Naptime Netflix - Smithereens

This week I was all set to write about the film 2012:Doomsday. It looks so crazy bad that it must be good, right? Good relative to the slim pickings on Netfilx Canada, anyway. When my peanut went down for his nap, I braced myself for awesomeness... and then I fell asleep about 6 minutes in and have no idea what happened.

The movie Smithereens, on the other hand, did not put me to sleep. It's an indie film from 1982 that appealed to me because it looked to be in a similar vein to the movie Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. I love, love, love that movie. This film was directed by Susan Seidelman (director of Desperately Seeking Susan and She-Devil! Meryl and Roseanne together!) and stars Richard Hell. Decent credentials.

Ridiculous Factor?
So, so, so high. The main character in the film, Wren, is a girl so annoying that I have no idea why anyone talked to her or helped her throughout the film. It pretty much made the whole plot of the movie hard to buy. The ending was supposed to be a bummer, but I was just happy the film was finished.

Verdict?
I really wanted to like this movie. It looked really cool and I liked the soundtrack. My reaction to this movie was very similar to how I felt about Sid and Nancy. Like Nancy, the character of Wren was so annoying, so horrifyingly annoying, that I just couldn't get into the film. At least Nancy was based on a real person. Wren seems kind of Madonna-esque but I'm guessing she's fictional.

Avoid this movie unless you want to use it to torture someone.

XOXO
Emily

Dingus of the Week - Ryan Murphy

So, yeah, I hate Glee. I know lots of people love it and all, but I think it's pretty dreadful. Granted, I don't really like most musicals or comedy songs. I watched some episodes and - while Jane Lynch and that cutie Kurt are pretty good - I am more of a Glenemy than a Gleek. That Lea Michele is super annoying and Cory Monteith seems like he would be more suited playing Lenny in Of Mice and Men. Too far? Sorry!

Anyways, I don't like Glee but most people do, so I've begrudgingly respected the show...until this week. Creator Ryan Murphy gave an interview with the Hollywood Reporter where he throws a little tantrum about not being able to use a Kings of Leon song on his show. Oh no, the public is not going to be able to hear creepy teacher and fauxhawk kid sing a mashup of "Use Somebody" and "Blame it on the Rain". So sad.

Dude, your show is popular but it is not some sort of cultural institution. If a band doesn't want to licence their music to you, suck it up and write another Britney Spears song into your episode.

Oh, by the way Kings of Leon drummer...not ok to retaliate with homophobic twitter comments! That's even worse than being a dingus. I now hope that the football team on Glee does a mashup of "Sex on Fire" and "Hangin' Tough". Dummy.

Inside the Hot Business of 'Glee' (hollywoodreporter.com)

Glee's Ryan Murphy Lashes Out at Kings of Leon (justjared.com)
Kings of Leon Drummer Counters Glee F*You (eonline.com)

Throwback Inspiration - Boots St. Claire

I've been thinking about The Facts of Life this week on account of Geri Jewell releasing her memoirs. I think Geri is pretty awesome and I'll for sure be flipping through her book next time I'm in the book store. I hope she's got some good dirt on Tootie in there! Ah, Tootie. There are so many good characters and episodes of The Facts of Life. My favourite episode of all time is when Tootie almost becomes a high fashion model until that downer Mrs. Garrett yells at the photographer for making Tootie too sexy.

Supermodel Tootie!

From a style perspective, the best character on the show hands down is Boots St. Claire, played by Jami Gertz. She's the head of the main sorority at Langley College, and shows up at Edna's Edibles a few times. I know that Blair is supposed to be the style icon on The Facts of Life, but Boots makes her look as frumpy as Mrs. Garrett. Plus, I love me some bitchy tv stereotypes. She's the quintessential "sweetie, darling" 80s preppy bitchy bitch. She is just a big ol' package of preppy goodness!

"Blair, you are so lame. Toodles!"

Whenever Boots is on screen she is styled so well! I love the expensive-looking neutrals she dresses in. The main (mane) attraction in Boots' look is her awesome hair. It's big, shiny and has a slight curl to it. I wear my hair in a ponytail most days (so my little peanut doesn't try to eat it), but when I go out I'll definitely be using Boots' hair and clean, fresh face as an inspiration.

XOXO
Emily

Solid Fashion Advice - Husband Edition

My lovely husband David is dishing out the advice this week. I took his name, and now he is taking on the style dilemmas of others at my request.

Style Credentials
I find it surprising how many husbands have their wives buy all of their clothes for them. David is not that type of guy! He has good style and looks great all the time. He is also very, very opinionated about most topics - which makes him a prime candidate for an advice column. He is hilarious and makes me laugh a bunch every day. I found out today that he hates it when his wife asks him style advice questions for her blog. Ruh roh!!

Here we go...

Q: I want to update my look with a hat. What style would you suggest?
DAM: A cowboy hat...or a bowler. Both are equally ridiculous. Don't wear hats.
(Ed: please note that David wears a toque or baseball cap most days)

Q: What should I wear to a keg party? I want to look cute.
DAM: A ballgown, so you stand out. Perfect for keg stands.

Q: What one piece should I buy for Spring 2011?
DAM: Bowling shoes.

Barack is on trend!

Q: Is it ok for a lady to wear pants to church? If yes, what style?
DAM: Yes! Any style! Why...it's 2011. Who said ladies aren't allowed to wear pants?

Q: What is your top style advice tip?
DAM: I'm a dude
Q: What about for dudes?
DAM: No. No. I have no tips. Wait...scratch all of that. My top tip is bike shorts...over cargo pants.
Q: Over cargo pants?
DAM: Yes. Over cargo pants.

Thanks David!!! You are awesome.

XOXO
Emily

Barack bowling pic via manolomen.com

Mood Music - Glasvegas

Wednesday, Wednesday. Today is the kind of day where I want to drink lots of tea and wear a grey sweater. Ho hum January Wednesday.

Not to worry, I'll be plenty glitzy later on when I watch Toddlers and Tiaras on the PVR!

XOXO

Emily

Max Out Yo Credit Card! - Rick Owens Jacket

Isn't it torturous how every other commercial on tv these days is advertising a tropical vacation? Oh how I wish I was about to jump on a jet to somewhere warm. Belize? Maybe St. Barts? Even though it's hot all day in the tropics, it can still get a bit cool at night. I would have to bring this Rick Owens jacket with, plus a couple of sun dresses, and a rich lady bathing suit.

I guess I'd need something on my feet. Something fancy and impractical!

Hopefully my newly-discovered half-sister Oprah will throw a couple of bucks my way so that I can get shopping and then get my tan on!

Rick Owens jacket (net-a-porter.com)
Melissa Odabash swimsuit (net-a-porter.com)
Viktor & Rolf open-toe mules (lagarconne.com)


XOXO
Emily

Naptime Netflix - Happy Ever Afters

Another week of Netflix Canada slim pickings. It's so cold out that I've been fairly house-bound the past few days and thought a comedy would cheer me up. Most of the comedies available I've either seen or do not in any way/shape/form want to see. Best example of this - Still Waiting, the sequel to that horrible Ryan Reynolds waiter movie from a few years ago. No thanks. Barf.

I chose to watch Happy Ever Afters mainly because I hadn't heard of it at all before. It's an Irish movie and it stars Sally Hawkins (who I really liked in Happy Go Lucky).  I didn't recognize any of the other actors. The quickie plot: 2 couples get married and have their receptions at the same hotel. Madcap antics ensue...

Ridiculous Factor?
Very, very high. You'll have to suspend your disbelief pretty seriously to get into the humour of this movie. Not my cup of tea. The main character (Sally Hawkings) and her little girl are cute, but the rest of the cast are pretty weak.

Verdict?
One of my mom's favourite hobbies is to go to Rogers Video and buy the super-sale previously viewed DVDs. She only buys the ones that are like 3 for $10 and has brought home some dooooooozys. Always rom-coms. I'm guessing that my mom owns this movie and thinks it is pretty funny. Only watch this if you are the most hardcore lover of rom-coms. Me? Not so much. Still, I bet this movie is a billion times better than Still Waiting.

Practical Fashion - Shoemageddon

So, I don't want this post to read like a girl's guide to lady stereotypes ("women be buying shoes!") Not every lady out there loves her shoes more than her man, the same way that not every lady can spell Manolo Blahnik or saw Sex and the City 2: Muppets Take Dubai.  Most women are too busy living life to care a ton about the shoes on their feet.

Me? I love shoes like the tweens love Justin Bieber. Call me a stereotype and I'll say, "What? I can't hear you over the click-clicking of my hot boots."

When I started reading books about the whole pregnancy thing, the one tidbit that immediately filled me with dread was that many ladies go up a shoe size during pregnancy - and stay that size forever. Sure enough, at about 5 months I couldn't get most of my shoes to fit for the life of me...and now, 6 months after the birth of my peanut, I'm one full size larger in the shoe department. 

I'd been cultivating a pretty sweet shoe wardrobe since high school so this was a horrible blow. After I sucked it up and donated my too small shoes to charity, I had a pretty big dilemma: how do you build a shoe wardrobe almost from scratch? I had to do something as I was wearing Converse every day and the weather was starting to turn colder.

The Issues

- needed to re-build a good chunk of my shoe wardrobe 

- did not have a ton of cash to spend

- did not want to compromise on quality (cheap shoes chew up my feet as a general rule)

My Solutions

I started out by making a list of what essentials I needed and then what nice-to-have pairs I was also interested in. I decided pretty early on that I wasn't going to worry about shoes to wear to work as I won't be going back there until the summer, and will have to buy new work clothes at that time. Doesn't make sense to buy shoes for a non-existent work wardrobe. I still had some shoes that fit (rain & winter boots, workout runners, sandals) so I focused on only what I needed. Here was my list:

Essentials:

- casual everyday boots

- knee-high dressy boots

- casual flats

- casual runners

Nice-To-Haves:

- dressy stilettos

- wedges

- ankle boots

- second pairs of any/all above

My husband is awesome and took me and the peanut on a trip to NYC in September. I took that opportunity to get 'er done and get me some shoes. I knew that if I just bought the essentials all at once I wouldn't risk impulse buying of shoes I didn't consider essential.  I also made sure to go with brands that I had bought in the past so I knew that the quality would be up to par. It took a few hours, but I left New York with everything I needed.

Once I had my essentials purchased, I decided to treat myself and buy a pair of stilettos. My plan is to pick up some wedges in the spring, and then I'll figure out what I need for work in the summer. I still miss my old shoes, but with some planning I'll have a killer shoe wardrobe again in no time. Fingers crossed!

XOXO
Emily

Jimmy Choo boots photo via net-a-porter.com

Dingus of the Week - O-Town

No contest this week, but a grammatical dilemna. What is the plural of dingus? Dinguses? Dingi? Where are you when I need you Steve Brule! Anyways...I'm just going to stick with Dingus. The fellas from O-Town have decided that the world needs them to reform and go on a reunion tour. Sure. You should get Sugar Jones to open for you too.

Now, you'd think that I would give shouts out to Ashley Parker Angel for saying no to the reunion, but I'm betting that dingus is just holding out for more money. I feel bad for O-Town for having been "managed" (handled?) by Lou Pearlman, especially on account of the rumours that he molested some of his artists. That being said, leave the past in the past and create some new music under a different moniker if you must!

o-town members tweet of possible reunion (ew.com)
Ashley Parker Angel Has A Feature Film (crazydaysandnights.net)
"Ashley's Rejection Really Hurt" (tmz.com)

Throwback Inspiration - Marisa Berenson

I looooooove looking at 70s fashion photography. Everything is so over the top and wacky. There were lots of great models during that time, but Marisa Berenson is my favourite.  She has such classic features and had the most awesome long brown hair...but when I think of Marisa, I normally think lashes, lashes, lashes.

I like wearing fake lashes, and normally pair them with thick black winged eyeliner. Lately it feels much fresher to pair a fake lash with a bright coloured eyeshadow, nude lips and (bronzer) tan à la Marisa. I'd prefer to have a proper tan, but there are no sunny vaycays in my future and who has time to go tanning when you're chasing a kid around?

XOXO
Emily

Marisa Bereson pics via rachelgoodwin.com

Solid Fashion Advice - Mom Edition

This week, I put my Mom in the hot seat and got her to dish out her brand of style advice. Let's get to it!

Style credentials:
My Mom loves to shop and is always on the hunt for a stylish deal. If it's not on sale, she doesn't buy it. She used to take me to the Winners at Bathurst and Lawrence all the time when I was a kid, like an OG of shopping. She travels a whole bunch (all over the world!) so she has a pretty global sense of style. Plus, she's a mom...and mom's always know best, yes?

Here we go...

Q: What should I wear on a dinner date?

MOM: I'd say a smart sweater and a pair of pants.


Q: Which sitcom character has the best style?

MOM: Past or present? Oh (pause), geez. I'm trying to think of any that have style. There's that woman on Modern Family, but she's a bit tarty. All my sitcoms - Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory - the women don't have such great style. I'll say Jennifer Aniston on Friends.


Q: What one piece should everyone get for Spring 2011?

MOM: A white shirt.


Q: Is it okay for a lady to wear pants to church?

MOM: Yes. Now, I say that with reservations.


Thanks Mom!!!

Mood Music - Josh Rouse

Winter? Blech. I'm over it. I'm so ready to twirl around in circles in the park wearing a lightweight coat & open toed shoes...and it's not even Groundhog Day yet. Dommage!

XOXO
Emily

Max Out Yo Credit Card! - Jill Sander Top & Skirt

Are you sick of hearing about Golden Globes fashions too? Don't worry -  I won't dwell, or discuss who was best/worst dressed. Okay, really quickly, my favourite trend of this year is all the fashion pundits on tv calling out a few stars for looking like either Michelle Duggar or one of the Sister Wives. Even Angelina was called "Duggaresque" on one recap show I watched. Love it!

My real favourite thing about the Golden Globes was seeing some awesome gowns in peaches, pinks and greens.  These colours are going to look so fresh once spring is here.

I'll wear this Jill Sander top and skirt with a whole bunch of gold once the weather warms up.  I'll also have to wait until I get the royalty cheques from my forthcoming reality series, where I live at the shore with 7 other strangers. Should be groundbreaking tv.

Jill Sander Bubble Back T-Shirt & Skirt (bergdorfgoodman.com)

XOXO
Emily

Naptime Netflix - North Shore

While there are still very slim pickings on Netflix Canada, I'm super impressed that my Netflix has figured out my love for 80s sports movies with happy endings.  This was recommended for me and I thought I'd give it a shot.

Ridiculous Factor?
Quite high, but in the best possible way. The plot is pretty much the Karate Kid with surfing taking the place of karate. The acting is wooden, the production values are kinda weak and the fashions are hilariously dated. That being said, I looooooove cheesy 80s movies so I overlooked all of those flaws. Soul surfers!!

Verdict?
This movie is hella awesome! I'm changing into my hot pink tank top before I watch it a second time!

Practical Fashion - Jeans, Maternity Jeans and More Jeans

The dreaded "secret fit" panel jeans

Does anyone really enjoy shopping for jeans? You might, but me...not so much. For the past few years, I've gone to a store for a whole afternoon and tried on at least 40 pairs before buying the jeans that fit best. It's an annoying process, but it works well and I've always ended up with an awesome fitting pair of jeans in the end.

When I found out I was pregnant, one of the first fashion-related things I started to worry about was finding good maternity jeans. I worried enough that I ended up making a classic first-time pregnant lady mistake.  I went to a maternity store when I was only about 2 months along, put on the fake "bump" they keep in the changing room, and tried on some jeans.  I got a pair of Seven jeans that seemed to fit ok, and they had that "secret fit" waistband that most maternity jeans seem to have. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I didn't end up having an elegant little bump like the fake one from the store, so the jeans did not fit that well as my pregnancy progressed. Every time I wore those jeans they fell down and I had to walk around pulling up my pants like a 14 year old boy. This song played in my head as I walked:

I found decent maternity jeans in the end (more on that in a sec), but they immediately stopped fitting once my peanut was born. I panicked again, and ran out and bought a pair of boyfriend jeans that fit but looked just sad. I felt gross when I threw them on. So, yeah, I've made lots of denim mistakes over the past year, but here's what I was able to work out:

The Issues
- difficult to find jeans that fit through pregnancy and after
- don't want to spend a lot of money unless jeans are guaranteed to look really good

My Solutions
The best $30 I spent in my maternity wardrobe was on a Bella Band.  Get one immediately when you find out you're pregnant.  That way, you can wear your normal jeans (and pants and skirts) up until your fourth or fifth month at least. Yay Bella Band!

As far as finding maternity jeans that looked great, I found my answer in 2 very unlikely places. Victoria Beckham wrote a style book called That Extra Half Inch that is surprisingly awesome. It has a chapter on maternity style and apart from her advocating wearing lots of capes (no thanks), she has great advice. She did not go out any buy any maternity jeans; instead, she added elastic panels to the waistband of a pair she already owned. I ended up listening to her advice about staying away from the "secret fit" panel and found some great maternity jeans at...Old Navy! The waistband fit low under my bump, they were comfortable and my pants did not end up on the ground. I'm not a big fan of Old Navy as a rule, but they have really great maternity jeans for under $30.

Once the peanut was born, I ended up breaking out the Bella Band once again so that I could wear my old jeans.  I didn't wear jeans too often post partum, but when I did it was always with a Bella Band - aside from that one raggedy pair of boyfriend jeans.

Finally, make sure that you don't lose your mind and stick with denim styles that you would normally wear.  I generally favour really flared jeans (because I'm tall) and that style still flattered me best when I was pregnant. If you're a skinny jeans girl, stick with that silhouette and don't get frumpy mom jeans just because your size has changed.

XOXO
Emily

Dingus of the Week - Jenelle

I was very tempted to give Gucci Mane the title of Dingus this week on account of his lovely ice cream face tattoo. I considered Marcel from Top Chef All Stars too, on account of this week's episode. Then I checked out the episode of Teen Mom 2 I had saved on the PVR...and there was no doubt about who the biggest Dingus is this week.

Wow wow wow. Words don't describe...she makes Amber from original Teen Mom look like a responsible parent. When I was trying to find a picture of her online, the majority of images that came up were her most recent mugshot.

*Spoiler alert if you haven't watched this episode* I can't think of any situation where it is acceptable to punch your mom, especially in this case. Jenelle's mom probably wasn't the world's best parent (hence Jenelle's awfulness), but she seems to be doing a pretty good job raising Jenelle's kid. I'm glad she got custody. Don't think I'm going to watch any more episodes of this show. It's annoying that these kids are acting ridiculous just because they think it will be good tv, and so that they can get some fame. I'll just stick with Maury.

gucci mane photo via dlisted.com; jenelle photo via starcasm.net

Throwback Inspiration - Cricket Blair

When I was still pretty young, my mom used to let me watch Young and the Restless after school. There were so many fierce ladies on that soap in the '80s, but Cricket was my favourite. She had the best perm, the most stylish clothes and was dating the most famous rock star in Genoa City.

Now I'm not considering getting a perm or anything, but I've been thinking about Cricket's signature make up look a bunch in the past few weeks. Putting together bright coloured eyeliner and really pink cheeks with a light lip colour (not frosted like Cricket, but a light pink/beige) has been working for me lately.  Looks great with earrings and shoulder pads!

XOXO
Emily

photo via daytimeconfidential.com

Solid Fashion Advice - Baby Edition

Arlo, this week's fashion advice expert

I love advice columns, don't you? Fashion advice in particular is awesome because when it is good advice it's helpful, and when it's bad advice it is funny. I thought it would be too lame for me to dish out fashion advice, so I'm going to pose some fashion questions to different people in the coming weeks and see what advice they have to give.  First up is my little peanut, Arlo.

Ok, so Arlo is a baby and can't talk or walk or anything. He does, however, have great style already. He likes colours, animals and colourful animals.  He is also very funny and smart (his grandparents tell him so all the time). I came up with some fashion questions for Arlo to give his advice on, and made some flash cards to help him answer. Let's see what Arlo thinks!

Apologies for the blurry photos. I had to take them fast before Arlo tried to eat the flashcards.

Q1 - Which is worse: pyjamas in the daytime, or a feathered hat at night?

Arlo chose the feathered hat as the worse look.

Q2 - Which is better: sequined hoodie or patterned sweater vest?

Sweater vest wins!

Q3 - Which word best describes Fergie's style (black eyed pea, not royalty): scary or brutal?

Arlo had a tough time with this one because he doesn't know who Fergie is, but ended up selecting Scary Fergie.

Q4 - Last question: is it ok for a lady to wear pants to church?

My wise little peanut thinks it really depends on what kind of church you attend, so he answered yes and no.

Thanks Arlo!

XOXO
Emily

PS: People who can speak in sentences will be giving advice in future. Check back next week for more advice!

Mood Music - The Radio Dept.

I've been so sleepy today! Must be because I got 7 hours sleep, and my body is confused. My norm is about 5 hours so no wonder. It's gross out and I wish I was in bed instead of gearing up to go out and shovel snow. Well...the snow's not going anywhere. I'm putting my pyjamas back on!

XOXO
Emily

Max Out Yo Credit Card! - Plush Leggings

Hey, did you know it's cold outside? The giant pile of snow might have given you a hint. If you find that you have to go outside sometimes in winter, you should treat yourself to Plush's fleece lined leggings. I've seen them written about on a bunch of blogs over the past few months. They are a brilliant idea: thin leggings lined with fleece so that they aren't bulky but are mega-warm. Totally more comfortable than wearing 3 pairs of tights.

I'll throw this Chloe leather/linen dress and a cashmere coat over the top of my warm leggings, once I win my millions on a tv game show. Wheel of Fortune, here I come! Watch out!

Plush Fleece Lined Leggings (shopbop.com)
Chloe Leather Dress (net-a-porter.com)

XOXO
Emily

Naptime Netflix - John Pinette: I'm Starving

Culling through the slim Netflix Canada pickings the past few weeks, I kept coming across this selection. It's always displayed next to Gabriel Iglesias: Hot and Fuzzy. Figuring that this movie couldn't be any worse than racist puppeteer Jeff Dunham or Larry the Cable Guy stand up, I took a chance on John Pinette. Also, I was really hungry as my little peanut took a long time to go down for his nap. Serendipitous!

I didn't recognize John Pinette, so I checked him out on IMDB. Turns out his biggest break was starring on Parker Lewis Can't Lose. Bad sign. His last gig was touring as the mama in Hairspray the musical. Worse sign!

Ridiculous Factor?
Pretty high. The opening scene is pretty representative of John's standup. A waiter brings John a giant silver covered meal platter. The waiter lifts the cover to reveal a teeny salad. John looks into the camera, pulls a face and screams, "I'm starvin'!"Har har har.

Over the course of 1:15 hrs, we learn that John Pinette likes food, likes to eat food, hates camping, likes cruises and Starbucks...oh, and he also likes to eat food. There is a weird soft focus filter on hungry John that is distracting. He doesn't actually eat anything, so I imagine he is still starving.

Verdict?
Booooooooo. I enjoy stand up films as long as I chuckle at least a couple times. This film? Zero chuckles. My time would have been better spent listening to Temple of the Dog's Hunger Strike on repeat for an hour.

Practical Fashion - Pregnant and Fancy

When I was pregnant last year, I was invited to several weddings. As excited as I was to help my friends and family members celebrate their respective big days, figuring out what to wear was stressful. It's hard enough to get dressed on a regular day when you are pregnant! Here's what I was able to work out:

The Issues
- constantly changing body makes planning too far ahead difficult
- did not want too spend too many $$$ on a dress I would only wear once or twice
- lack of cute "maternity" dresses in shops

My Solution
I started out with the basic, fail safe fashion cornerstone: the little black dress. I knew I could wear a great LBD to all my dressy events in a pinch. I wanted the dress to be jersey, because it would expand with my constantly growing belly. I ended up buying the ruched tank dress by Isabella Oliver. It wasn't cheap, but I wore that dress to work (with a blazer over top) at least once a week. I wore it to one wedding and dressed it up with lots of jewelry and a wrap. It was a sound investment!

For the other fancy events I attended, I took a less safe approach. I went to non-maternity stores and looked for silhouettes that would work with my pregnant lady body. Surprisingly, I found lots of maxi dresses and shifts that were awesome. I wore a sequined Club Monaco shift over skinny black pants to my shower. The best part about going this route is that I still wear these pieces now - they just fit completely differently. The flowy maxi dress that I wore to a wedding the week before I gave birth now looks great when I wear it belted. The only con to this approach is that you have to do a bunch of trying on at stores to figure out what will work. I waited until a couple days before the event. If I had the energy to find something, fantastic. If not, I broke out the LBD!

The most complicated part of a fancy look for me was finding shoes. My feet swelled up to the size of 2 Sunday dinner pot roasts most days, so strappy stilettos were out. I found some great leather flip flops by Tkees that were really neutral and they became my standard dressy shoe. They were my version of wearing that flesh-coloured heel that goes with everything. I bought them in the same shade as my skin tone but they come in dozens of colours. On colder days, I wore flat boots that still looked dressy but were comfortable.

So, pregnant lady friends, don't be afraid of the fancy event. Throw on a dress, some comfy shoes and a bunch of jewels...and then celebrate until you get sleepy! Don't let fools try to stop you from dancing if you feel like it ("but the baby might fall out!"), and make sure your partner does something nice for you after you drive their drunk ass home. Cheers!

XOXO
Emily

www.isabellaoliver.com
www.tkees.com

Dingus of the Week - Camille Grammer

Steve Brule is definitely not a dingus.  He is the master of calling a spade a spade...or, rather, a dingus a dingus. Anywho, shout outs to my man Dr. Steve Brule.

This week there has been no bigger dingus than Camille Grammer. She announced this week that she would not be returning to film a second season of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  She also has made a bunch of media appearances where she has admonished the editors of her show for the way she's been portrayed.

Now, I've watched a few episodes of RHOBH and the show would 100% be less entertaining without Camille.  I get it if she's trying to negotiate for more money by threatening to quit. She's the reason that folks tune in each week, to see what trainwreck she'll be involved in. She's about to get $50 million in a divorce settlement, so I don't think that she's speaking out to get more money. She must truly believe that she's the victim of an unfair edit.

Girlfriend, you cannot blame the editors for making you look crazy. Unless they overdubbed your voice with made-up dialogue, you be crazy. You have 4 nannies for 2 kids.  Your only friends are your hairdresser and the lady the show Medium is based on (which you produced). I could go on for a few more paragraphs with reasons why you are nuts. Embrace the crazy, stay on your show and give your salary to charity.

Camille Grammer Doesn't Need Those Hos Anyway (dlisted)
Camille Grammer to Bravo: I'm Now Ready to Walk

Steve Brule photo via adultswim.com; Camille Grammer photo via dlisted.com

Throwback Inspiration - Gwyneth, pre-Goop

Ok, shameful secret time - I'm totally one of those saddos that keeps an "inspirational look book" of clippings from magazines. I've been pasting fashion & beauty cuttings into sketch books for years now. Stop laughing, I do realize this is one step up from scrapbooking. I use my sad sketch books all the time for styling ideas, so yeah...won't be stopping anytime soon.

Anyways, when I was in my 1st year at Uni & in the throws of my clipping habit, Gwyneth was definitely my fave style icon. Before Goop, Madonna, Mario Batali, or Shallow Hal (booo), no one could touch her style. Prior to that unfortunate 2002 Oscar dress incident (google image search "Gwyneth oscar dress saggy" if you need a reminder), she stuck with beautiful and classic clothes. 

I, of course, did not have the funds to stock up on the awesome Calvin Klein pieces she was always photographed in. Luckily, I also thought her hair & makeup were always spot on. Yes, yes, I did copy her cute short blonde haircut and no, I'm not sorry. Looking back at photos of her circa the mid-90s, she looks classy and fresh. Me...not so much. In photos I look a lot like when Kelly cut her hair and had her bad phase with Colin on 90210. 

photo via instyle.com

Mood Music - Phosphorescent

Ok, snowy Thursday -  I see your cloudy sky and raise you a little brass section jam to brighten you up (hopefully). I like that Phosphorescent was on David Letterman. Random!

XOXO
Emily

Max Out Yo Credit Card! - Pucci Dress

I'm pretending that I work at Bell Canada today and was one of those turkeys who won the 50 million dollars. Here's what I would buy first - a printed crepe de Chine shirt dress by Pucci.

I normally hate those tired Pucci prints, but I'm feeling the purple & peacock feathers in this one.  I'd skip the fringe bag and wear it with the brown Proenza Schouler PS1 that I carry in my dreams and high brown Frye boots. I guess I should buy a lottery ticket this week!

Pucci shirt dress (net-a-porter.com)

XOXO
Emily

Naptime Netflix Film - Bugsy Malone

If you live in Canada like me and have Netflix at home, the selection of movies is pretty lacking. I know it's  only $8 a month and better than renting movies, but still...there's pretty slim pickings. I find myself watching ridiculous movies as a result.  Here's my latest:

Ridiculous factor?

HIGH! This is a musical about mobsters where all the actors are kids. They sing lipsync to creepy songs. It stars Scott Baio. They put so much makeup on pretty teen Jodie Foster that she looks like a junior drag queen.

Verdict?

Avoid. Waste of a naptime movie. Worst!

Practical Fashion - Let's Talk 4th Trimester

I've been having trouble since I was pregnant last year - and especially since my son was born in July - finding advice about fashion that I can actually apply to my new body. None of the blogs or magazines I normally read offered much help. I thought I'd share my issues and what I was able to work out.

Getting dressed to leave the house during the first months post-birth was a really big challenge. I had my at-home sweatpants look down pat, but finding clothes that made me feel like I looked good was near impossible.  

The Issues

- maternity clothes stopped fitting almost immediately postpartum

- pre-pregnancy clothes still too tight/uncomfortable

- couldn't find any jeans that would fit or had a comfortable waistband

- clothes had to be amenable to nursing

My Solution

I ended up putting together a uniform look for myself that I could just throw on without thinking and feel confident in. Throwing on an outfit in a couple seconds saved me a lot of time and worry.  

Before my pregnancy, I used to throw on a dress if I needed to look put together in a hurry, but dresses and nursing in public do not mix so I had to start from scratch.  My 4th trimester uniform consisted of:

- 2 pairs of flared black dress pants (I chose Gap Modern Bootcut)

- 5 fitted tanks (black American Apparel worked best for me)

- 2 nursing bras that were properly (professionally) fit

- 2 pairs of flat shoes (white Converse Chuck Taylors and grey ballerina flats)

- blue jean jacket

- 3 cardigans (all from pre-pregnancy wardrobe)

Adopting a utilitarian style of dress is pretty boring under normal circumstances, but when you aren't sleeping and have to leave the house in a hurry (always in a hurry!) it does the trick. I now regret a few of the clothes I bought right after giving birth and they've already been donated to charity. If I were to do it over again, I would stick to buying those key pieces I described above - the ones I wore over and over again.

If you're struggling with your 4th trimester wardrobe, the best thing you can do is to limit what you buy. Wait for a few months (until your body settles down) to figure out with what pieces you need to get and what styles are now the most flattering for you. In the meantime, come up with your own version of the uniform and spend a couple hours trying things on. Better yet - once you have an idea of what you want, have a friend pick up some things for you to try at home, and then return what you don't want. It will be worth it!!!

XOXO

Emily

Hello Hello Hello

Happy 2011! One of my resolutions for the year is to "find a hobby", and this is what I've come up with so far.  I like reading blogs, so I thought it might be fun to post some stuff myself.  The goal is to post about topics that are fun for me and I hope you'll find them at least a bit amusing. I'm going to try to post a few times a week.

I love fashion, so my posts will probably be pretty fashion-oriented, but there will be some tv/film/music/celebrity goofiness thrown in too.  Oh, I'll try to keep the gushing about my kid to a minimum, in case you were worried.

My mom informed me today that blogs are out of style and that everyone is now on "the twitter".  Oh well...

XOXO
Emily

PS: the baby at the top of the page is my little peanut, just in case you were considering making jokes about him in the comments.