Loser Like Me: Part 2

The Finalists:

Hey, readers!!  I'm slowly and surely feeling a little better, a good thing since I am absolutely dying to sing.  School is right around the corner and there are so many songs that I want to practice and perfect before the year starts!

So, Part 2 of my Loser Like Me series (check out Part 1 here!) focuses on the current season of The Glee Project and my general thoughts about the remaining contenders, the challenges, and the decisions.

Season 2 of The Glee Project started off slightly differently than Season 1 had.  Instead of choosing 12 contenders to compete for the coveted 7 episode arc on Glee, co-creator and head honcho Ryan Murphy made the executive decision to choose 14 contestants, 7 boys and 7 girls.  However, he made it quite clear that this season, only one contestant would take away the prize role.  This was a major change from the first season when, in a surprise twist, Damian McGinty and Samuel Larsen both won 7 episode arcs (which were actually extended), while runner-ups Lindsay Pearce and Alex Newell both won 2 episode arcs on the Emmy-winning series.

Thus, after many auditions and lengthy callbacks, Abraham Lin, Blake Jenner, Michael Weisman, Charlie Lubeck, Mario Bonds, Tyler Ford, and Maxfield Camp became the seven males competing for a role on Glee.  The seven females were Ali Stroker, Aylin Bayramoglu, Lily Mae Harrington, Shanna Henderson, Nellie Veitenheimer, Dani Shay, and Taryn Douglas.

Today, I'm going to talk about the seven remaining contestants and offer my opinion about whether or not I think they have what it takes to win!

Abraham Lim is a perfectionist; this trait both helps and hinders him in the competition.  For example, he killed his dance moves during the homework assignment for "Dance-ability" week; however, he was so worried about doing a good job in the video that he got trapped in his own head, and ultimately, sucked.  His devotion to practicing definitely helps him in general, as seen in the recording studio during "Adaptability" week, when he had to instantly record his parts in Jessie J.'s "Price Tag" without practicing before; the result was a pretty awful vocal track.  Abraham has talked a few times about how he was teased for being perceived gay as a child; he says that he is not gay, he has just picked up "feminine" traits from the women he was raised by.  It is clearly a sensitive topic for him, causing vocal coach Nikki's comments about his androgyny in the most recent "Theatricality" episode to be totally out of line.  She asked him if he considered himself androgynous when he performed, to which he responded that he didn't really, he mostly felt "free".  Her rude "Oh, please!" visibly threw him off, resulting in a less than stellar recording of "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls.  This shakeup landed him in the Bottom 3 for the week, where he performed "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes/Adam Levine.  The performance was one of his better ones and, combined with his speech to Ryan Murphy about how this week has helped him come to terms with his uniqueness (read: androgyny) helped to save him for another week.  Do I think that Abraham will win?  No.  He is nice enough, but he lacks the level of talent and the fierce edge that I think is necessary to win the competition.  However, his YouTube videos are hilarious...click here to watch!

Ali Stroker is wheelchair-bound, having been paralyzed from the chest down at age 2.  She has a background in musical theatre and tends to be given the soprano notes in many of the songs.  Personally, I don't like Ali's voice; I find it kind of piercing, shrill, uncontrolled, and almost-whiny, particularly in the pop songs the contestants usually have to sing.  However, after finding out that she has had to develop her own technique to sing as she can't use her paralyzed diaphragm, I definitely respect her perseverance and drive a lot more.  Also, she did do a great job in her solo in the homework assignment in "Theatricality" week ("I Hope I Get It" from A Chorus Line).  Do I think she'll win?  No, but I think that she'll get pretty far in the competition, considering that her determination has caused all of the mentors (except maybe Nikki) to love her, and Ryan Murphy calls her "a little Dolly Parton" due to her exuberance and over-the-top performance during "Adaptability" week.

Aylin Bayramoglu is the sassiest Turkish Muslim that you ever did meet.  Though she comes from a conservative family (her mom refuses to let her use tampons because they "take away her virginity"), she is extremely boy-crazy, outgoing, and self-confident.  This sass (and her lack of it) landed her in the Bottom 3 during "Individuality" week... however, she sang herself back to the competition.  Her big personality and powerful voice landed her the affections of fellow contestant Charlie, causing them to develop an "undefinable" relationship.  Do I think that Aylin will win?  She definitely has a good shot.  She did fantastically during "Adaptability" week, winning the homework assignment and scoring the number one spot on the mentor's leader-board for the week.  She has a strong voice and solid acting chops and Ryan Murphy called her "a game-changer"; if she were to win, all of the under-represented Muslim girls out there will have someone to call a role-model on network television.

Blake Jenner is a shaggy-haired teen from Miami, Florida.  Though I was initially surprised to see such a "cookie-cutter" type guy on this show, I quickly realized (along with the mentors) that he definitely has an unidentifiable star-quality.  He is one of the best actors in the competition and has been repeatedly commended on his acting ability... his portrayal of Boy George during "Theatricality" week was superb.  His voice is also pretty decent, especially in his moving "Waiting for a Boy/Girl Like You" duet with Nellie.  Blake is clearly not the best dancer naturally, as seen during "Adaptability" week, but his work ethic clearly helps him to do his best: he and Michael stood out in the mess that was the "Party Rock Anthem" music video during "Dance-ability" week.  Do I think that Blake will win?  Yes.  He is very attractive and has an undeniable charm that does not overshadow his talent and his drive to be his best.  He is genuinely sweet and he is one of the few contestants that has never had a negative word to say about anyone else, even in the very revealing confessional videos each contender makes.  His "star quality" is also undeniable; my mom calls him "Zac Efron" and Ryan Murphy even said that he really had "something special".  I wish that he was a little quirkier for he almost seems too perfect to be on Glee... I guess we'll see what happens!

Lily Mae Harrington is a big personality on this show.  She kind of reminds me of Lindsay Pearce from last season's show, but not in a good way.  Lily Mae definitely makes her presence known.  She has confidence for days and a killer voice, but her constant excuses for any mistake are what make her stand out from the pack.  She has been in the Bottom 3 three times thus far, and I'm pretty sure her passionate speeches pleading with Ryan Murphy have been what have saved her; Ryan may not be too fussed about ridding the competition of stellar talent (read: Nellie, Charlie, Mario), but he clearly has a weak spot for passion.  Do I think Lily Mae will win?  Honestly, if she was not the excuse-monster and had listened to Zach's directions (no wedding dancing!) during "Dance-ability" week, she may stand a chance.  She has a strong voice and is super-confident (to the point that she is a bit annoyingly conceited, but she's getting better about that).  She also nailed her performance during the "Fearlessness" video.  However, I really don't think that she will win at this point...the damage is done.  Her most recent speech at Ryan may have saved her for the time being because of her passion, but his response to her ("Forget the 'yes-but' if you come back") made it seem as though if he sees her again, her grating personality will cause her to get axed.

Michael Weisman is the youngest contender this season, at a mere 18 years old.  He is a self-admitted calculus geek, but he clearly also loves to sing.  Michael's issue is that he, like Abraham, can easily get trapped in his head.  The most clear example of this has been during "Sexuality" week; he struggled remembering the words to the "Moves Like Jagger/Milkshake" mashup in the recording studio.  He also forgot the words to Jason Mraz's "Lucky" in his Last Chance performance the same week... "lucky" (I'm punny) for him, the mentors and Murphy considered more than his cringe-inducing performance and Tyler got cut instead.  Though he hasn't been in the Bottom 3 since, he has definitely cut it close, with weak recording studio performances occurring nearly on a weekly basis.  Do I think that Michael will win?  I think that he stands a really strong chance; when he's not trapped by his own quest for perfection, he is actually really good.  I think that he definitely has that boy-next-door-appeal (I'm pretty sure my sister has a crush on him), and I respect him for bringing some semblance of dancing (along with Blake) in the "Party Rock Anthem" disaster of episode two.  Even if he doesn't win, I'm pretty sure Michael will make it to at least the top 2 or 3.

Shanna Henderson is the bubbly and vivacious southern belle of the group.  To date, she is the only contender who has never had to perform a last chance performance for Ryan.  Shanna has a constant smile on her face and is up for any task the mentors may give her (i.e. that Lady Gaga-esque meat dress in the "Theatricality" music video).  She was the first person to win a homework assignment, and though she hasn't won any since, she has almost always been at the top of the mentor's leaderboard.  She also has a stellar voice and a clear drive to win.  Do I think Shanna will win?  Yes, I think that she and Blake could easily go head to head for the prize.  She's a strong actress, singer, and even dancer (which, this season, is few and far between) and she definitely wants to win a lot.  Also, all of the mentors adore he, thus keeping her out of the Bottom 3 each week.  She also has an interesting story (her mom became involved in drugs after she was born and she was teased all her life for being a "crack baby"), which I think helps make her fit the mold of the show.

The next episode of The Glee Project is called "Tenacity" and airs tonight at 10 ET on Oxygen!!  Make sure you tune in!

Love, Leaza

Loser Like Me: Part 1

My Experience...

Happy Monday, everyone!  I hope everyone is doing fantastically!  I'm actually a bit (or a lot) under the weather and have completely lost my voice... but every cloud has a silver lining: I now have more blog-writing time!

So, one of my absolute favorite guilty pleasure shows is Oxygen's The Glee Project.  Being a musical theatre gleek, this show is my cup of tea.  I love watching contestants compete in performance-based challenges, such as weekly homework assignment group numbers, recording studio sessions, choreography lessons, music video shoots, and (my favorite) last chance performances for the week's bottom 3 contenders.  I think that the boot-camp environment is so educational and motivational, even if the contestants don't happen to win the guest starring arc on Glee.

Being the major gleek that I am, I was shocked to realize that I had missed the auditions for the first season of TGP in the fall of 2010.  (I had just started college and was overwhelmed by that experience, but still, it was pretty suprising.)  When Season 1 aired last summer, I was immediately enamored and thought, "Hey, I can do that, and I want to be on Glee...", thus sealing my desire to audition for Season 2.  When auditions were finally opened (on my birthday!) last fall, I spent weeks trying to decide what to sing (from the list of required songs) for my online submission video.  I wanted to be on this show more than anything else in my life.  I finally decided on Irene Cara's power ballad "Out Here on My Own" from the iconic Fame.  

Being the perfectionist that I am, I realized as soon as I uploaded the video that it was not my best work.  However, I still hoped it would maybe catch the casting director's attention.  I knew that I would have a better shot if I also auditioned for the show in person too, so I drove up to NYC with my mom, brother, sister, and boyfriend in November for the first day of open auditions.  We got there at 6:30 a.m. and the line leading inside was already stretched around the block.  As time went by and oodles of talented people walked out, saying that they were eliminated in the first round (including one of my incredibly talented friends from home), I began to get discouraged.  

After a grueling five hours in the bitter, windy, cold, we finally got inside.  We were given a couple moments to warm up before shooting promo shots for OxygenTV and then we were told to line up by our numbers.  We handed in our paperwork and answered a few questions, and the next thing I knew, we were being divided into groups of five and lining up outside the audition rooms.  We didn't have to wait more than a minute before going into a room.  A pair of adjudicators introduced themselves to us and told us just to have fun before telling us to begin.  I was the fourth contestant to sing.  By that time, I had met so many talented people who hadn't gotten through, that I wasn't even nervous; I didn't think I stood a chance in the world.  I belted out my jazzy remix of John Legend's "Ordinary People", and I was excited that my last hurrah came out without a hitch.

When all five of us had finished singing, the adjudicators discussed each of us for a few minutes as we all discussed how we were glad it was over while simultaneously getting nervous about what the casting assistants would decide.  The assistants began their speech by thanking us all for coming, we were all very talented, and we should all continue to pursue music... etc, etc, and so forth.  They said they were only going to call back one contestant to move on to the next round... me.  

Imagine my shock and disbelief and amazement.. that moment was incredibly surreal.  They put a green armband with my number around my wrist and sent me upstairs to a holding room for the next round.  The room was a dance studio that contained no more than 60 people who were eagerly chatting among themselves and singing with each other.  Over the next few hours, I met so many wonderful people and had a lot of fun with the room-wide jam-seshes that occurred rather frequently.  I found out that since NYC was the last stop on the audition tour and since the venue was pretty small, the judges were being more selective with their decisions.

When I finally got called to go to the next room to perform again (to a supportive round of applause from my fellow contenders), the nervous butterflies that tend to chill in my stomach during auditions began to dance again.  I sat out in the hallway, meeting more great people and waiting for my chance to sing again.  I met a lot of friendly Oxygen employees who got to know me and encouraged me to do my best.  When I finally went in, a really nice lady greeted me along with the red "recording" light of the camera that sat to her right.  I sang "Ordinary People" again... she told me that I did a great job, and asked if I could sing another song that wasn't on the official song list for the competition. 

My nervous mind instantly blanked on the bazillion songs that I knew I knew.  I stared out the window and saw some Broadway billboards, which reminded me that American Idiot was the last show that I had seen on Broadway, which reminded me that I was pretty good at Green Day's "21 Guns".  I sang it, but my nerves definitely got the best of me and I didn't sing anywhere near as well as I wanted to.  I knew that this was the end even before a sorry TGP worker informed me.  However, he told me that they still really liked me and if I ever happened to be in LA, look up open Glee auditions; he was sure I could get on the show.  He also said that I still stood a chance with my online audition tape, so I shouldn't give up my hope of making it to the LA Glee Project Callbacks yet.  He said that if I made it, I would find out in the beginning of December.

As disappointed as I was not to make it further in the competition, I was more than grateful to have made it as far as I had.  I made it further than thousands of others who auditioned, many of them super talented.  Of course, I was disappointed in myself for messing up in my last callback, but if The Glee Project happens to have a third season, I am not messing around; I'm playing to win. :)

Stay tuned for my views on the current season's contenders!

Love, Leaza

The Rainbow Connection

Hey, everyone!  I'm sorry that I have been MIA this week, I have not had a chance to sit down and write a post!  One of my best friends left for a study abroad trip to Australia, my brothers had lacrosse tournaments, I had a job interview, I got sick, and oodles of other things wormed their way into my life.

On Tuesday though, I got a chance to try out a new DIY; yes, they are another shorts-upcycle, but I am pretty sure that these are my favorite yet.  I got the tutorial from one of my favorite fashion blogs, College Fashion.  CF has a variety of inspiring articles, perfect for the fashionable, budget conscious, and expressive college student.

This tutorial for Tie-Dye Shorts is my favorite from their very unique DIY Chic/Fashion series.  The Tie-Dye Shorts tutorial is a way to latch on to the recent tie-dye/dip-dye/ombre/neon craze, but with the satisfaction of creating your own unique look.  I bought a box of Tulip brand tie-dye for about $6 from a local fabric and craft store.  The box included three bottles of "just add water" dye in fuchsia, teal, and yellow.  I used an old pair of white shorts from Target that my sister had borrowed and subsequently stained.  I followed the tutorial verbatim; however, I allowed the dye to soak for about 10 hours before washing and drying.  I absolutely loveeee how they turned out!  Take a look!

Bonus!!

You will likely have leftover dye when making these shorts, so in order to get the most bang for your buck, add a few more projects to the mix!  My brother asked my sister and me to tie-dye a basic white pair of his Nike socks.  We did, clearly putting our own spin on each sock.  My sister also tie-dyed a burnout cropped logo tee, which also came out pretty awesomely.  Pictures of these projects will be posted soon!!

What do you think of these projects?  Do you have any other fun, upcycling DIY projects?  Let me know!!

Love, Leaza

What About Breakfast at Tiffany's?

Breakfast of Champions: Cup o' Omelette

Happy weekend, everyone!  Today, I have another DIY project that you may enjoy.  However, this time, instead of cool clothes, we're making food!!

Now, I hate to cook.  I like to eat (most of the time) but I absolutely abhor the task of cooking.  I do not have anything against those who like to cook (those are usually the people who feed me), I just personally do not like it.  I think its partially because I do not have the patience for cooking, partially because I always mess up when trying to make something, partially because my house's gas oven/stove terrifies me (hey, I don't want to accidentally set toxic fumes free in my house!), and partially because I never know what to make.  I am a vegetarian; thus, I tend to have limited options as far as meals are concerned in my largely carnivorous family.

However, being a vegetarian, I have to be conscious of what I eat to make sure I stay healthy.  I have to make sure that I am eating food that contain enough protein and iron for me to function (otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do anything but sleep for 15-20 hours at a time).

With all of these factors considered, imagine my intrigue when I discovered a quick and easy omelette recipe: no oven/stove monster required!  I found this a few weeks ago on the comment page for an article on LaurenConrad.com (I would link the page but I can't find it anymore...sad face).  A fellow LC follower told me about this simple and delicious quick breakfast fix; I have had it for breakfast nearly everyday since!

What You Need:

• A microwaveable coffee mug
• 2-3 eggs
• A variety of simple (and HEALTHY) snacks and treats to add in your omlette
• A microwave
• Salsa or guacamole or anything else that you enjoy topping off your eggs/omlette with (OPTIONAL)

Step 1:

Gather all of your materials.  Today, I was extra hungry so I decided to use 3 eggs instead of my usual 2.  For my snacks and treats, I chose Goya black beans, black olives (I'm addicted to these), shredded mozzarella cheese,  and a few pieces of lettuce/spinach.  I also got both Chi Chi's Medium Salsa and Giant Fresh Salsa to add at the end!

Step 2:

Crack your eggs and place in coffee mug.

Step 3:

Add your various toppings in the mug on top of the eggs.

Step 4:

Use a fork to whisk the entire contents of the mug together until the eggs and toppings are well blended.

Step 5:

Place mug in the microwave, cover it, and heat for 1 minute on 100% power.

Step 6:

Remove from microwave and stir.  Place mug back in the microwave and heat for 1 minute and 45 seconds (approximately- depends on microwave power) or until fully cooked.

Step 7:

Your mixture should have expanded and solidified completely.  Compare it to the picture!

Step 8:

Add salsa, guacamole, ketchup, nothing, or whatever you crazy kids put on your eggs.  Grab a refreshing and wonderfully healthy glass of green tea and enjoy!! :)

NOTE: The eggs will most likely stick to the mug (especially if you added cheese like me) and will be a pain to get off the insides of the mug.  To loosen the stubborn egg, soak your mug in cold water for about 10 minutes and then scrub with a dishcloth or sponge.

What do you think of this recipe?  Would you try it?  What are some other quick and easy vegetarian recipes?? Let me know!!

Love, Leaza

I Need A Camera To My Eye

Hi, everybody!!  Today, I have a story to share with you all...

My (almost 17 year-old) sister Bri entered a photo contest sponsored by our city a few weeks ago.  She was super-pumped to enter; she has always been a visual artist, but has also developed an interest in photography over the past year.  Plus, the contest had cash awards for the top placing photos and what teenager doesn't want some spare money??

The competition was called Summer Blooms, which definitely inspired her.  She had a variety of concepts in mind for her endeavor, though she could only select one photograph in the end.  Bri planned out the details of her photoshoot for days, enlisting my (almost 15 year-old) brother and me to help and model for her.  She was so intent about her vision that, because she wanted a particular color of flowers for her pictures, she went to a store to purchase a flower bouquet for the shoot.  She spent a good hour (between my super-swamped brother's engineering camp and lacrosse practice) shooting her various pictures and stressing over achieving her idea of perfection.  Then, even though she had swim practice the next morning at 7 a.m., she worked for hours and stayed up much past midnight as she downloaded and formatted and stressed and cried over which picture was the perfect image to give her a chance to win or place in the contest.  Finally, she chose one (pictured below) and signed-sealed-delivered it to City Hall.

Isn't this gorgeous??

A few weeks went by and Bri began to anxiously check her mail and email for news about the contest results.  On Tuesday, this letter* came in the mail:

*Names and addresses blacked out for privacy purposes

As excited as she is that her photo will be on display in City Hall, Bri is hurt and upset by this decision.  She was excited to be judged in a contest; she wanted to know how she would rank in competition with her peers...and, of course, the prospect of possibly winning a cash prize was a very enticing notion as well.  What Bri is most upset about is that all of her hard work and stress and diligence with this project ended up being for naught; she doesn't think that it is right that City Hall deemed the contest aspect null and void because there were "too few entries".

From the words chosen to describe the outcome, it seems as though there were multiple entries.  Princeton University's WordNet defines "contest" and "competition" (when the two are deemed synonymous) as "an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants".  There clearly seem to be two or more contestants involved in this "Youth Photography Contest"; what right does the City Arts Committee have not to choose a winner, particularly when the youth clearly made a solid effort to compete?

What do you think about this situation?  Is it fair to the contestants?  Do you think the City Arts Committee should be obligated to choose a winner from those who entered? Please let me know!!

Love, Leaza

We Wear Short Shorts

As I told you in my last post, I have been spending a bit of time this summer working on fun DIY projects.

Seeing as my favorite season is summer, it almost goes without saying that I could easily and happily live in dresses and shorts.  Though I like to say that my (way too) extensive dress collection contains a diverse selection of dress styles and designs for every occasion, I definitely cannot say the same for my shorts selection.  Until recently, I have spent most days in a pair of destroyed light wash jean shorts that I got at Forever 21 awhile ago.  I did have a few other pairs, such as a pair of high-waisted cheetah print shorts and and a pair of classic khakis, I find them to be less wearable and frankly, not as comfortable as good ole, worn-in denim.

Luckily though, I found quite a few old pairs of jeans that still fit me rather well.  I just hadn't worn them for awhile for whatever reason. As I cleaned out my pants drawers, I realized that I could upcycle these forgotten jeans by turning them into cutoffs.  However, I wanted each pair to be unique and representative of me; thus, the DIY projects began!

My first DIY project was started a few weeks ago on a whim around midnight.  I had a pair of extremely faded skinnies that I got junior year of high school from Wet Seal.  However, for skinny jeans, they were pretty baggy on me, and were therefore uncomfortable and unflattering.  I cut these jeans into shorts, but their pale, faded complexion looked bland and boring.  So, I looked in my family's art closet and found a bag stuffed with puffy paint (which I used religiously in high school), as well as a flower stencil.  I decided to use red and gold puffy paint with the stencil to create a pair of interesting, floral patterned shorts.  After painting the flowers all over the shorts, I machine washed them to give them a more vintage look and to help the hem to fray nicely.  The last thing I had to do was cuff the raw edge slightly, and I was the proud owner of a new pair of floral patterned shorts!

I discovered my second DIY project while reading the weekly Haute Links on my favorite blog, College Fashion.  They linked a project found on the Free People blog which tells you how you can create your own customized pair of the American flag shorts that have been popping up everywhere recently.  I have wanted my own pair since I saw the cute Americana trend featured in College Fashion's Inspired by Lana Del Rey post.  So, I cut another pair of jeans into shorts (this skinny pair was accidentally purchased in the wrong length from Target), and I began to follow the tutorial to make my own, special pair of American flag shorts.  Of course, I didn't exactly stick to the instructions all the time.  For example, since my jeans had been rather fitted in the hip area, I ripped out part of the side seam and covered the slit with the ever-trendy, light pink lace (which was a cut-up lace shirt that had been ruined in the wash.  Though I still have yet to fade and fray this pair, I really thank Free People for the DIY inspiration, for not only did it turn out well, I had a lot of fun making them and making them unique.

My third DIY was inspired by the pictures of jean shorts with lace edging that have been taking over Pinterest lately.  I am obsessed with lace; though it does not match my comfy, grungy, boho-chic aesthetic, I love anything and everything lace.  Thus, this DIY was an absolute must.  I have a pair of high waisted denim shorts that I had gotten from Forever 21 a few months back.  However, they are so short (especially due to my disproportionately large rear end) that I hardly wear them.  I liked the idea that the lace edging would lengthen the shorts, while simultaneously adding some quirk and class to any outfit.  I found a long length of vintage lace edging in my deceased Grandma's old sewing supplies and simply sewed it to the hem of the shorts.  They are now longer and super cute...best of all, the project was completely free!

So what do you think of these projects?  Have you done any fashion DIY projects as of late?  Let me know!!

Love, Leaza

Give To Me Your Leather, Take From Me My Lace

Hello everyone!  I hope everyone has been keeping cool in this crazy heat.  I'm sorry I haven't been posting much, I have been incredibly busy and exhausted as of late, causing Cages or Wings? to temporarily be on the back burner.

However, in my little bit of spare time I have gotten pretty crafty.  For months I have been looking at DIY projects and admiring from afar, but recently I realized that not only are DIY projects cute and unique, they are also budget friendly (a quality that is super important to me).  As I have been working, I've noticed that I tend to veer toward projects that include lace.  Though the lace trend has been going strong for awhile now, I have recently started to love it more than ever.  I love how a simple tank or tee can go from basic to fantastic with a lace print or texture.  I have been gathering more and more lace pieces in my fashion arsenal as of late, and instead of being bored with the print, I only want more!

Why lace?  Well, about two years ago, I would not have seen myself ever being on board with this trend.  I tend to lean toward easy, casual pieces, like jeans and casual skirts and dresses.  I initially thought the whole lace trend to be stuffy, old fashioned, and grandma-esque.  However, I began to see the look's versatility on fashion blogs, in window displays, and on my college campus.  I was hooked by the personality and simplicity of the trend; it gives every outfit a bit more class and quirk.  Ever since, I simply cannot get enough!

Anna James from FashBoulevard rocking a lace skirt!

Bloggers from 
Buffalo Stance, Sterling Style, Passport Glamour, and Versicle 
showing off their trendy white lace tops!

Lace Wishlist...

My "Lace Wishlist" includes solid colored pieces, particularly different styles of lace tops.  I especially love the unique zebra lace on the black top (left center) and the fit of the navy blue dolman shirt (top center).  I also love how cute these dresses are; they could easily be dressed up or down for any given occasion!  Lace shorts are my newest fashion crush: they add a unique twist to any ensemble and they can be styled a variety of ways quite simply.  I find the various lace accessories to be beyond adorable as well!

What do you think of the lace trend?  Are you obsessed or do you think you'll sit this one out?  Let me know!

Love, Leaza

It's Getting Hot in Herre

Hi, friends!

I'm sorry about my lack of recent posts... I have been computerless these past few days, and thus, unable to post any new blog entries.  My house was one of many that lost power in a sudden, hurricane-strength, storm on Friday evening that devastated parts of Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.  Of course, the storm chose to hit the area on one of the hottest weekends of the year, which caused the oppressive heat to seep into everyone's homes and lives.  I haven't lost power in a long while at my current house, but at my old house, we tended to lose power quite often in the summertime due to intense summer storms and even stronger hurricanes and tropical storms.

Every time my family or community loses power, I thank my lucky stars that usually, I am able to have electrically generated light, air conditioning, entertainment, news... the list goes on and on.  My siblings and I were so miserable during this recent blackout (especially since our trusty generator decided to breathe its last), so we mostly slept and read and/or studied, depending on the individual.  We wanted to go outside and play or workout but we were worried that we wouldn't be able to cool down afterwards.  We also wanted to go to our old neighborhood pool, but they had lost power there as well and were closed.  We received offers from lucky friends and family to stay in their electrically powered houses, but we were unable to move my disoriented 89 year-old grandmother.  I hated feeling so helpless and at the mercy of electricity, but unfortunately, society has definitely made me a victim of modern conveniences.  Nevertheless, I refused to let the days go by unproductive, so I studied music theory (by sunlight and the light of my phone) until my head spun with key signatures and chord progressions.  Thank goodness for my Thuderbolt smartphone and its ever-so-helpful xPiano app...without it, I would not have been able to understand anything I was studying!

On Sunday, I got a break from the heat when one of my best friends and I escaped to the cool solace of the mall to see the much-anticipated movie Magic Mike.  I absolutely adored the movie.  It was hilarious, sad, sweet, and held my interest the entire time.  (Also, I'm a sucker for all things dance or Channing Tatum related...)  Though it is definitely a movie more geared for the ladies, I recommend Magic Mike to everyone for the story is pretty universal.

After a post-movie pool date with my boyfriend (who had gotten his power back the night before), I met my family for yet another fast food meal (almost all of our refrigerated or frozen food had spoiled).  My family had taken my suffering grandmother out of the hellish heat of our home and had her stay in a nice, cool, hospice house for the night.  Luckily, when we got home, we found that our power had returned and our sufferings were over for the time being!  We were super excited, until we realized that now we could see the mess we had made of our house in the dark, we probably should clean it up...

My entire family was finally able to get a decently comfortable night's sleep.  When I woke up fairly early the next morning, my littlest brother and my younger sister decided that it was time that they would make me love The Big Bang Theory as much as they did.  After making me watch about four episodes, they succeeded; I'm hooked.  I love nerdy people and things, and this show is bursting at the seams with nerdy quirk.  After watching, I remembered reading an article about Big Bang Theory fashion on a blog a while ago, so I looked it up to see if everything now made sense to me.  I loved this article before I had even seen the show, so I now share it with all of you, readers, and I hope that you will enjoy it just as much.

CLICK HERE--> Geek Chic: Fashion Inspired by "The Big Bang Theory"

Later, I was finally able to stretch and workout.  If any of you are ever looking for a pretty intense cardio workout to do in the comfort of your home, I was pretty impressed by the rather time consuming, yet awesome, Absolute Kickboxing workout in the "Free" category of Verizon Fios's "On Demand" channel (it may be available through other cable providers as well!).  This workout was so fantastic because I feel like it definitely targeted and worked my entire body in some capacity.  I felt so much stronger and happier and better when I was done the workout...Check it out!

Enough of my rantings and ravings!! How about you?  How was your weekend?  Have you ever lost power in the summer?  Do you like The Big Bang Theory?  Let me know!

Love, Leaza