Liza's Confessions...

Liza's new album, "Confessions" is unlike anything she's every done before. In fact, it's unlike anything anyone's ever done before and here's why:

Anyone who knows anything about Judy or the Rat Pack or old hollywood social life knows about all those wonderful parties they would give and how at every party, inevitably, someone (often Judy herself) would go over to the piano and sing a song or tell some jokes and entertain. That's what this album is based on. Those nights that Liza observed as a little girl and later took part in. It comes through so clearly and if you close your eyes, you swear, your sitting next to Lauren Bacall with a cocktail in your hand listening to a fellow performer entertain you. It's incredibly personal and intimate. And best of all, every song is just Liza and Billy Stritch at the piano. No orchestra. Just pure and organic and simple.

The song choices are flawless. The album is an interesting mix of standards, some popular, some not. Every one has a life of it's own. My favorites are the title song, "Confession", which I really want to do myself, She does a rendition of "I Hadn't Anyone 'Till You", which Judy recorded in 1960 on the album, "That's Entertainment!", which was also a jazzy album (much like this one). She sings "All The Way", no doubt as a nod to "Uncle Frank" Sinatra, a great version of "I Got Lost In His Arms", and she kicks ass in "You Fascinate Me So", but I have to say my favorite song on the album is "On Such A Night As This". Not only is it a beautiful lyric, but she nods to Judy and even more subtlety, Vincente, which makes it just that much more personal and meaningful, at least for me.

I'll be honest, I love Liza and everything she does, I support one hundred and fifty percent, but I didn't know what to expect from this album. Just when you think she doesn't have anything left in that sequined bag of tricks, she hits you with a new one and wows you! And that's exactly what happened here! Also, I really need to comment on her voice. It's like she turned back time. I first saw Liza as a kid in 1996 with my Aunt Linda and my Aunt Nancy in Atlantic City. It was right after her triumph at Radio City and that's the image and the voice of Liza that I always carry in my head with me. I'll never forget seeing and hearing her for the first time live. She sounds EXACTLY as she did back then and I feel like a kid again listening to this album. It's my favorite recording to date of Liza's. Personally and professionally, this is another huge triumph for my little girl and I'm overjoyed to have it to put on and hear whenever I want!

<3

Confession
You Fascinate Me So
All the Way *
I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You
This Heart of Mine *
I Got Lost in His Arms
Remind Me *
Close Your Eyes
He's a Tramp
I Must Have That Man
On Such a Night As This *
Moments Like This
If I Had You
At Last

The Body Shop: Vitamin C Facial Radiance Capsules

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I LOVE The Body Shop! They have a great selection of all-natural skin care products that very few other brands can touch! They're also very affordable! I'm a big fan of their vitamin E line, which is for all skin types, but works really well for dry and sensitive skin.

Vitamin C does Fabulous things for the complexion! These little capsules are amazing (and very cool). The little pods the serum is in helps protect the ingredients and keep them fresh. They're loaded with vitamin C and each jar comes with 28 capsules (it's a 28 day night treatment) and each one has just enough in it to cover your whole face. It spreads really well! I've used these a few times and they always give my skin a noticeably rested and healthy looking glow! The Vitamin C line is one of Andrew's favorites too. He loves the way it feels on your skin. He's a huge tea tree user. I can't use that stuff, so maybe I'll have him review it ;)... at any rate, these are fun, affordable, and they really work wonders for your skin! Give them a try!

From the Website:

Best if you want to: Smooth and revive skin's appearance to enhance your natural glow.

Best for: Dull skin

How it works:
Antioxidant vitamin C encourages collagen production, improves elasticity and protects against damaging environmental aggressors.
Community Trade Brazil nut oil moisturizes and softens skin.

Eat, Pray, Love!

Last Friday,Andrew took me to the movies to see "Eat,Pray,Love". We were both really excited to see it since we're both adamant eaters and Julia Roberts fans. I have sort of a history with "Eat, Pray, Love"... I bought it a few years ago when Oprah told me to and it's been sitting on my bookshelf ever since. I just keep forgetting about it. Anyway, even though the critics panned it, I was very excited to see the movie. I never agree with what critics write anyway...they're too....critical.

The movie was absolutely outstanding in my opinion! The Italy scenes were so well done that it made you not only want to go there, but made you feel as though you WERE there! Everything looked so delicious on screen...even after the two of us had just scarfed down somme chicken sandwiches from Wendy's ;). Julia, of course, did a wonderful job and it was just a really entertaining and rather inspiring movie. It seemed particularly relevant to my current situation as well. Maybe that's why it appealed to me so much. She just gets up one day and goes. I've done that and I don't regret it. It's the only way to really experience life, especially when you feel as though you're trapped and there's no way out.

Seeing this movie with Andrew was almost imperative. I can't imagine having enjoyed it as much with anyone else. It's a very "Vince & Andrew" movie... we tend to look at films like this the same way and like the same things...so we enjoyed this much like we enjoyed "Julie & Julia" and "A Single Man" (my two favorite films of 2009)! So, I would really recommend seeing this despite what the critics say. I haven't read the book, so I can't attest to how closely linked they are. But it's not the book. It's the movie. It's meant to ENTERTAIN! And that's just what it does! So, eat up! :)