This past weekend was definitely crazy…between the looming threat of the hurricane plus the duties of the show, there was a lot to think about. I retreated back to CT where I thought I would be safer than the island of Manhattan and set up shop there. This turned out to be a not-so-hot idea: my friends that stayed in NYC had no problem and things ended up being a lot more severe in CT with loss of power, and roads and trains closed down! Luckily, overall the storm was a lot better than most people predicted.

Photo: Courtsey of Althea

That wasn’t the only good news this weekend. We had the beautiful Laura Sossong wearing an ALTHEA HARPER dress from the Fall ’11 collection to the VMAs! Laura used to work with Jupe Boutique in Pittsburgh, which is a store I love and have done many trunk shows there. When Laura called and said that she needed a dress for the VMAs I was so excited to get the chance to dress her! It also doesn’t hurt that she looks beyond amazing in the clothes

After taking a look at what some of the celebrities showed up wearing, I definitely think that she topped the best-dressed list! Last night they aired the episode of Hair Battle Spectacular on Oxygen network where I was a guest judge! I’m excited  for it to finally come out because that was the episode I filmed when I had my secret trip for work in L.A. a few months ago. I wore a piece from the ALTHEA HARPER Fall ’11 collection (as a judge I was sitting the entire time so you can’t really see it too well). After being on Project Runway and knowing how it feels to be “judged” I can definitely say that I prefer being in the judge’s seat; plus, my previous experience helped me give constructive criticism. It is a fun show, and I had a great time being part of the filming process.

Photo: Courtesy of Althea

Although there was tons of excitement this weekend, it comes with an equal amount of stress. We are less than two weeks away from the show and as much as we plan, there are always a million last-minute things that need to be addressed. I constantly feel like there is a pit in my stomach and have had my BlackBerry glued to me at all times. Unfortunately, there have been a few times when the stress gets to me and takes it out on my skin. Luckily, I have the amazing Claro device that helps take away any blemishes immediately. I noticed some when I was going to bed last night, used my Claro (just have to hold up the device to the blemish and push a button—really that simple) and then repeated this a.m. You would never guess my stress level by looking at my skin…seriously best invention ever.

Photo: Courtsey of Althea

The rest of the day was filled with guest list finishing touches, contacting modeling agencies, and keeping up with production…definitely going to be another long night.

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