Nacho Figueras: A Caballo

To be filed under: "Things I at first found strange, but then, strangely beautiful."

The Row Event at Barneys

The bad news: My interview with the twins was canceled. The good news: Simon Doonan asked a photographer to take my picture with him! EEEEEEEEEEE! (I think he recognized me, too, which is good, since this is the third time we've had a conversation. lol.)

There was also a runway show of items from The Row -- everything was black and python skin or wool, because it was their Fall/Winter 2010 collection. And yes, the Olsens did make an appearance right at the end, as is customary for the designer to take a bow at the end of runway shows. And yes, they did pretty much just hide in the doorway for about 4 seconds and then disappear again. But yes, they are sooo beautiful.

What a surreal night.

Also, while perusing the jewelry counter, I discovered the designer Jeanie Payer. Her items are gorgeous! I love that they have inspirational quotes or messages on them. The girl at the counter said she would send me an invitation to the trunk show on May 1, because apparently Ms. Payer herself is coming to town for that one. I am so there!

In Which I Lay Out This Week's Rockin' Agenda

Today. A coworker and I went to lunch at Stax Burger Bistro. It's quickly becoming my new favorite place to grab a burger, because the sandwiches are somewhere between the size of a slider and your standard hamburger. Translation: You can eat two or three of them in one sitting, which means you get to try a few different meats and flavor combos, instead of just one. Plus, so many foods are cuter when they're smaller. Burgers included.

Tomorrow. I'm spending all day with my mother. That will likely be equal parts fun and stress. God help us all.

Wednesday. I'm going to a PR lunch at Modern Steak as work for a new writing gig I just acquired.

Thursday. For the magazine, I'm interviewing Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen regarding their line The Row, and then later that day I'll be attending their event at Barneys New York. They'll be in town for a charity event they're participating in with the Phoenix Suns.

Friday. My boyfriend and I are going to see Muse play at the US Airways Center, and I could not be more excited!

Saturday. Remember that friend of mine who got married about two weeks ago? She and her husband just got back from their Parisian honeymoon. I'm meeting her and all the other bridesmaids at Petite Maison on Saturday to catch up with one another and spare the bride from having to repeat every story about Paris five times over.

Saturday afternoon. I will collapse into a heap -- poolside, preferably -- but not for long, because a writer never really has much time she can afford to not be writing. Well, she can, but let's put it this way -- she'll pay for it.

And with that, I turn toward my word processor ...

mrskutcher on DailyBooth

Every day Demi Moore posts a photo of herself on DailyBooth.com. And I kind of love her for it.

She's a silly, gorgeous, curious, caring girl who likes playing dress-up and mugging for the camera. Just like every other woman on the planet.

Ah, normalcy. It's a beautiful thing. Especially when applied to celebrities.

Of All the Adjectives

The boyfriend and I are watching TV.



Boyfriend: She looks embryonic.

Me: Embryonic? Mariah Carey?

Boyfriend: Yeah. She looks like an embryo. Her face.

Me: As in ... not fully formed?

Boyfriend: Mm-hmm.


Boys are so weird.

My Job is Bad for My Health and Other News Bulletins

I took the above picture only a few moments ago. This is part of our "backyard" here at the condo, and that's a little family of javelinas that passes through every so often. Last night, while my boyfriend and I were eating dinner, we had opened our patio doors and so we could hear these guys munching around in the dark out there.

This morning, I got up and went out to the kitchen to open our window shades and make our coffee and, lo and behold, the javelina herd was still there, chewing up whatever edible things they could find among the dirt and rocks.

I watched them for a long time. I think next time they come by I should try to make a short video of them to post here. They're interesting creatures that a person might never really get to see unless he or she lives in the Southwest.

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A couple of months ago I messed up my back. Actually, correction: A couple of months ago my back started feeling like it was messed up. Every time I stand up after sitting for a long time, I can't immediately straighten up. It's like my back seizes up, and I have to walk several steps before I can stand up to my full height. It's been very uncomfortable and at times, pretty painful.

I'm only 25 years old, and if I didn't do so much desk work, I'd say I had no idea why this was happening to me when I'm still so young. But for all I know, I've been doing damage to it for years, via poor posture for too many hours spent sitting at a desk, combined with eye strain, neck strain, stress and who knows, maybe even the occasional inaccurately performed yoga pose or weight-lifting move.

So I've started going to a chiropractor. Which, by the way, I will fully admit that I was skeptical about doing in the beginning.

I think most people grow up going to an eye doctor, a dentist and a physician, and that's pretty much what they stick with for the rest of their lives. But how did we all decide that those were the only three doctors we ever needed to see regularly? Maybe it's just tradition by now.

At any rate, I think going to a chiropractor for a regular checkup is a great idea. I've been going for treatment for just over a month now and I'm starting to understand why we shouldn't ignore our spines. I'm also wondering why in the world I thought that they only special parts of my body that needed special doctors were my teeth and my eyes. Now it makes sense to me that my bones and my spine need special attention, too.

So two to three times a week I've been having my back and neck adjusted, and my treatment will last for a few more months. I've definitely become more conscious of my posture during the workdays. And I try to take more breaks to get up and stretch and walk around.

This whole experience has been a really excellent reminder to me of just how human I am; I can't just abuse my body and not expect to face the consequences. If I'm not good to it, it's going to let me know it's unhappy with me eventually, one way or another.

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And while we're on the subject of bodies threatening to break down ... my eyes ... hurt ...

A week and a half ago -- or maybe two weeks, I don't know, time is running together -- my eyes started getting really red and sensitive to light, and my vision started to become blurrier. I just figured that my eyes were tired from too much work and that my vision was just doing what it's always done -- gotten worse.

Nope. I was wrong. I went to the optometrist's office yesterday and they told me that I have infections in both my eyes caused by wearing my contacts for too many hours at a time, which is also suffocating my eyes because they're not getting enough oxygen, and the tiny infiltrates in my eyes, combined with the white blood cells that are fighting the infection, are scattering the light, causing everything to appear brighter and blurrier.

And the doctor also said that the infections are so bad that they're one step away from cornea ulcers. Cornea. Ulcers. I could have ulcers. On my eyes.

So now I am banned from wearing my contacts, and in fact, I have to throw out the rest of the contacts I bought for the next six months because it turns out I have to switch to a different, more "breathable" kind. AND, I get to put a steroid antibiotic drop in both eyes every three hours from now until my next check-up with the doctor Friday morning. Meanwhile, driving has become a tad bit more challenging during the day, and I just don't drive anywhere past sunset if I can help it. My boyfriend's been nice enough to chauffeur me around. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

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Tonight I'm going to the pre-opening party of the Barneys New York in Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.

My editor and I are on a super secret mission. First, he and I must look the part -- there will be Armani suits and Chanel dresses involved. Next, there will be cocktails of the most frivolous, most delicious variety. And last, but not least, there will be charm like you've never seen charm before ... Our mission? To locate and approach Barneys creative director and fashion expert Simon Doonan and elicit from him some of the most burning questions in the fashion industry this holiday, i.e., "Simon, what do you want for Christmas?"

OK, so it's not really a secret mission, and we'll probably actually wear something like J. Crew and Banana Republic, but we do still have to track down that adorable man amid a crowd of gorgeous, expensively dressed socialites and ask him holiday questions, lest we wanted our editor in chief to kill us come the December issue. It will be just like an episode of Alias, I'm telling you.

Good times!

The Perfect Hat Will Cover Her Face

My job just kicked my fanny.

I just worked from 9 a.m. Friday morning straight through to 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Think about that for a minute.

Anyway, once again, the magazines will be on racks come Monday, and people had better like them.

My mind is still abnormally fuzzy after so many sleep-deprived hours. For a long stretch of time yesterday I didn't even have the strength to do anything but sleep or click buttons on the TV remote.

This explains why I watched one hockey game, the NASCAR Richmond Sweep, and all of the Kentucky Derby, including pre- and post-show. While it was fun to see all the horses and horse enthusiasts who were excited to be at Churchhill Downs, it was terribly sad to see Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell interviewing all the "celebrities" -- who don't even have names outside the industry -- walk down the Kentucky Derby "red carpet." Who are these people? And how is society better for having been made to watch a video of Paris Hilton searching for the "perfect Kentucky Derby hat"?

It's Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive

Hi. I'm still here. I've just been busy. And sick.

Last week most of my free time was eaten up by freelance assignments (not that I'm necessarily complaining!), which left little time for blogging.

As I mentioned in my previous post, one of these assignments involved me running around, trying to chat up security guards and Cricket Wireless Pavilion personnel in order to ascertain details on a certain celebrity's appearance in Phoenix last Thursday evening, none other than...

Miss Jessica Simpson.

You can tell that's her, right? Barely? Yeah, I didn't have a lot of time to snap high-quality photos, as I was scribbling down every word this woman spoke.

Highlights included... Let's see...

Well, she tripped and nearly fell while singing "You're My Sunday," but recovered herself.

Tony Romo was not there. (I can't believe lack of presence counts as a highlight, but I was still asked to report on it.)

And oh yes, before launching into "Remember That," Jessica said, "… In love, we all go through a lot of things, and a lot of things unfortunately make us stay there [in the relationship]. No matter what you go through in life, no matter what abuse you go through, take your heart and run so far away."

Looks like the latter is what was agreed upon to be most "newsworthy" in the Internet universe.

The original write-up based on my report is here.

A list of other sources -- including MTV, Yahoo, VH1, and E! Online -- that picked up the info and are also reporting on it can be found here.

Seeing it splattered all over the net, it's kind of bizarre for me to know that I was the one responsible for putting that quote out there. I mean, I know she said it, but this time I was the tiny cog in the celebrity PR machine that made the whole thing move forward.

Weird feeling.

Here's a snippet of video (poor quality) that I took while I was there:

Is This Really Happening?

I'm still no Britney Spears fan, but I have to admit that her "people" have managed to work a miracle.

They helped her get her body back.

They helped her get her kids back.

They helped her get her groove back.

Meanwhile, everyone -- whether a person loves her or can't stand her -- is standing by, asking, "Holy crap, are they really going to pull this off? Are they really going to resurrect this poor girl's doomed career?" So far, the chances appear to be good.

Even so, is it just me, or does Brit still look a little dead in the eyes? Like her passion for performing hasn't fully returned yet? She used to come out on stage in full force, with choreography and everything, and now she just kind of bumbles around and swirls her hips like a robot set to "automatic."

If she and her camp pull this off, I will be seriously impressed. It's going to be less "Oops ... I did it again" and more "I had to have a breakdown and temporarily lose custody of my kids and then start doing 1,000 crunches a day, but finally! ... I did it again!"

Previous (and better) Britney:

New (and lackluster) Britney:



And just gross Britney. Something still isn't quite right. Maybe they need to reboot her. Or at least update her software, I don't know.

I'd Name My Band After the Weather: Hottt

Tonight I went to the Jimmy Eat World concert, and it was awesome! Correction: the band was awesome; the crowd was actually pretty lame. Which is a real shame, too, because Jimmy Eat World is from Mesa, Ariz., which is right here, in Phoenix! I wish they could have had a more spirited group of fans for their homecoming show.

Maybe you didn't know that Jimmy Eat World was from the Phoenix area? Well, just in case you're interested ... Tucson, Ariz., and the Phoenix metro area are also responsible for bringing the public a number of other acts with which you may already be familiar:

The Gin Blossoms. Began in Tempe, Ariz.

Linda Ronstadt. Native of Tucson, Ariz.

Alice Cooper (of the band Kiss). Currently lives in Phoenix.

Dierks Bentley. Native of Phoenix.

John Denver. Native of Tucson, Ariz.

Jordin Sparks. Native of Glendale, Ariz.

Michelle Branch. Native of Phoenix, Ariz., and attended high school in Sedona, Ariz.

Stevie Nicks (of the band Fleetwood Mac). Currently lives in Phoenix.

Wayne Newton. Native of Phoenix.

Sway Sovay. Currently lives in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Because, you know, someday I'm going to be discovered at the downtown karaoke bars.)

Scarlett Johansson "Sings"

I definitely like to give people credit for putting themselves out there in the public eye and being brave enough to open themselves up to criticism. But let's face it, sometimes we have to know our limitations.

On that note...

Scarlett Johansson has apparently put out an album. Now, I like her and her work well enough. But I'm not sure what "her people" were thinking with this one. In her single "Falling Down" (a cover of the Tom Waits' song), I could swear she is singing the same note over and over again. And also, I have to comment on the song's video's "storyline," where the camera follows Scarlett around for a whole day, where she frowns a lot as she is having her hair and make up done, attending meetings and receiving flowers from adoring fans. Hasn't the "feel sorry for me because I'm famous" bit been played before?

And while I do believe that it must, honestly, be a very unique challenge to being so recognizable everywhere one goes -- and sure, oftentimes probably very lonely -- I also believe that playing the pity card in these situations only, unfortunately, annoys people. It's like if a really skinny girl keeps going around and complaining that she "just can't seem to gain any weight! Ugh!" I mean, people are eventually going to tell her to shut up, right?

Anyway, I'll let you judge for yourselves.



I still like the girl, and I will still go to the theater to see her movies. But I'm just not sure I could ever sit through a whole album of that.

Scarlett's album Anywhere I Lay My Head will be released May 20.

Double Take: Katharine McPhee and Jacinda Barrett

Am I the only one who thinks they look exactly alike??

Katharine McPhee:



Jacinda Barrett:

O-O-Oprah? O-Oh please.

Has everyone gotten over it by now, or are there others like me who are still asking:

"Why does Oprah have to be on every single cover?!?"

Not that I don't have a deep appreciation for all the money she donates to charity each year, or all the cash and prizes she gives away to her audience members. It's just that I feel like she's sending mixed signals here. The magazine cover situation seems a little self-absorbed if you ask me.

How can this woman perpetually claim to be all about boosting the self-images of men and women everywhere and yet never showcase anyone but herself on the cover of her magazine? Wouldn't a woman who spends so much time and effort supporting racial and cultural differences, etc., choose to use it as a medium for promoting the causes and interests of other worthy individuals?

If you've been asking yourself these same questions, I have good news for you. In an interview published in Essence magazine (Oct. 2003), Miss Oprah said, "When I first started the magazine, people were always saying, 'Well, who else are you going to put on the cover?' And I'd say, 'Well, who's going sell better than I am? You got any ideas?'"

Hm. Good point, Oprah. There's probably no one else on the planet besides you who can promote positive thinking and high self-esteem. Man, what were we thinking?