Loving Oscar

I thoroughly enjoyed the Oscars last night.  To me, it was perhaps the best show since Hugh Jackman hosted, and, considering my embarrassingly fervent love of Hugh Jackman, that's saying something.
Even though I felt somewhat unpreprared/uninformed about the nominees this year (I've seen the majority of the nominated films, but I felt hugely out-of-the-loop not having seen The Artist), I was overall rather satisfied with the winners.  Having been blown away by Michelle Williams performance in My Week with Marilyn, I was hoping for her to walk away with her own golden man, but Meryl was also amazing in The Iron Lady, so it's all good.
A few highlights for me were, of course, the return of Billy Crystal (best host of our time), Ellen's commercials for JCPenney (ancient Rome = favorite), Emma Stone presenting with Ben Stiller (I feel like Emma and I are friends; is that weird?), and, finally, the Cirque du Soliel performance (my eyes didn't know where to look; I realized at the end I had been holding my breath the entire time; I adored every second).
The final highlight was, of course, the dresses!  Here are a few of my favorites:

Michelle Williams

Milla Jovovich

Emma Stone

Tina Fey

Penelope Cruz

Stacy Kiebler

Jessica Chastain

Angelina Jolie (and her leg?)

Ah, I adore the magic of the movies.

PS:  My best friend Ben is a wonderfully talented chef and writer for Saveur magazine in New York.  This month he landed his first cover story and bared his heart, his story, and his layer-cake expertise.  Check out the full article here.  

Little Man

If I could have a little Louis Bullock of my own (and dress him in smart newsboy caps, dapper suspenders and curmedgeonly fabrics like herringbone and tweed, of course), I might be far more inclined to vote Yes! to having a child of my own someday.
Seriously, look at the mug on this kid.  I love him!  And that jaunty scarf?  I die.

Lucky Lady

So, over the weekend I saw The Vow, which was actually much better than expected.  Better in that it didn't make me want to come home, curl up in the fetal position with a bottle of wine and weep over being alone.  (And you know the world scorns the idea of being alone in February on a whole other level...)  The movie was almost realistic (now there's a word you don't hear very often in association with romantic films), in that it wasn't so absurdly far-fetched and happily-ever-after perfect that I couldn't help scoffing at the ridiculousness of it all.  In short, I liked it!
But, I digress...
The point of this post is not to ramble on about the reality of The Vow, but rather an idea I began to explore while watching The Notebook earlier this afternoon.  The point is this:  Rachel McAdams is, quite possibly, the luckiest girl on the planet.  Am I right?  I mean, let's take a look:

Mean Girls

The Notebook

Wedding Crashers

Red Eye

The Family Stone

The Lucky Ones

State of Play

The Time Traveler's Wife

Sherlock Holmes

Morning Glory

Midnight in Paris

The Vow

First off, the girl can rock practically any look out there.  Short hair, long hair; blonde hair, red hair, brown hair, pink (!) hair... nails it every time.  Lots of makeup, little makeup; high fashion, sweater-and-jeans... doesn't matter.  Vitnage threads, 80s glam, preppy chic, funky hipster... she makes them all work.  Who does that??
Second, let's take a look at the guys she's had on-screen make-out sessions with.  Going way back to Mean Girls, there was the gorgeous Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Barrett):

That same year, there was the now-immortalized The Notebook, where she got to mack  the rugged Noah (Ryan Gosling) as well as the polished Lon (James Marden):

Next up was Wedding Crashers, in which she was engaged to the beautiful Sack (Bradley Cooper):

Fast-forward a few years to The Time Traveler's Wife, in which she starred alongside the hauntingly handsome Henry (Eric Bana):

In Sherlock Holmes, she played the legendary Adler to Robert Downey Jr's Holmes:

And most recently, in The Vow, she's been torn between a life she remembers with Jeremy (Scott Speedman) and Leo (Channing Tatum), the husband who's trying to make her remember the life she's forgotten.  Poor, poor girl.

Finally, the girl is FLAWLESS.  On the red carpet, doing interviews, in magazines, running errands... she is absolutely beautiful.  I mean, look at her:

 
I even Googled "bad picture of Rachel McAdams" and this is about the "worst" I could find:

Seriously??  That's a "bad" picture of her?  I shudder at what would come up if I someday became famous and someone Googled "bad picture of Lauren Springer."  Horrors.
So, yeah... Rachel McAdams is one lucky lady.

Happy Sunday, my friends!  I'm off now to get supper ready before the Grammys a.k.a. The Return of Adele.  Can't wait!

This Week's Pins

I adore the idea of this lampshade and would love to do it with all different buttons in the same color...

As I look toward the new year, I'm trying to keep this idea forefront in my mind.  I too often fall guilty to looking forward, or sometimes backward, and missing things that are right in front of me.

Mint chocolate chip cookies... where do I sign up??

Is this fabulous, or what??  Who knew veggies could be so glamorous?

First, many of you know I love any and all blazers.  This blazer, however, takes things to a whole other level.  A level to which I, personally, am all for exploring.

Hmph... some days I wonder, but here's hoping!

Until next time,

Verrrrry Pinteresting

Ok, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon and attempting to do a weekly post of some of my favorite Pins.  Some weeks there may be a theme, but this week I'm all over the place. 
So, let's get pinning...

I know it's time to think about winter clothes (I mean, this time last night it was snowing), but I adore this shirt.  Supposedly some crafy person could make this from a man's old dress shirt, but I'm not much on the whole sewing thing.  I'd be perfectly happy purchasing it from one of my local Gap locations...

I want to live in this cottage.  Can you imagine having a boring day in a place like this?  It's like a fairy tale and Lemony Snicket and the perfect woodsy hideaway all rolled into one divine little piece of land.  This place is just made for comfy chairs and good books.

I am blessed to have this kind of parent.  I want to tell so many parents who sit across the desk from me that this is what their children need.  If I  am a parent one day, these are the things I want to remember.

This will be in my child's room one day.  Let's be honest, I really secretly wish it could be in mine.

These flowers take my breath away.  This is such a cool concept with virtually limitless possibilities.

Just added to my (ever-growing) 'Must Read' list.  What could be better than learning all the inside secrets behind one of my favorite things in this life?  "If anyone's looking for any last minute gift ideas for me, I have one..."

I find myself saying something awfully similar to this pretty much every day, perhaps every hour.  My seniors are just starting to freak out and panic and question themselves.  They're wondering if they can make it to May; it's decision time, and they're weighing their options; they're terrified of the future.  Keeping them calm is stressing me out!

Speaks for itself.  Some people just don't know when to quit.

Happy Pinning, my friends.  And Happy Holidays!!