Last year it was hard to pick the best dressed- there were so many great choices.  I couldn’t even decide last year and declared a tie for best dressed.  This year it seemed the ugly, or what-where-they-thinking won over the WOW factor.  There were so many on my list for worst dressed, it was hard to pick until I saw it- then it was the clear winner.  I think most the dresses were kind of boring.  They seemed safe to me, and the ones that weren’t safe, were ugly or didn’t work. 

Like last year, I am also including the best and worst dressed couple and best tuxedo.  It didn’t seem that any pregnant mommies were out tonight in their pretty maternity dresses, so that category is on hold for this year. 

Here is A Mama’s Blog Academy Award Fashion Review for 2009:

BEST DRESSED

What a difference two years can make!  Two years ago, she was my worst dress pick, but this year, her dress was the only one that  I said WOW when I saw it. Maybe she saw my plea to her, not to wear feather dresses anymore!  At any rate there was not a feather in sight  on my best dressed pick for this year:

• Penelope Cruz.  This dress is gorgeous.  It is a 60-year old vintage Pierre Balmain dress.  Not everyone can pull off a vintage look, but Penelope Cruz does it effortlessly. I love the antique detailing in the dress.  She looks like a princess, without overdoing the look.  As an added bonus she has almost 3 million dollars of diamond jewelry on.  This outfit is divine, and and even without the diamonds, it would still be the clear winner.

                                   photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

HONORABLE MENTION-BEST DRESSED

• 1.  Kate Winslet. This dress shouts glamour with a bit of a twist.  Kate wears it so elegantly, and radiates classic Hollywood beauty.  The dress is by Atelier Yves Saint Laurent by Stefano Pilati. These asymmetrical dresses are hard to pull off (see worst dressed).  But Kate wears this look flawlessly, and the overall look is stunning.

                                   photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

• 2.  Angelina Jolie.  While this dress seems a little on the safe side, I love black dresses, and if anyone does a black dress right, it is Angelina!  I love how she added a little color with her 115 carat emerald earings  and her ring.  I think Angelina could make a burlap sack look glamorous, and she definitely was one of the best dressed of the night in her Elie Saab couture little black dress!

                                photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

• 3.  Alicia Keys.  I loved this splash of color and the light, airy feeling of this chiffon gown by Armani Prive, Alicia Keys wore.  Plus her make-up, her hair, and her jewelry tie it all together.  This was one dress that I thought was not boring and it was a bit of a risk.  But Alicia pulls the look off beautifully. 

  

                                           photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

• 4.  Meryl Streep.  How can anyone not love Meryl Streep?  She doesn’t always dress great, but this year I loved her off-the-shoulder gray dress by Alberta Ferretti.  She looks age appropriate, and beautiful.  I love that Meryl can look her age, and her face isn’t all botoxed!  All I can say is Meryl is the Queen of Hollywood!

                                    photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

WORST DRESSED

I thought I saw the ugliest dress ever last year, and it just couldn’t get any worse than Tilda Swinton’s dress.  I stand corrected- she has been out done this year, and the result is absoulutely hideous.  It is the most unflattering, unattractive, and horrible outfit, that I have EVER seen.  My worst dressed pick goes to:

• Tilda Swinton.  I suppose only someone who had the worst dress last year, could outdo her self for this year.  Seriously, what runs through her mind, where she would think this looks good?  It looks like she is sick.  The taupe color of her top, does nothing for her face.  She is so pale, she could pass as an albino.  The droopy top and skirt reminds me of curtains.  Please, please, Tilda- get a different stylist!  If Penelope can go from worst dressed to best dressed in two short years, I know you can do it!  You are gorgeous, but the clothes and their colors you are wearing are doing nothing for you.    We want to see a unique and non-traditional dress on you, but this is not it.  WOW us in a good way!

                                     photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

HONORABLE MENTION- WORST DRESSED

• 1.  Beyonce Knowles. There is nothing I like about this dress.  Beyonce is beautiful, and this look makes her look like a mermaid-robot from the 80′s.  Seriously, my mom had friends in the 80′s whose living rooms had black laquor furniture with gold trim. This dress reminds me of that decor, or a very cheap shower curtain.   Are those gold roses on the dress?  This dress needs to go to the graveyard of dresses that should never be seen again-ever.  Beyonce and Tilda’s dresses this year can share a coffin. 

                                    photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

• 2.  Heidi Klum.  This is the exact opposite of how NOT to wear an asymmetrical dress.  Unlike Kate Winslet, this look is horrible.  It looks like a bad prom dress from the late 80′s.  Or a devil’s Halloween costume that went wrong.  I read that Heidi designed this dress herself.  Maybe that is why I never got into Project Runway.  The only reason she beat out Beyonce, is because I LOVE her red shoes.  That is the only thing that is right about this outfit.  Too bad the dress ruins the shoes. 

                                      photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

• 3.  Melissa Leo.  The dress is just ugly.  Plain and simple.  It is an ugly color, and it doesn’t fit Melissa right.  The torso looks off center, the neckline is way too wide, and I don’t understand the jewel clips creeping into the armpits.   I wonder if there is still room in that coffin holding Tilda and Beyonce’s dresses- this dress needs to be in there too!

                                     photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com

• 4.  Miley Cyrus.  I don’t think the dress itself, is all that bad, but on Miley, it just doesn’t work. First of all, Miley is 16.  This dress is too old for her.  If an older actress was wearing it, it could be a great dress.  But with a teenager wearing it, it looks like a young girl playing dress up.  My cousin is 16, and this dress would look ridiculous on her.  I can’t make up my mind if this dress reminds me of fish scales or a Christmas tree with glittery snow painted on it.  I have a great idea- maybe next year Tilda could wear this dress, and we can see if it looks any better on an older actress, and Miley can wear something a little more age appropriate. 

                               photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

BEST DRESSED COUPLE

• Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie.  This wasn’t even close this year.  These two just match and go together.  They look great separately, but look phenomenal together, and very Hollywood glamorous. Is there anyone who doesn’t like looking at Brad and Angelina, especially when they are all perfectly dressed up?  I didn’t think so. 

                                  photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

WORST DRESSED COUPLE

• Phillip Seymour Hoffman &  Mimi O’Donnell. It’s the knit cap Phillip is wearing, that makes these two the worst dressed.  The dress Mimi has on isn’t really doing her any favors, and Phillip’s tuxedo is too shiny.  They don’t look horrible, and without the cap they might not look too bad together.  But the hat just pushes their look together over the edge.  It looks sloppy and seems to magnify all the flaws their outfits have.  We would NEVER see Brad wearing a knit cap on the red carpet.  It just doesn’t work.   

  

                                            photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

  BEST TUXEDO

• Brad Pitt.  There is just something about that classic tuxedo with a bow tie.  There were a lot of different and unique tuxedos this year, that looked good, but I don’t think anyone looked as nice as Brad this year in a tux.  I’ll just let the picture speak for itself.   

                                        photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

That  concludes the review for 2009.  I hoped you enjoyed it.  Let me know what you think- do you agree with me, or did I miss someone who you thought was best/worst dressed? 

I really wanted to attend the annual BlogHer conference in San Francisco this weekend, but I thought we would be moving, so I didn’t sign up to go.  I did however, register to attend in Second Life.  You may have even noticed the banner ad that I have in the right sidebar on my blog.

I have never been in Second Life (SL), and prior to this, had only read an article about it.  I only joined, so I could hear the speakers that were speaking at BlogHer live, like Lisa Stone.  I joined Thursday night, and after figuring out how to work my avatar, I was able to log in to the conference on Friday. It was wonderful to be able to hear the speakers, and even attend some of the SL sessions they had exclusively for SL attendees. 

I received the invitations and notifications BlogHer in SL events, and on Friday night there was a virtual party.  So I signed in and went.  It was a little funky getting my avatar to dance, but thanks to the BlogHer helper in Second Life, Gidge,  I eventually got grooving.  Here is a picture of my Second Life avatar dancing on Friday night (I’m in the black top, purple skirt, and black boots-& you can click on the pictures to see them larger):

   (Bonus: behind me in the purple shirt and jeans is Amy, or better known as the Crunchy Domestic Goddess)

After the BlogHer party, Gidge invited us to her Second Life house to continue the fun.  She has a beautiful house with a dance floor, pool, and BBQ.  After we danced for awhile, she invited us into her house, to the mud wresting pit, and get this- a knife throwing game.  Just like you see at the circus or magic shows. 

Amy and I were pretty fascinated by all of this, and watched the mud wrestling and a few rounds of the knife throwing.  Eventually, I decided to give the knife throwing a shot, and I have to say, I didn’t do too bad- I missed a few times, but I think I hit the balloons more than the person.  Here is a picture of me throwing knives (thanks to Amy for the picture:)

 (To the right of me in the blue dress is Gidge, and behind us is Amy)

The best part of the party this night was Amy was trying to change her clothes, and ended up in a 3-D box.  She couldn’t figure out how to get it off, so she came to the party with a box on.  It was hilarious and we all had a blast cracking jokes.  She was ‘hip to be square!’  You can read Amy’s version of the party, as well as see pictures of her in her box here. 

There was another party on Saturday night, and after having so much fun the night before, I just had to check it out again.  Besides, how often does a chance like this come up?  So I created a pretty snazzy party dress with red sequenced shoes.  Gidge was the volunteer again, and she offered us a champagne flute that had stars floating out of it.  Pretty cool. 

Again, after the party we went back to Gidge’s house, and danced, and tonight I mud wrestled.  While I don’t have pictures of it, since I was wrestling, it was fun. I won the best out of three in my first match, and then I wrestled the Queen herself-Gidge.  I almost had her in one of the rounds, but she quickly overpowered me.  The best part was, I didn’t even need to take my party dress to the cleaners.  As soon as I got out of the pit, it was clean.  I wish that happened in real life.  Here is a picture of me on the dance floor at the BlogHer party, and at Gadge’s house:

Gidge was so nice and so hospitable.  She invited me back to her house anytime, and even allowed me to set my homebase at her house.  I met a lot of friendly people- the whole thing is kind of surreal- who would have thought you could attend parties and have a blast, over your computer?

I am greatful BlogHer made the conference available to those of us who couldn’t attend, and I know even if I was at the conference in San Francisco, I would not have been throwing knives and mud wrestling.  I wouldn’t have been able to create my own clothes either-for free.  Can’t beat that. :-)

While I had a great time with my first Second Life BlogHer experience, I have already vowed that I am going to the conference in person next year.  I know several other friends who are planning on it too.  If it is any indication how much fun and informative BlogHer is in Second Life, I can’t wait to be there for it in real life-even if I don’t get to mud wrestle and throw knives.   

Thanks to my friend, Nicole, for posting this video on her blog.  I haven’t had a chance to show it to my boys yet, but she said her boys want to keep watching it over, and over, and just laugh and laugh.  She said it was boy humor, but I actually laughed when I watched it too- not just for boys!  It is really short (only 41 seconds) but it it is not short on a good laugh. 

Be sure to visit Absolutely Bananas for more short and long laughs.  Happy Laughing!

In honor of the Sex and the City movie, which I got to see on Saturday, I decided to show an unfortunate fashion model falling down.  This has to be pretty close to being “fashion roadkill.”  What makes this even more funny are the anchors…well, you’ll see.  By the way, I loved the movie.  If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you go.  There were lots of funny scenes in it as well.   Head over to Absolutely Bananas for more funny stuff.  Happy Laughing. 

My husband showed me this site.  Having worked in the corporate world, I was all to familiar with these “motivational” posters.  One place I worked had at least five of them in the office I worked in.  They always seemed so cheesy and bugged me.  Needless to say, I got a lot of laughs out of these Demotivators.  There are tons more on their site.  Here are some of my favorites, and happy laughing: 

 If we don’t take care of the customer, maybe they will stop bugging us.

 If you’re not a part of the solution, there’s good money to be made in prolonging the problem.

 Sometimes the best solution to morale problems is just to fire all of the unhappy people.

 You aren’t being paid to believe in the power of your dreams.

 Every dark cloud has a silver lining, but lightning kills hundreds of people each year who are trying to find it.

 Leaders are like eagles. We don’t have either of them here.

 None of us are as dumb as all of us.

 A company that will go to the ends of the Earth for its people will find it can hire them for about 10% of the cost of Americans.

 The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut by the lawnmower.

 It’s over, man. Let her go.

And my favorite one:

 If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon.

Be sure to visit Absolutely Bananas to check out the other hilarious Make Me Laugh Monday posts.