I thought for sure I was getting sick on Thursday night. I could feel my throat becoming increasingly sore and my head was starting to hurt. But then after a cup of coffee on Friday morning, I felt pretty normal and decided I had nothing more than a bad case of hypochondria mixed with a touch of paranoia.
So I called Mimi and Bops to see if they could come over and watch Caroline for a little while because I had made the huge misstep of deleting my entire iTunes library and our personal email account. Yes, the phrase you are looking for is FREAKING THE HECK OUT.
Fortunately the deleted files were still in the trash and I felt like they could be restored by someone much wiser and younger than me. Someone hip enough to wear one of those big plastic circle things in their ear lobe. So I made a trip to the Genius Bar at the Apple store and it took the junior high kid that works there all of three minutes to fix it and restore everything to its rightful place.
(I could tell you how I deleted all those files in the first place but I’m still not totally sure what happened.)
(I do know that I blacked out when I realized the implications of what I’d just done.)
(This also seems like a good time to tell you that I felt the need to clean up my Mac before I took it into the store to get healed and that’s how I discovered there was melted chocolate on the bottom of it. Chocolate that had been there long enough to melt and then solidify. Classy.)
Anyway, Caroline requested that I bring her home a double chocolatey chip frappuccino from Starbucks on my way home and it seemed to be the missing piece in her road back to health. Because after she drank it she became her usual self. The twinkle was back in her eye and she spent the next few hours expending all the energy she hadn’t been well enough to burn during her bout with strep.
But here’s what I really want to talk about. And it’s going to be controversial. Some of you, nay, MANY OF YOU, are going to disagree with me.
On Saturday night I watched the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love with Steve Carrell and Ryan Gosling. I mean, I didn’t watch it with them, they starred in it. I just want to clear that up in case any of you might mistakenly believe I spent my Saturday night in any more glamorous fashion than with a purifying mask on my face while I watched a rented movie on my laptop.
The point is that I really liked the movie. That darling Emma Stone is in it and I just think she is cute as a button. (Wow. Pretty sure I just channeled someone’s grandmother with that sentence.) It made me laugh out loud and it made me cry a little and that is, in my opinion, the sign of a really good movie.
But here’s what threw me off. I have long declared that I don’t get the appeal of Ryan Gosling. I don’t need him to tell me, “Hey Girl, I’m really glad you decided to stay on Pinterest all day and order Chinese takeout for dinner.”
I realize he made women everywhere swoon in The Notebook, but I kind of thought he just looked like he needed a shower and a shave. And I wished he’d quit moping around feeling sorry for himself. Personally, I would have stayed with James Marsden. He was a soldier, appeared to have a good job and seemed to be a really nice guy.
I guess it all worked out though because Ryan Gosling grew up to be James Garner and he read to Gena Rowlands all day long in the nursing home until she remembered the story was about them. And then they danced. And then they died together. And maybe James Marsden wouldn’t have done that. Maybe James Marsden would have grown up to be Christopher Walken and would have left Gena Rowlands all by herself.
Maybe I’m thinking too much about this.
Maybe I need a hobby.
Anyway, my opinion on all this has always been a sign to me that I’m not twenty years old anymore. Because I totally went for the sensible choice. I would choose the good guy over the brooding loner. I didn’t understand the appeal of Ryan Gosling.
Then I watched Crazy, Stupid, Love and I kind of get it now. Ryan Gosling is a handsome guy. There’s no question about it. He seriously does look like he’s photoshopped. (That’s a line in the movie in case you haven’t seen it.)
But he still doesn’t really appeal to me. And I figured out why. He’s too pretty. It looks like we might wear the same size jeans. It appears he might have more hair products in his bathroom cabinet than I do.
And I prefer a man to look like a man. To be a little rough around the edges. To look like he could change a tire or dig a ditch if he had to. Not a man who looks like he could help me pick out just the right pair of skinny jeans to flatter my figure or show me a better way to put on my eyeliner.
Which explains why I’m married to a man who organizes his closet by new Columbia fishing shirts and old Columbia fishing shirts and has been known to order new pants for $10 from a catalog called Cheaper Than Dirt.
Apparently I have a type. And that type is low-maintenance.
So I’m curious. Am I alone? Is this just because I’ve lived my entire life in Texas? Or can you keep a straight face when you see a man wearing skinny jeans?
Oh goodness, you need to come to Ukraine and you’ll see an entirely different perspective on fashion for both sexes! {Try white skinny jeans on a guy!!!} My dad does the same thing your husband does with his Cabela’s stock. He’s taken over one part of their unfinished basement and hung them all from the rafters.
Oh boy . . . I am with you on this one. I think a test of your type (if you’ve seen any of the Lord of the Rings films) is whether you like Legolas or Aragorn. I can’t be too attracted to a man who a.) is prettier than I am, or b.) who looks like I could beat him in an arm-wrestling match.
Legolas AND Aragorn! I’m not sure what that says about me…
Oh girl I am right there with you! Any man that may have more hair products than me or take up valuable counter space in the bathroom heebs me out just a bit. He is just as pretty as they come, don’t get me wrong, but I prefer a “guy”. Eva Longoria said something once (about men in Hollywood) that I just loved…so much so that I may or may not have made a little plaque out of it and given it a dear single friend of mine struggling with this very issue…”Mani, pedi, tan-y, tranny”
. I just can’t get excited about a guy who gets his nails/toes done more often than me 
. I loved this movie, too, for all the same reasons. And it isn’t like Ryan is hard to look at…but I am tempted to ask him for shampoo recommendations 
At the mall the other day I saw a guy wearing jeggings…
I went home and kissed the pile of folded Levi 501′s that are in the closet, and thanked God for my man.
Jeggings isnotequalto man…in my opinion.
(And by the way, there are a lot of ladies wearing them who don’t look much better than that guy did..)
Okay here’s the thing- I think Ryan Gosling is hot. Like perfect specimen of man hot, but that movie made him seem extremely metro, and I think in-real-life Ryan has to be more manly than that. Also, while I think he’s hot, I have a feeling some of the appeal would be lost if I hugged him and my fingers could touch my elbows because homeboy is thinnn. Translates great on screen, but not so sure I’d like it in person.
Agreed, the whole “metro” thing Ryan has is not my thing. But what do I know? I’ve been married to the same guy for 29 years and I’ll bet I could find a shirt or two from his single days hidden away somewhere, probably in a box with his college physics textbooks (because you never know when you need a little bit of physics knowledge!).
I love a man that looks like a man and is ready to fix a broken fence or a dripping faucet at any given moment.
Amen!
Haha. This post made me laugh. I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if it differs extremely from your own, so I think it’s totally cool that you don’t find Ryan Gosling appealing. I wasn’t all that attracted to him in Crazy, Stupid, Love either, mostly because like someone else mentioned they made his character far too metrosexual to be appealing.
I like a man to look like a man and be kind of rough around the edges too, which is why I’m surprised that in the Notebook you favor James Marsden’s character over Ryan Gosling’s. In that particular movie James’ character is the one who is too pretty. He’s too clean-cut and preppy and looks like the kind of guy who would worry too much about his hair or getting his clothes dirty. I wasn’t attracted to him at all in that movie. But Ryan Gosling’s character was the exact opposite. He was scruffy, and he was the one building houses and fences with his bare hands and he was the one who rowed boats and lived among nature. In that movie he epitomized the ideal man to me because he wasn’t afraid to work hard and get his hands dirty. And the fact that he loved poetry didn’t hurt.
Anyway, all that being said I’m just glad that you were lucky enough to found a real man who doesn’t wear jeggings or skinny jeans.
Imagining P in jeggings might send me over the edge…I’ll be giggling for a while. (I mean, he might look awesome in them, so I hope I’m not offending…I just was thinking of his own reaction to being in skinny jeans) (open mouth…retrieve foot…)
Hello, I’m with Tara – over here in Europe you really see some crazy things. Some very cool, but a lot of stuff that I just have to avert my eyes over.
I’m not a Ryan G. fan – although loved The Notebook, I just don’t understand why all of a sudden he’s in a bunch of movies. He has one good agent. These are movies that I will not be viewing unless on a long airplane ride across the ocean.
But based on your review, and my love of Steve C., I will be sure to see the movie you are speaking of.
My husband’s style? By day he looks VERY good in his suit and tie, but come the weekend, he wears what I call Columbia Backpacker chic – or whatever shirt they were giving away when he ran his once yearly marathon. Sadly, his jeans are smaller than mine. Did I mention the marathon?
100% agree with you!
Two words. Matthew McConaughey
Yes Ma’am!! Hard to beat in the adorable, rugged, manly-man category!!
DITTO!!
LOVE me some MM!!! So very HOT!!!
My husbands jeans are separated by, good for running a Chainsaw (which he does for a living) and decent enough to wear to church. No pretty boy in him! I would not have it any other way!
Truthfully I feel as though a disservice has been done to our male youth…(this might make me old)
No one should wear skinny jeans
Agreed! (And I am tall and thin.)
I am with you on this one and this is coming from someone who has lived in Tennessee, Texas, and Kentucky. So as you can see, I must be an expert!
Anyway I loved Crazy, Stupid Love!! But, Ryan Gosling falls into a category of men that, as they would say back in the day, are fine! Very nice to look at, but not something you would actually want to take home and live with day in and day out. He is just too “pretty”. Although, I am not going to leave my husband to run off with Ryan, I do however enjoy movies in which he spends part of the movie shirtless. After all, we all like to look at pretty things.
Ok, I guess I’m the loner here, but I didn’t like Ryan Gosling in “The Notebook” but thought he was oh, so sexy in “Crazy, Stupid Love”. I think it was just his attitude & that little smirky smile that did it. Also, I think it was how clean-cut he was. Not into the metrosexual thing, but love a clean-cut guy!
Ryan Gosling has charisma!
I have to admit, I’m totally into guys who know fashion. But I’m younger than you AND I live in Manhattan, which is a long way away from Texas in terms of fashion and just about everything else. “Rough around the edges” just looks macho and sloppy, in my opinion.
100% with you Mel!
Ha, my husband and I have had this same conversation. He had a roommate in college one summer that was more high maintainence than most girls I know. Not for me. My husband could care less about fashion, but I don’t mind because he can fix a car or build almost anything out of wood. I’ll take the handy guy over the pretty boy anyday.
I’m totally with you on this one. Ditch digger over skinny jeans guy anytime!
While I do really love to look at Ryan Gosling and fantasize all the various “Hey Girls” he might tell me, I do get what you are saying. In real life, I don’t want a man who is going to spend more time in the bathroom than I do. Can I order up a guy somewhere between metrosexual and Columbia fishing shirts?
I’m with you. I told my husband he has two styles:
Lumberjack casual (for every day)
Lumberjack chic (for special occasions)
This is why I am probably the only woman on the planet who would pick Tommy Lee Jones over Harrison Ford in the Fugitive. Strong, dependable, and baits his own hook.
Continued…Not that they actually fished in that movie, but he totally would if they had.
I also do not get the Ryan Gosling thing. He is all over the place right now, and while he is not unpleasant looking, he is not my type.
I am a huge fan of Kyle Chandler, and I could look at him all day long. And I say this only because I am FULLY AWARE that my first choice and perfect man, Coach Eric Taylor, is a fictional character and does not really exist, so his portrayer is all I’ve got.
Yes! I loved that show. And the lines of reality blurred for me often.
Totally agreed. However mine is Taylor Kitsch. While he’s hot and all, I’d rather have Tim Riggins. What kind of sense is that?
Texas Forever!
While I think that Ryan Gosling is very, very nice to look at, he’s definately not the type I would date in real life. I don’t think I could handle dating someone that takes longer to get ready than I do.
I laughed out loud about the Cheaper than Dirt catalog! Skinny jeans on men look SO feminine. One of my pet peeves! blah!
LOVE! My hubs orders from Cheaper Than Dirt too. And I’ve never seen someone get so excited about buying a new pistol. It’s like how I feel about the perfect pair of cute wedges.
I have to agree with you. If it came down to Ryan Gosling and James Marsden, I’d totally go with the Marsden. And also just because I think he is better looking. But I do very much enjoy those “Hey Girl” Pins…they make me laugh. Because I wish my guy would say “Hey Girl, I don’t care if you have on yoga pants and spray paint streaks all over your shirt. Let’s go get some mochas at Starbucks and I’ll buy you a new purse.” Just sayin’
Hope your ‘puter is back and better than ever soon!!
Hahahha, LOVED your second paragraph!!!! Wouldn’t that be awesome?!!
I was married to a man who was SO into his looks, I swear he primped in the mirror more than me! It translated into, “I’m very into myself.”
Now I’m dating a man who is clean-cut and professional, but spends all his free time in t-shirts and soccer shorts (I cannot be held responsible for what happens when he wears the soccer shorts!) and is completely not into his looks. It’s refreshing and so appealing!
Sadly, Mr. Wonderful wears the same size jeans as me … did I mention he runs marathons? Yeah, me – not so much.
The whole post cracks me up!
I would totally marry my low maintenance husband all over again. I definitely love living with low maintenance.
However…movie wise? I am still attracted to the brooding, too handsome bad boy. Each. And. Every. Time. And I always stop by the TV long enough to catch the back of Patrick Swayze’s naked behind if Roadhouse happens to be on the TV.
I never understood the whole Ryan Gosling thing in the Notebook either. I do find him a little more attractive now though. Skinny jeans should not be sold in the men’s clothing department.
I totally hear you on this 1! I’always said I liked men who looked like lumber jacks. I like them to have some facial hair and have the ability to lift heavy objects. And this is exactly why I married a man who is 6’4 and 280 lbs. Since I’m 5’0, we look a little silly, but nobody ever messes with me!! And he loves Columbia fishing shirts, too. I think he now owns every freakin color!
Oh, you aren’t alone. I much prefer a “manly” looking guy to a skinny-jeans-wearing one. Like you, I don’t want to wonder if we could wear the same pant size…or if he’ll break a nail pumping my gas…
You aren’t alone – I don’t get why women swoon over Ryan Gosling either. I just don’t think he’s ALL THAT.
I have a manly man and I agree with you. I also find my “man tastes” have changed (or gotten old???) One of my friends is divorced(with 2 kids) and now after 2 years starting to date. I am saying things to her like; “Will he coach kids soccer?” “Does he warm the car up for you in Winter?” “Will he help you pick lice out of your kids hair?”
I dated my husband because he looked hot in a ball cap. But that was 1996. 3 kids a mortage and a mini van later, he STILL looks hot in a ball cap AND he coaches soccer, lets me sleep in, heartily enjoys anything I cook, plans date night occassionally AND picks lice out of the kids hair. Now THAT is my kind of man.
What is it about men in baseball caps? My favorite look of all time!
agree…with all of it…
the need for Jr high boys to fix my computer
the magic of the Bux (and the grandparents)
and Ryan…
so true!!!
& yes next time i see a skinny jean wearing guy i will laugh…inside of course…
glad all ended well at the apple store. my goodness!
Wow, I am so glad you blogged about this because I have thought about this too. And I am in agreement with you. I think that I’d put those pretty boy guys into the category of the not marrying type. They are the kind you might date, but a woman wants a man who is going to take care of them. For the long haul. And you want someone who isn’t going to have an opinion on your fashion. Or worse, might want to borrow something from your closet. LOL
Well said.
I also take it to the next level of judging their hands. If they have squishy hands then I know “man” work is not part of their life.
I still can’t figure out all of the Ryan Gosling pins on pinterest. I keep thinking it stems from a movie I haven’t seen, but I can’t quite figure it out. Maybe you either “get it” or you don’t. I think I don’t.
At any rate, if you want to throw yourself a Ryan Gosling loop, go rent Drive. Redbox has it now as well. It hasn’t been out long, but came out the same day as some other big name movies so it hasn’t quite gotten it’s fair share of the lime light in my opinion. I thought Ryan Gosling made that movie awesome because of my perception of him as a “man.”
Oh I am totally with you! I’m in my twenties and I so do not see the appeal of Ryan Gosling. I see all those pictures of him on Pinterest and I seriously do not think he’s that hot. Maybe it is because we’ve both lived in Texas our whole lives, but I like my men burly and natural..no spray tans, no hair products, NO NO NO skinny jeans! My husband complained to me the other day that he can shave his face and it be completly smooth, but he still has a 5 o clock shadow becasue his hair is so dark and thick (on his face…hehe). And I LIKE it. Didn’t Ryan Gosling at one time have one of those mustaches that boys who just hit puberty try to grow? Gross.
Laughed out loud when you mentioned Cheaper Than Dirt. It is the the equivolent of an upscale shopping center as far as my husband is concerned. Everything you need in one spot without all the hoity toity folks you’d find in, oh, I don’t know, Wal-Mart. Whether it’s clothes, ammunition, food, or literature that you need, Cheaper Than Dirt has you covered.
You forgot one thing – he must drive a truck, the bigger the better!
CAN’T STAND THE SKINNY JEANS. UNATTRACTIVE.
Also, I feel this way about many of Hollywood’s supposed most wanted men.
George Clooney – don’t get it.
Johnny Depp – DON’T. GET. IT. Dirty and not cute.
Ben from the Bachelor: Someone please tell me why all those girls are obsessed with him and why no one can convince him to cut his hair.
Yeah, hey Melanie! You GOTTA do a post on the Bachelor this season. I am dying to know everything you think and then be able to comment and read what everyone else thinks about Ben, Courtney, Casie B, Linzie, etc… Ok, who has seen the Pinterest pin where they show Ben’s profile alongside the profile of Francine from the kids’s cartoon”Arthur”? Sooo funny…can’t get it outta my head!!
Hey there- LOVE your blog! I love Ryan Gosling and think he is super hot- but I’m the girl that just bought my husband corduroy pants from Loft because he thinks they fit him better than the men’s options. But I’m attracted to the rough side of him that grew up on a tobacco farm and still loves to hunt and fish, too!
In the words of Lucy to Schroeder when he just the right crazy “jingle bells, ho ho ho and mistletoe and all that stuff” note: THAT’S IT!
HE’S TOO PRETTY!!!
I may sort of get it when it comes to guys like that. I can see the appeal they have on the swooning masses of women. But not for me. My Man may not have the height factor but he’s not a pretty boy. Or pretty man? I’m not sure how to sum up my type. I’ll just go with My Man as my type.
I loved the movie, too.
But I loved, LOVED your rendition of what might’ve happened had James Marsden been the pick in the Notebook.
I’m with you, Melanie.
Plus, I love your description of the guy at the Apple store. Do you think those earrings are part of their dress code?
My sweetie is a mechanic and often comes home with a spot of grease or dirt in a place that he forgot to wash (behind the ear, underside of his forearm, etc.) He was also raised by a single mom who took him shopping with her a lot and taught him about the things that are really important to women. He’s a rugged manly man who only cuts his hair when I make him sit down so I can cut it. He doesn’t buy himself clothes, but wears anything I put in the closet. He will spend an hour talking to me while I dig through the Target sale racks and buy only one thing. And we have a mutual love for book stores that can rarely be indulged in because we have PILES of unread books right now. He wouldn’t be caught dead in skinny jeans! So I think my type is a half manly, half sensitive, and he is just right.
First off – I LOVE Crazy Stupid Love. I saw it in the theaters with my cousin, then watched it 2 days in a row on a Uverse rental before caving and buying the DVD. There is nothing wrong with that movie. I totally agree about Ryan Gosling though. He’s “hot” I guess but if it were between him and another good Ryan (Reynolds of course) the latter wins every time. And I’ve always preferred the George Clooney type to the Ryan Gosling type anyway. Or Chris Young. Or even Billy Currington. I need to stop now.
Bwahahahahaa. I am so with you. But the Hey Girl Pinterest stuff is pretty dang funny.
yup, I’m with ya!
I don’t care for the skinny, metro-sexual thing in men. Nor do I care for the big, bulging muscles thing. While, yes, bulging biceps and washboard abs are nice to look at, reality is that a man with big, bulging muscles is a man who either spends a massive percentage of his free time (or has way too much free time) standing in front of a mirror counting reps. How appealing is THAT?
By the way, if you want to see a COMPLETELY different, entirely non-sexy incarnation of Ryan Gosling, check out the movie Lars and the Real Girl! (Don’t be put off by the fact that the plot centers around his purchase of a “sex doll”, which sounds like it’s going to be creepy-trashy. Nothing of the sort! The doll is not used for, um, its intended purpose.)
I put off watching “Lars” forever because I was afraid it was going to be very icky. I finally watched it a couple of months ago and loved it–it is one of the sweetest movies I’ve ever seen. I now like Ryan G.
I’ve never watched “The Notebook” all the way through.
I liked “Crazy, Stupid Love” because I am VERY fond of Mr. Carrell. I thought Ryan G. was appealing. Perhaps because I am married to a skinny guy who wears bow-ties just about every day and likes to shop at Brooks Brothers. Although he also really likes guns and has a super manly 5 o’clock shadow. And he takes our kids camping. And I’m sure he’d help me with the lice picking thing but DEAR FATHER IN HEAVEN PLEASE may that never come to pass.
You’re not channeling anyone’s grandmother with that phrase…you’re channeling my fiancé. He says that all the time about babies and kids. I don’t understand where he got it from.
While I think Ryan gosling and his abs are deeelicious, I have to agree with you on the low maintenance type. Although Ryan doesn’t seem like the type to make gross boy noises and blame them on me.
Amen. I dated a guy in college who was prettier than me and took longer to get ready for our dates. After the initial sting of being dumped for a girl more his style, I found such relief being able to embrace my overalls and ponytails and went back to wearing pajama pants to class. I married a guy who thinks Valentino is a spelling error for Valentine and couldn’t be happier!
I am 24 and in a relationship with a guy who sounds alot like P. I was told my type is “big burley unit.” He has a beard, and is 13 inches taller than me (which I’m at 5’1 isn’t really saying a whole lot). He’s the kind of guy I feel would protect me at night if someone came in my house, considering he shoots guns competitively I’d hope he would. So yea, I tell him he’s an old man sometimes, but I dig it.
Ryan is a cutie for sure…not a skinny jean fan but I don’t relate those to him. But can someone please explain to me why they loved that movie? My husband and I thought it was pretty filthy. We were surprised that people recommended it to us.
Have you seen Lars and the Real Girl? Ryan Gosling is adorable in it! It’s a bit weird, but he really is lovely!
Ryan who?? JK. For me, it’s not about maintenance but maturity, or at least the appearance of maturity anyway. Ryan has a baby face. Which makes me think cry baby, as in, cryin’ Ryan. And it’s not that the jeans are skinny, it’s that they have all that decorative stitching on the back pockets. WHY????????
Now don’t get me wrong, I like a well groomed man. I’m not a big fan of hairy ears or bushy unibrows on men. And the last thing I want to see is a man out in public in pajama bottoms or worse, work-out clothes–especially right after a workout. Please, please, please, take a shower and put on some real pants, even if they are skinny jeans.
OH how funny! I have seen older men in pajama pants and mandles (sandles) at the grocery store lately and it’s just all wrong! PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!!!!
Never marry a man who has more clothes and shoes than you…I mean really it’s just wrong
And the thought that his pants would be smaller than mine is just too much.
He was pretty effeminate looking in that movie if you ask me. Watch Lars and the Real Girl to get a grungier version of him. Plus, it’s a great movie.
I’m with you – I don’t get the obsession with Ryan Gosling. My niece (who is 17) tells me there is something wrong with me, but I just don’t get it. My husband is a lot like yours – a landscaper and a hunter and his closet sounds about the same
The post you wrote about shopping for jeans with P in Old Navy really made me feel like you were living my life, especially the part about the possibility of profanity if you slipped in some skinny jeans!
Yeah, if you are talking about the post where Mel and P went to the Gap for jeans? HYSTERICAL!! I have read that post to so many of my friends that I think I’m to thank for several new readers of Melanie’s blog. I have lost the date of that post and I probably couldn’t find it again but soooooo funny!!
Ok, I would never normally reply but oddly enough I watched two movies this weekend with Ryan Gosling and have a total aversion to him BUT having said that it’s because I just don’t find him attractive AT ALL. His lips are too thin, his eyes a little droopy, and he’s just a little too long in the face. I really liked the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love and I really really liked the other I watched him in called All Good Things (2010 w/Kirsten Dunst – I think it was based on a true story – very good!!). Bottom line, I think he’s a good actor – but beyond that, meh. Could we please take a few minutes and discuss CHRISTIAN BALE? Oh my! His 2 minute appearance on the Oscars made my night. He’s beautiful. I will be downloading all his flics today!
Can somebody PA-LEEEZE tell me what is up with that disc in the ear lobe thing??!!!??? It is downright disgusting! I saw one up close (walking out of Target) the other day and I was freaked out. Doesn’t that hurt? Won’t that make your lobe sag for the rest of your life? Why? Just Why? Loved him in the Notebook. Have been wanting to see “Crazy, Stupid, Love”!
Anywho, yes! I can’t stand a “pretty boy” who cares too much about his looks. And the skinny jeans: Makes me giggle in a “yes, I am laughing at you” way.
Amen, Sister! My husband looks SOOOO handsome on the rare occasion he dresses up. But I like him best in Wranglers & boots!
Give me a blue-collar boy any day!
May be a Southern thing. I prefer manly men, too. I will take fat over skinny any day.
I think Hollywood is trying to push these prissy men off on everyone. And all the commercials where the men/Dads/husbands are idiots and the women are always rolling their eyes looking down on them really aggravate me!
Gosee Act of Valor to cleanse your palate.
Real men and amateur actors, as opposed to the exact opposite we’ve been subjected to for years.
I’m with you on the Ryan Gosling opinion…on that note however my husband is prettier than me, has a better sense of style, more expensive taste and a greater number of hair products than me (oh, also better hair). I often joke with our boys that Daddy wore bigger earrings than me when we met. Buy my husband is also a down and dirty brutish-meathead underneath who i couldn’t adore more…he is exactly NOT my type, and in his infinite wisdom God has blessed me with him and my life could not be more complete
We fit together, and it’s wonderful.
I so agree with you. I want a manly man. Ryan Gosling is a cutie but just not my type. I’m a Southern girl too; I want a man not a pretty boy.
Very funny post. Love the Cheaper Than Dirt catalog.
I actually kinda like the skinny jeans…that is until I try to imagine them on my husband.
Then I throw up a little.
I would however like for him to release the 505′s from 1992 and move into a more modern jean look. You know- something not in the “stonewashed” tone. What is the equivalent of the “mom jeans” for husbands?
The Notebook has to be one of my top 5 favorites! And yes, choosing James would have been the “smart” choice because it was a safe bet, I think choosing Noah was the way to go. Because he made her feel uncomfortable and passionate. I don’t think James would have fixed up a house or inspired her to paint the way Noah did.
Personally for me, the allure of Ryan is that he seems like a “guy-next-door” type and isn’t a metro man at all. I’m certain he’s got a mess of stylists to help him with his looks and a publicist that makes him use them since he’s “hot” right now. It all about the image and how you can use it to make money.
Wow, didn’t know everyone was so opinionated about Ryan Gosling! I loved him when he was on the Mickey Mouse Club and in The Notebook. Haven’t seen anything else he’s in, but I still like him. I’m a Texan, my husband and every other guy I dated, pretty much, are all skinnier than me. Definitely chose Aragon over Legalos! My husband will not go near skinny jeans, but several of our friends do. He actually had a small gauge in his ear when we met. He spends more time on his hair and his beard than i spend on hair and make up. AND, he’s a computer technician! Guess I don’t fit with most of you…but I’m used I that, and I found everyone’s comments very entertaining!
I have felt like the Lone Ranger on this topic for a long time. I don’t get the appeal. He doesn’t do it for me. I’m glad it’s not just me.
I TOTALLY agree with you. Ryan Gosling has eyes too beady and too close together. And skinny jeans on a man? In a word … No. I don’t want a man to look like a teenage girl. Yuk. I like a more rugged look. Rugged. Not, however, scruffy.
And the big-hole-making earring? Unless you are in an African tribe, you look like an idiot.
Wow, you hit a controversy alright…or maybe just a lot of us who want to tell our opinion. I gotta have a guy’s guy too. There’s two kind of guys. I call them a guy’s guy and a girl’s guy. A girl’s guy is one who is a lot of fun and always listens and understands everything you say…too much. Too much, he likes to hang around women. Too often he’s looking at women, and too many times, he’s too tempted. No thanks. It’s a guy’s guy for me. AND I don’t want a guy to be TOO fat…but I LIKE a little meat on the bones, if you know what I mean. If he pays too much attention to his clothes, his hair, or his shoes…no thanks. I want to married to a MAN…I got enough girlfriends. My guy is a lot like yours, Melanie. He gets excited to get his new Halvan knives in the mail. He always has in mind a new gun he’s thinking about buying. He watches hunting shows while going thru his Cabela’s. He’s always thinking about new land to lease for hunting season. And I good with all that.
Oh my gosh! I have NEVER been a drooler for Ryan G. However, I did see that same movie and sistah, he looked amazeballs!
Every once in while though….he went back to the beady eyes look and I remembered–he’s totally not my type either!
I like a man-man too!
PS-the movie was so darned sweet. I cried too.
Oh, I’m with you! My husband is so low-maintenance. Here’s a great Southern-girl column. The top-15 is one of my favorite pieces that printed in Southern Living. http://ohsocynthia.posterous.com/want-to-impress-a-southern-girl-here-are-15-w
I just recently watched Crazy Stupid Love too, and I LOVED it. Laughed, cried and was surpised by some of the plot twists, which is really hard for a movie to do anymore.
My husband is as low maintenance as they come. He needs new jeans only when the holes in his old ones are too big. And by too big, I mean can no longer hide his underwear. He wears shirts until they are threadbare. He left the house the other day in my green cheapo Target flip flops that I won’t even wear in public anymore. He knows it is time for a haircut when his short cropped hair gets long enough to need a brush.
Would I trade my adorably clueless hubby for someone like Ryan? Absolutely not! But I do enjoy looking at Mr. Gosling. Maybe it’s because he reminds me so very much of my high school crush.
If you haven’t seen Fracture, watch it soon, and see if your opinion changes a little. Ryan Gosling, clean cut, with a very convincing Southern accent….it just might sway your opinion a little!
LOVE LOVE LOVE Crazy, Stupid, Love & Ryan G. (G because I can’t remember if his name has 1-s or 2 and I am too tazy to open another window to google it.) He is very pretty….
Skinny jeans on men make me want to vomit & if you pair them w/ TOMs(though, I love their mission) you may as well turn him into a girl.
I completely agree! I haven’t seen Crazy, Stupid, Love, and maybe that’s the problem, but I did not see what the big deal was with him in The Notebook. And I can’t stand men in skinny jeans. It’s just wrong.
First off – Crazy Stupid Love is just hilarious! I loved it. The last section of the movie had me laughing with tears streaming down my face. So funny. And yes, I think Ryan is totally beautiful. And I am guessing that he does not work that hard in ordinary life to look that good (except all the obvious workouts he does). James Marsden – another one of my favs, but he is a pretty boy too.
But my favorite character in a movie – Bella Swan’s Dad, Charlie in Twilight. I realized I had was “older” when I saw him on screen, and immediately fell for the father in the film. Handsome, funny, a bit scruffy. Absolutely adorable. Love him.
I do not get the Ryan fetish AT ALL. Too pretty. Although I just read an article about him yesterday and apparently he is the perfect gentleman. I suppose he is making Eva Mendes quite happy.
In other news, did you see Emma Stone presenting at the Oscars last night? She was hysterical and rocked that red dress.
Wait till you see Tom Cruise in the latest Mission Impossible – skinny jeans – eewwww!! I totally agree with you – never have understood the pretty boy attraction.
I don’t know? To me, Ryan kindof channeled men of a gone by era in Crazy Stupid Love. He was slick and polished like Dean Martin or Rock Hudson. (hello, I know…but before anyone knew THAT about him he was THE picture of manhood) I am married to a man who IS into his looks and has even recently gotten Botox. He might be prettier than me.
He won’t get a pedicure and he can fix our cars, TV, or anything else. He isn’t a hunter or wood chopper. Ha ha ha! He is a 100% hands on Dad. Anything I do he does also. He doesn’t ever have an opinion on my hair or clothes. I guess he’s a mix. Just enough polish for me! Maybe a little Don Draper without all the other women. 
I agree that really metro isn’t appealling but I like my man clean and classic.
Exactly! Tom Selleck still does it for me. The rest of them? Not so much.
Melanie you are SO right. My man does not own any hair products and nearly all of his wardrobe is the same thing in varying colors. Ryan Gosling, yeah he’s good-looking, but no he’s not appealing. I like a man that makes me feel like a girl, by comparison. Not like a man.
What does it say about me that what I took away from this is “There’s a website called Cheaper Than Dirt that my husband can shop from?” ? How is it possible that I didn’t know of the best place to get an LA County Dept Riot Gear Helmet for $9.99?
As for Ryan Gosling, I can’t think of him as anything but a teenage boy because of Remember the Titans. When I watched The Notebook, I just kept asking myself, “What is the uncoordinated white boy from TC Williams High School doing in this movie?”
Gimme a rugged man over a girlie boy any day. My husband is far from low maintenance, but we’re not sharing hair products either.
So I have to admit I don’t even know who Ryan G. is, so I guess that answers your question I need a man who can dig a ditch! My husband doesn’t even know what hair products are unless you consider his hat a hair product!
“It looks like we might wear the same size jeans…..” hahahahahahahahah
So glad Starbucks helped and you are better! I do that too sometimes
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I like my man hairy and bigger, but do not mind a little metrosexual, some tweezing, manscaping, some hair product, but I do not want him to be able to fit into my jeans! My husband has big thighs and is 6’6″ so skinny jeans are just not out there for him, but it would be soooo funny to see him in them. Oh, my! That would be a lot of skinny jean!
Oh, I loved that movie too. Watched it a month ago and wondered why it took me so long to see it! I am not attracted to Ryan G. At all.
I don’t know what percentage of it is regional and what generational, but I’m the exact opposite. Although Ryan G. isn’t high on my list of favorites really, he’s definitely my “type”. Whether that’s a midtwenties thing or a California girl thing, I don’t know
all I can say is that a man “rough around the edges” typically sends me running for the hills. That made me nervous about moving to the south, but thank goodness it appears that skinny jeans breed in Nashville 
I’ll be honest and admit that I don’t get the skinny jeans thing and I prefer my men a little “manlier” but I find him attractive. I actually loved him in The Notebook.
I can’t wear skinny jeans any more, so I sure don’t want to be seen with a guy who can.
I always loved the bad boys in movies. What a blessing for me that my husband is a bad-boy gone good. He rides a motorcycle, has long hair, can fix or do just about anything, was my loving caretaker during my breast cancer treatment and is a hair stylist! (I get up in the morning, wash my hair and he fixes it for me!)
His wardrobe is Levis, tshirts and his boots. He does clean up rather well but always looks manly. Writing this out makes me think I need to do something wonderful for him very soon!
I agree, I dont see the appeal, and while I’m at it I can add Robert Patterson, George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Justin Bieber and I’m sure a few others to the mix. Now, before people start screaming about George he is on my “dont see the appeal list” because he’s a “player”. This hopping from girl to girl thing is WHOLY unattractive to me. Men who’ve been married to their wives (or should I say “wife” plural) forever are the attractive ones!
I totally agree. But then… I’m from Texas, too. Any guy that wears smaller clothes, or takes more time to do his hair and make up than I do… well, that’s just not right!
I was married to a Ryan Gosling look alike, he was very much the loner, difficult and most definitely a pain the ass. White boys and skinny jeans makes me laugh. Give me a real man any day. A man who doesn’t cry all the time and likes guns.
Daniel Craig in Defiance. Oh, be still my beating heart.
Oh seriously! This has SO been a peeve of mine for a long time. Men should look like MEN. Men should get dirty and greasy and know how to work with their hands. The shouldn’t have a better wardrobe or hair than I do and they should NEVER, EVER be caught dead in skinny jeans. I love men
) I do not love gender neutral characters. Nope. Not at all.
I just love you for having brought this up! I am not a fan of soft handed men, men who wear leather shoes sockless. Or a man in skinny jeans. Not manly enough for me at all! I cannot help but think these things. Thank you for breaking my silence! I feel validated now.
Agreed on all counts except it wasn’t his looks, or super-polished self that won me in Crazy, Stupid Love. It was his sweetness. That is, when he stopped picking up women with cheesy lines and got real. He was sweet. I married the same guy you did over 25 years ago with his t-shirts arranged by date in the closet–but then he turned 50 and did the 50 year old thing and ran off with Cruella de Vil (my pet name for her, she’s such a delight) and now I find myself attracted to sweet men, men who have that “softie” side to them. Not that I’m looking….. EVER AGAIN. And, I really don’t think I could have done the “Babe” move.
Sounds like your kind of man would appreciate a woman who would make an antler into a mobile for a baby.
http://ilovetocreateblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/yarn-wrapped-antler-mobile.html
Totally agree!
You ask for my opinion….here it comes…
I think a man in skinny jeans leaves no question to his sexuality.
I am from Mississippi and I like a real man, true to the core. He should be able to fix a stopped up sink and change the oil in all the cars or either have enough money to hire it out. BUT HE WOULD NEVER wear skinny jeans!
I always forget that when you say “controversial” you don’t mean abortion/gay rights/save the whales controversial! LOL Your post reminded me of a funny conversation my 5’6″-and-built like-a-wrestler hubby had a couple weeks ago while watching “Once Upon a Time”. I was lamenting how I didn’t like Prince Charming at all…..just didn’t find him attractive whatsoever….”why couldn’t they have gotten a more attractive man for Prince Charming”, I blathered on, “In fact, Grumpy the DWARF is more attractive than Prince Charming.” There was a moment of silence……and then my husband said, “Well, that explains some things…..”
I agree. (I still would’ve chosen Marsden, though. She had the equivalent to a first world problem on her hands. She was a winner either way.) But, yes, I like a man to be a man. My husband works at an office job, but does things like weld and work cows on weekends. He would go into a convulsive fit if I bought skinny jeans for him or our son. Am I the only reader who comments nearly every day? I don’t understand it myself.
Instant deal breakers:
#1 – The guy is prettier than I am. Better looking – ok. Prettier – not so much.
#2 – We could share clothes. I say share, because there’s no doubt that I will, at some point, steal his sweatshirt and this is COMPETELY fine. Woman stealing his clothes – ok. Man having the ABILITY to borrow my clothes – not so much.
Then again, I married a guy from Eastern Oregon (I would assume rural Texas would have a very compatible social equivalent) – I have issues if the guy has hands that are soft, completely free of grease and dirt, and even knows what I mean when I say “skinny jeans.”
I am married to the blond version of P.
And he’s on my nerves right now.
But I wouldn’t trade him for cute Ryan Gosling any day.
Because of Cabelas and Dirt Rider magazine and some gun magazine we get all the time with a scantily clad woman on the front.
And the fact that his idea of a haircut is going down to Franky’s barn and getting it shaved off in the summer.
Big Mama you have said it better then any of us could have
and that is why I love readingyour posts.
I feel the same way about Ryan Reynolds! Men should have chest hair.
NOOOOO- you can’t not like either of the Ryans!!! hahaha
The town just to the north of us has a Cheaper than Dirt store… A good date night for my hubs is Cabelas, Academy, AND Cheaper than Dirt!
Ha! I love this! I just found you via Pioneer Woman and the first post I chose to read was this one. Which is wierd because I adore Ryan Gosling! But, as I am in my forties, my hormones may just be running amuck because I also adore Timothy Olyphant, Gene Hackman, Tom Selleck (Tom and I go waay back. I think he may have been my first love and my palms still get sweaty when I see him on Blue Bloods), Tim Mcgraw, MM, Josh Lucas, Mark Consuelos, Dr. Phil, Jose Cruz (a baseball player that my husband just reminded me was my first love), Harry Conick Jr, Peter Krause. I should stop now before I start to sound like a huzzy.
But I must say, I married a guy who used to wear blue coveralls and velcro tennies. He has come a long way in that now he wears camo boots with shorts and a red bandana. When it comes down to it, it’s his heart I adore.