Oscar Favorites

I love the Academy Awards.  Partly because it's fun to try to guess the winners, but mostly because I LOVE to see what everyone wears and this year I was not disappointed.  The mostly natural make up and hair was a modern counterpoint to the beautiful dresses.  And did anyone else notice the prevalence of emeralds as the jewel of choice?  Here were some of my favorites from the red carpet:

 

Cate Blanchett's Givenchy dress was absolutely gorgeous and by far my favorite of the evening.  Just stunning. I also loved the combination of the red and embellished nude in Rhea Durham's Naeem Kahn gown.  And then there was Anne Hathaway's myriad dress changes during the ceremony.  While I think she over acted a bit in terms of her presentation, her wardrobe was spot on.  Here were my top 3:

And the best part of all, the Brian Atwood shoes she wore with her Lanvin tuxedo during her dance number. 

**swoon**

Texas Style

Out in Houton being a "tile expert" and inspecting Discovery for damages or unintentional protrusions (i.e. gap fillers).  We didn't get started until 11:00 this morning, so my coworkers and I enjoyed a dinner out last night, where I also got to hang out with my good friend B!  We just finished our inspection recently and now we have to run analyses on them to make sure we're good for reentry.

Go Discovery!

Discovery Launched Today on Final Mission

Discovery launched today on STS-133 to the International Space Station!  The weather was gorgeous and it was a fantastic day to sit outside and watch a launch.  J and I finally got to take advantage of my Space Flight Awareness award and we watched the launch from a special viewing site next to the Banana River directly across from the launch pad and it was a truly incredible view (picture was taken by me).

I actually started off my day, though, at the Kennedy Space Center press site as a representative for Boeing.  I gave 2 print interviews, 2 radio, and 2 TV, though all I've been able to find so far is one quote in an article that has been printed all over the globe: Discovery shuttle  blasts off on last space odyssey  If I find any of the other interviews I'll be sure to post an update...

All in all it was a busy day.  And now I'm packing to get ready to fly out to Houston tomorrow to support the on orbit imagery inspection over the weekend!

Don't Forget to Watch Tomorrow's Shuttle Launch!

Remember to turn on the news or check NASA's website to watch tomorrow's launch of Discovery on space shuttle mission STS-133 to deliver important spare parts and Robonaut 2 to the International Space Station!  Launch is scheduled for Thursday, February 24th at 4:50 p.m. eastern time. 

I'll be busy representing Boeing at the KSC press site and then heading to the special launch viewing site for my Space Flight Awareness award, so I won't be able to provide updates tomorrow.  However, my favorite source for shuttle updates on launch day is Spaceflight Now, where you can get minute by minute description of what's happening.

Biker Chic

Last year for my birthday my parents gave me a gorgeous green bicycle that I keep at their townhome in south Florida (the neighborhood their house is in is far more conducive to biking than the area I live in).  I love going down there and taking bike rides, especially since so many relatives, restaurants, and stores are within biking distance.  However, toting a purse while riding a bike isn't so great and backpacks always seem to slip off of my shoulders.  I considered a basket for my bike but I'd prefer something I can carry with me after I get to where I'm going, so I've recently debated getting a bike bag that actually attaches to the frame of the bike.  Here are my two options so far, which do you like better?

from Etsy

from Need Supply Co.

Whirlwind Weekend

J and I took a long weekend trip to D.C. over the last 4 days (further blowing my resolution to blog 5 days/week), and it we had a wonderful time!

We went to the Smithsonian museums, walked around all of the monuments at night, walked through Arlington Cemetery, sat in Ford's Theater, and ate some truly delicious foods.  We went to two restaurants by Jose Andres, Jaleo the first night where we partook of some excellent tapas and paella, and on Sunday afternoon we brunched at Cafe Atlantico where they serve a neuvo latino dim sum brunch.  We also tried Ethiopian food for the first time and both loved it!  Yum!

Paella at Jaleo

Some of my favorites from the trip (aside from the food) were the Hubble 3D IMAX movie in the Air and Space Museum, the First Ladies exhibit in the American History Museum, walking the mall at moonlight, the crystal exhibit in the Natural History Museum (we got to see the Hope Diamond and some pretty other fabulous jewels there as well), and the butterfly garden in the Natural History Museum (reminded me of Arielle). 

Natural Crystal Formation at Natural History Museum

 Hope you all had a great weekend as well and are ready for some shuttle launching at the end of the week!

New Vintage

I have written previously about my love for mid-century modern furniture, but I readily admit that I have been lucky to fall into the deals I have regarding my collection.  Mid-century modern furniture has seen a resurgence in popularity and prices have risen accordingly.  Ebay and craigslist offer limited options, they require a lot of legwork, and in many cases shipping can be less affordable than the furniture itself.  Therefore I have found some brand new furniture options that share the same lines as but have lower prices than my mid-century originals:

Couch | Table | Lamp

Table | Chairs

Headboard | Dresser | Nightstand | Lamp

Stormy Skies

I love when the skies are pitch black with storm clouds and I find myself in an area of exposed sunlight.  The contrast between the dark clouds and the golden sun is so incredibly lovely.  I got to experience this on my way into work this morning and it is just so uplifting to me.  Not to mention that these are ideal conditions for rainbow formation, which also happened this morning, and which never ceases to make me smile.

(Picture from here)