It’s the most…wonderful time… of the year!
Yes, it may be January (and 50 degrees if you’re on Nantucket), but my favorite event is finally here.
It’s Awards Season, baby!
In case you’re new around here, you should know that this is literally my favorite everything. I wake the morning of the show as excited as a child on Christmas. I prep myself as if I am attending the actual ceremony, complete with red carpet-worthy nails, just in case the mani-cam happens to show up at my apartment. I run a slightly illegal award ballot competition at work (some say gambling ring, whatevs), and best of all, I park myself in front of my television as early at E! will have me and prepare my technological devices. This year I have the iPad mini to add to the pack, so I will be extra on it.
Although the Emmys were in September (and no, I don’t want to talk about it) and the People’s Choice Awards just happened on Wednesday, this is the big time. Starting tomorrow with the Golden Globes all the way through March 2 when we end with the Academy Awards, we are in it. It’s all happening. And it is glorious!
Surely someone as invested as I am must throw some fabulous awards show soiree, one would think. However if you have ever experienced an awards show with me, you know that I am something of a hermit when it comes to the actual event. That’s right- I like to be totally alone. Unfortunately, I usually end up with the peanut gallery snickering in the corner, but for the most part, he’s quiet. I like to totally focus on the show and everything about it- I don’t want to miss a moment. Me and the internet spend like eight hours together breaking down every moment of it. Personally, I’d rather “watch” it with my friends via Facebook & Twitter than feel the need to entertain people in person while trying to concentrate on the show.
Is that weird? Maybe. Bitchy and antisocial? According to Steve, yes. But I don’t tell him how to watch hockey, so he has to give me this. These awards come once a year! Sports are like three times a week for months. #overit
Regardless of my preferred isolation, I have been gathering ideas over the years in case I was to ever host some sort of fabulous fete. I also have certain essentials that I help me to truly enjoy the awards watching experience. Here are a few things I have decided that no true Hollywood trophy junkie should be without:
The first step for any show is to be prepared. If you’re not familiar with anything nominated, you’re not going to care one way or the other who wins. You gotta have someone to root for! There’s many ways you can do this, for example, the Grammys release an album containing songs of a lot of the major nominees (it’s out January 21). Movies are a little harder, because you have to make an effort to go out and actually see them.
Grab a ballot and check off as you go- my favorites are from POPSUGAR, because you can usually fill out the online edition for to be entered for a prize, or you can use the printable ones to run your office pool like I do (way better than those Final Four brackets, if you ask me). I recently received a coffee table book that weighs more than I do that features the entire history of the Oscars, as well as detailed descriptions of the nominees and winners from every show in its eighty-five years.
If you are going to entertain, jazz it up a bit! This is literally the most important time in the entertainment industry. Take a cue from the glitz of Hollywood and add a little glam to the table. These glitter cork place card holders sparkle like the bright lights of Tinseltown, and atop this envelope-style folded napkin, you’ve got a table that rivals that of the Governor’s Ball. Of course, you can always go casual with an all-American favorite like hot dogs, dressed up with a napkin tuxedo! I may start doing this with my franks just for fun.
As for beverages, of course you need to pop some bubbly just like the stars (especially at the Golden Globes, which is one of my favorites because they drink during the show). I prefer the mini-champagne bottles if for nothing else that they’re so darn cute. Everyone gets their own bottle (don’t forget a festive straw!) and there are even some that you can customize the labels if you’re super together and remember to do that. As the show starts to die down (you know, once they get to categories like editing) break out these statuette sugar cookies. I found this recipe on the internet last year, and spent a solid month trying to find an Oscar-shaped cookie cutter to no avail. I ended up making my own, but I had to improvise with a Halloween cutter shaped like a monster’s foot that Steve had to bend into the proper shape for me:
Whether you’re toasting yourself or at a viewing party with others, you want to look like you’re ready for a party. Just because I stay in doesn’t mean I don’t put on my award show best. Two years ago, I rocked a tuxedo t-shirt so I could be formal yet comfy:
If I was going to go real crazy and money was no object, I would be all over these J.Crew sequined sweatpants for the evening. Unfortunately they’re sold out. And $650. One accessory I do like to sport each year that’s a little more accessible is a red-carpet manicure. Last year I did red with a glittery gold accent finger. This year, I would love to work in some nail art a la Zooey Deschanel (the TVs she did for the Emmys were my favorite). If I was ever lucky enough to attend an awards show in the flesh, you can bet I’d be rocking these Kate Spade tuxedo heels. You don’t even need a date when you’ve got these on your feet!
As for the actual watching of the show, if ballots aren’t your thing, follow along with this hilarious bingo game, courtesy of But You’re Like Really Pretty. Of course, I need every method within an arm’s reach that will help me connect to the world, i.e. the Internet. As Steve “observed” two years ago, I need my laptop, phone and ballots within reach as to stay on top of the task at hand. This year will be no exception, and I am super excited to announce that I have finally taken the plunge and started a Facebook page for the blog! You can now follow along with me and my live updates during all of the awards shows this year on Twitter and now Facebook.
I have debated doing this for a long time. I have always shared all of my blog content on my personal Facebook page, which I wanted to do because there isn’t anything in my blog that I wouldn’t tell everyone I’m friends with online. I mean, I’m friends with my mother on Facebook- I would never write anything that I wouldn’t stand behind 100%.
After I started engaging with people on Facebook during award shows, I wanted to continue because I got such a great response from it. However, like anything else you put out there, I got a little bit of shade thrown my way from people who felt I was clogging their feeds with incessant banter. I don’t know what it was, but something about them saying that made me not want to stop- after all, many of these same people fill my feed with posts I deem irritating about football, stuff that comes out of their kids, or just every damn thought they’ve ever had in their head/what monotonous thing they are doing every minute of their day. But that’s the beauty of Facebook, you can write whatever the hell you want. And you can also read whatever the hell you want, because there is a hide button right there to help you avoid everything you don’t want to see! I know I’ve done it to some people, and they certainly had the right to do it to me.
But after a few years at this, it’s time. I really would like to grown this blog and meet new readers, and Facebook is a great vehicle to do that. So please, if you’ve ever enjoyed anything you’ve ever read or you need a buddy to watch the Oscars with, head over to www.facebook.com/lindsayslook and hit that “Like” button. I promise to post lots of fun celeb updates, outfits, and everything in between. If Twitter is more your scene, I’m there too! Follow me @legallylinz (I promise I won’t just repeat everything from Facebook).
Make sure to stop by and say hi tonight during the Golden Globes!
~L
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