Winning design made from vacuum bags, coffee filters, and thumb tacks by Kelli (from Bravotv.com)

Project Runway is one of my favorite shows to watch. Last night in the season premiere, the contestants had to make an innovative outfit from materials that could be found in a grocery store. They had a brief time (30 minutes, I think) to scour the store and buy items, totaling no more than $75. While some did a nice job, others were less inspired.

I was a little surprised by how many of the contestants used table cloths as the primary material for their designs. Truly, isn’t a table cloth just a big piece of fabric? Where’s the innovation in that? There were a couple of not-so-attractive “picnic” dresses. One designer used a table cloth and then added a collar made from produce and a belt adornment made with a sliced yellow bell pepper ring. While it was decent looking, it appeared to be a last minute thought.

Solo Cups Dress by Daniel (from Bravotv.com)

In my opinion, the most awesome dress was made from plastic cups! Though the designer didn’t win, I think he should have. He took a very difficult material to work with and made it into a dress. Granted, it’s not as wearable as the winner’s but still. There was also a design that involved braiding the yarn in a mop head. That was pretty cool.

So this got me to thinking, what would I do if I were a designer on the show? One thing that I thought was lacking in the designs was the use of food. I know you just can’t go using a can of corn to make a winning design, but what about popcorn kernels or other dry food as a way to do beading?

Last night I came up with the idea to use dry dog food. Hopefully, the design doesn’t have to smell good. I would choose a dog food that has multiple colors and shapes. If it were less expensive and less smelly, I’d go with a variety of dried beans, rice, and/or dried fruit. My thought is that I need something small that wouldn’t be stiff like a bunch of uncooked pasta and would have some different shades.

I would still have to buy some kind of backing material for it, so I would get those thicker napkins that don’t rip easily. Or maybe I’d resort to using a napkin-like table cloth that has a water resistant backing. I’d need some twine or small roping. I would also need a lot of adhesives. I think glue would probably work best. On second thought, maybe masking tape would be even better. If it were available, I’d also buy a spray adhesive and some kind of flexible sealant.

I think I would make a short dress. The top would be overall solid with some accents and the bottom would be patterned in some way.

I’d start by making a basic pattern of the dress out of the napkins/tablecloth. Then I would separate whatever little food items I had. Since rice is the smallest grain, comes in big bags, and is the most lightweight, I’d make that my main texture. I’d spray the top part of the pattern with the adhesive, spread the rice onto it, and let it dry. Then I’d work on the bottom. I would lay multi-colored beans out on the table in some kind of pattern. Then I would take the masking tape and put it on top of the pattern so that the pattern would stay in place as best as possible. I would repeat this a few times and make sure that I had one strip that was long enough to act as a belt.

I’d make sure to create some kind of hidden waistband with the twine so that the weight of the bottom wouldn’t tear the dress in 2 pieces. I would then take the strips and attach them to the waistband. I’m thinking a vertical or diagonal stripes would look good. Then I’d add some adhesive to the dress and add the rice again. I think I’d use those reddish brown colored beans to trim the dress. If I had time, I’d make a necklace, too. Maybe I’d braid the twine and glue some beans to it. Or take a single line of twine and add a cluster of beans to it like a pendant. Oooh, earrings made from Craisins!

This would be my “beans and rice” dress. Takes you back to elementary school, doesn’t it?… Make it work!

Here are some videos from the John Mayer concert. I decided to go for mainly cover songs because I’ve seen the other songs live multiple times. For those who think John is “just a pop performer,” watch the vids and they will change your mind. Leave your comments and let me know what you think!

This is especially for a blog reader in the Philippines who has never gotten to experience a show on her side of the world. Enjoy! (If you happen to see a few black frames of video, that was when I decided to snap a photo. Had I used my brain, I would have avoided doing this.)

Crossroads (Eric Clapton)

Mercy (Duffy)

Free Falling (Tom Petty)

The John Mayer concert I just went to was, simply put, great. It went by too quickly, but, man, it was a good time. Then again, from the 3rd row, how could it not be?

I’ve seen him in concert a handful of times and he’s always put on a good show, but this time around, he was just giddy. I went to a show a few years ago where he didn’t really talk to the audience as much as I had come to expect and I left feeling disappointed. (It probably didn’t help that Continuum hadn’t been released yet and he was performing songs from that album, but I digress.)

That was not the case this time. I did not leave disappointed. He was so chatty, which is part of what I really enjoy about his performances. Not only that, he played a great variety of songs. Take a look. So many fabulous covers, too!

Set List

• Vultures
• Waiting on the World to Change
• I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)
• Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
• Bigger Than My Body
• Crossroads (Eric Clapton)
• Mercy (Duffy)
• No Such Thing into Why Georgia
• Free Falling (Tom Petty)
• Belief
• Say

Encore

• Who Did You Think I Was
• Panama (Van Halen)
• Gravity

The big chatter from the concert is the encore of Van Halen’s Panama. Why? Well, Johnny introduced this song by saying, “Let me preface this song by saying this is really going to be a special treat we’re going to try out….” With this statement, I was excited and ready for something. What, I don’t know. He continues to say something that I didn’t catch, but it ended with, “…I take my shirt off and just play guitar,” followed by shrieks from the audience.

Yes, friends, he took off his shirt and began to rock out like Eddie Van Halen. While the shirtless aspect of the performance was stellar, I suppose now is a good time to tell you how much I like those classic ’80s rock songs, so when I heard the opening of Panama, I woo-hooed and yelped with the best of them. I snapped a few photos then I started rocking out with the band, jumping up and down, pumping my fist in the air, and singing at the top of my lungs. Probably hard to imagine me doing that, but I have my moments. David Ryan Harris, who normally acts as a guitarist in John’s band, took the stage like David Lee Roth and did an excellent job!

They jammed. And it was beyond stupendous!

Check out that tattoo! He looks really pale in this photo, but it’s quite a misrepresentation of his skin tone. He actually sports a nice tan. I don’t want to gush like a fan girl, so it’s time to end the recap from me.

OK, one bitty gush, or “getting glittery” as they say. I’m pretty sure we had eye contact for a solid 20-seconds, though the girl in front of me would have you believe he was looking at her. haha!

Here are some notes from John himself via his website:
I’m beginning to see my time on stage like I do a workout; it wasn’t any good unless I walk away beat up, sweating and panting. This afternoon I had the idea to fulfill my dream of playing guitar in a rock band, and what better lead singer to get than David Ryan Harris. We covered PANAMA by VAN HALEN and I had a blast focusing entirely on playing guitar while someone else held it all down… We’re gonna keep the surprises coming. It’s too fun.

Third row, center! Woo hoo! I can’t wait. It will be fantastic.

For those unable to attend a John Mayer concert, here’s a link that you may be interested in: In Concert on MSN Music.

Now that I’ve discovered Word Press’ glorious Blog Surfer, I’m able to keep up with the blogs I’ve started to read regularly. With that in mind, I thought I’d share them with you via the Blog Roll. They are entertaining blogs with really great, humorous writing styles. The listing is to the right somewhere.

Where’s my decoder ring? Does anyone have a decoder ring?! *sigh*

Is it me or are people going crazy using abbreviations? At work, there are so many departments and initiatives out there someone felt the need to abbreviate them. The slew of “things” that have been shortened into acronyms is so plentiful that I don’t know what people are talking about half the time. I hear a word and it doesn’t sound like a word from any of the languages I understand. It’s beyond a foreign language—and it’s annoying.

Everywhere I go on the web, I keep seeing capital letters that indicate something. What do they mean? Well, IDK. (ha! Sorry. That one is from that phone company.) Really, though, I usually can figure things out but sometimes, I just don’t know what these things mean. Not only that, it slows down the reading process. It’s like having commas in the wrong place or not using punctuation at all.

I suppose this practice of abbreviation stems partially from text messaging (which I think can be pretty lame sometimes) where it’s so much more efficient to abbreviate than push buttons to make entire words (or make a phone call). But when it comes to the web, is it that much harder to type an entire word if you have a keyboard at your fingertips? I think not, my friends. Are we that lazy or do we just not care?

So! From now on, I’m going to make a concerted effort of not using alphabet soup on my blog. If you scour my pages you’ll see that I’ve used abbreviations in the past, but I’m just not going to do it anymore. It’s just too dang confusing if you haven’t been exposed to said abbreviation in a previous life.

I skipped my usual Monday evening practice to go to the movies with the hubby. We trekked to a nearby city to see Where the Light Is for a special one-day only screening. There was no way I was going to miss this! According to my email, there were 100 theatres showing the film that night and we happened to be one of the lucky ones. Joy joy! (BTW, hubby is awesome. He tried to surprise me with a movie poster. Sadly, the manager went to the back to see if they had any extras but… denied!)

It was sooo worth it to drive all that way to see this film. It’s too bad that not all JM fans had access to him on the big screen. It was really cool. If I wouldn’t have appeared like a total *ss, I would have gotten up and danced around. I felt like I was at a concert but not. I wish I had a better way to describe it.

Overall, it was a good show and a must for those who have followed Johnny through his career of pop, rock, and blues. The concert covered all three. From time to time, I found myself getting lost amid all the blues guitar, but in the end, it was a good mix of music. I’m sure you can read all about what was in the show, the picks, and the pans, so I’m not even going write up all of that.

What I will mention are the two songs that I, huge John Mayer fan, hadn’t heard yet, an acoustic cover of Free Fallin’ and a new tune called In Your Atmosphere. I had read that both of these songs had been performed at various points these last few months, but I purposefully avoided checking them out on YouTube or elsewhere. I guess I was just waiting for a bigger moment, and this was it. I’m so glad that I waited. I was in a trance when these songs were performed. The chorus of Free Falling feels so peaceful… as if you were floating. I could listen to that song over and over again. As for In Your Atmosphere, it’s so John Mayer. It’s very heart-felt, poetic, bittersweet, and at times a little lonely.

The DVD, CD, and whatnot were released yesterday. Apparently there are different versions of the DVD out there. I have the one from Target that has red accent colors, rather than the blue-ish color. It’s a special edition that is only available this week with (so I’ve heard) more extras on it. Here’s what I have listed:

slow dancing on mulholland drive
200 guitars: the collection
post-show discussion
who did you think i was
-steve jordan & pino palladino multi-angle cam
danny clinch photo gallery

I posted an SNL recap a while back that included Kristen Wiig’s performance as Judy Grimes, the “Just Kidding” travel lady from Weekend Update. While I think Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are probably the funniest women around, Kristen Wiig needs some love, too. She steals every skit she is in.

Here are some links to some KW skits on SNL. (Sorry, I can’t embed this directly and there are commercials, too.) Sadly, I can’t seem to find my favorite skit with her and Justin Timberlake as Target employees. If you have a link to it, let me know.

Now that you are reading this, tell me. Who’s your favorite Kristen Wiig character? I like the Target lady.

Just Kidding
Suze Orman Show
Penelope - Traffic School

If you’re like me, when you get directions for anything you follow them. That’s why they are there.

I’ve put together shelves, a little red wagon, and a host of other things while being a good girl and following the directions. When I’m given directions to someone’s house, I follow them. If I’m lost, I don’t mind asking for directions. If I’m about to mix chemicals in a beaker using a bunsen burner, I read all the directions first. That’s what my teacher told me to do.

Following directions is the key to success to most any activity.

I was surprised to discover recently that there are directions on the back of laundry detergent bottles. Not because they shouldn’t be there but because I’ve never read them! I’m not referring to how much detergent to use or what temperature the water should be. These are step one, do this. Step two, do that.

On the back of a bottle of Tide the following appears: Start washer, add detergent, then add clothes.

Here’s what’s on the back of a bottle of Woolite in a bulleted list: Select gentle or delicate cycle. Select cold water setting unless label instructs otherwise. Fill machine with water. Pour WOOLITE® (<– nice branding) with measure cap. Add clothes. Follow drying instructions on clothes.

OK, so here’s the thing. I never knew you were supposed to do things in that order. Water, detergent, then clothes? Really? Should the Woolite directions read, “Begin filling machine with water” or does it mean fill it to the “top” of the basin first? I don’t understand how you can put clothes in a washer with the water already in there. Don’t your hands get all wet? If you have to fill it, will the water spill out as you add more clothing?

I’m usually clothes, water, detergent. How could I have been doing this wrong this whole time?

And why hasn’t my washer protested? I didn’t follow the directions. Shouldn’t it have spit the detergent back out at me? Is this why I don’t have the whitest of whites? Is this why my black pants fade?

Every now and again I come across words I don’t know when reading. Though the moments (of reading) are few and far between, I usually try to use those skills I learned in grade school and work with context clues. Here we go!

The word of the day is “meme.”