Sunday, November 21, 2010

Back!

The girls and I are back from the Crayola Pop Art Pixies NYC event. Wow! We had a WONDERFUL time. It is over 15 years since I was last in NYC, so just going back for another visit was cause for celebration alone.

We had so much fun. Our accommodations were at "The W" hotel in Times Square. The hotel was very up-to the minute, trendy, modern and contemporary. The bar was a hot spot at night. If I had been sans children, I would have ventured in for a glass of wine, but obviously that was not the case :)

Friday night we hit the Pink Carpet, complete with videographers, photographers and an interviewer. We proceeded to the main event room where we had a dinner of kid friendly foods (mini-cheeseburgers, mini-hot dogs, chicken tenders, fries, etc. We also had an evening of crafts lined up with the girls. (I will be posting more about that later, when I have good pictures to share). After the party ended, a few of us hit the Streets and shopped.

Saturday we started early at 8:30am. We had breakfast, a small craft then we went on our all day adventure. More about that in future posts.

For now I am recuperating from the trip - unpacking, catching up on sleep, etc. I cannot wait to share with you details of where we went, what we saw and how we got there :) Thanks to Crayola for a fabulous trip and a lifetime of memories! Check back soon for all of the Pixie details.


I was invited to the NYC event by Crayola. Our travel accommodations, meals, travel expenses and samples of Pop Art Pixies craft projects were provided by Crayola. I was not required to write a positive review. For more information on this blog and on my posting practices, please refer to the disclosure policy below.


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Simple Times - Crafts for Poor People by Amy Sedaris



I am a fan of David Sedaris, so when an opportunity came up to review a book by Amy Sedaris, I could not resist googling her name - Sedaris is not a very common name. Sure enough, Amy Sedaris is the sister of David Sedaris, but she is certainly not following in his shadow. Amy Sedaris is a well known comedian, actress and author. (the two movies I strongly recall watching her in are "Elf" and "Maid in Manhattan". She was great in both - very lovable in "Elf", and intentionally not so much so in "Maid in Manhattan".  And she is from Raleigh, NC!   

For her new project Amy has worked on bringing her readers " a new book that will forever change the world of crafting".  According to Amy, it's often been said that ugly people craft and attractive people have sex. In her new book, SIMPLE TIMES, she sets out to disprove this theory.  By demonstrating a wide variety of crafts for a wide variety of uses, Amy attempts and succeeds in building her case. 

This book is a riot.  Most of the crafts are hideous but a few are passable for actual crafts.  Either that or I have extremely poor taste.  Amy's comedic style really pushes the bar - you know you really shouldn't be laughing but you cannot help it!  

My favorite chapter from Simple Times is "Unreturnable Gift Giving".  No explanation needed here except these are crafts the recipeinet would probably WANT to return, if possible.  Other gems are the "Making Love" which seemed oddly out of place, even with the crafts included, and "Teenagers have a lot of pain" .  Unfortunately, I think the teenagers would have more pain if subjected to the handicrafts featured in this chapter but I also think that is the point.

You can see Amy in true character.  For the theme of each chapter or craft, Amy is photographed in the proper setting and attire.  From "Out of This World"  - sniffing the glue cross-eyed -  to Gift for the Single Working Women - wearing a horrific not-in-a-good-way retro 70's denim skirt and fringed vest combo while toting a lovely handmade denim pocket portfolio.  I am still confused about the matching yellow-green chenille robes in the sex chapter, but the cheesy, spoofy and yes, scary photos vividly capture of the essence of a campy sexual self-help book.  (Not that I would know from personal experience of course.....)  Each page is filled with a new adventure, whether you are prepared to take it or not.   

One cannot help but wonder where she came up with all of these bizzare crafts.  Then one cannot help but realize sometimes the truth is best left alone.  This book is a great gift idea for the crafter, the anti-crafter or  for the person that just likes truly inappropriate humor.  List price is $27.99 USD.  If you present to the serious crafter, you may want to do so with a disclaimer.  I also would not suggest giving to the easily offended, but everyone else should be fair game!

Thank you to Hachette Book Group for this review opportunity.  All opinions expressed were my own.  I did not receive any form of compensation for this review, but did receive a book for review purposes.


Friday, November 05, 2010

Updates.

Headed out this weekend (3 trips this month!) but will be catching up on reviews and giveaways next weekend. Regarding my trips - one is personal (friends), one is business (work) and one is blogging (Fun!).

Here are upcoming reviews, blog tours and/or giveaways:
Dichoric Glass necklace
Skin Peel
Holiday dog bib
crafts book - Amy Sedaris
Aurora gift guide and giveaway
Ergonomic mouse review
Paris Wall Decal
Healthy women blog tour

Until then! :)



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