Felicia Bushman Interview

Read an interview on my team blog, Top Design Blogger, with the last designer who was dismissed from the show.

Felicia Bushman is a talented designer who was overwhelmed by the challenge . Too bad. She deserved to survive over Ryan.

Read Eric 3000's recap also! Hilarious.

And don't forget my weekly tongue in cheek review, dahlings. It's designed to tee off even the most stalwart Top Design fans. Click here for My Taste Patrol Review!

Poor Felicia doesn't fare very well in my critique this week, but that doesn't mean that I didn't appreciate her outstanding talent.

The Sartorialist

I simply adore The Sartorialist, and here's why ... he photographs fashion worn by real people in real places.

Queen of the Oscars

The Queen of the Oscars, without a doubt, was Helen Mirren, nee Elena Lydia Mironova. Born in 1945, she looked beautiful and ageless on Monday night in that stunning gown. And her turn as Queen Elizabeth the II was a tour de force. The movie felt more like a documentary, but Helen's performance was masterful. Here is a photo retrospective of Helen, who is a shining example of a graceful and beautifully aging woman. Bless her for not going the Botox route.

Here, then, are the many faces of Helen through the years.

How Top Chef 2 Winner Ilan Hall Spends His Winnings

The Gawker calculates the amount Ilan Hall spent on his outfit as he sped to the 2007 South Beach Food and Wine Festival.

Bitch Slap Fest

Speaking about his restaurant Del Posto's landlords in November 2006, Mario Batali said,

"The landlords are little bald men with small penises who live in Greenwich. We're never going to leave, and they're never going to come in my restaurant."

Responding to the comment, a reader of The Gawker retorts:

"That is pretty funny, MB complaining about small-penised men, as I once worked with a woman who had slept with Mario in college, and evidently he has a fingerling potato in his drawers."

Meryl at the Oscars

I don't want to be mean, because Meryl Streep is my idol. The woman can act and she looked fabulous in the Devil Wears Prada.
But, dahlings, what was she thinking donning that get up for the Oscars?


Meryl and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) meet on the red carpet, with George Takei from Star Trek standing in the background wearing a skirt.


Undaunted, Abigail continues to smile, knowing she showed more fashion sense than Meryl and George put together.

Black and White Bliss

Black and White Bliss offers fabulous black and white ideas in interior design, art, pottery, fashion, and more. Click here to enter.

It's just a matter of taste

Ms. Place's Taste Patrol post about Episode Four is up on
Top Design Blogger.
Click here to read her opinions about last week's show!

Oscar Fashion Winner

At first it seemed like it was going to be a choice between Kate Blanchette and Kate Winslett, but the moment Reese Witherspoon appeared on the red carpet, Ms. Place knew who her winner would be. Reese is petite, yet she manages to wear this dress and own it. Her curves are in all the right places, and that skirt is to die for. From top to bottom, she was a standout.


My worst dressed choice, Kiersten Dunst, melded the look of a prim librarian and show girl and came up with a big WHAAA? She could only make baby steps in that get up, making her progress down the red carpet super awkward.

But is it art...?

ART

Uchronia Belgian Waffle

Cat's Cradle

Starry Bamboo Mandala

Click here to see more

NOT ART

Ryan's "prison" room for Top Design. Meh. Mehhh. Mess.

Did the right person get "latered" on Top Design?

Top Design, Episode Four
Awful. What was Felicia thinking? The judges rewarded her by booting her off the show. Right now I'm feeling no sympathy for any of the designers.

But get a load of Ryan's room. Even a guy in solitary confinement would get claustrophobic living in this environment.

Did the right person get booted this week? What do you think of the judges' decision?

Contrast these two sorry rooms to David's winning design in Design Star, which aired last summer and fall on HGTV. David could only purchase his supplies at a pet shop. The glass lamp is made from fish bowls, and the carpet is made from cedar shavings. Talk about a cool concept and solution!

Kelly's Bad Hair Day

As promised, dahlings, Kelly Wearstler from Top Design has joined this select group of BHD creatures. What on earth was she thinking?

Color forecast for the next three seasons

Want to know which colors are predicted to be "in" during the next three seasons? Here's an educated guess for Spring-Summer 2007, Fall-Winter, and Spring-Summer 2008.








Once you have this information, you can order wool for your shops, or drapes, yarns, fabrics, jewelry and colors for clothes and interiors, and be reasonably "safe" in your guesswork.









Go to this site at Fire Mountain Gems for more about color forecasting. The other color forecasting sites cost money.

Eye Candy

This week I wanted to showcase hot fiery latino Eye Candies. There's someone for everyone dahlings. Tf you don't like my first choice, just keep scrolling, though I think you'll agree that dancing the salsa or mamba with any of these beautiful men would seem like fulfilling a life's dream.











I first noticed Antonio Banderas in Philadelphia as Tom Hanks' lover, although he'd enjoyed a vastly successful screen career in Spain long before he made it big in Hollywood. His acting range is vast. Just contemplate at a short list of his movies. The Mambo Kings. Evita. Interview With the Vampire. Desperado. Zorro. Spy Kids. Frida. And who can forget his unforgettable turn as Puss in Boots in Shrek 2? He's married to my favorite working girl, Melanie, she of the soft whispery voice.




Here's a young man you've probably seen on such television shows as Ugly Betty, Law and Order SVU, The OC, Close to Home, and Behind Enemy Lines. I have a feeling Nicholas Gonzales has just begun to make his mark. Meanwhile, I'll just relax and enjoy the sight of this beautiful man. Yum. Double Yum. Yummiliscious.


























When Benjamin Bratt left Law and Order, so did this viewer. That was one cast change too many. There's something appealing and riveting about the characters he plays in even the most trivial projects, like Detective Matthews in Ms. Congeniality. And who could forget his gentlemanly deportment when Julia Roberts accepted her Oscar, fixing her train, and holding her hand in the crook of his arm?

Jimmy Smits was my favorite actor in LA Law. As Victor Sifuentes, he sizzled. As Bobby Simone in NYPD Blue he broke my heart when he died. And he was totally believable as the president-elect then president in The West Wing. His new project, The Jane Austen Book Club is in post-production. Being a Janeite, I simply can't wait to see him in it. Like a fine, mellow wine, Jimmy is aging well. Oh, yeah!