Tony's Redux

More on Tony's Steakhouse: since our first foray into Tony's I've been back two more times and I must say the service has been impeccable and the food is always delicious. Last week about 22 (OMG, I know) of us went in for lunch and the service was great. Our waiter was so patient with all of us, remembered what everyone ordered, and split our checks up for us with zero complaint. He even took pics of us on the staircase, it was hilarious!!! I hope everyone tipped him well, because he was a gem.
I've also heard good things about the 2nd Street Grill--that the food is good and the place looks really great--gone are Pete's famous dancing cages, boo hoo. I wish they took reservations, I hate waiting. But we'll try it one of these nights.
Please keep patronizing these places after the big holiday food rush is over--January and February are such tough months in restaurantville just as they are in retail. We need to go out and eat if these new places are to survive!
What are your New Year's Eve plans? Or are you staying home and hibernating? Leave me a comment & let me know. Or take your camera and report back when you see some NQPS style. Contributors welcome!

Coming soon: I leave for Maui on Jan. 7 so I'll send pix of sundresses and bikinis just to remind everyone that it's not winter everywhere.
And I can't wait to see what Michelle will wear for the inauguration!!!!

Happy Holidays!

Hope everyone had a fun Christmas! Soon to come--New Year's Eve photos! So wear your most fabulous dresses--you never know where I'll be.....

Hodgey-Podgey

Time to wrap up 2008 so here are some random photos I've gotten recently:

The perfect boots for the crappy weather we've had through Christmas: Cindi got these in Portland & they look great with the big buckle and the toe and heel detail PLUS they have rubber soles and nice chunky heels. So they are the footwear version of 4-wheel drive with snow tires. Or at least they'll get you from the parking lot to the door, and what else do you really need?

Donna wore this candy-cane striped shirt to a ladies' Christmas lunch at Tony's--it was crisp, colorful, chic, and fit perfectly. She told me last summer that she had found a tailor in Seattle to make her shirts as she could never find off-the-rack ones that fit right. So she has ordered about 799 of these bespoke styles and has one in every color. This one was perfect for Christmas revelry. And boy did we revel.

Women have their goofy holiday sweaters, who says men shouldn't own at least one Christmas shirt? This is a black silk by Tori Richards, depicting a jolly old Santa being pulled across the horizon by his reindeer. Mike wore this shirt to several different holiday parties. (Those who know my husband will probably recognize that nose.)

Prez Ball

Omg, where have I been??? I know, several alert blog readers are wondering why I haven't been posting lately and my only answer is: I told ya there'd be some long hot dry spots in Not Quite Palm Springs and I guess we hit one. Seemed like every place I went, I hunted and hunted for style and came up with nothing exciting. So for those of you who were worried about this inevitable lacuna, we're back and we're posting.

Saturday night was the long-awaited annual President's Ball at YCC, which is really just a big ol' Christmas party with fabulous food (5 courses) and wine (lots) and dancing (those Country Clubbers can get down when they have to). Last year at the Prez Ball I took off my shoes at the end of the evening and ended up with a broken toe. That was not happening again. I wore steel-toe combat boots. With rhinestones, of course.
There was no shortage of style so here are a few of the highlights:

This is Mandy in an elegant black Grecian-style column dress with offset straps. Fabulous earrings, hair swept back, she looks beautiful and just happy to be there.

And here's the best part, check out her bejeweled sandals and her snowflakey toe! That's attention to detail, Babe.

Mary Jo caused quite a few heads to turn with this backless sequined-all-over number which she confessed she bought on the Home Shopping Network. And I thought all they sold was Hummel figurines and acne control cream. Hmmm. Loved it! She's obviously been doing the lat pulls too.Plus, at Gasperetti's Cabaret on Thursday night MJ wore the most fabulous black stilettos with feathers that sort of grew up her ankles. Wish I had a picture of those. Mary Jo, if you're reading this, send me a pic of those feather shoes! Wicked! Wild!

Susan stood out in a sea of black with this Christmas-red sheath with beaded long sleeves and tulip hem. Sparkly! Love it!

Leslie in her zebra-striped knit mini with sequined neckline. Bold choice! Wild animals, grrrr! And wish you could see the black knee-high boots. She looked spectacular. And that guy with her looked pretty good himself.
Andrea at the Prezball Prefunc in a full-length gown in of smoky pewter: shutter pleats to the floor and an elegant V-neckline. Her hair was up in a loose French knot with white flowers--yummy! And Brian--so happy to be dressed up in a tux. He's a trooper.

AAC Art of Giving

Allied Arts is starting it's annual "Art of Giving" sale this Sunday from 2-4 p.m. More than 40 artists have contributed to this sale, and you're bound to find something unique and original for Christmas giving. Or giving to yourself, which I seem to be really good at.
There are framed photographs, watercolors, fabric art, fused glass plates and jewelry, decorated Christmas cards, beautiful lavender-scented velvet scarves, hand-painted wine glasses, tree ornaments, SO much stuff! All of it original and fun, plus you're supporting our talented local artists with every purchase.
The sale goes on through December, but if you go on opening day you get live music, cider, and goodies to eat.
So stop by, it's at 5000 W. Lincoln (same building as the Warehouse Theater.)

Tony's

Several people have commented that they'd like to hear about more than just style in NQPS--like things to do? Places to eat? Well my number one love after dressing up is EATING. And nothing beats getting dressed up to go eat.

Wednesday night my cozy little Shoe Club (aka my tap-dancing class) donned our finest footwear and met at Tony's Steakhouse on 3rd & Yakima Aves. For those of you who haven't noticed the beautiful new front, this is the building that used to house Sakie International. Dr. Tony Ha, a steak lover himself, has opened Tony's and the offerings are meat, meat, and lots of meat.

Ok, so here's what we thought of Tony's:

Food: excellent

Service: needs unkinking

The food was delicious--even the crabcakes, the chowder, the spinach salads, the steak Diane. We had a few problems with service (where did those forks go?) but were given a huge apology at the end of dinner and presented with three delicious desserts as peace offerings. Believe me, a creamy chocolate mousse can make a girl forget a lot of missteps.

We ate dinner in the bar, which is lighted so brightly we almost broke into a tap routine under the spots, but one might have better luck with the service in the dining room.

The menu is broad and includes every type of steak but also salmon, an ahi appetizer, and some pasta dishes.

So go on down to Tony's--just give them lots of time and understanding to work out those kinks. Or wait a couple months.

And as for shoe club, um, well, we got a little caught up in coversation and martinis and never got around to footographing, but as I was leaving I decided these were the winners:

Ok they were mine, big deal. Who says I can't vote for myself? The UPS man brought them for me just that afternoon. He seems to always know when I need a new pair of shoes.

Blog Around the World

I started my NQPS blog after reading Pike/Pine, a blog about street style in Seattle. If you kinda like looking at blogs, try these assorted blogs of street style around the world. Some of them will make you want to hop on a plane to visit the place and see for yourself, or at least order up some of the styles. And some will just make you go "HUH?" They all make for some fun viewing, though--even if you can't read foreign language captions.

Copenhagen: copenhagenstreetstyle.dk
Tokyo: style-arena.jp
London: glamcanyon.blogspot.com
Paris: garancedore.fr
Tel Aviv: thestreetswalker.blogspot.com
Buenos Aires: onthecornerstreetstyle.blogspot.com
Manila: mnlstyl.blogspot.com
Australia: facehunter.blogspot.com

Michelle's Mis-Dressed, Distressed

Yay Obama!!!! No one was happier than I (save perhaps Oprah herself) to see Barack win the election. I broke out champagne, cried happy tears, e-mailed all my friends; I'm still celebrating! But Michelle: What were you thinking? As you can see, the Narciso Rodrigues dress (found on-line and e-mailed to me by an Alert Blog-Reader) looks fabulous on the pubescent 90-pound, 6'2" model, but on a normal-sized woman with actual hips? We're talking human lava lamp. Or giant red-sand hourglass. Oh Michelle, Michelle, after all the sweet dresses you wore throughout this endless campaign, why would you choose this for one of the most important nights of your life? So sad. Put Narciso back in the closet and leave him there. Euwww.

New Theater

One of the reasons I love theater is because I love to check out the costumes. Costumes can sometimes make or break a show! I can remember going to plays which were probably pretty good in every way except one bad costume completely ruined it for me. No matter how well an actor sings or dances or emotes, if she's wearing something hideous the show's over for me. Bleah.

All of which is mainly just a segue into telling you about Tony & Amy Akin's new theater at Melody Lane, which is in the midst of producing "See How They Run", an absolutely hilarious British comedy full of slamming doors, mistaken identities, plenty of brandy, and Tony running through (and through, and through again) the set in his green and white polka-dot underwear brandishing a toilet plunger. I mean, it's got it all.

Truly, dear Blog-readers, I urge you to get a ticket and go see this new production in this brand-new, small, very intimate theater-in-the-round. You will actually feel like you're right there in this London parlor as part of the show, and every seat is a good seat. The actors have honed the ability to play in every direction so that there is no good side or bad side--all sides are equal.

Tony has hand-picked the cast to include some of NQPS's most experienced and funniest actors, (some of his closest friends, too): Vance & Sandy Jennings, his own wife Amy-- all are old hands at extracting laughs from an audience. Plus a couple of almost -newcomers, which is always fun and makes it seem more like a real community theater. He even managed to recruit his junior high acting teacher!

It's just so exciting to see Yakima get a new amateur theater. It gives us all more choices and chances and always adds to the quality of life in a small town. I can't wait to see what they do next!

P.S. The costumes aren't half bad either. Check out Ida's plaid/check/stripe combination and her feather hat. Charming.

Three New Places to Shop!

It's big news in NQPS when a new shop opens, and just recently there have been three! OMG.I don't know if we can take the excitement:

Garden Dance
First is actually not a new store, but a new location for Garden Dance. Michelle has moved out of the back of the Opera House building on Front Street to a new, MUCH larger location at the corner of Front and Yakima Avenue in the old (really old) Burlington Northern freight office building at 10 N. Front. (It's across from Gilbert Cellars. The old Paper Station location, for those of you who can remember that).
The new, improved Garden Dance is teeming with clothing--the old location simply didn't have room for all those racks. There are lots of sweaters, interesting jackets and coats, those strangely appealing skirts that look like Roman window shades in every color, lots of cottony, roomy, comfortable, ultra-loose-sillouette type clothing. Plus an amazing array of candles, table and wall decor, stationery and other paper products, jewelry, lotions and potions, and gifty things. I especially liked the boiled wool shoulder bags and tiny coin purses from Nepal that are more like works of art than bags. Cuteness with a Capital C!
So stop by the new location, I dare you not to find something you love.

Kristie Burrill
Buttons, buttons, whose got the buttons? The Kristie Burrill shop is bursting with buttons of all kinds--antique, mother-of-pearl, silver, gold, vintage, imported, every color of the rainbow, stone, you name it. There are bevies of buttons, boxes of buttons, entire batteries of buttons.
Kristie Burrill recently moved from Seattle where she was a designer who had shops in Madison Park and at the Four Seasons (now the Fairmont) hotel. Her new digs are in the other half of the Shopkeeper at 3105 Summitview.
But in addition to buttons you'll find her designer clothing line--skirts, jackets, tops as well as dresses, capes, and coats--some that look like they just hopped out of a Harry Potter movie.
Kristie is also an artist: what fun she has with old Christmas cards, decorating plain white gift boxes with them and other assorted adornments--uh, like buttons. The boxes sell for around $7 and are all mini art pieces.
If you have something in your closet that needs updated or upgraded, buttons are often the key. Take the piece in to Kristie and let her find the fabulous buttons that can transform your coat or whatever. Buttoned up. Buttoned down. Buttonlicious.

Gretchen
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Gretchen Gilday has bought the other half of Steve Goodwin's the Haberdasher, which used to be Haberdasher Women, and it is now the new high-end boutique, Gretchen. No 's' please. Just Gretchen. So like she says, when she answers the phone she says, "Hello this is Gretchen." Because it is. And she is. It would sound stupid to say "This is Gretchen at Gretchen." or "Gretchen! This is Gretchen!" Jeez.
Anyway, the boutique is clean-lined, small and unfussy. The displays are spare, simple, and striking, and the merchandise is top-of-the-line classy. Gretchen obviously knows her best customers in NQPS and goes to market with them in mind. There are only a few pieces of every style so you know you're not going to be starring in Yakima's version of "Who Wore it Best?" on someone's blog.
Gretchen is heavy on sportswear: lots of pants, including fabulous Lynn Ritchie zip-fronts that are such great, unwrinkleable (don't mind me, I make up new words all the time), comfortable fabric. There are arty pieces such as graphic print jackets and tweedy, slouchy sweaters, and lots of jeans from a couple different designers like Christopher Blue. Not too many dresses.
It's high-end, like I said. If you're looking for bargains, this is probably not your place. If you're looking for classic, high-quality, pricey pieces around which you can build that status wardrobe, come on in.

Project Runway

I forgot to give kudos to Leanne from Portland, who won Project Runway & beat out Kato and that idiot giggler Kenley. I loved, loved, loved her final show at Bryant Park: all blues and greens and aquas with petals and more petals everywhere. It was so inspired, so beautiful, something women might actually wear. She is an amazing technician as well as an artist. And she needs to do something with that hair. But who cares? What a talent! I loved watching that last show.

Also, one of the auction items this year at the Downtown Rotary Auction (November 1) is a trip for two to New York City, 2 tickets to the Project Runway Finals, and a meeting with Heidi Klum herself! In person! Arranged by Kyle MacLachlan's wife, a producer for the show. (Now I ask you what better life than that could there be???) It includes airfare, hotel in Manhattan, and a Broadway show. Somebody's gonna be so lucky! OMG

Caribou Barbie update

For a great column on Caribou Barb's million-dollar make-over, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/opinion/26dowd.html?ei=5070&emc=eta1
It's from the NY Times, written by esteemed columnest Maureen Dowd, and boy does she have words about all the spending on Sarah while the rest of the country watches their 401K's dive and their jobs disappear. Whew.

Jackets, Jackets, Jackets

Ah, Suze Orman would have been so proud of the ladies at the Leslie Loudon Guild luncheon on Oct. 20. This lunch is one of my favorite events to blog on about. Every year it's the place to be to see what NQPS women are wearing for the fall season.

And every year it's jackets! So here's Midge in hers--it's a lightweight raw silk with the most beautiful embroidery detail on it. Honestly a jacket that can be worn year-round and always look good with skirt or pants. She found it at Coldwater Creek. So pretty.

Deb looked so great in hers: she went with the good ol' staples of black pants & tank (can you ever have too many of those?? I think that's my winter uniform) and lit it up with this cool silk number in beige, black, & white. Looked like it was woven in and out like ribbons but it was actually pleated. So pretty! She told me the catalog where she found it: Dane & Divine? Dive & Daning? Dave & Dining? Dangit & Damn? As you can see I promptly forgot it. Sorry. Deb, if you read this, put a comment on & tell people where you got the divine dining jacket.

Jackie looked pretty divine herself in this 3/4 length jacket black & beige print. This is a great length for smoothing over figure flaws and making one appear taller. Neither of which are problems Jackie has. But she looked great in it. She got this one at Chico's, which seems to be everyone's favorite store.
Takes a lotta ladies to put on a luncheon like this. Lyn (center) was the chair of the event & did a wonderful job. She's got on a cool dress of filmy fabric in a great autumn-looking beige print, topped with the leopard print shawl. Grrrrrr. And a little baby Louie on her shoulder.

Becky (left) was on the committee, she wore a simple black cowl neck with a cute beige puffy little unpressed-pleat skirt & chic black pumps. Loved it!

Melissa (right) worked on the committee too and looked so profesh in her black skirt & black & white houndstooth jacket. (It matches her golf bag.)

And the best-dressed award goes again to Kay, who wore this fabulissimo jacket that is actually more a piece of art than a jacket. It's black boiled wool with amazing embroidery and silk flowers in green and lavender. I mean, it is delicious. It is rockin'. It is major, major, major. She got it at Gretchen, which is Gretchen Gilday's new store. Gretchen used to be the manager of Steve Goodwin's Haberdasher Ladies, but she bought the space and made it her own. So there are new lines, new things, new sizes, and some real style for NQPS! Go there! I actually haven't made it in yet but I honestly intend to. Soon.

PS It's "Gretchen" singular, not "Gretchen's" posessive.

Not just jackets, TIGHTS! You gotta be brave to wear tights like these!This is Marcy, the Community Development Director at Memorial Hospital, and these tights are bold. You have to wear stuff like this with moxie, & she has it. So let's be brave, I say. Good for you, Marcy. "The ability to accessorize is what sets us apart from the lower species." (That's a famous quote from "Steel Magnolias", I think.)

Actually, the fashion show at the lunch was staged by Memorial Hospital gift shop, and it was all accessories. Obviously if you go in the hospital gift shop and expect to see nothing but a few Get Well cards and some porcelain figurine angels, think again. The shop at Memorial is a great place for accessories, and Marcy and her shop manager Pam talked about how much fun they have going to market every season in Las Vegas to find new, unusual, and moderately priced items.

At the show models wore all kinds of great new bags: huge hobos and structured satchels, fuzzy & furry, two-tone, laden with silver & braids, patent & croc. And scarves: chiffon, burn-out velvet, soft & furry. And watches: silver and very contemporary, bangle-style, only $17! Jewelry: giant cocktail rings, stone bracelets and delicate necklaces. And of course: JACKETS!
Like Suze says, "Remember ladies, it's People first, then Money, then Things, then JACKETS."

Go get yours quick.

YCC Annual Meeting

Kay always looks good, but this night she looked especially major in the long skirt, the gorgeous gold leather jacket, and the brown suede boots. That's a whole lotta leather for one woman, but she absolutely carried it off.

Here's a closeup of the boots, which she said she "picked up in Amsterdam." (Great, I'll just zip right over & get me a pair.....) They're UGG-types with a flat heel, inside zipper & cool tassels. Kinda Sacajawea-looking.

Robin, new board member and more importantly, FEMALE board member at the YCC Old Boy's Club, is more at home in golf shorts than she is in a skirt, but she looked downright stylish in this gored mid-calf length brown skirt and the fall-colored print t-shirt. The belt was the perfect accessory, slung the perfect way, (helps when you have an actual waist), and her jewelry was an interesting mix of earth-toned stones. I think those good ol' boys will sit up & take notice.

You know, I really would love to see some new carpet out here so I would have a better background for my shoe pics.

These are Jumpin' Judi's, and I've blogged her feet before. (Well the rest of her, too.) I absolutely love these shobooties that are part black stretch fabric, part croc-embossed burnished red leather. Fabuloso!!! Judi likes to ride so she definitely likes the boots. They almost looked like they could be comfortable too, something one can rarely say about great-looking shoes.

Ok, Zeb saw me taking pictures of everyone's shoes and figured I had a foot fetish, so he immediately offered up his woven fishermen's sandals. These are great! I know I don't blog enough men, so I'm happy to show Zeb's cool shoes! He lied & told me he got them in Italy but they're actually from the Nordstrom Shoe Rack. Which is almost as good as a trip to Italy when you don't have the time or the money. It's like a wonderful little country all in itself. And it's where I've gotten a LOT of shoes. I could wander barefoot down the 7 1/2 aisles for hours and hours....

Maui Wedding

Everyone loves a wedding. But a destination wedding on the South coast of Maui---oh, how could anyone turn that down? We were lucky enough to go to my cousin Dan's wedding to the lovely Lisa at the Prince Hotel in Makena. It was definitely a party to remember! Here are a few of the pics:

First of all was the rehearsal dinner, held at the Lahaina Luau. Most of the girls wore great sundresses, but Leah's really stood out. It's an aqua & yellow print with bold yellow braid trim. Very islandy. There was one actual bride there! Wierd place to spend your wedding day, but she looked really pretty.

After much research, I decided these guys were the best-dressed men at the luau. Can I bring one home as a souvenier?

Lisa's dress was very flowing, simple, and informal: white satin with a twist in the bodice and tiny beading trimming the edges. She looked like she could have sailed away over the ocean in this breezy gown! So perfect for a beach wedding. It was windy, so her maid of honor had to hang on to the veil all through the ceremony. (note to future beach brides: forget the veil. It's always windy.)

Dan wore a khaki jacket & pants with a green Tommy Bahama shirt & a traditional men's wedding lei. The groomsmen wore the same shirt with khaki slacks. Everyone, bride included, wore flip-flops.

This is Dan's sister Leah again. The bridesmaids dresses were aqua chiffon with the same twist int the bodice, empire waist, two-layer skirts, spaghetti straps. (Have we all finally had enough of strapless gowns at weddings????) The girls looked absolutely diaphanous as they crossed that lawn and then stood there with the ocean in the background. Yum!

Here's Jo, mother of the groom, with her favorite cousin.....

Sondra, one of the wedding guests, in a filmy tangerine & green print dress. Cool bi-level hem, I thought.

Sarah 2.0

Ok, for my Republican friends, I must reconsider my first impression of Sarah Palin. The NY Post says she did hire a stylist, actually a whole team of them. I have to admit they did a bang-up job for her debate. Loved the black suit, the pleated peplum on the jacket, and especially the candy-apple red shoes. Still hate her politics. Ok, here are some pics. You decide if it looks like McCain's hired some help for her.

Sarah, pre-stylist:

eeeuwww, are those mukluks on her feet?Sarah, post-stylist team, in her $2500 designer jacket:

And I had to toss in this one:

OMG! Is this her house???? No, it's actually her office. I guess that's how she intimidates people during negotiations. I know if I were sitting across from her, I'd spend all my time staring at that stupid bear. Grrr.

Quote of the Day

"Nothing ages you faster than desperation."........Jaclyn Smith, commenting on women who dress too young for their age.

Fresh Hop Ale Fest

Whew! This Allied Arts event is becoming one of the primo fund-raisers in Yakima! Beer-drinkers come from all over the land! It's always a big party & huge fun & great food & beer & wine. This year it was pretty chilly & windy but no one seemed to care once the dancing started.

Thanks to Jessica, Lindsey, and to Helen & her committee for organizing such a great event. People don't realize how much work goes into these things!

Also: I had no idea Kim Nowacki was so talented on the cowbell. Genius. More cowbell, I always say.

There was a little bit of style there, too. Everyone wore jeans (unless they were wearing kilts) and there were some great jackets, scarves, sweaters & hats in the mix.

Here are just a few shots of the goings-on:

Cuter in Kilts! This is Andrew, braving the Not Quite Palm Springs of Washington in a black pleated kilt. First question I asked him was whether he worked for Rogue Brewery, because those guys were wearing kilts, too. WHAT??? Three men wearing kilts at the same event? In Yakima? OMG. Film at eleven.

Anyway, Andrew was actually there on his own and sporting his own brand of kiltwear. He told me he's originally from Tampa (as my friend Tammy from Florida would say, "He's a Tampon."), but now lives in Spokane & came over to Yak just for the event. He looked like he was having a good time. And the wind was blowing, too. But he didn't seem to mind.

Here 's one of the Rogue guys, I wanted to interview him but he was pretty busy selling gallons of ale all night. I think I could get used to this kilt thing. If all the kilters were this cute. Note to self: drink more Rogue Ale. Those guys have style.

Green was definitely the color of the night, and she took it to the limit with this fresh-looking emerald poplin jacket & designer jeans. (They were everywhere too.) So put-together, very hop-chic. Plus I loved her hair.

This is Loretta, who also happens to be one of my neighbors. She was rockin all night to the Shreds and looked so cool in a white jacket, jeans, and crocheted scarf. Toasty.

Mad Men--Mad Style

The Cast of Mad Men

Ok, I know some of you think all I do is watch TV (Dancing with the Stars! Project Runway! Ace of Cakes!) but I just this year got into "Mad Men" after seeing all it's Emmy nominations. I watched one episode and immediately hopped on iTunes to download the entire first season which I proceeded to watch on the treadmill for the next month. What a way to make the time fly by...

But one of the reasons I love it so much is the costuming, which is so completely authentic to 1960: bullet bras, cinched in waists, shirtdresses, plaid wool pleated skirts, Peter Pan collars, bright floral prints, girdles and stockings, dirndl skirts, and ballet flats. The costume designer for the show, Katherine Jane Bryant, builds only about 10% of the dresses. The rest are true-to-life '60s garments found in vintage stores and auctions.

And that's just the women. The men wear these slim-cut suits with skinny ties. Everyone wears a hat when leaving the office. It's amazing!

According to a Cox News Service article, the men's suits are now so popular Bloomingdale's has opened "Mad Men" boutiques in some of it's stores, featuring guys like Michael Kors and Peter Som, who are designing entire lines of the new slim suits for men.

The authenticity threads through the entire show, tho, not just the costumes. Betty orders tomato juice as an appetizer before dinner in a restaurant. Everyone smokes, all the time, even the doctors. She defrosts her tiny little refrigerator freezer by putting a bowl of boiling water in it. Her daughter runs around playing "Spaceman" with a dry-cleaning bag over her head, and Betty chastizes her for taking the bag off her clean clothes--no worries here about the kid suffocating! It's fascinating to watch, whether you lived through the '60s or not.

It's on AMC Sunday nights at 10:00 p.m. Take a look:

Love those dirndl skirts
Joan, the secretary. She has boobs that could kill.
The delicious Don Draper. If this doesn't make you want to watch the show, nothing will.

Lindsey's Ruby Slippers

Whoo hoo, it's been a long dry spell around Yakima waiting for some style to appear. But finally--eureka! Here came Lindsey in these fabulous shoes. It's hard to see in the pic but they're actually 3-toned: dark brown, then beige uppers, but a thin turquoise line separating the two. Add a chunky wooden heel, the T-strap...so lovable! She got them at a place in Spokane called Ruby Slippers, how clever is that?

Actually Lindsey was pretty much rockin the whole thing a few days ago at Allied Arts with some chic tweedy wide-leg pants, the chocolate turtleneck and the best ever empire-wasted, 3/4 length hoody. She's a newlywed (I'm talkin' three weeks). She dresses well. She's in the blog. Life is good.

Auf Wiedersehen Blayne

Another Wednesday, another Project Runway. I guess we all knew Blayne's time was running out & last week he got the big Auf Wiedersehen from Heidi. And an unfortunate reference to his model "pooping fabric" from Michael Kors.

Hmmmm, ok, I have to agree the Libra-inspired number he designed for his last challenge was truly hideous, completely unwearable, and made no sense whatsoever. He probably deserved to go.

But you have to hand it to the guy: he's really young, he's from Yakima for god's sake, and the fact that he got on a national TV show in the first place is pretty amazing. He had to have a certain amount of talent just to be able to complete the challenges, especially within the time constraints these designers are always given. And he actually lasted a few weeks: he was entertaining, had a cute little dimple, was perpetually tan, and I think he more than charmed Tim Gunn with his wierd little sayings. (Do you think Tim had a crush on him? I wonder...)So you have to wish him well, hope he gets it together, gets a nice break from someone somewhere, and gets to quit pouring lattes in Seattle and get on with his career.

As for tonight: first of all, what was the wierd thing Jerrell was wearing on his head? He looked like an Adam who escaped from Eden, turned gay, and put all his fig leaves in the wrong place.

The outfit he designed was very cool tho, & he deserved a win. Maybe the fig leaf hat was good luck.

But why did they like Kenley's little floral Easter dress with the belt in the wrong place and the dorky brown jacket/vest/whatever-it-was-supposed-to-be? That was just plain wrong.

And poor Joe. Loved him, but he deserved to go for that idiotic '80's biz suit. What was he thinking? Get in the 00's, Joe. Yikes.

Job Opening

Job Opening, Needed Immediately if Not Last Week:

Personal stylist desperately needed for 40-something female governor of very large, very icy Western state, a mother of 5, soon-to-be grandmother, huntress, business owner, activist.

Needs help with updating her beauty-queen-runner-up style that includes tiny, squarish glasses, superannuated, gravity-defying beehive hairdo, and nondescript Kohl's white shirts that probably remind old wrinkled Republican men of the librarian in the porn movie who 90 seconds into the film has pulled out the bobby pins, thrown off the tortoise-shell rims, and ripped open the shirt to reveal the Agent Provocateur black lace demi-cup.

Also needs assistance with her anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-gun control, anti-evolution, narrower-than-a-Wasilla-dirt-road political views, but that's gonna take a lot more than a fashion stylist. And that's not the purpose of this column. So I'll just keep that opinion to myself.

Hollarin Atcha Boy, 2.0

Ok, so after asking everyone I knew if they knew anything about Blayne (no one did), last night it gets dropped in my lap from our friend Brandon at the Warehouse Theater that Blayne is his BROTHER!!! (Well, half-brother I guess). Omg! What a bombshell! And he just mentioned it, like out of the blue, like we should have known that all along. So wierd.
Brandon says that the tanning obsession is fairly new (probably manufactured & magnified by the show's producers), that Blayne had a fashion show of his stuff last year in Seattle that was attended by hundreds of peeps--many of them NYC designers & bigwigs, and that his family honestly does not know whether he won or lost or how long he competed in Project Runway.
Of course they're very proud of him for being on national television, but Brandon himself said he can't imagine anyone he knows actually wearing his stuff. As for the shallow question, hmmmm......I never got around to that.
So there ya have it. I kind of think they're keeping Blayne on the show merely for entertainment purposes, just to see that strange look on Tim Gunn's face when he says, "girrrlicious!" And he is pretty entertaining. But if he's really supposed to be the next wunderkind a la' Christian Syrriano he's going to have to crank out a lot of good, original, innovative stuff in the next few weeks.
Blayne. You either love him, or you love to hate him. I guess if he were my brother I'd love him, too.

Project Runway

You know how much I love this show! But what's the deal with Blayne? He's a native of NQPS, he's addicted to tanning, he uses the word "girrrlicious" obsessively, and his designs have ranged from simply underwhelming to ridiculous. Does anyone out there know him? Is he really as empty-headed and shallow as he seems on the show? Holla atcha boy! Please tell me he's not! euuuww.

Who Wore it Best?

Who wore it best? In this case, it's a shopping cart. Here's Rob Stewart, wearing a Red Apple woven plastic cart, and being pushed down Yakima Avenue by Deb Krautwurm. There may have been alcohol involved.

But around that same time, Courtney Love was being pushed around LA in a label-less wire cart by her bodyguard (or someone) because (she says) she had a broken toe. There may have been heroin involved.

So I present for your decision, Alert Blog-Readers: Who wore it best? I vote for Rob. I like red.

More Weddings!

Is it my imagination, or are all my friends' kids getting married at once? This has been a summer full of weddings, and they are a great place to find blog-worthy style in NQPS.

This is another version of the cotton sundress seen earlier in green & brown. This one is a red/brown/peach print that looked so cool & comfortable on a hot August night. Accessorized with the matching beer cup.

A gaggle of girls in their summer dresses: bright floral print, black & white polka-dots, tiny print, and perfect cotton LBD. Dresses like these can take a girl lots of places in the summer--they're easy to wear and can be accessorized up or down for lots of occasions.

Loved this polka-dot dress from Guess! It had black satin bustier-like details on the bodice and was just generally a really fun design, plus she looked fabulous in it.

And how often have you seen the MOB in pants? But Patty looked great in this one-piece jumpsuit the ruched silk bodice, flowy crepe pants, and scarf-like detail tying in front. She told me she tried this on at Corday's going-out-of-biz sale and it was perfect for her daughter Gwen's summer wedding.

Even the teeniest wedding guests can show some style. This pint-size dancing machine was wearing a pink cotton tiered sundress that kept up with all her moves! And the sandals were perfect, too. Makes me wish I had a grandkid to dress. Sort of.