Oscar Night in the Park

Sunday night was the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, and my 3rd Annual Oscar Party.

It was for women only. They were to bring their own drinks, a munchie to pass, and a $5 grab bag gift.

I put my usual decorations up.

The red "carpet" welcoming the women into the room. (It was held in the Sports Lounge at the Club House.)

The welcome sign:

The hallway decorations:

Each star has an actor's name on it.

This is Carole and Cathy. I like to kid and say that they were victims from arm wrestling with me.

The rest of the ladies:

Cathy, Pat, and Vivian

Norma and Shannon

Elaine, Sue, and Judy

Pat, Sandy and Carole

Ellen, Lenore, and yours truly - Pat

Everyone brought something good to eat.

But I must say, the big hit of the evening were these chocolate dipped strawberries.

These were HUGE! This will give you a better idea of just how big these bad boys were!

It was quite a challenge to eat it neatly!

We DID break down and invite our husbands to eat ONLY. They were playing pool right below us on the first floor. It was quite funny because as soon as we got a little loud, one of them would take their pool stick and poke the ceiling a few times. We'd all laugh and stomp our feet real hard. I'm sure we sounded like a herd of elephants.

Once we kicked the men back out, it was time to do the grab bag. Everyone who brought a gift drew a number from the pile. The person who had #1 chose the first gift.

Sounds great, right? Well, the #2 person could either choose to steal the gift from #1 or pick a new gift. So the larger the number, the better.

Sandy happened to be #1. She got a real cute wine glass that read, "I'm still hot....it just comes in flashes."

Rachel received a wine bag with three small bottles of wine.

Pat received a box of chocolates (which Viv promptly stole!)

Everyone seemed to have a good time. We oohed and ahhed over the dresses and commented about the hairstyles and jewelry.

My friends were amazed at some of the trivia facts I threw out during the show. I guess it helps to subscribe to People Magazine!

I look forward to next year's party, as do my friends!

And the Oscar Goes To......

Sunday was a big night in Hollywood. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, the 82nd Annual Academy Awards was broadcast live from the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles. I love watching the Academy Awards. I love the Red Carpet events prior to the BIG EVENT. I love to see what the stars are wearing (or lack of wearing).

There were some dresses cut down to THERE as in Hilary Swank's gown,



Or both cut down to THERE and UP to THERE as in Mariah Carey's dress,



Then you just have to wonder. What was Charlize Theron thinking, exactly, when she chose this dress? Cinnabons?



Do you see the resemblance?




Here's a little bit of trivia for you. The official name of the Oscar Statuette is the "Academy Award of Merit".



Its stands 13 1/2 inches tall and weighs a whopping 8 1/2 pounds!

It was designed by Cedric Gibbons, chief art director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

It is a knight holding a crusader’s sword, standing on a reel of film. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers).

The Oscar is manufactured by R.S. Owens & Company in Chicago, IL. It takes 3-4 weeks to manufacture 55 statues.

The first Oscar was handed out in 1929 to Emil Jannings, for Best Actor, in "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh".


I celebrate the Oscars by having an Oscar Party, of course! We have a nice, private room here in the park that is available for use with a large, flat screen TV. I reserved the room a couple of months ago. My friend, Kathy, and I, went to Party City to buy decorations. They have the decorations you need for any themed party you might think of such as my luau party, or a movie party.

I bought red plastic tablecloths and cut one in half lengthwise to make a "red carpet" for the ladies to walk down before entering the room.



Here is our "Oscar" sign. After it was hung up, I noticed that the background sign was hung upside down (before the letters were put on). We all thought those things at the top were microphones, when in fact they were stage lights! Oh well, I don't think anyone else noticed!



Here is one of the decorated walls leading to the room where the party was being held.



This is a close up of one of those stars that are all over the walls. Each one had a celebrity name on it. We could have used them for a game where each of us tape a star to our back, then try to guess who we are by asking questions to other guests. We decided just to use them as decorations.



Walking the Red Carpet

This looks more like Shannon is "Easing Down the Road"!



Mary Ann:



BFF's Cathy and Sue:



I'm the one always BEHIND the camera, and someone said, "Hey, why don't YOU walk the red carpet and I'LL take the picture!" Oh. Okay.



The Party Room with big, flat screen TV



I asked everyone to bring either an appetizer or a dessert and their own drinks. Look at all the scrumptious food!



Also, if they wanted to participate in a gift exchange, they should bring a small $5 gift. Then we each pulled a number. The person with number 1 chose a gift. Number 2 got to either steal the gift from number 1 or select a new gift. It was a lot of fun. We did the gift exchange during commercials, and I also asked movie trivia questions to the group.

Here is Helen modeling her gift of a hat:



Pat got a cute little purse that holds two pairs of glasses.



Nadine received a nice smelling candle.



I'd say a good time was had by all!

And some day, maybe I'll see my own name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.