Come On!

Unfortunately Project Runway will not show it's hopefully-unchanged face on it's new home channel Lifetime until January.

Where's the love?

PR Dish - The Mouse That Roared

Huh.

Oh, I admit Leanne's final collection was outstanding and she had a handful of shining moments throughout the season, but if you'd asked me at the beginning if I thought she had it in her, I would have answered, "Who's Leanne?"

Here in my living room there was a great sigh of relief when Kenley was auf'd. I would have puked or worse if she won. I don't care how skilled or imaginative or spirited she is; I didn't like her collection except for 2 outfits. Blech.

Korto, on the other hand...when it was down to the final two, Korto and Leanne, on the runway, I was really rooting for her. I liked her collection much better on the runway than I did looking at the pictures, and I thought the tasteful ethnic infusion was more refreshing than Leanne's wave structures, as cool as those were, too.

But if Korto had won I would very likely be lamenting on Leanne's behalf. I really loved both of their work at the final show. I just like Korto better personally and wanted her to win. I was amazed when the judges all claimed they were positive of their decision - no doubt whatsoever. They had reservations about everyone so there must be some doubt.

In other commentary, I noticed Shannon from Make Me a Supermodel in the model tryouts but I don't think anyone picked her. Bummer, I used to like her. I would have liked to see Holly in there somewhere. Also, I'm SUH-ICK of that stupid airport security Bluefly.com commercial they show every break.

Now I'm gonna cry myself to sleep (on my gigantic pillah) every Wednesday night until PR comes back in my life...or at least until Top Chef NYC starts in a few weeks.

PR Dish - Wedding Aisle Runway

The Challenge: The four remaining challengers return to NYC with their collections including a wedding dress. When they arrive they receive a final challenge - to make a bridesmaid dress to go with the wedding dress. Those two dresses will be shown and judged to determine who moves on to compete at Bryant Park.

The Winner: No one was exactly named, but Leanne and Kenley were the judges' favorites. Really I think everyone loved Leanne's the most and I did, too. Wow - stunning!

The Loser: It was close between Jerrell and Korto. Honestly I thought Korto's wedding set was worse but I was more excited about her collection so I really wanted her to stay. Jerrell is out.

The Dish:

• Um, so everyone took Tim to meet their friends/family except Kenley...she doesn't have any?At least Kenley apologized when she got there to ease the tension a little.
• Like I said, Leanne's wedding set was amazing. She's right, too - Tia is an asset.
• Jerrell's wedding dress was heinous but I really liked his bridesmaid's dress - guess I'm matronly. Poor Korto - her collection looks interesting but that wedding dress was the worst ever and the bridesmaid was even worse.
• Kors said what? Kenley's bridesmaid dress is the most adorable dress he's ever seen? I thought it was kind of boring.
  
• OK, I've been holding off, but guess I'll go online and look closely at the full collections now. It's here - the final runway show!
• Who thought up Project Runway in the first place? Genius.

PR Dish - And Then There Were Three (or so we thought)

Okay. Now we are getting somewhere. Bryant Park to be exact. Almost.

The Challenge: Design an evening gown inspired by nature (from the NY Botanical Garden.)

The Winner: Jerrell

The Loser: No one. All four get to go home and create collections, letting thier hope build up, then come back and compete for the three Bryant Park spaces. I think that's just too cruel, but I am looking forward to seeing the collections.

The Dish (written while watching):

• It's ridiculous for Kenley to blame Leanne for her screwed up hip hop outfit last time. Yes, Leanne's walk was goofy but that is NOT what put it in the bottom. What a brat.
• What a fabulous challenge - it reminds me of the final four challenge last year, taking inspiration from art in the museum. I can't wait to see what they create.
• When Kenley was walking around the garden talking about bright colors I'm just waiting to see what kind of obnoxious 80's print fabric she picks out. She did choose a great photo - they all did, really - and she especially lucked out with the fabrics she found.
• I love everyone's color palette. How can you go wrong with a challenge inspired by flowers? Well, perhaps I speak too soon...
• I'm actually very, very sick of Leanne's plaid shirts!!! Oh, great, and then the next day Kenley wears one. I read somewhere plaid is in this season but it's not in for me.
• That makeup guy is amazing. When are we having him over for a girls' makeover night?
• OK, I guess it's only fair Kenley gets her tulle.
• Did this season go waaaaaay faster than the others?
• Geez, it's nice to see Heidi in pants for once. And when is Michael Kors going to wear that hot pink t-shirt I know he's hiding in his closet?
• Though heinous in other ways, Kenley's dress did fit like a glove.
• I didn't think Korto's dress was as bad as the judges did. I thought the sillouette was kind of pretty.
• I didn't have a favorite this time. I didn't really love any of them.

Next week: Tim visits the designers at their homes. They return to New York to show the judges their collections and somebody gets kicked out before Bryant Park.

The Good Stuff - September

Grown-up Good Stuff

Penzeys Spices - Self-description "unmatched quality, abundant variety, and love of everyone who cooks" nails Penzeys on the head. I think in our family Dave discovered this company first, then had Mom & Dad hit an Ohio store on a drive out west once. Quickly the whole family became fans, and our spice cupboards brim with yellow-labeled jars of goodness. Recently a store opened up in Falls Church, about 15 minutes from me, so we've gone over a few times. For every spice or mix there is a smelling jar, and it was all I could do to not stick my tongue in the Vanilla Sugar jar. So I got my own. Other new favorites: Garden Salad Seasoning and Rogan Josh. Their catalog doubles as a cookbook, chock full of recipes (which can also be gotten online). To order a catalog, dial the 800 number. Too bad it's not scratch n' sniff.

TNT new series - I guess The Closer has been around for a few seasons, but we just started watching. I was afraid Kyra Sedgwick's character Brenda Leigh Johnson's thick southern accent would be too much to listen to, but she (Kyra) is so darn good at what she does that after a few minutes I was so engrossed I could have said, "What accent?" Yes, it's a cop show like many others, but a refresh from CSI and L&O with a touch of comic relief and fantastically well-written characters. New season starts in January. Of course while we watched The Closer, we caught commercials for TNT's unlimited number of new series, two of which seem worth checking out when they premier in the winter. In Leverage, Timothy Hutton, who I've loved since Ordinary People, leads a team of thieves, hackers and grifters who act as modern-day Robin Hoods, taking revenge against those who use power and wealth to victimize others. Trust Me stars Tom Cavanagh (of Ed) and Eric McCormack (of Will & Grace), two fabulous fellas who can do comedy and drama in the same breath. Don't really know anything else about it, but I'll be tuning in in January just based on that.

Ross Dress for Less - Stores like Ross, Marshalls and TJ Maxx are admittedly not the most shopping-with-kids-friendly of stores due to the required rummage factor. You have to go through them slowly, meticulously, to find just the thing. Only a notch or two above thrift stores in this respect, it is a form of bargain roulette. But if you've got the time and inclination to score an amazing deal, you have a good chance of finding one. The other night I made an evening grocery run, and on a whim stopped by Ross on the way home - you know, just to see. An hour later I walked out with a new coat, skirt, pants and sweater, all at substantially low prices. But my favorite brag finds were a pair of $70 Kenneth Cole shoes for me at a scant $23, and a pair of adorable metallic green Stride Rite sneakers in Hazel's next size for $12.99 (retail $48.) Thank you, thank you.

Dave's Birthday Gifts - As many of you know, I'm a gifty person. Got it from my mom. I tend to get very excited about the gifts I'm giving, often more excited than the person is who gets them. The only problem is that I sometimes over think a gift and thereby miss the mark. Very discouraging. But I recover quickly. Dave's birthday was Saturday (to get to know Dave better, see last years' birthday crossword puzzle) and I had fun choosing his gifts this year. They were: a set of four Knorks (who doesn't need this?) and 10 Bad Dates with DeNiro: a Book of Alternative Movie Lists. Ed and I had a great time reading lists to each other before sending it off to Dave. Wonder what the top 10 Christopher Walken line deliveries are? How about 10 great performances by otherwise lame actors? I encourage Dave to share some of the lists on his blog once in awhile - great fun for movie lovers. And he could even make his own - how about the 10 movies that will put Michelle to sleep the fastest?

Kashi TLC Pumpkin Spice Flax bars - Yum. I'm always on the look for a new portable adult snack so I don't have to eat the kids' goldfish or fruit snacks when we're out. These caught my eye a few weeks ago and I deemed them worth a try. Yum. Did I say delicious? I love them. Can't find them at your store? You can order them online. They don't break the bank either - 3 Points for a 2-bar pack.


Kid Good Stuff

Fawn & Forest - I don't usually click on the ad's on Design Mom's sidebar. I already know they will lead me to heart wrenchingly charming but overpriced items I will want, so I save myself the trouble. Usually. But sometimes I click. I found too many things I liked on Fawn & Forest not to mention. I mean, I can mention them, right? That doesn't cost the arm and half leg I'm tempted to spend. A few favorites: Matryoshka doll graphic tee, transport baby quilt, elly nelly wall decals (but do you think I would EVER make up my mind?), this alphabet poster, and this cuckoo clock.

Bailey Goes Camping by Kevin Henkes - Super sweet story about Bailey the baby rabbit whose older brother and sister go off to camp. He's too little to go and becomes inconsolable after they leave, bemoaning all the fun things about camping that he is missing out on. Mom to the rescue! She and Dad recreate all the fun of camping right at home. Especially poignant for us because of our recent camping-at-home experience in Brooklyn after the movers came, including toasting marshmallows on the stove, which Bailey also does.

Apples, Apples by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld - Just a simple board book about apple picking, but with rhyming lines full of bear family fun I adore it and so do our girls.

"We run to see the orchard, up and down the rows of trees;
where treasures red and golden hide among the leaves."

It somehow communicates the apple-y feeling of fall so this is a good month to recommend it.

American Apparel shirts - I give full credit to Corey for getting me hooked on American Apparel baby clothes. She would buy tank tops and t-shirts and cutely embellish with cap sleeves, buttons or appliquees. Over the years I have bought AA t-shirts, onesies and pants and always loved them for good design, good fit, simplicity and outstanding color selection. Love the lap shoulders because my kids apparently have large head and there's nothing more infuriating than buying a shirt only for it not to fit over the head. With fall coming up and Ginger short on long sleeved shirts, I bought a couple from the cheapest Amazon merchant and added a little something from the scrap bag.

This month with preschool starting and our new dedication to holding Family Home Evening, the girls have been really into...

Sock Puppets....
and Stone Soup!

PR Dish - A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Screwed

The Challenge: Creating a look for each other inspired by different musical genres. What a FABULOUS challenge! The lineup:

• Leanne designs a country look for Korto (super tough one)
• Korto designs a punk look for Suede (probably the easiest, relatively)
• Suede designs a rock n' roll look for Jerrell
• Jerrell designs a pop look for Kenley
• Kenley designs a hip hop look for Leanne (clueless!)

Tim says, "This will be the most unique show we've ever seen on the Runway."

The Winner: Korto

I don't disagree but Jerrell could just as easily have won:

The Loser: Suede

The Dish (written while watching):

• Enough with the snarkiness to Tim, Kenley! And to Nina. I want to smack your face. But that aside, I'm pretty sure nothing you are doing is hip hop. Not that I could do any better, but I'm not pretending to know everything.
• But in the end I did feel sorry for Kenley, having LL Cool J as the judge.
• Michael called the designs "spotty."
• "Jerrell looks like Jerrell."
• Korto looks "like a woman going out to eat ribs."
• I called it, Suede's out. Not that that was an amazing projection to get right, but still.
• Ooh, announcement: Top Chef New York coming soon! Yummy...
• OK folks, we're down to 4 - who's it gonna be? Korto, Jerrell for sure. Leanne or Kenley?

Next week: Drawing inspiration from nature. Everyone cries.

PR Dish - Time Capsule Transformation

The Challenge: A head-to-toe makeover for recent college graduates ready to enter the workforce (accompanied by their mothers with outdated tastes.)

The Winner (and my pick): Jerrell

The Loser (I agree): Joe

The Dish:

• Joe went up in my estimation a few notches with his astute observation: "The mother-daughter dynamic is the eighth wonder of the world." Then he went down again when I saw the chain he wears. He's just a little stuck in the 80's.
  
• I love how Leanne shut her client mom down on the animal prints. Absolutment non! (I write with my feet up on zebra print ottomans. Whatever, what am I trying to win?)
• It was kind of fun hearing about everyone's first jobs.
• Kenley's great mistake: "I never really change anything for Tim." Has she like never seen the last 4 seasons? And no, no, not a feather hairpiece on your client!
• Korto's dress was too short; otherwise pretty cute.
  
• Kenley's was NOT flattering on her client and made her look chubby where she's not. But at least she chose a good print for once. I enjoyed a secret satisfaction in seeing Kenley's face when Jerrell won.
• I think Suede's butt only got saved by his client's rocking modeling skills. And how bad Joe's suit was.
• Joe's out of his league at this point. I mean he did OK for awhile but he is out of touch and out of date.
• Jerrell is my new favorite personality. I want Bravo to have a contest (that I win) with the prize that you get to be Jerrell's client, just so I can high-five him and have him call me "Girl!"
• Korto is totally consistently contemporary, love her stuff.

Next Week: A "musical genre" challenge. LL Cool J guest judges. At least I know who that is for once. My guess is Suede is out next.

PR Dish - Signs

The Challenge: Create an avant-garde look inspired by the astrological sign of one of your team members. Two designers will be eliminated.

The Catch: The teams are not made up by pairing remaining contestants. Instead, each remaining contestant is paired with one of the eliminated contestants. Aagh! The whiners are all back!!! (Plus Emily and Jerry who I'm actually happy to see.) This is funny because I was just talking to Tona tonight about how she should start watching this season. She likes to jump in at about the middle when there are only the good designers left and not so many to keep track of. This way she gets the "best" of both worlds.

The Teams Who Deserved Each Other: Stella/Blayne, Terri/Keith

The Winner: Jerrell

Disco Mom's pick: Joe

The Losers: Blayne and Terri, imagine that!

The Dish:

• Keith needs to keep all opinions to himself (because there is an overabundance of proof he has terrible taste and questionable skills) and just do what Terri says. Oops, sorry, Keith, was that not gentle enough? I forgot how fragile you are right now.
• How is Kenley so confident with the 80's floral and plaid AGAIN? You must always, always listen to what Tim says, especially if he has doubts! It's as good as condemnation. Enough with the tulip skirts - I feel we have seen the extent of Kenley's range.
• Korto and Leanne seem to be the only ones left with consistent creativity.
• What. Was. Blayne. Thinking????! But of course I wonder that every episode. Is it an LA thing because I didn't usually get Jeffrey's stuff either.
• I didn't totally get Jerrell's outfit but I was digging the skirt seriously - I would love to see a whole collection from him. Looks like he's on his way.
• I liked how Joe's looked like molten lava when she walked, it really evoked fire and lava, which is what he was going for.
  

Seriously, is anyone watching Top Design? I've recorded it but not watched yet. Talk to me.

Next week: Helping re-invent college-aged women for entry into the working world. (Challenges with real-life clients are always full of stress and drama because regular people usually have bad taste and the designers are stuck between making something good and pleasing the client. Remember last season when Christian almost went home on the prom dress challenge? Or two years ago when Jeffrey almost bit it making a dress for Angela's mom? This should be a good one!)

PR Dish - Double Dish

I missed dishing last week because I got behind and didn't get the episode totally watched until Monday night. So I'll just briefly say: HALLELUJAH that Kieth is out! I was sooooo sick of his whining and blaming and excuses. And all his talk about how he "deserves" it more than anyone else. It's not about deserving, it's about earning, and he didn't have what it takes. And the pity party about how he doesn't have a lot of chances to get out of Utah, and this was his big chance and now it's gone. I have an idea, maybe he hasn't thought of it, how to get out of Utah. LEAVE UTAH. People do it all the time. An important lesson from this episode, one that has recurred throughout the seasons - if you're not true to yourself and design for some other purpose (like trying to make the judges happy), you're doomed.

As for the top designs in the challenge to make an innovative design from car parts, I truly admired all three and would have agreed with any of them winning. Korto is proving to consistently be my favorite designer, and maybe my favorite person, on the show, though Jerrell is good too. I was glad to see Leanne do something edgy and win for it. As for Stella and Blayne, well, it's just a matter of time. OK, on to this week.

The Challenge: Create a design for fashion legend Diane von Furstenberg's fall collection inspired by the movie "A Foreign Affair."

The Winner: Leanne
Buh-bye: Stella
Disco Mom's pick - tie between Leanne (above) and Korto:

The Dish:

• I almost wanted Kenley to win just because she wanted it so badly but she really should have made some kind of jacket to go with the dress. It was nice but seemed simple. I was surprised she was in the top 3.
• Nice knickers, Blayne.
• Poor Joe, thinking his was so great, to end up in the bottom two, but it was kind of tacky. Still don't understand his "aesthetic."
  
• Good for Leanne, winning with immunity. I really liked her last 2 looks so I hope she can keep it up and keep the bar high - I loved the ruffle down the back and wish I looked like that walking away. Shudder to think what I do look like. And Leanne's model is one of my favorites, she did a great job working the spystress thing on the catwalk.
• They made a big deal about Diane vF's famous use of prints so I thought Korto should have either won or at least been in the top 2 for doing the only good job with prints.
• My predictions for Bryant Park - OUT: Blayne, Joe, Suede, MAYBE IN IF SOMEONE CHOKES: Jerrell, Terri, PROBABLY IN: Kenley, Leanne, Korto. We shall see.

What did you think - please enlighten, Margaret!

Also, is anyone watching Top Design? I recorded it but haven't watched yet. I'm interested in interior design so curious what the challenges are like and what they produce, but don't know if I can handle two competition shows at once.

Next Week: Team challenge to create a garment around the astrological sign of their partner - kind of a stretch. Francisco Costa guest judges.

PR Dish - Queen Me

The Challenge: Create an over-the-top drag queen outfit that suits your client's persona.

The Winner: Joe

The Loser: Daniel
Disco Mom's Pick: Korto

The Dish:

• Well it's about time to say buh-bye to Daniel. He really was whiney, full of excuses and delusional. I'm tired of his pushed-up jacket sleeves and sweaty hair. But beyond all my reality-show-watcher snarkiness, he was also super clueless! He missed the mark on a couple of challenges by a long shot and he never took criticism, almost a sure indicator of being sent home sooner than later.
• I thought Jerrell's dress was just ok, but thought Blayne, with his saggy pterodactyl wings, deserved to be in the bottom three more.
• I liked Joe's OK, though Korto's seemed more drag, more difficult and more dramatic. But I was really happy for Joe when he won. He's like the only normal guy on there so I'm kind of rooting for him.
  
• It's amazing how versatile Stella and Blayne's unversatility are proving to be. So far they have managed to work black-leather-grommets and neon-LA-beach looks, respectively, into every challenge, and not gotten in too much trouble for it. I find that amazing. We're obviously still in the weeding-out process.
• I haven't heard Blayne complain about tanning in two episodes. Have the editors just cut it out or did he get to tan, what do you think?
• The challenges are starting to get more interesting, more challenging. It's excellent to see good designers thrown way out of their comfort zones and pull off something amazing. Harder to watch them bomb but still good TV.
• What am I missing? What did you all think of the episode?
  

Next Week: Making clothes out of car parts? Rachel Zoe, whoever that is, guest judges.

PR Dish - Brooke Asked For It

The Challenge: Design a day-to-night look for Brooke Shields' character on Lipstick Jungle. The winner doesn't get immunity but Brooke will wear it on the Jungle next season.

The Winner: Keith (& Kenley)

The Loser: Kelli

Disco Mom's Pick: Korto

The Dish:

• For once Stella and Blayne didn't annoy me! Probably because Stella didn't open her mouth, and Blayne finally got serious and a little pathetic when he almost went home. And he didn't mention tanning once.
• Of course Blayne's design was way off the mark but I'm confused why he didn't make like creased-front suit pant shorts - that automatically would have dressed his look way up; if he was set on shorts he could have even done like tuxedo pant shorts, I don't know.
• I didn't care for Keith's outfit except the drop-off sleeve idea is cool. I thought Jerrell would win because they all seemed to like his better. But I didn't like it.
  
• This being the first team challenge, it's a good lesson to note that the top two designs were from the teams that worked together harmoniously and whose final look was a true collaboration.
  
• I think with 11 designers left I finally know everyone's names, and I have a handle on Kenley's, Terri's, Korto's, Blayne's, and Stella's styles. Still a little unclear on Leanne's, Keith's, Daniel's, Jerrell's, Suede's and Joe's styles. I'm still waiting to see someone I think deserves to go to Bryant Park. It gets good when we get rid of a few more and the challenges are more...challenging.
• I have a headache.
  

Next Week: Designing for drag queens - how are they going to judge that since by its nature it's a challenge to be tacky? Kind of like last year's female wrestler challenge. Which of course the drag queen Chris won. RuPaul guest judges, no joke.

PR Dish - Ohno He Dih-ent!

The Challenge: Create an outfit for the U.S. Olympic Team to wear at the summer games opening ceremonies.

The Winner: Korto
The Loser: Jennifer

Disco Mom's Pick: Terri

The Dish:

• Not much dish this week. What can I say? The people who seemed to have strong love for the Olympics and/or the U.S. (as presented by the editors) were the ones who came out on top.
• I agreed wholly with the judges' top 3, only Terri was my favorite this time; Korto a close second.
• I was hoping Daniel and Jennifer would both be sent home and save everyone a whole episode of wasted time eliminating the other. Alas,....
• A few words about the middle picks: Stella - space age same darn leather zipper belly button vest, enough! Blayne - FYI the U.S. colors aren't pink, white and baby blue.
• Everyone else - get a clue what "sportswear" means, what athletes' bodies are like, and what year it is. I love a good retro design as much as anyone, but this just wasn't the challenge for it.
• There were just too, too many good quotes this week so let's play a little guessing game - can you remember who said each of the quotes below?

The Quotes:

1. "Jerell's dress is a bit Titanic - his heart will go on."
2. "Well if her sport is drinking, it's a good dress."
3. "A sistah gotta keep one eye open."
4. "There's too much drama because there's too many queens around."
5. "A lot of bikers watch the Olympics."
6. "I'm just a little confused by it all."
7. "I'm getting paler and paler and weaker and weaker."
8. "As you can see we're back to high school, and I just want to get to college."
9. "Oh, God - youth!" (in reference to Blayne not knowing what Sergeant Pepper refers to)
10. "It's totally wackadoodle."
11. "Blayne's becoming tanorexic."


Next Week: Designing for the high-power career woman. Brooke Shields guest judges. Michael Kors accuses someone of being slutty!

PR Dish - The Worst Review is No Review

The Challenge: Create a night-out look inspired by New York City.

The Winner: Kenley

The Loser: Emily

The Dish:

• Stella is an idiot and so is Blayne (aka Tango)
• Kieth with his no-no bandana and toilet paper shift should have been auf'd decades before Emily's Carmen Miranda or anybody else's anything
• Emily's downfall - Nina had "no comment"
• I probably liked Leanne's best but can hardly argue with any of the judges' top 3
• Terri is emerging as a force to be reckoned with
• Sandra B was surprisingly tame in her judgments
• Is is just me or are a lot of the models kind of ugly this season?
  
• I am waiting for Michael Kors to show up in a hot pink t-shirt one of these days, waiting patiently
• Lessons to be learned from this episode: 1) the judges like to be (pleasantly) surprised (Kenley), 2) the judges notice and like it when you take their advice (Leanne), 3) it's a fine, fine line between simple and boring (Emily & Jennifer)
  
• Kari's highlight moment: When Blayne bonked his head on a low-hanging light - gave me a good chuckle
• Kari's lament: Why oh why must we be tormented with so many annoying phrases? Leave Tim and his own charming language alone!

What did everyone else think?

Next Week: Something about the Olympics?

And for those of you more obsessed than me, see blogginprojectrunway.

PR Dish - Weak

It was a weak challenge. Use eco-friendly materials that you don't even get to pick out, your models do the shopping for you. I guess Mood only had a few "green" materials since so many people got the same stuff - they should have at least gone to some kind of specialty store to really sample the eco-friendly wares out there.

• I don't question the skill that went into Suede's concoction but I still didn't like it. I would have gone with Kenley for the win. Guess I'm not so in touch with young Hollywood.
• Good heavens, yes, Wesley was the right call for getting kicked off. It was hideous.
• Most of the dresses were entirely too short but I did like Blayne's pretty well and Daniel's might have been my favorite, tied with Kenley.
• Did anyone else notice Tim Gunn dropped the phrase "hot mess" when advising one of the contestants? It was subtle but I found it funny how Christian had gotten to the silver fox.
• Also has anyone else noticed Blayne is trying to be the new Christian by coining - and constantly repeating - an obnoxious adjective - LICIOUS! Sorry, Blayne, you've got all the annoying and none of the charm.
• Need we even mention Suede's self-reference in the third person? Stop trying so hard to stand out, people! Let your work speak for itself.
• I was wondering if, though I know it's all pre-recorded, there was any way we could vote to have Stella leave the show based on principle? She admits all she wants to do is leather - if you don't want to be there doing real fashion let someone else do it! For example, bring Jerry back!
  
• I appreciate that Bravo is advertising the new X-Files movie during Project Runway - they certainly know their audience.

Next week the challenge has something to do with NYC and Sandra Bernhardt guest judges - should be awesome and brutal.

PR Dish - Poor Jerry

Poor Jerry. Not that I defend his ensemble but how can you possibly, POSSIBLY, get any worse than Stella's trash bag nightmare? Besides, based on the designers' portfolios, I think they've got enough rock n' roll urban whatever and not enough class in the group; Jerry showed much promise in tipping the scales, having some of my favorite designs. Stella shows no such promise and would not have been missed. I would have loved to see more from Jerry. And besides that on a personal level Jerry promised to bring some normalcy to the group, balancing characters like Suede and Blayne. I bet that's why he was auf'd, darn producers.

On the upside, I agreed wholeheartedly with the judges top three - Daniel, Korto and Kelli, and would have agreed with whomever they chose as the winner. Kelli nabbed the immunity, but Korto's dress was awesome and Daniel's ingenuity showed some skill. Looking forward to more from all of them.

Here's another good review of the episode.

Next week they go green and Natalie Portman judges. You can see here what the challenges and who the guest judges will be for each episode.

Good Excuses

Good Excuse #1
We got cable last week and I've been wondering if it's worth it. I haven't sat down to watch a minute, being too busy or tired, and the girls have only watched minimal Noggin, there being so many other things to do like play in the yard or with the new dollhouse. Ed does love his ESPN so I've been waffling.

But then Corey emailed to ask if I watched Project Runway this week, and I TOTALLY FORGOT that Season 5 was starting in July! (And it's on Bravo, not Lifetime...not sure what happened there.) Luckily there's no need to fret because it's Bravo's favorite thing to repeat episodes 100 time each week so I can catch it tonight at 8pm. Will dish thereafter. So that's my good excuse for keeping cable, at least through October.

Good Excuse #2
My favorite recipe magazine, Cook's Country, has a regular feature called "Recipe Makeover", in which they take a favorite classic recipe and revamp it to be more healthy. The latest is peanut butter cookies, a worthy challenge considering they're all sugar and fat. The secret ingredient? Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter Crunch cereal. You pulse it in the food processor and use it with the flour. And you and your children and spouse eat it by the handful throughout the cookie making process. And then you realize that you forgot how delicious it is and thank the powers that be that you had a good excuse to buy it and have plenty leftover after you make the cookies, which also happen to be good.

Low-Fat Peanut Butter Cookies
(Makes 24)

1 1/2 cups Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter Crunch cereal
1/3 plus 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons reduced fat crunchy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Pulse cereal and 1/3 cup flour in food processor until finely ground. Add remaining flour, baking soda and salt and pulse to combine. With electric mixer on medium, beat softened butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in melted butter, egg whites, and vanilla until combined. Add flour mixture and mix on low until incorporated. Add water and mix until absorbed.
2. Roll 1 1/2 tablespoons dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and space 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press and crosshatch dough with fork. Bake until edges are lightly browned but centers still soft, 10-12 minutes. Cool 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.
Calories: 130
Fat: 4g

Don't Play Golf with Vadar

This week we've been watching the Star Wars movies on SPIKE, only tolerating the sickening repetition of Captain Morgan, Joe Dirt and KFC commercials because I heart Luke Skywalker and Ed wants to be captain of the Millennium Falcon. It became all worth it when, during The Empire Strikes Back tonight, we caught this commercial.
(Thanks, YouTube.)

Snapshot

Last Saturday, 6:07 pm. Perkins restaurant in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The girls are restless as we wait for our food.

Hazel: "Ginger, do you know where you were born?"

Ed and I exchange surprised looks.

Ed: "Where was Ginger born?"

Hazel: "In the hop-sital!"

Ed: "Right, the hospital in New York. Do you know where you were born?"

Hazel: "In Dol-dorado!"

Ed: "Yeah! Do you know where in Colorado, what city you were born in?"

Hazel: "Yeah. Past the street, under the bushes and through the woods!"

We gotta get this kid back to Boulder. And we gotta stop letting her watch Dora.

Project Runway Moving to Lifetime

Kind of a shock for Bravo's original - and best - reality competition show to leave, but hopefully they can "make it work." Lifetime must have sold their souls to get it - talk about a boost! Last time I watched that channel was China Beach reruns in high school.

What Diego is Really Teaching Your Preschooler

If you watch Noggin as relentlessly as we do then you are familiar with the screen that appears before each episode, describing all the developmentally appropriate "skills" your preschooler is gaining from the program. Hey, it's like preschool on TV. Well when Dave & fam recently came to visit we parked the kids in front of Diego one evening and, to our disgust (and also great enjoyment) we adults proceeded to jointly repudiate what Diego was claiming to enhance in such innocent minds, which is:And we came up with our own list of what Diego actually teaches our children. Before you attempt to refute us, watch a few refresher episodes, there is nothing to argue. It's too bad I am not clever with photoshop - that would have really made this a good post - but for the fun of it anyway, here you go:

GO, DIEGO, GO!
Enhances preschoolers'
MISUNDERSTANDING of NATURAL LAWS
such as the PASSAGE OF TIME,
BASIC PHYSICS, GRAVITY,
and PREDATOR/PREY RELATIONSHIPS
As well as their awareness of
WILD ANIMALS' complete inability to SURVIVE in their natural habitat without
HUMAN INTERVENTION
and the use of
UNREALISTIC and MAGICAL TOOLS that have nothing to do with ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY,
while WANDERING AROUND in the WILDERNESS and INTERACTING with WILD ANIMALS
without adult supervision.

We had some more good stuff too but it didn't all fit in the format. I like a bunch of other Noggin shows like Little Bear and Blue's Clues but Diego just drives me crazy, it's one thing after another on there. You know it's bad when you look forward to the Bobo Brothers' appearance for a little relief. Dave and I wish another annoyed parent with time on their hands would do a scene-by-scene analysis of each episode because there's just so much, it would be a hoot, but I haven't been able to find anything*. In the meantime, we'll just have to continue to entertain each other with our own cleverness.

*Just to check I actually came across this disturbing blog with one of the URL's I tried, but didn't find anything relevant to what I was looking for.