Believe The Hype

It is every bit as good as they say it is. I have been downloading Season 1 like a mad woman (get it) to catch up to the newly started Season 2. And in case you need any more incentive to watch this amazing show, here:

Hubba hubba. 

Issues With Elle

Reason 13,546,437 why I will not buy this issue of Elle:


I don't patron magazines who endorse people with hair wider than their waists.

Surf's Up

I have already taken the liberty of planning our next vacation. I've found the perfect place. Granted with the house and all of our residual time and money being poured into the perfect rugs and light fixtures, this vacation is set in the future tense. But it will happen. And if it happens before 2009 – I could die happy. The Surf Lodge in Montauk will be our destination. This beautiful hotel in the sleepy surf town on Long Island will satisfy both our need for adventure and our desire for relaxation.


The wood floors in the main building are painted turquoise, surfing movies loop on monitors in the lobby and a chalkboard displays most current wave heights. The rooms are decorated in weightless white and boast private balconies complete with climb-in-me-now hammocks.


Former Top Chef contestant Sam Talbot rules the roost at the hotel restuarant and a Tracy Feith boutique is present to satisfy my shopping addiction. After a long day you can relax at their Outdoor Beach Cinema while sipping an Endless Summer (vodka, white wine, grapes, sugar, lemon juice).

Yep. The next time we pack our bags – this is where we are going.

It's Never To Late To Make A Change

Many people wait for New Year's Day to think of their resolutions and make the conscious decision to implement change in their lives. But why wait when every day presents itself as a clean slate? This journal can be a constant reminder on the nightstand of the new direction you are trying to go. Plus, it's wicked cute.

Do You Love Me?

I am loving this song so much right now I can't stand it. After listening to snippets of the rest of their album I bought it on the spot. Their sound is very Beach Boys – and who doesn't love The Beach Boys?

Blayne Gets Creepilicious Tonight

Things get coo-coo in the workroom on tonights episode of Project Runway. Slow talking Leanne is afraid she is going to be "too creative", Stella bugs everyone whilst sudding her "leatha", everyone fears they are running out of time and Blayne turns cannibalistic on Kenley. Sheesh. Also, if Suede throws up his finger guns one more time and tells the camera "Suede rocked it!!!" I am going to punch my television.

again- Mac people watch on Firefox.

Cheesus

When ABC News said a woman claimed to have found Jesus in a bag of Cheetos, I was convinced it was Britney. The woman and her husband (not Britney) say the Cheeto in question looks like Jesus on the cross. They call him Cheesus. I call it awesome.

Whoever Said Orange Is The New Pink...

...is totally right on. Loving the orange maxi dress Blake Lively wore to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 premiere. And what is that I see in those locks?



BRAIDS!!!!

Prettiness

This woman looks like she knows how to have fun. Wearing a dress like that in the middle of the day with killer heels and the casual ease of someone running out to pick up some milk. Loves it.

Paper Doll

On the first episode of this season of Project Runway many of the designers fashioned dresses out of table cloths much to Tim's dismay. "It's just another paper dress...and we've seen plenty of those," he sadly stated. His comment on paper dresses got me thinking about one of the most famous  paper dresses of all time, The Souper Dress.


Inspired by Andy Warhol and created by Campbell's Soup, the dress was sold in 1968 at the height of paper dress popularity for $1 and two soup can labels. They now can fetch up to $4,000 at auction and reside in museums all over the country. Not bad for a $1 investment. As a mega fan of Warhol I would love to have one of my own, but at the new outrageous asking price, I will just admire this picture for now.

All Alone

While holed up last Friday in the most depressing place on Earth, otherwise known as the juror holding room, I pulled out the latest copy of Marie Claire and got cozy. Totally off topic but have you ever noticed that there is always an article in Marie Claire about a woman that used to be a prostitute in a third world country who rose above it to become a business woman or something? Anyway, the article that had me laughing out loud in jury duty like a loon was an article on the perils of being a woman and living alone by Mindy Kaling (aka Kelly Kapoor on The Office and my TV best friend). Click here to read about her pros and cons of dwelling solo. It is funny stuff – and oh so true!

Clutch Crazy

After this Anya Hindmarch clutch went on sale, I waited. And waited.

Big mistake...big....huge.

It sold out online and I had to call 4 different locations to find it. Luckily New Jersey hooked me up (Thanks Garden State) and she arrived yesterday. A nice casual clutch like this is hard to find – one that goes with casual and breezy summer dresses or jeans and white peasant top. It's funny, as bags are getting bigger and bigger I find myself searching out the small ones. I need to downsize the amount of junk I cart around with me on a daily basis and what is better motivation than a crazy cute clutch?

Some Things Should Be Left In The 80's

Huey Lewis is not one of them. My 80's iTunes radio station played this song yesterday and I have not been able to get it out of my head for a solid 24 hours. This song is definitely an 80's staple that should reside on everyone's iPod.

I Wanted To Send This E-Card To A Friend

Until I realized how many of them I needed to send it to. I figured posting it on a universal blog was easier and more effective than sending out that many emails. I was quite the party girl in college. When you decide to pursue higher education in Austin, learning how many Purples you can drink at Baby A's and how many Mexican Martinis you can drink at Trudy's are part of the curriculum – and getting sick is all part of the learning curve. Knowing how many mixed drinks it takes me to be incapacitated and my social security number are the only two things I really learned in college. And let's be real, that's some valuable information.

A special shout out to Gulley who's seashell flip flops were sacrificed one over served evening on the corner of East 7th and Trinity. I'm still sorry about those.

Drink Up

Mamma Mia certainly was a feast for the eyes and the ears. I could hardly sit still in my seat and resisted every urge to break out in song (I think). I loved all the colorful sets and the beautiful ocean that sparkled in the back drop of almost ever scene. Once scene that I cannot get out of my head is the preparation for Sophie's wedding. Tables are being draped with table cloths, set with mismatched dishes and glasses and it is portrayed as "this is the best we have even though it's not much" in tone – except for everything was FABULOUS!!!! I kind of wish I owned it all and could pull it out for my impending impromptu events. I loved all the brightly colored mismatched glass wear in the scene so much and I think I might be able to recreate it with these Anthropologie beauties.




Sangria (my new potion du jour) would look pretty in those babies and this recipe looks mighty tempting!

Just Another Manic Monday

I wish it was Sunday. I am wiped out after a fun, girly weekend in Dallas. We had a blast and ate some amazingly yummy food (and some damn good late night bites), had some big laughs, drank some fine sangria, had the best gelato and talked and talked and laughed all weekend. I am exhausted and loaded down with work today but the trip was a blast and well worth it! Thanks for shlepping us around all weekend, Lo! You are the ultimate hostess.

ps- I also discovered a fantastic new white wine! Thanks Web!!

Have A Spontaneous Weekend

After a long day at thrilling jury duty, I am off for a long overdue weekend visit with some of my bestest girl friends. Many drinks will be had...and they will probably lead to dancing. I can't wait. Do something spontaneous and have a fab weekend everyone!

I'm Houston's Bitch Today

I have jury duty today. On a Friday. How lame is that?

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - Kiss!

This movie looks great.

Pick Pocket

I've longingly looked at Anya Hindmarch's Loose Pockets for years. Shopbop has some of them on sale and I may have to pull the trigger this time around. Here are some of the cute pouches stamped with funny phrases up for grabs. 

 

Cocktail Cash

Disco Dosh

Drugs 

(my personal favorite for the cheekiness of it!)

Yikes! LC A Fraud?

I knew it took more than a semester at "fashion school" to create a line. It seems people are hell bent on spilling the beans about the goings on at the Lauren Conrad Collection and its namesake star. Does she even design it? Some say no.

Project Runway Recap: Season 5, Ep 2

First off, I want to hug Bravo for giving the fans of Project Runway 2 whole challenges already that were not infused with some corporate sponsored twist. Besides, don't we hear "Tresemme – professional hair care" enough as it is?

The challenge this week was to design a "green" cocktail dress using eco friendly fabrics. The twist? The models would be selecting the fabrics and also be their clients. Well, it turns out that either Mood has a crap selection of eco fabrics or most of these models have bad taste because a handful of them come back with the same hideous brown and champagne colored silks. Or as Jerell puts is "Team Ugly Brown Fabric." Nice observation Jerell. Too bad I CAN'T STAND YOU!

So immediately the designers start to weed through their given resources and problems are immediately discovered. Not enough fabric and difficult to sew satin were the two biggies.

We are starting to see some personality from some of the designers who were pretty quiet last week. Dominating with personality this week was Kenley. I dig her whole Betty look and think she has some pretty rockin' talent. Not only did Tim love her design but she said she wasn't worried about time. What a hot shot!

Blayne is still trying to make "licious" work. The people have spoken. It doesn't work. Stella complains about how she just wants to sew leather...or as she says it "leatha." I find this statement funny in an eco fashion challenge because well....what is more un-eco friendly than leather? Oh, right. It was announced that the challenge winner would not receive immunity but instead the winning design would be reproduced and sold on Bluefly.com and the designers are thrilled.

Before we know it, it is runway time and Heidi introduces us to the guest judge – one Miss Natalie Portman who looked stunning in a little green dress. What has Natalie done to qualify her to judge this challenge? Well, maybe this mixed with her ability to always look effortlessly chic and stylish.

And so the show begins.

The What Were They Thinkings:

Emily outs with this little gem of an ice skating outfit. Too bad we can't get in our time machines and go back to that challenge in Season 2 when Sasha Cohen was a judge. Thanks for playing, Emily. 

I can't remember her name but this was designed by the girl with the gums. You know who I'm talking about. To me this looks like an orange version of the dress Cindarella wears after her bitch ass stepsisters have ripped all the cool sh*t off of it. Can't say that is cocktail appropriate but whatevs. It's fug.

No one slid further down the slippery slope of the runway this week that Korto. BTW- does it bug anyone else that Heidi calls her "Cat-0?" It bugs me. Bad hair, hideous necklace and a dress that makes Gum's dress look good. Like Michael Kors said, no one wants fins on their ass. 

This was designed by catatonic zombie Leanne. You know, the slow talker. This was a Phyllis Nefler Wilderness Girl outfit if I ever saw one. I would have loved for her to break out in song and give us a few bars of "It's Cookie Time." And what is with the thigh pockets? Not cute. 

Wesley. Wesley, Wesley. What the hell happened to you? You worked for Marc Freakin' Jacobs. I adore you and your short shorts and blazer combos but I think your model's face sums up this ensemble pretty well. She gets paid to sell clothes and she just can't do it here. Sadly, Wesley was this weeks fashion casualty. 

The Ehs:

I have to say that I didn't love Daniel's dress this week. It looks super unflattering, perhaps like a maternity cocktail dress, and I just wasn't feeling the styling with it. 
Bandana boy Keith made this dress. It looks like a gold version of the dress he made last week out of a table cloth. Same halter shape and everything. 

Kelli's dress was interesting. I love the idea of it but not the execution. 

The Best Of The Best:

I actually thought Joe was the only one to make sense of the brown satin. I loved the simplicity of it and the cut out detail. It reminds me a bit of this. 

Kenley may have ridden Christian Siriano's coattails just a bit on this design but it is lovely and looked immaculate on the runway. 

Leatha Stella made the champagne satin work and infused some of her rocker chick influence in her design with the lace up side detail. It was actually pretty and definitely most improved.

Terri is the sleeper star of this show. So far the girl has turned it out! I love this dress and love how the model's face is like "Girl, you know you want this dress." I kinda do. 

Third Person Suede won himself some redemption this week. His dress was cute, young and different. It reminds me ever so slightly of this but I still love it and think that Natalie Portman would have looked cute in it. Don't you? 

I thought Natalie was good in her critiques and not harsh but I felt her presence could have been pumped up a bit more. She didn't even get to announce the winner like most celebrity guest judges. 

Can't wait for more next week! But if Tim's field trips from last season tell me anything, there is most likely a sponsor behind next weeks challenge. 

Oh and check THIS out!! Love match on the runway!

Trying To Shake It This Morning

Another terribly gloomy rainy day out there today. I am desperately trying to get going this morning and listening to this song by Metro Station is helping wake me up mighty nicely. They are actually playing in Houston tonight. Too bad I am too busy to go!

The Kit Comeback

When Doug and I finally decided we wanted to buy our ragged about bungalow and turn it into a bigger home fit for a family, I immediately went and pulled out a back issue of Cottage Living and told Doug we have to use this guy. This guy was Brett Zamore, an architect in Houston who lived a mere amount of blocks from the house we bought. After seeing the transformations of his own house I thought he was right on par for ours.


Sadly, Brett's talent came at a price out of range of our pocket book, but that doesn't stop me from admiring the work on his website and excited to see him on the front page of some section of The Houston Chronicle talking about bringing back affordable kit homes. A kit home was another thing Doug and I tossed out there. What if we found the perfect lot and just dropped a prefab jobby job on there and called it a day. If we had known about Brett's kits back when we were making our decision, maybe we would have. They are pretty darn cool.

Natalie Is "In" Tonight

Emily at SGM is a doll and sent me this clip to post. It looks like Heidi whips out the claws tonight, Nina continues to be Nina and Michael Kors beats a dead chic horse with his adjectives. Can't wait!!!

fyi Mac people- The video comes up better in Firefox than it does in Safari.

The Rookie

Most 12 year-olds don't blog, read The Sartorialist, vintage shop or give a sh*t about the 2009 Resort Runway Collections. Except one. I recently came across Tavi of Style Rookie, a preteen girl with more style than every other 12 year-old on the planet put together.


I am astounded by how articulate and mature she comes across in her blog, how funny she is and how fearless she is with fashion. You have to check her out! She's so precious and a total trip! And she's 12!!!

Nibble

Can we discuss this? Who has heard of this? Would you do it? Rumor has it that it leaves your feet looking amazing. But still...

I Love The Rainy Nights

It rained pretty hard here last night. I love being tucked in my covers and all warm and snuggly on rainy nights. I always sleep better when being lulled into unconsciousness by rain drops. I also take comfort in knowing that rain decreases the chances of someone breaking in and killing me in my sleep. My mind is crazy like that.

Snappy

I recently saw this little camera on a blog (sorry if it was you – I can't remember) and fell in love.


I fell a little harder when I learned it was digital.

A Little Bubble Wrap Goes A Long Way

You know that sweet little hobnail pitcher I bought off of eBay for a song? It arrived yesterday...in a thousand little pieces. I would love to show you but my husband is on a weeklong business trip and took the camera. Why someone would ship a glass pitcher wrapped in a single sheet of kraft paper and charge me a fair amount of $ for shipping is beyond me. Be careful when you buy breakables on eBay and if you are selling things on eBay that are fragile, please do them some justice with a little bubble wrap. A little goes a long way.