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Labels:
Books,
Fun Stuff
So It's the end of August which means 4 months left until its 2010 (when did this happen?). So i spent my summer reading alot of books and not in the order intended but who cares its my list right?
TBR Challenge 2009:
January- Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig
February- Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
March-Calamity Jayne by Kathleen Bacus
April- Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster
May- (Subbed) Calamity Jayne Rides Again by Kathleen Bacus
June- (Subbed) Scarlett by Stephen Lawhead
July- Hood by Stephen Lawhead
August- How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater by Marc Acito
September- I was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
October-She Went All the Way By Meg Cabot
November- Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey
December- Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr
My Alternate List:
- Death du Jour by Kathy Reich
- Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster
- Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster
Labels:
Fashion,
Project Runway
So for my Final Installment of my 3-part Project Runway special. I'm listing my top ten favorite challenges from the first 5 seasons of Project Runway.
10. Postal Uniform Challenge- from Season 1, Designers had to redesign the postal service uniform
9. Fashion Giant- Season 4: Create an outfit for former NFL player Tiki Barber to wear on the Today Show
8. Fashion that Drives you- Season 5: make an outfit from recycled materials and spare parts from a Saturn Hybrid car. Season 5 winner Leanne won with a dress made from leather seats and fringed seatbelts.
7. On Thin Ice- From season 2: Designers had to design a costume for Olympic Ice Skater Sasha Cohen
6. Eye Candy-Season 4: Create an outfit out of materials found at the Hershey's store in Times Square.
5. All Dolled Up-Season 2: design a dress for Barbie in both Human and miniature form.
4. Fit for a Queen: Season 3: design a dress for Miss USA Tara Conner to wear during evening gown at the Miss Universe Pageant. Kanye Gillaspie won (pictured)
3. Flower Power-Also from season 2: Design a dress for a garden party out of natural material found in NYC's Flower District
2. Good Queen Fun- Season 5: Create an outfit for a drag queen (Bonus points for a RuPaul sighting)
1. Innovation- The very first challenge on the very first season of Project Runway: create an outfit from materials found at a grocery store. Austin Scarlett won with a dress made out of corn husks (pictured).
Labels:
Fashion,
Project Runway
So this is my second post in my week long tribute to the best design show ever Project Runway, culminating with the premiere of Season 6 on Thursday. So in five seasons there have been some really good interesting designers and some really memorable bad ones.
So here are my top ten favorite designers from the first five season:
10. Kara Saun-by all acounts, she probably should have won the first season of PR. She had style; she made great clothes and her hate/hate relationship with Wendy Pepper made good tv..
9. Santino Rice (pictured)- Love or hate him this season 2 designer made you talk. While his designs were insane sometimes, but its his imitation of Tim Gunn that made him infamous
8. Joe Faris- The only Season 5 designer to make my list. He was the token straight guy in the design room but he talent. Plus he won the only challenge you wouldn't expect a straight man to win: The Drag Queen Challenge.
7. Chris March- The costume designer turned fashion designer. He was a big guy with big personality. Season 4 would have not been the same without him.
6. Uli Herzner- The East German girl from Season 3 who made the most fabulous print dresses. She came in second but there was no denying Uli had presence.
5. Jillian Lewis- While no one could deny the feirceness of Season 4 winner Christian Siriano, Jillian was my pick to win. She made clothes that i could relate to and would probably wear. Plus she rocked out some overalls.
4. Kayne Gillaspie- Season 3 designer who should have made fashion week and came up just short. Kayne is primarily a pageant dress designer who just recently had a show called Gown Crazy on TLC.
3. Daniel Vosovic- the man who should have won season 2. He was young and inexperienced but he won more challenges than anyone else that PR history (five) including two of my favorite challenges the lingerie challenge, and the flower power challenge.
2. Jay McCarroll- the 1st ever winner of Project Runway still holds a special place in my heart. He had a different design aesthetic and made clothes that were totally in-style and wearable to the average woman.
1. Nick Verreos (pictured) -From season 2 is still my favorite designer. He had some amazing designs and put up with Santino Rice (which is amazing in itself). He didn't make it to fashion week, which was a gross oversight but his dresses were and still are fabulous.
Labels:
Fashion,
G-Fab,
Project Runway
So after a very long year of waiting, a legal battle, and a really crappy knock off (I'm looking at you Fashion Show) Project Runway is returning Thursday Aug. 20th for its sixth season!! While the show has made the jump from Bravo to Lifetime (lets hope that doesn't blow up in their faces) and from NYC to LA, I'm still looking forward to what i think will be a fabulous season. PR has seriously been one of my favorite shows since the first season. I quickly got G-Fab addicted to the show as well and now we have our first episode betting pool (we each pick 5 contestants based on the first episode we think will make it to Fashion Week). We've both picked a winner: G-Fab picked Christian Sirano in Season 4, and I picked Leanne Marshall in Season 5. So with all the excitement going on for season 6, I thought i would do 3 post series highlighting my favorite designers and challenges.
But for the Inaugural PR post: here are my top 5 reasons i can't wait for Project Runway to be back!5. Because nobody has one-liner like Nina Garcia, Michael Kors, and Tim Gunn. I mean who can forget when Tim told a contestant his work looked like "a pterodactyl out of a gay Jurassic Park." Or Michael Kors with " That was so Paris hooker 50's"
4. Because who can deny Heidi Klum's adorableness? She just seems like the sweetest model to ever grace the television. I mean she's not all diva like Naomi and She's not self-absorbed like Tyra.
3. Because the challenges are actually challenging. I mean i caught about 4 episodes of The Fashion show and seriously "make an outfit based on your Tarot card reading" is not "make an outfit with stuff you find in a grocery store/candy store/plant warehouse."
2.Because the designers actually have talent. The designers from PR actually go on to create lines. The designers from the Fashion show couldn't even dress themselves. I mean seriously what was casting thinking there?
1.Because i need to hear Tim Gunn say "Make it work" on a weekly basis or i don't think i will survive graduate school.
Labels:
In the News,
Movies
So if you happened to miss the news this week: legendary 80's film writer/producer/director John Hughes died of a heart attack. For anyone who was born/grew up in the 80's, Hughes film was like the movies our lives. So I thought I'd count down my five favorite Hughes film. If you haven't seen any of these films i suggest going out to the video store and renting them.
5. The Breakfast Club- the plot is simple 5 students from different high school cliques (the jock, geek, princess, basketcase and a criminal) send a saturday detention in the school library. The movie is about overcoming High School Stereotypes but its also about defying authority. Plus its funny and interesting. Fav Scene: when they are dancing on the library rails.
4. Pretty in Pink- Again its about blurring class lines. Molly Ringwald plays Andie Walsh a poor girl who is crushing on rich boy Blaine from her school. Blaine asks her out and its about the two of them and the money issues that keep them apart. Honestly, John Cryer as Andie's Best Friend Duckie totally steals the show. Fav Scene: Duckie doing try a little tenderness
3. Weird Science- This movie is often overlooked in John Hughes lore. But its great, two social-inept geeks use a computer and a barbie doll and create Lisa; a brilliant, sexy, sassy woman. She in turn teaches them how to be men and get the girl. Lisa constantly puts them in awkward situations and they get into fights. Fav Scene: When Lisa turns Chet into a blob
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off- this is the movie that launched Matthew Broderick's career. Ferris fools his parents and plays sick from school. He manages to get his best friend and girlfreind out with him and they take his best friend's father's car into Chicago. They go to a cubs game, crash a parade, go to wall street, etc. They do all this while the school principle and Ferris's sister are trying to catch Ferris playing sick again. Fav Scene: Ferris pretending to be Abe Froman the sausage king of Chicago to get into a fancy restuarant
1. Sixteen Candles-Molly Ringwald is back playing Samantha "Sam" Baker whose whole family forgets her 16th birthday because they are too busy planning her sister's wedding. Her grandparents feel her up and bring along their foriegn exchange student Lon Duk Dong; who they force Sam to take to her high school dance. Anthony Michael Hall plays a geek in love with Sam, while Sam is crushing on popular boy Jake Ryan. Fav Scene: The Geek showing everyone Sam's underwear.
Who is going to make films like this now that Hughes has passed on....sadness
Labels:
Addicted to Reality TV,
In the News
So If you have been living under a rock, Paula Abdul has left American Idol. Apparently she thought a 30% raise and an 8 figure salary wasn't enough. Granted, Ryan Seacrest did just get 45 million over the next 3 years. But seriously does anyone care that she is leaving? I sure as hell don't. I love American Idol. I've watched since the very first season. But to be honest I tivo through Paula. In the last couple years she has gotten more and more deranged and less and less lucid. I mean half the time i can't even figure out what she is talking about. Lets not forget two seasons ago when she critiqued a performance that hadn't happened yet. Or last season when she colored on Simon's face during a performance. I mean i loved Paula's music in the 80's but i don't know what kind of drugs she is on now. But they are obviously affecting her in the wrong ways, and she waste valuable time on AI.
Not that I'm a huge fan of Randy or Kara either. Kara doesn't bring anything to the show besides the words "Artistry" and "Here's the thing." Randy is all yo yo yo, dawg, you did your thing, you rocked it out, dawg but it was pitchy. But every once and awhile Randy actually says something intelligent (between yo's and dawgs). Simon is the only judge anyone ever listens to. So losing Paula doesn't actually change anything.
And what is she thinking? Does she honestly believe anyone is going to hire her for more? Her last CD tanked. Her reality TV show was a chaotic mess that made the Britney Spears/Kevin Federline show look normal. She probably could still dance but to be honest she would have to lay off the pills to actually choreograph something. So in the end she's losing out on alot of money because the Idol steamroller will continue without her... and i for one am glad.
Labels:
G-Fab,
stress,
WTF
So when i have a crisis i have a crisis. I'm not the kind of person who freaks out over every little thing. I tend to be calm and level-headed in a crisis. It comes from years of working in stressful restaurants and having everything going wrong. I'm the kind of person who plans for everything that could go wrong.
So when something goes wrong and i can't fix it i have a mini-meltdown. So in a perfect storm of events last night i had one such meltdown. I came back from the dog park with the puppitos and i noticed my cellphone had no service. This happens every once and awhile and normally by the next morning its back to normal. So around 9:30 Kennedy (who has been sick) started going to the bathroom on my carpet. I quickly scooped her up and tossed her into my bathroom. Then i went to my spare bedroom/bathroom to get toliet paper and i stepped onto the floor and heard squish. This was so not good. My spare bathroom floor was covered in an inch of water. Apparently there was a leak in my ceiling, and a very steady stream of water was leaking into my bathroom. Now my upstairs neighbors haven't been there in months. So i run down to the apartment office and got the emergency number but i still had no cell service. So i drove 2 miles in every direction trying to get cell phone service with no avail. So i go back to my apartment. None of my neighbors are in, but i eventually got ahold of cell phone and left a message with maintence.
Then i proceeded to freak out to G-Fab and my sister because i didn't know if maintence was going to come and they had no way to call me back. Plus i noticed water was leaking into a wall as well. Maintence did eventually come and shut off the water up stairs and they have been here all day trying to fix the leak. I have a fan trying to dry out the water in the wall right now cause the last thing i need is mold growing in my wall. It just never fails that when one thing goes wrong everything goes wrong for me.
