A few comments on the Grammys

Watched the Grammy's with a friend of mine. Both of us were very excited to see what Lady Gaga would come up with for her various costumes. This first piece was created by Giorgio Armani. We had gotten a glimpse of it when we first put on the red carpet coverage and were thankful that she was interviewed towards the end as it was clear she would not be in this for long. She had a amazing opening where she wore some intense shoes. My guess is that they were McQueens but I could be wrong and will be on the look out for pictures of them. As much as I love the sculptural aspects of this look, I find something just off about her face. Cannot put my finger on it, but there is something strange.





Katy Perry is another person I really enjoy seeing on the red carpet or up on stage. Also edgy, but not so out there like Ms. Gaga. Her fiancee is gorgeous so I figured it was worth finding a picture that showed the two of them. I understand the appeal that this dress may have had for Katy, but I wish she had kept shopping. The fit is weird in the boob area. It isn't so obvious in this shot, but the fabric doesn't pull very tight under her bust so it makes the girls look a little saggy. Additionally, I hate side boob. I don't think it is appealing and I wish she chose a dress that provided some side coverage. The look might have been more acceptable if the dress wasn't so close to flesh tones. It made the side boob look slightly accidental.






For someone who decided name herself after a color, Pink does not choose to sport the shade but definately embodies all that it represents. Her red carpet dress was amazing with the layering and bling even if it was in neutral grays and creams.

The acrobatic performance was amazing. Awkward glitter patches aside (I feel there would have been better ways to cover her lady bits) her costume was simple but sexy. At first I doubted her skills when she simply spun in a large piece of fabric. After she was dunked in water, her athleticism was shown. She started to hang straight down and then began to spin at an alarming rate. The water spraying off her body gave off a wonderful effect. I was a little curious if there was a splash zone below for the guests and if so, who got wet?



Ke$ha has made it to the red carpet. Tik Tok is a catchy enough song, by catchy I believe she hit some sort of record recently with the sales. I guess I had never seen her picture before, because I had no idea who the Courtney Love wannabe was who Ryan Seacrest was hoping to flag down. I understand that she was dirt poor before hitting it big. The one thing she said she was excited to do with her new found wealth was "buy a taco".

It will take her a little while to find her style. But I think trashy, glitter, Pocahontas might not be the look she is hoping for.










Last dress (for now). Lea Michele is a Grammy winner from her time on Spring Awakening. Now, she is most known (for my age demographic at least) for her role as Rachel on Glee. The cameras kept finding her with this dress, and I can't quite decide if I like it or not. The bottom is superb. No question. What I am having issue with relates to the over the shoulder mesh strap. I just find it distracting and makes her somehow look bulky on just one side. Maybe if the fabric was more solid in nature? All I know is at the intersection where the ruching along her waist meets the draping of the shoulder my eye gets offended.

I thought I already owned an iPaad

After Apple's big announcement regarding the iPad was made, I started searching online for responses to the new product. The news stories found through Google News provided the same basic details over and over again, so I decided to hit up Twitter to see what the general masses thought about it 140 characters or less. Most of the tweets I saw were linking me to the articles I already read, or announcing how the individual would want to purchase the iPad if they had the money. The absolute best tweet about the new Apple product came in the form of a retweet that I too, came close to having to retweet as well.

quoting a friend of a friend: "i thought ipads were just people from boston trying to say ipod...i was WAY OFF"

So yes, I understand that Boston does a unique accent where many letters are dropped, added or simply mispronounced. But did the group in charge of naming products at Apple really need to name this the iPad. The name is nice and short, but it is only one letter off of a very popular product. Couldn't they do iTablet like it was initially rumored? I can't imagine that the Boston accent is the only one that will cause people to be confused about what exactly is being talked about. Personally, I don't think my accent is all that bad, but I am now very conscious about saying iPad vs iPod.

I did hear that the next electronic that Apple is releasing is an outdoor touch screen radio for gardners called the iPot. Bad joke, I know I know.

A (Hot Pink) Tights Under the Pants Kind of Day

Brrrrr!!! Did Mother Nature forget to pay the heat bill? We just went to high 40s to, well, this

At dinner last night my friends and I watched the crazy white happen from the comfort of our table at Cactus Club and realized that we had been lulled into a false sense that winter was behind us. Unanimously we agreed that getting dress for Friday morning would require the oldest trick in the New England Winter Clothing book. Tights under the pants.

The way I see it is if I have to deal with dreary winter weather, I might as well spice things up by wearing tights with attitude. Knowing my legs were covered in a hot pink material definitely helped to brighten my morning as I walked to the bus stop. In all reality, I do try to wear something brightly colored on a daily basis - more often than not, it is a layered item that no one can really see. Just knowing something is bright and cheerful on my body when the winds are 25 mph and the temperature is in the low 20s makes summer seem that much closer.

Pink and Smiles? Yes Please

This came from http://dailysquee.com/. He is cute, pink, and smiles. Of course I want him. I think he would be very happy living in my apartment with me. The site calls him a mudkip. When I google this, I come up with a bunch of sites that refer to Pokemon. So this makes me think that this image is not real - which saddens me, just a bit.

The Jitters Are Real

I definitely go over the 300 point on almost a daily basis. This could be why there are days I just cannot sit still. Maybe, just maybe I will try to cut down on my coffee consumption. I did try earlier this week to cut down my email dependency and failed miserably at that, so I don't see how lowering my caffeine intake after depending on it since I was 15 is really going to happen.

Chelsea would be proud

I bought $1 martini glasses at the Christmas Tree Shop. Totally love them. All this week I have been making Boston Absolut martinis. (Boston Absolut, splash of ginger ale, and lemon juice) They have been a lovely way to end the evening. It is hard to explain but I get this great feeling drinking out of a classy glass rather than a pint glass. Totally helps mellow me out. So while I was drinking my nightcap, I found the following:

I like to have a martini, Two at the very most. After three I'm under the table, after four I'm under my host. - Dorothy Parker

Love this woman. I saw this quote and needed to know more about her. A quick google brought me to here wikipedia article. She is known for her wit and wisecracks. Awesome. If anyone has any of hers I can read, please give it to me. A woman who has a love for martinis like I do is a great woman in my book.

In my world, this is considered a waste! Look at all the splash out

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiii I mean Weeeeeeeeeeeeee

For the first time in my life I own a gaming system. My mum got me and my sister each a Wii. We were both very excited. The first thing I did when I got home from the holidays was purchase the New Super Mario Brothers game. Currently it is the only game that I have besides the one that the system comes with. I also, I only have one remote, which is why I haven't bothered to invite anyone over to play.

I was able to try out the multi player style of play at my parents house with my sister. She is TERRIBLE. I may be bad at this game, but I cannot even tell you how many times she died. The one thing that made us laugh more than anything else is that if you jump on your teammate you start bouncing on their head over and over and over again. We couldn't stop giggling.


Now, I would like to be able to brag and say when I got home to my apartment I was amazing at the game by myself. That is not the case. One of the features that I am grateful for, and slightly embarrassed that I have had to use, is the Luigi help box. If you die something like 5 times on the same level, a Luigi help box appears at the beginning of the course. Once you jump up to open the big green box with an "!" in the center Luigi comes racing out and shows you how to complete the level. You can stop it at any point in time, personally, I let him run through the whole thing. Additionally, it gives you the option to then do the level yourself. Again, I figured if I just died 5 times, I don't need another try. I am well aware of what I was supposed to do, I just couldn't get the timing down.

Currently I am in the second world. I have yet to collect all three big coins in any given world, but I am trucking along nicely. Hopefully, I can eventually go back and try to get them later on.

Seriously, the Wii is so much fun. I can't wait to get some more games and simply get more playing time now that I don't have class. :) Right now I am having a hard time climbing on the fences in the mid-castle in world 2. I hope to get the hang of it soon!

This is my problem with reality tv

Blogs have been recently been posting about the possibility of a second season of the Jersey Shore. I am not surprised that MTV would try to ride this out with a second summer as this season was a hit - mainly due to Snooki getting punched in the face. What does surprise me is that they would bring back the original cast. The likelihood that the second season would have the same feel is slim as these reality stars have started pimping themselves to make appearances at private parties and venues. The reason the show was so genius is that this reality cast actually appeared real! (If you have ever watched a reality show, you know what I mean. Some girl always tries to be "the bitch", someone else will cry. These reality casts always end up with people who try to play someone they are not) The clothes, makeup, GTL, is all part of their regular lives. At least from my couch it seemed rather believable. One of the contestants was from Johnston, RI. I know what people from that town are like!

With all of the fame that they are now experiencing, it is hard to imagine that the individuals will continue to behave the same way next year. Additionally, it now that the world knows who they are, it would be pretty safe to assume that all the people at the Shore will also be reacting differently. Others may start interacting with the cast by picking fights or trying to hook up just to get some face time.

To go with season 2, MTV offered the cast a $10,000 signing bonus plus $5,000 per episode. The cast turned down the offer and wants more. Who do these people think they are? They should take the money and be happy. (Update: the rumors are circling that season 2 is no definitely on and the cast will get $10,000)

I am sorry, I liked the show, but they do not deserve that kind of money. I don't even deserve that kind of money and I work my butt off. Getting to the title of this post. I love reality trash tv, but I don't like that the individuals become celebrities for being ass-shit crazy. Nor do I like that they get to profit off of the shows. Reflecting on the balloon-boy incident, I almost want reality "stars" to have to sign a contract to state that they aren't going to profit off of the show's results. The fact that Snooki gets paid to do cartwheels in her thong at parties is beyond ludicrous. I understand someone else is stupid enough to pay for it, but something about undeserving fame that just erks me.



All this said, I can be pretty sure that I will tune in next fall for their triumphant return. I may be annoyed, but it is hard to resist a good fist pump.

Lifetime Has Won Me Over

Project Runway has returned. And this time, it doesn't suck. At least not yet.

I finally got around to watching the first two episodes. Thanks DVR! The group looks pretty amazing. At this point, I am still feeling out the group and don't have ONE person that I am rooting for, there are a few that I currently have my eye on. (the last time I had a favorite right off the bat it was when Jeffrey was a contestant and, as we all know, he won)

I am just going to skip over talking about episode one for now (and probably ever) and go onto episode number two. The challenge was to make a burlap sack and into something the model could wear at an industry party. Project Runway is back bitches! This challenge was great. Below is my favorite dress that was presented.




















Honestly, was there any doubt in your mind that I wouldn't pick this dress? It is flouncy and fun. The dye job is phenominal. I love how it looks almost burnt, but perfectly almost burnt. The designer really had an amazing set of tricks in her bag to turn a heavy itchy looking sack, into something so light and youthful. On a side note, that model's face is a little scary in the image on the left, so I would suggest not staring at it for too long...

Tom and Lorenzo the writers of Project Rungay wrote up the following:

About the only criticism we can make is that the skirt is a bit too much of a tutu.

I should hope we can all agree there is NO such thing as too much tutu. This is a dress I would wear, so long as it wasn't itchy. :)

FYI - Because I know you miss me

2010 has started slow for my anniversary as a blogger. At this point, I feel like I want to let you in on why there has been such infrequent posting. I have been in an intensive class where I go from 6-9 every day after work. The course is called Visual Rhetoric and it is about communicating through images (visuals). My final project centers around the Disney Princesses - do not laugh or roll your eyes - it has been a lot of work but I think the final product will come out well. My major tasks have included finding and editing videos. Below is one that I particularly love, and it shows Helene Stanley dancing around for the animators to give inspiration for Aurora's dancing.

Did not want to waste space on her, but I can't help myself

Remember when Heidi Montag looked like this?

Yeah, me either. I never watched The Hills but I can say that in the last year or so, I have successfully learned how to identify Heidi and Spencer. By the time I met them, she had already gone through her first boob job and mastered the full of extensions, curled, blowing in the wind, pop star platinum hair. Apparently, back in the day she looked human. Who knew?

Well, recently this brain trust decided to go through over 10 procedures, including a second boob-job to increase herself to DDD


She doesn't even look like the same person. The gossip rags tell me that she often speaks of inner beauty and how important it is for girls to find theirs. She, unfortunately, can't find hers. The girls is only 23! I am older than she is. The new look has aged her, which might have been what she was going for, but I find it hard to look at that face and body and think 23 years old. Heidi aspires to become a pop star and she feels that this transformation will help her. Pretty sure you need to have a skill of some sort to be a pop star. As of right now, she is a reality "star" and in all reality her 15 minutes of fame ended quite some time ago, and she just won't bow out gracefully.

People get up in arms about tattoos, asking if you are really going to want that later down in life. I think more concern should be voiced about plastic surgery at such a young age. Yes, sometimes I think I would like bigger boobs, but that is what push-up or padded bras are for. Do I want DDD when I am 60 years old? Hell no.

Not much better on TV

Two weekends ago my friends and I went shopping. While at J-Crew I saw a super cute tank top on a hanger (see above). I had to try it on. When I got inside the changing room, I could immediately tell that this would look amazing or terrible. How did I know this? It has a side zipper. Any shirt with a side zipper requires extra shimmying. That dedication can reward you greatly or make you feel stupid - stupid because after all the awkward ways you just contorted your body, the item looks more like you wrestled with fabric than put on an article of clothing.

Well, it was unflattering. The tie is just too far down on the silhouette. When cinched, the shirt was not coming in under my chest, which would create a flattering empire waist line. What it did do was pull into the smallest part of my waist, which may sound like it would create a successful sillhouette, but because of the tiered pieces of fabric, it simply gave me a small break in the barrel shape it naturally created. The shirt needs to be tied as the natural flow is not enough either to become flattering. Overall, neither I, nor my friend could figure out how one could successfully wear this piece.

The stylist for How I Met Your Mother was clearly also intrigued by the shirt, as he dressed the character Lily in it. I would like to say that I now understand how it should have looked on me. But instead, I will say that she looked just as bad. The formentioned friend felt the same way, as seen by the text I received from her that stated "a girl on tv was wearing that ugly shirt from jcrew and no, it was not attractive".

Countdown to April 10th

Why?

That would be the night that I, and four friends, will be seeing the one and only Chelsea Handler. We all love her show (Chelsea Lately) and her books. The woman is just so hysterical. It is really hard to find female comedians that are consistently good. I just feel like Chelsea has the same thoughts that we do. She is very open with her audience and let's in on her bladder problems - specifically that she has occasionally peed herself from laughing too much.

Sadly, I have only read My Horizontal Life which was beyond funny. The book is a collection of short stories of her one-night stands. It is a great book to have to read while commuting because once you are done with a chapter you can easily put it down without feeling like you have to keep reading. Seriously, it is worth the read. I have not had the chance to read Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea yet, but I have every intention of picking up a copy as soon as I am able.

To show our respects, the five of us plan to drink some Belvedere (as Chelsea recently switched alliances from Grey Goose to Belvedere - apparently Grey Goose has extra sugars) before attending the show. Also, we found it rather appropriate that Ms. Handler will be preforming at the Wang - we hope she can use that in her routine.

Shoe Fans

One of these shoes is not like the others...

New job means a fresh start. Not only that, but a whole new group of people to introduce to my shoes. The above picture contains the five pairs of shoes that I wore my first week of work. Every morning people were excited to see the shoes that I came in with, it was kind of thrilling and a wonderful ice breaker. On Thursday, I was warned that the next day would be the beginning of a very busy week. Due the fact that I would be on my feet for 7 hours a day, it was advised that I wear more comfortable shoes. Thus, the Adidas sneaker at the far right.

It will be another week before we can get back into the swing of things and wear the high heels, but for now, at least I can be happy to know that my coworkers love them. My only concern is that I will mess up my new budget with a need to purchase new shoes to keep people in the office on their toes. Or perhaps I should say, keep me on mine...you know because the heels are so high...it was a joke...I know you laughed. :)

This is a post about Bacon

Is there really any food more deserving of it's own post than bacon? I don't think so. And even vegetarians will admit that bacon is an intriguing meat.


I found this on Passive Aggressive Notes . The post has provided my friends and I hours of laughter. Between "soyfucker" and "ps bacon is life" the set of notes is pricessless :)

A friend of mine tweeted about this amazing new product, bacon flavored envelopes. Imagine how much more enjoyable having to lick all 40 of my Christmas Card envelopes would have been if I got a hint of bacon and salt with each seal? I would be happier with the task, not that I don't thoroughly adore sending them, I just hate that gluey taste.

The site mentions Bacon Salt. Trust me, it is a real thing. A good friend received a some as a gift. It was completely used up in a matter of months. He reported back to us that it really did provide some serious bacon flavor. I never got to taste it, but it has been on my list of things to purchase, as I feel like it might be a nice add-on for things like salads, or veggies in general.

The final site worth mentioning would be http://baconbaconbaconbaconbacon.com/ here you can see why bacon is better than love. They make a very compelling case...don't you think?

Couldn't help myself with this post, don't worry I'll get back to shoes and skirts

When Life Spoils Your Milk...

Make A Poor Man's Mocha?

This was the beginning of week two of working full time and going to night class from 6-9 EVERY DAY. I am surviving as best I can. Sleep is a luxury. Grocery shopping is nothing but a memory. I opted to stay at my parents' this weekend when I went to pick up my car that has been in their driveway since Christmas, so I wasn't able to get any real cleaning done up here and I have about a four foot tall pile of clothes that need laundered, oye! Sunday night, I decided that I had enough food to survive the upcoming week so I could go without a late night run to the store. This morning, however, I immediately regretted the decision while I made my cup of coffee. Just as my travel mug filled up, I went into the fridge and realized, no milk.

Ugh.

I froze. I had no idea what I was going to do to make the coffee drinkable - I had brewed it strong and drinking it black was simply not an option. I considered the idea of adding extra sugar, but that didn't feel right. Then as I looked up into my food cupboard, I saw the solution to my problem. The hot chocolate powder packets. I quickly grabbed one, dumped half a packet into my mug, and stirred. Yum. I had completely forgotten about this technique and thankfully it really does the trick. Somehow the sweetness of the chocolate powder simultaneously acts as a creamer and sugar, and I am ok with just accepting this as fact. Hopefully I can get some milk this upcoming weekend, but for now, I can deal with this as a temporary solution.

How To Be A Jersey Shore Guidette

Many of you have probably seen the dove commercial from 2006(?) where they show how lighting, make up, and photoshop can take a regular looking female and turn her into a billboard beauty.

Well, now funnyordie.com has come out with it's own version. Here Alyssa Milano is transformed into Snooki from the Jersey Shore. This transformation is genius. I am a huge fan of the Jersey Shore and have no problem admitting this. It is such trash, but the cast is just so out there that you can't help but want to tune in each and every week.

Alyssa Milano's Evolution: Jersey Shore from Alyssa Milano

If you have any interest you can follow some of the cast on twitter. So far on my Jersey Shore list I have the following four: @snooki, @itisthesituation, @mtvdjpaulyd, and @jenniwoww
Obviously, Ronnie and Sammi are too boring to bother with, and I just haven't gotten around to find Vinny. If you know it, please post the twitter account so I can add him on!

Not Pink, but still HOT

Gossip blogs are letting us know that Katy Perry is engaged to Russel Brand. Of course, her engagement announcement coincides with her cover for Glamour magazine. Glamour must be totally psyched. While I am mildly interested in knowing at this couple actually is for realsies, or as real as celebrity relationships go, I am way more interested in the this dress.

I know, I know, the dress is a little intense. But that is what I love about it. The shape of the dress calls out to me. The tightly fit top with some serious volume in the booty area are the characteristics I look for in party dresses. Had I seen the dress on a hanger in the store, I might have shied away from trying it on - maybe - ok, honestly, I would have tried it on in a heartbeat. However, had I seen it in the store, I know I wouldn't have thought to add the belt. The belt totally makes the dress's allure go up a step. Even with all of the elements that are already present, the blue leopard print with the crazy ruffle skirt, the added accessory actually makes the dress feel less crazy for me. I can't explain it, but I know I want it.

Funky Fresh

After holiday and new year sales are my favorite. They are usually better than what you can find on Black Friday and the stores are more relaxed as they last for a good week or so. This year I was able to meet up with girls on January 2nd for recreational shopping.

I feel like it is important to disclose that there are some rules to my shopping habits for this new year. From now until an undetermined date, I am only allowed to purchase professional clothing. No pink, no tutus, no short skirts, and heels can be high only if they are professional! I hope I can keep to this resolution, if you will. There is a small loop hole - if I can get more work with my part-time job, I may be able to give myself gifts here and there, but nothing in the immediate future.

One of the girls met me on the T, so I gave her a run down on my rules and asked her to smack my hand away if I started to stray. Further details were disclosed that there was a big need for new pants and some sweaters/winter tops. Every spring/summer I am sure to purchase new summer dresses, every winter, I wear stuff I bought in college - this needed to be fixed.

After a few hours of wandering through the Prudential and Copley malls I was able to come away with a great new blazer (regular $120, purchased for $65), two sweaters (each regularly $40, combined came to $30), and much needed face wash (sadly no deal). I enjoyed the experience immensely, was a little bummed I couldn't complete the look with some pants. The lack of pants wasn't because they weren't out there, the reason was because of the funk...

Specially, some funky smells in a dressing room. I had seen sales at particularly nice store and went into try on some long pants. As soon as I entered into the changing room and closed the curtain, I wanted out immediately! I just can't understand how a such a small store can let that happen. Part of me wanted to say something, but in the end I felt like I would rather just get some fresh air stat! I understand that the weather was wet and so there were a lot of factors that could have contributed to the wet dog/mold/b.o. smell that drifted in my nose. But this store has been in Boston for a long time. Why not just put one of those air freshener things in a wall outlet or something. The kind that smell like fresh laundry...

All I can say is that the store lost a potential sale simply because I couldn't bring myself to stay long enough to find a pair of pants I really wanted to keep. Oh, well. I'm sure someone else will get my business...

Hello 2010!

The holidays have come and gone. I was able to celebrate my birthday with so many different friends, had a great Christmas Eve and Day, flew down to Florida for some relaxation, and came back to Boston to ring in the new year. The week and half of friends and family has put me in such a great mood for this upcoming year.

I have now been blogging for about a year and think that this experience has helped me to determine where I want to go with my life. I will be taking an intensive multimedia course in January. This will hopefully help me figure out if content management and web design is where I want to go with my career. I am thinking about getting into communications and marketing, so we shall see. The intensive course will mean that this blog will probably be ignored a little more but I do have a number of things I hope to post about in the next few days before things go completely crazy. I have a few more thoughts on shoes, skirts, trends, and being the domestic goddess that I like to think I am that I would love to be able to share. :)

Thanks for sticking with me for my first year of blogging. I believe that there will be two new blogs that are going to be more focused debuted by mid-February. But we shall see.