Acadamy Awards Fashion 2011

Before we get to the fashion, let me start by saying this...

James Franco, you were downright awkward. Please don't host anything again. Ever.

Now to the fashion.

A lovely night overall with more hits than misses (a rare occasion!).

Let's start with best dressed...

 Natalie Portman looked amazing in her purple gown and her hair and make-up were lovely.  I didn't love that the earrings were so matchy-matchy.  Mila Kunis looked gorgeous in this floating lavender gown with perfect hair and makeup to match. Michele Williams redeemed herself from her flower-power Golden Globes look and showed up elegant and dazzling in white.

 Hailee Steinfeld was cute, young and fresh...perfectly age appropriate while still being elegant.  Hilary Swank was gorgeous on pale silver.  Celine Dion has made many many many red carpet mistakes in the past, but last night she showed up in a gorgeous, sleek gown and the soft hair was perfection.

 Listen, I don't even know what Mark Rufflao's wife's name is, but this dress is horrid!!!  Can you see that it is like two dresses split in half and sewn together? Unforgivable.  Scarlett Johansson was weird in this plum, overly lacy number. And finally....UGH!  It was your big night and you wore a doily on top of tin foil?!!  For shame, Melissa Leo.

 Nicole Kidman is a style star, but flopped in an oddly finned white dress with geometric cut outs and weird coral colored shoes.  Amy Adams had a good color for her dress, but her make-up and jewels were much too heavy and the necklace on top of the fabric?! Wha?!  Jennifer Lawrence asked her stylist to get her a Baywatch swimsuit and lengthen it. Ick. And much too casual for the Oscars.

 Reese Witherspoon looked like Texas Pageant Barbie.  It's a shame, because I liked her simple two tone dress.  And Matthew McConaughey's hair was slicked down, oily and gross.

 Worst Dressed Man goes to Christian Bale. I've never liked black on black on black, but the oily hair and stalker beard didn't help matters either.  This couple is sadly mis-matched.  Hugh Jackman looks handsome, elegant, classic.  His wife looks crazy. Like she hung two Pomeranian puppies from her arms. 

And to finish the report on a high note.  Best dressed of the evening.  Sandra Bullock said Boo-yah Jesse! with an elegant red gown and flawless hair and make-up.  The jewel pins in her hair were to die for!

Javier Bardem is super sexy in his gorgeous suit and cleaned up look. 

Classic Hollywood with a masculine touch. Love.

What did you think?  Agree? Disagree?

Let me have it!

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birthday party madness....adness....adness!

i think i counted 18 kids under the age of six.

it went well, but it was insane.

lesson learned.

six guest cap from now on.

huge thanks to my friend amber who helped SO much.

without her the six year olds just might have taken me down.

check out the full party details here.

six years

filled with...

sunshine

sass

spunk

smiles

&

sparkles.

happy birthday little chicken.

i adore you.

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to do:

list started at 9:26 am on friday

- make pink rice crispy treats

- cut treats into flower shapes

- buy correct wall paint color

- fix wall swatch

- get color printer ink

- buy 15 water color paint sets

- print frying pans

- make poster

- buy sticker paper

- find blindfold

- buy yellow and purple balloons

- print and affix paint labels

- treats to kindergarten with optional treat for allergy girl

- ingredients for beef stroganoff

- buy new piping bags

- finish cleaning main floor and basement

- move furniture in basement

- doctor's appointment

- bake cake and cupcakes

- no. 6 candle for cake

- print bunting

- buy white cottton twine

- make paper lanterns

- purchase white tablecloth

- AAA batteries for existing lanterns

- buy and cut craft foam into pascal shapes

- disposable cups, plates and utensils

- find purple cupcake liners

- get out black swirly cake stand

- manicures with the birthday girl

 

- fill car with gas

- glue eyelids onto googly eyes

must be done by 12:00 pm saturday

{ugh.}

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cutest. baby. ever.

yesterday we walked to the bus stop to pick up ella.

bianca loved being out in the stroller, sitting up like a big girl.

check out how her headband slipped down just enough to

resemble olivia newton-john in the physical video.

wicked cool.

 

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ahern vocabulary

if you read this blog, you know about my favorite derogatory term...Butt-Dog.

But there is another Ahern-ism that really should catch on.

Brinner.

Meaning breakfast for dinner. I heard people talking about this meal all of the time and they always call it either breakfast dinner or breakfast for dinner. But, people!? Why not just call it Brinner?

It is now my goal to have the term Brinner sweep the nation and become adopted and accepted into America's vernacular as readily as it's super-cool predecessor Brunch.

Pass it on.

P.S.  Do you know anyone else who uses the term Brinner?

8

may i go bieber on you for a moment?

headlines streaming across my email say that justin bieber cut his hair.

so, of course, i had to click the link.

i hate to say it, because the silly hair flip was too cheesy to bear,

but you should have kept it long, dude.

you look decidedly feminine now and not in a good way.

p.s. who knew your eyebrows were pitch black?

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pinterested?

okay, it's not like anyone needs any more ways to waste time on the internet,

but here's a great one that you MUST join.

Pinterest

so, you make different "boards" on varying topics, whatever you want. and when you see something cool online, you click a magical little button on your tool bar that says "Pin It" and then assign it to one of your boards. then it stays there so you can always find the cool online ideas you are looking for AND you can follow other people's boards and they can follow yours.

i'm telling you people...it rules.

pictured above are just a few of my boards where i have neatly organized

 inspiration, ideas, projects and eye candy.

so, if you're like me and have bookmarks and special folders on your computer with endless ideas to try later, but can never seem to find them...Pinterest is for you.

if you join come and follow my boards by clicking here.

I hope to see you there!

8

Movie Review & thoughts on schools

Waiting for Superman - ★★★★☆

Yep, it lived up to the hype and deserved the full hour Oprah dedicated to it. It is amazing how southward our schools in America have gone in the past 50 years.  This filmmaker examines the issues, profiles the worst school district in the Country (Washington DC) and their new Superintendent who struggles to cut through red tape to make lasting changes.  He also shows new models for schools that have been put up in inner cities that are actually succeeding.

Ironically, the bad guy in the film ends up being the current Teachers' Unions in America.  I had no idea that tenure was given to teachers without any requirements on their part. 

* After you watch this film you really should listen to the episode of This American Life which profiles the New York "Rubber Room" for suspended teachers. It is ca-raze-ay!!!  Download the episode for $0.99 by clicking here.  It is well worth it.

I think you know I have had issues with our current school district. And this show makes you want to pull up a map, find school ratings and relocate.

And I did just that. Wanna see?
These are the current school districts in our county. That's ours....down at the bottom. Ugh.

01 Lampeter Strasburg
02 Hempfield
03 Manheim Township
04 Warwick
05 Cocalico
06 Solanco
07 Manheim Central
08 Ephrata Area
09 Elizabethtown Area
10 Penn Manor
11 Conestoga Valley
12 Octorara Area
13 Eastern Lancaster County
14 Conrad Weiser Area
15 Donegal
16 Pequea Valley
17 Columbia
18 Lancaster

On a side note, the Lampeter Strasburg school is ranked 33/1665 schools state wide...wowza!  And I have heard that Manheim Township schools offer Spanish Immersion starting at third grade...incredible. All the while MY school can't figure out how to register online with Schoolastic so that book orders can be ordered online.  I have volunteered to help with that process three times...and was turned down each time.

We are thinking of making a move this Summer into a more favorable district. Although, we have been debating a lot back and forth.

Do YOU think it matters which school district your child attends?
Even if a parent is highly involved, can that make up for a teacher who just doesn't teach well?
Or make up for resources which just aren't available in your district?

***UPDATE: My friend Kara, an educator herself, sent me this link to an article about this movie.  It is well worth reading and brings up additional points that seemed missing in the film. 

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you gotta come!

I am a vendor at this event and I am a bit nervous.
I am busily finishing up with last minute details,
decorations for my table and other froo-froo happenings.
My booth will be deliciously feminine and girlish!
If you live in the area, please stop by!

4

this past week...

mid-week the sun came out and ella convinced me it was warm enough to ride bikes. like a fool, i listened. i wrapped up bianca, put the girls in layers of clothes and headed out to the driveway with helmets on and wind whipping! after 15 minutes baby had had enough and so had i. brrrrrr.

i stopped into our local thrift shop on wednesday and spotted these lovely ball canning jars. i'm not into vintage or shabby chic style, but i couldn't resist the sea glass color. they are dated during the great depression era. i will be filling them with fresh white tulips come spring.

i made a commitment to take more photos of myself during this year's project 365. no luck until this week, when i quickly snapped this one while heading out to the car to run errands. notice the classy vinyl siding in the background.

so, evangeline has curly hair and i kept thinking it would become easier to do the longer it got. not so. she has spent the last three months looking like the "little match girl" so today i finally cut it into a bob. her big curls sprung right up and it looks much better.  this was the first day, and now the curls are even springier! (is that even a word?)  hooray for haircuts!

4

the bread whisperer

emilie ahern just said,

"come to mama, you sexy little beast!"

to a loaf of artisan bread I got out of the oven.

but seriously, it looked really good.

wouldn't YOU want to seduce
this loaf of bread?

1

motherhood...not for the faint of heart

last night was a bodily function melt-down at my house.
yep. it's gunna be that kind of post.
peed pants in the car seat.
poo blowout for the baby up to her armpits.
and one overflowed clogged toilet.
ick.

matt returned from work in the midst of it all.
and promptly took all three of the girls to the boy scout pinewood derby.

thanks honey!
i needed that.
that and a pair of rubber gloves.

*picture from gracobaby.com

4

"bachelor" quote of the week

"if i don't get a rose this week i'm going to be f@*#in' p*$$ed!"

classy to the end michelle.

and it was the end...finally.

2

my newest obsession

vivian maier

watch this...it's amazing.

then visit here.

then marvel at the unbelievable beauty that

is all around us...just waiting to be captured.

thanks for the reminder, vivian.

have YOU heard of vivian maier yet?

4

4 months

seriously?

my tiny baby?

four months old?

it can't be.

but it is.

height:

22 inches
(no growth since last month)

weight:

12 lbs 10 oz
(lots of "growth" since last month)
i love how chubby she's getting!

likes:

grabbing things with her iron grip, vocal warm-up scales 

dislikes:

when mommy coughs

quirks:

pumps her right leg when she's hungry.

the past month's milestones:

belly laughs, playing with toys, rolling from front to back

a favorite memory:

how hard she laughed at my funny faces during her 4 month check-up.

it was the most she have ever laughed and it was adorable.

5

flower vomit

can you even imagine your response if you got

this bouquet from your significant other?

grounds for divorce.

p.s. if you dig tie-dyed flowers you can buy them here.

but, seriously...do you?

8

{love}

she headed off to school today with a heart covered box

filled with 16 of these handmade valentines

(idea inspired full-on stolen from here).

and the close up of the topper....

she also took 2 of these
(there's a tube of pomegranate lotion beneath).

one for the kindergarten teacher and one for her aide.

(idea found here).

tonight we will have a fun family night with small gifts for the kids and thursday

(yes, it was the first day we had free) the Hubbs and I

will go out to dinner somewhere romantic....like denny's.

hope your day is filled with LOVE of every description!

6