Academy Awards Recap

So, here is what you need to know from the 83rd Annual Academy Awards:

1) One of the most boring Award Shows yet

2) I think that Today.com said it right "James Franko and Anne Hathaway may be brilliant actors, but Oscar hosts? Perhaps not quite as fantastic."

3) My eyes began to shut at 10:30pm which resulted in me "Googling" the final winners that were announced at the end of the night.  The were as follows:
                
           Best Actress in a Leading Role went to Natalie Portman for "Black Swan"

           Best Actor in a Leading Role went to Colin Firth for "The King's Speech"


           Best Picture went to "The King's Speech" 

....both of those movie's I have yet to see.

4) I think the best presenter of the evening was Oprah Winfrey.  Very poised and captured the audience from the moment she began speaking.  I know she has a lot of practice, but at an award show like this you want the best of the best.

5) Upon accepting her award for Best Supporting Actress in "The Fighter,"Melissa Leo dropped the F-bomb.  You know it was a slow night when that was one of the high lights.

6) Best Dressed (based on my personal opinion) goes to Gwyneth Paltrow who wore Calvin Klein with simple accents of Louis Vuitton jewelry, and Award Show host Anne Hathaway.  Even though her performance during the night was not the best, I think she looked stunning on the red carpet in her red Valentino gown.

       

7) Worst dressed (based on my personal opinion) goes to Amy Adams.  Amy chose to wear a midnight blue, sequence  L'Wren Scott gown, and on top of all the glitz, she accessorized with a heavy combination of emerald and diamond jewelry.  I believe the gown stands out on it's own in a very dominant way, so adding big bling was not appealing to me. I was also not a fan of her hair style, as it only added confusion to the over all look.

Hmm, what else...I think that sums the evening up.  Hope next year is better.

Hat or Hair Pin?

Kate Middleton was recently spotted with Prince William as they made their first public appearance as a royal couple, and was sporting this new hat by designer Philip Treacy.

It slightly bothered me that this accessory is considered a hat.  What portion of her head is it covering, or better yet protecting?

With that said, I did a little research to determine the exact specs of a "hat," and who exactly this milliner is behind the work of art that is perched on Ms. Middleton's head.  However, I must warn you that the below information is so general and really didn't help me win my case for this example not being considered a true "hat." I guess that's fashion for you, anything goes, right?

1) Initially hat's were created to offer protection from falling rocks, weapons or masonry. 

2) Hat's are a symbol of status of authority

3) An onlooker’s attention is first drawn to a person's face, therefore, a hat is the most noticeable   

    fashion item anyone can wear.

4) Hat's come in a plethora of shapes and sizes 

5) Philip Treacy, is an Irish designer who has designed hats for celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Alexander McQueen and Sarah Jessica Parker. It has also been speculated that he may design Kate's hat for the upcoming royal wedding in April 2011. 

In closing, I would like to post a personal message to Kate:

Hat's off to you Kate! You are rapidly becoming a fashion icon for your generation and I must say that you wear it well. 

Follow @LindsaycHerman

My new Twitter friend is showing up in my Google real time results :)
Love this feature!

Highlight Of My Day...

Regarding the upcoming Half Marathon that I committed to run with my boss-

Me: Christine, will you please run the half marathon with me? We will go at a good pace, train together and work with Stu Mittleman who is a fantastic inspiration and part of the American UltraRunning Hall of Fame!

Christine: How far is that?

Me: 13.1 miles

Christine: Carrie! I can't run 1 mile without having a seizure!

...I would like you all to know that the end result of this conversation was a full commitment from Christine Rochelle to run the New Jersey Half Marathon- many more posts to come!

"19" Going on "21"

British singer and Grammy Winner for Best New Artist (for her hit song "Chasing Pavements" off her first album "19"), Adele, releases her second album "21" with a second home-run.  Her new album is now available to "pre-order" on iTunes, and her hit single "Rolling In the Deep" can be downloaded separately from the album.  I suggest you do it asap because this song rocks and is a great addition to your work out mix!

The 21 year old singer performed "Rolling In The Deep" this morning on the Today Show and blew the audience away. Make sure you check it out!

My Fiance's Dinner Request Last Night...via text

Me: What time do you plan on being home tonight? Heading to dinner with my parents -would u like me to bring u home something?

Fiance: The 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, pls.

Gaga's Latest

I know this song sounds like Madonna's "Express Yourself" (like I mentioned in my previous post), but it is growing on me. What I can't seem to figure out is what exactly is growing on Gaga's shoulders and forehead? Was she born that way? If not, it is definitely an interesting costume choice, not sure I could ever adopt that style.

Grammy Highlights

First of all, I am completely appalled that Arcade Fire took home the biggest award of the evening for Album of the Year.  They beat out artists such as Lady Gaga, Eminem, Lady Antebellum and Katie Perry and as a result I was totally shocked. I haven't even heard of them before (not that that means much), but even their performance right before receiving the award gave me a head ache. Terrible.

Moving on.  Some of the better performances of the evening have to be handed to artists like Eminem and Rhianna, Justin Beiber and Usher, Lady Antebellum and Mick Jagger.  All of these artist's put on a great show and captured the audience's attention (at least I wasn't changing the channel during their stage time).  As for Lady Gaga's performance, it was her typical "Little Monster" number with her new song "Born This Way" added to the mix. I like the new song, but I think it has a little too much of Madonna's "Express Yourself" intertwined, but that is a separate conversation.

As for the worst performances, I think we have to hand it to Bob Dylan, Cee Lo Green and of course Grammy Winner Arcade Fire.  I thought the sound crew was having issues during Bob Dylan's performance, but after I heard his voice for a few seconds, I quickly determined that they most likely turned down the microphone while he was singing. Cee Lo Green equals muppet land. That's all you need to know about that.  Arcade Fire we already discussed and I refuse to waste more words on that group.

Finally, how could we have a full recap without highlighting the best and worst dressed.  I have to applaud Jewel and Miranda Lambert for their classy and appropriate attire for the award show.  There were many wardrobe shockers throughout the night (including Nicki Minaj as shown below), but I think Cee Lo Green should take home the Grammy for worst dressed/costume or whatever you want to call it.

I Have Watched This Too Many Times & HaveTo Share It...Hysterical

Monday Fun Day

In case you didn't know, I design a line of handbags called "Carrie Valentine Handbags" (Valentine is my middle name).  As a child, and still to this day, my parent's always made Valentine's day all about me-who wouldn't right?  I know we all tend to dread the end of a weekend and Monday's in general (especially since Football season is now over), but I think this Monday will be refreshing and a great way to kick off the week.  
The below conversation took place after I recently shared these thoughts with my fiance:

Me: Don't you agree? I think it's kind of nice that Valentine's Day is not on a weekend.

Fiance: Sure. Oh, and instead of going out to dinner like we always do, I decided that I would like to cook for you.

Me: Oh, that's so nice.  What do you plan on cooking?

Fiance: Not sure yet. Do you have any suggestions?

.....I will let you know who ends up cooking Monday's meal.

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After struggling to find a Blog Name that hasn't already been taken by Blogger, and satisfies my desire to be something cool, new and different, I have landed on the title "Keep It Creative."  I think this Blog Name accurately reflects my "creative" streak as an Art History Major in College, Handbag Designer and Social Media advocate.
There will be many more posts to come and I hope you enjoy my daily "feed for thought!"