Parade of Homes

Alanda and I have had our plates full for the past two weeks. We decorated a home in Edmond for the 2009 Parade of Homes. We had so much fun working our little butts off and laughed a lot. Imagine little me moving the armoire in the left hand corner of the above picture by myself. Well, I did! Alanda is extremely talented and has an amazing eye for design. We have completely different styles but see eye-to-eye on many decorating ideas. More than anything this was fun because I enjoy making things look pretty and it was a great opportunity for us to spend some quality time together. Here is a sneak peek of the rest of the house. Enjoy!

Edmond Parade Home
Pass code: paradehome

Project Runway Week 6

The challenge this week was to design a look inspired by a movie genre. 1 day challenge with a budget of $150. I was sort of bored with this challenge.

Christopher's dress and storyline were my favorite. He totally had me when he said vampire! The back of this dress was awesome. I felt like it was the most dramatic and costume like.

I liked Althea's design but I don't think it was special enough to win this particular challenge. It looked like something she would have made any other week.

Nicolas. Where to start. His dress was awful. He just annoys me. I knew he would be the winner as soon as he started talking about how he had always been in the bottom three 10 minutes into the episode. Hello foreshadowing! I cannot believe he won!

Then the bombshell. Ra'mon is out! Really? I was completely shocked. Louise hasn't even designed anything memorable. Until next week....

After thoughts:
1. Tim Gunn saying "big hot mess". I nearly peed my pants.
2. How spectacular were Heidi's black sequins leggings?

A girl's best friend and I don't mean diamonds

Every girl dreams of owning a pair of Manolo Blahnik's. Now, thanks to a great friend with a serious shopping habit, I am one of those girls. Excitement is an understatement. ***Pause to feel jealous for just a moment***

Here is my best assessment of what happened. Friend got wide-eyed in Neiman's and made an impulse purchase. No judgement, we have all done it. Friend told herself they are a classic black pump....I will wear them everyday. Friend reasons with herself that she needs these shoes and that they are an investment. Continues to purchase. Friend gets home and realizes they really don't quite fit right. Friend (+ every woman I know) would rather die then admit this so she forces herself to wear them just to say she did not completely waste her money. Friend then wears them three maybe four times. Back in their pretty white box where they would live for the next year. How do I know this to be true? Because I am this woman. Maybe not with a $500 pair of black heels, but we have all made poor shoe buying choices and then regretted it. In this instance I love someone else's "poor choice" because yours truly is reaping all the benefits. Thank you, friend.

Ushering in Fall

Love the new fall looks from Anthropologie. I think I would wear shorts this short in the cooler months if I could pair them with some cute tights.

Navy blue tights with those yellow shoes. Me likey!

Project Runway Week 5

This is probably my favorite Project Runway Challenge ever. Constructing a garment completely out of newspaper. I was so excited to see them do something like this. I sell newspaper advertising and have worked in the newspaper industry pretty much ever since I graduated from college.

Christopher's design was my favorite. I loved that way it moved down the runway. He really thought about all the details right down to the hair adornment. I also really thought Irina's trench coat was worth mentioning. What a creative idea. It was so different from what all the other designers made.


Follow up:
1. I must say that I was sort of surprised that no one made a garment out of newspaper crossword puzzles.
2. How about Tim Gunn getting mad after Johnny's bold face lie on the runway.
3. This challenge reminded me of the Dior dress from Sex in the City Season 3 (which is being recycled and worn again in the SATC 2 movie).

New York State of Mind

NYC salt & pepper shakers. Lovely.
Totally going on my Christmas list.

Hot glue burns hurt!

I made my friend a very belated birthday present. She needed a holder to display all her earrings. I have made several in the past with the assistance of my father. Think of me as the "idea" person and him as the one with the know how to execute that idea. I wanted to try something a little different this time. I knew I wanted a turquoise frame. Good luck finding that in Oklahoma City. So I painted a natural wood frame the exact color I was thinking about. Then I found this really cute fabric. I sat on the idea for a few days. How was I going to make all this work? I looked online and finally ended up adapting something I found and liked. The finished product is below. I must say I was pleased with the way it turned out. Happy birthday, Tami. Hope you like it.

Owls

Found both of these pieces on Etsy (very fond of the owl earrings). I could spend hours on that site. I love the hair accessories and jewelry.

My grandmother has collected owls for as long as I can remember. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I really started liking them. I have dish towels, magnets, a necklace,
pillow for my bed. I really wish I had paid closer attention to the display case full
of them at her house in Massachusetts.

Project Runway Week 4

This week definitely brought a much more difficult challenge. I must say the level of work has improved dramatically. I was impressed with a lot of the designs.

The remaining 13 had to design something for their models to wear to an industry event. So, their models were their clients. This was a one day challenge. Time was definitely a huge factor.

Here's my line up of hits and misses:

Gordana - The detail work down the front of that gold dress was impeccable. The dress looked fantactic on her model. Wasn't crazy about the color.

Christopher - Loved his dress. The green just popped out and said look at me.

Epperson - I did not agree with the judges. That dress looked like something a stripper would wear.

Carol Hannah - Loved her dress. Thoughtful use of texture. Wasn't crazy about the purple but that is just me hating purple.

**Althea - That look was by far the best. I think I need that suit. I think I could sell some ads in that suit. She deserved to win.

Moments:
1. Heidi saying "Ya'll".
2. Logan - Umm, total cutie.
3. Was that long, curly haired judge a bit of a B?

Mad Men

We recently started watching Mad Men. Finished off Season 1 (thanks to Netflix) and are about to finish Season 2. DVR is recording the new season. I am not patient enough to wait for one new episode every week. Watching 3 or 4 at a time is much easier.

This really is a great show. Set in 1960's Manhattan. It depicts the "Golden Age" of advertising. All the wives are homemakers and dress more stylish than I have ever seen any stay-at-home mother dress. The fashion is amazing. January Jones is stunning. And who wouldn't want to smoke cigarettes with the dashing Don Draper. He actually makes it look appealing.

Love

Cannot WAIT to see this movie. Watched the preview twice tonight.
I love, love movies. Especially ones set in New York.
Incredible cast. Natalie Portman. Bradley Cooper. Enough said.
Cool movie poster. Click on to enlarge and you can see the cast.
Soundtrack will likely be a winner. Check out the song playing during the preview. Good stuff.

Project Runway Week 3

Challenge: create a fun & fashionable surfware look with a teammate. This was a hard challenge. Three things came to mind immediately:

1. Working in teams = SCARY! See below.

2. Only 15 minutes to shop at MOOD = stressed me out and made me anxious.

3. Creating a second look (Avant Garde) on the fly. I believe Ra'mon said it best......capital WTF. (I am totally stealing that line.) Hilarious.

Skirin & Carol Hannah. Seriously, can that girl make anything ugly? The swimsuit/dress combo was fantastic. Their designs were by far my favorite.

Nicholas. Hated that light blue lace number that he made. That thing was so trashy. I am not sure how he got Avant Garde out of that. I did like how calm and complimentary his partner was of his work. It was obviously not her style but she was a team player.

Mitchell. That guy is a joke. This is a family friendly blog so I will just say that I think he is a complete d-bag. For whatever reason on the third week he was still around and again made something lame. In fact, something we didn't even get a peek at. An "alleged" swimsuit. I really thought Ra'mon's ship was sunk from the start. I can't believe he won the challenge. I did not like their finished looks. However, I was glad that this was the challenge that finally sent Mitchell home.

Epperson and Qristyl. Do I even need to say anything more? How embarrassing.

After thoughts:

Tim Gunn in flip flops, sunglasses and a blazer on the beach. Please tell me someone thought that was as funny as I did.

Rachel Bilson as the guest judge. I am not sure I care for her. Thoughts?

I heart Seattle

I just got back from a trip to Seattle. My good friend Layni came with me. Becky and I have known each other for 30 years. She moved there a year ago and it was high time I took a trip to visit her. We used our birthday as an excuse. Two of my cousins (side note: I always thought they were my second cousins until one of them informed me we are first cousins once removed) live there and so there were plenty of people to see and lots to entertain ourselves with. Can I just comment on how amazing the weather was while we were there. I have obviously been living in Oklahoma far to long. The temps were perfect and not a lick of wind. Light breezes are what they have. Can you remember the last time Oklahoma had a light breeze?

I don't necessarily have a favorite part of the trip because it was all so spectacular. However, receiving my birthday gift from Becky was pretty special. She got me a glassybaby. I know you are thinking what in the heck is a glassbaby. They are beautiful and apparently all the craze in Seattle. I am now the owner of this pretty piece of authentic Seattle glass. Choosing the color was hard. Real hard. The girl that helped me was very patient and let me look at 5 or 6 lit up. In the end, I went with my original pick, Hidden Moss. Might see silly to get so excited about a votive holder but to me it is something that will always remind me of my trip and my dear friend, Becky.

Project Runway Week 2

Sorry for the delay. I just got a chance to watch what I recorded while in Seattle. This challenge was hard! Create a form fitting look for a VERY preggers Rebecca Romijn.

Can I just ask...why is Mitchell still on the show? Seriously. That guy is an awful designer. Those shorts were bad. What pregnant woman would ever wear something that short. Two weeks in a row he has squeaked by. The judges obviously see something I am missing.

Malvin. That guy is a complete weirdo. He's the token strange designer. Remember the girl that spit marked her fabric? He named his look. I died laughing. "The mother hen and her egg". Once again what pregnant woman would wear something that draws more attention to her belly.

Shirin and Christopher were my top picks. Shirin's dresses was beautiful. That color and all the detail work.....she deserved that win. Plus she made a coat and lined it. Mitchell couldn't even make a pair of shorts look good in the same amount of time. I thought Christopher's design wasn't nearly as interesting as Shirin's but it was nicely constructed and flattering.

Two last things:

Heidi's killer suede ankle boots. Loved them.

Monique Lhuillier as the guest judge. Wow. They are pulling out all the stops this season.