Year in Review: Last Four Months of 2010

Happy New Year, everyone!  I ran out of time and I did not finish my Year in Review.  I left off at September, but we are already into the New Year.  I decided to give you one photo from the last four months and then tomorrow we are on to 2011, officially!  Here we go:

September 2010:
Some of my favorite posts of the year involve The State Fair of Texas.  This year, we had new music for Toyota Live that it just made us want to dance.  Here is a fun moment captured on the stage:

October 2010:
I was in invited to the Series Finale Party of The Legend of Neil.  This web series is absurdly funny and its creator, Sandeep Parikh, is just one of the sweetest guys around.  Check his series and the other photos from the evening:

November 2010:
I love alternative fuel vehicle cars and one woman who has been at the forefront of the EV industry is Chelsea Sexton.  She stopped by to see me after she saw a tweet I wrote about her. Talk about the power of Twitter!  Thank you, Chelsea, you made my day.

December 2010:
December was a rough one for me, but I look forward to the new opportunities and new possibilities that a fresh year and decade offer.  Thanks for joining me in 2010 at Red Carpet Closet.  I look forward to sharing more with you in 2011.  Happy New Year!

Photo 1:  Courtesy of Tina Pettet
Photo 2:   Courtesy of Bernie Su
Photo 4:  Courtesy of Lisa Cole

Scenes from a Weekend at The State Fair of Texas

I have officially completed 18 days so far at the State Fair of Texas and I have to say, it is much easier the second time around.  I have to thank the weather for cooperating this year; gone are the fleeces, gloves, hats, and scarves from last year.  I can't believe I will be home in one week after a month in Texas! Catch a glimpse of my weekend in photos:

Here I am, eating the famous Fletcher's Corny Dog.  Now, the Fletcher Family claims they invented the corn dog.  I don't who invented it, but it's delicious.  Read the history of the corn dog here.

My co-host decided to hijack my iPhone and change my wallpaper to his lovely mug.  I decided that he must really want his photos published, so I tagged him on my private Facebook page.  Let me tell you, he really enjoyed that one.  Little does he know, he's on my blog too!

Here's where I get a little grumpy at the city of Dallas, DART, their transportation system, had a huge debacle last year during the UT/OU game with getting people to the fair and the game on time.  They did a great job at the game this year, however, this weekend was even busier than game weekend.  Did they learn their lesson?  Nope, here are the crowds waiting to get on an available train.  Sigh.  

Larry at the ice cream stand is my best friend at the fair.  He kindly hooks me up with a vanilla soft serve every once in awhile.  Perfect for a hot summer day!  (By the way, notice my millions of freckles on my face!  I wear a hat and SPF 85 every day.  Geez!)

Happy 10th Birthday to the Toyota Prius--10.10.10!  My favorite car and probably one of the most innovative technological breakthroughs of the last decade.  This car was a game-changer back in 2000 when it was launched. Toyota hoped to sell about 12, 000 units that year.  Now, over a million Prius have been sold worldwide and over 650 MILLION gallons of gas have been saved.  

Yes, I am so strong, I can hold up a Dodge Ram with only two hands.  We're that strong at Toyota.

Um, attractive picture of my nap.  Yes, this wound up on Facebook too, all thanks to my co-host, Matt Troyer.  Hey, it was a long weekend and I needed to recharge.  I hope your weekend was just as much fun!

It's All About the Shoes

It's no secret that I am a shoe aficionado and for some reason I have been taking lots of pictures of my shoes when I am bored. Well, now that I am in Texas for the next month, I am trading in my typical footwear for a more casual shoe that I normally reserve for workouts only.  Yep, my wardrobe involves a sneaker.  While I die a little inside each time I lace up my Nikes, I know that back in my hotel I have a closetful of cute shoes just dying to be worn for an après-work cocktail.  See the evolution of my footwear this week.  From chic to geek........

My new favorite shoe by BCBG and yes, I bought both colors.  I am wearing the gray ones on the left in this photo, but I brought the plum pair to Texas.  I thought it would add a little color to my limited wardrobe while I am here.  It is really hard to pack for a month when the weather fluctuates wildly and you never know whether you will be wearing a tank top or a a puffy coat from one day to the next.  So, maybe my next post should be about how to pack for a month, try to be chic, and scam the airlines when your bag is over 50 pounds?

I had a little sojourn to downtown LA for some civic duties earlier this week and I was going a bit stir crazy waiting for my turn.  What's a girl to do? Take a picture of her favorite BCBG platforms against a background of government-issued speckled tile.   The story of why I was there is WAY more interesting than this photo, but I have to wait until the situation is resolved to write the book.

Ah, my Kelsi Dagger sandals that I bought on a whim from an Moxsie ad on Perez Hilton's site, talk about an impulse purchase!  However, these sandals were worth it.  They are comfortable and they even inspired a guy to chase me down in the airport to find out the designer's name for his wife who coveted my Daggers.  The lovely tile background this time?  Starbucks.

So, the chic footwear ends here as I am digging a pair of Nikes now through October 17th.  Sadly, my Nikes aren't that comfortable and require squishy insoles plus a few Band-Aids to make it through the day.  While I prefer a heel, I don't think anything but a sneaker would make it through a wet day at the State Fair of Texas.  So, Nikes it is against a background of linoleum in my suite's kitchen.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.  Please stop by on Monday here at Red Carpet Closet for a look at the opening weekend at The State Fair of Texas.  Yee Haw!

The Final Days: Can I get a "Yee Haw"?

What an experience it was! 25 days at The State Fair of Texas, braving the elements, learning the religion of football, and eating more toxic food than one body can handle. It wasn't all hard work, we did have time for a spa night.......

With fantastic clay masks and cucumber to cool our tired eyes......

......because our days were filled with State Fair-like activities. A cow....actually a Brahmen. See, I learned something while I was there.

Yet the weather continued to test our patience and the drains that were built uphill. Yes, I said uphill.

So, the sweeping continued and I swept a pretty mean broom.......

I was so good that Mary Poppins offered me a Broadway contract as a chimney sweep......

Once the rain stopped, the raking began to dry out all of the rain......

Can you tell we were confused about the weather on a daily basis?

Just wondering.....is this a typical Texas sign?

The delicious fried food run continued with some soul food........good for the soul, not for the waistline.

Here it is.....fried butter!

I brave the first bite.......

Thinking about it..........

It's pretty good......although I am not sure my face is convincing enough.

Corn in a cup from the infamous Fuel City....corn, hot sauce, sour cream, butter, and cotija cheese! Heart attack in a cup.

Sigh, now the monkeys have joined the bananas in Texas.

There was a nightly electric light parade, kind of like Disney. Kind of........

Have you ever seen an albino catfish? Me neither. Moving on......

Interacting with the crowds during Toyota Live.

Talking future technology.....

And my personal favorite, the PHEV Prius! The first 10 in the test fleet were just distributed in Colorado.

Everyone likes to join in on the fun. Three little ones giving us their rendition of "ABC".
This is important to Texans and we have the sticker to prove it.

I had a true lesson in the religion of football while I was here. I went to a high school and a university without a football team. We played lacrosse and field hockey, what do I know? So, we must decorate the Tundras with OU and UT colors.

Even Scooby Doo was getting in on the action.....

Let's call this DARTgate 2009. I thought LA didn't know how to handle public transportation, but Dallas exceeded LA's failure. A 3 hour wait to get a train to carry you 2 miles=FAIL.

A UT fan dancing his way to a prize on the Toyota Live stage. The crowds were huge that day.

We muscled our way through 25 days....or at least Troyer tried to.

But we succeeded in having fun, ate tons of fried things, and mopped up buckets of rain. It indeed was a pleasure, Texas. Thanks for having us. Yee Haw!

You're Cold Then You're Hot, You're Cold, Cold, Cold And Then You Are Oprah!

Okay, we are going to get this one out of the way. Yes, I am clumsy. A nice little bump and a cut.......do you want to see what I collided with?

Fantastic! The corner of my cabinet in the kitchen. I will defend myself by saying it is the most bizarre construction for a corner cabinet. It hangs over the sink, so when I bent over to scrub a pot....Bump! And ouch!

The bananas continue to invade the State Fair of Texas! So, I have dedicated a whole section to the coveted Texas banana later in this blog.

Now, it's time to discuss the weather. I listen to NBC Dallas meteorologist, Jennifer Lopez (no relation to J.Lo), and she has lied to me every morning. She keeps promising me dry weather and warmer temperatures. Instead, we get this.......

......and this....yes, science experiments in the landscape. I know a little bit of fungi never hurt anyone, but the ground sure is squishy from all of the rain.

So, we need to dress like this........many, many layers.

I will say the little ones look much more fashionable in their winter wear. Jazz hands!

So, the next day at work, it is 94 F and hot........

And super windy!

Oh, and then the following day, it's wet and cold. I bring out the gloves for reinforcements.

But, the bananas are not deterred by the cold weather. They come to see the show and they look pretty happy.

They dance as a part of the opening show entertainment with my co-host, Matt Troyer.....

The banana and the co-host do a tribute to the Macarena.....

Nothing like a little banana background dancing while the ladies perform.

To reward the banana for his excellent movement skills, we gave him a yellow bandana for his head. Look closely.......

Time to dive into the fried food again with the legendary Fletcher's Corny Dog, but this one was special: jalapeño and cheese.

It was delicious........

I didn't like it AT ALL. It definitely rivals a Disneyland corn dog which is the most delicious corn dog in the land.

For dessert, we had a funnel cake. Not as delicious as the Corny Dog, I remember fried dough tasting better when I was younger. We didn't even finish it......so, is that a calorie and fried food point saved??

Don't worry, I am not getting too fat here. There is yoga in the conference room from time to time.

And then on Sunday, the Queen of America arrived with security, a police escort, and helicopters. May I introduce you to my best friend, Oprah?

Sitting next to her was her other BFF, Gayle and her makeup artist, Reggie Wells. Reggie ran around to the open window and performed makeup touch-ups so all of the "candid" photos would be picture perfect.

Suzy and Oprah hanging out at the Fair.......

Me and Oprah contemplating our next move......do we go to the fried butter booth or ride the Big Texas ferris wheel?

People are frantic to capture her photo....this is everyone running after her vehicle. Don't worry, she will be driving back THREE more times for a "spontaneous" visit all captured for Monday's show when Oprah visits the State Fair of Texas.

I am in the final leg of my trip here in Texas. It really has been such a fun month. I will post the final week's photos soon, so you can experience my taste of fried butter, a ride on Big Texas, and all of the fashions as the weather goes from cold to hot to rainy all over again.

Thanks, Y'all!
Make sure to check out the other State Fair Photos:

Part 1: Opening Day.
Part 2: Day 4.
Part 3: Days 5, 6, 7, 8!
Part 4: A Long, Wet Weekend.