Month: February 2011

by Allison

best and worst dressed oscars 2011

I do realize we have important world events happening right now.  Hosni Mubarak is no longer the president of Egypt, Muammar Gaddafi is about to be overthrown in Libya, and there’s been a terrible earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.  It seems more than a little trivial to talk about a handful of Hollywood celebrities strutting down a red carpet before they all give each other awards, but it is what it is.  Watching the red carpet before the Oscars is my version of the Superbowl.  Highlights, close-ups, stills, and replays are the best part of Oscar night.  Seriously, it’s the end of awards show season and everyone loves to bring out the crazy.

I was underwhelmed by the dresses on the red carpet at the Oscars last night.  Underwhelmed.  So now, without further adieu, my unbridled opinion of the dresses.  Take it for what it is.

Best Dressed Oscar Dresses:

best dressed

I didn’t have a ton of favorites, but I did love Jennifer Hudson and Hilary Swank.  Part of me hates that Jennifer Hudson got famous and lost a ton of weight, I thought she was lovely the way she was, but she does look hot, I won’t lie.  She … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

office remodeling

A couple months ago my therapist, YES MY THERAPIST, told me I needed an office of my own.  I’ve been working in an office/study/playroom in the front room of our house and it’s been driving me slowly crazy.  I really needed a space of my own, someplace to go to close the door and make conference calls.  Someplace besides my closet, where I was working/hiding from the kids while making cross country business calls and silently slamming my bum against the locked door to keep the children out.

office

I love the study, but I’ve outgrown it.  So Viktor and I sat down and had a heart to heart, and tried to figure out how to carve some office space out in our home.  Turns out, we’ve been sitting on gold.

Not literally, although wouldn’t that be nice?

office before

But we’ve had this empty, non-purpose room in our basement we’ve never known what to do with.  The former owners of our home had made it into a nightmare/craft room and we didn’t think we had it in us to turn it into something usable.  The photo above is the room when we toured the house before we moved … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

What’s in Your Purse Series Week Thirty Six

It turns out you all still love this series, so we’ll just keep on going until you’re good and ready to be done with it.  Meanwhile, here’s your purse this week.  A day late and a dollar short, but I’m here all week!

Kachow!

This week’s What’s in Your Purse Series is from faithful reader and commenter Tami Warner from Tami’s Eclectic Corner.  Love that Tami.  If you want to submit your purse, let’s do this thing.  Send two photos of your purse, one of the inside, one of the outside, to me along with a clear listing of the contents at: allisonATpetitelefantDOTcom

arm purses
what's in your purse series

 

Here are the contents:
  • My Coach Sunglasses
  • Keys
  • A cute holder for my frequent “shopper” cards
  • Pens and a pencil
  • iPhone with my custom skin…it’s a picture of my hubby and I on our cruise
  • Hand sanitizer
  • A mirror from Paris
  • Nail Clippers
  • Altoids
  • Breath Savers Mints
  • Bubble Gum
  • Mint Gum
  • Spearmint Gum – I love gum and mints, can you tell?
  • Sephora Lip Gloss
  • Revlon Lip Stain
  • Sugar Lip Treatment
  • Josie Maran Lip Gloss
  • Glasses wipes
  • Hand Sanitizer Wipes
  • And last, but not least, my purse organizer… I LOVE it

Did you notice the … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Skiing with kids for the first time

–This giveaway is now closed.  The winner is: Suzanne Crunchy Green Mom–

We’re an active family.  We just are.  There’s not any help for it, so I’ve just embraced it.  My husband can’t sit still, and my kids are genetically programmed to be like him, happiest while in motion.  There is one sport I fought for years though: skiing.

skiing with kids for the first time

I didn’t grow up skiing; it’s just not economically feasible for a family with 8 kids {outside the Kennedy family} to ski on a regular basis, even though I grew up in the mountains of Utah next to some of the world’s best skiing.  Plus?  I really hate Winter.  I’d rather curl up with a handful of good novels and a heating pad than bomb down the mountain.

Or so I thought.

When Charming was old enough to walk, and say a handful of words, we put him on a pair of skis.  He’s been an outrageously active kid from the word go, and I decided in an effort to channel that wildness somewhere, skiing was the way to go.  At least to get us through the winter.  This came on the heels of one too many days … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

vintage barber shop

The next photo shoot I’m doing with my friend Ed is a Vintage Barber Shop commercial. We’re shooting in a barber shop in Salt Lake City that’s been around since the 1950′s.  I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Here’s my inspiration board for the shoot.

barbershop

here’s where I found the: Barber Pole, Barber Jacket, Florsheim Wingtip Oxford, Vintage Men’s Eyeglasses, Wool Trousers… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

family trip to Europe

So.  Somewhere around the time I was in L.A., or San Francisco, or Nashville, or one of those places, Viktor bought 4 plane tickets to Europe.

We’ve hoped and dreamed, and scrimped and saved to be able to take the family to Poland.  Viktor’s immediate family are the only members of his family who left Communist Poland to come to America under political asylum in the 1980′s, everyone else staying behind to weather out the storm.

warsaw poland

Viktor didn’t get to go home to bury his grandfather.  I’ve never met his only cousin.  His grandmother lives in Finland and only met Precocious for a brief moment as a baby.  I’ve never seen his family home.

A trip to Europe isn’t so much a jet-setting vacation as it is a family pilgrimage to the homeland.

Still, tickets are pricey, and we’ve never had the money.

We’ve finally bitten the bullet, taking money we really need to use to finish the kitchen remodel, or to fix the broken sprinklers in the backyard, or a million other sundry things, and we’re going to Europe.   In May, for almost a month.

I know.

grandparents

As I do in almost every area … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

how to wax your eyebrows at home

I’ll stoop to any level of non-makeup-ed gorgeousness to help you with your beauty regimen, this video about how to wax your eyebrows at home being no exception.  Please to enjoy.

face wax

Supplies you need to wax your eyebrows at home:

  1. tub of wax
  2. clean Popsicle stick
  3. baby powder
  4. strips of torn muslin fabric, 2-3″ long, 1/2″ wide

… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Jennifer Garner Kids Event

jennifer garner

Remember when I told you I’ve been jet-setting for the last 6 weeks, much to the chagrin of my body?  Well, I’ve been jet-setting alright, and now I’m flat in bed.

Booyah baby, that’s how it’s done.

center piece

Anyhow, sometime in January I flew to L.A. for a brief 24 hour stint at the W hotel in Hollywood, Precocious by my side. We went to L.A. to attend a Frigidaire event hosted by Jennifer Garner.  When I got the initial invitation, I was stoked but exhausted, and considered saying no.  The event was literally smack dab in the middle of a family wedding and a blogging conference where I was speaking {Alt Summit}, and I’d been on the run since December’s skiing accident and the Park City photo shoot.

I composed an email that said, “thanks, but I’m just too busy”, until Viktor took me firmly by the shoulders and said

“Ali, take one for the team.  Please, do it for me.”

He’s had a thing for her since we discovered Alias.

grip

So we were bussed in to Smashbox Studios in Hollywood where a lot of Hollywood type stuff takes place.  Access Hollywood, E!, and … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

fashion week spring 2011

I’ll get to fashion week in New York one of these days, if it’s the last thing I do.  But in the meantime, I’m watching all the fashion shows from my phone, reading all the tweets from those in attendance, and swooning over the newest collections for Spring 2011.

I have too many favorites to mention, but these are the highlights.  Also, something to note: lace, leather, fur, and big colors are all hot.  Big time.  Not going anywhere.

fashion week 2011

Left: Dennis Basco Right: Herve Leger by Max Azria

nanette lepore 2011Left: Nanette Lepore, Right: Elie Tahari

michael kors 2011Michael Kors

marchesa 2011

Marchesa

{All images from Style.com}… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

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