Project Runway's Mondo Guerra

Anyone see last night's Project Runway? I just watched it, and man, I was fighting back tears the whole time!! Geez, that was emotional! (Episode 10)

I want to praise Mondo for his courage to reveal one of his deepest secrets. For those of you that don't know and didn't see the episode, the design challenge was to create an original fabric pattern that represented a moment in the designers' past. Mondo's pattern featured plus signs, something he wouldn't tell the other designers or Tim Gunn the meaning behind.


Everyone was unsure of his inspiration and it seemed like that was going to end up hurting him when it came to judging. On the runway, he decided to explain that the plus signs symbolized that he is HIV positive and has been for 10 years. He had been keeping it a secret, even from his family. Everyone on the show was touched by his bravery and he ended up winning the challenge. He spoke about "how good it felt" to tell someone and how "free" he felt afterward. He was glad to think that his story and design might help others in his situation.

I think everyone can learn from Mondo. What I can take from his experience is the lesson that no one should be hiding who they are. You shouldn't have to close yourself off and bury the things you don't want people to see. Don't allow the fear to overcome you and eat at you. The ones who love you the most will accept you and still be there for you in the end.



Good for you Mondo!

You can watch the episode here on Lifetime.

XOXO,

Courtney

Photos are property of Lifetime.

Announcement, Announcement Everyone!

So I just wanted to let everyone know that we are five, repeat FIVE new followers away from a giveaway!! Yay!!

That's all I got for now, sorry guys. I've been busy with the whole back to school thing. You know how it is. I'll get better about blogging more, I promise! Outfit post soon!

New Florence + the Machine and Taylor Swift music videos! Woo!
I can't get enough of them! I've watched them way too much!


Heavy in Your Arms by Florence and the Machine, off the album, Lungs.


Mine by Taylor Swift, off the upcoming album, Speak Now.
Taylor's video melts my heart. It makes me wanna run out and fall in love! Lol.
Well, I'm off to bed. Have a great Tuesday! :)

XOXO,

Courtney

Wooo, Sunshine Award!

Don't I feel special! The lovely Amber of Amber Blue Bird named me among her favorite bloggers and gifted me the Sunshine Award! Thanks so much, Amber! Congrats on your award too! =D
I'm so happy that others are enjoying this blog! It means more than you know!


So now it is my duty to pass the award on to twelve other ladies!
You gals deserve it for all your hard work, the inspiration you bring to others, and your commitment to the blogging community. Some of your blogs I just stumbled upon recently and others I've been following for a while, but I enjoy each and every one of them!

Here we go...
My chosen twelve are:

Breanne of Flattery
Beatrice of Dear Beatrice
Amanda of The Upside of Wonder
Zoe of Grand Theft Thrift
Maggie of Lifesize Paperdoll
Amanda of Amanda Lynn?
Chloe of Dirt on Your New Shoes
Pretty Nifty Thrifty Fashion
Lauren of SomeoneLikeYou
Emma of Scrapbook de la Emma
Maddy of Po Mojej Stronie Lustra
Natalie of La Vagabond Dame

Congratulations!!!!

But wait...
Here are the rules of the award:

1) Save the image above and post it to your own blog
2) Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers
3) Link the nominees
4) Let nominees know they have won this award by commenting on their blog
5) Share the love and link to the person you received this award from.

XOXO,

Courtney

So Sorry!

Ahh! I feel like it's been so long since I last posted something. I'm sorry, guys! :(
I also can't believe it's September already!! Time goes far too fast, especially when you don't want it to.
As I said in my last post, I had some surgery done on Tuesday and have been pretty miserable lately. I had a cystoscopy and a shockwave lithotripsy for my kidney stones. It has been a worst experience than I expected. I wish I would of went with my gut and canceled the cystoscopy. It turns out it wasn't even necessary on top of it! I've not been enjoying the recovery, and the side-effects of the procedures hasn't been pretty either. Because I can barely walk around the house without my kidney beginning to hurt, I haven't really had the opportunity to go outside, enjoy the sunshine, and take outfit photos. Nor have I even wore an outfit that I approve of to photograph. Old baggy shirts and sweats? Errr, no. Haha.

So I promise as soon as I'm better, outfit photos are on my "to do" list.

In my time of bed rest, I have been catching up on The City, my reading, and watching movies here and there. Anyone seen Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey? PBS's 2007 version? My mom and I are suckers for Austen movies. Oh, and I can't forget, sipping on my favorite berry smoothie. Seriously, I think they are the best creation since french fries, hah (if you guys knew my diet, you'd know that's saying something!). I recommend you try them! =D

On another note...

I'm currently obsessed with Ellie Goulding. Someone on Chictopia told me a little while ago that I sort of reminded them of her, so I googled her and listened to some of her songs. Her first album, Lights, just came out in England. Too bad you can't get her album in the U.S. without paying double the price.

I'm gonna share...




For more of her music, visit her Youtube.
P.S. For all you thrifters: if you didn't know, all U.S. Value Village stores are suppose to have a Labor Day sale on Monday. 50% off almost everything! I'm definitely going, whether I feel 100% better or not! Lol.

XOXO,

Courtney

My Great Grandma Ruth & Project Runway

I've never talked about this before, but I love to sew. It's nothing new, I always have. My mom and grandma taught me at any early age. I started practicing on construction paper at about six years old, lol. I come from a family where sewing is in the blood. My great grandma, Ruth, was featured in Time Magazine for her sewing and also featured in a 1949 issue of Life Magazine as one of the top ten fashion seamstresses of the time. She was Miss Singer for Singer sewing machines two years in a row, and also sewed President Nixon's daughter, Julie Nixon's wedding dress! She also modeled and did commercials for Wells Fargo.
She was a very talented lady, someone I wish I would have been able to get to know better (I was a child when she died). Her sewing skills were taught and passed down the family line. She taught my grandma, "Nan" everything she knew. My Nan makes everything: curtains, chair cushions, pillows, clothes, wedding dresses...you name it! She made me Halloween costumes growing up and yearly birthday and Christmas dresses. She has taught me a lot and even bought me my first sewing machine. My mom is also handy with a needle and thread.
I hope to one day be a great sewer too, like the women in my family before me. I've always been interested in sewing and designing so Project Runway is inspiring to me.
The new season just started late last month, but already it seems like the the judges are going to have to make hard decisions to chose the winner. I really think everyone has good ideas.
Initially from the beginning, my favorites were Gretchen and Valerie. Both their ideas and creations were more appealing to me. I was scared Gretchen was going to be voted off last episode. I like her designs, but personally, I hate her attitude. She's too full of herself in my opinion.

My favorites of Gretchen's designs:


I love this dress. I love the sequin shoulders and the overall cut of the whole design. I really love the back. It's elegant but a bit sexy. And she made it all in five hours!


I want this jumpsuit!! SO BAD! I think it's adorable. I love the color, the deep V neckline, and the small details like the ties on the back of the calves and the white trimmed pockets. It looks comfortable too. I like how flowy the top part is. In my opinion, flowy = comfort. It's a look that can be casual or dressed up. An exposed back is always sexy too. I must say, this model does not know how to stand. The back shot is just terrible, lol.


In the first look, I think Gretchen did a great job making all the pieces. This was the challenge were the designers had to make an outfit solely from items sold at a party store (episode three). The jacket and top were from made from paper and the skirt from string plastic fringe. The only thing I don't like about the look is the boots she picked to pair with the outfit. I just don't care for them. I think the second look is classy and sophisticated. Something I'd wear to work if I worked in a nice office.

My favorite's out of Valerie's designs:


This look was constructed completely out of napkins. How amazing is that?!


I think Valerie is really good at creating something that looks great on the female body. These dresses look perfect on the models. I also love how she makes feminine pieces, but adds some edginess to it, like with the visible zippers.

Other mentionables from the season so far:

Peach is probably one of my least favorites, but she surprised me with her design from last night's episode. I really like it.
The judges hated it, but I love the color palette Ivy used to create her look from last night's episode. I love the combo of the burgundy, olive, and brown.


Casanova has had a rocky start so far on the show, but this look he pulled together in last night's episode is so pretty. I love the top. The back is gorgeously cut and made! And the man knows how to make pants! I love the gold buttons he did all the way down the outside seam of the legs. He was so upset that Tim Gunn said it looked like an old woman's top, but I like it! I like elegant, dressy pieces once in a while. I'd wear it!


I really like A.J.'s outfit. I die for shirt dresses! I love the whole look, but I don't care for the camel inner panel of the leggings. I think he should have kept them the solid burgundy. They remind me of a jester outfit, lol.
Michael C.'s look is from episode three, I believe he made it mostly out of tissue paper? I'm not 100% sure.


I love these outfits. They were also apart of the party store challenge (episode 3). Andy's look was made from different types of ribbon and ribbon he hand braided. It's so cool. I don't recall what exactly April's design was made out of, sorry.
If you guys haven't seen the new season, but are interested in watching it, all the full episodes are available for a short time online at Lifetime.com.

XOXO,

Courtney

Sources: All photos were taken from Lifetime.com and are property of Lifetime.

A Quick Chat

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all your comments and reads! I appreciate you guys! A lot of bloggers have hundreds and thousands of followers, but I feel special with my 22 just the same.

I also want to say thanks to the sweet gal of Pretty Nifty Thrifty Fashion for featuring me on her blog. I'm so glad my outfit can be a source of inspiration for you!! That's amazing to me! =D

I wanted to answer a question Amber of Amber Blue Bird asked regarding my last outfit post, Wandering in Wonderland. I just feel like I can never really reply back effectively to everyone when they ask me questions in the comments so posting the answer here seems to be the best option for me at this moment. However, in the future, I'd recommend asking questions you may have through email (courtneywilde@ymail.com) or my formspring that is located below my "About Me" on the left side of the page. Just so I feel like you will actually be able to get my reply and I don't feel rude. I'd be happy to answer any questions! :)

So Amber asked what brand/color lipstick I was wearing in the photos from my last post. The thing is, I was wearing a pinkish red liquid lipstick from Maybelline, but for some reason, when I edited my photos, it changed to the deep red color. I liked the color better so I just went with it.
So I don't actually have that color of lipstick to give an answer. But I looked some colors up and found some matches. I'd say, Maybelline Superstay Lipcolor in Cherry and MAC Viva Glam Lipstick in Viva Glam 1 look very close. But I think anything with a deep blue-red hue would work or maybe even a dark berry.
I like the way the dark red looks, so I'm considering getting the MAC, even though I have never spend so much on lipstick, lol. I might splurge and spend a little more than my usual drug store make-up brand prices.
I hope that helped answer your question, Amber! :)

This song has been stuck in my head all day.

"Harold T. Wilkins" by Fanfarlo off the album, Reservior.

XOXO,

Courtney

An Update on Noor's Story

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about an article I had read in the August 2010 issue of (U.S) Marie Claire. The article was about Noor Almaleki, a 20 year girl who was murdered by her father because he believed she was bringing shame to their family.

I was really touched and saddened by her story, and thankful that the wonderful people at Marie Claire had chosen to include an article about Noor's murder in their fabulous magazine. I decided I wanted to spread the word the best I could, so I posted about it on here, in addition to telling everyone I knew about Noor and recent honor killings that I had learned about from the Marie Claire article.

Last night, I received a comment on my post, Noor's Story. The comment was from Abigail Pesta, the author of the MC article and the editor-at-large of Marie Claire!!! She thanked me for writing about Noor and also for encouraging whoever read my post to join a Facebook page that is dedicated to Noor.

Let me just say that if that was really Abigail who commented, that is one of the greatest honors of my life! Truly incredible! No words can describe it!

Again, I strongly encourage you, my readers, to take some time to learn about Noor Almaleki, if you haven't already. If you didn't get a chance to read my post, click here. Or here for the detailed Marie Claire article about Noor by Abigail Pesta. Thanks guys!

XOXO,

Courtney

Noor's Story

I'm working on getting some outfit posts and a diy post uploaded here in the next few days. I'm editing photos right now and am trying to get it all done soon. Until then, I wanted to share something with everyone...

Photos of Noor
Source: Marie Claire

Is anyone else a reader of Marie Claire? Well, I was reading the newest issue (with the adorable Miss Dakota Fanning on the cover) that I got a couple weeks ago and just hadn't had the time to sit down and look through it until now.

Inside there is an article about a 20 year old girl named Noor Almaleki from Arizona. She was raised in the United States from the age of four, but her family originally comes from Iraq.

Noor's family is solely centered around their strong beliefs and values. Noor was raised to do what she was told, follow her father's rules, and carry out Iraqi traditions, or suffer severe punishment.

According to the article, Noor dreamed of becoming a teacher, making her own decisions, dressing the way she wanted (in jeans and modern clothing like any other girl, for example), and marrying for love...not because her parents arranged her to. She wanted to be her own person, live and act like any other American girl, and not be weighed down by her strict parents' beliefs and customs.

Because of all this, her father murdered her.

On October 20, 2009, Noor and a friend named Amal, were walking together through a parking lot to get to a restaurant. Noor's father, Faleh Almaleki waited there to make his move. After spotting the two, he then floored his Jeep Grand Cherokee towards them. After frantically trying to run out of the way of the vehicle, both women were struck, sending them flying through the air. Amal landed on the pavement, while Noor on a raised median inside the lot. Unsatisfied, Faleh then sped towards his daughter, running her over with his vehicle, before speeding
away from the scene.

Amal suffered serious injuries, but was considered to be in stable condition. Noor, however, was unresponsive and suffered life threatening injuries. Noor died approximately two weeks later on November 2, 2009.

Murders like Noors are what are presently being called "honor killings." An honor killing is defined as the murder of a family or clan member (typically female) by one or more fellow family members (mostly male), in which the perpetrators (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim to have brought dishonour upon the family, clan, or community (Source: Wikipedia). Murders like these are becoming more and more common in the United States.

Noor's father, Faleh Almaleki, believed Noor was bringing shame to his family. His reasoning was that she resisted his rules and was becoming "too westernized" (The article in Marie Claire provides more details). By murdering her, he truly thought he would restore honor to the Almaleki family. He was quoted as saying, "For an Iraqi, honor is the most valuable thing." (Source: Marie Claire)

To make matters worse, Noor's family appeared to have supported the murder. Both Noor's mother, brother, and cousin assisted Faleh Almaleki in leaving the U.S. to go into hiding after the murder. They saw nothing wrong with the killing of an young girl, their own flesh and blood, if it meant bringing honor back to their family. Faleh Almaleki was no criminal to them and he believed that himself. After being arrested, Faleh Almaleki pleaded his innocence, "I'm not a criminal. I didn't kill someone randomly. I didn't break into someone's house. I didn't steal." (Source: Marie Claire)

This article shocked and sickened me. The fact that a father would kill his own daughter and truly think afterward that he did nothing wrong is unbelievable to me. The belief that honor killings are acceptable to some people angers me to the core.

I wanted to share Noor's story with you guys. I thought it was something people needed to be aware of and learn about. I hope everyone will pass this on.

For more information, I'm providing some links:

- The Marie Claire article featured in the August 2010 issue. Written by Abigail Pesta.
- Marie Claire's follow up on the trial of Faleh Almaleki.
- A Facebook page dedicated to Noor that I recommend joining if you were touched by her story.

Hanging By the Ocean Side

Thanks to all my new subscribers! I appreciate you guys following me!

Last week I went to a family friend's wedding with my family. I thought I'd post some pictures of us all dressed up.

The wedding was at the Semiahmoo Resort next to the ocean in Blaine, Washington. It was so beautiful. I loved the resort itself, the exterior looked like a huge old fashion beach house with faded yellow paint and faded light green trim. It was so cute!

Something about being next to the ocean sets me at ease. I love it. I live about 30 minutes from the shore access in my town and I wish I could go out there more often. My dream has always been to live in a Victorian house on the ocean.

The photos above and to the right are of me and my two younger brothers. And the photo below is of my parents. We all went fancy clothes shopping the day before the wedding because none of us really had nice dress clothes. I have a few dresses, but who can resist getting a new one! I found this one at JcPennys when I went dress shopping with my mom. It was on sale for $15! Gosh, I love finding a good sale! The straps had some black beads on them grouped together to look like little flowers (if that makes sense, lol), but I didn't really like it, so a
simple sweep of a seam-ripper fixed that!

If the price is right, you can always alter something to be more your style or fix it to be a better fit for you. I need to re-just the straps on the dress to better fit my small figure. They are a bit too long, but for only $15, that's nothing! I don't mind putting a little work into something to make it unique or perfect for me.

I haven't really been home much or been feeling well to get around to take any outfit photos. I was in the emergency room all day yesterday. I woke up with a tight and painful stomach and everything I tried wouldn't stop the pain. The pain got more intense as the day went on and my parents finally decided to take me to the hospital because they were afraid I might need to get my appendix taken out. Turns out, I produce kidney stones. Surprise to me! I'm still can't believe it. I would have never guessed!

I'm going to be staying with my grandparents for a few days next to the ocean so I'm hoping to get some good photos up there next to the beach. They have a really nice boat and I'd love to get some photos posing on or next that! So outfit pics are soon to come! Well, I got to go and pack! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

XOXO,

Courtney

My outfit:
Dress from JcPennys
Handband by Forever 21
Gray tights from JcPennys
Shoes from Payless
Necklace: vintage from my grandma
Bracelets by H&M