Bachelorette Week 7 Recap

I’m still working through the Bachelorette, so bear with me. Des had some great pieces that I want to make sure to share with you. On Episode 7, Desiree and the guys continued their journey and visited Madeira, Portugal. They seem to arrive to the island on a huge ship, it looked pretty awesome! Desiree wears a white jean jacket and a beautiful floral scarf. I found a white Levi’s jean jacket ($51.99) and a similar floral scarf ($19.99): scarf jean jacketDesiree tells us that there are no roses on any of the dates this week, wait – isn’t that Chris Harrison’s job? In any case, Des needed some help from her friends so she invited Catherine, Leslie and Jackie from Sean’s season out to help her with her decision.

Madeira girls

I loved Jackie’s look and tried to recreate it with this Peach Stretch Jersey Maxi Skirt from Kamishade ($49.50) and this Shapely Ruched Bandeau from Venus Swimwear in deep navy ($26): Jackie's outfit     Catherine was wearing the Stella and Dot silver charm necklace ($26) and paw print charm ($26):

Stella and Dot Charm Necklace

Stella and Dot Charm Necklace

The girls proceeded to engage in lots of girl talk about the different guys and it was interesting to see which guys Desiree was really into. That’s the one thing about these shows that is so weird, (aside from the obvious), as a girl, you are so used to gushing about the guy you like to your girlfriends over and over again. Desiree doesn’t have the chance to do that at all and I sometimes think all of that talking helps you figure out how you are really feeling.

Brooks gets the first one-on-one with Des this week. It is interesting how he starts by saying how important this is because he is going to decide whether or not he wants to introduce her to his family. That statement makes me think he really isn’t that into her. The start the date with a picnic and a trip to a cliff overlooking the water. Des wears a flowy white and teal colorblock tank with studs from Romeo & Juliet Couture ($118). Her earrings are the Faidra from Brooklyn Designs ($39) and her ring is the Bailey from Robyn Rhodes ($68-74): colorblock blouse They get to go up a mountain that peaks through the clouds, so it is almost like they are floating on Cloud 9. This date is so weird, in the car he wants to come up with words between like and love. He also keeps saying that falling in love with Desiree would be awesome, but it’s clear he isn’t there.

Back at the hotel, a new date card has arrived for Chris, it says “Let’s SEA if we can find love here.”

Brooks and Desiree have a nice dinner, but they come up with this whole stepping, skipping, running analogy for falling in love. She says that she is going into a run and he is only jogging. I feel like alarm bells should be ringing for her now. Des wears a Sequin Embellished Mini Skirt from Express ($59.90):

Express Sequin Embellished Mini Skirt

Express Sequin Embellished Mini Skirt

ID Source: Possessionista

Chris gets the next date and they go out on a boat to travel to their very own deserted island. Desiree wears a multicolored stripe dress with an open back from Romeo & Juliet Couture ($155):

Romeo & Juliet Couture Dress

Romeo & Juliet Couture Dress

Both Des and Chris mentioned their chemistry and passion during this date and it seems like they are both on the same page. I’m just going to breeze over the rest of this because there is more poetry…totally not my thing.

The next date card arrived at the hotel for Michael and it reads “Michael, let’s have fun in Funchal.”

Chris and Des get to have dinner at a winery called Blandy’s. Chris decides to tell Des that he loves her and guess what that means? Another poem! They both seem happy and giddy after he finally says the words. Des wears a Haute Hippie sequin mini skirt. I found one here on eBay and I found a dress in the same pattern here.

Haute Hippie Sequin Mini Skirt

Haute Hippie Sequin Mini Skirt

Michael and Desiree get to explore the city on their date. During the day, Des wears the Free People Lima Cardigan (it looks like they might restock it, but there are plenty on eBay here), the Aspen necklace ($95) and Blair earrings ($59) from Brooklyn Design. Free People Lima Cardigan

For the evening portion of their date, they have a romantic dinner in the middle of the street and are seranaded. She wears a white tube dress, a dark denim jean jacket ($68) and the Olivia Bib Necklace from Stella and Dot ($118) I found a few dress options at Bebe ($59) and Herve Leger ($189):

white dressBack at the hotel, the last date card comes, a two-on-one date with Zak and Drew where a rose is up for grabs. The card reads “I’m looking for a man who can make my heart race.”

Desiree takes them on a racing date where they get to race around a crazy race track in go carts. Zak wins the race and gets the first one-on-one moment with her. He is totally head over heels for her, but I don’t think she feels the same way for him. Zak is my favorite this season.

Drew seems like such a nice guy, but he does absolutely nothing for me. He’s just not my type. It seems like Des likes him more than she does Zak, she confirms this when she gives the rose to Drew.

At the rose ceremony Des wears a beautiful Randi Rahm dress. You can get the look with this Asos Maxi Dress ($24.47):

Randi Rahm Dress

Randi Rahm Dress

During her talk with Chris Harrison, she tells him that she has already fallen in love with Brooks, but that she still wants to keep an open mind. It sounds like he isn’t quite there yet.

She gives roses to Brooks, Chris, and Zak and sends Michael home. I thought it was weird they let Michael call his mom, I thought they weren’t allowed to tell anyone the outcome of the show. Odd.

Coming up next week, hometowns…we will see how Desiree interacts with the families.

What did you think about Week Seven of the Bachelorette?

If you missed this episode you can purchase it for $1.99 on iTunes.

For more Bachelorette recaps, click here. 


True Blood “At Last” Recap

This week on True Blood…

Sookie and Jason

The episode begins with Jason (Ryan Kwanten) unconscious and Sookie (Anna Paquin) needing to call an ambulance. While she is on the phone, Ben (Rob Kazinsky) reveals that he is a vampire and gives some of his blood to Jason. How is that possible? A vampire and a fairy?

Warlow

Sookie and Jason’s fairy grandfather (Rutger Hauer) chase Nora (Lucy Griffiths) down to find out what she knows about Warlow. She tells him that Warlow is Lillith’s progeny and the only one that can stop her. She gets caught by the governor’s men.

Sookie is surprised when Jason is suddenly okay. The fairy grandfather isn’t happy that Ben left to help Jason instead of talking to Nora.

Jason is exceptionally normal and doing pull ups and Sookie finds a drop of blood on the floor. She starts to question Ben’s intentions and realizes that something might be up.

As usual, after Jason has vampire blood, he starts to fantasize about Ben. Poor Jason always gets the short end of the stick.

Sookie decides to pay Ben a visit to invite him over for dinner to thank him for helping her…it sounds like she might be up to something. She wears the JCrew Jackie Cardigan ($65):

JCrew Jackie Cardigan

JCrew Jackie Cardigan

ID Source: ShopYourTV

Jason confides to his fairy grandfather that he had some dreams about Ben. This makes him think that Ben might in fact be a vampire hybrid. They come to the conclusion that Ben is most likely Warlow and they decide to go after him themselves. He was expecting them and glamours Jason into forgetting what he knows. Warlow lets Jason say goodbye to his grandpa and then it gets weird. Warlow drinks his blood, but spits it out (possibly doing this to weaken him?). He takes grandpa to a portal and sends him through to some other dimension to spare him.

Back at Sookie’s, she is making dinner with a secret ingredient, Silver… She then starts preparing herself for an evening with Warlow by wearing provocative lingerie, the Darla Bra from Agent Provacateur ($190):

Agent Provacateur Darla Bra

Agent Provacateur Darla Bra

ID Source: ShopYourTV

and the Urban Outfitters Ecote Ruffle Hem Lace Dress . You can still find a few on eBay for around $70:

Urban Outfitters Ecote Ruffle Hem Lace Dress

Urban Outfitters Ecote Ruffle Hem Lace Dress

ID Source: ShopYourTV

Warlow is late to dinner, but finally shows up as Sookie starts to put everything away. She brings the food back out and he chows down, but he doesn’t have any weird reactions. They talk about her relationship with Bill and she says it ended because he lied to her – implying that if Warlow/Ben lies to her a relationship between them won’t work.

Sookie’s “date” with Warlow is going well and they start undressing each other. After she gets him into a vulnerable position she confronts him with her fairy lightening ball and tells him to get off of her.

Alcide and Sam

The pack is still dealing with their visit from the Vampire Unity Society. They realize that Sam (Sam Trammell) has taken Emma and they have to track him down.

Lafayette comes to rescue Sam, Emma (Chloe Noelle) and Nicole (Jurnee Smollett-Bell). Nicole is having trouble dealing with the fact that her friends are dead and the werewolves are coming after her.

nicole

Sam thanks Lafayette for his help, but doesn’t want him getting caught up with the wolves, so he sends him home. Sam finally comes clean with Nicole and shifts into a horse right in front of her so they can ride away. Nicole wears the Steve Madden Jaane Ankle Boot ($110.93-161.49):

Steve Madden Jaane Boot

Steve Madden Jaane Boot

ID Source: ShopYourTV

Sam, Nicole and Emma find a motel for the night and Sam and Nicole bond over their recent losses. One thing leads to another and they have sex. I sort of felt like that came out of nowhere.

Eric, Pam and Tara

The governor’s men break in on poor Ginger (Tara Buck), thinking they will find Eric (Alexander Skarsgard). Of course, Ginger doesn’t remember anything.

Eric and Pam (Kristin Bauer Van Straten) have come after Tara (Rutina Wesley) who has hidden Willa (Amelia Rose Blaire) . She tells Eric where Willa is (after some threatening) and he tells them to meet back at the same spot the next day.

Eric catches up to Willa and she tells him that she is on his side because she doesn’t agree with what her father is doing to vampires. She also tells him that she thinks she deserves to taste his blood.

He decides to go further than that and turns Willa into a vampire so she can help him achieve his goal.

751726_tbjj604_3_6_04485B15D

After Willa is turned into a vampire, Eric tells her to go home to her father to try and persuade him that hunting vampires is not black and white.

On their way to meet Eric, Pam is captured by the Governor’s men. Tara witnesses what happens, but stays in the shadows because there are too many of them with advanced technology.

Willa goes home to confront her father and pleads with him to stop persecuting vampires. Sarah Newlin (Anna Camp) is there to save the Governor’s life when Willa gets too close. As a baby vamp, she was unable to control the temptation to feed on him. Sarah pushes him to send Willa to Camp Truman.

The Bellefleurs, Bill and Jessica

Andy’s (Chris Bauer) fairy daughters are listening to Terry’s (Todd Lowe) thoughts and they know he killed his friend Patrick and call him a killer. Arlene (Carrie Preston) tells them to mind their own business, but it’s too late, the guilt is starting to get to Terry.

Andy puts them to bed, but all of a sudden they are having another growth spurt and are suddenly teenagers. Since they don’t know how long their lifespan is they decide to go out on the town and live it up. Little do they know, Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) are staking them out.

fairy daughters

Jessica feels especially protective towards the Bellefleur girls since they are the same age she was when turned into a vampire. The girls try to buy beer but don’t have ID’s. Jessica saves the day by glamouring the cashier. She invites the girls over to her house to “party.”

true-blood-6.04-at-last-the-girls

Bill straps a special device onto one of the girls that takes some of her blood so the good doctor can synthesize it.

In the meantime, Andy has realized that his girls are missing, but has a problem providing a description because of their unpredictable growth spurts.

Bill and the good doctor are having trouble synthesizing the fairy blood because it decomposes once it is out of the fairy body. The girls are getting restless and they want to leave. Jessica tries to stop them, but in all the commotion she snaps and can’t help herself. The fairy blood smells/tastes so good to her and she couldn’t resist feeding on the girls.

hungry-jessica

After Andy talks to Jason he realizes that Bill knew his girls were fairies and that he’s the one that took the girls.

What did you think about this week’s episode? Do you think the girls are still alive? What will the Governor do to Willa and Pam? What will happen with Sookie and Warlow?

If you missed this week’s episode, you can still watch it online here.

For more True Blood recaps click here.


Necessary Roughness “Snap Out Of It” Recap

This week, Dani (Callie Thorne) treats a self-help guru (who doesn’t believe in therapy) who wants to commit suicide. Sound like a challenge? Not for Dr. Santino. Dani is fresh off her trip to Idaho with Connor (John Stamos) and having a great time at V3. Paloma (Karissa Lee Staples), her assistant, pushes her to have more of a social life and invites her to a V3 Girl’s Night Out. Paloma wears a Joie Pearline Snake-Print Blouse. Unfortunately, this is sold out, but I love Joie blouses and am always shopping for them on eBay. Joie has a few similar animal print blouses including the Gudelia Top ($258) and the Purine Top ($238).

Joie Pearline Snake-Print Blouse

Joie Pearline Snake-Print Blouse

Connor takes Dr. Dani to meet Nolan Powers (Ioan Gruffudd), a self-help guru who doesn’t believe in talk therapy. Dani wears a sold-out Lida Baday Colorblock Stretch Knit Dress. There are a few white ones left on eBay, but I found a similar dress from Trina Turk ($298):

Lida Baday Dress

Lida Baday Dress

Meanwhile, TK (Mechad Brooks) is enjoying his sobriety by hooking up with his new friend, Sheera (Kate Miner) that he met at the V3 party last week. Sheera is giving TK a run for his money and she actually leaves him a parting gift on her way out. TK needs a challenge and this is an interesting turn of events for him. TK hunts Sheera down and tells her that he wants to attach strings.

Before Dr. Santino can talk to Nolan, his wife interrupts them and steals him away for lunch, leaving Dani puzzled at the whole situation. She mentions it to Connor, who brings it up to Nolan, but Nolan just brushes it off.

We finally find out more about what Nico (Scott Cohen) has been up to. When he worked for Marshall Pittman, he did a lot of illegal things so the Feds are blackmailing him to do the same for V3 and in return they will wipe his record clean.

TK visits Dani for their regular session and he is gushing about his new relationship with Sheera. He decides that Dr. Santino needs to “get some” of her own and offers to set her up. She turns down the offer, but decides to go to the V3 Girl’s Night Out instead. Dani wears the Joie Siegal Split Neck Top which is also sold out, but you can hunt a few down on eBay.

Joie Siegal Blouse

Joie Siegal Blouse

Dani is having a great time at the V3 GNO, when she is hit on by one of the other agents for her patient, Cindy Luck (Johanna Braddy). He comes on strong and it seems like this might have been something of a set up.

The night is interrupted by an emergency call from Nolan Power’s wife. She brings copies of Nolan’s emails to Dani and they discover that he has created a fake email account to talk to 12-year old girls, a very serious charge. Dani confronts Connor with this information and leaves him to address it with Powers. Powers denies it and demands to take a lie detector test to prove his innocence.

Dani wears her navy three-quarter sleeve blazer ($89.95), a turquoise tank top ($20.99) and carries her Michael Kors Handbag, Jet Set East West Top Zip Tote ($248)  in luggage:

navy blazer

TK has dinner with Sheera and finds out that there is more to her than meets the eye. She is a highly-educated Stanford graduate that has lofty goals and ambitions. This is all starting to seem too good to be true. She wants to team up with TK to create a special lingerie line. I see warning flags here, this is all moving way too fast. I was right on this account, Sheera ends up presenting the idea to Connor without TK. He catches her and kicks her to the curb before she can explain.

Nico stops by to tell Dani that Nolan passed the polygraph test. Dani gets a frantic call from Nolan and her and Nico run out to meet him at his hotel room. When they get there he is gone but there are stickers, toys and cartoons all over the room. I am thinking maybe a multiple personality disorder, which could explain all of Powers’ migraines.

Dani wears a Theory Yaisa Leather Sleeve Open Blazer ($445) which is still available in black:

Theory Blazer

Theory Blazer

Nico finally tracks him down – he was arrested for trying to burn down his childhood home. The police are holding him, but they said he was disoriented. Right again! When Dani tries to talk to powers, she discovers an eight-year-old boy named Scotty as one of Powers’ other personalities. Dani is able to explain the symptoms to Powers and discover that he has repressed this personality because of the abuse he experienced as a child.

Connor loves the Brickhouse lingerie idea and encourages Sheera and TK to kiss and make up so they can launch this new endeavor together.

Nico does his job for the Feds and he asks in return to go visit someone stuck at the Immigration named Alex Careles.

Connor and Dani meet Nolan Powers at the book signing to discover that he won’t go to a therapist. His alter ego, Scotty, writes Dani a note that says “At least we tried.” Connor doesn’t believe what he is seeing.

Back at the office, Paloma scolds Dani for passing up a great time with Cindy’s agent (is it sad that I can’t even remember his name?). He stops in and invites Dani out to drinks, then he propositions her to come up to his hotel room, which she accepts!!! Didn’t see that one coming.

Paloma wears a Diane von Furstenberg Jeanne Two Chain Link Wrap Dress. It is sold out in the purple color, but there are a few on eBay. The red version and the red and black version are still available.

Diane von Furstenberg Wrap Dress

Diane von Furstenberg Wrap Dress

What did you think about this week’s episode?  Who do you think Nico is visiting? Maybe a son? What repercussions do you think Dani will experience after sleeping with her new friend? Will Nolan Powers ever get help?

If there are any items that you would like me to ID or find alternate looks for, please post them in the comments below.

In case you missed it you can still watch the episode here.

For more Necessary Roughness recaps click here.


Mistresses “Decisions, Decisions” Recap

Decisions, Decisions…that’s what our four Mistresses need to make this week. Joss (Jess Macallan) treats us to a steamy opening scene before we dig into their problems.

Savi

As Harry (Brett Tucker) kisses Savi (Alyssa Milano) goodbye, he notices that she has a metallic taste to her breath. I thought that was sort of a stretch, but I guess it’s a real phenomenon with pregnant women. It’s called Dysgeusia. She wears a Karen Millen Sculptured Peplum Dress ($380):

Karen Millen Sculptured Peplum Dress

Karen Millen Sculptured Peplum Dress

ID Source: OnScreenStyle

As Savi arrives at the office, she see Dom (Jason George) flirting with another woman. Harry calls her and has figured out that her metallic breath could mean that she’s pregnant. Dom’s flirting doesn’t sit well with her, so she decides to give his “friend” a boatload of work that will keep her busy for the entire day.

Harry is excited that Savi might be pregnant so he buys her a pregnancy test. She has to run off to work and agrees to take it later that evening. She is wearing a royal blue dress with an asymmetrical collar. I couldn’t find the dress, but I did find a similar one from Bebe ($114.99):

Bebe Asymmetric Cowl Dress

Bebe Asymmetric Cowl Dress

Dom confronts Savi about her behavior towards the new paralegal accusing her of being jealous. She says that he has been able to leave their affair unscathed and she has to deal with the consequences. He admits that he still has feelings for her and that he doesn’t regret what happened between them.

Harry insists that Savi take the pregnancy test, but she ends up getting her period seemingly solving all of her problems. Unfortunately, she finds out that she is still pregnant after visiting her doctor. She gets very emotional during the appointment. The doctor says that she has high blood pressure changes and she needs to work on reducing her stress.

At the end of the episode, Savi decides to come clean with Harry and tells him about the affair and the pregnancy…YIKES!

Joss

Joss is gearing up for another workout with Alex (Shannyn Sossamon). Alex has finally broken up with her girlfriend, Sally (Joanne McQuinn) and is moving out. She asks Joss to help her move. After their hike, Joss decides to hop in the shower and Alex decides to join her. Does anyone else find that a little weird? Just a few hours after she slept with one guy she is getting it on with Alex (which Alex was fully aware of). I’m all for choosing your own lifestyle, but if I was Alex I wouldn’t be okay with being on the second string.

They go for snacks in the kitchen and almost run into Harry, but he backs away before they know he is there. Joss and Alex have the relationship talk and Joss tells her that she isn’t gay and that she’s not a relationship person. They decide to keep things light for now. Joss wears a California Republic shirt ($19.95). I found a similar version in white and grey:

California Love TShirt

California Love TShirt

Harry confronts Joss about her friendship with Alex. He questions her messing up the friendship with sex and she gets mad at him. He is right and it is already obvious that Alex cares more about Joss than she does about Alex.

Sally confronts Joss as she is helping Alex move. She says that she can’t blame Alex for falling in love with Joss. Joss doesn’t believe it, but Sally insists. It definitely gives her something to think about. Joss ends up blowing Alex off for lunch and spending time with her current boy toy.

She realizes how immature he is and decides to meet up with Alex instead, leaving her guy alone in her room.

April

April (Rachelle Aytes) meets with her financial advisor to start looking into possibly giving Miranda (Kate Beahan) some of Paul’s estate money. She gets interrupted by a call from Lucy’s school saying that she didn’t show up, even though April dropped her off. She wears a blue crochet tank top over and orange tank. I found a similar crochet top from BB Dakota ($34):

BB Dakota Covina Crochet Tank

BB Dakota Covina Crochet Tank

When she gets to school she finds out that Lucy skipped school with Richard’s (Cameron Bender) daughter to get Selena Gomez’s autograph. After a conversation with her daughter, she realizes that she has never done an impulsive thing her entire life.

Richard comes to visit April at the store and she finally tells him everything that has been happening with Paul and Miranda. She also confesses to him how she has only slept with one man her entire life. He takes that as an invitation and they end up sleeping together in the store! Now that is what I call impulsive!!

Karen

Karen (Yunjin Kim) gets invited to speak at a conference where Hilary Clinton is also speaking. Her celebration is interrupted by a visit from Mr. Newsome (Gary Dourdan). She wears a Black Halo ‘Jackie’ Belted Gabardine Sheath Dress ($345):

Black Halo Dress

Black Halo Dress

ID Source: OnScreenStyle

Mr. Newsome would like copies of Karen’s notes from her sessions with Thomas Grey (which she happened to delete in the previous episode). This prompts her to meet with Mrs. Grey to try and figure out what new information Newsome might have.

Elizabeth Grey visits Karen at her office and decides that she doesn’t care about the insurance money anymore. She tells Karen that she needs to tell the insurance investigator that Thomas was suicidal so she can put the whole thing behind her. Karen resists at first, but then decides to do it. She is wearing the Calvin Klein Robe from Week 1:

robe

What did you think about Savi’s decision to tell Harry about the affair? Do you think she should have waited until she got the paternity results back?

For more Mistresses recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can purchase it on iTunes for $2.99.


5 on Friday: Michigan Edition

I was looking forward to today’s Five on Friday Post with  A Liz AdventuresThe Good Life BlogHello Happiness and Carolina Charm. because I couldn’t wait to do a Michigan edition!

5 on Friday Logo - Final

This weekend, I am most excited about Michigan football! My husband and I are going to the first game against Central and we can’t wait to check out the team this year. I’ve purchased a few new items for this season of tailgating and I have a few more that I still want. Here are my top Michigan must-haves:

Michigan Wolverines Ladies Navy Blue Braided Dream Tube Dress ($39.95): I just bought this for Saturday’s game and it should be at my house anytime now. I hope it fits!

Wolverine Tube Dress

Wolverine Tube Dress

University of Michigan Polka Dot Womens Rain Boots ($19.99): I picked these up last year at Meijer. They are perfect for those rainy, muddy games!

Michigan Polka Dot Rain Boots

Michigan Polka Dot Rain Boots

DaynaU University of Michigan Kukui Nut Necklace ($19.95): I got mine when we went to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl a couple years back and I think it brings good luck.

Kukui Nut Necklace

Kukui Nut Necklace

Coach Madison Wristlet ($48): When you go to a game at the Big House you can’t bring anything in with you, except for a tiny little wristlet, so you have to get a cute one. This style is new and will fit in perfectly with the fall trends.

Coach Madison Wristlet

Coach Madison Wristlet

Michigan Wolverines Temporary Tattoos ($3.95): I LOVE showing my spirit at tailgates and I always have some sort of face tattoo at every game. I can’t wait to get all decked out on Saturday!

Michigan Temporary Tattoos

Michigan Temporary Tattoos

Those are my top five must-have items for this weekend’s tailgate in Ann Arbor. Let me know if you have any great Michigan gear that I should add to my list.

If I haven’t mentioned it yet in this post…GO BLUE!

What are you most looking forward to this season?

For more Five on Friday posts click here.


Bachelorette Week 6 Recap

Next stop on Des’ journey…Barcelona, Spain!

Before I even get into this episode, let me say how gorgeous those beaches look…WOW! I am adding Barcelona to my must visit list.

Desiree wears a sold-out Juliette Jake Sweater as she strolls through Barcelona. I found some similar sweaters from Urban Outfitters including one from BB Dakota ($99) and BDG ($59):

Desiree Sweater

Right off the bat Michael brings up the tension between James and the group. At this point I wish he would just give it a rest, I cannot stand him, he is so annoying. He has decided that someone is going to have to tell Desiree about the secret conversation James had about possibly becoming the next Bachelor.

Chris Harrison welcomes them to Barcelona and tells us that there will be one group date and two individual dates. There won’t be a cocktail party this week so the guys need to make sure to maximize their time with Desiree.

Drew gets the first individual date card which reads: “Drew, let’s build a foundation for love. Desiree.”

Drew and Desiree get to explore Barcelona on their date. During the date Drew really opens up to Desiree and tells her things (on national television) that he’s never told anyone else. Does anyone else find that strange? Drew tells Des that his father is a recovering alchoholic and that he’s really turned his life around now. Also, that he has cancer, but he hasn’t let that stop him. He seems to stay really positive and Desiree likes him.

During the date, Desiree wears a Leather Scuba Jacket by Vince ($995), Ava Earrings by Brooklyn Designs ($49), Avalon Crescent Necklace from Stella & Dot ($39) and the Barcelona Delight ring by Kiki Designs ($98):

Vince Leather Scuba Jacket

Vince Leather Scuba Jacket

Kiki Designs Ava Earrings

Brooklyn Designs Ava Earrings

Avalon Crescent Necklace

Avalon Crescent Necklace

Barcelona Delight Ring

Kiki Designs Barcelona Delight Ring

ID Source: Possessionista

While I couldn’t find her light blue scarf, I did find a similar one from David & Young ($18) in a variety of colors:

David & Young Scarf

David & Young Scarf

For the evening portion of the date, Desiree and Drew stroll through the city to their dinner. Des wears the L.A.M.B. CIA Pumps ($89.99). They are only available in a few sizes, but you can still search for your size on eBay.

LAMB CIA Pumps

LAMB CIA Pumps

They have a great dinner and you can really tell that this is where Drew falls in love with Desiree. He takes her outside, shoves her up against the wall and they have a pretty hot and heavy kiss. Wow…who knew Drew had it in him? I think up until this point Desiree liked Drew, but the chemistry wasn’t totally there. This kiss made her see him in a different light.When she makes out with Drew you can see the Robyn Rhodes Anut ring ($76) that she is wearing:

Robyn Rhodes Anut Ring

Robyn Rhodes Anut Ring

ID Source: Possessionista

Back at the hotel, the group date card arrives for Brooks, Chris, Kasey, Michael, James and Juan Pablo. It says “Looooooooooove. Desiree.” Inside the “O’s” are a bunch of little soccer balls, which Juan Pablo was very excited about.

After Drew secures his rose, he decides to tell Desiree about James’ secret conversation. She was really surprised to hear this about James.

It’s time for the group soccer date, and Desiree decides to give James the benefit of the doubt for today. She wears the Ruched Half-Zip Jacket from Victoria’s Secret  in Green Flash (on sale for $29.99) she wore the neon pink one on the dodgeball date in week 3:

Victoria's Secret Ruched Jacket

Victoria’s Secret Ruched Jacket

The boys have to play a professional women’s soccer team as part of the date. Who knew these guys were such trash talkers. The girls kicked their butts, which wasn’t too surprising. During the evening portion of the date Desiree wears the Lady Confuscia ring ($89) from Kiki Designs as seen in week 4:

Lady Confusia Ring

Lady Confusia Ring

Des gets to spend some one-on-one time with Chris and she wrote him a poem. She also has some nice one-on-one time with Brooks and they seem really natural together. The rest of the guys still have their panties in a bunch about James. Seriously, they sound like a bunch of gossipy girls. Enough already! Kasey decides to confront James, which isn’t really his place. It’s for Desiree to decide what she wants to do. Ugh…fast forward please.

Kasey forces Desiree to confront this situation with James head on. They end up screwing themselves as Desiree decides not to hand out the rose and kicks all of them out so she can talk to James. They are certain that she is going to send him home. I think he did an okay job of digging himself out of the hole. If I were her I would have gotten rid of Kasey or Michael over James. She ultimately decides to sleep on it for the night. I loved the look on all of their faces when James strolled back into the hotel, ha!

Since Zak wasn’t chosen for the group date, we know that he has the next one-on-one date with Desiree. As she prepares for the date she wears a cute coral leather jacket. I found a similar leather jacket from Jessica Simpson ($59.96). She also wears the On the Mark Necklace from Stella & Dot ($59) and the Jasper necklace from Kiki Designs ($149):

Coral Jacket

Desiree decides that she will take Zak on an artistic date. She takes him to an art class and he was a really good sport. They seemed to have a great time with a lot of laughs. Then in comes a nude male model for them to draw. Again, Zak was a great sport. He decides to come in and pose for her in his underwear, which wasn’t too hard on the eyes.

For the evening portion of the date they get to visit a winery and explore the cave below. Desiree wears the sold out BCBGMaxAzria Guy Stripe Tuxedo Jacket ($119). I found one on eBay, so keep checking and hopefully someone will sell your size soon.

BCBGMaxAzria Guy Stripe Tuxedo Jacket

BCBGMaxAzria Guy Stripe Tuxedo Jacket

Unfortunately, I think Des gave him the kiss of death when she said they had a great friendship that was growing into a romance. We will see what develops, but it doesn’t sound like she is as into him as some of the other guys. She ultimately gives him the rose and he confesses to us that he is completely in love with her. He tells her that she means everything to him.

Fast forward through Drew and James being total girls, blah, blah, blah…

Desiree pays the guys a visit at their hotel and asks to speak to James outside. She wears the Seychelles Chandeliers from Stella & Dot ($44):

Seychelles Chandeliers

Seychelles Chandeliers

The guys get all excited that James will get sent home, but he is really sincere towards Desiree. At this point I think that she should focus on her relationships and not all of this drama. She seems to do that and really starts to warm up to James again. He goes back to the hotel which really gets the remaining guys riled up. That was the funniest part of the whole episode.

During the rose ceremony she sends Kasey, Juan Pablo and James home. The men are finally vindicated so now they will hopefully stop talking about James. I still don’t know why she is keeping Michael – I can’t stand him. Desiree wore the Diane von Furstenberg Lace Zarita Dress ($325):

DVF Lace Zarita Dress

DVF Lace Zarita Dress

Next stop – Madeira, Portugal!

What did you think about Week Six of the Bachelorette?

If you missed this episode you can still watch it online here.

For more Bachelorette recaps, click here. 

If you are interested in reading Bachelorette spoilers you can find them at Reality Steve.


September Pinspired

I missed last month’s Pinspired and I am excited to jump back in for September! This is a fun challenge with Shay at MixandMatchMama, Sheaffer at Pinterest Told Me To and Mel at The Larson Lingo to recreate a look from Pinterest.

pinspired2 copy

When I was in school, getting my first day of school outfit was very important. It was like a fresh start; what was your style going to be for the year? Now that I’m an adult, every season is like the first day of school. A chance to get in on the popular trends and establish your own unique style.

There are a number of hot trends this fall, but I’m going to focus on bright colored blazers and leather for this edition of Pinspired. Here are a few of my inspiration looks from Pinterest:

September Pinspired2

The first thing that caught my eye about these looks was the necklace, probably because I’ve had my eye on it for a while. The Tempest Necklace from Stella and Dot ($198) would be perfect with these looks:

Tempest Necklace

Tempest Necklace

I found these fantastic leather and ponte leggings from Not Your Daughter’s Jeans. They have them in regular and plus sizes for $120-130:

Leather and Ponte Leggings

Leather and Ponte Leggings

I found this Madison Nylon Knit Tank for $19.99 to layer under the blazer:

Madison Tank

Madison Tank

For the Pièce de résistance, the New Directions Ponte Knit Blazer does the trick for only $40.99 with colors in Radiant Red, Cruising Blue and Black:

New Directions Blazer

New Directions Blazer

I loved the lavender trench coat and found this Ivanka Trump Double Breasted Peplum Trench for $79.99:

lavender trench

I found a few different shoe looks, just because I think you could dress this outfit up or down with various styles. For an everyday look, I got some adorable ankle booties from Payless last year that would work, they still have one pair left on eBay:

Fioni ankle booties

Fioni ankle booties

I found a similar pair at Nine West for $99:

Nine West Castillima

Nine West Castillima

For a dressier look, I like these Steve Madden Darrt Pumps ($66.96) or these Anne Klein Wrenn metallic cap toe pumps ($62.99):

Steve Madden Darrt Pump

Steve Madden Darrt Pump

Anne Klein Wrenn Pump

Anne Klein Wrenn Pump

I am in love with this look! It is so versatile, you can change the shoes and accessories and mix and match blazers for the entire season. The leather leggings are a little out of my comfort zone, but I am excited to try them and see what I can do with the look.

Do you have any other suggestions on what I could add to this look?

For more Pinspired looks, click here.


“The Box” Goodwin Games Recap

We’ve finally reached the end of this random summer series. It grew on me more than I anticipated and now that it is over I am sorry to see it go. The last episode was great and left me wanting more, which is how it should be.

The intro sequence with Henry Goodwin (Scott Foley) was great! The only thing that was missing was maybe some Eye of the Tiger in his montage. That sequence was similar to a lot of my mornings, mostly the part about getting ready and then tripping over things and everything going wrong.

Scott Foley

Chloe (Becki Newton) and Jimmy (TJ Miller) are basking in the afterglow of their relationships with Ivan (Adam Rodriguez) and April (Melissa Tang), but they both have different reasons for keeping them secret from Henry. Mostly because each of them are unethical in their own way.

As Chloe and Ivan say their goodbyes, she tells him about her special parking spot at school that always seems to be free whenever she arrives. She wears her Valentino heels (see the previous recap here) and an Herve Leger Riley Ombre Bandage Skirt ($572). I found a number of additional options in blue and plum at various price points.

Herve Leger Riley Ombre Skirt

Herve Leger Riley Ombre Skirt

Chloe and Jimmy want Henry to go through a box of their dad’s old things. Henry is avoiding it and decides to take it to Lucinda (Kat Foster) at the church as a donation. Henry is overwhelmed in all aspects of his life and he seems to be letting things drop through the cracks…someone is on his way to a nervous breakdown.

Chloe heads off to school and realizes that she doesn’t have a magic parking spot. April has been holding her spot with cones every day and moving them right before she arrives. Her father asked April to do this because Chloe gives up to easily. If she didn’t find a spot, she would probably skip class and go for yogurt.

April

The siblings are summoned to April’s office for another video from their dad. This week he gives each of them a riddle to solve:

  • Jimmy: Hokey pokey steeple chase, answer this to win the race.
  • Chloe: Trouble, eye of another spy, Chloe find him, fly goose fly.
  • Henry: Green potato, rancid cow, old wild shoe, who’s sorry now.

office

I found this great blazer from BCBG Max Azria ($268) that is similar to the one Chloe wears above:

BCBG Keely Print-Blocked Jacket

BCBG Keely Print-Blocked Jacket

Jimmy stays behind so he can have another tryst with April. Chloe wonders if her father is meddling in Jimmy’s life too, through April. He dismisses this idea, but suggests that Ivan could be a setup which makes Chloe paranoid for the rest of the evening.

Chloe wears a Michelle Mason Peplum Dress ($143) for her date with Ivan. I assume that the costume department added in the touch of yellow to complement Chloe’s character theme:

Michelle Mason Peplum Dress

Michelle Mason Peplum Dress

On her date, Chloe starts to see parts of her riddle in what Ivan is saying, so she runs off. Then she confronts Ivan and breaks up with him because she assumes that he is in cahoots with her dad and April.

Henry’s wedding and hospital worlds are starting to collide. He gets called into his boss’ office and they tell him that he is overworking himself which is a liability for the hospital. They tell him to take a whole week off to get his head together. He starts to believe Chloe’s theory that someone is messing with them.

Henry gets home and starts freaking out. He finds out that Jimmy and April are sleeping together and that Chloe and Ivan are together. April admits that their father was just messing with them and that the riddles meant nothing. He wanted to remind them to enjoy the journey not just the destination.

Chloe calls Ivan and has him meet her at the bar to apologize. He accepts her apology, but is tired of getting his heart broken. She ends up going to his house to win him back over and it works!

The-Goodwin-Games-Finale-2013-The-Box-6-550x409

Henry has a heart-to-heart with Lucinda and she gets him to admit that he is grieving and working too much as a coping mechanism. It’s too bad the show is over because I bet these two would get back together at some point.

April keeps trying to break up with Jimmy to no avail. She freaks out about where her job is going and that she is now sleeping with a felon. Jimmy tells her to listen to her heart and enjoy the journey.

The series ends in a touching moment with Henry going through his dad’s old stuff and finally saying goodbye.

henry

What did you think of the Goodwin Games series finale? Was it everything you hoped it would be?

For more Goodwin Games recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can purchase it on the iTunes Store for $2.99 or the entire series for $20.93.


Banana Republic’s Issa London Collection is Here!

Banana Republic’s Issa London Collection is finally here! For those of you that love Kate Middleton’s style as much as I do, this is your chance to get her look for less. Banana Republic and Issa London (the designer that brought you Kate Middleton’s iconic blue engagement dress in 2010) have teamed up to create a limited-edition capsule collection called the Issa London Collection.

The collection contains 40 pieces of apparel and accessories, including a replica of the Duchess of Cambridge’s blue engagement dress. I can’t wait to get my favorite pieces. Here are my picks from the collection:

Issa Collection Three-Quarter Sleeve Wrap-Tie Dress ($130):

Issa Collection Three-Quarter Sleeve Wrap-Tie Dress

Issa Collection Three-Quarter Sleeve Wrap-Tie Dress

As I am writing this, I have already purchased and tried on this dress and let me tell you it looks fantastic! The blue one is sold out on Banana Republic’s website, but I will let you in on a little secret. You can buy all of these pieces on eBay. I actually purchased my dress there. Many retailers sell these limited edition collections as brand new pieces and you can still buy them after the collection is sold out. This includes the Prabal Gurung and Jason Wu for Target Collections which I have also been hunting on eBay. I just did a search and there are 84 of these available on eBay and I’m sure that number will only go up. You can click here to shop for your size.

Issa Collection Short-Sleeve Pleated Dress ($130):

Issa Collection Short-Sleeve Pleated Dress

Issa Collection Short-Sleeve Pleated Dress

I will probably get this one in black because I need a versatile black dress. I do like the green color though.

Issa Collection Red Wrap-Tie Dress ($130):

Issa Collection Red Wrap-Tie Dress

Issa Collection Red Wrap-Tie Dress

Issa Collection Wrap Top ($55):

Issa Collection Wrap Top

Issa Collection Wrap Top

These are my favorite pieces and I am hoping to have them all in the next month or so. They would be the perfect start to my fall wardrobe!

A few celebrities have also been seen wearing the Issa London Collection including Naomi Watts and Emmy Rossum. Naomi Watts was spotted in the Issa Collection Red Ceramic Printed Three-Quarter Sleeve Dress ($140) which is sold out. There are a few on eBay now and I’m sure there will be more soon.

Naomi Watts in the Issa London Collection

Naomi Watts in the Issa London Collection

Emmy Rossum wore the Issa Collection Blue Ceramic Printed Wrap-Tie Dress ($130):

Issa Collection Blue Ceramic Printed Wrap-Tie Dress

Emmy Rossum in the Issa Collection Blue Ceramic Printed Wrap-Tie Dress

Take a look at the collection and let me know what your favorites are. I would also love to see how you accessorize these looks. Happy shopping!


Necessary Roughness “Swimming with Sharks” Recap

The new format of Necessary Roughness takes a little getting used to. I find it a little odd that we are being pushed to forget all of the old storylines and just move on. In the beginning scene of this week’s episode it is really obvious that the show is trying to account for these loose ends because we see Dani (Callie Thorne) trying to contact her son, Ray Jay to no avail. It is weird that her kids haven’t really been present in the first few episodes and we really don’t know what happened with Juliet and Ray Jay.

I’m willing to accept the new format, but anytime they address the old stuff I think it comes off as very awkward in the flow of the show. I am interested to see how this will work in the next few episodes. I hope everything will come full circle.

Dani attempts to make her daughter, Lindsay (Hannah Marks), breakfast but she has to run out the door.  In this scene she is wearing some of he fashion staples from last week including her Gucci Peep Toe Buckle Pumps ($615), her Gucci Leather Horsebit Belt ($275) and her Michael Kors Jet Set East West Top Zip Tote ($248).

I was finally able to identify her “D” charm as the Alphabet Charm from Helen Ficarola:

Helen Ficalora Charm

Helen Ficalora Charm

As she heads off to V3, Dani runs into TK (Mehcad Brooks) showing off his first print ad for Machismo. He is proud of his new ad and that he has finally reached his one-year anniversary of sobriety. Paloma (Karissa Lee Staples) interrupts with Dani’s schedule and lets her know that Friday night is MV3, a monthly cocktail party where Connor (John Stamos) gives out a bonus check to an MVP for the month.

Paloma wears a black peplum dress. I found a similar dress from Alice + Olivia ($264):

Alice + Olivia Peplum Dress

Alice + Olivia Peplum Dress

Connor takes Dani to a basketball game to meet a potential new client. Everything seems to be going smoothly, until one of the players, Devon Langer (Sinqua Walls), gets a little out of control on the court. The catch? Langer isn’t one of Connor’s clients, but he wants Dani to help bring him in. Dani agrees to help Langer, as long as she can focus on helping him and not try to win him over to the agency.

She layers her navy blazer from the season premiere (Calvin Klein Navy Blazer $89.95) with the Joie Rancher Top ($158), her Helen Ficarola charm (see above) and an Anna Beck Bali Cuff ($412):

pink blouse

Dani meets with Langer (who mentions he grew up in Detroit – shoutout!) with his single mom. Langer’s free throw percentage has gone from 80 percent to 40 percent in the past year, so Dani tries to figure out what has changed in his life. Dani starts working with Langer on his muscle memory and gets him to focus on going back to the basics of his free throw. Everything is going great and we get to meet Langer’s mother, Lana (Gabrielle Beauvais), who is more like a friend then a mother.

In the meantime, Connor, Troy (David Anders) and Nico (Scott Cohen) are dealing with an attack on V3. Someone has messed with the phone system and Connor thinks that another agency is going to try and steal clients. They get the phones back up but find out that they’ve been hacked. Connor receives a mysterious package of  “dirty laundry” from SBG Managament, the agency that represents Devon Langer.

Back at V3, Paloma (Karissa Lee Staples) fills Dani in on the phone system crisis and the V3 agency party. Paloma wears a sold out L’Agence Pleated Bodice Dress. I found a similar style from Calvin Klein ($96):

Sheath dress

Nico and Troy figure out a way to get back at the hackers by giving them a code that can be downloaded, in essence hacking the hackers. Troy doesn’t seem to trust him just yet and we realize just how paranoid Troy is when he has Nico followed.

At Langer’s game everything is going great and he takes Dani’s advice on his free throw. It works and he gets a great momentum going. Unfortunately, he starts to lose his focus when Lana starts a fight with the referee getting them both kicked out of the game.

Now that TK has reached one year of sobriety it means that he can start dating again. A woman approaches him and asks him on a date because of his new Machismo ad. TK is pleased because he’s still got it! TK’s date with Abby (Autumn Reeser) goes very well until he finds out that she is a managing partner at SBG and that their “date” was really a sales pitch. She gets his attention by promising him loyalty…and Nike.

Dani meets with Langer and his mother, Lana for a session to work through their problems. She tries to get them to set some boundries, but Lana blows up at Dani and Langer defends her. The session ends badly with Lana and Langer storming out.

TK comes to Connor to inform him about his “date” with Abby a.k.a. “Bruce.” Connor tells TK that V3 has a 98 percent retention rate but he is free to leave anytime. The caveat is that once you walk out on V3 you don’t get to come back. TK decides to stay at V3 in the end. He also meets a beautiful model at V3 who just became a new client. Will she be a new love interest for TK? 

Dani meets with Langer to try to help him again. She has discovered his real problem is that he has anger and tension towards his mother. Langer also has tension directed at his teammate, Kyle Burke, who we discover is sleeping with Langer’s mother.

Dani wears her white blazer from Episode 2 (Jones New York $79), an orange and white print blouse and covered peep toe wedges. I found a similar printed blouse from Sandra Ingrish ($54) and wedges from Pour La Victoire Lena ($227.99):

Necessary Roughness

orange blouse

Langer opens up about his mom and he is worried that history will repeat itself. Lana was depressed in the past and tried to commit suicide. Langer wants to keep her happy because he doesn’t want her to fall into a depression again. Dani and Langer agree to work through this with Lana.

Nico brings the hacker to Connor and Troy and convinces them to poach the hacker by hiring him to hack SBG. At the end of the episode Nico reveals that he is playing Troy and Connor and that the hack/agency war was an elaborate scheme to get a peek at V3’s books. We also learn that Nico is spying for someone, we just aren’t sure who it is yet.

Connor ends up getting Langer to come to V3 by poaching Langer’s agent. We also learn that Bruce broke Connor’s heart. When his father was dying Bruce stole his clients and files and started her own agency. Wow…that is harsh.

At the end of the episode we see Lindsey blowing Dani off for a sleepover and Ray J finally calling her back. This means that she has time to attend the MV3 party. At the party, Dani gets a huge bonus for bringing in new clients and is named the MV3. Dani is still uncomfortable with all of the glitz, glamour and money of this position but I think she will ultimately give in.

Dani wears a Yigal Azrouel Tucked Crepe Dress ($432):

Yigal Azroul Dress

Yigal Azroul Dress

What are your thoughts about this episode? The dynamic between Nico and Dani is interesting. They are still very flirtatious, but he is keeping her at arm’s length. I can’t see her with Connor though, he is too intense and doesn’t seem to be her type.

In case you missed it you can still watch the episode here.

For more Necessary Roughness recaps click here.


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