Today Show: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

There has been a lot of buzz lately in the morning television world surround the Today Show. I will first start off by saying that I have been a huge Today Show fan ever since I was a little girl and could barely keep up with the news on the TV, but the Today Show has always and will forever be the morning program I watch when I wake up. That being said, there are countless rumors surrounding the Today Show from its recent drop in ratings to the dismissal of Ann Curry last year. With rating drops and the Today Show giving up its number one spot in morning programing in America (which they held for sixteen years) to Good Morning America it seems that the Today Show has been doing everything in its capacity to keep the show alive and try to gain back viewers. As a long-time viewer of the morning show it saddens me to see the show struggle so much recently. If only it could return to its days of Matt Lauer, Katie Couric, Al Roker and Ann Curry.
Last summer as the ratings began to drop, the Today Show made the decision to basically fire Ann Curry, giving her a new title at NBC and sent her on her way. It was quite an awkward moment when she said goodbye to the viewers on her last morning on the show. When she was fired I didn't realize at the time just how much controversy there was surrounding the change in the co-anchor spot. Finally I got a better understanding of the whole situation after reading an article in New York Magazine, Long Night at Today, which places a lot of the blame of Curry's firing on Matt Lauer, the current male co-anchor of the morning show. I've always really liked Matt Lauer and although this article at times makes me question him it is hard for me to believe that Lauer has that much power to decide who will be his co-anchor. I recommend giving the article a read and deciding for yourself.
It will certainly be an interesting next two years for the Today Show as Lauer's contract will be up within that time frame. It seems like they will have to do a bit of rebranding and maybe with the addition of a few new anchors they can get the show back on track. Recent reports have said that Anderson Cooper may be a possible candidate to replace Lauer in the coming year or so (I mean, I wouldn't hate it).
Watching the Today show this morning though, I am still convinced that the today show is the best morning show around. Savannah Guthrie has been a great addition to the program, as well as Willie Giest in the third hour of the show (another front runner for Lauer's spot) and Tamron Hall has been a fantastic anchor as well. And don't forget about the fourth hour of the Today Show, nothing beats a morning cocktail hour and a good laugh with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford!

Stay tuned for what's to come for the Today Show, but don't loose hope, no matter what happens I know I'll always be waking up to the Today Show!

Music Monday

With last week being quite the busy week after returning back to Boston after spring break, I decided to reward myself on Friday afternoon by purchasing Justin Timberlake's newest album, The 20/20 Experience, on iTunes. There is not one song that I completely am in love with on his album. I could dance for hours to any of his songs on this album and have had it on repeat on my iPod all weekend long. My favorites right now are Pusher Love Girl and Mirrors.

The music video to Mirrors is above so be sure to check it out. Most of his songs on the album are about seven minutes long, but there is wide variety among his songs that allow for a really interesting collection. I am so excited that he is touring this summer too, so hopefully I'll be able to make it to one of his shows!
I've also recently discovered the music of American indie rock band, Vampire Weekend. They've been around since 2006, but are releasing a new album next month. I came across one of their latest songs titled Step on YouTube (you can't even buy it on iTunes yet) and I fell in love. So be sure to give it a listen and stay tuned for the release of their album, Modern Vampires of the City. And if you like what you hear they've got a lot of other fantastic, fun songs that have been keeping me motivated the past two days too!

That's all for now, hope you enjoy the music and say an extra prayer for warmth and spring!

March Madness, NCAA Bracket

This week I caught an interview with Nate Silver, an American statistician and writer. He was discussing how he calculates the odds for teams to win the NCAA tournament using power ratings and formulas to make his bracket and determine the overall winner. Silver's accuracy in predicting elections has become well known, in particular in the 2012 presidential elections, Silver accurately forecasted the outcomes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and now he is bringing his skills to the bracket. His methodology is quite complicated and there are many factors to the predications and coming up with the odds, yet Silver seems to have a pretty good track record. Silver forecasts Louisville as the nominal favorite this season with a 23.8% chance to win the championship. He has Indiana checking in at second with a 18.4% chance and Florida following behind with a 13.2% chance.

I've always been interested in how people manage to pick their brackets, whether they choose their home team to win, or maybe the team with the better ranking or color (purple, blue, green?) there always seems to be some reasoning behind each person's bracket.

Then after reading a story about President Obama's pick for Indiana to win the NCAA title, I am even more intrigued by this season's brackets and what Americans across the country are predicting for the 2013 outcome. President Obama seems to be pretty close in terms of accuracy when following along with Silver's odds.
I know for sure I'll definitely be working on my bracket tonight and watching the tournament closely to see who comes out on top.
What do you think?

Vamos a la Playa en Puerto Rico

This week I got to spend some time in Puerto Rico, soak up the sun and enjoy a little rest and relaxation with my best friend. Puerto Rico is an amazing island- the beaches are breathtaking, the people are so friendly, and the weather could not be better. It was the perfect get away from the cold temperatures we've been having up here in the Northeast.

This was my second time in Puerto Rico, staying both times at the La Concha hotel in San Juan. With ocean views, three pools and plenty of places to explore the hotel was fantastic and the perfect spot to unwind for a quick vacation! I mean look at this infinity pool! Pretty breathtaking... am I right??
Hopefully these pictures from my trip make you fall in love with Puerto Rico as much as I have over the past week.

Until next time PR... Adiós! 

Paperman

A few weeks ago I came across the animated short called Paperman, the story of a young business man who tries to woo of the girl of his dreams from an adjacent skyscraper. I instantly fell in love with the characters and story. Little did I know it had been nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the Academy Awards, and guess what? It won! Paperman is a black and white short film produced by Disney and is completely worth the 6 minutes it takes to watch it.

The short is available on iTunes, but you can also watch it here; however I would really suggest buying it and giving it the love it deserves. The soundtrack to the short is also fantastic and reason enough to watch Paperman. Look, even Gennifer Goodwin loves Paperman!

How Bobbi Brown Did It

I recently came across an article about Bobbi Brown, founder and CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, and I fell in love with her story as an aspiring make-up artist. I have always loved the simplicity of Bobbi Brown's make-up and to this day use the Punch lip tint until I've squeezed out every last drop of the gloss. She is a graduate of Emerson College (yay Boston!) with a degree in theatrical make-up and got her start in New York City as a make-up artist for models on runways and fashion shoots. What I love most about Brown's interview with Inc was when she said, "One of the best things I had going for me was that I was so naive. I never even thought of not being able to do it." Brown's story is truly amazing and she certainly made all the right connections, said all the right things and took risk when needed to get her idea off the ground. It's stories like this one that really encourage me to pursue my dreams and to believe in myself and my ideas. Even though I'm not an aspiring make-up artist (although I do love my make-up) I can still take Brown's words to heart as an aspiring journalist and give myself that extra push to find success.

Friday Favorites

Wow! Thank goodness it's Friday and happy March! What a crazy week it has been! Hope you all had a less hectic week than I did. Now that March is here and spring whether is around the corner I am pinning up a storm on Pinterest inspirations for spring outfits and I absolutely adore this image above; the florals are fun and I love how there is a mix of prints in this look too. Enjoy your weekends and here are a few links to some of my favorite Internet finds from the week. 

Funniest video of the week goes to- Kid President Josh Groban Showdown

My new favorite company- K. slademade and their leather key chain

BaubleBar Tab Strand Necklace  

Loving this Eloise in Bloom Dress, just need somewhere to go!

Add a little more Kale to you diet with Kale Pesto