Thanks For The Memories: A look at Hollywood’s biggest night

Hello friends!  Sorry it’s been a while since I posted.  Real life busyness has gotten in the way, but I’m excited to get back into the swing of blogging.  If anyone is still out there reading, thank you for sticking with me!  You’re awesome, and I appreciate you spending any of your valuable time here with me, so THANK YOU! 🙂

Well, the awards have been handed out and the Oscar celebrations have ended for another year.  There weren’t too many real surprises this year, but overall, I was very satisfied with the winners.  Unfortunately, due to an ice storm that passed through our area Sunday night (seriously, Universe?? It’s OSCAR NIGHT!!), my usual Oscar party had far fewer guests.  However, I did prepare a movie themed menu which I will share with you guys.  We wound up with lots of leftovers, obviously, but everything turned out good, so I’m not complaining. 😉

First, the Oscar Party Menu.  I have included links to the recipes if you want to check them out.  My main dish was inspired by “12 Years A Slave”.  Drawing from the movie’s Louisiana setting, I made Slow Cooker Jambalaya with sausage and chicken. I have never made jambalaya before, so I was a little nervous.  It turned out really good, though, and had great flavor!  I will definitely be making this again!  I made some cornbread to go with it, which I thought, as a corn dish, not only fit with 12 Years A Slave, but also the movie Nebraska.  I went with a Tex-Mex theme for Dallas Buyers Club, a layered dip inspired by Ryan Seacrest’s Nana!  This is the best layered dip I have EVER made, and it has become a go-to recipe for several get-togethers.  It’s always a hit!

This year, U2, the greatest rockband of all time (oh, yeah, I went there! Lol!), was nominated for an Oscar, so of course I had to do something to commemorate the occasion.  My dessert this year was Irish themed, chocolate cupcakes with Bailey’s Irish Cream butter frosting.  Oh. My. Bono. GOD! Sorry…God. Haha! 😉  These were SO. GOOD.  Again, first time making this recipe, but I will absolutely be revisiting this one.  Just delish!  If you’re having a St. Patrick’s Day party, I HIGHLY recommend these!  And finally, along with my other movie candies, I got some chocolate gold coins inspired by The Wolf of Wall Street.  I kindof loved that idea.

On to the awards!  So, obviously the big winner this year was Gravity, a technical and visual masterpiece that deserved every award it got.  This film was intended to make you feel like you were there in space, experiencing everything Sandra Bullock’s character was, and it more than accomplished the task.  From the cinematography to the visual effects, this was a major achievement in filmmaking, and Sandra’s deeply emotional performance gives the movie it’s heart.  A beautiful film that is definitely worth watching.

12 Year’s A Slave took home 3 major awards as well, including the top prize: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Picture.  This is a film that deserves a whole post unto itself.  Suffice to say, this is the film I was pulling for to win Best Picture.  It is at once beautiful and horrifying, inspiring and gut-wrenching.  This film does not give you the option of looking away from the ugliness. It asks you to face it, to take it in, to acknowledge and remember.  It shows us the best and worst of humanity.  Every performance in this film is amazing and riviting, and Steve McQueen’s directing was impeccable.  I was so moved and grateful to have witnessed Solomon Winthrop’s story.  In my opinion, the Acadamy got this one right.

My only disappointment was U2’s Ordinary Love losing to Frozen’s Let It Go in the Best Original Song category.  While Let It Go is a really good song, and I adore Idina Minzel,  I think that the Mandela-inspired Ordinary Love would have been a better choice.  I AM aware that I have a certin degree of bias in this area, so you can take my opinion on that for what it’s worth. Lol. U2’s live performance was fantastic and seeing them perform at the Oscars was so cool!  If you haven’t seen it, it is definitely worth a few minutes of your time. 🙂

My absolute FAVORITE moment came early on in the night.  JARED LETO WON AN OSCAR!!!!!!!  Ahem….sorry….I still get emotional.  Jared Leto won his MUCH deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.  I have already posted about my love for this film, and as a devoted fan of the uber-talented Mr. Leto, this pretty much made my year!  Here is a link to his perfect, moving acceptance speech as he originally wrote it.  Matthew McConaughey won the Best Actor Oscar, also for Dallas Buyers Club.  These guys transformed and committed all of themselves to these roles, in a film that took 20 years to get made, on a shoestring budget.  Could not be happier for the success this film has had!!  Look at how cute and happy they are!! 🙂

One other thing I loved about this night?  ELLEN!!  Seriously, all the awards to her for being a SUPERB Oscar host!  Funny without being mean or crass, classy and down to earth.  Thank you Ellen for letting me watch A-list dad Brad Pitt hand out pizza to Meryl Streep!  I really love you (and HIM!!) for that. Lol!  And this post would not be complete without the Selfie Heard Round The World…

Aaaaaand I’ll just leave you with this….Benedict Cumberbatch, my future husband and King of the Photobomb. 😉 (Epic. Seriously, LOVE that guy!!)

Til next year! Have a great day, friends!