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Home Away From Home: The Madonna Inn

CasaSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:30:01 -0800

Looking for a kooky, kitschy hotel experience? Then check out San Luis Obispo's own Madonna Inn. This 51-year-old hotel is an absolutely unique experience for visitors, featuring an overwhelming pink color palette and rooms with themes including "Love Nest," "Caveman," and "Portugal."

If you're in the market for a unique wedding reception venue, the Madonna Inn can handle your reception. Fully equipped with a steak house, day spa, convention center, and bar, the Madonna Inn can supply all of your needs - especially if those needs involve gaping at the Swiss-Alps-meets-Old-West decor. One last piece of advice: don't forget to direct your male friends to the rocks and waterfall urinal if they need to take care of business - it's apparently a tourist must-see.

Take the full tour.

Talking New Moon With Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:15:50 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner may be dominating the promotional circuit right now, but they're not the only cast members with something to say about New Moon. I had the opportunity to chat with costars Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene, aka Emmett and Alice Cullen, during their recent stopover in SF. They chatted about their characters, the vampire craze, and what it's like to be a "Twilight celebrity." Here are highlights:

On why so many people are crazy for the Twilight Saga:
Ashley: I think this film in particular is highly relatable. There are a lot of situations that people can relate to. The love story - everyone can relate to being in love or being in lust. You add the vampire, and it adds that next level fantasy. Vampires are mysterious and sensual and dangerous and unattainable. And everyone wants what they can't have. I think on another level that this came together at the perfect time. All the elements just fit, the casting was spot on, and we're in a difficult time right now with our economy. That's why you never have a drop in ticket sales because everyone wants an escape, and this movie is very much an escape from reality.
Kellan: It's a good escape but also it deals with so many situations, on so many positive notes. Just looking at it from the vampire coven to the wolf pack. It just deals with everyday issues just on bigger levels, in a way. And you have Bella as the keystone in many situations. You can just all relate from different countries to issues within the United States. It's easily relatable.

To read a lot more about working with three different directors and why they feel so lucky, just read more.

On how their portrayals of the Cullens are similar or different from the books:
Kellan: We got the jobs because we brought something new to it. You can interpret the characters each their own, but I think it's what we did alongside. Just like Kristen said - she's playing Bella but she's putting her Kristen spin on it, just like all of us are. And I think that's what's making it unique. We're still following the cheat sheets that Stephenie created by making the books, and there's Wikipedia. We have a lot of information to go off of. But I hope it's what I did in my audition that set it apart from the other guys trying out.

Ashley: I think it's mannerisms too. People do fall in love with this book, but I think part of it is that they always want more. You can't write out every human mannerism. You can imagine it, but seeing the emotion in someone's eyes and seeing them be affected it - it was kind of easy to give something to it, because we were just being people. We kinda just got lucky.
On how much more of the Cullens we can expect in the remaining movies:
Kellan: Realistically, we stick pretty close to the books. Obviously us Cullens would love to be in the books a lot more, which would mean we'd be in the movies a lot more. Talking New Moon, the scenes that the Cullens - except for Ashley, playing Alice who gets to go to Italy and be a main lead in the movie - us Cullens, we have to stick really close to the books, and the scenes that we're in are really crucial to the story, as you know - the birthday scene, the voting scene. I don't know, it was kind of a tease. Chris Weitz is such an amazing director, and for us, for myself - I only worked about a week on that movie. And it didn't even seem like I really got a taste for what it was.

Ashley: In the third film, you'll see a lot more of the Cullens because it's all of us collaborating and then getting ready to fight this war that's coming up. In the second one, my character got a much larger role because Alice is the Cullen, other than Edward, that really embraces Bella and they end up becoming best friends. In the beginning, you see her throw this huge party for Bella, and then Alice is the one who does, in fact, come back for Bella when everyone else decides to skip town. Alice is responsible for dragging Bella over to Italy, and she and I the whole time are fighting to save my brother's life. And then of course we get held up by the Volturi and stuff like that. My character got to grow a lot, which is really cool. You get to actually see the relationship develop between Bella and Alice, where in the first one you didn't. The first one was very much about the romance and showing the audience why these two people are willing to die for each other.
On working with a different director on each film:
Ashley: Each director is going to be very different. They're artists as well, and I don't think any of them are quite the same. The books, when you read them, all have very, very, different tones. So I think it's highly appropriate that we switch directors each go. The first one is very much a romance and is a very scenic, beautiful film. And Catherine's really, really great at capturing that. She's very high energy and works well in chaos and stuff like that. And it was fantastic because we didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into, and so it was nice to have her to guide us when we were freaking out a little bit. She was just so high energy, and it was really contagious. We were sad to lose her and move on to the second film, but then we got Chris Weitz and he's the complete opposite! But great as well. He's so giving and caring and collaborative and created this atmosphere that was kind of a safe haven for us. And it was really nice because we didn't know, switching directors, if they were gonna embrace us or if they had a completely different vision than what we created in the first one. It was nice that he was right there on the same page with us. And the second one is a warmer film, even from the color scheme. The first one is very blue tones, and the second one is much richer and warmer and I think he did a great job at capturing that. And we just finished shooting with David Slade, and I think he's highly appropriate as well. He just finished shooting 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy, and they're both very dark, edgy films. And Eclipse is very much that. It's all centered around the anticipation and us getting ready to fight this huge war. We just finished filming, we haven't gotten to see much of it, but I think it's gonna be fantastic. He is, technically, the most advanced director. The angles that he shot and how he knows that tweaking something can affect a whole scene and the lenses. He was really nice to work with.
On coping with the fan effect and being a "Twilight celebrity"
Kellan: That's what blows my mind, 'cause I feel like it's really unearned in a way. The fans are making our careers. Without them, we wouldn't be working and doing the saga. There's so many times that trilogy books become a movie and the first one bombs, and then that's it. And you're always hopeful that you get to do them all. Especially since we're all in love with our characters. I love Emmett Cullen to death, he's my favorite character I've ever played. It's just so cool to have made it this far, and I think we all hope that we get to finish this series and do Breaking Dawn. This is such a blessing, it's every actor's dream to be part of something like this. It's not terribly hard either. We don't shoot halfway around the world; we don't shoot for a year of our lives. I know a lot of us have homes, we have pets, we have family. And it's really nice to shoot on the West Coast, either Portland or Vancouver, and have the chance to fly down if we need to. But it's definitely amazing to be part of something like this. And I don't think any of us knew how crazy it would be and how exhilarating it would turn out to be. Going to the premiere, really just, wow. I don't even remember it because I was really just starstruck by how many fans and signs and cameras. It felt like I was just walking through a strobe light room. It's amazing.

Ashley: I still think we can't really wrap our heads around what's going on and what's happening. We're still in the midst of filming and kept very busy from one film until the next. It's only these brief moments where you sit back and are actually able to take a breath where you go "Whoa. Wow. This is crazy." I mean, the amount of tickets they've already sold for New Moon - I'm pretty sure I can't even get a ticket if I tried to see my film in Jacksonville and it's mind boggling. We're just very lucky. I went into this film thinking "Oh my gosh, I got a job" and the it turned into the biggest break of my life. I think we all feel very blessed to be a part of this.
On how it feels to be part of Twilight fan fiction:
Kellan: It's an escape, in a way. We do live in a trivial time period right now. There's so much depression that it's kinda cool to be a part of something where people use it to be an escape. In a way that's kinda what Stephenie did -she had a dream and just elaborated on it. It became a huge success and it's really encouraging that people are doing the same and just making up this journey.

Ashley: That's why people love it so much I think. You can take it and make what you want of it. Before the demographic was teenage girls, but now it's women of every age and guys are starting to get into it, too. It's because there is that element of fantasy. If you're 8 years old you look at it one way; if you're 80 years old you look at it another. I think it's fantastic that we can draw such a huge crowd. The other thing is - it blows my mind but people are making connections over this film and over this book. there are mothers and daughters and grandmas who can all sit and talk about the same story and all fantasize about it and I think that's a really cool thing. I think it's rare.

To see all of our Twilight and New Moon coverage, check out TwilightSugar!

Fabulous Favor Idea: Color-Coded Candy

partysugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:00:35 -0700

Last night I went to a fashion party at Carrots with FabSugar, and I came across the cutest favor idea: color-coded candy! The boutique always decorates in orange and they carried the theme over to create a gorgeously delectable candy spread. I plan on re-creating the idea for an upcoming party. You can, too! To learn how, read more.

Start by collecting an assortment of clear, glass vases in different sizes and shapes. Cheap vases can be found at Michaels and Ikea.
Pick out a bunch of candy in the same color. For example, if red is the color for your bridal shower get skittles, red M&Ms, red starbursts, red malt balls, Hot Tamales, red licorice, etc. Heading to a local candy shop is a great way to get inspired or check out the Halloween aisle of your favorite drugstore.
Fill the vases with the candy, one sweet per vase.
Arrange the vases on a large table. Place some on stacks of magazines or turned-over bowls to add depth to the display.
Stack empty white Chinese takeout containers nearby.
Invite guests to take home a container of candy!

Wouldn't a color-coded candy display be fabulous fun at a baby shower or wedding?!

View 12 Photos ›

Bella Interview: Trae Bodge of Three Custom Color

BellaSugar — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:00:08 -0700

If you're a bride-to-be, chances are you're already thinking about your perfect wedding-day look. A Summer bride has to take a few things into consideration for her big day: the heat, the sun, time of day, formality of the occasion, and what products you'll need to reapply throughout the day.

To find out how to get this easy, warm-weather bridal look, I spoke with Trae Bodge, creative director and co-founder of Three Custom Color. To see what she has to say, read more.

What do you think is the best makeup look for a Summer bride?
It should be very classic, very clean, very beautiful, not too heavy - and that’s what we went for. The look was just very sunny, fresh, and beautiful. We all spend a lot of time and a lot of money taking such good care of our skin these days, there isn’t really a lot of need to cover it up unless you really have to.

What products did you use to create this look?
We used all Three Custom products. We created a very light smokiness around the eye using our Brow Powder No. 6 ($19.50), and no eye shadow at all. We made the face really flawless with our Creme Concealer ($19.50), set it with powder, then added a couple of coats of our Black Mascara ($19.50), and then our new Lip & Cheek Stain ($20) in Poppy on the cheeks. We created a custom lip gloss for them called JLM, which stands for Just Love Me, a beautiful shimmery petal pink that’s lovely and looks great on everybody.

The new Just Love Me gloss isn't available online yet, but if you're interested in it, call Three Custom at 1-888-262-7714.

To see more wedding coverage, check out IDoSugar.

Website of the Day: ColorJack

GeekSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:30:51 -0800

Sometimes a girl just needs a little help with picking out a palette. Whether it be for your home, your website, your wedding, whatever, ColorJack can help. Similar to Colourlovers, ColorJack helps you find colors that work together so you can stop worrying if a certain hue of purple clashes with your favorite color of pink and get down to business. Just move the dots around the color wheel to get six different (but totally workable) color options, and you're ready to export your palette to Illustrator or Photoshop, or save it as a web link for reference.

Have an interesting website you want to share? To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click "New Post" under the website of the day tab at the top of the page.
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Type "Technology and Gadgets" in the Categories box
Add keyword(s) in the tag field with relevant tags (for example mine for this story was "Website of the Day").
Choose whether you want the post to be private or public.
Click "Create Post" to submit content.

Found It! Gossip Girl Bamboo Folding Chairs

CasaSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:00:32 -0700

In last night's episode of Gossip Girl, beautiful bamboo folding chairs were used for seating guests at Lily and Rufus's wedding. When it comes to folding chairs, this is probably the most chic design you'll come across. But they're also good-looking enough to use in your home, not just for when you're having a party or extra guests. Wondering where you can buy some for yourself? Then read more.

A set of two Bamboo Folding Chairs ($89, reduced from $99), available in tortoise, black, or antique white, is currently on sale at Ballard Designs, and the store always seems to have them in stock.

A set of two Tropica Folding Chairs ($59.95, reduced from $128), in a black color, is also on sale at Anthropologie, but the shop doesn't always stock them.

And, you can also find a set of two Bamboo Folding Chairs ($75.99) at Target, where you'll save 15 percent and earn free shipping if you spend $125 on furniture. So, you'll only spend $129 for a set of four!

Photo courtesy of The CW

Delilicious: Picture Perfect Pumpkin Treats

babysugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:00:08 -0700

The possibilities of Rice Krispies treats are endless when mama's got food coloring, candy and gloves at her disposal. The red apples were such a hit that I figured we'd go for broke on some savory orange pumpkins. Take a platter full of these delectable delights in for the classroom Halloween soiree and mama will be the toast of the tots.

To see how to make these lil jack-o's, just read more.

Like any old Rice Krispies dessert, mommy will use the same ingredients plus food coloring and bits and pieces of candy for added decor. Before mixing the cereal to the bowl, it is necessary to make the marshmallow mix the desired orange color, which can be done with a tiny squirt of red and a heavier amount of yellow dye combination. Once the hue is achieved, it is time to add the Rice Krispies and stir. Allow the mixture to cool a bit, as it is tough to manage the heated ingredients. A pair of water rinsed gloves can be used to aid in the shaping of the pumpkins once the mixture is ready for molding. Make round balls and use your thumb to indent the top of it for a leaf and a stem. To make them look like realistic gourds, use quartered caramel squares and add a green sugar coated leaf on top. To dress them up like jack-o-lanterns, add mini chocolate chips for eyes and a grin. This treat is sure to get spooktacular reviews!

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2010 Spring Paris Fashion Week: Chloé

FabSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:00:22 -0700

You can spot a Chloé a mile away. That's not to say Hannah MacGibbon has a formula, but rather, a distinct aesthetic, which has come to define the house. While Spring '10 was muted in color, it was bursting in silhouette. Hefty ponchos, cropped capes, leather boy shorts, sharp suits, and leather overalls were among the offerings. A major theme was crisp button-down shirts, buttoned all the way to the top. In that sense, this collection is buttoned-up. It's a collection for a warrior woman, one who isn't afraid to embark on an unknown journey, stylish poncho in hand.

So as not to abandon her more flirtatious customer, however, Hannah added a few flowy skirts and an airy white accordion-pleated frock - wedding dress anyone? And for the denim-loving gal, one look: a patched button-down denim shirt and comfy jeans. Onward ho!

See lots more from Chloé Spring '10

Where's Waldo Gets Turned Into a Video Game!

GeekSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:47:07 -0700

It's been awhile since I've been this overjoyed about a new video game, but it's not everyday you find out that one of your favorite childhood books is going to be turned into a video game! Growing up, my sisters and I had the entire Where's Waldo series of books as we'd flip each page trying to find Waldo - wearing his signature black-rimmed geeky glasses, red and white striped shirt, blue pants and matching hat - hiding within colorful illustrations that kept us just as amused as Waldo himself.

Not much info on this game release, but it is said to be like an animated version of the books and will be released on both the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS (woot!).

Update: The game is now available! You can get from here for $28.

Sugar Shout Out: 10 Guys We Wish We Could Date

PopSugar — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:55:20 -0700