the most feel-good movies I’ve probably ever seen, and for me it almost rivals It’s a Wonderful Life in that aspect. Judy Garland is at the top of her game here - she looks absolutely beautiful and her voice is more stunning than ever. The highlights of the film for me are “The Trolley Song,” and when she sings “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” towards the end.

Charade

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1963 - Watch on Amazon Prime

This is one of the few non-musicals on this list. This mystery/thriller stars Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant and starts with the death of Audrey Hepburn’s husband. As it turns out, he was in a group that took part in a huge robbery, and the rest of his gang scheme to get the money out of her and also plot to make sure they’re the sole inheritor. There are so many twists and turns in this movie, and it’s again set in Paris. My favorite part is when Cary Grant showers with his suit on.

Two for the Road

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1967 - Rent on Amazon

This is the other non-musical and maybe my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie. It stars Hepburn and Albert Finney as husband and wife, and a non-linear timeline shows the course of their first meeting and their lives together. It shows an honest and sometimes not pretty portrayal of marriage, with infidelity and fights as well as love and happiness. It also stars a young William Daniels (aka Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World) as a friend of the couple.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

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1953 - Rent on Amazon

This film is too iconic to not include in this list. Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell play best friends Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw who are traveling by boat to Paris. Lorelei’s suspicious future father-in-law has hired a private detective to spy on her to make sure she “behaves” on the boat, and Dorothy befriends him, not knowing his true identity. Lorelei catches the eye of an older, rich man, as well as many others, and Dorothy tries to keep her in line. Marilyn Monroe’s famous “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” number is from this movie, and my other favorite part is Jane Russell singing “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?” to the entire Mens’ Olympic Team on the boat with them.

Some Like It Hot

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1959 - Watch on Amazon Prime

This is another great Marilyn Monroe film. Two musicians (Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon) witness a mob hit and then have to go on the run. They join an all-girl band and dress in drag to blend in. Tony Curtis falls for the singer in the band, played by Marilyn Monroe, while Jack Lemmon’s alter ego Daphne is the object of an older man’s affections. Many complications ensue. There are a few songs in the movie, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a musical - every song is performed by the band, instead of the usual musical formula of people randomly bursting into song.

The Sound of Music

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1965 - Rent on Amazon

Whenever I was homesick in college, I would watch this movie, and it always cheered me up. Julie Andrews plays Maria, a nun sent to become a governess to the von Trapp family, made up of a strict, widowed father (Christopher Plummer) and his seven children. Maria brings light and music into their lives and changes them all for the better. This is set in pre-World War II Austria as tensions with Germany begin running high.

On The Town

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1949 - Rent on Amazon

This fun musical centers on three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin) on shore leave for 24 hours in New York City. They try to find fun and romance before their time in the city is up. It also stars Vera-Ellen as “Miss Turnstiles,” Betty Garrett as a sassy taxi driver, and Ann Miller as an anthropologist they meet in the Museum of Natural History. The best part is the “Miss Turnstiles Ballet” where Vera Ellen performs quick dance routines around each personality trait Gene Kelly lists while describing her.

The Band Wagon

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1953 - Rent on Amazon

I’ll admit I haven’t watched this movie in a very long time, but I do remember loving it. Fred Astaire stars as washed-up star Tony Hunter who agrees to be a part of his friends’ (Nanette Fabray & Oscar Levant) Broadway show to give his career a kick. But they hire pretentious “artistic” director Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan) who changes the show beyond recognition, including hiring prima ballerina Gabrielle Gerard (Cyd Charisse) to star alongside Tony, and it’s hate at first sight. They still strive to work together to put the show on. Highlights include the Central Park dance sequence with Cyd Charisse & Fred Astaire as well as their “Girl Hunt Ballet.”

The Harvey Girls

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1946 - Rent on Amazon

This is a lesser-known Judy Garland movie, but still one of my favorites! She plays Susan Bradley, a woman traveling West on the train to marry a penpal. She meets a bunch of friendly girls going to work at the “Harvey House,” and when her plans with her penpal don’t work out, she joins them. I love this movie because it not only has a romance storyline, but also shows the importance of female friendship. Angela Lansbury also stars as a saloon dancer competing with Judy Garland for the saloon owner’s affections.

An American in Paris

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1951 - Rent on Amazon

If you’re a Gene Kelly fan, you must watch this in addition to Singin’ in the Rain. He plays Jerry Mulligan, a struggling artist living in Paris with his friend, a would-be concert pianist (Oscar Levant). Jerry falls for Lise (Leslie Caron), a young French woman already engaged to a cabaret singer. This film has some of the most stunning dance numbers I’ve ever seen, from Leslie Caron dancing to different personality descriptions ready by Gene Kelly with monochromatic backdrops (similar to On the Town) to the final incredible 20-minute ballet sequence.

If you’re still reading, thank you! I also would have added White Christmas to this list because it’s my all-time favorite movie, but it’s not available to stream anywhere right now. If you can find it, I recommend that too - it’s not just for Christmas. Let me know if you watch any of these, and if you like them!

How to Relax | Things to Cook, Watch, & Read While Staying Home

We’re living through a scary time. Normally, when I get home from work I’d just be scrolling on my phone all night, but the news has been filling me with more and more anxiety. Even my favorite blogs/Instagram accounts to follow for an “escape” are writing about COVID-19 (I’m sorry if I was one of your escapes and now I’m mentioning it, too). So now, I’ve been looking for ways to help myself wind down. I’ve been doing more cooking, more reading, and watching more shows/movies. I thought I’d compile some of my favorites in all categories in case you’re looking for ways to relax, too.

Cooking & Baking

I love cooking and baking anyway, but now more than ever I’m finding it’s a great way to relieve stress. The grocery store was a little ransacked when I went, so I couldn’t pick up my usual staples, but hopefully the panic-buying will die down soon and I can get back to making some of my favorite recipes. The recipe I make the most is Bon Appetit’s Cheeseburger Pasta - it’s made using common ingredients you’d probably have at home, is easy to make, and is really hearty and comforting (if you’re looking at the recipe and thinking of skipping the banana peppers - DON’T! They really make the whole thing come together). I couldn’t get my hands on any ground beef or any meat on my last shopping trip, but I’m hoping I can soon to make this again. Instead, I’m going to try my hand at this Brothy Pasta with Chickpeas recipe. I’ll let you know how it goes!

As for baking, you can’t go wrong with some chocolate chip cookies. My favorite recipe is actually on the back of the bags of the chocolate chips I get, from Ghirardelli. Simple, easy, and they come out perfect every time. I haven’t made them in about a year, but I’m thinking I might make this recipe for Dog-friendly cupcakes soon. Olive & Copper have been extra cuddly lately, so I think they can tell we’re stressed out. Making them a nice treat and seeing them enjoy it would make me feel a lot better! I made these last year for Olive’s first birthday, and she loved them.

Things to Watch

My number one feel-good show is Schitt’s Creek. If you haven’t yet heard of it/watched it, it’s about a very rich family who suddenly loses all their money and has to start over from the ground up. The characters are just so loveable and as you watch the series, it’s so heartwarming to see their development and growth. The show is just so well-written (by father-son team Eugene & Dan Levy), and everyone plays their part perfectly. It shows relationships, from familial to platonic to romantic, in a very real way. It’s on Netflix and episodes are only about 22 minutes long, so it’s easy to binge watch.

Hear me out on this next one, but now that it’s on Hulu, I think everyone needs to watch The Golden Girls. It’s my favorite show. It’s your typical 80s-90s sitcom where there’s not much of a plot carrying over between episodes, so you don’t really need to watch them all or watch them in order. It centers around four roommates, three middle-aged women and one of their mothers, and just what happens in their day to day lives. Most of the episodes are lighthearted and fun, but some show some more serious issues (ie the girls realize Rose is addicted to painkillers, Sophia’s sick friend is considering suicide, and the girls spend a night in a homeless shelter). Some of my favorite episodes definitely worth watching are S1E18 The Operation, S5E5 Love Under the Big Top, S5E7 Not Another Monday (warning that this is the one where Sophia’s friend is considering suicide), S7E2 The Case of the Libertine Belle, and S7E18 Journey to the Center of Attention.

I also still love a good YouTube video, and lately the Bon Appetit channel is all I watch. I used to watch Food Network shows with my dad all the time, so maybe this is bringing me back to that time in my life. I love all the different series on the Bon Appetit channel, and watching the chefs together makes me want to work there and be their friend. All the videos are lighthearted (sense a theme here?) and fun to watch. I especially love the Gourmet Makes show, where pastry chef Claire Saffitz tries to make popular snack foods from scratch. They just posted a 40-minute video where she tries to make a few different kinds of Girl Scout Cookies, and it was great. I also love the episodes where she involves the other chefs/lets them pick what flavors she’s making, so the Bagel Bites and Ben & Jerry’s episodes are must-watches too.

I haven’t watched many beauty videos in awhile, but I do love Jamie Paige’s “Calming Makeup Tutorials.” I love how they’re edited, and they definitely have very calm and serene vibes, which is perfect for right now. GinsMakeup has videos that are similarly very calm and serene to watch.

Books

I only recently got back into reading every day again, so I don’t have too many recommendations. However, I just started The Other Wife by Claire McGowan, and I can’t put it down. It’s s thriller, and the author seems to leave out important details at the beginning to keep you guessing, like you’re solving the mystery yourself. I’m about three quarters of the way through, and I’d recommend it so far.

Other books on my list (pictured above) are Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, Epilogue: A Memoir by Anne Roiphe, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, and The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean. I’m still trying to figure out if there’s a certain genre I really like, so I realize these are kind of all over the place. Let me know your book recommendations and what you’re currently reading!

Other Things (Video Games, Workouts)

I know I always talk about the Lego video games - but seriously if I haven’t convinced you to try any yet, I think now is the time. They’re fun, challenging but not in a frustrating way, and there are so many of them! Since I last mentioned Lego games we’ve played the Incredibles (maybe my favorite one yet) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We just started the Lego City Undercover one again, which was my favorite before we played The Incredibles.

We also just finished playing through Bioshock and Bioshock 2 - Brett played while I watched. They’re still really interesting games to just watch because they have great stories. I remember we played the third one together years and years ago and the story had some crazy twists, so maybe we can play that one next.

It’s not out yet, but I’m unbelievably excited for Animal Crossing: New Horizons to come out (this Friday 3/20!). If we didn’t already have a Nintendo Switch, I would have bought one to play this. I used to play Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the Nintendo DS all the time, and I loved it so much. I can’t wait to tap back into that nostalgia. The Animal Crossing games have such an easy, calming game formula that I’m sure the new one will be just as anxiety-reducing: you build up your town (in the new one you have a whole island to build up from scratch), meet your neighbors, and do errands and favors for them.

I’m still looking around for workout alternatives now that I can’t go to my usual kickboxing classes. So far we’ve been taking the dogs on nice long walks (about 3 miles instead of 1.5!). Getting out and getting fresh air has been really helpful for stress. I always go back to Yoga with Adriene videos when I don’t know what else to do, and I’m going to look up some HIIT workouts to do at home. If you have any favorites, please let me know!

What are you doing to keep busy while spending more time at home?

My New Everyday Base | Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint & Kosas Revealer Concealer Review

Base products are probably my favorite category of makeup to test, and I usually tend to find a new everyday favorite every few months. Even when I’m 100% happy with something, I still just want to keep testing. Lately my newest favorite combination has been two new highly talked about releases, the ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 and the Kosas Revealer Concealer. I’ve taken long enough to share my full thoughts on both of these, so I thought I might as well group them into a double review.

ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40

ILIA is one of my favorite brands (if not my favorite full stop), so I was not only excited about their recent rebrand, but also ecstatic to get a chance to try their newest base product. It’s meant to roll skincare, sunscreen, and makeup all into one easy product, boasting SPF 40 (using non-nano zinc oxide) as well as skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid, plant-derived squalane, and niacinamide. It’s available in 18 shades - since it’s sheer I suspect the shades will be quite adaptable, but the spread is a little heavier on the light-medium shades than the deeper shades.

I don’t use this as a “one and done” kind of product, though if your skin is less dry than mine it may just work fine like that. I would, however, recommend not using this as your sole SPF step - I never rely on the SPF in my makeup just because the amount you need to apply is usually too much for a tinted product. But I’ve found this wears well over my usual skincare and SPF, and I haven’t had any issues with it pilling on top of other products. For reference, I’ve been using a cream like Avene Tolerance, followed by Leo Oil, followed by either Krave The Beet Shield or Purito Centella Green Level Safe Sun.

This has become my favorite for everyday because it’s barely there, and yet it evens out everything I need it to. It has a runny formula (not surprising for a “serum” skin tint) and feels mildly hydrating as it’s rubbed into the skin. I apply this with my hands as that’s how I apply all of my foundations/tinted moisturizers/etc, and it’s worked very well for me that way. It blends out easily and glosses over imperfections. I find this does a really great job at giving my skin a smooth, even look. It never sticks on or emphasizes texture or dryness for me, although remember I do wear my usual skincare underneath. It has a beautiful dewy finish that never reads as greasy, although I do lightly powder my T-zone with the ILIA loose powder.

I really love how long this lasts - normally glowy, light products like this only wear for six-ish hours before wearing away, and I usually just deal with it. But this lasts an entire workday for me - I don’t notice acne scars peeking through until I get home from work about 10 hours after I’ve applied it. It doesn’t get oily throughout the day - the amount of dewiness it has when I apply it remains constant throughout the day.

Kosas Revealer Concealer

Kosas is also quickly becoming one of my favorite brands, and I jumped at their new concealer launch. I’ve written about my love for the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer for years now, so I wondered if the Revealer Concealer would live up to that. Lately I was finding the Milk one looking a little dry and not lasting as long as I’d like (both on my face and the tube itself - I seemed to go through one a month!), so I was eager to try something new.

Kosas claims the Revealer Concealer is a creamy, brightening medium- to full-coverage concealer with skincare benefits to help nourish the skin - sense a theme here? It uses caffeine to brighten, arnica to soothe, and peptides and hyaluronic acid to help plump the skin. It’s available in 16 shades (note there’s a bit of a jump between the light/medium and deep shades) which all seem to run a bit warm. My skin is cool-toned and my shade, Tone 01, is a bit more neutral than I’d usually use, but once blended it’s not too yellow to notice. The description says it’s meant for cool tones, so just keep that in mind if you’re ordering blindly!

When they say this concealer is creamy, they mean it. It’s quite wet yet still thick, but blends out like a dream. Again, I use my fingers for all my blending and that has worked well. The coverage is great - I’d put it at just about the same coverage as my Milk Makeup one (so, for the amount I apply, about a medium coverage). I can layer it on itself for more coverage if needed, and it doesn’t cake up or pick up on itself.

My favorite thing about it is its versatility. The list of key ingredients sounds like they’re targeting this as an undereye concealer, but I’ve found it works equally well on redness/blemishes as well. It’s enough coverage for my undereye circles, but not so much that it looks mask-like. It also blends out beautifully to cover larger areas of redness inconspicuously. I love that I can wear this not only on top of another foundation, but also on its own on minimal makeup days. It blends into the skin so seamlessly that you can’t tell where the concealer starts and ends (that is, if you have a shade match).

Like the skin tint, this concealer looks quite smooth on my skin and rarely emphasizes any dryness or texture (a welcome change from the Milk one). The finish is skinlike, but it leans dewy. Applying the ILIA powder on top doesn’t flatten the finish, and it doesn’t cake it up or change the color. The concealer has great lasting power as well, lasting me through a workday without revealing all my acne scars until I get home.

Have you tried either of these?

The ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint was kindly gifted by the brand, but all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.