But I am le tired ...... FIRE THE MISSILES!

Anybody ever heard of the French band/singer Yelle? If her name doesn't ring a bell her song Ce Jeu probably will. It was on the soundtrack at Forever 21...forever. So if you've spent any time in the store in the past year and a half you probably heard it at least once. If not here she is along with a couple mashups/remixes for fun.

Happy Hump Day people!



mashup of Love Lockdown by Kanye West and A Cause de Garcons by Yelle



Hot n' Cold Remix by Katy Perry ft. Yelle

New Strokes album countdown....ONE MONTH!!!

New Strokes album comes out a month from today and I have already listened to their single about 9842564254 times, so the anticipation is KILLING ME.  The title of the new album is Angles...soooo edgy...PUN INTENDED! Here is their new single and start saving your pennies for the album!! Enjoy!

CONCERT EXPLOSION

Some very exciting concerts coming soon to Chicago that I feel all of you need to know about. I'm sure anyone who has a radio in their car has heard about the IM STILL MUSIC tour that includes:  Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and the LOVE of my life, Travis Barker. This is for sure a hot ticket, the concert takes place 04/01/2011! Be sure not to miss it!

For those of you who are not so much into Hip Hop/ Rap, there is still hope for you in exciting concert news! As I told you earlier Aracde Fire is comin to Chicago at UIC and good news they will now be here for THREE DAYS, the dates are 4/22, 4/25, and 4/26.... they are great live from what I have heard and seen so far so be sure to pick up those tickets!

For those of you who JUST WANNA DANCE!! Girlllll Tallkkkk is coming!! Get your glow sticks ready!! They will be here 03/04/ and 03/05 at the Congress theater!

My favorite SOUL SISTA Adele will be in Chicago on 05/25, she will be at the Riv. Her voice is just as incredible live as it is on her Album so CHECK HER OUT!!

LOTS TO LOOK FOWARD TO IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS CHICAGOANS LETS DANCE!
GLOWSTICK ALERT!

King of Limbs is here!

New Radiohead Album out today, KING OF LIMBS. Basically out of thin air Radiohead releases their latest album with no heads up...I kinda like their style, BOOM HERE IS IS & ENJOY. Although I have not heard the entire album from what I have heard so far, I am not disappointed in the least bit. Read up on their new album  and take a listen to the new tune with the video here:
Who knew Thom had these dance moves?

Who the bieber is Esperanza Spalding???

Ever since Justin Bieber lost the Best New Artist ... o em gee tragedy... to Esperanza Spalding, I've been wanting to learn more about her. SO naturally, I wikipedia'd her. I'll quickly regurgitate some facts for you...

(Pssst..... don't you just love this picture Drake is such a gentleman and she looks sooo grateful!)

As I'm stalking Esperanza, I am finding that she is kind of a super genius. And by kind of I mean TOTALLY. She taught herself to play the violin by the age of five and began playing with the Chamber Music Society of Portland soon after. She was home-schooled for the majority of her early life and when it came time to go to high school she tried, but quickly became bored. SOOO she dropped out and got her GED on

her own by the age of 16. She moved right along to the music program at Portland State University, where she remembers being the youngest bass player in the program. She transfered to the Berklee College of Music, where upon graduation at age 20, Esperanza was immediately hired as a professor.

Here's a couple more facts to make you feel like a giant pile of lard...

-Esperanza plays the guitar, upright bass, bass, violin, oboe and the clarinet.

-She sings and speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese.

-She has performed at venues such as the White House and alongside legends like Stevie Wonder. Yeah I just said STEVIE mother-efing WONDER. He first heard her play a few years back and invited her to perform with him.

I think if the bielebers had been a little more informed as to Esperanza's enormous talent, they may not have hacked into her Wikipedia page ... just kidding there is no cure for Bieber Fever...not even more cowbell :(

The video below isn't of the best quality, but skip again to min seven where Stevie invites Esperanza on stage. Below that one is a Esperanza performing "I Know You Know" its not bad, the girl knows how to jam.

OH NO SHE DIDN'T...or he didn't?

Not to point out the obvious but...
long locks of hair
creepy mustache and scraggly beard
white jacket / black slacks
sunglasses at the wrong time of day

at this point I wouldn't be surprised if John Mayer moved to France and started speaking in an accent. O well the man looked good and nailed his performance with Norah and Keith.

Now onto the ladies...
OBVIOUSLY we have two totally different looks here, however there is no denying the striking resemblance between the two fabrics. And I hate to say it, but I don't know that I'm convinced by either one of them. Since the Grammy's are supposed to be fun, I have to give it to Ciara on this one. Natasha is a little too sweet here, she's usually more edgy and sporting fun vibrant colored gowns.

Uh ohhhh......my girl Kim's dress is lookin kinda like Grammy nominee Leann Rimes' dress. This one is hard for me but I have to go with Leann?!?? Gawd this is hard, but as much as this dress is slightly swallowing her, its better than people worrying about you bursting out of it. ...Can't believe I just said that...Kim's never going to talk to me again. BUTT (pun intended) when it comes to the whole package, I think Kim's is looking a bit more put together. Love her hair and jewels, especially that Lorraine Schwartz snake bracelet! Leann's hair is looking more like a temp facelift ... mean i know sorries!

Born this Way by GaGa & Express Yourself by Madonna... just sayin.

Don't want to say too much BUT give these two a listen (not that we haven't all heard Born This Way enough this past week).
Tell me your thoughts. I am interested in how original people think GaGa is and if she gives her mentors enough credit?

And can't forget this egg/womb last night ... again thoughts?

Bieber... Justin Bieber

Although the little man didn't win anything last night he looked good losing (as in his ensemble, not checkin out the 16 yr old bod) ... and I must say a bit Sean Connery like? No?
And speaking of Le Bieb...how about that performance with Urrsher and Jayden Smith? Usher looked like the new kid on the scene. Dierdre was furiously texting during the performance and I think she nailed it when she said " Okay Usher get it together, either dance crazy and lip sync or don't dance and hit your vocals." AMEN SISTER. He pulled the same thing last week at the Super Bowl with the BEP's. Hit that cardio and let it burrrrrnnn in the gym because your huffin and puffin on stage.

GRAMMY FEVER

After a skype conference, Dierdre and I decided it was absolutely necessary to dedicate all of today's posts to the show last night.
Between Arcade Fire winning the big one and ugh....GaGa arriving in an egg, there is just too much to talk about to not dedicate the day to the Grammy's.
Hope you all enjoyed the show as much as we did. If you didn't catch the show, then thank gawd we're taking care for the highlights for you...your welcome.

HELLO FASHION WEEK!

A couple days late on this one but just in time for some Christian Siriano. His Fall 2011 collection showed this evening at 7pm.
Loving his earth tones, turquoise accents and over the top blush from his Spring 11' collection I am excited to see what he created for fall. I'm sure whatever it is it's FIERCE.

For a complete list of designers and this years schedule click here!

Some of my faves from last September....look at that precious pigeon toed Christian. You gotta love him, or at least love to hate him.

Yes Mayer Hawthorne, I will be your valentine

Mayer Hawthorne has my heart, I have nothing else to say. Watch these videos and tell me you aren't deeply obsessed with him too. Diggin his style and pizazz for sure!

Brain Maps

After rewatching It's Kind of a Funny Story, I remembered how much I loved the main characters drawings of what he called "brain maps". I guessed that "Cool Craig" was prooooobably not the actual artist of those illustrations. I discovered the real artist, Brian Drucker, is also a very talented Brooklynite.

At first glance I assumed Brian was just another hip Brooklyn dwelling graphic designer, but I couldn't have been further from the truth. Brian's resume is un-freaking-real. He has a bachelors in architecture, a Master of Construction Management in Civil Engineering AND and Master of Architecture.

Here's some highlights from his various experiences

-Set Designer on Michael Jackson's "Scream" music video
-Technical Director for the movie SPACE JAM
-Interned for Frank Gehry. Constructed models for disney opera house and bilbao guggenheim museum!!
-Technical Director for the movie Shrek

Needless to say the man must have it goin on because he's been apart of some incredible projects. Here's those brain map sketches along with a few other samples of his work.

World of Coke: Documentary
Brain Map Animation 1
MTV Forest
Michael Jackson Scream Video

Don't mess with my girl Xtina.

Ok so I know this is a few days late, but i'm still upset....Christina has been catching A LOT  of heat about her national anthem performance at the Superbowl. She even issued a national apology for her preformance which she shouldn't have even had to do, lets put Britney out there and see how well she does cause GOD knows she would absolutely be brutal. Anyone who tries to argue that Britney is better than Christina seriously needs to get their hearing checked. But Britney vs Christina is besides the point. Christina has been dropping amazing tunes since her "Genie In a Bottle" days and she should not have to apologize for a slight slip up in her anthem. Below is a video to remind you how truly talented she is, so don't get it TWISTED ever again!!!!!!!

"I don't like humans"

So, Maura & I decided to give "Human Centipede" a looksie last night. We were told by friends/family that we would be repulsed by this movie; in which a German doctor decides he wants to create a centipede out of humans....by connecting them anus to mouth, therefore making them have on digestive tract. Maura & I braced ourselves for the worse, but were slightly upset that the movie wasn't as gruesome as we had been expecting. We hoped the movie would redeem itself with awesome acting...but again, we were let down. I'm not going to say this movie isn't worth watching, because it's interesting enough to keep your attention until the end, but not a movie you need to rush out and see in the least bit! Here's the trailer...you can decided for yourself if you think it would be up your alley or not.

Style Innovators: NYC Couples

YES another Jonathan Adler post. SORRY.

GQ's Adam Rapoport goes from showroom to studio to visit with NYC power couples, Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler and Kate and Andy Spade.

After meeting Simon at Barney's New York and Jonny at his JA Headquarters, Adam heads to their Greenwich Village
apartment. Adam finds the boys do really practice what they preach; live a better life through design.
(If you are strapped for time, at the very least watch the apartment tour. The Michael Jackson ceramic bust will make it worth your while!)


Moving right along Adam visits the next NYC Power Couple. Andy and Kate Spade have an incredible home in Southampton, as well as their full time home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Their style is amazing. It's very "lived in luxury", a combination of art gallery and antique graveyard. AND Did you know that Andy Spade is the brother of David Spade???

Andy also takes Adam to see a few of his current projects. One of which is an old classic looking liquor store/bar that Andy has transformed into a JCREW Men's store.

The amount of inspiration I've gotten from watching these interviews is insane. I've got at least 20 ideas brewing currently. My imaginary apartment is going to be FAB.U.LOUS.

Adam's series Style Innovators has many more fascinating interviews/home tours. Check them out!

OBSESSED with Craig Redman

While checking in with one of my favorite blogs, Fly, I stumbled upon illustrator Craig Redman. Craig, a native Aussie, now lives and works in New York City. The man does it all; type, illustration, portraits, animation, objects, patterns, art direction and most importantly DARCEL!

Darcel is a miserable yet hilarious character that Craig has created. To fully understand the man, the myth that is Darcel, here is his Blogger Bio. (Yes Darcel has his own blog).

Darcel
Gender: Male
Location: New York : NY : United States
About Me
Hi all, Darcel here. This blog is mostly about everyday life in downtown New York - the highs and lows we all encounter, for better or worse (usually worse). I usually update here twice a week, or you can follow my drudgery at twitter.com/dourdarcel - Yours in misery, D:











Although Darcel takes the cake for me, Craig is incredibly talented across many other areas. His work with patterns is what makes his illustrations so interesting to me. Speaking of patterns, Craig worked in tandem with Antipodium for their Spring Summer 11 collection. His four prints for Antipodium debuted back in the fall at London's Fashion Week.

Take some time to browse Craig's work. If its not your style at least you'll get some laughs.




Kanye Portrait
MCM Bag Shanghai Collection
Antipodium Prints

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
I'd like to end today's post with my absolute, hands down favorite Darcel Illustration...I think we all can relate. It is titled "hung.the.fuck.over."

Read Darcel Disappoints (Blog) -OR-
Follow Darcel on Twitter!

Angry? Guns, babes and lemonades can cure that....

All this snow got you angy? sad? missing happy things? Well my go-to band when I want to get PUMPED UP is Muscles... more specifically their album- Guns, Babes & Lemonades. I suggest everyone buy it. Granted the album came out in 2007...and I still bump it DAILY. So hop on the bus and at the very least give them a listen!!  

"I wish that I could keep you in my pocket, so I could play with you all the time!!" Enjoy!

HDOTW: Hometown Designer of the Week

Originally from Rochester, Michigan, Jess Constable began making ankle bracelets poolside in the summer. People began to show interest, and before she knew it she was a 15 yr old entrepreneur. Jess made her way to Chicago after studying Business at The University of Michigan. Upon graduation she made the decision to take on the position of CEO of Jess LC (formerly known by pool-goers as "Starlette Jewelry").

After three long years of hard work, Jess's online store has gone worldwide and she also works with boutiques nationwide. Her home studio and jewelry line have been featured in a number of print and online publications including REAL SIMPLE, US Weekly and People Magazines.

The different collections of her line are each named for a Chicago street. My personal faves are Astor, Division and Wellington. I was fully expecting her prices to be through the roof, seeing as everything is handmade by Jess and her crew, BUT her prices are totally reasonable. Don't get me wrong there are a couple collections that are out of my range, however, for the most part I am excited to have found a hometown designer who I can afford! And who knows some day maybe I can buy the Wellington Necklace I lurve so much.... le sigh.

Anywho here is a list of places where you can find Jess's schtuff!

Illinois Retailers

Art Effect [934 W. Armitage Ave]
Cinnamon [2104 W Roscoe St]
The Dressing Room [4635 N Lincoln Ave]
Handle With Care [1706 N Wells St]
Hubba Hubba [3309 North Clark Street]
Macy*s [111 N State St]
Mark Shale [900 N. Michigan Ave]
Mark Shale [1240 Northbrook Ct]
Mark Shale [90 Oakbrook Center]
Riley [1659 N. Damen Ave]
She One [3402 N Southport Ave]
Smitten [1041 W. Madison St]
Spare Parts [2947 N Broadway St]


To find other Chicago Area Designers and Boutiques, visit the Chicago Fashion Resource site.

photos courtesy of JessLC.com

Book/Movie Combo Plattttttttttttttttttttttttter

So I'm not a huge fan of reading but the movie "It's kind of a funny story" has driven me to go on right ahead and read the book.....because it's based off a book...duh. Anywaysssss, I realize I'm doing it backwards and most people read the book first than see the movie and usually the movie is horrible compared to the book but whatever. With that being said this movie was awesome and what I have read from the book so far, its even better. I highly recommend either watching or reading....or both. Plus the soundtrack is wicked awesome!! And for those of you with Comcast, the movie is 'On Demand' starting TODAY!! WOO! Here's the trailer and book info! Enjoy..... Ps Happy Snow Day for those of you LOSERS that had them! Book Info :)

I can see Finland from my house

In preparation of what may be the biggest snow storm in Chicago history, I'd like to learn a little bit about what to do should the roof collapse. The most logical thing would be to build an igloo. Not just any igloo, go Finnish or go home.
Hotel Kakslauttanen in Finland features both traditional snow igloos as well as futuristic glass igloos and log cabins. Check out the pics below to fully understand how much your childhood igloos blew in comparison.

Happy Snow Day everybody!

I want to pull a Natalie and move into this store...

Natalie Portman moved into Wal-Mart, I'd rather set up camp in Post 27.

Post 27 is a great place for anyone with a eclectic taste to explore. Home furnishings and art from all eras, sprinkled with handmade and repurposed pieces, fill the store. Husband/Wife duo, Angela Finney-Hoffman and Barkley Hoffman, hope to inspire customers to mix and match styles with their creative vignettes.

I was pleasantly surprised to find jewelry at Post 27. My lucky rabbit foot keychain from elementary school has transformed into a super chic necklace, who woulda thunk it? And who doesn't love some coral? I lurrrve the multi chain coral bracelet with bones.

So AGAIN here's another store you should all check out if you get the chance!

1819 W. Grand Ave Chicago Il, 60622 | t: (312) 829–6122





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