Soundtracks: Represent, Represent.. Cuba!

One of my favorite soundtracks (especially for the summer!) is the album from Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. The movie is definitely a cheesefest and doesn't even come close to the classic original, Dirty Dancing; However! I still like it and I LOVE the soundtrack. Even though the whole album is great, I especially love the tracks by Orishas and Atercipelados. 1950's.. spicy Cuba.. Zazaza!

Dirty Dancing: Havana Night

Check It Out

Featuring: Wyclef Jean and Claudette Ortiz, Black Eyed Peas, Yerba Buena, Jazze Pha and Monica, Santana and Jorge Moreno, Christina Aguilera, Orishas and Heather Headley, Mya, Shawn Kane, Atercipelados and Julio Daviel Big Band

What I'm Listening To: Havana Nights

xo

Keep on Dancing Till The World Ends

I can honestly say.. I never thought I would ever see Britney Spears in concert.

A few weeks ago at Jade's Wedding Rehearsal, I had the best time seeing friends I haven't seen in years! So many college mems came rushing back, as we spent our evening celebrating Jade & Nate and reminiscing the good ol' days. At one point in the evening, my friend/old roomie, Ashley, cautiously asked me for a favor. Unsure where she was headed with it, she carefully asked me if I would possibly want to go see Britney Spears with her in a couple weeks.. Uhhh, Yeyeah! Hear me out now, I love Brit Brit, even in her trainwreck glory. I feel bad for her and am fascinated by her at the same time. I definitely don't rock out to her tunes for the lyrics or her incredible voice (right?), but I definitely think she has some pretty good beats.

So, not only did Ash have 2 tickets to see Britney (Femme Fatale tour with Nicki Minaj), but she had free tickets. I guess I could say I "grew up with Britney Spears" but would never even consider to pay to see her, since all of her shows were so expensive and I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't have been very supportive. 13 years later.. Britney, here we come!

Ashley and I had such a fun time pumping each other up for the show.. We got together for dinner and a movie - In fact, we rented Brit's movie, Crossroads and I can't believe it, after all these years, it was my first time seeing it! We looked up where our seats were and holy cow.. Super close! Apparently the tix she had (which she got from a friend) were were 150$ each! Sheesh!

The big night finally arrived and Ashley found out she could use an extra ticket, so her friend Sarah came along too. We headed to St. Paul early for some din before heading to the show.

What a fun night out with the girls!! We danced and sang all night.. I was pretty surprised how much Britney didn't lip sync! I've heard that that's how all of her shows are, but everything was done pretty well. Definitely a night I'll never forget!

xo

Soundtracks: Trip to South Pacific

I've loved the soundtrack from Brokedown Palace for years. Stacie and I were obsessed with the movie in High School (1999, baby!) and the music - like most soundtracks - totally rocked the movie. Based on true events, the movie is about two best friends who decide to take a trip to Hawaii, but change plans and head to Bangkok instead. Of course, lots of things happen and they end up being falsely accused of drug trafficking. The whole genre of the film has an oriental/thai/foreign kinda vibe to it.. I absolutely love it. 

Brokedown Palace

Check It Out

Featuring: Delerium, Nelly Furtado, Audioweb, Solar Twins, Plumb, Joi, Tricky/DJ Muggs, Moist, Asian Dub Foundation, Leonardo's Bride, Brother Sun Sister Moon, PJ Harvey, Sarah Brightman and David Newman

xo

Soundtracks: Happy Little Tunes

My list of favorite soundtracks continues...

I remember the first time I saw Dan in Real Life.. I remember thinking, Start it over! I wanna watch it again! It's one of the cutest movies, with an absolutely amazing soundtrack! Most of the music is done by Sondre Lerche and his voice goes hand-in-hand with the tone and overall feel of the movie. This one always puts me in a good mood, for sure.

Dan in Real Life

Check It Out

Featuring: Sondre Lerche, Regina Spektor and A Fine Frenzy

I really wasn't sure what to think of Where The Wild Things Are when it first came out in theaters. I know it's crazy, but I never read it when I was a kid. Honestly, when I first saw a trailer for it, I was creeped out by the big, weird-looking animal things and I didn't wanna give myself nightmares. Justin and I finally watched it when it came out to rent and I think I liked the soundtrack even more than the movie! Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs composed the entire soundtrack with Carter Burwell and a group of kiddies. Even the song "All Is Love" was nominated for a Grammy as 'Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media'. I thought it was done really well. 

Where The Wild Things Are

Check It Out

Featuring: Karen O and The Kids

xo

Adventures With Marta & Alanna: Round 3 and Beachy Birthdays

I just about died when Marta told me she was coming back to visit again this March. I feel totally spoiled having so many visits from her.. she's been here 5 times in the 4 years I have lived here. Other than family, she has visited me here in SC more than anyone else I know.

I have a hard time even keeping up with my blog this month because March has literally been the craziest month of my life. In the span of 30 days, I have helped with 1 party and thrown 3 of my own, kept up with my job, a weekend trip to West Palm Beach, FL and celebrated Justin's and my birthdays. Obviously I'll get to those events later.. For now, I want to share Marta's exciting visit!

She flew in on Thursday, just in time for Justin's beach-inspired birthday party on Friday. I had been cleaning like a madwoman, preparing for her arrival and the huge party I had been planning for over a month. She called me that afternoon with crummy news, she missed her flight. NOO!!! Total bummer. Instead of arriving around 5-ish, she didn't make it into Greenville until around 10:30pm. Wah. Oh well. More time for me to perfect the party decor and finalize all the details. After she finally landed, we dropped off her luggage and then did some late-night grocery shopping for the party and her time here. Shopping at midnight with my best friend is always a good laugh!

The next morning, we did our usual morning-routine when she visits: tanning and starbs, and ran a few last-minute errands before starting to make all the party food.

The day flew so fast, it was crazy up until the final seconds as people were arriving for the party. Like most parties I throw, I couldn't do it on my own. Marta helped me a ton, as well as Jody and some other friends who help with decor and food. The party was a total blast!

We spent the next day sleeping in and relaxing a little, before hitting the road for an overnight-trip to Charleston & Folly Beach.

After we arrived in Charleston, we checked into our hotel and headed downtown for dinner and shopping on King Street. We parked and as we were walking out of the lot, Marta was nearly chopped by the parking gate-arm-thingy.. We laughed so hard! We found some sweet deals at the new Forever 21 (one of the biggest Forever's I have ever seen!) and dinner at TBonez on Market. Yum yum!

The next day, we enjoyed a windy, but relaxing day at Folly Beach. We decided to avoid all the people that would be laying near the pier, so we headed past the swell, to the beach house Justin and I were married at. Much quieter and oh-so relaxing! The three of us spent the day laughing and goofing off.. So many new inside jokes and hysterical laughing.. Definitely one of the most memorable parts of the trip!

The next day, Marta and I hung out just like old times.. Lunch at McAlister's and a lazy afternoon running errands at the post office and Target.. It was funny to walk into Targ with her, since the last time we did, it was Black Friday at 4am! The lines were definitely different, hah! We spent the afternoon watching one of our faves, Bride Wars, and cleaned up the apartment before dinner at Copper River - to celebrate my birthday. I couldn't believe how sweet she was to give me a bottle of my favorite perfume PLUS a nice little gift card to Hobby Lobby.. I feel so ridiculously spoiled!

More crazy mems and laughs all. night. long. People probably think we're crazy, but somehow we understand each other! As our waitress brought us our check, she came to tell Marta that she "had an admirer" Haha! Apparently the restaurant manager had his eye on her and had our waitress ask her if it would be OK if he came to say 'hello'. We had a pretty good laugh and let the guy come over and take his best shot. Definitely awkward, but of course, flattering! The guy asked us how dinner was, and obviously could care less about me or my satisfaction, yet I proceeded to ramble on - like I do in potentially awkward situations - and he just looked at me and then continued to talk just to Marta.. Ugh! I'm such a dweeb. Even though Marta told they guy she lived out of town, he was still pretty persistent. Go Marta! What an eventful and silly evening we had, including Marta nearly losing her cellphone and a run-in with a faux Joaquin Phoenix!

Our last full day together, we spent watching movies. All day long. I can't even remember the last time I did that! I hadn't seen any of them before.. Life as We Know It, The Switch and Morning Glory.

It always stinks to say 'bye', but we both had to pack - she was flying out early the next morning and Justin and I were leaving for Florida. Just another good trip together, and I know there's millions more in the future. You heard me. Millions. Muuahh ha ha haa! Hehe!

xo

Soundtracks: Sweet Love

A lot of my all-time favorite artists are included in these next two, love-inspired soundtracks. I'm a total sucker for Snow Patrol, not to mention the fact that these albums are packed beginning-to-end with fantastic artists that I have loved and known for years. The combinations of songs are absolutely genius. Enjoy!

The Last Kiss

Check It Out

Featuring: Snow Patrol, Joshua Radin, Turin Brakes, Coldplay, Cary Brothers, Athlete, Imogen Heap, Rachael Yamagata, Ray LaMontagne, Remy Zero, Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann, Amos Lee, Rufus Wainwright and Schuyler Fisk

Wicker Park

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Featuring: Stereophonics, Lifehouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Snow Patrol, Broken Social Scene, The Stills, Mazzy Star, The Legends, The Shins, Jaime Wyatt, Mates of State, +/-, Mum, The Postal Service, Aqualung, Mogwai, and Danny Lohner & Johnette Napolitano

Soundtracks: For the Love of Musicals

I'm not a huge musical buff, but there are a few that I definitely enjoy. I like The Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, Oklahoma, Moulin Rouge and Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street, but I'd have to say my top 3 favorite soundtracks go to Across the Universe, Chicago and Walk the Line (musical-ish).

I remember when I first saw the trailer for Across the Universe. It was so intriguing and some parts almost looked weird. Basically, it's a movie with a plot based completely on Beatles songs. The whole idea was pretty cool and original. I'm not even exactly a HUGE Beatles fan, but I do like a lot of their songs.. I even like some of songs on the soundtrack more than some of the originals (don't hate me!). We ended up seeing it a couple times in theater and really loved it.

 Across The Universe

Check It Out

Featuring: Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, T.V. Carpio, Joe Anderson, Carol Woods & Timothy T. Mitchum, Joe Cocker, Dana Fuchs, Secret Machines, Bono, Eddie Izzard and Martin Luther McCoy

Uhh hello! 1920's-era Chicago jazz? Yeah, baby! This movie totally kicked and the soundtrack kicked even more. The cast was perfect for the 2002 remake (originally 1975) and each song fits the film like a glove. This one's definitely on my To-See-On-Broadway list.

 Chicago

Check it Out

Featuring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, Colm Feore, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah, Taye Diggs, Diedre Goodwin, Susan Misner, Christine Baranski, Rick Negron and Danny Elfman

Since I first met Justin, he's always been a huge fan of Johnny Cash. I used to hear his songs and think, "ehh..". Not my immediate preference. I think when I was little, his name always reminded me of money.. or.. cashews (don't ask me how I even knew what cashews were when I was little). It kind of became a tradition of ours to 'rock out' to Johnny on our late-night trips home from the beach.. a way to keep us up during the 3-hour drive. I've slowly grown to enjoy Johnny Cash more and more, and especially more since Walk the Line came out. Yeah, Joaquin Phoenix may have gone off the deep end (or didn't he?), but his performance as Cash was pretty incredible (Reese was amazing, too!). With all that said, I absolutely love this soundtrack.

Walk the Line

Check it Out

Featuring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Waylon Malloy Payne, Tyler Hilton and Shooter Jennings

xo

2011 Golden Globes

Another good year for fashion at the 2011 Golden Globes! I definitely have some favorites and least favorites. Since I'm a nerd who takes notes during my favorite award shows (since I was little!), it only made sense to share my likes, dislikes and highlights again - like I did last year for the 2010 Oscars.

The red carpet definitely showed us some new trends and also some really fugly decisions. How many times do I have to yell "What were they thinking?!" at my TV? I definitely wasn't a fan of Alexa Chung as she interviewed celebs arriving on the red carpet. She's cute, but I don't know if it's because she's new at it, or just awkward in general; Her manly voice didn't help, and neither did the dress she wore. She looked like a fashion-confused little person, wearing a boring, red, neck-high dress that she borrowed from her great aunt. Her choice of style definitely made sense to me, seeing as her "favorite" red carpet looks were all of my least favorite.

Alexa Chung in all of her.. weirdness.

Moving on..

DISLIKES

Julianne Moore in Lanvin -- Not only did Julianne look frumpy and uncomfortable, but her lop-sided dress made it look like she had a giant arm-cast. Her middle-parted hair made her look homelier than she already looks, plus she is still needing to get a hold of some Crest Whitestrips. Ouch, sorry.

Natalie Portman in Viktor & Rolf -- I usually really like Natalie Portman. Right now she'es pregnant, so going with a 'flowy' dress was definitely a smart move. Just not the right dress. Sheeny pink with a big, gaudy red rose? Yuck! I did, however, like her makeup.

Helena Bonham Carter in Vivienne Westwood -- I like Helena and her dark Tim Burton-inspired fashion sense. Of course, we can usually expect to get something crazy from her, but c'mon! Mix-matched shoes? Head to toe, her look was so unfortunate.. think, hideous bridesmaid meets 1991 exercise video instructor with extensions.

January Jones in Versace -- Usually she's really classy/cute, but this year? I was totally disappointed. I don't know what it was, but she didn't really look like herself.. she seemed off. Mostly, her hair and makeup made her look cakey and much older. I wasn't a fan of her cheap-looking dress either - especially with the invisible, built-in loin cloth. No no, January.

Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Mirad -- I am usually really excited to see what JLo's going to wear, but big MISS on this one. As much as I loved the white, the veil-ish cape ruins it all. What's the point? Her hair was OK, and I did like her makeup. Overall, forgettable.

Tilda Swinton in Jil Sander -- When, oh when will this woman make it off my worst-dressed list?? Her stylist must be blind. Doesn't she realize that it's OK to wear makeup (and that she desperately needs it!)?? And that hair! Doesn't she have any honest friends that care about her? I actually feel bad for her, not only for her terrible, washed-out, fashion sense, but also for her inability to read a nomination as it is. C'mon Tilda, saying "televisual" instead of "television" doesn't make you cool.

Michelle Williams in Valentino -- Can anyone say 1963 bedsheets?? I'm sorry, but she looked hideous. Her make up was very plain, very.. nice. I'm assuming she chopped her hair off for a role, but the dress? I read a description on NY Mag, that her dress "actually looks dusty". Haha! It does!

Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace -- Not sure if Ange was tired or half-asleep, but her hair and makeup were some of the most drab I've seen by her in a long time. I was pretty surprised. I do think emerald is always a great color for her, but she looked so tired and disengaged. Who cares, I'll always be Team Aniston.

Tina Fey in Zuhair Mirad -- I truly adored Tina's hair, in fact.. I loved it. The dress was a whole new story. The color was good for her, but the dress is just ugly. I couldn't tell if it was silk or velvet, but either way, it looked super outdated. The fringe-inspired sleeves! Not the worst look of the night, but definitely not her best.

Christina Aguilera in L'Wren Scott -- At first glance, I thought she was Kelly Osbourne. I could barely even recognize her! Assuming she's preggo, her dress wasn't awful, but it didn't do anything for her and her bleached-out/burned-out hair. I noticed a lot of celebs (even guys) parted their hair down the middle. Blah.

Scarlett Johansson in Elie Saab -- Did Scarlett go to her hair stylist and say, "Just gimme the alien-blowback style"?? Are you kidding me right now? She looks like she's bathed her hair in cement spray and hung her head out the car window. Her dress is pretty, but why choose a dress the same exact color as your skin tone? I couldn't help but yell, every time she came on my TV screen.

LIKES

Julie Bowen in Tadashi Shoji -- This dress was by far, one of my favorites of the night. I'm always a sucker for ruffles (especially these ones) and the color was absolutely perfecto. Hair, makeup and accessories were spot on. Love!

Olivia Wilde in Marchesa -- I adored this dress! Olivia totally made herself look really effortless with her hair down, and classy makeup. The dress totally fit her. So beautiful!

Eva Longoria in Zac Posen -- Eva rarely disappoints on the red carpet. I've never really followed her as a fan, but her look was amazing! The open-back might have been the best part of the dress, but I loved the front too! Loved the black with her dramatic eyes. Totally appropriate for her, and totally gorgeous!

Emma Stone in Calvin Klein -- Holy cow, this might be the most beautiful I have ever seen Emma Stone. I think she's super cute, but she looked amazing on the red carpet. Her hair color with the dress color? Plus the open back? I thought she looked incredible!

Megan Fox in Giorgio Armani Prive -- I loved Megan's romantic look. Really classy and sweet.

Halle Berry in Nina Ricci -- A lot of people said she looked like she was in lingerie, but I thought it was great! I loved the "legginess" of the dress, with Halle's sexy-attitude spin on it.

Sandra Bullock in Jenny Packham -- Sandra bang bang! She totally rocked the bangs with her flowing, nude gown. She looked fabulous! My favorite part was when she was asked what she was wearing and she responded, "a dress". Ha!

Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive -- Loved her plunging backline, I think she totally pulled this off. The front was a bit dynasty-influenced and I didn't exactly love the puffy shoulders, but overall, I really liked this dress for her.

Amy Adams in Marchesa -- Her gown totally fit her to a T! I loved the color especially. Her hair and makeup complimented everything really well too.

Maria Menaunos in Pamella Rolund & Kaley Cuoco in Katharine Kidd -- They both looked amazing! Maria's dress is probably my favorite of the whole night. I loved the color, the layers, so very simple-yet-elegent. I loved Kaley's wavy ponytail.. Definitely a lot more common on the red carpet over the past couple years.

I noticed a lot of the male celebs walking the carpet, looked a lot more scruffy and bearded than usual. For crying out loud, even Christian Bale (with his extremely long hair) practically looked homeless. No signs of George Clooney, Brad Pitt was barely seen, and Johnny Depp looked as dashing as usual.

A few of my favorite, best-dressed men:

Jake Gyllenhaal in Burberry -- Classic black

Robert Pattinson in Gucci - Classic navy

When I found out Ricky Gervais was hosting this year's Golden Globes, you can bet I was disappointed.

Ricky Gervais

I used to think the fangly-toothed little guy was somewhat funny, but the more I have heard his material, the more I can't stand him. He's bluntly rude and offensive - which some people find entertaining. I find it obnoxious and too far. Even Russell Brand, who's hosted MTV Awards shows in the past, is mega-offensive and crude, but I would rather tolerate him before Gervais any day. During the evening, Ricky made plenty of digs at celebrities, including a nasty remark about the head honcho of the HFPA. Word-on-the-street? Apparently, Ricky won't be allowed to host any more Globes, as well as can count on never receiving a nomination for his work in the future. Ouch. I did find myself laughing a handful of times, including his crack about the team who extreme-airbrushed the photo for the Sex and the City 2 poster, Hugh Hefner's age, and the fact that Cher is a has-been. Check out a video of a few of Ricky's attempts to be funny as the evening's host.

More highlights from the evening:

Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network

Colin Firth in The King's Speech - Won

James Franco in 127 Hours

Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine

Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter

Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Halle Berry in Frankie and Alice

Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone

Natalie Portman in Black Swan - Won

Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

Nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland

Johnny Depp in The Tourist

Paul Giamatti in Barney's Version - Won

Jake Gyllenhaal in Love & Other Drugs

Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack

Nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

Annette Bening in The Kids Are Alright - Won

Anne Hathaway in Love & Other Drugs

Angelina Jolie in The Tourist

Julianne Moore in The Kids Are Alright

Emma Stone in Easy A

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Christian Bale in The Fighter - Won

Michael Douglas in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Andrew Garfield in The Social Network

Jeremy Renner in The Town

Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Amy Adams in The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech

Mila Kunis in Black Swan

Melissa Leo in The Fighter - Won

Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

Best Director - Motion Picture

David Fincher for The Social Network - Won

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network - Won

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network - Won

Best Animated Feature Film

Toy Story 3

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Black Swan

The Fighter

Inception

The King's Speech

The Social Network - Won

Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

Alice in Wonderland

Burlesque

The Kids Are Alright - Won

Red

The Tourist

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series - Drama

Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire - Won

Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad

Michael C. Hall in Dexter

Jon Hamm in Mad Men

Hugh Laurie in House

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama

Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife

Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men

Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs

Katey Sagal in Sons of Anarchy - Won

Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical

Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock

Steve Carell in The Office

Thomas Jane in Hung

Matthew Morrison in Glee

Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory - Won

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical

Toni Collette in United States of Tara

Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey in 30 Rock

Laura Linney in The Big C - Won

Lea Michele in Glee

Best TV Series - Drama

Boardwalk Empire - Won

Dexter

The Good Wife

Mad Men

The Walking Dead

Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical

30 Rock

The Big Bang Theory

The Big C

Glee - Won

Modern Family

Nurse Jackie

One of the funniest parts of the evening was when Justin Bieber and some other girl read the nominees for Best Animated Film. As the director for Toy Story 3 went up to accept his award, he looked at Justin Bieber and said, "Wow.. were you even born when the first Toy Story came out?? Haha" I love it!! As annoying as I think Justin Bieber is.. it's about time he upgraded his cheesy teeny-bop hairstyle, eh?

The King's Speech had the most nominations and ended up with just 1 win, The Social Network was up for 6, and left with the most: 4 Golden Globes! I definitely was disappointed that neither Inception nor Johnny Depp won anything. They actually deserved the recognition -- not ridiculously cheesy/annoying shows like Glee. Ew. Total bumski.

Movies on our To See List:

The Fighter

Black Swan

Blue Valentine

Social Network

127 Hours

Love and other Drugs

The Tourist

Photo Sources:

Mediate

PopSugar

Just Jared / Buzznet
New York Mag

The Envelope

xo