Happy ks

Yes, I was surprised too. Ricky's dress looked nice, but to me didn't seem to warrant all the "oohs and ahhs" it got from the judges. (Maybe it was just so much better than anything else he's done so far???)

 

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Many times I get the feeling we're not seeing the same thing as the judges. I have to agree that it was probably the best that Ricky has done, but not that great, I would have picked Rami or Sweet P's dress over his. I really think the win should have gone to Christian this week, he was the only one who actually designed a "look" and not just a little dress. The decision is not just the judges, the producers also get involved so maybe they're keeping Ricky for some pathetic reason.

Although Victorya deserved being in the bottom, I think it was time for Chris to go.....again, or Ricky, either one would have been fine with me. For the last couple of weeks I've become less and less impressed with Victorya, mainly her attitude even though I liked some of her designs. But I really thought Chris and Ricky would have gone before her.

My choices have changed now and I'm pulling for Rami, Jillian and Christian, but I do love Sweet P as well. It's especially hard waiting for the outcome as we all know this was taped months ago and it is over for all the designers competing!

My husband and son have even gotten in on this series, kind of funny :D . They started off watching laughing their rear ends off at the drama of it all, now they have their favs and definite opinions about the contestants.

I was sorry to see Kit go and Ricky stay, I think they got that backwards.

Perhaps I'm just weary of the cry-baby thing every single week. Male or female...it just gets so old.

Here's a thought -- if you were picking one of these designers to make an formal outfit for you (or your significant other) for a cruise formal, who would you want?

While I think Rami is probably the go-to guy for formal wear, I really like Jillians work and sense of style. Perhaps she could do casual nights :)

So I asked my 16 year old daughter what she thought of the dresses and her answer surprised me. My daughter is a whole lot more fashion forward than I am and has a style that is all her own.

Her top 3 picks were

1. Jillian, she loved the front of the dress and the way it was hemmed. I thought it was a little boring and would never have thought she would choose it.

2. Sweet P, she thought it was elegant, but didn't think she would like to wear such a long dress.

3. Rami, not the color but the style.

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Oh, and Chris's dress, she thought it looked off the rack from Macy's and she won't even shop at Macy's.

She thought the winning dress looked like the cheap crap like you find at Forever 21. Her words.

Thanks for posting the stills, Curt.

Looking at them closely, the only dress I see that any girl would pick for prom is Chris's, even then it would be doubtful.

I think they should cancel this episode and never show it on re-runs. The whole thing is a bit embarrasing for every single designer. Especially Christian...this was the time he should have been fierce and not have allowed his client to run the show.

If I could have picked anyone to leave based on the design of the dress and not personality or prior designs, it would have had to be Rami...and he's one of my favs! The bottom would have included Christian.

Wouldn't it be great if they ran the show like American Idol and let the public vote ;) ...I know they can't, the show is taped months before air time.

Guess I'm really out of it, but none of the short dresses looked like prom dresses to me. Not having any girls, I don't seem to know what they're wearing these days. I loved Sweet Pea's dress as well as the green that Chris did and not just because they were long.:)

My teenage daughter would not leave the house if I tried to make her wear a long prom dress. You see both at prom night, I think the majority of the girls I noticed wore shorter length dresses.

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I thought Jeffreys collection was a mess, different yes, but still a mess and absolutely nothing ground breaking or different. I suppose it's all decided for more controversial TV, so people like us have something to discuss. But, it's all fun :D

Not quite right. Should have read, different from anything the others did, but not so different as opposed to styles you see in stores either now or in the past. The dress with the green stripes and zippers was my second least favorite, only one step up from his too short evening dress. Not pretty, not edgy enough (to me) not stylish, just a mess.

But, I suppose it's like food or wine and can all be subjective. I want to see something innovative as well as supreme construction.

I've watched so many episodes of Project Runway and America's Next Top Model the last 2 days. My DVR is set to record all episodes of both and there have been marathons this week!

I was pleasantly surprised to find the new episode of PR early this morning, I thought it was a fun challenge. This is probably the first episode that I had to totally agree with the judges on their decision. I've never been crazy for Elisa, the only time she ever had a garment look anywhere close to a designer look was when she was a part of a team. She reminded me of things girls used to sew up back in high school home ec classes, back in the late 60's. I almost wish I could see the first episode of how she was selected for the competition, she had to have brought more to the table than she has since the series started.

I can see Rami, Jillian and Victorya as the final 3, but there have been some surprises in other series. I watched the series with that bozo, Santino, staying until the final 3, so anything can happen! We watched last years series, with Jeffrey winning..... egads you do have to wonder if the judges are really paying any attention. I thought Jeffreys collection was a mess, different yes, but still a mess and absolutely nothing ground breaking or different. I suppose it's all decided for more controversial TV, so people like us have something to discuss. But, it's all fun :D

To be honest with you, I wasn't the least bit impressed with anyone this past week. I really feel like they should know what they are getting into when they first apply to get onto the show, their homework should be done, they should study all angles of the fashion world. There have been mens designs before, design challenges for plus sized models, dogs, evening gowns, etc...

I know everyone has an expertise, but they can study ahead of time and at least have some very basic knowledge of all types of clothing construction.

It's too bad they only eliminated one, there are at least 3 others who didn't deserve to stay on the show, major mistakes are no excuse. While I really like Sweet P as a person, there was no excuse to have a shirt collar so far away from reality. She could have asked some of the guys if she could measure their necks, heck she could have measured her own and added a few inches.

I don't hate anyone on the show, that is a pretty silly statement to make. But, when you put yourself out into the public eye you have to expect criticism and take the good with the bad. I just hate their clothing ideas and roll my eyes a whole lot. Some of the poor behavior is highlighted by the producers and I'm sure is taken out of context and only put in or it may be a fairly boring show, most of these "reality" shows are so very staged and they probably tape for hours on end to get 20 good seconds. Crying, spitting, backstabbing others, I DVR the show and will fast forward what is drama to some people, it's just bad TV to me.

If you take a look at that dress, it was sewn with only one seam. I don't know about you but you have to be an expert seamstress to be able to do that.

 

Chris's dress was my absolute favorite.

Yes, I did know that and I do think it was an accomplishment in itself, to have the dress fit her body like that. Perhaps that is why she sewed it by hand right onto her own body, to get the curves into the fabric. I used to do that with polyester fabric on my Barbie doll. I do think she was "saved" by Sweet P this week and I also think she does have some design savvy, she's just so off the wall with her methods, I don't think it can last the season, but we may be surprised :) .

Thanks, Curt for posting the photos, it's great to see them still.

Looking closer at them, many of them look absolutely horrid in photos, especially Marions, the uneven hem going on does not look great in a still photo at all. The pants on Carmens outfit look too short, not cropped, just too short! Kit, Steven, Jillian are just lucky three others did so bad :rolleyes: I like Jacks dress as well as Chris's, the rest (except the top 3) are pretty forgettable.

There were a few things in episode 2 that I thought looked great. Elisa and Sweet P's dress I liked a lot, but I don't care for capes at all and did not share the opinion of the judges on that. The outfits that had leggings were a bit boring to me. I think the winner and loser of this episode were the correct choices.

I am so very happy this show has returned!

I have to agree with the judges choice of who went home first. It looked worse than what I used to sew in home-ec class in jr. high school, I was embarrassed for Simone. I think if she would have attempted the same idea only with better colors and a stab at fine sewing, it may have looked way better than it did. I had high hopes for her with her background.

Elisa with the flowy poo dress has no business being there if she "creates" any more fashion like she did, but at least her construction of the top of the dress looked somewhat finished. I think sewing a dress onto your own body like she did was rather elementary, I used to sew dresses onto my Barbie doll like that back in the early 60's. I was somewhat surprised her dress fit the model as well as it did. I may be one of the few who feel this way, but any designer that doesn't put forth effort and skill is insulting to the rest of the people there who are trying so hard to do a professional job.

I'm all for different and creative, I just can't stand poor construction and lack of thought. I also couldn't understand why we saw the contestants go and gather all the different fabrics, yet we saw only Elisa use much more than 2 - 3 fabrics, in a very thoughtless way. I wish they had the 1st episodes clothes online, it would be fun to check them out again!

What about those airbags that you squeeze the air out of. do they work or are they a waste of money!!

Unfortunately, they end up leaking after just a couple of uses :( I've tried them before but was very disappointed, way too much $ for verly little use. You're better off getting the store brand (Ziploc, Glad) the very large sizes. Some people have posted they put their clothes in these bags with no wrinkles. I kind of think you are forcing the clothing to wrinkle by taking the air out :confused: I use Ziplok baggies for things I don't mind wrinkling, like pj's, underwear, bathing suits, socks etc...plus they are great for transporting home any damp or stinky clothes.

The packing folders and cubes can last a lifetime if you take care of them.

I agree with hajekfam, we use both. So, it depends on what you are using them for, either socks, underwear, bathing suits - get the cubes. Shirts, pants use the folders.

If you can only buy one type this go-around, determine what you are thinking about packing into them. We've accumulated ours over several years, they can be pricey to buy all at once :)

We typically use for a one week cruise: 3 folders, 1 for me, 2 for DH, he packs lots of collared shirts, he doesn't wear many T-shirts and 1 or 2 cubes for each of us.

One thing I've read and hasn't been mentioned yet is a bath. If you are staying in a hotel before you board your ship, or have a suite with a bathtub, soak for at least 20 minutes. Not only is it relaxing, I've read it helps to rehydrate your body along with drinking water.

I thought Immodium and Pepto Bismol were both to relieve diarrhea, who would want to take that for irregularity?

I've heard alot about Luggage Forwarding services recently and was wondering if anyone has tried it? We're flying into Honolulu from the east coast in January and to be able to not have the stress of luggage on that long trip would be a pleasure. Just curious if anyone has any suggestions / advice.

 

Thanks in advance!

Just out of curiosity, re-reading your post, do you have a separate ticket from the east to the west coast, then another for the west coast to Hawaii? If you have flights on one ticket, even if you change planes, your luggage should follow you from departure and you won't see it again until you get to the luggage pickup at Honolulu airport.

We take as small a carry on as we can, so we don't have a lot to look after during and in between connecting flights. On our way home, we even will send our carry ons with the checked bags.

Being that you are flying to Hawaii, packing should be light, with shorts and bathing suits being the only clothes you need, besides a few things to wear in the evening. I see you are sailing NCL, so leave the formal clothes at home, you really don't see too many formal clothing worn on NCL.

For the $200-300 you will spend to have your luggage shipped, you could have it all laundered and dry cleaned, or buy some new clothes while you're on the islands.

You can use FedEx, UPS or DHL. Cost is about $175-200 for one 50# suitcase.

 

Or you can use Express or Priority Mail from the Good Ol' US Post office. You will have to box your luggage (U-Haul has the best selection of boxes in the USA), but the price will be 30% less than FedEx using Express (overnight) and about 55% less using Priority (3 day delivery to Honolulu from the East Coast, but no guarantee as there is with Express Mail).

 

I own a global logistics company and ship freight all over the world. I frequently use the Post Office (especially to and from Europe), as their premium services are VERY good. Most of the Express Mail and quite a bit of Priority ride on FedEx/DHL planes. So why pay FedEx/DHL prices for the same service?

I've never shipped luggage, but I have to agree with you on the Post Office being a better choice than UPS. I've sent things UPS, or ordered when it is UPS and waited several times as long as 2 weeks for domestic delivery. I don't know how they can stay in business with such poor service.

All the years on this board and this is the first time I've seen this type of question posted before ;)

We stick close to our regular diet from home, except at dinner. For breakfast, we forego the eggs and bacon in favor of fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese, cereal, just like we do at home. For lunch we stay away from the buffet if we can, instead going to the dining room, better food, smaller portions, it just seems healthier to us. Although I do eat a bit of red meat on a cruise (at home I don't, DH doesn't eat red meat, only poultry and fish) we do usually stick to grilled fish for dinner with salad.

I wish they had better salads onboard cruise ships. It always tastes like bagged lettuce, like the bagged stuff you can get at grocery stores, even the salad bar. You can tell because it's dry and not quite fresh. I make us salads for lunch almost every day to take to work, always fresh lettuce and vegetables, I don't use anything pre-prepared except the dressing.

We drink a lot of water, just like we do at home, we walk laps around the promenade deck.

It's not a problem exclusive to cruise ships, though. Many people become irregular from any type of travel. I'd still rather treat it the healthy way, with food rather than pills. A few raisins or bran will help, grab an apple from the buffet, rather than a dessert. Try not to over-eat, that's a clogger in itself.

I forgot about eyebrows :rolleyes:

Actually, a full lip sounds better than just a lip line, if it's done in a neutral color. I wouldn't want to spend my life with just one lip color, though.

Ok I'm a guy, but still have an opinion.

 

How often do makeup styles change, what if the makeup from the 60s or 80s was permanent:eek:.

 

Boy am I glad I don't have to wear makeup:D.

 

MAC

Permanent makeup is just eyeliner and lipliner :)

Owie.

My sister had her eyes done and is happy with the results, it is light and natural, she said it was so painful she would never do it again.

I know some other people who have had it done and are happy with the results. Some have said it really hurt, some say it was no big deal.

I'm not planning on it any time soon (make that....never :p ), I just hate the thought of needles going into my skin in such a sensitive area, both eyes and lips. Then, to think it's really not permanent, it does start to fade and you need touchups periodically.

I think if you wear makeup all the time, it's not such a bad idea for those who can stand the pain, but if you go without makeup (more so the lips than the eyes) it's really obvious and looks odd with a bare face. Of course, I was never a fan of lip liner being darker than lipstick.

Like any other cosmetic procedure, it's something that needs to be investigated to make sure the operator really knows what they are doing.

Interesting to read what transpired in this thread from the start of the year, through today.

the5davids, I have absolutely no answer for you other than to take every scrap of ID your wife has. I do hope you are able to board the ship :)

For everyone else who is procrastinating (was it cruise fool that I read so much not wanting to spend the $$ yet?), one word, don't.

Read through what happened to people applying for passports in Jan, Feb, Mar and Apr, the extended waiting, the frustration, having to pay extra for expediting, having to order new birth certificates. The worst advice anyone could give you at this point is to wait and see what the gov't. decides to do. If it is a financial hardship to apply all at once, do one a month.

I will predict (if the Jan, 2008 date remains) that passport applications are going to be an even bigger fiasco towards the end of the year. If you have a cruise planned for any time after the first of next year, get it done now.

I recall seeing some posters who had gone ahead and applied last year for passports, only to see the date moved. A lot of them were disappointed they had spent the money, they could have waited. They're probably all happy to have it behind them now, I'd never want to go through the headaches many suffered the first 4 months of this year over passports.

I'm thinking that using the laundry service might be a more economical way to go, rather than spend $15 on a pair of underwear. Just think, if you bought 2 pair you would spend $30.00, you would probably need 3 pair at a cost of $45.00. If you took 7 pair that you already have and have them laundered twice, it would be (@$1.50 a pair) $21.00.

Plus, you have the added advantage of not having to hand wash a pair of mens underwear.

"It ain't vacation until somebody bleeds!"

 

Now anytime we are on vacation and have any kind of mishap come up, one of us will look at the other and utter our new family vacation motto. Then we just laugh ourselves silly. Anyone overhearing us probably thinks we are complete lunatics, but we don't care. We're on vacation! :D

This line is hysterical :D Your husband sounds a lot like mine ;)

My screen name is from our experience with family vacations. Our travels with our kids have sometimes been similar to the National Lampoon Vacation series. Someone always gets hurt or sick, someone is always complaining, but my husband always finds humor in any situation.

The screen name should be The Happy K's (my grammatical error years ago :rolleyes: ), which is what he named us in a rental car driving (lost) on Oahu years ago, for our grumbling about the hours spent in the car. We nicknamed him Island Boy, code for getting us hopelessly lost on an island and driving the full perimeter before getting back to the hotel.

The Happy K's still vacation together and Island Boy still gets to drive the rental car.

It was great when they charged the room delivery fee and you could have your own bottle available. I'm not a big drinker, but my husband enjoys a drink waiting for me to finish getting ready for dinner.

I have to agree with the opinion it is more a liability issue than anything else. Although I do think the cruise line had to take a stand I also think their total cut-off was overkill.

I voted $15, I think that is a reasonable amount. Perhaps if they required a pre-purchase and a limit of one bottle per cabin.

I also have to agree with skandls about the wine. We gladly paid the corkage for years, it was rude for them to take that priviledge away. Our last cruise we bought all our wine from them on a wine and dine package, the choices were limited and we really only found one bottle to our liking. Takes the fun out of trying new wines, or enjoying old favorites. If they have to be so strict with eliminating personal wine, the least they could do is make better choices available.

While it is sad to see some things go, it's a delight to see some of the new features.

I think it is all due to corporations trying to max out on the onboard revenues all the while lowering cruise prices to get these mega ships full to the brim with pax.

I'm not sad at all to see sodas not available on an unlimited basis with no extra charge. The last time I was on a ship with a soda fountain near the pool, some darling unsupervised boys were filling and throwing glasses of soda at each other. Unfortunately, the soda didn't know to just stay in the vicinity of the boys. I think if it was a free-for-all, we'd see a lot more waste (just like in the buffets) and a lot more empty soda glasses left lying around the ship in unusual places.

I only started cruising in 1998 and I do wish I had started earlier, some of the perks sound like they were wonderful. Of course, cruising was probably a lot more costly back then too, right?