Oscar Night: Ultimate happy place

As I have mentioned before, Oscar Night is my supreme happy place. It can only be made happier by the presence of champagne and copious amounts of cheese.Sadly, the latter two were not present last night, but that did not dampen my Oscar spirits.

THE HOSTS

Overall, I thought Anne Hathaway and James Franco did a good job. The goal this year was to make Hollywood and the Oscars seem younger and hipper, which is understandable. Far too often the Oscars can come off as pretentious and slow, so I think having two young co-hosts was a move in the right diection. BUT I will say that after years of older male comedians hosting, something didn't feel quite right. At any rate, Anne's dresses were FABULOUS to the infinite degree, and James looked stoned out of his mind sleepy. There were some stand-out comedic moments, such as the opening montage where they traveled through the nominated Best Picture films [Anne as "The Brown Duck" and James' awkward dancing had me hyperventilating], Anne's angry song to Hugh Jackman, James in a dress, and the autotuned Harry Potter scene. What I did not appreciate was Anne's constant hollering of "WOOOOOOOOO" every time a presenter was announced. I mean, I know she must have been excited, but this is the Oscars- not a football game. Nevertheless, it turns out she is quite funny, and I wouldn't mind seeing her do something like this again. James Franco, while a talented actor, probably shouldn't host too many events unless said events are herbally related.

Overall Grade: A-

THE WINNERS

One word can sum this up: Predictable. Not that this is a bad thing. I do like a shake up every now and then, but I feel like the right actors and films won. One surprise for me was Best Director. With all the awards and hype around The Social Network, I was surprised David Fincher didn't win. Though I still haven't seen The King's Speech, I was fine with that director winning. In my fantasy land Inception would have won Best Picture, but once again I'm fine with The King's Speech. I do wish Inception would have won every other award it was nominated for [especially best original score...I'm a Hans fan, what can I say] since it was snubbed in so many other ways. Speaking of Original Score, was anyone else surprised to see Trent Reznor looking like an actual human being? I can't help but only picture him from the NIN video for Closer, so a tux was a FAR cry from that.
Overall Grade: A

THE FASHION

First of all, I would like to say that Kelly Osbourne and Skeletor [I don't remember her name because I was too distracted by the bones poking out of her body] should never be allowed to cover Oscar fashion again. I wanted to push them off the balcony they were standing on. Anyway.

Here are some of my faves:

I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS DRESS. I don't care if a 14 year old is wearing it. She looks age appropriate [so I don't know that that says about me liking it so much] and beautiful. It reminds me of something you would wear to a ball in the 1950s. I want it NOW.



She is so damn hot and can wear whatever she wants. I just love this color and how delicate it looks. I hate/love her.

I gasped when I saw Mandy Moore in this. Also, I was mesmerized by how it seemed to stay around her shoulders [the whole top part is mesh that you can't see. What an excellent illusion!]. It is so sparkly and chic. Love love.

Natalie can do no wrong. Love the color, love the cut, love her hair, love her.

I'm not usually a huge fan of Scarlett, but I love this look on her. My favorite part is the keyhole cut back. I'm a sucker for anything lace with a back like that. Plus, I love her new hair.

 And some not-so-faves:

Cate, I love you, but you look like an alien Easter egg.

No comment necessary.

Girlfriend, you are too pale to be wearing a dress that light. Plus, her interview with Ryan Secrest was uber weird. I think she had taken a few Valium.

Overall Grade [excluding the wackfests up there]: A+

Until next year, Oscar.

Pretty art to swoon over

Work is outrageously crazy. But I had to share what I saw on Design Sponge this morning.

That's THREAD. It's so magical looking, no? Almost like seeing a rainbow inside.



Bad blogger

I have been a horrible blogger lately.

Apologies!!

Last week was filled with concerns with my main man ginger cat, Chester. He caught an upper respiratory infection from the dreadful Henry [ok he's not dreadful, but I feel so bad that I adopted a sick cat and got Chester sick in turn], and was at the vet's for two nights. It was the saddest thing :(

Anyway, I won't go into detail about my sick cat because that is undoubtedtly the sign of a crazy cat lady.

The weekend was spent doing NOTHING and enjoying the gorgeous weather we've been having in Houston. In fact, Caroline and I went for a run yesterday even thought we both abhore exercise. True story: We will never run FOR FUN like so many people do. Half marathon? No thanks. Marathon? Oh hellll no. So as you can imagine, our run was more of a walk.

Nevertheless, we wanted to reward ourselves for voluntarily exercising. How did we do this, you might ask?

By eating nachos and drinking outside.

We like to call this "Sunday Funday." I think everyone should have a little of this in their life every once in a while. It turned into quite the gathering of fun-loving friends. Caroline and I are obviously geniuses when it comes to planning weekend activities.

That's all I have, amigos. I'm hoping for some blog inspiration soon.

Have a beautiful week!

P.S. Has anyone seen Catfish? I watched it Saturday night and was actually quite pleased. It hooked me from the beginning.

EXTREME EXCITEMENT

CONGRATULATIONS RONNIE AND MARSHAL!!!!

It's a Fab Four engagement!!

I could not be more excited about this. I mean, this is one of my oldest BFFs we're talking about!!

 Upon hearing the news yesterday, I started crying/fidgeting/jumping up and down/making happy noises at my desk.

After about 5 billion years of dating, Marshal popped the question with one whopper of a ring. In fact, it was Ronnie's dream ring. What a guy!

Fun fact: Ronnie and Marshal met when we all worked at Six Flags Fiesta Texas the summer between our Sophomore and Junior years of high school. We had the glamorous job of being "locker technicians" in the water park. Basically we stood out in the sun all day and got great tans while listening to the same oldies beach songs over and over again; then when the park closed we would clear out every single locker that still had things in it. Told you it was glamorous. Despite the less than thrilling job description, we all had more fun the two summers we worked together. Marshal was crazy about Ronnie from day one, though it took the Rons a little while to come around.

But now the rest is history :)

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS WEDDING!!



Love...and HELLA BAD FASHION

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day!

Love to all!

But I already covered this topic last week, so let's move on.

The Grammy's were last night. No, I didn't watch [never do. I'm an Oscars kind of girl].

But the first thing I saw on Yahoo News this morning was an article about the fashion.

One word: HEINOUS.

Now, the Grammy's aren't exactly known for being a "classy" event in which beautiful clothing is on display. Howevever, I am convinced that this year everyone there got together beforehand and decided that they were going to look as wacky and tacky as possible. Then it became a huge competition to see who would inevitably win. Congratulations, everyone, because you all do!!

 

Exhibit A: Rhianna

Um...what? Did you know that your entire dress is not only covered in something that mildly resembles feathers, but that it is COMPLETELY SEE-THROUGH?? Thank goodness your lady parts are covered strategically, but damn. This is not fashion-forward. This is trashy and ugly. Plus, I'm over you, Rhianna.

Exhibit B: Lady GaGa

We, the public, have come to expect outrageous shit from her, so I shouldn't be so surprised about this. But...IT'S AN EGG. IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS INCUBATED BY AN ALIEN BIRD. I mean, when did she sit down one day and think, "Hmm...my dress of meat just wasn't bat shit crazy enough, so I think for the Grammy's I'll arrive in an egg carried by people wearing outfits that make no sense. Yes, that's what I'll do. It wil make a statement." Lady GaGa, you are talented and entertaining, and have a good heart. I can respect that you want to march to the beat of your own drum. But my goodness, this drum is getting too kooky for me to comprehend!

 Exhibit C: Katy Perry

This little number looks like a Victoria's Secret Angel got into a heated battle with one of Selena's [RIP] famed bustiers, cheap fabric from Hobby Lobby, and an old Betty Boop doll. The dregs of this battle then ended up on Ms. Perry/Brand. Like Lady GaGa, Katy Perry also dresses to shock [or confuse]. But Katy Perry is INFINITELY more annoying. And like her BFF Rhianna up there, I am over her. Completely. Plus, OTHER PEOPLE make her songs 50 times better than when she sings them.

I could not bear to dissect more than three Grammy outfits, for my eyes did not enjoy the sensation of being burned by bad fashion.

Pictures of food AND Justin Bieber? Yep, that's right.

First, here are some pictures of the delicious breakfast my mom made us Sunday morning when she was in town. Homemade biscuits and scrambled eggs with venison sausage (yes, Bambi), zucchini, tomatoes, and onion. NOM NOM NOM. I did this just to make you hungry. You're welcome.

My mom put extra pieces of dough on top of the biscuits. I think it kind of made them look like boobs. No?

So how does Justin Bieber fit into this, you might ask. Many of you know that I have wacky dreams. They are very vivid and make ZERO sense. It is extremely rare for me to have a normal dream.

So last night I dreamed that Justin Bieber took me on a date...to the mall...a mall with mini golfing in it. While we were there, we ran into Finn from Glee and a hot friend of his who was just a normal guy [as in, he wasn't from a TV show or anything]. Apparently I was BFFs with them, and it even seemed like I may have had some romantical history with them both. In my dreams, I'm a hussy. After running into them, Biebs tried to kiss me. I averted that situation real fast. I did not want to be seen in public, and by former flames, getting kissed by a pubescent boy. So he gets all emo [typical 16 year old boy] and we leave. Down in the parking garage, the scene suddenly changes and we are now at Chili Fest. For those of you unfamiliar with this Texas sized event, Chili Fest is a weekend-long drunk extravaganza involving chili and country music that's held in the middle of nowhere. i.e. Not a place Justin Bieber will ever be. We get in the car [mine...he doesn't drive] and I appease him with a 5 second make out. End dream.

Let me make it clear, I CAN'T STAND JUSTIN BIEBER. I can recognize that he is talented, but he annoys the hell out of me. That hair. His clothes. The way he talks. The fact that he has a MOVIE coming out baffles me to no end. What in the world does a 16 year old know about life?? Plus, it bothers me when grown women fawn all over him. He is 16. We all know that I am very pro-cougarism, but that's a little much. So why he was the star of my dream last night is a question I cannot answer.  

Motherly weekend

As the ice slowly melted, my dear mom made her way from San Antonio to visit me this past weekend weekend. It was so nice having her around. We ate [a lot], cooked, read, watched too many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, shopped, toured around Houston, and she even helped me pick out my new cat.

Yes, I am a new cat mother...again. I am not striving to be a crazy cat lady at the age of 24, but Chester was in desperate need of a companion to keep him occupied when I leave him on weekends. So world, meet Henry:

Please excuse the crappy iPhone quality

He is six months old and makes Chester look like a giant fatso. Chester loves kitty friends, so they are getting along just fine. But hopefully Henry will stop jumping in the refrigerator every time I open it. Either he loves being cold, or he loves food as much as I do. I think I'm going to go with the latter because he is also wildly fascinated with a bag of leftover homemade biscuits that I had sitting on the counter. What a true Southern cat he is!

In honor of last night's Superbowl, I joined Caroline, Courtney, and Amy at their watching party. Let's be honest though, I was only there for the food, drinks, and friends. I think everyone was pretty much on the same page because the actual game was hardly watched at all. Unfortunately for everyone's ears, the halftime show was indeed watched.

Seriouly, Black Eyed Peas?

Seriously??

THEY WERE TERRIBLE. I have never cringed that much in my life. It was a hot mess extravaganza that I hope to never see repeated again. Usher dropping in from the sky was the only redeeming feature of the whole thing. Yuck.

Courtney, lucky girl that she is, won $25 whole dollars in our squares game. She may have been rooting for the losing team, but at least she can buy herself dinner now!

Only four more days until the weekend, people!

Ice day baking

Since Texans have no idea what to do with ice, many major cities are shut down today.

I am certainly not complaining.

While taking a break from work things, I decided to make some muffins suggested to me by the lovely Courtney. They were perfect for a cold day and made my apartment smell fantastic. Plus, my mom is supposed to come here today [assuming she can ever leave San Antonio and parts of I-10 open up] so I thought it would be nice to have some fresh baked goods for her.

Courtney's Apple Cinnamon Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup apple sauce [I used the no sugar added kind, but she uses the chunky kind that has bits of apples. I'd probably suggset that]

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

Splash of vanilla [however much you want. I added this in because I always bake with it]

Mix all of that together so it looks like this.

 Drop into your muffin tin

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, and voila!



They are not super sweet, but they have a great flavor and are super moist. Perfect muffin consistency!

In Texas, we don't know how to handle cold weather

I consider anything below 60 degrees to be cold, so you can imagine my feelings when I left for work today and it was 22. And I'm fairly confident that many Texans share my sentiments.

As a testament to how poorly equipped we are for such weather, the entire city of Houston is experiencing rolling blackouts today. Do you know how big Houston is? This is a huge deal for us, and everyone is in a tizzy about it. I am personally outraged that I am at work. I mean come on, the power goes off at least once every hour. Is there really any point in me being here?

So amidst all this abnormal weather, I had to laugh when it was announced that Punxsutawney Phil saw his little groundhoggy shadow, signaling an early Spring.

I hope he's right!

P.S. I am such an old woman for having a blog post dedicated to weather.

P.P.S. I hear Keyboard Cat has a new video coming out very soon. You bet I'll be posting it when I see it!!