I'd Like to Thank the Academy

I would like to thank the Academy for providing me with a few too many hours of entertainment last night.  Between what I saw on television both during the show and beforehand and the many opinions being voiced on twitter, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. 

Here are my favorites from the night.

Seriously, Michelle Williams' make up is flawless.

Anne had some great looks during the show, and I love that her red carpet look was so "red carpet" and that her looks during the show were so incredible on stage.

I love this look on Celine. How is it possible that she recently had twins?!

I thought Gwyneth looked so beautiful last night! The only thing that threw me off is that her earrings matched her brooch exactly, which was a little much for me.  The dress would have been just as beautiful without the brooch.   

Hailee Steinfield looks adorable.  I saw an interview with her and she was just so mature and humble. 

Sandra Bullock looked so great.  This was a great dress for a presenter and I thought her hair and makeup were flawless.

I absolutely love this Elie Saab on Mila Kunis.  This was absolutely my number two favorite look of the night.  The color and the fabric are so delicate and look fantastic on her! She has made some great choices this season.

 And finally, my favorite of the night.

 When I saw this Givenchy dress on Cate Blanchett, it made me so happy.  This dress is so unusual and unexpected.  This is a look that I feel only someone like Cate could pull off. And her hair and makeup suit the dress perfectly. I just don't think we will see a dress like this again for a long time.  It belongs in a museum for people to see up close.

As for the show itself, I thought there were surprisingly no surprises with who won, but it was still a great production anyway.  I especially enjoyed the end of the show with the children and the winners.  It was so sweet how the kids's t-shirts had their singing parts like "alto" and "soprano" on them.  
I didn't love Anne Hathaway as a host, but I think James Franco may have been the reason for her demise.  Did you watch the show and the red carpet arrivals? What did you think?

Photos in this post via people.com and huffpost.com.

And the Oscar Goes To...

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Oscar night is one of my favorites year after year. What little girl hasn't watched the show and imagined what she would wear if she had the chance to walk down the red carpet with Leonardo DiCaprio (helloooo 1999).  Note: Ironically enough, Leo didn't attend the 1999 awards ceremony because he wasn't nominated. I distinctly remember my 11 year old self thinking that he was ROBBED! 

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Did you know that Kate Winslet has said she keeps her Oscar in her powder room? She says it is so her guests can have a private moment to hold it and look in the mirror. I love that! 

It is so fun to see the stars really turn out the glamour and glitz. And it is also always so fun to see if your own personal favorites win and to hear what they say in their acceptance speeches. 

People.com has a fun little gallery that they put up for every awards show now. They show stars and a couple of dresses that star might pick for the show. Of course, I don't think they ever do pick those dresses, but this year's Oscars gallery on people.com gives some good inspiration for Oscar fashion.  Here are some of my runway favs that I hope to see on the Red Carpet tonight.

I'm pretty much obsessed with every single piece in this Elie Saab Haute Couture collection, but these are some of the ones I could easily see turning up on the red carpet. 

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I could also easily see these dresses from Armani Privé on some celebs.  The one on the left screams "Julianne Moore" to me and the other is so Anne Hathaway its ridiculous, but I think she has done the paillette look so much lately that she will go for something really different, at least for her red carpet look.  I'm sure she will have many great looks throughout the ceremony! 

Here are some other great hot-off-the-runway choices.

L to R: Badgley Mischka, Hérvé Léger by Max Azria, Jason Wu
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L to R: Marchesa, Valentino, Versace
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As for my choices on who will win, I'm really rooting for The King's Speech for Best Picture, Colin Firth for Best Actor and Natalie Portman for Best Actress.  I realize those are pretty popular picks, but I really enjoyed both films.  I'm really looking forward to a good show with Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

Happy watching! 

Frugal Finds Friday: Tassel Earrings

Tassel earrings are all over the place right now.  I have been noticing them on so many different sites, so there are many options out there if you want to get the look for less.  I thought these two pairs were pretty good matches, although the Ann Taylor earrings are definitely not as fancy as the KS version.

Kate Spade Crystal Cascade Lever-Back Earrings

$101, marked down from $145
UPDATE: I just noticed that these are now down to $72!

Ann Taylor Tassel Earrings

$38

Une écharpe

I don't know how the weather is where you live, but in D.C., the weather is changing not only day to day but hour to hour.  I can go out for a walk with Eliza in the morning and be underdressed for the chilliness, and by mid-afternoon not only has it warmed up like it normally does, but it is 65 degrees!  And some days it is incredibly windy.  I say all of this just to say that this time of year with cold-snaps and warm-snaps can present some problems in the wardrobe department. 

Enter the scarf.  Or as the French call it, une écharpe. 

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About two and a half years ago, I noticed that scarves started making a comeback in a big way.  One of the great things about scarves is that they come in so many different styles today. Cashmere wraps, silk carres, cotton voile scarves... the possibilities seem endless.  And a great thing about a scarf is that they are so versatile and light that you can put them on and take them off and store them if you get too warm.  


And a scarf can instantly take your outfit from average to cute.  Just look at Katie Holmes, below.

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Here are some fun outfit ideas for different types of scarves.

One of the things I love most about scarves is that if you buy a classic one, like a silk scarf, you can literally keep it forever.  Just don't get caught up in the idea that silk scarves are only for older gals. They can look great on a woman of any age!

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And finally, let me say that if you are looking for inspiration about how to wear (and properly tie) a scarf, please check out Une Femme.  She has wonderful tutorials about many, many ways of wearing scarves! 

Keepin It Real

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I have a lot going on this week.  The oddest part of all is that I don't actually have anything due this week for school, but my to-do list is still a mile long and I have a handful of things that I need to do asap.  

And that's just with school. I also have a dog who needs a bath, two packages that need to be mailed, and about five things on my work to-do list that I need to get done.  Not to mention I really, really need to go grocery shopping.  I have dried and caned goods and a few things in the freezer, but all the staples: milk, eggs, cheese, bread, protein, etc. I'm completely OUT of. 

I guess I got in the habit of thinking that I was completely unproductive on the weekends, but I don't think that's entirely true anymore, because being out of town this past weekend really, really threw me off. 

So I say all of this to say that I'm sorry I don't have anything great to post about today and might not have anything great to post about tomorrow, but I still love you guys and I'll be back soon, I promise!  


And one last thing... if you love giveaways, head over to Carolina City Girl today and enter her giveaway from CSN stores (they basically have everything!). 

Currently...

I'm currently...

wearing

OPI's Sand in My Suit Nail Lacquer

... and sweat pants, a t-shirt and tennis shoes.  At least my nails are somewhat glam.

listening 

to That Thing You Do! radio on Pandora.

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reading

well... I just finished reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close on the plane the other day.

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It was extremely sad and incredibly beautiful.  Highly recommend this one- but I have to say I don't recommend reading it on an e-reader as there were a lot of images in the book that didn't translate well to my nook.

smelling

the smell of rain outside from my open window and a dog (ahem... Eliza) who needs a bath.

wanting

to spend more time with this cutie pie who lives way too far away.

Precious Micah.
I swear he looks just like a cabbage patch doll I had as a kid.

City of New Orleans

This weekend I traveled to New Orleans to attend a party for my friend Kathryn.  I had some much needed time with friends and time to just have a good time and enjoy myself.  I had a ton of school work to do (I still need to do it...) but I just let myself enjoy the weekend and not worry about any of that. 

There was a mini-fiasco when I got to New Orleans Friday night because my friend Lauren, who was picking me up from the airport, thought I was flying into Baton Rouge.  So when I arrived at the New Orleans airport, she was arriving at the one in Baton Rouge AN HOUR AWAY! It was so typical that you just had to laugh at the situation.  I sat at the bar in the airport and waited for her to get there.  I'm so glad she was able to change her plans and come to New Orleans early! 

Most of the pictures on this blog are of food. Please excuse that. These days, I eat at home mostly and unless someone is in town visiting, I rarely splurge on going out to a nice dinner in D.C.  Plus the food here is nothing like it is in Louisiana- so I think I was almost as excited about eating good food as I was about seeing my friends! 

Once she got to New Orleans, we headed to dinner at Pascal's Manale. Pascal's Manale is the orignial home of Bar-B-Que Shrimp. 

Ah-mazing crusty French Bread.  The real thing.

This was Lauren's first time trying the shrimp and my second. They were so good and flavorful!

We had such a fun time at dinner!  The next day we met up with my friend Rachel and had brunch in the Quarter.  I didn't take any pictures but it was fun to see Rachel! The food wasn't even that great, but it was still leaps and bounds better than the brunch food in D.C. (maybe I'm just biased?). 

That afternoon after a quick cat-nap, we did some walking and browsing on Magazine Street.   Being the terrible blogger that I am I didn't take any pictures of the shops, but I did take one of the cute little pasty & gelato shop we went in: Sucré on Magazine.

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Isn't this place cute?  We had some gelato and it was super yummy.

Later that night we headed to the party that I came in town for.  It was a party for my friend Kathryn and it was hosted by her parents at Restaurant August in downtown New Orleans.  August is an amazing restaurant!  It is owned by Chef John Besh, and he even came up to the party for a little bit!  It was so fun! 

After much agonizing over what to wear, here's what I ended up with.

These were the best representations of the individual pieces that I wore that I could find on polyvore.  I'm still learning how to use polyvore to its full effect! My dress is very similar to this one in silhouette and color, but it doesn't have all the draping on the bottom.  One of my feet has been hurting on and off since I twisted my ankle about a week and a half ago, so I went with comfort over cuteness in the shoe department and I have to say I don't regret it.  I'm glad I wasn't hobbling around the rest of the night and the next day.

Here are some random pictures from the night.

The party was so fun! The food was delicious, the wine was plentiful (at least, for me) and the company was the best part of all! It was so nice to spend some time with my friends.  I hope I will be friends with these girls for a really, really long time! 

Frugal Finds Friday: Hermès Cape Cod Watch

I've already professed my love for Hermès on this blog once.  And my infatuation with the brand does not end at the Birkin (although I kind of, sort of wish it did).  I also love the look and versatility of an Hermès scarf, and I absolutely love this watch.

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These babies go for around $2,000.  That is actually relatively reasonable for a high-end brand, luxury watch I guess, but it is still way out of my ballpark.  By the way, this is my all-time favorite color of leather.

These watches are really popular among celebrities and stylists. If you start paying attention (like, uhm, I do... sometimes...) you will start to notice them all over the place.

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Here, Jennifer Connelly sports the watch in classic Hermès orange in the movie She's Just Not That Into You.

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Here, Isla Fisher gets in on the trend as Rebecca Brandon (née Bloomwood) in Confessions of a Shopaholic. 

Okay, okay. So she technically is still Rebecca Bloomwood in this picture, but I couldn't resist the reference for you readers out there.

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Here, the ultimate celeb Hermès fan, Kelly Rutherford, sports the Cape Cod. (By the way, her name just happens to be "Kelly" and she named her son "Hermès.")

So anyway, you are probably waiting for me to get to the frugal find.  Here it is:

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This watch, from Sasha Rhett, is only $269.  A bargain compared to the Hermès price if you are just after the look.  And the best news?  I noticed that these babies will be for sale on gilt.com today.  The sale starts at 12 noon est.  If you haven't joined Gilt yet, you definitely should.  I got some Kendra Scott Earrings there a couple of weeks ago and the price was a bargain! 

Happy Birthday Courtney!

Today is a special day! It is my best friend Courtney's birthday! I thought I would surprise her and do a little post on all things she might love here today.

I'm also trying to convince her to start blogging, so if I get some things here totally wrong, or if you leave lots of comments encouraging her, maybe she will decide to take matters into her own hands. 

I would describe Courtney as a down-to-earth kind of gal.  She is low key and loves things that are fun and bright and in some cases, gaudy.  That's her word (actually, her aunt's word) not mine!  Courtney dresses pretty classic with a bit of funky flair- especially when it comes to jewelry.  She loves big, bright pieces.   She is also a nursing school student, so she wears scrubs a lot between class and work.  Here's a fun little outfit I put together for her.

Comfort is key when you work a 12 hour shift on your feet all day, but there is still room to jazz things up a bit with bold earrings and metallic (but comfortable) shoes.  A big bag would hold everything she needs.

Here are a few of my other pics for Courtney.

A fun ring.

KJL Bold Cabochon Ring

Great sundresses for summer.

Women's Ruffled Sundress

A beach vacation.

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Tankini

Land's End Canvas Tankini

Fun sandals are Courtney's fav!

Blast Sandals

Happy Birthday, Courtney! I love you and wish I could be there to celebrate with you!

Two Recipes

Here are two great recipes for you to try out.  I highly recommend them both.  The muffins are sooo tasty! They are even better to me than those really unhealthy muffins you can buy from stores or bakeries. You really cannot even tell that they are predominantly made with whole wheat flour.   The dressing is also fantastic. I used it the other night to marinate chicken and the chicken turned out really well.  Hope you enjoy these if you try them! 

Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins 

Recipe from Martha Stewart

1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)

1/3 cup reduced-fat (2 percent) milk 

[I used skim milk since that is what I keep in my house.]

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup frozen blueberries 

[I used about 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries, since that's what I had on hand.]

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.

With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.

Divide batter among muffin cups. 

[As you can see, I got fancy and added some chopped walnuts to the tops of the muffins. Highly recommend this if you like walnuts!]

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

Immediately devour and plot to make again.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins - Martha Stewart Recipes

Creamy Cilantro Tomatillo Dressing

from Gina's Skinny Taste

1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt

1 small jalapeno, seeds removed, leave them in if you want it spicy

1/4 cup of fresh cilantro

1 tomatillo, husks removed, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 scallion

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes

1/8 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Gina's recipe directions are to throw everything in a blender until combined.  I gave everything a rough chop and threw it in my food processor.

Makes 1-3/4 cups.

Yum! Enjoy.