Tuesday, February 26, 2013

#thisisathing Tuesday!

HULLO EVERYONE! I'm back with another edition of #thisisathing Tuesday!


So, I normally keep my fingernails pretty short because a) they break way too easily and b) typing with long nails ends up with lots of typos. But, here's another situation I hadn't thought of: using a touch screen with long nails. Oy, that must be annoying! (cue the #firstworldproblems hashtag).

The solution? Nano Nails!


...Fake nails with a built-in stylus.

Huh. I can't decide if this is awesome or ridiculous. Or maybe a bit of both. ;) What do you think?

Have you seen any products or inventions that are shockingly "WTF?!" interesting lately that you'd like to share? Tell me in the comments below! :D

Friday, February 22, 2013

Friday Favorites: Inspiration Edition

And finally for this week's Friday Favorites: tweets that might provide you with a bit of inspiration, 'cos I know they did for me. :)

Friday Favorites: Humor Edition

And now, for the humor edition of Friday Favorites! Funny tweets, inc!

Friday Favorites: Warcraft Edition

It's Friiidaaay! Time for some Friday Favorites, where I will share some of my favorite Twitter posts from the week. First up: Warcraft-related tweets!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Williamsburg Wednesday

Hi friends! :D

I'd like to write about my current town for you: Williamsburg, Virginia.

Before I moved here, I had visited once as a child. I've been living here about 7-8 years now and realize the tourist idea of Williamsburg is a lot different than the reality of living here! But I had noooo idea before moving here what the differences could have even been.

So, I'm opening up the forum for you to ask me questions about the area. What do you want to know about Williamsburg?

I'll start off by telling you the biggest secret I've learned about living here: Williamsburg is a small town, spread over a big area. Once you've lived here awhile, it's hard to get away with going somewhere and not seeing someone you know. Forget getting away with going to Walmart in your PJs because there's a 90% chance you'll run into someone, even if you're just going in for one thing! However, even though it's a small town and everyone knows someone that knows someone else that turns into the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, it still takes a half hour (or more!) to get from one side of Williamsburg to the other. The area stretches from York County, to the City of Williamsburg, through James City County, and I'd even say some of the other outlying counties can be thrown in there too just because a lot of people commute for jobs so the community overlaps. We're smooshed between the Newport News area and the Richmond area, which makes it so pretty much anything fun to do requires a bit of travel one way or the other. But, one benefit to the area is that it's really hard to get lost: there are so many roads and side roads and backroads that all lead to the same place, or lead to some main road that will have plenty of signs to someplace familiar. While there's an area of town called Confusion Corner due to the "ahhhhhh where am I going?!" reactions once you get there, it's not like you're stuck going 20 miles down a road without any turn-offs if you get turned around. This pleases me, since I can get lost pretty easily if I'm not careful! But, when you're visiting, it can make things really confusing because you can ask how to get somewhere and get directions on 10 different ways to get to one place.

Here's a video about Confusion Corner that I found pretty amusing. This is just one little intersection in the Colonial Williamsburg area of town, but it's the intersection of a bunch of main roads and in between buildings for William & Mary college and the Merchant's Square shopping area, so it can get pretty busy!



Alrighty folks, ask away! I'd love to try to answer your questions and share my experiences with you about living in this beautiful little spot of the world. :)  More on this topic next week! :D

Peace and love,
~ Cara

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

#thisisathing Tuesday!


Welcome to the first #thisisathing Tuesday, where I feature something I've seen recently that strikes me as remarkable that it actually exists. 

Today's exhibit:
Yup. This is a thing.


I've never understood the appeal for Chicken and Waffles. However, if I was going to put that flavor in my mouth, I'd make the recipe Carla Hall demonstrated on The Chew because it looks way more amazing than any kind of potato chip flavoring ever could be.

What do you think? Would you buy any of these funky potato chip flavors? Do you like chicken and waffles? Can you believe this is actually a thing?!

If you find anything out there in the wilds of Real Life that you think is as entertaining that it actually is a thing, use the hashtag on Twitter #thisisathing and tweet me @xandara! I'd love to see what random things you come across that amuse you. Or, comment on this post! :D

Monday, February 18, 2013

Warcraft + Etsy = Awesome!

Have you ever checked out the Warcraft-related crafts for sale on etsy? Here are some of the ones that caught my eye while browsing that I found adorable enough to want to share.

Hearthstone Bakery caught my eye with their Dalaran brownies! HOW CUUUTE! All of their food products are WoW-themed. I mean, look at those green lock cookies!



This Darkmoon Faire banner is insanely well detailed. AngloSaxonGyrlCrafts also has a really cool Brewfest banner!



How about a customized beer glass? NexusGlass has a ton of different designs, not just blood elf... although that one's my favorite. ;)

 

How about a stuffed Onyxian Whelpling? Many whelps, handle it!


This wolpertinger artwork is so cuuuute!


Another WoW-themed baked treat: hearthstone cookies. Omnomnom


If you want some stuff that smells good but doesn't have calories, how about some Emerald Dream or Feast of Winter Veil candles?


Oh gosh, these are adorable: catnip hearthstones.


Fair warning: I've never ordered from any of these sellers, so I can't vouch for them personally. But if I had the extra $$$, I would totally splurge on any of these!

I love how people can take their hobby and combine it with another hobby and make something awesome like this. Here are examples of crocheting, cooking, candle making, drawing, sewing, glass etching, and those are just this handful I've picked out here... if you search etsy for "warcraft" you will find all kinds of goodies up for grabs.

Warcraft players: Have you ever made something Warcraft-related? Or purchased something made by a player like this? I've bought t-shirts from Jinx.com, but these are on a whole 'nother level if you ask me. :)

Friday, February 15, 2013

Chia Seeds

I haven't tried chia seeds, or anything with them in (that I can recall, anyway), but the thought of eating that slimy seed goop from my childhood trying-to-make-Chia-Pets-sprout days is entirely unappealing to me. And yet, with all the hype about them lately, I feel compelled to try them. I mean, I don't know if I like them until I try them! But... still. I can't disassociate them from the slimy pet goo.

This random thought was brought to you by my reading:
http://myfitdecision.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/cha-cha-cha-chia/
...which has some great info about them. :)

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Imbolc Blessings!

Happy Imbolc! Happy Groundhog Day!

Today marks the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. You can think of it as "midwinter," especially if you're in a climate where there's not really any good sign of Spring yet. But for me, this is what really marks Imbolc-time:


Daffodils starting to come up, even through the snow! Yaaaaaaaaaay, greeeeeeeeeen!

Today is also Groundhog Day, which is a PA Dutch tradition and nowadays popularized by the famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil! And WOOOO, he's predicting an early Spring for us this year! mental_floss has a great article about not only Groundhog Day, but Imbolc and other holidays that fall around this time of year, too. And I found this video today on the YouTube machine of an adorable witch explaining the holiday as well:

 

I find the correlation between the story of the Cailleach and that of the groundhog's shadow prediction fascinating!

So, what am I doing to celebrate? My house is always in need of cleaning, so that's getting worked on! haha. But seasonally, I will start to plan my garden for this year, looking at what I want to plant and planners to decide when to start seeds and whatnot. I'll light a bunch of candles, especially once it gets dark out. Another idea to "celebrate" is to plan your summer travels, especially if you're still snowed in! And of course, cooking and getting ready for the Super Bowl is another good idea for today. Even if you don't celebrate Imbolc or Groundhog Day, you might celebrate the Super Bowl, which might be considered a modern American holiday. ;)

So, what are you doing today to celebrate? I'll leave you with some beautiful songs of Imbolc to enjoy while you think about it...!







Peace and love,
~ Cara