Last week it started snowing one night so I thought the next day would be perfect for some outdoor outfit photos.
Sofia by Sofia Vergara Shawl Collar Wrap Sweater-Kmart, C&C California tank dress-thrifted, Attention scarf-Kmart, Xhilaration leggings-Target, Bongo Women's Honor Cowboy Boot-Kmart, Baby Phat corset style wide elastic belt-Beyond the Rack, floral ring-Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival, cat ring-CTB's Closet
I had just snagged that Sofia Vergara sweater I’d been coveting. Kmart was having a huge sale and there was one left. It was a size smaller than I’d planned on getting but the only difference was it’s a bit more boobaliscious than the next size up. I also included these awesome boots that I scored at Kmart. I have a bunch of thrifted boots that I wear all of the time but I really wanted a new pair (that I didn’t have to worry about the heel popping off of). They are cowboy boots but to me they really seem like a cross between cowboy and motorcycle boots. So that makes them a bit more interesting. I’ve been wearing these often since I bought them. They’re perfect for winter.
I decided to layer my sweater over a cotton tank dress and leggings. To give all of that black a little pop I added a floral scarf. Plus I incorporated a corset style elastic belt for shaping. It came with a bubble coat that I wear often but I don’t really care for wearing belts over coats. To finish the look I added a couple of rings.
I recently found out about hip hop artist Tha Mic. He’s a rapper from Winnipeg, Canada. Tha Mic has been producing music since age 19. Plus he’s worked with many notable artists including Bad Azz of Snoop Dogg’s DPG and Hussein Fatal of 2pac’s Outlaws.
His current album, Exposed, can be downloaded for free (how awesome is that?) by visiting his site, ThaMicMusic.ca. The album includes 11 fly tracks, listed below. They would be great to throw on for a party or just when hanging out.
1. 9 2 5
2. Doin’ Good featuring Sigma D
3. Plastic Balla featuring Kid P
4. Smoke
5. Money Schemes
6. Golden featuring Originate
7. Sunshine featuring Aye Michelle
8. Wen It Goes featuring Kid P
9. How Much Time I Got Left
10. I Try featuring Chellz
11. Keep Shining
My personal favorite tracks are Plastic Balla, Smoke and Sunshine. Sunshine is the kind of song that would go well in a one of those summertime mixes when you are chillin’ by the pool. It’s obvious that he works hard on both the beats and lyrics to get every song just right.
I definitely recommend that you go download Tha Mic’s album Exposed. Plus he also has some other tracks for sale that you should check out such as Blunt Smoke.
I’d never seen these Glamour photos of Blake Lively even though they are from last summer. The last is obviously overly photoshopped but they are still great.
If you like Lively check out, A lively little adventure-Blake Lively bakes cake pops with the author of the book Cake Pops. So fun.
Aside from the Marilyn hair (we get it, okay) I think this photo of Michelle Williams from GQ is great. Her heartfelt interview is here.
It’s about the movie industry moving away from film to digital. It’s quite timely since they are now doing away with film altogether. Pretty sad.
Awesome, someone compiled many of the D’ohs! from The Simpsons.
If you enjoy The Simpsons check these out, The Simpsons Games Archive-tells you about Simpsons games in every format, so neat. 1991 Simpsons Arcade Game Download-You can download and play the classic arcade game we grew up with for free.
So this is pretty creepy. I was in a Christian thrift store the other day and heard the Christian radio talking heads discussing this. It’s an app for Facebook to leave a last status update after you die.
I hadn’t heard this until I bought something on eBay last week and another seller mentioned it to me. Surprised I missed it when it was released.
The first My Drunk Kitchen in HD.
Ms. Marbles does a tribute to Harto’s My Drunk Kitchen. Cool.
“…John Travolta, that white man sure can dance”.
Actress Tanedra Howard talks about her record collection and dances a bit.
A Tour of the Mad Men Offices-This was sent to you if you subscribe to the AMC Mad Men newsletter. I love the detail that they put into the set decoration.
‘Reality Bites’ and the Perils of Being a Generation’s Touchstone-an interview with Ethan Hawke about Reality Bites. How does Troy compare to other characters you’ve played in terms of people remembering him?
How do I put this> Well, I’ll just say it: That character got me more attention from girls than anything I’ve ever done in my life. If a woman I don’t know is coming up to me on the train, there’s a good chance she’s going to tell me that she had the poster of ‘Reality Bites’ in her dorm room.
You know he just wanted to say “I’m set in the poontang department for life”, haha, One of my favorite movies.
So I must admit that I didn’t know much about the Chinese New Year prior to writing this. However I do love Chinese food so one year I was able to visit a Chinese restaurant on the day of the Chinese New Year. It was awesome. They had so many wonderful decorations. Unfortunately places around here no longer do that. So I thought I’d have some Chinese New Year fun online.
The Chinese New Year is the Spring Festival. On Chinese New Year’s Eve families gather for an annual reunion dinner. After dinner they use firecrackers. Chinese New Year traditions include cleaning and decorating your house prior to the holiday and giving each other presents on the day of. Families often dress in new red clothing. This means that you will have more than enough to wear and use in the new year.
2012 is the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is considered much revered. The dragon was considered a king because he was made up of parts of other animals like an eagle, snake, tiger and fish.
The year of the dragon is the fifth in the Chinese zodiac cycle. It follows the rabbit and happens every 12 years. Previous years of the dragon include 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988 and 2000. If you were born in the year of the dragon you are considered to be wise, innovative, brave and powerful. You are also considered to be sarcastic and short tempered. Dragons are often solitary.
This post is in the spirit of those year in review style posts. To be clear, these aren’t what I consider to be the best movies of 2011 out of every movie. Although a couple will also appear on that forthcoming list. These are just the best on Netflix. I know you need to watch something up to date every once in a while.
Technically some of these films are dated as being from 2010 but I’m going on when it was actually available to be seen by the majority of folks in the US. So I’ve included some that had a foreign, limited or festival release in 2010 but went wide on DVD in 2011.
Simply click the film’s title to be whisked away to it on Netflix.
DRAMA
Certified Copy (Copie conforme) (French) (Available Until 12/27/14)
"I'm afraid there's nothing very simple about being simple"
It’s certainly difficult to describe Certified Copy without giving away the movie. So let’s put it this way, a man and a woman who have a barbed attraction share a day together. Yes, it’s a talking movie. I loved it! The film stars Juliette Binoche and William Shimell.
After her husband’s passing a woman has to deal with raising her son and herself. This is a good little movie starring Jenna Fischer. Chris O’Donnell and Rob Benedict (Waiting) costar.
Oh, Passion Play. I love the entire idea, casting, visual choices, et al of this film. Mickey Rourke stumbles into a traveling sideshow and meets a beautiful young woman (Megan Fox) who plays the part of an angel. Of course they fall for each other. Then there’s the fact that he’s tangled up with some other unsavory folks. The movie costars Bill Murray, Kelly Lynch and Rhys Ifans.
Limitless is about a writer (Bradley Cooper) who ends up trying a drug that gives you hyper focus and confidence, or as I saw one commenter remark, something like a mix of Ritalin and Cocaine. Limitless was originally entitled Dark Fields and I get the feeling that it was supposed to be darker but it still works so well as this polished finished product. I’m still not sure of the character’s motivation but yeah, it was awesome!
Last Night is about a married couple (Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington) who’ve been together for a while but are both tempted to cheat on the same night. Knightley’s character is definitely more fleshed out and relate-able. Ah, maybe that’s just to me, she’s a novelist who currently writes fashion pieces. Her possible fling is with a hot, foreign ex. Worthington mainly seems like a stock faithful husband who is confused and tempted. It’s by Eva Mendes though so it totally makes sense. In real life I believe cheating is basically the worst thing you can ever do but when it’s possibly going to be Worthington and Mendes getting it on, well, yes, I was egging them on. And Griffin Dunne plays a writer! I love when he does that.
A Beautiful Life (Mei Li Ren Sheng) (China/Hong Kong) (Available Until 12/13/12)
A booze and high heel loving real estate agent meets a police officer. She leads him on a bit while basically using him to do things for her. It’s one of those friend zone relationships. Do they get together? Ooh.
Well this is one of the two fuck buddies movies that were released in 2011 and it’s not the better of the two, that would be Friends with Benefits. However this is a decent, entertaining movie. Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher are two acquaintances who keep meeting. Eventually they hook up and then fall into a friends with benefits situation. I adore Portman playing a woman who is now trying to compartmentalize her life into just work (as a doctor) and sex after seemingly just working for a while. Kutcher works in TV. Kevin Kline and Cary Elwes costar. I feel like they were underused. Well Kline gets some scenes but is a bit cartoony. Elwes gets to say like two words. Ludacris, Lake Bell and Mindy Kaling costar.
Topher Grace stars in this 80s themed comedy as a high school graduate (who was promising) but has been squandering his time since then. He runs into a crush (Amber Heard) and decides to lie his way into her good graces. The bulk of the film is set at a party involving a ton of great actors, Anna Faris (as his sister), Dan Fogler (as his sidekick), Chris Pratt (Faris’ IRL hubby as her onscreen fiance), Lucy Punch, Michael Ian Black and Michelle Trachtenberg. Funny flick. Check it out.
Potiche (Trophy Wife) (French) (Available Until 03/17/13)
Catherine Deneuve stars as the housewife of a jerk who runs a plant. She ends up taking it over. In doing so she meets up with a youthful dalliance (Gérard Depardieu) who opposes everything that her husband stands for. And it’s set in the 70′s! The costumes are awesome.
Milla Jovovich witnesses a murder and then is attacked by the murderer. In the process she is injured resulting in Prosopagnosia, which is severe face blindness. She can’t recognize anyone. Not only does this interfere with her day to day life but now she has no way of identifying the criminal. Julian McMahon costars as a police detective who takes a shine to her.
This was so frickin’ funny but it wasn’t really promoted at all. Tyler Labine (Reaper, Mad Love) and Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dollhouse) are two likeable hillbillies who’ve saved up to buy a vacation cabin in the woods. They are all excited about chilling out when they meet some yuppie college kids who only see them as scary backwoods stereotypes. A ton of hilarious deaths ensue.
Three high school kids go in search of tail but end up in a really fucked up situation in this Kevin Smith film. Supposedly Kyle Gallner actually had a real panic attack during filming. The cast also includes John Goodman and Michael Angarano. The movie drags a little at one point but it picks back up.
Dylan Dog wasn’t that great or anything but I still feel the need to include it because there’s some good stuff in it. Brandon Routh is a supernatural PI who’s bestie, Sam Huntington, dies and is shocked to find out that he’s now one of the undead. Huntington always cracks me up. Routh’s chest is mesmerizing. Some of the undead stuff is pretty inventive. The big bad is way too Spawny though.
The creative team behind the first Saw film, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, wrote and directed this flick. It’s a vintage feeling ghost story. A family has to deal with a haunting. Rose Byrne (barf) and Patrick Wilson play the parents. Eventually they bring in a team of Ghost Hunters type investigators (including Lin Shaye and Leigh Whannell). The movie has a great ambiance. I didn’t see that first little twist near the ending coming either.
Please share your 2011 picks with us in the comments section.
This post brought to you by Contest Factory. All opinions are 100% mine.
Do you work at a cubicle day in and day out? Is your daytime home uninspired and prone to cause ennui?
If so you should definitely enter the Pimp My Cube Contest . The winner of the worst cube will receive a grand prize of having their cube pimped by selected Contest Factory judges. The contest has a total grand prize value of approximately $1200. Wow!
Your cube will be updated in one of these three ways if you are the grand prize winner:
-New high end computer system
-New Desk, Chair and Decorations
-New Entertainment Package with high end stereo, espresso machine, etc.
To enter you need to film and upload a video to the Pimp My Cube Contest site (link is above). For a jumping off point on what an entry video can look like please watch the example video above. Try to be as creative as you can. You want to stand out. You could make it humorous or even include a storyline. Your video should explain in detail why you find your cube, office or workspace unpleasant and why it’s so important for you to receive this pimpage. Some possible reasons for your workspace driving you up the wall may include crummy furniture, outdated technology or a messy desk that you can’t tame. Be sure to mention if your space is cave like in feeling too, i.e. dirty and dark.
After you enter you need to invite everyone that you know to vote for your video. Prime suspects for this assignment include your coworkers, family and friends. You get sweepstakes entry points for registering, voting, commenting and inviting others to register for the contest.
The grand prize of your cube being ‘pimped’ will be selected by CF judges based on various requirements which include who has earned the most votes, the most compelling story and the best (really worst) video.
A second prize of a $200 gift card will also be awarded to a registered user chosen by random drawing at the end of the contest period. The contest period is from 12/5/11 at 12:00PM to 1/31/12 at 12:00PM. So you need to get right on this. Come up with an idea, shoot it and upload it ASAP to brighten up your life!
(source: 
(source: 
(source: 
(source: 
(source: 
Hi, I'm Mary. I share awesome things with the world. 
2012
latest Seth Rogen news
