The Only Reason I Watched the Oscars...

The dresses. Duh! So, I had to share some of my faves today. Seriously, I would DIE to wear these gowns!

Seriously stunning. I literally gasped when I saw Halle Berry in this gorgeous Marchesa gown.

Say what you want, but I love this Givenchy Haute Couture on Cate Blanchett. It's different, but still really pretty and not too out-there. I hate when stars want to push the envelope, and you lose the person in the gown, it ends up wearing them and not the other way around. This is gorgeous, and done so perfectly.

J-Hud looks like a total knockout in this Versace dress!!

Hailie Steinfield looks absolutely adorable in this Marchesa gown she actually helped design! I think its just refreshing to see a 14 year old actually look 14 at a Hollywood event.

Jennifer Lawrence + Calvin Klein Collection = smokin hot!

Oh Natalie Portman nails it in Rodarte. This is so perfect and complements her baby bump so nicely!

Love this Gucci dress on Hilary Swank. I'm a sucker for feathers and sparkle! 

And I think - no, I KNOW - this is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE look of the night:

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab Haute Couture. It's so sexy and so glam! Not overdone on either end of the spectrum, though. My heart skips a beat everytime I see this picture! She looks flawless and the dress is just SO amazingly beautiful! This one is to die for! I want it!!

And Anne had so many gorgeous looks from the red carpet to the actual show. So jealous of all the gorgeous dresses she got to wear. These were 3 of my favorites:

Valentino Haute Couture

Atelier Versace (I had to catch my breath again after I saw this one, too!)

Givenchy Haute Couture

xo-k

Eye of the Tiger, Year of the Rabbit!

No, not that rabbit (Sex and the City fans...lol)!

Here's my "horoscope" for me, a tiger, the Year of the Rabbit (according to the Chinese horoscopes, obviously):

The Tiger in Year of the Metal Rabbit

Rabbits want freedom to move, and Tigers are equally independent. The Tiger can scale the ladder of success in this Year of the Rabbit, capitalizing on all the skills acquired during the year before. A newly acquired "expert" status may fall upon these creatures, making it easier to land prestigious work assignments. The Year of the Metal Rabbit won't be all work and no play, however. In fact, outdoor activities are highly favored for the Tiger. Running, biking, hiking ... being out in nature is extremely therapeutic.

The Year of the Metal Rabbit will be a sociable one for the Tiger. In fact, friends may take precedence over family. Special times like holidays, birthdays and anniversaries will be celebrated with pals, rather than relatives. It's not that Tigers will turn their backs on kin; it's just that this Year of the Rabbit will prompt these creatures to change their priorities a bit. Relationships formed out of mutual admiration, rather than familial obligation, will feel more enriching.

 

Taking risks is not favored this year. The Tiger must learn to look before it leaps, or disaster will ensue. The Year of the Metal Rabbit is a time of reflection. Learning to weigh the pros and cons of any given issue is critical. Although the Tiger prefers relying on their intuition, their impulses will not serve them well in this Rabbit year. Waiting 24 hours before making any important decisions will be a good rule for the Tiger to follow.

 

Rabbit years sometimes tempt the Tiger to change residences. Buying or selling property could prove profitable in 2011. If the Tiger has never owned a place before, this year could be a good time to take the plunge.

Tres exciting, no? :)

xo-k

I got my Chinese horoscope from MyDaily.com. Go here for your own!

Face Time

I've decided that I am going to start taking on a few new challenges in the next couple months. In the interest of having something else to write about another day, I'm just going to share one for now. It's a Beauty Challenge! Gotta love that!

So I got the idea for this "challenge" while reading a blog posted by Bethany Joy Galeotti (of One Tree Hill fame). She talked about an issue that I think a lot of us deal with every single day, and that's oily skin. I don't know about you, but that's something that drives me crazy. Now, I don't have extremely oily skin, I'm a little bit more of combination-skinned myself, but I do get breakouts/blackheads that my normal skin care routine just never seems to be able to really take care of. And honey, lemme tell ya, I've tried everything from the usual drugstore remedies, like Neutragena/Noxema/Clearasil/etc., to ProActive, to perscription Benzacline. Nothing really did the job. So, I'm trying something new.

What's crazy is this skin care regimen is ridiculously simple, and sort of breaks the "rules" of what I thought  was proper skin care.

First of all, I'm starting my mornings with simply splashing my face with cold water. Like, icy cold! (Not so fun considering it's so damn cold outside!) But it really does help wake me up in the morning. Plus, it helps reduce any swelling or puffiness, and (according to my grandma, who told me this several years ago) it helps shrink your pores and make them less visible. That's it! No soap. No cleansers. No toners. No exfoliating. Just...cold water.

At night, I am using a cleansing oil. I know, oil, crazy right?! But so far, I really like it, and my skin is absolutely NOT oily! Bethany's blog lists a few recommended cleansing oils, but some of them aren't available in the states anymore, so I did some looking around online and found one that could be found at my local Sephora. Its called Boscia called MakeUp-BreakUp Cool Cleansing Oil, and bonus! It meets Sephora's standard of being a natural product. What's nice about having their natural seal vs. one from a government regulated agency is that they actually have standards for what it means to be "natural." Learn more about Sephora's policy for natural products here.

Now, I've stopped using my usual moisturizer because it has SPF in it, and Bethany's blog recommended avoiding using one with SPF in it for the first four-or-so weeks of this new routine. I've yet to get a new one...and I need it! What's surprising is that my skin actually feels dryer than it used to with my old routine--crazy, considering I'm using a cleansing oil on my face daily! But I MIGHT go out for a new/recommended one today (it's iffy...there's ice outside today!!). One of the recommendations for a nighttime moisturizer is actually Extra Virgin Coconut Oil! Sounds crazy again, but hey, I may try that one out, too!

I'll let you know how it goes for me. So far (and its been about 4 days), I've noticed my face gets less oily throughout the day. Plus, the Boscia Cleansing Oil is really great at getting off my waterproof eye make-up AND getting my face clean without having to add multiple products to my routine.

Check out Bethany's blog to learn a little more about the reason why you should get rid of your stripping cleansers and switch to something like a cleansing oil. Here is another blog recommended by Bethany to read for further information. Follow Bethany on twitter, too @BethanyGaleotti

Oh, hello again :)

So I guess I've been a little absent from this lately...but I just haven't had anything that's really pushed my buttons a whole lot lately. At least not enough to write about :) But there was something the other day that just annoyed the crap out of me, and it's not the first time this particular pet peeve has gotten the best of me.

During periods of my life when I'm single, I tend to talk to just about anybody (well I do that all the time, I'm a friendly person lol), and I don't necessarily mind giving my number to a guy at the end of a conversation...I mean, just cuz I did doesn't mean I even want to even go on a date with them. Honestly, it means I can say no through a text versus face-to-face (I  know, lame, but whatever). Anyways! Two of my biggest pet peeves come from new guys trying to talk me up....

#1: I HATE when I get this text: "hi."
Um...hi? WTF do you want me to say? Don't waste my time by sending me a one-word salutation. If I had a limited number of texts per month, that would be such a huge waste and I would be even more annoyed than I am with my unlimited texting plan. And, if you are wanting to strike up a conversation with me, START A FREAKIN CONVERSATION!! "Hi" says nothing to me. "Hi" tells me you don't have the balls to get straight to the point, or enough motivation to direct a conversation with me. If that's all left up to me, I'm already uninterested. You might as well stop trying. If all you say is "hi," all you're going to get as a "hello" back. And probably five hours later. There's probably a reason you are a single man in your 30's, and it's because you have the maturity level of a high-schooler and the conversation skills of a retarded monkey.



#2: When said guys text me and try to get me to meet up with them and I can't, or I haven't saved their number yet because A) I don't care to or B) I just forgot to and I can't remember who it is, so I have to ask who it is, their replies are: "I guess I'm not that important," or "I guess you're not that interested." My reply: "Well, if you say so!!" I seriously have had that said to me a few times by different guys already in this new year! When you sound like my high school boyfriend or start throwing yourself a pity party before we even hit it off...I don't like you. You might as well quit trying, again. It's especially annoying when you're 6 years older than me and you sound like you're 16. Barf. Don't tell me how I feel or what I think. I'm obviously still forming my opinions of you...and you just made it that much more easy for me to decide that you're not worth my time.

What's sad is when I see one guy do BOTH of those things...and they do!! I can think of two guys right now that have done that in the past two weeks, and three in the last few months. It. Is. Ri.Dic.U.Lous. I just want to say, "Grow some balls!!" That, and lose my number, haha. I'm sorry if that seems harsh, but I'm not wasting my time on some guys that are going to play games like that. I'm not into somebody who needs a girl to be sympathetic and give them pity attention. Go to your mommy for that. That's not the approach I am attracted to. Be confident, but not cocky. Pursue me, but not stalkerish. Don't even mention stalker-like qualities, or act like one (yes, two separate guys have each done one of those), it takes you from annoying- to creeper-status. Be fun. Be relaxed. Be open to going out with me and my friends, and probably taking a semi-back seat to dancing with them for awhile. I'll come around if you hang in there, haha. And if you don't see me responding to your "moves," take a hint and back off. You will know if I like you. If I do, I will be more forward myself. But, if I'm shying away/giving you a cold shoulder....I'm probably not interested!

Ok, that's my little rant for the week. :) Hopefully I will get back in the swing of things and start writing a little more often.

xo-k

'Tis the Season!

Once again, Casey, my friend...your blog inspired me! I started to post a comment on a few movies you didn't have on the list --and definitely should see if you haven't yet! :) -- and then I started thinking about all my favorites....

I love the holidays! And I looooove my Christmastime movie and tv specials! Here's a list of a, um, few (lol) of my all time favorites! Ok, 25 of them, roughly listed from most to least favorite! After 10 it all really gets a little fuzzy :D

1. White Christmas ( <3 Bing Crosby!!)

2. Polar Express

3. Christmas in Connecticut

4. Elf

5. It’s a Wonderful Life

6. A Charlie Brown Christmas
7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original tv special)
8. The Santa Clause

9. Home Alone

10. Glee’s Christmas Episode

11. Santa Baby (ABC Family Movie)

12. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (the old, awesome claymation-style one!)

13. Frosty the Snowman

14. The Holiday

15. The Family Stone

16. The Muppet Christmas Carol

17. Meet Me in St. Louis

18. Hallmark’s Christmas in November

19. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (movie)

20. A Christmas Story

21. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (made the same way as Rudolph)

22. Miracle on 34th Street (1947, 1994)

23. A Christmas Carol (1951, 1984 tv)

24. The Nutcracker (1993, starring Maculey Culkin)

25. Disney’s Fantasia’s Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy

I was going to write a little bit about each one and include some visuals...but there are 25 movies, and I think most of them are pretty self-explanatory as to why they are so great. Some are just plain awesome, some are reminiscent of a younger, more innocent time in life, and others are time-tested classics. Hope you enjoyed my list and maybe discover a few to add to your own! :)

xo-k

Dick-Move of the Day

Wow! Really?! The following video is a clip from last night's Jets/Dolphins game. An assistant/strength and conditioning coach for the Jets (Sal Alosi) INTENTIONALLY tripping a Dolphins player (Nolan Carroll) while running along the sideline.

I seriously can't believe that happened!! I mean really?! C'mon people!! That coach should be FIRED! He could have ended that player's career! Alosi's lucky it looks like a "clean" trip and Carroll sustained no significant injuries...that could have ended up much, much worse!

What kind of person does that, though!? I get that as a coach (and probably former player), you are still very apart of the team, you get really into the game/wish you were on the field, and your emotions can run high...but none of that excuses Alosi's actions! Just absolutely ridiculous...had to share!

The "Infinite" and the "Unexplainable"

So this morning I was watching The View (judge me if you want, but I love their Hot Topics lol), and they said that scientists have recently made some discoveries that suggest the universe is three times bigger than we originally thought it was. I wish I could find a clip to put in this post, but I watched it twice to make sure I heard it right. Well, naturally, my question was: How can something we believed to be "infinite" suddenly be "three times bigger" than what we currently thought?

It's been on my mind all afternoon while decorating for Christmas around the house. I couldn't understand why people just HAD to know the answers to everything, and they "whys" behind all the mysteries of life. Why can't people come to a point where they accept not EVERYTHING can be explained, and that maybe those things that are hard to figure out are better left to accepting as something bigger, outside the realm of human understanding, and possibly divine?

So anyways, I decided to do a little digging and look for some articles about the topic. What I found was that the actual article from Yale (found here) really says that there are three times more stars in the universe, specifically red dwarfs, which in turn increases the number of possible planets in the universe, leading to the possibility of more "Earths" and life similar to our own out there--except they'd be far more "evolved" because their galaxies are apparently older than ours. Anyhow, I thought it was just interesting, even if finding this article kinda killed my whole train of thought on people saying the size of the universe multiplied, haha.

xo-k