And the Oscar goes to....

For the most part I watch the Oscars to see what everyone is wearing. Because honestly, I usually don't even see most of the nominated films until after the Academy Awards show. From what I hear from the peanut gallery, all of the Award winners were well deserved and I'm really looking forward to seeing The King's Speech. 


But onto the good stuff....the fashion. I decided to choose a best dressed lady and gentleman from the 83rd Academy Awards. 


There was a lot of purple on the Red Carpet this year, but my absolute favorite look of the night was Scarlett Johansson, in an amethyst, lace Dolce & Gabbana dress. She looked stunning! And the contrast between the beautiful gown and her effortless-looking wavy hair was perfect. 

Andrew Garfield has my vote for best dressed man. In a Louis Vuitton tux, he is looking awfully handsome. I am a sucker for a man in a bow tie, and pairing it with a single-button jacket was a great way to set himself apart. 

Who had your favorite look of the night??

JazzFest Friday

We're going old school today. This song takes me right back to my awkward middle school years. I first heard of Jason Mraz through my group of friends in 8th grade, and we listened to his debut album Waiting for My Rocket to Come quite often. "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" was one of my favorite songs from that album. I really like the message in this song, and I basically love Mraz's voice. So...listen, think about the awkward things you were doing/saying when this was on the radio back in '02, and smile. And please, Don't worry your life away.

What They Don't Teach You in School...

          You spend 4 (or more) years in college preparing for the "real world." You attend countless hours of classes, take tests, and are required to turn in meaningless homework assignments. You sweat the small stuff, and later realize you could have gone to that party and missed that 8 am quiz and it wouldn't have even mattered! Teachers, advisors, parents and even your peers tell you that grades are important.  
          BUT what they don't tell you is how to actually prepare for the real world. I mean, getting a 4.0 GPA one semester after the other is quite a feat (I wouldn't quite know the feeling), but it is not going to guarantee you a job post-graduation. If college truly prepared us for the frustrating adventure many of us call the "Job Search" our professors would just constantly remind us how important is to:
                                          NETWORK & Be patient
          I have found that these two things are crucial parts of the job search. There are some people who do luck out and get chosen out of thousands to come in to interview for a job posting they found online. But that, my friends, is rare. Networking and making connections is the key. More importantly, use your parents to your advantage. Do you know why our parents have friends? So that we can meet them, get to know them, and use them as a connection in our job seeking endeavors. Duh. Our parents and their friends have been in the working world since before we were born. They know a lot of people. And those people know a lot of people. And so on. So while you may rather go to a holiday party with your friends instead of your parents, think again. Those parties are sure to connect you with some really great people.
          And as with anything in life, be patient. You may become frustrated that you are getting interviews for jobs that you don't really want. Look on the bright side: use that interview to practice your interviewing skills so when the "big one" comes along--you're more confident than ever! And if the calls aren't even coming in, you make the calls. Be persistent! Call the folks that you sent your resume to, call your Uncle and tell him to put in a good word at the company you just applied at, and keep calling and e-mailing until you hear back from someone. I used to think by doing this that I was really just being annoying. Wrong. You're actually showing how much you really want it.
          So to all of the current and future job seekers, take my advice. I've been there and I know what it's like. The right thing will come along at just the right time. Take your experiences and share it with others. I know that it would have helped if I had fully understood what I was getting into! 

JazzFest Friday

The Avett Brothers are pretty cool. I would know since Scott Avett is my boyfriend and is teaching me to play the banjo....(jokes)...But, I digress...I had a really hard time choosing which song of theirs I wanted to share with y'all. I wanted to go beyond the obvious ones, so I chose this lovely little number. A little more upbeat than some of their more popular tunes and the lyrics kindof make me giggle.

I cannot wait to see these guys! 10 weeks to go....

And without further adieu, The Avett Brothers. Paranoia in B Flat Major.

TGIJF -- Thank Goodness It's JazzFest Friday

Just in case you live in a cave....

....and missed this performance, I thought I'd share it. Because it's awesome. Plus, it's a little teaser to tomorrow's JazzFest Friday.

Sweet Tooth, Beware!

In keeping with my New Year's Resolutions, I have been doing quite a bit of cooking and baking. And I found that I really love it! I have also found that I can cook (nudge to all of my friends who use to ruthlessly mock what they interpreted to be epic failure in the kitchen). Anyway, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen over the weekend and I wanted to share the recipes I used with y'all.


On Friday night I cooked dinner for myself and the roomies. I saw this recipe for a spicy pork lettuce wrap on a friend's blog and thought it sounded absolutely delicious. Fact: It was! It will definitely be a repeat meal in the house.
Then there was dessert. Let me start by saying that I love cupcakes. Let me finish by saying that I love baking cupcakes.

I found this recipe for Black Bottom Cupcakes online, and boy oh boy are they tasty!

Chocolate cupcakes

Added the cream cheese filling

The finished product.
The presentation is not as great as the taste....A new challenge for next time.

And in the Valentine's Day spirit, I made Red Velvet cupcakes with a delicious cream cheese icing. (And I'm not talking about the cake mix out of the box.) Yummy yummy!

I cut the end off of a Ziploc bag to do the icing.

All of these recipes come highly recommended from a girl who loves food. Let me know if you give any of them a try!

why so serious?

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities." 
-Dr. Seuss

JazzFest Friday

New Orleans JazzFest in April/May will be the first music festival I will ever attend. Needless to say, I am quite excited! To truly show my excitement, every Friday until the festival will be "JazzFest Friday." I'll post a different video/song from some of the artists in the line-up.

This week, I wanted to share Mumford & Sons. I pretty much love them and I cannot wait to see them live! I have heard amazing things (from my friends who introduced me to the group) about their live performance.

Hope you loved it, my dear.

Live Colorfully

Happy Wednesday everyone! I've been seriously loving on all things Kate Spade today (especially this handbag!). I stumbled upon this video and thought it was too cute not to share.

Live colorfully.

Sing it sister

I really love this song.



It is kind of a sad song, but I think a lot of us can relate to what she is singing about. And if you can't relate, then just enjoy Adele's amazing talent.