Made my first animation

It's Bobblehead Bill!

True Blood

I made this graphic for a fan site. Cute I think!

Want some cheese with that whine?

I think that's the perfect title for this blog given that I'll spend a moment or two discussing that which is Kenley.

The Challenge: The designers are sent on a field trip to a beautiful flower garden. The designers are sent out with cameras and asked to take photos as they will have to create a look from this inspiration. They take their photos, pick their inspiration, and head over to Mood. As usual it is a frenzy over there. The designers pick out their materials. They get ready to head out - but as they do someone notices an extra bag sitting there and asks if it belongs to anyone. No answer. Moving on.

The designers get back to Parson's and begin their work, only to have Kenley realize that her bag of tulle is missing. What's a girl to do? Whine about it of course! "Oh I don't have my tulle, I don't know what I'm going to do, I guess I'll use muslin...blah blah blah."

Oh, I do have to back track and say that before they were even given the challenge, Leeanne and Korto basically talk in their interviews about how they hate Kenley...and she does the same. Nice.

There's drama of course in the design room when Kenley eyes Jerrell's tulle and asks if she can buy it. He quickly says he's planning on using it.

More smack talking from Kenley as she puts down all of the other designers.

Tim makes his rounds and of course has critiques and criticisms for everyone. The best though is when he talks to Kenley.

Tim: Oh Kenley this is "different".
Kenley: Yeah Tim. I'm such a different and unique designer which makes me the best.
Tim: Kenley, your dress looks like fish scales.
Kenley: Thanks Tim - that's wonderful. I'm going to tell you that's exactly what I was going for because I don't know how to take any critique.
Tim: But this challenge was florally inspired.
Kenley" I know - I'm so glad you like my fish scales!
Tim: I think you've missed the boat.
Kenley: Boat! Yes! See I knew you'd get it Tim. My inspiration was Little Mermaid.

Ok, so maybe it didn't go that way, but I really think that's what the subtitles would say.

Onto the judging:

Jerrell: His outfit was nice. I loved the material (I don't know what that's called). And yes, while I agree with the judges thoughts that it needed to be more finished, I thought it looked great. (And yes, the dress did need to be pulled up a bit).

Leeanne: This would have won had Leeanne not randomly stuck in that blue fabric at the back. Is there a rule that says they have to use all material purchased from Mood? It was random. But I did love the look from the front.

Korto: The judges claimed it was too pageanty. I thought it was pretty, but then again I think pageant dresses are pretty. I thought the color was fresh and I was glad that she "edited" the lace.

Kenley: I am so amazed that no one commented on how costumey it was!! Those "petals" or fish scales were just too literal. I thought she nailed it with the fabric, but I think that the bottom would have looked ten times better if it was layers of scrunched fabric. But whatever. I actually sort of like her designs - but there's always an element of "if only she had done this..." to make it better.

Drama on stage:
So then, just to instigate, they ask all of the designers to say why they should go to Bryant Park and who should not. The first three completely singled out Kenley, who couldnt' keep her mouth shut about it. Then when the judges got to her, she of course let her attitude fly. You know, I can understand her being upset because she WAS being singled out in front of them.

And, what a shock (since they did the exact same thing last season), they are letting all of the designers go home and create their line - but only three will actually "compete" for the winning spot. I sort of find this a ruse since technically they have been doing this all along. Since the show's inception they have been letting all of the last designers show at Bryant Park because they have to compensate for the timing of Fashion Week and the air date of the shows. Don't want to give away too much.

So next week we'll see Tim visiting all of the designers. I always like this because I imagine Tim Gunn showing up in my living room.

I feel bad, but at this point I really don't have an affinity to one particular designer. There have been none of them this season that I've truly just loved everything they did.

Oh well...

True Blood

Ahh Sookie, Sookie.

Get it?

It wasn't that funny.

True Blood is based on a series of books which I have just started reading. I've just gotten to the point in the first book where I'm just ahead of the series. I plan to finish in the next day or two. Before the next episode.

I sort of wish that I had read the book before the show so that I could compare the image in my head with what is on screen (especially casting wise) but instead, as I read, I have Anna Paquin and that Stephen Moyer guy in my head. Which isn't a bad thing. It's just that from what I've read at other forums, etc., the picture most people get is very different from that seen on TV.

For those who haven't seen it yet, the premise is that Sookie is a waitress with telepathy. Vampires are in the general population (out of the coffin, as they say), but are treated like second class citizens (seperate but equal was tossed around). This series is set in small town Louisiana. A series of murders have started happening in the quiet town - and people are beginning to suspect vampires - especially since the town just got its first. Bill, the new vamp, and Sookie are falling in love. Jason, Sookie's brother, is also a suspect in the crimes. And "V" (vampire blood) is a hot new drug for humans.

So far it is funny to see the comparisons with the book and the show. I haven't gotten to any mention of Tara yet, who on the show is Sookie's best friend.

But some parts are identical, especially some dialogue taken directly from the book.

Love the characters and the actors so far. Sometimes the accents are a bit extreme, but they are growing on me.

I'm going to do a bit more research on this, because I'm getting really into this. However my husband has already told me some tidbits (about what Sam is...notice I said what, not who). And that Sookie has her own secret - but she doesn't know it yet.

True Blood websites:

http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2008/05/trueblood.jpg

http://fangbangers.com/

http://truebloodwiki.hbo.com/?t=anon

Fall 2008 Premeires, Favorites Continue, Weeds Ends

Weeds
Wow! I can't believe Weeds is going to leave me hanging like that again! Ok. Maybe I can. Jenji (creator) why are you going to leave me like that?!?! Nancy is pregnant. Wow. I won't go into it too much since I'm writing about nineteen other things, but I just hope I don't have to wait long to find out the rest.

One request for next season -I miss the "Little boxes" theme. I know that we aren't in Agrestic anymore so its not exactly appropriate, but I loved it!

America's Next Top Model
Glad Alaska girl is gone. I don't even remember her name. That's how non-memorable she was. Wish Isis would have stayed though. I liked her personality and I thought her pictures were better than others. Don't know what else to say about that right now. I probably shouldn't have waited until a week later to review. Will post a review of tonight either later tonight or in the morning.

Project Runway
Same thing. Except I do remember more. I'm very sad to see Suede leave. I mean, come on. I totally have to disagree with the judges this week. I know they were saying that you could be "bigger" with rock - but that was 80s glam rock. If you go to any rock concert today, I'd almost be worried that the outfit that was designed was a little TOO designed. Jeans and tee shirts are very rock.

I'm so tired of Kenley though. I really wanted to like her. I really did. I love her little retro look, Betty Paige hair, etc. But the minute she opens that naggy, whiney, "not my fault" mouth I just want her to leave. I'd rather take two hours of Suede's third person talking than hear her whine about why her outfits are the best. I know she has a certain look she's going for - but if she isn't really willing to "play" the game, she isn't deserving of the win. You've GOT to be flexible here and more importantly you HAVE to take Tim Gunn's advice (or at the very least be nice to him). I mean, Tim Gunn is no fool. He knows what he is talking about and I truly believe he cares about the designers.

If Tim Gunn were giving me advice on my outfit, I'd bend to whatever he suggested. He's really damn smart.

I'm just not sure who I want to win at this point. But I know I don't want it to be Kenley.

And the previews for tonight - to die for! Maybe I'm mean, but oh the drama of all of them crying! Wow. Can't wait.

The Office
Did you cry? I cried. The Jim/Pam moment (you know the one) was just touching. It was so freaking real and I loved it. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that most proposals aren't grandstand proposals (written in the air, on a jumbo tron, staged with flowers and a horse drawn carriage). Most are probably real moments shared like this. At a gas station. In the rain. Because Jim couldn't wait. You can't get more romantic than that in my eyes!

The Holly/Michael dynamic is so cute. Here are two people who are goofy, silly, and somehow seem to be a bit disconnected from reality (obviously Michael more than her). I'm sure they'll get together. But for now the tension is great.

Angela/Andy/Dwight - Loving the booty calls! I think I love it the most because here is prim and proper Angela who thinks the color orange is whorish, but here she is hooking up behind her fiances back with Dwight in a storage room. The irony is awesome. And who else loved that she wanted "The Little Drummer Boy" to be her song. Of course I truly think that's her and Dwight's song!

Ryan as the receptionist. This is a funny plot twist, however not probable. I highly doubt Dunder Mifflin's rehire policy would allow this, even through a temp firm. But I do like his "list".

Can't wait until Thursday. Wait, is it on Thursday? VP debate? I'll have to look into that.

Lipstick Jungle
Read. My. Lips. I love the theme song.

I began watching this originally because I read the book (I love chick -lit). I continued watching it because I think that the women who are in the show are great. I love all of the characters to date and have enjoyed watching them develop.

Of course the big storyline in the premeire is Nico's husband and her affair with Kirby. We see that Nico has ended her relationship with Kirby and wants to make things work with her husband. One strategy is to make sex better by getting an injection, well, someplace where I'd never stick a needle. Of course that leads to some giggles and gags as she tries to sit down. Her husband isn't interested though. Nico confesses that she had an affair with Kirby and he gets mad. Says he's been faithful and that Nico has betrayed him.

Fast forward and we find that her husband has died (I don't remember the details because I was halfway doing housework). Come to find out, he HAD cheated. With a student. Who is pregnant. Who he's been putting up in a love nest appartment. Helps Nico's guilt a little I'd think!

I can't remember what happened in the book with this...I really don't...but my husband pointed out that he thought it was a crappy plot device. I'm not going to lie. I agree with him. Usually I hate it when my husband picks at my shows, but gosh darn it, he's right. It is always interesting when the woman is the sole cheater. Men are often expected, women are unexpected. So it makes it interesting. And it was kind of interesting in the scene where she tells him about her affair where she points out that he's surrounded by young girls and temptation and he is adamant about looking, but being faithful. It made her feel more guilty. However to find out that he was "worse" in the comparison game, it makes it a little forced. And then to top it all off, he died and now Nico is free to do as she pleases. I wish I could remember how it went in the book.

I liked the storyline about Brooke Shields and her mom and the dynamic over work v. career. I don't think we can ever get enough of this storyline as it is so near and dear to so many. It's such a common conflict now that I think it is wise to incorporate it. I do like that Brooke Shields is trying to master both, instead of sacrifcing one or the other.

The chase between Victory and whats-his-name was cute too. Obviously they are going to have to get back together, but it is interesting to watch.


Grey's Anatomy
Goodness I've written a novel. I'll be brief.

Tired of in-your-face doctor/patient parallels. We see the analogy. You don't have to pretty much explain it to us verbatim.

Love Bernadette Peters.

If Izzy doesn't quit obsessing over Denny, well, I don't know what I'm going to do.

Let's learn more about Karev already.

Poor Lexie.

Hoping for better writing next episode.


Ugly Betty

No more Gio? Henry? Boo.

Player magazine = hilarious

Rebecca Romaijn = pregnant, but at least they aren't sticking her being a desk or other props ....yet

Hilda = getting hopes up (I think)


Tonight:

• Pushing Daisies premeire (yay)
• America's Next Top Model
• Project Runway - Down to the final three after tonight! Tears! Yay!

DVF Rocks My Socks

While I can't afford most designer clothes, I do truly appreciate the art of fashion. That's why Diane von Furstenberg being a part of the latest Project Runway challenge was truly cool.

I've always loved her looks. They are feminine, yet strong. She has great colors and palates. I like when they bring in an actual designer for the challenge/judging because then they have a great deal of credibility.

The Challenge: Create a dress that would fit into DVF's runway show. She was going for a "Foriegn Affair" theme, based on the iconic movie. It was especially neat because they were allowed to use DVF's store room and collection of materials for the challenge. I can only imagine how much fun that must have been, albeit rushed.

Instead of going over each outfit one by one, I'm just going to bullet point some highlights:

• Suede is talking in third person too much again. Jennifer doesn't like it when Suede talks in third person.
• How cute was Leanne when she was sneaking around as a spy?
• Could Kenley be any more dramatic?
• All of the designers were commenting on Terri's "one trick" for her outfit. Hello.....anyone else have Rami draping flashbacks? He made it through to the end....I actually don't like it when people have this reaction to designs because most designers have some sort of trademark look or detail to all of their designs to brand them. I mean, Heidi's own jewelry line has clovers in every piece - isn't that predictable?
• Blayne is so silly. I love that he's having tanning withdrawels.
• Joe's outfit was terrible. He should have been gone. At least Stella's design was more appropriate, even if it was terribly tailored. I guess she isn't used to working with fabrics with such give....you can be a little rougher with leatha I guess...
• Leanne rightly won. Her dress was pretty and I loved the jacket.
• Kenley had a cute dress, but I agree that it needed layers. I think that she took the easy route and then tried to make up excuses. I think that if you are going to have a single dress, no layers, in that collection that it would need to be a statement dress - something bigger, more exciting than what Kenley made.
• I'm sad to see Stella go....no more leatha.

Dragon Con 2008 Wrap Up

The title of my blog is "Bears, Beets, and Battlestar Gallactica", which is technically an "Office" reference. However I am a big nerd and love Battlestar Gallactica. That's why this past weekend my husband and I made the trek down to Dragon Con in Atlanta, Ga.





Dragon Con is a huge sci-fi/fantasy convention. I had known about "Cons" for a while but had never really looked into going. But after coming across some material about Dragon Con, I figured I wanted to check it out. And when I found out about some of the celebs attending, I just had to go.





So we made costumes (me in my Nibbler costume to the right) and packed up our car, and went to Dragon Con.





If you think its just a big nerd convention, then you are completely mistaken. I'll admit, I thought it was going to be a bunch of super geeky people carrying around pocket protectors and talking about parsecs and other obscure Star Trek references. But Dragon Con is so much more...





Yes, you do have a bunch of uber nerds walking around. As you walk through the crowded halls you'll catch conversations and debates over which captain is better (Kirk or Picard) and over whether your character in D&D should be a Mage or a Shaman?





But in addition to those gems, you also get the following:

• a wide array of "panels", which are sessions with guest speakers. Many of these speakers are celebrities/actors from famous Sci Fi/Fantasy shows. I got to see panels with Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Jewel Staite and Morena Baccarin (from Firefly - saw them twice), Half of the Cast of Battlestar Gallactica (Edward James Olmos, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Jamie Callis, and the guy who plays Helo), and James Marsters (Spike from Buffy).
• Fan panels where super fans of various shows discuss what they like/love/hate/dislike/spoilers for their favorite shows.
• Meeting lots of different and very interesting people
• Seeing people in costumes ACT like their characters
• Seeing the wide variety of costumes - I thought they would all be superhero/sci fi related, but so many were completely not (for example, I have a Mr. Rogers picture).
• There is a distinct "stinky" smell that happens when you get all of these nerds together.
• I learned what "Steam Punk" is - look it up.

A good bit of the action takes place in the main lobby areas of the hotels. There you will see a who's who of super hero/character costumes. I think my absolute favorite part was seeing some of these characters doing absolutely mundane things (I'm thinking about a Catwoman taking a smoke break). It was awesome.

All of my photos can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/gamecockjen214

Dope and Dopier

I titled this blog "Dope and Dopier" as I am reviewing two Monday night shows: Weeds and The Hills.

Dope: Weeds
Dope because of the subject matter - and dope because if I were to use some street slang I'd say "Man, this show is DOPE!". (Sorry - its a Tuesday that feels like a Thursday so I feel a little loopy).

I think I mentioned this before, but I was afraid of how this season (out of Agrestic) would pan out. But frankly, I'm very pleased with this turn.

So Nancy's dating the mayor - the peyote drinking mayor. When Nancy gets alone with the mayor, she gets a migraine, he offers peyote. She drinks it (as does he) and she has some serious issues with it (though it cures her headache). I looked up peyote online and it is supposed to offer the "user" a great deal of introspection and insight and can cause someone to start seeing things. I'm still a little confused about the girl that Guillermo brought by. I didn't quite catch all that was going on and why Nancy was seeing her. Trafficking I guess?

El Andy and Doug were so cute this episode. Love that he finally has Maria - we'll see where that goes. I like the previews for next week.

Shane - wow. A threesome? Wonder how that will turn out as well, but I'm truly thankful we have been spared details up to this point.

Celia's intervention was the only part of the show that bothered me. It was a tad weird and I thought it was strange that Nancy was no where in sight.....


Dopier: The Hills
So it was the premeire last night and I must say I was just a little dissappointed because of the build up. Maybe this season will get better though. By the way, since I haven't written about it before, I do like this show as a guilty pleasure, but know that its all fake. That's right, completely fake. If you still think this is real - you're crazy. At least with a show like Denise Richards, as staged as it is there is still some element of reality - especially when there is paparazzi.

Case in point - Lauren's date with "Doug". Doug wants to know what's been up with LC for the past four years and isn't sure who Audrina is, blah blah blah. What a load of crap! First of all, I'm thinking that a guy who lives in LA and who looks like he does has seen a few episodes of the Hills. Even if he didn't like it himself, you know that at some point in time a random roommate or ex girlfriend would have forced him to watch an episode, or to catch it himself on a lazy afternoon. Secondly, come on! If the guy was friends with LC in school, it would seem even more likely for him to have watched the show or followed the gossip magazines! If someone from my high school that I hung out with a bunch starred in a show, I'm pretty sure I'd watch it. But I digress.

Also - if she went with Doug to his prom, why didn't we see that on Laguna Beach?

Poor Whitney - she's my favorite on the show but she doesn't get any air time. It's probably because she isn't riddled with drama.....

And Lo. As if this show didn't have villian enough in Spencer! I think we are now officially on our way to making Lo supervillian #2. Her treatment of Audrina and her friends was ridiculous. Lo obviously thinks Audrina is beneath her. I think its because Audrina's friends are more "alternative". This so very much reminds me of high school when the "preps" would look down on us "theatre" people. Oh well.

And Heidi and Spencer. This drawn out drama of Speidi is a little silly since we all know they cheese it up for the cameras and paps. However, that being said I thought the conflict was a little interesting because I've been the "monkey in the middle" between a significant other and my family and it is horrible when the "other" isn't being hospitable to the family.

Oedipus Complex

Ew.

In my crazy Olympic-watching state, I did also get a chance to watch Weeds.

MLP (Mary Louise Parker) is hands down my favorite actress right now. As someone who has some background and experience with acting, I truly think that she is phenomenal at her craft. The way she can deliver lines without making them sound scripted is just ingenious. Her comic performances are not campy and she never ever anticipates (for non-thespians out there, one common mistake actors make is to sort of give away what is coming up, or anticipate, simply because they do know what is coming up - unlike in real life where you never know!).

Her scene where they cut between her conversations with Silas and Shane was excellent. This technique in film/tv (not sure if it has a name) is one of my most favorite plot devices if done well. When you splice two scenes together like that, it can turn out so nicely. MLP delivered the lines so well. To have to have that conversation with your children is just crazy.

The conversation(s) were about two things: Shane's conversation was about his masturbation to a photo of her and Silas's was about him sleeping with an older woman, perhaps a mommy-substitute.

The subject matter can give you the heebie jeebies. I do think it is just an interesting subject though. I mean, even though it has been around since, well, forever, it is not something brought up a great deal. Usually when it is brought up, it is in some sort of anachronistic manner. It's not touched upon too greatly in "modern" times. However I do think its an interesting concept, especially in our society of "hot moms" and "MILFs". I know this is stereotyping, but long gone are the days of suzy-homemaker mom. While some of those are still around, a large portion of modern moms don't just give up on looking cute after they have kids. So while I'm sure things like this happened all of the time, I could definitely see where this type of issue could become more prevalent. Who knows. I know its a weird subject, but psychological tendencies and motivations intrigue me, especially when it comes to off -the - wall interests.

But back to Weeds. That was the main storyline with the boys. I did LOVE Nancy's threat to cheese lady when she threatened that her own son would soon be 17 - and that he was pretty cute.

El Andy and El Doug - so cute. It looks like Doug is getting closer to finding his girl. Can't wait to see what happens when he does find her - maybe she'll rat him out to help support her autistic child (Shield reference anyone?). And when the "Coyote Ugly" confronts Andy and he gives his peace speech, only to have one of the guys throw a beer bottle and knock out the guy, who didn't laugh out loud? I also have to say that the realization moment Andy had when he found the pics of Shane's was priceless.

And Celia. Poor Celia. Addicted to coke and botox. Hopefully she won't get into any additional trouble for using all of the store's cash and merchandise to support her habit?

And to finish it all off "dangerous" Nancy has a sweet moment on her porch with Mr. Mayor. I think that at the end of the day, Nancy is truly lacking someone she can turn to at the end of the day. She's struggling as a mother and struggling in her "career" and can't seem to hold on to anything. And to have Mr. Mayor show up and just be there - that was sweet. Note to all guys: Girls don't need flowers, chocolate, jewelry, or anything like that. Sometimes we all just want someone to lean on and to be there.

I heart the Olympics

I don't know what it is, but for some reason this year I am very intrigued by the Olympics. I've never really been a huge Olympics fan. I do remember watching the girls gymnastics - but mostly because it has dance-like qualities. I remember wanting to imitate Mary Lou. I remember the spectacular time Kerri Strugg finished on one foot. However, prior to this year, I have never cared about any of the other events in the summer Olympics.

But for some reason, this year has changed! I am now intrigued by many of the sports. It has been fun to watch Michael Phelps and his ridiculous abilities. I get winded just watching the guy and thinking "there is no way I could possibly swim that much and not give out". Did you hear that he has to eat about 10,000 calories per day to make up for what he burns swimming?

Synchronized diving is pretty interesting. I have figured out what to look for and what does/doesn't make a good performance.

I have also for the first time been intrigued by the men's gymnastics team. For some reason, I don't ever remember it being this incredible before. The sheer talent and muscle that these guys have is awe-inspiring.

Anyway - I just think it is interesting given that I've been tuning into the Olympics every day when I get home and look online to see who won medals every morning.

Go USA!

Oh - and on a side note, I know the US girl's team took the silver and were disappointed, but I think they should all be so proud of themselves. Silver is great! And you have to admit that its pretty darn good considering that the Chinese begin training their gymnasts at a much younger age. Kudos to the team!

I participated in the Olympics and all I got was this ridiculous outfit

Last night's challenge was themed to tie in with upcoming Olympics. I for one do not have Olympic fever. In fact, when the Olympics are on, I'm just always ticked that when I want to watch tv, a large portion of the channels are taken over by ridiculous sports and whispered commentary. I'm not a fan of sports, other than college football (specifically USC - go Gamecocks), so the Olympics do not do anything for me.

Gold medalist Apolo Ohno tells the designers that the challenge is to create an outfit that "could" be used for the opening ceremony. Now, just to point this out, unless I am completely wrong I'm pretty sure that the outfit will NOT be the one used. However all of the designers seemed to act like it was. Like Blayne. "Oh this outfit will be seen by a million bajillion people who watch the Olympics across the world...can I tan now?"

They were allowed to look around an Olympic museum for inspiration. Once again, I'm not an Olympic fan, but I have seen a few of the opening ceremonies and am familiar with the style for these outfits. They are sporty. These are atheletes wearing them. Even though the challenge was supposed to be for the female atheletes, keep in mind that many of these have very athletic figures and are very muscular.

The designers get their fabric from Mood and then go to work. There was drama in the room tonight as they (and by they I really mean a lot of Kenley) began critiquing everyone else's work. I really wanted to like Kenley because she has a really cool pin up look to her. However she's proven to have a serious attitude and is very judgemental.

Onto the runway:

Blayne - Blah. This was pretty bland and not very exciting. It also seemed a little poorly made. However I do have to give some credit for at least giving some "literal" meaning to the outfit instead of purely for fashion.

Daniel - I hated this dress. It was more purple-ish than blue. Or at least it was less of the typical blue (from red, white, and blue) and more of a shimmery blue. I was not impressed by any means.

Jennifer - I actually liked that she went for the gold interpretation vs. red, white, and blue - which would be a cool twist. Perhaps if she could have made a blue top to match the skirt and the cardigan could have been blue (or maybe a red stripe skirt, gold top, and blue cardigan). I dont know, but I think that it needed something a little more to stand out. No wonder why she was voted off.

Jerrell - Awful. Just Awful. With a capital A. Awful. This was my least favorite. I swear he just threw in every single trend that he could think of here and then some! The hat was horrible. The look was horrible. I didnt even think the styling was good. To me the whole look was BAD.

Joe - This would have been my favorite had it not had that terrible issue with the skirt being longer than the shorts. It was so distracting. It was sporty and appropriate and I could really see the Olympians wearing it.

Keith - Not memorable. Cute piece looking back at photos now, but overall I thought it wasnt realistic that the team would wear something like that.

Kelli - Here was my inner monologue as I saw this outfit "Hey - what a cute little outfit. I like that. Its modern and fun, yet retro. I would wear that. Wait.

Hold on a second. What was the challenge? Oh yeah. What was she thinking?"'

Kenley - It is an ok dress. Not for the challenge. But all in all an ok dress. However, to improve it and make it a little better - that belt should have been red. (Right image is what was there. Left image is what I would have done!)

Korto - I cannot complain with the judges choice because I did like this one too. It was wearable and I liked the different fabrics/materials (leatha).

Leanne - Can I buy that outfit? I just loved it and it looked so comfortable and the epitome of summer wear. I would have liked to have seen this one ranked in the top.

Leatha, I mean Stella - Why do I get this KISS army vibe from the outfit? I think its the sleeves. I loved her reasoning that bikers watch the Olympics. LOL.

Suede - Suede got the American vibe down on this outfit. What he lacked was the Olympic part. It was cute and wholesome and I could see Miss USA wearing this to some function. I have weird visual images.

Terri - I heart Terri. So far she is my favorite designer. I like her style and her taste and I think she designs on a practical/marketable scale. I loved the pieces and it looked so good together. I really could have seen all of the Olympians wearing something like this and just looking very sophisticated.

Holla at your boy!

The Doug and Andy Show

Weeds needs a spin off. The Doug and Andy Show. They are, bottom line, best part of the show. Don't get me wrong, I really love Nancy and Celia. But Doug and Andy are just hysterical! And now they are wanted by that crazy Mexican guy, who is now on the hunt for "El Andy".

Nancy and the Mayor - HOT. HOT, HOT, HOT. Who knew that watching a lion eat a goat could be so exciting...

Frugal beauty tips

This morning in the shower (where I do my best thinking) I began to sort of compile a list of my favorite beauty tips for the frugal gal. Not only are they inexpensive, but they also are environment friendly.

• Don't wash your hair every day. My hair is actually pretty dry (I'm thinking it might be from years of dying it) so I can go a couple of days without washing my hair. I've read many articles from Cosmo, etc. stating that it is better for your hair because washing strips away natural oils and protectants. I actually like "second day" hair better anyway because it seems to look better and healthier. In addition, you save money and help the environment - you don't spend as long in the shower, decreasing the amount of water used; you don't use as much shampoo/product, extending the life of one bottle; and you don't have to use the hair dryer or styling utensils as much, decreasing electricity use. As a tip: If your hair starts to look a little "greasy" at the roots, you can add a little bit of powder and fluff a little to decrease shine.
• Make up does NOT have to be expensive. Many drug store brands (and internet based companies) have excellent alternatives to expensive make up. My suggestion would be to splurge a little on your skin care products (cleaner, moisturizer, etc.) and then cheap out on the makeup. Here are some good sources for makeup:
  
  www.eyeslipsface.com - ELF makeup (besides having a cute name) is really great since most are only $1 each. I personally love all of their lip glosses and their eye shadows.
  Maybelline mascara - Just get the standard one in the green and hot pink container. It really is fantastic, and for the price you can't beat it.
  www.everydayminerals.com - I wanted to experience mineral makeup, but the price of bare escentuals was a little much for me. So I did some looking at makeupalley.com and came across this internet based company. Great value compared to bare escentuals. The price is a fraction and they have a much larger assortment of colors to pull from. Also - as a plus you can order a sample pack to try it out first (all you have to pay for is minimal shipping and handling).
  
• Extended self-tanner life. I am very fair skinned. I don't get out in the sun very much, but I do like to add some color to myself. Sometimes self tanners can even be a little strong for me. So I will take the self tanner lotion and combine it with regular lotion to dilute it. Not only does it cost less (it extends the self tanner life, which can be expensive) but it also tends not to streak as much.

Sew Out of Time

I unfortunately didn't get to work on either of my two costumes last night, therefore I didn't get any pictures of them to post.

However I did of course watch my lovely Project Runway....

But before I move onto last night's episode, I do want to mention that I just read over at Perez Hilton that it has come out that Tim Gunn didn't get paid a dime for the first season and that he was only paid $2,500 per episode for Season 2.....if that is true, that is total highway robbery, as Tim is just plain awesome and really makes the show. Sure, Heidi, Michael and Nina always add some, but Tim is the MAN!

Onto the show:

I was much happier with last night's designs than the previous challenges so far. I thought that overall the designs were much better than the others and they all showed some innovation.

The Challenge: Tim took all of the designers for a night out on the town. They had to go out and take photos (in the rain) of images from New York and create an evening look that was inspired by New York at night. Interestingly enough this was their first trip to Mood to get their own fabrics.

Notable Moments:

• Jennifer thinks that Suede is crazy. Jennifer doesn't like people who talk in third person. Jennifer wonders what crazy reasoning that anyone could have to start talking in third person. Jennifer wonders if Suede had a horrible issue with pronouns in elementary school that has scarred him for life.


• Blayne, staring bug-eyed "I will eat you". Very odd.


• Can I just take a moment here to say that I love it when Stella says "Leatha"?


• Tim learning to say "Holla at yo boy". (And did anyone else think that stupid poll about Tim making it his catch phrase was ridiculous?)

The Designs:

Blayne - Out of all of the photos that were taken, Blayne's was the best. It was so interested and had a lot of potential. However his execution was pretty bland. With all of that color and intrigue that he had in the photo, all he did was make a black dress with a rainbow ruffle on it. (BTW are ruffles in now?)

Daniel - This dress was so not memorable. I am pulling up the pictures from "Rate the Runway" on Bravo's website. I just pulled up the dress and thought, "I don't even remember that." Not a good thing.

Emily (Auf'd): I hated this dress. I agree that it had to go. That ruffle was so misplaced and disproportionate. I agreed with the guest judge Sandra Bernhard (odd choice) and thought that the streak of color should have been flush against the fabric and better placed. It would have indicated "movement" better.

Jennifer: I didn't think the dress was quite as matronly as they kept saying. I think it depends on who is wearing it. I do agree though that while she tried to pull it off as being "surreal", it wasn't. You have to push the envelope a little more to be surreal.

Jerell - A very underrated dress. I was amazed this didn't go a little further than it did. The train was gorgeous.

Joe - His dress was pretty interesting. I liked it, but it wasn't stand out for me. I did think it looked like his hanging globe picture though.

Keith - I hated this dress. Even though he was inspired by magazines, the dress didn't meet my expectations. I agreed with a combo of the judges comments. Heidi thought it needed to have a better shape. Sandra thought the colors should have had more of a grey muted tone (less white), and Michael said it looked like toilet paper flapping in the wind.

Kelli - This was the shredded top/skirt combo. I didn't like this. It looked too distressed - like a sweater that an angry cat got ahold of.

Kenley - I wasn't into Kenley's winning dress. I mean, the color scheme was great and I got where she was coming from, but the tulle was just too poofy on one side. Had it been a little more symmetrical I would have liked it.

Korto - The black one piece jumper was really neat. I didn't see it having anything to do with the photo that inspired it, but I really liked it.

Leanne - This was a cute look. I think it was modern without being too in your face. I agree with Heidi that it looks like you could go get it in a store today. Leanne did a great job editing and not adding extra stuff (no loopty loops).

Stella - Her "leatha" outfit was ok. I get the look that she was going for, I am just not a big fan of it.

Suede - I think that Suede needs to put less attention into his third person talking and more attention into his design. Didn't I see dresses like this at Old Navy last season?

Terri - My favorite (to the right). I thought the whole look was very put together. I loved the colors and the fit. I liked that it was a dress with pants (think about the comfort there!). It didn't show too much, but I liked that it had the backless part to show a little skin. This outfit looked fun and trendy - and I could really see people in New York going out dressed like this. When she came down the runway, I saw a PR exec going out after a day at the office with the girls for drinks!

Last Night

Last night I began making my costumes for Dragon Con. In case you don't know what Dragon Con is, it is a comic book/sci fi/fantasy convention in Atlanta, GA, one of the biggest "cons" out there for nerds like myself. This is the first time that we are going to any of these and I'm excited.

Cons are known for people dressing up in crazy costumes like their favorite characters. Even though I'm a huge fan of wearing costumes (I heart Halloween) I wasn't going to wear one to my first Con so that I could just be an observer.

However my plans to be an onlooker have been thwarted. My husband convinced me to make/wear a costume.

I have some personal rules when I wear costumes that I've established. Here are my four personal costume rules:

1. Sexy is cliche. Yes, I know many a girl uses Halloween/costume parties as an opportunity to dress like a $10 hooker and parade around in their most lingerie-looking attire. I don't ever like going this route because its too easy. It's cliche. And frankly, I've found that by going in the opposite direction you actually stand out more! (ie, if you are dressed in a silly/funny/cool costume amid a sea of slutty nurses, skanky cats, and sexy devils you actually stand out!)



2. Say no to stores. You will probably never see me in a costume bought from a store. I may get bits and pieces, but for the most part everything I do is original/handmade. Buying from a store is the easy route. Plus you do limit yourself to what is in stock.



3. Be unique. Ideally, I never want to show up at a party, costume event wearing the same type costume as someone else. I try not to go for the expected or the costume of the day. By not shopping in a store, you tend to avoid it anyway. Like for example, I probably wouldn't show up to a comic book convention dressed as Wonder Woman - you will be sure to see a ton of Wonder Women all around. I'd pick a lesser known comic character - and maybe not even a female one (to avoid the skank factor).



4. Less is more! No, I don't mean clothing/coverage wise - that would break rule number one. I mean that I like to spend as little as possible on a costume! I get fabric from clearance racks, use scraps of things, etc. For example, this past Halloween I was Pam from the Office, complete with my own receptionist desk attached to me. I used clothing that I already owned (button down, black skirt, sensible shoes). I made an Office Olympics medal out of paper clips (that I already had) and a yogurt lid (I just opted to by Dannon that week instead of store brand). I made the desk and all of its accessories out of some leftover foam board that we were going to throw out at work. I salvaged it and made the desk as well as the pieces. I try not to spend a lot of money on the outfits simply because I will wear them once. Not to mention that my $10 home made costumes have ended up being a much bigger hit than $40-$50 store bought ones! And I guess in a way I'm doing my part by recycling items.

That being said, I'm working on two costumes now for the convention. It took me a long time to come to a decision over my first outfit. I thought about all types of comic characters, etc. I debated over She-Ra and a GI Joe character (to match Mac) but eventually settled on a costume that I just loved and wanted to make anyway - which is the "By the Sea" montage red stripe dress that Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) wore in Sweeney Todd, pictured at right. I'm very excited about this costume. I bought the fabric for it already ($2 per yard at Walmart) and a couple of the other supplies and have begun cutting the pattern. So far this outfit has cost me about $24, which isn't too shabby considering I saw a ready made version on Ebay for well over $100 - and I may in fact auction it off after I wear it since this one will be put together very nicely (sometimes my costumes are only good enough for one wear).

The second costume idea came from my husband. He joked around that I should dress up at Nibbler from Futurama (left) and all of a sudden my mind started churning. I'm really excited about this - especially since I looked around on the internet and saw no other Nibbler costumes. We saw lots of Fry, Bender, and Leela - but no Nibbler. So I have definitely gotten to work on this project as well. I made the body suit (essentially a basic jumpsuit) out of felt, which will be hot. I made the tummy part of the outfit and have begun planning the head. I'm going to try to construct an actual wearable head (using paper mache and other items).

I'm going to take some pictures tonight to sort of diagram/journal the process in the event that it turns out as awesome as I think it will.

Weeds

Who else loves WEEDS?

Last night's episode was yet another good one. I was really hesitant at the beginning of this season regarding the new "set up" of the show. However this season has truly grown on me and I am really liking the new opportunities that have been presented for the show (but I still maintain that I do miss the "Little Boxes" intro/song, even though its not exactly a match for the new set up).

Could Andy and Doug be any cuter/funnier? They are so endearing! I love that they are going to be "coyotes".

The relationship with Celia and Isabelle is fantastic. I loved the little speech that Celia gave to Isabelle about coming into her very unglamorous world.

So Silas and Cheese-shop lady - HOT! Silas has always seemed a little young in my eyes and I never saw him as a hottie until last night. Woah. "You can hold onto me." (sigh)

Shane, Shane, Shane. How disturbing! That grosses me out, however, I will say it is an interesting, primarily unexplored plot line so I have to give the writers kudos for delving into such a touchy (pun intended) subject matter.

I'm not sure how I feel about the mayor character yet, and I guess it is supposed to be that way.

Project Run-Lame

I feel that I should start my first blog post about a show that is near and dear to my heart -

Project Runway.

I have watched this show from day one. I think I saw some promotions for it and thought "meh - maybe I'll watch it." But I vividly remember flipping through the channels on the premiere night. I remember Austin Scarlett catching my eye and I though to myself "this guy is a character!" I started watching the now infamous grocery-store challenge and just fell in love with this show. Of course I was enamored with Austin's corn husk dress - the beauty and the creativity. I've always had an interest in all things crafty and creative and I especially love objects made out of unexpected items (seat belt purses anyone?). This show has appealed to the creativity inside of me and has event inspired me to make my own creations (see my Runaway Runway grocery bag dress pictured to the left - I did this for a charity fashion show. It is made out of grocery bags from Publix and Kroger and the jacket is made of bubble wrap and electrical tape)

Since the first episode, I have been a true fan watching every episode and recording the ones I could potentially miss. I hang on to every moment, every design, every scrap. I love it. I have an unending love for Christian Siriano from last season as well, however no one will ever top my all-time fave Daniel V.

I say all of that to emphasize that I'm not just a passerby through Project Runway-ville . I have bought property there!

However, is it just me or is this season just blah? The creativity is not at the level it has been at. Table cloths in challenge 1?!?!?!? Have any of these people seen previous episodes? That's the easiest route possible, and we all know the judges don't like easy! And the second challenge wasn't much better. The dresses were all way too short and not flattering at all. I could have done a better job, and I don't normally say that! Yuck! I'm really hoping these designers up their game because so far this crop is starting off as the worst bunch yet.

I'll give a more in depth review following Wednesday's episode.