ARE YOU HAPPY?

 Image: We Love Datavis

SOME (COOL) UPDATES

Hi folks! Sorry for being MIA for a week, but I have been super busy running around like a headless chicken pulling together clothes, jewelry, accessories, everything you can think of for.. wait for it.. my first ever photo shoot!! AAAH! I didn’t want to talk about it sooner, but we’re shooting our first ever fashion spread for Khaleejesque magazine, and yours truly is one of the stylists and photographers.

I couldn’t have done this without the help of my friend and Khaleejesque Co-Founder Fouz who is as hands-on as ever with this project. We’ve kept it hush-hush from the team (who won’t even see the pictures until we publish!) because we wanted to surprise everyone. It is going to be amazing! At least, WE think so!

Hats off to all editors and stylists in the industry, because I never thought styling outfits could be this hard. We’re on the smallest budget you can imagine, but we managed to gather so many items that we’re now up to our necks in clothing! Then we managed to snag two amazing locations, but then one of them backed out.. and so it’s just been stressful but in a really fun way. We’re shooting this weekend! Wish us luck!!

On another note, some of you have emailed me telling me that the blog posts are not uploading on your feed readers. I have no idea why, as I’m not so technically savvy. However, I did ask around for you guys. 

If this has been a problem for you, I would recommend updating your feed readers to my new address as this may be the problem if you’re still subscribing to the old address (www.pomegranateandpatchouli.blogspot.com). The address will still lead you to this site, but I’m not sure the feed will. Let me know how it goes.

DESPICABLE ME

First off, let me just announce that this movie review is not swayed in any way by my complete and utter adoration of Steve Carell. Okay, maybe a little. But just a little. Moving on..

Yesterday I watched Despicable Me, Universal Studios latest animated movie. It’s the story of Gru (Steve Carell), a Supervillain who is growing older and is determined to maintain his reputation as “World’s #1 Villain”. He lives in a big dark house in a suburban neighborhood, surrounded by small houses with picket fences. His house is, of course, home to his secret lab where a scientist and “minions”, hundreds of bouncy little yellow creatures, work for him. Gru is mean, broody and just plain old not nice.

After a new, and young, villain called Vector (Jason Segel) breaks through the scene by stealing the Pyramids of Egypt, Gru realizes he has some serious competition. He decides to pull an even bigger heist, by planning on stealing the moon. However, Gru does not anticipate that the three little girls living in his neighborhood will prove to be the real challenge.

The film’s supporting cast, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), Gru’s mom (Julie Andrews), Miss Hattie (Kristen Wiig), Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett) – ALL of whom I did not recognize! – is excellent. They played their parts to perfection, not making you focus on their celebrity voices, but instead on the characters themselves. The real stars of the movie, however, are the minions. They are HILARIOUS! HILARIOOOOOUS! Oh, and not to forget Agnes, the super cute littlest of the girls. She’s so adorable!

We watched it in 3D which was really fun because it makes you want to reach out and grab the little minions and experience all the other really cool effects. But I’m sure it is equally good in normal view.

One thing I have to point out, is that this movie is equally enjoyable for children and adults. I take my little cousin to movies like this all the time, but I’ve never seen him laugh as much as he did at this movie. The reason is that most animated movies have a lot of adult-targeted jokes, and while us grown ups are laughing, the kids just don’t get it. Despicable Me, on the other hand, made us laugh together and at the same things.

Overall, it was really enjoyable and a big barrel of laughs. Go see it!

THE GREEN VASE

I used to love doing arts and crafts, and was in fact pretty good at both. However, adulthood and laziness got the best of me, and now I simply look at them in magazines and through my screen monitor.

Livia Cetti, unlike me, did not stop. Livia is a floral and still-life stylist as well as an event designer and owner of The Green Vase. She is also a contributing editor at Martha Stewart Weddings. Aaand she does amazing crafts resulting in the most beautiful designs like those stunning paper flowers above. Can you believe those are PAPER?!

Seriously, paper flowers have never looked this good!

via Oh Happy Day!

FOOTBALLERS STRIP DOWN!

This one’s for the ladies! And for the men who might enjoy this as well *wink*. Footballers stripped to their undies? Well, hellooo there! What a sublime idea!

Annie Leibovitz photographed some of the world’s top football players for the Vanity Fair article “Playing for The World”. In the article, writer A. A. Gill explains why football is the most important sport in the world, going in depth and back in time to understand the power of the game.

But when you’ve got photos like these, who’s going to read the article??

Images: Vanity Fair (includes commentary)

ANALEENA

I recently came across a very beautiful accessories brand, Analeena. It’s a high-end luxury handbag and accessories brand. The leather goods are made with Italian craftsmanship, using the most luxurious skins such as lizard, python and crocodile.

In addition to handbags and clutches, Analeena also have an accessories line that include blackberry cases, card holders, laptop covers and wallets. All this in addition to small touches such as money clips, bag holders and notebooks.

The items come with a very heavy price tag. But that’s no surprise when it comes to materials such as these. Just after I saw them online, I found them at Bloomingdale’s in Dubai. The bags are definite eye catchers and the leather is really supple yet defined.

Below are some of the items from the Autumn/Winter 2010 line collections: The Papillion Collection, The Shopping Collection, The Analeena Clutch Collection, The Kate Cabas Collection, The Chameleon Collection, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and The Accessories Collection.

Images courtesy of Analeena

BLAKE LIVELY IN VOGUE

I have no words to describe this. It is as summery as summer can get. And Blake Lively is as beautiful as a woman can get. Can I get her body, please? I’m not asking for much am I? *sigh*

Photographed by Mario Testino, the editorial is pure surfer chic. Sun, sand, sea and fashion? Yes, please.  I love how it is equally sporty as it is sexy and feminine. Even the dreadlocked guy (who is an actual well-known surfer, whose name I can’t recall) looks great. That’s a lot coming from me because I HATE dreadlocks.

But I do love this shoot..

Images: Vogue (including full article)

WORLD CUP.. IT’S OVER, BUT I’M NOT OVER IT!

I can’t believe the World Cup is over. It seems like yesterday when we were frantically looking for writers to cover the 2010 FIFA World Cup for Khaleejesque. And just one month ago, when everyone was asking everyone else who they were rooting for (it was England for me, in case you’re wondering). And just one month ago, when we were laughing/complaining about how “Waka Waka”, “Raise Your Flag” and “Oh Africa” were stuck in our heads. And just like that, it’s all over.

One month is seriously not enough for the games! I demand an extension (for the future). But really in all honesty, I thought the games this year were a blast. They weren’t as “strong” (in my very humble opinion on sports) as 2006’s World Cup, but they were much more surprising. France and Italy eliminated before semi finals?! Brazil beat by Netherlands?? The games were pretty fun. Even though I didn’t watch all of them, I certainly enjoyed reading all about them.

I read somewhere that this year’s World Cup was the year of “the underdogs”. And it certainly was the case. I mean, everyone was talking about how this year was going to be Argentina’s. Others were talking about Brazil. Later on, it was Germany. But did anyone even think that the final 2 who battled it out were going to be Spain and Netherlands??

In the final game, both played extremely well. In my opinion (again, very humble), Netherlands performance was much stronger, but Spain’s goalkeeper did an excellent job of keeping their balls out. I was cheering for both teams, they both equally deserved it. But only one can win, of course (I hate this part because I ALWAYS feel sorry for the losing team).

Oh, and if you’ve been living under a rock.. Spain won.

Image: Tumblr

AMANDA SEYFRIED IN TEEN VOGUE

How beautiful is Amanda Seyfried in the June 2010 issue of Teen Vogue? She looks like a retro pinup model. Simply divine. The styling is so simple, blending vintage styles with high fashion items like those ubiquitous Miu Miu platforms.

Photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, this is one of the best editorials I’ve seen in a long time. It simply immortalizes summer.

Check out more behind the scenes photos at Teen Vogue.

DUBAI

After our original summer plans fell through, my family and cousins decided we really need a change of place. So we booked our tickets and off we went. After a nice short flight (that's a lot coming from me, you know – I’m super nervous traveler), we landed in Dubai yesterday – some of us staying for a few days while others (ahem, like myself) for an extended 10 day stay.

The weather is sunny and beautiful. Well, it’s actually really hot, but who cares when there’s a pool involved? Plus last night we were taking pictures in the balcony and the breeze was gorgeous!

I have 3 points I’d like to add:

1. The Atlantis is perfect if you’re travelling as a group – and the group involves kids. (I’ll do a review later on if you like)

2. Dubai Airport feels more like a hotel than an airport. No creepy men standing around staring outside, plus the marble floors and columns are so glossy! And it’s the quickest/easiest exit from an airport I’ve ever made (Take note, Kuwait Airport).

3. People talk about the Dubai’s debt all the time, but every time I come here (which is twice a year) the place has something new to offer! It’s a great vacation place for those in the Gulf.

Image: Mine, taken September 2009

LET’S COLOR PROJECT

The Let’s Color Project is “a worldwide initiative from Dulux, Dulux Valentine, Coral and Marshall to transform grey spaces with colourful paint. A mission to spread colour all over the world”.

Volunteers and locals literally roll up their sleeves to to paint streets, houses, schools in the most beautiful and vibrant colors. Follow them as they color the world from India to Turkey to France and the UK, one wall at a time.

You MUST see their video:

Where will they go next? To find out more about the “Let’s Color Project”, click HERE.

Via Black*Eiffel

EVOLUTION OF WORLD CUP BALL

If you haven’t had enough of the World Cup, here’s something fun and interesting – from a design perspective. The NY Times did a fun interactive feature called “The Evolution of the World Cup Ball”. You can browse all the balls and read fun facts about each one.

In my mind, a football always looks like the 1970 and 1974 ones. But I wasn’t even born then, so I can’t imagine why! On the other hand, I can’t believe how many makeovers the football has gotten..

Via Black*Eiffel

RUN OF SHOW

     

 

“Run of Show” shot by Craig McDean for W Magazine, is quite possibly my favorite editorial of the year. It summed up all the trends of the Spring/Summer 2010 collection, but in such a simple way that no one thought of it first!

We’re so used to seeing big fancy editorials with heavy styling and very complex photography. That in itself is not a bad thing, but this is a really nice change. Models clustered together, wearing the season’s hottest styles, while looking exactly like what they are: models. Fresh off the runway.

Images: fakingfashion