Summer Olympics 2012 - Synchronized Diving!

You may not know it yet, but the best thing about the Summer Olympics (besides the performance by Paul McCartney, of course) is synchronized diving! If you live in California like me, you can watch the finals at 7am on July 29, 20, 31 and August 1st. Check the schedule for your time and, if you must, other non-synchronized and non-Macca related events.


Be sure to take the Olympic poll I added in the sidebar. The poll is open until the day after the Olympics end. 


Go team USA!

Project Runway Season 10 - My Designs!

As you may know, I like to do a blog post (and sometimes even a live blog) for every episode of Project Runway (currently in its 10th season). I put pictures of my designs at the end of each week's post. In case you missed them, however, here are my designs for the first two challenges. (I draw them in my Moleskine sketchbook). In the past I have just sketched in pencil, but for this season I have started adding color.

You can check out some of my older designs (from season three!) here and here on my Flickr page.

Project Runway Season 10 Episode 2 Blog

This post has spoilers for episode 2, so be warned.



This was the second episode of the season and, as usual, it was the "unconventional" challenge. This time they had to use candy to make a garment. This challenge was very similar to Season 4's Hershey challenge. I feel like in season 4 the designers were criticized by the judges for not using enough actual candy in their designs. This seasons designers must have seen that episode, because (with the exception of the cast-off stylist designer) they ALL used candy.

3 of the Season 4 candy designs

I don't think any of us were really surprised at who went home this week. She was even second to last on last week's episode. What was Lantie even doing before she ended up cutting up an umbrella in the last few hours (minutes?) of the challenge?

This week's losing garment

If Lantie hadn't totally dropped the ball, I would have expected grandma to go this week - but she (and her dot candy apron/bustle combo) didn't even make the bottom three! Shocking! From the looks of next week's promo (where the designers must work in pairs) her partner does not seem to happy with her work. Can you believe that apron? Tim couldn't even find a nice way to say how awful it was!

My suspicions that Ven would end up being the villain of the season seem to be coming true. I really didn't want him to win this week, even though I actually didn't really like Sonjia's ocean-inspired jelly bean mini. I don't think Ven's stained-glass inspired look was really that great, either.

This week's winner - Evil Ven

In my opinion, the best dress was Demitri's. What were those dangly red things? His dress did look really ballroom, though.


The twins are still not getting along.


Have these people never seen cotton candy before?? The second I saw Kooan grabbing so many bags of it in the store I thought, "Don't you know it won't last long after you open it?" and then he started putting it on his garment the DAY BEFORE the runway show and Buffi even made a "bird's nest" hat out of it. OF course, they were both destroyed by the next morning.


I usually love the outfits Heidi wears when she comes out at the beginning of each episode to explain the challenge - but that plaid dress was just not flattering.

Heidi in plaid

I thought this was the week someone was supposed to leave the show. When that one girl burned her leg, I thought it might be her - or that it might be grandma when she got so upset about Tim's comments. I guess we have to wait at least another week, but according to an interview I read with Heidi, two of the designers quit or have a meltdown or just leave in the middle of the night or something. Heidi even called them "cowards."


What did you think of this week's episode? Let me know in the comments and, as always, I'll see you next week!


Finally, for every P.R. challenge, I like to sketch my own design. Here is mine from this week. Yes, I totally stole the who "stringing gumballs together" idea, but I would have stolen that on the show anyway.

Just met an olympian no big deal!

I don't know why I laughed so hard when I saw this, but I did!

FYI: The Dad From The Cutting Edge

Hey! Did you know that the dad from The Cutting Edge is Locke from Lost with hair? FYI.

The Dark Knight Rises Review

I bought my tickets for The Dark Knight Rises (the conclusion to director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy) on Fandango on Tuesday. I had to pay some kind of $1.25 processing fee, but I also got to use something I'd never heard of before, a "mobile ticket" -- meaning, I didn't have to print out a paper ticket, I could just show my phone to the guy inside the theatre. I wasn't so excited that I wanted to go to a midnight screening, but wanting to see it in my relatively spoiler free state as soon as possible, and with Friday off of work, I signed up to see it at my local Southern California theatre at 9AM Friday morning. Then I woke up and turned on the news.


It was a little spooky going to the theatre to see TDKR after hearing about the shooting in Colorado last night. I kept looking at the emergency exit door during the movie (an usher can in at the beginning of the film to check and make sure it was secured). The trailer for "Gangster Squad" which shows men shooting into a movie theatre crowd was certainly in poor taste (I read afterwards that it has since been pulled). But I wasn't going to let some madman with a gun ruin my movie going experience!


The SPOILER-FREE Part of My Review:


Now, the film. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but it didn't really have the power to pull me in like Nolan's other Batman films. Bane was OK (his voice took some getting used to - it must have all been dubbed post-production, right? Could he even talk while shooting)? But Catwoman was great! I'm not a big Anne Hathaway fan, but her turn as Selina Kyle was the most fun part of this film. She gets some of the best fighting sequences, too. I also like Joseph Gordon Levitt as Blake, but I'm always a sucker for JGL. His first scene with Bruce Wayne cuts right to the chase in a way I found refreshing for a movie I knew going in was going to be almost three hours long. While Marion Cotillard was OK and everything, there didn't really seem to be much point in her being there - especially when she was an expert in doing things that Morgan Freeman could already do, but more on that later. I also really didn't really care for Matthew Modine's stupid pointless cop character.


Overall, I liked the film, but I wouldn't call it a must-see on the big screen. And now for...


The SPOILER-FILLED Part of My Review:


The best surprise for me was not at the end, but seeing Cillian Murphy back AGAIN as Dr. Crane! I was so excited to see him in the second film; this time was just as much of a fun surprise! He, like JGL, is a favorite of mine and is always great in everything he does.


So, as much as I wanted to stay spoiler-free going in, we pretty much all knew that Bane was bound to break Batman's back and/or kill him. We also knew Cotillard was probably going to be Talia Al Ghul. I mean, right?? It seems like some people thought Bruce Wayne would retire as Batman (or die, or be put in a wheelchair) and that JGL would take over the cowl, but I guess he's, what, Robin, right? That kind of makes sense because, well, he is little.


It seemed to me that the movie took place a year after the last film, but from what I have read, it is supposed to be eight years later. That seems like a lot.


Random thoughts:

• If you know anything about foreshadowing, the second they show those flashbacks of Alfred in Italy, you know exactly how the film is going to end, right? I mean, it's textbook.

• This movie was about some kind of clean power stuff, right? Also, did we really need the whole Liam Neeson/League of Shadows connection? Bane could have just been Bane, and Bruce Wayne did not need a sex scene. Random. But the guy playing young Liam Neeson did look a lot like a young Liam Neeson, I thought.

• How cool was the motorcycle stuff?! I loved the stock exchange guy with the douchey blue shirt/white collar on the back of the bike!

• I was glad to see Batman's big-ass-tired motorcycle back for this film (and Catwoman gets to ride it a lot) but I didn't really like the Bat Helicopter thing they used so much in this. It was really cartoonish compared to his other bat vehicles which, while strange, always kind of made sense in the they-are-military-prototypes sense. Was there even a Batmobile? No?

• When Catwoman stole Bruce Wayne's fancy sports car after the charity ball, did he ever get it back?? I don't remember.

• I recognized Hines Ward as one of the football players.

• Why did Alfred need to leave?

• I liked the airplane sequence at the beginning.

• Plus, it's always nice to see Nestor Carbonell's eyelashes.

Did you see it? What did you think? Don't want to see it? Why not? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. Until next (bat) time!

Project Runway Season 10 Live Blogging

Season 10 begins in Times Square, then we go back one day earlier and meet the first designer. Her name is Buffi.


Gunnar is next. Gunnar is also the name of a dog in my neighborhood. Wait, is his name Gunnar DEATH RAGE??


What is that Native American Blanket I see strewn across someone's dress form?


Gunnar explains that his customer is Cruella DeVille. That makes sense because half of his brown hair is dyed bleach blonde.

I guess for the first challenge each designer was supposed to bring one outfit they had already created. (They will probably have to, like, create the ball gown version of it or the dog outfit version or something). Gunnar's Cruella outfit is a simple flower print skirt and what looks like a white cape with a black collar (I don't think it is made out of puppies, though).


Lantie is the next designer. She is 38... I mean, 48.


There's a little Japanese guy with an Afro!


The guy from Brazil gives out hugs.


There's a chick with blue hair.


Elena says she designs for the "edgy girl" and her look is some kind of black straight jacket. So, yeah.


Afro guy's name is Kooan. That is not a real name. He says he likes making a lot of "love."


There is a blonde girl who is a lawyer. I didn't catch her name. She likes black, so much so that she watches black and white films and likes black and white photography. I can already tell that she will not get kicked off this episode - there must be a judging panel later where she just barely makes it and then they tell her they are tired of always seeing black and she MUST use color and then she overdoes it! Prediction!


Some guy named "Ven" or something made a white pant suit, but he isn't in the studio yet - it is obvious that he will be a villain. (Oh! His name IS Ven). The first thing he says is "I know the designers will be intimidated."


Tim comes in. Yay!


The Lord and Taylor accessory wall is new. I've never heard of them. I guess the winner will get to sell their line on that website or something?


There is some girl with long hair who makes a crazy face. They haven't shown her talking yet. I bet she gets kicked off.


Tim announces that they will have the runway show in Time Square. They get 30 minutes to sketch and then it is off to mood.


The chick who likes black is drawing a black dress.


The one with dreadlocks says she is a lesbian and likes to design for tomboys.


Ahh! The long hair girl just said designing comes naturally to her but "sewing not so much"! Now I KNOW she's getting kicked off first! AND she is the one with the native American blanket wrap thing over what looks like a heather gray night shirt. Her name is Beatrice.


SWATCH!! I love him!

Beatrice LOVES using knits... she is soooooo going to lose!!


The guy with the hat likes lace. He just said "this is the ugliest lace I have seen" but then it looks like he bought that lace. It IS really ugly. He's going to give Beatrice a run for her money.


The grandma is 58. She is a fashion teacher. I think she is going to lose, too, though.


Oh, whoops, there are two guys who look the same to me. One of them is Gunnar. They are fighting. One of them just said "This isn't Project Obnoxious" and called the Cruella outfit too Prada (it is). The other guy's name is Christopher. Gunnar says their personalities are similar - don't you notice that you are also twins except that half of your hair is blonde?


The lace guy is having trouble with his lace.


COMMERCIAL #1 : I'm typing too much. Now that I know most of their names, I'll take it a little easier.


The Brazilian guy says he eats out of the dumpster (no, really) and Grandma thinks that is "terrific."


There is a Russian guy who kind of looks like Marilyn Manson. He used to be a ballroom dancer. Grandma says he should be an actor with that face. Maybe he can star in a Marilyn Manson biopic!


The blue haired girl says she likes mixing the soft with the hard. Yawn.


Buffi's design looks gross. The Russian calls is "diarrhea." Tim does not seem too impressed either.

This is the look she brought with her.

The hat/lace guy's name is Raul. He now seems to me like the kind of guy who should get kicked off early, but will keep somehow just barely making it.


Tim is questioning the Brazilian guy's skirt, but I can tell he is not going to lose, they are just trying to throw us off - Beatrice for the lose!


COMMERCIAL BREAK #2 - Gary Cole stars as a serial killer in a Lifetime movie! Yikes!


I like the way Raul says "it's like... promdresses."


The mohawk girl doesn't really have a mohawk. Her name is Elena. She did the black straightjacket dress. She shows Tim the black and white dress she is making and then says, "What is worrying me is this... COLOR." And then they look at it. Is it me, or is there no color?


Ven's rose top does look really well made - M.K. will say it looks expensive.

Tim is worried that Raul's model will look naked in the lace dress.


Christopher wants to kiss Tim, but knows that is crazy. I think Christopher is my favorite twin.


Beatrice is having trouble sewing!


Gunnar does an impression of Tim ala Santino Rice. Remember "What happened to Andre"?? Christopher says Gunnar should be on Toddlers and Tiaras. The models come in and Christopher is having a lot of trouble. He can't get kicked off - I want to see more of the fighting twins!


ATLAS! The girls' room has weird pink and purple blank canvasses on the wall - a rare design miss for Atlas Apartments. I would still LOVE to live there, though.


COMMERCIAL BREAK #3 - the show is only half way over! I didn't realize it was an hour and a half!


It's the day of the runway show in Time's Square. They are not going to do the judging there, are they? I guess they will have to.


I forgot to say that since the assignment is to create a companion piece for the one they brought with them, each designer gets two models.


In the makeup room I see that Afro is wearing a headband made out of a big piece of rope with two googly eyes on it. The good news is he can actually speak Japanese! He's not a fake Japanese person despite his weird name.


Raul is the last designer to leave the room.


COMMERCIAL BREAK #4 - Congrats on the Emmy Nom P.R.!


The runway show begins. 


Ven is first. The rose pantsuit looks really good, but the second look seems messy to me. He did what I would do, though! He took the one pop of color from the first look and made a mini dress in that color with a hint of the rose design on the bottom instead of the top!


Yeah, Beatrice is going to lose. I can't see anyone else's looks being this bad... maybe the lace dress? M.K. does not look impressed.


Lantie's prom dress looks overworked. She'll probably end up in the middle... wait - ouch! Her second look is awful!


Grandma did these weird black and white stripped dresses.


Christopher's black mini has a terrible zipper, but his gown looks perfect - is the fabric some kind of striped snakeskin?


Dreadlocks has a couple of OK Tomboy looks. They are well constructed, so she is probably safe.


Elena's dresses (the black and white ones) are also just OK.


Buffi's companion dress looks better than the outfit she brought with her... that is not a good sign. Do the judges know which is which? Probably not.


Dmitry did a sequin gown. Didn't he say he was done making ballroom dance outfits? Heidi looks like she maybe likes it, though.


Kooan's companion "dress" is a mess - it is made with this bubbly metallic fabric and is poorly constructed and puckering. The first look is well-made, though, so that should save him.


Gunnar's companion dress to the Cruella/Prada look is actually really cute! He might have a chance. The two looks really fit well together.


I don't know who this guy is and he has a green dress and a red dress and you can tell he is going to be in the middle, so they are not spending a lot of time on him this week.


Sonjia is the name of the blue-haired woman, I guess. She made a leather jacket and a leather vest. He second look is not the worst at all, but it looks a little thrown together at the last minute.


The black dresses are black. They look pretty good, but are all black. What will the judges say??


The lace looks look fine. I think.


The Brazilian guy's clothes are not that great. He calls it "wearable" and "comfortable" that is not a good sign.


So who will be in the bottom and the top?


The six designers called out are: Kooan (must be bottom), Ven (top), Lentie (I can't even remember her look), Christopher (top?), Beatrice (bottom), and Melissa of the Black dresses (top). I'm not sure if it's Lentie or Kooan in the bottom, but you know they are not going to throw a character like Kooan out on the first episode!


COMMERICAL #5


Well, Kooan is in the bottom, but he is safe. It comes down to Beatrice and Lentie with the awful snakeskin tulle disaster. They don't like her "vintage" dress either and say she is more of a stylist than a designer (ouch).


They LOVE Christopher's gown and they also like Ven (they don't seem to notice the problems with his little pink dress that I see).


Well, Beatrice is out and Christopher is the winner. I'd be happy I was right about Beatrice, except that it was really obvious she was going to lose. Now I'll have to go back and watch Road to the Runway (which is on my DVR) so I can see how she made it in the first place and who she beat out for that spot.


If you read the news, you know two of the designers (I think) turned out to be "cowards" (Heidi's words) and left the show - it looks like at least one of them is leaving next week - is it the not mohawk girl?? The challenge has something to do with candy, cars, and the Rockettes! Should be fun!!


I can't live blog every episode - it is so much work - but I'll be sure to put my thoughts up each week as soon as possible. Stay tuned and be sure to leave your own thoughts in the comments - do you think Ven was robbed? Were the judges too hard on Kooan? Was I?


Finally, for every P.R. challenge, I like to sketch my own design. I am in no way an artist or designer, as you can probably tell from my first sketch. It's easier for me to do challenges with strict limitations. Designing something that "shows who I am as a designer" is more difficult since I am not a designer. Anyway, here is my design for episode 1. Stay tuned for more!

Starbucks Refreshers Review

They spelled my name right!

Yesterday Starbucks gave out free samples of their new product - Starbucks Refreshers. They are low calorie fruit-flavored drinks with green coffee and... well, I'll let this blurb from their website explain it:

Swing by one of our stores for new Starbucks Refreshers™ handcrafted beverages. These low-calorie drinks are made with real ingredients like whole blackberries, lime slices and fruit juice, and are combined with Green Coffee Extract for a thirst-quenching boost of natural energy.

They come in two flavors, Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus (which I tried). It tasted OK - with a little bit of a weird aftertaste. Only sixty calories for a tall, they are made with that Stevia fake sugar stuff, of which I am not a big fan. It was cool and would make a good choice in the afternoon, if you had already had enough coffee but wanted some more caffeine.

Will I try it again? I think I'll try the lime one out, but my 130 calorie soy latte can probably rest easily.

Have you tried it yet? Be sure to leave a comment.

Things I Bought... Yellow Bag

I just ordered this bag from Urban Outfitters. A yellow bag - so bold!


I'll add a review after it arrives!


Update: While this bag is cute, it is too small to really be a crossbody bag. The strap is really short - I had to adjust it all the way down. The top of the bag where the strap attaches its too short, so the bad ends up digging in to your body when you wear it across (which I must do since I have to be hands-free to walk two dogs or ride a scooter). 


It's a really cute bag and, despite its small size, fits everything I need inside. I'm going to keep it, but I might go back to using my old, slightly larger, bag for my day-to-day purse needs.

New Camera!

I'm going to need a camera for work in the fall, so I just got a FujiFilm FinePix S4200 (the link takes you to Amazon). I thought about getting one of those fancy $600 ones, but this one has a lot of great features, looks cool, and is under $300 with a strap and SD card.

I took the dogs to the park today to try it out - here are a few shots.