general bad-assery

I should have blogged this a week ago, but straight up? This year's Oscar party was a smash success. (Skip ahead to full-on photo album here.) Our friends Jeff & Erica came down from Seattle and while it was super awesome just to have them here to celebrate with us, they were also amazingly helpful in getting everything set up.

Erica & Jeff, our beloved friends and tireless assistants.

As usual, we decorated with various Oscar things--stars, statues, lots of silver & gold. We rolled out the red carpet and set up every room in the house for maximum viewing enjoyment. Mac pulled strings with his various connections to create some awesome prizes for the runners up in the Oscar betting pool (the winner obviously gets the cash), and Jeff bagged them up beautifully.

The rain threatened to bum out our good time, which we compensated for by putting the outdoor viewing area in the tiki hut and turning on the tv in the garage as well.

As usual, we provided lots of popcorn & movie candy for our guests, as well as a fully-stocked bar and coolers of soda, water and beer.

And the rest of our menu of food, well. It got a little out of control. In the best possible way, but still. You'll have to check Mac's blog for all the super-awesome signs he made for all of these items. I would also like to take this moment to give mad props to Jeff and Amanda, without whose cleverness we wouldn't have some of these punny masterpieces.

Here is this year's Oscar Party Menu:
Cocktails
There Will Be Bloody Marys
Funch (A recipe we created way back when Will Smith was nominated for Ali, named thus by our friend Therese who says, "It's fun, and it's punch--it's Funch!")


Hors d’Oeuvres
Ratatouille - The deconstructed ratatouille from the movie, served atop crostini with a small dollop of soft goat cheese.

Michael Bacon-Wrapped Dates
Pirates of the Caribbean Dip - My crowd-pleasing 7-layer dip
No Cornbread for Old Men - Texas-style cheesy jalapeno cornbread
La Brie en Rose - Baked brie stuffed with toasted almonds & dried cranberries, wrapped in puffed pastry

American Gang-Stir Fry - Pinged for time, but still a super clever name
Surf & Turf's Up - Trader Joe's frozen mini crab cakes and marinated & grilled skirt steak skewers
Juno's Cravings - Sliders, (White Castle cheeseburgers from the frozen food section of the grocer!), pickles, and orange Tic Tacs

Même les Poulet vont au Enfir (Even Chickens Go To Hell) - Buffalo Wings
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Curly Fries
The Golden Quiches
Weenie Todd The Demon Barber of Meat Street - L'il smokies in grape jelly bbq sauce and a platter of gourmet cured meats
Prawn Baby Prawn - Cocktail shrimp
Norbits - Crudités
3:10 to Yummy - Cheese platter

The Popcourne Ultimatum

Dessert
Atonemint Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Diving Bell and the Butterscotch Cookies
Enchanted Apples - With caramel dip


Mad baking skillz. I haz dem.

And, of course, I also baked Oscar-shaped sugar cookies that Erica painstakingly packaged up into party favors for everyone to take home.


How do I do all of this, you ask? Well, I'm a little crazy, which helps. I have an awesome husband who is as committed to general bad-assery and also topping last year's party as I am. I also have a mighty spreadsheet to guide along Mac, me, and anyone generous/foolish enough to help us.


And then there are the results, which totally pay off all of our hard work. It's worth it knowing that our friends have an awesome time and walk away feeling like the party was really fun, even on those years when the Oscars themselves lack their usual luster.


I'm even starting to think about plans for next year's party already. Starting with hiring a caterer.

victories

I just wanted to announce to the world (and by "world" I mean the 7 lovely people who read my blog) that my health and fitness endeavors are paying off!

Around mid-January I hit a record high that I'm not going to publish because I'm a lady. (And, admittedly, easily shamed by the numbers on the scale. Stupid patriarchy.) So I started eating better, exercising more. I committed to a triathlon, and introduced a whole array of different exercises into my routine. I went swimming. I lifted weights.

I started this endeavor only 6 weeks ago. As of this morning, I've lost a total of 12 lbs. My gut is smaller. I'm starting to see muscle definition in my upper arms.

12 lbs is especially victorious considering that on Thursday night I went way "Off Plan" and indulged in Godiva chocolate truffles, fried calamari, steak and potatoes, chocolate mousse, and too much good wine. And then on Friday I ate a whole plate of baked macaroni & cheese at a client lunch. And then I felt the old indulgent, "I'm grown! I can if I want!" attitude slip back over the weekend, when I ate pasta and helped Mac finish off the truffles.

But here's what's different: I also went hiking Thursday morning. My Valentine dinner was delicious, but I didn't eat until I was so full I felt sick--there was still food on the plate when they took it away. Mac and I split the mousse dessert, instead of each getting our own. Friday's rich lunch actually did make me feel sick (and took care of the mac & cheese craving for at least a few months), and I ate lightly for the rest of the day. As for the indulgent weekend, 1) We didn't order any Chinese/Thai/Pizza, which is kind of huge, and 2) I snapped out of it yesterday. Just like that. I went back on plan, I went to the gym.

So, yeah, 12 lbs is a huge victory for me, for sure. But I think the bigger victories so far lie in the overall changes in attitude. The fact that I could see my muscles working while I was on the pectoral fly machine yesterday, and it almost made me squeal out loud with glee is, in itself, a huge victory. And on this next Sunday we're throwing our big annual Oscar party, complete with a vast array of delicious food and baked goods. And I already know that I'm going to sample pretty much everything on the table, and probably eat more than my share of brie because that's just how I roll. I also know I'll send cookies home with people and I'll be at the gym the next day. Just knowing this is a win.

Next goals:

• 5 more lbs, which should get me into more of the clothes in my closet.
• Still need to run a mile (I keep pulling muscles and injuring myself, so I've been walking a lot).
• 3 sets of 10 reps on the "push up" machine without feeling like I'm going to cry.

I also need to buy a bike. Any recommendations?

Joaquin, Pee Next

Some people do up holidays. My mother-in-law has, roughly, 6,584 bins of Christmas stuff in the garage that she busts out every December to decorate the house, makes about 50 different kinds of cookies, does a gift exchange, a cookie exchange, various dinners & brunches--it's what she does. My Irish friends have been plotting their plans for St. Pat's for months (although, how involved is that plan, really? Pour Guinness, drink Guinness, do a shot of Jamison's, repeat). A co-worker of mAc's does Halloween by presenting an elaborate musical on their front lawn, complete with full-on makeup, costumes and a rotating set, and no, I am no joking.

mAc & I, we do the Oscars.

What does that mean, exactly? Man, I wish I had pictures. I can not believe we didn't take pictures. You're going to have to use your imagination.

We had 4 TVs going: one in the living room for the main party, one in mAc's movie room for a "quiet room," one in the kitchen (for me, mostly), and one outside, for the smokers. We put out movie candy in silver tins that look like film cans. We created a centerpiece for the main food table, featuring a cowboy hat, a grenade, a microphone, a toy cop car, and a copy of "In Cold Blood." We literally rolled out a red carpet,and had an Oscar standee on the front porch to welcome guests.

The themed food turned out like so:
Brokeback Bacon-Wrapped Dates
Beans & Franks
Crash Cakes (crab cakes)
Munich Munchies (home-made pretzel bites served with cheese fondue and spicy mustard)
The Constant Gardener Crudite
Memoirs of a Geisha Teriyaki Skewers
Good Night and Good Luck Black & White Cookies (Oreos - the ones I baked were a disaster)
Wallace & Gromit Carrot Cupcakes (with an orange-ginger cream-cheese frosting... *drool*)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Funch (tm Therese: because it's fun, it's punch, it's Funch!)

Plus we had crackers with a meat & cheese platter, some Brie and fruit, chips & salsa, and, of course, popcorn.

David Strathairn smoking a cigarette made our sign for the smoking section; Capote and his cocktail labeled the bar. As for the signs for the bathrooms:
Hustle & Flow (no joke required)
Joaquin, Pee Next

We invited people to dress up and about a third of our guests did. The winners of the best dressed prize (a bottle of vodka and a copy of this month's Vogue): the gay cowboys, of course.

As for the pool, it ended up at around $280, which we split between two winners. Second & third place took home goodie bags of DVDs, shwag & candy, and the last-place boobie-prize winner (with only FIVE correct) got her own bag of, er, choice films... like the Hot Chick. And Scary Movie 3. Good times!

All in all, I'd say the evening was a success. The decor came out nice, the food was splendid, and Captain Awesome was on his very best behavior. For those of you who came, THANK YOU for making our Oscar Party such a fabulous event (send pictures if you have them!). For those of you who missed it, well. You'll know better next year, won't you?

Planning the Oscar Party

Dinah: Our Best Picture nominees are not lending themselves to good themed food. This is the best I've been able to come up with:
Dinah: Brokeback Bacon-Wrapped Dates
Dinah: Capote Cucumber Sandwiches (Amanda's idea. I don't even know if they're in the movie or what)
Mac: BROKE-BABY-BACK RIBS
Dinah: Munich Munchies
Mac: Cool.
Mac: NICE!!!
Dinah: Or, like, brats or something.
Dinah: Little grilled brats with mustard & sauerkraut for dipping?
Dinah: CALLED Munich Munchies?
Dinah: Okay, I'm actually liking that one
Mac: Totally!
Dinah: Um, and.....
Dinah: You'll CRASH if you drink too much Funch and Good Night and Good Luck thinking up any more themed food!
Mac: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Dinah: See.
Mac: Crash Funch. That's perfect.
Dinah: Really?
Mac: Ooh! Or the Funch could have "Walk The Line" under it!
Mac: I think we could have normal food "Sponsored by;"
Dinah: Well, see. That's just the Best Pictures. Other movies I haven't even played with:
Dinah: Constant Gardner.... something veggie? Maybe I could do a cute veggie basket like my aunt did at my shower.
Dinah: Hustle & Flow. Heh. We should have a keg for that one.
Mac: TOTALLY.
Dinah: Or a chocolate fountain
Dinah: Walk the Line...... Maybe the Funch? Maybe something southern? They didn't eat much besides pills in that movie.
Mac: What's a funny Canadian dish? We could call that North Country.
Mac: I thought the Funch should be Walk the Line.
Mac: Get it? Drunk test?
Dinah: No, I get it.
Dinah: North Country, Pride & Prejudice, Transamerica.
Mac: Carrot cake for Wererabbit?
Mac: Something dead for Corpse Bride?
Mac: Another drink for Goblet of Fire?
Mac: Maybe Funch should be Goblet of Fire
Dinah: Hee. We could serve tea and scones for P&P. With a side of Jake Jelly-hall.
Mac: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!
Dinah: The squid and the whale..... nah. Too obvious.
Mac: Calamari?
Dinah: Yeah, but. "The squid and the breading and the marinara sauce. And the whale."
Dinah:Except without the whale. We're not eating whale.
Dinah: now I want calamari.
Dinah: Rachel Weisz it so hard thinking this shit up?
Mac: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!
Dinah: Somewhere, Gene Shallot busted his spleen in jealousy.