I’m sick.  It’s no fun….not one little bit.  I haven’t been sick like this in quite awhile, and I really want to continue on with normal life, but I can’t.  My body won’t let me.  Bleh*  The one good thing about being sick is getting to lay in bed and watch massive amounts of tv.  For instance, today I have watched:

Friday Night Lights (new to me – Stormie begged me to start watching it)

Gilmore Girls (always watching this)

Pretty Little Liars (okay, it’s a guilty pleasure…)

Project Runway All Stars (Go Mondo!)

Impressive amount of tv huh?  Anyway, I’m hoping that by Thursday I will be energized and full of life.  We shall see;)  Oh, and Stormie will be here tomorrow with a dazzling blog post for you, so now you have a reason to get up in the morning.

Hi!  It’s been a loooong time since I’ve written about Project Runway, and I finally got around to watching Season 9 a few weeks ago.  I won’t talk too much about it here, in case some of you are waaaay behind and haven’t seen it yet – ahem Stormie; and I also don’t want to bore you – it was a bit of a snooze.  Definitely not one of the my favorite seasons.

One of the things on season 9 that I DID like was the strange stilt-walker challenge.  Each of the models looked like a kooky Tim Burton character.  Loved it!

I can’t really remember much about the Season 9 finale…except that Faith Hill was a judge and didn’t really seem to “get” any of the clothes (go figure).  Sometimes I don’t understand their choices of guest judges.

Honestly, with the exception of Season 8 (one of my favs!), ever since Project Runway moved from Bravo to Lifetime, it just hasn’t been as good.  It’s lost it’s edge.  It’s been formulaic and predictable and since it’s shown on Lifetime (television for WOMEN), the past 4 seasons have seen 3 female winners – and all 3 of them didn’t deserve to win…at. all.  Surprise surprise.

Now, I know it’s starting to sound like I really hate this show and that maybe I should stop watching it (and trust me, I’ve had those same thoughts), but I’ve been watching some of the past seasons lately and it has reminded me why I fell in love with it in the first place.

Season 4.  My all-time favorite season and the BEST final collection by Christian Siriano.  I still remember watching these clothes come down the runway for the first time.  The show gave me chills down my back, and made me hold my breath slightly.  Christian wowed me throughout the whole season, and for me, no one on the show has matched his talent to this day.

Season 1.  My 2nd all-time favorite collection by Jay McCarroll.  I remember being completely in awe when I saw this.  His clothes were so unique, eye catching, and COOL.  I would love to wear them – and they still translate to today’s fashion – even after 7 years.  Jay is amazing, and no other contestant has made me laugh so hard. 

Season 8.  My 3rd all-time favorite collection by Mondo Guerra.  I’ve already written about Mondo here, but I just love him too much to leave him out of this post.  His final collection was so bold, bright and beautiful.  I want that skull t-shirt SO much (oh, and the leggings and tights too!).  He had such a sweet presence on the show, and it was his personality that really connected me to his clothes.  And I guess it doesn’t hurt that he’s based here in Colorado:)

Speaking of Mondo, a Project Runway spin-off called Project Runway:  All-Stars just started a few weeks ago, and Mondo is one of the contestants!  So excited to see him and April busting out the cute clothes again.  I really hope that Mondo wins All Stars though….it’s gotta happen right?

P.S.  Wendy Pepper is still evil.

Season 2 of The Walking Dead airs on Sunday night.  I. can’t. wait.  I never thought I would be in love with a tv show about zombies, but I definitely am.  Thanks Tristan and Stormie for getting me into it – eeeeep!  If you have never seen the show, they just added the 1st season to Netflix Instant Play, so you can get all caught up before Sunday (I might have to also re-watch my favorite episodes).  I am going to try to watch the whole season premiere without covering my eyes…is it even possible?!

I’ve told you about my love for Project Runway before, and Season 8 in particular was a great representation of what the show should display.  I’ve also mentioned how much I loved Valerie Mayen’s work on Season 8.  She is seriously the CUTEST designer ever!  She has uber-darling personal style, and creates really unique clothing that I would lovelovelove to wear.  The dresses below are from her Etsy shop – YellowCake.  I want them all!

I LOVEEEE all of these looks!  The styling of the model is so pretty.  YellowCake makes all of these pieces in XS-XL, so you can find a good fit – I really like that!  I think I need to start saving to buy one of these.  Which one is your favorite?

Love,

Stephanie May*

I began looking through Cosette Munch’s photos on LookBook, and couldn’t stop.  She’s got such a unique style, and seems quite unafraid to wear what she wants.  Yup, I need some of that attitude right over here.

I decided to stay home from thrifting yesterday and get some things done around the house.  I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked, but I did watch some movies so I suppose it was a good try.  Tristan and I are watching The Killing and of course, The Office.  Are you watching any good TV shows right now?  Or do you still have a show that you watch over and over on dvd (me – Gilmore Girls)?

Love,

Stephanie May*

*Spoiler alert: I am discussing the final details of Project Runway Season 8 today!  If you haven’t seen it yet, continue reading at your own risk!

Let me start this by saying that I really really loved this season of Project Runway.  The last 2 seasons were major disappointments to me, and I had considered dropping the show from my “must-see” list.  To my major surprise, Valerie, April, and Mondo kept me coming back for more, and I felt excited about all of the creativity happening!  As you should know, the final 3 designers were Mondo, Gretchen, and Andy.  I of course, was rooting BIG time for Denver-based designer, Mondo Guerra.  Mondo stole the hearts of viewers this year, and definitely had to be the fan favorite (why don’t they have that contest anymore?)!

The above photos are from the winning collection – from Gretchen Jones.  I was extremely saddened when she won, and didn’t believe that her clothes were beautiful, special, or anything else remotely good.  Her prints were a bit of a yawn, and kind of well, ugly.  I couldn’t believe it when they announced her the winner.  It was a sad, sad night.

THIS was the collection that should have won by Mondo Guerra.  It was bright, colorful, unique, and very very special.  I LOVE the skull t-shirt, and all of his beautiful head pieces.  His use of black and white and his mix of prints are magical!  I loved each and every look, and would be so fortunate to own one (or more) of his pieces some day!

So, I’m dying to know – what did YOU think of the finale?  Who was your favorite designer over all, and were you happy with the outcome?

…telling you that I was working on a post for today that I am really excited about.  However, as I got into it I realized that I want to spend more time on it because it is something I am very passionate about and I have more I want to say and show you concerning it.  That will most likely be posted sometime next week, and I know you are holding your breath in anticipation for it.

So, in lieu of  the original post I was working on, I will take this opportunity to regale you with the things Stephanie May* and I plan to do this Halloween weekend.  Other than working on getting new things added to our Etsy shop, our weekend will include but is not limited to:

No, we will not be making a 500th version of Children of the Corn…it’s a Corn Maze sillies. (Source)

The cutest little trick-or-treaters around, including the nieces and nephews.  (Source)

CANDY!!!! (Source)

Tradition at our house on Halloween after trick-or-treating is devouring our mom’s homemade broccoli cheese soup…delish!! (Source)

And the perfect Fall treat.  (Source)

Probably not the best imagery after talking about food but I am ecstatic for one of my favorite comic book series-turned-television shows to premiere at 10/9c on Halloween!!  I don’t know that Stephanie May* will be watching this – but her husband, Tristan, and I definitely will be at some point(without the kiddos around of course!)

Happy weekend lovelies!  Have a really safe Halloween!

Halloween is almost here with only 10 days to go!  I’ve been thinking up my favorite spooky movies and TV shows, and I’m ready to discuss.  I don’t really care for gruesome or “evil” movies, so a lot of these are not about Halloween at all, but more about costumes, thrills, jumps, and bright orange colors.  Ready?

Signs *Joaquin Phoenix is wonderful in this movie, and I love the story of alien invasion set in a small town.  Their house is also incredible, and I think I would choose to live there…even with the aliens.

The Office has brilliant Halloween episodes – some of my all time favs.  3 hole punch version of Jim:)

Young Frankenstein is a must-see movie anytime of the year.

Another anytime must-see is Spaceballs.  Just plain good, and the costumes have a great “just picked this up at the thrift store” feel to them.

I saw The Town a couple weeks ago, and the nun masks are still haunting me.

Troll 2 is one of the funniest non-funny movies I’ve ever seen.  Horrible writing, costumes, acting and storyline, but horribly fun.

Meet me in St. Louis has one of my all time favorite Halloween scenes in it.  I want to live in this movie so much.

My Dad and I made these Halloween decorations for my kid’s school, and I looooove how they turned out! It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown is definitely a favorite of mine (and a Halloween tradition), and the painted cardboard cutouts made for awesome photo ops with my kiddos:)

*What are your favorite Halloween movies?

Tonight is Episode 11 on Project Runway, and I can’t wait!  It’s been a surprisingly good season, considering Seasons 6 and 7 were kind of a snooze fest and hardly worth mentioning.  I will try to keep everything hush hush for those of you that haven’t started watching this season yet (ahem, Stormie Dae), but one of my favorite designers was eliminated last week, and I am still pouty lipped about it.  I am hoping that she will elbow her way back in tonight when they bring all of the eliminated designers back!  I am also hoping that Micheal C, Gretchen, and Christopher are on their way out…and soon.

I am really loving color in fashion lately, and Mondo Guerra is definitely one of my favorite designers this season, so how could I not love his use of color:

That being said, I am almost always drawn back to black, and I can’t help but love it more than color…most of the time.  I mean, just look at these:

Valerie Mayen’s napkin dress.  Yes, this dress is made out of NAPKINS.

April Johnston’s resort look.  I am not a beach girl, but this is just plain gorgeous.

Andy South’s ribbon dress.  Ummm, yeah – ribbon.  Incredible.

Christopher Collins’ look for the Philip Treacy hat challenge.  Now I know that I just said that Christoper needs to leave, but this piece is the exception.  Breathtaking.

Is anyone else watching this season?  Who are your favorites?  Any designer that you think needs to go home?

I have heard of Nylon Magazine, I’ve even visited their website a few times – but I didn’t really get it until I picked up a copy as I was breezing past the magazine section at the grocery store a few nights ago.  I knew from the second I laid eyes on it that I had fallen in love and now it’s all long walks on the beach and, “Where have you been all my life?!”

This perfect blend of art, music, fashion, and travel is a feast for the eyes and even with the combined 3 hours I’ve spent pouring over it’s pages, I’m not even half way through.

With the craze of the Kindle and Apple IPad sweeping the world, I worry that physical, in your hand books and magazines will eventually become nonexistent.  Maybe not in our lifetime, but it seems it’s an eventual certainty.  I am most definitely an Apple fan and I realize that people travel alot and the convenience of having access to everything at your fingertips is an attractive idea – but for me, I would fill my entire suitcase with 50 lbs. worth of books and magazines before I would use another device to read.  I love the feel and smell of the pages and the weight of the book in my hand – give me that anyday…I don’t need any additional hours of sitting in front of a screen when I already do that for 9 hours a day with my job.

So the purpose of this little technology rant?  I know the reason it took me buying the actual magazine to find appeal in Nylon was because I needed the pages, the smell, the weight of this wonderful magazine.  I am amazed that it took me this long to find the true beauty in Nylon but my eyes have now been opened and you better believe I am now a proud subscriber.

I am heading out of town for a few days to relax with my dear cousin and get in some antique and thrift store shopping…I’m thinking my Nylon will be coming with me – and my guess would be that I still won’t be done with it when I get back in 5 days.  Have a wonderful and interesting weekend friends!