Marissa's Monday Must-Haves!

Like I said the day before, I am very excited about this Monday's Must-Haves so I'm going to get right to them. Real quick though, I apologize for the horrible spacing in this post and some of my past ones. The formatting on this thing is flipping out and I just spent the past three hours trying to fix it so I'm a little frustrated right now and have absolutely no energy left to screw with this thing. Therefore I thought it'd be better to post something rather than nothing today. The following are my favorite male actors of this year:

1. Nathan Fillion. Like I said the day before, he is completely adorable, while way out of my age range, and is a wonderfully funny actor on Castle, my favorite TV show. Can't wait to see him again on December 6th when they start airing new episodes again.

2. Brad Pitt. While he may be an outrageous backstabbing scumbag in real life I can't ignore he is a talented actor and oh so gorgeous.

3. Leonardo DiCaprio. A lot of people say that he looks odd but I think he is so cute and has this sort of vulnerability to his eyes that makes him so wonderful to look at, not to mention he is an amazing actor.

4. Orlando Bloom. While I have to admit I've only ever seen him in Pirates of the Caribbean, I think his acting is superb and he is one of the few guys that can pull off long hair.


5. Daniel Radcliffe. Obviously his performances in the Harry Potter movies are proof of his talent, but the British heartthrob is also a hunk here in the U.S. I love his blue eyes and how funny he is in his interviews.

6. Johnny Depp. Ahhhh. He is  so extraordinary. I love how he always goes for the bizarre roles and somehow manages to still be gorgeous whether he is covered in face powder for Alice in Wonderland or wearing dread locks for Pirates of the Caribbean.

7. Gerard Butler. I love Irish guys to begin with and when you find one that looks like Gerard Butler (although he is technically Scottish) you better grab and run. I love how he can make me ball my eyes out in P.S. I Love You and then make me afraid of him in Law Abiding Citizen.

8. Heath Ledger. Heath was by far one of my favorite actors even before his role in Dark Knight. I loved him in Casanova and 10 Things I Hate About You. He had such a contagious smile that was able to come through the TV screen and light up your day and it's sad to think that not only his career but his life was cut so short. May he rest in peace.

9. Zac Efron. While a lot of people don't like him for some reason I can't resist his adorable face and the awesome job he does as an actor.

10. Jake Gyllenhaall. I love his blue eyes and how sincere he seems on screen.

11. Josh Duhamel. I first saw him in the film, When In Rome. While I wasn't a fan of the movie, I sat through it for him. He is so yummy and really, really tall! As someone who is tall this is always a plus. Not to mention his gorgeous brown eyes and lovely abs.

12. Ryan Reynolds. Being the lead male role in one of my favorite movies (The proposal) not to mention his puppy dog eyes, and super cute smile, Ryan Reynolds is one of my very favorite actors. 



13.  Matt Damon. From Bourne to the Ocean's movies, Matt Damon exceeds expectations in the acting and looks department every time.

14. James Marsden. How cute is he? He looks almost like a Ken doll with his jawline, blue eyes, and brown hair. While I wasn't a fan of one of his recent movies, The Box, I loved him in 27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl, who seems to be scoring jobs with some of the cutest in Hollywood, lucky her.

15. And finally, Chris Pine. I first saw him in Star Trek and couldn't get over how cute he was and how funny his role was. I really hope he does more and soon!

Besides fawning over pictures for this post, I went to see Tangled with my family today. It was really cute and funny and I'm hoping to get it when it comes out. This past year I've developed a kind of fetish for cartoon movies such as Up! and How to Train Your Dragon. I don't know if it's just not much else has been out or that the cartoon styled movies have suddenly gone up in quality but between Megamind and this movie today, I've really come to enjoy them. 

We got our French workbooks today so I've been working out of that since I got home today. Hopefully it will help me with my challenge.

Slept in this morning and barely got to school on time so I'm going to call it a night and go to bed early. Night!

French word of the day: les hommes which means men.

Au Revoir!

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” - Cecil Beaton.

Hating the End of a Long Weekend

I really hate the last day before school, after having been out for, let's see, SIX days! I just want to sleep in late again tomorrow and not worry about tests or all the friggin make up work or anything. Instead I have to get up at six in the morning (gah!), and go to a day of school that I just know is going to be the longest of my life, and then come home and do all the homework they are going to shove onto us because we missed two extra days last week. Not to mention I have to workout, do my yoga, get on here to blog, work on my fashion drawing, do extra work for French to prepare for my challenge, clean, work on my Princeton review guide for AP World, and also make it in time to a movie that my family all wants to go see tomorrow! On top of all that I don't even have my favorite TV show in the world to look forward to that usually airs on Monday nights, Castle, because of that dumbest idea in the world show; Skating with the stars. I cannot even fathom the thought process that went into that show! Whoever thought it would be a good idea to stick a bunch of untrained celebrities into an arena in which it is very likely they could die, was not thinking.


For those of you who have never seen Castle it is led by Nathan Fillion, one of the most adorable, although much older than me, actors. Speaking of actors I'm very excited for tomorrow's favorite things. I will be posting my top favorite male actors and I am very excited!


French word of the day: École which means school.


Au Revoir!


". . . my goal is to constantly move in fashion and move in style without giving up what I am." - Ralph  Lauren.

The Art of Language

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I definitely did! I actually needed to get on and vent about a couple of things so that's why instead of taking a break until Monday I've decided to get on real quick and post.

This challenge I am planning on taking on in January is, in reality, ridiculous. To believe that I, a teenager who barely knows how to conjure up basic words, am believing myself able to create entire pages worth of french is, I know, ludicrous. I can barely write legible English! Therefore, in preparation for this challenge I have been perusing website upon website upon website searching for everything and anything that could possibly help me and I was realizing how absolutely and unbelievably difficult it truly is to understand a language. Let alone that just as a basis you have to learn thousands of words that put together any language, you then have to conjugate most of them because whether or not they are verbs there are always all these exceptions and rules that you have to follow or you will hold no chance of being understood! It is so hard to wrap the mind around and really think about it. I think we just take advantage of the fact that because we have been born surrounded by people who obviously, could talk, we therefore can speak and put together these incredibly complex, when you think about it, sentences and paragraphs of words that as soon as you try to translate into another language become a jumbled mess as you try to figure out, now, how in the Hell to communicate. I always wanted to be one of those people who were fluent in twenty languages but I'm finding I can barely speak my own! Reading about verb conjugation, specifically, since that seems to be my weakest point with French, presents issues simply because I don't even know the English words they are using to describe how to do it in French. It is maddening! This may sound, I don't know, egotistical, but I have often not had a hard time understanding concepts. Unfortunately that meant that all through elementary and middle school and even last year I could breeze through my subjects without really trying and now between Algebra 2 (for some reason I just don't get it!) and French, my brain can't figure out why the Hell I'm not just processing and understanding the content immediately. I'm trying to figure out how I need to organize all this information (I'm kind of an organizational freak when it comes to things like this) and I just can't even begin to condense it in order to get it how I want it and that is driving me insane.

On top of that the proscout event I was hoping to attend in January is now pretty much a bust. While, yes, I received an invitation, the fee to go, a whopping $800 plus getting a proper haircut/ manicure/ pedicure/ outfit/ gas for transportation/ and the additional $65 fee for a parent to come, has discouraged us kind of a lot! One of the cardinal rules of modeling is never ever pay upfront to a modeling agency because the way agencies work they are only supposed to make money when you make money. That is what encourages them to find you work, therefore keeping the system going. While, yes, I understand them asking for the money because they use it to fly out all the agencies that are coming to look for fresh talent, we simply don't have an extra thousand lying around to pay toward this thing and then have four different, rather disappointing, outcomes. First, I don't get signed. This event is not a for sure thing so I could pay all this money to not even come close to getting a contract. Second, I could get signed and then my agent never find me work. These agencies have hundreds to thousands of models signed for them and might not get every one of them jobs especially if they are not already established. Three, I get an agent and then can't work with them because I would have to move in order to have good contact with the agency. Or four, get the agent and get a job and then have to pay for my chaperon (since the job your modeling for often doesn't cover that additional cost) to get us to wherever the job is and end up putting more money out then I would be bringing in. Therefore we have decided to save a lot of money and go get whatever I need to look polished, i.e. the haircut, an outfit, mani/pedi, etc. and then visit local agencies, which would therefore supply mostly local work when starting out, and hopefully move on from there. Frankly it just makes more sense for us to do it this way and on top of that we have been hearing some pretty sketchy reviews about proscout. While some say it's the best thing since peanut butter others are saying that while it is not a scam, it is not worth the money and the odds are not great. Therefore I will be looking locally for now. In a couple of months when they return, if I have the money I will go to another open call, and if invited again, may perhaps look into going should I not have an agent by then. This is kind of off-putting simply because I finally had a set date to look forward to in which all of my modeling dreams could have come true. I'm putting my faith in though, that my local agencies like what they see and will hire me, hopefully jump-starting a career that will lead to bigger things.

Speaking of modeling I found a website that lists the different types of modeling in case you're interested. Not all modeling requires 5 ft. 10'' girls like yours truly. There is all kinds of work available for every size, shape, and height and you can read about it by clicking on the link:

The link!

By the way the picture above I actually found in another blog I was perusing and they listed a website that offers fashion templates for those interested in fashion design. I am personally aspiring to be a fashion designer and I thought that it looked incredibly helpful!

Fashion Templates

Speaking of which I have also found the following two books, one of which I own, and the other I'm pining after since it costs almost a hundred dollars and I can't bring myself to buy it just yet. The first, that I own, is called Contemporary Fashion Illustration Techniques by Naoki Watanabe and the second is called Fashion Illustration for Designers by Kathryn Hagen. The later comes complete with a disc that actually shows you how to recreate the characteristics of fabric on your designs. Here is a sample from youtube.

I'm utterly exhausted now and really need to catch a bubble bath and then some sleep.

French word of the day: fatigue which means tired. ( By the way I can't get the accent thing to work on my computer so some of these words are not exactly right).

Au Revoir!

"A love of fashion makes the economy go round." - Liz Tilberis

Post Lost Stress Disorder

SPOILER ALERT! Ok, having finally finished the show Lost I am left with these constantly revolving questions racing around my head. While I enjoyed the show I almost wish it was just never made simply because, in the end, it was not worth the confusion it had caused. I realize I could have stopped watching anytime I wanted but, like every other lost addict, it drew you in. Hitting you with unanswerable question after unanswerable question and in the end it really didn't answer any of them. Maybe by reading this post you will not subject yourself to the endless torture that is Lost.


Anyways, I wanted to post a couple of videos and tips to get you in the mood for the holidays and here they are:

Tip: Remember, whenever rolling dough with a roller, cover the roller with flour to avoid sticking.


Our family in no way believes in being modest during the holidays so unfortunately I have no "saving calorie" tips but I did find one site that had a couple that you will hopefully find useful: 


http://www.ehow.com/how_5593720_save-calories-holidays.html


*Note: I have not had time to try these videos. I picked them based on comments listed by watchers and how effective I thought the video was. Please use at your own risk.


French word of the day: dinde which means turkey.

I might be MIA for the next couple of days while I enjoy Thanksgiving with my family so I wish everyone a fantastic Thanksgiving and I will see you next Monday!


Au Revoir!


“I wish I had invented blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes.”- Yves Saint Laurent

Lost? Me too.

SPOILER ALERT!! Alright now that I've warned you, I have just completed the final episode of  the final season of lost and am feeling distraught, confused, and uncertain. Basically you find out that this odd alternate timeline that's been running for the past season is actually limbo and everyone who eventually dies  either on the island or if they were lucky (i.e Kate, Sawyer, the Captain dude, Miles, Richard, and Claire) off of it, are there waiting as their subconscious builds this situation in which they all remember their life together on the island as they re-meet each other in this universe in which there was no island. Then when everyone is back together they move on into whatever lays "beyond". You can imagine the sob fest. While this is great and all and seems to tie things up pretty neatly, it does leave some pretty huge loose ends. Like what was the point of  the Dharma Initiative? How did Desmond get home? What happened to everyone that eventually got home? So Jack doesn't have a son? Kate and Sawyer never get together most likely which means that Sawyer just goes and lives his sad little life? (By the way I have always been a hardcore Kate-Sawyer fan so I was a little peeved when they introduced Juliet and then made her and Sawyer so wonderful that I actually cried when she died and then when they met back up in "limbo"). There are many other questions that will probably never be answered and I'm pretty confident they are ones that even the writers don't know the answers to. I'm still processing, still thinking, and mulling things over. Hopefully you can find peace with it. I also have to say that my favorite characters were probably Sun and Gin and Sawyer, so you can imagine the sobbing bonanza that went on when Sun and Gin died (probably pissed me off the most). Luckily Sawyer lived (yay!) but, like I said, what exactly happened to him when they got back? Did he just become the friend who would hang out with Kate, Claire, Aaron and Gin and Sun's daughter? Or did he just fade into his past? Or, possibly, did he seek out his daughter and make right with the mother? One other thing that bugged me was, where was Desmond's kid in that little limbo scene? Agh! There are just so many things to try to puzzle and figure out! I think I just need to let it go.


Anyways real quick, Marissa's Monday Must Haves:


I've decided to do thanksgiving themed items for this week for obvious reasons.


1. 7- layer cookies. While technically this is a favorite around here during Christmas, we love to make them during every available holiday!


2. Bread! I have the HUGEST bread fetish. Seriously, when I was little my parents used to call me the bread baby. Fortunately Thanksgiving around her is basically the bread holiday. A couple of my favorites include brioche, french bread, and baguettes.


3. Pie! Specifically chocolate. There is nothing so wonderful as chocolate pie.


4. Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider. Not being old enough to drink, this is a great substitute and it's healthy! (kind of..)

5. And finally whipped cream. Regardless of its use during Thanksgiving, it is, by far, one of the best food items ever created.






French word of the day: alimentaire which means food.


Au Revoir!


"Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress."- Coca Chanel

The Beginning Of The End

Thursday night I went to the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Part of a group of eleven, who were all decked out in harry potter gear, we got there early to get good seats, I'm talking three in the afternoon, and we weren't even the first there. I walked out that night feeling confused, sad, and slightly disappointed, I'll admit. But last night, after going to see it again, I have to say that I loved it! This may be my favorite movie thus far. I don't want to give too much away before people go to see it since it just came out but be prepared to be shocked by certain scenes. While there were definitely aspects of the movie that I would've changed I think that overall it was a great movie. I hope you like it and that you get the chance to see it soon!


Besides that, this weekend has been pretty blah. I messed up my wrist somehow on Thursday so it was in a cast all yesterday and the day before. It's feeling much better now but I might have to keep it on for a couple more days. It's extremely difficult, actually, to write with this thing on so I think I'm going to go.


French word of the day: magie which means magic.


Au Revoir!


“Women dress alike all over the world: they dress to be annoying to other women.” - Elsa Schiaparelli

Detail, Depth, Discussion

Yikes I feel like it's been a while since I was last on here. To catch up I'm going to real quick post Marissa's Monday's Faves.:


Before I get to those you need to know that I love books. That tends to sound nerdy nowadays, which I just don't understand. People who don't like books, in my opinion, are usually the type who simply lack the imagination to become involved in something. Games and movies and whatnot are so quick to the point now that people don't take the time to become invested in a story. And I'm not sure when this became such a horrible thing. Authors, (my mother is an author and was telling me about this), are told now that if you don't have your editor's attention within the first paragraph they won't accept it. I understand this but then it goes on further to say that too much detail or description will also usually result in an immediately rejected book unless you happen to be Stephen King. I'm a bit of a hypocrite in scorning others for their lack of patience, since I am, by far, not a very patient person. But I think that books and movies and life have become so non-stop that we aren't stopping to enjoy our lives. We are always trying to get from point A to point B as fast as humanly possible without, excuse the cliche, stopping to smell the roses. It's so hard to find a book that really has depth and dimensional characters. One of my favorite movies of all time is this lasts summer blockbuster, Inception. Before heading out to see it, we of course went online to read the reviews. I was shocked at how many people disliked it simply because it, God forbid, made them think. Therefore the following five items for Marissa's Monday Must-Haves are books and movies that I feel represent what we should all be looking for in entertainment today.

1. Shutter Island (the book) by Martin Scorsese. I was watching trailers for upcoming movies and happened to come across the one advertising Shutter Island. I went out to the library and picked up the book, wanting to know if it was worth going to see the movie. *SPOILER ALERT* While this book had a rather unsettling ending I loved the different levels that this book touched on. As soon as I finished it I wanted to reread it and try to figure out what the Hell had just happened. It was confusing, thought-provoking, emotional, and complex, and I loved it.

*Note: I have not seen the movie production of this book but one of my friends did and said that the ending was not the same as the book (she also read it, after I'd recommended it, and loved it). My views on this title are entirely based on the novel by Martin Scorsese.

2. Inception the movie. This film was completely genius. That they could present to an audience, these entirely different and unknown ideas, whilst making the movie exciting and entertaining was a great feat on their part. There was not one moment that I became bored during the entire film. While I've watched it multiple times and enjoy it every single time, I must warn that if you have a child, friend, sibling, etc. that is easily upset I would not go to see it. The idea presented in this movie is that our world is not real, which to people who perhaps have a fragile or easily swayable frame of mind would upset and possibly cause some problems. This movie does challenge our very own existence. It's a dangerous thing to really sit down and think about. If you ponder it too long it might just drive you insane (excuse the dramatics). Be careful with whom you see this movie with and always remember that it is, in fact, just a movie.





3. Harry Potter Books 1-7 by J.K.Rowling. This may not count as one item but I think everybody at one point or another should read this series. They are not just for kids, they are for every age group whether you be seven or seventy. This phenomenal book series is one of the best written and best plotted stories I have ever read. It has generated discussion, classes, and charities around the world that help make the world a better place. J.K Rowling has reminded us, for I think we have forgotten, what can be accomplished with, simply, the written word.


4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. While I guess this book would definitely be considered a woman's book, I think it's important that guys read it too. It combines the elegance of the language of the early 1800's whilst being easily readable and enjoyable. This is a very personal favorite of mine and I can't wait to read more of Jane Austen.

5. My final choice for this week is the motion picture, The Young Victoria. I'm not exactly sure why but every time I see this movie I cry. It definitely has a happy ending, and while I can be kind of sappy I am usually only provoked into tears during an actual sad scene. I've never in my life cried tears from happiness but for some reason every time I have seen it, I find myself in tears by the end.


Some quick big news and then I have to catch some sleep. Yesterday I attended a proscout open call. Proscout is a company that travels around to different cities across the nation and has open call interviews to help aspiring models and actors make it to the big time. When you attend you are briefly interviewed, and if they like you, you receive a call back card. At the end of the meeting, if you have a call back card, you are told about an event where you will get the chance to present yourself to forty of the best modeling/acting agencies in the country. Last night I was given a call back card and will, hopefully, be attending the event come this January. If all goes well I could possibly walk away that day with an agent and a modeling contract. I'm crossing my fingers and doing everything I can to prepare for it but I am a little nervous. This is kind of my only shot at it. Wish me luck!


French word of the day: mode meaning fashion.


Au Revoir!


"We all look for lost time."- Christian Lacroix

Swimsuits

It's just now November and I'm already thinking about Summer. It's not that I don't like winter, I love it. I love the rain and snow, the storms and the blackouts but I still can't wait for those days of sun where I'm not worried about wearing enough sweaters in order to keep warm. Often when I'm swimsuit shopping I've noticed that people just don't understand how to dress for their body type. Anyone can look great in a swimsuit as long as they know what type to shop for. I've compiled a how-to so you can be ready when it's time to go swimming.


For curvy figures:


If you're curvy you're going to want to look for something that pulls in at the waist. This will give you a small waist and a great hourglass shape. You're also going to want to look for something that has under wire in the bra so that you're not falling out. That would not be good!

For small frame figures:


What's great is that you can easily wear bikinis that show of your legs and flat stomach. But if you want to add shape to your figure you're going to want to find something that has ruffles along the top to add some depth. A great two piece with some ruching along the top would be ideal.


For hourglass shapes:


If you have an hourglass shape you can pretty much wear whatever you want as long as it's in your size. Hourglass figures  (i.e basically a 35 in.- 25 in.- 35 in. shape) also usually want to wear an under wire bra.




Notes for everyone: If there is ever a part of your body that you want to hide, cover it in a dark color, it slims and the eye is not drawn to it as much as a bright color. Also when searching for swimsuits it's almost always better to spend a bit more money on something that's better quality rather than having to buy another bathing suit because the previously bought one got destroyed after one use.








Also below are two of my personal favorites:

Before I go the French word of the day is: maillot de bain which means swimming suit


Au Revoir!


"The difference between style and fashion is quality."- Giorgio Armani

Love

Last month I saw Easy A, where the protagonist, Olive Penderghast, remarks upon the lack of chivalry in this day and age. No one ever rides off on a lawn mower with the love of their life (Can't Buy Me Love), or plays a boombox outside the girl's window (Say Anything). Every girl wants that, I think. That over the top, wow, thing that a guy does to show them how much they care. I love eighties movies. Nowadays a lot of the romantic comedies are a little more down to earth with their often sad, but realistic endings. I hope, so much, that I have that world-altering, unbelievable kind of love when I’m older. I don’t want to settle, and I’m really scared of that. 

Anyways, Happy Veteran’s Day to everyone. I hope that sometime today people took the time to thank someone they knew who are or have served our country. Thank-you to everyone who have given their lives or are currently fighting for our freedom. God Bless.

I absolutely love November! This is one of my favorite months. The holidays are just about upon us and I love the vibes in the air. It’s also supposed to snow heavily this year which I can’t wait for!

French word of the day: amour which means love.

Au Revoir!

“. . . beauty is something that changes with time.”- Karl Lagerfeld.

Inaction

It astounds me how cruel people can be in this day and age. I was just on comcast and read an article about a boy who was beaten to death while dozens of people watched. This is not the first time I've heard of things like this. There was a kidnapping in front of Target, where several people stood by and watched as a woman was grabbed, screaming and kicking, and shoved into a van. Then there was the time that a girl attacked another girl and the security guards stood by and watched because it wasn't in their job description to interfere under those circumstances. This is complete and utter crap.  Standing by and doing nothing is almost as bad as committing the deed. What has happened to people and this blatant lack of care for another human being? And then there are all those people that witness child abuse in public and don't report it. God forbid they seem rude or impolite, no, much better that the kid wind up dead the next day. I really can't even begin to express my frustration with all of this. I am a firm believer in the hero complex and that seems to have completely vanished from our society. Agh!


I'm too irritated to write much more except the french word of the day which is; Aide, meaning help. 


Au Revoir!


"I don't design clothes. I design dreams." - Ralph Lauren

Winter Wonders

It's Monday which means it's time for Marissa's Must Haves! This past weekend I was shopping at Forever 21 and all of their Winter clothing was out. It got me thinking about the five winter items every girl should have.

1. A pair of high-heeled snow boots. This particular pair are Jemma lace-ups and the perfect combination of casual winter wear and high end fashion. During the wet and snowy seasons it's usually not the best idea to wear your $600 suede Prada pumps out in the rain unless you have a spare pair. The boots elevate you off the ground while providing coverage for your foot and keeping you nice and warm. A quality boot is always a great thing to invest in!

2. A comfy cozy sweater. This beige sweater is cute and warm at the same time. I think a lot of people are always debating between a really warm, but rather grandma-esq sweater or a thinner, less comfortable, sexier sweater. This sweater combines the best of both worlds.

3. A pair of gloves. When Winter sets in and your hands start to crack a pair of good gloves are the perfect solution! These uber chic, comfortable, and versatile gloves will keep your hands toasty without the bulk of most winter pairs.

4. A gorgeous coat! This coat is very stylish while maintaining the appropriateness of Winter attire. I love the military buttons, renaissance style, and subtle vintage charm.

5. And finally, a lovely sweater dress. Worn with a great pair of brightly colored leggings and nice boots, this charming white sweater dress is the perfect solution to brightening up your stormy days.














I finished my neighbor's clothing today. She was very satisfied which was very gratifying. Hopefully this will help kick-start my business!

Starting tomorrow I will be posting a French word of the day in preparation for January's challenge. I've really got to start dedicating myself more if I want to be successful come the beginning of the year. I feel kind of brain-dead today. I'm not even really comprehending what I'm writing right now so I think I better go get some sleep.

Au Revoir!

"Don't be afraid to take time to learn. It's good to work for other people. I worked for others for 20 years. They paid me to learn. " - Vera Wang

Say Yes to the Dress

There's nothing I love more then a day spent watching Say Yes to the Dress, which is exactly what I did today. I love to watch the screen fill up with white confections of lace, tulle, and satin. Being too young to seriously think about getting married, I can only pine after the beautiful dresses advertised, and hope to some day have a reason to wear one. While I am very excited about the dress aspect, (what bride-to-be isn't?), I think that the show sometimes glorifies the materialistic aspects of a wedding more than they should. It puts out the idea that the only reason to get married is to get the dress, which is of course not true. Regardless, once you've found the perfect guy, nearly every women dedicates the next nine-fifteen months of their pre-married life, searching for that perfect dress; the one that makes them feel special and beautiful and iridescent. I believe that I have already found mine, preemptive as that may seem. It's a gorgeous Pnina Tornai gown with the perfect combination of elegance and couture style. Hopefully I'll someday be able to afford it. It clocks in at about $22,000 dollars not including undergarments, shoes, tiara, or veil. So we'll see!

I spent the rest of the day working on some sewing projects. I finished a gorgeous new scarf, pictures of which I will try to post within the next few days, and am almost done with my neighbor's clothing. I'm going to hop in the bath now before it gets too late, I slept in until two in the afternoon today and hope to be up early tomorrow to finish reviewing the spring fashion shows.

Au Revoir!

“About half my designs are controlled fantasy, 15 percent are total madness and the rest are bread-and-butter designs.” - Manolo Blahnik

Ahhh... Fridays...

I'm getting in late tonight because my family and I went out to dinner and then went to see Megamind, the most recent DreamWorks production. It was absolutely fantastic!! It was, without a doubt, one of the funniest movies I have seen in a very long time! I'm definitely going to try to go see it again with some friends. The music was great and the 3D effects, which usually bother me, were actually very nicely used in this movie. Definitely go see it if you have the chance!

Also, for those of you who don't know, the first part of the seventh Harry Potter movie comes out at midnight on the eighteenth of this month (12 days from now!) and I will definitely be attending! Harry Potter is something that is such a huge phenomenon that I don't really think that people who are growing up with it right now can really understand how big it is. I think twenty years from now we will look back on it and realize that our children and our children's children will never experience something like Harry Potter, which is truly sad. Harry Potter is, yes, a fictional character, but he represents goodness, love, and happiness. He has become a world- known symbol and there is rarely a person you will find who does not know what Harry Potter is. J.K. Rowling has really accomplished something in that, on top of which she has sold more books than any other author in the history of . . . . well, forever, with the exception of the bible, and it all began with an idle thought about a small, twelve year old boy, while on a train in London.


French class was a little .  . . unsettling, I guess? We were watching a french video (really just a tutorial in the form of a soap opera) and I was realizing how little I could understand from what they were saying. The whole point of the video is to target what chapter in the french workbook we are working on and I didn't recognize anything, barely even basic words. Rather disappointing after having been in french for two years, (though I know that's not a lot, I still shouldn't be feeling like it's my first day of french). It was just a weird day. I'm hoping that I was just having a brain dead moment and will feel more on track come Monday.


Speaking of Mondays, I am currently compiling lists of items that I'm going to begin blogging about, titled under; Marissa's Must Haves. I am very excited about that so hopefully it will go over well!


I've finished one of my neighbor's shirts and now have only the jeans and the other shirt to finish and then I will be done with my first ever semi-legitimate sewing job. Yay!


I hope everyone and anyone out there is having a wonderful Friday.


Au Revoir!


"Elegance is a question of personality, more than one's clothing."- Jean-Paul Gaultier

The Wonderful World of Cooking

I got home today and was in the mood for cooking. Unfortunately we didn't have anything in the house to cook! So instead I got online and looked for recipes to cook later. I really loved the movie Julie and Julia, so I looked up Julia Child recipes first and have decided that sometime between now and the beginning of the year I would like to try making bouef bourgignon and Julia's famous chocolate cake. I'm looking into buying her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, sometime soon, but it's about twenty-five dollars and I'm not sure I would really use it so. . . we'll see! Meanwhile I have also found a recipe for Red Lobster biscuits (one of the best things in the world!), and a recipe for making P.F. Chang's Mongolian beef. If you've never tried either of these places I sincerely recommend them!

Today in class we were discussing how to spot liars and other aspects of subconscious body language. It's actually really interesting. Ask a friend what their name is and watch their eyes. They should look straight ahead. Now ask them how many doors they have in their house. Their eyes should look upwards as they think about this. Now if you ask them when is the last time they cried, they should look down or stoically look ahead. And finally ask them how many cousins they have. Their eyes should move from left to right as they try to figure it out. It's all really interesting and funny to watch people do exactly what their eyes are supposed to do! 

Back to cooking, it's definitley something I love to do. It's an immense stress reliever for me and something I've been in love with since I was little. This past year I made a birthday cake for my brother who was turning twelve. He absolutely loved it and it tasted great so he was  very happy!


 Below are instructions for the cake in case you are interested: 


- Bake two 9-inch round cakes (any flavor/ brand of your choice).
- Then, you may need to make more batter for this, fill up a six-inch round pan and a six inch in diameter half-sphere pan, and bake.
- When they have all cooled, ice one nine-inch cake and then place the other 9-in. on top of that and ice. 
- Placing the six-in. cake on top, ice and then top with the half-sphere, creating a kind of cupcake appearance.
- Using M&M's, create doors and windows on the two nine inch cakes.
- Place gumdrops along the bottom of the cake.
- Using icing tip no. 11 (large petal) draw vertical lines of frosting up the six inch cake : 


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- With tip no. 14 (10 star) pipe in circles along the half sphere, creating a whip-creamed effect.
- Sprinkle over with multi-colored sprinkles and add a maraschino cherry on the top.
- The next part is kind of tricky so you may want to buy extra everything in case you mess up!:
- Grab five pointy ice cream cones and place each one inside of the rim on a squat sugar cone.
- Taking half of a toothpick, pierce through the top and wedge it in with the pointy side up.
- Using tip no. 14 again, run the icing around the cone in a smooth swirling motion.
- Sprinkle sprinkles over the icing and then place a maraschino cherry on the toothpick. 
- Place around cake and serve. Feeds about 17.


While I haven't had time to get back to viewing the spring fashion shows, I did find this absolutely resplendent necklace in November's issue of Vogue. If I ever have the money this will definitely be something I will immediately run out to purchase! I also think that the model in this ad  bears an extreme likeness to Evangeline Lilly who plays Kate Austen on the TV show Lost. Regardless this is truly a beautiful piece of jewelry!

I am still no where close to being finished with my neighbor's clothing so I better go try to finish that tonight!


Au Revoir!


“Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest.”- Christian Dior