6.25.2010
I've been in love....
My favorites are the florals.
I just got inspired in the middle of this post and wondered what if I put my favorite wallpaper on my concrete floors in the basement!!!!!! haha!
5.09.2008
Bringing Step Aerobics Back
I've been trying to go to step aerobic classes at different YMCAs here in Nashville for the past little bit and I find it unfortunate that it's become so hard to even find them on schedule. That makes me sad cause it is the BEST cardio workout and the funnest, at least for me. That's why I find myself traveling to 3 different Ys throughout the week when gas prices are almost $4 a gallon, not cool! My dear friend Kumar helped point out to me that I spend about $78 extra in gas money a month traveling to all these other Ys. I've played soccer for the majority of my life so I think I enjoy the eye-foot coordination part of step aerobics. The challenging part is when the choreography gets complex while trying to maintain an 8 count beat. No other sport requires and uses the eye-foot coordination like soccer, but step is pretty close. Not to mention that this class not only involves stepping up and down on an adjustable platform, but also performing upper body movements too. Ahha, a little hand-eye coordination going on at the same time. Lastly, your mind stays so involved with the choreography that you don't have a chance to think about the time or how many calories you've burned! We're on the brink of it becoming a past time I feel and that must stop. In a perfect world I could pick out the music too! My favorite music to work out to is usually pop, hip-hop and even rap. I think everybody knows how much easier it is to get a good workout when you've got good music. I can also imagine doing a step class to my favorite rock too. Like a mix of Bloc Party, Gnarls Barkley, the Strokes, CSS, Smashing Pumpkins, AutoVaughn, the Bravery, and lots and lots of Daft Punk, always!...No but really this whole thought process gives me a business idea. It happens and one day I will strike gold in my head dammit! Stayed tuned for more of those and watch this...doesn't it look fun?!? Just a little bit..hahah and it's not really like this at the Y, i wish!
4.04.2008
Music You Should Know: Chromeo
This tune Bonafide Lovin' by Chromeo puts me in a good mood and cracks me up. Here are some of the lyrics to entice you listen to it:
Let me tell you that i saw your boyfriend walking down the street, he was standin all shaky, hands all sweaty, and he could hardly speak. I might as well take a minute or two, to put you on to some game, you want a boy like him and a man like me and thats just not the same.
Never mind an sms, what you need is a sweet caress, everybody wanna talk too much, what you need is a special touch. Ooh girl wouldnt that feel right, a little dinner with a candle light and really when it comes down to it, pick a man who's down to fight.
I hear an 80s influence big time with the guitar, keyboard hook and with the (oh oh oh oh) in the chorus; I love it! The video is exactly like the Money for Nothing video by Dire Straits too, awesome. They're going to be at Bonnaroo and I'm praying at Lollapalooza too (lineup comes out on MONDAY!). Lolla's a must and Bonnarro, I might be working at or volunteering at this year, we'll see.
3.23.2008
Comedy in Nashville (Bret Ernst and Jimmy Fallon!)
Jimmy's 'You Spit When You Talk'
Bret Ernst
3.19.2008
NoteWorthy Products - Dogeared Jewelry
I'm not always going to feature jewelry here but for now I have to mention this company. Let me just say that I am so envious I didn't think of something like this. Dogeared jewelry has taken a simple design idea, creative packaging that includes emotional marketing gimmicks and created a thriving product. The emotional positioning of this product is genius. Their 'best known and most loved creation' is the make- a- wish necklace which is a simple pearl or charm on a silk thread. Here's the selling point that evokes the emotion in the buyer of the gift, it's on this card that says 'make a wish and put on your necklace. when your necklace wears off, your wish should come true...' Yea right, but for all of us dreamers with hope, the emotional association and response is to spring for a $26 necklace. So that's the concept for the make-a-wish and then you have your choice of different colors of silk string, endless possibilities of 14k gold dipped or sterling charms, and then an occasion, (this is where it gets personal and fun!). Occasions are titles at the top of the card and encompass the intentions of your wish, purpose or energy of the necklace. As they put it 'ask and the universe will provide.. trust and believe!' The ABUNDANCE necklace is one of my favorites, probably cause of the cute feather and its general purpose! They have occasions from anything about love, being a new mom to one simply titled happy birthday. In fact, most of the line are necklaces that are not intended to fall off so you can permanent wear your dreams around your neck or at least until they come true. My other favorite is the Karma necklace! I just ordered one and I can't wait to sport it all summer! It says 'what goes around, comes around...wear your necklace as a reminder to keep the circle positive, peaceful and loving'. And big thanks to my dear friend Brooke who gave me my first Dogeared necklace for my birthday.
3.17.2008
Really?!? I Can't Get Enough!!!
haha! That would be of the dance crew on roller skates called Breaksk8 on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. I've been catching bits and pieces of the new show here and there and then got completely mesmerized by an episode I saw last week. The assignment for the remaining crews was to put their own twist on a track from Michael Jackson's Thriller album in honor of the album's 25th anniversary. All the dance crews did a such a great job, I'm liking this show now! Well Breaksk8 picked 'Beat It' out of a hat and had 'their best performance yet'...check it out cause I can't get enough! Maybe I like the song 'Beat It' more than I thought or this is just more proof of the undeniable impact that album had on all of us but I would pay to see them do a performance to the song in full. Their performance also reminded me of that movie "Breakin'" that came out in the early 80s. I think I watched that movie a lot when I was little!
OR
SKIP TO #4
3.14.2008
Morphed - the future of mobile devices
3.11.2008
Music You Should Know or Remember:
I'm sure you cool kids know who SIA is and if you don't shame, shame. You would at least recognize one or two of the numerous hits she's done with Zero 7 or the huge hit "Breathe Me" that played on the series finale of Six Feet Under. Well I just got back from Atlanta where some friends and I decided to celebrate a birthday by making the 4 hour drive to see SIA live in concert. It was at the Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points, a venue similar to Belcourt Theatre but bigger for all you Nashvilians, and I was blown away. How many times have you seen a live performance and thought it sounded even better than the CD? The songstress sang her heart out and now might contend w/ Beck and Ryan Adams for my admiration when it comes to a live performance. I wish I had a set list but I was enjoying myself way too much to try and manage that. Not mentioning we missed the first song because of an inexcusably SLOW server at Sweet Lime, located across from the venue. No really, we're pretty easy to wait on cause we've all been servers before. Great sushi...horrible service! Oh, the best part, after we waited way tooo long for our food, our server forgot to enter half our order so we left still hungry! Hence the photo, we snagged a muffin before walking in the show...
I have some videos posted below you have to check out, especially the clip of her explaining an alter ego and a little bit about her career. I had no clue she was so animated, quirky and funny! The majority of the songs she played were from her new album Some People Have Real Problems and surprisingly 3 of the songs she did w/ Zero 7. "Sweet Potato", "Throw It All Away"!!! and "Buttons" were the songs that would've been on my wish list though : ( This was the best show of 2008, so far!
"Day Too Soon" from new album:
Sia, the comedian:
"Destiny", a Zero 7 song:
"Breathe Me" from Colour The Small One:
If you want more, there are a couple more videos on You Tube!
3.04.2008
Fine China is for Single Women Too?
Back to the point, and no Maris this is not an advertisement for AshBlue, because I'm in an area of business, oh screw it, because I manage a retail store that sells fine china I've become completely besotted with the essence of the bloody stuff! I've noticed first hand that the market of brides registering for it is just not what it once was, so I hear. That could be a product of its own, beginning generations ago due to the passing down through families. Why would a girl want to register for fine china when she's getting Nana's set (or whatever you call your grandmother). Is it just not practical anymore? The new urbanism movement is driving people back into the city and usually in smaller functional spaces. Where would you store 12 complete place settings of china in your new urban modern loft? Well, I would probably display them on a wall somewhere. Or is it because the perceived value (unfairly so) has lessened due to the economies of scale of brands like Crate&Barrel, William Sonoma, even Target that have stolen the bridal market. 1 in 7 of my friends married in the last 2 years registered for fine china. The rest opted out in favor of everyday ware from those previously mentioned retail giants.
Fine china and porcelain is usually on the upside of the market, especially when you look at the traditional manufacturers which can be intimating if you don't know, you got to ease into it. All deserving of praise though once you put your hands on it and find a pattern that suits your being. The only reason I found myself enlightened with the endless possibilities, especially if you dare get in to mixing and matching, is because that's what I do and I know what the market has to offer. Enough about why people don't love it as much as I do. I pitty the fool! So here are some of my favorites; I just haven't decided which pattern to invest in yet!
From left to right: 1st row- Gwinnett Lane by Kate Spade, Pinny's Beach by Kate Spade, 5 Lenox patterns (Continental Platinum, Murray Hill, Federal Cobalt, Grand Central, and Columbus Circle), Brown/Gold Laque de Chine by Haviland, Samoa Green by Jars 2nd Row- Emperor's Garden by Sieger, Blue Fluted Mega by Royal Copenhagen, Elisabeth and 3 colors of Arc en Ciel Presentation Plates by Robert Haviland and C. Parlon, Yellow Convivio by Match, La Scala by Richard Ginori 3rd Row- Turenne by Raynaud, 4 patterns by Haviland- (clockwise) Illusion, Oasis, Tambour, and Platinum Black Symphony, Avington Clear Magenta by William Yeoward, Gosford by William Yeoward, Emperor's Garden by Sieger 4th Row- Bangalore by Kenzo, Matignon Green by Robert Haviland and C. Parlon, Feuille D'or by Haviland, Oriental Trees by Bernardaud, Omari Rouge by Haviland.
ATTN: Interior Designers
Planning a new space, whether it's your office or your living space, is full of challenges and can take a lot of your time. You’re either starting from scratch (like we are, trying to design the new store for AshBlue) or, the most time-consuming, just trying to figure out how to fit the stuff you already own into a new place. I'm telling ya, I have faith that there is just about a website, with or without software, for just about everything these days and I love it! So naturally I have to share, what are blogs for anyway? On floorplanner.com you can use simple drag-and-drop tools to create floor plans. There’s a menu of different types of doors, windows, fireplaces, sofas, tables, beds, etc that you can drag into your floor plan and easily edit with a click of the mouse if you change your mind. You can sign up for a free account and start designing immediately. There’s always the option to add more services later for a pretty reasonable yearly subscription. Here's the beginning of my draft of the draft for the new store ; )
2.25.2008
The Zorb Experience, Exclusively in Tennessee!
2.22.2008
Who loves color? ME, me, mE
2.21.2008
NoteWorthy Products - River Song Jewelry
You have to check out their website!
2.20.2008
Music You Should Know or Remember:
You should know the band Ghostland Observatory! I saw them at Lollapalooza in Aug 2007 and they were easily one of my favorites! Their music immediately intrigued me because of it's beat driven electro punk sound. Check out their MySpace and listen cause I'm not going to try and be a critic here : ) I just think you should know them! Besides, they're going to be at Bonnaroo this year! Below is a video I came across on youtube that just happens to have one of their songs playing in the background. This is why youtube rocks and anyone can be noticed or admired by least a couple people somewhere in the world! I get a kick outta watching this video. I give him props for putting something like this up!
The Antique and Garden Show - Nashville, TN 2008
I thought it was very important to somehow take and display the newly unveiled line of handmade traditional Indian tents we have started selling and renting. Here's a link to an article with more info specifically about the tents, click here!
...and pls email me at marrah@ashblue.com if you have any questions!
2.19.2008
I'm soooo sorry!!!
8.19.2007
Hats off to Barcampnashville!
and then closed with the phenomenon of the Free Hugs Campaign.
Check out barcampnashville.com for more info and see you there next year!
Music You Should Know or Remember:
I heard this song on XM and it made me nostalic...I've always loved music and this was truly one of my favorite songs back in 1993! So long ago, but it's always nice to remember I had the CD and not a tape. Catherine Wheel was a Brit-Pop style band in the 90s. This song Crank was on their sophomore release, Chrome. The lead singer Rob Dickenson put out a solo project in 2005 that I still haven't picked up, Fresh Wine for the Horses. I say 'picked up' cause I still enjoy buying the actual CD and try not to buy so much from iTunes. There's too much good music and not enough TIME!
enjoy....
8.18.2007
What is WEB 2.0?
This straight from Wikipedia...
"Web 2.0 is a phrase coined by O'Reilly Media in 2003 (and later popularized by the first Web 2.0 conference in 2004) in reference to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites wikis and folksonomies — which facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. O'Reilly Media titled a series of conferences around the phrase, and it has since become widely adopted.
Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to Web technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the web as a platform. According to Tim O'Reilly "Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.”