Friday Five

1. I was skeptical about this at first, however watching the trailer, it looks pretty darn cute.  We're not talking Pushing Daisies level of cuteness here, but musicals are never a bad thing.  Which means, of course, it will fail miserably.

           

2. I'm the first one to admit, I don't know nearly as much about the Bowe Bergdahl case as I should.  But from what I can glean, there are lots of soldiers and military people upset that the US made a prisoner exchange for this man's life.  Like I said, I don't know what he did or didn't do, but I read 2 opinions this week that make a whole lot of sense and should silence the critics.  One mentioned that if she were being held captive, and the Taliban promised to let her live if she converted, she'd pretty much do anything they said too. The other noted that even if their son was a bad person, they'd still move heaven and earth to get them back.  When you look at Berghdahl as a normal human being rather than some super human, it makes much more sense that the US did everything they could to get him back.

3. St. Leo's Festival and St. Nicholas Festival both in Baltimore this weekend.  This makes me very, very happy.  Here's to lots and lots of yummy Italian and Greek food!

4. This. This makes me very, very happy.  Already planning a spring trip to NYC.

5. Today marks the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy Beach by allied Forces.  For those that gave their all that day, we are eternally grateful for their service for our freedom.  These great men and women have been honored in so many ways today and deserve every one of the honors.  Though, of all the solemn and heartfelt ways I've heard the 70th anniversary of D-Day be remembered, the BBC's seems to be the most creative and most meaningful.  Can you imaging what people were thinking when they heard these broadcasts for the very first time in 1944?  At that time, the whole world was exploding and no one knew what was going to happen.  And then they're being told to evacuate their homes?  It must have been terrifying for them.  It happened 70 years ago and I still get goosebumps listening to them today.

Good Intentions

If it helps, I had planned an intelligent post for this evening on everything in the news this week.  There were deep thoughts and lots of questions.  However, that was all before the bestie talked me into submission (2 hours).  Don't get me wrong, I love chatting but 2 hours on the phone is exhausting : )  And that was on top of crafting for everyone else but me.  On the upside there are at least some products of my very long evening.  Promise to be back to my semi-intelligent much less tired, self tomorrow.

Things You Learn

Etsy seems to be the gift that just keeps on giving. On one hand, it's incredibly difficult to market shops well.  So far the only orders I've received are from people I know.  I have no idea how to get my shop noticed and I have no idea how to drum up business.  But on the other hand, it's incredibly easy for friends to order things ALL the time.  Before I opened my shop, crafting was just a thing I did that people sort of knew about.  Now that I have an Etsy shop, it's like an open call for everyone to special order whatever they want, whenever they want.  It's a bit stressful at times and a bit hard to manage the orders.  But, oh have I mentioned it's also pretty awesome : )

PS: Can you tell the orange card is supposed to be a sunrise?  I feel like it was more obvious in others I've seen but it's sort of abstract in my version...

Funny for the Week

When I first read about Hollywood Game Night, I have to say I thought it was a bit ridiculous.  Seriously?!  Stars playing games together?  It's just dumb.  I felt the same way about Dancing with the Stars at first.  So you can see my track record is not the greatest. But after watching a few episodes, I'm a convert.  

Jane Lynch is the perfect host for such a corny show.  She's able to still be funny even amidst all the cutesy.  And for the most part, the stars they get are pretty fantastic.  I'm pretty surprised week to week, the caliber of stars they manage to book.  We're not talking Oscar winners here, but Bradley Whitford, Rita Wilson, or Michael Wetherly, are all pretty big names - also, very funny people.  I'm a big fan of all the classic game and chat shows of the 50s and 60s and Hollywood Game Night has the same feel.  So if you're looking for a funny, tune in.  It's not rocket science but it is pretty funny!

            

Colorfully Inspired

After a crappy day, I needed some scrappy and some happy in my life so I got working on a photo frame for my favorite Color Run photo.  If that couldn't turn my smile upside down, I don't what could.  After loving how it turned out, maybe a few more will show up on Etsy quite soon.

Ready and waiting for a trip to Costco for this photo

Caring Cards June: Random Acts

Last week I provided a sneak peek at the new line of Caring Cards for the month of June.  When I started my Etsy shop, I knew that I wanted to find a way to give back to some amazing organizations that continue to do good work each and every day even in troubling financial times.  That's sort of where the idea of Caring Cards came from.  I decided that each month, I would create a special design and sell only 25 of that design.  At the end of the month, 50% of the proceeds for that design would go to the charity for that month.  It's an easy concept (why it sounds confusing when I try to explain it, I'll never know). 

So without further ado, June's charity and the very first recipient of Caring Cards Cash is:

Random Acts is a charity solely focused on conquering the world one random act of kindness at a time.  Quite honestly I just learned about this charity a few months ago, but since then I've fallen for their simple concept and their creative ways.  By focusing on the motto to Be Kind always, Random Acts has managed to do some pretty extraordinary things!  Among its many different accomplishments, the most impressive has been the Children's center below.  Thanks to donations, 2 years of hard work and a group of hard workers, Random Acts built Jacmel Children's Center in Haiti. That's pretty extraordinary when you think about the amount of shear paperwork that goes into getting projects accomplished in a country like Haiti.

long with the Children's center, they also run a school reward program called Class Act to get kids active performing random acts, and Endure for Kindness - a global 24 hour pledge event.  Honestly, what's not to love?! And what better charity than to randomly start this hop into charity work than one that celebrates randomness?  

June's Caring Card is below.  Because they're just such a happy organization, I figured focusing on smiling was always a good idea.  So head on over to the Scrap Happy Traveler now to buy some super cute cards (even if I do say so myself) and help a fantastic organization do some awesome work!

A Taste of Three Cities

Last year, the Gathering held an event called the Taste of Two Cities that included food trucks from Baltimore and DC.  It was a fantastic success!  This year they went one better and had a taste of three cities - Philly included this time around.  And once again it was a phenomenal success!  Somehow these events just keep getting better and better, and it's about the best way I know how to spend a summer Saturday - Delicious food, wonderful friends and gorgeous weather!

Unfortunately the girls and I were a little too busy chowing down to take pictures, but I'm sure you can find pics of loads of yummy dishes on their websites.  We only tried a few of the 50 trucks but given a few more days, I'm sure I would have enjoyed at least something fantastic from every truck!

Deep Fried Cheese Curds from Cow and the Curd: Oh my goodness, where have these been my whole life?! To Die For!

Chicken Arepas from Delicia's: Not like the arepa I made in high school but it had guacamole and Guava salsa that I actually enjoyed so it was still a win!

Lobster Roll from Red Hook Lobster: I now cannot wait until Boston next month to have another of these delicious sandwiches!  I've never been one for cold seafood but this may have converted me.

Pierogies from Busia's Kitchen: I had these last year but they were still yummy.

Black Truffle, Bacon and Cheese fries from Bistro Lunchbox: Yet another meal I could eat every darn day.  Delicious!

Cookies and Cream Dipped Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Truck: Also a repeat, also delicious!  I can never turn down dipped cheesecake.

Cupcakes from Iced Gems: I've never seen a truck with so many choices for flavors yet every darn flavor I've ever tried is scrumptious!