Why are all the good ideas taken?

Just the other night Jeremy and I were saying that all the good ideas are taken...and here is just another great example... the Snuggie... I mean, don't you wish your favorite blanket had arm sleeves?

Throw away that robe, stay warm as a family making smores, and look really cool at college (I'm sure this girl has a lot of dates. Nothing says "date me" like the Snuggie!)





Just in case you are still looking for Christmas gifts...though I'd help you out!

P.S. Yes, it does come with the free book light - I knew you would ask! =)

Am I crazy?!

This week will have to be one of the crazier weeks I have ever attempted... unless you count freshman year when I put off studying for all six classes until the week before exams. Don't worry, I learned my lesson when my grades arrived over Christmas vacation! =)

I headed up for Austin on Monday morning and set up a booth from my company, for the big Austin show that kicks off with a big black tie gala tomorrow night.

Then Monday night I came up to Dallas for the day to set up a booth for the fair here. Basically I'm trying to be in two different places at the same time this week...and this magical feat will only be accomplished with lots of help from my parents, mother-in-law, and husband. I just hope they will all be talking to me by Sunday night! =)

My dad was a great trooper and came with me today to set up my booth at the Chi Omega Christmas Market. Here he is in the completed booth:

He was a master bow-tier, and even tried to take down the entire row of booths when he accidentally fell off the step stool he was using to hang signs. Let's just say the entire aisle of 10 booths swayed precariously while women in the other booths let out screams! Great way to meet your fellow booth neighbors! =)

After our hard work we headed over to Eatzi's for lunch and took our meal down to Turtle Creek and enjoyed the outdoors... that is until all the ducks noticed our arrival and came over for lunch too. Notice my unsuspecting dad in this photo... ten seconds later the ducks launched their attack!


Off to Austin for the day tomorrow, and then I'll be back in Dallas for the rest of the week! Stay tuned!

Little Italy in San Diego

I'm chillin' in the Phoenix airport between layovers and thought I'd show you some photos from my amazing trip to San Diego.

I got off the plane on Wednesday evening and headed for the rental car counter to pick up my "compact" car. The funny part was that the desk guy at Alamo made a big deal asking me if I still wanted my compact car that I'd reserved. Heck yea, I wanted my $16/day special! I walked out to find this waiting for me:


Not exactly compact... and not very cool looking either, but I grabbed my lipstick red Cheve and hit the road!

Wednesday night I started with interviewing Nicole's dad about his life history. We captured some great stories and then I headed back to what would be my "home" for the rest of the week. Nicholas, one of Nicole's friends let me take over his 19th floor condo, overlooking the San Diego bay, in the Little Italy part of town. I was in HEAVEN! =) Here was my breathtaking view every morning:

I woke up super early on Thursday and walked the bay, checked out the boats, and even discovered a little Italian bar on the corner that quickly became my favorite find.


The best part was ordering my latte in italian and being called "bambino" by the bar owner! =) Don't tell Jeremy! I was instantly transported to my life back in Italy...even though it was almost 5 years ago! I got a chance to practice my italian and headed back to the condo with a nutella filled croissant in hand...all in all it is only 8:00am and I feel like I've accomplished a lot.

Nicole's family hosted a wonderful event with their friends and family on Thursday night and I presented my biographies. I left them all with four memory-saving activities that they HAVE to complete this holiday season with their loved ones. It was a great night and fun to spread the word about what I do!

Today I had to say goodbye to Nicole, her family, and my new Italian boyfriend/tutor at his coffee shop on the corner! =) We hit up the Italian market, had an AMAZING lunch at Buon Appetito (a must visit if you love fresh handmade ravioli).

Nice find in the market - mini pumpkins!

Nicole and I checking out the market in Little Italy.

It was a wonderful trip and I almost was tempted to "miss" my flight home! I'm off to Austin and Dallas this week for the two big gift shows, Austin's Christmas Affair and the Dallas Chi Omega Christmas Market. Should be a crazy week! Come see me if you can!

From Houston to San Diego

I just got back from a wonderful trip to Houston and a chance to see my good friend Kyle. We go way back to high school, singing Britney Spears on road trips, and trying to talk our way out of a speeding ticket in String, Oklahoma... let's just say it didn't work so well! I also got a chance to meet Francis, their 9 month old poodle. Check this dog out and tell me he is 9 months! =)


Kyle has an amazing company in Pearland, Texas called Expresso GoGo, high quality coffee to go! She started it from concept to reality and I'm super proud of all the hard work she has put into it... can't wait to see how the launch goes in a couple of weeks. If you are in Houston look for an Expresso GoGo coming soon!

While in town, I also presented my biographies at a very special fund raiser for Kris and Amy Brown's foundation, KickClub. Kris is the kicker for the Texans and 10% of all proceeds from the special gift show went to Texas Children's Hospital. I had a chance to talk about my biographies and maybe even find a few new customers.


Then I high-tailed it out of Houston only to hit some major rain on the way back to SA. This picture is more of the sun after the storm!

But don't worry - I was a total nerd and listened to Harry Potter's latest book on tape, and I was back in town before I knew it!

Off to pack for San Diego for a great biography event with the Mazzola family and their friends! We'll see if I come back to Texas after three days in paradise!

Side of the bed debate

Before I married Jeremy I had a really small full sized bed, so I guess I can't say that I really slept on one side of the bed or the other... more at a diagonal!

But now that we are married it is time to stake a claim for which side of the bed is your's... this is a very important discussion to have and I can't believe that the pre-marriage counselor did not go over this in our 4-weeks of sessions! =)

Well, for the first 8 months of marriage I gave Jeremy the right side of the bed, since he spent over 8 weeks on bed rest with a broken leg, I thought it was nice for me to give him the side closest to the door, tv, bathroom, etc.

But now that his leg is back to normal, I think I'd like to claim the right side of the bed... for some reason it just seems better? You can sneak in and out of bed easily, you can see the TV at the foot of the bed, without looking over the other person, there are just lots of perks to the right side.

This weekend I tried talking a truce with my husband. "How about I get the right side one week and then we switch." That seems fair enough, right? =)

But he claims that he has already taken over that side, especially with his own things on his night table and that it is too late in the relationship to be shifting things like side of the bed.

So last night I tried to sneak into the right side of the bed early and pretend that I was asleep - Nope, didn't work! I got nudged all the way back to the left in a not so nice manner! =)

Can anyone help me out on this one - I still can lay claim to the other side of the bed, right? =)

Back to Bachelorhood

I'm on the road again tomorrow night... headed to Houston for a day and then I'll be in San Diego through Saturday for a very fun business trip with my good friend Nicole.

This means that Jeremy will get a nice taste of bachelorhood for the week. I think this is also a chance for Jeremy to realize how great he has had it around the house for the past year and half of marital bliss...(I don't think he's cleaned the bathroom more than once).

... okay, so I didn't want the poor man to starve, so I did my best to stock up the freezer with foods that should take no longer than 5-10 minutes to prepare... otherwise I'm pretty sure it would have been Whoppers for 5 days straight. Although, knowing his love of whoppers you never know!


I'll take some photos in Houston and San Diego and update with stories soon!

Where in the world is Rory?

We just finished up a whirl-wind weekend here in San Antonio. I had a booth at the Junior League's biggest fund raiser of the year - Ole Marketplace. They had about 90 vendors from across the country bring all their wares. You could find everything from bedazzled necklaces and little kids clothes to spinach dip mix and to-die-for pralines.

Here's a quick look at my booth:

I even had a very special guest, Joe O'Connell. I just finished up his biography back in July. He and his daughter and son-in-law came to help me tell the world about my company.


It was a long but really good weekend. I couldn't have done it without my good friend Katie, who came in all the way from Houston!

Speaking of Houston, that is where I'm headed next. This Wednesday I am putting on a very special event at a great little wine bar called "The Vineyard on the Square." Click here for the invitation. It's in Sugarland, this Wednesday the 29th from 6-8pm - so if you live in the vicinity please come by for some wine tasting and bring your friends! It looks like a very nice place:


More news later, but here's my schedule coming up in the next few weeks:
- October 29-30th - Sugarland, wine and biography party
- November 6-7th - Austin, coffee and biography party
- November 12-15th - San Diego, biography party
- November 17-23rd - Dallas and Austin gift shows. Come see us at the Austin Christmas Affair and the Dallas Chi Omega Christmas gift fair!

So more fun news to come!