The Good Girl Gone Blog

A Pink Giveaway Extravaganza!

Today is a very special day. Today is my blogoversary and I am ECSTATIC.

Who would have thought that just a year ago I thought blogs were stupid? Just a year ago, I hadn't joined 20sb. I'd never heard of twitter. I'd never looked at...google analytics! If I wasn't blogging, reading blogs, or tweeting back then, how the heck did I spend my time?

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you all for being such great readers. I'm still amazed that people I've never met have such strong opinions on what I have to say. Though it sounds cheesy, I love reading all of your comments. Well, except the really mean ones. But hey, if Andrea keeps threatening to beat up the haters, then screw it. Be mean to me, cause she's got my back and she's a true blog friend. It's people like Andrea, and probably like you, who make blogging so special for me.

So, as a thank you, I've put together a little giveaway for you chock full of my pink favorites. (Well, actually, it started out just pink...but now it's gotten a bit more colorful!) Though I'm still putting together the final gift basket, it will definitely include:

• The "Pink Ladies" bath bomb gift set from Lush
• A sugar scrub of your choice from my friend and fellow blogger, Megan
• A collection of super cute Poppy Pencils from my excursion to Coach for my internship at springpad
• Pink hair accessories
• A signed photo of your choice from David H. Brooks photography (I wonder if he has any photos of flamingos...I sort of want one for my new room!)
• Most likely some sort of baked good

Interested? I hope so! I'd love for you to enter. Details below:

To enter:

• Simply comment on this post with a link to your favorite pink product online (not including the ones in this giveaway) and tell me why you love it! Once you do this, I will add it to my pink collection, so that I can share your fab pink finds with everyone.
• To double your chances: comment with a link to a pink product you've already added to your springpad. Don't have one yet? Sign up! It's a FREE tool for organizing all your favorite things. Plus, I'd love to start following you and check out your fab finds!

Other important info:

• Though I'd love for you to re-blog/tweet about this giveaway, you by no means have to.
• Because I'm super busy packing/cleaning/moving/traveling to weddings, this giveaway will be open until September 18 at 12:00 AM EST. (This also happens to be my best friend's birthday. Happy 21st, Becca!)
• Winner will be announced during the week of September 20th.
• Contest open to residents of the US and Canada ONLY. (Sorry people in Finland. I know you're reading because you come up in my analytics, but sadly, I won't be able to ship overseas.)

To my male readers:

• Sorry this giveaway is so girly...but I'm sure you have female friends/relatives that might be interested in some free pink stuff! I think it would be hysterical if you won, so enter anyway!

**Oh how they twinkle**

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"You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep..."

I have a bit of an obsession with fireflies. I remember that as a child, I used to run around in the grass at night with my sisters, chasing "lightning bugs" and sometimes collecting them in a cup. I can still feel the crisp grass on my feet, picture the dark summer sky and feel the excitement that only a child understands.  I was (and still am) fascinated by fireflies. Even as an eighteen-year-old, I added "chase fireflies" to a list of things I wanted to do with a certain boy when we were abroad together in Israel. Sadly, there were no lightening bugs in the holy land, nor are there any, to my knowledge, in Boston.

"Cuz I get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs as they try to teach me how to dance..."

As graduation creeps closer and closer, I'm beginning to think about where I may end up. A friend gave me a helpful piece of advice, reminding me that the next few years may be the only time that I can just pick up and leave. Without a serious boyfriend, work commitments or children, now is the time for me to choose a new city and start a life for myself post college. 

"To ten million fireflies I'm weird cuz I hate goodbyes I got misty eyes as they said farewell..."

...I hope that wherever I end up, I will be reunited with my dear fireflies. Until then, I listen to this song  over and over again and simply smile.

* All lyrics in this post are from Owl City's "Fireflies." You should definitely check out their CD.

Vegas: Where normal men get creepified

 

Sam, Julia, Me, Elana and Arielle on our way to birthday dinner (photo via Elana)

Hi everyone- I'm writing to you from Julia's room in San Diego. My nose is stuffy, I have a sort of painful canker sore in the inside of my cheek, and my hair looks disgusting, but hey- at least I had a CRAZY Vegas weekend chock full of stories to share with you. I could give you a play-by-play of every detail (and trust me, I do love to talk), but I think I'll just divide my posts into categories. That way, you (and I both) won't get bored halfway.

So...this first post will focus on a topic I know you all love to hear about: my encounters with the opposite sex:

The hottie on the plane: One of the downsides of being tiny and traveling sans-checked baggage: it's nearly impossible to put your rolling bag into the overhead bin without help. Though I was thankful to the middle aged man standing behind me in the aisle of the plane for initially hoisting my little Betsy Johnson suitcase into the bin above my seat, he was less than memorable. The guy that helped me get it down, on the other hand, was super cute. I'd been hoping he'd strike up a conversation with me for the entire flight, but sadly, he didn't. So, when it was time to deplane, I seized my opportunity:

"Hey, can you help me get my suitcase down so I don't kill anyone?"

He smiled kindly and obliged.

"We wouldn't want that to happen!"

Yeah, that's me- I'm a charmer.

The drunk party-goers: After celebrating Jules' first (legal) drink in style at the Belagio, we headed back to our hotel to change shoes and engage in a bit of gambling. (For the record, I gambled a wopping $3. Though Jules came home with around $600, I was too chicken to actually try out the tables. Plus, I've come to realize that the Vegas lifestyle really isn't me- but that's for another post.) It was particularly fun talking to some drunk guys who couldn't wait to wish Julia a happy 21st. For some reason, in my tipsy state, I thought it was a good idea to switch to Hebrew. The guys had no idea what we were saying, but Sam, Jules and I thought it was hysterical.

The homeless guy: When he saw Jule's sparkly birthday crown, this grungy, disgusting guy felt the need to shout:

"Hey princess!"

When Jules didn't respond, he let out a gravely "aww come on." We ran away as fast as we could.

The Israeli Kiosk guy: Arielle thought he was cute, so we pretended to be interested in the steamer he was trying to sell. We all knew he was Israeli, but played dumb and asked him where he was from. When he said "Israel," we explained that the five of us had originally met in Israel, where we'd lived together for 9 months. We told him it was Julia's 21st, and he responded by saying we didn't look 21...especially me. He definitely knew how to win me over...NOT.

The coworkers from Maine: On Saturday night, after a fabulous Italian birthday dinner, we hit the club at New York, New York. Though we were sad to know that free Skyy Vodka drinks had ended just a few minutes earlier, we still hit the dance floor...with gusto! There, I convinced Jules that she needed to climb up on stage. Of course, I jumped up first and had to DRAG her up behind me, but she eventually complied. Oh, and as Elana tried to take photos from the dance floor, a 40-50 year old guy offered to take photos from a better angle. It was slightly awkward, but I will say, I was enthralled by the younger, much more attractive guy standing next to him. Eventually, the "old" guy asked me where I was from, I think mainly as an opener for his cute coworker to step in. Cute coworker then offered to buy a round of drinks "for my girls" and I happily obliged, especially because "get a guy to buy us a round of drinks" was on our Vegas to-do list!

After bringing me my drink, I felt obligated to chat with the guy and found out that he not only went to school in Boston, he was also in Vegas on business, working at a trade show. Yup...this guy's life mirrored my own. I was happy to chat with him, because we had so much in common. I felt bad when our group decided to change locations, and apologized for leaving. It would have been fun to keep talking with him, but whatever :)

The gay strippers: I don't want to go into details, because I was thoroughly disgusted, but I'm ashamed to say I was dragged to a strip club. It was eye opening to say the least, and though the rest of my group seemed  ok with the situation, I was not. Watching hairless men prance around in g-strings? NOT my idea of fun. I spent about an hour moping in the corner. It was absolute torture. Note to my best gal pals: when planning my bachelorette party, please, please, PLEASE don't hire a stripper! You will make me cry.

The creepy Flatbush guy: On Sunday night, we'd hoped to get into "Tryst," a super-classy club at the Whynn hotel, with the free passes Julia had received. Unfortunately, Tryst was closed Sunday nights, so we were forced to try out XS, another club in the hotel. The price was steep, but we were all dressed up and in the mood to go out. At XS, we were unhappy to find that the club, however swanky and grown up, was overpriced and underwhelming. The funniest and most disturbing part of the evening was when two young-ish guys came up to our group and started chatting with us. One guy (Ike) grabbed me by my arm, spun me around and told me I was adorable. I could tell he was drunk because he kept kissing my cheek. It was sort of gross. He then pulled me aside (although still within my friends' watchful gaze) and asked me if I was really a "good Jewish girl." Baffled and slightly creeped out, I said yes. He then proceeded to tell me he was " a nice Jewish boy," and when I questioned his religion, he offed to show me he was Jewish. It was disgusting. I ran over to my friends, who proceeded to share a disturbing truth: Ike was married and had a newborn baby at home. Eww. Eww. EWW.

Needless to say, I think you understand my feelings on the men of Las Vegas. Sure, maybe they're decent guys when they're in their natural habitats, but Vegas seems to creepify people. Thanks, but no thanks- I think I'll stick with some nice Boston boys...though to be honest with you, I'm not sure about them either. No worries, I'm still young.

Sunday Confessional: I hate butterflies

Caution: if you read this post you might just start hating butterflies...don't say I didn't warn you.

You know how some people are afraid of bats? They can picture them swarming around them, hitting them in the face with their wings? That's sort of how I feel about butterflies. When an ex of mine surprised me and took me to a beautifully landscaped garden near his house, he couldn't quite understand why I wouldn't go to the butterfly observatory. I shuddered as I thought about all of those wings brushing near my face- being surrounded by flying caterpillars was not my idea of a romantic date.

I'm not sure if my initial dislike of butterflies stems from my irrational phobia of caterpillars or from my sister's hatred of them. (She once found (half) a butterfly in a head of lettuce and has been scared since.)

That's why I was baffled by my love of the "butterfly bush." I think it was on my last visit home that I noticed a new plant growing near my house. The blossoms were bright purple and absolutely beautiful, and attracted a whole bunch of Monarch Butterflies. Though I finally accepted the fact that I actually enjoyed watching butterflies flock to the purple blossoms, I have recently changed my mind:

You see, two days ago, I was minding my own business when I heard the light tinkling of Peewee (aka Peter)'s collar. I walked over to say hello to him, when I noticed he had something in his mouth. It was flat, yellow and OMG IT WAS A BUTTERFLY. I may have screamed a little bit, and immediately ran to my dad to ask for help.

"Daddy! Peter brought in a butterfly! Help. It's disgusting. Eww Daddy, make it go away!!!"

Clearly my father was not as disgusted as myself, because he continued continued to talk with the guy fixing our TV. As grossed out as I was, I followed the cat down the stairs- I was curious. Little did I know there would be pieces of  butterfly wing strewn across the carpet. I didn't even get as far as finding my cat before running up the stairs and INSISTING my dad get rid of the butterfly. (Yes, sometimes I'm a bit of a girly-girl, but we all have our moments. At least I'm not afraid of spiders!)

My stepmom finally came downstairs to see what was going on, and soon after emerged from the basement with a sad look on her face. The butterfly was miraculously still alive, although missing huge chunks of his wings, but even she couldn't save him. My dad eventually cleaned it up, but I'm still scarred. So scarred, that I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the cat with ANOTHER butterfly in his mouth the next day.

I've already told my father this, but as much as I love that beautiful butterfly bush, I think it has to go. We've seen Peewee hovering around it, just waiting to bring in another snack. I'm sorry P, as much as I hate butterflies, I would NEVER eat them. I know you're just following your cat instincts, but I will not encourage you: the butterfly bush must go!

Snips and Snaps

OMG I LOVE MY STYLIST. Teri is an absolute genius. I went in today wanting to lighten up my hair. It's been a big tangled mess lately, and frankly, it's too much to deal with. After various (negative) comments on my current "do," I knew I had to make a change.

Yesterday's comment from my grandma (Why does your hair look so curly and wild?) was the last straw. So...I called Tery and she squeezed me in.

 

(Sorry for the sketchy photo booth picture. My baby is currently back with her siblings at the Nikon mother ship getting fixed. I miss her a lot. And yes, I am wearing a shirt in this photo- it's just strapless.)

You like? I think I'm a fan. Hopefully I'll be able to duplicate the look, although honestly, I have too short an attention span for a blow dryer. But you know, that's what roommates are for!

Um excuse me...when did Crocs get cute?

So yesterday I wrote about my experiences as an intern at blogher09. Unfortunately, I forgot to include one more piece of knowledge that I acquired: not all Crocs are ugly. I know, it sounds like blasphemy! Trust me, I am NOT a fan of the Croc, or at least I wasn't, until last weekend. Even as I write this post, sitting barefoot in the office, my free pair of croc flip flops are lying under my desk. Yup. I wore my Crocs to work, and I'm not ashamed.

Sure, they're no Jimmy Choos, but they're comfy, have a lot more arch support than my regular flip flops and they're not...well, hideous! I actually stopped a blogger at the springpad booth so I could take a photo of her shoes:

Cute, right? I bet you wouldn't have guessed they were Crocs!

FYI- I've started a really awesome collection of my favorite pink things, many of which I've written about in previous Pink Thursday posts. Check it out- it's going to play a big role in my upcoming blogoversary giveaway. (Get excited!)

Blogher09: the Intern's Perspective

Hey ladies and dad...oh and my other male reader, Nathan,

I'm so sorry for my lack of posts lately. To be quite honest with you, I've been exhausted ever since blogher started. Although I tried to write the below post on Sunday evening, I accidentally refreshed my browser and two hours of work went down the drain. I did not follow the cardinal rule of writing on a computer: save, save, save. So here's to constantly saving this post as a draft. Hopefully it'll be as good as the original :(

I know you've probably read about a gazillion blogher09 recap posts, but mine is different. Yes, I am a blogger...but I'm also an intern, so when my company, springpad, offered to bring me to Chicago, I was ecstatic. Not only was I embarking on my first business trip, traveling to one of my favorite cities and getting to attend a convention made just for bloggers like me...I got to do it for free!

Here are some highlights from an intern's journey to blogher:

• Bonding with new coworkers - although I've been working with Kboss for over 9 months, T-rexa joined the company just a few weeks ago. Though we chat in the office, I definitely got to know T-rexa a lot more on this trip. We bonded over boys, hair removal and fashion faux pas. We even dressed up in wigs and aprons at the Swiffer SocialLuxe party. Who knew she was such a girly girl!

She even let me take a picture of her...err t-shirt. Check out the creative button placement!

• Hanging out with old friends- though I was psyched to be continuing my internship at springpad this summer, I definitely miss my mentors from BML. Sara and Heather inspired me to start this blog, and I'm extremely grateful to have met them. Even though Sara spent most of the time embarrassing me in front of her old coworker (read: cute, Jewish, young, single), I enjoyed every minute of it.

Check out their FABULOUS shopping blog! If you look far enough in the archives, you'll find a post or two from yours truly :)

• Meeting springpad users- a huge part of my job involves emailing bloggers who I think will enjoy springpad. It's one thing to know bloggers from their blogs and springpad profiles, but it's another to actually meet them. I'm so glad I got to meet some of my favorite users, such as Sandie, Jennie, and new users (and fellow 20 somethings), Jennifer from Free and Flawed and Jenn from Eating Bender! I'm following all of them on springpad, and you should too!

With Jennifer Perillo of In Jennie's Kitchen

• Giving out swag people actually liked- everyone thought our mini notebooks were adorable; I think the blue ones were the most popular. I also loved watching everyone oogle the Coach bag that I picked out. Some people literally came over and stroked it, it was that beautiful.

• Getting treated like a queen- maybe traveling for business is always like this, but I've never had my own king bed, let alone an entire hotel room to myself. My stuff was strewn everywhere, I took a luxurious bath and watched TV at 6:15 am. I even got a bouquet of flowers delivered to my room, courtesy of ivillage. (Yes, I know all of the bloghers got flowers, but still- I was impressed!)

So what if Trexa got pretty orange roses. Mine were ok, and hey, at least they weren't carnations (ew)

• Chatting with the other sponsors- though I had very little down time to walk around and check out the other booths on Friday, Saturday was a lot more relaxed. As a result, I actually had some free time to collect cool swag and meet the other sponsors. I particularly enjoyed meeting the laundry fairies at the All booth: they were dressed entirely in pink and had wings. Plus, they practically adopted me when I told them that their product's tagline, small and mighty, is basically my motto. Their PR rep even filmed me discussing it so she could show her boss. Future All spokesperson? I think so. Oh, and the fairies referred to me as "Small and Mighty" for the entire weekend.

I was ECSTATIC when I found out our booth was next to Nikon. I definitely took advantage of the situation and asked Kristine about a million questions. She was extremely helpful :)

• Executing a successful PR campaign- we'd been planning our "Go-To Girl" campaign for a long time, so it was great to see that people actually got it. I now have over 400 followers on springpad, so they must have liked us (or at least our giveaway). Though I've worked on some pretty fun (and award winning!) campaigns in the past, this was the first campaign I actually got to see from start to finish.

The "go-to girl" buttons I helped dream up. They're super cute and represent the different 4 differnt categories: babies, travel, food and shopping. We still have a few left, so if you want some, just give me a holler!

• Finally getting a chance to truly enjoy a party- the blogher parties probably got more hype than even the conference itself. Though the parties were supposed to be fun, I found them extremely stressful. Because I was representing springpad, I had plaster a smile on my face even when I was exhausted. I definitely worked on my mingling skills, eventually getting over the initial embarrassment of approaching people I didn't know and starting up a conversation about springpad. Though the parties before and during blogher weren't super fun for me, I LOVED attending BowlHer. Because the conference was over, it was the first party I got to actually enjoy. Kboss, Trexa and I were a lot more relaxed. So much so, that we all got a little goofy and donned pink boas! (Clearly it was a much bigger deal for K & T, because who are we kidding, I was born to wear a pink boa!)

via

Overall, blogher09 was a HUGE learning experience for me. I'm so glad I was able to attend, as both a blogger and an intern. Hopefully, I'll be able to attend next year's conference in NYC!

PS- I was also one of around 30 bloggers interviewed on Blog Talk Radio (!!). You should definitely check out my interview :)

Israeli style schnitzel

Rach and I have been craving chicken fingers for a while now, so when I remembered that we had frozen chicken breasts (left over from the dinner I made for DH!), I knew tonight was the night to take action. I facebooked my lovely future sister in law and asked for her delicious spicy dipping sauce recipe, had Arielle take the chicken out of the freezer and got to work on this delicious treat.

As always, I made a bunch of mistakes along the way, but it still ended up tasting amazing. We couldn't find hot chili sauce at Trader Joe's, so we bought sweet chili sauce and combined it with schug, an spicy Israeli paste. In addition, I was too lazy (and hungry) to let the chicken defrost, so I put it in a pot of hot water on the stove. The chicken ended up getting slightly cooked before I had a chance to bread it, but it tasted fine.

When I first saw the amount of chicken I prepared, I assumed we'd have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I was totally wrong: Rach and I devoured it!

Ingredients: Spring the recipe!

    For chicken:

• 1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast
• flour for coating
• 1 egg
• bread crumbs
• za'atar for seasoning
• oil for frying (I used olive oil)

    For sauce:

• mayonnaise
• soy sauce
• sweet chili sauce
• schug*

Directions:

• Set out three prep bowls: the first filled with flour, the second with a fully beaten egg and the third with a breadcrumb and za'atar mixture. Add as much za'atar as you want- it's delicious! Set aside.

• Defrost chicken and cut into strips. Pound until thin- I used the side of a sharp knife and it worked just fine.
• Dip chicken in flour and coat until fully covered. 

 

• Coat chicken in egg. Let excess drip back into bowl.
• Dip the egg covered chicken strips in the breadcrumb mixture until strips are fully coated

 

• Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and fry until crispy and brown.

 

• Place cooked chicken strips on a paper towel. Blot excess oil with additional paper towels.

• For the sauce: combine ingredients to taste. I wish I could be more specific, but I didn't measure (The sign of a TRUE chef!) Be careful with the schug- that stuff is hot!
•  Serve and enjoy! (I added some blueberries and basil to the plate to add a hint of sweetness and a bit of flavor. It was actually an AMAZING combination and made up for the fact that I couldn't find any suitable vegetables.)

Pink Thursday: DIY Sheet Curtains

Hey everyone- I hope you're having a great Pink Thursday. I'm currently on my way to Chicago with Mr. and Mrs. Kboss, as well as a new colleague, T-rexa. The next few days are going to be super packed, so I don't think I'll get to do much blogging. But...rest assured, I'll take tons of pictures and will update you on my trip after I get back to Boston.

For now, here's a pretty awesome DIY project I worked on earlier this summer. For some reason, my bedroom window had no shades or curtains, and because it looks directly into the kitchen of another apartment, I needed to find curtains in a pinch. I bought a curtain rod and used some old sheets I had lying around and voila- problem solved...sort of. The result is pretty cute, although my neighbors can technically still peep at me.

DIY Sheet Curtains

Supplies Spring the supply list!

• scissors
• 2-3 bed sheets, preferably flat sheets
• 1 spring tension curtain rod
• duct tape (optional)

Instructions:

1) Cut sheets into strips of about the same width. Depending on the size of your window, you can cut the sheets width-wise or length-wise. (No need to make perfectly straight cuts- the edges will just curl anyway.)

2) Cut slits lengthwise in each of the strips. (I did mine approx. 5 inches away from the top of the strips, but it depends how much fabric you want to hang over the bar.)

3) Attach strips to curtain rod by pulling bottom end of strip through the slit you just created.

4) Hang curtain rod and enjoy. (Use duct tape if absolutely necessary to help secure the curtain rod.)

My first real intern task

I was trying to look pissed...

If you're anywhere near the Boston area, you know that it's raining. A lot. Believe me when I say I wasn't too excited to venture out in the rain after the Coach store in Chicago told me they didn't have the bag for our blogher giveaway with Mommy Niri.  (Trust me, you're going to want to enter. I'll keep you posted!)

So, being the loyal intern that I am, I made my way over to the Faneuil Hall Coach store to purchase the bag.

With pink umbrella in hand, I tried to avoid ruining my new purple slingbacks as I waited for the 92 bus to pick me up. When I got to the coach store, the nice ladies went to grab the purse for me, and guess what- they gave us a free gift (it comes with every Poppy purchase)! 

 

Isn't she a beauty? via

When I told them I hoped my boss would let me keep the gift for my efforts, they gave me an extra one. (Editor's Note: Oh wow, I made it sound like they gave me a $200 purse. No! They gave me a free Coach pencil case. My job isn't THAT fabulous! Sorry for the confusion.) Plus, they boxed and double bagged the purse so it wouldn't get ruined in the rain. I heart Coach!