What I'm Listening To: Cary Ann Hearst "Hells Bells"

Saturday, July 31, 2010
If you watched last Sunday's episode of True Blood (season 3, episode 6) you may recall hearing this song during the credits. Ever since the episode aired, Charleston, South Carolina native, Cary Ann Hearst, has been heavily searched and sought out on the internet. I guess everybody fell in love with this song and I'm included. So give it a listen.


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Project Runway Season 8, Episode 1 Re-cap

Friday, July 30, 2010
Did you catch Project Runway- And Sew it Begins ? If you missed it you may want to check out the full episode online before proceeding. There are also some fabulous blogs about last nights episode by Fashion Me Fabulous and CraftStylish/ Threads Magazine. Oh! And did I mention that I did a little preliminary guessing on who the top and bottom contestants would be?

Here's my quick PR Recap:

This season began with 17 contestants, instead of 16. At the beginning of the show, the contestants met each other in NYC and gathered at the Lincoln Center complex in Damrosh Park- the new home of NYC fashion week. There they were met by Heidi and Tim and told that they were still auditioning for PR would have to complete the first challenge before officially beginning the show. For their first challenge, contestants were asked to take one item of clothing out of their suitcase and pass it to the right- this item was to be refashioned into their final look. Contestants were given 5 hours to complete their looks, send their models to the Loreal hair salon, and accessorize models with the Piperlime wall (instead of Bluefly). In the end, Gretchen was the clear winner, and six contestants were in the bottom (McKell, Casanova, Jason, Ivy, Nicholas, and April). Although the judges threatened to kick off more than one contestant, only McKell was sent home.

My thoughts:

I agree with the judges winning look, but I did not think that McKell's look deserved to be sent home. Even Tim Gunn said it was cute!

I thought that the worst design of the night was Jason's backwards kimono. The fact that he didn't sew anything and sent this thing down the runway with pins and staples in it was unforgivable and I think he should have been the one to go home. I was also not a fan of Casanova's "stripper in Dubai" outfit and thought it was wayyyy to naked.

Jason's backwards kimono thingie
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/assets/uploads/posts/15192/jason_lg.jpg

After watching last night's episode, I made a few adjustments to my PR picks. Originally I had Ivy in my top 3, but I was really disappointed in the outfit that she made. Even though Peach gave her some ugly, Trompe l'Oeil, mom-pants to work with, I wish Ivy would have manipulated and refashioned them into something better than ugly, Trompe l'Oeil, mom-capris. Plus, after seeing what Andy could do in just 5 hours, I had to add him to my top picks list. I also swapped Sarah out of my bottom picks list and replaced her with Jason and Casanova.

Andy's outfit
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/assets/uploads/posts/15192/andy_xl.jpg


New Top 3: Valerie, Gretchen, and Andy
New Bottom: A.J., Jason, Casanova, and Peach
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Project Runway Season 8- My Preliminary Picks

Thursday, July 29, 2010
Last week, Lifetime TV updated their Project Runway web-page to introduce the new cast of season 8 and Fashion Me Fabulous did a write-up titled Meet Project Runway Season 8 Designers part 1 and part 2 .

For those of you who don't know, I am and have been a huge fan of Project Runway since the beginning. I love the creativity, the fashions, the models, Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, and all of the wonderful judges. So, I am very excited for the new season that starts on July 29th at 9pm.

Before the show starts, here are my Project Runway preliminary picks:

My Top 3:
Valerie, Gretchen, and Ivy.

Who's in Trouble:
Peach, Sarah, and A.J.

Let's see how accurate I am. Who are your Project Runway Seseaon 8 preliminary picks? Let me know in the comments below.
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What I'm Reading: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Since my parents are still reading my copy of Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse book 10) by Charlaine Harris, I'm taking a break from the Sookie Stackhouse series. Instead, I am reading When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames is Sedaris's sixth book of darkly humorous essays. Sure, I've heard Sedaris's stories plenty of times on NPR's This American Life and I have been a huge fan of his sister, Amy Sedaris, and her show, Strangers with Candy, since it aired on Comedy Central in the late 90s, but When You Are Engulfed In Flames is the first D. Sedaris book that I've ever read.

And so far, so good.


I love the way that Sedaris can tell a story that could sound depressing and far-fetched if told by anybody else, and can make it funny and strangely believable.

If you are interested in this book, you can read the first chapter of the book here, purchase the audiobook here, or buy the book online here.

Happy reading!
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As Seen on Grosgrain

Remember this little number?


Well, my Peter Pan Collar Tank was recently featured as one of Grosgrain's Flickr Favs. Woo hoo!
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I'm a Winner!

Friday, July 23, 2010
A few weeks ago, Oranges and Apples made her 500th post. To celebrate she gave away 3 goodie bags to 3 lucky readers...and I was one of them (see here). I was the winner of goodie bag #2 which included:

* a vintage silk scarf from second fiddle crafts (also blog)
* an A4 'Lingerie' print from Citylight
* a heart brooch from Oranges and Apples
* a necklace and earring set from Handmade by Alison
* a lavender cat from Vertiline in Love

So, this week I received my goodie bag in the mail and I could hardly contain my excitement. It was like Christmas in July.

Here's how my prizes looked when I pulled them out of the mail bag.


Thanks Oranges and Apples for the goodie bag, and thank you second fiddle crafts, Citylight, Handmade by Alison, and Vertiline in Love for the prizes inside. I'll be sure to give them a good home.
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For My Beary Special Friends

Monday, July 19, 2010
I made these during the 2009 Christmas holiday season for my friend, Melissa who recently had her 2nd kid (in May) after waiting 7 whole years.

First Aid Bag 3
Fashion First Aid Bag. Pattern from Stitch N Bitch.

Frog button earrings
Frog buttons turned earrings

And here's baby Cayden trying on the bear hat.

Uh oh! Perhaps he has an innate fear of bears, or maybe the hat just needs some getting used to.
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What I Wore: Nerdtastic 07/13/2010

Friday, July 16, 2010
Some boyfriends buy their girls chocolates
some boyfriends buy diamond rings
but when my guy wants to show me some love
he gets me nerdy t-shirts

Hat: Eugenia Kim for Target- on clearance
Shirt: Walmart- gift from The Boy
Polka dot denim shorts: JC Penny


I'm not exactly a huge Star Wars fan, but I dig the color of the shirt and it pleases The Boy. I actually got complemented on the shirt while I was out shopping on Tuesday.

Speaking of nerdiness, The Boy and I got a Nintendo Wii. So, if I get a little lazy with my blog posts, that is probably what I am doing.
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Happy Birthday to Me!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Last Friday was my "big birthday party." So I am officially 2-7. I decided to keep my birthday fairly low key. I began the day by taking my dad to see Toy Story 3. This was the first modern 3D movie my dad had ever seen, and we both highly recommend it.

In the evening I met up with my former post-college roommate and ate some yummy Mexican food. Then we went downtown where we met up with The Boy and another friend for drinks, snacks, and chit chat.

On Saturday I celebrated my birthday with my family. We ate at a place called Yuca Bistro which serves Latin American and Mediterranean food and was recommended by the local paper. The food was tasty and nice to look at (especially the hummus), however it took an hour for them to serve our meals although the place wasn't very busy when we arrived. And the place was out of flatbread, so they were serving their most noted flatbread dishes as wraps without sides, but charging the same flatbread price. We'll see how long that place lasts.

Anyways, you may remember that I posted my 2010 birthday list here. Below are some of the things I got for my birthday.

a black pencil skirt
source
A gray pinstripe blazer with polka dot cuffs
source
A gray slub knit cardigan thingie
source
sparkly leopard print shoes

source
All in all, it was a pretty great birthday. Thanks to all who sent birthday wishes.
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New Fall 2010 Vogue Patterns!

Thanks to Erica B and west 38th, I just discovered that the new fall Vogue patterns are out. Lets check them out!

First the designer patterns:

Tracey Reese

I adore the ruffles in the front and the stunning back. I also love the fabric that they chose for this pattern.
Michael Kors
source
I love that twist in the front!
Rebecca Taylor
source
I love the ruffled top and the fact that it looks great tucked into high waist skirts and pants, but looks equally great when left untucked. I could also really used a high waist skirt in my closet.

DKNY
This looks like a great fall dress that flatters all body types and the pattern seems simple enough that I might actually be able to sew it without too much help. This definitely needs to be in my closet.

And now for some of my other picks:
V8668
I'm particularly fond of look C (the red one).
V1197
source
I love top B. Ruched sleeves and low interesting necklines are a Sarah's best friend.

V8674
I've been seeing a lot of these cape jackets around again on the Fall 2010 runways. Maybe this will be the year I make one.
Simplicity 2340

Okay. So this isn't a Vogue pattern but I had to put it in (especially for jacket C). Sleeveless blazers are all over the Fall 2010 runways, so I need to make this jacket.
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What's making me laugh: Old Spice

Saturday, July 10, 2010

I love these Old Spice commercials with Isaiah Mustafa and I think that they are hilarious! The commercials have even stirred Bust magazine readers to discuss it's commentary on gender roles and have gotten Oprah to take notice! So if you haven't seen them yet (or even if you have), watch them now and let me know what you think.


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Birthday List 2010

Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hello! My birthday is coming up very shortly, so I thought I would share what I am wishing for this year.



Right now, I am really into blazers, cardigans, peter pan collars, gingham, lace, maxi skirts and dresses, oxford shoes, Betsey Johnson accessories, and all things polka dot, striped, leopard and all shades of blue. Feel free to click on the collage for more details.

I'm also drooling over craft supplies like stretch matte jersey knit fabric in plum (for a Simplicity 2406), turquoise herringbone suiting ( for McCall's M5815), and stretch cotton poplin in sand (for V8640) from Fabric.com. I would also really like to have 5 balls of Knit Picks Cotlin in Moroccan Red to knit a That Girl! Summer Jacket or 10 skeins of Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Stone so I can make this:

MaxMara circa Spring 2006 from New York Mag






And I wouldn't object to a pair of She & Him Concert tickets for their show in KC this fall. 

image from http://roundletters.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/download-the-new-she-him-track-thieves/
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DIY Peter Pan Collar Tank

Wednesday, July 7, 2010
image from Urban Outfitters and BYOV

Lately, I have been really digging all of the peter pan collars that I have been seeing around- like the Cooperative Peter Pan Collar Tank from Urban Outfitters (shown above). So, after being inspired by all of the peter pan collar tutorials that I'd seen online (from BYOV and Adventures in Dressmaking), I decided to make my own peter pan collar tank using a $7 pocket tank from Target and 1/4 yard of black cotton fabric.

There it is!
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Summer Birthdays

Tuesday, July 6, 2010
To me the beginning of summer always signifies that it's birthday time because so many of my family members have summer birthdays. My sister-in-law and dad have birthday's in June; me, my cousin, my mom, and my brother celebrate in July; and my uncle, his lady friend, and my other cousin celebrate birthdays in August.

This year, at the start of birthday season, my parents traveled to Alaska to visit my brother and sister-in-law. And they just so happened to return home on my dad's 60th birthday. Since I knew that my parents wouldn't have anything planned for my dad's big day, I decided to make a Happy Birthday and Welcome Home banner to greet them and bake a birthday cake.

I was inspired to make my own banner's after seeing pickupsomecreativity's birthday banner 2.0 tutorial. I used black felt and fabric remnants from my local Hancock Fabrics and some blue bias tape that I had lying around the house. First, I glued each of my felted letters to the triangles and then topstitched each letter. Then, I sewed the back triangle piece to each triangle- front right sides together so that when I turned my banners to the right side my letter topsitching could not be seen from the back. Next, I topstitched around the edges of each triangle so that it would stay flat, and I attached the banners to the bias tape using a zigzag stitch.

image from MarthaStewart.com

Since my dad is a big fan of coconut, I used a Martha Stewart Coconut Layer Cake recipe for my dad's birthday cake. So, the cake was made entirely from scratch except I substituted store bought cream cheese frosting instead of homemade.

To get the cake to my parent's house, the boy and I had to put the cake in a large boiling pan since we don't have a proper cake carrier.

Ta da! Happy Birthday, everyone!
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Danielle Dress Sewathon

Sunday, July 4, 2010
Last weekend, I had a sew-a-thon with The Boy's mom. This time we took on BurdaStyle's FREE Danielle dress pattern. I'd had my eye on the Danielle dress ages ago, but I had to wait 4 years to get the skills, tools, and resources to finally make it happen.

To make the dress we used a navy stretch velvet fabric that I had on hand and was terrified to work with. But, the stretchy fabric turned out great because it hid any flaws.


The pattern was fairly easy to work with, although there were a few things in the directions that I didn't quite understand and I definitely wouldn't have figured out without the help of The Boy's mom. I think that the finished product turned out well and I even saved the pattern to maybe make a casual Danielle in the future.

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What I'm Listening To: Madonna "La Isla Bonita [featuring Gogol Bordello] [Live From Live Earth]"

Saturday, July 3, 2010
Madonna - La Isla Bonita [featuring Gogol Bordello] [Live From Live Earth]


I was really surprised to find this video on YouTube. And to be honest, I wasn't sure if this was going to be any good. I mean, I like Madonna and I like Gogol Bordello, but Madonna and Gogol Bordello!? Together!? I just wasn't sure how Madonna's sexy pop/dance music would mix with Gogol Bordello's gypsy/punk. However, it seems that the two blend together surprisingly well.
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My Frock by Friday dress aka my ERDEM wannabe dress

Friday, July 2, 2010


ERDEM - Watercolor floral shirt dress. Retail price $625

I was doing a little online browsing on my ShopStyle account and saw this little number and it reminded me of something I'd previously posted...


my handmade May Frock by Friday shirt dress. I know that the print and style is a little different, but the colors and style are in the same family. Yay for sewing on trend!
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