Do you want my little black book?
September 13, 2007
I have no style. None. No. Wait. I do. My style is “I work from home so I can wear my pj’s and socks all day and no one cares” OR when I need to get dressed up I have “I am a PTA mom and can get away with jeans and t-shirts because kids make messes” style. So I have style. In fact, Nina Garcia (best known for her appearnace as the unerring, fromidable fashion judge on Project Runway), author of The Little Black Book of Style says I can have my own style. Though I know that is not what she had in mind when that message came across. Actually, I really did like the message that I can create my own style. One that makes me feel confident. (And I do mean beyond pj’s or jeans and t-shirts.) I love that there is such a strong emphasis on “being your own muse” and creating your own style. Without the freak.
As for how much I will actually get out of this book, probably not as much as someone else who is out and about in the “real world” more than I happen to be. I am not sure the book is the right fit for me, but it is nevertheless and incredible book. My favorite section? The Fashion Cliff Notes Decade by Decade. The illustrations are beautiful! Ruben Toledo is an illustrating master.
I do recommend this book for women who are looking for a bit of style guidance. It is a great, quick read with incredible advice from people who know fashion and style. I even learned a thing or two about ways to update my style. Just because I am a PTA/Soccer mom doesn’t mean I have to look like a slob. And just because I will never wear anything that is fresh off of a runway doesn’t mean I cannot have style.
Style is internal. And everyone can create their own. And good style? It will bring out your confidence. And any woman who has confidence is beautiful!
I am giving away the free copy of The Little Black Book of Style! Do you want a copy? Just comment and let me know about your worst fashion mistake. If for no other reason than I need the entertainment! The winner will be chosen at random. I look forward to reading what you have to done horrible in the name of bad fashion!
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8:15 am | |
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All about the movies
August 14, 2007
I have been all about the movies lately.
I went to see Becoming Jane and when given a chance to see a movie that does not involve talking animals or animated anything, I jump at it.
And of course my kids were wild about watching High School Musical The Concert and Hannah Montana over and over and over.
My personal new favorite laugh out loud at the mid-life National Lampoons like DVD, Wild Hogs.
Like I said, all about the movies, baby!
Go read my latest reviews and tell me what else I should see. Oh, and in the next day or so, my review blog is moving. Yeah! I will let you know.
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4:43 pm | |
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Book Review: The Big Payoff
May 21, 2007
[Editor note: The following is a review of a book I received complimentary and was asked to review. In the future, all reviews will be handled on a separate page of my blog. Thanks.]
I recently joined the great ladies at MotherTalk and I
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Ayun and the Mamalama Ding Dong tour bus pull up for some coffee
August 19, 2006
It is not often that I will find a person, place or thing to gush about. Okay, I gush alot, but you totally need to understand that this particular gushfest involves a role model, a person I admire more than coffee (yes, that much) and a woman who took time out of a hectic publishing schedule to answer the questions of a wanna-be, naive author who had nothing to lose by bombarding her with questions. Who am I talking about? Why the amazing, cooler than cool, badder than bad Ayun Halliday. (Ayun as is rhymes with ray gun, just so you know.) I will admit that I pretended to be all cool when she asked me to be on her virtual bok tour, but that lasted about 5 seconds before I fainted, came to and emailed her back an emphatic YES. I have admired her for years, so it was a no brainer.
To celebrate the UK release of her book Mama Lama Ding Dong: A Mother’s Tales From the Trenches (The Big Rumpus in the United States) she called upon several bloggers to host her tour bus for a day. Today is my day, so pull up a cozy chair, grab a drink and sit back while I completely gush about this amazing woman and her writing. (If you are not familiar with her, check out this interview to get to know her a bit better and then check out her website. While you are there, sign up for The East Village Inky. You will thank yourself (and me!) if you do! We’ll wait here and braid each other’s hair until you get back.)
Back? Good. Now, let each of us Dare to be Heinies and dish about the book.
When I first read this description of motherhood in the chapter, “The Daily Grind”, I nearly wept with the realization that someone else not only felt this but ADMITTED it :
The pain of childbirth is a white hot constellation of torture, almost impossible to describe, remember impressionistically at best. It inspires respect.Taking care of the little criminals day in and day out is another matter. Cutting their food into crouton-size cubes, wiping their spills and their heinies, washing their hair, forcing them to give the ball back, maneuvering them through the grocery store, clearing their mouths of golf balls, dice and Monopoly houses, goading them to pick up their toys, strapping them into the car seats they loathe, reading those hideous Richard Scarry books incessently…that’s like being eaten alive by ants. Not even red ants, just the regular ones.
I fell in love as I read that passage and realized someone “got it” and was brave enough to put it out there. I cheered her on while pretending silently that I loved the daily drudgery and didn’t feel frustration because that is what you do in Stepford. In the coolness that is her New York neighborhood, you can say things like that.
However, when I read her exerpt on lice–the FIRST time–I laughed. Oh, how horrible! That is hysterical! I cannot imagine! That was before my daughter had brought home lice. When I came to that point in mamalama dingdong, there was no laughing. I screamed, threw the book and began to weep before I remember that at one point I laughed. Obviously if Ayun can laugh about the horror, I could try.
She writes:
“Head lice were outed on the children’s program Arthur this year in an effort to de-stigmatize the problem. I guess I’m glad that lice have hit the mainstream, thought what’s next for Arthur and his pals? Heroin addiction?”
I for one was thrilled to read of the horror she described just to know that a bad-ass mom like Ayun could be infected with the dreaded lice, then a Stepford mom like myself, surely would not be immune.
I wish I could quote this whole book to you, but that would be silly (and plagarism!). I mean, you WANT your own copy. You really do! I have a copy if both The Big Rumpus (so dog eared it needs tape to hold it together) and Mama Lama Ding Dong. I love them both! (Okay, they are the same book with different names and different colors, but it feels so new and fresh to pretend that I am just now discovering the amazing Ayun Halliday.
Ayun is the kind of author who makes you feel as if you are sitting there with her sharing stories over a cup of coffee. A woman you want to make your personal friend. By simply reading her books, your cool factor is bumped up at least a notch or two. She is just that good! But don’t take my word for it, go get a copy of Mama Lama Ding Dong: A Mother’s Tales From the Trenches (The Big Rumpus title=”The Big Rumpus”>The Big Rumpus in the United States) and laugh yourself into a new friendship with an amazing woman and mom!
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11:26 am | |
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In all of my free time…
October 21, 2003
I guess since I have so much free time on my hands, I decided to add one more thing to my plate. I have thought about it a lot. I signed up for this a while back, but wasn’t going to say anything. But then, I thought, why not? I tell you everything else. (Well, almost.)
Yes, it is true. I signed up for NaNoWriMo. Have I lost my mind? Probably! Am I excited? Sure am! Do I have any idea what I am going to write about? Sure, I do. I have about 35 ideas about what to write about. Figuring out which one I am going to do is the tough part.
Wish me luck. (And send me coffee!) I am going to need a lot of both!
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The day my what did what?
October 11, 2003
Kidlet Jr got a new book last night. He picked it out himself. Bought it with his own money. It was what he wanted to spend his money on. Want to know what he got? The Day My Butt Went Psycho. Yes, this is a real book.
This is the warning in the front of the book:
If you are a parent or a teacher or even if you’re just over eighteen, put this book down now! You won’t like it. You won’t understand it. You will be totally grossed out by it. It goes on for 3 more paragraphs.
It has some pretty great reader reviews on Amazon, too. What you have to know is that Kidlet Jr. hated to read. He thought it was silly and boring. He thought there was nothing about reading that he would ever find fun. Then he met Captain Underpants. I knew once he changed my name to Poopsie Pizzatush that I had created not only a reader but a reader who enjoys getting others interested in his books. (Okay, so the potty humor helped a LOT!)
I’ll let you know how the new book is. I plan on reading it this weekend. So if I come back talking about butts and farts and other such potty humor, it isn’t my fault! I swear! Blame it on Lumpy Pizzatush! It was his fault!
UPDATE: Okay, so I just went to Andy Griffiths’ website. Oh, the plethora of fun, potty humorish things to see. (You gotta try the Move Your Butt game. Sort of like Frogger, but with butts.)
Okay, I really need to go now. I think I set a record for the most times butt has been used in a blog entry. I need to go read something more age appropriate for a while.
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