SHOPPING

So Converse recently released a batch of limited edition Chucks that have doodlings and writings culled from the personal notebook/journal of Kurt Cobain. Courtney Love and the Cobain Estate approved the collaboration and the sneaks are part of Converse's 100th anniversary collection.

For some -- hipster nirvana. For others -- borderline offensive. You decide. They're pretty cute in my opinion!

Click here to purchase a pair from Nordstrom.

I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

(Photos: Chanel couture Fall 08-09 in Paris, July 1/AP).

We have a new STAR! Sean Avery signed a $15.5 million four-year deal today to join the Dallas Stars, according to the AP.

And we love that he's into FASHION! The 28-year-old recently got some press for putting down his hockey sticks and interning at Men's Vogue. He even wrote about it - CLICK HERE. His closet is full of Dries Van Noten, YSL, Dior and Costume National. How adorable!

(Photo: Avery in the fashion closet at Men's Vogue/AP)

Are you in or out!?!?

If you want to audition for Season Six of Project Runway, CLICK HERE for all the info.

A casting agent from the show divulged to us, "We're looking for aspiring designers who take chances and are willing to be themselves on camera which can actually be a hard thing to do."

Hear that ya'll...DON'T BE SHY on the audition video you submit! Hurry, deadline is July 9.

Something is brewing within the Starbucks Corp. and pretty soon your local shop might be closing!

The company announced plans today to close 600 underperforming stores and eliminate as many as 12,000 full- and part-time positions. OUCH!

At the rate this economy's going, pretty soon we'll be making those triple venti, no whip foam, non-fat mocha whatevers at home!

Click here to read more.

Fashion is like the Energizer Bunny. It keeps going and going and going. Hot on the heels of the resort and men's shows is COUTURE in Paris this week.

This stuff is so special and so crazy freakin' expensive that only about 100 couture clients actually exist in the world. The rest of us get to just sit back and watch.

We were the first to spotlight chef and raw foodie Susan O'Brien back in the Nov. 2007 issue of F!D, where she divulged one of her fave recipes -- beet raviloli with herbed macadamia faux ricotta and bell pepper puree.

The founder of Hail Merry, a line of yummy raw food snacks carried at Central Market, told us that "The raw-food movement is not a diet but a lifestyle...Think of it as a cleanse."

Hey if it's good enough for Madonna, then it's good enough for us.

Click here to read more about her super healthy diet!

Are those low-rise jeans flared? Slim fit? Boot cut? Relaxed? I guess we wouldn't know since all you can see is a tiny sliver of the top of the jeans. I can't help but notice each time I pass by an Abercrombie & Fitch shop, I'm immediately greeted by ginormous black-and-white photos of shirtless (likely teen) males with flawless abs or pecs or sumthin. OH, also love that the stores hire shirtless and scantily clad really young-looking "models" to stand at the front to greet customers.

Clicked on the company's website and BAM, here's the image that immediately pops up. I'm not complainin or anything, I mean, SERIOUSLY, I am NOT complaining, but I have no idea what they sell in their stores, besides, well, SEX.

Hmmm...it oddly makes my mouth start watering for a juicy greazzzzy cheeseburger.

The cheeseburger phone featured in Juno is available online HERE for $19.95. There's a disclaimer on the website that reads, "Do not eat the burger phone. Keep out of the reach of dogs born in Burger King parking lots and hungry young children.".

HA! Love the Juno-esque, wry humor there.

The New York Times reported earlier this year in an article titled The Vanishing Point that male models were also succumbing to eating disorders to look long and lean.

The castings at the spring 2009 men's shows in Milan and Paris these past few weeks have been -- UMMM -- very interesting. At Vivienne Westwood, Sergio Lo Re, an actor and bodyguard had fashion blogs buzzing about the new "bear" who took the catwalk. And yes, he's signed with a model agency in Italy.

Over at Yohji Yamamoto in Paris, a few elderly models took the runway, one even carrying a rolled up newspaper and a carton of milk as he walked down the runway -- AWWW.

WOW! It's nice that some designers believe that "real" people can represent and not just rail thin alien tall models.

(Photos: AP)

Let's talk about what everyone's talking about but no one is willing to talk about out loud: the Stoneleigh Penthouse redesign.

Personally I've only seen it once at night and I'm not sure if it was 100-percent finished, so I'll refrain from commenting but those who have seen it...well, as one person said to me pivately, "It's dreadful!" But that's only one person's opinion. Now I want to know what you guys think.

Click Here to take survey.

The photo above is the very cool entrance foyer, and that black and white and red paints a fun opening scene; turn the corner and the aesthetic dramatically changes. I'm curious if anybody out there was on board with the shift.

Speak up decorators and designers of Dallas! Dorothy Draper is listening. (well, not actually since she's dead, that was just written for dramatic effect.)

Remember: Click Here to tell us your thoughts. The survey is waiting. You can also record your thoughts in our comments section.

***Edit update: As soon as I find more pics of the interior, I'll post them for you.****

Update-- it's 5:15 p.m. and here's what we've got so far:
13.3% - Gorgeous. Dorothy Draper would be proud.
40.0% - Hideous. Ms. Draper is rolling in her grave.
6.7% - Hilarious. For whatever reason, Carleton Varney has busted out and shown the world his mad genius. It's nuts but you go Carleton!
40.0% - Ignorance. I have no idea what you are talking about. Please pass the vodka.

photo: Carter Rose/Special Contributor.

Model Ruslana Korshunova, 20, tragically died in New York on Saturday. The Russian model, rep'ed by IMG Models, walked international runways and was a cover girl for French Elle and Russian Vogue.

Click here to read more.

Click here to see more photos of Korshunova.

(Photo: AP)

So I went to the Antiques Roadshow taping on Saturday afternoon. It was a lot of fun, everyone there was so excited, especially the appraisers looking for great finds and for fans of the Roadshow, the familiar faces of certain appraisers were worth the hour-and-half wait in line to get inside.

What Jennifer Anniston was to Friends, so are the Keno brothers to the Antiques Roadshow.

"Oh, I'm not famous, I've just been doing this a long time," says Leigh Keno, one half of the mop-topped, toe-headed twin appraisers, as he says this, an adoring fan in a striped shirt a size too small and shorts presents him with some paper and a pen for his autograph. He leans over to ask her name and personalize his private missive and the fan is more than pleased. But even as he's writing, Mr. Keno is multi-tasking, constantly searching the crowd for interesting pieces.

"Now that is a wonderful vase. I don't think she knows what she has," he says of the woman being filmed just behind us. "It's called a mocha jug, they were made from 1810 to 1825. My brother and I used to collect them as kids."

Every time the Keno brothers film a segment for Roadshow, they talk about another item they collected as kids. It's hard to imagine two little boys fawning over ceramics.

"Well, we played football too. So it was motorcycles, football and mocha jugs," he says with a laugh.

Mr. Keno points out some of the larger pieces of furniture he had already appraised, like a dining table made by Hollywood actor and director turned designer Billy Haines, custom-made for a home in Fort Worth valued at around $17,000.

"This is a great table," he says.

One thing you learn quickly with the Roadshow is things are "great," "wonderful," "important" or they're just not. What makes the show so much fun is the liminal space in between the verdict, that suck of air right before they lower the boom and tell you the god's honest truth.

If you're a fan, read on. More funny behind the scenes stuff in jump.

The Nasher Sculpture Center has an ongoing film series this summer. On June 13, guests showed up for the museum's Friday Night Films series to catch The Wizard of Oz and - awwww -- some cute little Dorothys showed up -- Jaylynn Herrera, Isabella Shelley and Kenley Ferguson.

Stop by tonight at 6 pm to catch a screening of Hitchcock's North by Northwest. I wonder if any Cary Grant look-a-likes will show up!

If you've been hunting online for a way to get in touch with the fine folks at Destiny's Antiques in North Dallas lately and haven't had much luck there's a reason why: the popular place for unique finds and bargain hunting is now the North Dallas Antique Mall.

Stop by for "12,500-square feet of antiques, collectibles and vintage" furniture and ask for owners Roger and Abby Holmes.

11722 Marsh Lane
Ste 353
Dallas, TX 75229
S.E. corner of Forest and Marsh
214-366-2100

Happy hunting!

It's like ANTM model with a twist. Eight lovely beauties are competing in a Brit model reality show on BBC3, called Britain's Missing Top Model. The catch? All are disabled. Some of the contestants are missing limbs, one is deaf, another has paralyzed arms.

The winner gets a photo spread in British Marie Claire. One of the producers point out, "Our intention is to empower both the women featured in the project and thousands of others, who shouldn't be invisible to the fashion industry just because they are disabled people...We're also looking to challenge preconceived notions of beauty."

Click here to read more.

The men's shows are going on right now in Europe and the gender bending continues. A hot emerging trend? Men's totes and bags being carried like clutches. We spy it at Marni (left) and Ferragamo.

Interesting since last season's Prada men's show had a few models wearing mini skirts...

I'll have to put my foot down if I start seeing these boys come down the runway in heels!

(Photos: AP)

So we reported last year about Baby Loves Disco, an event where the hippest night clubs are transformed for one afternoon into a child-proof dance party where djs play 70s and 80s music. The hosting clubs also have bubble machines, baskets of noise makers, a chill-out room (with tents, books and puzzles), diaper changing stations, and healthy snacks to munch on.

So nix the trek to Chuck E Cheese and head to Purgatory Dallas tomorrow from Noon to 3 p.m. where you and baby can shake your groove thang.

Click here for tickets!

Let's face it, nothing is more frustrating than bad customer service. A huge survey was recently conducted by MSN Money and, drumroll please, Time Warner's AOL made the top of the list with having the WORST customer service.

Also on the list in the "customer service hall of shame" in 4th place is ABERCROMBIE & FITCH. No big surprise there, considering I've never once been greeted or assisted anytime I set foot in any of their stores. Sadly, I'll resign to the fact that I won't ever look like male model (and former F!D model search winner) Chaise Mooty shown in ad!

Click here to see who else made the list.

Readers, where do you encounter bad service? Click comments and tell us your stories!