Movie Star Monday

There will be no posts this weeks because I am ridiculously busy with school and holiday stuff.

See you next week :)

Fitness Friday: Sleep

Sleep is important. Pretty obvious right, so why are so many people sleep deprived? Most everyone I know has to work late and get up early, so I don't have many well-rested role models. I know that I should get eight hours minimum, but how?
        First it's really important to sleep in a room that is completely dark. Living in the city thats not the easiest to do. Most nights I sleep with an eye mask, not one of those awesome froufrou ones, just a plain navy one. I used to get really freaked out by having my sight taken away, but I just took a deep breath and told myself to relax.
         Secondly, what really helps is to create a routine around your bedtime. It will teach your body what to expect before bed and after a couple nights doing these activities will get you into the right mood immediately. If I had the time to make a whole routine I would make a cup of tea, read a magazine or a book, do some yoga and listen to West Side Story or In The Heights until I fell asleep. Of course I am  not blessed with that amount of time or willpower, so my version has to be abbreviated. I'll be picking two (or one depending on how late I end up in my room) to do. A cup of tea and a good book sound great before bed! (Make sure you don't choose a murder mystery though, a couple nights ago I started  a crime book at 11:30 and was up till three because I couldn't sleep till all the bad guys were dead)
         Third, find out what stimulates you too much to sleep. I can't go to bed within half an hour of washing my face, however playing games on my iPhone with the brightness down doesn't really bother me. My mom likes to fall asleep to the TV. Most of my camp friends have sleep playlists.

Jeans

         I recently realized that I have no well fitting blue jeans. It's a terrifying thought that only leads to misery. I now have to go buy at least three pairs of blue skinny jeans or jeggings super cheap, which can only means hours spent at Forever21 and Old Navy, ugh. I've been trying to think of ways to make it more bearable, because as everyone knows three pairs of great jeans does not make up for the 27 cast offs that sucked. I was thinking of taking a cab home, which is really a treat after an extended shopping trip (my feet get so achey).

         I also have to decide what washes to get. The gaps in my wardrobe are normal jeans, funnily enough. I've got snakeskin, red, pink, high waisted, and flared; but no normal blue wash jeans. How many blue jeans does a girl need? I heard the average woman owns seven pairs of jeans; I think I'm above that though. 

         

The moral of this post? I need jeans, and jeans shopping sucks. Wish me luck.

My Obsessions: December

December is an awesome month, one of my favorites :)

• My new iPhone 4!
• Instagram
• Toffee
• Reading books-I've been reading A LOT lately, like 6 books at once with another 10-12 waiting
• Doctor Who- Technically this should be on every month's list but since the holiday special is coming out in a couple weeks I thought I'd include it.
• Lucky Charms
• Running- I've just started running again after  along break, I used to hate it but 15 minutes of intervals are a greta workout and not as tedious and horrible as long distance.
• Rain
• Doodle Jump and Curiosity-Most addictive games ever!
• Gifts-buying and giving
• Baking-I go into full baking mode during the holidays, like three recipes per gathering, mostly new ones.
• 40's and 50's hair and makeup- I'm feeling old school classic girly-glam for this holiday season.
• Argentine Food- Found a new restaurant, I'm Argentine so I appreciate some good meat and pasta.
• Orange Juice-I was never a fan, but recently I've been craving it, so refreshing!
• My new favorite necklace, silver pyramid pendant from Alex and Chloe- A gift from my aunt for Thanksgiving.

Layering

So you know those days when changing out of your pajamas seems like the death of all that's good and holy? Well today was one of those days, except I had to walk my dog. Good thing I slept in a tank and leggings. I have some weird aversion to checking the weather (even with my new iPhone 4!) so I love layering in the winter. You can't really tell from the picture but basically I just threw some stuff over my pjs. I have almost all my clothes in the wash so the limited options made it easier for me to pick what wore. 

My base for the outfit was of course a tank and leggings. The second layer is where it gets interesting. I got my red wool sweater out of storage for winter and this was its first outing this winter! It's a little scratchy but manageably so. Then comes the leather layer with my leather motorcycle vest. You can tell it's black from the picture but the closest I could find on Polyvore was white. I wore my black Steve Madden motorcycle boots because I  thought it might still be raining but they're no longer available. These were the closest I could find.
Then came my moms BEAUTIFUL Jil Sander black coat. She recently had it shortened ad I've been stealing it since. Its only fair since she stole my gray Zara coat :)

So that's how I layer for dog-walking.

Layering by lajoliefleur featuring a trapeze tank

Knit top / American Vintage trapeze tank / Jil Sander / Biker vest / Oasis legging, $22 / Steve Madden low boots

Fitness Friday: Heart Rate

This will be a short post, because while heart rate is important, there's not much to say on it.

After working out and getting my heart rate up I feel like I can breathe so much easier. Like there's more room in my lungs. Getting your heart rate up is important because it allows your lungs and heart to function best. Your target heart rate vary's depending on your height, weight, and age. There are a several different ways to find your heart rate, and I suggest you look them up. Knowing your heart rate is important because it tells you when you are working your hardest and also when you need to slow down.

By the way, you may remember all this if you've ever had a highschool gym class :)

MovieStar Monday: Elizabeth Taylor

She's been on everyone's mind a lot lately because of the Lifetime movie that just came out, and its truly no surprise that this goddess has yet another editorial on her life (Though maybe the Lindsey Lohan version is not the one you should see for the most accurate story. Check out the review from Go Fug 
Yourself).






Her life was really incredible, the woman is a testament to good acting and glamor. She made over 40 films and was a great philanthropist for HIV/AIDs research.
One of the most impressive things about her for me was her transition from child star to adult star. In this age when children are exposed much younger to sex drugs and rock and roll all you hear about is the rough transition of most child stars (take Lindsey Lohan for instance). I can only think of the stars of Harry Potter and Dakota Fanning off the top of my head. Although she was hardly a hit maker all the way through her career she started making some of the greatest films in her mid-twenties. Her dramatic skills were almost unparalleled in her day.

And don't forget her beauty. Those deep blue, intelligent eyes and her curvaceous body!

She was the subject of the tabloids for decades throughout her eight marriages, two of them to Richard Burton. She's an extremely interesting figure and her films are classic- Cleopatra, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf-you've probably seen reference to them even if you didn't know it.

The problem: Bustiers for Day

The problem I've always had with bustiers is that since I'm not going out every night I like wearing them in the daytime. Of course the boob factor of most bustiers is way to high for day but there are ways to turn a bustier into a part of an (almost) totally appropriate outfit. The Man Repeller knows very well how to turn something sexy into something cool and fashionable. I took a clue from her and decided moderation is overrated. The most important part of forming your outfit is choosing your bustier. I wouldn't go with any of the classically sexy ones (anything animal print, red satin, too much lace) and go with something bright. Here I've found four different ways to unsexy it up!
 
Step one is your base; when you layer you want your base to be very thin, even if your going for a bulky look, because the base is the piece you can't take off. The beauty about layering is that you can take off or put on layers depending on your temperature, of course there is one layer you can't take off; the base. Although you the dress makes up the bottom half of the outfit, you could theoretically wear pants underneath and take off the dress without ever being naked. Which brings us to step two, the dress. The dress brings some life to your outfit with its bright pattern, while still maintaining the versatility of the outfit. You could leave out the bustier, switch the fur vest for a sleek black one and add some gold jewelry and kickin heels for a nighttime look. Step three is where you add the floral bustier. Now it may seem counterintuitive to add another pattern to this look, but since both patterns share colors and re around the same size the bustier adds interest and awesomeness. Step four is the extras. The fur vest will keep you warm and ground your outfit (as its one of only two neutrals).Yet another pattern, you may ask, why yes of course, why let your upper half have all the fun! the shoes' pattern is even closer in color to the dress and works wonderfully as an extension of the dress' pattern.


Your base for this look is a simple jeans and tee. I chose the jeans because they were slouchy and cuffed, for this look you wouldn't want anything too sleek, and a more  scruffed up pair would increase the laid back part of this look. I then added some sweetness with the floral bustier, which compliments the mustard tee like a boss. I love layering tees under bustiers and bra tops; the style of your tee almost doesn't matter. I think together they look really cool. Then some structure with a maroon blazer, which helps tone down the sweetness of the bustier. A woven fedora and a blue scarf play off the laid back vibe of the base and white wedges tie together the whole casual yet structured vibe.  Originally I was going to add flats but I thought that wedges would work better with the blazer. for a sportier look switch out the blazer for a letterman jacket, lose the hat and the scarf and add some fresh kicks.


Look three is for the girl who's not afraid to show some tummy. I wanted a sorta 70's vibe so I added flared jeans to the bright yellow bra top. You could easily add high-waisted ones instead to make it a little more covered up. A pink and black heart cardigan makes the top a little less scandalous but still allows you to show off those flat abs (or ab). A maroon fur vest keeps with the 70's vibe and takes away some of the cutesy-ness of the hearts cardigan. the color works well with the peach of the cardigan as they are in the same tonal family. The maroon bow shoes match with the vest and the cardigan.
*Remember, when in doubt go artsier and more high fashion


This look is a little more sexy but the color-blocking and warmth factor make it more comfy than the typical bustier look. The base here is an orange bra top and cobalt blue skinnies (Cobalt is one of this seasons hot colors!) très Knicks right? The next layer is an emerald green button down, slouchy and open it would be super relaxed. Over that I added a fuchsia double-breasted peacoat, you could leave this on and let the button down peek through or take it off once you're inside. The only prints are the accessories, which add for a subtle pop. Leopard flats and a muti-colored silk scarf that echoes the colors in the outfit. As you can see I've pretty much thrown out the only three colors in an outfit rule :)

If you haven't noticed I've really been feeling fur vests and florals lately. If anyone knows where to find a faux fur vest on a student's budget let me know.

Fitness Friday: Holidays/TV

Stupidly enough, I've ended my month long hiatus of working out at the start of the holidays. This week was a tough week for me, I had two spin classes and two Zumba classes as well as around 210 crunches (I'll explain the random number below). So it's gonna be hard, but worth it right? 

So the 210 crunches came from a new system I'm using to determine how many crunches and sittups I do. I use drinking games, but substitute shots for crunches; instead of getting smashed I'm getting fit. If you really want to challenge yourself, use a soap opera and add five crunches for every dramatic pause :)

Cup (You're Gonna Miss Me)

Any of you who've seen the movie Pitch Perfect knows this song. It was originally performed by Lulu and the Lampshades, and then in the movie Anna Kendrick. After we saw the movie,  y friends and I decided to learn the rhythm, which is done with cups. I learned it first and then only one other friend learned it. I can now song and do the rhythm on my own, but doing it with my friend ad the harmonies is so hard!






I used this video to learn the cup part.

MovieStar Monday: Jason Segel

Funny guy, singer, giant; that's what comes to mind when I think of Jason Segel. His TV breakthrough was as Nick Andopolis in one of my brother's favorite shows, Freaks and Geeks. 

The first film that made me fall in love with him was Forgetting Sarah Marshall (also the film that made me fall in love Mila Kunis before I knew who she was). I saw it at a sleepover party and loved it; later, not under the influence of cake and bday fun, I watched it again, and really appreciated it. 

In Bad Teacher he was funny in a predictable role, the movie wasn't the best, but still enjoyable, especially when he was on the screen. 

For the past seven years he's been on the INCREDIBLE show How I Met Your Mother. He rocks as Marshall Eriksen, really really funny!

He has the ability to do vulgar without taking it too far, and makes pathetic so funny. His timing and facial expressions are gold. 
Check him out!

Fitness Friday: Holiday Moderation

Lateness is becoming a regular occurrence fitness-wise, in keeping with my current state of mind on the subject. It's the holidays, shouldn't we all just stuff our faces with great food and forget about fitness? Probably not. It's especially important to eat well and exercise during the holidays to combat stress and enter the new year feeling fabulous. Of course you should indulge, just remember indulgence is only good up to the point where we feel good; when the thought of another slice of cake makes you feel sick, it's time to stop.

P.S If this is hard for you remember some of the best advice I've heard about the holidays- Always wear something form-fitting, it'll be a great reminder of when to stop eating. 

Happy Thanksgiving/ Obsessions

Happy Thanksgiving all! Hope your's was filled with great food and company like mine.

Now on to my obsessions!

• Hoodie Allen
• Pastel Makeup
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Baking
• my new Forever21 Heels!
• Winter head gear- Berets and fur headbands currently
• Phoebe the kitty cat I'm cat-sitting
• Key and Peele
• intense doodling
• intense nail art

Pictures to come :)

MovieStar Monday: Sarah Michelle Gellar

Maybe she's not technically a movie star, but she has a special place in my heart ever since I started Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was CRAZY GOOD as Buffy, really played the role to perfection for seven seasons. Before that she was in some horror films (I Know What You Did Last Summer), and during the show she played Daphne in the live-action Scooby-Doo's. Love those movies!
 She was really funny as Daphne, and she got to show off the moves she got from Buffy in the second movie. (Yes, that hair is sort of terrifying)

She had a show last year called Ringer, that I didn't watch. It seemed pretty crazy, all about twins and murder and sabotage!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was based off of the movie of the same name that didn't fair so well in the reviews. Then our lord and savior Joss Whedon took over the project and worked his magic. He's really a genius and I love every episode of the show.
There have been many differnt iterations of Buffy's hair over the years, soI went with her hair in season 6, long and wavy.

Fitness Sunday: Aches

Aches and pains are common in the course of exercising, at least if you're doing it right :)
They say no pain, no gain (whoever "they" are) but who wants to live with the pains of your grandparents? I've been walking around on achey legs wishing to God I hadn't done so much yoga and wall-sits and trying to remember why I work out in the first place. I've heard that foam rollers are good to soothe aches and pains, but you only use those right after exercising, so what about the day after when the aches appear? 
According to SparkPeople, massage, icing and stretching are best, which all sound reasonable. the main thing however is not to just sit around to your muscles relax (as if that were ever an option). Yoga, stretching, and walking are all good, they increase circulation which speeds muscle recovery. Any aches that last for more than five days however are more serious, and you should probably confer with your physician. 
Post-workot aches, or delayed onset muscle soreness, are not necessary to prove you've had a good workout though, they're just microscopic muscle tearing!

Fitness Friday

Sorry it didn't go up yesterday, i had a big night in my musical and some old friends came afterwards, it'll be up by Monday!

Moviestar Monday: Julie Andrews

Yes I'm sorta on an old movie star kick, but bear with me. 





Julie Andrews is an incredible singer, dancer, director, author and actress whom most of you know for The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins; two classic movies that catapulted her to stardom. 

           Both movies are renowned for their incredible scores and songs and the happiness imbedded in each movie. In The sound of Music Julie Andrews gives Maria a fierceness and conviction that stop her from becoming a preachy caricature of a wanna-be nun who loves singing. In Mary Poppins she so fun, but not exactly silly. Really she knew how to create a character you loved to watch. At the age of 66 she starred in the Disney movie The Princess Diaries with Anne Hathaway and since then has done numerous voice acting parts

           Her voice has such an amazing tone and range, it's a shame that she still can't sing after her surgery. Seriously, youtube her if you cant imagine her voice off the top of your head. 

Fitness Friday: What counts as working out?

What counts as working out? For me, a lot. That's one of the reasons I have little excuse to not work out. simply walking instead of taking the bus is half an hour of cardio. When I was in a cabaret I learned tap through two hour rehearsals once a week for two and  a half months. It was intense! By the end of two hours the freezing cold rehearsal space had me sweating. My mom walks up and down the stairs in our apartment building when she feels she needs a workout. There's very little you can't fur into a workout. Surprising, right? So try a little, you've go no excuse not to!

Moviestar Monday: Audrey Hepburn

Most everyone knows the name and the chic simplicity associated with her name, bu ti know her from the old movies I watched as a kid. She was in some really incredible movies besides Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady. 
She trained in ballet at the age of 5 but started working on the London stage because it payed more. Her   first starring role as Gigi in the play of the same name took her around the world touring. Her first starring role on the big screen was as Princess Ann in Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck. It's a delightful film set in Rome that features all the charm and comedy she became known for. 

One of my favorite of her films is Funny Face. Not only are she and Fred Astaire brilliant in it but the imagery and songs are wonderful too. It's a well made feel good movie really. 


Charade is possibly my favorite thriller ever. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn are a great combo! The movie is funny and surprising and of course thrilling :) I've watched the movie like a thousand times. 





She was a great humanitarian and later in life became the Goodwill ambassador to Unicef. She continued this work until her death in 1993. 

On her Majesty's Secret Service

I bought my first Bond Color yesterday and I am very impressed. As you can guess I bought On her Majesty's Secret Service, gray green shimmer with blue, green, yellow, and purple glitter. Inside it looks like a typical sparkly gray but check it out in the sun and you get the multicolor glitter! LOVE IT

Fitness Friday: Sneakers

*Day late, thought this was posted last night.
I've recently come tot he conclusion that sneakers need to be replaced regularly. Sounds like common sense but remember I'm not a "sports" person. I've been wearing the same adidas sambas for about 3 years. They've stretched two sizes since I bought them. My friend who is into running says every 300 miles you should replace sneakers (I may have remembered that wrong). Oops.

Now that I've been searching for sneakers I'm between two types, which should I get.

     1. Basketball Sneakers: Good for my ankles, super fresh. Some people call them high tops. http://www.zappos.com/supra-vaider-womens-purple-lavender

http://us.asos.com/countryid/2/Nike-Air-Royalty-Hi-Top-Orange-Sneakers/ytzvr/?iid=2213114&MID=35719&affid=2135&WT.tsrc=Affiliate&siteID=Hy3bqNL2jtQ-YrTJcfe8poeYoUd0UlSjnw

http://www.yoox.com/us/44428078US/item?dept=women&tp=11227#cod10=44428078US&sizeId=

2. They're probably most practical, since I'm usually running or biking when I wear sneakers.

like these and these.

Super Water

As the title may suggest, infused water is the superhero of drinks. I was looking at recipes on Pinterest and came upon an awesome-looking recipe. Basically super water is just water infused with various fruits and veggies. What I love is that super water is personalized to your specific tastes. For my first try I used grapefruit, lemon juice, basil, mint and grapes. Sort of a weird combo, but pretty good, It was really citrus-y and the grapes sunk (science for dummies), but it tasted good. We kept filling the pitcher up with water but after a week I was tired. For my second try I decided to go with a smaller batch to see how I liked it. I wanted something fresher and cleaner tasting, or what I think of as clean tasting. So heres my recipe for Cucumber-Mint-Lemon Water (yeah sort of a dumb name):

• 1/4 cucumber
• A handful of mint leaves- about 1/8 of a cup
• a teaspoon of lemon juice

First chop up the mint leaves, make sure they're not too small. Then slice the cucumber, again not too thin, if they are slivers they'll turn out soggy. Then fill a glass up with about a cup or two of water and put in the mint, cucumber, and lemon juice. Put the glass in the fridge and let it sit for an hour. You have to let it sit so that the water takes in the flavor of the cucumber and mint. For bigger portions i suggest letting it sit overnight. After an hour i strained out the leaves and pressed out any juice the leaves had soaked up and left the cucumbers in. And now you have delicious Super Water!

Movie Star Monday: Rose Byrne

Bearing in mind that I've only seen two of rose Byrne's movies, I think she is a great actress.  


When I first saw X-men: first Class, I was 

totally blown away. I'd seen one of the previous movies and while I enjoyed the movie, it was in the realm of typical action movies (You know the type: hot girls, evil guy, hero's feel alone, they all come together to defeat people the bad guy). X-men first class was one of those movies that I thought about for day after. Her costuming was delicious, 60's at its best. 


Check out her gorgeous hair!
The milk chocolate hair grazing her shoulders is really perfect for her. The cut is similar to the "lob" of last year, but  more voluminous, and long. *Side note- I had a lob, even though curly hair doesn't exactly do short hair. 

In Bridesmaids she showed off her comedic abilities as Helen, the rich witch we hated just until the end. Helen was the antithesis of Kristen Wiig's Annie. It was almost painful to watch her sabotage Annie and takeover as Maid of Honor. When she finally lets herself crumble, as Annie says "This is the first time I've seen you look ugly, and that makes me happy!" 
Check out the different hair- Blond with some brown at the top, long waves, total rich second wife. 

Fitness Friday: Playlist

I'm in currently in mourning due to the loss of of most of my music, including my workout playlist. To workout I prefer songs with great beats and lots of variation between the songs. Certain songs are for crunches, some for jumping jacks and some for dancing. Trust me, you want different songs for different types of workouts. I always work better with a song I love motivating me. Music is a big part of a lot of exercise classes and it isn't hard to understand why; time passes so much quicker when you're listening to a song.
A magazine I once read said that Sexy and I Know It is the best workout song. Something about the base that comes in right away, and the drop before the chorus. My Zumba instructor has a dance to it thats fun, but it isn't one of my favorites. I much prefer spanish beats and the new belly dancing song we tried last week.

Outfit/Nail post

Yeah it's late and yeah these are late but here you go.

These are two outfit posts and two weeks of nails. The first pic is from last week, I wore my black A line dress with my striped Urban sweater over and gray crochet tights in my Steve Madden motorcycle boots. I looked majorly wack in the picture so I had to crop out my face. By wack I mean weirder than I've ever seen my face :) When I got cold I put on my leather vest, so yeah, a lot of black. Note the neon green watch, I got it this Summer and have been obsessed with it for a long while.

The second look is from when it rained this week. The first image is of the outfit during the day and the second image is of when I had to go outside and realized it was raining. I wore hot pink skinnies and a camel sweater to match my new gold belt. I really love the colors together, especially with my fading tan. When it rained I realized my only defense other than my leather vest was my red leopard scarf. Even though it doesn't totally work with my jeans, I loved wearing it Grace Kelly style. 

                  The shoes are my rubber leopard loafers. You like?

You can't really see my nails but I hope you get the gist- It was supposed to be like flowers on the water. Its OPI Russian Navy under a silvery OPI color with a rainbow of flowers done with a pointed Q-tip. The other pic is from this week, I did purple with two cloud layers in green and dark brown. Below the clouds are silver dots.

Movie Star Monday: James Marsden

As well as being hot James Marsden is an incredible actor. He has great comedic timing and is a very versatile actor.
 He was in the underrated and under appreciated film Sugar&Spice, which I recommend everyone to see. The story is about a pregnant cheerleader and her friends who rob a bank to pay for her bills, James is sort of a side role as the main character's boyfriend and baby daddy, loveably well-meaning, and dumb as a rock. In The Notebook he played Ally's fiance Lon Hammond who gives Ally the choice that made me love him. Prince Edward in Enchanted. He's always in really enjoyable films, and he's incredibly funny, I loved him in Death at a Funeral. Right now he's Liz's boyfriend on 30 Rock. 



In Hairspray he proved his singing chops as Corny Collins, the host of The Corny Collins Show. I love the whole 60's look and feel of his numbers, they're so stiff in their perfection (Like hairspray hint hint hint) and the suits from that era are probably my favorite style to date.

Impracticality is:

Two watches...

...Neither of which works.

Fitness Friday: Workout Clothes

I've found that what I wear really affects how I work out. It's sort of shallow but don't you want to work out harder when you look great? There's also the function aspect of really good workout clothes, sometimes people forget what a difference that makes. 

Right now I'm alternating between two pairs of Gap fold-over shorts that aren't sold anymore. Below is a link to a similar pair.

http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=83069&vid=1&pid=136070002

On top I wear a sports bra and a tank or a tee.
I used to wear old school stuff from way back when but it was so drab and unflattering. Bright colors, fun patterns, flattering designs; they all make for a great workout wardrobe.

So, do you go classic? Funky? Sexy? Minimal?
What do you wear?

My Obsessions

• Ezra Miller 
• My leather vest (I cut off the sleeves myself!)
• Storm of Swords
• Carrot Juice
• Cups (You're Gonna Miss me)
• Ezra Miller 
• Gluten-free chicken patties
• The Walking Dead
• Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Muffins
• 30 Rock
• Neil Patrick Harris

Movie Star Monday: Emma Stone

             I was just watching Easy A last night so I decided this week's MovieStar Monday would focus on Emma Stone. At 15 she persuaded her parents to let her drop out of her all-girls Catholic School and move to LA with a powerpoint presentation, impressive right?!?
            Her breakout film was Superbad, which was when she dyed her hair red. She's best known as a comedic actress, and for good reason, she's got impeccable timing and a natural understanding of what makes a character funny, without letting the character's whole identity become the jokes. Easy A stars Emma as a girl who agrees to pretend to have sex with a guy so that people will stop bullying him for being gay and gains a reputation as she begins helping others (for giftcards of course). The movie is hilarious and hosts a great cast, Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci as her parents are standouts to me; the scenes o the family at home had me laughing out loud. I also really loved Crazy, Stupid, Love, definitely a movie worth seeing.
A movie that got a lot of attention during last year's awards season was The Help which emma Stone starred in, I haven't seen the movie but I've heard great things :)

One of the things that really shocked people with her, and by people of course I mean me, was when she dyed her her hair blonde. She is a natural blonde but I really think she's a great redhead. It was done for a movie (The Amazing Spiderman-excellent movie by the way) and I was eventually won over by the blonde, which is not to say that I wasn't glad when she went back to red.

I'm really excited to see her in Gangster Squad next January! What are your thoughts on the lovely Emma?

Fitness Friday: Spin vs Biking

I've been a longtime fan of biking, I guess it was unavoidable considering how much my dad loves it. I love how fast it gets you to the places you want to go. I used to bike down along the hudson so that I could eat lunch downtown and shop. Biking is tailored to your level of proficiency, which is why it's an easy sport to pick up. If you want to go all Lance Armstrong you can participate in races and long distance cycing, but if like me you want to cruise sometimes and work other times, its easy to just adjust your settings and pick another path.
Spin is a type of indoor biking  which provides an intense workout and is tons of fun. All of my gym classes are spin classes, so I've had some experience by now. It is tons of fun and forces you to push yourself. With music on time passes super fast, I love spinning to old school hip hop, nothing like Usher, JZ, and Missy Eliott to make you work hard. 
All in all, bies rock, spinning is the workout of a lifetime.

Costume Breakdown-Mirror, Mirror

 I loved the costumes in this movie! Each one was beautiful and inspired and if you can they would make beautiful halloween costumes.

 I'm going to start with Snow's outfits, the first being her blue wedding dress. The dress is light blue over puffy medium blue and orange sleeves. It has a wide, white neckline and a floral base on the light blue skirt. It also includes a sheer baby blue petticoat that you see when the dress is pulled up. The back features an oversized bright orange bow (the same orange as the sleeves). Its one of the awesomest wedding dresses I've ever seen, one of two in the movie. Here it is in action:

As you can see, it appears less shiny on screen, and the folds of the sleeves look great in motion. The dress is paired with a tiara, and the light blue low 17th century France style heels from the picture above.

Her first dress in the movie is the pink and yellow floral dress to the right, with green sleeves, yet again puffy. Where the pink top meets the skirt the pink breaks into wide fringe pieces. The skirt is SUPER wide like most of the skirts in the movie and continues the floral pattern from the top. 
On screen it appears bluer, and personally I prefer it on screen, it takes away some of the sugary sweetness of the dress in person. 

At the queens costume ball she wears the white swan dress, with the wings, gloves and memorable swan hat. It's hard to see the detail of the dress but its beautifully white on white embroidery. The skirt has a layer of intricate lace and the top combines beading and lace with a scalloped neckline. The gloves are sheer and the wings are delicate wire and fabric. Also- don't you love Armie Hammer's (the Prince) hat!

Here she is in the dress after being spared in the forest by the queen's henchman. 




It's great for fighting too :)

When she joins the dwarves and learns to fight she puts on her kick-ass fighting outfit. Here it is full length, you can see the blue off-shoulder blouse under the black and gold vest. (Wow it took me a while to remember the word vest) She wears the blouse with a black, floor-length a-line skirt. It's one of the only seperates look featured in the movie, and way more practical for fighting than her other looks. Okay-its not super practical but I like to imagine she's wearing leggings underneath, so if she needs to she pull off the skirt and really get to work. 

I love the ponytail she pairs it with I think it really shows off her beautiful face (uh oh major girl crush forming:)) I've always been a major fan of teal and I think this teal is especially lovely, I think it's called peacock blue.








Onto the Queen, whose costumes perfectly reflect her over the top personality. They're large and bright and over-accentuate all the parts of the body. It's pink but on screen its rose gold. The top arrows down past to the hips and starts the gold and white embroidery that the skirt continues in different sizes. The shoulders are sculpted and the sleeves are fringed with gold.      

The picture of the back shows the poufy hips more, like a bustle except not on the butt. They're like slightly deflated balloons.






At her ball the Queen wears a red dress featuring peacock embellishment and actual peacock feathers. The gown's all red and white palette add to the drama of the wide skirt and angled sleeves. Instead of shoulder pads at her shoulders are sculpted cut outs meant to echo the shape of the peacock embroidery on her dress. The neckline is lined with white "feathers" sharper than her temper! (sorry-had to make the cheesy joke) she wore the magnificent peacock feather back during the ball which added to the dramatization of the human shape and height needed to emphasize the grandeur of her personality and fancies.

Now to the other wedding dress in the film. For the Queen's marriage to the prince she dons an immense white gown. Like seriously, it's huge. The silk (I believe) is cut to resemble leaves or feathers. The top boasts the smaller leaves which trickle down to the skirt in vines. The sleeves are off shoulder-like most of the dresses in the movie-and droopy ending in tight white cuffs that arrow down to the middle finger.The queen also wears a long white veil held on her head by a small white crown (and probably a thousand bobby pins).
Check out the Queen's undergarments, it takes hard work to wear dresses that good!