Santa Paws!

It's baaaaack!

Treat your dog to Santa Paws, the Triangle's Original Holiday Photo Event with Pets!

Visit the SPCA of Wake County online to make your reservation online.

Holiday Cards

I've been doing some (ok, a lot) of research as to the pricing of holiday cards. I'm personally geared toward the nice 4''x8'' that you mail in envelopes.

Know what I've found? There is a crap ton of variation in pricing.

Here's the best deal I've found so far:

Holiday 4'' x 8'' cards at VistaPrint.com
50 prints for $11.99 (with envelopes included) is around $0.25/card. Not $1.50/card like I've seen some crazy companies charging.

I was a little wary of the $20 additional charge for envelopes when the envelopes are noted as included here when I was doing the instant quote service, then I realized you just have to go back and change the envelope selection to the free choice (tricky tricky).

The only thing that sucks is the shipping and processing fee and lead-time.
Shipping and Processing Costs:
Rush - $25.19 - 3 Business Days
Priority - $13.15 - 7 Days
Standard - $9.15 - 14 Days
Slow - $5.45 - 21 DaysCall me crazy, but that seems like a really long print delay. Maybe they're just THAT busy. You'll definitely have to plan ahead to if you want to be able to mail them before New Years and not double the cost of your cards with shipping fees!

In all honesty, they seem to be the cheapest for any type of printing (business cards, etc.) I'm ever doing anyway.

I'll be sure to update as this search goes on and post some results later down this holiday road.

PS - Their customer service is very helpful by phone, too.

PS#2 - Walgreens is also a good choice at $9.99 for sets of 20 that you can pick up at the store (ie: no shipping costs), about $0.50/each. I don't think you can create your own design though... you may be restricted to their templates. I'm getting really creative (thanks to iStockPhoto.com and Adobe Photoshop CS3) and making our own design.

PS#3 - Vista Print is offering "Get 50% OFF Holiday Cards offer ends 11/16/2008" currently... now that's a REALLY good deal.

Altar Ego - November 22nd

Hope to see some of you NC people at this :-)



Join Tre Bella and Dress for Success Triangle NC for a Fashionable Evening

If you are looking for the latest styles in daywear, resortwear, eveningwear, or bridal fashion, look no further than “Altar Ego…An Event All About You.”

Durham-based Tre Bella Bridal, known for exceptional quality bridal gowns, is hosting the fashion show from 6:30-10 p.m., November 22, 2008, at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.

Pat Nathan, founder of Dress for Success Triangle NC, will emcee the event. The event will feature wedding event ideas, hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and culminate in a fashion show at 8 pm.

Couture bridal gowns by Angel Sanchez, Junko Yoshioka, Lela Rose, and Manuel Moto will be modeled. Triangle boutiques featured will include Lucky Mi of Chapel Hill, Scout and Molly’s of Raleigh, and Za Za Zsu.

Attendees will be eligible for gifts and swag bags featuring a signature Tre Bella necklace.

Tickets will not be sold on site, but can be purchased online for $35 at www.trebellabridal.com/altarego.htm or at the following stores:

• Lucky Mi
• Scout & Molly’s of Raleigh
• Tre Bella Bridal
• Tre Bella Gifts
• WALK, a Scout & Molly’s Shoetique
• Za Za ZsuDrop off an accessory or career clothing donation to Dress for Success Triangle N.C. prior to the event and receive a coupon for 10 percent off the ticket price. Visit www.dressforsuccess.org/trianglenc for drop off locations.

Let's Say Thanks

I try not to post more than once a day, and Let's Say Thanks is something I've certainly shared before, but I think this is worth the double post.

Happy Veterans Day and many thanks to those who have served and are currently serving!For those of us who get to do whatever it is that we do - because of our veterans - please take a minute to do this:
http://www.letssaythanks.com/My deepest thanks and support go out to Jake (Navy), Brian (USAF), Cedric (USMC), Snelling (USMC), Shaun (Army MP), Scott (USMC), and last, but certainly not least - my cousin Henry (USMC - RIP 7/27/06 - You'll always be our hero, thanks for giving us hope!).

My Bar's Gone Crazy

Note: I have no idea how we can afford to do this, but I'm not asking questions.

This is the email I just got from Julie, our Sales Manager… and I’m really excited:

“We are going to start doing a crazy weekly drink special trying to boost people's attitudes about the bad economy...therefore we will be having $2 GREY GOOSE drinks all night this Friday! Now you have no reason to sit at home on the couch and say you can't go out because it's too expensive :) This week it's Grey Goose, next week it could be Patron, so stay tuned.”Put your party pants on Raleigh people!

PS – Feel free to forward this to your friends with my contact info, should they need any more info or want to contact me to ask questions, get on the members list so they can skip that step at the door, etc. (NCSULilWolf at Gmail -dot- com).

PS #2- I will have “Be My Guest” passes and can put anyone on the guest list for any Friday and Saturday THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR as a special holiday incentive. Take advantage of this now!

Just please try to let me know before… oh… 11pm when you’re at the front door.

I will be glad to give any of you as many “Be My Guest” passes as you’d like in advance as long as you promise not to waste them! (There are some of you who should just keep them in your purse/wallet at all times.)

New Blog on the Block

Garden & Gun.

It's not really "new" per se, but it's new to me (and clearly wasn't very obviously evident on their site when I did my original G&G post here or I would've Google Reader subscribed then, duh).

I'm Very Disappointed...

...in blogland right now.

People offer up a free preppy item, something monogrammed, etc. on their blog and folks comment from miles away and throw comment counts in to the hundreds.

A Southern Accent, a fellow semi-local blogger, graciously offers to:

"I thought I'd try something a little different. For every person that leaves a comment on this post, I'll contribute a dollar to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, up to $100"And she gets a mere 28 comments? Really?

Lame.

Do a little bit of good karma duty today and 1: go comment on her fabulous "give-to" (instead of "give-away") and 2: repost! (If you're not into reposting, that's fine... but at least email friends and family members who might appreciate the gesture!)

Restore my faith in people a little, won't ya?

Majorly DIY, Majorly Local

So I was just checking out Spoonflower (after a recommendation from Southern) and doing the usual - sharing it on Google Reader, emailing it to people I'm not directly connected to on Google Reader, adding it to my Google Toolbar bookmarks (noticing a trend here?), and registering for the site - all normal stuff.

Then I stumbled upon this:

Activate your new account.

Welcome to Spoonflower!

Your account has been created. To activate it you must open the activation email that has just been sent to you and click on the indicated link. This will bring you straight back to Spoonflower where you can customize your password and start creating beautiful fabric.

Spoonflower gives individuals the power to print their own designs on fabric that they can then use to make quilts, clothes, pillows, blankets, framed textile art and many, many other things that might surprise you.

If you experience problems gaining access to your account...

You can email us at help@spoonflower.com

Or give us a jingle at +1 919 321 2949

- the spoonflower teamAre you kidding me? 919?? You KNOOOOOW how I like to keep it local. I'm giving this a try as soon as I can figure out what I'd like to DIY in the next few weeks (ie: when I may actually have time to DIY something).

Whitney Barnes Deal, is this your doing? I can so see this being a project of hers...

11/16/08 Update - Got an email from them today with a Mebane, NC mailing address. Totally thought that was (336) territory, but I could be wrong.

Beer-League Skee-Ball? I'm in!

This is something that Brian - the Brewskee-Ball master of Raleighwood has been working on for quite sometime... and I'm REALLY excited about tonight! Any of you locals want to grab a few teammates and come out? It's going to be a lot of fun :-)



Join us TONIGHT at Buckhead Saloon for the kick-off of Brewskeeball - the beer-league skeeball event of the fall season!

What is Brewskee-Ball?

Glad you asked. Check out this brief video:

That's right folks - skeeball, the game we all loved to play at Chuck E. Cheese's and the fair, combined with beer and a little bit of competition and you've got yourselves some Brewskee-Ball!

We'll be opening up Skeeson I registration to the public beginning next week, but we're holding a "V.I.Skee" party this Thursday night (11/6/08) at Buckhead Saloon at 8:00pm. This party will give you a chance to register your team and guarantee a spot in Skeeson I before the rest of Raleigh gets in on the action.

How do you register you team?Three easy steps:
1 - Come up with a clever team name.
2 - Submit skeemates names and email addresses. (3 rollers per team)
3 - Pay the registration fee. Registration fee is $20/person and covers your official Skeeson I Brewskee-Ball t-shirt, trophies, championship glassware, trading cards (yes, I said trading cards), the website, scorecards, etc.That's it! After that you just check the website for the schedule and updated stats!

www.brewskeeball.com/?pk=39

The lanes will be open all night for FREE SKEE, but be sure to get there at 8! At 8:30 we'll draw random teams for a 2 on 2 tournament. The winners of the tournament will be featured on an inaugural issue of the Raleigh edition of SKEESPN the magazine!

And, as if that wasn't enough, there will be complimentary beer (courtesy of Brewskee-Ball) from 8 - 8:30.

Be sure to email Brian@BrewSkeeBall.com to reserve your spot for the V.I.Skee Party!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, come one come all for a little game we like to call - BREWSKEE-BALL!

Let the Good Times Roll!

-----

{January 8th, 2009 Update}: Brewskee-Ball will be played at The Bassment (just under The Pourch) on Glenwood South for the rest of the season. Hope everyone enjoys the change in venue!

If You Need a Reason to Visit Chapel Hill

Because yes, some of us in Rah-town definitely require a good reason to do so.

UNC's Pi Phi 5K

When: Saturday Nov. 15th from 10am-11am
Registration is at 8am and the race starts at 10am.

Where: UNC Chapel hill

What: The Eve Carson Memorial 5k for Education is a race through the UNC campus in memory of former student body president Eve Carson. Proceeds from this event will benefit the following educational causes: The Eve Marie Carson Memorial Junior-Year Merit Scholarship, First Book, Clyde Erwin Elementary School in Onslow County.

Registration is $15 and includes a shirt.

Please visit educationforeve.com for more information!Totally worth the drive. (Even more so if you're already close to Chapel Hill!)

If you're not a walker/runner, they are also holding a book drive! I hope to see some of you there :-)

Great Coverage for the Boys!

A while back I posted about the September 19th (919 - get it?) launch of TriangleBlvd.tv.

Tyler is one of my favorite people to work with - I'm super stoked that the Technician gave the TriangleBlvd boys this great feature:

Graduates launch the Triangle’s first Web television network
Trio of N.C. State’s own provide advertising through the establishment of a ‘video yellowbook’Read the full article here! And then join the TB facebook page, too :-)

I Can't NOT Help

My aunt sent me this email from her friend's church's youth group (I don' think that was too hard to follow):

Our Younger Girls Action Group is taking up donations for the Crossnore School in Crossnore, NC, near Banner Elk, NC.

Founded in 1913, The Crossnore School is a private, non-profit children's home and school in the western NC mountains, serving children who, for circumstances beyond their control, can no longer live at home, whether permanently or temporarily. Most residents live at Crossnore because their primary care givers are abusive or have neglected them to the point that their well being is threatened. Residents come from all counties in NC.

The needs of these children in residence are very basic things that are needed for day to day living. We are asking members of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church to go to the Crossnore School website and view the "SPECIAL NEEDS" section.

If you have any of these items listed here that you can donate, please drop off your donation between now and November 12th in the lobby area of the top floor of the Family Life Center, adjacent from the Fellowship Hall. Ms. Lou Jean Peace and a friend of hers will actually be delivering the items the Younger GA's collect to the school in person the week of November 17th. Further questions and comments can be sent to Deborah.Upchurch@sas.com.When I checked out the website and read that not only are they providing a wonderful home for children, they have also taken in a whole family of displaced dogs who provide a "pet nurturing' program that teaches children - through their responsibilities for the dogs - how to deal with human problems", I knew I wanted to help.

Many of the items on their needs list (answering machines, curling irons, G-rated videos, small pet bedding, etc.) WON'T EVEN COST YOU A DIME of anything other than the time it'll take to pull it out of storage or the hall closet.

I'll be glad to pick up any donations from any readers - just drop me a message or email!

It's Always the Little Ones

I never participate in the tags and awards that social bloggers do (I really do appreciate you all for including me, but I try and keep this blog content-based so that each post is about more than just me), but when I saw this on Green Magsterpie's blog today... I just couldn't resist. Maybe it's my ridiculous love of pictures.

I also wanted to illustrate something very important: I'm a little girl (5' 2'')... so I can get away with a lot of things that some people never notice.

Case in point: my fourth picture album, the fourth picture in it:

Location: Bristol, TN/VA
Event: NAAAAAASCAR race with the boyfriend, Cole, Lindsey, and Cameron
Image: Me getting away with not having to carry my gravy biscuit.I think people underestimate me sometimes. Need proof? I also took this picture of my tactic... unnoticed.

The Family Business

My family business has been known for over 35 years for two things: 1 - auto body repair and paint, and 2 - marine sales and accessories.

For those of you who spend a good deal of time near any body of water and think most problems can be solved in an afternoon that includes a cooler and a fishin' pole... I think you'll enjoy this new site that came across my work inbox today from one of our industry associations.

GREETINGS FROM FISHINGTON

Dear Boating & Fishing Partners,

The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) is proud to announce an exciting new online community that complements the national Take Me Fishing™ campaign and connects boaters and anglers like never before! It's Fishington – The Fishing & Boating Capital of the Internet – and we'd like to extend a special invitation for you to join.

FEATURES & BENEFITS
Fishington leverages different approaches from well-established social networking platforms like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube, but is specifically tailored for boating and fishing enthusiasts. Being part of this community allows members to:
• Create a profile
• Find and add friends
• Create and join groups
• Create and post comments on message boards
• Add and organize photos and videos
• Save favorite hotspots from our interactive map tool
• Control their privacy settings

Stakeholders who maintain a profile have the ability to:
• Connect with other local businesses, clubs and individuals
• Map their location and related bodies of water
• Gather feedback, photos and videos
• Build fans of their facility
• Understand and recruit new members or customers
• Generate increased traffic to their Web sites
• Spark interest in their programs and products
• Invite discussion about their programs or products

Fishington is directly linked to all of the great content that's on TakeMeFishing.org, including the 12,000 places to boat and fish. Businesses and facilities that currently exist in the TakeMeFishing.org database will already have a profile on Fishington.See you online! Of course my username is ncsulilwolf.

Guess What Just Crossed the Mason-Dixon...

(Firefly Distillery)

Oh yes, that's right. All of you who hail from (or have moved) north of NC can now enjoy what we've been raving about all summer and fall: Firefly's sweet tea vodka!

Via text message from one of my favorite bride-to-be sisters, E. Riley (soon to be E. Riley-Dorn):

They're selling sweet tea vodka up here now!!!

(To which I replied - "Yes!!! Now I can come visit again!")

Haha yeah they sell it by the half gallon so come on!
By "up here", she means near Baltimore. And by half gallon, she means Little Lisa-sized (which she totally agrees is true, too).

Looking SO forward to some DC/MD visits!

PS - Yes, I know where wiki defines the Mason-Dixon line, but who are we kidding?