Features
Sunday Funday – Bethenny (aka My Friend in My Head)
Unless you’ve never seen Bravo (in which case, WHAT do you talk to your friends about?), you know who Bethenny Frankel is. The quick-witted, driven, hilariously funny woman who worked her ass off to turn Skinnygirl into an empire.
To steal a phrase from Wendy Williams, Bethenny is my “friend in my head.” I’ve been following her career from Martha Stewart’s The Apprentice, to RHONY to Bethenny, Getting Married? and Bethenny, Ever After and even watched that horrifyingly bad Skating With The Stars because she was on it.
During the seemingly endless lull between seasons, I kept lamenting that there wasn’t enough Bethenny in my daily life. Well, that ends September 9th with the debut of bethenny, her weekday talk show. I.CAN.NOT.WAIT!!
The clip below is one of the many reasons I’m a Bethenny fan. She’s fearless, letting people to see her in her natural state and experimenting with beauty, not knowing how it will turn out. Is her hair perfect in the end? No, but it’s also not some contrived segment where, in the end, her hair looks red carpet ready in a way we can never recreate. It’s real, it’s honest, it’s Bethenny. Her site is filled with gems like this.
Even better news, she’s coming to Cleveland, August 26th, as part of her Calling All My Girls Tour. She’s hitting nine cities leading up to the premiere, hosting exclusive fan events in each one. You have to tune in to your local affiliate to get tickets so head on over to Bethenny.com for all the details.
I really hope I get to meet her. Even though August 26th is the boyfriend’s birthday, he told me I should go (if I get a ticket) because he knows how much I adore Bethenny. Is he the best, or what??
PinspiratioNAIL – Spun Sugar Nail Art with Revlon Brilliant Strength Nail Enamel
During the TV slump that occurs every year between the season finales and the start of my fave summer guilty pleasure, Big Brother, I find myself aimlessly channel surfing on my nights home. A couple weeks ago I hit on The American Baking Competition, featuring a self-proclaimed “redneck” named Francine firing off gems like, “it’s slap your mama good!” I couldn’t resist.
PinspiratioNAIL with Revlon Brilliant Strength Nail Enamel
During one of the episodes, the competitors were challenged with making croquembouche, a tower of creme puffs (or choux) held together with threads of caramelized sugar. It made me think of the spun sugar nail art designs I’ve been eyeing on Pinterest. Using the new Revlon Brilliant Strength Nail Enamel, I decided to give the look a try.
Sunday Funday – A Long Time Ago, We Used To Be Friends…
My fellow Marshmallows, of course you know what that line means but, for those of you not in the know, it’s the opening lyric to the theme song from one of the best television shows of all time, Veronica Mars. And when I say, “one of the best,” I’m not being facetious.
This extremely clever, finely crafted show about a modern day Nancy Drew, played marvelously by Kristen Bell, is one of the few shows I can watch over and over without ever tiring. And I do, every weekday, on SoapNet. I mourned the loss of VM after following it from UPN to The CW and gave up hope of ever knowing whether Veronica and sexy, brooding Logan would ever reconcile.
However, thanks to Kickstarter and the 91,000+ fans (myself included) who donated to fund the project, I’ll finally get my answers (I hope). Coming in 2014 is the Veronica Mars Movie.
They just wrapped shooting and shared a first look at the project last weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. I’ve already watched it more times than I care to admit and I continue to tear up every time Kristen says, “Here’s your first look, Marshmallows!”
So, the guys, all wet and walking in slow-mo. The only thing that can make that better is if they break out in dance. Or if it’s a dream sequence and they go all Magic Mike on V.
So how many Marshmallows are also nail polish fanatics? Are you a fellow Kickstarter backer? Am I alone in wanting a Veronica Mars themed nail polish line?
Sunday Funday – Gearing Up for BlogHer ’13
Thanks to blogging, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some fantastic people. Between multiple seasons covering New York Fashion Week and the fashion & beauty blog conferences I’ve attended, I have found great friends in bloggers from my genre.
This week I’ll be heading to Chicago for my first BlogHer conference and it’s on a whole new level from any conference I’ve been to in the past. I mean, there were over 5,000 bloggers in attendance last year. That’s a pretty daunting number.
Now, I’ve heard the jabs taken at SwagHer, I mean BlogHer, but I’ve been blogging for so long that swag isn’t a draw for me. I am going for the educational sessions, the chance to catch up with blends (blog friends) and the opportunity to meet inspiring women from outside the beauty and fashion realm.
The thing is, looking at the schedule for BlogHer and reading blog post after blog post about how to prepare for the conference has my head swimming. I’m intimidated, to say the least, and I haven’t even begun to figure out what I’m going to pack. The only thing I know for sure is that I’m not about to play the heels-at-a-conference game. There is a limit to the whole “suffering for fashion” concept.
So, my question to you, dear friends, is who has suggestions of things to see and do in Chicago? And are there any great restaurants I can’t miss? Every time I’ve been to the city, I had a friend to guide me and we rarely ventured downtown. One thing I must find is great deep dish pizza. It’s the one thing I can’t find in Cleveland.
Also, if you’re a blogger going to BlogHer, let me know. I’d love to meet you. And if you have any advice for a newbie, I’m all ears.
Sunday Funday – Cards Against Humanity
Forget Rebecca Black and her love for, “Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday.” It’s all about Sunday, my favorite day of the week. Some may look at it as the end of the weekend but, to me, it’s the one day I don’t have to rush around running errands or getting ready for some outing. I can be lazy, indulge in a tasty brunch, patio hop around town with friends, tailgate (come football season), etc.
If you, too, are a fan of the #SundayFunday concept, consider picking Cards Against Humanity to liven up your next group gathering. Having brunch with friends? Tote this card game along to make things more, um, interesting. Hosting a party with a mixed group of friends who don’t necessarily know each other? This will break the ice!
Cards Against Humanity
If you aren’t familiar with Cards Against Humanity, the tagline kind of says it all. A party game for horrible people? I’m in! I’m not horrible (well maybe a little) but I love dark, twisted humor with a side of crudeness thrown in. Cards Against Humanity delivers on that and more. It’s essentially a take on Apples to Apples but with raunchy, wildly inappropriate prompts and responses (see above). This is definitely not a game for kids.
The boyfriend and I took CAH to our annual Put-In-Bay trip and it was a hit. Laughter to the point of tears and someone may have peed themselves a little. We played last night with friends who own the two expansion packs and after seeing some of those cards, I’ve already got them on my Amazon.com wish list.
Cards Against Humanity is available on Amazon.com for $25. Two expansion packs are available for $10/ea. If you’re feeling crafty, you can download the PDF of the original game from CardsAgainstHumanity.com and print it for yourself.
What’s your favorite game to play with friends? Any new party games I should know about? Do you have regular game nights?
Disclosure: I purchased Cards Against Humanity on Amazon. Affiliate links appear via a third party link service. For more info, view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
