taking it way back...1789 stylez

Mama's looking forward to Halloween coming up this weekend. Like really looking forward.  But there's a part of me that thinks I'm way wayyyy too old to still be dressing up and going out (on the Saturday nite before.) Sunday is going to be spent with the kidlets, stuffing them into ridiculously cute costumes, dragging them door to door trick or treating, and of course taking 1 million pics of them to document the greatness that is Halloween!

On Saturday night we're going to West, a club/lounge downtown. I'm going as Miss Headless 1793, Marie Antoinette though my head will still be attached. I'll be needing it, thanks very much.

In honor of the late, great French beauty I'm going all out. My one major complaint though is why is it that every female adult costume is so sexy these days?!  Just like on Modern Family tonight (saw a preview) even the saintly Mother Teresa can be made into a "sexy" costume.  Really, what's next?? 

I'm doing my best to make my Marie costume sophisticated and somewhat historically accurate...even though its technically a "Playboy" brand costume, (ok so maybe thats a bit of an oxymoron.)
 I love the look of it, the fabric is gorgeous and I've even managed to lower the length of the hem to move a bit further away from it's offical "skank length"...it's nothing a good petti-coat can't help with.

She looks pretty ordinary to me...
{Marie Antoinette by Alexandre Kucharsky, apparently this is a highly realistic portrait. We can do better than this and make Marie way hotter, no?}

{ Here's a pic of my actual costume. Let's ignore the fugly black wig and imagine Mama in this with the biggest, highest white wig ever}

So seriously, am I too old for this shiz? Are any of you dressing up for work, house parties or even for the benefit of your kids?? 

Gorgeous-ness

Anne Hathaway's new cover for November's Vogue is breathtaking. I've always thought of her as a pretty enough girl in Hollywood but her acting roles come to mind over her beauty.  Not anymore! 

Stunning in Crimson  

Happy Fridays lovelies...I'll be out for dinner tonight (without kids) for a friends birthday. We're meeting up with a few other couples and trying a new Italian place called Callabro.

 Adult convo + vino + LARGE amounts of pasta = one happy Mama! 

More wine... but just a taste

This past Saturday night we hit up the annual Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival....3 days of fabulous local restaurants showing off some of their yummiest dishes and of course some amazing wine tasting. I adore wine tasting, such a dignified (and legit) way to put back a whole lotta vino.

Fortunately there was no shortage of delicious booze fine wines and we didn't totally drink the place dry...

{Booze hounds, wine aficionado's at play}

{Maple pecan cupcakes anyone? Sounds pretty Canadian to me....}

I decided dress a bit on the casual side for the wine fest...and I'm still trying to get used to my dark hair.  I finally took the plunge and went dark a couple weeks ago.  After my hair was coloured my stoopid stylist chopped 3-4 inches of precious hair off (I asked him to "dust" my ends.) WHY the frack do they always cut off so much when all you want is a trim?!?  In my own defense he distracted me with mindless chatter and before I could say boo, the hair was on the floor.  Sads.

 Safe to say my dreams of Kardashian hair-greatness were dead in the water.

{Reoccurring Jacket- H&M (honestly I don't really wear it all the time), tank- H&M, Jeans- Zellers (cheap like Borsht!), Boots- Steve Madden (Macy*s)

Makeup Math

I've been on the search for the uber trendy fall nail colour, khaki green.  

Chanel's version isn't available where I live (of course), and I can't find the Essie colour, "Sew Psyched" anywhere.  Whatcha gonna do? Make your own!   

              

Time for a bit of nail colour math

La Senza (Victoria Secret) dark forest green plus Sally Hansen polish in a light milky tan colour

blends to make a decent Khaki green

This could possibly be the world's WORST nail polish application but in my defense I had a 2 year old monkey little boy hanging off my leg and when mixing two colors (outside of the bottle) they dry super FAST. You have to work incredibly quickly as the polish dries out immediately and becomes really sticky.  (So why the hell does it take so long to set and dry polish when it's on your nails normally?)

When you can't find what you're looking for, you've gotta improvise.... 

Would you dance Burlesque?

So I've been hearing a lot about the upcoming flick Burlesque with Cher and Christina coming out in November. There's a part of me that thinks it will be fabulous...great singing, dancing and a pretty strong cast of actors. But then there's the other side of me that think it might just be a bit too flamingly-lame for it's own good.
Or maybe just two hours of an extended Pussy-cat Dolls Vegas review.  Hasn't that been done to death already? You know when Kelly Osbourne is guest dancing as a doll maybe it's time to pack it in....


And I think we all remember the movie "Nine" from a couple years back. An amazing cast of seriously talented actors (Daniel Day- Lewis, Fergie, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren etc. etc.)

But oh yeah, it sucked.   With musical productions like these movies, it's a fine line between greatness (Chicago) and complete crap (the movie version of Rent). 

So I'll admit I've always been a bit of a Cher fan (is that my inner gay man speaking?)...and of course Christina Aguilera, while she hasn't been a huge hit maker lately, she's undeniably talented. The question is can they bank a successful movie on these two? Will you check out Burlesque?

{via Youtube, google images}

House of Harlow 1960

Lately I've really been liking Nicole Richie's House of Harlow 1960 jewelry line. I was checking out a few of her pieces (which are actually incredibly affordable) while I was at Holt Renfrew last week.  Her style is clean with classic geometric shapes and her pieces make a statement without being too over the top. 

{just a hard workin' Mama these days...}

She's actually coming here to Calgary tomorrow to make an appearance at Holt's to promote her new fashion label, Winter Kate. I don't know that I'll necessary head down to see her because of the crowds (that and cuz I'm so busy and all), but I am really interested to see what her new clothing line is like. There's a part of me that can't help forget the Nicole Richie that was on the Simple Life with Paris Hilton, but then again she was in her early 20's when she started that show and now she's in a much different place in her life. It's fairly clear she's left her hard partying, DUI arrests, rehab stays and super skinny days far behind her. I like the new Nicole. She's almost 30, has two kids with a great guy, has written a few books and has even starting acting. Who says any good celebutant can't turn it around? Everybody has to get their shiz together eventually and I'd say she's done a pretty good job!

{Loved this House of Harlow ring, but passed because it was practically the size of a salad plate....a tad big}

{Images via shopbop, Google}

What do you think of celebrity produced fashion and fragrance lines? Do you think they actually do much of the design work themselves or is it just another marketing scheme to make dollar bills?!

Marc, how do I love thee...

So it's no secret that Marc Jacobs would be my boyfriend if it weren't for the small issue of him being a 'lil gay (and me already being married off.)  Really it's just a minor inconvenience and I don't let it stand in the way of my adoration of his talent and greatness. I was at Holt Renfrew on Saturday to pick up the pink tote bag (below) when this little lady caught my eye and I snagged "her"....

{Marc by Marc Jacobs "Catty Q Franny Tote"}

Actually it's a really great sized bag. Plenty of room for bottles, diapers, Goldfish crackers, Hot-wheels cars....so apparently it will be doubling as a diaper bag as well...

{Marc by Marc Jacobs Ltd Edition tote bag in Pink.  Proceeds go to Marc's charity of choice, Vision Spring, "which provides the gift of sight and economic self reliance to thousands of people in the developing world.”  

So the man is philanthropic on top of being talented and amazing. Hmm. I may love him even more.

{And apparently he's modeling in his own ad campaign for his new men's fragrance, Bang. Bang indeed. This man doesn't mince words. I think I'm blushing....}

{images via Google}