Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Pull out the red carpet


The writer's strike is over, so you know what that means; we had an excuse to get all dolled up again for Oscar Night.

As you may recall from my Golden Globes post, award show nights are worth celebrating in my household. It's like a family tradition, and last Sunday was no exception.

The ladies in the house (the men would prefer to wear their usual casual attire) pull out the old formal stash from my mom's closet (dresses my sisters and I wore in the past to homecomings, proms, weddings, etc.) and pose for a picture on a stretch of fabric we like to call our red carpet.

Unfortunately, my sisters were camera shy for fear of ending up on my blog (what would make them think that?). But, my husband came through in this pic (like I said before, the males have absolutely no interest in putting on a tux or a suit for the occasion).

Now, I can see why they might be hesitant to put their photo up on this site for the world to see. In retrospect, I could've taken a tip from the celebrities and wore some Spanx underneath my gown, or at least opted to have the photo shot before I ate my fill of dinner (it's very reminiscent of the photo from the year I was pregnant with my son, except I had bleached blond hair and a fake-and-bake tan. No, I did not know I was expecting at the time).

Speaking of dinner, we always have an h'orderve theme for our award night meal. It's nothing fancy, just something to suit everyone's tastes. For instance, the little ones like chicken nuggets and tater tots, while the older folks prefer mozzarella sticks and quesadillas.

Thank goodness, my mom always picks up fruit and veggie trays, and I also bring my own contributions to the spread. This time, I made raw crab cakes (or crabby patties, as my son would say) with cashew-based tarter sauce and marinated/dehydrated asparagus spears. I also whipped up some more chocolate fondue for dipping the fruit (my new favorite treat).

After our meal (although we continue to snack throughout the evening), we fill out our official Oscar ballots to determine who gets to decide what we will have for dinner next Sunday (we have a family meal together every weekend. I wish more people had time to do this). I didn't do so well this year, so there goes my hopes of an all-raw meal for everyone.

But don't worry about me; I'll just bring along my usual "rawified" version of whatever the winner choses.

The rest of the evening resulted in the grownups watching the awards while the kids acted out scenes from their favorite flicks (in this case, movies from the "Star Wars" prequels). My son even dressed up like a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (this is his favorite scene) for the occasion.

In my opinion, he looked like a little "Karate Kid," especially when my nephew would set up the Jenga blocks for him to knock down. He was so quick that I was unable to get a shot of it.

However, I did snap this pic of his kiss goodnight. It really was a good night :-)

10 comments:

Kristen's Raw said...

Girl...that's adorable and sounds like so much fun. I love how your family has these swanky and cool little bashes. Nice!

shannonmarie said...

I love that we have these little parties, too. And to think I used to make fun of the idea :-)

Colleen Miller said...

Shannon what a wonderful post. I really enjoyed reading about your family's party. I'd love to do that someday when my girls get older. I love your Sunday nite dinner rituals too. All of our family lives out of state but we're growing our own little family to partake in that ritual now. Great inpsirations! Your family sounds so lovely and I always look forward to your posts, they always brighten my day! Thanks for sharing.

Charis said...

How fun! I like the fact that the ladies dress up, that is super great! My sisters and I love doing that too.

And you look beautiful! :0)

Jenny said...

you guys are SO fun!! and the photos of you and your little obi-wan are just adorable. . .
a future photographer and blogger in the making?! hehe
happy wednesday!
xx jenny

Kathy said...

Almost makes me wish I saved all those prom dresses of mine!

Heather Pace said...

Hehe, love the red carpet event! So cute how you guys get all dressed up and everything!

Dhrumil said...

Love the post and dress!

Big ups to Shannon and her family.

Unknown said...

so glamorous!

shannonmarie said...

Thanks everyone.

Charissa, you and your sisters dress up, too. Love it.

Jenny, I think he is following in my footsteps.

Kathy, it doesn't have to be an old prom dress to fit the occasion. Any old frock will do.

Heathy, I can see you pulling out a red carpet for your next event. You could even use it for your next class, with a party theme.

Thanks for the love Dhru.

Alissa, now I have that Fergie song in my head.