Happy Mother's Day!

LINK: PICS From the 2013 Met Gala...

Jessica Biel (Timberlake?) wearing Giambattista Valli at the 2013 Met Gala

[source HuffPost]: This year, with a theme like "Punk: Chaos to Couture," we saw plenty of studding, black leather and a few mohawks (see SJP). I thought Jessica Biel Timberlake (?) did the unconventional theme of this year's Gala justice with her look along with a few others (Madonna did... Madonna) The red carpet was livestreamed and Beyonce served as an honorary chair of the event this year. Kim K. was even allowed to attend because of her connection to Kanye (smh to her attending this event and to that dress she wore) The annual Met Gala, which formally kicks off the Metropolitan Museum of Art's yearly Costume Institute exhibit, always brings in a bevy of style stars, from models to designers to Hollywood's A-list. Click the pic above to see a slide show of the 2013 Met Gala Red Carpet.

SEWING: Loose Fit Tee To Fitted Tee: A "Sort of" Tutorial...

Hey y'all! Remember me? lol. Look, I realize I've been M.I.A. lately which is why I wanted to document my latest, super simple sewing project. Seriously, making over t-shirts is a quick way to build up your sewing confidence (even though I made a few simple mistakes with this one, you really can't beat sharpening your sewing skills with old t-shirts)

I've had this t-shirt for years now. I used to take annual trips to New York for my birthday in October (my first birthday trip there was in 1996, and my most recent was in 2006) and I purchased this particular tee on one of those trips. I bought it and then never wore it because I didn't love the fit, and it wasn't until recently when I was pinning to my Fashion Sewing Inspiration board on Pinterest that I came across THIS PIN on how to give your t-shirts a more feminine fit.  Light bulbs!! I can finally fix my New York City tee!

First I laid my t-shirt flat on my cutting table trying to line up my side seams, shoulder seams, armpit seams and armhole seams. I worked on my t-shirts on the right side but working on it inside out like she did in the tutorial (in the link above) is just as easy. 

Then I chose a t-shirt with a fit that I loved (the fit of my Hershey's tee is perfection) and I laid that on top top lining up my shoulder seams and neck line. It was all very crudely done. I didn't pin anything to make sure it didn't shift. I just kind of "eyeballed" it. Eyeballing it is always quicker. 

Then I folded the sleeves under on my Hershey's tee so that I could trace and outline it onto my New York City tee (in blue fabric chalk, you can *barely* see it below) and this is the point where I made this project way more complicated than it should have been because I wanted to remove the sleeves completely, then reset them... O_O so seriously, if I'm confusing you, refer back to the tutorial link  HERE, because her way is simpler for nearly the identical result.

All in all, even with my simple mistakes, I'm really pleased with the results and I feel really confident that I could do this again (seamlessly) if I wanted to. You can always learn from mistakes, don't forget that :)

Before and After!

LINK: Slideshow of the 2013 French Quarter Festival in New Orleans...

Click over to Hip Trip Advisor to check out more pics...

Prayers Go Out to Boston.

“Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength. No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.” ― Dalai Lama XIV

First Lady Michelle Obama Covers VOGUE for the 2nd Time..

Photographer Annie Leibovitz shot First Lady Michelle Obama for her 2nd Vogue Cover. Click HERE to see more pics.

SEWING: Leather and Lace...

I have an insane amount of fabric in my sewing room, boxes and boxes of it. It's at the point that I don't need to buy another stitch of fabric until I go through the mountains of stuff I already have. This yellow lace was a part of that overflow.

I had been wanting to do a pencil skirt for the longest and finally, I was able to focus long enough to get it done. Oh you didn't know? I can be THE most unfocused sewing person, so much so, that it could potentially take me weeks (WEEKS!) to finish something as simple as a headband. Pray for me. But I did finish this skirt in kinda record time, so.. PROGRESS! Anyhoo, I didn't really know what fabric I would use for the skirt, until stumbling on some pretty sweet street style photos, one in particular (see it below) that I used for inspiration. I'm pretty satisfied with how mine turned out. See a few more photos of this look HERE, HERE and HERE.

My inspiration for this look is below. Found it on Pinterest...

Janet Jackson is MARRIED!

via ET: Rumors that Janet Jackson is planning her wedding to Wissam Al Mana have been flying fast and furious for weeks now. There's only one problem: they're already married!
 In their first joint statement as a couple, Janet Jackson and Wissam Al Mana confirm the news exclusively to ET, saying, "The rumours regarding an extravagant wedding are simply not true. Last year we were married in a quiet, private, and beautiful ceremony." 
 "Our wedding gifts to one another were contributions to our respective favourite children’s charities. We would appreciate that our privacy is respected and that we are allowed this time for celebration and joy. With love, Wissam and Janet" Congratulations to them! 
The newlyweds' official wedding photo above is by world-renowned photographer, Marco Glaviano.

Looks From the 2013 Oscars Red Carpet + My Thoughts..

Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior Couture. It's a little hard to tell where her skin ends and the dress begins. It's a pretty dress, but it's washing her out.

Jessica Chastain wearing Armani Prive.

Naomi Watts in Armani Prive.

Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta and this dress is just way too close to her skin color. A huge trend for the night, no?

Reese Witherspoon in Louis Vuitton.

 Zoe Saldana wearing an Alexis Mabille Couture dress.

Octavia Spencer wearing Tadashi Shoji.

Kerry Washington wearing a Miu Miu dress, Chopard earrings and a Prada clutch. I'm not really feeling this on her. I've seen her look much better.

Anne Hathaway wearing Prada. Once again, skin and dress = the SAME COLOR. Underwhelmed. 

Charlize Theron in Christian Dior Couture. I have to say, I like everything about this look on her. From her pixie cut to her minimal jewelry, and yes the dress color is a little close to her skin color like a few of the others, but I'm giving her a pass. She's owning it. I think she looks great. 

Adele in Jenny Packham.

Jennifer Aniston wearing a red Valentino dress. The Internets exploded with people hating on her in this dress, so let me add my 2 cents. I don't hate it, but it's not what I would have expected from the sleek, clean lined Jen Aniston. It's a little bouffant for her.

Nicole Kidman in L'Wren Scott. I loved her in this dress when I saw her and Keith Urban on the red carpet, but I hadn't caught a glimpse of the bottom of it. What's going on on the bottom of it exactly? O_o

Salma Hayek wearing an Alexander McQueen that I just can't get with. What IS that? Velvet? I love Salma, I do, I just can't love this dress. 

Sandra Bullock in Elie Saab. 

Queen Latifah wearing Badgley Mischka.

Halle Berry in Versace. I think the fit of the dress is fabulous on her, she is absolutely working that fit, but I'm still "meh" on the design elements of the dress. The stripes are making me feel some kinda way..

Jamie Foxx wearing Calvin Klein and his daughter Corinne Bishop.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck both in Gucci. This photo really doesn't do Jennifer's dress justice it was so much more vibrant looking on the red carpet. I heart them :)

Kristin Stewart (wearing Naeem Khan) once again ruins an entire look with her horrible posture and her "I don't care" hair. And the color isn't doing her any favors either. I can't with this one, sorry.

Rene Zellweger in Carolina Herrerra. I don't love it. And that "no effort" hair. None of this was on my favorites list.  

Click HERE for a list of 2013 Oscar Winners.

IN CASE YOU MISSED: Beyonce on Oprah's Next Chapter

Watch below:

2013 Fall Fashion! WATCH It LIVE...

Watch the New York Fall 2013 shows stream LIVE and watch rebroadcasts of shows you missed. Click the pic above to see

Beyonce Covers VOGUE Magazine's March 2013 Issue...

Click the pic to read more about it.

WATCH: Beyonce's 2013 Super Bowl Halftime Show

If you missed it, here it is! Watch while you can...
Also watch (a snippet) of Alicia Keys singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl and Jennifer Hudson singing with the Sandy Hook Elementary School Choir.

Mad Men (Finally!) Returns April 2013!

The show returns on Sunday April 7, 2013 to be exact. Squeeeee! This show feels like it's been off for like two yearrrrsssss. Oh wait, has it? Doesn't matter, because Don Draper (Season 6!) will be back in a matter of weeks. And how awesome are these black and white shots below?! I really had to do a double take when I first saw them because I thought I was looking at actual vintage photos. Well played. Read more about the new upcoming season of Mad Men HERE. 

*photos via The Smithian

Remembering The Dream...

WATCH: Beyonce Sings National Anthem at Obama Inauguration

Beyoncé's stylist Ty Hunter confirms to us that Bey is wearing a Pucci dress, a Christian Dior coat and Lorraine Schwartz emeralds and Jay-Z was wearing a Tom Ford suit.

President Obama is Sworn In For His 2nd Term.

via HuffPost: President Barack Obama has been sworn in to his second term in office. 

During a quiet ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House, Obama took the official oath of office at approximately 11:55 a.m. Obama's family attended, along with several members of the media.

The ceremony occurred because of a Constitutional requirement that the president begins his second term by noon on Jan. 20. Obama will be sworn in a second time on Monday, when he takes the oath of office in front of thousands of people at the U.S. Capitol.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office. Roberts will also administer the oath of office during Monday's Inauguration ceremonies.

Roberts famously flubbed the oath of office during the 2009 Inauguration, misspeaking while leading Obama without notes. The swearing-in ceremony was repeated "out of an abundance of caution" in the Map Room of the White House the following day.

After Obama swears in for the final time on Monday, he will have matched President Franklin Roosevelt's record of being sworn in as the nation's leader four times.

Beyonce Covers GQ Magazine Without Pants. Or a Bra.

The cover photo was shot by Terry Richardson. It was recently announced that Beyonce will be performing at President Obama‘s inauguration on January 21, 2013 singing the National Anthem.  Also be sure to tune into the Super Bowl in February – Beyonce is the Pepsi sponsored half-time performer.

Celebrities Speak Out For More Gun Control...

via The Huffington Post: On the same day the National Rifle Association demanded access to guns be protected, a bevy of celebrities released a PSA urging lawmakers to put forth a substantive plan for increasing gun control. Among the entertainers making appearances in the one-and-a-half minute ad for Demand a Plan are Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Carey Mulligan, Beyonce, Jeremy Renner, Amy Poehler, Jessica Alba, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, John Legend, Nick Offerman, John Slattery, Selana Gomez, Jennifer Aniston, Jon Hamm, Chris Rock and Conan O'Brien. As with many celebrity PSAs, each person says a few words that, taken as a whole, create a moving call to action.

FASHION: JLo and Teeology Tees...

What is Teeology? Your votes determine which t-shirt designs go into production, then they only make what their members want to buy, in limited edition. Less inventory risk for us means we charge you less and give you more.  Teeology