"F" is not for "Factory Girl"

It's being reported that Hollywood's current "it girl" (really? Most people in the U.S. couldn't pick her out of a line-up) had an action packed 24 hours with lots of newsworthy events, the least offensive of which was dropping the "F" word on live U.S. television this morning. Oh, joy. As if we don't have enough of our own home-grown trailer trash celebrity harlets to endure (Britney, Lindsey, Paris, etc.), apparently now we are importing them from other countries. Well why not....it's only fair...other countries have had to put up with our little darlings all over their televisions for a while now.....Payback is hell, isn't it?

I had an action-packed day myself, although not quite as newsworthy as Ms. Miller's. The day started off with a 15-minute blizzard of the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen....ended abruptly and then turned into rain. I refused to be trapped in the house by Old Man Winter, so I buzzed off to a shoe sale in search of new boots.

I must say, Dallas does not let me down when it comes to a sale. We may not have beaches or mountains or any real natural beauty to gaze at here, but you cannot beat this town for a sale. Almost everything I found today was 75% off.....hard to not come home with something fabulous under those conditions.

By the way...At 160 pounds, Tyra Banks still looks better than most of us....you go girl!

Also, Happy Anniversary to my parents, married 53 years today! I can't imagine liking anyone that long, married to them or not! :) Nice going, guys!

Harry, your...um...Hogwarts are showing....

I hear that our beloved Harry Potter has shed his glasses and his clothes for a production of 'Equus' in London's West End.

Help! This Daniel naked is something I never wanted to think about.....

Whereas this Daniel naked is about all I can think about......

I bet he has a magic wand...... :) :)

Barbaro and Camilla take the plunge

It's a Monday, and it wasn't bad for a Monday, except for the cold weather of course. Tried to make the best of it by bundling up in my black leather jacket, gloves and boots. My husband wanted to know where I'd hidden the Harley. :)

Hated to see that Barbaro was put down today. I like animals better than most people, and it really bums me out when one goes, especially one as beautiful as Barbaro. There are lots of green pastures and sugar cubes in horse heaven. Enjoy them well, sweet Barbaro.

Just saw the reaction in the press to Camilla Parker Bowles' latest fashion statement. People seem to be struck (one way or the other) by the jewels and the cleavage prominently displayed by the Duchess of Cornwall during her visit to Philadelphia. Poo, I say! If you've got them, flaunt them (both the rubies and the boobies). Maybe that's what makes her freak flag fly. It certainly seems to do something for Charles, and he is surely a freak.

I salute Camilla on this front (and also Helen Mirren, who showed up at the Globes displaying her globes). Because who is to say that a woman "of a certain age" isn't sexy? Who gets to determine that?

It's one of life's worst ironies that, as a woman, just about the time you start to realize the kind of sexual power you have over men, it's almost gone, which is so unfair. So, women "of a certain age", I say carry on. Light the torch for those of us who will come behind you, wanting to show off what's left of our globes for as long as we have them. Why should all the young chicks have all the fun?

Frozen Mustard on the Prairie

We just returned to Texas after having been at our Florida home since Christmas. So far, most everything seems to be in order in the little house on the prairie; nothing a little dusting, a good sweep and trip to the market can't fix, anyway.

But Brrrr!!! It's cold here. I am SO not happy about leaving tropical 70 degree beach digs to return to 32 degrees and frozen tundra. Aaargh!! Where is global warming when I need it?

Anyway....I am amazed at the amount of trivial information the mind is able to store and retrieve, and having two homes demonstrates that for me on a constant basis. The ability to keep up with things like this -- HBO in FL is on channel 302; in Texas it's 501. E! Channel is 74 in FL; 236 in TX. I have spicy brown mustard in the TX refrigerator; honey dijon in FL (almost empty). The expiration date on the creamer in FL is Feb 16; in TX, Feb 6. Must all be stored next to the words of old dusty songs that are fully retrievable on demand. Wasted brainpower, all.

I will be on the frozen prairie for almost three weeks and will have to figure out how to keep up my fitness and running regimen despite the arctic weather outside. It was so easy to do it while residing a mile from the beach....but this is going to be a challenge here. No palm trees swaying, no beach waves rolling in, no sunshine and 70 degrees. What's a girl to do....

In the meanwhile, I will have to stay bundled up (which I hate), and the worst part is giving up the sandals. Socks and close-toed shoes are the height of incarceration for my feet! The toes yearn to be free, and they will have to stay locked up for the next 20 days. Oh, the inhumanity of it!!

Undressed for Success

Does anyone get dressed up for anything anymore? There are beautiful clothes in beautiful stores everywhere, but is there any place left to actually wear them?

I'm planning a theatre weekend in London in early March with friends, and last night's dinner discussion turned to trip attire. I was thinking that a London theatre weekend would be a great chance to get all gussied up. Surely, the Brits still dress for an evening out.

Alas, my friends (who frequent London on holiday) tell me that no, people don't dress for the theatre there, and that most people go cas and wear jeans. Aaargh!!! Has denim pervaded everything? What's wrong with people? Doesn't anyone want to dress nicely for anything anymore?

I also can't believe what I see people wear to church. Jeans, and sometimes even shorts, are now "acceptable attire" for church. Even at Easter. When did that happen? And, more importantly, how can we put a stop to it? It's a slippery slope, and soon, we'll just be wearing our pajamas everywhere. I mean why bother to get dressed at all?

It's not like we have strong fashion role models these days. When designers consider Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen as "style icons", we're really in trouble. I remember when they wore diapers, and I'm even less impressed with their attire now. Miniature women in mammoth sunglasses does not a style icon make. And heck, now we can't even get some of these famous fashionistas to wear under garments, let alone appropriate exterior attire.

I understand why we have become utterly obsessed with watching the "red carpet" scene before Hollywood award shows. It's the only time we get to see people dressed up anymore. We're starved for elegance and style in our real lives, so we pile up in front of the TV before the Oscars to try to fill that void. I know women who actually get dressed up for Oscar night to sit and watch it on their televisions. Sad that it's come down to this, isn't it?

I'm getting ready to redo my wardrobe for spring 2007, and I really want to stock it with some beautiful, stylish things, which means I'll be the one out there who is completely overdressed for most everything. Maybe I can start a trend....but I seriously doubt it.

The Excess Energy of an amateur Bond Girl

It's January, and I seem to have a little extra energy to deal with. It's been a year since I left the evil corporate empire and a job that strangled the life out of me daily, and it's taken me a whole year to regain some motivation to be productive. Now that the batteries are in re-charge mode, I'm not quite sure what to do with all of it. I've been channeling some of it into exercise. In addition to the usual gym visits, I've been randomly throwing on my Nikes for a run whenever a burst hits me. It's starting to show up in my jeans -- and that's a good thing -- but if I keep this up, I will be banned from the fashion catwalks of Milan forever. Another career option down the drain (as if....) :):)

I've also been channeling some of it into more creative endeavors, mostly writing. It's the only semi-talent I have, truly. I spent the first 20 years of my adult life being the logic queen. About the time that lobe of my brain started to protrude from my head, I decided I needed to cut back on the logic and nurture the poor, neglected, withered creative side. So I'm starting to write down all kinds of things (including this blog) in order to keep my sanity...or at least maintain my current level of insanity.

With a little free time earlier this week, I hit a sale at Neiman Marcus (where I NEVER shop, unless it's a huge sale...and this was) and bought a Dina Bar-El dress that is to die for (and dirt cheap, too). Didn't think it would fit...it was on the size 4 rack...put it on...and voila - fit like a glove. Must be all those energy bursts and the extra running....but now I'll have to keep it up just to get into the dress. It'll go straight to the "skinny" side of my closet.

Anyway, I dubbed the dress my "Bond Girl" dress because it makes me feel like one when I put it on. It's SOOOOOO Vesper Lynd. (Okay, so I'm delusional, too.) And what's a Bond Girl dress without Bond Girl shoes? So that became yesterday's top secret mission du jour...at Nordstroms.

When I stepped into the shoe department -- and I am not lying about this -- the Nordie's pianist started playing the theme from James Bond. Completely random. What are the odds of that? There I was, on a top secret mission to find Bond Girl shoes, and Nordstrom's was providing the theme music. Is that service or what? :) At that point, I knew the planets must be aligned, and the Bond Girl shoes could not be far away.

Mission accomplished? You bet. And now....to which exotic locale will I wear this glamorous get-up? Hmmmm....that's the real dilemma. What's a Bond Girl to do?