Goodbye Twenties!

Going, going, gone!  My twenties have been over for nearly 13 hours now and I can tell you that so far nothing has changed.  I still look the same and feel the same, but oddly kind of different.  More grateful and more aware of how lucky I am to have such a blessed life at the (young) age of 30.

Life can turn out one of many ways, and though I didn't think  I would necessarily have a troubled life or a tough time in adulthood, I feel like I didn't truly know how good life could be for me. I think when you grow up with some adversity from a young age and you get through that, everything else seems like icing on the cake.  I do sometimes get caught up in all the stuff that really doesn't matter, so I do have to remind myself to be grateful for the things I do have:  a loving family, supportive friends, a stable job, and opportunities to explore the world and be anything I want to be.  If that isn't something to be grateful about, I don't know what is.

To sum up, thirty ain't no thing!  Life is good :).

Venice Film Festival

It is almost that time again people:  fall.  What does that mean for fashion lovers?  Well, first off it means scores of new clothes for the change in weather, but it also means red carpet season is in full swing.  The Venice Film Festival is kind of the start of the festival season again, and there were some great red carpet moments to capture : gorgeous gowns, chic dresses, sexy shoes.  I'm definitely amped up for fall now!

Here are some of my favourite looks from the Venice Film Festival.  First, the photocalls:

Kate Winslet looking very cool but very current in black dress shorts, tank, blazer and peep toe heels.  I would love if I could pull this off for work.

Abbie Cornish in a very cute, very-Mad Men era Elie Saab.  Love the statement necklace.

Gwyneth Paltrow in a papaya coloured Prada dress.  This colour looks great on her.

Madonna looking surprisingly fabulous in L'Wren Scott.  Perhaps she's coming out of her very long fashion rut?

And now for the gowns.  Sigh!

I adore this purple and black ombre Atelier Versace gown that Abbie Cornish has on.   She would have looked much more polished with a different hairstyle (up-do or half up maybe?) and a bolder necklace, but the dress is to die for.

Andrea Riseborough in Dior.  Lovely shade of yellow.

Diane Kruger in Elie Saab.  Her hairstyle looks so pretty with this very girly dress.

Evan Rachel Wood in an Alessandra Rich shirtdress.  Wouldn't be my first choice for the red carpet, but she pulls it off.

Madonna in Vionnet with some funky Miu Miu sunglasses.  Who knew lavander and red would complement each other so well.

Kate Winslet looking super sexy in Stella McCartney.

Again, super sexy in Victoria Beckham and gorgeous Jimmy Choo heels.

Natasha Poly in Gucci.

Violente Placido in Alberta Ferretti.

VMA 2011 Fashion

The VMAs were last night and the buzz was all about Beyonce's big announcement on the black carpet that she is pregnant.  Kind of a meangirl thing to do, in my opinion, as it was Britney Spear's night to shine.  She received the Video Vanguard award and they had a huge tribute to her, but the damage was done.  No one could stop talking about B & J's baby news for a moment to acknowledge Britney.

Anyway, that was the drama of the night and solidified my dislike of Beyonce even further.  That being said, she did look damn good on the black carpet.  Pregnancy defintely agrees with her so far.   Fashion wise, there wasn't much to look at.  Lots of MTV celebrities,  but no huge star power.

Here are some of my favourite looks from the otherwise uninspiring black carpet:

I realy love this black belted dress by Barbara Tfank that Adele was wearing.  She looks amazing and she sounded even more so last night

Beyonce looked on trend in a tangerine draped gown by Lanvin

Britney looked  super sexy in this romper by Moschino  It was my favourite look of the night.  Love the peep toe platform boots!

Katie Holmes in a cute Alaia dress.   Like the shoes, but don't love the colour of them.  

And the fashion losers of the night?  I think you all know for sure that it's the girls from Jersey Shore. They look like they are trying way too hard.  Would love to see them in less giltter and less spray tanned.  For now, I will just shake my head at their fashion choices.  What were they thinking?!?

Actually the one on the far left looks pretty good, but the rest of the girls need a makeunder, stat!

Forced to wear flats...

Sometimes you just have to take your doctor's orders.  That's the case with Victoria Beckham as she was recently spotted out in flats (gasp!) not her signature high, high, skyscraping heels.  Why?  Well apparently she has a slipped disc in her spine, which is the type of thing that requires one to wear sensible shoes.

A slipped disc can take a few weeks to heal, so we will have to wait to see VB in her signature heels  for a little while.  For now, let's reminisce with some of the most high heels she's dared to step out in...

Favourite Fashion Blogs

It's no secret that I love fashion, and likely if you are reading this blog, you do too!  I keep up with things in different ways:  Twitter, magazines, celebrity news sites, research expeditions (aka shopping), Pinterest, and last but not least blogs.  

I thought I'd share some of my favourite blogs and if you have some of your own, please feel free to share with me!

What's Right Now - www.instyle.com

This blog is great if you want to keep up with both celebrities and fashion trends.

Shoerazzi - http://shoerazzi.com/see/blog/

You guessed it, all about shoes and the celebrities who wear them.  My favourite thing about this blog is the "Shoes She Should of Wore" features.

Purseblog - http://www.purseblog.com/

Purses and more purses to lust after, plus cheeky recaps of almost every Real Housewives episode, from the OC to Atlanta to NYC.

WhoWhatWear - http://www.whowhatwear.com/website/home.php

The grandaddy of celebrity fashion blogs

What Kate Wore - http://whatkatewore.com/

Everything to do with the Duchess and her style.

The Sartorialist - http://www.thesartorialist.com/

What real people are wearing around the world, by a fashion photographer featured in GQ and Vogue.  

Vacation Time! (almost)

I am two days away from a blissful full two weeks away from work and I couldn't be more excited.  I'm heading to NYC for 9 days to see the US Open (tennis), Wicked (on Broadway) and do tons of shopping, eating & sightseeing.  This is my third visit there and I am soooo looking forward to it!  NYC is really the city that has almost everything for everyone.

Anyway, I won't be blogging much in the next few weeks, but follow me on twitter (@lady_n_charge) for updates on where I'm at and what I'm up to.

Talk to y'all really soon!

xo,
Miss M

Food or Halle Berry's bod?

Halle Berry is hot.  Period.  End of sentence.  But how the hell does she do it??

This picture of Halle on the beach came out a few days ago and now everyone is talking about how amazing she still looks after a kid and being a few years shy of 50.  So what is her secret??? Don't eat anything that isn't good for you, including sugar, rice, cheese, flour, and pasta, according to her trainer in this Us Weekly article: http://www.usmagazine.com/healthylifestyle/news/how-halle-berry-maintains-her-sexy-bikini-bod-at-45-2011168

Now I am all for eating healthy and taking care of myself and I absolutely know that it works.  In fact, about 5 years ago I got down to my skinniest ever by eating nothing but salad, chicken breast, almonds and low fat cereal.  Mostly, I looked great, but more than a few people said to me "whoa, are you ok?" because the weight loss was so obvious.  I was happy with my new body, but my face looked a little gaunt and my boobs a little deflated.  And you better believe that after about 6 months of such a restricted diet, I could not go near a chicken breast on a bed of lettuce.  I was so done with eating so healthy that I found my cravings for "unhealthy" food like pasta were very intense.

My point is, there is a tradeoff when you want to look Halley Berry hot and I guess it's up to the individual to decide how extreme of a diet is manageable.  One of my favourite things to do is go out for a good meal or prepare a good meal, so I will live with my less than perfect abs and thighs for now!