Pin-Up Posters and Diva Decor

You know how I said yesterday that I hoped to take some pictures of the bathroom last night? Well, I decided to wait on that until there was something decent to photograph. Right now, the towels aren't out, the decor is only halfway installed, and a great big container of spackle is right smack dab in the middle of my countertop. Trust me, you want me to wait on this.

Andy's Room. Photo Credit: DisneyWallpaper

In the meantime, let me tell you about my nowhere-near-finished guest room! (I can tell you're just chompin' at the bit.) The room had been what Thomas referred to as "Andy's Room Blue", but we painted over that with slate gray and trimmed the window, doors, and baseboards in white. Most of the accents are lime green, which really pops against the gray.

The inspiration for the room came, in part, from a rather odd source: Victoria's Secret. I kid thee not.

See, back around the time of the last fashion show, the company held a sweepstakes, and I--for once--won a prize! I received a design-inspired sketch of one of the runway looks. Now, to be perfectly frank, I wasn't thrilled. I was thrilled to get anything, of course, but I'd hoped for a gift card, discount, or maybe a t-shirt. Design-inspired sketch never even entered my mind. What on Earth was I going to do with a picture of some random chick in lingerie?


Photo Credit: CBS News.
Change the yellow to pink, and this is my sketch.

A few weeks later, my "major award" arrived. Inside a little "Congratulations! You're a Winner!" card was the sweetest little cartoon-like sketch of a redheaded superheroine--all in hot pink with white go-go boots! The background was a lemon-lime green, and the entire piece was beyond adorable. I squealed a little, and decided right then and there that I would decorate the guestroom in a sophisticatedly (is that a word? It is now) girly fashion. The sketch went into a chrome frame with a white mat, and the search for equally precious pinup art commenced. 

A quick search on Amazon brought up some winners. Here are my favorites:

Photo Credit: Poster Shop Live (This and next two)

Link

Link

Photo Credit: Pop Culture Graphics

Since the room's going uber-girly, I thought I'd toss in a frilly mirror...

Photo Credit: Kirkland's

...then tone things down a bit with a mod lamp.

Photo Credit: Target

It's a work-in-progress, but I think we may be getting there. Any thought? I'd love to read them in the comments.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's...an Angel?

Photo Credit (All): CBS News

I'm a bad blogger. I didn't watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last night. I am so sorry.

To be fair, I had two boys in my house, and they really needed to focus on script re-writes for the next film we'd like to make. It's a great script, but there were a couple of minor details that caused some hang-ups, and they needed to be ironed out. The last thing they needed was a fashion show full of scantily-clad supermodels.

Oh--you didn't think they'd watch it?! Oh, good Lord, no! I think we can all agree that there's very little "sexy" about the VS Fashion Show. They'd be distracted by me, jumping up and down on the couch screaming, "Oh my God, that is so cute!! Thomas, look! Isn't her hair just precious?! I love those wings!! Wow!! Look at that!!"

No work would have gotten done.

So, in the interest of filmmaking, I skipped the show. I did, however, catch up with pictures this morning, and was especially intrigued by the Superhero segment. No, I did not say it was my favorite segment. In fact, it's probably my least favorite, but I did find it interesting.

The Good

1. You could see the products. Several of the other segments costumes covered the actual items found in stores. Feathers, jewels, and fountains of lace--while breathtaking--obscured the available garments to the point that I wondered why we were even bothering with a fashion show. The Superhero segment incorporated the bras and panties into the overall design, and I really appreciated that effort.

2. I thought that the choice to go with candy-colored costumes that looked as if they had been pulled off of a comic book page, instead of copying the more realistic styles found in today's movies was a smart one. By going with the more illustrated design, they avoided making the girls look like they were modeling "sassy" Halloween costumes. All in all, it was a more fashion forward decision.

The Bad

1. While the costumes were highly stylized, the girls hair and makeup were not. I understand that there's no time for that kind of change during a fashion show, but the finished look, well, wasn't. Gorgeous girls, though, so I guess being a little unpolished can be forgiven.

The Ugly

1. Unfortunately, many of the costumes just weren't as creative as they could have been. "Superhero" conjures up so many possibilities, and I felt like this was a missed opportunity. Don't get me wrong--they were very cute costumes, but just a little on the safe side. I got more of a "space-alien-sent-to-make-out-with-Kirk" kind of vibe. Maybe it's just me?

Did any of you watch? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Frugal Fridays: Mobile Edition!

I am now blogging from my phone. This should prove interesting, to say the least. For instance, autocorrect changed blogging to clogging ...yikes.

Anyhoo, I have some fab deals for you today!

From 11:11 this morning, for 11 hours and 11 minutes, e.l.f. will ship any order over $11.11 for $1.11. The holiday collection this year is called 24kt, and features pretty gold packaging and tools. I highly recommend checking it out.

Now through Monday, Fredericks of Hollywood has 50% off all clearance and 20% off all corsets. There are some really cute party dresses (among other things) at ridiculously low prices right now.

Lastly, Jewelmint has started a daily deal that can be found in their blog. Today's is a matching ring, earring, and bracelet set for 30% off with the code WONDER30.

Happy Veteran's Day!! Take a minute today to hug, thank, or give a thought to those who risk everything for our freedom. Have a great weekend!

Why Must You Taunt Me So?

This came to me yesterday, and I have scoured the Internet like mad ever since. These items are, sadly, not available in the US...yet. I will continue to hold out hope. I give you...

Photo Credit (This and Below): Tokyo Fashion

...Batman lingerie!!!

How cute is that?! This set is from Aimerfeel's "We (Heart) Hero" collection, which also features this little number:

Look at the itty-bitty ears!!!! Oh, me wants it, my precious!!! Superman styles are also available, but I'm really digging the Batman sweetness. See you tomorrow! Same adorable time, same adorable channel!

Gift Guide: The Valentine

Well, folks, we are one week away from that holiday of holidays; the greeting card shop/chocolatier/florist's make-it-or-break-it day; the one day out of the year I dreaded most in high school: Valentine's Day!

 

If I could figure out how to make it fully come across in blog form, I'd like to woo the most sarcastic woo ever wooed.

 

Don't get me wrong. I love my husband, and I'm a huge fan of chocolate, but after back-to-back Christmas and Anniversary, I am completely out of gift ideas. Well, I shouldn't say that. I did get him a gift, and one day, I might even get around to wrapping it. The thing is, he knows how to find just the perfect thing that will make me cry (i.e. the Arwen necklace I fell in love with on our honeymoon, a Mary Poppins carpetbag from when we saw the musical in the West End, also on our honeymoon--let me hear a collective "awwww!" here), so the pressure is really on for me.

 

I think I may have done it this year. I'm not going to say what it is, since he does, occasionally, read this. Instead, I'm going to leave you with a few cute things I found floating around the Interwebs. Enjoy!

 

I love these pillowcases from BoldLoft. This way, whether you're together or apart, you have a reminder of how much you love each other, and in this case, how much you make each other laugh. $29.95, BoldLoft.com.

Photo Credit: BoldLoft

 

Photo Credit: Frederick's of Hollywood

Whether you need satin and lace beneath your little red Valentine's dress, or you just want to treat yourself to something pretty, this is a terrific choice. On sale at Frederick's of Hollywood, this Jessica Simpson collection long-line bra gives your girls lift like you wouldn't believe. I honestly have no opinion of Ms. Simpson as a singer or actress, but I can tell you that she knows her lingerie (and shoes, but that's another story). This is smooth, frilly, and fabulous. If you like your assets on display (and who doesn't, every now and then), this'll put them front and center. Plus, the slightly retro, Mad Men-esque vibe is especially flattering on curvaceous figures. I just hate that the matching boyshorts have sold out. $18.99, Frederick's of Hollywood.

 

Photo Credit: Best Buy

Lastly, here's a great little flick for snuggling. Or lashing out at a hated holiday. Or if you just like Jensen Ackles. Or...well, you get the point. It's just a great little flick. Give it to a Valentine with a sense of humor. $24.99 for Blu-ray, Best Buy.

The Cause Of, and Solution To, All Of Life's Problems!

I'm not a beer drinker.  A good glass of Riesling, or maybe a nice vodka martini, yes, but beer...well, I never developed the taste for it.  With that, I do appreciate a good beer.  I toured the Budweiser facility a few years back, and was really surprised by all the care and time that goes into making a batch of brew.  I also learned that chocolate infused dark ale is not half bad.  Then again, chocolate infused anything is okay in my book.

Anyway, the point is:  I don't really like beer.  However, I do like technology, especially when it makes me giggle.  This did it.

Photo Credit:  Blippitt.com

The machine in the photo is called BottomsUP by GrinOn Industries, and yes, it is, in fact, filling those beer glasses from the bottom.  You know, the part of the cup where you generally do not want to find a hole. 

Now, "why," you may ask, "are they filling the cup like that, and not just pouring the beer into the open mouth of the glass?"  Ask away.  Believe it or not, through the miracle of science (!), this method actually allows the glasses to fill faster, and with less foam.  Therefore, the drinker gets more bang for his buck, and the option of getting drunk faster...I mean, the bars which employ this can provide a better product with greater speed, thereby increasing their revenue.  Yeah.  That's the ticket.

How does it work?  When the cup is placed on the machine, the beer is shot through a hole in the bottom of the cup.  That hole is sealed with a magnet (it lifts up to allow the beer to flow in).  Yes, the cups will be more expensive, but sponsors (who would put their logo on the magnet) could offset that price.  Bottom line:  It's fast, innovative, solves that foam problem, and has a brilliant gimmick.  I'd say it's got a darn good chance.  Heck, I'd buy a glass off of it. 

So, thinking about beer guts (weren't we?), I'm sick of mine.  I'm doing the whole slim-fast thing, walking, doing crunches and situps, and one day, I swear I'm going to put together the mini-trampoline I got for Christmas, but it's slow-going.  I know that I will get rid of this holiday weight, but until then, I need a little help.

I'm a good, Southern girl with good, Southern breeding.  I know that there are just some outfits you don't wear unless you have some serious Lycra underneath them.  Heck, when I was seventeen and had a stomach so flat it was nearly concave, I still wore control-top pantyhose with my prom dress.  That's just being raised right.

Well, I'm not seventeen anymore, and my stomach is no longer curving in on itself, so I've had to up the ante a bit on my foundations.  This year, for Christmas, I wore a gorgeous, bright red, Calvin Klein wiggle dress.  Oh, my God, I cannot put into words how much I love this dress.  Anyway, in order to have all the curves in the right places, I wore not one, but two shapers.  One to suck in my tummy and thighs, and the other to smooth out the bumps made by the first shaper.  It worked, but I couldn't breathe and was totally miserable all night.  Plus, the shapers kept moving and bunching, which sent me on continuous trips to the ladies' to put things back in order.  The dress looked amazing, but I have never been so ready to take off an item of clothing.  To add insult to injury, the shapers were, quite frankly, ugly.  It's hard to feel like a million bucks in a sexy dress when your foundations make you feel like an old lady.  This was unacceptable.

Fast forward to last Friday.  Mom and I were wandering through Penney's, when I saw something in the lingerie section and started laughing.  Granted, I frequently laugh when I pass lingerie stores, but generally over the ridiculous "attire" they have in the windows.  This time, I made a bee-line to get a better look.

What I saw was a camisole shaper with matching boy-short tummy toner.  They were black.  They were sparkly.  They were darn cute.  Honestly, the set made me think of the jazz costumes at my old ballet school.  It was not unlike something out of Broadway's Chicago.  They were on sale, definitely not grandma-ish, and I needed something better than what I was dealing with, so I practiced my best jazz hands and sugar-walked over to the cashier.

The tank and shorts are from Maidenform's Fat Free Dressing shapewear collection (and how cute is that?).  The tank is designed to be wearable on the outside, as well as underneath, hence the sparklies.  The set is available in a variety of colors, ranging from basic nude to a shimmery gold glitter, and, according to Maidenform, "You will feel comfortable all day long, while looking slimmer and trimmer!" 

I tried the set today, with jeggings and a cute sweater that was just a little too snug the last time I wore it.  First of all, when I put on the shapewear, I felt adorable.  Seriously.  The black, sparkly shorts and tank look absolutely darling on.  When I put on the jeggings, there was no line, which I'd been concerned about.  Then, when I slipped on the sweater, it fit.  No bulge, no bump, no chance of anyone asking when I'm due, no nothing.  Awesome!

As for comfort, I'm not going to lie.  I can tell that I have on a tummy toner.  It's not unpleasant, and I don't feel like I've been sucked into a sausage casing, but there is a little pressure around my midsection.  I'm looking at it as a reminder to sit up straight and practice correct posture.  Other than that, no complaints.  Nothing has moved or slipped.  I haven't had to run to the ladies' room to adjust things.  Everything is as it should be.  I'm sold.  I just may wear this under everything, now.  Mom will be so proud.