Frances Ellen Speaks!

Archive for the ‘Art’ Category

Usher

Don’t you wish Usher would conduct a seminar for celebrities titled How to be a Celebrity and Look Like One, too?

Lady GaGa

C’mon, tell the truth–she makes you smile. And anyone who can perform an unforgettable duet with Elton John deserves a “well done.”

Jay Manuel

And here’s the guy who dissects what’s fashionable and what’s not–I’m just sayin’.

What was Julia Roberts thinking when she wore a jersey dress to the Golden Globe Awards Ceremony?

Photo from The Find

I don’t know about you, but I watch the award shows to see the fashions. Julia certainly disappointed this year. Maybe she thought she was a big enough star to forgo the trouble of dressing up.

Perhaps she didn’t get the memo that the Globes are all about glitz, glamour and stardom. If you’re a star–you come looking like a star. It’s part of  “the job.”

The viewer tunes in to see “who is wearing what,” at least that’s why I watch. The awards are nice, but they’re secondary. Globe night is all about gowns and jewelry and the mystique of Hollywood.

Julia failed miserably. So did Kristin Bell for that matter, but Julia should know better. Perhaps she just didn’t care.

Julia Roberts – The Find didn’t think much of the dress, either.

You have to hand it to Julia Roberts to showing up to the Globes in what is essentially a black jersey day dress (albeit an Yves Saint Laurent one). Then again, this is a woman who let her unshaven armpit hair dangle from a sleeveless top at a movie premiere several years back. The woman does not. Give. A. Fuck. That said, her hair looked great, her legs looked even better, and she seemed totally at ease. I’ll have what she’s having.

Diary of a Mad Fashionista found Julia’s outfit–well, read for yourself.

Julia Roberts was a stand-out for all the wrong reasons. She made many Worst Dressed lists by seeming as if she had just run out of the house without changing her clothes.

Sorry, Julia, you’ll have to step up your game.

This is my second Top Ten List–the Recap. Have fun planning your vacation.

1. Washington, DC
2. Cape May, New Jersey
3. Outer Banks, North Carolina
4. Key West, Florida
5. Macon, Georgia
6. Cape Cod, Massachusetts
7. Natural Bridge, Virginia
8. Salem, Massachusetts
9. Atlanta, Georgia
10. The State of Maine, including Acadia National Park

I have written at length about all of the above places in my previous posts. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see my first Top Ten List, go to 10 Great U.S. Cities to Visit

I’ve never been to Maine, but I’d like to go someday. Here are some of the places I’ll be looking for:

Presque Isle is the starting point for the world’s largest scale model of the solar system, which runs along U.S. Rt. 1 to the town of Houlton, 40 miles away. The center of the solar system is the University of Maine at Presque Isle. The town rests on the eastern edge of the great North Woods, so it is the ideal home base for those who come to Maine to snowmobile, hunt, fish, hike, or mountain bike.

Bar Harbor is adjacent to Acadia National Park, home to 1,532-foot Mount Cadillac. Its summit is the first spot in the United States where the sunrise can be seen.

Other things you’ll find in Bar Harbor: 125 miles of hiking trails, brewery tours, rock climbing, sailing, boat excursions and golf.

Portland, located on Casco Bay, is Maine’s largest city as well as its creative hub. Many craftspeople, artists, and other creative types have chosen to live and work here.

I’m going to take the ferry over to Nova Scotia, and go up in a hot air balloon. And if you like deep-sea fishing, this is the place to go.

Naples is packed with antique shops, restaurants, art galleries, gift shops and two miniature golf courses. It is also the place to rent boats, kayaks or jet skis, buy a ticket for a sea plane ride, or catch a ride on a 300-passenger replica of a Mississippi River stern paddle wheeler. For evening entertainment, establishments on the Causeway offer live music, and the nearby Bridgton Drive-In shows first-run movies on two screens under the stars.

This is only a small sampling. There’s Bangor, Kennebunk, Bath, Rockport, Cape Elizabeth, and Stonington.

Oh, did I mention the food? Zowee!

It’s been a number of years since I’ve been to Atlanta, but I remember my visit fondly. Probably one of the most innovative places in Atlanta is their underground shopping, where you’ll find unique shops and restaurants.

Also downtown, tour the World of Coca Cola. The kids will love it and so will you.

You won’t want to miss Atlanta’s Botanical Gardens. It’s a very special place. Among other things, it houses the country’s largest orchid garden.

If you are traveling with your family and have kids accompanying you then you should visit the Children’s garden that educates your kids along with some entertainment. The Children’s garden can be accessed by crossing over the Flower Bridge.

The best thing I did in Atlanta, though, was spend a day at Stone Mountain. [And if you home school, you'll be interested in the Homeschool Day coming up in October at Stone Mountain.]

Stone Mountain has something for everyone: hiking the trails, a skyride to the top of the granite mountain, a scenic train ride, a sky hike,  an antebellum plantation, a fireworks/laser light show nightly showcasing the world’s largest relief sculptured mountain. There’s a campground or you can stay at Marriott Stone Mountain Inn. There’s more–much more.

Atlanta is a fun city.

Photo from

Okay, it’s August, I know that! But, I’m thinking Halloween. Because if you’re planning a getaway in October, you must start planning and reserving rooms now. And it doesn’t get better than Salem, Massachusetts for Halloween.

The truth is, you can go to Salem anytime. There’s lots to see and do. Learn about the famous witch hunts at the Salem Witch Museum, the House of Seven Gables tour is a must-do whether you’ve read the book or not, visit any number of houses that purportedly housed witches back in the 17th century, and if you do go, be sure to visit the trash menagerie at the Peabody Essex Museum.

But getting back to Halloween in Salem, the City is in Halloween-mode for the entire month of October. New this year–

Runnin’ From the Devil Road Race

A new road race is in the works for Halloween morning, and, naturally, it will have an unusual, only-in-the-Witch-City twist. “We’re going to have devils hidden behind the course that will jump out and scare people,”

Other things to look forward to: Costume Balls, Parades, Haunted Houses, Psychic Fairs, Unique Shops, Intriguing Bookshops, Wax Museum, and plenty of good eats and treats.

Oh, I just love Halloween. Don’t you?