Foxy and Refreshingly Private

What kind of celebrity couple are Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green?  Are they A list?  B list?  D list?

Let me make it easier.  I think we can all agree that they're not as famous as Brangelina and likewise agree that they're more famous than Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott.  Right?  Meaning, they're somewhere between super famous and reality star famous, but I'm not sure where exactly on the spectrum.  Most of that fame comes from Megan's success.  No offense to Brian Austin, I'm totally willing to admit a brief crush during his Beverly Hills 90210 days, but he isn't Mr. Limelight.

Why does any of this completely ridiculous characterization matter?  Check out below, which is a snippet from Megan Fox's Facebook page.

Who knew that Megan Fox was pregnant?  I have to admit that I did.  That's attributable to my unhealthy addiction to celebrity gossip websites.  But I bet some of you, more mature folk, didn't know.  The reason that some of you may not have known is because she didn't splash her pregnancy in every available media outlet.  She wasn't showing up on red carpets rubbing her belly.  She didn't do a spread in Us Weekly to discuss her cravings and nursery decor.  She didn't announce the gender on twitter.  She generally kept a low profile and privately enjoyed the pregnancy with her teen heartthrob husband.

For the record, I'm not a super fan of Megan Fox.  I happen to think she's a bad mediocre actress.  But I was impressed by her relative discretion when it came to being pregnant.  She announced her son's birth not by PR blast, but in her own words on her Facebook page several weeks after the fact.  There's still no photographs available to the public.  

What a stark contrast from those celebs who sell their baby photos to the highest paying tabloid/gossip magazine (more on that here).  So, back to my original question - what kind of couple are Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green?  Non-exploitive like those A listers and non-desperate like those D listers.  I'm still not sure where exactly on the spectrum that they exist, but good for them.

If you knew that Megan Fox was pregnant, how did you find out?  Did you know she gave birth?  Did you think she was discreet or just as shamelessly exploitive as the rest of them?

Stuff People Google 73

What is this week's edition of Stuff People Google about?!!

hot process soap cupcakes

This scares me.  I have a feeling it has something to do with cooking meth.  Have I watched too many HBO/Showtime series?

A Couple of Baby Name AHAs!

Last week, a friend (thanks B!) sent me a very cool article from iVillage about my #1 fav topic - baby names.  The article (here) lists ten categories of baby names (think places, spiritual, antique, etc.) and what choosing a name from each category says about the parent.  For example, parents who choose places as names (i.e. Brooklyn, London, Paris, etc.) envision their child in the limelight.   There's probably definitely no scientific research behind the assertions, but I thoroughly enjoyed them.

This short, sweet article, beyond providing some entertainment, provided two serious AHA! moments for me.  For those of you who don't know what an AHA! moment is, shame on you and I'll explain.  It's Oprah's term for an epiphany.  She made it up and I think it's now in the dictionary or at least the urban dictionary.  It's AHA! as in "I get it!", which is literally how Oprah defines it in her video explanation below.  So strange that this video exists on Youtube.

My first AHA! moment inspired by the iVillage article was the realization that my theory on uniqueness being the single most important factor in choosing a baby name (remember this post?) is not true.  Well, it's not true for everyone.  People have many reasons for choosing their perfect baby name, many of which are totally unrelated to uniqueness.  Aha!  There's more than one end goal for finding the perfect baby name and there's more than one path to get there.

Here are the categories of names listing in the iVillage article:

• Place Names
• Religious Names
• Vintage Names
• Nature Names
• Political Names
• Celebrity Driven Names
• Pop-Culture Inspired Names
• Ethnic Names
• Family Names
• Really Unique Names - this is my category, right?

Here's the other, more significant AHA! - I don't prioritize uniqueness in my baby name preferences.  I don't fall into the "really unique names" category.  What's that?!  Hold up now...

The article, understandably, listed names like Apple and Pilot Inspektor as really unique names.  I don't like either as I've previously mentioned (here).  There both a bit too out there for me.  Too unique.  On the other hand, I'm don't like Isabella or Jacob (the most popular names of 2011).  They're too common for me.  Not unique enough.  But, here is where the AHA! really hit home, if I'm forced between Jacob and Pilot Inspektor, I'm going with Jacob.  Turns out that uniqueness is more of a secondary concern for me.  I know, I'm baffled too. 

This double AHA! left me totally confused about what type of baby namer I am.  For a woman who's written about baby names several dozen times, this was concerning.  I was suddenly without a baby name identity.

Don't feel too bad for me...pretty confident you didn't...all that happened was a daily trip over to Nameberry.com to search around and rediscover who I am.  The process was quite quick and here are the results: my taste is vintage, classic and traditional with consideration (not absolute prioritization) of how popular the name is according to the SSN website.

What type of baby names do you like?  Any of the categories listed by iVillage?  Maybe you're a mesh of more than one or fall into a category overlooked by iVillage?

Stylin' Flower Girls and Ring Bearers

How cute are flower girls and ring bearers?  Right?  Sometimes they cause a bit of unwanted drama (think screaming, flailing tantrums), but mostly they cause a collective "awwww" from all the wedding guests as they slowly, awkwardly, adorably make their way down the aisle.

Not everyone welcomes babies, toddlers, children...anyone under 18... at their wedding for a plethora of reasons (including the screaming, flailing tantrum potential), but that's a whole different post.  Today, I'm focusing on wedding fashion for the mini members of a wedding party.  It's not wedding season, but it is the season of wedding planning for all those folks who will be getting hitched in 2013.

All the clothes, shoes and accessories below are for infants and toddlers (0-2 years) ...aka babies...but many come in larger sizes (and alternate colors), so be sure to click on the hot links below each image to get product details.  Also, most of the Etsy shops featured in this post specialize in infant/toddler/child formal wear, so check out the entire shop for other adorable products.

For the Flower Girls (ladies first)

White knit and tulle dress by Ralph Lauren ($175)

Tulle ballerina dress by Us Angels ($146+)

Jeweled collar by JCrew ($48)

Lace bow headbands by Little Blooms Handmade ($12 each)

Barefoot baby sandals by Happy Threads ($18)

For the Ring Bearers

Sage boys jumper by Beane & Company ($70)

Two button school blazer by JCrew ($158)

Alexander baby boy shoes by Pink2Blue ($32)

Elephant bow tie by Olive and Vince (~$16.44)

Name That Bump 5 - Revealed

As always, before I reveal the lady behind the bump from Name That Bump 5, here is the headless photo to refresh your memory:

And the lady is - Gwenyth Paltrow!!!  Amy and Ella Mae were correct.  

WW and Mother of Pearl, the headless image definitely looks as if it could be Posh.  But, Posh Spice (aka Victoria Beckham), while married to a Brit (soccer player David Beckham), is not what I would consider an accomplished actress.  She may have starred in Spice World with her fellow Spice Girls bandmates, but an Academy Award winner she is NOT.

Remember Spice World (circa 1998)?  Okay, I never saw it (shame on me), 

but I hear it's a cult classic.  I've just never met anyone in the cult.