NV on Bridezillas - Awkward Product Placement
My husband occasionally is away for the evening for work/networking/etc. About once a month Charlie and I have one of “our nights”. Usually I go to the gym, come back, and watch a marathon of TV shows that I’ve DRV’d that Chris would never in a million years watch with me. My lineup consists of America’s Next Top Model, Bridezillas, Project Runway, or whatever is being shown on HGTV. While I watch these shows Charlie shoves his toys under the couch and cries for me to get them out for him. I’m employing the “cry it out” method right now to practice for when kids come. Man, it’s tough. This dog cries real tears. And he’s pretty darn cute too. Imagine giving this guy the brush off.
Not easy.
So this week it was a marathon of Bridezillas for me. Now I know that this show is completely mindless, but hey, even I have standards for the crap I watch on TV.
In one of the first episodes I noticed that they were spending a lot of time narrating about the weight of the bride. The next thing I know, there is a close up of the NV bottle and the bride is doing somewhat of a commercial for the product. How she feels, that she looks better, that she’s lost 9 pounds in a short period of time….um….where is my ranting raving bridezilla? Why is she not freaking out that her flowers are the wrong shade of pink or whatever. That’s what I came to see people. What the heck is this? Why am I watching her all happy working out with a trainer decked out in NV gear and asking her how much she likes the product? We go to commercial, and we are back to our mad and crying bride. Only now I am thinking maybe she’s so cranky because she is on some diet pill.
Go ahead a couple of episodes, and we meet a new bride. Out of nowhere she and her fiance decide to go to the beach. She goes into the bathroom, puts on her bathing suit, freaks out, comes out in a towel and says she’s not going anymore, she hates her body, etc. Then with her wrapped in the same towel she’s giving her interview about how unhappy she is with her weight, and we get the closeup of the NV bottle again, and she’s off to the same gym, and there’s that guy again in all of the NV gear. Later we see her at her cake tasting refusing to actually swallow a piece of cake and spitting everything out into a napkin.
Something is off. I do a search and learn that:
“The network’s ad sales team also sold a first-time package to diet supplement brand NV across all 18 episodes of Bridezillas this season. The deal, which also includes custom vignettes, tagged tune-in spots, on-air billboards, online banners and placement in WE TV on demand, features product integration in four installments of the show.”
Listen. I get it. I fast forward through the commercials (love you DVR - one of the best inventions EVER), I wouldn’t know about NV if it weren’t for this product placement, but it’s just so awkward and contributes nothing to the storyline of the show whatsoever. Look at Project Runway or ANTM and how they do it. We’ve got the wall of accessories that is sponsored, we’ve got sponsored contests, but it makes sense within the damn storyline already.
I was a bride. I stepped up the workouts and had more willpower to watch what I ate leading up to that day, perfect target audience for this show. But the implementation is not good. It just sticks out like a sore thumb.
What about a few befores and afters on the brides? Maybe do full disclosure and have the brides say that part of the reason they are doing the show is to have a chance to try the product. At the very least, having someone taking the product and then flipping out on their loved ones and making everybody around them miserable doesn’t really shine that great a light on NV. I know that product placement is here to stay, but just like bad social promotion, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
Any other examples of some bad product placement you guys can think of?
Published by Danielle on December 20th, 2007 tagged General | 2 Comments » | 
PSA: Clean the ice off your cars!!!!
So I was driving home tonight and out of nowhere a huge sheet of ice from the car in front of me goes flying through the air and slams into my windshield. People, please clean the ice off your cars before you go driving on the expressway at 80 miles an hour.
I lucked out and was able to keep my wits about me and not swerve into the next lane to avoid it. That would have definitely resulted in an accident. I was sure that my windsheld was going to shatter, but it didn’t, and the luckiest part about everything is that I was able to keep my cool and not catch up to the woman in front of me and run her off the road.
Grr.
Published by Danielle on December 20th, 2007 tagged General | Comment now » |
Pretty Everyday Plates
We got so much beautiful china for our wedding but we don’t use it regularly yet. I dunno, maybe after we get a dining room set or something to put it in I will feel more comfortable unpacking it. In the meantime, I think these everyday plates from Dillard’s are gorgeous. Simple white, go with everything (since we have no idea what we like yet), but with a twist. I also love that they look a little aged.
Published by Danielle on December 20th, 2007 tagged Home Sweet Home, Things I Love, Shopping, General | Comment now » |
Internet Wishlist
You know what would be really nice? If some of these e commerce sites would allow you to just create a little bucket to put items you are interested in to review for later. I’m not talking about a shopping cart. I am talking about a little collective area where you can just paste or drag everything you want and then review it and narrow down your choices. Actually, a tool that would do this across all sites would really be even better. Something where I can throw a bunch of boots in since that is what I am on the hunt for right now, and then compare them all after I’ve done my browsing. With pictures. Not urls. Then I can sort my little mix by whatever I want. Mainly price and shipping date availability since it is Wednesday and I am shopping for a pair of shoes I intend to wear on Friday evening.
My current method is to open several FireFox browsers by site, and then create a new tab for everything I am considering. As I roll through and rule something out I close the tab, continue on with the process, and will hopefully wind up with a winner. Annoying. Time consuming. And no possible way for me to ask a friends opinion without emailing them a list of 20-30 links.
So if you are looking for a project, please do that one. All I ask is that you let me know about it when it’s done, and maybe write an ode to me somewhere on the site. If it is out there already, please, someone send it to me.
K. Thanks. Bye.
Published by Danielle on December 12th, 2007 tagged Cool Sites | 9 Comments » |
Wedding Video Has Arrived!
So I had written a much longer post about this and then my Internet connection died and I lost it. Grrrrr.
We got married in March and just got our wedding video last week. I was getting pretty frustrated at the time it was taking, but I have to say. It was well worth the wait. I think videos are one of those items that a lot of brides wind up on the fence about especially as the reality of how expensive weddings can be hits home.
I am so glad that my mom was adamant about us getting one.
I am posting the highlight reel of the wedding here. It’s 4 minutes long. Check it out if you have some time. And if you are in the NY area and looking for a videographer, I can’t recommend Adam Forgione from Penny Lane Productions highly enough.
Edit: I am going to send you right to you tube for now, because embedding the video is breaking my layout and I don’t have time to fix it right now. So, if you would like to see it, here is the link.
Thanks for your patience!
Published by Danielle on December 11th, 2007 tagged Wedding | Comment now » |
LOL Cats
I’ve never been a cat person, but this site makes me want one just so that I can take awesome pictures of them. I saw this and had to post it. It feels like the Internets are crazy lately, and this makes me laugh my butt off.
Published by Danielle on November 1st, 2007 tagged Cool Sites, C'mon Get Happy | 1 Comment » |
Sweet Things
Oh how I would love to live in Anthropologie world…I am in love, complete unadulterated love with this jacket.
I want to wear it and then eat a snack on one of these plates,
and later drink some tea from this cup.
Although now my hair is light, and I think I need to redo all of my colors.
Published by Danielle on October 31st, 2007 tagged Things I Love, C'mon Get Happy, Shopping | Comment now » |
An American Teenager in Paris
One of the greatest opportunities I ever had was to go to school for a year in Paris. Parsons School of Design where I went to college has a campus there and I was lucky enough to get accepted to study in it. It was my first time living out of the house as I was a commuter student in New York. The school had no dorms so it was up to us to find our own apartment. Being the mama’s girl I am, my mom came with me and did a lot of the negotiating. Her being fluent in French didn’t hurt either.
What a time. I’m just feeling a little sentimental about it, maybe because I am coming up on a big change in my life and moving on to a new town, New Paltz, leaving Queens, my hometown, again. Maybe because I have never been a big picture taker and I feel a need to record these memories as they pop up for fear I will lose them as time goes on. Maybe because I feel under the weather today and just want to remember those days.
The fashion department there was one room. All classes were held in it other than our liberal studies (of which there was one per semester). I guess it looks exactly the same because the picture on the current website looks exactly like how it did when I was there (10 years ago!!) We would be like little hermits up there hearing the fine art students playing hackey sack through the window in the courtyard below. I found this accounting of a students year of fashion study at Parsons Paris and it’s more accurate and eloquent than I will ever write. If you really want a feel for what it was like, check it out.
I remember my roommate and I living in a great sublet. It was the apartment of some VP at Mercedes and was quite modern for Paris having an elevator, balcony, wall to wall carpeting, etc. Except there was no furniture. And us being on shoestring student budgets, we never bothered to buy any. We had mattresses on the floor, and found a spindle that cable comes wrapped on and rolled that home to make a table. We painted it all funky colors. It was pretty cool. At one point my roommate got sick of sitting on the floor all the time and she bought a chair. Just one kitchen chair that she would sit on sometimes for 10 minutes here and there. I wish I had a camera for that. I know what you’re thinking…Why a fancy apartment if you are on a shoestring budget??? My parents picked up the tab on education, a roof over my head while I was in school, and I had a modest allowance for food and recreation - although they did encourage me to travel and make the most out of my time there. Anything else I was on my own. The apartment was in a safe neighborhood and walking distance from the school, which was also walking distance from the Eiffel Tower. Knowing that there could be a transportation strike at any time (and there was for a whole month!), my mom insisted on the walking distance thing.
I remember that neither of us knew what a circuit breaker was and we blew a fuse one day while doing homework. I called the electric company, garbled my way through making an appointment in French that was about 5 days in the future, and we went about our daily business without electricity. We had tons of candles and would do our homework either at school or in the hallway of our apartment building. Homework would usually consist of paintings and illustrations so we had painting supplies, and mini easels spread out all over the place. I remember after a few nights of this one of our neighbors came out to ask us what was going on. We tried to describe that there was a blackout and he marched into our apartment and flipped the switch. It was like the place exploded! Every light went on, 2 radios went at the same time too! We had been living in the dark for 3 days! We were both 18 and knew zip about being on our own! We were totally clueless! By the way, I never cancelled the electricity appointment and they never came. Gotta love Paris.
I learned to smoke in Paris. It’s not something that I am proud of, but it’s quite a feat to go anywhere without someone impossibly cool looking even cooler smoking a cigarette. I started out with Fin 120’s menthol. A 120 is basically as long as a pen. Put it in a cigarette holder and you’ve got yourself a look going! It created the perfect pause when I would be searching for the right word in French in conversation, or waiting for the metro, or simply breathing in and out got too boring. (kidding)
Because our apartment was one of the more roomier ones, my roommate and I invited our whole class over (mostly homesick Americans) for a Thanksgiving picnic in our living room. (If you know me at all, you know that me and the kitchen are NOT best friends. As a matter of fact, I managed to set the back of my favorite sweater on fire trying to make tea the second day I was in my apartment. While I was wearing it. That’s the last time I ever leaned against a burning stove! Luckily my roommate put me out before I got hurt.) I think I spent the majority of my bills allowance calling my grandmother for cooking advice that day and then running back and forth to the supermarket! Dinner was a great success.
As I think of more things I will post them on my blog. I would love to have a section filled with stories from Paris. 
Published by Danielle on October 26th, 2007 tagged Remembering Paris, Travel | 1 Comment » |
Something funny….
My husband likes to buy me flowers but he is really allergic to them. The drill is usually that they get delivered, we have them in the office or house for an hour or two and then they have to go outside.
We’ve got a big bouquet in a vase in front of the office today. People keep stopping in front to look at them. We’ve got a mini bet on whether the day will finish without someone a) stopping in and asking why they are there, or b) just taking them. I think I’ll stop by my mom’s tonight to let her have them.
If anyone out there knows of something as quick and easy to get delivered as flowers, please help a guy out.
Published by Danielle on October 18th, 2007 tagged C'mon Get Happy | 3 Comments » |
Cousins
We’ve got a new addition to our family. My brother and his girlfriend got a puppy. Meet Rory Gallagher. He is a 4 month old puggle. He’s got moxy.
This weekend Charlie learned about sharing, and about not being the baby anymore. (Of course he is always my little baby). I was so proud of him because we got him a new toy, and Rory loved it. So Rory took it and started playing with it, and my baby Charlie let him have it!
I have a feeling these two are going to be great friends. Here are some pics:
This is a polaroid of Charlie taken by his Uncle Pat. Such a talented photographer!
Charlie and Rory doing their tough guy stances.
Charlie and Rory hanging out on the lawn. Look at my smiley Charlie! I can’t take it sometimes! He’s watching out to make sure the Rory doesn’t fall off that ledge.
Published by Danielle on October 1st, 2007 tagged Family | 3 Comments » |
Our House, In the Middle of Our Street
Actually, our house is on the corner but I love that song. So….I’ve never had anything to do with building a house before. It’s so exciting!!
The house is basically sheet rock at the moment, but we’ve picked out all the major stuff. I will be posting new pics as we go.
Family Room - We are going to be hanging a flat screen above the fireplace. Researching now on doing this without any wires showing.
Kitchen - It faces the family room. Basically I can cook (have to learn first) while we have football on in the family room. Sweet!! This will be terrific for entertaining too.
Dining Room - I love the bump outs. I think it gives the room some character. We have a formal living room opposite this with matching bump outs. I want to get a window seat for that room. (PS - Not sure if “bump out” is a real architectural term. It just looks like the wall of the house has been bumped out. Don’t go using it around your architect buddies without some research.)
Master Bathroom - Our niece Bella has said she just loves the purple in our bathroom. It’s her favorite color. It is not known if she is talking about this room or the purple porta-potty in front of our house right now. LOL!
Back Deck - You can’t tell from this picture but behind those trees is the gorgeous Shawangunk Ridge which we are going to be able to see with our sunset each night.
Master Bedroom - We have a cathedral ceiling which I am very happy about. I love a high ceiling in the bedroom. I’ve got some plans for the ultimate inspiration wall above our headboard. We need to get a remote control for the window shade on the skylight. Or one of those big poles they use in clothing stores when you want to see something on a rack pretty much located at the ceiling.
My favorite part of the house is the walk up attic (with a real staircase, not a scary trap door in the ceiling!) that makes the third floor. I don’t have a picture of it though. I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted a work space to call my own that would not be a bedroom. I have one now!
So that’s our home in its current state. Things are being delivered and installed every day. As I write this I’ve heard that the tile is in around the fireplace and in all the bathrooms. I will update with pics as I get them. Look for upcoming posts about decorating ideas and finds. There are tons of antique shops in our new town and I can’t wait to run loose in them!
Published by Danielle on September 25th, 2007 tagged Home Sweet Home | 3 Comments » |
What you’re missing if you don’t give football a chance.
I am an avid football fan. GOOOOOOO GIANTS!!!! C’mon guys – please win!!! Tiki, you’re annoying. And I used to love you. I learned to count on you popping out of the other side of a pile of guys, ball in hand, zooming through to the end zone. Zip the lip. You’re looking less classy by the day buddy.
Back in the year 2000….Imagine a team that has a so-so record throughout the year. The fans are getting restless, the players seem uninspired, and then their coach walks up to the podium at a press conference. The media is hounding him about the losses the team is suffering and he says “I am raising the stakes right now … If this is a poker game, I am shoving my chips right in the middle of the table. I am raising the ante. Anybody who wants out, can get out. This team is going to the playoffs. OK? This team is going to the playoffs.” (Have you ever had anyone believe in you that way? To WILL you to succeed?)
And the next game they lose is the superbowl. That was my introduction to football. Chris and I had been dating about 7 months. He was a football fan although it wasn’t something we watched a lot. Then came “the pledge”. And it became a “can’t miss it” situation.
The ride in between that pledge and the superbowl was one of the most fun times of my life. We used to watch the games at the Salty Dog in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The place would be packed. Sometimes if it was an early game it would be full of the “regulars” sipping coffee because it was too early to serve alcohol. You would nod and smile at each other, but only after you had your table and your territory was marked.
Afternoon games were more fun. Hit the gym in the morning hard, get ready, have the early game on in the house. Around 3 mosey on over to the Salty Dog (around the corner), get your table by 4, watch the game, and then head back for Simpsons and Sopranos. Always happy, because your team was pulling off miracles like it was what they were born to do.
Gentlemen, do you want to share your love of football with your woman? Do you want her to understand why for 5 months out of the year it is perfectly acceptable to refuse any Sunday plans unless the plans are with someone who has an awesome TV? You’ve got to explain it. Explain the nuances, explain the drama. Layout the soap opera that is the NFL.
Answer the questions. When I first started watching football, I told Chris that if I played football I would definitely pick a number in the 80’s for my jersey. They seem to be the luckiest ones that always catch the ball. Little did I know that wide receivers jobs are to catch the ball, and they are denoted by having numbers in the 80’s. I was so excited when I told him my theory.
Explain why she needs to keep an eye on number 10 today since it’s his first time playing his old team. In between plays when it looks like people are just standing around, give her some insight as to what they might be getting ready to do. Going for it on 4th down? If you don’t know what that means its b-o-r-i-n-g, and the players are just hanging out. If she knows, then the anticipation builds and her eyes might be closed during the actual play because she just can’t take the suspense anymore.
Ladies, if you give it a real chance, this is what you’ve got in store for you:
- Miracles. Am I Dramatic? Yes. But I’ve seen them with my own eyes. I’ve seen Ron Dayne who really doesn’t seem to be the “thunder” he was billed as, drag himself into the end zone with 3 enormous guys hanging off of him. Fueled only by his internal drive. I’ve gone back to that moment many times when my company was starting and I needed to power through an all nighter.
- Drama. All week long things happen in football. There’s trash talking, there are injury reports, trades, speculation, and it all comes to a head on Sunday. It’s like a never ending soap opera that isn’t going to ever “jump the shark” when the two main characters hook up.
- Comedy. If you are into slapstick comedy, it doesn’t get much funnier than some of the commercials during football Sunday. Every once in a while something hilarious happens in the game too. We were at Giants stadium the day that Martin Gramatica kicked a field goal against the Giants, and then proceeded to injure himself severely by celebrating. Have you ever heard 60,000 people yell “d**k” at the same time? Pretty funny.
- Talent & Poetry. Sometimes football just looks like a mess. If you look at it in slow motion it is a game of precision and grace. The quarter back must throw the ball so accurately that if it is a quarter of an inch off it’s an interception.
He’s anticipating where his teammate is going to be, not where he actually is at the time of the throw. The receiver leaps into the air to catch the ball, he knows where he’s meant to be and it’s his job to be there, with huge linebackers barreling towards him. They are trying to take him out (And if they break his knee in the process, tough noogies. It’s understood by all involved, and no one is going to be suing anybody.) He catches the ball but its still not over. He’s got to come down from the air not only alive and intact but within the end zone. You will see guys twist in mid air to get the tippy top of their shoe within that white line. And it all happens within a few seconds. That’s what they are planning when they are standing around in their huddles for what seems like half the game. - History. Each team has a legacy. Their own heroes. For the Giants it’s the original L.T. (Lawrence Taylor). He is such a figure that during that fated season of 2000 during the playoff game to win the division they just had him standing on the sidelines. To remind the players of what they can accomplish. To remind them of greatness. For inspiration. New players come in and you watch them become the legends of tomorrow.
- It All Counts. There are only 16 games in an NFL season. There are really no throw away games. I find it difficult to really get into baseball and basketball this way because there are simply too many games to have to keep track of. I don’t have that kind of time. Even in the playoffs, you lose once, you’re out. No series, no BS, no second chances.
And a bonus…Have I mentioned the tight pants? 
And so, on the eve of the Giants first game of the season I am excited. I know that there are mountains for them to climb if they are going to have a real shot at winning. But I have also seen miracles happen. And hell, there’s always next year. You know I’ll be here.
Published by Danielle on September 8th, 2007 tagged Things I Love, General | 28 Comments » |
Strange things afoot at the supermarket
The other day I went to my local supermarket after work to pick up some provisions for dinner. As I was standing on line at the checkout I glanced up at the wall next to where the employees punch their time cards. On it there was a notice to all employees that at the last inventory the store was $171,000 short!! I could read this clearly from where I was standing because it was in huge print. Below this statement there was a small printed list of what employees could do to help prevent this in the future.
- I have no desire to ever use my credit card there again. I think from now on all purchases will be made in cash at this grocery store. In fact, during this purchase I found myself totally shielding the keypad where you punch in your pin from the cashier.
- I’ve decided that either my fellow shoppers are sinister and stealing merchandise, or the employees I am handing my credit card over to are stealing.
- Why was this sign placed where all customers could see it?
- This was a form letter with the amount of money lost inked in with a sharpie. I am therefore assuming that this is a common occurrence in the supermarket business. Talk about shrinkage! (If this is common there should also be protocol about not posting this sign where your customers can see it!)
My husband and I were once at the same supermarket and got extremely helpful service from our cashier. My husband went to the manager to compliment the employee and the manager came out of his office with a dreaded look on his face. He obviously was preparing himself for some kind of complaint. When we told him that we wanted to compliment our cashier the manager mumbled a thanks and that was that.
Things go wrong in business all the time. The fact that this letter was a template and just taped to the wall tells me that there is an overwhelming complacency within the company for this kind of thing. Or it could be normal in the supermarket business, I really don’t know. Either way it feels like they have things backward.
Published by Danielle on September 5th, 2007 tagged Shopping, General | Comment now » |
Fantasy Kitchen
I’ve been seeing this photo all over the place lately. I love it so very much. I really hope I can do something like this in our kitchen. How would one ever be sad?
Published by Danielle on August 3rd, 2007 tagged Home Sweet Home, Things I Love, C'mon Get Happy | 1 Comment » |
Choosing a Town to Live In
I’ve been away from this blog for a little while but as you can see I am back. There are big things afoot over here and those thank you cards are finally o-u-t!
We’ve been house hunting up in New Paltz, NY. I just love it there. We had some pretty rigid requirements when trying to decide on where to live.
Hubby needs an office and I am aching for a creative space to call my very own. To paint the walls pink or even plaid if I so choose. To sit with a cup of coffee, learn to sew again, sit and write letters, read a book, do yoga (have to learn it first), be creative for my clients, all the while having romantic comedies or reality shows about fashion, decorating, and weddings on a loop. So now we’ve got a need for a house, with 2 rooms that are not bedrooms that are to be used only by one person each. This imaginary house is getting bigger and bigger. I don’t want to be greedy but it would be wonderful if those 2 office/creative spaces had a window each…ouch, if you live in NY like us tack another 50,000 on to your purchase price at least.
If all things were equal, and our families, and jobs would follow us anywhere we would probably be on our way to North Carolina.
We went there for a conference over the summer last year and fell in love. I love the affordability of the houses, the public education system is top notch (I am opposed to private schools because we are a mixed religion couple and I don’t want to put our kid in a Jewish or Catholic school), Raleigh was a really fun town to go to and hang out in, and its in the middle of NY and Florida so you get a nice combo of weather. And my main thing is ample parking.
I imagine us on Sundays driving into town, throwing the car in a lot (and it not costing $60.00) and walking up and down the streets with Charlie. Sitting outside and having our coffee and reading the paper. Or even taking mini laptops with us and writing, answering emails, browsing the Internet. Soft southern accents greeting us hello; maybe we know some of the people and we chit-chat for a little while. I’ve morphed into a southern belle and carry a chic paper fan with me for when it’s just too hot. Seersucker suits abound. Lemonade in the summertime.
But all things are not equal and we are too family oriented to be a plane ride away. Especially with kids in our near future. I’ve heard its essential to be near at least one set of grandparents.
We would want the town we live in to have:
- Action – I want to belong to things. We want to go out to dinners, see shows, and attend music festivals, book readings, and shop. So it must have a vibrant feel.
- Education – We will be having kids in the future and I want them in public schools without having to worry about overcrowding, quality of education, and crime.
- Parking – In a word. I can’t circle the block endless times to get a container of yogurt. It’s just not an option anymore. I want to be able to commit to attending an exercise class and not have to worry about missing the first 15
minutes because of parking. Last night it took me 20 minutes to find a spot at the gym. Or freeze my buns off while walking to said class because I had to park 3 or 4 blocks away. Or look for parking on a Saturday night heading out to dinner for a longer amount of time than it takes to actually eat the meal. - Cleanliness – I want to live in a community of people that would actually hold litter in their hand for the extra 5 minutes it takes to reach a garbage can instead of simply tossing whatever it is on the ground. It’s an eyesore and it makes me feel defeated.
- University or Adult Learning Center – I want to take classes in things that interest me. And have them be taught by individuals that have met with reasonable success in that area.
- Social – It would be nice to have young couples around that are in the same stage in life as we are.
- Reasonably Priced – What I’ve described above can easily be attained in any town if you’ve got money to burn. But I live in America. I want where I live to at least have some correlation to the national average. For example, if the average home in America is $250,000. I would have a hard time justifying paying more than $500,000 for an “average home”. A palace should cost what a palace is worth of course. But a decent home in a sweet neighborhood should not be $900,000. What about the American dream? And if it costs that much more than the national average to buy a regular home, what’s happening here? What’s going on in this country that the AVERAGE is that low if it’s not realistic?
- Safety – When someone smashes in the window of my car and steals the GPS system and then proceeds to stab it with a screw driver just for vandalism’s sake, it would be nice to have a police officer take a report. Maybe, even if its half hearted, can they actually attempt to look for the guy?
And really, it’s just got to feel doable. It has to be a place where I actually want to raise children, leave my house, and take part in activities. When I walk the dog I want to not have to worry about irresponsible owners that have their dogs off leashes that attack my puppy. I have to want to be a part of it.
We took my mom up there to check it out and get a feel for the town. She seemed into it. At one point she said it’s “her kind of town”. I just feel very free when I am in New Paltz. It’s not that far from where our office is located.
Anyone who is reading this lives somewhere. How did you wind up where you are geographically? Are you from there? Did you move there for a job? School? Are you where you are because of opportunity or loyalty to family? Are you there because it’s where you started and you like it?
Published by Danielle on August 3rd, 2007 tagged Home Sweet Home, General | Comment now » |
L is for Lovely - J Crew Fall
I think I might be partial to clothing whose name starts with the letter “L”. My wedding dress’s name was “Liliana“, and the dress above is “Lia” from the J Crew fall collection. I am loving their new stuff right now. The photography is so vibrant and refreshing it makes me want everything and to also get into wearing headbands more. Unfortunately they always seem to slip off the back of my head.
Published by Danielle on August 1st, 2007 tagged Things I Love, Shopping, General | Comment now » |
Weekend with Bella
We had our niece Bella with us this weekend and took her to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. Those tickets are so hot I had to get them on stub hub for almost double their face value! This was our first experience taking care of a little kid overnight on our own. I think we all did pretty good including Charlie who unfortunately got ejected from his regular spot on the bed for the night.
Friday evening after work we picked her up, went to Applebees, Barnes & Nobles, Dress Shopping (we forgot her outfit for the play when we picked her up!), took a bubble bath, and then watched Happy Feet while falling asleep. Happy feet is a terrific movie by the way.
Saturday morning Charlie and Chris joined us to watch some Happy Feet, then we went to a diner for breakfast, back for another bubble bath (after Miss Bella put her french toast on her head as a hat), more Happy Feet and drawing pictures and then off to the city after getting all dolled up with her new dress. We had lunch at Dave & Busters and then went to play some of the games. Then over to Mary Poppins and then dessert at Dylan’s Candy Bar where I indulged and had a hot fudge Sundae for the first time in probably 20 years! We were exhausted afterwards!!! Bella fell asleep about 5 minutes after getting into the car. We picked up Charlie and drove up to Bronxville to bring her home and have some Mexican takeout with the whole family.
Some important lessons we learned for when it’s our turn:
- Get a DVD player for the car if we are going to live in major traffic locations. A 20 minute drive can become 55 minutes at the drop of a hat.
- 4 restaurants in 2 days is a little much for a kid.
- We had better love our new house because with kids you definitely are going to spend a lot of time in it.
- Kids love to do art. Set up an area for this and keep it well stocked.
- Roll with the punches. I planned our activities for a couple of months, but 3 hours in a theatre is a ridiculously long time for a 4 year old. Hell, it’s a long time for a 30 year old. Especially because they changed a heck of a lot from the movie for the musical. (They’ve got the toys coming to life in the musical to teach the kids a lesson!!). We left at intermission and had a great time anyway. It would have really been torturous to make her sit there for the entire second half of the show.
- Charlie is going to be wonderful with children.
We had a terrific time and I know that Bella did too. I took so many pictures but our camera is holding them hostage right now.
Published by Danielle on July 30th, 2007 tagged Family, General | 1 Comment » |
Fe Fie Fo Fum – I smell a giant cupcake!
I am coveting this cupcake pan from Sur La Table. I saw it over on Not Martha earlier today and I can’t get it out of my head.
When we move into our house (I’ll post more on this later), I would love to have a party and unveil this dessert which will be a giant cupcake surrounded by little cupcakes.
Published by Danielle on July 27th, 2007 tagged Things I Love, Cooking, Shopping | Comment now » |
Thank you!
Our thank you cards are finally out!! I know it was an extraordinarily long wait, but I’ve finally got them in the mail.
Published by Danielle on July 23rd, 2007 tagged Wedding | Comment now » |
Acting for a Cause
When I was 20 years old I got a credit card. I wound up pretty quickly in a bit of a hole and after I paid it off about 2 years later I never had another credit card. I just didn’t want to deal with it. I’ve been paying cash for just about everything since then. (I’ve got to admit it does feel pretty good to be debt free) But renting our apartment was tough because I have no credit history, and we’ll be buying a house soon. So I’ve got to get one to build my credit. The idea isn’t very appealing to me. Just now I saw a commercial on TV for American Express. It’s got a bunch of celebrities (Ellen DeGenerous, Alicia Keys) talking about how they can make a difference because they have money and then some guy walks in and starts talking about a local lake that is his priority to keep clean. This is a commercial for their member’s project.
The commercial goes on to say that AMEX card holders get to submit ideas and they will choose a cause based on one of the submissions. That charity or cause will receive up to $5,000,000! But…you have to be a card member. Can you guess what credit card I’m going to be applying for?
What did they touch in me that all the commercials with Vikings, frequent flier miles, and bonus points hasn’t?
- A chance to make a difference in a way that is not in my power if left to my own devices. I make good money but I don’t have 5 mil lying around to give to anyone. Probably won’t any time soon either.
- Identifying with a celebrity. Any way you look at it, it’s cool to do something that they do. Isn’t that what a tremendous amount of advertising is based on in the first place?
- Giving and being green is really in right now. It’s horrible to say, but I don’t think if this commercial was on about 5 years ago that anyone would have cared. Now is a time in our society when it’s great to give and be cognizant of others. I like it.
- When you boil it down, a lot of these credit cards with reward systems aren’t really giving you anything. We’ve got over 450,000 Visa points for our business cc. I want to get a new digital camera. I figured I would log onto their shop and grab one, but you know what? I can’t. There isn’t anything there that is a voucher to a store, or a product that I really want. I guess I will have free Starbucks for the rest of the year. Or the rest of my life with all of the points we’ve got. I’d rather have Karma points than Rewards points.
I recently read that Ahman Green wanted to keep his jersey number when he moved to the Texans. Standard practice in these matters is for the person who currently has the number to name their price. Normally it’s a car, a Rolex or something similar. When Jason Simmons was asked what he wanted for it, he said for Ahman Green to make a down-payment on a home for a single parent. Can you imagine how much of a difference that little selfless act made for that family? It’s not like Jason Simmons was counting on that money or even figuring it into his yearly income, it was just something extra that he would have gotten and instead he gave it away to someone who really needed it. That’s how I am thinking about this Amex. I would be spending the money anyway. I certainly don’t need to be rewarded for spending money. (That’s behavior I don’t want to encourage. :))
What little things can we all do in our everyday lives to “pay it forward”?
Published by Danielle on June 18th, 2007 tagged Good Deeds, General | 1 Comment » |
Things I love right now
The American version of The Office.
Remember on Pee Wee’s Playhouse when Pee Wee said he loved fruit salad, and Chairy then suggested that he marry it since he loved it so much and he did?
That’s how I feel about this show. We are watching Season 2 on DVD right now and I can’t get over how hilarious this show is.
Published by Danielle on June 15th, 2007 tagged Things I Love, Things I Own | 2 Comments » |
Our Wedding In Pictures
Forgive me. This is a double post from my wedding blog, but since this is my new home I wanted to have my pictures close-by. I keep saying that I want to do the wedding over, but in reality I’m happy with the way it came out. Here is our wedding in pictures. I may come back and add some captions to these pictures at some point.
Seeing my dress out of the garment bag for the first time on the wedding day.
More…
Published by Danielle on June 8th, 2007 tagged Wedding | Comment now » |
Oh, it’s such a perfect day; I’m glad I spent it with you…
I had a bet with my husband that I lost. I am not that good at winning bets from him, but I give it my all every time. I think over the years I probably owe him about a million dollars with all the bets I’ve lost to him. So when it’s really important now we don’t bet money. (He knows he’s not collecting.) This bet was about Paris Hilton. I thought she wouldn’t do a day in prison and would find a way to buy her way out of her predicament. He bet the opposite and he was right. Only the most important global issues are discussed at our house.
So what were the stakes? Whoever lost has to plan the most perfect day for the winner. So I’ve got some planning to do. Perfect really has to be perfect. I can’t half ass it. I think each sense has to be planned for. And it has to be interesting. Any suggestions? I will be updating here with ideas. I am thinking that dinner at the South Street Seaport has to be involved somehow…
{Image by sektordu}
Published by Danielle on June 6th, 2007 tagged General | 1 Comment » |
Digg for Women - Sk*rt
One of my favorite blogs is Design Mom. I am not a mom (yet), but I love her take on things. She makes it seem easy, or at least worth it, to make an effort to do things sweetly and with style.
So when she announced that she was launching the new site Sk*rt I immediately went over there to give it a try. In my industry there is so much emphasis on Digg. It’s amazing what the traffic generated from there can do for your site, but unfortunately the subject matter over there isn’t that interesting to me. Sk*rt is like Digg for women. You can find anything on there, from time organization tips for a busy woman, to great recipes, to ways to eliminate PMS symptoms. Now I get why Digg is so addictive.
Check out Sk*rt, but be prepared to hang out for a while. There are so many good finds on there.
Published by Danielle on June 5th, 2007 tagged Cool Sites, General | 4 Comments » |
Happiness on a Friday - 6/1
It’s Friday. That’s always a YAY!- Housekeeper came today. There is just no feeling like walking into a clean, like really clean, not just “straightened up” (the way I clean) house.
- Mom is having a garage sale tomorrow. I get to go through my stuff tonight and de-clutter, and maybe make some cash on things we don’t want! I actually think that mom should get rid of that treadmill she’s got now and get a new one. Then I will be inclined to go over and get on it more.
- I’ve been struggling with an issue on a client project at work. It’s been bothering me for a while and I’ve actually lost sleep over it. It’s a programming issue and today a solution was found. I am so happy. Huge weight lifted, happy client too.
- I’ve been craving sushi lately and Chris suggested we get it for dinner tonight. He’s psychic sometimes.
- And finally, Charlie never ceases to amaze me with what he will do for a laugh.
Top Image by Waponi