Project Runway: Oh My Lord and Taylor - The Recap

Oh My Lord and Taylor is right.  This challenge was proving to be a bit rough for Elena.  She didn't want to sacrifice her design aesthetic for the sake of possibly having her design fit into a 10 piece Project Runway collection to be manufactured and sold at Lord and Taylor online (and the flagship store in NYC - not any other stores btw).

Oh - and let's talk about Sonjia's magnificent breakdown.  She was struggling with her look the whole time and it appeared that she was cutting the hem when Tim came in to gather the troops for the runway.  Not to mention Elena had to help Sonjia's poor model stuff herself into the dress.  Sonjia, your model is the thinnest girl there, stop trying to make her feel huge by making your garments TOO SMALL for her. 

I thought Melissa was going to play possum in the middle of the workroom once her tears started flowing.  She kept saying she was going to start over!

Meanwhile, in Boy Town, they were all "We're having a blast!"  We're the best!"  "No breakdowns here!"  The best exchange was between Gunnar and Fabio.
Gunnar: Fabio, when I get home, I want to design you a dress.
Fabio: Please (it was more enthusiastic than that, I swear)
Gunnar: I know you'll wear it.
Christopher had the best line of the night: Sonjia, the 80's called.  They want everything back.
You'll see why that comment is appropriate in a moment.

Onto the runway show!

Let's get Ven's out of the way so that we can enjoy the rest of the post.



I'm going to have to agree with Christopher on this one: it looks like a 13 year old would wear it to Christmas dinner. Yes. 1000 times yes. The flower - we've all been OVER it since the first two challenges, Ven. You want to sit there and criticize Christopher for his shredded look (we'll get to that in a minute) and yet you keep wanting to do this Kiss From A Rose BARF-o-rama every single chance you can get. Stop it. STOP. IT.  I can honestly say I can appreciate the effort that goes into making something as detailed as that but that shit is tired.

Simple and elegant is the best way to describe Fabio's LBD.



I love the look. It's simple. It's chic. It's fabulous.  It's versatile to the max and it's still very much Fabio's design.  The asymmetry of the skirt is just subtle enough to not be intimidating and, even though you can't see it that well, the stretch tulle over the dress is a really sweet touch.  Sounds like I want to have babies with this dress.  I just might!

I think Alicia was inspired by Sporty Spice with this look.



I think she severely hurt herself by declaring that she can't make "sexy" outfits.  I think you can, Alicia, you just have to let yourself be free!  Break away from the menswear and try something girly - like last week!  If not, then I think you'll be struggling until you get Auf'd.

I wish I could play a loop of how Dmitry says Elena.  Exasperated sigh included.  Here's the dress that made her cry to her BFF Gunnar about losing her design vision.



I'm going to say that I LOVE this dress. I love the harness thing in the middle and I love the shape. Christopher said it was sweet and then crazy bitch at the same time. The only terrible thing about it?  The fabric choice. YUCK.  It doesn't drape well and that's what's KILLING the look for me.  I'm surprised this look was in the top.  The fabric choice alone should've been enough to put her in the middle or the bottom.  I would love this dress even more if the fabric was different.  If the designers had been allowed to go to Mood, this problem wouldn't be happening.  Lots of problems probably woudn't have happened...

Elena's BFF Gunnar had the wise idea to tie the collection together by bringing in elements from other designs that are currently in the collection.



While I agree with the judges about this dress being done before, I still like it!  It's a youthful take on the LBD - especially when you put it in the Lord and Taylor store. I have always had this vision of Lord and Taylor being stuffy and only for old ladies and everyone's designs definitely break that stereotype for me.  Gunnar's is sweet and I think he was smart for trying to tie up the collection.

Dmitry took his subtle lines to another level last night!



The way this model is posing right now is totally making me love the lines even MORE.  See how it moves with her body?  It's almost like those lines are attached to her body and they're following her every move.  And those little points at the neck?  Love them!  The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the styling - I don't think a ponytail was the best choice but...

Sonjia, the 80's called.  They said that Dynasty was missing a dress for a funeral and/or office scene.



This is what made her breakdown? This is why she was freaking out?  I'm glad the peplum is in and it's cute and all but dammit Sonjia, you made it look like it should be shoved back into Fashion Hell.  You took it to a place it should never go.  Well, you took it to a place that it had been before but it should've stayed there.  I was not a fan of this look at all.

Speaking of breakdowns, let's see what caused Melissa to breakdown.



Okay. I can see why Melissa would have conflicting feelings over this dress. While the neckline is cute and different, I think it might be a little too vampy for the Lord and Taylor crowd.  I think the fabric choice was perfect though.  It was cute with just enough shimmer to stay comfortably on the Classy side of things.  The asymmetric hem was a little too aggro for the judges and I have to agree.  I think the neck line would look more dramatic if the dress was gown or a mini skirt.

It seems as though Christopher had a lot to say about everyone else's looks but what about his?



Shredding technique aside, it was a pretty dress. Excuse me, it was a pretty gown.  That pale rose, light pink colour was perfect on his model and the whole look ended up coming together nicely.  I think it's funny how he totally knew he would get scolded for doing his signature technique but he stayed true to his vision all the way to the win.  The concept was cute.  Kors pointed out that he liked the separates look for a gown and I have to agree.  I think that aspect of it definitely brings the youthfulness into it.  BUT I'd like to see this technique, along with some others - I'm looking at you, Ven and Elena - go on the back burner until New York Fashion Week.

So who was eliminated?  NO ONE.  Poor Gunnar was the last one standing on the runway and I had a very sad Tweet ready to send to @gunnDEATH but I was glad to delete it!  But you know what that means?  DOUBLE ELIMINATION!  Next week probably.  They'll be on teams of 3.  And Dmitry is on a team with his most favourite designer EVER: Elena!  You know it's going to be awesome . . . ly terrible.  I feel a nuclear meltdown coming.  And maybe my dream of them cussing each other out in their native tongues will come true!  I guess we'll have to wait!

Blue Room Jewelry to get revamped!

So it occurred to me that my Blue Room Jewelry page might be a tiny bit outdated.  How did it occur to me?  Well, the lovely Danielle - who makes AWESOME custom phone cases (get yours here!) - proposed trading cases for other DIY things via her Instagram and you know I totally chimed in since I can't stop making stuff.  Well, I was looking through the comment threads to see how other folks were directing her to their stuff when I realized my Blue Room Jewelry stuff . . . is still on Myspace.

That's right, the temporary page I set up for myself (to participate at Indie Craft Experience many moons ago) on Myspace is still functioning!  What!  And it started out as a placeholder until I could start an Etsy and before you could make Pages on Facebook.  Yikes!  That was a LONG time ago.
What an embarrassing way to date myself.
I guess that means I have to do what I've been putting off for the last 5 years: going back through my inventory, re-pricing and listing everything on my eventual Blue Room Etsy.  Oh boy.  Sounds like I have an interesting few weekends ahead of me.
And this weekend is Dragon*Con.
And Joe Manganiello will be here.  WHAAAAT!!!
Sounds like I have a very important date this weekend...

g3rard VS deadmau5 - Professional Griefers Video Out Now!

Exciting stuff happening today!
The music video for Gerard Way VS Deadmau5 is out!  Check it!



I remembered seeing a text message exchange on Deadmau5's Instagram about how Gerard was going to post his flyer but Deadmau5 wasn't ready yet or something like that and I was all, "What the hell are they talking about?!" It was this:



Good thing I investigated it because I ended up buying a very early birthday present for myself:


Oh yes!! I've been wanting a Varsity style jacket forever but nothing was really calling out to me - until now! 
And did you notice MCR's new logo?


So exciting! I watched that video of Gerard on Kevin Smith's show Spoilers and he said they were currently working on what they're calling "MCR 5" - but they won't be dressing up this time.Aww.  Sad Panda.  On the upside, Gerard shared the cutest song he wrote for his daughter, Bandit.  Cute overload!

Photo post - All caught up!

My Grandma's clock that she let me bring home from Puerto Rico / This photo goes with this post / Capturing shots of Tiago with my new Nikon D90 at work / A cute flower bloom I saw on a walk around the neighbourhood / A little bee guy / Cash register in the storage area at work.  See J's short film about it here / Tiago's daughter drew the cutest picture for his birthday and this always makes me smile when I pass by / Shenanigans with Mike during filming (he kinda reminds me of Crixus on Spartacus) / Neon at the Marietta Diner / Belgian Waffle from the Marietta Diner (so good!) / Brad's awesome belt buckle / Cassie and Mark's gorgeous wedding invitation / A delicious (and strong) Tamarindo Margarita from Bone Garden Cantina / My mandatory quarterly photo of Michael, the Audio Guy / My Masquerade Hello Kitty / Mark is used to being behind the cameras during Education filming but this time, the tables were turned / Yummy Pinkberry / Experimenting with the Wonder Lens and W40 Film on the Hipstamatic (my new favourite combo btw) / At just the right time in the morning, the sun hit the neightbour's car at just the right angle to produce these pretty reflections / A pretty geode at Lauren's / A pretty purple and green bouquet

Hearts and Bones - Your perfect Fall soundtrack

I love receiving things in the mail - snail or electronic. I especially love it when I get links to music. As you know, I'm always on the quest for more music so this was a wonderful surprise - especially since it came from one of my most favourite local artists: brokenkites.

I'm not usually in the mood for quiet ambience but brokenkites has a wonderful, brooding kind of ambience that I'm always up for. Hearts and Bones definitely does NOT disappoint.

The tracks feel like they would fit right into the Drive soundtrack with their own full story in three acts. The music is strong and each track has its own personality that takes you on a journey from start to finish without leaving you unsatisfied.

While all the tracks are amazing, track 3 - the title track, Hearts and Bones - is my absolute favourite.  Its thumping melody is the perfect lead in to what's coming next - the start of what I would consider Act 2.  

Track 6 - No Truth But What You Believe - represents a sad incident that occurs to disrupt the harmony that had been happening before and tracks 7 and 8 - Nothing Not For Nobody and Permanent E respectively - feel like the "revenge" anthems.  Very Drive-worthy, if you ask me.

Track 11 - Zap - makes me feel as though all the conflict has been resolved and it is a welcome relief after the rush of emotions the previous tracks had put us through and track 13 - Ghosts - is the perfect end to any 3 Act story with just a hint of a sequel.  The story isn't over yet - and why would you want it to be?

All in all, Hearts and Bones is another amazing piece by brokenkites and you are definitely missing out if you don't download this right now.  In fact, you should do yourself a favour and download everything in the brokenkites music library.  Your iPod will thank you.

PS - I did a video for one of my all time favourite brokenkites songs: Sleep

Found: Mid-Summer Photos

I recognize that I've been slacking on the photo posts so here are a few from when Double D visited in mid-July..

 

Project Runway: Fix My Friend - The Recap!

The only way I can sum up last night's episode is: Ven, you are a fucking asshole.
There, I said it.  So did most of Twitter last night...  And speaking of Twitter - I hate that it's my temporary replacement until I can get the live-blogging back on track.  And thank goodness it's temporary because I just don't feel right.  Last night, I had some GEMS and I feel like they fell flat on their Tweet faces and I should've called out certain designers on certain Tweets but I didn't because I didn't realize they had accounts until way later in the evening.
All of that aside, Twitter was reeling from Ven's fat shaming.  There's always one for the "Real Woman / Transformation / Makeover" Challenge.  I think it's funny that what I said last week: "Ven - have you looked in the mirror, bitch?!" - definitely held true to what really happened.

Let's start by railing Ven.

My journey to the Red Room of Pain is finally over...and I'm kinda sad about it

I, sadly, finished my adventures with Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey yesterday and what an adventure it was.  With all the ups and downs and everything in between, I'd say it was a wonderful journey.  Yes, it's weird talking about it with my co-workers but I don't know if Lauren is reading it and Double D already told me he was NOT going to read the book so I don't know who else to talk to about it!  Ugh - why am I not in a book club (for these books specifically)?!  I guess I could find other places on the interwebs to gush and I could do it here but I'll spare you - except with the occasional posts about my fantasy casting.  Like...right now.

While I was watching this week's True Blood (for the second time), I felt like Alexander Skarsgard was giving MAJOR Christian Grey realness.

Forgive my screenshots since I was pausing my Roku box to take photos with my phone



I was also glad to see Eric and Nora have patched things up as well.  Things are getting crazy in Bon Temps and I'm anxious about the season finale this coming Sunday.

Another thing I was wondering during my re-watch of True Blood was: When the FUDGE POPSICLE STICKS is Magic Mike coming out on DVD?!?!?!?!!??? 


DAMMIT!! Joe Manganiello, you are a delight and I can't wait to get the Blu Ray Extended Director's Cut version of Magic Mike when it comes out to see you and your friends in all your sweet, sweet hot body glory.

Hopefully in time for Christmas.

Possibly sooner.

This has been a True Blood Hot Guy Appreciation post.  I acknowledge the fact that there are other hot guys on True Blood but right now, these are my top 2.