Half-Blood Prince movie review & button flowers

Last night The Mister and I had a rare weeknight date--we had the opportunity to attend a 6 p.m. preview showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! I must admit that I felt a bit smug when I was walking in at 5:30 pm, past all the costumed folks who were already queuing up for the official midnight opening show. The movie was great! I'm still processing it (and I need a rewatch of #5) but I'm thinking that so far it's the best film of the bunch. The only criticism I have so far is the movie's explanation of who exactly the Half-Blood Prince is--it is different from the explanation in the book, and the way it is presented felt really cursory and almost like an afterthought: "Oh yeah, I guess we have to tell the audience what the title of the movie is all about. Here, let's just throw in this line at the end."

I always thought in the book that it was pretty flimsy anyway; it felt like J.K. Rowling thought up a really good suspenseful-sounding title that unfortunately was only a minor plot point. It seemed like such a big deal because after all, it's the title of the book--but finding out the identity of the Half-Blood Prince was kind of a let-down. In the movie it is explained in one line of dialogue spoken by one character and seemed thrown in at the end with no relation to the rest of the story. That could be the fault of the editing process and really it's a minor quibble, since I thought it wasn't particularly well-done in the book to begin with.
I have a new craft addiction: making button flowers! What better way to justify having such a ridiculous stash of buttons? They're easy and you get instant gratification--you don't even have to wait for glue to dry! I've had such fun picking through my buttons to find just the right combinations for layering.

This black, white and apple green bouquet is a little treat for a friend who had a birthday a few days ago; I made them to match her kitchen. I just hope she doesn't read this before I can get over to her house later today to drop them off!

If you want to try your hand at making your own button bouquet, there's a great tutorial here (although I do them differently and don't twist the wire between each button grouping). Next up, I want to try some bouquets using paper-backed clear buttons like these by Lisa Pace. I also love this version with book paper petals by Cathe Holden. Give them a try--but I'll accept no blame if you become addicted too!