Archives for April 2013

Q&A with Ami Price of Entouriste

April 23, 2013

Since it’s been proven that planning a vacation creates a boost of happiness, the readers of the new travel blog Entouriste must be very, very happy! Entouriste was founded by Ami Price, one of my first online friends. It’s true! We actually met in person at the National Stationery Show back in 2009 when I owned a (short-lived) stationery company, and I later contributed to the lifestyle spin-off of Elizabeth Anne Designs, her wildly popular wedding blog.

I recently chatted with Ami about her newest online venture, juggling multiple blogs, and her upcoming travel plans. Enjoy!

How would you describe Entouriste? And how long did it take for you to come up with the perfect name?
Entouriste (“ahn tur eest”) is a community-based travel blog founded on a passion for travel and discovering the world one corner at a time. Entouriste brings travel to life in a whole new way with stunning imagery and glimpses into the adventures of like-minded voyagers. We’re bridging the gap between personal travel journals and travel magazines with galleries and articles that focus on showcasing the boundless beauty of the world’s destinations. Entouriste wants to inspire your next journey!

I’m indebted to Kelly Cummings from Spindle Photography for free associating with me via a twitter chat late one evening and helping me to name Entouriste!

You already run Elizabeth Anne Designs, a renowned wedding blog. What inspired you to start another community-based blog?
I not-so secretly harbor a lifelong goal of wandering through every corner of the world, and Entouriste brings together my love of beautiful images and connections in the photography world with my passion for exploring. I will always adore beautiful celebrations, and truly love curating Elizabeth Anne Designs, but this is a whole new adventure!

How do you manage both blogs simultaneously, and how much time goes into running each of them?
I won’t lie – there have been too many late nights, as I am pulling together all of the articles for Entouriste myself currently! Elizabeth Anne Designs was founded in 2007, and although I still review and, in many cases, create the articles for the site, I have a wonderful team of ladies handling many of the day to day duties. And I’m excited to say that Entouriste will be bringing on an editor soon to shoulder some of the responsibilities. Also, after many years of running EAD while working full-time, I’m excited to officially be cutting the cord on my corporate life in early May!

When was the first time you traveled overseas? Where did you go? What were some highlights from that trip?
My first adventure overseas was a 10-day vacation to Rome and Paris in 2004 with my husband and two of our best friends, with whom we still travel annually. Landing in Italy may as well have been landing on Mars, for all of my excitement! I remember the trip well – the feeling of experiencing true ancient history for the first time when stepping foot into the Colosseum, taking that first bite of gelato (I adore gelato!), and, of course, that first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. I also remember being baffled by the lack of breakfast available in Italy, and desperately wanting a salad!

Where has been your favorite vacation destination so far?
That’s such a difficult question, because each destination has its own living, breathing, personality! But if I am pressed to choose, I have to pick Iceland. We rang in 2012 celebrating in Reykjavik, and let me tell you, Icelanders celebrate New Years like none other! We visited Iceland with the aforementioned best friends and their toddler, and it truly is a winter wonderland. We went dog sledding at sunrise (Noon! My kind of sunrise!), swam in the Blue Lagoon (heaven in the cold weather), and toured the fame Golden Circle. But the most memorable experience had to be gathering with everyone at the neighborhood church yard to set off fireworks at midnight for New Years. Pure joy.

Do you have your next trip already planned? If so, where will you be going?
Yes! For me, the thrill of planning a trip is almost as wonderful as the trip itself and I’m currently in the throes of planning my next two journeys. First up, my sister and I are doing a girls’ week in Europe, where we will visit Munich, Salzburg, Český Krumlov, and Prague. Then after a short week and a half back in the States, we are grabbing my husband and jetting to Australia! After 15 years in the corporate world, I’m living it up my first two months out!

Ami’s photographs of the Great Wall of China, dog sledding at sunrise, and the pyramids of Giza are all from Entouriste. Please check out Entouriste and visit them on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Good luck, Ami! xx

Stuck On You Giveaway!

April 22, 2013

I’m excited to kick off the week with a giveaway from Stuck On You!

Now, I don’t often buy Levi personalized items because I’ve found that they are usually low-quality products with cheesy designs, so I was hesitant to partner with a company that offers clothing labels and personalized gifts for kids. I’ll never promote a company on Bunny & Dolly whose products I wouldn’t personally use!

Stuck On You offered to let me review some of their products first, and after browsing their site, I was happily surprised by how many items and designs actually caught my eye. I ended up choosing small stick-on clothing labels in red with a rocket ship design and a personalized lunchbox in navy featuring retro robots. (Their cartoon graphics, all of which can be personalized, were super adorable. Other boy-friendly designs I liked included Super Strong, Tradies, and Monster Derby, and there are plenty of sweet girlie designs, too.)

The cool thing about the labels is that you can simply affix them to the tag of a piece of clothing like a sticker or you can iron/sew them on to the fabric for a longer-lasting hold.

Obviously, Levi was thrilled with his new personalized lunchbox. Although he doesn’t bring his lunch to daycare (yet), he loves carrying his lunchbox around the house, and it will be great for day trips and outings this summer.

Stuck On You would like to give you the chance to try out their decidedly non-cheesy personalized gifts! Four Bunny & Dolly readers will each win a $25 gift certificate to Stuck On You! Yay! If I won, I would either get Levi a library bag, a wooden number puzzle, or maybe a silicone placemat. What would you chose?

To enter, please follow the Rafflecopter prompts below. You can enter 4 different ways, so please read the directions. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. – If you are wary about your little one carrying around items with his or her name on them, you can still buy any product on Stuck On You without the personalization option!

One Heart Boston

April 19, 2013

Continuing to feel sad and angry since learning about the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday, I’ve been trying to determine how I can help my college town. I want to do something to help the victims whose lives have been forever altered and celebrate the rescue workers who showed undeniable heroism. But what could I do from Omaha? Give blood at my local Red Cross? Organize some sort of fundraising event?

Here’s what I’ve found: The One Fund Boston was formed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Menino to raise money to help the families most affected by the tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

You can make a direct PayPal donation to The One Fund Boston, but several generous and talented individuals are now selling products whose proceeds will also go to The One Fund Boston. T-shirts with the slogan Boston Strong, now a widely-used hashtag on Twitter, are being sold by a small group of students from Emerson, another Boston college.

One Heart Boston comes from Hairpin Communications, a Boston-based agency. The cityscape graphic created by Hairpin Senior Designer Aaron Bouvier was initially shared via social media to friends but went viral. I first saw it on Erika’s blog, Foxtrot Press. Now the graphic is being printed on t-shirts, tote bags, and letterpress posters to benefit The One Fund Boston. I love this simple design (especially since it features the Citgo sign that stands so prominently on BU’s campus near Kenmore Square) and just purchased the letterpressed print.

CNN lists additional ways to help in the wake of the Boston bombings.

And now back to watching live coverage of the manhunt for the remaining suspect and possible accomplices. I’ve been glued to the TV all morning…

Would you try this babysitting app?

April 19, 2013

I never thought that our current system of hiring babysitters by calling (or texting) and then paying them with cash (or occasionally check) was particularly old school. Annoying at times, maybe, but not outdated. Besides, how could you modernize the process of booking and paying sitters? Turns out there’s an app for that!

The Sitterati app is actually pretty genius because it alleviates two major frustrations that most parents experience when planning a night away from their kids:

Tracking down an available sitter, and
Coming up with cash at the end of the night

Here’s what typically happens when JB and I try to schedule a date night. First, I text one of three potential babysitters. Then I wait for a reply. Sometimes I hear back immediately, sometimes I don’t. If she’s unavailable, I text another babysitter. And then the other.

Eventually we find a sitter and are able to enjoy a nice evening out of the house. Pulling into the driveway, JB will ask me if I have enough cash to pay the babysitter. (Admittedly, we should have thought about getting money while we were out and could hit up an ATM if need be. But the problem with going to an ATM is that you only get $20s, and what if you owe the babysitter $35? Do you ask her for change?) Usually we can find enough money between both of our wallets, but occasionally we have to write a check. I’m always so embarrassed when I have to write a check.

Now, here’s where Sitterati can help: Once you create a job in the app, you can blast it to all of your sitters at once rather than sending multiple individual text messages. (Just text your sitters to invite them to join Sitterati!) Your sitter will respond via Sitterati and you can book her right from the app. When the job is done, you can pay her from the app using a credit card that you’ve uploaded; the money goes straight into your sitter’s account!

Pretty cool, huh?

So, the app just went live, and the Sitterati team is looking for feedback from parents and sitters to help build it into a truly useful and beneficial app. Let them know what you think! And I’m curious — do you think you’d try an app like this? Or does it seem too complicated/techie/modern?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

A year of change and goodbyes

April 18, 2013

photo by martinak15

When I agreed to move to Omaha with my then-fiancé, it was with the understanding that our time in Nebraska would be brief. That as soon as he could, he’d find a way for us to move back east, near my family and the big city lifestyle to which I was accustomed. Try as I may, I just don’t have a laid-back Midwestern spirit.

Seven years later …

Read the rest of my post on a year of change and goodbyes over on Lifetime Moms!