Ralph Lauren Fashion

I love those days when my outfit looks like it came right out of a Ralph Lauren catalog. It looks like I'm supposed to be riding a horse or walking along the countryside or watching a polo match.

The only thing that is actually from Ralph Lauren is the wool sweater. The shearling jacket is from L.L. Bean, the Bandolino boots are from DSW, the skirt I found at Current Boutique, and the belt was from my mother (since she doesn't wear it anymore). This is sort of the girly version of what I wore to the Gold Cup horse races. I just love the preppy look (and this kind of preppy rather than the bright kelly green or bubble gum pink polo shirt with shorts that have lobsters or whales sewn on them paired with Sperry boat shoes). This look is perfect for the fall when it's not too cold out, so get out there now before the snow falls and we're all stuck in puffy coats!

The Miss Universe Pageant

I'm not sure if you were able to catch the Miss Universe pageant last night, but I wouldn't miss it! Anything that has to do with beautiful women, I wanna watch it: the Victoria Secret's fashion show, America's Next Top Model, you get the idea. I think this is because I'm a perfectionist, and these women are "supposed" to be the epitome of a beauty. I will admit that I'm quite critical, and I definitely enjoy "standard" forms of beauty. So I wasn't all that impressed with our contestants this year: even just a slightly long nose will make you lose my vote. I was also surprised to see several contestants with short hair cuts (I don't think I had ever noticed that before at Miss Universe!), and to see brunettes representing Denmark and Norway! I couldn't even come up with a top 5 because that's how few of the women I thought were truly exceptionally beautiful. However, only one of my top 5 made the top 15, so obviously I don't know what I'm talking about! The one who made it was Amy Willerton, Miss Great Britain. She is the love child of Gisele Bündchen and Blake Lively. Or Cindy Crawford without the mole. I also really liked Miss Israel, Miss Belgium, and Miss Bolivia. (Photos are from MissUniverse.com. From left to right: Great Britain, Israel, Belgium, and Bolivia.)

And of course it's not just about the women themselves, but the fashion! The costumes from their native lands and the ballgowns are so amazing! Rhinestones, feathers, and sequins, oh my! I couldn't even pick out a favorite because they were all so gorgeous! Most women will only get to dress like that on their wedding day (and even then, the dress probably isn't as extravagant!). It's like watching celebrities on the red carpet! Below are some of my favorites of their country-land costumes. Latin American contestants always seem to go all-out for this part of the competition; those are the bottom four photos. (All pictures are from MissUniverse.com).

But then I contradict myself when I think about pageants. We still have pageants in the 21st century? Really? It seems so archaic, judging women on their beauty and volunteering activities. It was sad last night how few women mentioned jobs, probably because a lot of them don't have them: doing pageants is what they do for a living. Now, I realize that if you want to win a lot of pageants, and big ones like Miss Universe, you really do need to dedicate your life to it. But in this age of feminism, when there are so many choices for us and what we can do with our lives, why not strive for more than beauty and grace? Many of them spend their free time reading to blind children or building houses for the homeless, which is very admirable. But it's hard for your average audience to relate to the lives of these women: You look pretty and help out your community...while we're working 40+ hour work weeks at a desk or outside and barely have time for ourselves, let alone time to help others. And maybe that's why we like watching pageants: it's a whole other world outside of our reality, where the women are stunning and wear sparkly dresses everywhere, like Disney princesses come to life.

Who were your favorites? What did you like or dislike?

Ethiopian Food

I just tried Ethiopian food for the first time. All I knew about it was that they use a lot of spices and that you have to eat with your hands. And that's still all I really know about it. Yes, there were spices, but all of the flavors ended up merging together. In the end, lentil paste, chickpea paste, and split pea paste all taste the same. Even the chicken and beef plates tasted identical because the meats were in the exact same sauce. What really confused me was why we were eating pastes in the first place when you can't use your hands. Wouldn't solid foods be easier? You have to eat everything by ripping off little pieces of bread (called "injera") and pinching the different foods between the bread and quickly shoving the bite in your mouth before it lands in your lap. I mainly went for the most solid foods (pieces of cabbage, baby carrots), and I will say the bread is tasty (and has quite an interesting texture!). But, I don't like messy to begin with, and eating in this manner has messy written all over it. I swear, the next time I eat Ethiopian food (if there is a next time...), I'm sneaking in a fork (or a spoon rather).

Definition: Gamification

gam·i·fi·ca·tion

ˌɡāmifəˈkāSHən/

noun: gamification

1. the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service.

   "gamification is exciting because it promises to make the hard stuff in life fun"

    

    

    

   I heard this word the other day, and though I may have heard it before, I didn't really understand what it was until now. It's actually a pretty clever idea, especially in today's society when young people spend a lot of their time playing video games on Xbox, Candy Crush on their smart phones, and Farmville on Facebook. This is how people like to spend their time. So how can we get young people to do something useful with their time? By tricking them into thinking it's a game! Many companies are starting to reward customers with "badges" and the like to encourage them to buy certain items, or take a certain action, etc. I just think this is a very interesting way for businesses to engage with our technology-inundated society. 

Movie Review: Trishna

Photo from imdb.com.

I'm into foreign films, and Netflix has a lot of them. The last one I watched was Trishna. Now, I'm going to preface this post by saying that I am not from India, nor do I know much about the culture. So anything I say here is from a Western point of view; I am not trying to offend anyone: I'm just coming from an outsider's perspective. And there are spoilers!

At first, I was really enjoying the film. The title character was played by Freida Pinto, who is gorgeous; I could watch her all day. I was taken in by the loving family, the beautiful saris, the dedicated daughter who works hard to provide for her family. She even moves away from home to work at a hotel, and soon starts taking classes to learn more about the hospitality field. Up until this point, I'm enjoying myself and really like the protagonist. But then it all went downhill.

Of course there's a romance aspect to this movie, and that's fine. I expected it. But I didn't expect such a seemingly strong woman to turn into a stupid girl and that her man friend would turn out to be a complete asshole. He seduces her, and since she's a "good girl" she of course feels ashamed and dirty afterwards. A couple of days/weeks later, after she has left the hotel to get away from this man, you see her vomiting, and immediately I'm thinking, "She's knocked up." So she and her parents go to the doctor; I'm not sure whether that was to confirm that she's pregnant, or because they really don't know why she's vomiting and not menstruating (really?). Anyway, she has to get an abortion, and now has brought shame to her family (or at least her father can't look at her the same way).

Weeks/Months later, her lover shows up, asking her why she left and saying that he couldn't reach her by phone. HE KNEW WHERE SHE LIVED! If he really cared about her, he would have gone to her house, taken her back, and married her! And even though I can clearly see he's a jerk, she agrees to move to another city and live with him as a kept woman. So much for being a good girl...

Now she's no longer working, and it seems like the only things she does is go to dance classes and have sex with this man. One evening they're in bed, and he confesses to having slept with some of the girls they hang out with (duh). So she fesses up to the abortion (which, by the way, how come she isn't pregnant now that they're having sex all the time? He usually uses a condom but forgot that one time?). He gets very angry with her and leaves the apartment the next day, so she's all alone. Eventually she finds out that she has to leave because he stopped paying the rent (what did he think would happen to her?).

He does come back, acts all surprised about the apartment thing, and then asks her to move with him to work at another hotel. She agrees, and essentially becomes his sex slave. She serves coffee and food to hotel visitors, but every time she comes to bring him something (picture this: he's lounging around the hotel reading the kama sutra pretty much every day), he has to fuck her. And it gets more demeaning as time goes by: he makes her dance for him; he makes her strip for him in broad daylight; he makes her sleep with him when she says no.

Finally, she can't take it anymore. She goes to the hotel kitchen, gets a HUGE knife, and stabs him in the stomach over and over again. She then washes off the knife, tucks it in her bag, and goes back home. I'm thinking, "You were an idiot to be with that man in the first place, but at least you finally stuck up for yourself!" But soon after, she stabs herself with the same knife; whether this was because of the guilt she felt, or if she knew she'd get caught, or something else, I don't know.

So in conclusion: I can't stand movies that feature dumb female characters. You thought you could sleep with a man and not get pregnant? You thought a man who doesn't bother looking for you for some time after sleeping with you would actually be good to you? You thought leaving your family to live with some strange man and sleep with him all the time was a good decision? Really? Really? Stupid girl.

Being a Bridesmaid

Next year, I will be in one of my friend's weddings. I assume the next ten years of my life will be full of weddings, but since this is the first one, it's a big deal for me.

This couple has been dating since forever (they dated all through high school AND college), so we all knew it was only a matter of time before they tied the knot. But now that the big day is only a couple of months away, everything is so exciting! I am so happy to be a part of their big day! And I'm glad that my first friend wedding is with such an easy-going bride. No bridezilla to deal with! I'm thinking this will be a super-fun, no-stress occasion, which makes being a bridesmaid quite easy. I know I may not be so lucky with all of my friends, so I'm happy to ease into the whole bridesmaid thing.

Here's a photo of the dress (but it'll be in a different color that's not available online). We're all going to look so pretty and fabulous!

Crisp fall days

This weekend and today in the Maryland/DC area, it has been GORGEOUS! I know some people aren't looking forward to the cold winter (and don't get me wrong, I prefer warm weather), but I really can't complain about a beautiful fall day. Even if it's chilly out, as long as it's sunny, I am a happy camper. I was outside all day on Saturday, and it was just so pleasant out! I even wore a dress on Sunday! And this morning, when I was walking to and from the gym, my first thought was, "Brr, it's cold out!" but then I immediately changed my mindset to, "It is going to be a wonderful, sunny day. You can't beat that!" So, if you don't like the cold, just try to stay positive! Because, really, how can you be grouchy when it's so bright outside?! And with the time change, we get to see a little more sunshine (for at least a little while...). Get outside and enjoy!