MAC Holiday Collection - Lip Glosses Galore!

I know I briefly toyed with the idea of starting a make-up blog but since I'm so bad with updating the other ones I already have, why bother? (The only reason I'm being pretty good now is because I'm home but not working.) So I'm going to post my make-up related nonsense here...

I went crazy this season with MAC's holiday collection! I already bought some items early in the season but then right before Christmas, everything was marked 25% off! And MAC stuff never goes on sale (unless you go to the outlet), so I jumped on this. Personally, I love getting "sets" since I'm still experimenting and stuff.

You may have recalled from my earlier post that I was digging the lip gloss collections. Well, my sister came through and got me the one I wanted the most (the neutral lips) for Christmas. I then treated myself to the pink and coral ones using the MAC discount (did I mention they offered free shipping too?)

So here they are!!! It's like my own little lipgloss counter display :)



And here are swatches of all the colors on my hand:



Neutral (top row, from L to R): Languish, Love Nectar, Beaux, Mouthwatering, C-thru

Coral (middle row, from L to R): Wonderstruck, Budding, Ola Mango!, Pink Grapefruit, Underage

Pink (bottom row, from L to R): Flashmode, Little Vi, Song and Dance, Magnetique, Fleur de Light

Also, I'm starting to learn that MAC has their own special way of naming things. For example, these aren't really "lip glosses"... they are "lipglasses" and "lustreglasses". I think lustreglass is pretty much a lipglass with a sparkly shimmer. Also, the lipglass has those "doe foot" sponge applicators while the lustreglass uses a brush. I'm sure you are all glad that I've enlightened you on these details.

Anyway, in each of the sets above - the first two are lustreglasses and the last three are lipglasses.

So far, I've worn Love Nectar, Beaux, and Song and Dance and I've liked them all. I'm really excited about having so many different options now for different looks and stuff :)

Audrey's Top Ten Songs for 2008

OK, to be honest, I didn't spend that much time compiling this list so I'm not even sure if most of these songs came out this year - but after taking a quick scan of my playlists on iTunes, here are my favorite songs of the year.

The funny thing is that most of these songs were ones I downloaded after hearing them on one of the dance shows.

1. Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna

I think I fell in love with this song when they used it for the opening number for the "Idol Gives Back" special when they combined the talents of the contestants from "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance". It's just a fun song that always makes me want to boogie which also makes it good for running.

2. Forever - Chris Brown

Another song that makes me bop around... whenever this played in my car, I would find myself bouncing around and rocking to the beat. :)

3. Single Ladies - Beyonce

This is a totally catchy song - I got this song stuck in the heads of both my co-workers (male ones at that!) and my sister - haha.

4. Mercy - Duffy

I love the nostalgic sound of this tune - definitely different from what you normally hear.

5. No Air - Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
6. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

These two are songs that I liked when they came out, but I really grew to love them when they were used on SYTYCD. And I think both were used in routines by two of my fave choreographers - Tabitha and Napoleon.

7. Say - John Mayer

Normally, I don't like John Mayer tunes - or maybe I just don't like him and his playboy ways. :P But when they used this song for that rumba routine between Mark Ballas and Kristi Yamaguchi on "Dancing with the Stars", I immediately had to download it. I like the romantic feel of the song.

8. Live Your Life - TI featuring Rihanna

Dude - I love this song. It always makes me start bobbing my head and sometimes I want to start waving my arms, too. (I know, I'm a nerd.)

9. Womanizer - Britney Spears

Aww... Britney is making a comeback! I wouldn't say she is 100% back but I loved seeing her sassiness back in this video.

10. Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine

And of course, there had to be some Twilight-related contribution since I now have possession of both the soundtrack and the score and have been listening to both obsessively.

This is the song used in the prom scene, aka the romantic ending of the film. I love the romantic sound of the song - it makes me feel all warm and mushy. But then I made a mistake. See, I normally don't really pay attention to the actual lyrics of songs - I'm kind of clueless that way. And then one day I realized I had no idea what this particular song was about so I went ahead and looked up the lyrics. My initial reaction? WTF!???? So now the song has lost a little of the magic for me, but I still love it. I'm sure this will still make my playlists one my Twilight obsession fades... although considering they're targeting November 2009 for the release date of the sequel, I don't think that will happen anytime soon.




What were your favorite songs of the year? I got some iTunes gift cards for Christmas so I'm always looking for some new songs to download.

The Office Ringtone!

I'm so excited - I just got the theme song from "The Office" as a ringtone for my iPhone. And for free, too! (I'm easy to please.)

They have it in other different formats as well. Right now I'm using the ringer for just my work contacts. At least then when they're bothering me on my cell phone, I'll at least be in a good mood because of the ringer. :)

The Office ringtone

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Over the holidays, I saw "Slumdog Millionaire" with my family. It was my brother's pick - I didn't know much about it other than it was getting rave reviews. I ended up liking it a lot and hope it does well during award season.

It's a film set in India but by a British director, i.e. it's primarily in English with a few subtitles here and there. It's basically about an 18 year old street kid who finds himself on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". Surprisingly, he is able to answer every single question correctly so he is accused of cheating and ends up being tortured and interrogated.

We find out that each answer is related to something that happened in his life, some tragic, some celebration-worthy. And ultimately, he just wants to be reunited with his childhood love - who by the way is absolutely beautiful. Alternatively, the lead actor doesn't exactly have movie star looks but he did a great job in this role and you really rooted for him.

Some of the tragic parts were hard to watch and at some points, I had to look away. BUT it was those moments that made the ending that much more meaningful. And as an extra bonus, they added a Bollywood style number at the end during the credits which seemed a little out of place, but we stayed to watch it anyway and it was pretty entertaining.

On a side note, the grand prize of their version of the game show is 20 million rupees. In case you're wondering, that is the equivalent of ~$400,000 USD.

What is with the 'do?

I've just really never understood Kate Gosselin's hairdo. I remember how it started - you know, when she got that makeover after her tummy tuck. But it's like she's modified the 'do to take the front and the back to two different extremes. The front got longer, the back got shorter and spikier... some have referred to it as a reverse mullet.

I'm just glad that it hasn't caught on with middle America. At least I'm hoping it hasn't.



On a related note, I haven't been watching the show as religiously as before. I think all those Wedding in Hawaii episodes were too over the top for me. Too many freebies - no family present -what's become of them? And I hate seeing episodes where Mady and Cara have crying fits - they deserve some privacy. Well, all the kids deserve some privacy... especially now that they are all in school and other kids could be making fun of them and stuff based on what was on their show that week.

But the little kids still are a bunch of cuties.

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Nov. 17

I found this on a fun blog so I thought I'd play along.

Mood: Happy - 5 more days until Thanksgiving vacation :)
Mascara: Cover Girl LashBlast
Last movie I watched: In a theater - Quantum of Solace, on TV - Center Stage: Turn It Up (reviews coming)
Lipgloss or lipstick: MAC Burgundy lip pencil with MAC Pink Air lustre lip color
Outfit: short sleeved, cream-colored sweater with light brown slacks (both from Ann Taylor / LOFT, which is where 80% of my work wardrobe comes from, 99% of which was bought on sale)
Shoes: Aerosoles brown loafer pumps
Blush: MAC Blushbaby
Eyeliner: Bobbi Brown gel liner in chocolate shimmer ink
Breakfast beverage: 20 oz of water on the way to work
Goals for the week: Go running at least once, pack for trip home, tie up loose ends at work so I don't have to stress about it while on vacay

How about you? Post your inputs below! :) Here's the list -

Mood:
Mascara:
Last movie I watched:
Lipgloss or lipstick:
Outfit:
Shoes:
Blush:
Eyeliner:
Breakfast beverage:
Goals for the week:

SNL spoof on Beyonce's Single Ladies video

Catching up on last night's SNL... Paul Rudd hosted with Beyonce as the musical guest.

Justin Timberlake stopped by... he did a bit during Weekend Update which was kind of funny, kind of gratuitous. By far, my favorite sketch is the one that combined the talents of JT, Paul Rudd, and Beyonce... so hilarious!


(Hopefully this one doesn't get deleted!)

Update: Make sure to check out Paul Rudd's moves in the last 25 seconds of the clip. I missed it the first few times I saw this - and it was worth watching over and over again.

I actually love this song and the original video (below). I just wish it was available as a single on iTunes. (Update: I just got it! It became available with the release of Beyonce's new album - yay!)

My latest addiction... and possibly the start of yet another blog

(TO MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY: Feel free to scroll down to the pictures - heehee)


So as most of my friends and family know, I have gone make-up crazy this year! I used to be a foundation + blush girl for most of my life. My mom would ask me why I don't wear eyeliner. In the last few years, I would wear some eyeshadow but pretty much the same colors every day, maybe something different at night. My make-up collection could fit in a couple of cosmetic bags.

And then this summer, I stumbled across these YouTube videos of make-up tutorials and I was fascinated! It was like watching someone paint a picture (speaking of which, remember Bob Ross?) You would see someone with their bare face looking pretty drab and then ten minutes later - they looked like a model! I was - and still am - completely hooked. My interest went beyond just the tutorials - there are also product reviews and my favorite, "hauls". Hauls are when people show their new product purchases - and let me tell you, these people spend some serious $$$$. And it's contagious - because then I want to go out and buy all these fun items!

(On a related note: Just to warn you - not all the make-up videos on YouTube are worth watching. Some are quite clown-y, but that's just my personal opinion.)

Anyway, I started practicing some of these "looks" on my own... it was quite scary and embarrassing at first. But slowly I'm getting better. The right kind of make-up and the right kind of brushes help a lot. Since this summer, my make-up collection has probably quadrupled. It's an addiction people! So I'm trying to cut back... but there is still so much more out there that I want to play with *sigh*

Luckily for me, holidays are around the corner - yay, Santa! In my family, "surprises" aren't always welcomed (I can confirm this as both the receiver as well as the giver), so we usually just tell each other what we want.

So without further ado, my Christmas wish list:

MAC Products

Available at free standing MAC stores as well as select Nordstrom's and Macy's

In general, I love little make-up sets. It's a good way to try stuff! And I have been seriously loving MAC's holiday collection. I'm embarrassed to think of all the products I've already purchased.

But yet - there's more! First off - lipglosses. I'm not a big lip gloss wearer but I like it from time to time. And this is a great deal - you get to try five different colors!


Little Darlings Collection:
5 Neutral Lipglass and Lustreglass
$29.50

Limited edition

* I hear Love Nectar (included in this collection) is to die for!



Little Darlings Collection:
5 Pink Lipglass and Lustreglass
$29.50

Limited edition

* This could go well with the rose lip set that I already purchased.




Up next... eye pencils. On a day to day basis, I stick with my basic brown and black eye liners but I think it's fun to try new colors to spice up a look. Plus you can smudge them on your eye lid (with your finger or a small concealer brush) to act as an eye shadow or maybe even an eye shadow base.

Little Darlings Collection:
5 Softsparkle Eye Pencils
$29.50

Limited edition





Now pigments (loose powder make-up) are something I've been scared to use. So I figure these little samples could be a good way to try them out.

Little Darlings Collection:
5 Warm Pigments and Glitter
$29.50

Limited edition





My two favorite things to buy are eye shadows and brushes. Now yes, it is crazy that I would pay $20-30 for one brush. But I can honestly say - they are worth it! I am a MAC brush addict. Now usually I take the cheaper approach by buying their brush sets but the individual brushes are just a tad higher in quality (handmade vs. machine made). The only full sized brushes I own are the 217 and 208 (yeah, I know the numbers) and I *love* them. Here are some other ones that I would like to add to my collection:

Large Fluff Brush #227
$30.00

* Great brush for highlighting under the brow. Currently, I use my $1 ELF eye shadow brush which works fine - but this one looks more fun to use :)



Tapered Blending Brush #224
$28.00

* Because I don't have as much lid space to work with, this brush should help blend color in the crease better since it has a more tapered end than my 217.


Eye Shading Brush #239
$24.50

* I've been using a cheaper version which is a craft brush you can buy at Michael's. But this is a brush I use all the time, so the more the merrier!




Other Fun Stuff

I love these little cute Benefit sets - they have so many fun products that I want to try but I don't necessarily want to buy a full sized version. What if I don't like it, you know?



Benefit Realness of Concealness
$32.00

Available at Macy's, Sephora








Benefit Justine Case
$32.00

Available at Macy's, Sephora






I've never tried anything from Make Up For Ever yet - they get great reviews online. I definitely want to try their eye pencils. If I was more adventurous, I would try out their eye shadow color #92 (bright purple) which gets raves from the make-up world.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Collection
$35

Available at Sephora








I really like my bareMinerals foundation make-up... so I'd like to try out some of their other sets.


Bare Escentuals Face Fashion
$34.00

Available at Macy's, Sephora








Bare Escentuals Ruby Collection
$54

Available at Sephora







And finally... a random product. I saw one amazing review and now I want to try it out. Apparently, it makes any cheap drugstore mascara work wonders. Although I have the skimpiest eyelashes so I might be a hopeless cause.


Shiseido Makeup Mascara Base
$22
Available at Sephora









So as you can see... I love talking make-up! And based on comments from my friends, they do, too. It got me thinking that it might be fun to start yet another blog... specifically about this new addiction. I would probably send it out as an email since my target audience would be my girl friends who do not use Google Reader to stalk blogs all day long like I do.

Let me know if this is something that might be of interest to you!

Thursday night TV thoughts

Ugly Betty

I am so embarrassed that it took me two episodes to realize Karate Kid plays the councilman! Identifying cameo appearances is usually my specialty. (In my defense, his voice sounds so different to me!)

The Office

Dwight absolutely killed me at the end of this episode! I seriously busted out laughing. You know - that romantic reunion between Jim and Pam... that Dwight cluelessly interrupted. I can see why my sister loves this guy.

Grey's Anatomy

Seriously, where are they going with this Izzie and Denny storyline?


OK, I'm sure there is more to say but I am already up way too late. TGIF :)

Jon and Kate plus Eight wedding commercial

Does anyone else find this commercial funny?



I mean those two bicker and snap at each other all day long. OK, sure, they have some sweet moments but that's once in a blue moon. This is the real life of real people.

But then they throw together this totally staged lovey dovey look at each other / walk hand in hand nonsense... too odd for me!

On second thought, I guess it's similar to all those staged engagement/wedding pictures that couples take. As if my sister would stroll with her husband under a parasol in real life.

Kenny from Dancelife returns to my TV

One of my favorite movies is "Center Stage". One of my favorite shows is (was) MTV's "Dancelife".

So imagine my excitement when I flipped through the pages of my Entertainment Weekly and discovered that there is a sequel, "Center Stage: Turn It Up", featuring my fave "Dancelife" dancer, Kenny!!!

It looks like the only returning cast members are Ethan Stiefel (horrible actor, amazing ballet dancer) and Peter Gallagher. Oh, and it looks like the winner of Bravo's "Step It Up and Dance", Cody Green, also appears in the movie.

I missed the movie debut on the Oxygen network but have set my DVR to record an encore performance Friday night at 7:30PM. They are also showing the original "Center Stage" right before it at 5PM, so I'm recording that, too.

Yay! The review in EW was horrible, but who cares! There will at least be good dancing, right?

Thursday Night TV comments

Look, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is great and all but I am soooooo tired of the Denny Duquette storyline.

*sigh*

Other thoughts on my must see TV tonight...

Ugly Betty
- Bummer! Why did the cute neighbor dude (aka guy from Cougar episode of 30 Rock) have to make out with Amanda?


The Office
- Loved the sales call simulation with Dwight, Michael, and Jim
- Pam cheering, "That's what she said!"
- The whole Dwight-Angela thing is getting creepy, I mean, creepier

30 Rock
- Oprah!!!

Movie Review: High School Musical 3

Look, I realize I am way too old to be watching this movie, but I don't care because you know what? This movie was super cute and I totally recommend it to any musical fan.

My cousin had introduced me to High School Musical which I caught on DVD on a babysitting gig (yes, people trust me to care for their children. suckers!!!) It was cute but I didn't think much of it.

Then High School Musical 2 debuted on the Disney channel and I made sure to catch that. Again - cute silly musical. Oh, that Sharpay!

So of course I had to make sure to catch the third one when it opened on the BIG SCREEN. Woohoo! I went with my cousin and our 12 year old niece - she was our cover, but we totally would have seen it on our own. Well worth the $10.50.

The plot is predictable but the musical numbers were awesome! The dancing is amazing and the songs are kind of catchy, too. Several of them are already on the Top 100 list on iTunes. I am very impressed with Zac Efron, who plays the male lead. He is truly committed to this role - as in, he goes all out in the super cheesy musical numbers. You have to see it. And he totally rocked in Hairspray (another fave!).

I will warn you - there is a super cheesy, borderline-cringy moment in the opening musical number where Troy is at a critical moment in a basketball game and looks to his GF to give him strength. Do NOT leave the theater! The rest of the movie is not that bad.

Two funny awkward moments:

1. There was ONE kiss scene between lovebirds Troy and Gabriella (Efron and Vanessa Hudgens) - and right when I was about to think FINALLY! - I was interrupted by pockets of giggles from all the little girls in the theater. Geesh - way to ruin a sweet moment.

2. I liked how the closing credits tried to emulate a live stage performance by having the lead actors bow from a stage. However, they then did a close up on each actor smiling as if they were receiving applause from the audience - except in my theater, no one applauded - so it looked kind of silly. I'm not sure why I didn't clap - I'm pretty sure I applauded when I saw Chicago and Dreamgirls in the theater.

So anyway, if you like musicals - I highly recommend seeing this one. I could even be convinced to see it again.

Reach Out

Have you seen the new Hilary Duff video for her song, "Reach Out"?




I don't buy it. She's 21, she looks amazing, and the song isn't that bad BUT at the same time, I can't help but think - why is this little girl trying to act all sexy and grown up? It looks silly!

Thoughts?

Things that made me squirm on Monday night TV

1. Hip hop routine on Dancing with the Stars

2. The whole Audrina/Justin saga on The Hills - "Someone else has my heart." GAG!

Opie and Richie return

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Sarah Palin on Satuday Night Live

I've been DVR-ing Saturday Night Live lately and last night's episode was a huge winner. Hopefully, you've all seen the Sarah Palin clips - they were hilarious. I'm glad that we still got to see Tina Fey do her thing because she is hysterical.

Clip 1 highlights include cameos with Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin.
Clip 2 highlights - where to begin? Amy Poehler's rap was hilarious. And I busted out laughing when they brought the moose out. I know it's cruel, but c'mon, that was funny!

Sarah Palin is a good sport for sure.

I also loved the separate bit they did with Mark Wahlberg and Andy Samberg. I love how they can make great bits out of things happening right now.

The musical guest was Adele and she was amazing! I was glad to see her because I had caught her video on MTV once and I instantly loved her song. Here it is in case you don't know her. I just added it to my iTunes.

And next week's host is Jon Hamm - yay, hopefully more people will turn into his show, Mad Men.

Reading about "The Strangers"

When "The Strangers" first came out, I was totally freaked out by the commercials. I don't like scary movies in general, but this one especially gave me the shivers. At the same time, I was intrigued. Why are these crazy masked people terrorizing the cute Scott Speedman (always to be known as Ben Covington to me) and Liv Tyler???

Well the commercials are back because the DVD is out now. I decided to go to my favorite spoiler site and read the breakdown of the movie - "The Strangers".

So... I was totally freaked out just by reading a description of the movie!!! Creepy creepy creepy. You couldn't pay me to watch this.

Project Runway Finale

I was very excited to see an all-female Project Runway finale - go girls!

I wanted Korto to win but I'm cool with Leanne, too. I thought Leanne's collection was very innovative and well-executed (PR speak!) but like the judges said, so repetitive with the "waves" concept. I thought the color palette (PR speak!) was kind of boring, too. Korto's collection was just so bright and colorful and things I could see myself wearing. (If I was tall and stick thin, of course.)

As for Kenley, it was cute but not for me. And remember how Kenley freaked out when Korto and Leanne dared to design "short" bridesmaid dresses like hers? (As if she owns the concept of a short bridesmaid dress!) Well, I thought one of her dresses ripped off the shape of one of Leanne's previous dresses from that car challenge. Take a look:

Kenley's Final Collection Dress:


Leanne's "Car Challenge" Dress:


OK, it's kind of a stretch - but it's not a common shape to have the hips jut out like that, you know?

And as usual, they let some of the other top designers show at Bryant Park as well. But this is weird, if you go to the Final Collections section on the Bravo website, they list Jerrell and Joe as the other designers at Bryant Park. Joe! How did that happen? He was eliminated before Suede, right? (And I checked out his collection - not so hot.)

BTW - was that Naima (ANTM) at the model auditions?

Law & Order: Special Letters Unit

I am spending time with my 15-month-old nephew this week which means lots of Sesame Street time. My nephew is mesmerized by this show- it's quite fascinating! A couple of things I'd like to point out:

1) The actors that were there when I was a kid are still there today - and they barely aged!!!
2) Yes, the show is for kids but it's cute how they keep the adults in mind as well. Check out this homage to Law & Order.



They did such a great job with making the puppet versions of the real L&O actors. I would love to see how I would look!

DWTS

Who cares abut Jessica Simpson performing? We got to see Pasha and Anya dance! Yay for Dancing with the Stars bringing our favorite So You Think You Can Dance ballroom dancers back to TV!


P.S. Rocco has a funny laugh by the way.

P.P.S. I love Len Goodman's cranky old bit.

P.P.P.S. I'm rooting for Lacey and Lance all the way!

Tonight

Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, The Office... ohmigosh, I can't wait to see all my "friends" return to my TV tonight :)

But I will have to DVR them for now as I already have a date for this evening.

Speaking of SYTYCD, I am really happy to see Lacey Schwimmer dancing on TV again. She's so fun to watch!

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Mad Men

After hearing a lot of buzz on FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I finally decided to check it out and DVR a couple of episodes. I've only seen one episode so far, "Mac & Dennis: Manhunters".

Wow. Whoever is behind this show is one sick bunch. Seriously! I mean, it's kind of funny, but kind of gross! I actually was in shock by how much these guys get away with. This particular episode dealt with cannibalism and tea-bagging (and I also learned about a new Gorilla thing that I totally didn't need to know about!)

I might check it out again... but I'm not sure if I'm cool enough to really embrace the sick wackiness of it all.

Over the weekend, I also finally caught up with this season of Mad Men. Love that show! I was so excited to see them win the Emmy for best drama series. It's a slick show and very fun to watch. I'm so grateful to not be a working woman in that era but it's still interesting to see how business places worked back then.

I heart Chuck and Blair

My friend PH and I were recently discussing one of our fave shows, Gossip Girl, and our love for Chuck and Blair. Seriously, this couple is awesome - I really believe this is/will be a legendary couple in TV land. Their tortured love / hate relationship is so fun to watch!

Welcome back, Gossip Girl! XOXO

Christian Bale and Kermit the Frog - Separated at Birth?

I found this on According to E ... this is so hilarious, you have to check it out.

Thoughts on 90210

Yes - I'll admit it, I had to watch the premiere of 90210.



Oops - I meant this version:



The premiere was TWO hours long and I watched ALL of it. They got me with that Entertainment Weekly cover story. Overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... though, I'm not sure I'll add it to my DVR list.

Some random comments:

• I do like the little tie-ins to the original show (besides the obvious Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty thing), like news girl "Hannah Zuckerman", Kelly's sister "Erin Silver", etc
  
• It's nice to see Jennie Garth back on TV... even if she isn't ballroom dancing! (She's much better without Amanda Bynes, as well) She looks great, too, doesn't she?
  
• The new "Brenda Walsh" girl (Annie) is way too skinny... and I think her teeth are too big, too. I'm just sayin'! Although she totally looks like she could be related to Lori Loughlin
  
  
  
• Ethan is not enough of a dreamboat to be dating the "It Girl" - actually, there's no dreamboat on this show at all! Where is the Dylan McKay of the new generation?
  
• "It Girl", Naomi, looks wicked old - she's supposed to be 16? OK. She also kind of looks dated, like she's from the 80's or something.
  
  
• I think they try too hard to be over-the-top... I think it's ridiculous that a girl would, um, you know! in the school parking lot with all her classmates walking around nearby plus the drug stuff plus Lori Loughlin's suggestion to Naomi's mom that they exchange stories about her husband's man stuff, etc
  
• Totally don't care about the story line with the druggie actress
  
• A reunion of Nat, Brenda, Kelly - wowsa! Didn't even notice the tension between Shannen and Jennie
  
• I actually like Dixon as the adopted member of the Walsh-like family - it's kinda cute
  
• Are there really high schools with principals as handsome as Rob Estes?

That's all I got. Did anyone else catch it?

On a related note, I missed the premiere of Gossip Girl! I'll catch the repeat this weekend...

Jedi Training

One of the cutest things I've seen - Jedi training at Disneyland.

The Hills on TV Guide

I was so mad at TV Guide when I saw this at the grocery today:



But then I saw there was also a matching cover:



But still - Heidi and Spencer on a cover? Bleh.

When will Jessica learn?

This makes me cringe. I mean, if she is truly that happy, good for her. But I wonder what Tony thinks about this? For some reason I feel like we will be soon seeing a picture of her and Tony Romo on the cover of People with those big slash marks between the two of them. I guess this is all to promote her new album but I have a feeling she is going to regret this cover story.

Williams v. Manning

It's a commercial but kinda cute!

DWTS read my mind!

I recently commented to my friend "Madame McTuffy" that I would love to see ballroom dancers from So You Think You Can Dance make the move to Dancing with the Stars as one of the professional dancers.

Well, it looks like it is going to happen!

Dancing with the Stars announced their new line-up today for Season 7 which will premiere on September 22nd. There are three new professional dancers - one of whom is Miss Lacey Schwimmer! She will be paired with Lance Bass from N Sync, or more recently, My Life on the D-List.

The rest of the line-up:

• Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and Karina Smirnoff
  
• Beach volleyball Olympian, Misty May-Treanor, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
  
• Track star Maurice Greene and Cheryl Burke
  
• Toni Braxton and Alec Mazo
  
• Kim Kardashian and Mark Ballas
  
• Cody Linley (Hannah Montana) and Julianne Hough
  
• Cloris Leachman and Corky Ballas (Mark's father and a World Latin Champion)
  
• Ted McGinley and new pro Inna Brayer (current U.S. Amateur 10 Dance Champion)
  
• Brooke Burke and Derek Hough
  
• Jeff Ross (TV's "celebrity roastmaster general") and Edyta Sliwinska
  
• Warren Sapp (football) and Kym Johnson
  
• Susan Lucci and Tony Dovolani

David Beckham's appearance at the Olympics' closing ceremony...

... felt kind of random, right? I mean, you've got Leona Lewis rockin' out with Jimmy Page and then David Beckham rises from the stage at the end - I thought he was going to join in! But no, he just kicked a soccer ball to the crowd. (He appears around the 2:50 mark in the video clip below.)



Anyway, I wasn't too impressed by London's "teaser" performance - hopefully, in four years they can come up with some better entertainment for us. I mean, China did raise the bar pretty high!

Bye bye Olympics - it was so fun having you here!

Random Youtube video I found entertaining

Is it possible that Miss Britney will redeem herself?

So I just caught some of the new promos for the MTV VMA awards with Britney Spears and I am quite hopeful that she is back on track with her life. I think she looks great - fit and everything.

I don't know if she's performing at this year's show, but if she does, I sincerely hope she can make up for last year's disaster.

Promo 1:


Promo 2:

(Watch how Britney squirms from Russell... pretty funny)

I've Got Olympic Fever

I didn't really pay much attention to the events leading up to the Olympics (other than the marathon events) but now that it's here - I'm fully on board!

I thought the opening ceremony was pretty cool. And it was so exciting to see Phelps win his first gold of these games on that 400m medley. I love that little green world record line that was chasing him to the finish - it had me on the edge of my seat! But that picture above - watching Phelps celebrate their win in the 400m relay had me crackin' up. And c'mon France, no more trash talking, OK?

I also watched the men's basketball team beat China so it was interesting to see them play China with Yao Ming. (On a random note, and I know this sounds crazy - does Yao Ming kinda sorta in a really remote way remind you of Tom Brady?) And you know, I'm no Bush fan but I think it is cute to see the President at the various events.

Today I caught some of women's gymnastics. I know they had a lot of out of bound moments during the floor exercise, but I was so fascinated with how they were able to line themselves up so precisely against the lines without looking. Silly, yes.

Anyway, it's now after midnight ... I wish they would air the events on the west coast simultaneously with the east coast. Like they do with the Oscars! It would be awesome to catch all the exciting stuff and be done by 9PM.

iTunes Update: Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Enur

I needed some new tunes for my running mix so I downloaded these three:

Rihanna - Disturbia: Rihanna's my girl - I've downloaded a bunch of songs from her current album ("Please Don't Stop the Music" is still one of my favorites). Rihanna also inspired me to chop off my hair :) I didn't think much of this song at first but it's grown on me after hearing it on the radio multiple times - this is the first time I've seen the video. Kinda weird!




Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up: I heard this on So You Think You Can Dance - it's catchy. By the way, is anyone else surprised that Nicole Scherzinger's solo career didn't really take off?




Enur - Calabria: I got this one from the Target commercial with the two young girls that seem to have a dance battle as they decorate their apartment. FYI - Yahoo Answers has been very helpful in finding the names of songs from commercials.

Holla at cha boy!

Isn't it nice to have Tim Gunn and the rest of the Project Runway gang back?

As for tonight's episode, what there they thinking??? They chose this as the winning design!



Ugh... this would definitely be at the bottom of my list. Although, I love Kenley's (the designer's) personal retro look - she's adorable.

I wanted Leanne to win - I thought she had a nice, classic design that was such a big improvement from last week.




Also, do you think the casting directors went overboard in selecting "characters" for this season? You've got Blayne (I love tanning salons), Suede (I refer to myself in third person), Stella (I love leatha), etc.

Oh no, not another one...

Someone help me - I have just discovered BET's version of "Laguna Beach". Their show is called "Baldwin Hills" and yikes, those kids have drama. There was almost a girl fight at this birthday party and there's this guy Moriah that has all these girls chasing after him, and there's all this playin' going on (some of these girls need to back off a bit, in my opinion)... anyway, I can't add another show to my already bad habit.

It may be summer time but for me, there is still a lot of good, new TV shows on. Off the top of my head, we've got the following:

• America's Best Dance Crew (MTV)
  
• The Closer (TNT)
  
• Jon and Kate plus eight (TLC)
  
• Mad Men (AMC)
  
• My Boys (TBS)
  
• My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
  
• Project Runway (Bravo)
  
• So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)

I just noticed that I have quite a variety of channels there.

Reality show thoughts...

So I know this is old news now, but this is one of the reasons I can't stand these dating shows. The "prize" (aka the Bachelor or Bachelorette) is usually not that great and then the couple rarely stays together once the show stops taping. (Except for you Trista and Ryan - good for you!!!)

Sigh, I don't know why I care... but all those dating shows just bug me.

Meanwhile, the Legally Blonde musical TV show that ended last week was much more satisfying. The winner of that show has now actually debuted in the lead role of Elle Woods on ***Broadway*** last week.

See??? It's for real!!!



By the way, I really liked that show. It wasn't annoying like the "You're the One that I Want" show where they had a competition for the next stars of Grease on Broadway. If you like the behind the scenes of putting a musical together, then you would have enjoyed this one. Plus the musical is really cute and the songs are quite catchy! (A rarity in the newer musicals these days, IMHO.) I'm bummed that I didn't catch the show when it first opened in SF before debuting on Broadway.

ANYWAY - it doesn't matter 'cause the show is over. On a final note, I read in a Playbill article that the three runner ups also got roles in either the Broadway or the national tour production. Two (Lauren, my fave, and Autumn) are Elle understudies and the other one, Rhiannon, plays Elle's friend. THANK GOD because she has a horrible singing voice.

So I think it's cool because the end of the reality show is just the beginning for these young gals - they're on their way to bigger and better things! (NOT like stoopid dating shows)

Run's House

Is this family really this funny? They totally crack me up! Diggy and Russy are so adorable. And the older kids (Vanessa, Angela, JoJo) totally seem to have adopted Run's mannerisms in the way they speak to each other.

Anyway, I really enjoy this show. I think it's my favorite out of the family reality shows (The Osbournes, Hogan Knows Best, Family Jewels, etc.)

Spotted on Saturday...

Location: San Mateo, CA

Thank goodness for my Scooter.

Real World to Samurai Girl

So I meant to post this awhile back but I kept forgetting. But then I saw another commercial for the upcoming Samurai Girl movie so here you go:

Remember Jamie from the Real World - San Diego season?



Her full name is Jamie Chung and I've noticed she's been dabbling in an acting career as I've seen her in both Veronica Mars and Greek (both times playing a snooty college girl, by the way).

But it looks like she's stepped up the game a bit! She's landed the starring role in the upcoming TV movie, Samurai Girl. ABC Family is going hardcore in promoting the movie which doesn't premiere until September.



And next year? She will appear in the feature film, Dragonball.

Itunes Update: Estelle, Chris Brown

Just in case you were interested in what tunes I've been downloading (which probably doesn't really apply to any of you), I'm going to try to post them here.

Today's additions:

Estelle (featuring Kanye West) - American Boy


Chris Brown - Forever

RIP Sarah and No Name...

I'm so sad... my favorite morning show, "Sarah and No Name", is now just "Sarah and TBD."

First, Matty the producer left. The show lost a big chunk of its spunk then. Then it was two weeks of "encores"... and this morning, it was just Sarah! Apparently, the powers that be thought the show was too testerone-charged (even with Matty already gone?) so they let No Name (aka Mike Nelson) go! What are they thinking!?? I loved the chemistry with that whole crew... Sarah, No Name, Hooman (although he bugs from time to time), Matty, Hyphy Mikey... plus the other "characters" like Andrew and Charlene. Thursday game day was always fun because they would just be so stoopid and silly.

So now the hunt is back on for a new co-host. They'll be having on-air auditions like they did when Vinnie left, which is actually when I first started tuning in. The show will definitely be pretty dry for the time being... maybe it's time for me to be a real grown-up and start tuning into NPR like my peers...

SYTYCD Results

Kherington and Gev - really??? Well, Gev was not too much of a shocker (only because all the other guys are so dang awesome!) but for the girls, I actually thought Comfort would go home. If she sticks around for awhile, she could be the Chris March of the season.

Anyway, I'm ready to announce my favorites:

Katee for the girls...


...and Mark for the boys...

... so I was really nervous when he was in the bottom two tonight.

Overall - Katee all the way!


And by the way, I want to see Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe actually perform on stage! I hope they do it for the finale. And not that jibjab nonsense like last season.

SYTYCD: Top Ten

My random thoughts:

• How convenient that Jessica was injured... she was definitely the girl to go this week, dontcha think?
  
• Bollywood, Pas de Deux: Thumbs up / Two Step: Thumbs down
• What's up with Comfort and Twitch? Are they a behind the scenes couple? The bickering rehearsal footage for the smooth waltz was a little suspicious
• Wow, I can't believe how much Mark and Kherington lost their spark with the new partnering... they should have killed that Jamiroquai routine (hello - Center Stage, anyone?) and it fell flat
• Note to self: add "buck" to my urban vocabulary

Overall:

• Round 1: Winner - Chelsie and Gev (Contemporary) / Loser - Kherington and Mark (Two Step)
• Round 2: Winner - Katee and Will (Pas de Deux) / Loser - Kherington and Mark (Jazz)
• Male Solos: Winner - Twitch, Loser - No one, they were all amazing
• Female Solos: Winner - Courtney, Loser - Chelsie
  

More "On-board Entertainment" reviews...

So before I forget, I have one more movie review from my 10 hour flight on Saturday. I only caught one flick this time - for one reason, the movie selection was the same as the way out so my choices were a lot more limited and two, I knew I needed to sleep on this flight if I wanted to have any chance of readjusting to the PST time zone.


Drillbit Taylor: As you may imagine, I was getting pretty desperate when looking for entertainment during dinner service. But you know what? I really enjoyed this movie! OK, yes, it is a classic stupid little boy movie - but let me tell you, it had me laughing out loud on many occasions. I briefly read a review afterward and I guess it's a total rip off of Superbad (btw - I believe Drillbit Taylor was co-written by Seth Rogen) but I've never seen Superbad so it was all new to me. The premise is that these three adorably dorky kids keep getting bullied at school so they hire Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson), who unbeknownst to them happens to be a homeless dude, to protect them. In trying to come off as this all-knowing dude, Owen would say the most ridiculous things with such a straight face that it just cracked me up every time. Some examples: he listed "Panda Express" as one of the fancy martial arts tricks that he'll teach them, or he would warn the bullies "This is over now, alright? Abierto!" (funny if you took Spanish), or he would say the army taught him to "Have It Your Way." When one of the kids asked, "Isn't that Burger King?", he paused and then replied, "Where do you think they got it from?"

Anyway - this movie really cracked me up and I'd probably watch it again. The kids were just as hilarious, by the way. I also have to note that I loved the cameo by Adam Baldwin who played the high school bodyguard in the appropriately named 1980 film, "The Bodyguard". Adam now plays another tough guy on the NBC show, "Chuck" - btw, does anyone know if that is coming back?

On a side note, I forgot to mention that I also watched "Be Kind, Rewind" (Jack Black, Mos Def) during the first flight. I sort of watched it as I was really doing work on my laptop at the time but from what I recall, it wasn't anything that great.

Thoughts on last night's TV: Is anyone watching...

Legally Blonde: The Search for the New Elle Woods

Why are they still keeping Rhiannon in the competition??? I just don't understand. Her voice is so screechy and painful to listen to. There is NO WAY she would ever make it as a lead in a Broadway musical doing 8 shows a week. C'mon!

Although I love Autumn's voice and acting ability, I think Bailey is the best overall choice.

The Closer

Yay, it's back! It was so nice to see Brenda back... her relationship with "Fritzie" is so cute...

Step down from DWTS and Broadway

OK, I don't know what movie this is from but this bit by Mario Lopez is pretty funny:




Thanks to The Soup and the always awesome Joel McHale for highlighting this clip.

Envious...

Did you know that in Japan you can watch live TV on your cell phones??? Why can't we have that!?

Why Japan is so cute...

I had to buy some emergency contact solution today so I picked the brand that I was familiar with:



And look what it came with!



Too cute...

(I don't know what I'm going to do with it, though.)

Movies Galore!

One perk of having one day's notice to attend a customer meeting in Japan - lots and lots of movie at your fingertips during the 10+ hour non-stop flight! (Economy, by the way... so I'm just making lemonade out of lemons here...)

Run Fatboy Run: Being a "marathoner" (heehee), I was so excited to find this movie on the list. It was hilarious and I totally recommend it to anyone, even if you don't care about running. It's set in London and is about this dude (Simon Pegg) that decides to run a marathon to try to win back the girl (Thandie Newton) he left at the altar (pregnant!) several years ago. Her new honey is an American (Hank Azaria) who, by the way, has a really funny locker room scene. And surprise, surprise, the film was directed by Ross Gellar!

Cars: I've been behind in my Pixar films - the last one I saw was "The Incredibles". I don't know why I waited to see "Cars" - it was so cute! I'm always impressed with these animators, the characters were just so lovable in the way they were drawn. As usual, I kept picturing the actors behind the voices so it was a little weird to picture Bonnie Hunt and Owen Wilson as a romantic couple, but whatev. And now I have some weird desire to travel Route 66. But I get carsick during long road trips, so that probably won't happen. If you catch the movie, better stay toward the very end - there's a funny bit highlighting how John Ratzenberger (aka Cliff from Cheers) is often utilized in Pixar films. On a side note, I knew Sarah and No Name had bit parts in the movie and it was so cool to hear their roles. No Name did a great job! ("My name is not Chuck!")

21: I actually enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. I found the lead actor, Jim Sturgess, quite likeable and it was cute to see him go from nerdy robot kid to the guy dating the prettiest girl in school. (Kate Bosworth is cute but sickly skinny in this movie.) There were also some fun twists in the movie. I recommend this one as well.

I also tried watching "Smart People" but it was pretty slow, so I ended up napping through it instead. If it's good, let me know.

Vocabulary Upgrade

This weekend, I found myself watching Getting Played while spending time with family. That's how we roll, I guess.

Because of the movie, I would like to start incorporating the following phrases in everyday conversation:

"off the chain"
"Snap!"

Also, when I was at the gym, there were a couple of teenage boys that kept talking about when they were going to "bounce". I'd like to incoporate that, too.

And I fully realize that these are dated phrases, but I guess that's why I think it's even funnier if I start adopting them now.

So anyway, you've all been warned.

I've got to bounce - see ya!

Update: I'd also like to add "Pop Off" to the list thanks to a very amusing meeting between Kathy Griffin and a couple of ladies from "The Bad Girls' Club"

Lovin' Napoleon and Tabitha

I agree with Nigel - Napoleon and Tabitha are a great addition to this season's choreographers. Katee and Joshua are still my favorite couple but my favorite routine tonight was the hip hop routine with Chelsie and Mark.


(The performance starts at around 02:45)

It's another N&T routine that, in some parts, seemed similar to the No Air routine, but I still loved it. It was sick. :)

Six Degrees to America's Best Dance Crew

I once took dance classes from a guy that is now competing on America's Best Dance Crew.

That makes me sort of cool, right???


Please?

Movie reviews: SATC; Definitely, Maybe; College Road Trip

Sex and the City

I finally was able to see this movie and I loved it! I didn't cry as much as I thought I would (based on reviews I've heard/read) but there were definitely some sad and joyful moments that made me a little teary-eyed. I caught the movie with my sister and I'm really glad our parents didn't join us like they normally do. Some of the scenes were a bit of a shocker since I had been watching the watered-down TBS versions for so long. Yes, the movie was a bit long but that was fine by me because I really enjoyed seeing the girls all together again! The fashions were super fun, too, and it was nice to see so many of the old gang (Stanford, Harry, Smith, Big, Steve, Magda, Anthony, etc) again. Jennifer Hudson was a nice addition as well.

I do think the movie poster is a little mis-leading, though. Yes, of course, Carrie is the main character and the movie is from her point of view. But the movie profiles all four of the women who all go through major developments in their own personal lives. The movie poster should have been similar to the photos used with the season DVD sets - all four women should have been included.

On a side note, I spotted a couple of familiar faces in the movie which I later confirmed to be the actors I thought they were. Again - useless information - but just indulge me:

1) "Miranda" of the new generation (girl to the left of SJP) is now competing on MTV's Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods.


2) The girl from the bathroom at the auction is Daphne Rubin-Vega aka Mimi from the original Broadway cast of Rent (both my sister and I spotted this one)


I also got to watch two new movies during my 5 hour flight on Monday.

Definitely, Maybe

This movie was OK... Ryan Reynolds was pretty good and he was surrounded by a pretty solid female cast including Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, and Rachel Weisz. Although, now that I know the ending (i.e. which character is Abigail's mother) - I don't know if I'd watch it again. Kinda slow and boring.



College Road Trip

Surprising, I actually did enjoy this one. Martin Lawrence can be pretty funny and I've always liked Raven Symone from her days on The Cosby Show to all her Disney Channel stuff. But if I'm being really honest, Donny Osmond's cameo scenes killed me! His super peppy cheesy self cracked me up. I'd watch this one again if it's on TV or something.

Top Chef Season Finale

WOOHOO - Stephanie won!!! So glad that Lisa didn't win... she is so obnoxious. I'm sort of bummed that Richard didn't do better, but still - I was rooting for Stephanie all the way. First female Top Chef - woot woot!

And did anyone notice her celebrate at the end of the episode? Her dance of joy looked verrrryyyy similar to my "clogging" dance. Just sayin.

So You Think You Can Dance and other summer shows...

Yay - we're now at the performance part of So You Think You Can Dance (Dance, Dance, Dance...)

I think my favorite routine / couple was Katee and Joshua and their hip hop routine. The first time I watched it I focused on Katee, but when I watched it again, Joshua was just as amazing!

Coming in a close second was Twitch and Kherington - they might be my favorite overall dancers. And I think Twitch will give us the most entertaining solo's if he ever has to "dance for his life". (Although I doubt that will happen - at least not this week.)

The slow waltz was really beautiful although I'm not really drawn to either Susie or Marquis.

Tomorrow brings the return of a couple other fun shows:

My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
My Boys (TBS)

Then next Thursday, we have the return of America's Best Dance Crew (MTV)! I caught the auditions and it should be a fun season. Flips in the house!!!

And according the my recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, Mad Men and The Closer are returning in July - yippee!