Project Runway: Get the Winning Look for Less

On this week's episode of Project Runway, winning designer Althea Harper combined a voluminous gray cardigan with a strappy tank top and black dress pants with a paper bag waist for a luxe, fashion-forward style.

This look was designed as a companion piece to her earlier winning design, a feminine suit with paper bag waisted shorts.

You can imitate Althea's designs with these retail pieces.

For an affordable alternative to Althea's over-sized cardigan, try this more tailored version from Target.

Another great option is this wrap from Victoria's Secret, pictured here in a light gray, but available in a rich charcoal. The wrap can be worn at least six different ways.

This option, also from Victoria's Secret, comes closer to the volume of Althea's look, but is only available in black and a soft, winter white.

An expensive luxury item, this little beauty is from Juicy Couture, available at Bloomingdales's.

Moving on to the distinctive tailoring of the pants... It was hard even to know what to search for, but here is my surprisingly close match!

If you would like to imitate the shorts from Althea's first style, look no further than these.

To imitate the runway look's strappy tank top, try this staple available from Amazon.com.

This camisole from Victoria's Secret has a lot of visual interest in the back, just like Althea's.

I hope you enjoyed these suggestions. Please email me at sophisticatesguide@gmail.com with your own suggestions!

Retro Makeup

I followed this instructional video to try to replicate a 1950s make-up style for a dance. Here are some photos of me curling my hair before the big night. Click the image to enlarge.

My favorite part of the look is the shadowing under my cheek bones. I didn't have the contour blush the video recommended, so I had to use a gray eye shadow. Most of the makeup is from CVS, nothing fancy.

Enjoy!

True Life: Pure Michigan

Again, I'm sorry I haven't posted lately. I spent the last week in Michigan. It was a lot like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMyJ8o7ERHc&NR=1

Now I'm back. Tonight I'm doing homework for the week, but soon I will update again with some recipe reviews and two exciting style updates.

Stay tuned!

True Life: Sophisticate on the Move!

Sorry I've been MIA, folks. This weekend I attended a wedding. In a few minutes I'm off again, heading home to see my sister, but I'll be back in action in a few days.

For reading material in the meantime, check out aldaily.com.

You Pick Two Review: Asiago Roast Beef Sandwich and Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Pick Number One: Asiago Roast Beef Sandwich

Panera's roast beef sandwich benefits from a tasty bread and a kicky sauce, but suffers from a slightly boring piece of smoked cheddar plopped on like an afterthought.

Here is a recipe for this sandwich and the dressing, as found in the Panera Bread Cookbook, available here. I recommend this book to anyone interested in unusual, bread-based recipes, including some delicious bread puddings.*

Sandwich Recipe (slightly edited by the Sophisticate)

2 tablespoons Horseradish Sauce (see below)
2 slices Three-Cheese Bread (from Panera)
1 leaf romaine lettuce
3-4 slices vine-ripened tomato, 1/4 inch thick
3-4 slices red onion, 1/4 inch thick
4 ounces roast beef, sliced wafer-thin
2 slices smoked Cheddar cheese

[The cookbook includes instructions on how to assemble the sandwich].

Horseradish Sauce Recipe (not edited by the Sophisticate)

Makes 2 cups

1/2 cup prepared horseradish sauce
1 coup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon or whole-grain mustard

Mix all ingredients in medium bowl with wire whisk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

The nutritional information for the asiago roast beef sandwich, as found on the Panera website, follows. Click on the image to enlarge it.











Pick Number Two: Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I couldn't stop eating this soup. It may be the best soup I've ever tasted. The Panera cookbook does not include a recipe, but this recipe I found through allrecipes.com is similar:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/3 cups wild rice
• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
• 7 cups water
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• 3/4 cup white wine

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook the wild rice according to package directions, but remove from heat about 15 minutes before it's done. Drain the excess liquid, and set aside.
2. In a stock pot over high heat, combine the chicken and the water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and tender. Remove chicken from the pot, and allow it to cool. Strain the broth from the pot, and reserve for later. When chicken is cool, remove the meat from the bones, cut into bite size pieces, and reserve. Discard the fat and the bones.
3. In the same stock pot over medium heat, saute the celery and onion in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and cover. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is tender. Return the broth to the stock pot, and add the partially cooked wild rice. Stir in the bouillon, white pepper and salt; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour until smooth. Whisk in the milk, and continue cooking until mixture is bubbly and thick. Add some of the broth mixture to the milk mixture, continuing to stir, then stir all of the milk mixture into the broth mixture.
5. Mix in the reserved chicken meat and the white wine. Allow this to heat through for about 15 minutes.

The nutritional information for the cream of chicken and wild rice soup, as found on the Panera website, follows. Click on the image to enlarge it.














*The book was a Christmas present from my mother. It was not given to me as compensation from Panera or any of its affiliates.

A Poem ...

... about Dependent Relative Revocation

"The Doctrine of Second Best"
By E. E. Watkins

Second will

Not like the first

Could get better

But it's going to get worse

That's all I've got for tonight.

New Law School Slogan

A new, better slogan for Trusts and Estates has occurred to me.

Trusts and Estates: Where there's a will...

Love it. But that's the only thing I love about Trusts and Estates.

Sophisticate's Guide to Modern English Usage: Part Two

"I get all my news from the Daily Show": 1. I am a white male, age 18-25.

"...but I wouldn't trade that experience for anything:" Precise meaning depends on context, but usually implies a lack of imagination on the part of the speaker.

Examples:

"Having that surgery as a child was traumatic, but I wouldn't trade that experience for anything because it made me who I am today." 1. I can't imagine a less traumatic, but equally formative life experience. Also, I am an optimist.

"Working for the U.S. government right after 9/11 was intense, but I wouldn't trade that experience for anything because I learned a lot." I can't imagine anything short of a national tragedy triggering my learning. Also, I am a monster.

Haiku Review: "My Fake Fiance" on ABC Family

"My Fake Fiance"
Melissa Joan Hart, Joe Lawrence
Where have you guys been?

Real review: I know this movie has been out for awhile, but I just caught it the other day. I was pleasantly surprised.* Some scenes made me laugh out loud. However, the bumbling mob boss and cronies brought in for comic relief were just too much. Maybe it's law school. Maybe it's my intense fear of real life bad guys. But cronies riding around on segues don't make me laugh. Further, a mob boss hiding in plain sight by dressing and acting like a stereotypical mob boss just makes me incredulous.

Overall, the Boyfriend and the Sophisticate give it two thumbs up.

*Does "surprised" permit any descriptors other than "pleasantly?" Likewise, can you be any kind of "optimistic" other than "cautiously?"

True Life: "Something for the Cats"

I don't have any tattoos.

But I don't mind discussing them.

The other day, the subject of tattoos came up with a group of friends. Specifically, we all wondered what kind of tattoos we would get, say, if we were ever all in Vegas together. And drunk.

We went around the table:

"A shamrock."
"Me, too. A shamrock. With you."
"A wagon wheel."
"A phoenix."
"Barbed wire around my bicep." ("Really?" "No.")
"A Dag Hammarskjold quotation."
"Something for the cats." ("Really?" "Yes.")

Readers, what tattoo would you get?

Haiku Review: Breakfast with Friends

Morris Inn breakfast
Shaking off Trusts and Estates
Lots more coffee, please

True Life: As Funny as Federal Income Tax Gets...

Class today started with this video, originally from the Daily Show on Comedy Central:

http://video.lisarein.com/dailyshow/oct2004/oct252004/10-25-04-oprah-tax.mov

I laughed the hardest I've ever laughed in tax class, except, of course, for the time the professor explained about itemized deductions.

True Life: "The Last Song" Release Date Has Been Pushed Back...

...and my sister is distraught.

The movie, starring Miley Cyrus, based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, and produced by Touchstone pictures, was originally slotted to come out on January 8th. It seems that the new release date is April 2nd.

Since the seismic announcement of the delayed release, I have been in near-constant communication with my Miley-loving sister. Here is an excerpt of the conversation in which she broke the news to me. When I told her that I can wait until April to see the movie, she responded like this:

little sister: ARE YOU CRAZY! We've got to see that movie! I'm not giving up without a fight! I'd do anything for you to see that movie! Think about the movie! Miley! ME! I'm calling for protest for moving the movie different date next year! HELP!!!!

I mean, it's very important to us! I'm not giving up on you or the movie!

Get that!

6:41 PM Sorry. Just trying to show my demonstration of courage and determination!

I'm very really serious, through.

6:42 PM sophisticate: ok, i understand

well, i need to go to school soon

little sister: Check some resources about the mis dating movie!

6:43 PM sophisticate: ok, i will

but i have to run, now

i can call you later

talk to you soon!

little sister: Oh, yeah. More school work to distract you from not getting involve our mission to save our movie. No problem, I guess! Don't forget!

Talk to you soon too! Bye! I love you!

6:44 PM me: love you too!

ttys!

little sister: Tell [the boyfriend] about this! He can do something about to save our movie! We have a movie to save from moving away! HELP [THE BOYFRIEND]!

As promised, I did some google-ing and confirmed that the release date had been changed. I emailed my sister with this confirmation and some words of encouragement. I received this reply:

"I don't want to believe this! I'm not giving up without the movie's mid-date permission! HELP!!!
Love from your desperate sister,
[redacted]
PS Love you! Got any more brillant ideas to stop the movie from moving? I still need your supportive! Tell [the boyfriend]! Maybe he can help! Email me back soon!"

Eventually my little sister pulled my other sister into the drama as well. When my practical-minded other sister suggested that the little one write a letter to Touchstone Pictures, the little one had some concerns:

little sister: I could try, I don't think Mom will allow it, according to the law. What will happen if we break a law. We could be in big trouble with Mom and maybe President Obama. (sigh) Got any ideas to cheer me up?

other sister: Maybe go watch a Mile Cyrus movie?

Readers, got any ideas to cheer a little sister up?

The Sophisticate's Guide to Modern English Usage: Part One

"Technically that's correct": 1. "That's correct, but I don't want to admit it." 2. "That's correct, but don't make me explain why."

"Bourgeois" (when used in a sentence, non-satirically): 1. "I need to grow up."

"That's true of most people, but there are exceptions": 1. And the exception is me.

"You know me, I'm not usually like that": 1. I'm always like that.

"When I lived in [European city]": "When I did a school-sponsored, study abroad trip to [European city]."

"I like him as a person, but...": 1. I hate him.

"Aspects" (when used in written English): 1. "I have a weak vocabulary."

"Facets": 1. See, Aspects.

"Well...": 1. "No."

True Life: I am not a very good cook.

Sometimes I get the urge to just "whip something up" in the kitchen. I am guided by a misplaced notion that I have an inherent talent for cooking. I can just pull a few things out of the refrigerator, stir ingredients in various saucepans while humming to myself, chop a few vegetables, pirouette over to the oven, and magic will happen. The flavors will sing. The Boyfriend will say, "Gee, honey, you've done it again!"

My daydreams about cooking always start out rosy and sweet-smelling. They rarely end that way. Once I served the Boyfriend uncooked biscuit dough over chicken noodle soup. To his credit, he ate the entire thing.

A few nights ago, I got the urge. I peered into the refrigerator and the pantry. I pulled out a few, disparate ingredients. I didn't need a recipe. Recipes were for amateurs. I could make a pasta sauce from scratch. No problem.

Readers, for the first time, it actually worked. I put some butter in a sauce pan and let it heat up. I added some chopped smoked salmon. The butter and salmon mingled in the pan and made the kitchen smell amazing. I knew I was on to something good. A little vodka, a little cream, and a little lemon juice later, and I was a chef!

I think this experiment in cooking was successful, in part, because of a maxim I learned from tv chef Tom Colicchio: if you put really good ingredients in, you'll get really good food out.

Tonight I will try for similar results with chicken, garlic, and bread crumbs. Wish me luck!



(Image reproduced without permission from hoboquilts.com).