magic making.

We spent a day in Siena with Ben's parents and while wandering around the town, we popped into a men's store. Ben and his Dad were taken with the suits and jackets, and Len ended up buying a sports jacket. Anyway, while we were in the store, this fantastic store clerk showed me and Barbara this great way to wear a scarf/wrap. I loved it and he enthusiastically agreed to let me make a video. And now here is my gift to you today - this personal instructional video special for you...

mixed up.

Have you all heard about MixBit? Are you using it? I am going to download the app tonight to try it out. Ben sent me this NYTimes piece on it last week and it has intrigued me. It is a new app (like Vine and Instagram) to share videos....

bungobox.

We were over at Dan's apartment earlier this week and he had a huge stack of Bungo Boxes that had just been delivered. He is moving on Friday. Remember all my posts last month about moving and boxes and labels? Yeah, well, that was all a waste of time. Dan knows everything. He is a genius at always being at the forefront of trends, new ideas and technology. Anyway, BungoBox delivers reusable plastic boxes. You order online, they drop them off, you pack them, move, and then they come and pick up the cartons on the date you want. All for $70! So smart. Why bother with boxes, labels, packing tape, etc. These cartons just snap closed. And they will also give you labels, dollys and more. Genius...not to mention better for the planet and world!

all locked up.

Good Morning! Ben and I were thinking we would have to get our locks changed on the house when we move in, but then Jordan just finished wrapping this project for the All Things D Conference where they partnered to unveil the new August Lock. It is awesome. It is a keyless, codeless lock system. Also, the final  reveal below which is pretty great...and I'm not just saying that because he is my brother!

up.

Jordan was telling me about these bracelets, UP. He has one and also got one for my Dad. It tracks your activity, beeps when you have been sedentary for too long, tracks your sleeping, moods, eating and more. It sounds really cool and kind of maps your rhythms so you can maximize your energy and figure out what might be slowing you down. It is the kind of thing you really have to check out their website to get an idea for just how cool it is. I am tempted to give it a go...

label maker.

I found these labels for jars and kitchen organization on Pinterest yesterday and am all about them. I plan on tackling this project this weekend. You can find the free printables here on this blog. The only thing I am going to change is that I am going to laminate them before I put them on the jar lids so that I can wash them and also write on them with a dry erase market if I want to.

vivino.

At dinner on Saturday, Nick introduced me to the Vivino app. Have you all heard about it? You take a picture of the label on a wine bottle and it pulls up all the information for you, allows you to rate it and then stores it in your profile for easy reference. So smart, since I am always the one wandering the aisle in Whole Foods trying to remember the name of a wine we drank at such and such restaurant. Now, it is right there on the list for you!

corded.

I've been waiting to tell you all about the Une Bobine cords! Joanna Goddard has included it on one of her gift lists on Cup of Jo and I decided to get one for both Jordan and Chris for Christmas and then ended up getting myself one for our trip. I love love love it! It is this really stiff but flexible cord and you can use it to prop your phone up. I also just downloaded an app so I can take timed photos with my phone and use the cord to prop up the camera. I have also been using it to prop my phone up on my desk and used it on the plane to edit photos on my phone without having to hold it and look down.

I figured Jordan could use it for video and photos with his iphone since he and Hannah take so many with Stella and more generally.

In short, they are very cool!

genius.

I had a brilliant discovery last night! Frozen grapes to chill your wine. It is amazing. Pop a bag of grapes in the freezer and then throw them in your glass of white wine to keep it cold and the grapes don't dilute. Amazing, right?!

You're welcome!

trick of the trade (vol. 4)

How to eat a cupcake. I have been meaning to do this post for a while. Lucky for you, Laura brought  cupcakes into the office today. So here we go, get ready for this!

Step 1: Start with your beautiful basic cupcake.

 

Step 2. Carefully cut off the top of the cupcake with your fingers.

Step 3. Take the bottom half and put it on top to make a cupcake sandwich.

Step 4. Squeeze gently and wa-la! Look at that. Perfect for eating. I am telling you, it will change your eating experience!

trick of the trade (vol. 3).

Apparently, this trick of the trade is already widely known. I just discovered it last week, and so I am assuming there must be some others out there who don't know yet the easy way to do an image search on google. Do you ever see a picture or photograph online and want to know the original source? It happens to me all the time. Here is your answer!

1. Take this photo below as an example. 

2. Save the image to your desktop. 

3. Go to www.google.com

4. At the top of the website page, click on "images". It should look like below now. 

5. Next, drag your image that is on your desktop on top of the google search bar in your web browser.

6. Wa-la! Google will generate an image search and come up with a list of sources for you. 

There you have it. It's an Ansel Adams photograph and if you scroll farther down the page there are a variety of websites, including the official Ansel Adams site for the photograph. 

trick of the trade (vol. 2).

I am just going to say you're welcome up front because I am about to provide you with some more good material. Here we go!

I love China. Sure, America might be in relative decline and they might be manipulating currency, but at least they provide access to great movies to dull the sting a little. Welcome to www.1channel.ch. And, for all my readers abroad, the good news is that since you don't have access to Netflix over there, you can use this site. I was also advised that after you use the search bar at the top and find the movie you want to watch, click on it, and scroll down about half the page. You should see a list of links where you choose which version of the movie you want to watch. Be sure to choose a version by the number of stars. Yes, I know, duh. But, this person highly recommends "putlocker" and "novamov" as good sources.

That's all...happy watching!!!