Bachelorette Parties- Idea #31: Austin, TexasAustin is a cool town to visit (or live in!) no matter what the occasion; especially a bachelorette party. There"s a new W Hotel that opened downtown in walking distance to everything: shopping, restaurants, music clubs and more. Its guestrooms are the usual mix of contemporary and streamlined furnishings:
The rooftop pool is the place to catch sun rays or cool down with a dip:
If you"re looking for more unique digs, check out The Irons Austin, a boutique hotel that specializes in providing its guests with a "true, live like a local Austin experience." It"s in great proximity to good eats and great boutiques on South Congress. Ask owner, Rusty Irons, to recommend her favorite go-to places, she"s well connected and will always steer you in the right direction. Book early since The Irons fills up quick with rock stars and celebs.
On Our Radar: Beach Shack in Cape May, New JerseyThis past weekend we lost our Cape May virginity. We had been wanting to check out the southern tip of New Jersey for some time now and with a heat wave raging in the east, it was the perfect excuse to take a trip to the beach. Cape May is an easy 2 hour drive from Philadelphia and 3 hours from New York.
We opted to stay at the Beach Shack. That"s the hotel"s famed Rusty Nail bar (above) and is the main draw of the property. During the summer, they have live music daily and a reggae all day on Sundays. The bar serves $3 Red Stripes and Coronas on Sunday funday, so there"s really no reason to go anywhere else.
The rooms at the hotel are nothing to write home about—it is called the Beach Shack, after all. But they are clean and quiet. The biggest downside is that on a 100 degree day the wall unit A.C. barely cooled our room.
Overall, Cape May has a very laid back vibe. The town caters to tourists, so you won"t get any attitude—all our servers were super-friendly, even when we sat down to eat at one restaurant 20 minutes before closing. Another plus is that there are numerous places to eat and drink so we never had to wait in line, even at the famous Uncle Bill"s Pancake House where we had the best blueberry pancakes of our life. (Admittedly it helped that we were only a party of 2.)
Another plus for the budget-conscious is that many of the restaurants are BYOB. There"s a liquor store conveniently located right off the Washington Street mall (an outdoor pedestrian shopping area), so you can pick up your booze before heading to dinner. We ate at Gecko"s, a Mexican place. Be sure to ask for the homemade habanero hot sauce. There"s so much to do in the quaint Victorian-style town, we barely scratched the surface. Cape May does cater towards families and couples, but there were groups of guys and girls out—the Ugly Mug was the place to be the weekend we were there. Cycling and miniature golf are just a few of the activities that are popular in the town. A fancier place to stay is Congress Hall, which has the same owners as the Beach Shack. Check back next week for photos from our tour of the hotel.
Bobbi Brown Party to Go PaletteThe Party to Go Palette is perfect for daily touchups, your gym bag, girls" night out, or your travel bag. Its three eye shadows, two lip colors and mini lipgloss are deeper shades that will transition to fall and winter well. Leave it to Bobbi to create another palette we just can"t live without.
At now, the farmers have a lot of interest to breeding of a ducks and chickens. From one duck in the spring and summer can get up to 100 eggs and grow them out to 50 or more ducks with the final live weight about 2 kg. With proper selection of a ducks for sale it"s will be very profitable business, especially if in the presence have a small pond near the backyard or garden.
Some poultry farmers have the unflattering opinions about ducks: because this bird seems to be too gluttonous, but this is false. Ducks eat a lot of because fast grow. In the two months are ready for slaughter. If you have the pond with duckweed and other aquatic vegetation, the total cost of the breeding ducks will exactly cheapest business. Anyway, a chickens for sale, a chicken eggs is a fundamental element of the farmers profit. If the ranch located in a warm place, then you can fatten ducks throughout the year in small batches, to always have fresh meat to the table.
Before you buy ducks in online should consult with experienced breeders about the seller. Another product, which gives a duck — feather and down. From them make soft fluffy pillows, light and warm quilts, quilted clothing. Also, started making original hats for women, it"s very fashionable.
Necklace with a bronze-antique chain, owl pendant, an original drawing made by artist. Some elements are hand painted with very resistant acrylic colors. Elements: metallic vintage tulle, glass and ivory beads, organic elements.
Chain length: 64 cm
Pendant sizes: 8 cm x 9 cm.
*When ordering this product you will receive a special gift signed by Lavinia Voicu. *Recommendations: keep away from the sun light, water and humidity. Keep it in a dry place that prevents dust.PRICE: 87 lei
Whether you’re staying in for the night or pre-partying at home, these games will rev up the fun.
Carve the Cucumber Forget toilet paper brides. In this game, you carve a cucumber to look like your S.O.’s member.
The Name Game Breakout the name tags and give each other silly nicknames. One idea is to go with your “porn name”, the name of your childhood pet for your first name and the street your grew up on as your last.
Bridal Ban Game Give everyone at the party 10 grains of rice. Every time someone says “bride” she loses a grain to the woman who called her out. At the end of the evening, the woman with the most grains of rice wins.
Bride and Groom Trivial Pursuit Ask guests trivia questions about the bride and the groom. Some ideas: What’s the groom’s middle name? What’s the bride’s pet name for the groom? What color is their bedroom?
Wedding Mad Libs Get a bunch of Mad Libs books. Only let respondents choose bridal themed answers (i.e. noun=gown, cake, reception; verb = dance, kiss).
I Never… You probably haven’t played this game since college, but surprise: It’s more fun than ever! Get started with tamer items like: “I’ve never smooched in a foreign country” or “I never did a walk of shame” and let the fun build from there.
Bridezilla Boozing DVR a Bridezilla marathon and drink every time the reality-TV bride throws a fit or cries.
Bedroom Advice Anonymously write down your best bedroom advice—it can be anything from never go to bed angry to get monthly Brazilians. Have the bride guess who wrote each one.
Almost-Newlywed Game In this spin on the Bob Eubanks’ classic game from the 70s, ask the groom questions that range from funny to intimate about the bride and their relationship before the bachelorette party. If you have a Flip or video camera, videotape his responses. If not, write them on poster board. Sample questions: If the bride was stranded on a desert island, name the CD she couldn’t live without. Where’s the craziest place you ever had whoopee? What did the bride say when you first proposed to her?
Bachelorette Parties - Idea #4: Colorado Beer Festivalsphoto by Matt Inden/Weaver Multimedia Group and Colorado Tourism Office If you"d rather toast with beer instead of champagne, grab your girls and head to one of these great beer festivals in Colorado. This is where to spend a bachelorette weekend: think of the scenery (that"s Telluride above), the music and entertainment, and plenty of boys! Here are a few festivals this fall:
Telluride Blues and Brews Festival (September 15-18). This Colorado favorite combines the best brews with the finest in traditional blues music. www.TellurideBlues.com
If you go to Telluride, stay at The Peaks Resort has a Golden Door Spa, so you can pamper yourselves too.
Steamboat OktoberWest (September 16-18). Live music, food, Rocky Mountain brews and a mechanical bull-riding competition. www.ResortQuestSteamboat.com/steamboat-summer-events/oktoberwest.htm
Crested Butte Oktoberfest (September 23-24). The Crested Butte Brewing Company"s 12,000-square-foot brew house, tap room and adjoining patio is hosting its second annual Oktoberfest. Activities include a barrel race, dog costume contest and the award for Best Beer Belly. www.GunnisonCrestedButte.com/event/oktoberfest
Our challenge was to design an environment where all aspects of the lifestyle brand would live in harmony and complement each other — a living, breathing microcosm of the Barbie brand.
We set out to create an activity-driven brand experience grounded in Barbie’s heritage as a fashion doll, with broad ‘play’ appeal, and all connected by a ‘Barbie Passport’ that documents visitors’ experiences.
Designed as a true destination, the store’s retail offerings would be woven organically throughout the space, providing visitors an opportunity to take a memento of the experience home.
Engaged to concept and develop the first Barbie flagship store, our assignment was to solidify Barbie’s heritage as a fashion icon and, for the first time, bring all aspects of the Barbie brand together into one space.
Working closely with Mattel management, we defined the leading creative concept for the store, identified core creative partners, and provided constant direction throughout creative development. Prior to the design phase, we advised on store site location, concepted and tested activities, and designed key flagship identity elements — such as the façade treatment — that were used by all team members.
«House of Barbie»
Two ‘houses’ guide the final design of Barbie Shanghai. First, the plastic packaging that each Barbie arrives in subtly inspired the façade, which is comprised of two transparent layers. The pattern on the outer glass is reminiscent of the hearts and flowers on Barbie’s retail packaging, and the inner polycarbonate ‘bubbles’ are a stylised version of the blister-pak.
The inspirations for the flagship store’s second ‘house’ were the many iterations of Barbie’s own dollhouse. The potential for play and discovery associated with the dollhouse — imprinted in every girl’s memory — is enthusiastically embraced in this life-sized house of Barbie.
Barbie’s dream house has been enthusiastically embraced as a fashion and lifestyle destination. Over one million visitors — Barbie girls of all ages, along with their families — have explored the flagship store within its first year. Often, one young girl is accompanied on her Barbie adventure by both parents and two sets of grandparents.
Barbie Shanghai combines business, brand, entertainment, and lifestyle to create a global landmark in an increasingly important Chinese market.
Copyright by smart | Design Reza Abedini smart urban stage is a global online project dealing with the term FUTURE OF THE CITY. We ask pioneers from metropolises around the world to question the urban status quo. the results are visions, ideas and solutions for sustainable lifestyles, modern social systems and forward-looking developments in the fields of architecture, design and technology. the worldwide event series is exhibiting ideas and solutions of forward thinking future makers. the brand behind this online project is the car manufacturer smart, which hosted special events throughout Europe during the last two years.
Now smart initiated the online project FUTURE OF THE CITY. Within their Q&A series Dutch alternative fashion, arts and lifestyle magazine BLEND was requested to ask Iranian graphic designer Reza Abedini: In what ways does Western architecture influence Arabic buildings in the future?? BLEND: At BLEND magazine we like to shed light on cultural topics from different point of views. the Arab world is still full of mystique and ›One Thousand and One Nights‹-stereotypes, because it’s often analyzed through a Western point of view. With our Western schemas and concepts we try to understand the East. the result? Predictable answers that fit in our own concepts. Therefore it’s far more interesting to look at the rich Arabic design and architectural-tradition from a non-based point of view. Reza Abedini knows the best of both worlds. He was born in the East and now lives in the West so we think he’s the one who can give us more insight about Arabic design. ABEDINI: To talk about these influences requires a lot of time and space. But it is important to note that nowadays we all live with Western concepts and systems, and this is a necessity in modern life. Today, most of the endeavors that happen in the world of art and architecture are based on Western methods and approaches, even if their forms may look non-Western. There is a very interesting example in Isfahan, Iran. the Vank Cathedral was built under the influence of the prevailing taste and atmosphere of the Islamic architecture in early 17th century Isfahan. the building is based on the functional requirements of a church, but the form and spaces are totally shaped under the influence of exciting Islamic architecture of the era. The issue of architecture and traditional art in non-Western cultures is very sophisticated. In these cultures, to draw a line between form and function only leads to a total misunderstanding of their view of art and architecture. Many of the attempts to bridge both cultures were not successful enough. There are a few exotic examples, but they rarely touched the core of the concept. To give you an example: building a mosque in Islamic culture is mostly related to the architect’s beliefs and his attachment to ›truth‹ or ›god‹. In other words, design is not exclusively confined to form, beauty and function, although it does include all of these elements. Therefore, I think the influence of architecture is possible in form and surface, but the concepts and functions in Western architecture are not in accordance with the concept of a mosque. When you study the historical movements in art and architecture, such as Orientalism, Postmodernism and the more recent Exoticism, they seem superficial. We, both Western and non-Western, need to try to dig beneath the surface, beyond form and function, to understand the foundations of each culture on an equal level. the Western subjective and objective approaches towards other cultures have veiled the true understanding of them. FUTURE OF THE CITY
Copyright by smart | Design Leif Podhajsky smart urban stage is a global online project dealing with the term FUTURE OF THE CITY. We ask pioneers from metropolises around the world to question the urban status quo. the results are visions, ideas and solutions for sustainable lifestyles, modern social systems and forward-looking developments in the fields of architecture, design and technology. the worldwide event series is exhibiting ideas and solutions of forward thinking future makers. the brand behind this online project is the car manufacturer smart, which hosted special events throughout Europe during the last two years.
Now smart initiated the FUTURE OF THE CITY AWARD (with a final voting in January 2012). Within the 2nd round Month Of Design Head of Design at Mercedes-Benz (Stuttgart/Germany) Gordon Wagener was requested to ask 8 designers around the world: In reference to urban mobility, how will design evolve in the upcoming two decades? One of the contributing designers is Leif Podhajsky – artist and creative director from Melbourne/Australia. His work explores themes of connectedness, the relevance of nature and the psychedelic or altered experience. By utilizing these subjects he attempts to coerce the viewer into a realignment with themselves and their surroundings. Leif creates artwork for a number bands and record labels around the world such as Modular Records, Sony Music, Lykke Li and Tame Impala and has exhibited work in Berlin, the Netherlands, Sydney, and Melbourne. In the upcoming decades design will play key function in a new era of human existence. One in which humans have attained a higher state of awareness, a realization that we are all connected and a want to exist in a free, supportive and sustainable society. A society that places a high value on imagination, science, music and art as a way to move forward as a species and explore both inner and outer space, a place in which we share knowledge and embrace our differences. In reference to mobility and the way we engage with our environment, our cities will become a product of a world where the monetary system has failed, as this seems to be the only way forward from a flawed ideology that gives nothing of value back to our society. We are witnessing a taste of this failure in our present day and things will only get worse.
We will need design, technology and ideas to break the syntax of this current model to create cities and environments in which humans well-being and not corporations are placed at the top of the chain. We need to see a rise in renewable energies with mass transit networks built to reflect this, the advent use of bikes and bike lanes, more green areas, communal gardens and parks, more ways to diminish waste and recycle, free widespread access to unregulated internet and localized production are just a few things that hopefully will start to change how we interact and live out our lives in the cities of the future. Leif Podhajsky
All other contestants and their artistic work can be seen here. Now it is your turn to show them which one has done best. Vote for your favourite design work by clicking on the vote button. Voting ends November 28th (6pm CET) ! the two artists with the most votes will take part in the Final Future of the City Award voting in January 2012.
