Good-bye Chili's

OMBlog.  I just found an amazing new blog that you must check out:

http://suricruisefashion.blogspot.com/

It is all about Suri Cruise, and her fashion sense.  Amazing.  This of course comes in third after my blog and then the Pink Book Blog.

Well, working on a college campus provides for some interesting observations.  One, I am insanely jealous of students who think that waking up for their 10 am is early and still get to wear jeans and t-shirt.  Two, leggings and Nike shorts (read my earlier posting on these) are the staple in every girl's wardrobe.  Three, if you don't own Ray-Ban Wayfarers, you might as well drop out.  Since starting my new position, I have immediately only worn Nike shorts to the gym and have already ordered my official wayfarers.  Believe me, I look just like the cool kids while I am walking around campus each day.

And on a sad note today, Chili's on the Strip (aka Cumberland Avenue) has become the latest victim of the economic downturn.  They will be closing their doors tonight so run, don't walk, and grab some chips, queso and 2 for 1's.  I would like to say that I helped support the manager's children attend college with all of the money I (along with my friends) spent at this establishment as an undergraduate.  Meet you there, I will be rocking my shades and shorts.

Olympics and The Pink Book

My faithful followers - sorry about the delay - life.has.been.crazy.

First, I have started a new job.  I have a great ocean side view, personal assistant and a Starbucks latte machine in my office.  Transitioning into this new lifestyle has been time consuming, but no worries, I am back to the blog.

I am also now going to shamelessly promote myself as Pink Lady Mollie for a bit.  I write for another blog based on weddings - The Pink Book Blog.  Check out my awesome pic below for being Pink Lady Mollie, and then go to the website and look for my photography series.  Even if you are a guy or are not a bride, it's pretty cool stuff.

Don't the Olympics just make you love being American?  I almost bought a flag stand and a Betsy Ross original to hang outside my home.  I am not going to lie, I get really excited when I see Apolo whip around the corner or Shaun White spinning up in the air.  The only downer - I am ready for my Thursday night NBC line-up to come back.

One show that the Olympics has not bumped - PR.  Still L-O-V-E this show.  Last week's challenge where they had to create a child's look complemented by a contemporary piece for their model:genius.  I am still loving Anthony and am glad that Jeanane (or however you spell it) is gone.  She was a little much for me.

Disney Recap

Well I have arrived back from Disney, and let me tell you - it was amazing.  I have a few pictures to post in this blog, and will post some more later this week as well. 

After being delayed out of Knoxville and Atlanta, I finally made it to Disney late Friday night.  I am not going to lie, I was tired and hungry.  Right as I get to my resort I was hoping they would have champagne and chocolates.  Wrong.  Well I was too tired to be upset, so I found my room and collapsed into bed.  The next day I was surrounded by high school dance teams.  We saw everything from glitter tights to mohawks.  The main trend this year though was one Snooki would be proud of: The Poof.  Almost every team, including the 'Crest sported this look.  I know that our team used a bump-it, and believe me, it looked great.  Well Briarcrest did awesome and we had a fun day on Saturday. 

Sunday and Monday were filled with parks - I went to all four in two days, and even squeezed in a little Super Bowl time at the Wide World of Sports.  My favorite park, Hollywood Studios, was one of the best times because it was open only to the dance teams and their families.  I truly felt like a VIP walking in at night with all of the lights.  And to top it off, I rode the Tower of Terror a couple of times and it was amazing.  Another highlight...walking around the world in Epcot.  I met Mary Poppins in England, sipped some wine in France, saw an outdoor theather troupe in Italy and ate dinner in China.  I literally walked halfway around the world in one night.  And any trip would not be complete without celeb sightings.  Of couse I saw Mickey and Minnie, but the superbowl MVP was at the Magic Kingdom the same day I was.  I think you can see my arm in his pictuer on People.com.  All in all I would say it was a succesful trip, and I am ready to go back.  Any one want to join?

Vegas Part 2 and Glee Casting

As I was researching the Glee auditions, I came across this article talking about the auditions.  I am a little disappointed in learning that they are looking for 2 males and 1 female...my odds are not as good but no worries I am still auditioning.  I have pulled out my old tap shoes and have been practicing my routine.

Now back to part two of Miss Dean's trip to Vegas: (Check out her introduction and part one  first if you missed them.)

"Friday we had lunch at the Mirage at BLT Burger, which was fabulous for the hangover and 3 hours of sleep lingering over all of us. We came to a final decision to just walk around and take in the city and see everything we could, since that sounds like a good idea on zero sleep and headaches? Pretty uneventful… until that night. That night was our night to see the Cirque du Soleil Beatles LOVE show.  So we had dinner at a place called STACK where our bill ended up at over $600 and they wouldn’t split our bill for us….. I wont bore you with details but we finally figured it out. On to the Beatles show, which turns out, probably one of the best productions I have ever seen. And I have seen many Broadway shows, a Cirque show the night before, but all I can say for this is wow. (Sidenote, Alicia is very cultured and def knows her Broadway shows, trust her opinion on this one.) After the show, we adventured on to the Beatles Revolution Lounge. We were once again greeted like kings and queens and escorted to our private table with another complimentary bottle of vodka.  We danced, sang, and took way too many pictures. You shouldn’t take a lot of pictures in Vegas, considering half the point in going is to not remember what you did. Once we were finished there, we were escorted to JET, the nightclub at the Mirage where the show and lounge were miserable. I felt like I was in a nightmare with the entire Jersey Shore cast plus strippers. So we decided to leave there and walk to Caesars which holds the club PURE. Now, we didn’t have connections here so when we walked in, we really didn’t know what to do. But lucky enough, we had a friend from Ole Miss come meet us while he was in California for the weekend, and he decided to buy us a table there that night.  How lucky are we? Another VIP table. Another free bottle of vodka. I’ve never been this lucky.

That next day was pretty much wasted on sleeping and prepping ourselves for our last and final night. We had reservations for dinner at The Foundation Room on top of Mandalay Bay. Dinner was the best food I have had in awhile. Steaks, scallops, wine, dessert, all worth the price. After dinner I called a friend of mine, who is a magician that worked in Vegas for awhile and knows lots of people (yes, I know a magician) and he gave me the number of a guy called “Diamond Dave”. "Diamond Dave" was the one who could get us in to the most impossible club to enter, XS, which is in the Encore hotel. So I made the phone call and he told us to meet him there. We meet, walk to the club, see the 2-hour long line to get in, and he walks all of us up to the VIP line and we walk straight in. You think this only happens in the movies… XS turned out to be so much fun and we danced all night and came in way too late. Good thing our flights didn’t leave until 4 pm the next day.

All I can say is, I am surprised we all made it home in one piece. Trying to navigate ourselves through the airport in this condition was not as easy task. Exhausted still, our flights did not get into Memphis International Airport until 12:30 am. I am still tired. Needless to say, we successfully conquered Vegas."

I hope that you all have a super fabulous weekend.  As you know, I am going to the sunny state this weekend, and will back mid week with some amazing blogs.  Check out my facebook and twitter for updates in the time being. 

Trying to impress the Biggest Loser and more from Miss Dean on Vegas

Last night I was trying to create a Biggest Loser last workout scenario at my local gym.  Well, actually the TRECS (the gym at UT, I get a great rate for being an employee) but that really is not important here.  After running a million miles and pretending that Jillian was perched like a cat on my treadmill, I decided to do some weight machines.  Please note that I have really just started doing weight machines for my arms, I usually just do a few reps of free weights.  Well I decided to the do one when you lift your arms above your head, create a "U" shape, and push the weights to meet in front of you.  After doing a few reps on the lowest setting (which may I say is a great accomplishment) I decided to take it up a notch and put more weight on the machine.  After barely being able to push my arms together in front of me a couple of times, I decided to stop.  As I was still on the machine another gym goer (male, def an undergrad, way too buff) came up to me and asked if I needed help.  OMG, too embarrassing.  That is when I just laughed and threw my head back and said, "Oh no, I just don't have any arm strength", and ran, no sprinted, for the exit.  I know that Bob and Jillian would be proud of me for trying though.

Back to our guest blogger, Miss Alicia Dean.  She made it safe and sound back from Vegas with some amazing stories.  Now I def want to make the trek out there.  Who wants to join?  Since her post was just so amazing, I have decided to split it up, and post the first half today, and the second tomorrow.  Thanks Miss Dean for the great stories and pictures.

"Well, I made it.  Back in Memphis after only sleeping a total of 10 hours in 4 days and I already miss Vegas. Now I understand why people visit the Sin City so much – it’s completely addicting. And I don’t even gamble! There is just a electric feel to the town… or maybe that’s just the wattage coming from the Strip... who knows?

We arrive in Las Vegas, only to be greeted by our limo driver, accompanied by a bottle of champagne and single roses for the ladies. Fab. Next we check into our room, which was a nice suite (not like in the Hangover) but nice enough for us, drop our bags and head straight out into the life of Vegas.  We had lunch at Caesars Palace – the Cheesecake Factory to be exact – I know its nothing special, but we don’t have one in Memphis, ok? (Sidenote from Mollie - Cheesecake Factory is amazing, I would have eaten there too, Memphians love that place.) We decided to become tourists for a little while and walk around and see the sights, but were stopped by a happy hour sign at a little place called Rhumbar. The happy hour consisted of $4 Miller Lites and $5 Stoli drinks (excluding Redbull, which by the way, 1 Redbull and Vodka in Vegas will cost you $20. No lie.)  So we managed to sit at the outdoor bar and have a couple cocktails after our long day…

As we walked out of our hotel to find a ride for the night, a limo was parked in front and the driver got out and said “so do you guys need a ride, only $25?” Absolutely. We ended up talking to him the entire ride and he gave us his card and said, "I will take you any where you want to go the entire time you are here for this price, just call me". And guess what? We did. We had just obtained a private driver for the entire weekend. VIP? I think so.

That night, we had made plans to see the new Cirque du Soleil show “Viva ELVIS!” at the Aria hotel in the new City Center. This is a sight to see. Please Google image this just to get a grasp of what its all about. We have dinner reservations at a place called Union in the Aria hotel, which consisted of $18 mini tacos and $16 glasses of wine. After dinner, we ran upstairs to see the show, which was amazing. Working for Elvis Presley Enterprises myself and knowing a little bit about the show since all I have done for the past year is promote it, I still didn’t know what to expect. I came out of there AMAZED. A great show to start a great weekend. Right next door to the show is a place called “The Gold Lounge” where our friend had connections and we were greeted and escorted to a table."

Check back tomorrow for the rest of this amazing story.

Pom Squad and Valentine Gifts

This weekend I am heading to a place where no one is ever sad - Disneyworld.  I have my autograph booked packed and am scheduled at a character breakfast.  Life.Can't.Get.Better. 

Actually, I am headed to Orlando to see my little sis compete with the Briarcrest pom squad at the National Dance Team Championship.  So, all day Saturday I will be at the Wide World of Sports wearing green and gold screaming my head off when they perform.  I competed in the championship when I was in the ninth grade, but I have a feeling it's bigger and crazier than ever now.  I can't wait to see the crazy parents holding life size cut outs of their children and the dads running around wearing feather boas.  Believe me, the post after my trip is one that you will not want to miss.  Of course, I will get to experience the parks as well.  I can't wait to spend $15 on a slice of pizza and a coke and ride the Tower of Terror till I'm sick.

February is upon us, and I am excited because that means one month closer till Spring.  Also with this month comes Valentine's Day.  Ahhh love.  I think that the best gift is one of those bix boxes of chocolates from Walgreens.  My faves are the chocolate caramel bites and the chocolate truffles.  The fruit filled ones on the other hand are just plain terrible.  When I take a bite of those I immediately put the rest of that candy back in the box and leave it there for someone who does not have taste buds.

If you are stressed out about what to buy for someone special, you are in the right place.  I have pulled together some ideas that will make everyone from your boo to baby momma happy.

Photobook

A creative and personalized gift, you can put all of your memories together in a published book.  They are very affordable, and you can find them on sites such as Shutterfly or Snapfish.

A great Accessory

Why not get your boo a nice accessory they can wear?  Personally I am a fan of these cufflinks from Vineyard Vines for your man and this gorgeous Gucci scarf  for your lady.  (I literally look up this scarf everyday on Saks.com and have to talk myself out of buying it each time.  One day I will probably break down, and when I do, I will put a picture of myself wearing it on the blog.)

Personalized M&M's

Who doesn't love these melt in your mouth candies, and with your name and picture on them I know they taste even better.

Also... Oscar Nods

If you have not heard the news - TEN movies are up for Best Picture at the Oscars this year. Including The Blind Side. I know, I know, I am sure you probably think that every person that graduated from Briarcrest is taking way too many liberties saying that we shared a milk carton or were lab partners with Michael Oher. And the truth is we are: this is the biggest thing that hit the 'Crest since we moved out to the new campus and there were automatic paper towel dispensers in the bathroom.


Click here for the full list of nominees.

Grammys, eh...

I hate to say it, but the Grammys were not over the top this year.  Some of the performances were just blah and the fashion... don't get me started.  Of course we all knew that Lady Gaga was going to be outrageous, but her yellow hair?  It reminded me of a time when I went to a hair salon in the mall to go blonde... mistake number 1.  I came out with yellow golden strands, and when my Mom saw it, she immediately sent me to Salon Visage to get it repaired.

Anyways, back to the Grammys.  My two fave performances were Lady Gaga with Elton John and the MJ tribute. (See videos below)  Yes, "Earth Song" is weird, but when you have a power packed stage with Celine, Carrie, Smokey, Usher and Jennifer, you can do everything.  And on the fashion side, loved Lea Michelle from Glee and Taylor Swift's blue sequined dress.  And for the record, I still love T.Swift, even though her performance was terrible.

Has anyone seen anything else about Glee auditions?  I refresh the page almost twenty times a day, but they have not yet released more details.  Don't worry; I am still preparing my audition video.