Mood Music - Eliza Doolittle

Nothing like a sunny day to perk up your spirits. I got to sit on a patio and drink a beer today. Awesometown!

My 'lil peanut is really into whistling these days. I also love me a good whistling song. This song is too grownup for the 'lil peanut to listen to...but he's in bed now, so bring it on! Happy weekend!

XOXO,
Emily

I Like You...Pippa Middleton

Holy moley! How good did Pippa Middleton look at the Royal Wedding! She nailed it. I am very against the concept of brides trying to make their bridesmaids look rotten, so as not to steal any thunder. Kate Middleton looked great, and it's awesome that she made sure her sister looked great too.

So good!

XOXO,
Emily

photos via fashionista.com

Throwback Inspiration- Spice Girls

This Spice Girls song came on the radio today and I immediately remembered how great this video was from a style perspective. I was never really into the Spice Girls, but I like this 60s throwback song and how they mixed 60s and 90s styling in the video.

There are so many fantastic individual elements here: Geri's boots, Emma's coat, Victoria's suit and necklace...I could keep going.

All the girls have very similar makeup looks: crazy heavy eye-makeup and those 90s mega-lined lips. I normally cut right back on the makeup in the Spring/Summer, so I'm kinda into the idea of doing heavy makeup like this for going out at night. I also love Victoria's short hair. Not so crazy about Mel C's hair extentions, but overall the styling here is fun and upbeat. Girl power!

XOXO,
Emily

Ask Arlo - Royal Wedding Edition

Royal Wedding Day! How early did you wake up? If it was before 6am, why don't you have a PVR? I like weddings and all, but I love sleeping more!

While everyone was out and about speculating on what Kate will wear or what William will wear, I asked Arlo yesterday what he thought some of the other guests should wear.

Arlo is so mobile now that I thought I'd try to make a little video of him and his flashcards. It ain't perfect...hope you like it anyway. Oh...Arlo's grandparents are on vacation in the UK and seem to be the only people who are not excited about the royal wedding. We included his Grandpa in the mix just for fun.

Thanks Arlo!

XOXO.
Emily

Max Out Yo Credit Card - Jenni Kayne Shoes

My 'lil peanut enjoys listening to the song Goin' To The Zoo, so I'm thinking I should probably take him to the actual zoo sometime soon. No mom jeans or fanny packs for this lady! Here is what I shall wear on our zoo adventure:

There's a zoomobile, right? Animals totally prefer seeing hot heels instead of some lame runners. I will still stick to jeans and a tee like the other moms. I'm just going to make sure they are mega-cute!

Gotta bring a big bag full of snacks with us!

Alright...now if I can only convince Raffi to come with us and sing to the 'lil peanut all day...

Jenni Kayne Suede Instep Band Pumps (shopbop.com)
APC Petit Standard Jeans (apc.fr)
Proenza Schouler Large Shibori Print Tank (lagarconne.com)
Bottega Veneta Large Intrecciato Hobo (barneys.com)

XOXO,
Emily

Practical Fashion - Help A Lady Out

Do you like presents? I do, even more than this fella!

When ladies are pregnant, people get excited about getting them gifts for the baby. That is understandable, as baby things are mega-cute. But what about the pregnant lady herself? If you want to do a pregnant lady a solid, give her a little something to brighten her day. I'm not talking about a Proenza Schouler PS1 (although if someone got one for me I'd be pretty stoked). Try something small. Here are some ideas of fashionable gifts that you might want to give to your favourite preggo:

Cute Flip-flops or Slippers

If you have a ballpark of her shoe size, pick up something comfy for her to trudge around in, either inside or out. If you are extra sweet, throw in a gift card for a pedicure and your preggo friend just might name their baby after you.

Jewels

If you see a necklace or pair of earrings that call out "give me to your friend", buy them and gift them! Pregnant ladies love jewellery because it fits for all 9 months and reflects their "glow". No rings please unless they are jelly rings. It is no fun to try and pull a ring off of a swollen pregnancy finger.

Blankets

Even if it is summer, pregnant ladies love blankets. They just do.

Lip Balm

I always had chapped lips while I was pregnant, and could never find my lip balm because I was also very spacey. There was no such thing as too much lip balm at that time. Great present!

On the other hand, here are a few things that you probably should not give to your pregnant friends:

Clothes

There is a very good chance that any clothes you buy for your pal will not fit. Even if something does fit, it will likely not fit for long. If you must, give them a gift card so that they can buy something that fits when they need it. Just don't get them a Lululemon gift card and then later offer to exchange it for a card to another store as you didn't realize that their "shape" has returned. That happened to me, and it wasn't fun.

Jokes

Hey, wouldn't it be funny to give [insert preggo's name here] a bottle of booze? Maybe some lingerie? No, I've got it...a comedy t-shirt that looks like this."

Your friend may have a fantastic sense of humour, and may be the best sport ever...but come on! Do you like seeing pregnant ladies cry? They may just cry if you give them a "funny" gift. That is what happens when your hormones are beyond your control. When I was pregnant, I once weeped so hard during an episode of Dog Whisperer that my husband had to leave the room. I can't even imagine if I got a "No Fat Chicks" shirt or something. No funny gifts until after the baby pops out.

Indah Foxy Beach Slippers (shopbop.com)
Woven Mesh Bracelet (jcrew.com)
Ferm Living Remix Blanket (modernkaribou.ca)
Rosebud Salve (sephora.com)

XOXO,
Emily

The Requisite Royal Wedding Post

Are you sick of hearing about the Royal Wedding yet? Yeah, me too. I'm still planning to watch on PVR Friday morning, but I'm over all the silly media coverage. A few weeks ago, I was planning for all my posts this week to be Royal Wedding-related, but I've changed my mind after being bombarded with wedding tidbits for days and days.

Instead, I'm going to devote a few dozen words to the event here, plus there will be a special edition of Ask Arlo on Thursday so that Arlo can weigh in on what the guests should wear to the event.

Despite the media overload, I still totally think Kate Middleton is awesome and will be an amazing bride. I know that most of the pundits are betting on Kate wearing a Sarah Burton for McQueen design, and I'm thinking that is what she'll wear too. If it were up to me, I would love to see her have Temperley London design her wedding gown. I'm guessing her dress will be giant and dramatic, but I think she would look so elegant in something a bit more sleek, like Carolyn Bisette Kennedy's dress.

Kate wearing something like the dress in the photo, plus a huge veil and longer beaded train, would be so wonderful!

Even though I'm pretty over all the Royal Wedding coverage, I'm still finding it much more palatable than the Canadian Federal Election coverage. That is some drekitude right there! If you are in Canada, please make sure you vote next Monday! Do some homework about your riding, try to block out all the media blarf and vote, vote, VOTE!

Happy Wedding week!

XOXO,
Emily

It's Tyra!!!! - ANTM Week 9

The dreaded recap episode! My blog post recap is super late because I had no ambition to write about this lame episode. What a waste of an hour! Why do they even bother with this episode during every cycle? Next cycle, they should just let Tyra do this for an hour:

Mood Music - Gorillaz

What a week, hey? It's still pretty cold here and I'm pretty excited for some warm weather to arrive. I'd also love to sleep for more than 3 hours at a time. Anywho, me and the 'lil peanut are just chilling inside waiting for the Good Friday Jesus parade to finish outside of our house so we can play outside in the cold. I'm a hockey widow this weekend (good luck to my husband at his tournament!). I treated myself to a pair of the H & M Swedish Hasbeens earlier in the week and have had lots of fun hanging with friends over the past few days so I can't really complain.

XOXO,
Emily

I Like You...Fearne Cotton

So, when I first started writing on this blog, I had a regular feature called "Dingus of the Week" where I called out a celebrity for acting dumb and being a dingus. I've stopped writing posts under that banner because I was finding it challenging to write in a constructive way. I'm snarky enough with my ANTM recaps, so it seemed a little much to bitch about annoying celebrities that aren't Tyra every week.

The other day I was thinking that, since I want to cut down on my snarky posts, it makes sense to feature celebrities that I do like. Instead of focusing on a dingus and giving them more attention, I've decided to feature people that are fun and awesome. First up...Fearne Cotton.

My 'lil peanut and I listen to BBC Radio 1 for most of the day. I started listening because of Scott Mills, but I'm now a big fan of Fearne as well. She's a mega-star in England; I guess she would be like the UK's Ryan Seacrest? Radio show, lots of tv hosting gigs...sounds about right. Fearne also has pretty stellar style and consistently looks great in photos.

I normally see photos of Fearne carrying amazing bags and with awesome accessories. Girlfriend knows how to put an outfit together! Loves it!

XOXO,
Emily

photos via fabsugar.co.uk

Max Out Yo Credit Card - Roland Mouret Dress

Oh, hey there Easter Bunny, I didn't see you there. I was too busy trying to pick out my outfit for Easter dinner. You know my events are always fancy, and Easter is no exception. Fancy dress and fancy hat required at my Easter soirée! I even picked up some of those Easter crackers (that are like Christmas crackers but pastel) at Loblaws. That's how I roll.

P.S. Hey Bunny - where's my chocolate at?

Roland Mouret Lucile Stretch-Crepe Dress (net-a-porter.com)
Phillip Treacy S5 Hat (samuelshats.com)

XOXO & Happy Easter & Happy Passover,
Emily

Great Moments in Soap History - Timmy

It was announced recently that the long-running soaps All My Children and One Life To Live will be cancelled in the coming months. I don't watch either of these shows, but the news made me a bit sad because I love soap operas and there are so few left on the air.

Soap operas are, for me, the tv equivalent of eating awesome junk food every once and awhile. They are like fantasy/sci fi, but still set in reality and campy. I get as excited about a zany Victor Newman plot line as most fellas would get about Lost or Battlestar Gallactica. It's an under-appreciated genre people! Every couple of weeks I'm going to highlight a particularly fun moment, character or plotline in soap history, to honour the genre I love so much.

First up - Timmy: Harmony's best and only doll/boy!

The show Passions was one hot mess. I didn't particularly love it, but would watch it when I was feeling lazy in university or when I was working shift work in my first post-uni job. There were lots of annoying characters (ugh...Sheridan Crane = worst!) and plotlines (Ethan loves Gwen! Ethan loves Teresa! No, Gwen!). There was even a character named Fancy. Oh...also, an orangutan who dressed as a nurse and was in love with a policeman named Luis. The superstar of the show and the only real reason for watching was Timmy.

One of the witches that lived in Harmony, Tabitha Lennox, sewed Timmy and brought him to life to be her companion. He ruled because he always spoke of himself in the third person, wore white gloves (I guess they were technically his stuffed hands) and drank lots and lots of martimmys. He hated Fluffy the cat, loved Charity (normal Charity, not Zombie Charity - another Harmony resident) and was pals with Julian Crane, the richest jerk in town. I believe at one point he became a real boy. It was icky when he went into "doll mode" to spy on the residents of Harmony. He had great chemistry with Tabitha, and they had lots of scenes that made up for his icky doll state.

Timmy was played by Josh Ryan Evans, who sadly passed away in 2002 as a result of complications during a surgery. In a sad and eerie coincidence, he died on the same day that a Passions episode aired where his character donated his heart to Charity and passed away. He was a really terrific actor and easily stole the show when he was on screen.

Yay Timmy!

XOXO,
Emily

Practical Fashion - April Showers

Happy Easter & Passover! Nothing like a long weekend and spending time with family and friends. Yay!

Even though it's been officially spring for a few weeks now, the coming of Easter always signals the beginning of shower season. There always seems to be so many bridal and baby showers at this time of year.

Knowing what to wear to a shower can be tough. They are normally afternoon events, but still require a certain amount of dressiness. Weather-wise, it's also tricky as you may be outside if it is sunny but may also be inside if it is too cold or rainy. Spring showers are definitely a layering occasion.

I've attended many showers over the past few years and have been lucky enough to be the guest of honour at a few myself. Here's what I've been able to work out about dressing for a shower:

If you're the guest of honour...


You are going to want to keep it pretty classic and simple. There will be plenty of photos, so keep that in mind when selecting an outfit. I'm a big fan of dresses, so I feel like you can't go wrong with a dress.  This is an occasion, however, where you should skip the LBD. Wear some colour - you're the main draw here!

If you're being feted at a baby shower, make sure to pick up something you feel really good in. A jersey fabric will be much more comfy than something rigid or constricting. Don't forget a cardigan or jacket to throw on top. Enlist a friend to help you pick something up if you're energy is low, or shop online if you have some time before your event.

I would stick to similar principles if the occasion is your bridal shower. One thing to keep in mind is to pick up something that will photograph well when you're sitting down. Make sure the skirt is not too short, unless you like worrying about the paparazzi photographing your underwear. Keep your accessories minimal, and try a nude shoe if your dress is colourful.

If you are a shower guest...


You can't go wrong with a cute pair of pants and a top. It's a great option, as you don't know if there will be active games or a lack of seating. A classic pair of cropped black cigarette pants, plus an easy silk top will serve you well. Picking separates in neutral colours is great because you can mix them with other items in your wardrobe, meaning you'll wear them lots. I tend to throw a blazer on top (in case there will be outdoor activities) and relegate colour to just a pop on a bracelet or purse. Keep the accessories simple, throw on some cute flats and you should be all set!

Hopefully that helps! Now you just have to decide what to get for a gift. So many options...who am I kidding? I'm totally a cash in an envelope gifter these days.

See You In Miami Jade Maxi Maternity Dress (duematernity.com)
En Plein Air Dress (anthropologie.com)
Sloan Fit Crop Pant (bananarepublic.ca)
Reiss Greta Mocha Silk Top (reissonline.com)

XOXO,
Emily

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Hey girl! Hey boy!

This week I'm going to be trying a few new things on the blog and switching things up a bit. I'll still be putting out many of my usual posts - Practical Fashion, Throwback Inspiration and, of course, an ANTM recap. I'm also going to try out a few new things, and hopefully they will be fun to read. Come back a few times during the week and check out the action! What else do you have to do over the long weekend? Hang out with your family? Catch up with The Killing on AMC? Yeah, me too.

Happy pre-Easter & pre-Passover to all! Celebrate with the song that's been stuck in my head all weekend!

Love ya lots,
Emily

Throwback Inspiration - Brett Anderson

Watching Gregory Gorgeous and his paid actor pals on The Avenue got me to think about gentlemen that inspire me from a fashion perspective. There are many to pick from, so I've selected someone who was a major fashion inspiration for me in the '90s.

Brett Anderson is the lead singer of the band Suede. When their first album was released in 1993, I became pretty instantly hooked. I was a fan of the music, but I was also a fan of Brett's look. He mostly wore button down shirts and flares, occasionally with a leather jacket. His look was pretty androgynous, so it wasn't too difficult to adopt and make a bit more feminine.

This spring, I'm not really into the super 70s pieces that I'm seeing in the shops. It seems much more fresh to toughen it up a bit, like pairing corduroy flares with a button down top and some silver hoop earrings a la Brett. I'm also digging some of Brett's colour combinations, looking back at some Suede videos at the time: lots of black, but sometimes an unexpected pairing of colours (e.g. light blue with grey).

Suede are playing at Coachella tomorrow. If you're going to be there, I am very jealous! Enjoy!

XOXO,
Emily

It's Tyra!!!! - ANTM Week 8

"At Harvard, this is the highest grade. I get this on all my papers..."

Hello, hello...week 8 already! Let's get right to it!


What did we learn about Tyra this week?
Same old shit, sadly. Tyra brags about Tyra ("I booked 25 fashion shows in Paris off of 1...2...3 photos") and does some fake accents (Swedish and Valley Girl). Only one real snippet of knowledge about Tyra this week: we learn that she stuffs her boots with legwarmers because her calves are too thin.

Tyra spouts some nonsense about putting together a portfolio that is pretty much common sense. For example, you should start with a picture that shows your face and should not include ugly photos.

Tyra is apparently still pissed off about last week's judge's revolt, because she makes the models do a word scramble to announce their international destination. They have trouble, as you would expect. After some time, the girls figure out they will be travelling to Morocco. Tyra apparently loves the markets and spices there. Morocco is so hot right now. It's even my 'lil peanut's middle name. For serious. That, my friends, is a story for another time. Maybe if next week's episode is as boring as this one...

My favourite part of this whole scene is that Tyra holds up a letter C to announce the word scramble, and the girls assume that they are going somewhere that begins with a C. They also don't put together that it is a 7-letter place name. Jaclyn thinks they will be going to Cuba or China. Alexandria, in her bonnet no less, guesses the destination as Canada, and says the word like they would be travelling to a garbage dump or something.

Keep your raggedy bonnet out of Canada!

Speaking of, Tyra continues her campaign of photoshoot terror by making the girls do their shoot this week at a garbage dump. That is just nasty.

Did anything else happen this week?
On the way to attend Harvard guest lecturer Tyra's portfolio masterclass, Brittani apologizes to Alexandria for last week's antics. It doesn't seem entirely sincere, but hopefully that's the end of the drama for awhile.

Back at the house, Jaclyn tells us that she feels that she is improving each week and is confident. Dum-de dum-dum dum!!

Nice to know you sweetie!

The next morning, the girls are greeted by Ron Johnson from A Different World, who is wearing contacts and is now an agent for IMG models.

Ron Johnson tells the girls about their go-see challenge. They will have 4 hours to attend 4 go-sees, and will be provided with a car and driver. They will all meet at Lana Marks after the 4 hours are up, and the top 3 girls will get to have the ultimate go-see with Lana. Now that the girls understand the uber-important concept of archetypes, they must pack clothing to represent 4 archetypes, as each go-see is looking for a specific one.

...and they're off! The go-sees are pretty much snooze city. Jaclyn and Brittani struggle with directions. The only go-see that's any fun is the "athletic archetype" go-see. Only Molly and Alexandria make it, and neither followed Ron Johnson's instruction to pack appropriate clothes. Molly ends up rolling up her top and running around in her nude underwears...

Who doesn't love running in no pants?

...and Alexandria goes back to her car to grab a swimsuit. Alexandria gets quote of the week this week:"I run outside and took my pants down. I was wearing a thong so it's not like I was embarrassing myself."

...no, but you did just embarrass that poor lady.

This is the first cycle that I can remember where all of the girls make it back from their go-sees on time! Nice work! Ron Johnson is happy. The top 3 are Alexandria, Molly and Kasia, with Alexandria winning the big prize of an international Lana Marks campaign and a goody bag. Lana tells the camera that Molly was better but looked too grumpy when it wasn't her turn to pose. Ron Johnson tells Hannah that she was meh, and Jaclyn and Brittani suck for only attending 2 go-sees. This is not good news for them, as Tyra warned earlier in the episode that the go-sees will have a big impact on who is sent home this week.

When we get to the dump for the photo shoot, Nigel and Jay introduce us to Michael Cinqo, a designer who has created specific dresses for this eco-friendly shoot. He says that he has taken materials like broken glass and recycled them to look like expensive jewels.

"I also recycled Yoko Ono's sunglasses, and recycled some makeup from one of your Covergirl challenges"

Sorry to do this, but here's a quick rant about how eco un-friendly these dresses are. No mention is made of the designer recycling any fabrics. He uses yards and yards and yards of fabric for each dress, and it appears to be some sort of shiny synthetic fabric...likely a heavily-processed oil by-product. The dyes used to make such fabrics are horrible for the environment. If ANTM really wanted to commission eco-friendly dresses, why didn't they go for shorter dresses made from a natural fabric, or even properly re-purpose some dresses? Worst of all, Michael Cinqo's dresses are not practical or wearable in any way, and will likely end up a landfill such as the one used in this shoot very soon. I'm pretty sick of ANTM pretending to be eco-conscious. Hey Tyra, how much of that landfill is comprised of the excess wasteful packaging that Covergirl makeup comes in? Shame!!!

Ok...that's it for the ranting, I promise. The shoot is dull. Hannah, Kasia and Jaclyn struggle, Alexandria & Brittani do well, and Nigel notices Molly's rotten attitude and bitch face. Mr. Jay gets pooped on by birds. Nigel and Brittani have a chat before her shoot and we find out that, while Brittani and Alexandria may not be best friends, they do have one thing in common...

"Another bonnet? Oh no!"

Back at the house, Molly talks about how she is amazing and will for sure be going to Morocco. Wow, Molly is the new recipient of the "bad-girl" edit this season. This to me smells like the producers trying to make Molly seem like less of a front-runner. Like in Caridee's season when there was all that drama about her telling Nigel to take the stick out of his butt. She still won...and I'm thinking that Molly will make the top 3 at least.

...as long as she takes off her grumpy pants.

Time for panel. I love the first panel scene because my bff Andre Leon Talley scolds Tyra on her ugly outfit and makes her change. Too bad her second outfit is just as fugly.

Lana Marks is the guest judge this week. She is a great designer, but she is not the best guest judge. She comes across as stern and old-fashioned. For example, she rips into Jaclyn for not going to all of her go-sees. Ok...obviously Jaclyn has seen past cycles of ANTM and witnessed how much trouble girls get in when they are late. Sucks she only went to 2, but still...she doesn't deserve your lecture, Debbie-Downer.

When it's Molly's turn before the panel, they all give her a hard time about her attitude. They repeat a couple of times that she would have won the challenge had she been more pleasant to Lana, which leads to this awesome shot:

Wipe off that grimace, Alexandria...you have best picture this week. She did the best on the go-sees, so that makes sense. Bottom 2 this week are Molly and Jaclyn...which is interesting because Molly did way better than Brittani on the go-sees. Hmmm...manufactured drama? Anywho, Jaclyn is sent home and Molly shows some humility when she gets her photo from Tyra's hands. Bye Jaclyn!

Next week: Morocco! Monkeys! Camels! Molly has not yet taken off her grumpy pants! Alexandria's bonnet gets to travel to Morocco!

XOXO,
Emily