Best Princess photos of 2013
She came, she saw, she napped, she made a lot of friends at the office and was an ambassador for the pit bull breed, Bureau of Congeniality and Snorgle Affairs – a very good year! Happy new year, bring it 2014!
I had fun today…
…creating the holiday “infographicard” for the professionals of Pearl.com!
Font of the day
I was going to look for a silly holiday font and make fun of it, but then I had too many choices. I saw this one and it was actually pretty clever! For context, all the other ones are named something like “Christmabells” or my personal favorite, “Christmas Flakes.” Mmmm, tasty Christmas flakes.
Richard Brautigan
One day, when I own my own coffee shop
My husband and I are always talking about businesses to start, and at breakfast the other day we discovered the perfect way to marry literature and food: Literary-themed coffee shop. Name tbd, but menu is redonk already.
It’ll be on Mission near my house, where the buildings are cheap right now and fixies and yogas are just starting to make their way into the neighborhood.
Menu ideas:
BREAKFAST
Green Eggs and Hamingway
J. R. R. Egg Yolkien
French Toalstoy
Dan hash Browns
LUNCH/DINNER
Frank ‘n’ beans Herbert
CorMac-karthy and cheese
F. Steak and Pom Fritzgerald
Ground Chuck Palaniuk burger
Jane Au Jus-tin sandwich
Chile Jules Verde
Quinoa Achebe
Stephen King salmon
Mung Rolled Dahl
pAnn fried Rice
Fyodor Borsch-toyevsky
J.k. Fowl wings (chicken wings with blue cheese)
PiDante Diablo pasta
DESSERT
Stanislaw Lemon tart
Bananas Foster Wallace
Joyce Carroll Oatsmeal cookies
Mayan Chocolate Angelou
DRINKS
Emily Pickleson martini
Che Guava-era margarita
R.L. Stine of beer
Franz Koffeeka
Milkshakespeare
WILD CARD
Agar Agartha Christie mystery gel
Would you come?!?! We’d have pretty books all over the walls and nice places to sit. 🙂
Be yourself, but carefully
Came across this article by the Harvard Business Review: Be Yourself, but Carefully and was mesmerized. Communication is really one of the most complicated topics around today. Be genuine, but not too genuine. Don’t overshare, but if you don’t share enough you’re shy or introverted and risk never making strong relationships.
And, it all centers around knowing not only yourself (which in itself could take many years), but also the cultural background of your subjects, an assessment of whether you need to be establishing or strengthening a relationship, and some sort of guess about what a person’s comfort limits are. Gee… sounds easy.
This article’s good – but it’s only a start.
Giuseppe Zanotti beauties on sale for $99, down from $600. #score
Always looking to score a deal, but don’t want to compromise on quality? Me too. The round-up of sites below will please even the pickiest fashionista – it’s all the best designers, at the best prices. Don’t believe me? See for yourself!
The Outnet has been around a while, since 2009. They’re part of the Net-a-Porter group, which is always dazzling in terms of choice and quality. They also run occasional free shipping promotions and weekly Weekend Shop-In sales, which start on Friday mornings (EDT) and run for 72 hours. Subscribe for email updates – it’s the quickest way to learn about a sale.
A newer addition appearing on the scene in January of 2013, Bauble Bar has become a go-to destination for designer accessories (mainly jewelry) at wallet-friendly prices. Very cute selection of customizable monogram stuff, and they have an Instagram feed full of adoring fans that show off ways to style their pieces.
A member of the Neiman Marcus – Bergdorf Goodman clan, LastCall is basically the Nordstrom Rack of Neiman’s. If you’re looking for something that left stores already, or even just a few really nice basics, LastCall is a great option. Not great for newer, of-this-season purchases or very high end designers, though – occasionally you’ll see one or two at good prices, but not enough to warrant daily haunts of this site.
Luxe810 by DSW Shoes and handbags at prices we can afford! Check the clearance section first for the best deals, but almost everything is at least 30% off regular designer prices. Recently, they had a sale on Giuseppe Zanotti, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Miu Miu shoes – each pair at $99. Such a steal.
Bluefly An obvious one, but again, the sale and clearance section here, as well as the ability to sort by price low-to-high, is great. Love the color choice sorter, too!
Quote of the day for community managers
This article is definitely worth a read, but the best stuff was in the comments (spoken like a true community person…). Here’s the best one:
The debate is still raging on whether the work involved in online community management should be considered marketing or not, but perhaps this is due to the lack of consensus regarding what modern marketing itself involves given the rapidly morphing nature of online communications.
Community management is, in many respects, a marketing discipline in that it plays an active role in collecting qualitative and quantitative market data (through two-way communications and analytics), as well as in disseminating the message about the product to the target audience. In that sense, community management is both a listening and a communication tool that can actively influence high-level marketing decisions and, in that respect, it has its own place within the broader marketing plan.
Where Deb takes a different turn is in the way she treated Minority’s audience, rather than in the role that her position played within the broader marketing structure. She makes an important point in reminding that, beyond the data, beyond the trends and the numbers, her audience first consists of people with lives, personal challenges, experiences, aspirations and fears: human beings. As a community manager, Deb’s first priority was to treat Papo & Yo fans as human beings…and the result has been a uniquely supportive and dedicated fan base.
Café culture on a budget in Florence, Italy
What is it about outdoor cafes that makes us feel okay about overpaying for our morning joe? In Florence, Italy, the answer is simple. Outdoor cafes are often next to piazzas with the best people watching in the world. And what’s not to love about relaxing in the sunshine with coffee and a croissant?
Me sitting outside, but paying dearly for it.
Paying for it, that’s what.
I, too, was once enchanted by the vision of a sun drenched morning in Italy – until I paid €14 for a tiny single shot of espresso and a croissant. Flabbergasted, I asked my sister Gina (who has been living in Florence for years now) what happened. Was I so obviously American that the shop owner felt obligated to overcharge me? Did I accidentally say something rude to a waiter?
According to Gina, the difference between spending €4 and spending €14 is all about where you sit. Outside on the patio (with the delightful seating) is going to cost you about 3 times what it costs to just have your breakfast at the bar. Since to-go cups for espresso haven’t exactly taken off yet, you’re usually left with the decision to have your coffee at the bar, or sitting down at a table. Sitting down will cost you.
Intrigued, I went back to the same cafe and ordered approximately the same thing: espresso and una pasta crema (a pastry with custard inside, and arguably better quality. I also expected to pay a bit more for it instead of what I had gotten last time, the regular croissant). Armed with knowledge, I asked for my espresso at the bar, and was rewarded by paying €4 for better products. As an added bonus, the shop owner treated me like a local – asked where I lived, complained about the heat, and generally smiled at me a lot more. Go figure.
Prettyful photo of the day
I can almost hear the wind.
KAYLA BAXTER 