5326jan

I finally had time to watch last night and I was surprised by the winner. Obviously the front runner was too! I loved Margarita's show. They were bright and joyful. I can see wealthy women going to the Islands for vacation shopping in her boutique. The fish were so pretty and the beading work was so well done. Would I buy it? No, not my style, but I would enjoy seeing it. Aniya's was a mixed bag for me. Loved the denim looks and that gown was fabulous!!! The first 3 I didn't care for or think they were flattering to the models. The Little House on the Prairie dresses were weird.... something I'd expect to see in the Amish community. Brandon was Brandon. Kentaro's first outfit made me laugh!

I thought Margarita's bomber jacket would have looked better with navy skinny long pants or capris. There can be too much of a good thing and the oversized jacket with the cinched shorts just had too much volume for my taste.

I like Ayana's point of view, which shows that women do not have to be half naked to be attractive and fashionable.

 

Showing too much skin, and excess body parts is not necessary.

I couldn't agree more!

I liked Margarita, but she's starting to have an (unwarranted) "victim" mentality. Someone seems to have always done her wrong and that's why her garment doesn't get the appreciation she feels it deserves. Maybe $10k and a lot more time will "inspire" her. Kenya may not be a project runway super star, but I think she understands the plus size woman more than any of the others.

Judie, I agree with you that Brandon over does the straps! Now Kentaro is copying his look. Although I was multitasking while watching, I don't think I heard Brandon make comments about being mad that his "look" was being copied. Did I just miss it?

I really like Margarita's personality, but her dress this week was awful! It would have been a tough call for me on which of the two was the loser. I loved Kenya's dress and thought it was the most flattering and wearable of all. Ayanna is a great technician and I like her clothes, but the blouse could only be worn by someone who was a size 2.

I'm glad Tim used his save, but wonder if he would have saved Kentaro. Tim told Margarita that he liked her dress, so maybe he felt badly that he had advised her to keep on track. Time will tell, but I don't think she has solidified her style enough to be the winner.

Does anyone else enjoy the "Project Sammy's Way" short episodes? I think the concept is so clever. The editing is great and it brings such a level of humor and sarcasm to the show. :D

I agreed with the judges this time on winners and losers. I expected a save too, but wonder how they're going to make up the time with two losers and one cheater departing at once. Wouldn't that leave the show ending two weeks early? :confused:

SPOILER ALERT: if you haven't seen the show don't read further!

At first I thought she was going to be able to wiggle her way out of the accusations, but there were too many witnesses and the stories were so consistent. In the end, she admitted what she'd done with such defeat in her voice, she knew it was the end of the road for her. I can't believe that she thought she could cheat and get away with it because "It was only a tank!" :rolleyes:

I re-watched the show today. I didn't catch the first time around when Margarita was speaking in Spanish and they talked about her measuring pants from her closet. Now I know why they were so upset. (not to mention the blouse hack)

 

Which one had the wedgie?

She had to stand this way due to "camel toe". I think that was the part that made Zac uncomfortable. The string in the back is hiding the back wedgie.

I think Brandon is a talented designer and a very nice young man. He's probably my favorite contestant, but I would NOT want anything I wear dragging on the streets like those side ties did. Nope... I've seen too many sickly looking people spitting out disgusting stuff onto the sidewalks to ever want to wear that germy garment on my body or into my home. My shoes barely make it in my front door!

I get that it was a runway show, so hopefully streetwear would be trimmed a little off the ground. (Speaking of filth, I also see young women in maxi dresses that drag the ground. Yuck!) Maybe I'm becoming a germaphobe in my old age!!!;p

I think Margarita's white pants were pretty awful. Zac said he was uncomfortable about the fit, but that poor girl with a big wedgie was the one that should have been the most uncomfortable!!! Ouch!!! The cinched legs with tennis shoes was a bad choice and someone else was right that the model was thrown under the bus when the judges began critiquing! :rolleyes:

OK, rant over.... sorry...

I figured that they were both chosen because they would supply the drama. So far, most of the other designers seem to get along fairly well.

You're right! Everyone tries to help and be supportive of each other, but I wonder how long it's going to be before they have all had enough of what they called "tag team" work. Wasn't there a commercial about "cheating"? I think the other contestants have the right to make that charge about now. If each of the twins is using their particular skill set to improve the others end product, that is cheating!

I enjoyed the two judges conversing about how Shawn's model wasn't really curvy as Shawn kept complaining about. I was hoping they would send her home just because she was in the bottom again.

I agree. Shawn whining about the model being too curvy is insulting to most "normal" women in the world! She needs to be permanently put with a plus size model so that she will learn what real life looks like. :rolleyes:

In France navy is more often worn rather than black

 

 

Save

Navy is always my dark neutral because black is too harsh for my coloring. Its harder to find navy outfits that can dress up as well as black, so always on a search for classic navy tops. Chicos used to carry navy travelers, but that knit is too heavy to pack in my opinion.

I'm trying to pack as light as possible for an upcoming trip to Portugal and Spain since I will be toting my own bag at various points.

 

My biggest conundrum is this: for part of the time, I will be joining a tour -- a tour that includes nice dinners each evening and has an expectation of appropriate dress.

 

Automatically this means I have to bring 1 additional pair of shoes (my other two pairs are strictly functional) plus some type of smaller bag, plus a minimum of a few outfits.

 

Anyone have advice on the least amount of extra pieces to include just for these evenings (8 in total) and how to dress? I am not a dress person, btw, so dresses are NOT in the mix. I'm thinking maybe 1 pair of dressy black pants and 1 black skirt, 2 black lightweight shells, and 4 different toppers (wearing each one twice). But that's an extra 8 pieces in addition to extra shoes+bag. :(

By the way, since you probably travel more than all of us put together, you could definitely teach us a few things about packing! If you ever want to put something together, I would love to read/watch/listen to it!! :D

 

Anyone have advice on the least amount of extra pieces to include just for these evenings (8 in total) and how to dress? I am not a dress person, btw, so dresses are NOT in the mix. I'm thinking maybe 1 pair of dressy black pants and 1 black skirt, 2 black lightweight shells, and 4 different toppers (wearing each one twice). But that's an extra 8 pieces in addition to extra shoes+bag. :(

It sounds like a good plan to me! I'm not a dress person either and find that a nice pair of black slacks and a few tops will go a long way towards evening wear while travelling. A wrap and simple jewelry never goes to waste and brings it up a level. The shoes are always the killer for me. I'm not putting a pair of heels in my bag for a couple hours of wear over a month long vacation, but black ballet flats don't take up much space and are a LOT more comfy! Have a great trip! :)

Don't worry about being mistaken for a tourist....you ARE a tourist! Only tourists go to the "tourist" spots! There is no way in the world I could carry what I need in one bag...a carry-on, at that! No desire to even try!

Yikes, You've been saying this for so many years! I live in a tourist town, so of course I ~and hundreds of thousands of others ~ go to tourist places as residents of those places! If you don't want to travel in a carry on and don't have anything new to contribute, that's fine! Please move to another thread. (with all due respect.) :)

Thanks for the heads up!

I take 15 items of clothing, period (not including a t shirt and capri leggings to sleep in, 5 pairs of underwear and 2 bras). One dark pant/one dark capri, one khaki pant/one khaki capri, a skirt/dress or third color bottom. To that I add 2 sweaters which will go with everything, one dark long sleeve/ one short sleeve, one off white long sleeve/ one off white short sleeve, 2 pop of color tops. The long and short sleeves can be print or plain but everything has to mix and match with everything else. I prefer navy for my dark layer so I usually add aqua, royal blue or lavender for my color. I will wear flats on the plane, bring one flat pair, one "active" pair of shoes plus flip flops. This set of clothes give me almost an unlimited number of outfits. If we're going somewhere cold I may add a fleece vest and waterproof jacket. I wear silver hoops and a pendant necklace daily, so no worries about jewelry. The only thing that takes extra space is my magnifying mirror so I can put on makeup without glasses on. We're going to Australia and New Zealand for over a month and I'll take all of the above, DH and I will take a 20" carry-on each and one checked bag to share. The only reason to bring a checked bag this time is that we'll have to move clothes into the checked bag to make room for camera and lenses in carry-on.

There should never be one caregiver (male or female) no matter how few children there are. They should always work by the 2 caregiver rule which protects everyone. DH ad I were involved in Boy Scouts 15+ years ago and even they had multiple times that the rule of two unrelated adults were required. Otherwise, it's a huge liability and safety issue.

 

What you describe is completely wrong and should never be allowed under any circumstances. Even if a regular caregiver can't be there for some reason, a supervisor should be in their place. It's just common sense.

Completely agree with your comments! Not only is it a risk for the children but also for the caregivers! If one adult is left to attend and an accusation is made, the default will be to assume that the child is telling the truth. Attention getting behaviors can take all shapes and the caregiver could be completely innocent. I've got two boys and I've always warned them not to allow themselves to be put in a situation that they can be falsely accused of something. Goes for daughters too.

Haha!! That's hilarious! Maybe someone at RCI has a good sense of humor! :D:D:D

Looking forward to enjoying your cruise vicariously through your posts! All aboard for fun!!! :cool:

Thank you for your excellent Live reports! Safe travels home!

I was told tonight that the change to Salt & Pepper packets was only going to be in the open air part of the Windjammer at the stern of the ship due to the moisture causing the salt shakers to plug up.

That makes complete sense!

I would imagine that using packets instead of shakers reduces chance of spreading norovirus. We usually sail on Princess and that's always the first clue to us that someone has reported in sick. Ships are so careful with their preventive measures. Luckily, we have never had problems.

Is it weird not having Booty under your table to share breakfast with? :)

I'm really enjoying your trip photos!

Did you get mint jelly? Dying to know!!! :p The lamb chops looked beautiful. I can't even imagine pizza being on the menu in the MDR!

I too love your hat! Glad that you haven't gotten any flack from it. We had family (in-laws) de-friending each other over the whole situation. :rolleyes: