"Reel" Life Abroad: How Movies (and Themed Food) Saved Our Sanity This Year

It’s been a wild year, to say the least. Between the chaos of the world and the daily challenges of expat life in Argentina, my husband and I have found that the best way to distract ourselves is through movies — and food.

We’ve always loved films. For as long as we’ve been together, it’s been our thing. These days, we turn our movie nights into full-blown themed events as soon as new films hit digital release. Each one gets its own menu, decorations, and occasionally, a questionable level of dedication.

For the new Superman movie starring David Corenswet, we went all out. We made empanadas using beet discs, giving them a heroic red hue to match Superman’s cape and boots.

We followed that up with quesadillas shaped like the iconic “S” symbol on his chest.

Hot dogs came next — because nothing says “Man of Steel” quite like ketchup, mustard, and mayo in red, yellow, and blue packets. And of course, the green relish? Kryptonite.

To top it off, we created the French Fries of Solitude — a tribute to the Fortress of Solitude. Granted, the version in the movie looked nothing like the Christopher Reeve classic, but ours had heart (and carbs).

The props sealed the deal: a glowing kryptonite rock in a box, Superman keychains, pins, and action figures. It was nerd heaven.

We even made cookies with mini M&Ms that represented red, yellow and blue.

Unfortunately, the movie itself? Not so much. Krypto the dog was annoying, Superman was too whiny, and Supergirl’s late appearance didn’t help. Let’s just say our food was the real star of that night.

Next came the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel. I was excited — Sarah Michelle Gellar was back! Sadly, the new cast was so dull that I found myself rooting for the killer. And when (spoiler alert) Freddie Prinze Jr. turned out to be the killer, I nearly threw my boot at the TV.

Thankfully, our themed spread saved the evening. We made a pizza decorated with pepperoni shaped like the killer’s hook.

We thought about fish sticks, since the original killer was a fisherman, but I hate fish. So, chicken tenders it was. We even recreated the iconic “car accident” scene using action figures and a toy car.

More quesadillas made an appearance, this time decorated with hot sauce hooks. Mac & cheese — dyed and creepy — became “fish bait.”

For the bathtub scene, we filled a Styrofoam bowl with ice and added an Angel (from Buffy, naturally) action figure. Ironically, the new movie had a similar scene, though we made ours before seeing it. Points for psychic accuracy.

We finished with cupcakes dyed red to look bloody. They didn’t quite turn out, but A for effort.

When Jurassic World: Rebirth dropped, we had low expectations — and the movie still managed to disappoint. The first hour focused on two groups: annoying mercenaries and an even more annoying family that needed rescuing.

The food, however, was fun. We made store-bought dinosaur-shaped chicken tenders, added 3D Doritos for claws, and threw in pizza because… why not?

We also made smashed Jell-O guts inspired by the many victims that got stomped by a T-Rex. The trick was to include Vodka-soaked fruit. We even made vanilla pudding and added a cookie with a dinosaur paw print to make  it look like a fossil at a dig site. The dinosaur toys definitely helped bring the theme to life.

Finally, we reached Alien: Earth, the FX series we’d been waiting for. We’re massive Alien fans, but this one was a letdown. The pacing was slow, the kids were unbearable, and the “transferred consciousness” storyline was more frustrating than frightening.

Still, our themed setup was fantastic. We placed a facehugger figurine in a jar of water with a lighted lid — creepy perfection.

Pizza made another appearance (we really do love pizza), this time topped with a facehugger for dramatic effect.

For dessert, we made vanilla pudding topped with crushed Oreos and ice cream cones to create an eerie alien terrain — a perfect breeding ground for facehugger eggs.

Speaking of eggs, we hard-boiled some, topped them with hot sauce, and attached a tiny facehugger to one so it looked like it was leaping out. Add in a xenomorph action figure, and the evening was far more entertaining than the two-part premiere.

Why We Keep Doing This

Let’s be honest: most of the movies this summer were terrible. Between 28 Years Later (which completely insulted the original films) and The Conjuring: Last Rite (where I rooted for the demon), it was a rough season for cinema. One film that did surprise us was Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. The surprise being that the previous movie sucked, but this one was actually really good.

So why do we keep doing it? Because we love movies — even when they disappoint the hell out of us.

Back in the States, we used to go to the theater all the time. But here in Argentina, English-language films are getting fewer showtimes, often at the worst hours. Most locals prefer dubbed versions, and we can’t stand the Spanish subtitles.

So now, we wait for digital releases. We watch at home, surrounded by themed food, action figures, and our own laughter. If a movie sucks, we turn it off and pick something else. And if it’s great, we celebrate.

Either way, it keeps us sane. It’s our ritual, our coping mechanism — a reminder that even when life abroad gets complicated, there’s always a story worth watching and a snack worth making.

And honestly? We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Author’s Note

Before you guys start judging me about my spelling of the word “reel,” it’s not a typo! A movie reel is the round spool that holds a strip of film used in old projectors — you know, back when theaters actually ran physical film instead of digital files. I’m honestly not even sure if most theaters still use movie reels today, but the name felt too perfect to pass up.

Christmas in July? Our Halfway to Christmas Celebration Was Pure Holiday Joy!

Who says Christmas only comes once a year? Not us! Our final Halfway Holiday of the season was Halfway to Christmas, better known as Christmas in July. Continuing the tradition from our previous celebrations, we gave our mini tree — and our home — a lovely Christmas makeover.

The only thing better than celebrating with one guest was celebrating with two! This year, Melisa invited her friend Mica to join us. My husband and I had such a great time getting to know her. Between conversations and laughter, we spent the evening working on a fun little arts-and-crafts project involving Styrofoam cups, toothpicks, and markers.

The end result? These colorful, igloo-style holiday lanterns that glowed beautifully once we placed tealights underneath. The clever idea to poke holes into the cups for that glowing effect was all Mica’s — and it turned out amazing!

Between arts, crafts, and good conversation, we also made sure to stuff our faces with appetizers like: salami and crackers, Pico de Gallo with chips, and Dirty Santa drinks which included cherry juice, ginger ale, grenadine and coconut rum that looked as cheerful as they tasted.

When it came time for the main course, we served olive bread rolls and so much more!

This year, we decided to make Argentine empanadas in honor of our new guest, Mica. Normally, our holiday menus tend to feature American, Chinese, or Caribbean dishes, but this time, we wanted to do something that made her feel right at home. To add our own twist, we used red and green empanada discs for a fun and festive Christmas touch. The discs were store-bought.

My husband also tapped into his Puerto Rican roots and cooked up his signature beer rice with chicken, which came out delicious — as always.

And of course, no Puerto Rican-inspired meal would be complete without plantains, a staple from his childhood that paired perfectly with the rice.

We really wanted to impress Mica (and, let’s be honest, indulge our sweet tooth), so we went all out with desserts — even though we feared it might put everyone into a sugar coma by the end of the night.

We started with an apple pie, warm and buttery.

Then came the Oreo reindeer, decorated with M&Ms, gumdrops, and pretzels — cute, crunchy, and impossible to resist.

We also made a coconut cake topped with white Oreos.

And to top it all off, we created Santa skewers — pear slices for the faces, banana pieces for the white part of the hat, strawberries for the red, and marshmallows for the top. They looked so festive and disappeared so fast, I'm surprised I was able to take this photo.

Overall, the night was wonderful — filled with amazing guests, delicious food, sparkling decorations, and creative crafts that made the evening feel extra special.

And with that, our Halfway Holidays came to an end — wrapped up with a group photo, full stomachs, and hugs that lasted forever.

As of this post, we’re only a few weeks away from my husband’s 43rd birthday, which just happens to fall one day before Halloween — October 31st. As you can imagine, our large Halloween tree and spooky decorations are already up and ready for the season.

But I’ll save all that for after the scary holiday. Stay tuned — that post is going to be a scream!

Halfway to Thanksgiving: Finding Gratitude (and Turkey) in Argentina

After celebrating Halloween in May, our Halfway Holidays continued with Thanksgiving in June. Although the issues with our tenants had certainly been a nightmare, we still had a lot to be thankful for. For one thing, we had a roof over our heads, plenty of food, and — most importantly — our friend Melisa.

This year, we started a new tradition: using a smaller holiday tree and giving it a makeover that reflects whichever holiday we’re celebrating. For this one, we decorated it with artificial leaves instead of ornaments and recycled our Halloween Jack-O’-Lanterns by turning them into regular pumpkins — a perfect symbol of Thanksgiving and the fall season back home.

Of course, the biggest thing about Thanksgiving is the food, especially the turkey. That said, finding turkey in Córdoba City, Argentina, can be a real challenge. Last year, during real Thanksgiving, we had to make do with a store-bought rotisserie chicken. This year, though, we were determined to go all out for our Halfway to Thanksgiving celebration.

Admittedly, prepping the turkey was… an adventure. We forgot to thaw it until the night before. (Rookie mistake!) The next morning turned into a full-blown wrestling match between me, a frozen bird, and a bag of frozen giblets that refused to come out. I swear, I nearly got frostbite trying to free that thing. It took me over an hour — but once that bag was out, we seasoned the turkey, crossed our fingers, and popped it into our electric oven.

We had no idea how it was going to turn out. It was our first time using an electric oven — our trusty gas one is currently broken — so there was a bit of nervous anticipation in the air. About six and a half hours later, we finally pulled the turkey out. Even though carving is traditionally done at the table, we decided to slice into it early, just to make sure it was fully cooked.

To our relief… it was perfect! Juicy, golden, and everything we’d hoped for. We transferred it onto our decorative holiday platter and began setting up the rest of the feast.

In addition to the turkey, we had:

Mashed potatoes!

Stuffing!

Corn!

Mac and cheese (yes, straight from the Kraft box — a true lifesaver!)

And, of course, gravy to tie everything together.

The table was finally set — just in time for our friend Melisa to arrive and join the celebration.

With our family so far away, it’s become so important to surround ourselves with good, reliable, and non-toxic friends we can share these moments with.

And yes… before you ask — the turkey sitting on my husband’s stomach, the one on the plate, and the leaves above our heads were all added later. We used the leaves to cover the rather tragic state of our ceiling (thanks, humidity). I promise I’ll get it fixed… someday.

Before we ended the night, we set up our dessert table in front of our “Thanksgiving tree.” Some of the treats included pudding cups, pumpkin muffins, and a plate of Oreos given a festive turkey makeover.

Now, you’re probably asking yourself where the pies were — because no Thanksgiving is complete without pie. Well… let’s just say that after wrestling that turkey all day, the thought of making two pies (pumpkin and apple) felt like running a marathon. We decided to skip them this time and promised ourselves we’d make them ahead of time when real Thanksgiving rolls around in November.

With Halfway to Thanksgiving officially wrapped up, we immediately began planning our next Halfway Holiday — Christmas in July.

I’ll tell you all about that one in my next post!