Life is Like a Radio . . .

 Mix Tape Necklace

Sweater: Delia's

Tee: Macy's

Jeans: City Streets, JCPenney

Shoes: Betseyville, JCPenney

Bag: Journeys

Coat: Gap

Big Pudding Princess Necklace

Blouse: Kohl's

Skirt: SugarPop Clothing, Etsy

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Xhilaration, Target 

Turtle Time Necklace

Blouse: Marshalls

Cardigan: Candie's, Kohl's

Dress: Marshalls

Shoes: Alloy

Bag: DSW

Belt: Mudd, JCPenney

Tights: JCPenney

. . . you never know what you're going to hear.  I was thinking about that the other day when switching back and forth between the six or so stations saved in my car.  There are all sorts of songs you can hear: great ones, good ones, so-so ones, and the ones that you just can't stand (for me, that last category is almost solely dedicated to Phil Collins).  Deciding whether to wait out something good or so-so is always a gamble. If you do, then you may miss something great.  If you don't, then you may be forced to settle for an even more subpar selection.  It's a real metaphor for making life choices, whether they be about your love life, home base, or career.  I guess that's why having an iPod or CD changer is a nice bit of insurance - a sort of mix tape of today if you will.  Maybe at some point I'll get there.  But on the day in question I was content to rock out to some Milli Vanilli -   a happy accident if you ask me, as it isn't every day that the industry's most notorious lip syncers are allowed to grace the airwaves.  Crooks or not, I still can't help but belt out "Blame it on the Rain."      

Movie Moment: Mirror Mirror

With the emergence of ABC's "Once Upon a Time" and movies like Mirror Mirror and this summer's Snow White and the Huntsman, the popularity of Snow White is at an all-time high.  I had the good fortune to see Mirror Mirror this past Sunday, marking my first trip to the movies in more than a month.  Star-starved as I was, I enjoyed watching Julia Roberts's evil queen, Lily Collins's (yes, she of Phil Collins lineage) Snow White, and Armie Hammer's prince charming.  In this rendition we get a modernized glimpse into the queen's motivations as well as a PC spin on the damsel in distress song and dance.  This time it's Snow White who rescues the prince, proving that a girl can have her crown and wear it, too.  The dwarfs are amusing as comic outcasts, as is Nathan Lane as the queen's fumbling and put-upon valet.  Still, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.  The tale ultimately follows the plotlines of the original, with winter blossoming into the spring of a royal wedding.

Later that day I delved into "Once Upon a Time's" much darker backstory of how the queen got to be so wicked.  It made for an interesting contrast to the frothier Mirror Mirror, underscoring that there are many sides to a single story.  Apparently, the queen began life as a nice, normal lovestruck girl.  But then her mother murdered her fiance (as so often happens in these sorts of setups), a turn of events unwittingly precipitated by a child-aged Snow White.  As they say, all heck broke loose, and the wicked stepmother persona was born.  I hear that Snow White and the Huntsman promises to be even more disturbing.  Which means that I'll have to skip it.  Psychological thrills can be intriguing, but I can't abide the kind of gore conjured by the word "hunstman."