Hump Day Ramblings & Writers Block

The only thing exciting about Wednesday is the fact that it's two days away from Friday bringing us thisclose to the ever exciting weekend, right? Yesterday I spent three steadfast hours glued to my computer researching material for an article that I am anxious to complete. I planned on finishing it tonight but got home late & the second I sat down at my desk, writers block kicked in so what better way to turn it around and wet my writers palette than dishing on the latest this & that!



1st Up: Posh Spice says she's Uggggly naked!
Now, I know you all remember Victoria "Bend it like" Beckham from the upbeat yet unusual pop girl band - The Spice Girls. I was not a fan of the group or unusual songs like "If You Wanna Be My Lover" though they caught my attention with a ballad titled "2 Become 1 ." The song was not vocal mastery but it sounded rather normal considering their previous work so I'd let it play on the radio without turning the station. Now, back to Vicky's ugly nakedness - okay, so she says that childbirth has left her body a little ragged and a lack of a "bum" has left her wishing for a little more bootyliciousness if you know what I mean.

Well, that's often to be expected when one gives birth! Personally, I thought she'd say it's because she's a grown woman who weighs less than a small child (minus the medicine balls injected into her chest... really, can you say "overkill"). I promise to elaborate on this topic in a future post cause I gots LOTS to say about this whole skinny craze nonsense but as for Posh... well, would we even care if weren't for HIM!



2nd Up: Madge wants an African baby!
I heard Madonna was planning a trip to Malawi to possibly adopt a baby there.... I also read that ole' Guy wasn't really feeling the idea. Now, I know they have two children together and apparently two nannies. I remember watching Madonna in a documentary not so long ago, that featured the star with her two children looking a little, um, how do you say... FREEKIN EXHAUSTED! The kids were running everywhere, she looked spent and Guy, well, he was nowhere to be found. Now, you gotta figure having two nannies has got to free up a lotta yoga time for the material girl so when she does spend time with her kids, it should be enjoyable right? Apparently not, cuz D.S.S. looked as though she was going to quickly speed dial her nannies as soon as the cameras stopped rolling... so I ask, WTF with adopting a baby in Africa? Honestly, I think A.J. did it from her heart but if Nikki Finn is just doing this to try to compete or keep up with her..... she'll be in for a rude awakening!



Neeeeexxxt, Grey's Anatomy Brawl??:
I heard there was an altercation on the set of my favorite TV show. . . apparently Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington got into it after Dempsey complained about other actors arriving tardy to the set. It has been reported that Isaiah choked Patrick and a "violent brawl" ensued. Oh no, say it ain't so! If this were reality TV, someone would have to pack their bags, say good-bye to their fellow roomates and head home, followed by a video montage of their best moments in the house set to some emotionally stirring song. (too much Real World, I know)

.. Ok, back to Burke & McDreamy! I love 'em both & considering Grey's Anatomy is so yummy yum yum!, I don't want to see it suffer any bad press or folks 'ego burstin' on the set. Chaundra Rimes is just making a name for herself in this business, don't "hood it up" now, fellas. Act like you been somewhere aaigght! I know what it is, Washington's sweatin that sexy ad campaign Dempsey struck with NY & Co..... it's cool Isaiah, can we get him a deal over-here please!?! Let's see now. . . NY & Co's rival is ummmmm, aha! - The Limited! That's it, just give Washington and Sandra Oh a hot & heavy advertisment for "The Limited" and all is love again.



Site 2 Peek: Have u ever visited the website for Sephora, MAC or Smashbox cosmetics ONLY to purchase a lipgloss and got to browsing around?? After a minute or so, you notice the cost of the mascara you crave or lipstick or latest shade of blush and suddenly you realize you could pay off a small cell bill for the price of one more item. Been there, relate to that!

Well, how exciting would it be to afford the whole darn website for less than $100? Yea, the MAC website for less than $100.... dream on! I found a wonderful little site where you can do just that because I did and it was soooo much fun when that box of goodies arrived, let me tell you! If you love beauty like I love beauty, you'll LOVE this site because every item (except the makeup bags) is just $1, yes, ONE DOLLAR!!!

Click here to watch a video of E.L.F featured on STRIPPED (i love this show)

Eyes. Lips. Face features numerous items from lipsticks to powders to gloss to makeup bags to U NAME IT! The quality's good, shades for all skin types and you can not beat the price. I'm not a blush girl so I skipped that product but I ordered everything else that struck my fancy covering every category and my order came to about $67!

Try it, you'll love it & if you leave with nothing (how could u!), you at least have to try the nail polish remover pads! I kid you not, these things are fantabulous, smell good, are uber moisturizing and 1 pad can handle close to all 10 fingers. Trust - - - you will love!

Oh so much more to say but slumber calls & I must answer in order to make it through yet another dreadful day at my 9-5! Positive, positive thoughts .... I leave you with a lil quote:

"If you cannot get people to listen to you any other way, tell them it's confidential." - Patrick Murray

Chow!

Celebs don't rule this city so check your ego with your luggage!

Beyonce Knowles is no Petite-Patty by any means. As a matter of fact, she's the only female celebrity (besides Kimora) to stand next to Tyra Banks without looking like a dwarf. Standing next to J-Lo, she makes the Latina star look frail in comparison yet somehow her clothing label looks so small the sizes should have an 'A' in front of the number as in "Anorexic 4", "Anorexic 5" and so on.

As I visited the House of Dereon display, I checked out the entire line and quickly realized everything in this line is cut small. I wondered how women built like Beyonce could possibly fit the clothes she designed, so the fact that her recent trip to Chicago ended with a disappointing interview does not surprise me in the least!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INTERVIEW

She had a fashion show at Macy's one day and headlined the fall fashion extravaganza known as Glamorama the next. Considering the reason for her visit was exclusively to promote her clothing line, (House of Dereon) why wasn't she prepared? Why were the merchants complaining about the size of the clothes they received? Why were all the models featured in her runway show so damn small? And why couldn't she handle the questions asked without turning to mommy for help?

If you are going to launch a clothing line, why not design clothes your fans can afford right off the back? Her clothes are so overpriced that she is in the process of creating a less expensive line for regular people like her FANS. That just seems arrogant. Does Beyonce think her career started with high-end couture? She started out singing about Bills, Bills, Bills for goodness sake! People who can afford high-end couture fashion don't fret much over bills Beyonce. She couldn't afford high end clothes herself which is why her mother had to make those hideous outfits for the entire group! But fast-forward 9 years, a few grammy's and millions of record sales later and suddenly she's forgotten who made her the household name she is today.

I find it odd that Baby Phat and J-Lo's lines are much more reasonably priced when both Kimora Lee-Simmons and Jennifer Lopez have a few years on Beyonce and I am sure they have been strutting around in couture fashions longer than Bey has. Or perhaps they are simply better business women, maybe it's both.

Given her celebrity status, I am glad the reporter was not intimidated and went straight for the real questions concerning the local merchants in Chicago. I also think Beyonce should have addressed the questions asked of her. Her mother just made the situation worse by refusing to discuss it! The interview became a spectacle the minute Tina declined to discuss it "on air" and shut the interview down completely. Actions like that speak volumes about the phony image Beyonce portrays and further fuels speculation that she's not all that bright and a manufactured artist.

She spoke very highly of herself while promoting her latest CD "B-Day" so she should be ready and willing to offer up answers like the "STRONG, CONFIDENT, INTELLIGENT" woman she claims to be and certainly acts the part in her videos. But this interview shows that when the going gets tough and the light shining on Bey isn't highlighting her best qualities, she quickly shuts down and turns to Mama Tina to take the reigns.

What kinda woman is that? More like a little girl who obviously has spent too much time being coached on how to be pretty, appear flawless and serve Jay-Z to know what it takes to stand on her own two feet and weather the perils of her success. This may have served her well when she was a kid but "Suga Mama's" 25 now and from her latest CD and interviews, she's "handlin the damn thing" so she needs to get on her bizzness and see to it that she is aware of what's truly going on. If the stores didn't receive correct sizing then she should have made sure her people delivered the sizes they needed. Or is it the sizes don't exist because unlike Europe and California, Chicago is a food town and honey, women here, well, we eat!

Maybe she needs real management instead of mommy and daddy making decisions because the apron strings are obviously in desperate need of being cut. The lady asked her a question about her clothing line and she looked at her mother who was obviously frazzled herself. Celebrity's must know that into every successful career a little rain must fall and either you handle it or it handles you. If you handle it properly, you can bounce back stronger than ever but if it handles you, your entire career will be over in a flash!

I guess Beyonce "must not know bout Chi, she must not know bout Chi"

P.R. - American Crew Essential Shave Oil

After reading an impressive review for this product, I decided to try it out. I was surprised by the small bottle (1.7 fl oz), considering most shave creams are sold in generous sized cans. This lightly scented oil produces a very smooth shave, so the end result is that it fulfilled its basic purpose but I expected more! Whenever I use a product that's made for a man but recommended by women, I expect the WOW factor. In this case, the drawbacks outweigh the positives by far. This oil gives a very chilly sensation to your skin, and the oily "gook" it produced in my razor, I could certainly do without. It made it difficult to rinse off the gobbledy-gook between each full swoop across the skin. So much harder that I also had to wipe the blade using a face towel, this actually ripped a few holes in my washcloth so not so great. I think I get better results using plain ole hair conditioner or my new love.... Caress Shower Gel - smells great, easy to use, smooth shave, - every time! I will not purchase this product again.

TGIAF!!

The weekend's almost here (Hallelu!) so why not post something laid back, fun & just because right!?!


Favorite things!

Words: Fantabulous (mine), Neo-Urban (mine), Tres, Upscale, Edgy, Vibe
** Update: okay, I found out I can't take credit for "Fantablulous" since I just found out I share the love of this word with a fellow blogger and sista-friend "Coco_fiere"... thanks for the comment!
Foods: The perfect steak fry, Lawry's Prime Rib (California Cut), Chicken Pastina Soup, Byron's Hot Dogs & a hundred other things I shouldn't have.
Thing: IPod, My bed
Places: They don't exist anymore but in memories.
Song: "Lost Without You" by Robin Thicke (Alan Thicke's kid, yes, THAT Alan Thicke), "If I Were A Bird" by Floetry.
Time: Toss up between 1980, 1989, 1991, 1993-1995, 1997-1998
Position: Self-employed (Hey, u read it like u want & I'll read it like I want)
Movie: Many but definitely anything with Carey Grant & Irene Dunne...whatapair!
TV Shows: "24", "Arrested Development", "The Office", "Greys Anatomy", "Chappelle Show", "What About Brian", "New Adventures of Old Christine", "Dancing With The Stars", "American Idol", "Kevin Hill" (best show ever to be canceled), "Fashion Police", "The Actor's Studio", "Entourage", "Weeds" & Sex In The City - (as if!) .... ya know, when I have time to watch TV & all : )
People: I have em, but they already know who they are.

October's Entrance brings Reflections o' Chi

So, what does that mean? Well, for us Chicagoans, it means it's time to haul out the winter clothes we so anxiously put away last May. When I was a kid, my mother would stock away our seasonal clothes in preparation for the new season coming up. For the first 8 years of my life, I had to share a bed with my older sister since we didn't have our own bedroom. (modest beginnings people, tres modest) Our clothes were neatly organized in a dresser located in my parents bedroom. With such little space, my mother would pack away our seasonal clothing into decorative tin cans that I believe originally held popcorn or something or other.

Well, 14 years later (or perhaps a few more, give or take) I still pack away my seasonal clothes and now I must unpack them because one thing October represents here in the W.C. is the "just around the corner" freezing cold weather that you never get used to no matter how long you live in the Midwest. I'm born & raised in this city and it never fails to surprise me how every year, it gets hella cold & every year we say the same thing as if it hasn't happened for the last hundred or so winter's in Chicago "wooo-weee it's cold out there!". We walk the downtown streets shoulders raised to our ears, hands hovered over mouth furiously blowing out white icy air, shuddering in disbelief that it could actually be "this" damn cold outside.

But that's part of what makes Chicago the great city it is, even with the freezing winters, high crime rate, cab drivers from hell & all the other wonders that make one think "relocate - sure, why not!" , I love this city - I grew up here and while California has it's warm weather, regular celeb spottings and is pretty much the pulse of all things "entertainment" and New York has it's theater district, Times Square, all things Fashion, chic magazine houses and is the place to pay your dues before going to Cali and blowin up, I'll take Chicago because this city has character, history, and most importantly, all things me!

From Grant Hospital (where I was born) to the house on Lorel where I spent the early, early years of my existance (all I remember is the cold basement floor & the long winding staircase with the black shiny banister) to sitting in my grandmother's kitchen on Kenmore. Before I was old enough to attend school, we'd spend our days people watching from her window, taking trips to the deli for corn beef on rye, a pack of grape bubble gum & big old fashioned buttery soft glazed donuts fresh from the oven. I loved the smell of Dove East Cleaners and the local butcher shop. Years later, I'd enjoyed handfuls of candy from the train station on my way to Swift every morning.

From there, we moved to the large building on Wolcott Ave, where every saturday morning, I'd grab my cabbage patch kid & walk with my mother to the Jewel on Lincoln, hoping we'd stop at Grocerland on the way home. There, I'd beg for the latest Barbie or Bop magazine. It was in this neighborhood, that I watched a girl get "jumped" into a gang, where I saw lots of crazy activity and heard the frightening sounds of domestic violence going on in the apartment above ours. The next morning, the same couple who caused me to cover my ears in fear, walked out the building and through the courtyard as if love had found them. He was unharmed. She had a cast on her arm. Frightening. It was here that I became a latchkey kid and discovered "crazy man". That neighborhood was brimming with chaos but I really liked the size and style of that apartment. It was huge with an old fashioned closet in the bedroom I shared with big sis. Finally, my childhood started (or so it felt) and ended with the two-flat on Ashland Ave. I was 9 when we moved in and 21 when I moved out. All the years in between were filled with a lot of laughter, silliness, fights, sadness, love, togetherness, life, death and all things that make a family whole.

So with all that I've experienced in this great city, I could never deny it! Chicago is my family's history, no matter where we all ended up, the details will forever be etched in the granite of this town known as the "City of the Big Shoulders" .... if you don't know..... now you know!

Solid Article on Bey's success!

Yes, I like Beyonce's music although I do think she's more well manufactured star than natural "It" girl but these days who isn't? I'm not a member of the AARP but I was an unusual kid so I much preferred American Movie Classics over cartoons any day! This love of watching films rippling with old hollywood glamour, snippy one liners, haughty fast talk accents, sizzling wardrobes & PURE ACTING without scenes packed with violence, in-your-face sex, or stacked with derogatory language, gave me a real insight to what talent looks like since it was part of my early childhood before R rated was even an option. Not only did the actors of old do it with style & distinction but they also endured work environments and pay that would make todays celebrity shudder in shock!

So, without further delay, I encourage you to read this very insightful, fact based article about the success of one of today's hottest stars. I agree with every word - if you don't - well let's just agree to disagree - chow!

Beyonce Article

4 Easy Pieces

It's no secret that I love to shop but I am no fashion snob! From high end to low end prices, I love it all. I have a good eye for quality as proven by all the compliments I receive on my varied stylish assortment of pumps a la' Payless. The funny thing about those compliments is always the look of surprise on the complimenter's (is that a word?) face followed by "Payless!? Realllly?" Yes, Payless - don't hate - navigate - as in the website if you don't wish to pay the actual store a visit. Snobs! Personally, I love the little high of finding adorably styled shoes at a fraction of the cost for high-end pumps, flats, sandals, etc. Throw on some dark shades if you must & get down to Payless pronto - unless you have some sort of aversion to saving yourself some cash ..

Check these out!

So much to love, so little to spend!

Ok, hopefully, I will convert some of you label-whores out there to give the old P.S.S. a try! Now, moving on to a few deliciously yummy finds - I love this Stretch Dress by Shoshanna!

Here are few more lovely, little numbers that I would very much like to call my very own & yes, I know summer's over but here in the Chi, we cherish our summer's since our winter's are nothin nice! Soooo, I'm holding on to the thought of warm summer days a tad longer than I should.

This Stella McCartney Crepe Dress is an interesting twist on the little black dress, no?....




• Black crepe.
• Gathered bodice.
• Drawstring scoop neckline.
• Cap sleeves.
• Slim skirt.

The following dresses inspire visions of a summer breeze, soft curls, a fresh pedi & strappy sandals. They are both "sexy without trying too hard" since they hug & curve in all the right places. Fitted top, lose bottom & vice versa - important rule of fashion.

Cream/Chocolate Cotton Printed Braided Back Dress



Tie Strap Bandana Dress