·
One of the many things on my weekend to do
list? Cook with
APPLES!
·
Speaking of swag, the
newest up and coming white rapper is from…Morgantown, WV? Check out Huey Mack (He maybe
should have picked a different name to avoid the comparisons to Mac Miller).
Huey also fulfilled my dream of making it into the Urban Dictionary
and NYT
Style Section. Speaking of WVU and the NYT Story…this
is about right.
·
Finally, I told you earlier that I couldn’t put
my finger on what I felt was wrong with Fashion Week from my little apartment
in Pittsburgh, but I think this Refinery 29 article sums
it up – it just isn’t what it used to be. That sense of it being an exclusive
event is no more thanks to bloggers and the internet. Yeah, I'm guilty of showing looks from Fashion Week, but that's because I like pretty things (and there are a lot of pretty dresses!). It's the point of the shows no longer being filled with industry exes and now bloggers....maybe more on that later.
Bon Dia!
On Monday I returned to real life (aka Pittsburgh) after
spending several days on the island of Aruba to celebrate the nuptials of one
of my besties – Reader Dana.
When people asked me how Aruba was, I said, “Beautiful
weather, beautiful hotel, beautiful wedding, beautiful bride (and couple!)”
What else was beautiful? The alcohol.
So readers, this may be a bit off season, but let me share
with you a list of libations that I consumed while in Aruba.
1.
Miami
Vice: Yes, this is odd to drink when you are closer to South
America than America, but if you’ve never had one of these it’s basically a
Strawberry Daiquiri mixed with a Pina Coloda. Garnish with Don Johnson.
2.
Raspberry
Rickey: I had to look this one up. Bon
Appetit tells me that it’s a Gin Rickey with muddled raspberries. When
ordering, use a long, tounge roll for the R in Rickey (Raspberry RRRrrrrrickey)
3.
Pinto
Gigio: Enough said.
4.
Raspberry
Mojitos: A mojito with raspberry (are we seeing a trend
here?)
5.
Balashi Beer: The local
beer of Aruba, Balashi. Some fun facts about this beer courtesy of the Balashi
website:
·
The brewery was built on the island in 1998 –
tours are available
·
The malt is imported from Scotland, while the
hops hop in from Germany
·
It’s made with Aruban water – which everyone
tells me is the second best drinking water in the planet (I’m not a water connoisseur,
so I can’t confirm or deny this)
·
The name Balashi originated from the words Bala
Bala and Balana, which are Aruac (Indian) and mean “near the sea.” Additionally,
the name was selected the winner of a contest among Arubans!
I’m sure I consumed many additional beverages, I don’t want
you to send me to rehab just yet, so I think five should hold you over until we
talk booze next week (or tonight). 
“Dear Great
Pumpkin, I am looking forward to your arrival on Halloween night.
I hope you
will bring me lots of presents.” - Linus
Just like the Peanuts characters waited up all night for
the Great Pumpkin, I wait all year until pumpkin-flavored season falls upon us.
Not only does that fall-flavor lure me into drinking coffee, but this is the
one time of year when I actually enjoy some beer.
Over the course of the last two weeks, the hubs and I have
tasted some pumpkin brews, so it got me thinking – why not invite my readers to
join me on a journey to find the greatest pumpkin beer!?
Below I compiled a list of potential pumpkin beers for
you to print and carry with you to the bar (or pull up on your mobile device
while consuming beers at the bar). Once you sample one, report back to me your
thoughts and your rating – one pumpkin sucks and five pumpkins is awesome. And
if you spot one that I didn’t record, let me know and I’ll revise the list.
(Sources: Charlie Brown Image, Orange
Glitter, Pumpkin
Image)
Of course you know that I love reading blogs. Do you know
what I love even more than that? Reading blogs that my friends write! I even
have a section in my Googler Reader for “Friends” blogs.
My dear friend Reader Lissa just started a blog that has
an amazing concept – Gratitude or in this case, GratiTuesday! Lissa encourages
people to celebrate little things that they are grateful for.
I get it – it’s hard to be happy every day.
We wake up every day and don’t want to get out of bed,
don’t want to wash our hair, don’t want to iron our clothes, don’t want to
commute to work, don’t want to wait in line at Starbucks, don’t want to go to our
job that we likely hate, don’t want to stay at said horrible job super late, don’t
want to cook dinner, don’t want to do extra work at home and don’t want to
clean….and then the cycle all starts again the next day.
Why not wake up every day and be glad that your bed is so
cozy that you don’t want to leave it, be thankful that you still have hair, be
super excited about the awesome outfit that you picked out that you have to
iron, get excited about the old school jam that you rocked out to while stuck
in traffic, jump up and down because pumpkin is back at Starbucks, be thankful
that you have a job, offer to stay late at work so your hard working team
members can go home in time to see their young kids, be thrilled that you found
a new recipe on Pinterest that you are dying to cook for dinner and says screw
it to cleaning because no one is coming over to see your mess until the
weekend!
I encourage you to try this positive thinking ONE day of
every week. Jump on Lissa’s movement. Wake up each Tuesday and say “Tuesday –
you are going to be AWESOME, because you aren’t Monday and I’m going to rock
this day out because I’ve got so many things to be grateful for.”
Sometimes being grateful for the little things makes
daily life so much more exciting!
Oh and today, I’m grateful for my friend Lissa (as seen below playing the role of famous XO Vanna White) for coming
up with this idea! Thanks, Lis!!
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