Setting the Mood: Mother, May I?

By Kirsten|May 6th, 2014|Setting the Mood|

We’ve all watched that YouTube video where people applied for the hardest job in the world, right? Threw you for a real loop, didn’t it? I’ve never been one who thought mothers have it easy, mostly because I saw how much my own mother did for me, my two brothers and menagerie of pets that I just had to have over the years. Along with the endless amount of time she dedicated to all of us, she forfeited so much of her own life to make sure that everyone else was fed, happy, and not bleeding. Because I’m sort of selfish and Smitty isn’t particularly interested in sharing me, I’m undecided as to whether or not I will have little mini versions of my DNA someday. Oh, yeah, and finding a suitable mate might also sway my decision. Don’t get me wrong. I like kids… of other people… across the restaurant. And while my personal feelings on motherhood may flit between this or that, one constant is how much I love, appreciate, and respect my own mother. It’s nice to spend a day thanking all the moms out there who do so much, though it probably should be at least nine months out of the year.

Bamford Rose, Geranium, and Jasmine Soap Set, Dolce & Gabbana Floral Print PVC Pa ssport Cover, Skin Pima Cotton Robe, Fornasetti Ortensia Rose, Iris, and Orange Candle

Red Carpet Recap: Are We There Yet?

By Kirsten|March 3rd, 2014|Red Carpet Recap, Why Did You Wear That?|

Charlize Theron in Dior, Kate Hudson in Atelier Versace, Cate Blanchett in Giorgio Armani, Lupita Nyong’o in Prada

It feels as if this particular awards season stretched out a bit longer than years prior, but maybe that’s the overall theme of 2014 thus far. Long winters, long award shows, long winded speeches. Tonight’s award show, the 86th Annual Academy Awards, was no exception. Seeing as the red carpet arrivals started at five thirty (Eastern time) and the actual show didn’t commence until midnight, I literally spent six and a half hours of my life staring at dresses, listening to sometimes awkward interviews with Seacrest, and holding my breath in hopes that the music didn’t come on during winners’ acceptance speeches. I couldn’t tell if I was still exhausted from the weekend or if the cold had finally taken a toll on my cognitive thinking because I’m pretty sure that every actress on the red carpet was required to wear the same dress. Either that or I was watching 1984 and didn’t know it, which is entirely possible. Fortunately, for the first time in WhyDid’s history, I was unable to award an entire category to the worst dressed women of the night. Instead it went to our charitable roast beef hat wearing friend, Pharrell, who decided that full trousers were not fully necessary for the red carpet. I might have let it slide because he’s so darn cute if he hadn’t somehow convinced his lovely wife, Helen Lasichanh, to dress in tandem. I guess it would be hard to say, “no,” to those dimples.

As for the rest of the red carpet, nudes, metallics, and soft whites and pastels were the overall theme with a spattering of both basic as well as embellished black. Navy was a trend for both men and women and first time Oscar winner, Lupita Nyong’o, deemed her hue Nairobi blue. Everyone was going nuts over her headband, which I hated because it made her look too “costumey” and would have preferred she’d accessorized her decollete with a delicate lariat, but she gets a pass for that stand out shade of blue. Speaking of hair, cropped pixie cuts were the biggest trend and soft subtle styles as seen on Jessica Biel and Naomi Watts were the second runner up. Jennifer Lawrence in a pixie cut and who wore red, didn’t even wait until she was inside before repeating last year’s tumble. She either needs a better seamstress or a higher tolerance for champagne. A notable trend for men was wearing a white jacket with their tuxes and why, why, why is Jared Leto so damn pretty? Rarely do I covet another’s hair, but if someone can get me in touch with his stylist, I’ll be forever grateful… or at least for the next month or two. And while I finished wrapping up the red carpet, I realized that the real style mavens held out until the afterparties.

Pretty in Pewter:

Giuliana Rancic, Jessica Biel in Chanel, Jennifer Garner in Oscar de la Renta

Long (Sleeve) on Shine:

Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab, Sarah Paulson in Elie Saab, Julie Delpy in Jenny Peckham, Sally Hawkins in Valentino

Flesh and Gold:

Kristin Chenoweth in Roberto Cavalli, Jenna Dewan Tatum in Reem Acra, Portia de Rossi in Naeem Khan

Bright Whites:

Kelly Osbourne, Calista Flockhart in Andrew Gn, Naomi Watts in Calvin Klein, Laura Dern in Alberta Ferretti

Petal Pink Princesses:

Penelope Cruz in Giambattista Valli, Cristin Milioti, Camila Alves in Gabriela Cadena

Lavender Ladies:

Lady Gaga in Versace, Kerry Washington in Jason Wu, Kristen Bell in Roberto Cavalli

Basic Black:

Glenn Close in Zac Posen, Julia Roberts in black Givenchy, Karen O in Camilla Staerk, Olivia Wilde in black Valentino

Embellished Black:

Anne Hathaway in Gucci, Emma Watson in Vera Wang, Anna Kendrick in J. Mendel, Chrissy Teigen in Monique Lhuillier

Moody Blues:

Amy Adams in Gucci, Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen, Kevin Spacey in Burberry, Liza Minnelli in Halston

Red on Red:

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior, Ireland Baldwin, Bette Middler in Reem Acra, Olga Kurylenko in Alice Elia

White Knights:

Jared Leto in Saint Laurent, Ryan Seacrest, Matthew McConaughey in Dolce & Gabbana

No Pants, Well, Kinda Are a Problem:

Pharrell Williams in Lanvin

After the Party It’s the Afterparty:

Karolina Kurkova, Evan Rachel Wood in Elie Saab, Sofia Vergara in Roberto Cavalli, Diane Kruger in Valentino, Jane Fonda in Nicholas Oakwell

xx,

WhyDid

Would You Wednesday: Adult Dorms?

By Kirsten|January 20th, 2011|Why Did or Why Don't?|

I don’t remember exactly what it was that I was researching on the web (it’s really hard to tell), but somehow I stumbled upon this article and was totally intrigued. All this time I’d lived in New York and never knew such a place existed. The Webster is a women’s only housing facility smack dab in the middle of the city. Residents at The Webster have their own furnished room with a shared bathroom, get a warm breakfast and dinner daily, have access to an insane garden as well as roofdeck, and can use any of the common areas (including library, TV room, recreation room with piano) all for under $1000 a month! For those of you not familiar with NY housing costs, $1500 is the typical entry point for a studio apartment (that I can assure will not have a roofdeck or garden).

There are some stipulations, however. No male visitors are permitted in bedrooms and elevators and are confined strictly to the downstairs recreation areas. To be a “guest” in The Webster, ladies must be either be students working fifteen hours per week or be working full time. You can find out how to apply right here (they don’t use email!).

I know my parents would have sent my application in for me if they had known this place was an option. Not only because my father will believe I am a virgin until I pop out my first born (and even then will probably believe it to be immaculate conception), but also because it is a serious piece of mind. My parents helped dole out the extra cash so I could live in a doorman building during my first summer in New York City. Knowing that they could check in on me with the help of my doormen put them at ease when they (heaven forbid) could not reach me on my cell phone.

Webster isn’t the only type of facility like this in the city. There are a few others scattered throughout Manhattan and one of the most famous, Barbizon Hotel, was featured (though called something different) in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. Sylvia, Grace Kelly, Liza Minnelli, and Joan Crawford all actually lived there in real life!

It sounds totally retro, but also kind of awesome at the same time. I can’t help but think how different my life might have been if I had lived in an apartment complex like this.

So, girls’ night?

xx,

WhyDid

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