I think she rocked this look. Is it the prettiest dress ever? No. It’s not exactly my taste. But at least she went for it. We’ve seen her in black dresses, she has the money to buy crazy fashion, and she’s having a lot of fun while she wears it. In fact, I might hate the dress if it looked like SHE hated it. But her smile is so freaking…enchanting! I mean, Kate is just a girl’s girl, you know? People say that and I never know what that means. But then I think of it here, and it fits. My mind is obviously a bit crazy…

But! Yesterday even my Mom was talking about Kate Hudson being interviewed by Matt Lauer, and how you just can’t help but talk about her because she’s so vibrant and sweet. And what’s better than being known as that?

I really wanna know: Is this dress a big yay or big nay to you?

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How do you make freckled lemonade? I can’t lie, It’s surprisingly hard to make! You have to have A) Lemonade (hahaha, I typed lameonade at first), B) Frozen strawberries, C) Ice in moderation. Mix and serve. Ahhh - that’s the sound of

being refreshed. I decided to make my own tonight while watching Weeds season 2 on my Netflix ‘Instant Watch’.

I’m all about Weeds now - it’s one of my favorite shows of the moment. When I saw some of Zooey Deschanel on the show, I just didn’t care that I haven’t seen the show before (unless you count five minutes of one of the first episodes). I loved her character! Again, I didn’t care that she was a guest star or that I’d only seen a few moments of the character. My heart was taken!

So, I’m watching the Zooey episodes of Weeds right now, and then I’ll go and watch season one properly. Going in reverse for some shows doesn’t bug me as much as with others. *Helpless shrug*

Zooey Deschanel

So, I must tackle these episodes first:

Weeds - Doing the Backstroke (2007) TV episode …. Zooey Deschanel as Kat (season 3, not available)
Weeds - Pittsburgh (2006) TV episode …. Zooey Deschanel as Kat
Weeds - Yeah, Just Like Tomatoes (2006) TV episode …. Zooey Deschanel as Kat (WATCHED!)
Weeds - Mile Deep and a Foot Wide (2006) TV episode …. Zooey Deschanel as Kat (WATCHED!)

Zooey recently attended the premiere for her movie (with some random dude named Jim Carrey) Yes Man and she wore a low-key version of when Bjork wore a swan. I love this outfit.

Deschanel told Jay Leno that she laughed so hard during the premiere in L.A. that she split the dress (the white one) up the back - oops!

She called Carrey ‘very energetic’ which is code for ‘batshit crazy’. He arrived at the premiere in a giant hamster wheel? Yea, that’s…well, I’d imagine that it takes a lot of energy.

The Yes Man movie actually looks pretty good and I want to see it at the movie theater, which is not a place I’m that fond of. They do have good popcorn, though. So that’s a PRO. And they have dippin’ dots. And twizzlers… Yea - I tend to stay away because they have so much candy it makes me crazy I kid, I kid.

The truth is that I really hate getting stuck in a bad movie (You Me and Dupree, anyone?) but I also hate to leave a movie since I’m cheap and also want (read: NEED)  to know how things end. It’s just a lame situation that I tend to keep myself out of unless I BELIEVE In the movie. (I will be seeing Scream 4 in theaters even though I don’t think I believe in it. And yea - have you guys heard of this yet?!)

Zooey Deschanel on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno:

Zooey Deschanel on Jimmy Kimmel Live:

A Zooey Deschanel interview which is HILARIOUS, seriously:

Time for some randomness…

For fans of Diablo Cody, Amanda Seyfried, Kyle Gallner, Megan Fox (why?), Amy Sedaris or Adam Brody - did you know you can already reserve your copy of the movie Jennifer’s Body on Netflix? Yup! I did that today, I feel very accomplished. The movie is still yet to reach theaters, but oh well!

“Son of a motherless goat!” (Anyone know where that’s from? the Three Amigos!)

You should go over to TENgossip and read my writeup of The Write Environment, then come here and buy it on Amazon. Buy: The Write Environment: Featuring an interview with Joss Whedon (2008) I was talking with the creator, Jeffrey Burrman, and it turns out he is also a fan of The Guild. Yay!

Some Jimmy Backius photography posted on Creature Comforts inspired me to write this little creative snippet:

She was Ophelia of the backyard. Feeling depressed and dramatically desperate she marched her heeled feet through the garden path, flouncing her way to the pond. A moment later there was a splash and her feet were barefoot, neon yellow high-heels floating with lilypads. Then she was down on the grass, grasping it in her palms like the earth-mother-goddess she was. The earth spoke to her. Everything spoke to her. She was alive and life was terribly wonderful as much as it was wonderfully terrible. She looked to the blue sky overhead. It was blooming and bursting with the greens of tree limbs above. The green was so bright and lush it looked shiny and wet, as though she were in the jungle. Around her, flowers shone like jewels in the sun.

I really wanna know: What do you think of Zooey Deschanel?

Bottomless Freckled Lemonade at Red Robin by Absolutley_Loverly on Flickr

Eggnog wall (wall of nog?) by CeeJayoz on Flickr

TO: jessica.rae.st at gmail dot com

(If you have a Coke product, you have Coke Points!)

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Yearbook photo from Flickr - Dok1

It’s not graduation time, but that didn’t stop me from creating a graduation-y themed post revolving around yearbooks. I was never on the yearbook staff at my school but they got to hang out in a secret room that I was jealous of. I may not have a secret room (that I’m gonna be TELLING you about), but I have photoshop! Peruse the yearbook for House M.D., just don’t expect to see everyone. (So many declined to participate! Tsk. Tsk.)

Name: Dr. Remy Hadley

Nickname: Thirteen

Quote: “Well behaved women rarely make history.” - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Name: Dr. Robert Chase

Nickname: Chase

Quote: “You can’t build a reputation based on what you’re going to do.” - Henry Ford

Name: Dr. Allison Cameron

Nickname: Cam

Quote: “If your heart acquires strength, you will be able to remove blemishes from others without thinking evil of them.” - Gandhi

Name: Dr. James Wilson

Nickname: Wilson

Quote: “When in doubt, tell the truth.” - Mark Twain

Name: Dr. Gregory House

Nickname: House

Quote: (House couldn’t decide on just one quote.)

“No comment.”

“Boy don’t try to front, I know just what you are.” - Britney Spears

“I’m Chuck Bass.” - Chuck Bass

“No wait, put whatever Wilson said, and then add to the end ‘just kidding’.”

“When in doubt, tell the truth. Just Kidding.” - House

I really wanna know: Do you/did you keep your school yearbooks?

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I have a feeling that Dr. Cuddy on House M.D. is just as picky as I am when it comes to decorating. On the show she is always very into making sure her office is decorated perfectly - and that’s just her office. A house is even more personal! I’ve been looking for a new pair of curtains for my room to go along with other things I’ll be doing to improve it (paint and such). But it turns out I’m very picky! I have decided on two different color schemes and I just have to decide between them.

The first color scheme is warm with burgundy, the other focuses on shades of blue, brown, and honey-gold. I’ve been considering both of these color schemes as I look on MANY different websites that sell curtains. It’s very hard to decide, though. I’ve been living with sheer curtain drapes in white, so I want something drastically different. On TheCurtainShop.com (where the pictures are from in my collage) I am a fan of the Gotham Insulated Velvet which comes in chocolate, blue, linen (ew - beige!) or a burgundy. Velvet curtains seem very cozy.

There are a surprisingly large amount of ruffly icky curtains. Country chic? Please no! On any site or with any store you need a discerning eye to get through all of the less than stellar options. Steer clear of ugly patterns, tacky fabrics, and anything in the color lime green.

I really wanna know: Do you think velvet curtains are a good choice?

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World Architecture News is the name of a site that might sound a little boring. You know, yawn - new doorway arches for 2008? I’ll pass on that. However, when I discovered what I call the ‘SNAILEY SHELL HOUSE’ I loved the site once again. It’s actually called the Nautilus House and it was built by the good people at arquitecturaorganica.com. See more pictures at worldarchitecturenews.com or the arquitectuaorganica.com page for the Nautilus House. As soon as I saw these pictures I thought of Pushing Daisies (the magical landscapes are all part of the charm), and how this is exactly the kind of place they’d have in the show. Whattyda think? (Yes, the show has now been cruelly canceled.)

Because I’m always looking out for interesting books and know you are too, I wanted to mention the book Sew U Home Stretch: The Built by Wendy Guide to Sewing Knit Fabrics by Wendy Mullin and Eviana Hartman. It’s the sequel to Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe. Who doesn’t want to sew amazing things? I still remember being a teen and seeing an article on ‘Built By Wendy’ in my beloved Seventeen Magazine, thinking how wonderful the line was.

I also wanted to share with you all the name of a childhood book I loved and recently rediscovered (on one of my very own bookshelves, no less): The Faeries Pop-Up Book. Utterly magical, this captivated my imagination while also encouraging it. It seems to be very expensive now, so maybe look for it at a library. If you ever find yourself not believing in faeries then I would refer you to reading the image Artsyville made and posted regarding confusion. This particular book gives me fond memories of my Granny. Imagine the awe I had in stumbling upon a post from Joanne about her Grandmother’s gold cross. You are a lucky little girl if you have a doting Grandmother.

Sometimes I honestly think that the magic of my girlish youth (that’s an odd phrasing, hum) has disappeared from my reach. But there are. so. many. magical. people. out. in. the. world. that open themselves up to have their worlds accessible from their blogs. Visiting them is often a bit like re-energizing my spirit.

Also, my newest favorite show is Weeds. I’ve even added it to my List of TV Show Suggestions.

Weeds: The first time I saw this I’d written it off as not for me. But now I’m embracing the sheer awesomeness of this show! It’s orchestrated perfectly. Great plots, music, & genius, flawed characters.

I really wanna know: What’s the coolest house or building you’ve ever been inside of?

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Image from the ASPCA website

Hey guys, as you know there are many worthy charities you can donate to. Allow me to take a moment of yours today to tell you about one of them. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals goes by ‘ASPCA’. Now, ASPCA might not be easy to say, but I think that it’s easy to want to help them. It’s a cause close to my heart - sometimes literally, as my cat likes to crawl and sit on me when I’m on the couch watching one of the many things I talk about on this blog.

If you guys donate even just $5.00 to the ASPCA please comment here and then I will get in touch with you via e-mail. I know it isn’t a huge ‘prize’, but if you do this I will post a picture of your pet with a cute caption up here on SofaChip.com. (Bonus points if you have a shot of your animal watching TV or listening to music since the blog theme is entertainment!) I won’t be able to verify if you donate, but please don’t lie and say you have if you haven’t. If there is actually a huge turnout for this I probably will only be able to post up to ten photos but I will figure out something for the rest of you.

If you are a loyal reader or friend and had wanted to give me something for Christmas or my upcoming birthday, please instead send the money for the gift to them. It’s Christmas Eve day and I had no intention of making a post today, but I saw a commercial and I felt compelled to write something.

“Every gift saves lives.” - ASPCA website

Sarah McLachlan is in an ad for the ASPCA and you can watch it online on their website.

To get inspired, check out these cute bunny photos from CuteOverload.com.

I really wanna know: Even with the tough economy, will you donate to any charity sometime soon?

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Supernatural season four...not loving it?

Do Supernatural fans have enough reason yet to be as upset as Heroes fans? If you’ve been watching Heroes, you have a good chance of being one of the many who thinks that season two was made of suck, and that most of season three has been equally sucky. Which is weird, since season one was the most awesome thing ever, you know? Maybe it’s Claire Bennets’ wig (The Felicity Syndrome!) or maybe all of the writer’s have been replaced by robots. I really have no way of knowing. All I do know is that the only episode I really liked was the one on November 24th, and I’m not even sure how MUCH I liked it. Probably just enough to keep me watching next week.

I’m not so devoted to this show that I won’t stop watching if it annoys me, that’s the sad truth. Not that the network cares about ME, personally - but if I’m feeling this way, others may be feeling the same way. In fact, A little birdy on the Internet told me Heroes has been getting bad ratings this season…

Anyway, let’s stop talking about shows that suck and talk about another show that sucks! I kid. You see, this is the story (of a girl named.. uh, how does that Brady Bunch song go, again?) Supernatural hasn’t  been kicking the usual quota of ass! Sigh. Oh, SPN, I love you - and yet…what are you doing to me? You’ve been making me cringe!  Supernatural has only this year and one more before the show is finished. So time is, as Buffy would say, of the serious essence!

We have plenty of time to think upon the episode Heaven and Hell that aired on November 20th, since the next episode Family Remains isn’t slated to air until January 15th, 2009! And then there is Criss Angel is a Douche Bag. And no, that episode title isn’t a joke. (Reference: Ausiello) Episode 4×13 of Supernatural is titled Afterschool Special and that one I AM excited for. It’s going to be about the haunting of a high school Sam and Dean used to attend. I’d wonder if they’d do any flashbacks playing themselves, but considering how old the boys look now that’d be pretty difficult. You can check sneak peeks of all of these (and the last part is the BEST with Dean in red/orange gym shorts and a powerful whistle…) over at Daemon’s TV.

In other SPN news, I’m glad that Anna the angel is gone for the moment, but I’m sure she’ll be back…*excessive eye rolling*. I never had a problem with Jo or Bela or any of the other girls, but Anna annoys me.

Something we should discuss sometime: What’s with all of the ‘funny’ episode titles for Supernatural now? Overkill, Kripke - it’s overkill.

I really wanna know: Do you like this season of Supernatural more or less than the previous one? (Also: Would you still give the early seasons of this show, or any other, a watch if you know that the last couple of seasons weren’t so good?)

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Dessert Sushi, anyone?

My ‘feel good anytime’ TV show is Gilmore Girls. Watching it is the equivalent of getting a giant hug and having a mug of hot cocoa. Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy who is now on Samantha Who?) was the kitchen aficionado and chef for both of the inns that were featured on the show. Does anyone remember the episode where Sookie was online ordering a giant stove from Europe? (Maybe if Lorelai and Rory had more stuff in their kitchen they wouldn’t have made dessert sushi, eh?)

Methinks she’d go crazy for this more logical shopping approach at ShopWiki where you can find everything you might possibly need in their ONE Kitchen Appliance section. You can shop for the best dishwashers, shop for the best pasta makers, or even shop for the best deep fryers. Just, um - don’t deep fry a snickers bar, mmkay?I just don’t think that’s something anyone should EVER do - EVER.

On this site it shows you products from everywhere in the known universe (not just paid advertisers) so you can make it the one destination to find the best deal on a blender or for a new Mandolin (once you figure out what one is - oooh, it slices things). With Christmas right now, and having to run to five stores to find one thing - this is kind of a blessing to learn about.

ShopWiki, of course, has the wonderful feature we’ve all come to love when shopping online - price comparisons (yaaay)! Not only could Sookie see every place she could buy a Magic Bullet blender (I have one and I love to make SMOOTHIES), she can see where she can get it the cheapest.

It’s a very handy link, right? I did good, helped your day suck less? YAY. If you are still not cheered, go watch Gilmore Girls!

I really wanna know: What’s the best smoothie you ever had? (I’m gonna answer this one right here - a Pina Colada one, mmmm.)

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If you miss those men (or even if you don’t - so basically, just if you have a pulse), you’ll enjoy CO-OH!-BRA. It’s an 80’s hair band, or rather, a show about them. Lucky for us it’s not a reality show.  It’s scripted so the jokes are on purpose and not sad.

These webisodes have scripts that are often more than decent, they even got a few laughs out of me. At first I though the jokes and the show in general might resonate more with someone who knows more about hair bands. But after watching episode 1, episode 1.5, and episode 2 - I can say that it’s just funny without prior knowledge of anything else. (The guy rockin’ the drums is probably my favorite character.)

In episode 1.5, Chad says that he loves pickles on his chicken sandwiches. If they DON’T put pickles on the sandwich he’ll fight ‘them’ - and ‘I’ll also probably KILL them’. So, uh, beware! Web TV has another good show.

“It takes two to tango, but three is company!”

CO-OH!-BRA is brought to you by HTV Interactive.

I really wanna know: Who is your favorite CO-OH!-BRA character?

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The Cast of “Trust Me”

Trust Me is a new TNT show that is able to boast that it stars a lineup of acting talent that includes: the unforgettably witty and hilarious Eric McCormack (Will & Grace, The Andromeda Strain, Alien Trespass) as Mason McGuire, the ‘adorkable’ (and you’ll-wish-you-were-dating-him) Tom Cavanagh (Ed, Jack & Bobby, Scrubs) as Conner, the pretty and surprisingly funny (!) Monica Potter (Boston Legal, Patch, Head Over Heels) as the wonderfully named Sarah Krajieck-Hunter, the exquisitely radiant Sarah Clarke (Twilight, 24) as Erin McGuire, the comical Geoffrey Arend (Garden State, Undeclared, Greek) as Hector, the amusing Mike Damus (Popular, Joan of Arcadia, Brutally Normal) as Tom, and the clever Griffin Dunne (After Hours, Snow Angels, An American Werewolf in London) as Tony Mink.

Now, what good is acting in the talent department without good writing? Psh! Maybe I’m biased (since I write, if you didn’t pick up on that factoid) but this show is lucky to have Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny as writers. You might recognize these names as co-executive producers on another TNT show, The Closer. Together, these two have over 20 years of experience in the world of advertising. Which means they really know what they’re writing about. In this sense, I like to think of it as reality TV show that I’ll actually like because it’s not ‘reality TV’! (Dear Project Runway, you’re the only reality show I like, let me know if you’ll come to my sleep-over.)

So, we’ve got ‘talent, talent, talent x500′, and while this sadly does not always add up to a TV show worth watching, Trust Me has ‘watchability’ in spades. It has EXTREME WATCHABILITY. I already love this show so much it’s like an exercise in some extreme sport you’d play at The X Games (which is, incidentally, the last place you’d find me as I can’t even ski). I’ve only seen two episodes but I’m extremely excited to see more.

For those who know me closely, you’ll know that I was very nervous before I interviewed Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh. (Admission: I had a stress ball with me the entire time I was on the phone.) Well, these two guys made it impossible not to smile and feel at ease (like magic). I knew I had to do the call because I’d hit myself if I didn’t! (And while I am not so good at Kung-Fu, I have a low tolerance for any pain at all.) I’m so, so glad I did it. If you find yourself given a chance to talk to celebrities, these should be the first ones you talk to because they seemed down-to-earth instead of, um - up-to-Jupiter.

TNT allowed me to watch the first two episodes of Trust Me, and I’d like to talk about the pilot episode. The show is set in the world of advertising (no, this is not in anyway a replica of Mad Men) which is a world I don’t actually think of all that often.

Our three main characters are Mason, Conner, and Sarah (insert your own Terminator-inspired ‘Sarah Connor’ joke

here). Mason and Conner both have quick wit. But Mason is more serious and sarcastic, while Conner is charming and neurotic. Conner is also the true prankster of the duo. Sarah is introduced by an effective ‘cute meet’ that teases us in the direction of believing Mason and Sarah must have a past together. (So far, we don’t know anything more.) As the show progressed I decided there’s room for a genuinely fun love triangle between all three of them.

Monica Potter plays Sarah with a true sense of playfulness that I was not aware Potter could portray. (When I saw her in the 90’s chick flick Head Over Heels the comedy seemed… tame.) While other shows give you a leading lady who is simply glamorous and gorgeous, Trust Me gives us the gorgeousness in a package that contains 95% more relatability and quirkiness. (Think: more Liz Lemon on 30 Rock, less Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell). She’s still basically the main ‘cheerleader’ archetype, but she’s also entertainingly batty!

I wasn’t looking to take notes specifically on the editing or sound effects - but I did. Both were done well and with a consistent quality that let me know that the show was cared about and not thrown together all willy-nilly at the last minute.

The process of creating an ad concept, interesting tagline and commercial can be scripted and acted with a force so dull it makes me brainsick. That is not the case with this show - I felt totally immersed and interested in every step. To touch back on the script writing - the show is highly quoteable.

A fun thing the show does is have subtitles/title cards put on an overlay over the start of some scenes. These are not only informative to let you know a location, but it tells you if someone is ‘the enemy’ and what something actually means (i.e. ‘A kill or be killed situation’). Hi, wit - I like you in my TV shows!

This is the kind of TV show I hope other critics will hail as ‘deliciously entertaining’. At the end of my notes on the pilot I wrote two words: worth watching. Then I put an a carefully-placed exclamation point.

If you’re looking for a show has has the two s’s, the w, and the e - look no further. For anyone who doesn’t know, that’s: smart, sharp, witty, and entertaining. And yes, I made that up just now. Maybe I have a career in advertising ahead of me. No? Fair enough.

I really wanna know: Will you give this TV show a chance?

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