The New York Woman in Me

Since I finished 4 Blondes, another Candace Bushnell book I've been left to reflect on the type of woman I am and the type of woman I'll become. Though this book is very low on my list of books I'd suggest anyone read I find that Bushnell's knack for telling it like it is, and saying the things we're not supposed to say has forced me yet again to confront myself. When I read Lipstick Jungle I'd decided that between the ages of 30 and 40 I wanted to be the kind of woman that was at the top of her career, just like Nico, Wendy, and Victory and that I'd do anything to get there. Now I've found the trick, after reading through another tale about New York women I'm confronted with the aftermath. It would seem that although I've spent the better part of the last couple years denying want of marriage and family that I am just as Bushnell writes her characters and quite possibly an all true New York woman (whether or not I was born there). When I've reached the top of my career I'm going to have spent too many nights in my empty apartment and I'm going to want that dream life that I've tried so hard to avoid wanting. I'm going to want to get married and have adorable childen, even if its not what I say I want right now. In their youth New York women love their independence, the belief that their career is what matters and the notion that they don't need anyone else, I can say that that's me now. But in a couple of decades, the other woman, the woman that I don't recognize, the one that wants a family life: husband and child(ren)- I may become her.

Lip Service #7

This week I started a new journey of some sorts, upon walking through the doors on the first day of my internship I was greeted by a canvas on the wall, scrawled across which is my sweet and simple but nevertheless powerful lip service for the week.

Lip Service #7: Some people pursue happiness; Others create it.

It makes so much sense not to search for something when the answer is within, we have the power to create our own brands of happiness. It was as if something had clicked, when I think of it now I think it should be common sense, and right there is where I prove to myself that for all its worth it can never be. Regardless of what the constitution says its not the divine right to pursue happiness but the right to create it that's worth its weight in gold. I'll continue to take my cues from the characters of Lipstick Jungle even if the tv show doesn't return.

Stuck In Limbo

So the season's over but it's neither been confirmed or denied that the Lipstick Jungle series is over, (stop listening to the rumors and wait til NBC announces its fall lineup). The fact that the Peacock network is still undecided about a show as great as Lipstick makes me a little upset, to say the least. The difference between my love for Lipstick Jungle and Gossip Girl has always been that caught in the middle feeling where I'm almost in the real world but still holding onto my teenage years, how's that for stuck in limbo? Just as my fate looms over the line of adulthood, NBC proves to me that it's not so different when it comes to marketing demographics. For now I'll keep praying NBC will wisen up and decide to keep the Jungle going for another season, because if I have to be an adult I'd want to live in the Jungle.

For the love of Lipstick! NBC don't cancel this show!

The Contemporary Goddess of All things Sex, Love and New York

After finishing One Fifth Avenue, the 4th Candace Bushnell book I've read to date I have to say if she wasn't my favourite author for writing my favourite book Lipstick Jungle (and Sex and the City) she is now. Maybe it's the way her description of New York Society makes you feel like an insider or the sheer philosophy of her writing but I can't help but love her. In this installment of the brilliant author's published works she takes on the task of describing the women of New York, this time not through the eyes of a bunch of gal pals learning the ins and outs of life in the Big City, but through the eyes of the Beautiful, Historical, Co-op landmark she describes as One Fifth Avenue. She explores the mixing of Old and New people, money, and society. The women of One Fifth prove to be none other than interesting, with one woman not ready to admit she's out of her prime and who's still grasping at straws to make it as somebody in New York society, and a little twenty two year old twit who tries to inveigle her way into the lives of the residents of One Fifth Avenue only to find out selling your body in one form or another only leads to more pain than pleasure. The way Bushnell captures the very soul of New York in her books makes me think that if I could live in any place written by anyone I'd want it to be New York as told by Candace Bushnell. She is truly the Contemporary Goddess of all things Sex, Love and New York.

Jungle Update

The ratings went up in the last episode but the fate of my dearly beloved still hangs in the balance. The decision whether or not the show will be pulled relies completely on what happens in the next few episodes. So Lipstick and non-Lipstick lovers alike tune in on Fridays from now until the season is over, blog about it, post on nbc, sign the petition, do everything you can to save our dear lipstick from becoming another discontinued shade. They can't cancel it now, everyones lives just got so much more interesting. Will Nico and Griffin hook up, or will she and Kirby hook up again, this love triangle is about to steam up the jungle. What will happen to Wendy and Shane now that she wants therapy and he's planning on running off on this international tour with Natasha Bedingfield at the urging of Josie, his manager whose nursing a thing for him. Most importantly, now that Victory has shocked us all (in a good way) by saying its her turn to pop the question to Joe, we have so many questions, like how she plans to flip the script and when she does what will Joe's answer be.

Let us not forget: It's a jungle out there, Dress appropriately.

SOS: Lipstick Jungle about to be CANCELLED

I haven't complained about the economy because it really didn't hit me until I got slapped with this this morning. I've had enough of these studios cancelling good shows, first it was Women's Murder Club, and now the show that is near and dear to my heart; Lipstick Jungle. Why is it so hard for them to keep a show on the air that's about women on top? Help me save my dearly beloved, sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/lsj777/petition.html, you'll not only be doing yourself some good if you watch the show, but you'll be keeping tears off my pillow!

Pandora's Box

Less than one Week from today my life will regain balance as Lipstick Jungle returns to the small screen. TV.com says Nico's guilt from her tawdry affair will lead her to try to do anything to fix her marriage. Poor Nico, saying no to Kirby might just be the hardest thing any woman would ever have to do. As for Wendy as she tries to set aside some family time, along comes her mother to throw a monkey wrench into her plans. Victory will yet again fight falling in love with her billionaire (ex)lover Joe Bennett. All this and more will be unleashed when ABC opens "Pandora's Box" in the season premiere on Friday September 24th.

TV Gets Good Again

September is fast approaching and though the thought of the drop in temperature doesn’t warm the cockles of my heart I’m comforted by the sweet prospect of tv getting good again. With less than a week until the season premiere of Gossip Girl I can hardly contain my excitement. I can’t wait for some more Blair Waldorf hysterics. I’m looking forward to getting back into my guilty pleasure tv routine and among Gossip Girl (September 1^st) the other pleasures I'm looking forward to are One Tree Hill (September 1^st), Lipstick Jungle, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI Miami, New York and Brothers and Sisters. I’ve been waiting intently and I’m interested in seeing what new shows turn up this fall, since they cancelled Women’s Murder Club I’m looking for a show to fill the void, could the CW’s new 90210 (September 2^nd) be a possible fit? We’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll be commenting on the season premieres, what I liked, didn’t like, and my alternative story lines. Who knows maybe I’ll throw in some predictions for the seasons ahead, for now I just want Blair to be happy and I’m dying to know who Lucas asked to marry him…

...A Lipstick Jungle

So in the event that you didn't get my subtle hints nudging you to the bookstore to get the Lipstick Jungle novel by Candace Bushnell I feel compelled to express how much I adore it. I couldn't put it down, and it may have been the sheer nerve of the women, or the fact that I myself want to be Nico O’Neilly (tv character, Nico Reilly), but this book is good. My mother always said ambition is a wonderful thing, it may be the only thing she told me that I took to heart so I take it seriously. If you didn’t already love Candace Bushnell for being the brains behind the entire idea for Sex and the City you will after reading this. It’s smart, sexy and empowering, everything I perceive its author to be. The three main characters Nico, Wendy and Victory have the kind of ambition that can’t ever be extinguished, and I happen to love them for it. Bushnell takes the old Spice Girls mantra “girl power” corporate with successful women whose ambition makes you believe that they can succeed in anything.

It's A Jungle Out There...

For those of you who love Sex and the City and are anticipating its premiere onto the big screen.

Candace Bushnell, the author of the book that inspired the show that has been dubbed a woman’s bible on how to get through relationships and life, has a new show that premiered February this year called Lipstick Jungle. The show revolves around three of the most powerful women in New York City, Nico Reilly the Editor-In-Chief of Bonfire Magazine, Wendy Healy the President of Parador Pictures, and last but definitely not least Victory Ford Top Fashion Designer. The show is mature, sexy, intriguing and bold and with one of its main characters being a top fashion designer it’s full of the passion for fashion that runs through the veins of every fashionista. The show has Bushnell’s signature pop of feminism, and is a must-see for every woman that is determined to climb the corporate ladder and do it in style.
As these three women battle to advance their careers, maintain their love lives and keep their place on top in New York City while juggling scandalous affairs, squabbles between best friends, power struggles and more, they give us a feminist critique of the corporate world and life at its fiercest. Starring Brooke Shields as Wendy, Kim Raver as Nico, and Lindsay Price as Victory the show, like each of its leading ladies is an undeniable knockout. With the tagline “It’s a Jungle out there. Dress appropriately” you could just about idolize these three self-made women who serve as inspirations to the women of today.
Bushnell’s infusion of money, sex, power and fashion is a sweet delight, and I’m brimming with excitement for season two in the fall, catch it on Wednesdays on NBC or Thursdays on A-Channel at 10/9 c. If you haven’t seen it already you need to, so whether you want to buy the season one dvd set, stream the show online, buy it on itunes or wait for those inevitable summer reruns this is the kind of television that you can’t miss. If you happen to get bored with the constant flux of reruns as the summer heat sizzles and summer television fizzles pick up the book, it’s a serious page-turner. What’s not to love about a show that combines Movies, Magazines and Fashion?