my kind of town

I just got back from a look for less shoot in chicago and I am here to say chicago is my new favorite city. not only did they have great vintage and boutique shops in wicker park, like casa del sol and una mae's freak boutique, but the weather was beautiful and the food divine. jill, yoanna's maekup artist, let me where one of her dope jewelery designs, made of wax and covered in silver that read ghetto blaster. it's too cool for skool. my sister happened to be in town from switzerland and stayed the night with me in the hip chic hotel, the james. we got mani/pedis, sipped starbux (for free from some nice guy who bought them for us) and had a fab dinner with the thaler crew at rosebud. this is my favie crew to work with and it made this trip one of the best! on my last night, I got to have dinner with cait and her beau and his family, the royal von durings which is always good for some international flavor. I am back in l.a. to kick off the fourth of july week of fun.

notes from the fashion field

leaving JFK right now, posting from my schmancy new cingular pocket pc. was in town shooting the look for less on long island which is my hometown, homie, so I was super psyched to do this one. flew in on tuesday for a wednesday shoot. stayed with the 'rents in farmingville. had a p/u wednesday morning at 8am from lindy's taxi service. within fifteen minutes, I knew the drivers whole life story including his credit problems and his plans to move to boca with the wife after the son sells his bakery in patchogue. the bad toupee and even worse long island accent were just the icing on the cake. only in new yawk. got to set and said hello to my bestest usual suspects on crew (courtney, chris, james, jill, deanna, yohanna, kelly). jetted to starbux for my new favie, an iced nonfat green tea latte (u can take the girl out of l.a. but you can't dot dot dot). started in on looking for a less pricey dvf wrap dress for our contestant, gayle. ended up picking up a pair of seven jeans and a knock off marc jacobs bag at dalia's on main street in huntington. had lunch with yohanna at some greek joint and ran to the local army/navy store to pick up a huntington sweatshirt for mariah carey. what? yup. she is on kimmel 2nite and david is writing her segment. he asked me to pick something up for mariah in huntington since it is her hometown and I happened to be there. mission accomplished and it was back to work. the next day I did a radio interview with phathead on island 94.3 went shopping at the riverhead outlets with my mum and got a ton of new digs on the cheap. I can spend hours at that place and especially enjoy my favie shop, off fifth for sax. so now its on the fly fly where I'm going to kimmel tonite and chicago next week for another look for less shoot. bon voyage.

not another day at the derby

try this trend on for size -- an emerging summer style is a big, floppy hat. they actually have fun, inexpensive ones at the local drug store like rite-aid or whatever. you can step it up a bit and p/u the very fun and flirty juicy couture beach hat. not only does it protect you from the harmful rays of the sun but it will make you look like you are ready for a summer's eve gatsby party in east egg. match with white rimmed sunglasses, grecian sandals, eyelet dresses and a copy of the latest beach read.

día del padre feliz

since its dad's dad, I figured I would shout out the original gangsta trendster, my dad, richard j. zaino. my father laid the sub-pop culture foundation for which I now stand upon. back in the day, he would rock the lacoste with the collar up. my sister and I would make fun him for being such a dork but it turns out that is a fashion staple for me now. he loved the sperry top-siders before they were retro hip and always had a bright shiny penny in his loafers. the fatherly smell of ralph lauren's polo in its fatherly hunter green glass bottle will forever be etched in my mind, memory and scent(ses). he taught (and coached) me how to throw a softball and a basketball and drive stick-shift. my dad was a vegetarian waaay before it was cool and truly birthed my love of music with his art garfunkel type voice, ability to pick up a guitar or sit at a piano and play any tune and introduce his kid daughter to the smooth sounds of wynton marsalis, dave brubeck, simon and garfunkel and the beatles. he continues to support me three decades into a crazy dream of entertainment success and forever amazes me with his eye for culture-forward articles in the sunday new york times. I thank my dad for being such a great (and trendy) dad and wish you all a happy fathers day!

miss marple says...

dear God,
I pray for world peace, health and happiness amongst men and a pair of size 8 christian louboutin miss marples in black. Amen. or as andre 3000 says "ahhh, lady".

yeah, I don't want to be a murderer either

have u heard this rihanna song, unfaithful? it has the most awful lyrics, the chorus being the piece de resistance with "I don't want to be a murderer" explaining breaking some dude's heart. ummmm, kids listen to this song and now the word murderer is going to be watered down and taken lightly in people's eyes. sort of like n*gga in the rippity-rap songs. it has gone to #1 on the trl list annnnd the girl sang it at a hurricane relief fund concert?!? where people actually died!?!?! I think its really irresponsible and a bit scary for all involved to have put this song out. you may be murderers after giving me a heart attack from listening to this ish.

thursday thoughts on a sunday night

last thursday was good. lots to do. got up at 4:30am to get to a studio in the valley to shoot a satellite media tour for promotion of the style network's 21 day wedding something or other. I should've probably been more up on what I was promotin' but it was 4:30 in the morning. can't fault a girl for those early morning memory losses. coffee bean doesn't even open until 6:30am, so p'scuse me. bought a very cute dress on melrose for 40 bux to rock for the day. me and claudia and kim bradford from whose wedding is it anyway? were "wedding experts" on said media tour and appeared on over a dozen morning shows promoting this style network wedding month. after make-up (and coffee), the three of us got along swimmingly and quickly got down a niche of our own nuptual tips -- I was the go-to girl for the wedding dresses (if you see a wedding dress you like, i.e. jessica simpsons, etc.), rip out the picture and take it to a local tailor. you can get the same look without the celebrity price tag after a couple of hours of this, claudia and I headed over to see jane who was sub-hosting for leeza gibbons on leeza live. it was waaay fun. claudia is also being followed for a reality show on her boyfriend, olympian maurice green, so there was a double crew of two two two shows in one. with the modern girls shooting schedule over, its really nice to have a busy day now and again. I've been chillin with my man, but he starts kimmel tomorrow so its bye bye bye baby in the daytime for now. I made us a nice good luck dinner tonite of chicken kebob, kale and rice...with wine. lots of wine. that's why I'm blabbering at the mouth/fingers here in the front of the computer on a sunday night cheers.

jackie jewels

if you are looking for a piece that truly stands out, look no further than jackie jewels. her designs are customized, funky and ironic making them one of a kind. a true conversation piece. plus, she rocks so its always fun to support a sister. xo.

golden door spa at the boulders

if someone asked me what I liked to do in my spare time, aside from shopping, it is 100% rest and relaxation time in a spa. this weekend I had the luxury of accompanying my cuz barbara down to arizona to spend a few days at the boulders. this spa is incredible. one of the most incredible I've been to in the world. if you've been to the golden door in puerto rico, this one trumps that and that one is heaven on earth. great food, beautiful desert scenery, fun yoga and stretch classes, endless amounts of potassium or as I like to call them, dried apricots and mango that I was smuggling into the pockets of my golden door robe like my grandma with sweet n' low. I had the lymphatic massage, dead sea mud wrap and vitmain C facial and a weird biocscan that told me I have unusually low levels of antioxidants in my body which made me panic slightly. the panic came while I was being rubbed down with exotic oils in a room lit by candles and gilded buddhas so it wasn't that bad. go if you can. its a must-see if you're a spa fan.

kari feinstein's style lounge

last week marked another faaaaab style event hosted by cutie kari feinstein for the mtv movie awards. it was held in an unbelievable manse in the hollywood hills that apparently claudia shot her charlie wilson video in. lots of great gets this time around, namely a chic cashmere sweater by alexander wang, a flirty top by my new favie, laROK, great denim from the myth of jade, a soft cotton tee and camo army hat by kinetix, the cutest hand printed vintage stationary outta SF from hello ducky, D-I-Y hipster tees from moon girl and a creamy white weekender bag from leaders in leather that I literally had to pull a sopranos-style move to walk away with. all in all, a great day of hanging with the modern gals, drinking champers and making some new fashion friends.

forever in my heart. forever 21.

did u know that forever 21 started testing a mens line? there is one in the beverly center that I was shocked to stumble upon. they have hip, graphic tees for $12.50 (watta bargain!), cute cargos and great oversized hoodies that I'll be sure to buy david as a gift then once its home, claim it as my own. stay away from the dressier items coz in pure forever fashion, they look reeeeally cheap.

buck you

our computer has been giving me sass as of late so I havent been able to post as often as I'd like. please forgive the belated response -- did you see bucky on the american idol finale?! I don't know what happened between his vote off the island and the last night's performance, but he has gone and done stolen my heart. his voice sounded great and he moved with the swagger of a rock superstar. I remember the night jon corn and I sat and watched the first show of the season screaming out that we loved the wackiness and unfamiliarity of the silver cloud. who knew that several weeks later he would take the whole thing and be considered a fox. there are kids in america DYING THEIR HAIR GRAY!?! perhaps SJP can do a garnier commerical for their color du jour, tin foil taylor.

the great bean debate

there was an entertainment news story a couple of months ago that involved britney spears having her private jet fly to la. back from her set in random usa. to bring her a vanilla ice blended from the coffee bean. now those that are not geographically located in the west aren't privvy to such sweet indulgences but if you've ever tasted the coffee at coffee bean you'd know why brit spent essentially $50,000 a day on a cuppa joe. it's THAT worth it. I drink a $3.45 regular, iced mocha latte, no sugar added every morning. that means I've hit up ALOT of coffee beans. I just moved into the hollywood neighborhood that is hancock park adj. and I have found a new coffee bean jem tucked away on beverly. I think its family run and it is kosher or orthodox or whatever so its closed on friday nights and most of saturday for sabbath but maaaan, when it is open, everyone is sooo friendly and the rabbi-blessed coffee just tastes better. just like kabbalah water! even the morning muffins and r/f (that's reduced fat for those not down with the CB lingo) orange chocolate scone that I will occassionally get, melts in the mouth. they have papers for you to read and you can catch ms. leeza gibbons getting her morning fixxx if you're lucky (her studios are across the street). if I were to break down the la. bean, I would have to say my fave is the one at fairfax and sunset. ask for rachel. she makes a great latte and it is soo fun to sit out on sunset and watch for the celebs who pop in daily. coming in at a close second is the bean on laurel canyon and ventura. their lattes aren't the best but the atmosphere is fun and I have a soft spot in my heart for the 'hood. the one in century city on santa monica is fun too if you're on the west side and the bean mid-wilshire on your way out or in to bev hills is a nice respite after a meeting, but fuggedabout the one on melrose by martel. it's awful! they have no selection, aren't friendly and the feng shui of the place is wack. now that I think about it, the coffee bean express in the beverly center is pretty wack too. ya know whats even more wack? using the word WACK, mcjack. as you can see, my morning hit has got me jumping coz thats alotta jive for some jamoke but thats how much a morning coffee can mean at the bean. where's your favorite joint for joe?

modern girls guide to l.a. eateries

last night me and the other modern gals went out for a night on the town. we decided on dinner and drinks at the new social club, social hollywood which has taken over the hollywood athletic club space. the place is huge! the decor is phenomenal. the staff is very friendly but pretentiously long-winded which is distracting when you want to have a good cocktail and chat. the food is expensive and sub-par. I had the lamb shanks and lemme tell you, for forty bux I expected more than a stick of fat. I did enjoy my two bellinis and the creamy polenta I had was yummy. afterwards, our host leslie took us on a tour of the members-only area upstairs. its nice. I dont know if they'll be able to pull off the exclusivity and social bullseye that is the soho house, but lawdy knows they are trying. we tried to bribe leslie into thinking we were ultra-cool and that they had to sign us on as members. he knew miss eva la rue b/c ironically enough, he plays the finger print guy on csi:miami. hollywood is hollyweird. get in now while it is still under the radar or worse yet, passed its prime.

what you should be listening to now:
ghostface killah
gnarls barkley
the raconteurs
babyshambles

what you should be watching now:
modern girls guide to life on style
wonder showzen on mtv2

what you should be wearing now:
norma kamali
alexandchloe
paige jeans: hollywood hills cut

if u want to date michael jackson, u have to B-14!

Claudia and I hosted Bingo at Hamburger Mary's in WeHo last night with Belle Aire and Jeffrey. It was alot of fun!! We followed in the footsteps of some other great Friends of Dorothy who have called their legendary bingo including Janice Dickinson and Paris Hilton. David came and we had Hamburgers. I even made a shirt at Neighborhoodies that read BING-HO. To date, they have raised over one million dollars for charity. You go girls. After Bingo, David and I went over to Pinkberry where the line was once again out the door. I made nice with the actress who plays Artie Bucco's wife on The Sopranos. She is from Harlem and was very interested in franchising a Pinkberry for Chelsea in NYC. I know a stupid amount of useless information about Pinkberry's that proved to be useful in this instance. David drove around the block because their was no place to park and by the time he circled the block 342 times, he swore off Pinkberry forever. We'll see how long that lasts. The dont call if Crackberry for nuthin.

say goodbye to no. hollywood

yes, its true. I "borrowed" the post title from david's digital couch. at least I am giving credit where credit is due. and yes, that's true too. we are leaving north hollywood this weekend and moving into our lovely new hancock park adj. apartment. wowie zowie! this week was a flurry of activity. I started off the week shooting 'how do I look?' with finola and a very cute 18 yr. old fashion victim, celeste. tomorrow is reveal day. fingers crossed that she picks my collection. this time I take full responsibility for my super deluxe teen fashion picks (yes, steviebadazz, full responsibility). next stop was the modern girls guide to motherhood party at the gm suite at the reg bev wilsh for jane's new book of the same name. it was faaab. brooke shields, melissa joan hart, shar jackson and more hot hollywood mama's made the rounds. I am so proud of jane. by far the best book release party I've ever been to! I continued shooting for the week and packing for the big move this weekend. today I picked up my new car!!!! I've been driving around my beat-up old mercedes benzie since I moved out here three years ago and it was time to upgrade. I drove away with a fab 97' beamer. black on black. I was proud of myself for stashing away the cash to get the sweet ride. and did anyone hear mine, david and claudia's appearance on the adam carolla show last week? next stop: new apartment!!!!!

NEW TO MY BLOG: ANONYMOUS POSTINGS!!!!

Remember when you tried to post a comment on my board and it would ask you to spend 38 minutes registering? NO MORE! Now anybody can leave a comment and I hope you all do - I promise to always respond and it'll make this board fun! I want to know what you want to know! Love always, JZ.

jess zaino world tour 2006

Life has been crazy with a capital K this past week. I flew in to Chicago last Friday for a Nordstrom gig on Saturday. The Michigan Ave. store is brill! Big, beautiful and tons of trendy merch to choose from... annnd, they carry Scott Barnes' Body Bling. Head to accessories and pick up the new crochet Isabella Fiore bag. I also got to meet some kick butt chi-town, my town ladies. If you are in the neighborhood, make sure to stop by Exhibit on Lincoln Ave. and grab som grub and bins of wine at Bin 36. Then it was to New York to host KMS California's I AM KMS CALFORNIA CASTING CALL at the Nokia Theatre on 44th St. I wore a dress by ECHO provided by my good friends at Tracy Paul & Co. and accessories by H&M. Hung with The Gastineau Girls and learned that KMS Calfornia SilkSheen is the best for my frizzy New York 'do and that Joyce Leslie on University Place has THE BEST cheap-o, trendy shoes. NNNew York girls are still rocking the knee-high rain rubbers, so keep that trend coming. On a side note, my bag was lost and I was involuntarily pulled from a plane only to sit in a Chicago airport Hilton for a day and a half. Where was Paris when I needed her? As a result, I am waging a personal boycott against American Airlines and I suggest you do to. Oh! yesterday on JFK to LAX, I had Nigel Barker from ANTM and Jessica Simpson's dad, Joe on board!!

We're back, baby!

Make sure to save the date or set your Tivos because Modern Girls Guide to Life is back for its second season premiering tonight, Friday April 21 at 9pm on E!'s Style Network . Watch the normally tame Jane Buckingham get buck nekkid or Claudia Jordan (recently from Deal or No Deal) eat bugs. I didn't think models ate, let alone insects. Ewww. Plus we've got more of the tips and tricks needed for living a fabulously fabulous modern life. Think Sex in the City meets Queer Eye (sans the queer but all of the homoerotic undertones).

Super Deluxe Style Tip for the Ladies: Start rocking the watch. During the day and also with event evening wear. The bigger the better. "Borrow" one from your beau if need be. While you're at it, grab one of his white button-down Oxfords and throw on a cinch belt at the waist. Super Sexy.

Super Deluxe Style Tip for the Lads: Ditch your Nike Dunks and chuck those Chuck Taylors - its time to take it back to the old school of Spicoli and rock the black and white check slip-on sneak. Rite-Aid is currently carrying an awesome pair for $9.99. They're the most poorly put together shoe but I think that's what makes 'em super California cool. Look for the original Vans if blisters aren't your thang.

I'm still having an amazing time on my national Nordstrom tour speaking about the newest and chicest in Spring 2006 accessories and cosmetics. Think white for shirts, shorts and shoes and the oversized Bestey Johnson Buckle Bag. All the rage. This weekend I'm off to Chicago then its New York City on Tuesday to host the KMS California "Express Yourself" Event with those gorgeous Gastineau Girls.

best week ever

last week was a great week. that's been happening to me alot lately. I've been saying "today is the best day ever!" more often than I ever have in my life. pretty groovy. last week brough the wrap up of the second season of modern girls. we banged out a season in less than a month and I hear its looking great! it premieres this friday, april 21 at 9pm on style. watch it!! then david and I secured our new place and its a dream apartment. I'm psyched to move in and start to decorate. I signed with babette perry at entertainment powerhouse ICM annnnd to top it off I got see alot of friends I hadnt seen in a minute becuase of the hectic shooting schedule. great week. and I look forward to this one as well as I am getting a new car this week and flying out to chicago and then new york at the end of the week. I only hope that for all these amazing things and experiences that are bestowed upon me, I give back to the world with as much kindness, compassion and honesty. feck yeah!