The Sounds of Mothers Day

The problem with people you know IRL reading your blog is, well, you can't say anything about them. They just seem to know, no matter what you do, that you are talking about THEM. Mothers also have this uncanny ability, which makes it a bit hard to blog about Mother's Day until the day is, essentially, over. Because, 14-inch five layer chocolate cakes aside, surprises are nice, and I like to be able to pull one over on mom every now and again, anyway.

Curious as to what she got?



Yup. She got the full Skyrim soundtrack. And a package of chocolate coated blueberries. But either way, my mother got a copy of a soundtrack that I think she's fallen in love with. For being a non gamer, she has surprised me with her obvious enjoyment of the music, and even went so far as to give it a place on her blog.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. I'm going to have another slice of chocolate cake.

Pnina Tornai: Say Yes to the (Wedding) Bows

Pnina Tornai has some beautiful design sense, often creating wedding dresses that are jaw-droppingly beautiful. The same elements that make some of Pnina's wedding dresses stunning makes others overpoweringly...strange. I guess that's what comes from looking at high fashion designs. Either way, if you want the look, it comes with a pretty pricey budget. Why oh why must I continually marvel over designers such as Pnina Tornai? Their amazing looks always come with such a price! I'm glad that Pnina is coming up with radically innovative new designs, though. While I love her steady basic designs and their variations, it is always fun to see some out-of-the-box ideas, especially in the wedding industry where, well, everything seems to be all white and looks roughly the same at all times.

This particular Pnina Tornai gown is a mermaid with satin and...I'm not sure if that's more satin, or something else. Leaning toward something else. I like how this particular style is asymetrical, and I really like the bottom of the front, but the bows on the front top and the back are just...overdone, I guess. I like the drape of the shoulder bow in the back, but on the front it seems to detract from the model's face (or the bride's face, eventually). At the same time, I feel like something is left out, with the gaps of bowless-ness on the train. It doesn't really give me the same "WOW!" feel as other pieces have done.


The front, though...That I quite like. The cascade of bows doesn't seem to fade into lumps of satin like on the back; rather, each bow seems to be built on top of the others, yet still retains its own form and dignity. The path of the bows, too, is such that it helps to make up for any imbalances elsewhere. The front is busy enough to hold attention, yet not so busy that you don't know where to look. The path of the bows, too, draws your eye up the dress and into the face of the wearer, which I admire. And then you get to the top, which is a wee bit confusing with the boob-bow and basket weave. I would be looking into perhaps moving the boob bow down to the waist and see if the weave looked better that way. I find the basket-weave pattern interesting, as it is a bit out of character for Pnina's designs. Normally, when she has ruching on the the top, it all goes in the same direction, rather than criss-crossing like you can see here. Overall, innovative, but I think Pnina has done better. Incidentally, I think she had a bit of a bow fetish last season.

Here's all your normal blah-blah legal stuff. Yeah, I didn't take these pictures. Someone somehow connected to Pnina took them and owns the rights to them. No, I don't make a profit off of these pictures and I don't claim any rights to them. If you want to see them in greater detail or wish to get more info about the dress, go to www.kleinfeldbridal.com. The Style Number is 32023145. This post may have been sitting in my que for a while, so I make no promises that it is in stock at Kleinfeld's or even that it is still on their website. No, I don't represent Kleinfeld, Pnina Tornai or TLC/Say Yes to the Dress in any way. Everything written here is my own opinion and review of the dress and isn't endorsed by anyone else. If I somehow missed naming some company that I don't represent, pretend I did. If you read all of that, you don't need glasses.

Cat Fashion

As you may or may not know, I have three cats. Incidentally, I am allergic to all three of them, but that's okay.

It is interesting to note that Leia, my younger female, is fine with having me trim her nails and holds her paw out as if I was painting her fingernails or something. Luke, on the other hand, has to be caught, held down and forced to let me cut his little nails. If it wasn't for the fact that declawing really isn't good for cats, I think I would have had him declawed long ago.

Either way, I really wish I could dress them up like this.

Finally---D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

Easter Activity: A New Resolve

On the last day of my spring break, I finally find my way to my blog. I had truly meant to be a busy bee and post every day during break, but, alas, I did not. My discovery of America's Next Top Model, my anger for their kicking out Ashley, frustration that I can't find a date for the start of the next Say Yes to the Dress season, and preparations (or, more accurately, frustrations) for a bridal shower have all come and gone unrecorded. Why? I'm not really sure, actually. Perhaps the only reason I'm writing anything now is because I don't feel like doing any writing or French studies right now.

Also, this is my work season. Perhaps part of the reason why I tend to blog gurlie stuff is it helps to balance out hanging with a bunch of cops and firemen. That's a far cry from pretty dresses and over-the-top Pnina designs. Right now, my focus seems to be elsewhere.

But, this is Easter, once the traditional start of the year. Spring is just beginning, Passover is ended, and Christ is risen--a place of new beginnings. Perhaps this may mark a new beginning for me, too. We shall see, I suppose.

Christ is Risen!

A Moment of Pride

Okay, so, for the first time, I've been featured on another blog, which kinda sorta totally made my day. How ironic that I dragged my feet on it when Anna first asked about it. Anyway, this interview was part of a series that Anna has been doing about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer's Month) and its results. As you know, I overloaded with school last semester, so while I technically participated...well, let's just say that it wasn't uncommon for me to include whatever essay I had written in that day's word count.

You can read the interview here. Please be sure to take some time and wander around on Anna's blog! She's a favorite of mine, if you can't tell. ;)

Someone Had Too Much Time on Their Hands

Admittedly, it is pretty funny.
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Down With the Bloody Big Head: Trial Run of a Work In Progress

If you haven't been around for long, it is time that you learn one very important fact: I'm obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. This probably has something to do with reading the books for the first time under the influence of pain medication and a raging fever. That said, I've been building a Mad Hatter costume for quite a while now. Over the next few days (or the next few weeks, depending on how often I can get on to post), I'll be going over some new pieces that I got to add to my collection. However, I did get to put some of my costume to the test recently at a costume party. 

The costume was very much a hit, but, it obvious needs more work. I don't have an undershirt for my corset yet, so I ended up throwing it over a t-shirt or something (part of the reason I'm wearing the jacket and floppy bow tie in these photos). My plan for the bottom half of the costume (pantaloons/gypsy skirt) hasn't materialized yet, so I grabbed one of my dancing skirts, since it is bright and fluffeh. I also used three cans of orange hairspray to manage to get my hair slightly red. That was a last minute plan that was very spontaneous, since I essentially was walking through walmart and went "Oooh! Orange hairspray! Kewl!" and bought it.

 Probably the most accurate part of my costume was my make-up, and even that was...manipulated. I didn't realize until after I put it all on that I had done the eyes mirror image of Depp's Hatter, and I couldn't resist adding in a nod to the Red Queen with the heart-shaped lips. Porsche (pictured to the left as Mini Mouse/Cinderella) was extra supportive in this project, especially since she turned out to be the only other real Disney geek at this party. 

The Hatter costume has a long way to go, but I'm steadily adding things. Perhaps in the next four or five years I can actually complete it.