Real Talent and the 2011 MTV VMA's

"No props. No crazy costumes.  Just talent. New artists, take note - Adele is schooling you."

The costumes at the VMA's were just plain stupid.  Clearly these people don't live by the motto, "No regrets!".  From Nicki Minaj who looked like she went swimming in the FAO Schwarz garbage can with a SARS mask on,

(Photo Credit: Just Jared)

to Katy Perry and a yellow cube on her head,

(Photo Credit: Getty)

to even Lady Gaga's alter ego, Jo Calderone, who looked like Eyegore...

It was just beyond statement clothing this time around.

One person who actually stuck out because she WASN'T dressed like an asshole, because she is pure talent and doesnt need to distract you with nonsense,  was Adele.

In fact, I love how she was introduced.  Essentially, Katy Perry put it like this; "You can go in a lot of paths at age 21.  You can have black out nights and have embarrassing things posted on the internet OR you can make one of the most moving albums of the year."

Adele took the latter path and according to tweets, had viewers in tears, with her simple performance of Someone Like You. She's wearing a custom Barbara Tfank black cotton dress with embroidered scalloped lace.

Watch the video here:


Some more questions I have about the talents outfits.
Why was Justin Bieber holding a baby snake?
Was YSL sponsoring this?  There were blatant product placements.
Will Polo pay Lil Wayne to not wear their undies on stage again?
Who designed the "black" carpet set up, and why was it so awkward?
Where were the musicians?  I feel like the entire pre-show was interviewing TV stars, who I never heard of.

Realities

Wanted to take a moment to think about some stuff.  

Take a moment today, just a couple seconds even, to imagine today is your 25th birthday. Now, imagine no celebration, no family and friends, no presents...nothing. Then imagine spending you birthday, for the 6th time, in captivity. This is the story of Gilad Shalit, on this very day.

Now, take a moment to think about the recent Hurricane Irene and be thankful.  Even if you are flooded, your car was damaged from debris, or you have no electricity.   This Hurricane hit New York City about 12 hours ago now and it was not nearly as bad as expected and we will survive.  But now think about New Orleans.  Do you know how long ago it was that Katrina hit?  6 years ago!  And they are STILL recovering.  Some may never recover.  Their entire homes, neighborhoods, were washed away.  Just put that into perspective for a moment.  

  

Beyonce is Pregnant!

Musical royalty is in the works.  In what was one of the greatest announcements of all time, Beyonce announced her pregnancy on the VMA "Black" Carpet just moments ago.  Why was this so great?  Well, it's very happy news for her and her husband, Jay-Z but also, MTV decided they would only show actors from their own network at the MUSIC Awards.  So no-one was even watching B when she did this.  It's just genius.  Mazel tov!

New Tumblr - Why

Ever just walk by something and ask yourself, Why?!  Me too.  So I started this tumblr.

Awkward Engagement/Wedding Photos

At lot of awkward engagement and wedding photos have surfaced in my life recently.  I was thinking of starting a whole new blog just for this but upon further research, AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com has done it for me!  So i'll just post my faves here for you to enjoy.

deja vu

Zach vs Zac

Dean vs Scarecrow 

(Credit: Carla B)

Limelight Marketplace and Brocade

Limelight Marketplace opened over a year ago and has been continuously changing since.  Every time I roam in there, there are different stores and layouts of the place.  The price points of these stores are very affordable, something you would never expect.  Recently, I went in and found this store, Brocade, and it is dreamy.  Before I get into it, a little about the history of the building.

It used to be a church, which is fairly obvious when looking at it from the outside.  Then, a nightclub and then a private event space.  Now it is transformed into shops but maintains the church design.  It's easy to get lost but fun because every corner is a new space.  My friends and I stumbled upon this really cool lounge area that I bet we will never find again.

We made it to this spot through Brocade.  This store is right up my ally.  Even cooler is the set up the store has.  Its just like a home so you can really get a feel for the stuff.  Even down to the bedrooms that are sized for Manhattan ones.  Just check this stuff out!

Wedding Venue, Date, Dress - Check!

My wedding is more than a year away and I already have the venue and therefore the date AND just got my dress.  I wan't planning on doing everything so soon but it just happened.

We needed to pick the date but we couldn't do that without the place.  All we knew was Summer 2012. We went with Crest Hollow in Woodbury, Long Island.  The outside just went through a renovation and it is what sold me.  It's gorgeous.  This photo below is the secret garden we will be getting married in and the following photo is part of where our cocktail hour will be.  Photos don't do this area justice.  It's pretty freaking cool.  The fire pit definitely helped.

The dress was totally unexpected.  I thought for sure that I would hate everything.  But I always loved this one style of dress in my head and the designer I really liked happened to be doing a trunk show at Kleinfeld's this past weekend so I thought that would be a great place to start.  I never would have thought I'd find THE dress so fast.  But I put it on and it was what I wanted.  I am sure I could continue the search but I know this would be in the back of my head.  Then I met the designer and she gave me some pointers and we just went with it!  I was laughing at myself because I acted like I was meeting a celebrity telling her what a big fan of her work I was.  She was so sweet about it though and it just made me love the dress more.  I won't say too much about it but I will say I am sad I have to wait so long til I wear my Jim Hjelm.  

Are there really any cons to having everything not be last minute?  I mean, besides possibly changing your mind about something.  But you just have to have some good will power and not get to crazy with the, "well what ifs".

Here are photos of the dresses I didn't get but kinda also loved.  First was Alita Graham then Christos then Marchesa.  You can probably figure some similarities. :)

Looks like...

Nick vs. Leon

"Robyn" vs Kamryn

Whoopsies!

Friendly Fires at Summerstage

Spent a summer Sunday doing one of my favorite things.  Went to Central Park Summerstage for a FREE concert and the band was awesome, Friendly Fires.  Here is their performance of Love Sick and Chimes.  I want to dance with the lead singer, Ed.

The Roxbury Rox

Don't even know how to start with this one.  One of the coolest motels ever.  Just look at these rooms! I wish I could have the ability to design a house like this!  It reminds me of the O Mansion in D.C. and that Trailer camping site I once blogged about.  I don't even know what themes I would do... Design aside, what an awesome place to get away.  Or have a funky bachelorette party...

Plum and Gold

From left to right:
1. Cake
2. Menu handwritten in gold calligraphy
3. Dress by Bari Jay
4. Golden candelabra centerpiece
5. Plum fig paisley stamp
6. Black Calla Lily bouquet