Oscars Recap

I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this year’s Oscars. The commercials leading up to the Oscars with Anne Hathaway and the other guy were pretty funny…so I had high expectations. Unfortunately I thought most of the MC moments were awkward and forced – and I didn’t understand why James Franco was squinting the entire time. Maybe he had one too many relaxers before the show – IDK. At one point when it was just AH on stage I wondered outloud if they pulled him from the show because he didn’t have his act together. But they brought him back.

I will say though, I did not have any idea AH could sing like that. Very impressive! I thought it was especially impressive that she did so well considering she doesn’t get up in front of millions of people and sing on a regular basis. When Gwyneth Paltrow sang her song she seemed much more nervous (and actually kind of unhappy).

Watching the Oscars made me realize how much more fun the Grammy’s are. I just love all of the performances. The Oscars are brought down by the boring (but necessary) speeches. It is always so interesting to see actors that are used to double takes and scripts go live. I’m not saying I could do any better, but public speaking definitely isn’t for everyone. While it is easy to make fun of the random categories with films I had never heard of – those speeches are the most fun because they always seem the most grateful. Thanks to DVR we were able to fast forward through most of the commercials and speeches.

Some highlights:

#1 for me was Celine Dion surprising me with a song. I am moderately, ok extremely, obsessed with her for the fact that so few people in the world can sing like her. So whether or not you like her as a person you have to at least appreciate her talent.

#2 Cate Blanchett’s dress. Not sure why, but I just LOVED it! And she looked absolutely stunning.

#3 Autotuner song mix!

#4 Seeing Sandra Bullock look so happy and confident.

#5 Gweneth Paltrow’s dress – I think she gets prettier every year.

#6 Having The Social Network win the appropriate amount of awards, but not sweeping the Oscars. I thought it was a great movie – but not sure I would call it a work of art like some of the others.

#7 The awkward banter between Jude Law and Robert Downey jr.

Looks I loved:

As mentioned, Celine Dion, GP, SB and KB brought their A-game (IMO). I also really loved Natalie Portman’s dress…

Halle Berry looked stunning, as always. I think the words “She. Is. Hot.” Might have slipped out when she came onstage. Lol. The guys just looked at me. What? She is!

And way to go Hailee Steinfeld. I didn’t even know you existed, as I haven’t seen True Grit yet, but way to wow us with your sophisticated style and NOT look like a slut (cough cough other young famous people).

Other opinions:

Jennifer Hudson looked great – so I was really happy for her. But I thought her dress looked like a prom dress that anyone could get at Dillards or Macy’s so I wasn’t overly impressed. Same goes for Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lawrence.

Mila Kunis looked beautiful but I would love to see her just once in something classy elegant and not so hippy sheek (not sure how to spell that word).

Nicole Kidman – I liked her dress okay but I am not a fan of the bangs or tight necklaces around the neck in general. Also, was the hand holding with her and Keith on the red carpet just a little unnatural?


Overall it is always fun to see so many talented people in one place all dressed up - so spending the two hours of my life watching it was not wasted!

How do you get rid of a headache?

I take: A tall, non-fat, no foam, with whip latte! Seems to always do the trick!

The Farmer's Market

Today I met Kelly and Carissa at Opening Bell, a coffee shop on South Lamar street, followed by a trip to the Farmer's Market. It was so. much. fun! I had been once before, but forgot how much fun it was. Goodbye shopping at grocery stores...hello fresh fruit!

Last weekend we picked up some flowers for our mailbox - I love this little feature of our house!

I've got sunshine...

Lemmon loves basking in the sun outside. She is sooo sleepy in this picture.

I love those floppy eyes - and how she crosses her paws!

UPDATE: She is getting back to her old self! We did have to do a 24 hour too bad and as hard as it was...I think it really helped. We will see how the round of medicine goes.

Trouble in {puppy} paradise

I would be lying if I said everything with Lemmon was perfect. She is a sweet dog and in my opinion one of the cutest...but she has her moments. It has been a roller coaster ride since our spontaneous decision to pick her off the street March 8, 2010. When we got Lemmon she was 6 weeks old, 5 pounds, completely malnourished with Gardia, worms and every other puppy issue you can think of. Several hundreds of dollars, sleepless nights and several months later- she seemed to have turned a corner. She is definitely a handful, but her redeeming qualities of giving lots of love and her playful energy have always prevailed. She really is a sweetheart! We have done puppy training, with the most amazing trainer of all time, and over time made...some...progress. I have no shame in saying most of her naughty behavior (jumping on people, jumping on the counter, etc) is due to human error. Matt and I are still trying to learn consistent discipline :-)...it is hard though because she has MASTERED "puppy eyes."

Over the past year we have taken her to the vet for her weight (almost anyone that sees her comments on how skinny she is, even though we feed her almost double), for anxiety, for mange and for allergies. The poor thing just can't seem to catch a break. She is an unbelievable anxious dog and seems to get easily stressed...so we have to try to keep her calm when we can. The best decision we made was using Rover Resort to board her. (They are unbelievable and worth the drive to McKinney when we need to board her.) She moves 99 percent of the time, jumping around the house, chasing squirrels in the backyard, eating berries off of the bushes and barking at the cars that pass by our house. The one percent of the time she isn't moving though - my gosh she is adorable. I think she is really lucky to have us, and visa versa (for the most part. jk!).

So what brought on today's post? Well, everything mentioned above has been the norm, our day to day life with Lemmon is hectic but worth it because she is our baby and we LOVE her! She barks at new people that come over and attacks with love our friends. There are a special few of them that even get the high pitched whine and lean. I think she peed with excitement every time she saw Brian until she was 7 months old. She really does have so much love to give - sometimes not realizing she is 50 pounds.

Something started to seem off over the last month. Twice when I tried to move her a few weeks ago she snarled at me. We punished her, talked to the trainer to know exactly what to do if it happened again and kept an eye out on her. A few weeks passed without an incident...until this past weekend. I am exhausted from the stress of what I am about to write. Friday night Lemmon bit Matt, enough to break some skin. He asked her to move off of the bed, and after 2 minutes of coaxing and her not moving he went to gently pick her up, which he has done before. She was in her kennel for 12 hours with a potty break after that (although our trainer says it is supposed to be a full 24 hours). Trying to let her redeem herself we brought her outside to say hi to everyone at the BBQ (see previous post). When her Uncle Joe - who she LOVES - went to scratch her back she snarled at him. Again, back in the crate. I felt unbelievable awful that she would do that to Joe, but I am also grateful. Because I wouldn't have thought something might have been physically wrong if it were someone else, but Joe has been in her life since we got her. While everyone was outside cooking, I snuck in to test touching her backside. She twinged every time. The next morning I called our trainer and told her we needed an immediate one on one session.

That brings us to yesterday - and I am soo thankful we had the day off. We took Lemmon to see Debbie. I had already thought the worst - Lemmon was going to turn into an aggressive dog that couldn't be around anyone. Debbie discussed with Matt and I what needed to happen if she ever snarls or bites again, and I really hope she doesn't because it is going to be so hard to keep her in her crate (minus potty time) for 24 hours. She also discussed with us what we need to do to reaffirm our "dominance" and keep a bit more strict household rules. That is right, no more sleeping on the bed, allowed on the couch, toys everywhere, etc. But the biggest sigh of relief was that she said Lemmon's personality hadn't changed and that we needed to take her to the vet and get blood work and an xray. Again, thank you Presidents, Matt and I had the time to schedule an immediate vet appointment and headed straight over. We go to MetroPaws on Skillman, and they are wonderful!!!!

Sad news: the xray came back and at a year old, Lemmon has hip dysplasia. I would be lying if I said I fully understand what that means. I have a lot of research to do. I semi-zoned out partly due to Lemmon being almost fully sedated and trying to hold her and watch out for her uncontrolled bowel movements, and partly because I was relieved that she was acting out because she was in pain. Don't get me wrong - it is absolutely unacceptable to bite or snarl - but at least there was a physical reason and she wasn't just becoming aggressive. The vet said she has probably been in pain for awhile, and that recent events mean she is in a lot of pain. Matt and I just felt horrible for her. Right now we have been given a round of (expensive) medicine to try and help with the joint and the pain and will need to keep her from jumping off the bed and other high places.

If you think the day got better - keep reading. As mentioned, the sedation caused Lemmon to lose control of her bowel movements, and apparently upset her stomach. She lost it (i.e. pooped everywhere) in the backseat of the car a mile from the house. As soon as we got home we got Lemmon to the grass because the poor thing still had to go, and I could hear Matt gagging in the background cleaning the car. I think the process of cleansing the backseat took about an hour.

Has anyone ever had a dog with hip dsplaysia? Any suggestions? The meds lasted through the night, the poor thing didn't even want dinner. She just snuggled up on the floor....adorable!

Kicking Off BBQ Season 2011

Last night we kicked off the start of BBQ season with steaks, potatoes, sauteed veggies and chocolate covered strawberries. We got to use the grill/smoker the old owners left for us and it worked great! We also enjoyed our new patio furniture.

And this morning Kelly, Joe and Carissa hosted us for another yummy brunch!!!

Pizza and S'mores

Last night we took my dad out on the town to the Bishop Arts District. We have been planning it since his last trip and I'm pretty sure he had a blast. Becky and Lucas came with us and LOVED their first trip to the area. We ate out our usual pizza joint, Eno's pizzaria, followed by dessert at Tillman's.

Walking off pizza prior to s'mores included a stop at the sodapop shop.

A taste of Abita root beer...delicous!

One of our Oak Cliff rituals: pick your favorite overpriced T-shirt - but just for a picturs because they are like $60 each!

Roses from DIRT.

Ending the night with yummy s'mores and coffee.

Adorable

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was the perfect end to a weekend of celebrating being in love. Each year Matt and I switch off who is incharge of the day's surprise. This year it was Matt's turn and he worked it! He met me for lunch and took me to a new restaurant downtown called Fuse (sushi). It is so fun because Matt now works downtown and we can walk to each other's building. So he walked over, picked me up and we walked to our lunch date. He was so cute handing me the sweetest Valentine's card. Luckily he wasn't the only one prepared. I asked him if I could write out what he put in the card, but he said no, so I will leave it that it was one of the sweetest letters I have gotten from him.

After lunch he escorted me back to my office where we said goodbye, only to have a message waiting for me from our mail center that a box of flowers had arrived for me. His big surprise this year was 24 long stemmed roses delivered to work. This was the first time he has ever sent flowers to work and it made my day.

After work we met at home, took Lemmon for a walk, ate a fancy meal and watched the Grammy's we missed on Sunday. We even had leftover heart shaped pasta from the Saturday dinner. It. Was. Perfect.

A Formal Affair

Last night might have been one of my favorite dinners of all time! Matt and I love entertaining and having friends over. For so long we had been in the apartment adding fold out tables and chairs to our small kitchen table, and having to rearrange the living room to fit in enough chairs. Don't get me wrong...doing that is what made tonight extra special and we wouldn't have changed a thing about our fold out table dinners. As a house warming present my dad gave us money for what might be one of the most important "things" in an Italian house...the table where friends and family can eat together. For the first time I got to fit an entire dinner party around the same table and it just warmed my heart. (Having all the chairs match was a different story!)

So how appropriate that the first major dinner party was for a Valentine's Day celebration. Jamie, Paul, Steph, Ryan, Kelly and Joe joined us for an over the top formal dinner party and we had a blast. I had such a hard time narrowing down the pictures for the blog - because I wanted to share the full effect.

The table seatings. I am not even sure if that is the appropriate way to set a formal table, but I did not think it googling was necessary so I just went with what I thought looked good. The seating cards are a pack of chocolates with a valentine and everyones name. The valentine on the seating card matched the card in their wine glass. Matt was very patient with my "special touches."

The menu, was of course, Italian themed. I might have to branch out soon with something besides bruschetta and spaghetti...but we have it mastered so it is hard to switch! We made each item on the menu have its own time to make the dinner last all night.

Each couple was asked to bring one of their favorite bottles of wine and we enjoyed a wine tasting. We all noted that price does not always equate to better taste.

I cut out different colored hearts and used puffy tape as wine charms on the bottom of each glass. Not sure how helpful that was as Ryan's wine glass seemed to be the communal cup - but it was cute!

The appetizer station: Round one started with fench bread and olive oil with an amazing Seattle seasoning sprinkled in.

Round two was a special touch from Matt - tomato basil soup shooters...spicy but very tasty!

After soup shooters and before anyone got close to a food coma I made everyone participate in a photo shoot. We got some hilarious pictures that started out as classy couples poses until someone threw out the prom picture idea. Love. it!

Round three: Matt's famous bruschetta.

The already special table was even more special because I got to use the table cloth that my Italian aunt and uncle got us as a wedding present. This picture doesn't do it justice because it is absolutely incredible. 100% linen with gold embrodered lace. It is beautiful!

Waiting for the noodles to boil we did a cupid swap. Each couple was asked to bring a "Valentines Basket under $15" to be given to another couple. I was very impressed with the themes/ideas but have to say Paul's find of the athlete's gel shot - but with alcohol instead of energy goo. Hilarious. The parents got that basket...appropriate!?!?!?

The actual dinner was a success: Fresh green beans, spaghetti with heart shaped pasta noodles and an amazing salad thanks to Jamie and Paul.

Dessert completed the meal. A few weeks ago I put in a request for Stephanie's famous heart shaped goodness of a dessert. She graciously accepted the half day project and everyone devoured her desserts. She topped it off with long stemmed chocolate covered strawberries. Delicous!!!

Around 10:30 we finished our 4 hour dinner and had a great time with friends and our significant others. We got to hear the story of how everyone met and the qualities we like most about our significant others. Valentine's Day isn't officially here until tomorrow, but I already feel like the holiday is complete!

Superbowl Sunday: Good work team!

After 4 weeks of prep the team was ready to play - the Packer watching support team that is! Kelly, Joe, Carissa, Brian, Lucas and Becky have shared the past 5 Packer games with us and it has been so much fun! For the superbowl we went all out. Lucas helped Matt set up the surround sound so everyone saved $200-$2000 and pretty much felt like they were there...lol!

Highlights of the game for me: the outcome, the black eyed peas and the darth vader kid commercial...adorable! More highlights below...

Round one of food included: wings, fries, random snacks from Sonic and warm pretzels.

Round two of food: Lucas' peppersteak sandwiches (per my request), spinach artichoke dip, queso and leftovers from round one.

Q3 Snack was a very special surprise from Becky: Football chocolate covered strawberries! Becky and Lucas also surprised Matt with Green Bay Packer plates and napkins.

The usuals all wore some form of green or gold...except Brian...but he was cheering green and gold so that is all that really matters!!

We started the fourth quarter with our tradition of fresh cookies straight out of the oven with an assortment of ice cream to make your own icecream cookie sandwich (the idea for a variety of flavors courtesy of Kelly). The fourth quarter ended with a very happy husband (and thousands of other happy Packer fans). I enjoyed the game but enjoyed the time with friends even more! Superbowl Sunday was a success!