the boob tube: Project Runway s11 e12

let's just jump right into this one.

*spoilers!

this episode started with the "to be continuned..." moment and Michelle's future hanging in limbo. but really, what was Project Runway going to do? if they wanted Michelle eliminated, she would've been gone, and the show would move on to the last round. now that i am thinking back, this saved Michelle because the judges have faith in her. the last challenge wasn't Michelle's best, but just in the way that she didn't follow the directions well. Patricia should have been the designer sent home. i'm glad they didn't send either ladies home because i really, really want to see what Patricia can produce with more time and money just as i want to see a collection from Michelle. so, Michelle is saved for now -- but we all really know her fate.

like i said last post about Project Runway, the designers are going to Europe. i think it's a "thank you" prize for the last designers for having to put up with working in teams the entire competition. they made it this far, now we are going to send you to Europe (just for a day). so each designer is being sent to a different European city as well as a little helper, and their helper has been switched around again. i think this was for Patricia because she cannot work with Richard anymore. her Richard quota hit its limit.

the pairs are:
Layana and Samantha - Barcelona, Spain
Patricia and Kate - Paris, France
Daniel and Amanda - Berlin, Germany
Stanley and Richard - London, England
Michelle and Tu - New York

when the designers heard where they were going they freaked the fuck out. Patricia was as giddy as a school girl (perhaps high as a kite?), and Daniel just plain lost it. poor Michelle just got depressed. i think it would've been hard for me too, to see all the other designers go out and get all this inspiration and a fresh perspective from a new city while she got to stay in gloomy old New York. i just wanted to be all like "girl, get your shit together. they just gave you a second chance, so take it. don't sulk. kick ass and take names like the bad-ass bitch that you are."

while the designers were away, the drama was nil. it was a nice episode. all the contestants had to worry about was what they were going to do; and, because they had such little time in their city, they just drove around. the architecture of each city was the big inspiration for every designer, even Michelle. that is what a city has a lot of by car, buildings. what was fun to watch was how each designer bought their fabric from their city. watching them trying to communicate with people in a foreign country while trying to buy fabric was great. and having the added bonus of a money limit with the conversion of Dollars into Euros (or the Pound for our English travelers) was funny. watching Patricia deal with the French lady at the fabric shop was great.

so let's just jump in and talk about the designs:

Layana - her look was okay. it totally reminded me of something that Prince would wear. ha! the jacket is cute. the shirt is cute. putting them together just didn't work. all you see is a jacket and some ugly-ass sleeves. when you take away the jacket the shirt is cute, especially with the pants. but in having the jacket be the main focus, the look just looks old. the judges don't like this look at all, calling it old fashioned.

Michelle - i love this look. the breast plate is super cute and the back straps of it are fun and edgy. the dress is really cute too, i love how it has pockets. i just didn't like how she dyed the bottom of the skirt. it just made it look dirty. but besides that, the look kicked ass. and the judges like it.

Stanley - a cute dress. his details are just gorgeous. the zipper slit is amazing, and the lining peeking through the slit is beautiful. his eye for detail is amazing. and the judges like it, of course.

Patricia - i like her top, just not the shoulder part of her top. the textile that she made for the top was awesome, but the top does look a bit homemade crafty, which is a line that she treads often. i would say that the judges are half and half with her look. to think that she went to and was inspired by Paris and all she got from her time there was just this top, not enough.

Daniel - i love his look. his jacket is cute and modern and didn't look too bad for being pleather. his dress was really hip, and the skirt was super cute. he did an amazing job. the look was very modern and young, something that he struggles with a lot in his designing. i don't know if it was a combination of working with Amanda and having Berlin as his inspiration, but it worked. and the judges like his design.

since this was the last challenge before the final, the judges always ask why each designer should go to Fashion Week and who should go with them. i love this because i like to see who the other designers think are good too, and i was a bit surprised by some of the designers choices.

Stanley said Daniel and Michelle
Patricia said Michelle and Stanley
Layana said Michelle and Stanley
Daniel said Stanley and Michelle
Michelle said Stanley and Layana

it's pretty clear the top two favorite designer are Stanley and Michelle, and i agree. i find it funny that no one really thought about Layana, she just isn't as good as she thinks she is, and the other designers know it. and poor Patricia, no one really cares to see what she can do. i really think it's because we haven't seen anything from her, not really. she always sends down half-finished designs or revamped ideas because she bit off more than she could chew. i think with more time, what Patricia has to show us might blow us away. but maybe not.

the designers off to Fashion Week:
Stanley
Daniel
Michelle
Patricia

the designer out:
Layana

of course i've been waiting for this moment for a while. i think i wouldn't have minded seeing a show from her at Fashion Week, but she needed to go. i like how the judges were saying that she is just a ready-to-wear designer, not really a high fashion designer. i agree 100%.

Project Runway aired on Thursday nights on Lifetime.

(photos from Project Runway on myLifetime.com)

the boob tube: Project Runway s11 e11

where, oh, where has the time gone?

the boy informed me the other day that i still have five (FIVE!) Project Runway's recorded on our DVR. that's over 7 hours of valuable real estate taken up by Project Runway -- the Lifetime network is really good at milking this tv program, and the usually hour-long episode is drawn out to an hour-and-a-half (in an added bonus, the last three episodes have been drawn out to two hours). good thing i record this crap because that's a lot of commercials to sit through.

in a perfect world where i have my shit sorted out, this would've been finished by now -- i would've had each recap done the day after the show originally aired, but who are we kidding? in a perfect world i wouldn't already know who is the winner of season 11. i know who won so i'm dragging my feet on finishing up this season. however, i am dying to see where Layana gets eliminated. let's get this show on the road.

*spoilers! 

oh, the top five.
we have left standing: Stanley, Michelle, Patricia, Daniel and Layana. at this point, i really think Stanley and Michelle are the top designers, and i really would like to see them go all the way. i'd be happy with either of them as the winner. the other three are just so-so.

Daniel has had some great ideas and is an impeccable sewer, but his taste can be questionable every once in a while. sometimes he is missing the youth factor in his designs.

Patricia is just too big for this competition. she has some crazy-ass design ideas, and she can never execute them. she would be someone who could use a few days to work on these challenges instead of the day allowed. i feel we haven't seen what she is really capable of producing.

Layana, oh Layana. i'm not a huge fan of hers -- if you haven't been able to tell. i think her designs are just okay; nothing extraordinary that sticks out in my mind as something amazing but none of it is terrible. i feel that she always skirts by elimination (no pun intended), but she has the ego to tell you that she is the cat's meow.

this week's challenge is the editorial look for Marie Claire, a chance for the designers to have their design in print and worn by Jordana Brewster -- very prestigious. Nina has a long list of things she wants to see and not see -- pay attention designers. i love it when they don't listen to directions because how much more clearer does Nina need to be? what's also nice about this challenge is that the designers get to work on their own, finally. the show is bringing in help for this challenge in the form of past designers who have been eliminated. welcome back Richard, bring on the drama!

the pairs are:
Stanley and Tu
Michelle and Amanda
Daniel and Samantha
Layana and Kate
Patricia and Richard

no one wanted to work with Richard. poor Richard. everyone was freaking out about the possibility of being paired up with him again, and Patricia, the poor soul, got stuck with him. the look on her face was priceless when she was paired up with him because it doesn't help that they just worked with each other in the previous challenge, and it just about killed Patricia. i foresee someone's death. i love her quote, "i don't even remember how to pray anymore because of working with Richard last challenge." she's all out of prayers people! what's a girl to do? Richard just isn't up to Patricia's level technically, and Patricia has a hard time explaining what the fuck is going on in her head. this is a disaster waiting to happen, again.

what about Stanley? holy cow. he was insane. i felt really bad for Tu. i think at one point Stanley was yelling at Tu for smiling and laughing, basically breathing. i'm surprised that Tu was allowed bathroom and food breaks. good lord, Stanley is in it to win it for sure. i guess you miss these kind of things when the designers are working in teams and one having to be accountable for their actions towards their teammates on the runway. i liked Stanley when he wasn't all crazy and shit.

all in all, the other designers seemed to work smoothly with little drama. Daniel finished using Samantha and let her go help Patricia and Richard, what a guy! Layana thought her design was a gift from God. and Michelle didn't listen to directions. she didn't care because she thought she had the best design. it was a pretty kick ass design. however, when Nina said that she didn't want a t-shirt and jeans (pants) going down the runway and a t-shirt and pants is exactly what Michelle gave her, i think she might have a little problem.

let's talk about the designs:

Daniel - it's a whole lot of yellow and linen, really. all in all, the design is okay. i really liked the shorts and the jacket but not the two of them together. like the judges suggested, the jacket would've been nice with a soft flowing skirt. what's funny was it looked like Layana was going to vomit when this design when down the runway. little dramatic, aren't we Layana?

Layana - this was a nice design. i thought the leather could've been softened up a bit like Patricia mentioned, but that's just me personally. i liked the hard of the leather and the soft of the skirt together. very nicely done.

Michelle - i loved this look. i loved the t shirt and the leather trim. i loved that is was transparent and you could see the black bra underneath. loved it. i'm not a huge fan of the peg pant, but it worked here. Michelle has great taste, but she didn't follow directions. this could send her home, and i don't want her to go home.

Patricia - this was okay. it would've been nice to see what she intended to send down the runway but couldn't because she didn't have the proper help. i feel that is what happens a lot to Patricia's designs. she just bites off way more than she can chew. what she sent down the runway was just ordinary and poorly made.

Stanley - this was a cute design. the culottes kicked ass and the tank under the jacket was super cute. i just didn't like the jacket, mainly the color. but all in all this design was spot on and flawless, just like Stanley. good thing he rode Tu hard.

the winner: Stanley. no questions about it. his design was cute and fashion forward and perfect for Marie Claire and Jordana Brewster.

the loser: ??? no loser! what the fuck? actually i'm very glad about this because it was looking that it would be Michelle and i really think she is the best designer and because i know who the winner of the season is, of course Michelle can't be eliminated.

this episode ended with a "to be continued..." so it will be very exciting to see what will happen to Michelle next week. it looks like the designers are going to other countries for inspiration, wow! they spared no expense this season. i'm sure it's to say sorry to the contestants who made it this far for being stuck doing teams this entire season.

Project Runway aired on Thursday nights on Lifetime.

(photos from Project Runway on myLifetime.com)

life via pictures

as always, it's been awhile.
i'm still here. living, working, reading, watching way too much television and doing nothing of importance. ugh.
the boy and i fell into a tv watching pit -- you know that pit. the one you fall in over a show that has been on tv for awhile so you are able to watch episode after episode until you catch up to it -- for us it's Pretty Little Lairs. i can't get enough of that show. who the fuck is A? how much money does this A person have (because he/she/they are spending a small fortune making life hell for four high school girls)? why? so many questions, so few answers.

here are some pictures of life lately. i am obsessed about making stick figure pictures at work. i can't get enough of it. they are usually the same figure but i can't stop.