Zombie update from: Chicago

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by by Midnight Cowgirl of The Fashion Planner
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This is Jessica Hunter coming to you live from inside the women’s dressing room at Needless Markup.

What began as the annual fall fashion event at Midtown’s premier department store is now the site of an unprecedented zombie attack. Only moments ago, top model Phoenix Muse was walking down the runway wearing the hottest trend of the season – urban warrior meets apocalypse chic – when she launched herself off the catwalk and on top of loyal Needless Markup customer, Laura Perk.

People in the audience rushed to breakup what they thought was a catfight only to discover that Muse is the latest to join the ranks of the undead. From what I can tell, several attendees were injured in the altercation with Muse before they managed to subdue her.

Unfortunately, Muse is not the only model to succumb to the zombie virus. At least six other models, including one infamous male underwear model, followed Muse off the runway and launched an attack on Needless Markup’s finest clientele.

I can only describe the scene as sheer pandemonium as coddled customers and overworked staff fought against the stylishly disheveled zombies. In fact, I barely made it to the safety of the women’s dressing room, actually having to use my Jimmy Choo stilettos to stab people who got in my way.

Even with the door locked, I can still hear the shrieking of those outside doing battle with the designer clad zombies. However, despite the carnage seen today, I think most attendees will take away the startling realization that fall’s hottest trend is not horseshoe handbags but brainzzzzzz!

~end

Guest post created for September Zombies event by Midnight Cowgirl of The Fashion Planner
© 2011. All rights reserved.

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by Midnight Cowgirl of The Fashion Planner
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NOW, head over to The Fashion Planner to find out what to wear during a zombie attack. She is imagining outfits inspired by Serenity/Firefly...


Snippet peek: must visit The Fashion Planner to see the complete ensemble!

~*~
* header image source

=== September Zombies schedule ===

Books & Nails: Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

Books & Nails
a new vvb32 reads feature
I was inspired to create this meme from The Fashion Planner's Burgers and Nails mention in her Things i Love Thursday post.


So cute, eh?

While I love burgers, I thought it more appropo to swap out the burgers for books.

Won't you join me with some fun-making and participate in a future Books & Nails post? This will be a way to share our love of books with a twist.

How to play:
1. Email me (vvb32 at yahoo.com) a picture of your Books & Nails.

2. Tell me the title and author of the book you are reading.

3. Provide a description of your decorated nails (optional).

Anyone can join!

If you prefer, you can send me a pic with nails au naturel.

AND now, my very first participant...

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by The Fashion Planner
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I am reading Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff, which I picked up at a nearby library. The biography pieces together the few facts there are about Cleopatra and explains how she became one of the most famous women in history.


As for the nails, I am wearing Purple-Xing by Nina Ultra Pro. For the cupcake designs, I used Zoya Lo for the base, Pure Ice Super Star! for the frosting, Revelon Frankly Scarlet for the cherry, and Zoya Robyn and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mint Sorbet for the sprinkles. I topped off all of my nails with Nic's Sticks Top It Off Top Coat.

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by The Fashion Planner
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Cleopatra: A Life
by Stacy Schiff
The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world: Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt.

Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator.

Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, among the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a child with Caesar and--after his murder--three more with his protégé. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean; the relationship with Antony confirmed her status as the most influential woman of the age. The two would together attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since.

Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way, Cleopatra's supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiff 's is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life.

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* inspired to create this meme from The Fashion Planner's Burgers and Nails mention in her Things i Love Thursday post

Lady Fiona Percy of Ireland

Oh dear, today is Captain Wentworth's outing and we have not a thing to wear!

Hurry, fetch the fashion journal and let us see what our Lady Fiona advises...

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by Midnight Cowgirl
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Dear Lady Fiona Percy of Ireland,

I am invited to Captain Wentworth's boating party and find myself quite at a loss concerning what to wear. All the ladies of my acquaintance are in an uproar about the dashing captain, and I trust no one for advice on this most important matter but you. Please advise.

Most sincerely,
A Lady Hoping to Avoid a Fashion Quagmire

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Dear Lady Hoping,

Thank you for your faith in me concerning this most pressing fashion dilemma. I, too, will be making up one of the party and look forward to seeing you outshine all the other young ladies. Should you wish to be true to the fashion of 1816, I recommend perusing The Jane Austen Centre's article on dressing for the seaside.


A simple dress worn


with a complimentary bonnet


and pelisse


will set your blooming complexion off to perfection. If something more modern is what you are after, look no further than the beloved maxi dress.


A wide-brimmed hat


and soft wrap


will protect you from the sun's powerful rays in a delightfully stylish way.

Until we meet at the party, I bid you adieu.

Most affectionately,
Lady Percy

~end
Guest post created for captain wentworth's boating party event by Midnight Cowgirl of The Fashion Planner
© 2011. All rights reserved.

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by Midnight Cowgirl
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--~ Giveaway courtesy of The Fashion Planner ~--

signup to win these footzyrolls
These rollable shoes are a perfect escape for feet who have partied too long and still have a long way home.

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* visit Midnight Cowgirls previous post on her things Jane Austen

* join in and comment below with a link to a picture of a regency period clothing or accessory that you are wearing to captain wentworth's boating party

~~~ captain wentworth's boating party schedule ~~~

Armchair BEA: Book Blogger Interview

As part of the Armchair BEA festivities, I present a mini-interview with a fellow book blogger whose books are presented mostly list form with a sense of style.

Let's welcome...

Guest Blogger Interviewee: Midnight Cowgirl of The Fashion Planner and In Mixed Company...

Brief bio

I like to describe myself as an actor/model and cling to the glory of having once been a background actor on E.R. and a t-shirt model for a now defunct online store. While waiting for my agent to call me with my next big role, I pass the time by blogging about fashion, movies, and anything Jane Austen.

BEA Dream Panel

Authors:

William Deresiewicz
of A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter

Joan Klingel Ray
of Jane Austen For Dummies

Laurie Viera Rigler
of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

Jane Austen
(well, this is my dream panel...)

Publishers:
Quirk Books

Things I Love - Jane Austen and/or Austen related (books)

This is hard to choose. There are so many wonderful Austen things to love!

Murder at Mansfield Park: A Novel
by Lynn Shepherd
- a clever re-imagining of Mansfield Park that casts Mary Crawford as the good girl

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre
by Amanda Grange
- How can Mr. Darcy be improved upon? By making him a vampire, of course!

Lady Susan
by Jane Austen
- a quick read that showcases Austen's wicked wit

Persuasion
by Jane Austen
- Captain Wentworth's letter at the end makes this my favorite Austen novel
- I must, also, recommend the 1996 and 2008 movies...

The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay & Diaries:
Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film
by Emma Thompson
- Jane Austen + Emma Thompson = genius (obviously, you must see the movie, too!)

Things I Love - Jane Austen and/or Austen related (fashion)

Pride and Prejudice Cameo Ring in Black and Gold from LuLu's
-This P&P inspired ring is like a work of art for your hand

Emma Book Clutch from Kate Spade
- A whimsical way to proclaim your love for all things Austen

Oxymoron Matte Gloss
- Lipstick Queen Poppy King created these glosses to give you the I-just-stepped-out-of-an-Austen-novel look

Serendipity Jane Austen Dress
- Be a modern Janite in this charming wool blend dress

~*~

Armchair BEA
Book Expo America
May 23-27, 2011
a virtual event
(for those of us who could not make the trip to New York)

Head over to Armchair BEA to check out the Giveaways Galore and other happenings!

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* thanks to the Midnight Cowgirl for stopping in today!

* btw: the Midnight Cowgirl will be making an appearance at the upcoming Jane Austen-related event, Captain Wentworth's Boating Party, June 8-10

-o- vvb's Armchair BEA schedule -o-