What I'm Listening To: 10 Songs Inadvertently About Thanksgiving Leftovers :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste

Friday, November 25, 2011
This week Paste Magazine posted a list of 10 songs inadvertently about Thanksgiving leftovers which I rocked out to all Black Friday day. The list included several gems such as Willie Bobo's “Fried Neck Bones and Some Home Fries”, Sir  Mix-a-Lot's "Buttermilk Biscuits", John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band's  “Cold Turkey”, and Beck's "Nicotine and Gravy". If you felt that there weren't enough Thanksgiving themed songs in your life and you're not ready for Christmas, check out the article and listen to full versions of these songs and dance those Thanksgiving calories away.


10 Songs Inadvertently About Thanksgiving Leftovers :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste
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Happy Evacuation Day!

Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the holiday with your friends and family. However, while you are busy passing the turkey (or tofurkey or todurkey), I hope you take the time to remember another important holiday this season, Evacuation Day.

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What I'm Listening To: M83 "Midnight City"

Saturday, November 19, 2011


I've had this song stuck in my head all week. Check out the music video. It's like a tribute to the films Village of the Damned and Close Encounters. Enjoy!
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What's Making Me Laugh: Ira Glass Sex Tape

Note: The following video does not contain any explicit images or REAL sex. It is just a parody....a very silly parody.



One of my favorite things to do over the weekends during graduate school was to pull out my knitting needles and listen to Ira Glass on WBEZ Chicago's This American Life radio series on Itunes. And I won't lie...I might find Ira Glass's nasally voice attractive and may find the man himself attractive in a nerdy/ intellectual kind of way. So, when I stumbled across this YouTube parody recently, I was curious.

I'm amazed at how accurate the "Ira Glass" character is able to stay in character and stick with the This American Life radio show format, even though his voice is a little off. So if you are also a fan of Ira Glass and This American Life, you have to listen to this.
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What's On My Needles

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
This weekend, The Boy's mother took me yarn shopping as a very belated birthday present.We ended up going to two local yarn shops and a local art gallery/ art supply store. Check out my loot:

 Buttons from the art supply store.  
Top Row L to R: Lionel Ritchie, a unicorn, Frida Kahlo. 
Bottom Row L to R: Richard Simmons and Bob Ross.

While I was shopping, I also met a new friend. He's so stinkin' cute!

Monster Chunk

Anyway, now that I've got all of this new yarn and Christmas just around the corner, I've been inspired to knit again. Here are some of the patterns that I'm hoping to make this holiday season. Some of them may become Christmas gifts, but I'll try not to spill the beans:

Top Row L to R:

To Eyre... by Carol Sunday. This shawl pattern is based off of one of the shawls worn in the new Jane Eyre movie (which I have yet to see). I picked up some skeins of Ella Rae Classic wool in a grey/navy blue color for this shawl and can't wait to knit this up and check out the film.

Cambridge by Carol Sunday. I've had my eye on this shawl ever since I saw those paparazzi photos of Kate Middleton pushing her shopping cart. I've even caught myself thinking that I could shop like a princess, if only I had that shawl. I'm sure I could not afford the original, but thankfully there is a look-a-like pattern available on Ravelry. So this weekend I picked up some skeins of The Spectrum Collection Fluffy Stuff DK yarn in green and began casting-on this shawl. Check out my progress:


Wurm by katushika. I know that the photo is a little hard to see, but this floppy hat pattern is based off of the hat worn by Michael Cera in the film Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. It looks like a fun, quick knit, but I'm not sure of what colors and what kind of yarn I'm going to use.

Middle Row L to R:

My Vampire Boyfriend socks by Kate Atherley. I've stated many times that I am a huge fan of the Sookie Stackhouse book series by Charlaine Harris and the Trueblood TV show on HBO based off of these novels. These socks were inspired by all of the hot and sexy vampire men in the movies and on TV.  I thought that I would knit these up while reading the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead Reckoning, and comic book series, The French Quarter,  to pass the time while I wait for the next season of Trueblood to come out. I've already got my skeins of red Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet laid out and I'm ready to cast-on.

Aidez by Cirilia Rose. This is a beautiful, fitted, feminine cabled cardigan published in Beroco.com that I simply must have this winter. I got several skeins of Cascade Yarns Eco in an oatmeal color over the weekend to make this cardigan and have a feeling that it will become a winter wardrobe staple if I can ever get it finished. 

Cobblestone Pullover by Jared Flood. During last year's Yarn Shop Hop I walked away with a bag full of Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran yarn in brown tweed, but I had no idea what to do with it. Well, lately I've been seeing some pretty awesome sweaters knitted out of this yarn on Ravelry and have decided to use my yarn to knit up one of these sweaters.
Bottom Row L to R:

Cha Cha Ruffle Scarf by Trendsetter Yarns. During last year's Yarn Shop Hop, my mother's friend was raving about how much she loves knitting with Trendsetter's Cha Cha Yarn and about what beautiful scarves it makes. So, when I decided that I wanted to knit my former German exchange student a birthday present this year, I decided to make her a scarf with this yarn. I selected a variegated blue, lavender, and brown  yarn and whipped up this scarf in about 5 days. Unfortunately, I boxed it and mailed it off before remembering to take a photo of the finished piece. I also have a skein of this stuff in red, so I may make another ruffle scarf in the future.

That Girl! Summer Jacket by Nikol Lohr. I originally cast on this jacket in September 2010 after I saw a picture of this jacket on the Craft Magazine website, but then I set it aside for awhile, picked it up again, ran out of yarn, couldn't find the right dye lot of yarn to match my existing yarn....blah blah blah. I recently picked up this piece again after finishing season 9 of Project Runway and said "to heck with the dye lot" because I can always re-dye the finished jacket so that it will all match (hey, if Anya can do it, I can too). I finished knitting this jacket last Saturday and just need to weave in the ends, re-dye it and add the buttons before I can show it off.

Marc Jacobs inspired Ruffle Scarf by Alice Schnebly. This scarf is obviously inspired by fashion designer Marc Jacob's runway scarf from his Spring 2006 collection and falls under the category that "one can never have too many ruffles". I picked up some camel colored Cascade 220 wool last year during the Yarn Shop Hop, but never got around to knitting this up. Maybe this is the year.

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Something Wicked This Way Comes

Monday, November 14, 2011
Last Monday, Wicked author Gregory Maguire was in town with his book tour to promote his latest release and final chapter in the Wicked book series, Out of Oz. The signing was held inside a renovated church-turned-theater which had a lot of interesting art work.


Left: Promotional Oz Artwork    Right: Theater Artwork
The podium before Gregory took the stage...


And here's Gregory

Gregory read a passage from each of the 4 Wicked books, plus a passage from Confessions of a Wicked Step-sister (note to self, must read!). He was a very animated and engaging speaker and confessed that he drew a lot of his speaking skills from his background as a school teacher and church music director. Gregory shared that he had decided to write about the Wicked Witch of the West because he wanted to "write what he knew", although originally he thought the Wicked Witch would be more of a Hannibal Lector type of character. He also shared that he was not upset about the changes to the storyline made in Wicked the musical and that originally Wicked almost became a film starring Demi Moore.


Here I am with Gregory Macguire after he signed all of my books!

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening despite the rain and earthquake aftershocks. If you're a fan of Gregory Macguire and/or the Wicked series, check out Gregory Macguire's website and see if he is coming to a town near you.


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What I'm listening to: Gotye- Sombody that I Used To Know

Saturday, November 12, 2011



A few days ago I was surfing on HelloGiggles.com when I saw an article titled "How Can You Not Be Obsessed?". I saw the article's title as a challenge and thought to myself "Psh! I bet I can give that song a listen and not be obsessed. I've never heard of Gotye!". So, I watched the music video on YouTube and low and behold, I'm obsessed ( literally listened to it 5 times back-to-back). I mean, what's not to love. It has brief male nudity, some cubist inspired abstract art, and the song is good too. So now I challenge you to listen to this song and NOT become obsessed.
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Previously on Project Runway: Season 9, Episode 15

Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Aka. Tim Gunn's Behind the Seams of Season 9

This week, Tim Gunn had his very own special in which he showed us his favorite moments, some behind the scenes footage, gave out his own awards to contestants and discussed his pet peeves of the season. Let's take a look at the awards:

Most Likely to Be the Last Person to Run Out of the Workroom: Kimberly

Most Cheated Out of a Win: Anthony Ryan and the bird seed dress

Most Likely Designer to Ask the Most Questions About a Challenge: Burt

Make It Work Award: Anya

Best Decoy Collection: Laura

Excellence in Time Management: Viktor


Not Even Having the Remotest Concept of Time Management: Olivier


Most Beloved Mentor: Tim Gunn

And the big question of the series- what peeves off Tim Gunn? Glue guns and sewing models into the garments.

 It was pointed out, that Olivier seemed to have gotten dogged on twice- once when Tim Gunn awarded Anthony Ryan for the Most Cheated out of a Win Award for the pet shop challenge which Olivier won, and second when Olivier was awarded for his lack of time management. I just wanted to give a special shout out to Olivier who could have also won an award for Best Accent On a Male Designer, Best Hair on a Male Designer, or Best Use of a Neutral Color Pallet. Also, I was a little disappointed that Joshua was not around for the final interviews, although he was in the "Thank you, Tim" video. I also noticed that Bryce was not in this episode even though he made a final decoy collection. I would have liked to have seen more of the Decoy collections in the episode as well. 

Did you watch Tim Gunn Behind the Seams? Did you agree with Tim's awards? Was there a designer that you wish would have made a final appearance? Is there a designer that you think should have designed a collection for fashion week, but didn't. Let me know in the comments below. 

For more Project Runway photos visit: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway/season-9/photos
To watch full-episodes visit: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway/video/season-9/episode-13/episode-13-finale-part-1
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What I Wore: 10/26/11

Monday, November 7, 2011
 Coat: Banana Republic thrifted in St.Louis
Grey long sleeve tee: Target
Camel Wool Skirt: Wild Man Vintage
Grey Tights: Target
Sparkly Leopard Flats: Christmas present

The Fab Finds Under $50 outfit inspiration calender called for grey and camel on October 26 so I used it as an opportunity to try out my vintage camel wool skirt and my brand new (to me) grey coat. I got several complement's on this outfit, and one co-worker commented that they had no idea I could dress like that. Maybe I should wear skirts more often.
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One More Halloween Post

Sunday, November 6, 2011
Hi all! I know that Halloween has come and gone, but I wanted to share one last photo from the holiday.

Hat: Target
T-shirt: Hanes from target
sweater: Jcrew thrifted
nail polish: Sally Hanson in purple and OPI Nicole silver shatter

I also wanted to let you all know that around 10:56pm Saturday night, I felt the tremors of an earthquake right here in the center of the continental U.S. The Boy and I were in the middle of the final action scene of Puss in Boots at our local movie theater when my seat began to shake. I immediately thought that the Boy must be shaking his leg and thus causing my seat to shake, however when I looked at him I saw that his feet were still. The thought crossed my mind that maybe our local theater had developed technology to move my seat and make the movie more interactive- but then I remembered that there had been an earthquake in Oklahoma earlier that day and realized what I was feeling. Craziness! 
Now around here we are used to getting the occasional strong storm and tornado warning and are taught to go to the lowest level of your home to take shelter. However, if you are in an earthquake it's best if you are outside, but if you are outdoors, protect yourself by crawling under a heavy piece of furniture or standing in a doorway. You'll thank me later.

Did you experience any excitement over the weekend?  Let me know in the comments below. 


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What I'm Listening To: Maroon 5- Moves Like Jagger

Saturday, November 5, 2011


Hey everyone! Is there anyone who can't appreciate the Rolling Stones and the sweet moves of Mr. Mick Jagger? I don't think so. So, this weekend I feel like shaking my booty to Maroon5's "Moves Like Jagger".
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Previously On Project Runway: Season 9, Episode 14

Tuesday, November 1, 2011
AKA. It's Over!

This week, was the season finale of Project Runway Season 9. The designers had just completed their mini-collection judging (as seen in the previous episode) and had learned that they all needed to make changes to their collections, but all 4 designers (Kimberly, Viktor, Joshua, and Anya) would be presenting at Lincoln Center during fashion week. Tim Gunn informed the designers that the designers would get $500 and a final trip to Mood to buy supplies to revise their collections. Kimberly used the opportunity to purchase black fabric and accessories for a new skirt, Viktor purchased more sheer black fabric and accessories to add polish to his collection, Joshua went gaga for some neon green fabric, and Anya purchased several black and white print fabrics to create 3 entirely new dresses in the final 2 days. Let's take a look at the results:

Kimberly


Kimberly's attempt to add an additional "bubble butt skirt" was unsuccessful (and thank goodness for that), and ultimately the only changes that Kimberly made to her runway show were to her styling. The judges appreciated that Kimberly had listened to the judges suggestions to ditch the blue wedges and freshen up the styling, and that she held on to her vision and clear point of view, however the judges decided that Kimberly was NOT the winner of Project Runway Season 9.


Viktor


Viktor used his time to create some additional sheer black leopard print pieces and edit down his collection. When I first saw Vikor's collection I thought he was the clear winner, despite the fact that I would never really wear any of the sheer, T and A exposing outfits. But, the judges reported that they felt like Viktor presented 2 collections in one- a classy and sophisticated collection featuring his own print with landscapes from Mexico that all of the judges loved, and a cheap and sexy collection with lots of boobs and booty exposure that the judges were not too fond of. In the end the judges decided that there were too many highs and lows so Viktor was NOT the winner of Project Runway Season 9.

Joshua

As I previously stated, Joshua went hog wild for some neon green fabric and used his time to create neon green shorts, a neon green skirt, a neon green jacket...(practically) neon green everything! After crying on his sewing machine about how badly he wants to succeed at the final challenge and win Project Runway because he doesn't have a job to go back to, Joshua was able to revise his jumper/dress look as the judges advised. On the judging panel, the judges all stated that they were clearly impressed by Joshua's collection, they felt that he had undergone a great transformation, and there were several pieces in his collection that the judges loved. Nina Garcia even reported that Joshua had a wealth of ideas! The judges clearly saw Josh's collection as a serious contender for the win, however the judges ultimately decided that Joshua was NOT the winner of Season 9.

Anya

Anya used her final 2 days to weed out the 2 mini-collection looks that they judges were not thrilled about and replaced them with 3 all new flowy, black and white printed dresses with V necks with plunging necklines. Before sending her collection down the Runway, Anya appeared to be saying her good-bye's to Tim Gunn, telling him that she had enjoyed the experience and had truly undergone a transformation as a designer, but she is still struggling to figure out who she is as a designer at the same time. But, it was not to be Anya's farewell as the judges decided that Anya was the clear winner of Project Runway with her eye for prints and flair for light and breezy clothing, and ability to quickly sew garments and think on her feet. Anya was also awarded with the Project Runway Fan Favorite win.

I bet Joshua is having an aneurysm!

Did you catch the Project Runway season finale. Do you think the right person won? Were you cheering for another Project Runway designer? Let me know in the comments below.
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