Peepshow Review

On our first night in Vegas, we hit Peepshow, starring Holly Madison and Aubrey O'Day at Planet Hollywood. Perhaps we've been around the block a few times, because we thought it was cute, but a bit too PG-13 tame. In burlesque fashion, you get to see hints of nudity while the girls are dancing around the stage as cheerleaders and the like.

We could see where couples who aren't quite ready to go to a full on strip club might get a kick out of it. As for us, we were mostly excited to see that Holly Madison is just like us: She has cellulite, too. If someone as surgically enhanced as she is has it, we're accepting ours and moving on with life.

If you go, stop by Koi for some tasty appetizers before the show like we did. Don't miss the crispy rice with spicy tuna.

Decide for yourself with this peek of Peepshow from e!online:

Forget the Book Club...

We knew we would like Maureen Christian Petrosky the moment she started talking about what wine pairs with PB&J. (The answer: Zinfandel). Though she's the author of The Wine Club, she's obviously not your typical wine snob.

We met her at the launch event for Seven Daughters wine, a new affordable wine that is a blend of seven grapes and is 100% delicious. (You can find it at some Targets and it retails for a suggested price of $15.) Maureen's book is a fresh take on the book club, which when you get down to it, is basically just an excuse to drink wine anyways.

Her book is broken down into months and gives appropriate wine and food pairings with recipes for the season. For example, April is "Merlot My Dear" and she gives several suggestions of wines to experiment with from an $8 bottle from Chile to a $30 bottle of Bordeaux and the suggested nibbles are Parmesan Cheese Straws and Deep Fried Green Olives.

We suggest you do as Maureen says and "Get Your Drink On" while strategizing how you'll get away for your next girls' getaway!




Buy The Wine Club here.

The Inspiration Behind the Princess and the Frog

We're never too old to enjoy a good princess movie, especially when it's getting amazing reviews and features a plucky heroine who aspires to open a restaurant as part of her happily ever after. Making it a true must-see, the Princess and the Frog is set in our beloved New Orleans and is inspired by some of the real life notables of Crescent City, namely Leah Chase. Leah is the famed 86-year old chef and co-owner of Dooky Chase who famously cooked up fried chicken with Julia Child. We have yet to eat at Dooky Chase, but we plan on it next time we're in town.

Read more about the chef who inspired Taina in the Princess and the Frog.

Dita Von Teese Crazy Horse Paris DVD

We once had the pleasure of seeing Dita Von Teese perform at a party a few New York Fashion Week's back. We can't recall what the fete was for, but we certainly remember being blown away while Ms. Teese did her thing in a giant martini glass.

Her new Crazy Horse Paris DVD is set to release on November 24 on French Amazon and would make a great stocking stuffer for all the naughty folks on your Christmas list. We haven't had the opportunity to see the burlesque show for ourselves, but from the looks of the sneak peek video, it's everything we wished Holly Madison's Peep Show was--and more!



Note: We earlier posted the You Tube video of the clip, which Dita Von Teese herself promoted on Twitter. The video was taken down after someone complained about its adult content. Dita's tweeted response: ...there are about 4,380 Youtubes of me dancing nearly nude, but some jackass has a problem with THIS particular one!

You can still view the Dita Von Teese Crazy Horse sneak peek on line, though now you have to register and we can't embed it in our post.

Summer Barbecuing Tips

Firing up the 'cue for Labor Day? Barbecuing does not have to be strictly about hot dogs and hamburgers. We think you can class and sass it up for the diva inside you, whether you are entertaining for girls, couples, or family. We have some ideas of how to upgrade the typical manly summer barbecue to something a bit more feminine and fun!

Apps
Let’s start with appetizers; something very easy and delicious is crostini (a bit fancier than the classic chips and dip!). Plus you can mix it up and put basically anything on them which is good for friends who have food limitations i.e. vegetarians. Some ideas are prosciutto and basil or olive and goat cheese.

Entrees
Next and most important is the entree – how about skirt steak and lobster bites. If you’re feeling ambitious, go all out with the lobster by making lobster rolls with ingredients such as cucumbers and tarragon.

Desserts
For dessert, skip the simple watermelon wedge and go for a more complicated scooped out watermelon with tons of fresh fruit inside.

Cocktails
As for beverages – try a mint flavored drink such as a Mojito or a Bellini, champagne and peach juice. If it’s going to be classy, paper plates are a no! Happy barbequing!

NYC Lounge The Gates For Fall Fun

We recently ventured to the Meat Packing District to check out the newest lounge, The Gates. We must say – don’t be sad that summer is winding down and outdoor bars will soon be a thing of the past. This lounge promises to be a fun, posh, and luxurious place to seek refuge from New York’s chilly fall and winter weather. The name isn’t just clever; the bar is literally kept private from the street by brass gates. Think castle meets party – gold lavishness and crystals vibrating to the sounds of great DJs who don’t stop playing until the early hours of the morning. Put on your highest heels though, because there is seldom a night where models aren’t roaming around. The drinks are pricey but the bar is long so you won’t need to bite the person in front of you to quench your thirst. And hey, if you’re not enjoying yourself, just walk outside and find another chic lounge to walk into. They’re all in a 3 block radius.

Head down during Fashion Week--we're sure The Gates will be a maje celeb and model hangout!

Summer Playlist Part II

Annie shared with you her Summer '09 Playlist. Today's come from assistant editor, Ava Hoffman. Is your Ipod ready?

"Quickly" - John Legend, Brandy

"Good Girls Go Bad" - Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester-Yup, that's right, Blair Waldorf sings, too! And you know what, there is something about her voice we like!

"Viva La Viral" - Norwegian Recycling-He does Mashups of the best songs! Check him out on MySpace.

"Hometown Glory" - Adele

"Eh eh (Nothing Else I can Say)" - Lady GaGa-For all the guys who just don't get it.

"The World Should Revolve Around Me" - Little Jackie

"I Owe You A Love Song" - Shiny Toy Guns

"Corona and Lime" - Shwayze--Such a good beach tune.

"What's Your Name" - Usher feat. Will.I.Am

"Secret Valentine" - We The Kings

"Anything But Fine" - Zox


"Ok It's Alright With Me" - Eric Hutchinson

"Meant To Be" - Beau Black--He's somewhat fresh to the music scene, but this here is no rookie. Put Beau on the map!

Wolverine: The Best Date Movie Ever

X-Men Origins: Wolverine opened this weekend and we were on the fence about seeing it; but we're certainly are glad we did! Ladies, this is your golden opportunity to throw a bone at the SO and relent to his choice of movies. Here's what's in it for him: tons of action, lots of killing, strange sci-fi stuff, war scenes, and a really loud soundtrack. So where's the payoff for you? Many scenes with half-dressed Hugh Jackman (delicious!), Liev Schreiber and Ryan Reynolds, a sweet and believable love story, and Taylor Kitsch (we had to google "hot guy from Friday Night Lights" to get his name). The bottom line is we've sat through our fair share of Marvel comic inspired action hero movies and Wolverine is the first one that left us blushing. Nice.

Twilight the Movie

The Twilight book is one phenomenon that took us by surprise, even though we'd like to think we're up on pop culture. The book which Hope finished on the cruise and passed off to Anne this weekend, is a vampire story set in the Pacific Northwest-the perfect climate for vamps who can't hang out in bright sunny weather; but not for the reasons you think. The book is fun, and the love story is engaging and easy to believe. Our biggest complaint (or should we call it drawback) is that it takes place in a high school, with too much adolescent angst and not enough heat like Harry Potter.

In contrast, we're obsessed with the HBO series True Blood which is definitely geared for a mature audience with more gore and sex to go around.

The Twilight movie opens this Friday, November 21st. We think they did a great job casting Robert Pattinson as Edward and Kristen Stewart as Bella. Ashley Greene, who plays Edward's sister Alice, is smokin' hot in Maxim this month (yes, the SO has a subscription). We're planning on catching the movie this weekend and will give you our opinion on the rebound. Watch the preview here.

Kristen Stewart- with her gorgeous shiny auburn hair:

Ashley Greene (picture courtesy of Maxim) scores another point for brunettes:

Finally, there was some hoopla about Robert Pattinson not being as good looking as he's depicted in the book. We think the casting gurus did a fine job. What do you think?

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Ya, ya, we know. The movie came out like 10 months ago, but we don't see everything at the movie theater. We finally got around to watching it this past week on our train ride home from Newport and we were wowed. Not by Jason Segal's full frontal nudity scene (though he has nothing to be ashamed about), but by Kristen Bell's killer vacation wardrobe. She had an endless collection of sexy but sweet (or is it sweet but sexy?) sundresses. We love the tribal prints...



And the chunky jewelry...



And the Jenni Kayne dress she wore to the premier. The maxi print dress was the perfect way to carry the movie's Hawaiian theme back to Hollywood.
We'll be channeling her when we head to Florida for the inaugural cruise of the Celebrity Solstice next weekend!

Table That Discussion

Our friend, Lauren, just gave us "Table Topics," a conversation-style game filled with questions ranging from thought provoking to straight up provocative. The Girls Night Out version features questions like, "If you had to gain 10 pounds what would you eat to gain the weight?" (some combination of cheese and chocolate. Not together, of course) and "In order to have any wish granted would you sleep with someone you weren't attracted to?" (Wasn't that what our 20s were about? Kidding! But if the wish were to save the planet or world peace, we guess we would.)

JSG are not big gamers, but this will be in our carry on this weekend. It'll be a fun diversion at the poolside while we're sipping our tropical drinks. (We're not saying you can't make this into a drinking game. Actually--that's a good idea!)

This would also make a great hostess gift for your next book club meeting or upcoming St. Patrick's Day party.

Available for purchase at http://www.tabletopics.com/.