and the oscar goes to...

This is the first year in all my years of Oscar watching that I've actually seen all the nominated films for Best Picture. I always get excited about watching the Oscars, as an actor it's like my Superbowl, and this year is no exception. In fact, I might even be more excited due to the fact that I saw all 10 films- watching all the nominated films for Best Picture is on my list of 30 Things To Do Before I Turn 31. But, when this year's nominees were announced I was doubtful that I'd be able to cross this off my list since I had only seen one out of the ten nominated films. I knew I was in for a lot of movie watching in a short amount of time if I wanted to accomplish this small goal, but I decided that I was up for the challenge. I started adding to our Netflix queue, renting from iTunes (which I highly suggest doing), and scheduling movie dates with friends. Of course, I procrastinated a bit which meant I had to watch four films this week, three of them in the past three days. Talk about cutting it close. Sheesh!

Some of my picks aren't necessarily who I want to win, but who I think will win. I hope I'm wrong in those categories. We'll find out tomorrow.

And the Oscar goes to...

Picture: The Social Network
Actor: Colin Firth
Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush
Actress: Natalie Portman
Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo
Director: David Fincher
Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Original Screenplay: Inception
Cinematography: True Grit
Editing: The Social Network
Foreign Language: Biutiful
Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Documentary (Feature): Gasland
Documentary (Short Subject): The Warriors of Qiugang
Art Direction: Alice In Wonderland
Costume Design: Alice In Wonderland
MakeUp: The Wolfman
Music (Original Score): The Social Network
Music (Original Song): 127 Hours
Short Film (Animated): Day & Night
Short Film (Live Action): Na Wewe
Sound Editing: Inception
Sound Mixing: Inception
Visual Effects: Alice In Wonderland

for your weekend

1. to encourage your hard work

2. to do what you love every day

3. to inspire your creativity

4. to connect us

paciugo

The winter blues, cabin fever, seasonal effect disorder, what have you is beating down on me. And the gorgeous warm weather we had last week didn't help either- it was such a tease! Now it's all cold and snowy again with nothing but gloom in the forecast.

I cannot wait for spring! I cannot wait to eat ice cream again! I don't know about you, but ice cream just doesn't do it for me during the winter time. I only crave warmth during these long dreary months. Although looking at the creamy, melting goodness of the gelato in this picture is making me think twice. I'm telling you as soon as it gets above 70 degrees I'm going to enjoy three scoops of gelato awesomeness from Paciugo. I know it's a chain gelato store, and I'm really trying to only feature local Chicago shops, but seriously it's so good! And you'll be happy to know that each store has gelato masters who make fresh gelato every morning. That's local enough for me.

It's been so long since I've been there I can't remember what flavors are in this picture, but they always feature unique combinations that pop, blend, then melt in your mouth. And the best part - they aren't stingy about samples. If you can't make up your mind, which is me every time I go in there, they'll be happy to let you try all the flavors until you find your favorite. I would only suggest doing this during slow times, otherwise the line of people who are waiting out the door could start to riot. I can't really blame them, they just want some gelato too!

I don't know if this is the best gelato shop in Chicago seeing how it's the only one I've been to, but so far it's my favorite. If you think you know of the best place then please share in the comment section. I'd love to check out your recommendations...during spring and summer time, of course!