Make it work!

Season 4 of Project Runway is underway and I have finally gotten around to watching the premiere. We've got 15 new designers ready to roll, and while I usually try to introduce the designers one by one up front (like I do with the Amazing Race teams), I'm just not going to bother this time because... well, I'm too lazy to. So we will meet them as the season goes along, okay?

The new designers are summoned to home of Fashion Week - Bryant Park, where they are greeted by champagne and a very empty park in the middle of the day - as if that EVER happens. Tim and Heidi show up, looking fabulous as usual and making everyone swoon just a bit. With no time to waste, the designers are presented with challenge #1: Grab fabric from three tents set up across the park, lots of it, and then make an outfit that expresses "who you are as a designer." They all ransack the tents, and I feel terribly bad for the big fat guy Chris who can't really run and is the last one to reach the tents, but he turns out to get what he needs and wants out of the fabric choices, so it's all good.

Back to Parsons they go and they've got 13 hours to make it work! Seems like a lot of time (relatively speaking), but next thing you know there's only 4 hours left and here comes Tim to check out the progress. He's not really amused with Simone's progress, and that turns out to be a bad omen of things to come. Rami's making a lovely gray dress with lots of draping and Ricky's making a super cute sparkly babydoll dress. Elisa decides she's done with her dress even though there are still four hours left, and this is a problem because a) her dress has unfinished edges, b) its "pooping fabric" on the backside and c) she makes everyone hate her because she decides to take a nap while everyone else is hard at work. I'd also like to point out that we first met Eliza at Bryant Park grinding her silk chiffon into the ground to cover it with grass stains. Lovely. She isn't using using her grass stained chiffon as far as I can tell though, but I can't really quite figure out if that is a good thing or a bad thing, given the state of her dress.

At 1AM the designers head back to Gotham City for a rest, and the next morning they go back to Parsons to put in their finishing touches, meet and fit their models, get the models' hair and makeup done and make use of the glorious Bluefly Accessories Wall! I loooove the Bluefly accessories wall and this officially becomes my favorite show entity.

It's runway time, Heidi looks awesome as usual and we get to see the designers' first set of creations. Nina and Michael are seated and ready to judge, joined by designer Monique Lhuillier, whose work I don't know very well, BUT who I know makes lovely wedding gowns.

There are some of the usual disasters, and some outfits that are lovely. Actually, I was quite pleasantly surprised at just how lovely many of the outfits came out - pretty impressive for the first week. The winning outfit:

Made by Rami, and most definitely one of my favorites this week.

One day you're in, the next you're out:

Bye bye Simone. You didn't really stick around long enough for me to decide if I actually cared you were leaving. I was surprised Elisa the puppet maker didn't go home, given that her creation was quite awful, but I guess she got the creativity points.

All things considered, we're off to a good start for season four, and I can't wait to see more of the Bluefly Accessories Wall!

shoes

This made me laugh and laugh and laugh. It looks so sweet and innocent at first glance, doesn't it? And is just especially funny to me considering my recent shoe investment (see below post). It's a pin being sold by a Paris-based website called Locher's and there is all kinds of cute and funny stuff on the site. Seriously, if you get a chance, browse the site. It's quite entertaining.

Project Runway 4 starts tonight! Hope those DVRs are set! Bluefly.com is in cohorts with the show this year - every week the winning design will be available for sale on Bluefly the next day. Imagine that!

the devil wears prada

Aren't they lovely? Biggest fashion investment I've ever made in my life!

the grass is greener

...in Ireland! Seriously, the grass is a ridiculous shade of bright lush green in Shannon, Ireland where the teams in the Amazing Race had their first pit stop. I can't quite get over it. But in any case, it's night time by the time the second leg starts this week and the teams are off to an airport to find a flight to Amsterdam for this next leg, so bye-bye to bright green grass.

Teams battle over two different flights to Amsterdam, and once there, it's gray and gloomy. Teams are greeted with a detour of either scouring through huge decks of bike racks for ones with matching stickers or completing a very bugs bunny-like lifting task to get furniture from the sidewalk to an upper floor of an Amsterdam home. After this craziness, teams are led to... ditch vaulting! Oh yes, pole vaulting over a muddy, dirty, soggy ditch. If you fall in, you're slimed. And so this is the roadblock that makes this episode oh so interesting. The first team to attempt it flies over it with ease... and then it's all over after that. Most tries result in mud covered contestants and I think this show reaches a new height when the grandpa gets covered in mud and decides to strip himself down to his underwear (in the form of what appears to be tighty whities but they're black and spandexy - gross). So here we have 68 year old grandpa Donald and his pale jiggly body, clothed in way too tight underpants and covered in mud, vaulting over the ditch. What a sight.

In any event, Asian dad Ronald (clad in a "Who's Your Daddy?" windbreaker) turns out to be somewhat of a nutcase and acts all crazy this episode, which makes me and all the other teams feel very sorry for poor Christina. He's going to need to settle down a bit if they're going to have any chance of climbing out of last place, where they currently reside.

And in the end, Lorena & Jason get to the pit stop first to win the leg of the race along with a pair of sports bikes that Lorena acts way more excited about than I bet she actually is. Minister couple Kate & Pat can't quite get their act together for any part of this episode and alas, come in last place and are eliminated.

Next week: Camels!!

chilly

I have yet to leave my apartment today. I had such grand plans for the day: watch some football, run all my errands, visit my parents, go out to dinner. Instead, it's creeping up on 5pm and I have yet to venture outside. All I've accomplished is watching Wisconsin beat Michigan (yay), sneaking in a little nap, watching more football, eating a bunch of tater tots and... that's about it. There's a chill in the air outside and I'm thinking I might just be more comfortable holing up in my cozy apartment for the remainder of the day watching more football and catching up on some tv. Yes, I am lazy when it is cold outside!

vegas!

I am currently watching a show on Discovery HD called Build It Bigger. In this particular episode, it shows the construction of the new upscale hotel and casino the Palazzo, a 53-story extension my very favorite venue in Vegas, The Venetian. The Palazzo boasts to be the biggest, tallest, newest and most glam hotel in Vegas. Can't say that I can argue with them, and watching it get constructed is super cool! I must see it in person! I'm feeling the need for a Vegas fix soon...

Oh and by the way, new season of Project Runway starts next week on Wednesday, November 14th @ 10PM on Bravo. Set your DVRs!

young hollywood

One of the many reasons I love The Hills is that it allows me to vicariously live out the fantasy world in which i am a fashion princess living and working in the fashion industry. Lauren works at Teen Vogue and gets to do super cool things. Her and Whitney are in charge of coordinating this Young Hollywood Fashion Show in the very swanky Vibiana Church in LA. Lauren gets to be the stylist for Marc Jacobs' fashion show. Everyone is dressed to the nines and schmoozing with good looking people. In other words, a far cry from me and my jeans and sneakers in any random sports bar. Of course, living such a glamorous fashion-infused lifestyle would probably require me to live in LA, spend lots of money and be somewhat superficial and shallow. So not so much. Besides, it would also require me to give up my cute little condo which I love dearly even though it has recently been rezoned into an insurance-required flood zone due to its proximity to the East River. *sigh*

ready, set, go!

Here we are, it's season 12 of The Amazing Race, I couldn't wait to watch and I am as always, smitten. First, we meet the teams:

Shana & Jennifer: Two blondies from LA, and they think they're hot, but they're not. They think they're going to flirt their way to the finish line, but have they not watched the first 11 seasons of this show? It's so not how the race is won. They are doomed and I already dislike them.

Kynt & Vyxsin: Those are not typos in the names! It's a goth dating couple from KENTUCKY and I'm fascinated to see how long they manage to keep up their goth makeup on a daily basis on this race - their makeup must take up a crapload of space in their backpacks!

TK & Rachel: Hipster couple from Cali who think they are madly in love but have only known each other for a year. I know, who am I to be judgmental?

Jennifer & Nathan: Jock couple from Cali who are already fighting and screaming at each other a lot, and it's only the first leg of the race. They're in trouble and no Jennifer, now is NOT the time to wonder if you want to spend the rest of your life with this boy. Especially not when you have a donkey that won't budge.

Jason & Lorena: ANOTHER couple from Cali. Lorena is super whiny and a total crybaby and and Jason doesn't seem to really give a crap about anything, including the race. Combined, they are incredibly annoying.

Nicolas & Ronaldo: A boy and his grandfather. You can sense the anxiety in Nicolas as he tries to hurry along his 68-year-old grandfather along at every pass. This is not going to go well because you can tell the grandfather is going to get stuck doing physical tasks that he can't actually do and we're all going to cringe.

Azaria & Hendekea: Brother and sister token black team. Don't have much of an opinion about them just yet, but they seem pretty harmless and fun. Oh, and they're not annoying, which is a plus.

Ronald & Christina: Token Asian team comprised of father and daughter. Of course I am rooting for them! Ronaldo serenades his daughter as they bike ride, and it is adorable. Almost as adorable when he yells "Who's your daddy?" at the pit stop.

Ari & Staella: Best friends from Cali. I already don't like them because they shamelessly stole one of the other teams' taxis. I know it's a game and all, but STILL. At least have a little guilt about it!

Marianna & Julia: Sisters from Florida. They are pretty irritating, but this early in the race, I can't actually put my finger on why. Stay tuned.

Kate & Pat: Married Ministers from California who think they are holier than thou, and I suppose as ministers they can think that. But it doesn't give them a right to be obnoxious!

First stop: Ireland! The race starts in LA, but no sooner than we meet the teams are we off to LAX to hop on a flight to Ireland. Aside from being rainy when they get there, it's beautiful! There's bright green grass everywhere, cute little farm houses and locals with adorable Irish accents. In Ireland, they ride bikes and lead donkeys to a farm (I love the tasks involving animals the best!). The donkey task is great because some of the donkeys refuse to even move in typical stubborn donkey format while others run so fast that the teams leading them can't keep up. heehee. At the pit stop, Hendekea & Azaria come in first place and win a trip to... Canada? The other teams trickle in as fast as their donkeys will allow them, and in the end, Ari & Staella are the last to arrive at the pitstop due to a very uncooperative donkey. And remember how they stole another team's taxi earlier in the leg? That's what we call karma, bitches.

the race is on!

Tonight is the season premiere of one of my favorite reality shows EVER, The Amazing Race! Very exciting to finally have a reality show that I'm excited about back on. It's season 12, it starts now, and I will be talking about this show a lot over the next couple of months while the teams race around the world, so set your DVRs!!

I'm currently watching Sunday Night Football featuring the Cowboys vs. the Eagles (a game where I want both teams to lose... can that happen?), but my DVR is recording away, so check back soon when I get a chance to check out the teams and provide my usual commentary on the contestants and the race!

tv weekend

It's Saturday evening and what have I done today? Ventured to Bed, Bath and Beyond, got my car washed and did a round of grocery shopping. Then I came home and plopped myself in front of the tv. Oh, but not until after I scrubbed down my entire bathroom and windexed and swiffered every surface in my apartment that would allow it. And then I made baked ziti. So I think it's deserved that it's now Saturday evening and I'm doing nothing other than gorging on my pasta and watching tv, right? Most of the afternoon was filled with college football but I did also manage to watch a bunch of shows from the week.

The Office went back to half hour episodes but are still as ingenius as ever. This week was the return of Jim's ex-girlfriend Karen, who I still dislike. I haven't missed her at all, I hope this was only a one time appearance. She's got bad hair and a bad attitude.

Scrubs is back, and JD is having a BABY!! Well, Kim is having a baby, but it's JD's! It's a baby filled episode, and who doesn't love babies?

In a stunning upset, Cheetah Girl Sabrina is eliminated from Dancing with the Stars! She was the BEST dancer on the show, who knows what happened. But I guess it doesn't matter so much given that I'm barely watching the show anymore anyway. I watch about ten minutes of it a week, enough to find out what dances they learned and who got eliminated. Lame, I know.

And now I'm sitting here watching a chick flick on HBO called Because I Said So starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore. It's not very good, but it passes the time before I decide to switch back to college football for the rest of the evening. Yes, just my kind of a Saturday evening!