Scholarship Searching

I saw one of my cousins over the weekend and we were talking about how it's officially the most wonderful/stressful time of the year for her and her friends - yes, it's college acceptance (or rejection) time. Luckily for her, she's already gotten into two really good schools and is just waiting to hear from a few more that she applied to, so she's happy. She told me that some of her friends are still going nuts waiting for those envelopes to show up in the mail.

Of course, then we got to talking about the absolute most fun part of the college experience...paying for it! She knows that like most people her age, she's going to need a student loan or two or three or four to help her afford the education that she wants, so she's already looking into her options. I told her to just get used to the idea that Sallie Mae is going to be her BFF for quite a few years after she graduates, but she'll have plenty of repayment options to choose from to make it easier for her to manage.

And since she is such a smart cookie, I also encouraged her to keep up her scholarship search and not just settle for whatever scholarship money is offered to her by her top choice schools. There are so many different scholarships out there that no matter who you are or where you come from or what your talents happen to be, there's probably something to suit you.

I told her some stories about some of the wacky scholarships that I remembered finding when I searched (write a poem about your favorite vegetable contest, anyone?) and she said she'd definitely keep up her search and try to top me. I know she has a bright future ahead of her, and I'm glad that I'm able to give her some helpful advice. Even if I secretly know that she could never write a better vegetable poem than my amazing broccoli haiku. I was totally robbed of that scholarship.

Music Monday: Ke$ha's "Blow"

Belated Foodie Friday: Restaurant Supply

I haven't done a Foodie Friday post in awhile, so even though it's Sunday I figured I'd go ahead and post about my latest cooking obsession. I've always watched a ton of cooking shows, but lately for some reason I've been noticing the supplies that different TV chefs cook with more and more - pots and pans, mixing bowls, etc. I got all excited when I was out shopping the other day and I found some cool glass bowls that look like the ones that I've seen on several different Food Network shows. (Yeah, I know I'm a dork.)

I've found that one of the best places to find some really cool kitchen stuff is a website like Tiger Chef that sells restaurant supplies. Check it out:

Giant stock pots (I make chicken stock a lot so I'm all over stuff like this):


Pizza supplies like pizza stones, cutters, and pans:



They also have tons of cool bar supplies like this salt and sugar glass rimmer. If you make cocktails a lot you'll definitely find something here that you have to have.



And while they're not exactly practical or affordable for the home kitchen, I love that a product exists that's actually called a cheesemelter:



I could definitely spend a ton of money on this site, and overall I'd definitely recommend a restaurant supply site like this one if you're into cooking and entertaining. You can get great quality, unique products that you can't always find in other stores, and really good prices too. Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm off to make a whole lot of chicken soup.

Happy Hosting

I just got an update from my friend who's in the process of starting a business. She's about to start work on the company's website, so she's researching her hosting and web design options. I'm really looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.

This is a topic that I've looked into myself in the past, because eventually I do want to upgrade this blog. (One of these days.) I sent my friend some of the info that I've collected, but I know that her web hosting needs are going to be different from mine since her site is going to be for a business. Luckily there are some good sites out there that can help you size up your options.

She really liked one of the sites that I sent her because it has a ton of web hosting reviews and breakdowns of pricing, features, and customer ratings for various hosting companies. It's really helpful when you're trying to quickly weed out companies that have bad technical support and/or aren't user-friendly. There's also a really helpful web hosting FAQ so that the tech-challenged among us can get the basics down and avoid being taken advantage of or making avoidable beginner's mistakes. So I'm hoping that this site can help her find the perfect hosting solution for her business.

Seeking Fulfillment

Just got my weekly update from my friend who is working on starting her own business. Today she was telling me about the research that she's been doing into the her fulfillment options. No, not the "I'm so satisfied with my life right now" kind of fulfillment, but order fulfillment.

If you want to start a small business like my friend does and sell some sort of product, you have to think about product fulfillment options - that is, unless you want to try to turn your garage into a warehouse, process your own orders, and end up on a first name basis with everyone who works at your local post office.

So basically, a fulfillment company takes care of the warehousing and order fulfillment for you, so you can focus on other aspects of the business. The company that's at the top of my friend's list right now even works with you to make sure that you're staying within your budget and things like that. Which is really cool, because starting a business can be complicated enough, so it's great when you can find companies to work with that provide services that make things easier. Every little bit helps when you're trying to create a successful business.

Project Runway Makes A Comeback

Guest post written by Sidney Owens

Everybody seemed slightly apprehensive and worried after the much anticipated sixth season debut of Project Runway on Lifetime was more than lackluster, to say the least. The contestants were boring, the challenges were blah and the collections were beyond drab. I think we were all starting to wonder, “Has our favorite fashion show lost its mojo?”

I've been watching Project Runway on DIRECT TV since the first season, and it is true that the nasty legal battles which provoked the move from Bravo to Lifetime definitely took its toll on the show's overall vibe. Heidi ! seemed less glam, Michael Kors was practically nonexistent and Nina Garcia's usually blunt but hilarious comments seemed to have transformed into too nice to be possible.

But alas, rest assured that the Project Runway we all know and love just hit a small bump in the road. Season 8's return to Lifetime was full of egos, drama and catfights, not to mention some crazy and off-the-wall challenges. Personally, I had tears of laughter streaming down my face during the party store challenge. Season 8's hilarious hijinks restored my faith in Project Runway; I am now looking forward to hopefully watching contestants create evening gowns out of plaster or business wear from their grandparents' closets.

Lugging My Laptop

I love my laptop. It does everything that I need it to do, from blogging to photoshopping to wasting countless hours playing The Sims. The only problem is that it's heavy, so taking it places with me can be a bit of a pain. I've been through quite a few laptop bags and still haven't found one that can stand up to my laptop and is comfortable for me to carry around.

So I've been looking at this laptop messenger bag from Rickshaw. It's a little on the expensive side but it looks like it's really well made with a comfortable strap, a waterproof laptop sleeve and a bunch of pockets to hold all of my necessities and accessories. If it lasts a long time, it'll be worth the investment because I won't have to replace my bag every couple of months.

I think this might be the laptop bag for me, but one very important question remains. What color to get? Do I go bright red, basic black, or girlie pink? I think I might go with this nice gray:



What does everyone think? Anyone else have any laptop bag recommendations?