Hello, fabulouses and welcome back to Beauty Tues.
This week on VIP Beauty Tues, I have a very awesome nail product to share with y’all! AH! Okay. *deep breath*
For starters, do y’all remember when I interviewed the fabulously fashionable Food Network Star Emily Ellyn? Well, let’s take a quick glance back at the fun interviewhereto refresh our memories…
So, can any of y’all guess what my vintage soul sister and Drip Drop Nail Paint have in common? Hm…anyone? Bueller?….Bueller?….I’m sorry…I just had to make that reference *wink*
Now–let’s get serious.
Drip Drop Nail Paint creates handmade nail lacquer that is not only three-free, but also cruelty-free. A cutesy BONUS is that each nail color has a cute name like “Yoga Pants” and “Vintage Jumpsuit”–How precious is that?! I am totally in love withSanta’s Pajamas–it really got me in the Christmas spirit!
So, how did I find out about this awesomeness called Drip Drop Nail Paint? Good question!
A few weeks ago, Emily Ellyn tweeted that she was excited about her new nail polish by Drip Drop, and when I saw that it was Retro Rad Red, I also became mega-excited! So, I immediately snatched up a pot of Emily Ellyn’s Retro Rad Red to try. It was a justifiable, spontaneous buy because red nail polish looks good with everything + it is handmade–y’all know how much the VIP loves to support handmade *wink*
Plaid blanket scarf by Forgotten Cotton. Stay tuned for an upcoming outfit blog with this fabulous handmade piece!The VIP sporting Retro Rad Red nail color by Drip Drop.
I have tried A LOT of red nail polishes in my life, and Drip Drop’s Retro Rad Red is by far one of the best! It glides on smoothly + the color consistency is so fabulous I can get away with one coat. I give this product FIVE VIP BEAUTY STARS.
Fall in love with Drip Drop Nail Paint & do NOT forget to check out the shop + connect on social media for nail art inspiration! Check out the links below:
What do you get when you mix four cups of delicious food with a cup of fabulous personality and two tablespoons of killer fashion sense? Hm…think, think, think…Oh, it just has to be Retro Rad Diva Emily Ellyn as seen on Food Network’s Next Food Network Star and Cupcake Wars! Emily Ellyn grew up on a farm in Ohio where she first fell in love with cooking. “On my family’s farm, we grew and harvested most everything ourselves, and we always had delicious food on the table. When my siblings and I were babies, my mom would set our bassinets on the kitchen counter while she cooked– it’s no wonder I developed a passion for cooking,” explains Emily Ellyn.
I caught up with Emily at the Birmingham Home & Garden Show 2014 where we chatted about her experience on Food Network, her love of vintage, her new line of vintage-inspired kitchen couture, and more! And without further ado, I bring to you the VIP Interview with the Retro Rad diva herself, Emily Ellyn!
VIP: What was it like being on Next Food Network Star?
Emily: My experience on Food Network was so intense. Next Food Network Star is a bazaar ride, but it was so much fun. The day after I was eliminated, they had a voting on who the viewers would like to have back on the show, and 20,000 people voted to bring me back! I have to say thank you, and because of that I was also invited to be a part of Cupcake Wars which was awesome. When it comes down to it, I am so thankful for my experience on Food Network because I gained so many awesome fans, and I was able to show my love of cooking off to the world.
VIP: How would you describe your personal style?
Emily: I would describe my personal style as Retro Rad–I like to mix vintage clothes with more modern clothes. When mixing the vintage clothes with modern ones, I feel like it breathes even more life into the vintage and gives it a little bit more oopmh.
VIP: Oh, I love mixing vintage with modern too!
Emily: Isn’t it awesome!
VIP: So, Emily, what is your favorite item to wear?
Emily: Hm…that’s tough, but I would have to say the cute swing dresses and skirts. They have such a fun personality.
VIP: Oh, I love that style! Reminds me so much of 1950’s fashion!
Emily: Yes! I swear I was born in the wrong era…the 50s is when I should have been thriving! I would have been wearing swing and poodle skirts all day, everyday.
VIP: Have you always been in love with vintage style?
Emily: Yes, I have always loved vintage, and right now it is so cool because it is becoming more popular. Everywhere I look in Orlando [where Emily is currently living], I am like “Ooo! Look at that girl’s vintage dress” or “Oh, I so need to go shopping there.” When I was on the Food Network, I caught a lot of flack because everyone questioned if I were putting on this whole “Retro Rad Diva” persona. Nope, It’s just who I am. When I was a kid, I would ask my mom to pull my ponytail up tighter because I wanted to look like Grease Lighting. I would also beg her to do winged eyeliner so I could look vintage, and my mom was always like, “Emmy, you’re seven years old. You’re not going to school with makeup on.” Now, I just do my own winged eyeliner. *haha*
VIP: Now, let’s chat about food.
Emily: Let’s!
VIP: If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would you choose and why?
Emily: Oh, goodness! There are so many–I do not know how to choose!
VIP: If I had to choose one…man, I would have to choose Southern because it reminds me of where I grew up in Mississippi.
Emily: Ooo, that’s a good one! Hmm…this is tough….I have so many favorites, but I am going to have to go with Thai food because it is so diverse. There are a lot of fresh ingredients, you can choose to go vegetarian or eat a lot of meat–there is really a lot of options there. Plus, none of it is super heavy, and I prefer light and fresh meals over feeling so full it’s unbearable!
VIP: Hm…I have never tried Thai food, but hearing you talk about it makes me want to try it! Yum!
Emily: It really is good, and because of the variety of the cusuine, there are a lot of different options to suit different people’s tastes.
VIP: What if you had to choose one last food–not cuisine but food–to eat for the rest of your life?
Emily: Oh, man! You’re killing me here, Abby!
VIP: Now, that I think about it…that is a hard question! I don’t even know if I could answer it!
Emily: Okay, I got it–watermelon or strawberries. I am going with watermelon or strawberries.
VIP: Watermelon with salt is the BEST thing ever.
Emily: Oh…yes! It’s true. It really enhances the flavor.
VIP: Normally, when I tell people that, they look at me like I’m crazy! *haha*
Emily: No, no! I did a special on the Daily Buzz, and I told the stand-in anchor to try watermelon with salt because it was so delicious! I don’t think she believed me.
VIP: I cannot eat watermelon any other way. My Paw Riley is the one who got me hooked on watermelon with salt when I was kid. He had a watermelon patch, and during the summer we would always eat Paw Riley’s homegrown watermelons. Well, there was this one time when I was real little when he sat me down and gave me a slice of watermelon with sprinkled salt on it. He urged me to try it despite the fact I thought it was going to be gross…Boy, was I wrong!
Emily: That’s so cute! Watermelon with salt really is great–have you ever tried cantaloupe with black pepper?
VIP: No, I haven’t.
Emily: Oh, you have to try it! Tell your Paw Riley to grow you some cantaloupe and sprinkle some black pepper on it…Mmmm mmm good!
VIP: What would you say is your ultimate favorite cupcake flavor?
Emily: I really like different–something you wouldn’t find everywhere like vanilla or chocolate. I don’t like for my cupcakes to be disgustingly sweet like a super sweet cupcake topped with super sweet frosting…it is just too much for me. However, I don’t think there has ever been a cupcake that I have looked at and said “Ew no, I don’t want that cupcake!”
VIP: Oh, me too! I love cupcakes! Now, speaking of baking, tell me about your vintage-inspired kitchen couture.
Emily: My friend Cynthia of Cupcake Provocateur is the seamstress for the signature Emily Ellyn apron line. Whether you want a full apron or a half apron, each one is sewn to order and only available on my website [www.EmilyEllyn.com]. Right now, there are aprons with pinup girls, cowgirls, senoritas—oh, and there is also a pink and zebra one that is super cute! All of the aprons are so retro rad—see what I did there.
Shout out to Father Nature Landscapes, where the VIP held the interview with Emily Ellyn–what a fabulous display! Hmmm, I could so use a sitting area like this at my future place ;)Just so y’all know, I am still insanely in love with Emily’s CLUCK-tch. It’s so darn adorable!
Did y’all miss the VIP’s coverage of the Birmingham Home and Garden Show 2014? Or the interview with Yard Crashers host Ahmed Hassan? No need to fear, you can check out the blogs right here and right here.
Have you ever watched Yard Crashers, the show with the really cute landscaping host,on the DIY network? I have a lot…especially during the reno.
During our year-long renovation, my family and I lived the DIY network. We were surrounded by things that needed to be done everywhere–even the yard was a hot mess.
Every time we went to the home improvement store, I kept hoping that Ahmed Hassan with his camera crew would pop out and ask to go crash our yard. Sadly, our landscaper in shinning armor never came to our house in Birmingham; however, he did come to the Birmingham Home and Garden Show 2014 where the VIP got to interview the expert yard crasher, who is also a contributor to the CBS Early Show and NBC’s Today Show.
Okay, that is enough chit chat for now. Are y’all ready for the VIP’s interview with Ahmed Hassan of DIY network’s Yard Crashers? *drum roll*
VIP: What is your favorite part about being a TV host?
Ahmed: My favorite part about being a TV host is that because I host reality-based TV shows, I get to just be me–I get to do what I want to do and build off of my own inspiration. Landscaping is something I have spent most of my life doing, and it has always been interesting to me even when I was a little kid. Now, it is really cool to see other people being interested in what I love doing–which is landscaping. To be able to share my passion for landscaping on TV, to be in the limelight, and to get paid TV dollars is a heck of a lot better than just being your average gardener!
VIP: And you get to be you!
Ahmed: Yes, I get to be me, and it works–that’s the best part about it!
VIP: Exactly! If you weren’t Ahmed Hassan, playing Ahmed Hassan, it would not be nearly as entertaining to watch.
Ahmed: I do not think I am the best actor–I can act like Ahmed everyday, all day long, and I know all the lines! I can even put on a little extra for TV because as a host, you have to learn how to spice up things. You are always slightly amused, and you have to come in with a lot of energy at the beginning of the show–things like that are a little bit of a stretch, but not so much that it pulls me away from my authentic self.
VIP: Who inspired you to start landscaping?
Ahmed: My inspiration was really my dad. He was a landscaper, and I grew up watching him work. He soon moved on to do construction and truck driving. I grew up around blue-collar work and around learning to work with your hands. Through that, I sort of evolved into that type of work too…I had a wake up call that people who work a lot with their hands typically do not make a lot of money–and I knew that I wanted to make good money and be highly respected. I knew that I did not want to just be a lawn jokey. So, that’s when I decided that I needed to become more educated in the field. I have been able to build a career where I am interacting with people, problem solving, and creating beautiful spaces, and I love doing all of those things. I never imagined that doing the things I loved would have developed into the career that it is now.
VIP: Absolutely! You have to do what you love–if you don’t, you will never be truly happy!
Ahmed: I agree. I am seeing if I can prove this in my lifetime…if you love what you do, you create such an energy and such a passion around what you do that people want you and want to be around you. It’s not so much what you’re doing that attracts them, but it is the love and the passion behind what you are doing. That’s how I went from being a gardener to being a television host and probably the country’s most popular landscape expert.
VIP: When it comes to landscaping a yard, what would you say is the most important element?
Ahmed: It’s like most things, it is a lot of conscientious planning. If you want to build something, you really need to take the time to think about what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. Planning and doing research in today’s day and age is really easy because we have Google right at our fingertips, and we can find out everything we need to know right on our mobile phones….If you do not want to do the research, pay the right people who have the knowledge to assist you with what you want to do before you go out and waste a bunch of money on something you do not know how to do.
VIP: What landscaping advice do you have for homeowners that are looking to spruce up their yards for spring?
Ahmed: Sprucing up your yard is really no different than sprucing up your house. You have to clean it up–mow the lawn, trim the shrubs, rake the leaves, put some fresh mulch in the flower beds, plant some new flowers, and add other things that make your yard work for you. A lot of times, I joke how I am like a glorified outdoor janitor because we always clean up people’s yards before getting started with the “crashing,” and they are amazed at how such a simple task really makes their lawn look amazing.
VIP: What color best describes you?
Ahmed: Oh, Lord…ahh!
VIP: I know, what color best describes you…crazy question *wink*
Ahmed: Well, I going to go with burnt-orange, and the reason I say that is because it is a color you will find in nature, and I am mostly a natural guy. That burnt-orange/rust color has a little bit of bling and a little bit of interest–it is a natural pop of color–and I think that color best describes me because I have a little pop of this and a little pop of that, but when it comes down to it, I am just an average guy like everyone else.
Shout out to Nature’s Edge, LLC, where the VIP held the interview with Ahmed Hassan– your display was absolutely beautiful!
Stay tuned for more of this interview in an upcoming Abby In the City column on www.thisisrealmedia.com!
Also, stay tuned for the VIP Interview with Retro Rad diva Emily Ellyn coming this Friday. Yay!
Look! Ahmed and the VIP matched! Did we plan it? Nope. Great minds think alike *wink*
Phew…I am all tuckered out from a day of super awesome fun at the Birmingham Home & Garden Show 2014, and it was so much fun that I could not wait to share a little sneaky peeky with y’all!
Hmm…Can you guess what Ahmed Hassan, Emily Ellyn, and the VIP talked about today at the Birmingham Home & Garden Show? Hmmm…I wonder? Did we chat about the weather? Did we discuss the Winter Olympic Games and debate whether or not Shaun White will compete in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics? Perhaps, we talked about my dad’s renovation nightmares and my cupcake baking? Well…I guess you will have to wait until the interview blogs to find out! *wink*
Okay. So Emily’s handbag–I mean CLUCK-tch, was too darn cute! I just could not wait until her interview post to share this picture with y’all. The VIP so needs a CLUCK-tch *wink*
Also, keep up with the VIP on social media for other sneak peeks:)
vintageinspiredpassionista.com 