The hardest thing about my job is being on the road and eating out....a lot. It's easier to grab that bag of chips at the end of the day versus rising up an hour early to work out on the hotel treadmill. And then, BAM!, all of a sudden, you have five extra pounds creeping up on you. I think many of you understand as we all struggle to balance, work, family, life, etc, and then try to squeeze a workout somewhere in there. Well, one documentary changed my mind this summer: Food, Inc. The documentary was nominated for an Academy Award and it discloses the food practices and manufacturing in the US. While I have always been a relatively decent eater, this movie changed my mind for good in less than 90 minutes. Along with a change in the food I am putting in my mouth, I rededicated myself to a semi-regular workout routine out on the road. It isn't always easy, but I feel so much better on the days I get my butt to the gym.
We feel good in our Lululemons! On set
with fitness personality, Jennifer Galardi,
for the Rhythm Rocker
So, in order to feel better at the gym, I've decided to save up for some expensive, but over-the-top comfortable workout gear, Lululemon. A pair of their workout pants averages from $80-$100, but it's is worth every penny. I first came across Lululemon when I was on the location shooting the Rhythm Rocker infomercial. The wardrobe department took us to the Lululemon store in San Diego and had me try on a plethora of different styles. When I saw how tight the pants were on the mannequins, I thought, "Uh oh, my butt is going to look ginormous!" Well, I have to say, my butt never looked better in these pants, especially coming from someone like me who likes to wear baggy pants to my workout. I was hoping that wardrobe would gift me with the pants at the end of the shoot, but darn, I had to return them. It is now my mission to get a pair for my wardrobe since I feel like a million bucks in them. I am already planning a trip to the Beverly Hills store upon my return to LA.
My workout gear wish list.
Feel free to add any other workout wardrobe suggestions in the comments below as I am always in search of that piece gives me the illusion of being really fit. I would also love to hear your opinions on Food, Inc. If you haven't seen the movie yet, add it to your Netflix queue. Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday at Red Carpet Closet!
It's been awhile since I have done a Musings post, but I am stuck in a bit of a writer's block today. Actually, I think it is more of a Groundhog's Day type of scenario, every day is the same for me through October 17th. Since I significantly covered the State Fair of Texas last year, I am trying to branch out. The only problem? My mind is blank. So here are a few things that I have been thinking about lately, not enough for a full post, but here are some highlights:
1. I Feel Frumpy: Um.....not feeling so fashionable these last few weeks. Yes, this is my wardrobe for the run of the show. I cannot wait to be back in a dress and heels where I belong. I either look like a bumble bee or Charlie Brown in my yellow and black. Discuss.......
2. Gymnastics: I am an uber-geek when it comes to gymnastics. I never participated in the sport, but I love watching it. I have even been to the last two Olympic trials just to catch all of the action live. So, I am excited that the World Championship is coming up in Rotterdam from October 16-24. The US Worlds Team was selected yesterday including the 2008 Silver Medal winning gymnasts, Alicia Sacramone and Bridget Sloan. Go, USA!
3. Football: Since we are on the topic of sports, this was my view from the stage while I emceed the OU/UT, Red River Rivalry festivities outside of the Cotton Bowl last Saturday. I didn't grow up in football country nor did I go to a high school/university with a team. Heck, my school was the NYU Violets and our big sport was fencing with athletes like Jerry O'Connell. Yes, that Jerry O'Connell, the one married to Rebecca Romijn. Regardless, the fans are passionate about the game and their team. It was overwhelming to have all of those people staring at you. Congratulations to OU for pulling out the win this year, but UT wins the fashion award for the cutest school fashions. The dresses with cowboy boots were awesome.
*UPDATE* If you are a fan of Longhorn Fashions, head over to Adored Austin's site to enter to win a UT-inspired clutch.
4. Home: I miss home. Being away for 26 days is hard, especially when the BF sends you cute pictures of the puppy.
What has been on your Muse List lately? Give me the details in the comments below.
Yesterday, I was talking about my love for online shopping. It's no secret that I shop online quite a bit. From toiletries to shoes to pet items, I love the convenience and in true Donald Trump form, the art of the deal. So, if I see a price for an item I am coveting, I start my search to knock the price down as much as possible. Here are a few of my secrets:
1. Once you find an item, head over to the best place on the internet to find coupon codes: RetailMeNot. Enter the site you want to purchase your item from in the search area and a list of current and past coupon codes should pop up. There are often consumer comments about the particular codes and how successful they were in using the codes. With the Steve Madden shoes that I featured yesterday, I was able to find a code that gave me 15% off my purchase PLUS free shipping. I consider free shipping to be a MUST for a majority of my purchases.
2. Once you are armed with your coupon code, don't head to the site to purchase your item, click to my favorite site of them all: Ebates. This is a site that pays YOU to shop. Instead of filling out those annoying rebate forms and hoping they don't get lost in the mail, Ebates creates a tracking code and keeps all of your information on their site. With over 1200 retailers on this site, it is ridiculous not to make this a part of your online shopping regime. Here's a great example of a recent purchase: In my house, we shop for our toiletries online with Drugstore.com. Since California tax is up to 9.25%, we like this site because we don't have to pay for the tax. I found a coupon code for $10 off my purchase at Retail Me Not. The Drugstore.com site also offers free shipping with any purchase over $25 and to top it off, Ebates was offering 6% back from my purchase total. So, I headed to Ebates, clicked on the Drugstore.com link on their site which allows them to create a tracking code, and proceeded to shop. By the time I was done, I had $10 off, free shipping, no tax, $6.28 back from Ebates, and $5.28 in Drugstore Dollars to use towards my next purchase at Drugstore.com. A great deal and I never even left the house, wasted gas, sat in traffic, nor ran around to four different stores to find all of my organic products, Drugstore.com had them all.
Ebates will pay you back four times a year by cutting you a check and snail mailing it or sending it to you via PayPal. It's really easy to sign up and I don't online shop without my Ebates anymore. I have purchased from Macys, Steve Madden, Crate and Barrel, 1-800-PetMeds, and more via Ebates. I just recently found out that even the airlines are on this site, hotels, Ebay,and my personal tech geek store, Apple. If you want to save money the next time you shop, join at this link here: Ebates Referral.
It is a referral code that deposits $5 into your account and my account with your first purchase. Let me know what you think of the Ebates site and spread the word because it will encourage more retailers to join the site.
I know a lot of you are savvy shoppers as well. Let me know if there are other sites out there offering great deals and I will pass them on to Red Carpet Closet readers. So, comment away and Happy Shopping!
When I am on the road for a long time, I find the most dangerous thing for me is the internet, specifically internet shopping. In fact, while resting in my room last Saturday night, I bought these (see photo below) after running into a girl in the elevator with them on. They were hot, I asked her who the designer was, I ran upstairs and then I bought them all in a matter of 15 minutes. That's why the internet at the hotel is dangerous when you are away for 27 days.
Viciious in Black Suede by Steve Madden. Currently on sale for $76.95
After buying the shoes, I decided that it was time to also buy the Jessica Simpson clogs I have been coveting for over a month, so off I went to Macys.com to purchase them. This is what they look like:
Winsy Clog in Tobacco by Jessica Simpson. $89 at Macy's
I am always completely embarrassed to admit that I wear Jessica Simpson shoes. I have several pairs in my closet now, but I can't get over her tabloid life. So, here's my advice to Jessica: stick to designing because you do it well, get over dating athletes because it's a dead end, and don't talk about your relationships otherwise US Weekly will turn you into the next Jennifer Aniston. (The oh-so-desperate to marry 40-ish woman but can never find the right man, according to the tabloids....which I find SO annoying.)
My other problem lately? I have bought 4 pairs of shoes in the last four weeks and I have not bought a single article of clothing to go with them. So, my feet will look fashionable. The rest of me? Not so much.
Come back tomorrow when I share with you the secret to internet shopping: a site that has most of the major retailers attached to it and they send you a check for shopping with them each month. You don't have to pay a membership fee, they are just happy to have you shop with them. I use it for all of my purchases. Trust me, this is a post you won't want to miss. See you tomorrow at Red Carpet Closet!
PS While I posted the retail price of the shoes, I did NOT pay those prices. I am a deal hunter with online shopping. I will share my tips tomorrow.
If you are under the age of thirty, this post probably doesn't apply to you. I am sure you have watched the reruns of this amazing show, but to understand the epic of Beverly Hills, 90210, you had to be there. The hysteria, the fashion, and the cult of the Brenda Years. It will go down as one of the few shows I gathered around the TV for with friends, snacks, and a rush of excitement. It was before the days of DVRs, the internet, and the spoilers that ruin each season finale these days. The show premiered twenty years ago today: October 4, 1990. Eventually, the show was paired with the soapy drama, Melrose Place, and it put the FOX network was firmly on the map. (It's hard to imagine that FOX was a very young network at the time and consistently in 4th place in the ratings.) I obsessed over everything Kelly Taylor and I was firmly in the Kelly/Dylan corner during the infamous Brenda/Kelly/Dylan love triangle.
Mom Jeans!
It's a little horrifying to look back at the fashions because the early 90's were a slow recovery period from the obnoxiously fluorescent 80's. We still wore Mom jeans, bigger hair, and loud prints, but I think the 90210 crew was the epitome of cool in the early part of the decade. It's almost laughable to think now that Shannen Doherty was our generation's version of Lindsay Lohan. She was tough, she liked to get married over and over, and she was often in trouble with the law.....minus the Lohan drugs and SCRAM bracelet. Shannen's antics actually seem tame and rather quaint in comparison. Ah, how times have changed.
Naughty Shannen
It has been a thrill for me since moving to LA in 2000 to see the locations where some of my favorite episodes of the series were shot and I was honored to interview Executive Producer/Show Runner, Charles Rosin, last year for his online show, Showbizzle. The behind the scenes gossip he gave me is priceless. I appreciate him satisfying the 90210 nerd in me. I've seen Shannen Doherty in person and she is tiny, but her features are a lot softer looking in person. I think some of her edginess is an act. I saw Tori Spelling at a wine and cheese party with her first husband and they made sure to take the cheese that they brought with them home in a doggy bag. Isn't that weird? Luke Perry is super short, short enough to ruin all of my 1990 Dylan fantasies--I like my men tall. While I have yet to run into the rest of the Brenda years cast, I did interview Brenda's replacement, Valerie Malone AKA Tiffani Thiessen. She's a dream to interview and simply a genuine, lovely person. I'm still waiting to interview Jennie Garth, but I will keep you posted when that happens.
Not the worst example of '90's fashion....
Tori's 1st or 2nd nose is featured in this photo.
Where to start? Jennie's boxy blazer? Brian's Tetris shirt? Ian's fro? Ah, the '90's.
They always dressed Steve Sanders in the worst of the worst. It's like he got the wardrobe leftovers.
Remember those sideburns?
The horror! Brenda and Kelly have the same dress. It really didn't matter, Brenda's dress was coming off soon in a hotel room in with Dylan.
Donna, Donna, Donna....will she graduate?
Phew. "Donna Martin Graduates!"
Happy 20th Anniversary, 90210! What's your favorite 90210 memory or episode? Let me know in the comments below.
It's been such a fun first week here at the State Fair of Texas. The weather has been beautiful and tomorrow is the big Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl, so it should be an action-packed weekend. Here are a couple of photos from the week and a wrap-up of what you were reading this month at Red Carpet Closet.
I'm in a tornado with the Tundra!
The Top 5 Posts for the month of September. If you missed one of them, catch up here over the weekend:
1. Dos and Don'ts on the Red Carpet: The Sequel: It's hard to believe that this post was from July 2010, but I think it made a resurgence with the Emmys and the fact that it has a clip of Anna Torv from Fringe. She's a lovely gal and a popular one too.
2. It's Giveaway Time: Well, this giveaway is over.....today! I am proud to announce the winner of two tickets to the Web TV Prom on October 20th. Congratulations, David August! In the meantime, head on over to read the comments about everyone's prom experiences. Priceless.
3. Emmys: Part 2: A fun weekend was spent hanging out at the gifting suites with my favorite TV stars. Check out the photos in this post, I bet you will recognize a face or two.
4. Disneyland's Club 33: Yes, it is here again. It's always in the Top 5. If you have no idea what Club 33 is, then this post is for you.
5. Web Series Wednesday: This one snuck in at the last minute. I posted this article earlier this week about some upcoming shows. Sure, it has a whiff of nepotism, I am making cameos in a few of the shows. Check out the on set photos from the shoots.
The Toyota Live team, Week 1 rocking the bumble bee wardrobe.
In parting, my fellow co-host departs tomorrow, so a big thank you for stepping in and making this week so much fun. We danced, we sang, and he even did The Worm. (voluntarily!) Thanks, Chris!
I hope your weekend is filled with laughter and fun, make sure to let me know what you are up to this weekend in the comments below. See you on Monday at Red Carpet Closet.
I was planning on doing a light and fluffy post today with photos of my show and my time here at the State Fair of Texas, but I watched a video yesterday created by my friend, Michael Buckley AKA Buck. If you aren't familiar with Michael and his show, What the Buck?, I encourage you to head over to YouTube and subscribe to his show. It's the perfect pop culture round-up of reality TV, celebs, gymnastics, figure skating, and Broadway shows. Honestly, Buck is the perfect man for me. (Shhh, don't tell my boyfriend.) He talks about everything I love. Well, yesterday, he created a video that moved me to change my post and share it all with you. If you have been following the news this week, there have been several high profile stories about two young men committing suicide after being bullied by their peers for being gay. (See the stories here and here.) Both separate incidents, both in different parts of the country. Think about what the poor families are dealing with right now......okay, now watch this video:
I hope you were as moved as I was by Buck's message. It's no secret that I have been a huge supporter of the NOH8 Campaign, but I feel like I need to take it up a notch in light of this week's news. For every heterosexual person reading this, think back to your youth. What were you teased about? For me, it was my red hair. I was called "Peppermint Patty or Annie or Pumpkin Head". Okay, it's kind of funny now. If I really hate my red hair as an adult, I can change that. In fact, I am really blonde at the moment for an upcoming job. If you were teased for being overweight, you can hop on a bike, eat better, and lose weight. You can change that. You cannot change being gay. It is not a "lifestyle" or a "choice". Buck even mentions he knew he was gay when he was four years old. America, it is time to wake up and treat EVERYONE with love, kindness, and support. Isolating, condemning, or teasing people for being different from you is not okay.
There is now a campaign to offer support to gay youth to understand that, "It Gets Better". The project was started by Dan Savage, a journalist who for years has penned the column, Savage Love. I remember his work in The Village Voice from my days in NYC. I am posting his column explaining the project and the reason behind its inception. The article offers more information on the videos that have been created for the project, links to the YouTube channel, but most importantly, it offers HOPE to gay youth.
Dan Savage:
I just read about a gay teenager in Indiana—Billy Lucas—who killed himself after being taunted by his classmates. Now his Facebook memorial page is being defaced by people posting homophobic comments. It's just heartbreaking and sickening. What the hell can we do?
Gay Bullying Victim Who Survived
Another gay teenager in another small town has killed himself—hope you're pleased with yourselves, Tony Perkins and all the other "Christians" out there who oppose anti-bullying programs (and give actual Christians a bad name).
Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.
Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.
"My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas," a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. "I wish I could have told you that things get better."
I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.
But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.
Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids.
So here's what you can do, GBVWS: Make a video. Tell them it gets better.
I've launched a channel on YouTube—www .youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject—to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one. We both went to Christian schools and we were both bullied—he had it a lot worse than I did—and we are living proof that it gets better. We don't dwell too much on the past. Instead, we talk mostly about all the meaningful things in our lives now—our families, our friends (gay and straight), the places we've gone and things we've experienced—that we would've missed out on if we'd killed ourselves then.
"You gotta give 'em hope," Harvey Milk said.
Today we have the power to give these kids hope. We have the tools to reach out to them and tell our stories and let them know that it does get better. Online support groups are great, GLSEN does amazing work, the Trevor Project is invaluable. But many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.
The video my husband and I made is up now—all by itself. I'd like to add submissions from other gay and lesbian adults—singles and couples, with kids or without, established in careers or just starting out, urban and rural, of all races and religious backgrounds. (Go to www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject to find instructions for submitting your video.) If you're gay or lesbian or bi or trans and you've ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, "Fuck, I wish I could've told him that it gets better," this is your chance. We can't help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don't think they have a future—and we can help them.
They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope.
.jpg)
