If You Don’t Know, Now You Know PART II

I am moving to LA in 31 days!!! If you recall, I took the GRE a while back and “failed” horribly. Well, don’t think I stopped there. I took it again a few weeks later and “passed” with flying colors. I received a score well above that required for my application and that plus an essay, 3 strong recommendations, a resume, and an ambush interview and I am going to USC, ya’ll! (That's Southern California, NOT South Carolina, folks.)

Time to share some things I have been keeping quiet. I love movies! I love TV! And I love entertaining! Years ago, I was a theater and (minor) television actress in Texas, but I stopped to pursue a “regular” life playing sports and focusing on school. (Yes, that is my old headshot. on the right) I have always absolutely adored the excitement, drama, and emotion that the big screen brings and I finally found and outlet so that I can actually enjoy my career by doing someting I love. In 2 years, I will have a Master of Fine Arts from USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program. The program grooms students to be television and film producers as well as executives in the industry. I have been completely in awe of the program since the moment I discovered it’s existence on the web (thank God for technology) and On March 14th they called me to congratulate me on being accepted into the program. What a dream! USC has an outstanding reputation for it’s Cinema-Television department and there is no better place to learn about the industry than Hollywood!

Since I was accepted into the program, I have met a few of my wonderful classmates as well as communicated with everybody and their mama’s cousins, sisters, brothers, daughters, and friends living out in LA. Though all of my loves are in Texas and the east coast and I am terrified to separate from them, LA and USC are a welcome change in my life, which I wholeheartedly believe is something we all need. This is MY YEAR! Of course, it is the first of many successes, but with confidence and determination, I found my way to USC and I plan to proceed with success in each step.

Why the belated celebration? Until Friday, I had a full time job and it was best for me to conceal my news from the public until I could inform the j-o-b. (I told them a couple weeks ago, but it was best to write, once I was unemployed.) The last two years out of college have been a time for me to learn to live on my own, attempt to support myself, and find a way to fulfill my passion for entertainment. I am here and there's one thing I must explain:

The title of my blog – My Scene: I selected it back when I was ready to begin blogging in November and certainly did not want to delay the process because I didn’t know what to call it. I love movies and entertaining. If money was no object, I would go on auditions all day everyday and pursue acting. However, I am also a businesswoman. It would never be enough for me to receive a check when I could be the one writing them. I came up with “My Scene” because I knew I wanted the title to have something to do with film, but I didn’t want to give myself away. So, my blog is called My Scene because it is where my opinions, my activities, and my stories shine. If my life is a film full of intricate plot twists and an assortment of interesting characters, each of my blog posts is my scene, where the reader sees my side of the story.

Our World is Changing

June 29th marked an important milestone in American life and history if this conversation I heard while waiting for Transformers to begin on the 4th of July is any indication.

A: Rob, are they talking to us? She said turn off all cell phones and pagers. Is she talking to us, Rob?
R: Naw, she can’t be talking to us.
A: I don’t have a cell phone. I have an ipod-laptop-cellular…
R: I have a multimedia device. I have an MD.

My boyfriend and his cousin picked up iphones on their release date, a total of 3 – one for each of them and one to sell (when times get tough, I suppose). I can’t say it’s not an impressive little machine. If you have any doubt: It is exactly as it appears in the commercials, except thinner. And apple provides web tutorials/advertising walking you through its easy-to-use technology. Anywho, the phone really is hot, y’all. As long as you have a mac, you can sync your calendar, contacts, photo library, and probably a bunch of other stuff that I don’t do with my mac, but they do. They, meaning my boyfriend and his family, are apple people. The entire weekend was about the iphone: showing it off, playing with it, talking about it. The picture is crystal clear like a flat screen plasma tv making coolest thing about the “device” the ability to pull up and watch youtube videos quickly and clearly. Aside from Ciara’s “Promise” video and Beyonce’s “Me, Myself, and I” both purchased from itunes, any music video or movie trailer that is on youtube is accessible with totally clarity on the iphone.

This is the the most accurate and succinct article I found pertaining to the multimedia device:

Amazing iPhone "matches most of its hype"
“The phone is so sleek and thin,” reports David Pogue (New York Times) in his review of iPhone, that “it makes Treos and Blackberrys look obese.” And the software transcends. “It’s fast, beautiful, menu-free, and dead simple to operate.” If you need “to answer a call, you can tap Answer on the screen, or pinch the microscopic microphone bulge on the white earbud cord. Either way, music or video playback pauses until you hang up.” As for email, it’s “fantastic. Incoming messages are fully formatted, complete with graphics; you can even open (but not edit) Word, Excel and PDF documents.” And “the Web browser,” he points out, “is the real dazzler.” No “stripped down, claustrophobic My First Cellphone Browser; you get full Web layouts, fonts and all, shrunk to fit the screen. You scroll with a fingertip — much faster than scroll bars. You can double-tap to enlarge a block of text for reading, or rotate the screen 90 degrees, which rotates and magnifies the image to fill the wider view.” In short, Pogue calls
the iPhone, “the most sophisticated, outlook-changing piece of electronics to come along in years.” [Jun 26, 2007]

So, when it comes to the iphone, I’m definitely a fan…and as for Transformers, it was outstanding! As someone who had no feelings for the transformers toys or cartoons, this movie wasn’t exactly on my To Watch list. However, I was excited about Josh Duhamel (right, an actor that I adore and respect dating back to his days as Leo on All My Children. Soap acting is like boot camp), Shia LaBeouf (left, from Disturbia and Disney’s Even Stevens), and Tyrese (y’all know who Tyrese is), so I had no problem escorting any true Transformers fans (who, as a whole, clap and cheer throughout the film).

Seriously, the Michael Bay-directed film is hilarious, consistently exciting, the acting is perfection, and the creativity in providing realism to alien/robot vehicles is just phenomenal! I truly think it was one of the best films I have ever seen. It is in a category of its own, of course, but it was a wonderful experience.

Guess Who's Bi-zack!?

Besides me, of course, (I haven't written in ages) but my loves, MAROON 5, are back! Who else can put out 3 albums in 5 years with the exact same tracks and each one be incredible, forcing me to forget the fact that there was still no sophomore release from my boys. Between 2002 and today, Maroon 5’s debut album, Songs About Jane, has gone quadruple platinum and they followed it up with and acoustic version of the same album and a live performance CD and DVD. Only maroon 5 can make 3 albums with different versions of same songs and each be the hotness! If you have never heard of them, you are certainly missing out. If you have, I know you’re a fan. Like me, I know you remember the moment when they won the well-deserved Grammy for Best New Artist….and you rejoiced in the moment you heard about their newest single “Makes Me Wonder,” even if I am the first to tell you. I am certainly not Maroon 5’s publicist here to promote their new single and album, It Wont Be Soon before Long, but I had to share the love!!! Get the album - it's a new style for Maroon 5, but it is nothing short of fantastic!

Hear the song on their official website now and see the video.

Welcome to my MUSIC ISSUE!

Over the last couple months, among other things, I have “discovered” a great new group, uncovered a guilty pleasure in a certain Akon protégé, and delved into some gross details about one artist I am compelled not to live without.

As all my friends know, when I get up in the morning, I don’t turn on the radio or the news – I watch music videos. Thank God for VH1 Soul, MTV Jams, MTV Hits, and yes, even TR3 (MTV's Spanish music videos channel). Several mornings I caught this really cool video from a band called Gym Class Heroes with 2 little dancing cupids. You know how entertaining it is when artists find uninhibited young kids who can break it down and drop it like it’s hot (think Missy's videos), but in a cute way (how corny do I sound)? The name of the song is “Cupid’s Chokehold” and, in addition to the two cool cupids, the song was hot, the video was creative and the lead singer, Travis McCoy, had such an intriguing look that the song became one of my hits of the spring.

I did a little research on the group, downloaded, I mean bought, their album As Cruel As Schoolchildren where I found another cool single and video, “The Queen and I.” One weekend, I happened to turn on the radio (which I never do) and I caught the end of Ryan Seacrest’s top 40 hits of the week and “Cupid’s Chokehold” was #1! Can I pick ‘em or what?

See the Gym Class Heroes “Cupid’s Chokehold” video here.

My guilty pleasure is an artist whose songs, originally, made no logical sense to me, his musical style displaying no talent, clear studio distortion, and useless, racy lyrics. Under Akon’s label Konvict Muzic and with hit’s like “I’m in Luv (Wit A Stripper)” and “I’m Sprung,” while catchy, I didn’t take T. Pain very seriously….until now. With my newfound ability to put ringtones on my cell phone, I thought it would be funny to hear “I’m in Love (Wit A Stripper),” when my sister or mom calls, and hilarious it is! I love people's reactions when they hear the song and they I answer, "mom."

Of course, it started as just a joke until I found myself lost in R. Kelly’s “I’m A Flirt” Remix featuring T. Pain (and the always satisfying T.I.). I find myself singing his verse, “When I pull up to the club, all the shawty’s be like, damn, 28s/ And I be like, Girl you know just who I am, Don’t hate!” Why? I don’t know! Something about that Roger and Zapp-type sound entertains me, but I am ok, right? Well, I thought so….but then there was Bow Wow’s “Outta My System” featuring Johnta Austin (whom I love) and T. Pain, and that song was HOT. And finally, “Can I Buy U A Drank,” T. Pain’s latest collaboration featuring Young Joc. The hotness!! I had heard it maybe once before when I went to Miami in April and heard it again in the club (another place I go, like, never) and something about stunning in the club to the beat under T. Pain and Joc just put me over. I was officially a fan. To my credit, T. Pain is also a dedicated producer, having created his own studio in his Florida bedroom at the age of ten (according to Wikipedia). So he is more than just a robot sounding hip hopper with crazy lyrics about liquor and ladies.

View the “Buy U A Drank” video with a cameo from Jay Z, here.


Kudos to Vibe Magazine

Obviously, it’s easy to be banging a song on your ipod or car stereo and overlook some of the ho’s, b!tch*s, and some other words. We, as a music loving culture, have been able to ignore certain language when we are feeling the beat or the melody of the hook. But what acts aren’t forgivable? I love R. Kelly’s music. I loved TP2, TP2 Reloaded, TP3, and several tracks and collaborations in between. His blunt and overtly sexual lyrics creatively entertain me, his voice is appealing, and he is a brilliant producer and a hit-making writer. And it’s not just me. The man’s songs blow the charts, his albums are several times platinum, and he doesn’t stop. I know it’s not just me. So, I recently wondered why we don’t seem to care that he is facing child pornography charges. Many of us even rushed out to watch the tape and with a laugh declared, “Yeah that’s definitely him.”

Kells was on my mind because with the “Make It Rain” and “I’m A Flirt” remixes in heavy rotation (and bustin speakers in my car), I felt a sort of guilt finding such joy in his music. Apparently, Vibe felt the same way because their May cover featured R. accompanied by a detailed timeline of his criminal charges (orinigally filed 5 years ago) and recording history. There was coverage from his estranged wife to his lawyers and colleagues. I never saw the famous sex tape, but Vibe's play by play was more than enough for me to visualize the grotesque behavior. I have to admit, just one paragraph made my stomach turn and for a moment, I wasn't sure if I could ever listen his voice again - for a moment. Then, of all people, Wendy Williams brought me some insight. She was disturbed by his alleged behavior as well as the paradox of celebrating this artist who she describes as having some very serious issues. Wendy says, "I love the music, but the man is disgusting." I never thought I would be quoting Wendy Williams, but she has a point.

I typically don't read Vibe Magazine, not for any reason other than the fact that I prefer not to read about music, but to listen to it. I am also totally overwhelmed with fabulous fashion magazines, but I read this particular issue from cover to cover as well as their new mag Vibe Vixen with Janet Jackson on the cover. That's a hot little magazine. They've had covers from Kelis to Tracee Ellis Ross to Kelly Rowland and, currently, Mya (not my favorite). Inside, you'll find useful beauty and lifestyle tips designed for black woman with a colorful and playful layout I adore. I am very proud of Vibe's new, feminine spin-off, so I wanted to give them a loud congratulations for their new success (in my eyes).

A Little About Me

We have all gotten those emails that ask a thousand questions and then say 'forward this to all of your friends and see what they say.' Cute, but I hate forwards. Instead, I'll fill it out to share a little bit about me.


Smoked a cigarette? Yes, but I was in, like, the 8th grade and haven't been that dumb since.

Drank so much you threw up? Totally, but I certainly don't make a habit of it. I had to leave my own 21st birthday party because I was throwing up everywhere.

Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? Who me? Never.....Yes, of course I have.

Gone on a blind date? Nope.

Skipped school? One of many times I skipped school my senior year in high school, my friends and I spent hours in Super Target. That was, by far, my favorite skipped school day.

Seen someone die? Only on tv.

Been to Canada? Nope.

Been to Florida? A thousand times.

Been to Mexico? Yep, spring break sophomore year in high school. I guess I was 15.

Been on a plane? Duh.

Been lost? Of course. In the car and in life.

Been on the opposite side of the country? Yes. I could count the times on one hand, though.

Gone to Chicago? Yes, for the NBA (National Bar Association) Conference and when my mom was on Oprah.

Swam in the ocean? Yes, but I am deathly afraid of the ocean. I stay close to the shore. You never know what will sneak up on you in that wilderness.

Felt like dying? Of exhaustion and depression - we've all been there.

Cried yourself to sleep? I'm a girl.

Played cops and robbers? Hell no.

Recently colored with crayons? Within the year, I'm sure.

Sang karaoke? Not recently.

Paid for a meal with only coins? Naw.

Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? Hmmm....yes, but some things just come with time.

Made prank phone calls? Yep.

Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose? Ugh! Yes, and it hurts!

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Eew.

Danced in the rain? Back when my hair was curly.

Written a letter to Santa Claus? Not in a year or two.

Been kissed under the mistletoe? Possibly, but obviously, it wasn't that memorable.

Watched the sun rise with someone you care about? Yes, Fisher Island, on the balcony of our first place.

Blown bubbles? Yes, but not in a while. It's not that cool.

Made a bonfire on the beach? Why the hell would I do that? And where? Who does that?

Crashed a party? No, I do not go where I am not wanted.

Gone roller-skating? I LOVE roller skating!!

Ice-skating? Yes, I am deathly afraid of that too, and the last time I went, Robbie was showin' out with his cousins and busted his head open pouring blood all of the ice. It scared the kids and I was crying.

Gone skinny dipping? Yes.

1. Any nicknames? Co, Sonrisa, Mine All Mine, Renee

2. Mother's name? Renee. (Little known fact: That is not my mother's first name, but it's what she has gone by since she was like 5.)

3. What is your favorite drink? Alcoholic? My new favorite drink is a Citron Sour. Other than that strawberry lemonade.

4. Tattoos? Nope. I have thought about it, but I can't figure out what I would get that I would still love at 70. I even know where I would put it: it would be on the top of my left foot.

5. Piercing? Ears, of course, and belly button. There was a time when I had five wholes in my ears.

6. How much do you love your job? Eh

7. Birthplace: Fort Worth, Texas

8. Favorite vacation spot? In the continental US - Miami. Abroad - Right now, I'd say Italy. Ask me again in 5 years.

9. Ever been to Africa? No. Hopefully soon.

10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Oh please, sometimes all day without dinner.

11. Ever been on TV? Yes. Wishbone.

12. Ever steal any traffic signs? Who the hell does that?

13. Ever been in a car accident? With my sister. She hit the column in the parking garage when my dad used to live in downtown Fort Worth. Nothing major.

14. Was it your fault? Leigh's...Oh wait, I just remembered another one. I hit someone, kinda rear ended someone, junior year in college. Brooke was in the car and I was out of a car for 3 months. It was pretty bad - for the car.

15. 2 Doors or 4 Doors? I like SUVs, so 4. Nothing wrong with 2 though. My current car has 4.

16. Salad dressing? Oil and Vinegar.

17. Favorite pie? Ms. Smith's Apple pie from the grocery store. Or just about any pie my Aunt Cat makes.

18. Favorite number? 7

19. Favorite movie? I love movies: Moulin Rouge, The Best Man, Romeo & Juliet, ATL, Harold & Kumar go to White Castle, The Notebook...and so many more.

20. Favorite holiday? Halloween! Then there's Christmas.

21. Favorite dessert? Dessert. Period.

22. Favorite food? junk food: nutty bars, goldfish, graham crackers and peanut butter, etc.

23. Favorite day of the week? The ones that I am not at work.

24. Favorite TV show? Sex & the City, Girlfriends, Entourage, Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? (I am obsessed with both the Style Network and wedding shows.)

25. Favorite Toothpaste? Colgate, I think.

26. Favorite smell? Cookies.

27. What do you do to relax? Watch tv and movies.

28. Do you have a message to your friends reading this now? Does any of this surprise you?

29. WHERE do you see yourself in 5 years? Wherever my fabulosity takes me.

30. What do you do when you are bored? Read magazines.

Staples, boo. Staples.

I must brag about a couple of items I acquired recently....

The perfect flats: Dying for a flat black shoe for quite some time now, I finally came face to face with the look I was going for. When visiting Saks for a couple of spring wardrobe updates, I was met with the flat shoe I had pictured in my mind. It turned out to be the Tory Burch Reva Ballerina flat, which apparently, everybody and their momma knew about but me, because now I see them everywhere. However, on this rainy but fulfilling Saturday, I had found my shoe. I absolutely love it for its bright gold accent and effortless ability to accent any simple ensemble. Oh, and I especially love the way the black and gold shoe compliments my Damier print LV Speedy bag. These details are minute compared to the fact that the Tory Burch Reva flats are the most comfortable shoes I own...and I own a lot of shoes.

My mascara: Just as celebrity make-up artist Tim Quinn recommended, no matter the brand, mascara is built to last 6 weeks and then be thrown out. For the last almost 2 months I have been testing mascara and, because I always feel the desire to splurge when in Target, I decided to test cheap Covergirl mascara: The Queen Collection, Queen Latifah's line of beauty products for women of color. For the first six weeks I used only Covergirl Lash Exact mascara followed by six weeks of the Volume Exact. I can’t speak for all mascaras by brand, but I have tried many others: Lancome, YSL, the pink and green Maybelline that everybody has (y’all know what I’m talking about), and I can say without hesitation, Covergirl Volume Exact is perfection. I constantly get compliments and it has maintained the same consistency, curl, lash length, and, of course, perfect volume over the six weeks. I highly recommend Volume Exact mascara and at worst, you're out 8 bucks.



Irrelevant, but necessary sidebar...

“The Last Kiss”

Not long ago, I spent some down time with my friend of (OMG I'm old) 10 years, Chervonti. We rented some movies equipped with Red Bull, roasted chicken and Chinese food, and Starbursts and just relaxed. Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette was a disappointment, but the usually consistent Zach Braff provided us with some "edge of your seat" entertainment in The Last Kiss. This wasn't 007 Casino Royal-type excitement by any means. The Last Kiss followed several interconnected relationships through different realizations and frustrations. It was an interesting and memorable film about relationship drama from a male perspective. There was a level of suspense involved worrying about the fate of each couple, one in particular.

I think most films hold, at the very least, an dialogue or monologue where the writer(s) obviously wants to send a message to viewers, some more powerful than others. In this film a man begging for the affection of the woman he mistreated is met with the following lines which moved me:

"I love her. I realize now that I love her more than I will ever love anybody else."

"Stop talking about love. Every asshole in the world says he loves somebody. It means nothing. It still doesn’t mean anything. What you feel only matters to you. It’s what you do to the people you say you love, that’s what matters. That’s the only thing that counts."

Amidst rooting for this guy to get his gal back (after a betrayal) and the uncertainty of how and if it would happen, We, the audience, and of course, the character, were hit with those strong words. "That's deep," I thought. It wasn't complex or revolutionary, but a reminder that at times when we know just the right thing to say, as well as times when we have no idea, we must exhibit the behavior that displays our commitment. And it wasn't just an "actions speak louder than words" speech, but a statement that said, "be there." You gotta see the film.

The Rosses

There will be no coattail-riding in this family.

I saw Pride last night, the film about Jim Ellis, a black swim coach in the 70's who founded a competitive all black swim team in a rough area of Philadelphia. Of course, it was a tale of overcoming racism, overcoming one's past, and inspiring hope in a community. Okay, okay, GREAT film, but that is not why I am writing.

Even more inspiring than this powerful film is my growing affection for one, Evan Ross, son to Diana, brother to Tracee. I am a huge fan of the 2006 film ATL in which Evan first made an impression on me as an Atlanta teen named Ant. As any fool knows, I think the world of Tracee Ellis Ross, so when I found that her little brother would be starring in a film with the fine T.I. under the direction of Chris Robinson (a music video director), I was even more interested. I fell in love with the movie, it's characters, the individual actors, and certainly, Evan Ross. I have probably seen ATL 10 times thanks to HBO and Cinemax and it was no question that I was eager to see anything in which he had a role.

Enter Life Support, the HBO film released last month that focuses on the devastating AIDS crisis and how it effects families. Evan played a convincing AIDS victim, famished, weak, off his meds, and clearly not "living with AIDS" but dying from it. He was amazing and once again, I was impressed. (I am not here to write a review of the film, but it is a breathtaking must-see.) Last night solidified my admiration. In "Pride," each young man on the swim team has a a personality, a story, none of them are bad looking, and the acting was flawless. But I couldn't keep from looking into Evan's eyes, watching his talent unfold even when he didn't even speak. As an actor, he stands alone and he stands strong, and as biased as I may be because I am awe-struck by his fabulous sister, he has won me over in under a year with his undeniable onscreen abilities.

Just listen to this excerpt from an article in the Detroit News:

"Every now and then, you see someone and you think you are watching them at the very beginning of a big career,"[a media and pop culture expert] says. "I watched every episode of 'St. Elsewhere.' It was amazing how little that show used Denzel Washington, and I never got that sense watching him that here is a really big star. I didn't get it when I watched Jim Carrey in the sitcom 'Duck Factory.' "Evan Ross is 18 years old, and you can see this guy could really be a big star. … If I was asked to invest in the futures market of stars, he would be a good bet."

In 2007 and early '08, he has at least 4 films coming out: "Life is Hot in Cracktown," "Brooklyn to Manhattan," "Gardens of the Night" and "Burning Sands" If they are anything like the first 3, you won't be disappointed.

There seems to be no coattail riding in the Ross family.

Paris!

Finally, I am able to sit down and write about the last couple of weeks (ok, well maybe a month). I have been going nonstop since I returned…but that’s not what you want to hear about.

Paris Fashion Week was an amazing departure from my life in DC. Of course, the shows were beautiful. The first one I saw the day I arrived was Valentino. It was classy and chic (the word for the week) and I just absorbed the experience – I was at Fashion Week – in Pairs – in the Valentino show – at the Louvre! How exciting, but wait, why does it feel a little like the Superbowl?! OMG – some security guard just tackled a PETA activist. Awww, man, I couldn’t help but stare, ya’ll. He took this woman out on the floor - in football, I think they call it a sack. It occurred almost discreetly, silently talking place in the front corner of the runway. It was odd how the show still moved fluidly so the audience could choose which to watch. I could still focus on the runway, but I didn't want to. Oh - and another woman was tackled immediately after the first. Both naked women were defeated and forced out of the room. (Yeah, they were both naked except for the "NO FUR" sign painted on their backs.)


In the days that followed were Mark, Fay, and Carly - three personalities I can't even begin to summarize. Mark, a handbag designer and my mom's stylist. Fay, a personal shopper/stylist from New York City. Carly, Mark's muse, client, and friend - a Lindsay Lohan look alike (Carly on the left).



Together, we saw the Stella McCartney, Celine, Giambattista Valli, and Alexander McQueen shows.

Everyone keeps asking me how the seats were. Well, the shows are not very big which is a plus, so there were usually no more than 5 rows on either side of the runway and sometimes 3 or 4 rows in the middle. That said, we were never far from the action. I took some less than fabulous pictures, but, to me, they are priceless because I was there! Style.com has pictures of every look from every show so people like Anna Wintour never really have to get out of bed if they don't want to. And yes, I saw Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley. Jessica Beil was there for God know why and Scarlett Johansson was in attendance representing Louis Vuitton.

In addition to Fashion Week events, I met many fantastic Chicagoans (Mark is from Chicago, so many of his friends and colleagues were in Paris) and my friend Porsha was working in Paris so we got together as well. We went to some clubs, we lounged in tourist friendly hotels, and we went to a great house party, thanks to a french jewelry designer named Natalie.

Aside from the beauty and excitement of Fashion Week, there were a few reminders of my true feelings on Europe:

1) The shower system. Why do French people have that stupid shower head that you must hold over your body? Who doesn't want water pouring down on them from above?! Who wants to HAVE TO hold the water over them just to get clean? I mean, I understand having the option is great, but as soon as I checked into the hotel, I had flashbacks from my time spent in Italy sitting in a sad, empty tub with one hand holding the shower head over my body and the other trying to keep a healthy balance of soap and water on my loofa....not ideal.

2) European outlets! Why did no one remind me before I left that I would not be able to flat iron my damn hair?! And don't think that a converter helped me any. I BLEW OUT my flat iron. It is useless now, something about the wattage. I am without a flat iron (even as I write this a month later). I was pissed to remember that little detail. Blogging, emailing, skype phone calls, itunes in the morning - didn't happen, because I couldn't even charge my computer.

I really can't complain though - I had a fantastic time watching Fall 2007 Paris Fashion Week on display before my very eyes and I will never forget it. Oh! And the coolest thing about Fashion Week is that press photographers take pictures of the people that attend the shows. Carly constantly got her picture taken and of course it was fun to watch BUT Japanese Vogue took a picture of me before the Stella McCartney show. It was amazing!

Here is a picture of me and Mark the day of the Stella show. You really can't see my outfit but it's MY memory :)
What did I learn?

Of course when I left the country, I was the designated civilian to report back to my friends with the hottest trends from Paris and the fashion forecast for the upcoming seasons. I was apprehensive about this, because as much as I do consider myself a fashionista, I have never been one to listen to what someone else said was the new IT-item. I observe what people are wearing: people on the street, the magazines, celebs and I separate my likes from my dislikes, but I have never been one to say "I HAVE TO HAVE THAT" just because some magazine tells me it's in this season. That said, I didn't absorb the runway looks dissecting the fall colors and shapes. Honestly, they all looked like slight variations of today's looks. I did, however, notice a street look that I was not ready for.

My wardrobe has been a union of two influences for about 5 years. Thanks to Carrie Bradshaw's eclectic and colorful wardrobe (courtesy of Sex & the City costume designer Patricia Field), I live with the knowledge that not matching is what's HOT, use bright many colors and mix them! Secondly, my sister Leigh told me a long time ago to never wear black shoes, and if you know my sister you would listen to her fashion advice. She was Carrie before Sarah Jessica was Carrie. I understood that no matter the outfit, black shoes just weren't necessary - Spice it up. Anyway, equipped with this wisdom, I have lived happily for quite some time. But in Paris, I kept seeing everyone in black...all black: black shoes, black outfit, black bags. At first, I thought, "OK, that looks nice on her."
"Ooh, nice bag...and I typically don't like black."
"Oh, I love that black coat."
and then it became,
"Where the hell are my black tights?"
"I need a black bag. I wish I had a big black shoulder bag."
"Oh! Black is so chic, so simple, so classic."
Now, I'm hooked. I am dedicated to finding the perfect black oversized bag. I don't shy away from black clothes anymore, as a matter of fact, I recently purchased some perfect skinny black slacks by Theory. I love them! I have a new little black dress and I am also hoping for a black Burberry trench. Believe me, I am so shocked that I have done this 180, but I love the look. It's fabulous! And I am not over color - I still love bright, attention grabbing shades, but I definitely admire the fierceness that black can bring.