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Happy Mother's Day in Germany

2012-05-13T18:41:00.001-04:00

When I realized that I would be in Germany for Mother's Day I felt somewhat along the same lines as I did about my birthday.

It turned out fine though.

The boys (along with some camera work by Aaron) made the cutest photo montage and emailed it to me! There is something really good outside that window! Not good enough for Stewie to stand up however.

They also got me a pink dogwood! So cute! I love the blossoms.

Today is Mother's Day in Germany too, so it was a fun day at the show. We gave out chocolates to all the moms that visited the booth.

Happy Mother's Day!

Coffee

2012-05-12T17:17:00.002-04:00

When you are working a tradeshow ten hours a day going on your tenth day in a row... you start to look to the coffee.

It's so easy when there is someone at the ready to make you a strong fresh cup.

I may or may not have acquired a coffee habit that is going to be hard to break when I get back to the states.

Germany birthday

2012-05-11T17:16:00.000-04:00

I wasn't thrilled to be spending my birthday away from home working at a tradeshow. But there were a lot of things that made it special. I came back to my hotel room to find flowers, fruit and chocolates from Aaron.

A few days earlier I got a book from Aprille. What a treat to find a birthday surprise when I'm so far from home.

For dinner I went with the team for a traditional German meal of schweinehaxe.

Even though I had to exchange the traditional birthday cake for apfelstreusel, I had a pretty good birthday. It was my most international birthday ever!

Phone home

2012-05-10T17:16:00.000-04:00

Traveling for work is a lot different these days with video chatting. Google Video Chat, Skype, Facetime... It helps you stay connected to home. It's nice to see a face from home.

Even Oscar and Hugo like to video chat.

German bikes

2012-05-09T17:15:00.000-04:00

Bike crushing is full on here in Germany.

I love these slim black bikes. High handle bars, swooping frame, chain guard, little generators to run a front light, basket on the back. Sweet.

Pet of the Week

2012-05-08T17:14:00.000-04:00

Charlotte, #15454383

Charlotte is a 12-year-old cat who was seized from a shelter that was not giving the proper care to the animals there. She has been at Lollypop Farm for a while now and can't wait to find a new home -- a nice place where she can live out her retirement years. Charlotte is a friendly cat who likes being petted and gets along with other kitties. She is eligible for the Seniors-for-Seniors program, so adopters age 60 and older can take her home free of charge!

Running on caffeine

2012-05-07T17:43:00.002-04:00

The days are flying by, I am so busy at the show. It also helps that I am hopped up on chocolate and super caffeinated cola! You can read more about how this happened here.

Truffles

2012-05-06T17:43:00.000-04:00

There are a few things that if on a menu, I just have to order, no questions asked. Gnocchi, risotto... and truffles.

And that... is how you end up eating pasta with shaved truffles two nights in a row.

Cinco de Moustache

2012-05-05T17:42:00.000-04:00

Looks like someone had a good Cinco de Mayo.

Cinco de Mayo $5 Cats

2012-05-04T19:02:00.000-04:00

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo tomorrow and to help alleviate some crowding, Rochester Animal Services is offering select cats for only $5 on Saturday, May 5! It's Cinco de Meowo! Stop by 184 Verona Street in downtown Rochester and check out the available los gatos!

Gernan Turkish Plate

2012-05-03T19:00:00.000-04:00

I've been in Germany for two days and not eaten German food. Last night was Chinese. Tonight, Turkish BBQ. This is what they called a Turkish Pizza. It is a wonder. Every bite revealed a new layer. Top to bottom there was - pita, saurkraut, lettuce, cucumber, feta, tomato, tahziki sauce, meat, french fries, ketchup and mayonaise. It's is the Turkish version of a Rochester garbage plate!

Drupa & Dusseldorf

2012-05-02T16:46:00.000-04:00

Hello from Dusseldorf, Germany! I'm here for 14 days for a print show called drupa. It's a long one, so you will see lots of posts about hotel living and pork knuckle.

Note - I had to post this "after the fact". I left my iPhone in the cab on the way from the airport to the hotel and didn't get it back til Friday. This picture was on it... posted days after the fact. It was a harrowing few days but we have been reunited. *whew*

Belated Earth Day - printables & desktop wallpaper

2012-05-01T16:45:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I forgot to post all the cool stuff we did at work for Earth Day!

I made this printable that you can download for free, print and display. You can download it here. I based the design on a saying that I've seen at National Parks often. "Take only pictures. Leave only footprints." You might say that printing goes against Earth Day, but check out this infographic on how paper is the most recycled material in the US!

I also made the design into a desktop wallpaper if you prefer. I made it several different sizes including iPhone and iPad. You can download them here.

Pet of the week

2012-04-30T21:51:00.001-04:00

I love that Murray is a "friendly older gentleman". Tut tut tut!

Murray #155999555

Murray is a 23 pound,8 year old, male beagle mix who came with a group of dogs from a shelter in Virginia. He's a friendly older gentleman who loves his belly rubs! Murray is eligible for ur Seniors for Seniors program where eligible adopters, age 60 or more, can adopt pets, age 6 or older, without paying an adpotion fee. If you are looking for a sweet boy who needs a place to retire, please come visit Murray at our Fairport location.

Hand cut: Ridge Donuts

2012-04-29T21:50:00.000-04:00

I recently saw a conversation online comparing Fairport Donuts with Ridge Donuts. Aaron was disturbed that he had not tried either of these. Joel R. said Ridge is his favorite so we went there first.

It seems like the donut they are famous for is their handcut donut, so we each got one. It was the heaviest donut I've ever encountered. It seemed to weigh as much as three bagels.

It was good though. So good.

Guess who is using Instagram now. I swiped this pic from him.

New shop in Roc: Fah•sye

2012-04-28T21:49:00.000-04:00

I love to see new businesses open in Rochester! I get especially excited when it's not a nail salon, insurance agency or car wash. (nothing against those things but it seems like we have plenty!)

At the corner of Blossom and Winton is an adorable new shop called fah•sye. After breakfast at Jim's this morning we ran across the street to take a looky-loo. They carry a selection of colorful jewelry, bags, scarves and more.

You can create a wishlist and with my birthday coming up I was quick to add a red heart bracelet, blue silk purse and a few necklaces to mine. : )

The owners are lovely and welcoming, the shop is super cute and they will be getting new items in all the time. The next time I need a gift I will definitely be stopping there first. They also host small private events there!

You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and their blog.

Charming

2012-04-27T17:23:00.000-04:00

I already have a lovely Links of London charm bracelet Aaron has been adding to, but I couldn't help but play with the charm builders on fossil.com.

It's fun to drag the different charms to the different bracelets.

They have some really creative charms...

Hot air balloon that opens to reveal a bird inside, an envelope with a little letter inside... I'm not sure if the clock or whistle work but that would be cool.

There are charm necklaces too... hmmm, I don't have a charm necklace!

There are so many cute charms it's hard to choose. There is real sand inside the hour glass! Hmmm. Since these charms have latches, you could have many charms and swap them out! Perfect!

Late night baking & Giada's peanut butter cookies

2012-04-26T08:44:00.003-04:00

I have developed a new habit. Late night baking. Actually I've been doing it for awhile but I recently became self aware of it. There is something nice about pre-heating the oven and getting out the Kitchen-Aid mixer at 11pm. The kitchen is already cleaned up so I have a clear palette. The house is quiet and the pugs are sleepy - perfect time to bake!

And it is nice to wake up to a full cookie jar and the aroma of fresh baked cookies still hanging in the air.

My latest late night baking adventure was a batch of Giada's peanut butter and ~~blackberry~~ strawberry jam cookies. I swapped out strawberry jam simply because that was all I had. The recipe comes from Weeknights with Giada cookbook, my new favorite go-to cookbook.

These are big meaty cookies! You are supposed to use room temperature butter but I was impatient and used it still slightly chilled so my cookies are not as spread out as I think they are supposed to be. It didn't seem to affect the taste however and one makes it into Aaron's lunch bag each day. They are also good with a dish of coffee/mocha ice cream!

More on Argo Tea

2012-04-25T18:00:00.000-04:00

I don't think I made it clear how amazing I found Argo Tea to be.

They had EIGHTEEN different kinds of tea concoctions to order. I mean I love just regular ol tea leaves steeped in water but then throw in all these variety mixes and my head is ready to explode. I didn't have enough time at the airport to try all the ones that caught my eye. I had a Tea Sparkle (green tea with raspberry) coming and Bubble Tea (white tea with mango) going. But what about the Mojitea and the Chocolate Mint?!

Then throw in the seasonal offerings! Teana Colada?! (I think that is my bud, Tina's new nickname btw)

Pet of the Week

2012-04-24T10:25:00.000-04:00

I'm sure with a little coaxing, Beanie might actually wear a wee beanie. *rubbing hands together*

Beanie #15839746

Beanie is a 3 year old male domestic longhair with a beautiful black coat. He was brought to Lollypop Farm because his owner was moving and couldn't take him along. He would really like a new home! He has lived with another cat before so, if you're looking for another feline companion, he's your man!

Happy pugs

2012-04-23T11:23:00.000-04:00

There is nothing like a nice new bone to round out your day. And one to keep your little bother off your back too.

2012-04-22T23:23:00.002-04:00

Rochester foodies were all abuzz with the coming of Buffalo favorite Mighty Taco. The news has been reporting on it's arrival for over a year. It finally opened this week so Aaron and I decided to try it out. The line was out the door! We didn't have enough time so we resorted to Chipotle (not a bad alternative mind you).

Yesterday we decided to give it another go. The line was still long but at least we weren't standing outside. We had about a 15 minute wait even days after the grand opening.

It was good but I can't pinpoint why. There were some surprises. The cheese in the taco was basically a Kraft single. The fajitas are more like a soft taco - filled with meat, lettuce and tomato. The roastita was more what i expected in a fajita - meat, peppers and onions. Other than that... they were just typical tacos... just really, really good tacos.

Arts Auction

2012-04-21T23:22:00.000-04:00

This evening we attended Genesee Center for Arts & Education's spring carnival and arts auction. I bid on several really cool letterpress posters and lost out on all of them. We did however manage to place the winning bid on this Aldine wood type alphabet. We could probably actually use it - I have a gift certificate to a GCAE letterpress workshop... but I also think it looks cool enough just like this to hang on a wall! Score!

Argo Tea

2012-04-20T23:21:00.000-04:00

While flying to Austin, I had a layover in Chicago. I was flying an airline I normally don't fly and therefore ended up in a part of O'Hare I haven't been in before. Tucked in a corner i found tea's answer to Starbucks, Argo Tea.

They had soooo many different offerings! Bubble tea, tea sparklers, sangria tea... I was overwhemed. The packaging and cups were so cute too!

I would love one of these in Rochester!

Austin, Texas

2012-04-19T23:20:00.000-04:00

I am in Austin, TX for a couple days speaking on Twitter at a PR Conference. I have never been to Austin before but have heard rave reviews for it. I resorted to my favorite travel information gathering tool - twitter. One tweet returned lots of suggestions for good eats and spots to visit in Austin.

One that caught my attention was BookPeople book store. I didn't have a lot of time but I noticed it was quick walk down the street from my hotel. On the way I saw an Amy's Ice Cream and wondered "Does ice cream down south taste the same?" Yes. Yes, it does.

On to the book store. It was just as big and curious as everyone said it was. In one back corner I found a barber chair. At first I thought it was a dentist chair and that gave me the heebie jeebies. A barber's chair isn't that much better really.

I really liked Austin and didn't have enough time to explore. I will be back and will certainly be sure to hit up the famous food trucks!