I'm doing this post out of chronological order so that no one who hasn't watched this week's Project Runway has to scroll down past the "spoilers." (Though, as it's Friday, you've now had several opportunities to catch up :)
OK, so Ikea. I like an adventure once in a while, even if it's simple, and to be honest, I had that rare (for me) feeling of needing to get the heck out of town. So, I decided to journey north to Ikea in Canton, MI. I've never been to an Ikea, and my goodness the experience was so energizing to me (or maybe it was the two cups of coffee with four sugars each I drank while wandering the store) that I had to text Steve several times when I could get service in the massiveness that is Ikea.
I found many things that I like, picked up prospectus sheets for various sofas, futons, and build-a-table items, and wrote down descriptions of things on my handy pink notepad. I measured seat depths, fingered drapes, and wished, WISHED, I had dimensions and a drawing for my new apartment. I saw storage solutions I enjoyed and some that merely seemed practical. I even saw an Arabian princessesque round floorbed, which was well out of my price range, but, well, it's good to know they make such things.
I'm partial to the Ektorp sofabed in dark blue, and this set of drapes...seems like I might be headed in the dark blue, green, and white decor direction, which should not surprise anyone who knows my current dishes.
Oh, and sister, have you seen this? They have a neat lamp with a spiderweb on it, too, but I can't find it on the website so as to leave a link.
Anyway. Much adventure was had, as well as much coffee, and Wendy's was eaten on the way home. Made good progress with in-car tapes of Harry Potter 5. When I have my camera cord with me, I will post the picture of the crazy jaws on the front of a semi truck that was behind me, which I took a picture of over my shoulder. Maximum Overdrive, anyone?
2. Project Runway
I was disappointed with the results of the second challenge for PR on Wednesday. Now, I didn't particularly enjoy the execution of Malan's design (though the design idea was intriguing...certainly a case of needed restraint, almost Santinoesque), but he is highly talented, and I would have liked to see what he could come up with in future, since so far he'd been a decent sort of person, and his laugh was something I could have looked forward to, not in a sexed up sort of way, just entertaining.
Furthermore, I can't stand Vincent, and Angela, though I favored her based on what I saw of the team, is getting on my nerves. I would not have been a bit sorry to see either kicked off. Vincent's dress wasn't hopeless, as Angela seemed to think...it wasn't flawless, but it wasn't a *total* disaster, but as a designer and a worker I can't bear Vincent. In an interesting interview, to which Carrie directed me, Malan points out that he didn't think Vincent wanted a partner. Hear hear. This seemed especially irritating since Angela was nearly kicked off for lack of teamwork, even though, as evidenced by many scenes in the actual broadcast, she did volunteer help countless times, which Vincent actually lied about to the judges, on camera. GAHHH! Scandalous. Angela may be irritating, but seriously, she would have been a lot less so if Vincent had simply given her a task. That's why a leader delegates. Vincent, I'm mentally voting you off the workroom island.
(Side note 1: For some added post-rant perspective, I actually just read Tim Gunn's Tim's Take, which seemed a bit short this week, though I can understand why. His paragraph about Angela and Vincent is Absolutely Dead-On, and I agree with him completely, as he seems to agree with me. A quote: "I was pissed at Vincent for his exclusionary behavior, and I was pissed at Angela for being so “whatever” about it all..." I love you, Tim Gunn!)
Now, as for dresses I liked, there were several that seemed wearable, and I'm torn between Keith and Bradley and Uli and Bonnie for the "dresses-I'd-wear" category. Laura and Michael's dress was pretty, but seemed a little...prommy? Windsorish? to me. I wasn't sorry that Kayne and Robert won, though I didn't enjoy the way the bodice moved so much. As sickening as the Angela/Vincent debacle was, there were several really inspired pairings of people, such as Laura and Michael.
All in all, a weird episode, even though it should have been simple.
(Side note 2: They still haven't done anything about the abysmal web design of the Project Runway pages, so make sure your eyes are energetic before you go there.)
4 comments:
I've been to IKEA in Chicagoland twice, and was not impressed. The one thing Dave and I *really* wanted, a very sturdy and elegant metal colander, was a floor model and not for sale. They wouldn't let us have it at the checkout, though we hadn't been able to find any others of that model in the store. We walked out empty handed. In general, the aesthetic of clean lines and light woods doesn't suit me. However, the torch lamp looks good, and the spider lamp sounds like me.
Here's a dungeon adventure walk-through of IKEA:
IKEA Walkthrough v2.3.1
Project Runway - I wanted to see more of Malan in the future, too. When I saw his dress, I was thinking it was absolutely made for a redhead. Conveniently enough his model was a redhead, but alas, Miss USA is not. That dress would have killed her. I do feel his auf-ing was an example of some subtle "keep the audience unbalanced and interested" gamesmanship I don't understand, among the judges and the producers.
My favorite gown was Keith & Bradley's flowy, rosy concoction. I would wear that all day, through flowery meadows, to a fine dinner, and then to bed as a nightgown. I did really like Kayne's color-shifting fabric choice, though.
-SECP
Where did you move Abby???
I'm generally not all about modern furniture design, because it doesn't suit my tastes, *but* Ikea now has a number of simple pieces that I think I can coordinate very well together with some older stuff. They have some things that are the direction Pier 1 used to travel before they decided to go higher end. I do love a furniture store where I can actually afford things!
I totally agree with you about Kayne's fabric choice! It was very daring, but the pay off clearly marked out his judgment as sound. V. impressive.
Steph, I didn't actually move, I'm just adding an apartment in my building as a little studio for writing and sewing. A little excessive of me, perhaps, but...well, you've seen how I sew!
That's awesome Abby! I want to come visit your studio sometime. :)
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