My Oscar Winner Predictions

Let's cut to the chase...I love the Oscars, but is not what this post is about...it's about who I think will win. And you best believe I research this! In fact, I've seen all the movie nominated for Best Picture.

*Disclaimer* I am not fully aware of what all of these categories entail, but I do my best to research and pick which movie I think the Academy will pick. Also, I am not a member of any press or film affiliated company.

Now, without further adieu, here goes nothing! 

If you would like to see the full list of nominees, please check here.

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

The Artist.

I feel that this is the obvious choice, but frankly, it's who I think the academy will choose. I mean, I would love to see  The Descendants or Hugo win, but I doubt that will happen. The Artist is a great movie, so I won't be upset. :)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

George Clooney for The Descendants (2011).

This one is tough. Jean Dujardin seems to be the favorite (he's my second choice haha), but there is a lot of talk about George Clooney. Both men were great in there roles, but I think it's George's time.

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Viola Davis for The Help.

This is another tough one, but she does seem to be the favorite (she was great in The Help). Though, I've been hearing good things about Meryl Streep. I think Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) would also be an excellent choice, but seems to be at the bottom of the list.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Christopher Plummer for Beginners.

Need I say more? To me, he's the obvious and best choice. Though, Jonah Hill winning would be epic.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Octavia Spencer for The Help.

Seems to be the favorite and did a great job in The Help. My second choice, and someone who could steal the win from Ms. Spencer is Jessica Chastain (The Help).

Best Achievement in Directing:

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist.

Now, Martin Scorsese (Hugo) or Alexander Payne (The Descendants) could also win, but I'm going with the Director who's movie is most likely to win Best Picture. 

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:

Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen

Man I loved that movie so much. It's original, fun, happy, sad...it should win. Other contenders are:

The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius) and A Separation (Asghar Farhadi).

 

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published:

The Descendants: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash.

It's a great movie, and I've been reading that it seems to be the favorite for this category. I could also see Moneyball (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin) winning. It's my second choice.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year:

Puss in Boots: Chris Miller.

I've been reading things that say Rango (Gore Verbinski) could take this one, but listen, I've seen them both, and I'm sticking with Puss in Boots.

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year:

A Separation: Asghar Farhadi (Iran)

Best Achievement in Cinematography:

Hugo: Robert Richardson.

It's visually stunning, so I don't see how it can't win this. 

Best Achievement in Editing:

The Artist: Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius

Best Achievement in Art Direction:

Hugo: Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

Best Achievement in Costume Design:

The Artist: Mark Bridges

Honestly, this is tough...I could also see Hugo (Sandy Powell) or Jane Eyre (Michael O'Connor) getting this award as well. Such great costumes in all of these films.

Best Achievement in Makeup:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2: Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin. 

It's the last film of the series, the makeup is great...why not? haha. 

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score:

The Artist: Ludovic Bource

It's a silent film, so it better have good music! Haha. 

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song:

The Muppets: Bret McKenzie("Man or Muppet")

Yesssssssssss. Ok, ok, it's a ridiculous song, but there are only two choices, and this is the best one. 

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing:

Hugo: Tom Fleischman, John Midgley

Best Achievement in Sound Editing:

War Horse: Richard Hymns, Gary Rydstrom. 

I could also see Hugo (Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty) taking this one as well. 

Best Achievement in Visual Effects:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, Daniel Barrett

Um, have you seen Caesar (the ape)?! How could this not win?!

Best Documentary, Features:

Undefeated (2011): Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin, Rich Middlemas. 

Best Documentary, Short Subjects:

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011): Lucy Walker, Kira Carstensen

Best Short Film, Animated:

La Luna (2011): Enrico Casarosa

Nominees for Best Short Film, Live Action:

Raju (2011): Max Zähle, Stefan Gieren

Now, let's see how many I get right on Sunday! :D 

Happy 84th Academy Awards everybody!

Goals, Oscars, and Life

Hello friends! Happy Friday!

Let's review my goals for the week and how I'm doing, shall we?

This week I have some goals for myself: 

1. Start a new workout routine (new chapter = new routine)

So far, I've been getting in to a good routine. I kinda strained a muscle in my glute/leg from working out, so I've just been easing myself in with some cardio and stretching. Seems to be helping a little bit.Today, I think I'm going to do some yoga.

2. Apply for more jobs (this includes temp agencies) 

Sigh, I really hate this one, but I've applied to a few temp agencies, so, we'll see what happens! 

3. Make delicious dinners ( I have 2 planned already :) )

Well, Tuesday, we went to Tyler's parents' for dinner since it was his aunt's birthday. Since his mom had left overs, we took them home, and that's what we had to dinner Wednesday. Thursday, we still had leftovers to eat, so I left well enough alone, and just heated those up! Tonight I was going to make lasagna, but I can't for the life of me find our ground sausage. We bought it Monday and put it in the freezer, where it went from there, I have no idea. Sigh. Guess I'm making that rosemary chicken linguine dish I saw in a cook book. I mean, that sounds delicious, but I was really feeling the lasagna. 

4. Become better at creating blog titles (haha, this may take time) 

Well, what do you think? haha...I think it could use some more work. Like I said, this may take some time....

So, I guess I didn't do too poorly on my goals for the week. What do you think? I'll be sure to fill y'all in on how the weekend goes.
This weekend is going to be a pretty relaxing one. We really don't have any plans. What?! All we have to do is decorate and get the apartment more put together, look for jobs, oh yeah, and watch the Oscars on Sunday. :D If you're new to this blog, you do not yet know of my deep Oscar obsession. It's bad. I have no idea why I'm so obsessed with them, but I've been this way since I was a kid. Which reminds me, I need to get my Oscar winner predictions ready to go! Guess I should get to that. Have a blessed day everybody!

Trying to Find my Style

When decorating, most people have a certain style or direction. Me? Well, I'm trying to find my style. For some people, this is an easy task, for me, well, it's been interesting and somewhat difficult. Why you may ask? Well, for one thing, I have an opinionated husband. I guess I should be thankful he has an opinion, because some people would kill for their spouse to have such a big opinion about decorating and helping organize the house. Granted, I do enjoy that he helps me out, but sometimes I just want to do things my way.

Another reason that this has been such an interesting and difficult task is the fact that I can be indecisive. So, I've been trying to be proactive and read articles, take quizzes, and find inspiration for our new place in order to find my style.

My style according to some quizzes online is: French eclectic, French country, vintage, and classic. Seems about right if ya ask me. I like to entertain, in fact, we both like to entertain and have people over. I want our apartment to have a homey, yet sophisticated and classy feel to it. I feel with the results of these style quizzes that that feel could work out nicely.

I recently have found inspiration in some of the things that I love/are meaningful to me: 

damask patterns, french stuff (European things in general), things from the places I've traveled, floral, pillows, colorful things, dark wood, white wood,...Sigh, I like a lot of things, haha.  

I have also found inspiration in our apartment and some of the furniture we already own. Our apartment is very beige, tan, and white, and most of our furniture is dark...I'm talking black/brown and cherry woods. 

Master bedroom with our wardrobe. (Our German Apartment didn't have closets)

I really like the dark and light combination with pops of colors. 

 

I may have too much to choose from. I want new stuff, but I still have cool old(er) stuff. Tyler and I already have four huge trash bags for goodwill, throw away, given away, and recycled many things. It will all come together soon, I hope. 

How do you guys find inspiration for decorating?

How did you/do you find your style? 

Thoughts for Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you all had a great President's Day weekend. I know I did.
This weekend we bought a new couch, had a wonderful dinner with friends, celebrated one of my best friend's birthdays, had great wine, amazing cupcakes, got Tyler's sister all moved in...need I say more? 

This week I have some goals for myself: 

1. Start a new workout routine (new chapter = new routine)

2. Apply for more jobs (this includes temp agencies) 

3. Make delicious dinners ( I have 2 planned already :) )

4. Become better at creating blog titles (haha, this may take time)

Now, I there are some other goals, but those are more long-term. I think these 3 are very doable for this week, don't ya think? 

Now, speaking of delicious dinners, check out what my husband, Tyler, made tonight: 

That, my friends is habanero chicken, served with broccoli, garlic rice, and mango. Mmm mmm, so good! I think I have a chef on my hands! Hehe. :)

Now that I've been totally random talking about my weekend, my goals, and the delicious dinner I had, I'll leave you with an inspiring quote. I hope it will inspire all of us (yes, that includes little old me) this week. :)

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. 

It does." 

- William James 

{Via}

We've Moved!

   Hello Friends! Sorry for the impromptu hiatus, but hey, life happens. 
   Sunday, I helped one of my dear friends with a wedding. Oh my goodness, it was so beautiful and so much fun! And a bonus, I saw and spoke with Jenna Fisher (aka Pam from The Office) at the hotel with her baby. No, she was not a guest of the wedding, she was just a guest of the hotel.
    This week has gone by so quickly! Monday was moving day for Tyler and I. We packed up all of our things at his parents house, and everything from my storage, and made our way to our new place. Tuesday, the Army movers came with all of our stuff...Happy Valentine's Day to us! In fact, Tuesday was the first night we spent in the place, since we now had our futon haha. For the rest of Valentine's Day, we unpacked, went to the mall for dinner, bought things with our Macy's Wedding money (hello new vacuum, knives, and cooking utensils!), and went grocery shopping. Delightful :)
   The rest of this week has been filled with unpacking, relaxing/enjoying the new place, and buying the things we need to make this apartment a home. I'm so excited that we get to start decorating! Eeeee! Our new chapter has officially started!

Thoughts for Thursday

I really don't mean to take these random "breaks" from blogging, but, well, life happens, and sometimes I don't feel inspired. I digress, and life goes on. Maybe this can inspire me and you as well :)

Source: i.imgur.com via Beth on Pinterest

Well, Hello There Monday!

    And, it's Monday again. Where did the weekend go? Sometimes, I think they go by too quickly. I mean, it's not like I have anything real pressing to do anyway.
    Thursday, I had my interview at 9. Like I said in my last post, it was ok, but I've done better. I've done MUCH worse. I could kind of tell that one of the woman didn't really like me, and honestly, she rubbed me the wrong way. Oh well. I found out the next day, in the evening, that I didn't get the job. I think it's for the best...something better will come along, right?
    Speaking of Friday, that morning, the family dog (kind of Tyler's dog) Buddy starting shaking and acting really weird. He just wasn't himself. So, we told Tyler's mom and they went off to the vet. Tyler and I would've gone, but he had to take placement tests at his college. I had to go with him because we were going to sign our apartment lease after. Buddy had blood tests, ultra-sounds, and x-rays...poor thing. It was finally determined that there were 3 rocks in his intestines and he needed surgery. He was rushed to the emergency vet, where they took more x-rays and did that thing where they take a video camera inside you. While looking for the rocks, they decided they were far enough along, that he could just pass them naturally. But, he was so dehydrated, and his pancreas was inflamed, so they kept him over night. :(

    The next morning (Saturday), Tyler's mom and I went to go get him. Boy, was he happy to come home. Buddy is doing well, but still has some shaky pain moments. He's on a restricted diet, lots of rest, and of course, pain meds. I hope he gets better soon.
 
    Saturday afternoon, Tyler, his parents, and myself went to a "Life Celebration" for his neighbor that has passed away. It was beautiful. There were videos, pictures, and wonderful words spoken. After that, there was lots of wine and appetizers. I think that's how I want my funeral to be...a celebration of my life. It was so great. Afterwards, we went and saw The Artist. Oh man, if you haven't seen that movie, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is a silent film, but it's great! I loved it.
    Sunday, Tyler and his dad were off to Los Olivos to pick up Tyler's mom's valentine's day present ( a wine barrel), so his mom and I prepared food for the Superbowl. In the afternoon, Tyler got a call, and we officially have an apartment! I can't wait to move out and have our own space!!! I'm so excited!!! Eh hem...anyway...back to the Superbowl...now, honestly, I don't really care about the Superbowl...I watch it for the commercials, the half-time show, and the social aspect. Haha. There were a couple good commercials, but honestly, I remember them being a bigger deal. Speaking of being a bigger deal, let's talk Madonna. I enjoy Madonna, and I enjoyed the half-time show, but honestly, it was nothing to right home about. Ah well.

   So friends, it's Monday again. Buddy has a doctor's appointment to check up on him, Tyler starts school (YAY!), and I, well, I will  figure out something to do haha. I always do. :) Happy Monday!

Things for Thursday

    Well, drat. I missed Wedding Wednesday AND the first day of February. So, HAPPY FEBRUARY friends! Can you believe it's already here?! I have officially been back in the states for over a month.
Yesterday, I had a phone interview in the afternoon, then about 2 hours later, they scheduled me for a face to face interview for this morning at 9! AHHH! I think it went well, but one woman was really hard to read, so, we'll see! While I was at my interview, Tyler made his way to LA, with his mom, to look at a car. And guess what, HE BOUGHT IT! That's right friends, we FINALLY have a car! I'm so excited! It's an '05 Passat, that's a silver ish color. So pretty...I love it.
    Anyway, I saw this on Pinterest, and I just had to share! It will make up for my lack of Wedding Wednesday post. Enjoy.

Source: 9gag.com via Beth on Pinterest