Jesshelga

Rob Marshall's big-screen adaptation of Into the Woods continues to inch along toward a planned 2014 shoot date, and Variety reports that he's in talks with Johnny Depp (who had his first crack at Sondheim's oeuvre with Sweeney Todd) for an unspecified starring role. But it's gotta be the Baker, ... More »

Will The CW have two Vampire Diaries shows next season? Maybe … maybe not: The Vampire Diaries spinoff pilot had

Spring and fall are my favorite times of year because the weather in my neck of the woods is just right for being able to bridge winter and summer clothes. I also love the opportunity to bust out of basic black, which occupies way too much of my closet. Here are some recent outfits along with some styling tips. Most of the items are from Gwynnie Bee, which is like Netflix for clothing. Learn more about Gwynnie Bee in this post.

Tip 1: Layer with color

My automatic instinct with this black and white print dress was to grab a black cardigan. Boring! Adding color to a neutral print can help jazz up your outfit to scream spring.

Karen Kane Palm Print Hi-Low Dress via Gwynnie Bee
Karen Kane Cardigan via Gwynnie Bee
ABS by Allan Schwarz necklace from Ideeli
Tahari nude peep toe pumps from Macy’s

Tip 2: Sleeveless is okay!

I don’t know where the myth came from that plus size meant you couldn’t wear sleeveless items. On warm days, sleeveless items are so comfortable. On cool days, you can throw a sweater on if you want. Embrace the sleeveless.

Karen Kane Extended Back Hem dress via Gwynnie Bee
Kate Spade hobo bag – old (similar)
Tahari nude peep toe pumps from Macy’s

Tip 3: Pop of color

If you are doing a black and white print – especially in a classic pattern like pinstripes, polka dots, or houndstooth – add colorful accessories that will put an extra pep in your step. You could do colorful shoes as I did, or add a colorful handbag, bracelets, or statement necklaces.

INC Houndstooth Faux Wrap Dress via Gwynnie Bee (size 3x)
INC Mint Pumps from Macy’s (similar)

Tip 4: The lazy day dress

I have an obsession with maxi dresses because they 1) feel like you’re wearing pajamas; 2) garner lots of compliments. They are the ultimate in throw-on-and-go clothes, and due to their length, require very little accessorizing, or even perfectly matching shoes.

 Anna Scholz contrast kimono maxi dress via Gwynnie Bee (size 24)
Tahari nude peep toe pumps from Macy’s

Tip 5: Add shape with a belt

With this dress, I loved the colors and print, but as soon as I put it on, I felt like there wasn’t any shape and just too much print to handle. Enter: the belt. The belt automatically gives waist definition and breaks up the pattern so it’s easier on the eyes.

Anna Scholz Split Sleeve Top (worn as a dress – it’s long!) via Gwynnie Bee (size 24)
Belt from Lane Bryant (similar)

Tip 6: Want to stay neutral? Add a fun print.

If you really like sticking with a more neutral palette, look for items with a pattern. I love this whimsical giraffe print. Right now, there are so many different prints out with animals: birds, ladybugs, horses, and dragonflies are on patterns everywhere right now. It’s a subtle way to make you smile when you look in the mirror. 

Anna Scholz Giraffe Print Kimono Jacket via Gwynnie Bee (size 24)
Old Navy Premium Denim Straight Leg Jeans – no longer available – mega sigh! (size 26)
Kate Spade bag -old (similar)
Old Navy necklace from about 2 years ago
INC Mint Pumps from Macy’s (similar)

Want to check out Gwynnie Bee for yourself? You can try out their service for 30 days – completely risk-free. This offer applies to the 1, 2 and 3 garment plans. You won’t be charged unless you continue with the service and you can cancel online at anytime. Simply request an invite here and mention Skinny Emmie to take advantage of the free trial offer.

FTC Disclosure: If you sign up for Gwynnie Bee and mention my name, I get credit towards my subscription costs. This is a service I paid for before all of that, so honestly if you don’t sign up through me, no sweat! I just want people to know about it, regardless. Also to disclose, Gwynnie Bee is a client of my company, Authentically Social. I was not paid or to write this post and aim to represent my opinions without influence.

Are you a spring fashion fanatic like me? What’s your favorite item in your wardrobe right now?

Spring Plus Size Fashion originally appeared on Skinny Emmie Weight Loss and Plus Size Fashion Blog on April 24, 2013. If you are reading this on a different site or a different feed than Skinny Emmie Weight Loss and Plus Size Fashion Blog, it has been taken without permission.

NBC is starting with the easy decisions. The network just renewed five drama series: Parenthood, Revolution, Grimm, Law & Order:

Rand Paul. Maroon mock-turtleneck. Powder blue sweater. 

Via TPM.

That is all. 

This post originally ran in April 2013. Clark Gregg is best known for playing Agent Phil Coulson across an array of screens in the Marvel Universe, but that's far from his only role, in front of or behind the camera. In addition to acting, Gregg is also a writer and ... More »

EGOT WATCH: Two pieces of theatre news of note.  First, while Hathaway's people have now denied the report of her fronting a revival of the Sam Mendes revival of Cabaret, the current rumor has Emma Stone attached. 

Second, unlike the Oscars, the Tonys have rules about who's a lead and who's a featured role.  You're presumed lead if you're above the title, and presumed featured if you're below it.  The big surprise is that the four young actresses who rotate in the title role of Matilda will not be eligible for consideration, since they're getting a special Tony Honor.  Most of the other decisions are unsurprising, and many of the races this year?  Kind of dull.  Patina Miller looks set to march to victory in Lead Actress in a Musical, and the stellar reviews would seem to lock up Bette Midler for Lead Actress in a play.  There's an interesting race in Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical betwen Matilda and Kinky Boots, but not that interesting.

HOW TO PLAY GOOD BOYFRIEND, BAD BOYFRIEND

PHASE ONE

Good Boyfriend/Bad Boyfriend is a fun new game I invented today that can provide you with hours of amusement — hours that would otherwise be spent doing dumb crud like work or socializing. There are two obvious facts you need to know in order to play:

1. In romantic comedies, the female protagonist often starts out with a BF who's a grade-A bozo and who eventually leaves him for a man who is hotter/cooler/purer of heart.

2. Some male actors have been in more than one movie over the course of their careers.

These facts lead us to the natural conclusion that there are male actors who have played both the Good Boyfriend at the End of the Movie and the Bad Boyfriend at the Beginning of the Movie. Phase One of Good Boyfriend/Bad Boyfriend is all about imagining that these two characters are one and the same.

For example!

In 27 Dresses, James Marsden is a babely wedding photographer who helps Katherine Heigl stop being such a whiny pushover by dancing on a bar with her in the rain (shut up, I only watched this movie because it was on TV one time and I was bored or whatever. I definitely didn't search several websites for an illegal stream of it and watch it while eating a whole bag of Rolos, slowly unwrapping one after the other so the crinkling of the wrappers wouldn't make me miss any of the awful dialogue in this horrendous movie). He's a great boyfriend.

But then in X-Men, the very same James Marsden is a toolish dweeb whose big power is that he has to wear dorky sunglasses all the time. Oh, why are you so jealous, Scott? There's no way Dr. Jean Grey is gonna ditch you for a fucking BAD BOY NAMED LOGAN who is SENSITIVE and gets in CAGE FIGHTS and has ADAMANTIUM CLAWS. OH JUST KIDDING SHE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT IS. 

(By the way, I know the X-Men movies aren't strictly speaking "romantic comedies." There's also some boring comic book junk about a plastic prison and exploding jets and whatever who cares, just give us more of the Jean Grey-Cyclops-Logan-Rogue-Iceman love pentagon already! God, I would totally watch a teen drama set in the Xavier Institute.)

So how did sexy photographer Kevin morph into stuffy nerd Cyclops? My theory: after a couple months of Katherine Heigl forcing him to take cute daily pictures of her in bridesmaid dresses for her fashion blog, he couldn't take it anymore and jammed a camera wire into his own eye sockets. The electricity in the live wire reacted with his eyes [? I dunno, science works in mysterious ways, okay? Get off my back] and gave him his Cyclops powers. He ran away from home and fell in with the rest of the X-men where he posed as a mutant-from-birth to fit in. However, the paranoia of worrying that the rest of the X-men will discover his secret sordid wedding-photography past causes him to overcompensate with bossiness and jealousy towards Jean. THE END!

Of course, your theory may be different. Therein lies the fun of this awesome game.

***

PHASE TWO

In Phase Two, we consider all female protagonists as one woman (because, really, with the amount of character development they get, they might as well be) with a string of boyfriends who seem like they might be nice guys but then turn out to be consistently terrible.

Example: In Baby Mama, Tina Fey gets over her Bad (Ex-)Boyfriend Will Forte by gettin' under Greg Kinnear, who's like this cool hunky man-of-the-people small business owner who loves making puns about fruit. Basically the dream.

But then in awful-movie-that-was-inexplicably-constantly-on-TV-during-the-years-from-2002-to-2010 Someone Like You, Greg Kinner is a tiny little weenie-man who cheats on Ashley Judd with her boss Ellen Barkin. Which is absurd, because Ashley Judd is a babe and Ellen Barkin like, swans around smugly wearing Greg Kinnear's giant button-downs and being insufferable for the whole movie. Ugh, she's exhausting.

Luckily, Ashley finds love in the arms of womanizer-with-a-heart-of-gold Hugh Jackman and wow I didn't realize until right now that I had such a thing for Hugh Jackman, but he's coming up an awful lot in this game and I might have to spend some time in Google Images considering this.

Eh, I dunno. I'll bookmark those pics for later and think about it. But so anyway, then Hugh Jackman is a terrible British cad in Scoop who actually turns out to — spoiler alert — be sort of a serial killer. You can't get much worse than that, boyfriend-wise.

So by this point, our Fey-Judd-Johannson-Everywoman has gotten over one guy who dumped her for being too into her career by dating a second guy who cheated on her with her boss, and then left HIM for a guy who tried to drown her. To death. As in murder. What is it they say about every relationship being a learning experience for the next relationship? Because this imaginary lady we invented for purely schadenfreude-y reasons is clearly learning nothing. C’mon, imaginary lady. Get it together. We just want to see you happy.

***

PHASE THREE

Finally, we have come to Phase Three (expert players only), in which you try to see how long a chain of bad relationships you can create. Ahem:

In Footloose, Kevin Bacon is the big city slicker who wants to tell Lori Singer how beautiful she is and take her dancing, so she ditches her abusive boyfriend (who, WTF, has the nerve to call Kevin Bacon a "pansy" for wearing a necktie? Idiot. Neckties are sexy, dummy).

But Kevin Bacon turns into a major Bad Boyfriend slimeball in Picture Perfect, which was a horrible movie that I hope no one else has seen, for their sake. HE gets usurped by Good Boyfriend Jay Mohr, who I personally think is a little blah, but hey, they can't all be Jackman, y'know? [Unsubtle wink that turns into eye twitch.]

Then in Jerry Maguire, Jay Mohr is fine okay not TECHNICALLY Renee Zellweger's boyfriend but I would argue that he occupies the same spiritual and emotional role in the film as her Douche Coworker. She leaves behind his smarmy brand of corporate bullshit in favor of Good Boyfriend Tom Cruise.

Who himself turns out to be a Douche Coworker in Tropic Thunder! And sure okay there isn't even really a girl character in Tropic Thunder BUT IF THERE WERE (oh God this game is falling apart but let’s just keep moving), she would absolutely dump Tom Cruise for the pure of heart protagonist Ben Stiller.

Then Ben Stiller is a Bad Boyfriend in Reality Bites, whereas Ethan Hawke is a sarcastic poetry-reciting grungy greasy-hair-having Good Boyfriend.

And Ethan Hawke has never played a Bad Boyfriend because he is perfect.

PHEW. We did it. A FIVE-FILM Good Boyfriend/Bad Boyfriend chain (with only two cheats, which we've previously established can be excused by the Douche Coworker corollary). Now that you know the rules, I challenge you to join the fray of this honorable game. If anyone can think of a longer chain, I will punish myself by watching the horrible romantic comedy of your choosing.

Although to be totally honest, I'll probably watch it either way.

Hallie Cantor writes for CollegeHumor and her blog and Twitter, and she really doesn't like Hugh Jackman as much as it sounds like she does, she promises.

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DanHopp: Top 3 Wiches: 1) Sand, 2) Chip, 3) Croissan'

Tonight! It’s the results show, with one shocking twist! A shocking twist that you can actually kind of predict if you think about it for two seconds: Since the judges didn’t use their last chance at the save on poor Janelle Arthur last week, and since there are still four ... More »

blahmanda: Skipped breakfast, folding it into lunch. Is it ok to have 2 toaster waffles, then a muffin? Wait, this is just lazy double breakfast.

pattonoswalt: George Jones has taken his last lawnmower ride. The Possum is a no-show. #RIPGeorgeJones

Well, I “won” a radio contest to party on the “bus” of this amazing “supergroup megatour.” And now I’m short one kidney, five teeth, my shoes, and my entire savings. Worse, “Under The Bridge” is stuck in my head.

It looks like Anne Hathaway will be putting her drama-club-iness to good use this fall: According to the Daily Mail, Hathaway is set to star as Sally Bowles in a new revival of Cabaret — with Alan Cumming reportedly reprising his Tony-winning role as the Emcee! Hathaway performed a bunch ... More »

Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon each have a movie out this week (Pain & Gain and Mud, respectively). And Witherspoon got arrested over the weekend. What better time, then, to revisit Fear, the 1996 thriller in which Witherspoon plays a good girl with bad judgment (Nicole), and Wahlberg plays the ... More »

dlelandwhite: My kitchen sink is so full of dirty dishes it just got a callback for the new Ken Loach film.

This is better in gif, but it was obviously great when she was doing it. I think she was imitating how her audience reacts to her?

They say you never forget your first love, and that’s definitely true for us. We were 3 years old when we fell absolutely head over heals. She was pretty, she was bilingual, and she was animated. We don’t mean she was energetic: she was literally a cartoon. Yes, we were in love with Madeline, the little French orphan. Something in the way those minimal number of lines came together… man, it just did us in.

Our relationship was going great for a while, but then trouble struck when our dad informed us that she didn’t, technically, exist. We swore we’d never love again. It took a few decades, but we just about got over it. She was kind of 2 dimensional anyway (*rimshot*).

It seems like most people’s formative romantic feelings were directed at cartoons. We wish we’d figured that out earlier because we could have saved a boatload of cash on therapy bills. But it’s not hard to see why these doodles do it for us: Some of them are undeniably (and occasionally inappropriately) hot! Head on up to the gallery above to check out 15 cartoon characters that we’re still crushing on.

They’re not bad. They’re just drawn that way.

[Photo: Amblin Entertainment/20th Century Fox/Disney]

RELATED: The Top 20 Sexiest Disney Animated Animals

Kate returned to a favorite designer this evening for a function at the National Portrait Gallery in London, opting for a dress by Emilia Wickstead.

Tonight’s engagement was a reception celebrating the work done by The Art Room, an organization using art to help young people struggling with emotional and behavioral issues.  Below we see a collection of self-portraits created by Art Room students, their artwork was then turned into wall clocks.

There was a small group of students taking part in the evening’s event, Kate spent time chatting with them.  The charity is celebrating its 11th anniversary, tonight’s function served as the formal launch of the Art Room’s ‘Pledge for the Future’ fundraising drive.

When addressing those at the reception the Duchess shared her belief that art can be a positive change agent, more from the Mirror’s story:

“I am a firm believer in the power of art to make a difference and The Art Room is doing that on a daily basis.

“We all stand here tonight to celebrate this wonderful work.

“I hope that you will join me in congratulating The Art Room and their supporters on these extraordinary achievements.

“As patron of The Art Room, I feel immense pride to see the amazing work that they are doing but I also feel hugely excited to look to a future with more Art Rooms, where many more challenging and vulnerable children will be helped.”

Kate accessorized with her Rupert Sanderson ‘Malone’ pumps.

LINKAGE:

• The National Portrait Gallery website is here, its blog is located here, Facebook page may be seen here and its online gift shop can be visited by clicking here
• The Art Room’s website can be found here, its Facebook page is here
• Grazia’s story on the Emilia Wickstead a/w 2012 runway show is here, if interested in seeing what the designer wore to her own wedding in 2011 (not to mention the bridesmaid dresses she created), click here for Vogue’s story
• The Mirror story on tonight’s event is here, the Daily Mail story may be seen here
• The Telegraph’s video may be viewed here,

Previously: The Mystery Injury Pie

Ann Friedman eats like no one's listening and texts like she'll never get hurt.

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chriscolfer: The evolution of Kurt Hummel... http://t.co/H4tTsuH9nK

blahmanda: Am I more disappointed in myself for forgetting the name of Xena's home village, or for being disappointed in myself about that?

Brazilian jellies brand Melissa has teamed up with Forever 21 on a capsule collection of affordable jelly shoes for spring. Mel for Forever 21 features six styles that will be sold at Forever 21 stores beginning April 26th as well as online (shop it now!). Founded in 1979, Melissa is known worldwide for their innovative use of plastic to create sustainable, fashion-forward footwear.

The Mel x Forever 21 capsule collection is bright, cheerful and cheap (kinda what you'd expect for jellies) with none of the styles topping $22.80. At this price you can afford to pick up more than one pair for rainy spring days. The shoes are made in Brazil, 100% recyclable, and feature an additional insole on top of the plastic to wick away moisture from your feet.

I haven't worn jellies since the '80s and the mere sight of these shoes makes me nostalgic - it's like I'm 8 years old again, running through the sprinkler on a hot summer day and begging my mom to flag down the ice cream truck. I'm thinking of getting these cut-out jellies with a cute bow detail. And you?

Continue reading "Melissa x Forever 21 Jellies"

As you may know--if you've been keeping up with my little ol' blog here--this week, I launched my new NV Nick Verreos dress line of Contemporary dresses priced from $108-$168. We have a sassy new website as well as a Facebook Page (make sure to LIKE!).


But, I'm extra excited because I just found out that the dresses have just debuted on the Dillard's Website (so you can BUY BUY BUY!!!) --Here are some of the fabulous styles:



And there are also different styles at the Dillard's stores! We just got a "taste" of the NV Nick Verreos display of dresses that was sent to us from one of the Dillard's New Orleans stores! (see photo at top of post). So, if you're in the New Orleans area--take a picture of my dresses and Facebook, Tweet or Instagram it!

Click HERE to buy the dresses at Dillards.com

CAN DO? After much negotiating, apparently Fox has successfully locked up the rights to remake Guys and Dolls, with Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt attached to play Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson, respectively.  (Honestly, wouldn't that be better with the casting flipped?)  I'm sure we'll have suggestions for othe parts--in particular, who plays Sarah and Adelaide?  (I can readily see Jennifer Garner or Anne Hathaway as Sarah, but Adelaide is a tougher nut to crack--maybe Megan Hilty or Sutton Foster?)

It's been a while since I've done a recipe post.  My cooking got a little stale for a while (still delicious, obviously, but nothing new), and I haven't really cooked much over the past few weeks.  But we ate so much delicious food in Hawaii that I'm inspired by, and eager to recreate.  This is where I should probably apologize for all the Hawaii-related stuff on here as of late, and probably for a little while longer.  I just fell in love with everything out there, so I'm happy to write about it/share pictures/relive it.


These burgers were inspired by a burger I had on Kauai.  We had a pretty late lunch one day, so by the time we were starting to get hungry, a lot of places were already closed or closing soon.  So we picked up some beer and headed to Bubba Burger to get some food to take back to the hotel and eat on our balcony.  I ordered one of their specials, which was a burger with teriyaki and pineapple and... other stuff?  I don't really  remember, but this version of it turned out pretty good.  The original was a beef burger, but I made these with chicken.  Portabello mushrooms would probably work for a meatless option.

Aloha Burgers
serves 2
1/2 pound ground chicken
1/4 to 1/2 C panko breadcrumbs
1/4 C fat free Greek yogurt
1 t fresh ginger, minced (ginger powder would probably work too)
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t kosher salt (more or less to taste)
1/4 C teriyaki sauce (I used Soy Vay's Island Teriyaki)
2 slices fresh pineapple, cored (or canned pineapple rings)
2 slices swiss cheese

1. Combine ground chicken, breadcrumbs, yogurt, ginger, garlic powder, kosher salt and teriyaki sauce in a small bowl.  Use breadcrumbs as needed to hold together.  I used closer to 1/2 cup, but start with 1/4 cup and add it as you need it.  Shape into two patties and place on a plate (that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

2. For the pineapple, you could either heat this up on the stovetop in a saute pan, or throw it in the oven.  I happened to be baking some homemade chips, so I just baked the pineapple.  Bake for 10 minutes at 400.

3. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Spray both sides of the burger patties with more cooking spray (this is my trick for cooking any non-beef burgers, since they all tend to fall apart and stick a lot).  Cook burgers for 4 minutes and flip.  Pour a little more teriyaki sauce on top, then top with cheese and pineapples and cook for another 4 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

By Dzhokar A. Tsarnaev

The British agency that maintains Stonehenge, the ring of large stones believed to have been erected between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago, has begun soliciting applications for a new general manager of the monument, a position that will pay $99,000 a year.

CHICAGO—Reasoning that he’s a grown adult who can eat food whenever he damn well pleases, local man Kyle Dunedin, 30, reportedly decided at 10:58 a.m.

Tawny Tidwell is a loud person living in Houston, Texas. She commutes on her bike, climbs, and participates in various activist efforts on the regular. You can read her blog, some other stuff she's written, or just creep on her Twitter or Tumblr. 

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