Entertainment

Margaret Durante’s Nashville Diaries

February 8, 2012 at 4:33 pm, by Ron Kelly

This month’s installment of Margaret Durante’s Nashville Diaries finds the up-and-coming country star answering our reader submitted questions from one of her previous guest blog installments. Watch our fun video chat with Margaret (and get a quick tour of her recording studio in Nashville) to find out everything from her thoughts on those who shoot to instant stardom on American Idol to her varied musical influences, her love affair with the snooze button and her most recent healthy snack obsession, hummus, which she claims she would eat with a spoon if it were socially acceptable.*

Margaret is gearing up for her next single, “I Ain’t Your Mama,” to hit radio next month. The playful and sassy number is the first release off of her forthcoming full-length CD, tentatively titled Better Now, which is being produced by James Stroud (Tim McGraw, Chris Young, Toby Keith). So while we all wait for those musical goodies, go grab yourself an edible goodie (hummus, anyone?) and continue on after the jump to watch our video Q&A with Margaret.

Note: I checked with LHJ food and entertaining director Tara Bench, and we both say acceptable or not, we’d be right there with Durante eating the stuff by the spoonful. Bench’s creative but less fanatical serving suggestions include whisking a spoonful into a lemon vinaigrette to make a creamy dressing for salad or grilled chicken, or spicing it up with some hot sauce and spreading it on an egg sandwich for breakfast.

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Ali Fedotowsky Blogs The Bacheor: Episode 6

February 7, 2012 at 4:01 pm, by Ladies' Lounge

Hi Bachelor friends! I don’t know why, but I actually found myself laughing a lot during this episode—there were so many random and awkward moments. Let’s talk about the good stuff first.

It speaks volumes that Kacie B. got a second one-on-one date. At this point in the episode, we can pretty much be certain that Ben isn’t into the girls who haven’t gotten a one-on-one date up until now. So Jamie, Casey S. and Blakely were all no longer options for me right from the start of this episode. I found it really funny that on Ben’s date with Kacie he said, “Relationships are all about overcoming fears,” while chopping a coconut. Is Ben afraid of coconuts? No wonder Blakely hasn’t gotten a one-on-one! Okay, okay…I couldn’t resist.

Ben and Kacie are so adorable together, right? I love that she was able to open up to him about such a difficult time in her life and I’m really glad that she got the help she needed. Eating disorders are no joke. The pressure women (and men) are under to look a certain way is huge and I hope all of the girls watching out there know that being skinny is not what makes you beautiful. Being healthy is what makes you beautiful, being kind is what makes you beautiful and being YOU is what makes you beautiful.

The kiss between Ben and Kacie at the end of their date was sweet. Her leg flip up (Sex in the City style) was so cute and tells us that she really enjoyed the kiss. Don’t worry Kacie, if Ben doesn’t pick you just call me because I adore you!

There was a lot of awkwardness on the group date as usual. I think it’s blatantly obvious that Courtney is using her sexuality to get what she wants; it’s a bit over the top at this point. I think it would have been fine for her not to wear a bathing suit when dancing with the tribe (do as the locals do) if she and Ben were in a committed, monogamous relationship, but they absolutely are not. There were a bunch of other girls on the date and she should’ve respected that. I’m having a hard time understanding her. She seems to think that the other girls aren’t making “moves” on the date, but the reason they aren’t making moves is because usually all of the girls become friends during the season. So on the group dates, they’re all trying to respect each other and each person’s relationship with Ben. That’s how I felt on my season anyway, and I’m glad I respected the other girls on group dates because some of them became my best friends. I feel bad for Courtney because she isn’t going to come out of this experience with any lifelong friends. Or maybe she will and there’s something we aren’t seeing. I hope she did make friends, for her sake. Read more

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Cheat Sheet: Four Things You Maybe Missed This Week

February 3, 2012 at 9:38 am, by Catherine LeFebvre

1. Baby Elephant Sneezes, Scares Himself

2. Kristen Bell Loves Sloths

3. Polar Bear Ice Skating

4. “People” Flying in New York City

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Ali Fedotowsky Blogs The Bachelor: Episode 5

January 31, 2012 at 4:18 pm, by Ladies' Lounge

Hi friends! Welcome back In last night’s episode, all of the girls got to go on a date with Ben, so I was happy for them—it would really stink to be in Puerto Rico and not be able to go out and explore. Speaking of tropical places, I just got back from the beautiful Casa Dorada resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and I’m exhausted after an incredible trip with my girlfriends. So I apologize if my blog isn’t on point this time around, but I promise to make up for it next week!

I was really glad that Nikki got a date this week. I liked her the first night but we haven’t really gotten to know her since. Nikki seems really genuine and I loved seeing how relaxed she was with Ben. And even though I think it’s good that Nikki opened up about her marriage, I don’t think it’s a good thing to tell a guy that you had trust issues in your past relationship without going into more detail and explaining why you felt that way. I feel like that puts a warning sign in his head that says, “I’m going to lose my freedom if I get into a relationship with this girl!” I could be totally wrong, but that’s my observation based on my experience with guys. However, I will say that I thought their kiss was super passionate—heck, even I started blushing a little. I think Ben really likes Nikki, or at least really likes kissing her.

The group date this week seemed like a lot of fun. Baseball is such a great idea for a date and I’m all for a little healthy sports competition! I found it very interesting that Ben got to choose a woman to take on the night portion of the date, and it means a lot that he picked Lindzi. It’s not a rose, but in my opinion it’s much better. Usually roses are given to some people because you don’t want to be harsh and send someone home on a one-on-one date. And sometimes you give a rose on a group date to someone who you haven’t spent that much time with, so you want them to feel better by getting the rose. Believe me, there are hundreds of reasons why roses are given out. If who the roses were given to didn’t get switched up every once in a while, I would have given my group date roses to one of three or four guys every single time. However, giving Lindzi more “time” is much more special, and it shows that he wants to be around her and get to know her better. I’m not sure if this makes sense to you guys, but it makes perfect sense in my head, maybe because I lived through it.

On the group date Kacie B. got the rose. I loved when Ben gave her the rose and stated a bunch of reasons why he wanted to give it to her, because I think when he isn’t all that into a girl he’ll usually just say something like “I want to get to know you more.” Yay, Kacie B! I love her to pieces.

I think Elyse is a sweetheart, but I feel bad because I didn’t even know her name until this episode. That fact alone was enough for me to know that she wasn’t going to make it very far in this because the viewers didn’t even know her yet! It was very obvious to me throughout the date that Ben wasn’t feeling it. He wasn’t really talking to her and he was just repeating things she said. I also don’t think Elyse really liked Ben that much; I don’t think she was crying for him per se, I think it was more because she wanted to stay on the show and was maybe hoping for that fairy tale ending. In the end, Ben did the right thing. If you don’t feel it, you can’t force it. Read more

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Ali Fedotowsky Blogs The Bachelor: Episode 4

January 24, 2012 at 4:23 pm, by Ladies' Lounge

It’s week four of The Bachelor and there was no shortage of drama this week. My goodness, the claws really came out last night.

Let’s start by talking about how beautiful Park City, Utah is. The countryside is simply breathtaking. Obviously Ben loves the outdoors and is very adventurous so I think it was a great place for him to spend time with all of the women. But I have one question at this point—is it normal for people to still not have gone on individual dates this far in the season? I don’t remember it being week four and guys still not getting dates on my season. Help me out here…my memory is not serving me well today!

The first date went to Rachel, and Kacie B. really took it hard. Poor thing—she is just the cutest and has the sweetest little accent, so it broke my heart to see her cry at the beginning of Ben’s date with Rachel. It was also touching when she said that she hates seeing him go on other dates, but she loves that she gets to see him, if only for a few moments before the date. So sweet.

But the show must go on and The Bachelor wouldn’t be complete without a few helicopter rides! Rachel started off the date by saying that her last relationship ended because of communication issues, and boy was that comment foreshadowing. I think Ben gave her a rose to be nice. I just don’t see how he could think that they could have something long term when they had such a hard time communicating. There were definitely instances on my season where I would give a guy a rose because I liked him as a person and didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Not giving someone a rose on a one-on-one date is a lot harsher then not giving someone a rose at a rose ceremony. I’m also not completely convinced that Rachel is into Ben. I think she wants to stay because you never know what could happen, but as of right now, I don’t think she is feeling him at all.

This week’s group date was really cool because it was so normal. Ben riding the horse with the girls reminded me of riding the horses with the guys in Iceland. Remember how Craig R. got the smallest horse? It was basically the runt of the group and Craig is 6’4” so it was pretty funny. Anyway, I also absolutely loved the fishing part of the date. It seemed like a lot of fun and it’s something that Ben might actually do with his fiancé in the future. Read more

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Kellie Pickler: A “100 Proof” Love of Cats

January 24, 2012 at 3:33 pm, by Ron Kelly

Are you a cat lover who’s tired of the host of feline fashion faux paws … er, pas … that you see in the stores? Well, you’ve got a friend in country music’s Kellie Pickler, who recently teamed up with Fresh Step litter and the ASPCA for a great cause that’ll benefit both cats in need and your wardrobe.

Now through March 15, in honor of February being Cat Appreciation Month, Fresh Step litter will donate $1 (up to $100,000) to the ASPCA for every photo posted on their Facebook page of a pet owner wearing a cat-proud outfit. If your closet is currently cat-pride free, relax and don’t cough up a hairball. That’s why Pickler partnered with fashion designer and fellow cat lover Geren Ford, creating the limited-edition sweater you see Pickler wearing here. When you visit the ASPCA website to purchase the sweater ($35), 100% of the proceeds benefits the ASPCA. You can also virtually “try on” the sweater at Fresh Step’s Facebook page, post it, and make the $1 donation. It’s so easy, your cat can probably do it!

Pickler, who unfortunately had to relocate her beloved cat Pickles due to her husband’s severe allergies, is thrilled to be part of such a pro-cat program, brushing off any fear of being stamped with a “crazy cat lady stigma” as cooly as she’d brush cat hair off a couch. “I’m not ashamed of anything,” she says matter-of-factly. “I don’t really worry about what everybody else is doing and what they like. I kind of do my own thing. I love cats and I’m not going to not love cats just because somebody else doesn’t think it’s cool. I don’t think they’re cool if they don’t like cats.”

She was in a similar mindset while making her brand new CD, 100 Proof, which is out today and takes Pickler back to some more traditional country roots. “On my last album, I made a record based on what I thought radio would play and what I thought people would want to hear,” she explains. “I didn’t do that with this record. I’m not trying to get anybody to like me with this album. Nothing’s forced. I was me, I didn’t make this record for anyone but me and I think it’s okay to do things for yourself every now and then.” Her new approach has produced an album that is her strongest, most personal effort yet. In fact, by not worrying about what anyone wanted to hear, she just may have made the record everyone was waiting for after falling in love with her on American Idol in 2006.

Continue on after the jump for more dish about Pickler’s brand new CD …

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Country Spotlight: Sherrié Austin

January 20, 2012 at 3:48 pm, by Ron Kelly

Some have pegged Sherrié Austin as the Taylor Swift of the Sex and the City generation. While it was Swift who titled her 2008 album Fearless, it’s Austin who’s had a longer track record of making big, brave moves to get to where she wanted to be. From moving as a teen from her native Australia to L.A. (when she won a role on the sitcom The Facts of Life), to leaving L.A. behind to chase down her dream of making country music in Nashville and even later tackling a few roles on Broadway, Austin’s made a habit of staring down challenges and coming out on top.

If you think about it, Austin’s new CD Circus Girl could also have easily been titled Fearless: She funded the CD, coproduced it and is promoting it, all without the support of a major label. She also took full creative control, penning three of its songs and cowriting all of the others. The task would be a tightrope walk for any country act but it was even more so for Austin, considering that this marks the first time she’s thrown her own hat into the Nashville ring in eight years. Though the singer enjoyed a string of country hits that started in the late 90s (“Lucky In Love,” “Put Your Heart Into It”, “Never Been Kissed,” “Streets of Heaven”), she’s remained mostly behind the scenes the past few years writing songs for others, including some pretty big hitters (think Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, George Strait and Trace Adkins).

When Austin visited us here at LHJ recently, she was honest about how daunting her Circus Girl endeavor was, even though she came out the other side stronger than ever. “There were times when I just woke up and said, ‘Why am I doing this? I’m taking such a big risk here with my time, with my money,’ ” she admits. “But every day this voice just kept saying to me, ‘Keep going. Take another step, take another step.’ I just listened to it. And I have no regrets.”

Why would she? From its first track to its last, Circus Girl soars, bursting with a real sense of Austin’s effervescent personality and pluck. There are tracks that will make you laugh out loud (“I Didn’t,” “If I Was a Man”), tracks that will make you cry (“Get Your Leavin’ Done,” “Tryin’ to Be Me”) and even tracks that will make you want to … ahem … get a little frisky (“I Just Want to Love You Tonight”). Lyrically, Austin absolutely nails it when she captures the internal thoughts that run through everywoman’s head. In her single-lady lament “Friday Night Girls,” for example, she sings, “Trying to look twenty-one / is getting old and it ain’t no fun / That mirror don’t lie / like it used to.” And in “If I Was a Man,” she vows to burn her push-up bra, singing, “Wouldn’t mind me a girl / with some meat on her bones / I’d love me just as I am / If I was a man.”

For the time being in her life as a lady, though, Austin’s main man is singer-songwriter Shane Stevens (a cowriter on Lady Antebellum’s “American Honey”), with whom she stars on the Sundance Channel’s Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys. The show, just nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding reality program, follows the relationships of four straight women and their gay best friends down in the heart of Music City. While being a part of GWLBWLB has helped reintroduce Austin to her fans, it’s also reminded her that performing is something she loves to do. And that’s certainly music to all of our ears.

For a video of Austin’s live and acoustic performance in our LHJ Ladies’ Lounge, read on after the jump. You’ll also get the scoop on this once again rising Nashville star and find out what her hesitations were about doing GWLBWLB, the unique way she wound up writing her favorite song, what country (and pop) stars she’d love to hear sing her tunes, and lots more.

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