MirrorCoUK: Cash Money records broke the bank to secure Rihanna as guest of honour at their lavish UK launch party – so it’s a pity someone forgot to tell the dozy DJ.

Rihanna, who was in London ahead of her incredible performance on last night’s X Factor, had barely sat down when the DJ played a track by her violent ex, Chris Brown.

So she gathered her posse and stormed off.

It left party organisers fuming. Well, they had splashed out on £100,000 worth of Cristal champagne to impress their VIP guest at the Friday night bash, thrown to celebrate the launch of Jay Sean’s album, All Or Nothing.

And they had worried that Rihanna, whose latest album is Rated R, might not show up.

Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams – founders of US hip-hop label Cash Money – had been anxiously checking their bling-encrusted watches from the moment they stepped out of their Rolls-Royces and into the Bank venue.

As the clock struck 1am, Rihanna finally strutted in, past fellow celebrity guests Ice-T, Alexandra Burke, Jamelia, Alesha Dixon and JLS, and took her VIP table in the corner.

Rihanna, who was wearing a slinky, cleavage-enhancing trouser-suit, hugged pal Jay and apologised for being late before reaching for a glass of champers. Minutes later she was grooving to his performance of Down and then the dunderhead on the decks suddenly spoiled her good mood.

Hearing her ex being played, Rihanna, 21, stopped dancing, returned to her table, told her entourage the party was over and left.

Our spy tell us: “It was a massive night for Jay.

The Cash Money boys had wanted to give him a homecoming celebration to remember and they wanted everyone talking about the label’s launch party in the UK for a long time.

“Getting Rihanna there was the icing on the cake. Who knows what possessed the DJ to start playing Chris? It was such a dumb thing to do. Rihanna had looked ready to party as she chatted with Ice-T. But as soon as that song came on, she sat down and raised her eyebrows.

“She couldn’t believe how insensitive the DJ was. She thought he probably played it to get a reaction. She wanted to leave there and then.”

At least the smile was back on Rihanna’s face on Saturday when her brolly blew inside out on the way to Bungalow 8. You’d think that by now she’d have learned to control her Umbrella… ella… ella!

Reality is overrated….

We need some magic.

This was at first a post named “foggy city” and I prepared some foggy photos to accompany it. But, I changed my mind. I want to have a sunny blog post! Deal with it!

Went for a walk in the park Saturday, a looong walk and it was sunny and warm and the trees were beautiful, and the park was peaceful…

Yeah, above it’s … me… Now you can’t say there are no photos of me!

Coming home we found [another] antiques mixed with Christmas fair, near a park. Loved all those old things mixed up with hot wine and hot coco stands, with old armchairs and beds and spoons and coins in a corner and candy cane and jam and food on the other corner! Christmas is so so close!

This is an old bed board made of wood, painted by hand with beautiful flowers… can you imagine sleeping in such a beauty?

Well, I don’t know what causes the photos to lose details and sharpness, but they look kinda lifeless to me!

Love,

Rose

No better place to clear your head and feel at peace than on a stroll in the misty wood.

© 2009 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used…(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

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Did someone say food?

A table for one, please.

Leave some for me!

Broadway 28/11/09, originally uploaded by jchiang17.

Walking on Broadway

The Husband and I have a friend visiting from back home.  He and I were talking about Popeye eggs last night.  He calls them eggs in a hole last night.  Some people call them toad in a holes; others frog in a hole or bird’s nest eggs.  I’ve always called ‘em Popeye eggs.  Our houseguest went an entire month eating eggs in a hole (eggs in holes??) and didn’t get sick of them.  So this morning, he grabbed a spatula and a frying pan and whipped up a batch of gooeyness:

He likes cutting out a square instead of a circle and then putting the square back on top of the egg.  “Like a hat.”  Cuuuuute.  He usually uses a LOT of buttah, but was happy to oblige me in a hearly butter-less egg.  He used a sliver of the yellow stuff to cook up the onions he placed on top of the eggs.  Deelish!

After breakfast, we went on a scenic walk through the hills that lasted a little over an hour:

We took our little snorter with us:

She had an awesome time and I got in 75 minutes of exercise.  360 calories according to ye olde heart rate monitor.  Score!

After the walk, we cooked up a quick lunch.  Our hosts cooked up some chicken thighs in a cast iron pan and sauteed up a bunch of veggies that were lying around in the fridge.  We threw together a huge salad, warmed up some Thanksgiving leftovers and toasted up some good bread.  It was a simple homecooked meal, and that’s exactly what I needed.

Our hosts had made some plans to go watch movies at a friend’s house, but I wasn’t feeling up for it.  I skipped out because I felt like lazing about the house.  The Husband decided to go, so the dog and I are on our own.  I felt bad about ditching out on plans, so I decided to contribute a little something to their dinner:

That’s a cranberry ribbon cake made with leftover cranberry sauce.  I topped it with crushed walnuts & almonds and simple glaze made from a reduction of sugar, water & a little heavy cream.  Hope it’s yum!

My night’s been pretty awesome.  I made a giant salad from the last of the leftover Thanksgiving chicken, a couple of slices of honey ham, some cherry tomatoes, green onions, a splash of cider vinegar & a couple of squirts of dijon mustard as a topper.

I ate while watching “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” on AMC and savoring my alone time.  I’m hoping something better’ll come on next, but even if it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter.  I’ve got a relaxing night in front of the fireplace with a cup of (25-calorie!) hot cocoa in my hand and a dog on my lap.  What more could a girl ask for?

(You might feel like listening to this soundtrack whilst reading the impression.)

Whenever I move, perspective shifts. If it weren’t

for the muscular strain, I might as well be stationary in

a maze of multiplex walls and earphone acoustics.

All the hair of green is trimmed to baldness.

Rectangular patterns wherever my eyes roam, stretching

place and time to suit the fittings. Concrete

chimes to celebrate the Über-ego, determined to consume

all my desire

and dispose it into urgent hands. Pet food, draped in cellophane linings.

There is no human face on any such billboard.

Sidewalks clustered with garments, effigies of perfection.

Some say, the grizzlies have returned to empty trash bins at night.

Some say that we the people have been transformed into dreams

to haunt the bears when daylight zooms in on their

aluminium furs.

Never will I believe in any such token of apathy,

spread by refugees from Atlantis, the empire drowned.

of thw wind....

the duo dinamyc?

cute cute cute

dont look at me that way

i would call you lucas!!!

they are some of my closest friends

hungry

aww

attack!!!!!

ready? go!!!!!!!!

closer

may i be an ugly duck=?

you are ugly, it doesn't mean that i dont want you.

cheese?

on my way home...

it is puppy love.

Like TV news on repeat
Life is the cycle, every man is pedalling
On a journey to great feats
Creative roads we be bevelling using our feet creating tracks,
Testing mettle because a struggle’s just a puddle that we meddle in
Gold medalling because we’re in tune when we’re fettling
Revelling in melodies that we make love and listen to
Perforating the edge of reason, painting it a kind of blue
See we all bring a kind of hue,
A friend is artist that paints life, love and pain with you
But we download on the down low so check your motives and thoughts
Before engaging strangers in verbal intercourse
Before riding luck and lust like a thoroughbred horse
Pause
Which Willy Wonka do you really want in your sugar walls
Who will you let have a ball in your mall
All in All, some say chocolate is better than sex
Yet for symbolic histrionics, special effects, bedroom pyrotechs
Money, power, respect, never confuse sexcess with success
My seed fertilises heads through conversations of mutual depths
In lighting fires the tongue is matchless
Even though rumours abound that mounds of blackness gun for success with fusion missions
Beyond atom splitting and trying to fit in, everyman goes human fishing
At some point you’re going to be hooked

On Saturday afternoon, I drove up to Celebration, FL to take in the beautiful day there. Celebration is a little town here in Central Florida near Disney. The town celebrates holidays a bit like “the old days,” and has all sorts of fun events going on year-round.

We were having a beautiful weather day here in Florida and so I decided that taking in the town along with a long walk at their walking trail would be a great part of my day. I ended up walking for almost an hour just taking in the fresh air and surroundings. I love taking walks, not only is it a good cardio workout if you keep moving, but it gives you a chance to clear your head and think. Really calms the mind as well.

.

It will be my 1st Catwalk show on Thursday I’m soooo excited but scared!! I heard that the adrenalin is 22222 much! Really makes you feel good!! So I am looking forward 2 getting that feeling & expressing it on the catwalk!!

So the day has come & I’m on my way, I am actually scared & excited!! I’m not sure which one I have more of yet though!! As I practice my upper body, people are looking @ me quite strangely, like “what she is doing” looool but I’m still reading my notes & practicing!! I’m thrilled yet nervous about my walk!! The think I love most is that each & every model gets their time 2 SHINE which is GR8!! So I’m really looking forward 2 my time!!

The show was GREAT FUN!!! Really enjoyed doing the show, very exciting and loved working with the other models! The make-up artists (MUA) were sooooo funny, gossiping and stuff, was very entertaining!! Looking forward to the next one!!

**Fanx 2 evry1 4 there support, most of all the models (2 name a few Kerrie, Chloe, Aisha, Denise, Chantelle, Danni, Failiegh, Chris, Daniel F, Daniel T, Aaron, Bryce, Tim, Stefan, Kilo, Bliss) – I’m kinda naming ALL the model so yeah, fanx 2 ALL the models, shown me much love & support**

Alicia xx

November is a truly sad month, more, here it has been foggy and raining for two days, but not pouring rain, something between humid fog and rain, that we call with a special name (scarnebbia – don’t say that south of Genova  because no one will understand) So on Friday, with a lot of things to do behind, i drove half an hour and went to the seaside at Arenzano, the nearest seaside resort, more one of Genova’s own places. It was warm, and people was running, walking, biking along the seaside or simply sitting in front of the waves. I was only 50 km away from home, but it looked like a completely different universe.

Have a look…

Arenzano al tramonto

This morning when we were about to eat breakfast Esther beat her previous walking record of 11 steps. I had her in my arms when I put her down and she just started walking. During all day she has been taking steps trying this new thing of walking about. About three weeks ago I wrote about Esther’s first steps and since then she has taken some steps now and then, mostly in order to get from one point to another, but today it is actually walking. In the evening she has taken many more steps and she is walking and walking. It is great as a father to see your children taking steps in growing.

This weekend has been great but intense. We’ve spent Friday and Saturday in Karlskrona where me and my wife and our kids attended a church camp hosted by the Klippan church in Rockneby. We had a great time catching up with friends we hadn’t seen for long. I was preaching during the Saturday from Ephesians 2 on the gospel summarized in two words “But God” (verse 4), and then connected the first 10 verses about the grace of God with understanding the purpose with the church in verse 11-22. I truly believe that if you have properly understood the grace of God, then you will also love the church. That’s how grace works; “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” Rom 15:7. On the cross God does not only reconcile you with himself but he creates a new people, one new man in Christ, ie the churc. This grace of God is truly amazing.

Today I have an action picture for you of Esther walking in our kitchen.

For the past few years, I’ve been daydreaming about starting my own bakery / cafe.  Something that’s a mix of all the coffee shops and bakeries I’ve fallen in love with over the years.  The place I practically lived at when I went to art school, with its huge round fireplace in the center surrounded by big, plush couches.  The coffee shop I spent 6 hours at when I went to grad school, with its cheap yet fabulous locally-sourced menu, fair trade coffee, and tattooed and pierced baristas.  The little tea shop near my office that shut down when the economy soured, with its Dewey decimal card cabinet full of loose teas, and big glass domes with fresh quiches and cookies, and adorable square muffins.

It’s just a matter of going back to school for restaurant management or baking…or both.  Or just renting a storefront and going for it.  But there’s no shortage of cute, hip coffee shops in NYC.  Fair trade and local food isn’t hard to find — it’s been mainstream here for a while.  And then there’s the bottom line:  the cold hard cash needed to start up a place.  NYC rent is no joke, ya’ll.  So my cafe has always been a pipe dream.  Until now.

My husband and his boss are starting a new business in a small town about 3 hours away from NYC.  It’s a college town, small but not too small, with cute houses and shops.  They’re talking about moving out there in 2 or 3 years, which gives me enough time to go to school and learn to be my own boss and save up enough money to get something started.

The three of us — my husband, his boss and I — have been talking about how we can make this happen.  And even though the idea of moving out of NYC and into a smaller city terrifies me at the moment, it’s awesome to know this is totally do-able in a couple of years.  I celebrated the possibility by baking all weekend long.

This morning, the entire cabin smelled like this:

Banana bread with walnuts & chocolate chips.  And a gorgeous, hard, golden-brown crust:

I didn’t have any (sugar, butter, white flour = nuh uh), but it got a foodgasm out of The Husband.  His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he went “Mmmmmmmooooooohhhhhhhh! Ohhh!”  Foodgasm!

I went with a simple breakfast:  2 eggs, 2 slices of honey ham piled on 1 slice of whole wheat toast.  And 83904823 cups of coffee.  Should be enough to give me energy for another 1 hour+ walk today.  And then it’s back to The City for life as usual.  Sorta…

Tomorrow at 6:30 am, I’m starting Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp’s Slim & Strong session.  I’ll be working out with them 3 times a week for the next 4 weeks.  And, because I want to be in great shape before Christmas, I’ll be working out on my own 2 other days a week.  I also want to use up that 2 week yoga pass, so I’ll challenge myself to do 14 days of yoga at the same time.

The biggest challenge is something I’m starting today:  break my sugar habit.  I went from never having sugar to allowing myself some occasional treats.  Then it became a treat every day.  And this weekend, it’s been treats two or three times a day.  It takes a hold of me fast, and it causes some seeeerious weight gain.  Eff that.  I’ve worked too hard to let it all unravel now.  So I’m not eating what I bake, and I’m not allowing any treats.  I’m on day 1 of no sugar.  By day 4, I’ll be sittin’ pretty.

Play: Here comes the sun

Join us for a cool evening walk from the HMAS Brisbane memorial a landmark site on Alexandra Parade, Alexandra Headland to the Mooloolaba groin. This is a casual walk so we will take our time and have a chat on the way.

Where and when: We will meet in the deck area seen above. We will start at 6.30 pm sharp so don’t be late.

We will have a coffee at the Coffee Club on Mooloolaba Esplanade afterwards.

Who’s going: Ron, Cathy

This walk is being hosted by Ron so call him on 0424 220047 or leave a comment if you’re planning on coming.