A Poet You Should Know

Sisters,

Last Monday I forced you to read an article, this week I am begging you to spare a few minutes to watch Joshua Bennett perform his poetry at President Barack Obama's Evening of Poetry and Music at the White House (that is a really long event name...wooh).  He is a crazy talented poet with some serious credentials.  Joshua has recited his original poetry at events such as the Sundance Film Festival, the NAACP Image Awards and The Kennedy Center's "American Playlist".

He is also a very dapper dresser.  He is currently studying in London and whoisbobbparris snapped this photograph of him.  Not too bad, huh?  Also, In her post about Joshua she references Street Etiquette,  which you should wander to sometime soon. 

Happy Monday!

My Addiction: fruit snacks

I LOVE anything fruit flavored and chewy!  Of course you can't go wrong with gummy bears, but here are a few of my other favorites:

ALL NATURAL: All natural, only 45 calories, and full of fruit goodness. I seriously can't stop eating these things once I start.   http://www.stretchislandfruit.com/ProductsFruitStrips.aspx

FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T SWALLOW VITAMINS: Some days I think that I am an adult, then I fail to swallow a pill and my adulthood goes out the window. (Am I the only one over 10 who has trouble swallowing all pills other than Advil?) Anyway, for the child at heart who wants adult vitamins take 2 or 3 of these: http://www.flintstonesvitamins.com/gummies/index_new.html#supplement

AT STARBUCKS: Pick up these tasty strawberry mango twists when you want a fruit snack on the go! They are $1 and 100 calories.

FROM THE CORNER STORE: Abby recently reminded me about Mamba and they made me think about our childhood trips to Marv's General Store.  Mamba's are cheap, easy, and so totally dangerous! In a weak moment I can get them at every corner store within a mile of my house and drift back to summer days at Artesian Park.

FRUITY ICE CREAM + CHEWY MOCHI:  Try strawberry mochi the next time you are at an Asian restaurant and you won't regret it.

CHEAP AND ADDICTING: I work with elementary schools and so fruit snacks are readily available to me - sisters I know you are jealous. My coworker recently purchased Walmart fruit snacks called, Great Value fruit smiles. They are sold in a box of 42 pouches, they are delicious, cheap...and made of colored corn syrup. Not the healthiest choice, but totally addicting.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Kate's Dress

Sisters,

I know I said I wasn't going WillKate crazy over here, but I couldn't resist looking at pictures and videos of the wedding over breakfast this morning. And just when I thought I could care less, I see her dress! It's perfect. What do you think?

Read this if you'd like to know more about how the dress was made and all of the intricate detailing :)

The Royal Wedding

Hi sisters,
I'm assuming you both got the same text from mom I did. The one that said "Are you buying a hat for the wedding?" And by "the wedding" she means THE wedding (capital T-H-E). I have to be honest, I don't think I'm going to drag myself out of bed early tomorrow morning to watch Will and Kate tie the knot, let alone buy a hat to do it. What about you?

I am loving this wacky wedding memorabilia list on Refinery 29 here.

Oh, and check out these nails!

Love from NYC :)

The Art of Self Confidence

Sissies-

As you both are well aware, I am pretty confident that I can be an artist. Remember a few years back when I made dad go out and buy me all the supplies so I could start my "career" as an oil painter? I know that didn't quite work out, BUT I am really sure I can do this...

(PS- I love the color scheme in this room)

This is how the artist, James Nares, paints...



I can totally do this!

Sisters- Get out your rock climbing ropes & harness. Dad- please buy me an extra large brush. You all are going to help me construct a contraption to accomplish his "style" of art. His work was just featured on Gossip Girl... so you know he is about to get big. I really think I am onto something here. You'll thank me when my art shows makes millions :)

xoxo-
from the west coast

Records to Rdio

Sissies,

We grew up listening to dad's records, loving mom's Madonna tapes (and making our own awesome mix tapes), buying N'Sync CDs, and then downloading mp3's.  Although we may lack music talent, despite years of choral instruction and dreams of stardom on the Disney channel, we have always loved listening to great music! Well, here is one more evolution in the way we can own and listen to the artists we love.

Rdio is a website that lets you listen to unlimited music online. You don't purchase the albums or singles, you pay for a subscription to the website. You can create a collection of albums, a playlist of songs, or put albums and songs in your que to create a stream of the songs of your choice. The Rdio collection is missing some classics and artists that are not so mainstream, but for the most part you can find what you are looking for in their database. This is not the only website of its kind, rumor has it Spotify is coming to the U.S. in the near future.

Here is Tech Crunch's review of Rdio from 2010. I think it's helpful, but two updates to note: Rdio is no longer by invite only, it's open to all and Apple has since approved the mobile app.

Love from Chicago

Bossypants

Sisters,
Tina Fey's memoir Bossypants came out yesterday. It chronicles her life, from growing up in the burbs of Pennsylvania, to her time in Chicago at Second City, and her gig as the first female head writer for SNL. The reviews are raving and I'm not surprised, everything she's done is brilliant, so why wouldn't a book documenting that be brilliant too? I can't wait to pick up a copy.  Check out this NPR review written by Janeane Garofalo (remember how much we loved Reality Bites?):

Bossypants is not so much a memoir as it is a sort of here's-what-happened-and-why-I think-this kind of book. It's honest and intimate, without any maudlin tales of childhood sorrow, no extraneous snark or hit-and-run tell-all gossip. It's just a great read from a mature thinker. 

The book is also getting a lot of attention because of its cover. What do you think of it? Tina's dad had a few thoughts:

I hope that's not really the cover. That's really going to hurt sales. (Don Fey, Father of Tina Fey)

Ha! Love it. Now you go get your copies and we'll read it together!

With love from the city where Tina lives :)

Our America

photo by John Keatley

Sisters,
Have you seen Our America with Lisa Ling yet? It's on the O network (gotta love Opy), Tuesdays at 10/9c - but if you don't have cable (like me) you can watch it online, they post the episodes after they've aired. My friend told me about it last weekend and I love it! I've always liked Lisa Ling and so far I think this is some of her best work. It's a really well produced show chronicling some of the most controversial topics in America today. It's not perfect (as most news shows aren't), but it's thought - provoking and bringing some important conversations to the forefront. 

Check it out over here.


Love from NYC!

Our brother and Paula Deen

Sissies,

Robbie's blog - Paula Deen Riding Things - was in In Touch Weekly this week. First Jimmy Fallon, then the Today Show, and now side by side with one of the Kardashians. 

Our little brother is internet famous :) 

The three of us, our grandparents, and the internet star

With love from New York!