"I think it was rock and roll goin' to the grocery store."

OK Dear Project Runway Fans and Readers - 

I have to be honest.  I am bored out of my mind with this season.  I feel like it is dragging on and on (and on), and more importantly, I'm not really rooting for any one character.  As of this moment, in fact, I am one day shy of being three weeks behind in watching the episodes.  I think I like Leanne, Korto and Jerrell, but since they both have the personalities of wet rags, I'm not super-jazzed. 

Nevertheless, I do love this show, and I endeavor to keep up.  So since I don't watch much TV on Tuesday nights (I've given up on 90210, and the Dancing with the Stars results show can be watched on a DVR in a matter of five minutes), it's catch up time.  Let's begin with yet another installation of "The 10 things you remember/ need to know/ are sad you missed from the last two episodes of Project Runway."

(Oh and real quick!  I'll spare you the legal details (because I don't know them), but the court overturned Project Runway's move to Lifetime.  Let's hope they make it work and keep the show on Bravo!)

Week 10:  No one said anything funny, so let's all just remember Jerell's hat.

• Out walk moms...but not the designers'.  The designers all panic because they don't want to design for moms.  (Where's the mom love?!)  Heidi shares the good news, though, that they will in fact be designing for these ladies' daughters, who are all recent college grads and need a professional makeover.  Leanne thinks her girl looks like she's 12...maybe it's Doogie Howser!
• The consultation session is a kind of career counseling, fashion makeover, mother-daughter conflict resolution thing.  The mom thing is a funny drama-inducing angle, in my opinion - 16-year olds in prom dresses, yes...but 23 year olds?  They just brought the moms in to make the TV more interesting.  (ie, Mom:  "Very feminine."  Daughter, jumping in:  "NOT TOO feminine!")
• Contrived cameraman question of the week:  "What was your first job?"  I think these questions are lame, although I did like seeing Kenley with side bangs and nude lips at her graduation.
• Jerrell says, "We were all waiting to see who was going to get the Hedda Lettuce in this challenge...and it looks like it's Leanne."  Haha, I love that "Hedda Lettuce" is the designers' code word for "challenging, unreasonable client."  And poor Leanne has to totally rework her elementary school teacher dress into a "sexy teacher dress."
• While the girls are in, Tim comes in for a gather-round.  Suede asks what I'm thinking - are they going to have to make something for the moms in 15 minutes?!  Ahh, no.  In walks Jeanie Syfu from Tresemme to help with the hair makeovers.  No one cries a la What Not to Wear.
• Kenley says, "I never really change anything for Tim" after refusing to hem her tulle.  Prediction:  She will be in the bottom three, and the judges will not like her exposed tulle.  I am SO over her.
• Runway time with guest judge Cynthia Rowley:  Joe's design (girl without a job) is a boring pinstripe suit.  Leanne's elementary school teacher dress is cute, navy and purple, with a little cropped jacket.  Jerell lucked out to design for an artist's assistant, and she has a cool bronze and black dress with a long cardigan.  Korto's dress for a biologist was a boring green print dress with khaki jacket.  Suede's photographer wears a Pucci-esque purple dress with an ugly brown jacket.  Kenley's design (for a buyer) looks like everything else she's ever made - '50's style dress with a vest. 
• WHAT IS ON JERELL'S HEAD?!  A feather beret?!  A wig?  OMG.
• Deliberation:  Kenley, Korto and Jerell are hits, while Leanne, Joe and Suede are not.  As always, what do I know.
• Results:  Jerell wins, Kenley looks like she's going to stab someone.  It's down to Joe and Suede, and Joe gets the boot.  I'm surprised, but I have no doubt that Suede will go next week.  As in, 45 minutes from now.  On we go!

Week 11:  "She really looks like a big fat poser."

• I normally skim over the "pick your models" part, but Leanne totally snatched up poor Suede's model!  I kinda feel bad for the guy, despite his first person thing that's so annoying.
• The challenge:  Since we're close to the end, the producers must have decided to fit in every other idea they had left into one challenge.  SO - the designers are a) designing for each other - and they do NOT look happy about it, and b) creating looks inspired by certain assigned musical genres.  This is just like the zodiac sign challenge, and I think it's kind of lame.  I also think that whoever designs for Leanne (which happens to be my least fav girl Kenley) has an advantage, since she's the only modely waify girl.  Oh my, this is going to be interesting.
• Kenley is designing a hip-hop outfit for Leanne, so dish rag Leanne decides to do a little rap.  She is going to be humiliated when she watches that on playback.  
• In the worst mismatch of all, Leanne is designing a country outfit for Korto.  Sigh.  (Although Korto's designing a punk outfit for Suede, that might be worse.  Poor Korto!)
• At Mood, Kenley buys a bright '50's floral print - for hip hop?!  She is becoming so one-dimensional.  Please get her off of my show.  Jerell and Korto just nod their heads at her and laugh behind her back about how non-hip hop her outfit is.
• Kenley tries on Jerell's pop star outfit...it is a tight, short, fish net outfit...this will either win or send him straight home.  The designers gather round to watch her model.  I think they want her to train wreck.
• Speaking of train wrecks, Kenley gets into it with Tim and is super rude.  He is having NONE OF IT, though, and I love Tim Gunn now more than ever.  "What does Tim know about hip hop anyway?"  Well, Kenley, probably not much.  But he knows more about design than you ever will.  Seriously?!  Ridic.
• Runway time:  OMG this is the best. runway. show. ever.  Leanne's country design for Korto is a magenta top with black skirt.  Korto looks fierce.  Jerell's design for Kenley is totally Britney Spears...short skirt with fishnet top.  Kenley's hip hop outfit on Leanne is awful ("She really looks like a big fat poser."), partially because Leanne is such a bad model, and partially because the outfit sucks.  Kenley's punk outfit for Suede totally works - black top and printed tight pants.  Suede ROCKS it.  Suede's rock and roll outfit for Jerell also works - a ripped black vest and tight black pants.  Plus, he looks like a real model. 
• Deliberations:  Korto's punk outfit on Suede totally works.  Suede's rock and roll outfit on Jerell is not bad, but just looks like "Jerell" or ("rock and roll goin' to the grocery store," as Michael said.)  Jerell's pop dress on Kenley is a hit.  Kenley's hip hop outfit on Leanne is, as expected, a disaster and not hip hop at all.  (And she is, as expected, bizarrely defensive.)  And Leanne's country outfit on Korto is mixed, so-so.
• Results:  Korto wins (yay!), and, as predicted, Suede is out.  Auf wiedersehen!

"What do you say when a legend steps down?"

On what will always be marked as a sad day for the Bulldogs, Larry Munson announced his retirement on Monday.  (See full story here.)

Georgia’s legendary play-by-play radio announcer, who will turn 86 this weekend, decided to hang up his microphone on Monday after 43 seasons of calling the Bulldogs’ football games...

“What do you say when a legend steps down?” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to be associated with him. It’s been an honor to work with one of the legendary college football broadcasters of all time. I hope he enjoys his full retirement and wish him the very best in all the things he decides to do.”

The best thing about Munson, besides his distinct gravely voice?  He never once tried to be unbiased and was instead our most devoted fan.  His love for the Dawgs resounded through his voice - whether it was exclaiming, "My God, a freshman!" or commanding Lindsay Scott, "Run Lindsay!" - and listening to a Georgia game on the radio will never be the same.

I haven't been to a game since the '06 season, but seeing the stadium, hearing that trumpet from the South corner, and, most poignantly today, hearing Munson's voice, will never cease to send chills down my spine and a lump to my throat...

"Glory, glory to old Georgia!  Heroes have graced the field before you. Men with hearts, bodies and minds for which the entire Bulldog Nation can be justifiably proud. The tradition of unbridled excellence demonstrated by these individuals and many others spans more than a full century.

 
And now a new breed of Bulldog stands ready to take the field of battle. To assume the reigns of the Georgia program. To continue that tradition. Understanding that there is no tradition more worthy of envy. No institution worthy of such loyalty as The University of Georgia. 

As we prepare for another meeting between the hedges let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words. Two simple words that express the sentiments of the entire Bulldawg Nation - GO DAWGS!"

Two reasons why I love my coworkers

1. Puppets

They say that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. So when Bethany and I had a partition mysteriously appear between our desks yesterday, we decided to turn it into something a little more entertaining. Like a puppet stage.

2. Free shipping & handling

When my coworker Jaime mentioned that she had pre-ordered the Sex and the City DVD, I immediately hopped to Amazon to order mine. Then Bethany decided she wanted one, too. And LJ. And Lauren. And ultimately, Brian (for his girlfriend...allegedly). As a result, well, let's just say we qualified for Free Super Saver Shipping and will be receiving a box of five SATC DVD's at the office next week.

And this is why I love my coworkers.

Wednesday thoughts

I have a few thoughts that I would like to share with you today:

1.  If you haven't already downloaded the newest version of iTunes and tried out the Genius feature, I highly recommend it.  Genius is kind of an iTunes meets Pandora love fest that makes for super great, super easy playlists.  It's awesome.

2.  Just making sure you've watched the SNL video of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton.  Sarah/Hillary/lover/hater, it's just so funny.  

"And I can see Russia from my house!"

3.  Speaking of Sarah Palin, I bought this shirt from Urban Outfitters...I'm just waiting to get thrown under a subway line here in New York:

4.  Total non sequitur, but I am currently obsessed with Newman's Own Pineapple Salsa.  Just throwin' it out there in case you're going to the store tomorrow.

5. Have you made a Wordle yet? Here's another one I made, using the lyrics from Corey Smith's "Every Dog Has Its Day:"

6.  ...This Wordle brought to you by Knowshon.

Babes in Guyland

Before I begin, let me make my intentions clear:  This is not, I repeat NOT, my way of finding a date via my blog, nor is it meant to stir or ignite any type of controversy, particularly among my male readers.  

(Do I have male readers?)

This is, however, a direct result of my duty as a journalist.  OK so I'm not actually a journalist, but if you're reading, then I'm reporting.  And if I have any insight into the life of a 20-something single girl living and dating in New York City, then I'm gonna dish it.

First up, we have "Guyland" (full Newsweek article here).  This article circulated through my roommates and friends...some found it depressing, others interesting, almost all true.  We open with the following paragraph - 

It's "booze o'clock" on a recent Thursday night on New York's Fire Island—a rolling, inexact hour when 10 vacationing guys decide to kick off their nightly binge. Between tequila shots and pulls of beer, the sun-baked twentysomethings roar on the deck of their rented beach house, sounding the depths of maledom: sexual conquests, mastery of fire ("I'll grill that potato salad") and escape from the monotony of girlfriends and work. "I like starting things," says one guy, as if to sum up his generation. "Then it gets boring."

Key takeaways from Paragraph 1:  20-something guys like to a) travel in packs, b) drink beer and grill, and c) start things that they do not want to finish.  I just restate the facts.  Moving on...

"What used to be regressive weekends are now whole years in the lives of some guys," Kimmel tells Newsweek. In almost 400 interviews with mainly white, college-educated twentysomethings, he found that the lockstep march to manhood is often interrupted by a debauched and decadelong odyssey, in which youths buddy together in search of new ways to feel like men. Actually, it's more like all the old ways—drinking, smoking, kidding, carousing—turned up a notch in a world where adolescent demonstrations of manhood have replaced the real thing: responsibility."

Summary from P2:  White, 20-something, college-educated guys do not equal "responsibility."  The article then goes on to tell us that said men have a "bad attitude about marriage" and are "downwardly mobile" and endlessly adolescent." 

Yikes.

We follow "Guyland" up with "Guys are Few in the Pews," courtesy of USA Today (full article here) and relevant to church-going gals like myself.  To sum it up, 

Women outnumber men in attendance in every major Christian denomination, and they are 20% to 25% more likely to attend worship at least weekly.

Yeah, that sums the whole thing up.

So.  The million dollar question - What now?  What does this mean for 20-something single girls living and dating in New York City, which is exactly what many of my friends and I are?  How does one read articles like these and not feel a bit...disheartened?  I am nothing if not an optimist, but the cold hard facts from two of the most widely-read publications in the country don't exactly leave me feeling jazzed about my chances of meeting Prince Charming next Friday night or, for that matter, Sunday morning.

I don't have any answers.  I'm just feeding you something to munch on while I try to figure this whole thing out.  Thoughts, answers and, as always, comments welcome...

Labor Day Weekend, Part II

As promised, I'm back with Part Deux of Labor Day weekend (ie The Three (and a 1/2) Day Weekend)...

After a joyous 0.5 day last Friday, filled with Shroom burgers and sing-alongs, my roommates and I prepared for a little trip to the - drumroll please - Jersey Shore.  We were not quite sure what to expect, but we knew that we had a safe place to stay that was five minutes from the train station and on the beach, so we were all in.  

Our journey started with an early morning trip to Penn Station.  I have traveled in and out of Penn Station many a times, and for some reason, no matter how much time I plan ahead for, I am always sprinting down the stairs, running through the Dunkin' Donuts line to get coffee and bolting to the track.  Leave 1 hour ahead, leave 10 minutes, it doesn't matter; sprinting is always involved.  This trip was of courrse no exception.

Once we made it to our train, we settled into our seats and enjoyed the scenic ride.  After a relatively uneventful hour and a half train ride, we started to get the feeling that we were close to our station, Long Branch.  We asked the conductor, counted out our stops, and prepared to disembark.  We were ON TOP of things.  So you can imagine our surprise when we looked out the window and saw trains on either side.  "Hmm," I said, "It looks like we're in a train parking lot!"  As we sat and waited for the train to get moving, the little conductor lady came through, looked at us, and said, "Why are you still on the train?  You were supposed to get off at the last station.  That was the last stop!  You're in a train yard!"  Yikes.  That was unintentional.  But shouldn't they have told us to get off, um, when we were at the actual last stop?  Rather than in the train yard where there were no sidewalks and trains on both sides?!  We felt like total New Jersey Transit failures.

Lucky for us, though, the train turned around and went back to the station (a mere 50 yards or so) within 10 minutes, so we didn't spend too much time sitting in the train parking lot.  Once we arrived, my sweet friend Lauren picked us up to bring us groceries and take us to our home away from home.  We piled in the Volvo with our Vera Bradley bags and weekend snacks and headed to what we lovingly called "The Roach Motel."  I should mention that it wasn't actually a roach motel.  It was actually a motel, though, complete with a flickering neon "Vacancy" sign reminiscent of a bad horror movie.  We felt safe, though, so we checked in and headed to our room.

After dropping off our stuff and plopping on the bed (which kind of sprung around like an unintentional trampoline sandwich), we headed right for the beach.  It was a cloudy morning, but the clouds gave way to a beautiful sunny afternoon.  We enjoyed laying out and getting one last zap of sun before the cold attacked.

At night, we walked over to Pier Village, a charming little area with restaurants and shopping.  We ate, got gelato (Tony Soprano himself had visited this little cafe - it doesn't get much more Jersey than that!) and retired for a peaceful night at the motel.  

The next morning, we got up early and did a little more exploring.  Emily and I visited Turning Point, where we drank our coffee, read the Sunday Times and looked out the window at the beach.  We then spent the remainder of the day on Sunday laying out and enjoying the sun.  I must say, I was quite impressed with the Shore...it was beautiful.  We each delved into our books - LA and I the same one - and hardly moved all day.  Hannah even read Twilight (the vampire book that is quite a teen sensation) in one day!  

Saturday night we headed back to Pier Village for dinner and, obviously, more gelato, and when we were done with our adventures we headed back to our humble abode.  Monday made for a lovely labor-less Labor Day, spent relaxing one last time on the beach and then packing up and heading back to the city.  This time, though, we got off at the right station rather than winding up in the train yard.  :)

"She's kind of like voodoo princess in hell."

In case you are unaware (which, if you have any interest in reading my Project Runway posts, I would not imagine that you are), this week is New York Spring Fashion Week.  Fashion Week is THE week, with stars and quasi-stars gathering on folding chairs in circus tents to watch crazy clothes parade down a runway.  All of the biggest names in the industry are here in the city, galavanting around Bryant Park.  Well, I assume they're galavanting.  I have no idea because I haven't gone near Bryant Park all week and will not be attending any fashion shows.  (Womp, womp.)

Nevertheless, Fashion Week also marks the finale of Project Runway...except that, according to my calculations, there are still 8 contestants left.  The Project Runway shows are scheduled for Friday morning at 9am, begging the question...who will show?  All 7 contestants that are left after tonight's episodes?!  Surely not.  I am baffled, but I will leave the mystery solving up to Bravo.  

And with that, we move on to tonight's episode...

Heidi brings out "special guests," and it's...the other designers who have been eliminated!  Something about not burning bridges is floating around my mind.  The challenge will be for teams of two to design an avant garde look (read: high fashion freak show time!).  Tim gives the designers an additional piece of direction - their avant garde look must be inspired by one of the team members' astrological sign.  Great, let's make this challenge as weird and neener-neener as possible.  (Neener-neener = me making a weird space face and wiggling my fingers.)

I am 9 minutes into the episode and have decided that I want Team Terri and Keith to lose and, thus, Terri to go home.  Terri is way too cocky, and Keith whines, "Just be gentle with me right now, okay?  I'm kinda fragile."

Tim arrives to critique.  He has no clue what Blaine and Stella are doing.  Jerell and Jennifer are using "school marm" plaid fabric that will either win or crash and burn.  LeAnne and Emily are making an exoskeleton.  Kenley is really overconfident about her and Wesley's design, and Tim thinks is costumey.  Terri and Keith are using fur for the Leo lion...way to be literal.  They have a spat in front of Tim (awkward!) and go back and forth, culminating in Terri saying, "DON'T call me darlin'." 

Heidi sends the designers a note telling them that they will be showing at a party for special guests at the AMNH's Rose Center at 8p.  Oh, and TWO designers will be going home this week.  (One step toward solving the Fashion Week show mystery!)

At the party, we meet the "special guests" - contestants and winners from past seasons of Project Runway, including Christian, Daniel, Jay and others.  For the challenge, the designers, models and judges will mingle at the museum; the winner will be announced the next day at the runway show.  At the party, Kenley and Heidi get in a fight about where her model's boobs are.  LOL.  (Well, laughing/ afraid...Is Kenley really going to fight with Heidi freakin' Klum, Victoria's Secret model extraordinaire, about boobs?!)  Heidi says to Blaine, "I don't find the color very attractive.  It reminds me of old women's underwear."  Blaine, "Granny panties?"  Bhahaha. 

Runway time:

• (Tragically, I just realized I've been spelling Blayne's name wrong all season.)  BlaYne's design is a beige gathered unitard with exploding red and blue tissue paper-looking fabric on the side and between the legs.  ICK.  
• Kenley's design is huge purple plaid sleeves, black bustier, and floral skirt.  I really hate this one, too.
• Terri - gold and red sparkly Cleopatra costume.  No, no, no.
• Korto's is flowy blue and purple, looks exactly like Aquarius.  Better than the others, for sure.
• Joe's design is my fav so far...bronzy and fiery dress.
• Jerell - gold sequin top and slim plaid skirt.  I like it a lot more than I expected.
• LeAnne's exoskeleton dress.  I think I like it, too - red and black with cool geometric design.
• Suede's design is a navy and periwinkle flowy cape.  Ehhh.

Heidi places Jerell, Korto, Joe and LeAnne in the top, and Terri, Suede, Kenley and Blayne in the bottom.  Hey, I think I judged well this week!

Nina calls Blayne's design the "one-legged monster," and Michael exclaims, "She is pooping fabric!"  LOL.  Terri's design is really hideous, and she and Keith duke it out.  After a wrist-slap from Michael, he tells them, "She's kind of like voodoo princess in hell."  Excellent description, if I do say so myself, but Terri is, of course, shocked to hear it.  Buh-bye.  Nina thinks Kenley's garment has nothing to do with the zodiac, and Kenley fights to the death.  When Michael tells her that it looks Dolce and Gabbana on the bottom, Kenley snaps back, "I don't look at collections."  Nina appropriately rolls her eyes.  Suede's design is too "expected," which is anti-avant garde.  

I'm sending Blayne and Terri home; no idea on the winner.  Results...Jerell wins.  I'm happy for him!  On to the losers...yep, Blayne and Terri are gone.  No love lost from me.

Auf wiedersehen!  (And in honor of Blaynalicious, Holla Atcha Boy!)

Just one New York

I recently discovered Wordle.  Wordle a fascinating little site that is, to say the least, incredibly addictive... particularly for word nerds like me and David Cook.

The premise of Wordle, according to the site, is that it's "a toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text."

I know it doesn't sound that exciting, but it is!  Just for fun, I copied over all of the text from my "I heart NY" posts...below is the Wordle that was generated (you can click it for a larger view). 

I love my Wordle.  I love that, just after "New York," "love" is the next most-used word.  And I really love to imagine that as Worldle generated the image, it envisioned the large, most-used cluster of words on the left as reading,

"even if it's your first time, 

you know 

that there is just one New York."

More Wordles to come.  :)

Labor Day weekend, Part I

Last weekend was the glorious phenomenon that is known as the Three Day Weekend.  Ahhh...it just rolls off the tongue, no?  Kind of like I Got a Seat on the Train This Morning or Free Refills.  Yes, the Three (actually in this case, Three and a 1/2) Day weekend is one of the little things in life that just gives you a little pick-me-up and makes your days a tid bit sweeter.

Such was Labor Day weekend.  My friends and I kicked it off with a great start by getting out of the office at 1p on Friday.  Bethany, Lauren, Lindsay Ann, Jeramey and I then headed down to Madison Square Park to enjoy the glory that is Shake Shack.  (It should be noted that Shake Shack is one of New York's finest meals, with the Shroom Burger topping my list of favorite meals EVER.)  After waiting in line for an hour and a half, we enjoyed our burgers and shakes under the last days of summer sun.  

Once we were fat and happy, we visited the other side of the park for a US Open screening in the middle of Madison Square Park.  A large screen and bleachers were set up, the Djokovic match was playing, and American Express had little stadium chairs available for rental.  (Hill Country BBQ was also catering, but heaven help us if we went for seconds.)  We nestled in the grass for a lovely afternoon of tennis and sunshine.  It really was the perfect way to spend the day, minus the fact that I have poor balance, and thus could not figure out for the life of me how to stay sitting upright in the little stadium chair.   I was still content, though, so I bobbled around awkwardly and watched the match, at least until it started raining.

Fortunately for us, the rain came at just the right time, as we were moving on to the movie theater.  What did we see, you might ask?  The Dark Knight?  Tropic Thunder?  House Bunny?  All excellent guesses, but no.  Instead, six friends and I packed out a row at Lincoln Square for Mamma Mia!:  The Sing-Along Edition.  SING-ALONG!  How can you not love that idea?!  It's a movie + a musical + karaoke words bopping along the bottom of the screen.  Seriously, if I could invent a movie-going experience to sum up myself, this would be it.

So there we were, filling up a row and surrounded by equally crazy women and a fair share of gay men, ready and waiting to sing along to 'Honey, Honey,' 'Winner Takes it All,' and, of course, 'Dancing Queen.'  The lingering question remained, though...would people actually sing?  I obviously knew I would (I basically sang and danced throughout the whole non-sing-along version), but the rest of the crowd was a wild card.  That is until the first line popped up on screen:  'I have a dream, a song to sing...'  OH YES, the entire theater erupted into song, and it was amazing.  In fact, I'm fairly certain that the audience chorus actually enhanced any song where Pierce Brosnan was singing.  It was nothing short of glorious.

And so went my beautiful 0.5 day of the even more beautiful Three (and a 1/2) Day Weekend.  Stay tuned for tales from Part 2.  (Teaser:  It involved a train yard in New Jersey, a motel and vampires...)

"I want to marry Mary Kate. Who doesn't?"

Ratbones.  Let's get started.

Stella is preparing coffee in a black bikini top/bra, and she has no idea how to make coffee.  Suede misses Keith because now he's with a new roommate.  Off to the runway...

New challenge time, and out comes a "special guest"...dun dun dun, it's Tim Gunn!  ("Special" guest?!)  Tim tells the designers that they will be designing an outfit for a fashion legend and takes them down to the Meatpacking District.  Blaine:  "My first thought about the fashion legend is Mary Kate Olsen.  I want every challenge to be involved with Mary Kate.  I want to marry Mary Kate.  Who doesn't?  Besides Tim Gunn."  Bhahaha.  Tim tells the designers that they are in the offices of a "FASHION LEGEND" and down the grand staircase walks...Diane von Furstenberg!  She evokes strong emotions in the designers (Kenley cries...and cries), and the designers look as if they've won Academy Awards for just being able to compete this week.  The challenge will be to design a look for Diane's fall collection that's inspired by Marlene Dietrich in "A Foreign Affair" (Berlin/ Shanghai/ spy/ femme fatale/ etc), and the winning look will be produced and sold to American Express card members.

After going crazy in Diane's printed fabric warehouse (and more tears from Kenley on how much she wants to win this challenge), the designers get to work.  Terri LOVES her own pants, but the other designers think it looks like what she does every week.  Everyone seems to be doing layered jacket looks, which could be boring.  LeAnne has an incredibly awkward sequence where she creeps around like a spy.  (Have I mentioned that I love spies?!)  Kenley's getting flack for making one dress instead of multiple layered pieces.  And she's still crying.

After a lot of frenzy getting ready for the runway, everyone gets ready to go.  Pause for the Bravo interstitial asking viewers what Heidi's spy name should be - a) Venus Schnitzel, b) Mata Hottie or c) Mrs Stiletto.  WHAT LAME SPY NAMES.  I, on the other hand, go by Jack Bauer while on spy missions, while Bethany is Sydney Bristow and Lauren is Julia Childs.  These are great spy names.  But I digress...

Runway time.  Judges this week are Michael Kors, Fern Mallis, SVP, IMG Fashion (who we learn puts together the entire show at Bryant Park), and of course Diane von Furstenberg.  Where's Nina Garrrrrcia?

• Joe - Shanghai look...orange top with a big hole in the back, black skirt and hot pink sash.  Sparkly, hooded vest.  Poorly made.  So-so.
  
• LeAnne - Beautiful purple evening gown with little gray coat
  
• Terri - Ruffled floral top, grey pants, black coat
  
• Jerell - Gold top, black jacket and skirt and royal blue patent belt
  
• Korto - Black and white long patterned dress with hint of lime green; black jacket
  
• Blaine - Funky patterned clown capri pants, colorful ruffly top and black jacket
  
• Suede - Black and creme patterned dress with little vest
  
• Stella - Khaki vest and pants with black cape...ehh
  
• Kenley - Shanghai patterned dress with high collar and belt; no jacket.  Pretty.
  

I have to say - as far as beautiful, wearable clothes from every designer go, this challenge is my favorite from any Project Runway season.  

  

Top/bottom 3 - Joe, LeAnne, Korto, Suede, Stella and Kenley.  Hmm, this is very tough.  I'll put LeAnne, Korto and Kenley in the top; Joe, Suede and Stella in the bottom.  Tricky, though.

The judges like Korto's outfit, particularly her jacket.  Joe's, though, does not go over so well, and Michael Kors thinks it looks like it should be in a "What was she thinking?" section of a magazine.  Kenley brags that she "pretty much nailed it," but the judges are on the fence.  They like the dress, but Heidi doesn't think it goes with the layered looks in Diane's Look Book and thinks it looks easy.  When Kenley tells Diane, "I thought that you needed just a dress" (gutsy!), Diane replies, "All right, well I'm glad you figured it out."  Haha.  All in all, though, Kenley's goes over well.  Stella's is not well-made and her cape looks like Dracula, not 1940's.  LeAnne's is a total hit, but Diane thinks Suede's is unflattering and Michael asks, "Did she get dressed in the dark?"  Oh my...

Prediction:  I think LeAnne will win and Suede will go home.  Pause for an American Express/ Diane von Furstenberg commercial where the model is wearing a long gown that looks just like Korto's design.  Actually, I have it paused right now and am fairly certain that it's the exact same fabric.  Anyone else notice this?  Second quick pause to note that "Venus Schnitzel" won for Heidi's spy name.  Lame-O.

Results time...LeAnne wins!  She's on a roll, two weeks in a row.  Great, now Kenley's going to cry some more.  Now for the loser...Stella!!!!!!  Leather Face is out, and we can only assume she will return to boyfriend Ratbones.

Auf wiedersehen!

The end of summer

"A simple trip to the beach can be all it takes to clear our heads and open our hearts, and write a new ending to an old story.  There are those who got burned by the heat...while there are others who want each moment to last forever.  But everyone can agree on one thing - tans fade, highlights go dark, and we all get sick of sand in our shoes.  But the end of summer is the beginning of a new season, so we find ourselves looking to the future.  

You ain't seen nothin' yet."

Gossip Girl