One Secret Remains to be Told... XOXO

What will Gossip Girl Season 3 hold for us? Well, let's recap the Gossip Girl Season 2 finale first.

We all know they show "Last time on…" on all shows to give the viewers a refresher so that they will know what's going on in the current episode. So they showed Georgina Sparks and really we had been waiting for two weeks to see what she had up her sleeve (as she didn't appear in last week's schizo flashback episode). Well 10 minutes left of the episode and we had no idea where G was! But let me tell you, it was definitely worth the wait. The "bitch" was definitely back and I cracked up when she said she was enrolling in Gallatin at NYU (Go Bobcats!). But when she requested Blair Waldorf as her roommate, I realized that indeed the bitch was back. She's going to make B's life a living hell. It's such a delicious storyline.

I love Chuck Bass. He's so hot. Just the fact that Ed Westwick has an accent makes Chuck even hotter! Of course they had to play it off as if Chuck didn't want to be with Blair. This is what this show does best - they tease you with potential hookups and breakups. But finally - in sort of a cliché way (he flew to Europe to pick up some presents for her?!) - Chuck and Blair are together. I bet something heinous will happen over the summer that will make them bicker as usual in the fall.

I hated the fact that we were supposed to actually believe that we would find out who Gossip Girl is. We clearly were not going to find that out - it's only season 2. And, it's one secret she'll never tell. Come on! But what was interesting was that she only chooses to blast certain gossip and holds on to others. I wonder how she decides. And yes, it is interesting to try and figure out who she is, but like the mother in How I Met Your Mother, we shouldn't find out until the last episode.

I also didn't like that everything was supposed to be all Serena's fault. I guess they had to point the finger at her somehow - her storyline was so boring and insignificant. Speaking of which, whatever happened to Poppy? That's a loose end that wasn't tied up. Weird. And Carter always just shows up unexpectedly. He's definitely more evil than anyone makes Chuck Bass out to be. But he's helping Serena find her dad? Confusion… And as a sidenote - did anyone else find the fact that Serena tied her tassel in her hair extremely annoying?! Where's your cap, S?

And Rufus and Lily are finally engaged, but I bet the fact that their presumed-to-be-dead illegitimate son will tear this "happy family" apart. I also assume the return of the bitchy Little J as the new Queen B could also have something to do with causing turmoil.

We shall see, but I'm very excited for Gossip Girl Season 3. I hate finales because I have to wait all summer for anything more to happen! But in the meantime, I'll probably re-watch Season 2. Through its slightly unrealistic plot, I will keep the characters alive and well. You know you love me…

P.S. I just realized I didn't mention Nate or Vanessa but honestly they weren't very interesting either. I started watching Season 1 again and Nate used to be far less dumb and far more important. Maybe there's room for them next season to develop…

Photo: CWTV.com

Ding Dong, Delivery

It was a lazy Sunday yesterday. So lazy in fact that we all slept late, napped throughout the day, and looked at each other in a panic when we decided that none of us wanted to cook dinner. Then I decided that we should just watch SNL from the night before and order takeout. Brilliant. But what occurred to me is that delivery guys must witness some interesting people during their travels.

Let me paint you a picture of my appearance: I was in bed all day and I was wearing Ang's clothes that she had given me at her house the night before so I could get more comfortable. A pair of Pink Victoria's Secret sweats kept me comfy, and her Manhattan College Jaspers shirt kept me cool. These were my pajamas from the night before but like I said - it was a lazy Sunday! My hair was disgusting and piled high on my head and being as my hair is short - half of it was hanging out the bottom. My face was completely white as not a speck of makeup could be found. I was clearly a hot mess.

As the doorbell rang, my beloved Maltese started barking like crazy and I answered the door. The guy, who was on his phone, told me the total, thanked me when I handed him the cash, and told me to have a good night. I suppose he wasn't interested in what was going on except in his own world but I just thought it interesting. Even UPS/FedEx/DHL deliverers see interesting people all the time - when I get a package I'm very excited to see said delivery person. Mail carriers, on the other hand, have the stereotypical difficulty of being bit by the dog. The point here is that delivery people (of food and packages) must encounter some strange birds throughout their work (I, not being one of the strange ones of course…).

The Closeted Staples

I've discovered a new site that has some great stuff! Celebutante Sisters has a great selection of celebs, fashion, beauty, and more! In fact, I saw this post the other day and just had to add my opinion because I loved the outfit so much...

Here, the girls refer to Hayden Panettiere, walking the streets of London. She's extremely casual, but I absolutely love her outfit! See, you can be simple, yet chic, at the same time. Although she's a little matchy-matchy, it works so well. Look at that bag and those boots! Everything screams sophisticated about this Neutrogena girl. While Hayden's energy drink may stand out the most in this pic, I really think she rocks it with the most common colors that should appear in your closet. Consider this the next time you are buying a cardigan or other article of clothing that may show up on you quite often. Check out the Celebutante Sisters' post here.

Tweet-alee Tweet-alee Twee

I was just working quietly one early summer afternoon when Dawn came up to me. She asked me, "Do you Twitter?" I looked at her, puzzled. "What is a Twitter?" I asked. She told me about the site and I began on my journey. The rest is history.

Twitter is a crazy phenomenon. I joined almost a year ago and have been tweeting ever since. I, like most others, didn't see the attraction to this site at first. In fact, I neglected Twitter for a while until I got the hang of it. I mean, I already blog so it only makes sense that I would microblog. And a few months later Twitter spread like wildfire.

Those who don't Twitter just don't understand it, but I think it's amazing. I've come to meet quite a few people who I regularly speak to and with whom I have similar interests; I've gotten article sources on here; I've come in contact with some PR gals who are quite fantastic. And it's a great way for me to get some blog exposure while I'm at it. It's actually a lot of fun, yet one of the many technological advances that help you waste time throughout the day. The first app I downloaded on my BlackBerry? Yep, you guessed it -- TwitterBerry!

I write this now as Twitter is down for an hour maintenance. I actually saw the warning, letting me know it would be going down, and thought to myself, "What?! Why can't they do this while I'm asleep?!" And when it went down, I wanted to Tweet about how upset I was, but then realized I could not… Now if that's not another addiction, then I don't know what is. I am now addicted to coffee and makeup and shoes and bags and Twittering (and probably a few other things), just in case you're keeping score. I'm a lost cause!

Come, follow me, and join the bajillion people who have already fallen victim to the craze!

Love, @simplyfabulous

Customer Service is Key

I was unintentionally rude last night to a sales associate at Banana Republic. But, in my defense, he wasn't very clear in what he was saying and then after I gave him an attitude, he gave me an attitude back! Well, not for nothing, but I worked in customer service once upon a time and isn't the customer always right? You can't be snippy with a customer. You're representing your place of work. Well, here's the scenario…

I ordered the fabulous yellow dress from my previous post and it was way too big on me. So I went to exchange it for a smaller size. I was very excited that they had the size I needed and went to the cashier to make my even exchange. I told him that I just needed to switch the sizes - it was clearly the same dress, same color. He said OK and took my receipt. All of a sudden he says a number and waits for me, as if to give him my credit card. I looked at him, puzzled, and said:

What do you mean I owe you money?
Well, you purchased the dress from the online store and the online store is different from our store. You can only process returns here.
Well, that's quite ridiculous! Forget it then! (I say this, kind of surprised and angrily, because why can't you just switch the size?!)

The whole problem here, by the way, was the fact that I had gotten the dress on sale and now the dress was back to full price. So when he said how much I owed, it seemed to add up to the full price of the dress. He responded to me:

I don't really understand what you think is ridiculous exactly? (He said this with attitude.)
Why would I pay you more money when I've already purchased the dress? Then I'm paying full price for it!
No, I'm taking the exact price you paid and charging you the same price. I have to return the dress and then have you re-buy it. (He said this as if this was understood and looked at me like I was an idiot!)
Well, you actually didn't say that to me. It makes sense now and that's fine then.

I didn't know how to respond to all this! I may be an avid shopper, but I'm not completely aware of all the technicalities of every single store. Had he explained to me that he needed to return it first and then have me re-purchase it, there would not have been a problem. However, he decided to go ahead and do this without informing me and assumed that I would just swipe my card. I felt that he was taking advantage of me at this point and that is why I got so upset.

As he completed these TWO transactions, I was slightly mortified. Jess was with me and she kind of started laughing. She had to walk away and I'm glad she did because had we made eye contact I would have lost it! I really hadn't meant to be a grouchy customer, but he was not very clear!! Next time, he should explain what he's about to do and not give me an attitude back. Clearly, this Banana Republic employee was not instructed on etiquette!

A Yellow Sale

I know I've spoken about yellow before and my inability to really pull off the color (not to mention my love of black), but I'm so attracted to so many yellow fashions this season! The one that really got me excited was this Banana Republic dress I woke up to in my email (and btw, BR is having an awesome dress sale where all of their dresses are $98 and under!).

Now, I know they have the dress in black (and by all means I love the color), but something is so inviting about this yellow dress. For accessories here, I suggest perhaps a black statement piece or something that will stand out. This is especially true for me due to the fact that my complexion is so light. I should be wearing the dress; the dress should not be wearing me.

5 Things About the Gym

I do my best thinking at the gym. I also am able to make some observations about what's happening around me. And I can't for the life of me understand the following:

1. Why do women wear makeup to the gym? Did you know that when you sweat and you wear makeup that your pores get nice and clogged? When this happens, you are more prone to acne and blackheads and really, who wants to give those little suckers any excuse to make a nice little home on your pretty little face?

2. Why would you wear a velour tracksuit to the gym? Don't you get hot with that long-sleeved winter ensemble on? Wearing your finest Juicy doesn't really scream gym-goer to me.

3. How could you have a really good workout when you're talking on the phone? The girl talking loudly on her Blackberry on the machine next to me would have been kind of irritating last night had it not been for my iPod. Through my peripheral vision I noticed her talk on three different calls in the span of my 45-minute workout on the arc trainer.

4. Don't you get hot when you wear your hair down at the gym? I don't know about you (and not to be TMI here), but I tend to sweat when I'm at the gym. If my hair were on my back (well, it's short now), I'd be disgusted and would probably get hotter!

5. I have found it's harder to have a workout buddy if you're just going to be doing machines. I like to go at my own pace. But I've seen lots of people in groups of four and five wandering around the gym, glued to each other. Are you sure you're getting the most out of your workout? Maybe you are - I just would feel overwhelmed having to keep tabs on so many other people.

Isn't the point of the gym to really get your adrenaline pumping and give you a few extra calories to play around with throughout the day? I think it is. That's what it is for me anyway. This isn't meant to be judgment at all (after all, I go to the 'Judgment Free Zone' and am just getting back on the gym train, myself), but these are just five things I saw last night as I watched the many people walking around.