oscar wrap-up

Happy Post-Oscar Monday, Ladies!

(I say ladies, because the gents won't be reading this post!)

I dunno about you all, but I thought the show was kind of lackluster this year. I was excited about James Franco (he WASN'T high-- gimmie a break!) hosting (notsoexcitedaboutanne) but it still was kinda a flop. I think the problem they ran into with the hosts is that James Franco is an intellectual guy who doesn't have to light up the room with his over the top personality to be a great actor. I love the guy. I felt, watching him, like he was acting the same way I would have been if it were me. Kinda awkward, kinda uncomfortable. I guess also, I felt like the writers tried to make the hosts "themselves" and it just didn't work out. Franco looked uncomfortable and Anne Hathaway came across as a complete and total spaz. Maybe Franco was worried the whole time that all her flailing would put out an eye... 

I will say: I LOVED Anne's wardrobe. Every single outfit was gorgeous (maybe not the hair...). I especially loved the blue column gown.

I enjoyed the red carpet, though.

I watched at my in-law's house and it was lots of fun having them to make fun of talk about the looks with.

My favorites were Natalie Portman...

Cate Blanchett...

Jennifer Lawrence...

and Mila Kunis.

 I know a LOT of people didn't like Cate Blanchett's dress, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. Especially with her fabulous hair cut. By the end of the evening, I think hers might have been my favorite look of the night. She looked stunning when she floated out onto the stage. 

Mila Kunis was my top favorite the whole night (until Cate took over) ... I loved the color, hubs loved the cleavage. 

Also, I heard a lot of people talking about how they'd like to see Natalie Portman in something fitted... and all those lovely people have never had a baby. FOLKS: by this point, she's rocking the pregnant lady butt. The last thing that poor girl needs is to squeeze that into a skin tight dress. 

Can we also give HBC some credit? 

 The woman wore an interesting dress, very her... appropriate styling, loved her look. Love the color of her tresses, love that her sunglasses made an appearance. 

Two of my favorite moments of the night?

James Franco dressed up as Marilyn Monroe. SO funny. I made the baby cry I guffawed so loudly when he came out. 

I'd love to take a class taught by him. I would get perfect attendance ;)

(also, helloooooo arms)

RDJ and Jude Law. I love these two. I love them together in Sherlock Holmes and I love that their dynamic in the film is obviously reflective of their real life relationship. They feed off of each other so well. SO excited for the second Sherlock Holmes movie. 

SO EXCITED. 

And...

the worst.

Jessica Biel's dress:

Apparently, last night was the night of the floppy boob. I'm looking at you, Jennifer Hudson. PUT them away. JB was no exception to the floppage. She also needs to USE SOME LIPSTICK.

Also. I really didn't like Mandy Moore's red carpet look. It was so completely colorless. Her skin, dress... just blah. I think it would have served her better to wear her stunning blue performance gown on the carpet so she'd stand out, then wear the glittery beige on stage when the lights will make the dress sparkle. Just boring.

  And I'm not going to lie: I don't think Gwyneth is infallible. I just don't get the Gwyneth thing. I didn't like her red carpet look. I thought it was just weird. BUT--- I saw this photo of her, Emma Stone (STUNNER) and Taylor Swift (GO AWAY!) and couldn't help but wonder WHO THE HECK let her out of the house without finishing her spray tan? Gwynnie, spray the underside of your arms too, honey. T-A-C-K-Y. 

There. That's what I thought about last night. 

I'm sure all of you disagree about most/all of what I said, but that's why the Oscars red carpet is great, something for everyone!

That's all for now. I have a LOT going on in the next 24 hours and lots to do! Posts will follow :)




All images from People.com

zoo day

Last week, my parents and I took Liam to the Houston Zoo. 

We hadn't been since L's first birthday and he really seemed to enjoy himself this time around. He (naturally) didn't want to be in his stroller for very long, but in general, he was pretty well behaved and we all had a lot of fun. 

I think- THINK- he had allergies when we went because the poor guy's eyes and nose were both runny, and he was slightly grumpy towards the end of the day. Aren't we all when we're suffering with our allergies? Regardless, L LOVED having my dad to chase him around. It was a great game. 

Not sure if y'all know (or are as nutty about the zoo as we are), but there's a new exhibit open, the African Forest, and Liam really enjoyed the drums they had set up for the kids. Their new chimpanzee enclosure is really incredible!

We spent a fair bit of time in the Children's Zoo. 

Liam enjoyed the bird sounds display (mainly because of the buttons). 

We took him into the petting zoo and he really, really liked that. Of course, there were goats that were small and reasonable, but L wanted nothing to do with them. He only wanted to touch the tallest and the fattest of the animals. 

Look at those profiles! Liam looks like his Grandpa Ed.

We left around 2, I think. We'd arrived at 9:30, so suffice it to say, Liam had been a champ and was pretty cranky by the time we headed home. He just wanted to run around and have his way. You know, as a toddler is wont to do.

Would you believe me if I said we had so much fun and my poor hubbers was SO jealous he didn't get to go (seriously. the zoo is my man's happy place) that we're planning on going back with my sweet Mother-in-law. Steph, Zach, Liam and I are heading back on Tuesday, armed (a little more appropriately) with our awesomely retro metal Radio Flyer wagon.

I don't know that Liam will be any more excited to go next week than he was this week, but I know I sure enjoy the day out, walking around. Plus, with the wagon, he'll have a little more freedom. 

To give you a giggle:

Today after my MIL dropped L and I off at home, he decided the place to be was between his toy box and the wall. Well, SOMEBODY got stuck.

I took a photo before I helped him out. 

Mean? Maybe. Funny? For sure.

reading recommendations: oliver pötzsch

This year, I am committing myself to reading as many books as I can- to immerse myself in the heaven that is a well written book. If you're like me, and you love a book that is a little bit of a challenge to read, a little bit of a stomach-turner, then man-oh-man do I have a recommendation for you.

I finished Oliver Pötzsch's The Hangman's Daughter two nights ago and am so thrilled I read it. It is, by far, my favorite book I've read this year, and that includes Water for Elephants.

Pötzsch's story is about his ancestors, the Kuisl family. The Kuisl family made their name being executioners, skilled in the "art" of killing people, torturing them and making them confess. The story itself is set in the late 1600's in what would be come Bavaria, and is a brilliant blend of intrigue, superstition, misdirection, the dichotomy between the old and the young and even a little romance.

It is absolutely brilliant.

Without giving too much away, the Hangman of Schongau is thrust into a hard position when a family friend is arrested and accused of witchcraft after one of the local boys is dragged out of the river with his head bashed in and a strange mark on his shoulder. As more children start to fall victim to the unseen devil, and people start calling for blood, the Hangman Kuisl and the young local physician Simon set out to discover who is responsible for the children's murders and why.

I will say, there was a chapter (it's hard to talk about the book without giving a lot away) where the devil is pursuing a little girl and the whole time I was reading that particular section, I felt sick to my stomach. I think it's a tribute to Pötzsch's fantastic writing and the amazing job that the translator did in capturing the tone of the original words. Oh, did I mention that Pötzsch is German and the novel had to be translated into English? No? Well, there you go.

I highly, highly, highly recommend this book. It's not light reading, it can get a little depressing (hello, children are being murdered! women are being tortured! men are wearing tights!) but in the e-n-d... oh, so worth the heart pitter patters and the stomach turns.

Let me know if you pick it up- I'm eager to hear what others think!



p.s. I don't mean it's hard to read because the writing bogs down- I mean the content can be hard to read.

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rewind

We had a very *good* week around here!

Monday, of course, was Valentine's Day. Zach and I had 9:30 reservations at P.F. Chang's in Sugar Land, and it was kind of nice, actually. We missed all the mooning high school kids, and while it was still busy, it wasn't like there were mobs of people everywhere.

I hesitated about posting the picture, though, because the neckline on my dress is messed up-- it's a square neck, the lining was folded out and I didn't notice. Boo. But we rarely take nice pictures of the two of us. And by rarely I mean practically never.

We spent the rest of the week being pretty lazy-- my mom and dad both worked Tuesday, Zach was off so we just hung around. Wednesday was more of the same. We spent the day in pajamas and played around the house. Liam loves nothing more than an afternoon spent with all of his cars, and I enjoy getting down on the floor and playing with him.  Thursday, my parents and I took Liam up to the Premium Outlets for the day and enjoyed being outside and out of the house.

Friday was busy and FUN, except for the very beginning. We had Liam's 18 month (1 month late) checkup at 8:30 in the morning. L is a big boy: he's 34.5 inches tall (99th percentile) and 30 pounds (90th percentile). Dr. Shaya was incredibly impressed by how strong he is, and he demonstrated by kicking the nurse in the gut with his thunder thighs when she gave him his shots. I felt bad, but it was her responsibility to hold his legs, after all. After we left the doctor, we headed to the mall to check out the City Flats at the Gap. My lady friends had all been raving, so I went to see what I could find. Due to the President's Day sale, I only paid $6.27 per pair! Considering they were $39.99 regular price, I was puh-leased. Then we headed to the park for our park playdate with Haley & Owen, Jacci & Scarlett, Taylor & Grayson & Gracie, and Haley & Haden. The kiddos had so much fun and it was nice to spend the afternoon outside.

Saturday, we spent the day at my parent's house. Liam got into his swim gear and played in the sprinkler. The kid loves water, y'all. He played with his Cozy Coupe, he played with his pushy Mater toy, he threw the balls for the dogs... My mom bought L a towel that pulls over his head- an anticipatory action for when my dad *finally* pulls the trigger on putting in his pool he wants. After we stripped him of his wet swim clothes, he ran around in his towel/cape for a while and loved every minute.

L also has a thing for getting IN dogs beds when they're in them. Not so much when the dog is elsewhere, but once a dog is in a dog bed, it's like moth to a flame. He cannot help himself. Cooper and Tucker BOTH got to experience this.

Playing 1-2-3 with Grandpa Ed.

Liam has been slowly, but surely, coming around to his ImagiNext toys-- Spike the dinosaur and Big Foot. Saturday night, I turned on Big Foot, gave L the remote and went to get my face cleaned up for bedtime. When I came out, L was feeding Big Foot. While he was on. Usually, he won't get within 10 feet of these toys when they're on. It was too cute. We then proceeded to play ball with Big Foot for about 20 minutes. Thank goodness these toys are finally getting some (little boy) playtime.

And THAT was our exciting week(end)-- hope you all had good ones too!

planning a nursery: girl

So in the same vein (I've been saying that a lot this month!) as the post on Liam's big boy bed, I started online window shopping for things for baby E's potential room. Should a baby E make her appearance in our family in a couple years.

Back when I knew I was pregnant, but didn't know Liam was Liam, I had planned out a girl's nursery in raspberry, lemon and white. I'm still stuck on that color scheme. I can't get over it. But it's hard to find *just* what I'm looking for.

Enter Serena & Lily's Ruby Heirloom Crib Bedding:

How about with the Hayes Glider in Punch with white piping?

And for the walls? 2 shades of yellow, in foot wide stripes, all around the room.

Of course, I'm not in love with the shades of yellow they used in the above photo, but you get the idea. The yellows I have in mind are much brighter, more pure yellow- less mustardy.

I'm also envisioning painting the dresser Liam has in his room (which will go to a younger sister, but not a younger brother) a great shade of pink. Then we'll put in a white bookcase like the Lilac Bookcase from Pottery Barn Teen. With the yellow on the walls, the pink on the dresser, the white on the crib and bookcase... it'll allow so many fun accessories to really pop!

Besides a beautiful, dainty chandelier like the White Ella Chandelier, I also see this, the Capiz Table Lamp -- in pink!-- looking so cute!

I'd love to add a few of these Petal Pop Wall Stickers as well, in both the pink and the white.

To keep a little yellow in the room, I'd toss one (or both!) of Pottery Barn's new Bee & Beehive Pillows on the glider.

Then I'd pick up the Pink Senegalese Storage Baskets in large and small to put toys and dirty clothes in.


That's what I have planned, at least. I long to make this room a reality. And I really hesitated about posting this nursery because my design/decor ideas are like baby names to me. I don't like sharing them lest someone decide to rip me off. Oh yes, I'm weird like that. Use my baby name, knowing I like it, or use my nursery ideas and I'll flip out. Warned.