kicking off the summer season!

even though the official summer season doesn't begin until june 21st, for many, memorial day weekend is considered the start of summer.  i've always been so anxious for summer to come that i consider memorial day the perfect kickoff!  unfortunately i won't make it to the beach this weekend, but i do plan on attending a bbq or two and very much looking forward to sunday and monday when alanna and i are going to washington, dc to visit her friends and see our phillies play the nationals.  although dc isn't very far, road trips are always fun when the weather is nice so i'm excited for the drive too.

nationals park - i tried to find a picture with actual people in the stands, but those are hard to come by... image via nytimes.com

to kick off the summer movie season, the hangover 2 also came out at midnight this morning.  the first hangover movie is one of my all-time favorites, so i'd love to spend a few hours in an air conditioned theater to catch the sequel on its opening weekend. 

image via imdb.com

what are your plans for the holiday weekend?  tell us in the comments!

a drunk, batman, and the cutest little winemaker

somehow, i have managed to last the past 10 years or so not watching the bachelorette since the first bachelorette...i remember watching trista and ryan fall in love so clearly.  he was obviously the best choice from the beginning and i was so afraid trista would choose the standard hottie charlie in the finale over sweet, handsome and sensitive ryan. being content with that fairytale, i never had any real desire to watch another season...

until i saw this bachelorette bracket over at say no to cosmo...a girl's version of march madness brackets?  i'll take it!  my roomies and i settled into our couches last night to watch the premiere, prepared to fill out these brackets and bet on who will be the final choice.  about 20 minutes into it, we realized that were just way too many bachelors to make our picks that first night, but we are definitely going to fill it out once the pickings are slimmed down a bit.

still - brackets or not, there were some definite memorable situations from last night.

1.  have to put it out there - jeff in the mask...jeff what are you doing?? you seem attractive, you have really pretty blue eyes and you are probably relatively smart.  i totally agree that ashley should look at what is inside and not just your looks, but come on more than an hour in the mask is plenty.  you got your point across now let ashley know all of you!

2.  how about west's heartbreaking story about his wife?  we were tearing up over at my house, but do you think that he is ready to fall in love again?  i would be a little intimidated to be ashley after seeing that introduction.  but then when he gave her the compass pointed to west, i started to swoon for sure.  still in love with his wife or not, he will be making my top pick.

3. jessy's dream is to have her own vineyard and make wine AND she wants to live in san diego, so is ben f her ideal or what? while i am not a huge fan of the shaggy hair and his head shot is not the best, on the show he seems so charming and h-o-t.  i want to make it my mission to set them up now, who needs ashley h when you have jessy t??

4. okay - it needs to be mentioned...what the heck was tim thinking?? the bachelorette mansion is not a college frat house. learn how to control yourself.  everything about him annoyed me from the moment he put the pillow wall up between him and jeff.  tim - for your own sake, grow up a bit.

5. and finally - my number one pick - jp.  this boy is p-e-r-f-e-c-t.  that smile, those eyes, that body.  sign me up for the bachelorette if i can hang out with someone like him :) he is definitely who i want ashley h to end up with based on this episode alone.  or maybe i want him to be kicked off so i can move to nyc and fall in love with him instead...

ipad keyboard

i really want an ipad, i think that i have made that abundantly clear in this blog and i cannot wait until i bite the bullet and actually go to the store to pick it up.  seeing this keyboard pad on likeCOOL makes me that much closer to making the big purchase.  i like how the keyboard mimics the feel of a real keyboard, making it much easier to type on your ipad. 

awesome right??

even cooler is that you can go to kickstarter and help make this product become a reality!  by pledging to fund part of the production of the ikeypad, you can do your part in bringing this product to market.  i am going to go make my pledge right now...i guess that means i have to get an ipad now!

how clever

blue strawberry, one of the blogs i follow, directed me to this really cool website where marketing nerds like me can search through the ads of the world.  here is one of the more clever ones i came across. 

image via adsoftheword.com

i'm still not sure what the yellowish-orange "h" in between facebook and twitter stands for, but the point of the ad is that heineken has been "social networking since 1973."  very true, my friends, very true.

the newest facebook feature

so you're on facebook, uploading pictures from your most recent vacation and, naturally, you tag yourself and all of your friends.  but what about that beer can in the photo?  or the designer dress you're wearing?  soon, you will be able to tags those as well.  facebook is introducing a new feature that allows you to tag products and brands in your pictures.  so, for instance, if there's a photo of you on your iphone texting at a bar, you can tag the phone with "apple inc." - the name of apple's facebook page. 

as a marketer, this is a welcomed social media innovation.  as a consumer, i'm not sure whether or not i would take the extra time to tag a product in my photos.  maybe if it was a particularly funny/interesting picture i would, or if it was a brand that i really loved.  but i think i would use the feature selectively at best.

what do you think about this new feature?  is it something that you would use?

sorry for the radio silence

i have been traveling to the wonderful state of ohio for work this week and jessy must be busy back home, i haven't even had much of a chance to talk to her since they have packed our schedules full here...

until i get back home, here are a few links from around the web that i am a fan of...

some magenta madness - i especially love the metallic kitchen-aid mixer!

isn't this hotel awesome? the facade on the front looks just like a big water slide. 

a touching story about how one's american dream changed based on the embrace of a community.

a delicious and easy to make summer salad...i have been having this almost every day recently!

buy a piece of cinematic history

photo via chicagotribune.com

can you recognize the house above from what happens to be one of my favorite childhood movies?  here's a hint... it's from a christmastime movie starring macaulay culkin.  you should know the answer by now, but read more after the jump!

mod cottage: a sweet find

last weekend, alanna and i were at the delaware beaches with a couple of our other girl friends.  on sunday we were walking around in downtown rehoboth and stumbled upon a sweet little shop: mod cottage.  we love supporting small businesses and can't resist cute home accessories so of course we went inside.  they have housewares, framed prints, bath & body care, candles, pet accessories, dining collections, and so much more!

image via modcottage.net

browsing their website today i noticed that they have "fun mugs" that you can buy online.  i'm a huge coffee drinker, so i was intrigued.  here are just four of the 18 mug designs you can choose from - trophy wife, book worm, queen bee, and early bird.

(click image to enlarge)

some of their items are available for purchase from their website, but i highly recommend that you stop in the store to see all that they have to offer!

sweet gifts for mother's day

with mother's day right around the corner here are some great gifts that i am pretty sure my mom would love and use and are either available in store or with rush shipping for any of the procrastinators out there...

sun-tipped serverware from anthropologie

waring professional bar blender from amazon

utility jacket from gap

nightingale silkscreen print from felt & wire

genie's dwelling perfume bottle from anthropologie

what are your plans for mother's day? anything fun?

what if you lived in ikea?

i just saw this on cup of jo and had to share...it had me literally laughing out loud!  these are guys i would want to be friends with.  i highly recommend that you check out this photographer's story of what it would be like to live in ikea. 

picture via christan gideon photography

cinco de mayo!

tomorrow is obviously cinco de mayo, and i am getting excited!  in my mind, cinco de mayo always coincides with the time of year where we've already had some nice days but now it's like we know the warm weather is here to stay.  it's the perfect day to grab a table outside at your local mexican restaurant, or lounge on the back patio at a good friend's house for delicious food and cocktails.  if you're hosting a fiesta of your own, or need something to bring to a party you are attending, here are some delicious and healthy recipes that are sure to satisfy!


the one thing i most definitely won't be able to go without tomorrow is a margarita.  but to keep things low-calorie (so i can have more than one!), i'll be sipping on a skinnygirlTM margarita bethenny frankel style.  it's simple to make and only 100 calories!


image and recipe via bethenny.com

• 2 oz of clear premium tequila
• tiny splash of orange liquor
• juice of 4 fresh lime wedges

combine all ingredients over a glass of ice and garnish with a lime wedge

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i recently tried tamales for the first time and they were absolutely delicious!  if you haven't yet tried them, then cinco de mayo is the perfect time to do so.  the options for filling are pretty much endless, but here's one recipe and step-by-step instructions from cookinglight.com.  two tamales are under 300 calories!





photo by lee harrelson, via myrecipes.com



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anyone who knows me knows that i love fish tacos. 90% of the time i go to a mexican restaurant to eat, it's what i'll order.  so you better bet that's what i'll be chowing down on tomorrow!  unfortunately they probably won't be as healthy as this baja fish tacos recipe from health.com - two tacos are only 235 calories!  mmmMMmmm!

image via health.com

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bethenny does have a low-fat version of guacamole, which she coins "mock-a-mole", but i say go ahead and splurge on the real thing!

a fun livingsocial deal!

today’s livingsocial deal for the wilmington/newark area (delaware) is five dance lessons at candlelight dance club.  it’s 85% off the regular price of lessons, and at $29 total it’s an absolute steal!  they teach a variety of types of dances, from ballroom to latin to country western.

it’s perfect for couples, especially those who are newly engaged and want to brush up on ballroom dancing before the big day.  if you can't use it yourself, it's an affordable, yet thoughtful, engagement gift for a couple you’re close to.

you can also use the deal for solo classes (or as livingsocial likes to say, “for one”)!  buy for yourself or as a gift for a friend.  better yet - you and each of your single girl friends can all purhcase the deal (if three friends buy, your deal is free!) and take the classes together.  the classes sound like fun and they’re a great way to shake up your typical exercise routine while learning something new. 

proud to be an american

with the recent events, i feel prouder than ever to be an american.  if i could i would sing "proud to be an american" all day long, but oddly enough i don't think any of my cubicle-mates would be a fan of that one.  instead i thought i would share a few items from around the web that are perfect patriotic additions to any meal, party, or room.

from top left: navy military baby print, spike mendelson's almond joy milkshake, martha stewart map scrapbook, land that i love gift tags, manhatttan print, red striped cupcake papers

a theft-proof bike

i used to live in holland where riding your bike was one the main form of transportation.  growing up i loved picked out my new bike and adding stickers to make it unique (i was really cool, i know)...well designer juri zaech came up with a new way to make your bike one of a kind.  aren't these bikes so awesome?  i have a friend who would die die die over the yellow one, if only i was a millionaire and then i could get that for her birthday. 

all images via behance