Free NYC Concert

As some of you may know, I am a member of a wonderful charitable theater troupe that specializes in Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, the Blue Hill Troupe.

Well, the Troupe is putting on a fantastic, FREE concert of Gilbert & Sullivan songs and other Broadway and opera hits this Wednesday on the UES.

It will be stacked with tremendous talent and surely entertaining.

When: Weds, Feb 2nd at 7pm (reception from 6-7pm)
Where: The Carter Burden Luncheon Club, 351 E 74th Street
RSVP: hustonm@burdencntr.org

I'll be there! Hope to see you then!

Pythons, Peonies, and Pretty!

Makeup guru pal, L, has yet again passed along a fantastic freebie of this Bobbi Brown collaboration with stylish label Tibi - The Peony & Python Beauty Set!

THANK YOU L!!!!!!!!!!

The set will help me achieve one of my main goals for 2011: learn how to use bronzer, with the "Pink Peony Illuminating Bronzer" inside. If you see me looking more glowy than usual, it's probably because I've been "peonized" - hm. That doesn't sound good.

Also included in this amazingly cool-looking case:

-Black Mauve Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner (can't wait for my first foray into gel eyeliner!)

-Pink Lilac Brightening Gloss

-Two adorable mini brushes

And an additional mini-brush set that's perfect for work.

I'll review the SAG Awards fashion tomorrow, but for today...it's the return of the freebie!!!

Sleeves, Sleeves Everywhere (or... Worst of Golden Globes)

This year's Golden Globe Awards fashion faux pas focused on one thing: SLEEVES. While fashion-forward Cousin A loves non-traditional gowns, I will say that you can be nontraditional and still look awesome (see Emma Stone this past year or Cate Blanchett always).

But what was up with all the sleeved gowns this year?

I liked Helen Mirren's sleeves (peacock feather embroidery detailing) but the rest of the dress was dumpy.

Guess who pulled off sleeves well? Leighton Meester.

Guess who didn't? Everyone else.


Here were my least favorite looks:



1. Angelina Jolie: Sleeves? Check. Shoulder pads? Check. Nasty kelly green? Check. Inappropriate boring hair? Check. Blech.





2. Lea Michele. This is what Cousin A means about predictable ball gowns. Hated the color, waaaaaay too high maintenance dress, and yet somehow still boring. Yawn. (Also, please tone down the weeping when Chris Colfer won, OK? We didn't for a minute believe you weren't just vying for mucho camera time yourself in the role of "Chris Colfer's BFF at the Glee table.")

3. Jennifer Love Hewitt: Dear Hollywood Foreign Press, This is what you get for nominating JLH for a Golden Globe. I mean, who were you expecting? Keira Knightley?

4. Anne Hathaway: As much as the film and fashion world wants us to believe it, Sleeves plus Everyone's Favorite College Grad Thinking Man's Actress does not equal couture success. Yes, the color looks nice on her. But those shoulder pads were ridiculous and it kind of looks like a dress a Golden Girl would wear.

5. Sandra Bullock: This is mostly a hairtastrophe, but the dress ain't helping. Maybe she shaved her head for a role? I seriously demand an explanation.

(Photos courtesy of Just Jared)

So long, so... fashion!

Ugh... Weeks of freebie-less existence has brought me to the brink of blogger laziness.

So to solve this conundrum, I'm turning to a tried and true method of bloggery: Awards Season Fashion Blogging!!!!!!

First up, my votes for Best Dressed of the 2011 Golden Globes:

1. Catherine Zeta-Jones. Forget that she butchered Sondheim earlier this year. At the GGs, I thought CZJ looked fab. Mila Kunis also wore this color, but not as well. With Michael Douglas beside her, it was impossible not to acknowledge that CZJ's had a long, hard year, and be thrilled to see her turned out in such a lovely, Hollywood glam dress.

2. Emma Stone. You know how some girls can seem funny, cute, and smart all at once, and appeal to both men and women equally? ES is one of them, and I love love love her. Not sure about how I feel with the redhead to blonde switch, but for this dress the blonde tan look is perfecto. What a cool silhouette (calls to mind early Gwyneth from the 1990s!), awesome color, and not overdone on jewelry or hair.

3. Kyra Sedgwick wins for best color combo of dress and jewelry. These earrings are awesome. I was dying of jealousy, waving my fist at the TV saying "SOMEDAY THOSE WILL BE MINE!!!" And not at all a natural jewelry combo with this color dress (a creative color choice in itself), but all together it just works. Bravo!

4. Claire Danes. Never has she hit my radar in terms of fashion, so this was a shocker. It's slightly more "Barbie" than Emma Stone, but not in a bad way. Kind of, "Outer Space Mod Barbie." The color is brave, unusual, and looks great on her.

5. Natalie Portman. It takes a lot for a pregnant girl to win Prom Queen, but this was my Best Dress of the Night. This look is sweet and beautiful, but still interesting and new. And that is one big red rose, people!!! It could have gone all wrong, but it's all right instead. Credit must be given where credit is due, and a LOT of the reason she looks great is her flawless makeup. The lips are bright, but otherwise she's all natural glowy looking and it makes this a perfect 10 in my book.

(Photos courtesy of Just Jared)

Worst of GGs tomorrow!!!

Blogger Wasteland

Hi everyone!

I am trying, really hard, to find freebies to cover now that it's 2011 and the holidays are unequivocally over.

But there seems to be a period of freebie famine right now.

Perhaps it was all the freebie insanity that came with the holiday season?

The closest thing to a freebie I can describe was the lovely Harry and David gift box our printer sent to us at my office. It's not really technically a freebie, more of a thank you for patronizing them last year.

Hm. I will do my best to dig around...