Back to what I DO like. HGTV, Bravo and TLC produce some of the best guilty pleasures around. I like House Hunters and My First Place on HGTV because in a certain way it does educate me while keeping me entertained. When I do get around to finally buying a house, now I know that I indeed long for an open floor plan and know how to check under the heat vents to see if there are hardwoods underneath that nasty carpet. The entertainment factor comes from just how picky people can be when it comes to buying a house. Oftentimes, I find myself VERY thankful that I am not a real estate agent. And I totally love when the agent will put the buyers in their place. “No you will not get 4,500 square feet and granite countertops for $150,000 in Miami. Sorry.” (I made that up, but you get the point.) There’s actually quite a few really great shows on HGTV, check them out if you haven’t already. But be warned, you’ll tune in for one House Hunters episode and next thing you know four hours have passed!

Another show I’ve recently discovered is Tabatha’s Salon Takeover on Bravo. Hair stylist and salon owner Tabatha Coffey was a contestant on another Bravo show Shear Genius, though I never watched it. The show is now in its second season, the premise being that Tabatha will go in to a failing salon and attempt to save the business with her one week “takeover” plan. The interesting thing to me about this show is that the salon owners have obviously contacted Bravo on their own, but when Tabatha gets there they are often extremely resistant to her help. And Tabatha is not a nice, polite, flexible sort of person. It’s her way or the highway. She’s very tough on the salon and the employees but with the best interests of the business in mind. There’s always someone she’s butting heads with, but to me she’s like a breath of fresh air in a world where everyone is always trying to be so PC and careful with their words. She’s not afraid of confrontation, and let’s face it – that makes for good TV. Tabatha’s Salon Takeover airs Tuesday nights at 10 pm EST on Bravo, though you can usually catch the reruns during the weekend.

Speaking of Bravo, I must point out that Project Runway started on this network and I’ll forever be thankful for that. I actually wish they still had PR simply because they broadcast in high-def while Lifetime does not.  But Project Runway will forever be my favorite guilty pleasure. Is there anyone cuter than Heidi Klum? I think not. And she ALWAYS seems to be pregnant, which is just endearing. I think most people have probably heard of Project Runway by now, so just a reminder that season 7 just began and airs on Lifetime at 10 pm EST on Thursdays. I don’t yet have a favorite designer this season, but so far I can tell you I’m not a fan of Ping. Maybe she’ll start making some normal clothes but her first outfit literally looked like she just draped some fabric and held it together with safety pins. I prefer designers who display impeccable construction. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens!

In the same fashion vein, it was recently announced that The Rachel Zoe Project has been picked up for a third season on Bravo. No word yet on when it will premiere but I already cannot wait. RZ is like an idol to me, I think she is just amazing and funny and refreshing. At the end of last season, she had promoted her senior stylist, Taylor, to the marketing side of her growing brand. Thankfully for all us viewers, the annoying Taylor has since left RZ so we will not be subjected to her snide comments and eye rolling. I’ll be the first to admit that even those jobs “a million girls would kill for” are not always what they seem, but I mean really – she dresses people for a living. It’s not like she’s curing cancer. Her life simply cannot be that terrible. Sadly, I think people like that just enjoy being miserable, nothing will ever make her happy. Good riddance to Taylor and hello to a new stylist and a new season. I die, Rachel, I die.

I used to watch a certain show on TLC about a couple with their eight kids, but I’m not even going to mention the name of that show or the parents who have shown their true colors to be money-grubbing publicity hounds. I will never watch that show again and truly feel sorry for those kids. These parents need to get their priorities in order and remember what is important in life. I’d also like for them to never appear on the cover of another magazine and for their show to be cancelled  - which I guess it was, but the mom has a new one coming. Gross. Phew. Thanks for letting me vent. What I do still watch on TLC is Say Yes to the Dress, which gives the viewer an inside look into the business of high-priced wedding gowns at Kleinfeld’s in New York City. This show is just fun, though the cost of the dresses will make you a bit sick. They sell a lot of gowns that cost more than my car. You’ll “ooooooh” and “ahhhhh”, you might get teary-eyed along with the bride who finds her perfect dress and you’ll probably roll your eyes at some of the girls who are a little bit like Rachel Zoe’s old stylist. Say Yes to the Dress airs Fridays at 9 pm EST on TLC, though you can almost always find mini-marathons on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Seriously, who is home on a Friday night anyways??

That’s all for now. There are many other great shows on, but I’ll save them for another time.

House‘s Olivia Wilde in Gucci – wow. What an amazing dress. Plus, she’s auctioning the entire ensemble after the show with proceeds to benefit the earthquake efforts in Haiti.

Marion Cotillard, nominated for Nine, not surprisingly in Christian Dior (she’s a spokesperson for the company’s handbag line). Look at that slit! She’s just gorgeous. Damn those French women!

Speaking of international women, does Marion’s co-star in Nine Penelope Cruz EVER look bad? While I don’t think this Giorgio Armani Prive gown is the best she’s ever worn on the red carpet, she does look stunning.

Ok, this Marchesa gown was definitely not made on a model form, but was instead built directly on Kate Hudson (Nine). She looks so flawless. And I totally dig the red-hot nails.

Best Actress nominee Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria) in Dolce and Gabbana. I love her whole look, and commend her hair for staying so perfect in the rain! She’s adorable.

Doubly nominated in both Best Actress Motion Picture categories and winner for The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock shined in her sheer purple Bottega Veneta. I didn’t expect something like this from her and I love it! I think she’s definitely getting better with age.

Honorable mentions: Nicole Kidman in a peach Nina Ricci, Heather Graham in a beaded Elie Saab, January Jones in  Lanvin, Jennifer Garner in Atelier Versace, And let’s not forget Julia Roberts in Yves Saint Laurent for being just a little bit different.

I have to mention this one because it is hands down my favorite until that first ruffle on the skirt. If Zoe Saldana’s Louis Vuitton didn’t have all the “hanging chads” at the bottom, it would be absolute perfection. Or at least maybe just less of them. No disrespect to Marc Jacobs, one of my very favorite designers.

Not to forget the men – Neil Patrick Harris, Robert Downey Jr., Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper all looked quite handsome and dapper. (I love that word!) Big male loser tonight, Quentin Tarantino. He wore a self-proclaimed hybrid of American and Japanese formal wear. I would also mention Mickey Rourke in the worst-dressed category but I think that’s just expected.

Last but not least, the absolute worst of the night. I searched up and down and all around for a photo for those who didn’t catch the E! Red Carpet show, but it seems that Guiliana Rancic’s uber-shiny silver monstrosity likely broke any camera that took its photo. What was she thinking? It looks like she’s wearing aluminum foil. Or an alien suit. I think it’s quite possible that after this catastrophe E! might require their on-air personalities to run attire through for approval. They certainly should. If anyone finds a picture, please direct me to it so I can share with everyone.

So, awards season has officially begun. I’m so excited now for the Oscars and to see what everyone wears! That’s all for now.

Today I was going to post about the movies I watched this week, some old and one newish – Nine, Inglourious Basterds, Julie and Julia and The Hangover. Then I decided to go out instead and completely forgot. So, I’ll give the abridged version of each.

1. Nine – if you can rent this in the $1 Redbox in a few months then it might be worthwhile. Otherwise, it sucked. I was so disappointed because there are all these amazing actresses starring, but it’s really just sort of strange and hard to follow. I loved the idea of the movie, a director trying to make a comeback with a film that spotlights the important women in his life. Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench and Fergie all play these women who make an impact on him. They played their roles fabulously, as did Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role of Guido Contini. The story itself was just lacking. Don’t pay the $10 to see this in the theatre. It’s totally not worth it.

2. Inglourious Basterds – I rented this on DVD. I’m SO glad I watched it once but I’ll never watch it again simply because my stomach couldn’t handle it. There isn’t a bad performance in the entire film (which is over 2 1/2 hours long!) and Brad Pitt made me laugh every scene he was in. It’s totally funny in a really ironic way, which is uniquely Quentin Tarantino. It really is a great movie, I would definitely recommend it, even if I did have to cover my eyes at certain  points while trying not to gag during the more gory war scenes.

3. Julie and Julia – I hadn’t originally wanted to see this movie, but I’m glad I did. I don’t think it’s worthy of any awards, other than Meryl Streep’s dead-on portrayal of Julia Child. If someone decided to make a feature-length film about Julia Child’s life, they better darn well cast Streep. She was amazing. I’d see that movie in the theatre for sure. I was completely engrossed in the portions of the film which detailed Child’s life, but didn’t find myself having the same emotional attachment to Amy Adams’ character Julie Powell. Nothing again Adams, I think she’s a fine actress. It was just that part of the story wasn’t that engaging. However, I think this was definitely worth the rental price as just a cute film. It won’t change your life, but it’ll keep you entertained for an hour and a half. It might even inspire you to buy one of Child’s cookbooks and try something new. Bon Appetit!

4. The Hangover – I’d seen this one twice already, once in the theatre and one on a flight from Europe back to the States. While you don’t get the same shock value after the first viewing, it is still laugh-out-loud funny for those of you who’ve been living under a rock since last summer and haven’t seen this one yet. If you aren’t offended by swearing or sophomoric buddy comedies, you’ll absolutely enjoy this one. It should go down with Old School, Animal House and Adam Sandler’s movies from the 90s as classic comedies for years to come. Anyone else super excited for The Hangover 2 in 2011? Just hope they can live up to the hype.

That’s all for now. I get to the theatre once or twice a month but rent a TON. Anything you’re interested in, leave me a comment and I’ll let you know what I thought of it.

So, I just spent far too long trying to find the perfect picture for my header, but not having any clue what I’m looking for. Perhaps because it’s almost 4 in the morning and I’m finally starting to get groggy. I’m going to work on it some more tomorrow, but rest assured… I’m not the cookie-cutter template type so you’ll definitely see some personalization here soon!

That’s it for now. My next post is going to be something awesome, you have my word.