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DIY: Valentine's Day Silhouettes

Posted by: Sienna Orlando

February
2
2012

1. Materials:

- Cardstock (light and dark)

- Scissors

- Glue

- White pencil or chalk

- Paint, markers or colored pencils

- Black Marker or Sharpie

- Lace

2. Profile Photos: Find profile photos of you and your significant other. Play around with them until they are the right size and print them out (they don't need to be good quality at all). Trace the photos with a Sharpie and carefully cut them out. Pay attention around the face, as those are the characteristics that make us look the most like us!

3. Trace the Silhouettes: Use your white pencil to trace what will be the back of your cutouts. Carefully cut them out.

4. Assemble your Card: Glue down all the pieces and press flat under a heavy book. Decorate as you like!
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Pillow Talk: Connecting Lovers One Heartbeat at a Time

Posted by: Laurie Hartt

January
31
2012

If you've even been in a long distance relationship or spent long periods of time away from your loved one, then you know how lonely the nights can be.

Despair no longer, however, because all that might be changing. Photographer and Designer extraordinare Joanna Montgomery is working to get final funding for a product she's calling "Pillow Talk."

Here's how she describes it:

"Pillow Talk is a project aiming to connect long distance lovers. Each person has a pillow for their bed and a ring sensor which they wear to sleep at night. The sensor wirelessly communicates with the other person’s pillow; when one person goes to bed, their lover’s pillow begins to glow softly to indicate their presence. Placing your head on the pillow allows you to hear the real-time heartbeat of your loved one."

And here's a video showing how it really works:

I think this is such a sweet idea! Unfortunately, there aren't any pillow sets available yet as there is not quite enough money for production, but with the substantial funding it has already received and donations on PayPal, Joanna hopes to get it it going very soon - hopefully by some time in 2012. You can check out the development on her company's website, Little Riot, or on their Facebook page, which indicates pre-orders may even start next month!

Oh technology, the things you come up with! Now wouldn't that be a Valentine's Day present to remember!
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15 Hilarious Roommate Notes

Posted by: Laurie Hartt

January
30
2012

Umm . . . I don't even think I need to explain any of these.

Enjoy.

If you, or any of your roomies, have ever written such a legacy, please share!

(Pics courtesy of smosh.com, pophangover.com, bezbrige.com, oddee.com, and theberry.com.)
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  - Funny Roommate Notes
  - Hysterical Roommate Notes
Site to See: My Daguerreotype Boyfriend

Posted by: Sienna Orlando

January
30
2012

Daguerreotype: an early photograph produced on a silver or a silver-covered copper plate; also: the process of producing such photographs.

My Daguerreotype Boyfriend: "Where early photography meets extreme hotness".

As if scrolling through beautiful antique photographs weren't fun enough, My Daguerreotype Boyfriend on Tumblr has a carefully chosen collection of dapper young men from the 19th century. Sure, some of them have a few quirks like Munchkin hair - or were involved in some rather sinister plots - keep in mind that these men may have never otherwise been important enough to be captured by the photographic process!

Proof that Munchkin hair was at one point considered cool.

River Phoenix . . . anyone?

Ok, so this hunk was a bit of a bad boy. That's Ok, honey, I still know some girls who would date you.

Jude Law (um, maybe cuter).

(Photos courtesy of mydaguerreotypeboyfriend.tumblr, definition courtesy of merriam-webster.com)
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A Legend Alive: The Orient Express

Posted by: Laurie Hartt

January
24
2012

Luxury. Romance. Mystery. Glamour.

In 1883, a legend was born to the name of Orient Express. With luxuries like hand soap and an unparalleled food and wine menu, this elegant train steamed out of Paris to exotic locations like Budapest, Bucharest, and Constantinople. Soon, the Orient Express became the Ritz of transportation, carrying celebrities and royality in addition to socialites and other intriguing characters:

"Dancer Isadora Duncan travelled on the Orient Express wearing 'less than a veil, and that in the wrong place.' A French president 'fell off' and was found wandering along the track in his pyjamas. King Boris of Bulgaria insisted upon driving the train through his country. Spies regularly spotted on board included exotic 'artiste Mata Hari and Robert Baden Powell (posing as a butterfly collector)."

The 1920s were the train's greatest years, its art deco decor still today a part of its luxurious and mysterious appeal. The famous Bar Car was a popular rendezvous, as were the grand salons and dining cars.

Ian Fleming's 1963 From Russia with Love, as well as Agatha Christie's 1974 Murder on the Orient Express both helped to keep this train on the map, despite its declining popularity due to the options of faster, more reliable transportation.

Although the line finished its run as a regular passenger train in 1977, thirty-five of its vintage carriages were bought and restored by James B. Sherwood in the late 1970s. In 1982, the line known as the Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express made its maiden run, bringing the legend back to life. Today, the Orient Express and many of its sister trains continue to provide one of the most romantic forms of transportation the world has to offer.

In keeping with the stylish drama and glamour surrounding the elite line, formal attire is required at all times. (Sounds good to me!) And, while ticket prices range anywhere from $1000-$10,000, this is certainly one trip on my bucket list.

All aboard!

(Pictures and info courtesy of orient-express.com and Google images.)
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DIY: Wine Cork Coasters

Posted by: Laurie Hartt

January
19
2012
All right, winos; this blog is for you!

For the last four years or so, I have been avidly collecting wine corks, poaching them from my parents' kitchen, my friends' recycling bins, and restaurant tables. By the time last November rolled around, I realized that I had quite the stash and it was time to do something with them. After a bit of Google crafty research, I stumbled upon the idea of creating (drumroll, please) . . .

Because I was making these for Christmas presents, I did this over the series of several weeks and numerous hours in front of Netflix. However, it's a super easy project, and the only thing you have to wait on is glue dry time.

What You Need
- 8 corks for each coaster
- Really good glue (I suggest wood glue or tacky glue; hot glue doesnt hold strong enough and it leaves a chunky mess)
- Cork matting
- Scissors
- Ribbon (Optional)
- Heavy books or other weight
What You Do

Step 1: Glue together the corks two at a time. You want them to be roughly the same width and as close to the same length as possible. Do this to all of the corks so that you have four sets of two corks. Let dry.

Step 2: Glue the sets of two together. You can either alternate the directions or have the corks all facing the same way. Glue together and let dry. On the left, you can see that I used plastic corks; on the right, I used real cork. Both options are fun to work with, but I won't lie: the plastic ones are usually way more consistent in same-sizeness.

Step 3: Measure a square of cork matting that is just barely smaller than the bottom of the cork coaster. (To be honest, the square below is probably a bit too small; you probably want it a little bit bigger, but as long as it gets the bottom flat, that's what counts.) Cut it out, and glue it to the bottom of the coaster to create a flat base. (Note: my cork role had a "sticker" base that I tried to use at first, but don't be fooled: it pops right off. I just put glue on top of the sticky, and it held that way.) Cover with a heavy book or other weighted object to glue the matting firmly in place.

Step 4: Ta-da! You're done. If you want to make a cute gift, sign the bottom of two coasters with the date and your name and wrap them together with a bow.

Tip: Another fun twist on this is to make trivets for hot plates and pots. I bought $1 wooden picture frames from Michaels, flipped them over, and glued corks in cool batterns all along the frames. I also glued some corks directly onto the bottom of the glass of some picture frames for another twist, like it the one I made below. I've already used mine for pots of pasta!

Ready to try your hand? Pop open a bottle and get started!
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Site to See: Cutest Food!

Posted by: Sienna Orlando

January
19
2012

It's time to give props to one my favorite new sites, Cutestfood.com. Aside from the obvious eye candy (and cake) the sheer inventiveness of some people will have you scrolling through page after page. So roll on over to Cutestfood.com for a peek at cookies, cupcakes and ice cream (oh my!) like you've never seen before!

Loving this puppy Bento box and llama-themed curry dish. Even savory dishes deserve a chance at cuteness!

My personal fav is the pink bear doughnut with one eye munched out, but I may have to give this little elephant pancake a proper syrup bath one of these days.

What's the cutest dish you've ever seen?
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Declutter Your Life: 6 Ideas for More Zen This Year

Posted by: Laurie Hartt

January
13
2012

I don't know about you, but I am certifiably one of the world's biggest pack racks. Given, I do magically always have on hand that superglue/lemon zester/papershredder/pizzacoupon that everyone always wishes they had, but the time has come for me to let go of that cat calender from three years ago and move on to 2012.

Okay, so maybe my room will never look THAT clean, but in the spirit of a new year and a fresh start, I decided I was going to declutter my life! I mean, I think the 39,000 emails in my inbox are starting to get a little dusty. Now, I have had this inspiration before, but it was all too overwhelming and I ended up sitting in the middle of my floor playing with my old Barbies. This time, however, I have rounded up some tips that are SURE to help me (and any of you wanting to declutter, too!) make a zen start to this year.

1. Start small: spend five minutes a day cleaning something . . . anything.

It doesn't matter what you decide to tackle; five minutes of cleaning is going to make something in your house much cleaner. In fact, you'd be surprised to see that 5 minutes can pretty much clean an entire bathroom.

2. Buy an 8 pack of cute file folders.

Label them with the names of papers that pile up in your car, desk, and counters. Examples could be receipts, coupons, electric bill, etc. That way, you'll have everything together and can deal with each thing one at a time without having to dig through the trash to find that shopping list or water bill. To be even more organized, buy one of those expandable folders that comes with dividers in between; that way all your papers are together yet separate.

3. Buy cheap baskets or organizers in the same color.

I actually really like this idea for two reasons. 1. The same-colorness brings a matching continuity to a room, 2. it gives me a specific spot to put things, and 3. it makes things that always look messy look not messy (think odd-shaped items or bags, etc.). Okay and secretly 4. it gives me a place to stash things when I don't want to fold.

4. Organize a cleaning game with your roommate/husband/cat

I love this idea from Better Homes and Gardens: Get a bunch of pingpong balls, write tasks on them like "vacuum the living room" and "clean out hall closet." Whoever accomplishes the most amount of tasks by the end of a set amount of time gets a prize (think pedicure, massage, catnip ball).

5. Make up your own kind of list that makes sense for your living arrangement.

I love this one from Little Lucy Lu.

6. Clean out your computer while you're watching TV.

When you're just sitting there watching marathon episodes of How I Met Your Mother (cough, what?), multitask by deleting old emails, files, and programs that are slowing down your computer and cluttering up your life. Pick a cool desktop background and make sure your desktop is organized and doesn't have too many icons - mental clutter is just as distracting.

"Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

- Albert Einstein

(Pics courtesy of bgh.com, simpleorganizedliving.com, everdayminimalist.com, and pinterest.com.)
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Wine Snob 101: Popular Types of Wine

Posted by: Laurie Hartt

January
9
2012

One of my favorite college memories is of the time I lived in France and my host brother brought me and a friend to a wine tasting party. While they all tasted kinda gross at the time, the experience really sparked my interest in wines, their histories, and their creation.

However, there are a dang LOT of different kinds. Even now, I am confused half the time about what I'm drinking unless I read the bottle or Google. BUT...having a general idea of what you're drinking is a really good knowledge to have, especially if you're bringing a bottle as a hostess gift or serving it with a meal.

As such, I've created a list of some popular kinds of wine you might find in the supermarket, what they taste like, and what you might serve them with. I've left out a ton, but hopefully these will get you off to a good start!

White Wines

Chardonnay

Taste: Wide bodied, buttery, velvety, and often with fruity citrus and melon, as well as creamy coffee, coconut, toffee, and vanilla flavors

Pairing: Fish, Salmon, Chicken

Pinot Grigio

Taste: Crisp and dry

Pairing: Versatile

Savignon Blanc

Taste: Normally shows a herbal character suggesting bell pepper or freshly mown grass. The dominating flavors range from sour green fruits of apples, pears and gooseberries through to tropical fruits of melon, mango and blackcurrant.

Pairing: Seafood, poultry, salads

Reisling

Taste: Light and fresh with an aroma of fresh apples

Pairing: Chicken, pork, and especially fishes like tuna and salmon. Also good with Japanese food

Reds Wines

Pinot Noir

Taste: Delicate and fresh; it has hints of cherry and strawberry, often with notes of tea-leaf, damp earth, or worn leather.

Pairing: Excellent with grilled salmon, chicken, lamb and Japanese dishes (especially sushi!).

Cabernet Savignon

Taste: Full-bodied, but firm when young. Hints of Current, bell peppers, and oftentimes vanilla

Pairing: Red meat

Merlot

Taste: Scents include blackcherry, plums and herbal flavors

Pairing: Versatile

Zinfandel

Taste: A zesty flavor with berry and pepper.

Pairing: Tomato-sauce pasta, pizza, and grilled and barbecued meats.

Syrah

Taste: Meat (steak, beef, wild game, stews, etc.)

Pairing: Aromas and flavors of wild black fruit (such as blackcurrant), with overtones of black pepper spice and roasting meat.

Others Wines

White Zinfandel

Taste: Aromas of strawberries and raspberries, with a subtle sweetness

Pairing: Good for cooling down spicy foods or for a refreshing drink on hot days

Moscato

Taste: Sweet and fruity

Pairing: Desserts!

Santé!

(Wine info paraphrased or quoted directly from French Scout. Pics courtesy of Pinterest.com.)
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Memories of Paris

Posted by: Laurie Hartt

January
6
2012

Can't quite afford a trip across the pond at the moment? Then daydream your way through Paris with this collection of "memories" I've composed especially for all of YOU lovely LuLu*s ladies!

Preparing for the trip

Finding transportation



Sightseeing



Strolling past fragrant bakeries and charming cafes

Touring the museums

Shopping on the Champs-Élysées

Drinking wine by the Seine

Snapshot memories



Falling in love

(Pics courtesy of Pinterest, We Heart It, and Google Images.)
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