Category Archives: National Blog Posting Month

Diversions, Kids are weird, National Blog Posting Month, Writing (elsewhere)

How Poppy flipped the script on Black Friday

11/27/2015 Nichole

A few years ago, The Story Pirates asked kids to send them stories about a made-up holiday. That sounds like a weird thing to do, but it’s actually normal for The Story Pirates. They’re a sketch-comedy group that adapts kids’ stories and performs them on satellite radio. They also do live performances, but usually just in California and New York. So for us, they’re just on the radio.

Anyway.

They wanted stories about made-up holidays, and Poppy and Pete decided they’d each write one. So they did, and we submitted them, and a few weeks later I got an email from a real, live Story Pirate asking my permission to produce Poppy’s story for the show. They were kind enough to send me an audio file of the performance after it had aired, and today seemed like the appropriate time to share it with you.

“White Friday” by Poppy & The Story Pirates

Didn’t they do a wonderful job? If you know Poppy, it’s pretty easy to pick out the lines they pulled verbatim from the source material. Pete was also thrilled that they included the cheeseburgers, as his entire story was a celebration of them.

I hope you have a thoroughly relaxing White Friday!

National Blog Posting Month, partner campaign, Shopping, sponsored

Beautify your home and give back with Macy’s Heart of Haiti

11/25/2015 Nichole 2 Comments

In 2010, a massive earthquake hit Haiti. It destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, leaving behind a devestated country. Shortly after the earthquake, Macy’s reached out to artisans in Haiti to create the Heart of Haiti product line, which includes handcrafted goods such as bowls, trays and vases.

Macy’s now employs 550 artisans in Haiti to make the Heart of Haiti line, including the talented soul who made the black-and-white vase they shared with me. It’s made of papier mache, and it puts the chili pepper I made in high school to shame. The Heart of Haiti papier mache items are made by crafters and artisans in the seaside town of Jacmel. They start by forming a mold out of dried mud, then use recycled cement bags to make the vase. Check out this video of the artists in action.

I’d like to share with you how artfully I incorporated the vase into my home decor, but instead I’ll tell you the truth: There is no such thing as “artful” when it comes to me and home decor. I thought the vase deserved something more than what I could offer it, so I took it to our friendly local crafting emporium, where floral designer Angie helped me.

floralhelp

When I say Angie “helped me,” what I mean is I followed Angie around and said things like “sparkly but not crazy” and “maybe some red” and “I’d like to leave it up ’til February, so wintery but not too Christmasy” and finally “Holy cow that looks great, how did you do that?” Thanks to the Heart of Haiti artists and the very patient Angie, I now have a striking addition to my winter decor.

heartofhaitivase1

The Macy’s Gifts that Give Back initiative is a beautiful and simple way to give back this season. You can decorate your home and buy gifts for your own friends and family while helping these artisans care for their families. It’s a win-win! The Heart of Haiti line is available online and at select Macy’s stores (Herald Square in Downtown Brooklyn, Downtown DC’s Metro Center, Chicago’s State Street, San Francisco’s Union Park, Downtown Seattle, Dallas Gallaria, Downtown Portland OR, Atlanta’s Lenox Square, Dallas Galleria Mall and Miami Dadeland).

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Macy’s Heart of Haiti line in conjunction with Everywhere Agency.

Domestic Blitz, National Blog Posting Month

How to cut an onion

11/24/2015 Nichole

Right now I’m making a spinach casserole for Thursday, and while I was chopping onions I remembered that I haven’t yet posted today. I was going to make a video of how I chop onions, but then I thought there was probably already at least one good video on YouTube. So while my onions sautéed, I went to YouTube and found one million onion-chopping videos. I figured Gordon Ramsey would be better at it than I am, so I clicked on his video. And indeed: He is a superior onion-chopper.

Behold:

Gordon Ramsey is also better at weird kitchen insults than I am. I’m OK with that. Next time I have to chop an onion, I’ll try the Gordon Ramsey method.