Top Design ends,Shear Genius sets up shop and Sanjaya is safe again,curses!

Matt and Carisa went head to head in the final Top Design challenge,which was to design a 17 foot loft in downtown L.A. with a budget of over 162,000 and two months to work on the floor plan,plus five days for their carpenters and crew to put it all together. Also,the client they were supposed to be creating this space for turned out to be themselves.



With such huge blank canvases to work with,Carisa and Matt had quite a time getting everything ready. Both of them had to deal with similar obstacles,such as going over their alloted budgets,moving materials up to the lofts(it was neccessary to carry stuff up several flights of stairs,due to the bulkiness)and worrying about the extra hired hands. Carisa and Carl even managed not to squabble too much-a miracle of the gods-especially when the paint from Carisa's black wooden floor kept peeling up after the crew was removing the protective covering from it. It was repairable but she should've gotten wood that was properly refurnished there.



Regardless,I fell in love with Carisa's loft. She decided to go for a black and white motif,which made me worry at first but she pulled it off. The place was light and airy,with sleek surfaces and a pleasing tone thru out. Carisa said she wanted a loft like the one Tom Hanks had in Big and while I didn't see a big keyboard(yes,I know that wasn't in the loft in the film,no complaints please!),it did feel like a playground for the modern single gal.


My favorite part of Carisa's place was the bedpit she had,with a great window view. It looked so cool and inviting,like a sophiscated version of an I Dream Of Jeanie lounging area. I wish I had something like that in my house...then again,I might not get out of bed if I did!



Matt's loft was concieved as a family dwelling and the princess room for his four year old daughter was lovely. His whole design was alittle tighter than Carisa's but he did add touches of warmth with elegant family photos and small but chic pops of color within the space. In some ways,it's really hard to compare and contrast both lofts since one was meant for a single person and the other for a family. The different needs for each don't mesh together well.



Matt wound up being the winner,even with the judges wishing that the adult bedroom was as warmly hued as the bathroom was. Carisa took her loss well,saying it was better this way since Matt"would've been devastated." Too true and frankly,Matt's whole attitude was getting on my last nerve. He seesawed between"If I don't win,I'm going to kill myself/rob a bank" or"I can't lost to a student!/Was there any doubt about who would win? Really?". I think alot of the judges' praise of him went right to his head towards the end there. Oh well,atleast it's all over and we can move on..



...to Bravo's next competition show,Shear Genius! So far,the format is very Project Runway/Top Chef in style with a "Shortcut" challenge to showcase the signature cut of the stylists and then an elimination challenge,which was to create hair art this week. I adored Daisy's version of Marie Antonette's wedding day,it was so amazing! As host Jaclyn Smith said,that did not look like it was done in only two hours.



Theodore won the challenge with his "hidden treasure' look(the box actually opens up to reveal the booty within)and I had my doubts about his idea but the risk paid off there.



The first stylist to be snipped was Paul-Jean,for this hideous hair-don't that I swear I've seen in a bad music video somewhere(those all blend together after awhile). So far,the two contestants that will wind up getting hot spots on E!'s The Soup will be Dr. Boogie,who loves to literally pat himself on the shoulder repeatedly,and Tabatha,who dresses like one of the Witches of Eastwick and repeatedly loves to utter her personal mantra(I'm assuming) which is "F--k you!" Good time a-coming,folks,good times!

Sanjaya not only survived another round of American Idol this week but he also managed not to be the worst singer on Performance night. Most of the contestants didn't take to Latin Night very well but Sanjaya was the only one to sing in Spanish passibly well. However,that facial hair of his does make him look alot like DeBarge. See for yourself:

SANJAYA'S SPANISH LULLABYE



SEPARATED AT BIRTH?



The Sanjaya Singing Award goes to Haley Hotpants,who wore out her welcome with all that shaking and shimmying that Simon called her on. Haley also sang the Song of Shame as she was sent home after a really long results show. Fox,I know you guys want to keep the ratings for that hour but give us a break here! A half hour is just fine and dandy.

HALEY TURNS THE BEAT DOWN INTO THE GROUND



LOVE TO HEAR GLORIA'S PERCUSSION



Next week's theme is country,with Martina McBride as the guest mentor. JLo was okay,I guess but her bangles were more interesting than what she had to say to the contestants. Sanjaya goes country..*shudder*...let's look at my ladies for some hope:

LAKISHA SHAKES HER BODY



MELINDA SWAYS THE NIGHT AWAY



JORDIN'S RHYTHM IS GONNA GET YOU



Random Notes:




TAR/All Stars: A Yield came up during this last leg and the Beauty Queens used it on Eric and Danielle,prompting Eric to call them"dirty pirate hookers". I can think of alot of names to call those two but dirty pirate hookers doesn't spring to my mind. Turns out it's an Anchorman reference(which is embarassing that I didn't know it,since I not only saw that movie but have it on DVD. Then again,my favorite scene was the newsteam street rumble). Eric and Danielle have now sworn to be the official enemies of the BQs but I suspect that those gals can take down Eric just as handily as Veronica did Ron Burgundy did here:



Uchenna and Joyce wound up being Philiminated due to a missed plane change which gave all the other teams ample time to check in before they even arrived. Too bad,but they did win TAR on their first time out,so no harm,no fowl.



The Riches: Wayne and Dahlia decide to give in to Ginny's demands that her brother Ken marry Didi after the sneaky bitch finds them living the Buffers' life in Eden Falls. Guys,this is so not a good plan;not only does Didi have her eye on someone else but Ken is a prime example of what Carlos Mencia calls a"Dee Dee Dee". This may be just a stalling tactic but Ma and Pa Malloy better come up with a solution right quick because Didi doesn't strike me as the type to meekly go along with an arranged marriage,family ties or no family ties.

The Office: With Smallville and Ugly Betty still in reruns,I'll be able to catch more of The Office,which is good since Andy is now coming back to the show. Last week's Jim/Roy confrontation was damn funny,particularly since Dwight seemed to get some of that pepper spray on himself there: