Halfway to 52

Yesterday, I celebrated my 26th birthday.

I was very nice. I went to my parents for dinner and dessert.

Cheesecake Factory White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, to be exact. It was very yummy. (the glass bear candle holder is what was on my first birthday cake)

My mom got me my favorite perfume, Clinique Happy. And she mended my a pair of my shoes and fixed a necklace I broke.

My sister got me duct tape and a 5 lb bag of Good & Plenties.

A very nice day, a very weird combination of gifts.

Gold Medal Fashion? Olympics 2010

Let's talk Olympic Fashion. Because let's face it, fashion is every where. And fans want to know who our Olympians are wearing. This year the clothing worn by the United States Olympic Team has been designed by Ralph Lauren and produced by Nike.

Pictured below are American medalists: Katie Uhlaender (skelton), Chad Hedrick (speed skating), and Angela Ruggiero (women's hockey).

The design of the uniform was inspired by the Lake Placid Games of 1932. The ACG considered waterproof down jacket uses some of the warmest and lightest down filling in the world.

Modern. Casual. Vintage. Warm. Nike and Ralph Lauren team up to make a great uniform for our 2010 Winter Olympic Team.

The opening ceremony uniforms were unveiled by Ralph Lauren on Tuesday. The design features a navy puffer jacket with red stripes, a chunky white turtleneck, white pants and an alpine-style hat with moose, evergreens and American flags.

My favorite outfit...er, uniform...is the closing ceremony. This vintage-inspired modern design features a functional cotton fleece pant, a patriotic navy and red wool shawl cardigan, and a newsboy hat with the team logo.

Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympic games 2010 are tonight. Will you be tuning in?

Green Day's American Idiot - The Musical

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on this Sunday, February 14.

Here's the clip of the cast singing with Green Day at the 2010 Grammy's (Green Day will not appear in the musical on Broadway):



American Idiot follows the exhilarating journey of a new generation of young Americans as they struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world, borne along by Green Day's electrifying score. This high-octane show includes every song from the acclaimed album American Idiot, as well as several songs from the band's Grammy-nominated new release, 21st Century Breakdown.

Green Day won two Grammy Awards for the groundbreaking rock opera American Idiot, which sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Now Billie Joe Armstrong and the band collaborate with one of the theatre's most acclaimed creative teams, led by the Tony Award-winning director of Spring Awakening, Michael Mayer, two-time Tony Award-winning composer and orchestrator Tom Kitt, and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Steven Hoggett, to bring this explosive, iconic album to the stage.

You can read the entire breakdown of the plot on Wikipedia. The story and "rock opera" music sound like American Idiot could be this decade's Rent (and we all know how much I loved Rent).

Flowchart Helps You Determine What Crap to Eat

Visible Facebook Convo

I saw this convo come across in the Facebook news feeds.

I certainly hope Daniel is not friends on Facebook with his ex. Otherwise, she is going to be pissed.

Just wanted to share.

...and then I found $5 (and didn't spend it on a date with Dan).

Best Commercials of Super Bowl 2010

In no particular order, here are my favorite commercials from Super Bowl XLIV. (P.S. I miss my communications classes where we got to watch these the day after the game in class.)

Snickers - Betty White


Doritos - Underdog


TruTV - Troy Polamalu


Google - Parisian Love


Which ones were your favs?

Heinz: 57 Varieties, New Way to Enjoy

I love Heinz Ketchup! And now, after 42 years of those individual, hard-to-open packets, they have designed a new, dual purpose way of enjoying the delicious condiment.

Yesterday, Heinz announced this ketchup innovation in response to consumer demand: Heinz Dip & Squeeze™, with a breakthrough dual-function ketchup package for the foodservice industry, that promises to make eating on-the-go more fun and convenient

A true packaging breakthrough, the Heinz Dip & Squeeze dual-function package gives ketchup lovers two ways to enjoy Heinz Ketchup: either peel back the lid for easy dipping, or tear off the tip to squeeze onto favorite foods. Can you just image how easy it's going to be to dip your french fries - you'll be able to easily eat them in the car with no drips or spills? (Maybe with this innovation I will let people eat in my car - probably not.)

And, for all of us ketchup lovers who were forced to look like pigs grabbing 10+ packets at the condiment stand, the new package holds three times as much Heinz Ketchup.

Why did it take four decades to change the way we eat ketchup?

Yay, Heinz!

Nine New Hollywood "It" Girls

For its sixteenth annual Hollywood issue, Vanity Fair's March 2010 issue highlights the nine fastest rising Hollywood starlets.

This year's cover, photographed by Annie Leibovitz, features new and familiar faces; two, Carey Mulligan and Anna Kendrick, have been nominated for Academy Awards.

I am looking forward to watching these young women grow and excel. I cannot wait to see what they do next.

Grammy's 2010: Best and Worst

Sigh. Seriously. I love fashion and the Grammy's anything-goes red carpet is my favorite.

Here are my picks for the best and worst and a league of their own.

Lady Gaga in Giorgio Armani.

Awesome. So funky (maybe toned down for the lady). This celestial look is so out of this world putting her in a league of her own. I love not knowing what to expect from her. I mean, cheek out those towering, glittering heels. Read what my friend Karena thinks here.

THE BEST OF GRAMMY'S 2010:

To me, the winner of the night was Pink. She rocked the red carpet and the stage with her jaw-dropping performance. Pink wore a gorgous, crystal-encrusted Tony Ward hate couture gown, Judith Leiber clutch and over $2.5 million-worth of Neil Lane diamond jewelry. Her short mowhawk had a clip.

After a waredrobe malfuntion (her first choice turned out to be too sheer), Lea Michele picked this one-shouldered, navy Romona Keveza dress, Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, Brian Atwood pumps.


Keri Hilson rocked this (maybe too fancy for the Grammy's) strapless pink mermaid gown. The ruching really accentuates her figure and the rhinestone belt adds drama. And as pointed out by one of the fashion shows last night, it is hemmed perfectly.

Jennifer Hudson flaunts her post-baby body in this black Victoria Beckham dress with a peplum waist. This is so flattering on her. My one suggestion: get rid of the tights - I mean, this is the Grammy's in Cali not the office.

Rihanna wore a high-necked white Elie Saab Haute Couture gown with feather and chiffon details, Jimmy Choo sandals, Neil Lane diamond earrings, rings and bracelet mix.

THE WORST OF GRAMMY'S 2010:

Katy Perry just got back from an Indian vacation. Maybe she should have stayed in the other hemisphere rather than don this a gold-dusted, nude Zac Posen gown and a Judith Leiber jeweled elephant clutch. Who knew a beige dress could wash someone out so much? Probably a stylist.

Okay, so I know it's the Grammy's and anything goes, but not everything. Ciara's sheer black lace and gaudy bolero are too much. Apparently see-through black was a terrible trend...

Train wreck Britney Spears takes a terrible risk in her see-through, black lace Dolce & Gabbana dress (from her own closet) over a bodysuit, paired with fishnet stockings, Penny Preville earrings and studded Brian Atwood pumps. The only thing Britney was catching with all that netting was bad reviews.

But by far, the worst was Imogen Heap. I do feel bad that the vet forgot to take off the cone from surgery... oh, this just in, there was no surgery. Imogen Heap chose to accessorize her simple black dress and ballet flats with a clear umbrella and an LCD collar.

What do you think? Who was your favorite?

Grammy's 2010: Guy's Take

I love the Grammy's. Not only is it the most entertaining award show to watch, but it is also the most unpredictable red carpert.

I also love watching to see what the men wear. I feel like this is the only time the guys get to experiement and go outside the regular tux.

Here are my favs from last night:

MGMT

(Nominated for best new artist, their outfits reminded me of last year's Coldplay. I loved how they mixed and matched prints and plaid, vintage and new. This was the perfect Grammy's look - on no other red carpet would this be appropriate.)

Jonas Brothers

(It's great that they are finally getting a feeling for their own unique styles. These three distinct looks help make them look less like triplets and more like dashing young men.)

Common
(I love the red scarf peeking out from the grey plaid suit. The other risk he took was the shorter sleeves on the jacket - but it worked.)

What guys did I miss? What guys did you love?

Project Runway Episode 3: Metropolitan Museum of Art

This week the designers on Project Runway went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to be inspired by classic gowns in the Costume Institute.


Instead of blogging about the contestants' designs this week. I wanted to find out more about some of the works of art featured in the Costume Institute's 80,000 piece collection.

YVES SAINT LAURENT:
This French evening dress titled L'Eléphant Blanc was designed in 1958 and is made from silk, metallic thread, glass, and plastic.

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MADELEINE VIONNET:

The oldest gown featured here was made in 1938 in France and made out of a new textile for the time, rayon.

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MADAME GRES:

These unnamed silk evening gowns were made in 1969 by the French designer. The eggplant dress was featured on PR.

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CRISTOBAL BALENCIAGA:

This French wrap is intended for evening and made in 1951 from silk. Pictured above is the back of the drapped wrap.

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CHRISTIAN DIOR:

This French evening gown was created in 1951 and made from cotton and silk. It's titled Diorama.