I've Been Featured!

Earlier this week I got a nice little e-mail from Beckie of Knock Off Decor informing me that my DIY West Elm/ Franz Kline Knock Off post has been featured on her blog. Visit her blog for details or click here to jump to the post. Thanks Beckie!

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That Girl! Anytime I Want Jacket

Here's a project that took me nearly 3 years to complete. I started the That Girl! Summer Jacket! by Nikol Lohr back in 2010 after falling in love with the pattern on  Craft Magazine (online). Back in 2010 I was more concerned with learning new techniques and was less selective of my yarns and choosing the right amount and I decided to knit it up with a big cone of Lily n'Cream Solids and Denims in red. Little did I know that one cone would not be enough and not all red cotton yarns are the same. I had knit most of the jacket with my one cone of yarn, but I ran out halfway through the second sleeve and thought I'd just pick up another cone at Wal-mart, but Wal-mart had stopped carrying the cones. So I ended up buying a smaller skein of Lily n'Cream in red, but the color didn't quite match up and this project was set aside. A year later I picked up the project again and finished the sleeve with the mis-matched yarn but I still wasn't happy and set it aside again. Then I started seeing some online tutorials on how to dye fabric, so I tried dying the whole thing red to try to get a better color match. The color difference between the two skeins is not perfect, but it's less noticeable and wearable. I finally finished this jacket up (weaved in the tails and sewed on the buttons) in July 2013.

If I knit this again I would choose a better quality of yarn and would make sure to get the right amount. I might try to knit up one of the other variations of this pattern in blue sometime.  

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What I'm Listening To: CeeLo Green Feat. The Muppets- All I Need is Love

When I was a kid I remember my parents changing the radio station to the 24/7 Christmas Music station after Thanksgiving and popping in their Christmas music cassette tapes and CDs any chance they could. This year I decided that I needed some modern Christmas music to get in the holiday spirit and keep the tradition alive, so I picked up CeeLo Green's Christmas album, Magic Moment, and I've been jamming out to it all month long. CeeLo's single with the Muppets, "All I Need is Love," is definitely my favorite!

What Chrsitmas album are you rocking out to this year?

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What's Making Me Laugh: Benedict Cumberbatch reads R. Kelly's "Genius"

I'm planning to catch The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug over my holiday break and the number one reason I'm watching it is because of the reunification of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (both are also in BBC's Sherlock TV series). So, in honor of that I'm sharing this hilarious clip of Benedict Cumberbatch reading R. Kelly's lyrics to the song "Genius". I'm not sure what the song actually has to do with the word genius or geniuses in general. Enjoy!

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What I'm Listening To: Gogol Bordello and Man Man

I recently travelled to the University of East Anglia (UEA) to catch a concert by Gogol Bordello and Man Man. This was my husbands first time seeing the bands and my third time seeing Gogol Bordello and second time seeing Man Man- both are excellent live and this concert was no exception! I liked that the venue wasn't huge, so my husband and I were able to stand right next to the stage during Man Man's performance and for the first half of Gogol Bordello until the mosh pit got to be too much for us (what can I say, I'm getting old!). 

In honor of the concert, I'm sharing a Gogol Bordello son and a Man Man song with you. Enjoy!

Gogol Bordello- "Immigraniada (We Comin' Rougher)"

Man Man- "Head On (Hold on to Your Heart)"

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Previously on Project Runway All Stars: Season 3, Episode 7

Previously on Project Runway, the designers hopped onto helicopters and were flown to the QVC headquarters in Westchester, PA where QVC program host, Lisa Roberson, introduced their next challenge. Lisa asked the designers to create a red-carpet look for Lisa to wear at QVC's pre-Oscar event. The winning look had to look good on video, in still camera shots and Lisa would need to be able to sit and stand comfortably for long periods of time while conducting interviews. In addition, QVC would replicate the winning look to be sold on QVC.

As an added twist, this week Viktor revealed to the designers and judges that he has been HIV positive for several years.

The guest judges were Mondo Guerra and Mad Men's Elizabeth Moss. Let's take a look at the designs:

Top

Initially Seth Aaron had planned on making a floor length gown by adding a fish-tail to his dress. Thankfully Zana talked him out of it! On the runway, the judges nit-picked Seth Aaron's hem line and booty, but Elizabeth liked the shiny fabric. Seth Aaron was safe this week.

Seth Aaron

Am I the only one who groaned when Christopher said he wanted to use his over-used feathering technique to make another gown!? Elizabeth and Lisa enjoyed Christopher's use of technique with the leather (which you could barely see next to the navy fabric), but Mondo called the skirt "tortured". In my opinion, Christopher and Elena's places should have been switched this week, but in the end Christopher was safe.

Christopher

Korto created a comfortable-looking gown with an orange skirt and POCKETS! Even though Alyssa wasn't a fan of the beige colored top, Korto's dress definitely appeared to be the easiest to reproduce and Korto was the winner this week.

Korto

Bottom

Viktor should have given more thought to his fabric choice this week. Although his silhouette was decent, Zanna pointed out that you never see green gowns on magazine covers because they don't sell and his shiny material showed every flaw in the photographs. Viktor's silhouette and tailoring kept him safe this week.

Viktor

Elena decided to work with fabrics other than neoprene this week, using brocades to create a reptilian scale effect. I thought Elena deserved an A for effort, and although the judges didn't really have anything negative to say about Elena's dress, she still ended up in the bottom. Thankfully, she was safe.

Elena

Irina's dress seemed more suited for a wedding rather than the red carpet. Although her gown photographed well and she put a lot of work it (multiple panels, boning, applique), the model could barely walk down the runway and the dress ended up getting torn as the model tried to climb the stairs. Irina was out this week.

Irina

There's only one season winner left! What did you think of this challenge? Did you agree with the judges decisions? Let me know in the comments below.

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Previously on Project Runway All Stars: Season 3, Episode 6

A.K.A. Simpsonized

Previously on Project Runway, Marge Simpson informed the designers that they would be designing a cocktail dress that Marge could wear on a special dinner date for Homer. The only rule was that the designers could not use the color green. The looks were judged by guest judges Abigail Breslin and alice + olivia founder and designer Stacey Bendet and the winning look was to be illustrated and worn by Marge Simpson in a future episode. Lets take a look at the designs: 

Safe

While Viktor created a very edgy, Viktor-y dress, it was hard to imagine Marge Simpson wearing his look out to dinner with Homer. His look was rightfully safe this week.

Viktor

Top

Korto knew how to dress a mom on a night out with her husband because she is a mom herself. The judges liked her black sequins cocktail dress with sheer back panels and I thought it would surely score the win. But the judges didn't think this dress was exciting enough and Korto was just safe.

Korto

The judges really love Elena this season and this was no exception. The judges loved the construction of the jacket and they loved the gown, but they didn't necessarily love them together (I thought it looked like everything else that Elena has done this season and in the past). Surprisingly, Elena was just safe this week.

Elena

In the workroom, Jeffrey called Irina's dress a "giant purple nighty", but it did move beautify on the runway. On the runway, Stacy thought Irina's dress was the most creative and Alyssa complimented the color. Although this wasn't my favorite look, Irina scored her first win of the season.

Irina

Bottom

I wanted to applaud Christopher for being the only designer who chose to put Marge Simpson in a print. While I liked his fabric choice, the designers were underwhelmed by the simple, strapless silhouette and he ended up on the bottom. But, in the end Christopher was safe.

Christopher

Seth Aaron ended up draping five potential dresses in the workroom, but none of them were great. Zanna even had a talk with him in the workroom to discourage him from using a polka-dot fabric and remind him that he was designing a dress for a middle-ages woman with blue hair and yellow skin, but Seth Aaron continued to struggle and he ran out of time and threw down a drapey dress to make it work. The judges could tell that he hadn't put a lot of time into this look and knew that he could do better. Seth Aaron was safe this week.

Seth Aaron

Jeffrey's dress was just not on the same level as the other designers this week. The shimmery purple fabric looked cheap and although Stacy thought the wide-lapeled gown looked very "Boardwalk Empire," it was not very "Marge Simpson". After spending several weeks on the bottom, Jeffrey was finally out.

Jeffrey

Did you catch this week's Project Runway All Stars? What did you think of the Marge Simpson Challenge? Did you agree with the judges decisions? Let me know in the comments below.

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What I'm Listening To: London Grammar- Strong

When you think of 2013 you might think of it as the year of Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball, Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, or Kanye's Bound 2, but in the UK it's all about London Grammar. This Nottingham University threesome has been topping the charts all over the UK, so if you haven't heard of them, check them out.

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Previously on Project Runway All Stars: Season 3, Episode 5

A.K.A. Just Like Bonnie and Clyde

Previously on Project Runway All Stars the designers were introduced to Holliday Grainger, star of the upcoming two-part, four-hour Bonnie & Clyde mini-series to air on Lifetime, A&E and The History Channel on December 8 and  9. To correspond with the series, the designers were asked to pair off into teams of two and create a male and female look inspired by the 1930's aesthetic.

The teams were:

Christopher & Viktor

Elena & Korto

Irina & Mychael

Seth Aaron & Jeffrey

On the judging panel we had Austin Scarlett substituting for Georgina Chapman, and Elie Tahari and Bar Rafaeli as guest judges. I was surprised to see that the judges judged the pieces individually rather than as a team. Let's take a look at the designs: 

Safe

Elena and Korto tried to give their Bonnie & Clyde outfits a modern harder edge with leather and lots of black. I could have imagined this couple riding away from a crime scene on Harley's rather than 1930's cars. Both looks were very wearable here and now and I was glad they were safe. 

Elena

Korto

Top

Irina's outfit had the judges split. Austin thought that Irina's look capture the spirit of the 1930s the most, while Isaac thought the proportions were all wrong. Some of the judges thought the jacket was too much for the look, but Elie Tahari defended it. I think that I would have liked Irina's look more if it were just the bustier and that fabulous skirt, but in the end Irina was safe.

Irina

Christopher created a gorgeous red burgundy gown with a tan leather harness belt that to me screamed classic Bonnie and the judges agreed. But, Alyssa expressed some concern that the horizontal lines created in the skirt might make a shorter woman look even shorter. Christopher was just safe.

Christopher

Jeffrey struggled in the workroom when he discovered that his male model had given measurements that were over a year old and the model had packed on some arm muscles since then. After having a breakdown and then apologizing to the model for yelling, Jeffrey was able to get on track and loosen of the seams. Christopher called the look a James Bond villain look which was totally spot on. The judges love this look- particularly his wide legged peg pants and Jeffrey gets the win.

Jeffrey

Bottom

Alyssa totally loved Seth Aaron's look (in fact she said she loved it so much she could kiss him), but the other judges thought the silhouette looked too old. Bar Rafaeli thought that it wasn't feminine or dangerous enough and just didn't look like Bonnie. I thought the outfit had a steam-punk feel to it and could be worn by a naughty librarian turned dominatrix or something. Luckily Seth Aaron was safe.

Seth Aaron

Viktor's outfit just screams Viktor. He created a one button suit with a bow tie and fringe on the back. I wasn't a fan of the wide jacket opening and Alyssa and Austin both felt that the fringe was just too much. Viktor barely scraped by this week.

Viktor

The judges were not happy about Mychael's outfit. The judges were not fan's of his gold and black color pallet or the high waisted man pants and didn't feel like it met the description. I myself was a little unsure about the moto-jacket and bow tie combination. I'm sad to say that Mychael was out.

Mychael

What did you think of this week's "team challenge". Did you agree with the judges decisions? Let me know in the comments below.

Images borrowed from mylifetime.com Rate the Runway

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My Life on Instagram: Thanksgiving

This year was the first year that my husband and I celebrated Thanksgiving Day without our extended family since we're in England and they're still in the States. We decided to keep it pretty minimal so we wouldn't have a bunch of left-overs so we got a Holiday sandwich (bacon, turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce) from a local sandwich shop and I made green bean casserole (the recipe was on the Campbell's Mushroom Soup label) to eat for lunch and dinner. No Thanksgiving would be complete without pumpkin pie and we also had some pre-made pumpkin pie cheesecake for desert. 

Thanksgiving feast

My homemade green bean casserole 

My husband (and it seems everyone we know) was feeling a bit under-the-weather on Thanksgiving with a really nasty cold, so for entertainment I busted out some Thanksgiving and food related movies. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is a MUST WATCH on Thanksgiving as well as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. We also watched the movie, House of Yes.

Earlier in the week I experimented by making beer bread using some German weiss beer that my husband had in the fridge. It was a big hit and my husband and I consumed it in less than 2 days. 

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving (and/or Happy Hanukkah, Happy Birthday or regular old Thursday)!

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What's Making Me Laugh: Jimmy Fallon, Rashida Jones and Carrie Underwood sing Thanksgiving songs

This week there were a whole lot of funny Thanksgiving clips on TV, so I thought I would share two of my favorites. The clip above has Jimmy Fallon, Rashida Jones and Carrie Underwood re-mixing some popular songs into a Thanksgiving medley and the clip below celebrates the first Thanksgiving and Hanukkah combined in a ridiculous play by elementary school students on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Enjoy!

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What I'm Listening To: The National x Bob's Burgers- Sailors in Your Mouth

How appropriate that one of my favorite bands, The National, released a Thanksgiving themed song just in time for the holiday. If you're still trying to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, check out the video above.

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Previously on Project Runway All Stars: Season 3, Episode 4

A.k.a. Back to School

Previously on Project Runway All Stars the designers got to go on a field trip via school bus to P.S. 212 in midtown Manhattan where the designers were informed that they would be creating an unconventional challenge. Since this All Stars season followed a season full of unconventional challenges, I thought the designers would act like old pros, but they were shaking in their boots. The designers had to use materials from an art classroom to create their looks. After the runway, all of the designs would be auctioned off to raise money for P.S. 212. Let's take a look at the designs.

Safe

This week we had only 2 safe designers, Irina and Seth Aaron. I really enjoyed Irina's girly, kitchy take on the unconventional challenge with a paper flower skirt. I thought it embodied the fun and happiness of an art classroom that both kids and adults could enjoy. Seth Aaron's outfit was a little more 'out there,' but his remix of the rubber ball as a hat was genius!  

Irina

Seth Aaron

Top

Elena was really freaked out by this challenge because she got kicked out on an unconventional challenge during her season, but she managed to land on top this time. Elena stuck to her aesthetic (which is starting to bore me...much like on her previous season) with a color-blocked, geometric-y sheath dress. Although the judges can't deny how well made it is, Elena is just safe this week.

Elena

Initially Viktor entered the workroom without a plan of action, but after chatting with Elena, Elena showed Viktor a technique for cutting plastic rulers to make fringe that she was considering using but Viktor swiped the idea and created a look the judges loved. Guest judge, Gabourey Sidibe, commented that she liked to judge outfits by considering if she could imagine Beyonce' wearing them and this was a Beyonce' dress. Viktor was safe this week.

Viktor

Christopher commented that the bus ride and visit to the school reminded Christopher of his early childhood struggles of being teased at school for being gay, so he aimed to create a dress with an anti-bullying message. When Christopher tried to explain the story behind his dress, Isaac scoffed and said "who hasn't been bullied," but the judges like his look anyway and awarded Christopher the win.

Christopher

Bottom

Mychael created a dress made from construction paper and jump rope that looked like it was created from construction paper and jump rope. Mychael had originally planned to do something with melted crayon that didn't workout, so it was mostly a 'make it work' dress. Although the dress was clearly nearly falling apart, the judges liked the way Mychael contoured the jump rope bustier to the model. Mychael was safe.

Mychael

Korto set out to create an outfit inspired by her own daughter, but it appeared that time got away from her. Korto's look used rubber bands, bean bags and rulers and while the top half of her dress looked pretty good, the bottom was a complete flop. Isaac called out the proportions for being off and Georgina recognized that even Korto knew this look was bad.

Korto

Jeffrey used floor mats, folders and jump ropes to create a look which he called 'Japanese anime' girl in mid-twirl". The judges didn't really see the reference and the judges (and I) were put off by the fact that they had to blur her naughty bits (front and back) from being on camera. After spending this season on the bottom and this mistake, I truly thought that Jeffery was gong to be out.

Jeffrey

The judges deliberated and it appeared that they made a decision, but in the end Alyssa told the bottom 3 that their looks were equally bad and there would be no elimination, but the bottom 3 need to step up their game (to which I yelled at my TV screen in response). How in the heck did Jeffrey not get sent home!?

Did you catch this week's episode? Did you agree with the judges? Let me know in the comments below. 

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What's Making Me Laugh: Pumpkin Spice the Horror Movie

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, pumpkin flavoured beer, pumpkin flavoured pies, pumpkin flavoured cakes...pretty much anything pumpkin flavoured during the Fall season. So when I stumbled across this movie trailer spoof for Pumpkin Spice: The Movie I instantly loved it too. Enjoy!

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Previously on Project Runway All Stars: Season 3, Episode 3

A.KA. Drinking and Designing

Previously on Project Runway All Stars the designers got to relax at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club. But soon Alyssa Milano interrupted their lounging to announce that the designers would be designing cocktail dresses inspired by cocktails served at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club. And to make the challenge more interesting, they would have to create their looks on a $100 budget. As an added twist, the designers also had to create (or embellish) an accessory using materials they'd already purchased from Mood and the QVC wall. Let's take a look at their designs.

Safe

Seth Aaron created a dress that reminded me of the comic book villain, Harley Quinn, and it still managed to hang on to Seth's rock n' roll vibe. It's a little short for my tastes personalty and I'm not sure if leg warmers are going to make a come back.

Seth Aaron

I wasn't a fan of Mychael's look this week. I thought the ruffles at the hips added volume at the wrong place, it was too short and the collar is neither v-shaped nor u-shaped. Somehow the judges let this one slip by.

Mychael

I was really surprised that I didn't notice Irina's dress on the show, but upon re-examination I noticed that I really disliked her look as well. I'm so over the peplum skirt and I thought her fabric choices looked cheap in pictures. 

Irina

Top

Elena created a white dress with intricate cut outs. She's defiantly shown a clear aesthetic. The judges felt that her dress looked expensive. However, guest judge, Nate Burkus, pointed out similarities between Elena's work and work by Balenciaga and Narciso Rodriguez, but Elena countered by stating that she's an avant-gard artist. Elena was safe.

Elena

Christopher created a 1920's flapper inspired dress with some curtain fabric and rhinestone accents. The judges thought that this dress looked expensive, however Isaac didn't really love the rhinestones. Christopher was kept safe, but Alyssa announced that she wanted to wear his look to an upcoming event.

Christopher

Viktor used a fabric with a chapel printed on it to make an intricately cut out dress. When I saw it in the workroom, I wondered if the judges might comment that the dress looked like it might be smooshing the model's boobs or if they might find that the dress is too risqué for public, but the only negative criticism was that the judges felt the bottom slit nearly exposed the model's panties. In the end, the judges decided that this piece was the clear winner and Alyssa will also wear this look at an up-coming event.

Viktor

Bottom

Korto used a green printed fabric for her look which Jeffrey likened to Isaac Mizrahi's 2011 resort collection. On the runway the judges reaction was mixed- some liked the dress with the belt and some didn't. Korto made it out safe.

Korto

Jeffrey's dress was inspired by women's dresses from Vietnam. The judges weren't really feeling the look though as they didn't like the collar and found the look to be unflattering. Jeffrey squeaked by safely by the skin of his teeth.

Jeffrey

Like Elena, Melissa also fell into her old designing habits by creating a color-blocked, suede dress with an asymmetrical collar and hem. While I didn't think that her dress was the worst to come down the runway, I'll admit that the dress seemed rather tight and the suede is a bit impractical for dancing at a club. I'm not sure if Melissa deserved it, but Melissa was out this week.

Melissa

Did you catch this week's episode of Project Runway All Stars? Did you agree with the judges decisions? Let me know in the comments below.

Images borrowed from My Lifetime's Rate the Runway.

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Previously on Project Runway All Stars: Season 3, Episode 2

AKA Creepy Crawly Chic

Previously on Project Runway All Stars the designers went on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History where the designers were asked to create an avant-gard look inspired by insects. After doing some sketching and taking their trips to Mood, the designers were relieved to be able to work in an actual workspace rather than the Mood basement.

During the workroom critiques, Melissa had a mini-break down and tears start flowing from both Melissa and Elena. Both Melissa and Mychael ended up changing their outfits completely.

The guest judges this week are previous Project Runway winner Anya Ayoung-Chee and jewellery designer, Jennifer Meyer. Let's take a look at the designs.

Safe

Viktor played it safe this week by taking inspiration from his insects colors and creating a gown with a cape. I'm not sure if this is really avant-gard.

Viktor

Seth Aaron's dress looked like a futuristic armour dress- that's almost borderline costume.

Seth Aaron

Korto's outfit reminded me of a modern take on a 'Sexy Edward Scissorhands' costume. There were some elements I liked- like the pants.

Korto

Christopher's look had the shape of an insect, but he didn't need to add spikes to his model's arms.

Christopher

Top 

Irina was inspired by a yellow and black millipede and was smart to omit the yellow color. Her look was one of the few that played with volume and the texture of her dress emulated the bugs legs. Irina was safe this week.

Irina

Since Elena won the challenge last week, she got first pick of her insect inspiration this week and she chose a grasshopper. The coloring of her outfit is a really literal interpretation of her insect, but it also has a warrior woman edge to it that makes this outfit look like an 'Elena' outfit although I'm not sure how avant-gard it was. Elena was safe.

Elena

It was a good thing that Mychael scrapped his first worm inspired outfit, because the judges loved his neoprene cocoon dress and thought that it was avant-gard, expensive looking and chic. Mychael was the deserved winner this week. 

Mychael

Bottom

Jeffery's look was inspired by the scorpion, but in the workroom Mychael compared it to the leg lamp from A Christmas Story. On the runway Anya said it looked like it could be worn by Lady Gaga's backup dancers and Isaac called the look un-wearable, but Jeffery was quick to defend his outfit and point out that this was an avant-gard challenge.

Although I didn't understand the outfit myself, I was glad Jeffery was kept safe.

Jeffrey

Melissa's look was inspired by a spider and while the judges concluded that they liked Melissa's dress, they all agreed that it wasn't avant-gard enough. I felt like Melissa could have done so much more with her inspiration- like incorporate more with the spider's coloring. In the end, Melissa was safe.

Melissa

Daniel wanted to create a look that could look like a suit of armour but docile like his insect. However the judges weren't impressed by his overall use of brown, Isaac didn't like the neck cowl and Anya thought his mix of plastic fabric and lame' cheapened his look. I was both sad and surprised to see that Daniel was out.

Daniel

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