Whoa. I surprised myself just now. I have always said I can be a Google nerd, and if I need to find anything, research anything, the powers of Google would always point me in the right direction. But when they are bed linens I saw on a TV show? Even I was skeptical!

Cougar Town. I am loving this show. I can rewatch it already, and still giggle at Courteney Cox’s fabulous characterization of Jules Cobb with an equally sassy and goofy supporting cast. And eye candy. Oh I know I already mentioned them here..

But in episode three, as Jules is thoroughly, exhaustingly (and painfully!) preparing for a hot date, I was transfixed by the bed sheets. I’m not one that is into interior decorating too much, I don’t have a colour scheme, nothing is coordinated so don’t think I’m always looking at furniture and Manchester – but these. Were.. GORGEOUS!

I don’t know why I ever thought I could find them – but I had to try! Turns out I’m not alone in coveting fashions and furniture from TV.

After googling ‘cougar town bed linens’ – I found this via Entertainment Weekly Style Hunter page a mini post on fashions featured on the show and where ordinary fans could purchase them from. Then in comments, I found someone had asked where the linens were from, and a response was given. Crate & Barrel.

Then, after Googling ‘crate & barrel cougar town linens’ – et voila. They are the Lucia Bed Linens. Super expensive and swish, but WOW. I found them! I don’t have to own them – I’m comforted by the fact that if I spy other items perhaps in another show – I may have a chance of owning it. And being more of a fangirl already.

Maybe it can come with a bonus? (See picture below…)

Swishy, bouncy, light as a feather glossy hair. I wish I had it. Any character in a TV show or movie apparently goes to bed, and wakes up with such glossy hair, maybe a few fly-aways, but essentially *awesome* hair all day. Mine? Well, for the most part after it air dries post shower, I could be a relative of Don King. No greys, but just as high and out there in all different directions!

So, after discovering a couple new products from Aveda last year – I wanted to try other new products with a local touch, not just Australian but made in Melbourne. I figured local products that took into account our crazy weather conditions (four seasons in one day isn’t as far-fetched as you may think here) would be great for me – and I would really like for people to realize a pony tail is not always permanently attached to the back of my head!

Via the always heavenly and tempting Adore Beauty I discovered Unico. I have been using the Sensitive Shampoo, best for temperamental scalps like mine, as well as unruly curls (if let natural I’m either a 60s refugee, or sometimes a 28 year old Shirley Temple try-hard) It smells divine, including essential oils good for anybody – clary sage, lavender and lemon. It feels extra soothing with the scent of these essential oils as I massage it in, I must say. I’m definitely won over!

Because I can never stop at just one product when shopping for anything (my sisters call it Noah’s Ark shopping) I had to get the Leave in Conditioner spray as well. To be honest I’ve never tried a leave in conditioner as I never trusted that my hair would be appealing enough to leave the house. So whilst I’ve been on holiday, I’ve braved public scrutiny by wearing it down, spritzing on the conditioning spray whilst its damp, and braving the Melbourne climate. It smells delicious, with an apricot scent and noticeably once my hair has dried, my hair has been softer and shinier. If I can only figure out how to blow dry my hair.. watch out, I may be hair swishing to work soon!

Check out more from Unico here or purchase the range here at Adore Beauty.

There hasn’t been anything on TV which has had me cheering, or yelling out at it too much lately. Except for a 5 set match between Roddick and anyone else he’s playing. Because he just inspires that passion in me.  But anyway, I digress.

After the introductory episodes to this season, oh my WORD, I have been hollering* and bouncing up and down on the couch because Jack is back, bebe. Kiefer Sutherland is back (after a short time in prison) as Jack Bauer on Day 8 of another international security crisis and there’s a new team at CTU. Chloe is more sulky and eye-rolling than ever, and Jack’s a grandpa!

I must admit, I found Season 6 and 7 to be a bit stale and not quite as ‘omg, I cannot go to bed until I see the whole day!’ as previous seasons – but I’m thinking this day is going to be as riveting as ever.

Amongst the new cast – Freddie Prinze Jr (yes, teen movie maestro from the late 90s and Mr Sarah Michelle Gellar) as well as Katee Sackhoff, known for being the bombshell from Battlestar Galactica, and playing a data analyst with a few secrets sure to make the day just that little more complicated.

There’s no point in me trying to explain what happens on day 8 – because we all know that in every real time hour of the show (well, 40+ minutes approx.) there are twists and turns, and betrayals, and car chases, and well I could go on, but this is the absolute fun of it.

It started in mid January for the lucky Americans – and begins next week for us Aussies after the Australian Open tennis. Watch it. Turn the lights off, turn the sound up – its brilliant action TV.

Originally written for X & Y Magazine

To kick off the award season for film and tv, Golden Globes is said to be the first real sign of what the Oscars may be like. Its less pompous, a bit more silly, though not as juvenile as the MTV Movie Awards. No bronzed popcorn buckets handed out here!

However with any awards event where alcohol is given, and a cross section of music (soundtrack and score) film and tv stars present, there are bound to be scenarios, that we the little people can learn from.

1. Beware of wayward umbrellas
Not that anyone would have reacted differently, but sweetie pie Drew Barrymore nearly had her chignon bumped off as a wayward umbrella caught the back of her head– to which after I closely investigated, and read her lips, she was sure to have said ‘Watch. The. Hair’ between gritted teeth.

2. Rain aids the groupies
As an addendum to the first warning about avoiding large umbrellas, rain can be a great thing at the red carpet. For fans. As notably, many stars were seen carrying umbrellas labelled with the hotel brand/logo. Score! Now we know where Mickey Rourke is staying! Oh wait, I reaaaally don’t want to be near that hotel.

3. Frou frou and frills are not always a good girly thing

Diane Kruger should really know better, she comes from a modelling background! But that puffy-meringue like dress of pink fluffy raspberry toulle is just not a great look. It could almost have been worn by Drew Barrymore’s character in Never Been Kissed! I’m on the fence with Jennifer Morrison’s contribution – it’s a little too busy? But what saves it is that Sucre, *ahem* I mean, Amaury Nolasco (from Prison Break) bought it for her as a Christmas gift! So romantic! Therefore, this star wore her own dress. Props. Be given to her.

4. Classic elegance in the nude is back

Whilst in previous years, bold colours have been the easy way to ensure a flurry of camera flashes on the red carpet; this year, regal purple was the runner up of the rainy evening with pale, almost bleak nudes turning the most heads. Making it work for them – Drew Barrymore, Emily Blunt, and Christina Aguilera. Giving it a bad name? Chloe Sevigny. Could she look any more disinterested?

5. Age and experience equates to loss of coherence
It seems that there is a direct proportion (proven in the labs of never) that states clearly that the more movies you have been in, and the older you are, I’m looking at you Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and to some extent the remains of that carcass known as Mickey Rourke – the longer you can incoherently attempt to say thanks to the people that get them in the public eye. I honestly lost track and even possibly blacked out at the time Jeff Bridges was giving a speech. Was that dementia, or alcohol alone?

6. Be yourself – be Australian
Some of the TV hosts, reporters are expected to be quick-witted, and sassy in order to engage the celebrities on the way to their alcohol-laden tables inside. In the case of when they met Sam Worthington and Ryan Kwanten, both proudly Aussie and succesful on TV and the silver screen – the cable hosts (as I was watching it on an internet stream, they were just cable randoms) seemed to be so star struck by them, I heard them tell Ryan “Well, you’ve got that Aussie thing going for you!” and to Sam “Oh! I love the accent!” Really? That’s all you have to say? Next thing you’ll be saying, so do you know Hugh Jackman?!

7. Classic movie oldies are inspiring

Example: James Cameron seemed to be paying a hair tribute to Christopher Lloyd circa Back to the Future.

8. Stronger female comics required

How can the same actress be nominated twice in the same category? Please writers; be creative and write plots for funny females. It is possible! And erm, I don’t start laughing uproariously when I think of Meryl Streep. Do you?

9. Be funnier than the host
An uproarious laugh was not heard before Robert Downey Jr won for Sherlock Holmes, who backhandedly thanked the people that got him where he was. “Avatar was going to take us to the cleaners! If they didn’t have me, we didn’t have a shot, buddy!” Nope, not even Ricky Gervais’ penis jokes, or convenient jabs at Jay Leno and NBC had anyone giving more than a perfunctory polite smile. My prediction? No Ricky Gervais next year.

10. Marriage has not tamed Mariah Carey

Oh Mariah. All ass, no class. All boobs, and no bodice to speak of on that dress! Herve Leger would be wanting to sponsor her in order to reverse all the damage she’s done to his name! Husband Nick Cannon was adoringly her umbrella holder, and whether she was thrusting her shoulders out, or poking her butt out the other way, who knows! You could be a few feet away and still be entirely too close to her. She needs to know that clothes need not be skin tight.

There you have it, be nude (in clothes), be glamorous in the rain, be impressively cheeky, and most of all, wear a dress with a bodice. You heard it here first.

Australian networks have a habit of teasing us with extended sneak peeks of all the hot new shows just starting in the U.S or perhaps have been around for at least half a season. From all the sneak peeks we have seen of Cougar Town, premiering on Channel 7 after the Australian Open tennis – I am sure to have a crush on anyone that Cougar Courteney Cox goes after. Because we have seen more than teasers of the show, I feared that for a half hour sitcom, we were going to be seeing all the best parts, and be left with the dregs and it’d all be for nothing.

Now having seen the pilot, I can tell you – Courteney is no longer Monica Geller. She is far less wooden as Jules, a newly divorced mother of a teenage boy, and more self deprecating, self loathing and quite goofily-feisty (sassy combination!) which more than makes up for her depiction of Monica in 10 seasons of Friends. I am quite excited with all the eye candy on the show (though that’s not hard) but at this point, I’m not thrilled with her girly sidekicks. I’m certain that Busy Phillipps is always going to be the trashy sidekick, and I don’t think its a good thing. I think its overkill and.. eh. Maybe she’ll grow on me. Rounding out the gossiping gal pals in the show is Christa Miller, most known for being the botoxed wife of Dr Cox in Scrubs, which I severely hope she does a better job and has a bit more depth on this. Time will tell..

If you haven’t been introduced to Josh Hopkins before, well.. let this be a lesson. I for one have loved Josh Hopkins (playing her womanising neighbour Grayson) ever since he was on Jack & Jill (remember that show with Amanda Peet and Ivan Sergei?) and now he’s sprung up again on Private Practice as a lustful but married Dr, and now as a sparring across the cul-de-sac neighbour? LOVE IT!

I’m looking forward to this sassy rom-com sitcom, because at least it doesn’t feature David Spade. A big plus!

Happy New Year! Hoping you had a great break over the festive season. I’m still a lady of leisure you’d be pleased and enraged to know. I’ve had a ridiculous amount of time to watch new TV shows, mourn the loss of the tenth Dr, get amazingly obsessed and hooked with Friday Night Lights, (Texas Forever, ya’ll) and also start pencilling in cinema outings for upcoming films of 2010. I’m not going to include all the obvious (Iron Man 2, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Alice in Wonderland) but some of the movies you may not know about, and deserve a bit more attention.

Trailer Party! ~ Click on the movie title to view the trailer

In no particular order..

Leap Year Matthew Goode. You might all know him as of Watchmen, or possibly Matchpoint, but I have loved him ever since Chasing Liberty possibly, my favourite chick flick. At least in the top 5. One you have not heard of, but need to watch! Anyway, I digress. Matthew Goode is a bit rugged in this, alongside American goofy gal Amy Adams who travels to Ireland in the hopes of proposing to her boyfriend on the one day that she apparently can – on a Leap Year’s February 29th. Wackiness ensues, and the swooning.

Frozen If you love horror, mixed with a little hopelessness (think Open Water) well, you’ll be a fan of Frozen. 3 skiiers trapped on a ski lift. At night. Oh, and on a Sunday when the resort will only reopenon Friday..

Valentine’s Day 2010′s answer to Love, Actually? With an amazing ensemble cast, this is not going to be intellectually challenging, but its going to be a LOT of eye candy.

Inception I have no clue what this movie is about. A shaky glass of water!? Is it Jurassic Park? I have no clue. But it has a brilliant cast, directed by Christopher Nolan, and thus it has to be at least decent. Perhaps this is one where I’ll just go in to the cinema and be incredibly surprised. It works! (cough*District 9*cough)

Letters to Juliet *swoon* Love letters, Europe, and Gael Garcia Bernal? Oh. Man. I have to admit I was already sold on the plot before I saw the trailer, but once I saw Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Egan together, I was dancing in my lounge room to Taylor Swift as well. I can’t WAIT!

The Crazies I often try to avoid the Crazies at the train station after 9pm, but this is a whole new level. One of those movie lessons on, don’t stay in those towns you’re meant to pass through for any amount of time. Oh, and don’t drink the water.

Talhotblond I wasn’t sure if I could entirely include this documentary but it looks absolutely compelling. Talhotblond is the user name of a flirty girl you don’t really want to meet online. The ultimate (and true) cautionary tale of dating online.

Cop Out I’ve missed Bruce Willis doing comedy, and I think he’d have an interesting banter/chemistry with Tracy Morgan for sure. Great trailer!

Shutter Island Oooh, an eerie Alcatraz-esque mental asylum, starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Mark Ruffalo, based on a book written by Dennis Lehane (who wrote the amazing Mystic River as well as Gone, Baby Gone) and directed by Scorcese. Really looking forward to this!

The Book of Eli This looks like a cross between Mad Max, I Am Legend and maybe a bit of The Professional. I have to see anything with Denzel, and where Gary Oldman is the villain. Seriously, he’s a brilliant villain!

Dear John Another Nicholas Sparks novel, another sure-to-make-Kimberley-cry tearjerker. With Channing Tatum! As well as Amanda Seyfried who surprisingly has been quite busy post Mamma-Mia. More love letters (I sense a pattern with Amanda, she may get typecast if she’s not careful) as Channing’s character is sent off to Iraq, across a 7 year period with altogether brief visits along the way.

Get out your calendars, diaries, start making plans! I know 2010 is going to be a great movie-going year! As well as an amazing place to seek solace from the Melbourne heatwave..