The Hairy Truth About Scrunchies . . .

. . . is that they're totally awesome!  I know, I know.  I once vowed to resist this resurrected eighties/nineties trend.  To never fall for its amorphous allure or wind its graffiti-print, calamari-like rings around my precious ponytail.  Because there's something provincial about it that makes you (okay, me) feel like you're admitting defeat.  I blame such snobbery on that episode of "Sex and the City."  You know, the one where Carrie and Aidan argue about whether a scrunchie-sporting woman at a restaurant is a New Yorker.  Carrie says that she isn't; Aidan insists that she is.  When they ask her, she reveals that she's on vacation and gushes that she's flattered to be mistaken for one of Gotham's glamazons.

Then I saw the reboot.  (Of the scrunchie, not "Sex and the City.")  And it's more than just a, as my mom used to say, ruffle wrap.  It now comes in a myriad of colors, prints, fabrics, and even structures.  Some look like old-school telephone cords.  I was really excited about that and snapped up this fluorescent foursome.  Sure, when I tried to wear them in my (admittedly unruly) locks, they got lost and looked like dead jellyfish.  But that only inspired me to string them on a ribbon and wear them as a necklace.

In other updo doodad overhauls, the elastic part isn't even the, ahem, mane event, but a mere anchor for scarves and bows.  They're so pretty, like something you'd see on a bobby soxer or Disney princess.  I snagged two in red and yellow, Ronald McDonald style, albeit in autumnal florals, as well as a hot pink one printed like a bandanna.  The effect is summer fading into fall.  Kind of like an acid rain-spiked watermelon crashing Thanksgiving's still life of corn and cranberries.

That's the thing about trends.  Sometimes, it takes more than a minute for them to make sense to you and secure a place in your heart's true blue wardrobe.  Sometimes -- like the Cranberries -- you have to wait and let them linger.

And also, admit that a comeback can overcome a comment from New York's couture queen.

Doing Huey Lewis, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Squares the World Over Proud: Also, Will Blog For Clothes

Fabulous Felt Pastel Hip to Be Square Necklace

Tee: Kohl's

Skirt: H&M

Flip flops: So, Kohl's

Bag: DSW

 Fabulous Felt Primary Palette Necklace

Tee: So, Kohl's

Jeans: City Streets, JCPenney

Shoes: MetroStyle

Bag: Nahui Ollin

Belt: Wet Seal

 Fabulous Felt Bright Hip to be Square Necklace

Dress: Modcloth

Shoes: Not Rated, DSW

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Scarf: Boscov's

 Fiery Fringe Necklace

Top: Wet Seal

Skirt: Material Girl, Macy's

Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's

Bag: Journeys

Belt: Wet Seal

Sunglasses: Claire's

As Luck Would Have It Choker

Top: Princess Vera, Kohl's

Skirt: Ellen Tracy, JCPenney

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Betseyville, Marshalls

Fancy Feathers Barrette

Dress: Kohl's

Shoes: Payless

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Necklace: Candie's, Kohl's

For years I've been jokingly inviting my favorite stores to send me a little token in return for the shout-outs I make in my posts.  This week someone answered that call, and that someone was Kohl's (take that, JCPenney!).  One of their marketing reps found this itty bitty blog on the great big web and offered me a 10% off coupon just for having linked a couple of current Kohl's items in last week's post.  What's more, she encouraged me to pass the savings on to you.  The 10% off is good for online purchases through 7/11/13 and can be used in conjunction with one other department-specific coupon code.  Just enter BLOGGER10 in the coupon box at checkout.  I'll be using mine next week in combination with my considerable stash of Kohl's cash to score a deeply discounted LC Lauren Conrad dress.  I must confess, I already have not one but two Kohl's shipments on the way, one of which includes two garment bags to house my honeymoon-bound dresses.  (On the subject of wedding wear, when I stumbled upon the above sequin tube dress on kohls.com, I knew it was just the firecracker of a frock for my bachelorette party.)  I never thought I'd be the kind of person who owned a garment bag, but there you have it.  My, how I'm growing up.

Movie Moment: I Don't Know How She Does It

I Don't Know How She Does It made me a little bit nervous.  As I'm sure it was meant to.  According to Mindy Kaling's list of romantic comedy stereotypes (even if this movie isn't exactly a romantic comedy), its heroine Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker) is a cross between the beautiful klutz and the busy working woman who is obsessed with her career and never ever has any fun.  As a finance executive, wife, and mother of two, Boston-based Kate is relentlessly plagued by a never-ending to-do list that catapults her into one fiasco after another (enter beautiful klutz syndrome) and makes her the subject of smug stay-at-home-mom Wendy Best's (Busy Phillips) barbed commentary (delivered documentary-style from a treadmill at the gym).  Although Kate's freelance architect husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) is mostly understanding, we sense that he is one play date away from a meltdown.

The heat is turned up on Kate's pressure-cooker life when she scores an account designing retirement fund plans for hotshot New York financier Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan).   Far from being put off by Kate's klutziness, the widowed Jack is charmed by it, a feeling that grows as Kate shuttles between Boston and New York for their meetings.  Kate is soon in the precarious position of forging a workplace friendship with a colleague who has a crush on her, a situation that causes her to unwittingly serve as emotional caretaker for Jack.  In this way her career resembles an illicit affair, not because she reciprocates Jack's feelings, but because it usurps her time and attention from her family.    

Of course, Richard lands a plumb design job just when Kate begins traveling, creating the kind of intense conflict for which movies like these are made.  Now, Richard is a pretty good guy.  Certainly not some stereotypical tyrant who would lighten the load of Kate's dilemma by way of his sheer awfulness.  It's his very mild-manneredness that complicates things, echoing the mindset of the husbands in those Second Shift studies.  Which is to say that he seems to think that it's fine for his wife to work - as long as it doesn't get in the way of her real work, which is in the home.

It should be noted that not every part of the movie is serious.  The plot is laced with classic Carrie Bradshaw-style narration that "Sex and the City" fans will enjoy, if only because it reminds them of Parker's plucky appeal as an authority on angst.  There is also plenty of witty dialogue, punctuated by well-placed jokes.  Finally, the spoiled and catty Wendy Best is funny.  Yet at the heart of her quips is a bitterness that I can't help but feel channels the movie's central message, which is this: Kate may travel a treadmill of never-ending conflict between work and home, but Wendy is trapped on a treadmill of catering to her kids and in-laws.  She's angry because she's jealous of Kate.  Although stressed and conflicted, Kate never comes off as angry.  The comparison between Kate and Wendy poses the question: What do these women really want, and how stressed are they willing to be to get it?  At first I had trouble answering this question.  During most of the movie, I just wanted Kate to quit her crazy-ass job already.  But ultimately I understood that for her, her job was her identity and therefore worthy of fighting for on her terms.

So, a lot of deep thoughts swirling around here.  I Don't Know How She Does It, by the way, got terrible reviews. (It closed fairly quickly after opening this past September.)  I admit that it wasn't great.  But I don't think it was as bad as people made it out to be either.  It was just up against the challenge of tackling an unpopular topic and falling somewhere between light fare and full-fledged drama in the process.

Movie Moment: New Year's Eve

Like Valentine's Day, Garry Marshall's other holiday-themed, star-studded extravaganza, New Year's Eve features eight intersecting vignettes about people searching for hope, and yes, in most cases, love. 

Here's the rundown.  (I'm not going to bother using character names; when a movie has as many celebrities as this one, they become sort of superfluous.)  Josh Duhamel is hoping to meet the "extraordinary" woman he met last New Year's Eve by chance at a pizza place.  Michelle Pfeiffer is a bored office worker who hires bike messenger Zac Efron to make her New Year's resolutions come true.  Jessica Biel and Seth Meyers are competing with Sarah Paulson and Til Schweiger for the $25,000 awarded to the first baby born in the new year.  Hilary Swank is orchestrating the Times Square ball drop and encounters technical difficulties that can be solved by only eccentric electrician Hector Elizondo.  Sarah Jessica Parker is a single mom trying to prevent her teenage daughter, Abigail Breslin, from spending midnight in Times Square with a boy.  Wise guy Ashton Kutcher and perky Lea Michele get stuck in an elevator.  High-profile caterer Katherine Heigl, whose sous chef is Sophia Vergara, has her heart broken by rock star Jon Bon Jovi (who, oddly, does not quite play himself).  Robert De Niro is dying in a hospital, and Halle Berry is his nurse.  All of this drama is sprinkled by wise words from Ludacris, who plays a cop and, ostensibly, Hilary Swank's work husband.

Although the plot (or, rather, plots) moved a little slowly at first, New Year's Eve is ultimately fun and frothy, spiked with the kind of gentle twists that you (okay, I) loved in Valentine's Day.  High points included commentary on Sarah Jessica Parker's shoes, Seth Myers's comic timing, Sofia Vergara's silliness, and an appearance by recent "Project Accessory" contestant Shea Curry.  Oh, and the Christmas decorations backlit by the glitz of Times Square.  As always, the flashier the better.       

Oh My Gosh, It's Another Shoe Montage and Sex and the City 2 Revisited

I've been at it again. Here's a festive grouping of my most recent footwear acquisitions and the rundown on where I snagged them:

From the left:

Multi-colored floral print: Madden Girl, DSW
Hot pink and black plaid: Baby Phat, Macy's
Red patent with triangle cut-outs: Rampage, DSW
Pink glitter: Guess, DSW
Yellow and purple ankle strap with rosette: Anne Michelle, Alloy
Blue T-strap with zipper accents: Dollhouse, Marshalls
Blue buckle flats: Rocket Dog, Marshalls
Multi-colored leopard peep toes: Nine West, Macy's
Pink floral peep toes: Candie's, Kohl's
Variegated blue sequins: Nina, DSW

Speaking of shoes, I think this would be a good time to reopen my discussion about Sex and the City 2. Since posting about it a couple of weeks ago fresh from the theater, I've heard and read many other people's reactions and was surprised to find that they were, on the whole, unfavorable. Many viewers (and reviewers) attacked the foursome's lavish wardrobe, deeming it inappropriate and unrealistic, especially in this economy. Well, to that I say this. First, it's a movie and has no responsibility to represent the economy or anything else. Second, it's Sex and the City and has no responsibility to represent what "real" women wear. Several critics even went as far as to say that the characters were spoiled and self-indulgent. I find this especially odd because I've always perceived Sex and the City as sending a feminist message. The series showed that women should and can do whatever they want without waiting for a man's approval. And if what they want is to buy shoes, then no one has the right to stop them (well, except for maybe Visa). Who is to say that they're shallow? Isn't making such a judgment in and of itself sexist? Far from being superficial, I think that Sex and the City 2 went out of its way to highlight and celebrate women's rights. Miranda, an accomplished lawyer, leaves her firm after suffering the chauvinism of her boss. Charlotte, a full-time mom, regains some of her independence and sanity by taking some "me" time in Carrie's old apartment. Samantha manages to flee Abu Dhabi (with Miranda's help) after almost being arrested for having sex on the beach. And Carrie discovers that being "Mrs. Married" to Big's "Mr. Married" is far better than the heartache and uncertainly of single life and just what she wants after all. These characters aren't tired stereotypes of "yes" women. They've fearless! And funny! If nothing else, I can't believe that so many people preferred the angst-ridden and bleak first Sex and the City movie to this raucous, fantastic, and ultimately uplifting adventure.

I'm glad I said my piece. I feel much better. :)

Movie Moment: (Handbag Heaven and Some Thoughts on) Sex and the City 2

This weekend the bf surprised me with two handmade sets of hooks for my handbags. I'd been keeping them in two places: in a heap on the floor in a corner and scrunched into a small free-standing closet. But with the hooks in place I could free up the floor for some of my shoes and rearrange the purses in the closet. Now, if only I could get one of those revolving closets like they had in Clueless. Or even just a walk-in closet. The bf, by the way, says that I'm a nerd for reporting all of this. He's right, of course, but I'm kind of hoping it comes off as charm.

Speaking of fashiony movies, my mom and I saw Sex and the City 2 last Saturday. I'd read that it promised to be "a romp" compared to the first movie, which, quite frankly, I found hugely disappointing. But this was one case in which the sequel surpassed the original. The setting of Abu Dhabi inspired a wardrobe that was even more ornate and over-the-top than usual, which was great fun. But the best part was the movie's willingness to "go there" instead of neatly tying up every dicey romantic situation in pretty bows. So many TV shows and movies take the cut-and-dry happily-ever-after approach to marriage and relationships, which I find kind of insulting. But Sex and the City 2 recognizes that people continue to evolve beyond the "I do's". This is not to say that marriage takes a hit in the movie. On the contrary, it's the characters' willingness to deal with their issues that make their marriages more real and, therefore, stronger.

But enough with the heaviness. Who's your favorite Sex and the City character? Although I've always fought it, I'd have to go with Charlotte. Clearly the goody-two-shoes idealist of the group, she always seemed a little silly to me. To her, every little blip was a crisis, and everything always had to be perfect. She took everything seriously, but no one really took her seriously. Then it dawned on me that I'm a bit of a perfectionist goody-two-shoes who takes things too seriously, much as I hate to admit it. Hmmm. Funny how that works.

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my birthday. I'm 28. I thought I would feel older, but I'm surprisingly ok with it. The bf just called from work to ask what I was doing, and I said, "blogging about my birthday . . . it doesn't get any more narcissistic than this." He just laughed and said, "Hey, I wasn't gong to say anything . . ."

I took off from work (first time I ever did that for my birthday) and wanted to document my joy before it evaporated. My birthday activities included the following:

I slept in a little, did some decoupaging to a Saved by the Bell rerun, uploaded some new items to my ArtFire shop, ordered this awesome unicorn cuff and necklace from Art All Night on Etsy, then showered and set off for DSW where I bought too many pairs of shoes (all on sale, though) with my birthday coupon. Then my dad called to suggest we meet for lunch at Red Robin (it was his lunch hour). I wasn't expecting that, wasn't even planning to stop for lunch, actually, so that was nice. After lunch I made a quick trip to Marshalls before going to see Did You Hear About the Morgans? I had a free ticket coupon (I'm part of the Regal club, or whatever it's called), so that was even better. It was just me and this one other woman in the theater. She was sitting in the row in front of mine and laughed very loudly every time someone said something funny. At one point she turned around and said, "I'm sorry!" I had to hold back my own laughter, from the irony, as I assured her that it was ok. As for the movie, it was exactly as I expected it to be: peppered with Hugh Grant's signature dry British wit, a little reminiscent of Sex and the City because I can't help but think of Carrie every time I see Sarah Jessica Parker in something, predictable, a little sappy, and overall highly enjoyable. I've never been afraid to admit that I like a good chick flick.

Now I'm just doing what I like to do best until the bf comes home. Then we'll go out to dinner. Saturday, I'll celebrate with my family "birthday circuit" style (for those of you not familiar with the Esposito birthday circuit, it just means that we all go out to the Italian restaurant of the birthday person's choice (either my mom, dad, sister, grandmother, or aunt), then return to Esposito headquarters for cake and presents).

That's it. I'm having a great day. Narcissism session concluded.