Beauty Confidential: The No Preaching, No Lies, Advice-You'll-Actually-Use Guide to Looking Your Best

I made a new friend out here in LA a few months ago through Facebook. To those people that hate networking sites, this is an example of how they can help you with your career. On Facebook, I am a member of the Ivy Alumni group, and a girl my age posted a comment saying that she was moving to LA from London and looking to meet new people. Being the socialite that I am, I emailed her and we ended up meeting for drinks and some laughs.

When working for Ladies Home Journal in New York after graduating from Columbia, Nadine started a blog. On it, she revealed some insider information as to what happens behind company doors in the fashion industry. She was fired immediately when exposed, but because of all of the press around it, William Morris picked her up and she signed a two book deal with Harper Collins. This girl is pretty much my idol, and I would love to follow in her footsteps. She got lucky, but she is also very talented, and it was through her advice that I got my latest job with Relate Magazine.

This week, Nadine's first book came out! She was on The Today Show Thursday if anyone saw it. You can buy her book, Beauty Confidential: The No Preaching, No Lies, Advice-You'll-Actually-Use Guide to Looking Your Best on amazon.com or in book stores nationwide.

She also has a blog, that is SO MUCH better than mine. So for those of you that love to waste time at work, here is another site to read regularly. Once you check out Jolie, you'll probably never want to read my blog again ;)

Here is the link: http://jolienyc.com/

Relate Magazine

I have exciting news! I have gotten another freelance writing job, this time for a publication called Relate Magazine. The publication targets young girls, ages 13-21. It's a good, clean magazine - an alternative to some of the things that you might find in Cosmo. I'll be covering issues from fashion to beauty to boys.

My first assignment was to cover a young fashion designer living in Portland. Her name is Christa Taylor and she is designing a clothing line that is chic without being slutty. I interviewed her and she is an amazing young girl. Here is the link to my article: http://www.relatemag.com/magazine.aspx?nav=design&Page=Dedicated%20Designer

You can also check out www.christa-taylor.com to see some of Christa's Fall picks, or join her facebook group "Christa Taylor Fashions" for more information.

Sightings and Celeb Scoop

As you might remember from last year, the city of West Hollywood hosts the largest Halloween party in the world. All of the streets are shut down, concert stages are set up, and everyone gets decked out for a night on the town. This year, Hanson performed on one of the concert stages. At first, we thought "this is West Hollywood for god's sake, couldn't they get anyone better?" But later that night, we were blown away by Hanson and their performances. OK, let's talk a minute about the Hanson brothers and why everyone should still love them...

1. The Hanson brothers are grown up. They aren't youngsters anymore, and they are HOT. Seriously, I almost threw my bra at the lead singer, he was so dreamy.
2. They all have brown hair now - you really wouldn't even know that they were Hanson. It works for them.
3. They also performed in Halloween costumes, which made the show that much more entertaining. Elvis, Captain Hook, and a Jedi. Just picture MMM Bop in this setting. It was amazing.

Here is a picture to show you just how great Hanson still is. I am again a devoted fan, and encourage you to join the fan club.

Darfur Now

If you don't know what is going on in Sudan, you should be ashamed of yourself. Finally, Hollywood has provided you with a good way to do it if you are lazy and opt not to read the news on a regular basis. I like Don Cheadle, and now even more so:

http://www.campuscircle.com/review.cfm?r=4269

You can also check out myspace if you want to support the fight against the genocide @ www.myspace.com/darfurnow

Destination: Seattle and Portland

I'm headed to the Pacific Northwest for 3 days to check it out and see some cold weather. I also get to visit one of my close friends from growing up (T, I can't wait!), so it's going to be a blast. I'm packing my umbrella, but hoping that I won't need it. Details and pictures to follow next week.

Slipstream

This movie sucked. There is no other way to say it. 1 in 10 people will like this movie because they will try to piece everything together, but it just gave me a headache...

So disappointing on Anthony Hopkins' part:

http://www.campuscircle.com/review.cfm?r=4244

Los Angeles is ON FIRE...again?

To everyone that has called me and emailed me in the past two days, thank you. It's nice to be loved. But please don't worry, the fires in Los Angeles are not affecting where I live at all. At least not yet. What is happening though nearby is devastating, and we can only hope that the fires are contained soon. Of all places, Malibu (known as one of the most beautiful and ritzy areas of LA) has burnt to the ground. Other suburbs of Los Angeles, as well as San Diego, are next as the fire rages on with no intention of stopping.

I just dropped off 5 bags of clothing at the Good Will on Saturday, and now I am so happy that I did. I encourage everyone else to clean out their closets too. There are going to be a lot of people in need of help after this tragedy.

Movies Coming Out this Weekend!

I was lucky enough to screen 3 movies that are coming out this weekend. There are two of my reviews below - one for Reservation Road, and the other for Things We Lost in the Fire. The other that I didn't write up, however, is worth seeing over the these two films...Gone Baby Gone. I saw Gone Baby Gone and thought it was one of the best movies that I've seen in a long time. Ben Affleck should be writing and directing, not acting. And Casey Affleck is such a bad ass, you will love him even more after seeing his performance. Go see it this weekend. Seriously, I strongly urge you to! You will not regret this decision!

As for my other reviews, check them out:
Reservation Road
http://www.campuscircle.com/review.cfm?r=4179

And Things We Lost in the Fire
http://www.campuscircle.com/review.cfm?r=4180

Top 5 Favorites

I love asking people these questions:
What are your top 5 favorite _________???

You can fill in the blank with anything: bars, songs, movies, cities, celebs, people, etc.

So I'm now asking you - what are your top 5 favorites? The rule is that these 5 favorites do not have to be given in any order. There is no favoritism. I am challenging you to and encourage you to post your 'favs' for others to see...it can be any category that you like!

I'll start. Here are my top 5 favorite bars of all time, in no particular order:
The Peculiar Pub - New York, NY
Barney's Beanery - West Hollywood, CA
The Coogee Bay Hotel - Sydney, Australia
Cafe 210 - State College, PA
The Princeton - Avalon, NJ

See, it's easy. Give it a whirl.

Sightings and Celeb Scoop

Last night, I was lucky enough to co-host an Ivy Alumni Event at Ketchup here in Los Angeles. It was a success, and while hanging out and having a drink, we spotted David Spade eating a few tables away. In a plaid shirt, he seemed to be having a good time. He is really short, but you probably could have guessed that, right?

I want to get Caught in the Act with this guy.

I am in love with Michael Buble. Not because he's a decent looking guy, but I think he's this generation's Frank Sinatra. Every single song he sings - I LOVE IT. No, let me rephrase that - I am obsessed with every single one. He makes me want to hold a dinner party for 50 people one day, and the next dance around in my underwear. I just needed to shout it from the rooftops!

Sunset Tan

Who actually watches Sunset Tan? Anyone? I was watching it at the gym today because it's shot 3 blocks from my house. So obviously, I like to just check it out to see what sorts of things they film in West Hollywood. When people ask me "Why on earth would you ever want to leave LA??? The weather and everything is just so great here!" To them, I say: please watch Sunset Tan for 30 full minutes...then you will understand the dark side.

Premiere Week

It's Premiere Week on TV!!! And I want to know - what is everyone watching this year? I am SO excited for the premiere of Brothers & Sisters this upcoming weekend. Grey's should be good, but I don't think that the spin off will be successful. Gossip Girl SUCKED, definitely no OC. I think that Dirty, Sexy, Money might be interesting and I'm definitely in for another season of Ugly Betty. Post some comments here if you have checked out any good shows or have recommendations based on what you see in the upcoming weeks!

Fire Alarms

It's like the boy that cried wolf - the fire alarm goes off, and you don't even flinch. Is it a reaction from your freshman dorm as well, after countless people pulled the alarm drunk on the weekends? Maybe, you would just roll over and never think twice about it. But the other day I was in Bloomingdale's (shopping with JL obviously) when the alarm went off. We looked at each other and just kept shopping. But then I had a realization - what if it really was a fire? Was this my impending death? Clinging onto our Free People tops and Rock and Republic jeans, this would have been a sad way to go out. Or maybe not. I mean, thinking about more, if you are going to end up in a fire, I think that Bloomingdale's is where I would want it to be.

OK, OK, I know. Horrible thought. But don't worry, it was a false alarm. The only things burning that day were the holes in our pockets, and Bloomy's is still standing in one piece. But from now on, I'm going to make sure that I have at least one piece of designer clothing in my hands the next time I hear an alarm.

I LOVE MY FRIENDS

Thank you for a ridiculously fun weekend. We are the best together, I wish weekends like this could happen all of the time!

Destination: Philadelphia

One of my biggest blog fans is getting married this upcoming Friday in the City of Brotherly Love. As I finishing packing, and prepare for my red eye, I just wanted to wish her lots of luck for the big day. I am so ready for a 4 day vacation, I can hardly stand it. East Coast, here I come!

The VMA's

What were we watching Sunday night?

OK, I know. Britney's performance was a disgrace. BUT, I will defend her because rumor has it that she heard Sarah Silverman rehearsing her set immediately before walking onto stage. I'd be pissed too if someone said that about my kids. But I'm not so much even concerned with the whole Britney performance, but more so with everything else associated with that show. The random shots of party suite #3,576? The white sunglasses? Everyone looking fat??

It was terrible. TERRIBLE. MTV, please fire the producers immediately and make sure that they never work again.

Ode to Barney

Apparently, there once was a guy named Barney. He opened a restaurant on Route 66, and it today serves as the mecca of all sports bars right in the heart of West Hollywood. Los Angeles dwellers flock there to support their teams, and we decided this past Sunday, that there really is no place like it.

My friend JL and I have been making a list of "things that only happen in LA." And eating omelettes while watching the NFL kickoff its season is one of them. Barney, whoever you are, we would like to thank you -- not only for providing such a fantastic watering hole, but for bringing all of the hot sports fans of Los Angeles together every weekend.

Here's the real scoop on Barney's: Barney's Beanery opened in 1920 and since then has expanded, yet maintained it's original appeal to the public. Janis Joplin was rumored to have her last drink here, and some say that Jim Morrison lived in the upstairs apartment while on a bender. Jimi Hendrix used to dine at Barney's. The original hood over the stove that was used at Barney's over 80 years ago can still be seen in the restaurant. Known as the third oldest restaurant in the city of Los Angeles, the name Barney's Beanery was derived from the era of the depression when the restaurant used to serve beans on route 66.

The Networking Debate

First there was Friendster. Then in grad school, Facebook blew up. But at that time, you could only be a member of Facebook if you had a college "edu" email address. So many educated twenty-somethings turned to MySpace.

Then something radical happened: Facebook opened up its membership to the public in September of this past year. And now, I think that many will agree with me when I say that Facebook is BACK, and better than ever.

A friend sent me this article below, and I find it very intriguing. It talks about the social classes of our country and how they are divided online. I believe what this student says is profoundly true. When I log into Facebook, I see my friends from UPenn, Harvard, and have access to the Ivy Alumni Network. When I log into MySpace, I see friends... but I also see pages filled with promotions and pages that can't load due to jumbled graphics, etc.

If you are interested in these networking sites, and the debate that compares them, check out this article at the following link:
http://www.danah.org/papers/essays/ClassDivisions.html

I am a HUGE believer in online networking in this day and age, so regardless of your online preferences, I think that it's important to be associated with at least one of the networking sites. It's important to make sure that you don't fall off the radar for social and career purposes.

I'm going to keep all of my accounts for the time being. But I will declare that Facebook has me back in a BIG way.

Skiddily Winks

What exactly are skiddily winks? If you can answer this question, please contact me via comment immediately.

Skiddily. Skiddily. Skiddily.