Table Makeover, And How to Get Spray Paint off Your Face

I'm on a quest to keep myself busy during the day and thought yesterday would be a great day to paint my old table. My best and I found this literally outside our old apartment down in Chinatown - just hanging out in front of our door! It was fate. Originally it was a gross, dirty white-ish color and we painted it turquoise to go in our color explosion of a living room.

In an effort to make a more cohesive bedroom space, I decided to paint it. It was 50 degrees out and calm....on the street. On the 5th floor balcony at the back of the building, it was like hurricane winds. I didn't let that discourage me, though. Nor did I let the spray paint that ended up in my hair. Or on my face. And under my nails. Fun fact: makeup remover or any other oil based remover gets spray paint off your body and good old shampoo gets it out of your hair. Although maybe I should have left the gold in - it looked cool with the black of my hair.

Et voila, my new table! It's a little too bright gold, but I like it with my Sea Island prints over my bed. I'm doing the best I can with a New York apartment. Say hi to Augusta who's chilling right there in the pillows!

Ignore my medicine cabinet beneath the table and the cord to my humidifier. I'm pretty pleased! 

Healthy & Delicious: Broccoli Slaw Adapted

So a new addition to my DVR (this is what happens when you're at home during the day) has been Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. While some of her recipes are kind of boring, I do like a lot of them for their substitutions. One such recipe was on the other day - Creamy Broccoli Slaw. I got really excited because it seemed easy, until I realized I don't have a food processor with a shred blade. But I do have a food processor I love! So anyway, I did the next best thing and adapted her adapted recipe. Enjoy!

{not the prettiest picture, but instagram makes things a little cuter!}

1 bunch broccoli (with long stalks if possible)

1-2 large carrots (optional - I didn't have any on hand so I didn't use any)

Handful of roasted unsalted sunflower seeds

1/3 cup non-fat greek yogurt

1 tablespoon mayonnaise (I used Smart Balance - it tasted fine, but you can use real mayo here since it's so little)

2 tablespoons brown mustard

salt and pepper to taste

shred, peel, or julienne the broccoli stalks, trimming off any excess hard parts on the outside of the stalk. do the carrots the same way if you're using them.

cut the florets close to the top so that the bits fall into tiny pieces. chop finely.

mix mustard, mayo, and greek yogurt together. stir into the vegetables. add sunflower seeds. 

chill and store up to 2 days. 

RentStuff.com - Your Cure for Buyer's Remorse

You know that gorgeous Phillip Lim dress you bought for your friend’s wedding that only got worn
once before you, ehem, outgrew it?  Or what about that new leather jacket that’s been hanging in your closet with the price tags on for a year? Well now there’s a place to get back some of the cash you poured into your previous purchases. RentStuff.com is a new start up by a pair of twins (sound familiar?) who want it to be the “eBay meets Facebook” of New York and beyond.

I spoke with Laura Boring, a good friend and the Head of Marketing of RentStuff.com to learn more about the business.

 How in the world did you end up going from finance to a start up? 

It really was by chance. I am a 2^nd year MBA at Vanderbilt and worked this past summer at a real estate company for my summer internship. The original plan was to pursue a career in a similar field after graduation.  However, this fall I was talking to my classmate and friend Adam Albright after class one day about his new company, RentStuff.com. I was immediately intrigued by the concept and by how much potential it could have. He mentioned that they were looking for marketing help, and I immediately volunteered. Since I would be joining as an intern, I think he looked over the minor detail that I have very little marketing experience. A few days later, I was promoted to Head of Marketing. Things move much faster at a start-up than in the corporate world!

Wow, no kidding! But that's great. What's it like working with all men? Finance and Real Estate are both pretty male-dominated industries, so working with all men isn’t anything new for me.  I couldn’t ask for a better team. Everyone likes to joke around, but we also work really hard. Having men and women on the team is really helpful from a marketing perspective, because RentStuff.com’s benefits are so unique to each user.  If you tell women that you can rent drills and power washers on our site, most of them just roll their eyes. But when you mention that you can rent designer cocktail dresses or list your old bridesmaid dresses, their eyes immediately light up! The guys tend to trust my opinion when it comes to marketing ideas for wedding rentals and clothing, and I look to them for more details on extreme sports equipment and car accessories.  It just works.

What do you do day to day to market and promote the site? How is it different than your previous work experiences?

On a day to day basis, my primary goal is to encourage natural conversations about our company and to get people active on  the site. Marketing for RentStuff.com is somewhat complicated, because what we are marketing is not something like shampoo, which has a well understood benefit. We have to first get people comfortable with the concept of renting and lending items to strangers and then get them on board with using our site. For this reason, word of mouth marketing is huge. It is very different hearing the story of how your neighbor just made $400 renting out his specialty camera lens on RentStuff.com rather than just seeing our company logo on a billboard. We recently implemented a refer-a-friend program that gives you rental credit for every friend you bring to the site. RentStuff.com pulls in Facebook so you can easily invite your existing contacts. Forming partnerships with local affinity groups, such as MeetUp.com hiking and kayak groups is another recent initiative. These groups are great because they typically need outdoor stuff to participate in group activities, or they have stuff and are willing to rent it out to others. Most of our marketing efforts have been focused around social media by using Facebook ads and pages, blogs, and twitter. We use social media because the majority of our target customers use social media.

What I am doing now is completely different than what I was doing while working in finance for a large corporation. At RentStuff.com, if I have a new idea I can actually implement it. Chris and Robert Jaeger, the CEO and COO, realize that we are in a completely new space and are open to trying new marketing ideas. If something doesn’t work, we try something else. It is also very rewarding to see the fruits of your labor. We had a blog post in the Village Voice, and a few days later we had the most site hits we’ve ever had in a single day. Instant gratification!

Explain how it works - renting or looking to rent. 

You can always browse the site, but you have to create an account in order to rent or lend items. Creating an account is free and really quick if you select the Facebook log-in option. To list an item, simply upload a photo and set your item’s availability, security deposit, and price. For the price, we recommend listing at 10% of the retail value but certainly use other similar items on the site as a guide. You will receive an email request when someone wants to rent your item. You then have the ability to accept, negotiate, or decline the offer. If you accept, you confirm the pickup details and meet to exchange the item. When the item is returned, verify that your item is in its original condition and close the exchange over text message. It’s really easy! Renting out an item is just as simple. But here is a tip: most users don’t know this, but you can actually negotiate your rental price. We created a video to help explain the entire rental process. 

 {a screenshot of the homepage}

Ok, this actually sounds really, really awesome. When will it expand to other cities? We launched the site in August in Nashville. In December, we opened up the site in Chicago and New York City. Here is a secret that we haven’t shared yet – we are actually open everywhere now! Our inventory is still building in cities across the US, but users can start renting and lending from any city.

What can we not rent or ask to rent on the site? Anyone tried to rent something ridiculous or funny? 

 Obviously anything illegal is not allowed on the site. Someone put a rental request for a girlfriend the other day , so we definitely had to take that one down! (Ed Note: Awesome) We do have a pretty cool Jagerator in NYC– it’s a lighted three bottle Jagermeister tap machine with a cooling feature. We also have an old school  smoke machine. Those items are both great for parties! Overall, our top rental categories are outdoor goods, electronics, power tools, and surprisingly cocktail dresses. With our site, you can essentially become your own “Rent The Runway” and finally get money renting out the bridesmaid dress you’ll never wear again.

Let's talk cash - or transactions, rather. How do you get paid and know it's safe?  Security is the feature that sets our site apart from the competition. All of our payments are handled online by credit card, and a security deposit protects your item in case there is damage. Another feature we have in place is that payment for your item is not released until you actually meet up and see the item. The payment is triggered via text message. For example, say you are renting a bike from a guy on the Lower East Side. If you meet up and the bike is not in the condition described, then you don’t release the payment and the transaction is cancelled. The text message confirmation works when you return an item as well. If you are returning a canoe, the original owner will receive a text asking about the items condition. As long as everything looks good, the lender closes the transaction via text and the security deposit is released. We do everything we can to ensure both parties are protected during the transaction.

What's something you'd want to rent personally from the site? I would love to rent some outdoor stuff. I really like to go kayaking, but I don’t go often enough and certainly don’t have the storage space to justify buying a kayak! It would also be great to rent a really nice camera to take for a weekend trip. Cocktail dresses are pretty high on my rental list as well! 

Skulls for Everyone!

Skulls are not a new motif, but they’re still a favorite. A skull something can add a little bit of edge to almost anything, at every price point. Most of these are fantasy purchases. Which is your favorite?

RHINESTONE SKULL

3” rhinestone skull, Patricia Field, $920

NEON SKULL CANDLE WITH MANDIBLE

neon candle, DL & Co, $90 each

SKULL NOTEBOOK  * My personal notebook of choice*

skull notebook, Assouline, $90

SKULL AND BONES SET

tumblers set, Ralph Lauren, $295

SKULL STUDS

studs, Ioselliani, $1092

SKULL NECKLACE

necklace, Ileana Makri, $850

SKULL SWEATER

knit, Markus Lupfer, $465

SKULL WALLET

leather wallet, Lucien Pellat Finet $495

SKULL CLUTCH

minaudiere, Alexander McQueen, $1995

SKULL SLIPPER

velvet slipper, Stubbs and Wootton, $395

My Super Made Up Awesome Chili

Yeah, what the title says. Pinterest shot of chili since flash photography makes everything look bad ( I should rent a real camera!). I got a new Dutch oven and substituted a bunch of ingredients since I don’t need a huge bottle of oregano, chili powder, etc, and went to town. I must say it was delicious! Oh, and healthy…reduced sodium, reduced fat.

1.5 lbs ground turkey

1 28oz can tomatoes in adobo, reduced sodium

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 bottle beer (I used what was in the fridge – Heineken)

1 14oz can of chicken stock ( I used Swanson)

1 packet taco seasoning ( I used Old El Paso)

1 can prepared Mexican chili beans ( I used Old El Paso)

1 onion

2 tea crushed garlic ( I used two pop out frozen bits of Trader Joe’s garlic)

any additional veggies wanted – great way to sneak them in. I added peppers.

 

For Garnish:

reduced fat (not fat-free) sharp cheddar

reduced fat (not fat-free) sour cream

green onions

baked Tostitos

 

Dice onion and heat in 2 tb olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and cook until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add any other vegetables and cook down a few more minutes. Add turkey and cook until brown, using the back of the spoon to break up the meat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, chicken stock, taco seasoning and bring to a boil. Knock the heat back and simmer about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add the prepared Mexican chili beans and cook about 10 minutes longer until beans are warmed. Serve with reduced fat cheddar, reduced fat sour cream, green onions, and crushed baked Tostitos.

Sh*t Fashion Girls Say

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know, everyone's seen everything. This is #whitegirlproblems #citygirlproblems #allergygirl problems all over again...but this is just too priceless. My favorite is, "She's such a Maxxinista." Die!

Guys: Dress Your Age, Not Your Shoe Size

 

I had to repost this from Put This On, a great blog about basically how not to dress like an idiot. Repeat offenders, please read. I’m talking to you, first year analyst with the ill-fitting suit. 

Yes, that’s a manponcho.

From Put This On:

Below are twenty-five pieces of vital information that every man over 14 in the Western world should know. Every man. No excuses. Seriously. Seriously.

1. Unbutton the bottom button of your jacket. It’s not intended to be buttoned.
2. Same goes for your vest.
3. Remove the tags on the sleeves of your jacket before you wear it.
4. Jackets sometimes come with white basting thread on their shoulders or holding closed their vents. Remove this thread before wearing the jacket.
5. Jacket pockets are intended to be opened. Use a small scissor or seam ripper.
6. More than three jacket buttons is never appropriate for anything.
7. On a three-button coat, buttoning the top button is optional, and some lapels are rolled so as to make the top button ornamental. In other words: if buttoning the top button seems wrong, it is.
8. Brown shoes, brown belt. Black shoes, black belt.
9. Belt or suspenders. Never belt and suspenders.
10. Your jacket sleeve should be short enough to show some shirt cuff - about half an inch. 
11. Your pants should end at your shoes without puddling. A slight or half break means that there is one modest inflection point in the front crease. If your pants break both front and back or if they break on the sides, they’re too long.
12. Your coat should follow and flatter the lines of your upper body, not pool around them. You should be able to slip a hand in to get to your inside breast pocket, but if the jacket’s closed and you can pound your heart with your fist, it’s too big.
13. When you buy a suit or sportcoat, it should be altered to fit by a tailor. This will cost between $25 and $100.
14. Your tie should reach your belt line - it shouldn’t end above your belt or below it.
15. Your tie knot should have a dimple.
16. Only wear a tie if you’re also wearing a suit or sportcoat (or, very casually, a sweater). Shirt, tie and no jacket is the wedding uniform of a nine-year-old.
17. The only men who should wear black suits during the day are priests, undertakers, secret agents, funerals attendees and yokels.
18. Cell phone holsters are horrible.
19. So are square-toed shoes.
20. Never wear visible socks with shorts.
21. Or any socks with sandals.
22. If your shirt is tucked in, you should be wearing a belt (or suspenders, if you’re wearing a jacket as well, or your trousers should have side adjusters and no belt loops).
23. Flip flops are great for the pool and the beach and not great for anything else. (Some say this is a matter of taste. We agree. If you have any taste, you will only wear flip-flops at the beach or pool.)
24. Long ties are not appropriate with a tuxedo.  (Ed note: Ties and vests are disgusting. No girl likes it. Bowties, please. You know who you are.)
25. Never wear polyester outside of the gym or theme parties.

Wish List Week of Jan 23

Wishing, wanting, hoping, sharing.

GLITTER TARTE SERVER

$18, Leifshop

KNOTTED LEATHER BELTS

$125 each, Rilleau Leather

NOVEL POSTERS

*this is composed of the entire Great Gatsby text! So chic! 34” x 24” – great artwork

$40, Novelposters

*PERSONALIZED* EQUESTRIAN BAG

$165, Oughton Limited

Cool Collars

Collars are in. Prep lives on. Here’s a genius idea from A Pair & A Spare on how to make your own faux-dickie (oxymoron?). This would be a lot less bulky for under knits and I might have to pillage some second hand stores for shirts that might be hideous in full but brilliant in collar.

 

She secures hers with a hook and eye instead of trying to leave on the single top button

I have about 10 shirts I don’t like wearing anymore (or are too small, there, I said it) and this would be awesome. Button up!