Here’s a look at this year’s highlights!

January

January 18th saw Mary-Kate and Ashley’s Hollywood star get vandalized with the script “Fur Hags!” As their Full House older sister would say “How rude!”

February

Mary-Kate and Ashley expanded into menswear in February 2009, announcing both the menswear line for Elizabeth and James and the Row. Stylish stars like David Beckham and Justin Timberlake are going to love the high-end timeless class of the Row, whereas the hip young Hollywood crowd will sport the trendy blazers and well-cut pants of Elizabeth and James.

February also brought us a sneak peek of the Elizabeth and James shoe line, which was originally announced in 2008.

March

Mary-Kate was the cover girl of the March 2009 issue of Interview. The issue also featured an interview with Mary-Kate’s boyfriend, Nate Lowman.

Interview wasn’t Mary-Kate’s only cover that month. She also fronted the March 2009 issue of Canada’s FASHION magazine.

April

In April, Mary-Kate sat on the jury for the Tribeca Film Festival. She judged the 2009 Narrative Short category along with Thomas Haden Church, James Franco, Mary Harron, and Debra Messing. The North Road, written and directed by Carlos Chahine, took home the prize.

May

On May 5th, both Mary-Kate and Ashley looked stunning at the Metropolitan’s Costume Institute Gala. Ashley shone in a subtly sexy gown by the Row and Mary-Kate amped up the red carpet drama in a stunning metallic gown by Christian LaCroix.

Mary-Kate’s participation in the independent film Meskada was announced on May 30th.

June

Ashley Olsen was the Hamptons magazine Summer 2009 cover girl.

On July 13, 2009, Mary-Kate and Ashley celebrated their 23rd birthday.

Mary-Kate spent most of June filming Beastly in Montreal. The updated story of Beauty and the Beast, MK plays the witch that turns the hottest boy in school into a grotesque man. The film also stars Vanessa Hudgens as the beauty and Alex Pettyfer as the beast. It premieres on July 30, 2010.

August

Mary-Kate and Ashley hit up Toronto in style in August. The pair visited Holt Renfrew, appeared on Much on Demand and filmed a half-hour television special for Fashion Television.

Mary-Kate and Ashley were two of the muses paired with designers for AnOther magazine’s decade on fashion retrospective. Participants included Alaia, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Versace, Eva Mendes, Diane Kruger, Winona Ryder and Tilda Swinton. MK and Ashley were paired with Calvin Klein.

September

Ashley made the Marie Claire cover for the second time, gracing their September issue.

On September 10, Mary-Kate and Ashley joined hundreds of designers, shops, and celebrities for the first ever Fashion’s Night Out. People all over the world came out to support the fashion industry. Ashley appeared in the promotional video and the girls tended bar at both Barneys and Bergdorf Goodmans. The event was so successful that a second one is planned for 2010.

October

On October 21, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were two of the inductees into the CFDA. They were honored for their work with Elizabeth and James and the Row. Joining this exclusive group of designers put them in company with Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs and more.

November

November brought the launch of Mary-Kate and Ashley’s new juniors line, Olsenboye. Available only at JCPenney, the line is a step up from the ladies’ original tween Wal-Mart line. The line is fresh and affordable and available both online and in stores across the country.

November also brought and end to the mary-kateandashley Wal-Mart beauty and accessories line.

What were your MK and A highlights this year?

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Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum director Richard Armstrong said the following in a press release:

As the impresario behind the first annual Art Awards, Rob Pruitt presents a daring new event model injected with humor that underscores his work. Pruitt’s orchestration of this performative piece—with the rotunda as center stage—is aligned with the Guggenheim’s mission to continue to engage and present contemporary artists.

Mary-Kate Olsen will be a presenter along with Sofia Coppola, James Franco, and other celebrities. New York Times food editor Christine Muhlke will curate the menu and musical entertainment will be provided by Matthew Friedberger. There will be honorees in nine categories including artist of the year, curator of the year, exhibition outside the United States, and solo show of the year at a museum, along with two lifetime achievement awards.

The event is also a fund-raiser, with proceeds to benefit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, White Columns, and Studio in a School.

I think this will be an interesting new event for the art world. I hope it’s a success and that Mary-Kate enjoys herself. I’m really excited to find out what she’s going to wear! MK is a big supporter of art. She’s an avid art and photograph collector and supports her boyfriend, Nate Lowman’s work. She even traveled to Oslo recently to show support for a show of his there!

Photos by Getty Images/Getty Images for Burberry via image.net

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There was a photo of me with weird sunglasses on and a green sweatshirt, some striped thing, with tights and cowboy boots. Something really random where in some sense it’s me. To this day, I have never read the article. I just saw the photo and thought, ‘God, I look crazy in that photograph!’

I’m just glad MK decided to not change her style and keep exploring ways to express herself through her clothing! As crazy as she thought she looked, it definitely works for her. She and Ashley have turned their style into a fashion empire and are two of the most respected people in the industry today!

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This could be attributed to a million different reasons – jet-lag, fatigue, illness, bad camera angle and yes, weight gain. But, being Star, the chose the option that’s perceived to be the worst – weight gain – then spin it as negatively as possible.

According to Star, MK is now 130 pounds – 20 pounds “heavier” than her ideal weight. The tabloid claims her excessive partying is taking a toll on her body. Alcohol causes weight gain, bloating and bad skin.

However, MK is supposedly taking care of the issue. “Mary-Kate’s weight gain is definitely freaking her out,” a source says. “It was kind of shocking to everyone – no one thought she could gain so much weight! But now Mary-Kate’s working out and trying to cut back on partying, so she’s getting back on track.”

I hate how the tabloids focus on star’s weight. They’re always too thin or too fat and when they are, it’s an eating disorder or pigging out. They can’t ever undergo normal weight fluctuations that happen with lifestyle changes and just the season. It’s really unfair.

You can see a scan of the article here. It’s the September 7th issue, with John Travolta and Kelly Preston on the cover.

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Jefferson Hack, the editor in chief of AnOther believes this project is important for celebrating the last ten years in fashion. He told Dazed Digital that:

“At the end of this decade there should be a celebration of how far fashion and design have come, for the amazing new voices that have emerged and the reinventions which others have undergone. I am overjoyed that so many incredible women took part in this project; a chance to rise above these current fractured economic times and give real creativity in fashion its due.

Some of the desginers taking part include Alaia, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney an Versace. Some of the women include Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen (of course!), Eva Mendes, Diane Kruger, Winona Ryder and Tilda Swinton. You can see the complete list of participants at Dazed Digital.

Four different covers will be shot – one with Katie Holmes, one with Natalie Portman, one with Kate Moss and one with Vanessa Paradis. The issue will go on sale across the country on September 17th. The designer/muse pairings have not been revealed, but Dazed Digital promises to reveal them soon!

Who do you want to see Ashley paired with? I’d love to see her with a designer she wouldn’t normally wear and styled in a completely unexpected way. What about Mary-Kate? I’d love to see Ashley in Vivienne Westwood and MK completely pared down in something like Calvin Klein.

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Apparently, Mary-Kate wasn’t the most observant cyclist about a month ago. According to the National Enquirer (I know, I know), she nearly hit another cyclist while out with Nate on April 29th. Nate and Mary-Kate were biking against traffic instead of with traffic and she cut someone off and nearly hit them.

“Other bikers were riding with traffic, while Mary-Kate and Nate were riding against traffic so they should have been the ones to move out of the way,” an eyewitness reports. “But they didn’t, and Mary-Kate nearly collided with one of the bikers going the other way.”

Nate was upset with MK, as it’s not a safe cycling practice. According to the source, “he yelled, ‘You’re crazy, Mary-Kate! You almost killed us!”

While the National Enquirer posted this story, I can completely see it happening. Cyclists do what Mary-Kate did all the time. It’s easy to get caught up in the scenery or another obstacle and miss something. All I can say is, what a slow news day if this is what made it into the magazine this week.

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Other jurors of interest this year include Rachel Maddow (2009 Documentary and Student Short), Rachael Ray (2009 Best New York Documentary), Meg Ryan and Uma Thurman (2009 World Narrative Competition), and Whoopi Goldberg (2009 World Documentary Competition). You can see a complete list of jurors and their categories here.

The Tribeca Film festival starts tomorrow in New York City and will run until May 3rd. Over 250 films will be screened during this week long event. The festival was founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro as a response to the 9/11 attacks. The festival’s mission is “to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience.” It’s emerged as one of the world’s leading film festivals and is a lot of fun with several events embedded in the art, fashion, music and culture of New York City.

You can see the complete line-up of films, events and more at the official website.

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Mary-Kate presented the award for “Best First Screenplay” with her The Wackness costar, Ben Kingsley. The Award was won by Dustin Lance Black for his film, Milk, which chronicled the life and times of America’s first elected gay official, Harvey Milk. Dustin beat out Jonathan Levine for The Wackness.

Many great films, filmmakers and actors were honored. You can see the list of nominees and winners here.

I think MK looked beautiful at the awards. I love that she was asked to present – it shows how she’s been embraced by the independent film community. In her interview with FASHION she said she has a couple projects on the table for 2009 – I wonder if any of them will be independent films!

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Kudos to Yahoo for recognizing MK’s achievements this year, both professionally and personally. Here’s to a long and successful career, Mary-Kate.

8-10 on the list were Rachel Zoe, Simon Baker, and Shannen Doherty. Rounding out the top six were Anne Hathaway, the gals of Sex and the City, Serena Williams, Pink, and Robert Downey Jr.

The number one comeback kid of the year? Britney Spears. I like Britney and I’m glad she’s getting her life together, but hasn’t she had a comeback every other year by now?

See the whole list and the reasons behind their choices here.

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The other scandals of 2008?

#5 Anne Hathaway’s ex-boyfriend getting arrested for money laundering

#4 Audrina Patridge accusing Lauren Conrad of hooking up with Justin-Bobby.

#3 Miley Cyrus‘s near-nude photos in Vanity Fair

And the number 1 scandal of 2008?

#1 Britney Spear’s rocky year and trip to the hospital in early 2008

What I don’t understand is how the Audrina/Lauren conflict made it so high. It was a silly spat between a girl who takes herself way too seriously (Lauren) and a girl who is too dumb to know better (Audrina). I like these girls and I like The Hills, but this was a silly rumor started by someone who wanted to make it on tv and it worked. The fact these two couldn’t put that into perspective irks me.

As for MK being on the list, I understand it, but it’s more mysterious and not so much scandulous. All the police involved clearly stated no wrong-doing was done and that both MK and the masseuse were looking out for Heath’s best interested. Just because we are interested in the lives of celebrities doesnt mean we have the right to know everything.

What do you think of this list? What do you think was the biggest scandal of 2008?

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