Oscar Looks I Love

Oh how I love the Red Carpet!!!  And for me, no red carpet is better than the Oscar's Red Carpet!  I'm very much a traditionalist when it comes to the Oscars... or any red carpet really.  I believe there is a certain way a celebrity should dress for certain awards shows.  And if you are a big enough celebrity to be invited to these awards shows, you should make yourself aware of the expected dress.

For the Oscars, I'm looking for Old Hollywood Glam.  Formal dresses, structured hair, lots of bling. 

I almost made this post My Top Ten Oscar Disappointments.  But I'm trying to stay positive here.  So Jen, Reese, Anne, you're welcome.  And please, step it up a notch next year.  I'm watching to be impressed.  And your nipples and blown out hair are not going to impress me. 

Here's who did impress me.  In countdown order...

10.  Amy Adams.  Amy received some mixed press on this dress.  Yes, it's a lot of feathers.  Alot.  But girl rocked those feathers!  She looked awesome!  Just look at all those folks in the background thinking, "Damn.  That girl can rock a feather."



9.  Adele.  I've been uber-un-impressed with Miss Adele's red carpet looks this year.  This one is just lovely.  You go girl!  Classic, flattering, and sparkly.  Sparkles are always a positive.  Well, not always.



8   Jane Fonda.  Say what???  What is Jane Fonda doing at the Oscars?!?  She's rocking a yellow dress.  A perfectly fitted, age-appropriate, bad-ass yellow dress.  Other than that, I have no idea why she's there.



7.  Naomi Watts.  Okay, remember when I said I'm a fan of traditional attire at the Oscars???  Well, if you are going to push the envelope, then this is the way to do it.  The cut-out is totally on trend, but not so over-the-top that it trashes up this stunning look.  Girl looks good.  Oh, and the sparkles?  What did I say? 



6.  Sandra Bullock.  Hi, I'm Sandra Bullock.  And I'm f-ing gorgeous.



5  Alicia Vikander.  Who is this?  I don't know.  But I love this look.  The lace?  Beautiful.  The sleeves?  Classic.  The hair and makeup?  So simple and chic.  I love everything about this.



4  Quvenzhane Wallis.  Who is this child and where can I get one?!?  Did not see the movie.  But want to steal this child and put her in my pocket.  Or at least I would steal her puppy purse.  How do I not have a puppy purse?



3  Kerry Washington.  To be clear, if I were going to the Oscars, this is what I would wear.  Hot pink and sparkles?  You betcha.  Now if only I could rock her confidence.  She looks amazing!



2  Amanda Seyfried.  There's a 30% chance that Amanda is already the leading mean girl.  Did anyone see that coming?  But seriously, her hair is amazing.  Up, but not severe.  Her dress is neutral, but still interesting.  She's showing some skin, but it's done so tastefully.  She doesn't have to spell it out for everyone that she's got nipples under there {cough... Anne Hatheway... cough}.  She assumes we already know.



1.  Jennifer Lawrence.  Oh my.  I don't even know what to say here.  As if I didn't love Jennifer Lawrence enough already.  What is this?!?!  Amazing.

I watched all the pre-show crap and the Fashion Police actually predicted she'd wear this Dior dress.  And I thought, "Blech!"  "It looks so bridal!"  "Boring!!!!"

But when she walked onto the red carpet, I just lost it.  She looks so lovely.  So classy!

And then she opened her mouth (and made threats to Emma Stone) and reminded us what a kick-ass, silly, normal girl she is... I mean despite the fact that she makes millions of dollars, was just signed by Dior, and is now an Academy Award winner. 

I believe she's the perfect mix of Kristin Stewart's "Being famous is weird!" and Anne Hatheway's "I'm a leading lady and I take acting sooo seriously!"  She takes all the good things from those two and leaves out their weirdo hang-ups.  She's the ultimate humble leading lady.  Girl's got it going on.




Uhhhh... can you say girl crush???  I love you Katniss Jennifer!!!


And honorable mention goes to Daniel Radcliffe.  How cute is Harry Potter all grown up???

Remedy

When making the decision to go vegetarian, there are some truths that you must automatically accept.  The first one is that you will never ever order a steak at a restaurant again. 

Until now.

This month we took Supper Club to Waldo for a little dinner and drink at Remedy.  I've been wanting to try out this restaurant since it opened mid-last-year.  They've got an amazing drink menu and are known for interesting veg options.  Both things that I love!

When we arrived, the place was bustling.  That's always a good sign.  We were told there would be a bit of a wait so we saddled up to the bar to scour the drink menu.  I didn't order it, but was psyched to see a Tinto de Waldo. 

Tinto means wine. 

Waldo means awesome.

I ordered a Milk Stout.  I've been seeing this stuff all over and had to try it!

Non-vegan beer.

We were actually seated very quickly.  My seat was... kind of... a couch.  Comfy.  Kinda weird.  We I ordered an appetizer of eggplant fries.

Amazing!!!

The menu is pretty unique.  Drew of course ordered a burger and regular fries.  Let's not get crazy here.

Burger.

He wasn't super impressed.  But to be fair, I don't think they're known for their burger.  I think he should have gone with the Bone Marrow or Pork Belly. 

I, on the other hand was ridiculously thrilled to see a Cauliflower Steak on the menu.  I got to order steak!  Steak for the vegetarian!!!

Cauliflower Steak.

The steak was amaze-balls.  So good.  It was served on top of squash, apples, and hazelnuts.  Yummy.  So yummy, that Drew kept stealing bites from my plate.  He really liked it too!

Cauliflower Steak: the ultimate people pleaser.

All in all, I really loved the restaurant.  Remedy is a little bit unique, but in a very relaxed atmosphere.  My only regret was skipping dessert.  I can't wait to go back to explore the crap out of their drink menu and maybe give the S'mores a try. 

So not OCD

A group of teachers from my school all signed up for a Masters class together a couple of weeks ago.  Classes are way more fun when you have lots of friends to goof off with.  I forgot that about college.  All of my memories seem to revolve around G-Phi and Aggieville.  Now that I think of it, there were classes involved... occasionally.

Anyways... our instructor asked us to share with the group something in our lives that we had to have just so.  I knew mine right away, but was amazed that I was pretty much the only one at the table who isn't a self-declared Type A perfectionist.  People talked about how they can't go to bed at night if their house isn't spotless, how they menu-plan and grocery shop for exactly what meals & snacks they will eat, how their classroom and desk must be in exact order, and how their OCD tendencies drive everyone in their families crazy.

Whoa.  That is so not me.  Sure, I'd like my house to be clean and orderly.  It would be great to have a desk where I could actually find things.  Menu planning?  That sounds awesome.  But if those things don't get done... meh.  Surely they can get done the next day week year.  I have no trouble turning a blind eye to the disaster in my living room and hitting the sack for a good night's sleep.  No trouble at all.

Perhaps I could use a tad more OCD in my life. 

There are however, some things that I'm a bit particular about.  These are the Top 10 Things I'm Slightly Kind-Of A Little Bit OCD about.  Enjoy.

1.  The bed must be made every day.  Every day.  This is the only real one on this list.  Seriously, it will be made.  If Drew gets up after I leave for work, he knows he must (MUST!) make the bed.  If I come home and it is un-made, things will get real. 

2.  Recycling.  This one drives everyone crazy.  But if you can recycle it, then you should.  I'll see kids throw a piece of paper away and I make them dig it out and walk the 3 feet to the recycle bin.  They always complain that it is just one piece of paper.  IT ALL ADDS UP!  I will not stand on my soap box and tell you what a wasteful society we are (at least not right now) but seriously, if you can recycle it, you should.  Even if it requires a small amount more effort than just throwing it away.

3.  Sharp Pencils.  Oh how I love sharp pencils!  A box of #2's is the best part of being a teacher*!  I love love love sitting down and filling out my lesson planner with an extra sharp pencil.  I will get up to re-sharpen it every 3 minutes because I love them nice and pointy.

4.  Flossing.  I floss every day.  Every day.  I do not skip a day.  I floss every day. 

5.  Fruits & Veggies.  I'm of the opinion that there is nothing better that you can do for your health than eat more fruits and veggies.  I eat a lot of them.  Sometimes I'm a bit crazy about it.  You should see my smoothies.  If there is a way to squeeze more veggies into what I'm eating, I'll do it.  My favorite quote from someone at lunch, "Whoa, that's a lot of broccoli".  Yes, it is.  It's also a lot of cancer-fighting power, mofo.

6.  Running the Numbers.  Exact Numbers.  My running buddy Britt always laughs at me because I must run exact numbers.  If my training plan calls for 16 miles, I will run 16 miles.  I will not run 15.97.  I will not run 16.02.  I will run 16.00 miles.  If necessary, I will run back and forth in front of my house to get my Garmin to register the exact number.  I'm a finance girl at heart.  15.97 makes me itchy.

7.  HFCS.  Reading ingredient labels has become second nature to me.  And I refuse to purchase anything that contains high fructose corn syrup or any kind of hydrogenated fat.  Yes, I know that there is conflicting evidence about HFCS.  But the best advice I ever heard was from Michael Pollan when he said that if a product contains HFCS, it is probably overly processed and not good for you anyway.  So I won't buy it.  That does not mean I won't buy overly processed junk food.  It just can't contain HFCS.  Whatever helps you me sleep at night.

8.  Reading a Magazine.  Oh how I love magazines!  But I have a severe problem in that I must read it cover to cover.  Even if there is just one article I'm buying the magazine for, I have to start at page 1 and work my way through.  I probably have five Runner's World Magazines that are marked at the page I left off on because I never had time to read the whole thing and I CAN'T just read the interesting articles!  And I can't just throw them away recycle them without reading the entire thing. 

9.  Drinking Water.  I think all runners worry about proper hydration.  I'm a bit on the crazy end of this.  I'm always so thirsty.  And I drink a lot... of water.  I bring two large water bottles to work every day and refill them often and drink all day and feel like I'm completely parched all the time.  Once I read that excessive thirst is a sign of diabetes.  So I had my doctor run a test.  Diagnosis: Hypochondria.  I'm so thirsty.  I'm gonna go chug some water.

10.  Washing my hands.  Okay, this one might also be considered a real OCD habit.  Sometimes I do it and don't even realize I'm doing it until I'm in the middle of it and I'm all like, "Why am I washing my hands?"  My kids at school always comment on how I'm always washing my hands.  But seriously, stuff is dirty.  And when I start thinking about touching dirty things I start thinking about how the dirt is on my hands... and I can't stand it.  This also leads to my love affair with Clorox wipes.  I like to disinfect things so I don't have to wash my hands so often.  But then I really don't like the smell of the wipes, so I have to wash my hands after.  Yeesh. 

Ummm... and there you have all of my crazy OCD habits.  If only I could be slightly less OCD about how clean my hands are and slightly more OCD about how clean my house is.  I'm going to go drink some water and ponder those points.

*My God, please do not take that out of context.

So Long, Suckas.

I survived my third round of parent-teacher conferences!  It's a long couple of days.  To add a bit of interest, our social committee always has a food-related contest.  In the Fall it's a dessert competition and in the Spring we do Dip Day. 

 

Last Spring I won Dip Day with my 7 Layer Greek Dip.  I got a lot of comments about how I just walk in and start winning stuff.  Then when I brought my super amazing best thing in the world pumpkin cheesecake in the Fall, I won again.  And people were pissed. 

 

Shit really hit the fan this year.  I made So Long Saloon's Chipotle Raspberry Black Bean Dip.  Have you had this dip?  OMG.  Amazing, right?  Of course (of course) I won.  I was up against a bunch of Velveeta cheese dips and caramel apple stuff.  HAVE YOU HAD THE RASPBERRY BLACK BEAN DIP????  Velveeta ain't gonna cut it.

 

This is not my photo.

Teachers are sore losers.  Even when our principal was announcing the winners over the intercom, he said something about how it seems a little fishy that I keep winning.  Some other comments I got:

 

"I usually like the food you make but I just didn't feel like you deserved to win this time."

 

"None of the dips were very good.  I should have made one because I would have totally won."

 

"I think we need a recount."

 

"This is bull-shit!!!"

 

Seriously.  People are rude.  Did anyone consider that I'm the Foods teacher?  I know food.  If we were having a fractions contest I would expect a math teacher to win.  If there was a birdhouse making competition I would expect the shop teacher to win.  And if there was a Spanish-speaking contest, I'd expect the Spanish teacher to win*. 

 

If there's food involved, I WILL DOMINATE!

 

Soooo... ... ... all I'm really trying to say is... go make this dip.  Or if you are in Manhappiness, go to So Long Saloon and order this dip.  It really is amazing.  And better than any dip you'll ever make from a box of processed cheese.

 

 

*Unless there was drinking involved.  I'm a fantastic Spanish-speaker when I'm drunk.  Spanish Power Hour anyone?

Top 10 Grammy Looks

Ummm... is it just me or was Grammy fashion this year like a total snooze-fest???  I always LOVE Grammy fashion, but I was so so disappointed this year.  Word is that CBS sent a letter to attendees outlining the appropriate dress code.  If their intention was to take the fun out of the red carpet, then I guess they succeeded.  I say, bring back the puffy skin and lower butt cleavage!!! 

Now, maybe some of the looks were really awesome and amazing... but I kept comparing everyone to what they'd worn in previous years.  And I just didn't feel like anyone really blew me away this year.  Despite that fact, here are my top 10 Grammy looks for 2013.

1. Taylor Swift.  I usually love Tay Tay's princessy looks.  But I also love the more mature look she went with this year.  I'm very happy with this look.  I was less happy with the shit show she opened up the Grammy's with.  Seriously Taylor.  Have you lost your mind?  Alice in Wonderland is not hot.




2. Rihanna.  I'm ignoring the fact that she was there with Chris Brown.  She looked hot. 



3. Katie Perry.  Katie always has a fun style.  I love love love this dress... except for the color.  I know mint is super trendy right now, but this is too much.  Any other color would have been better!  But the girls look great so who's really looking at the color?



4. Julianna Hough.  Kaley Cuoco   If you are going to go casual for the Grammy's, this is how to go.  Hot!

{Clearly I'm unqualified to write celebrity posts when I'm not even sure who the celebrities are. Thanks Abby for clearing that up!}



5. Justin Timberlake.  As my friend Nicky so eloquently put it on Facebook; "I heart Justin Timberlake so hard."  Dude looks good.  What else can we say???



His performance of Suit & Tie was the best part of the entire night for me.  Love.  Hard. 

6. Carrie Underwood.  Is there anyone prettier than Carrie Underwood?  I don't think so.  Her dress was a safe choice, but she still looked amazing.  That hair!



7. Kelly Rowland.  She totally got back at Beyonce (notice she didn't make the list with her super boring jumpsuit?) with this one.  Cut-outs are like way hot (so I've heard) and she takes them to a very extreme, but good place.  This is Grammy style! 



8. Jennifer Lopez.  Hmmm... no one else seems to like this look.  And yes I know she totes copied Angie's Oscar look from last year.  But I didn't think it worked on Angie.  I think J-Lo looks hot.  Her overly tight top-knot seems to have been a bad choice.  I think big hair would have made the whole outfit.  Why isn't Jennifer calling me for style advice?



9.Alicia Keyz.  Yes!  This is the sort of thing I want to see!  Leather!  Boobs!  Puffy skin!  Hot!  She looks amazing!



10. Kelly Osbourne.  If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be singing praise to Kelly Osbourne's style, I would have thought you were nuts!  But I do!  I love her style!  She looks amazing!  Who else in the entire world could pull off purple hair???  I'll tell you who. 




AND, once again, bitch stole my look this year.  Last year it was Miley, this year it's Chrissy Teigen.  Will this style-stealing never end???

I did it first... Prom 2001.  Bitches.

Looking Forward

We've got big plans for 2013.  I've got a feeling it's going to be one heck of a year.  As DeAnna pointed out, from the sounds of my Resolutions post, things sound a bit boring.  Well, trust me, we're not just cleaning toilets and making budgets.  There are fun things in store! 

So, let's chat about the Top 10 Things I'm excited for in 2013.

1.  Brooking Marathon.  May will bring us marathon #7!  South Dakota might not seem like buckets of fun, but it's close and I've heard it's a great race. 

2.  England.  My bestie moved to England 2 years ago and we've been meaning to visit and FINALLY booked our tickets! 

3.  Paris.  We're not flying all the way over there and not taking a look around.  We're going to Chunnel it to France so I can get my wine and cheese fix. 

4.  Standees.  PV is getting a movie theater / dining concept.  I'm so close to never leaving this place again.  So close.  Who needs Paris when I can see a movie while eating dinner?  I hope they serve booze.

5.  Hilton Head Island.  Our favorite friend Blake is getting MARRIED this year!  We are so excited to join them on their special day!

6.  Meeting new Baby A.  Samantha has gone and gotten herself knocked up again and I'm SO excited to meet the wee one when he/she is born!  Have you met Parker?  Sam is really good at having/raising kids. 

7.  CHICAGO!!!  I've never run a big time super cool marathon before.  OKC was probably the biggest one and it was small potatoes compared to Chicago.  I've heard it's absolutely amazing.  AND, I'll be running with my running partner Britt!  We've never done a marathon together.  I am beyond excited!

8.  The T-Shirt Party.  After taking a hiatus in 2012, we've decided to bring back the party of the year.  Start looking for t-shirts people!  This is serious!!!

9.  SPIN! in the Village!  I found out yesterday that SPIN is coming to the Village.  I'm dying.  Why oh why would I ever leave???  If my plans work out, I'll find a job at one of our neighborhood schools, sell my car, and become the crazy lady who rides her bike all over town... eating SPIN pizza.

10.  Catching Fire.  Every time I think about it I get butterflies in my tummy!  HOW AM I GOING TO MAKE IT UNTIL NOVEMBER?!?!?!?!?

Boom.  That's it people.  Big year.  Lots of travel.  Lots of running.  Lot's of new reasons for me to never leave my happy little village.