8 Years with ReyRey!
February 14, 2012 I brought home my best friend, it’s been an amazing 8 years. Hear’s to 8 more!
“A dog might be a small part in your life but you’re a big part in theirs.”
Glen Springs Resort Doctors Quarters - Airbnb
Enjoy all that Watkins Glen and the Finger Lakes have to offer right at your fingertips. We are located on the hill in Watkins Glen with beautiful views of Seneca Lake. Walking distance to the WG State Park Gorge or downtown restaurants and shops. At the south end of Seneca Lake you are perfectly situated to visit any of the Finger Lakes Wine Trails. Our home comes with some fun history as well, as the Doctors Quarters for the former Glen Springs Resort you will find unique history throughout the home.
Come Stay with ReyRey and me!
Home Chef
Looking for the best Meal Box out there look no further than HOME CHEF! In the last year I’ve decided to go through every food box out there using every intro promo and switching it up I’ve managed to try them all. And finally settled on Home Chef, they aren’t the cheapest but I found the cheap boxes food to be well cheap and kinda gross, you pay for what you get.
Give it a try! Best Selection and Add-ons in the game!
Honey, the must have app for any Amazon addict!
Honey is an app for your browser (Chrome/Firefox) that saves you tons of time and money by automatically applying the best coupon codes on over 10,000 stores online. Which is great, but its best feature appears on Amazon.
Do a lot of your shopping on Amazon? You can use Honey to save money on Amazon purchases. If you think, Amazon always shows you a products lowest price you are unfortunately wrong. If you have Prime, you know you're getting free two-day shipping. But consider this: any given product might be available from other vendors that sell through Amazon and might actually offer a lower price and prime. (If you don't already, I highly recommend you get Amazon Prime)
That's where Honey comes in. Once installed, it displays a little badge alongside the price, on Amazon, indicating whether or not you are seeing the best price. It also works with products in your cart.
You won't always save money, but it can be worth it for more expensive or popular products where multiple Amazon vendors are competing for you dollar.
If you shop on Amazon, you should be using Honey!
I won something!
I won the Lakefront Cocktail Kit from Bulleit Frontier Whiskey! I guess it's time to take my girlfriend on a nice fall "whiskey date" down by Seneca Lake. The Kit included a sweet bartenders knife, a jigger, 2 enamel mugs, gift card to huckberry, denim jacket, awesome cinch bag, and a plaid wool blanket. Also included was a recipe for a delicious mulled hot cider cocktail, called The Lakefront.
THE LAKEFRONT
To make this mulled hot cider, we combine fresh apple cider with Mexican cinnamon and orange zest over an open fire. Once the cider is steaming and aromatic, we spike it with Bulleit Bourbon and spiced bitters to complete the perfect lakefront cocktail.
1.5 oz Bulleit Bourbon
5 oz apple cider
1 stick of Mexican cinnamon (plus 1 for garnish)
1 strip of orange zest (plus 1 for garnish)
3 dashes spiced bitters
Combine apple cider, 1 stick of cinnamon and 1 strip of orange zest in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add Bulleit Bourbon. Strain into a mug and garnish with remaining cinnamon and orange zest.
A big thank you to Bulleit Whiskey, W&P Design, Noble Denim, Huckberry, Topo Designs, Woolrich, and Esquire.
I'm stoked! #ineverwinanything
Winechimes
From the heart of Finger Lakes Wine Country, my latest project has been such a blast to design and make. I'm calling them Winechimes, windchimes made from reused wine bottles, lake glass found along Seneca Lake, hemp string, and cork.
This chart shows the rarity of the different colors of Lake/Sea Glass
Collecting lake glass along the lake with my dog (ReyRey) and a random assortment of my friends has been the most fun part. I have gone hunting for glass in every season and every weather condition, and each time had been a fantastic experience. I never really found much sea glass during my time living in the Outer Banks, but it is up and down Seneca Lake and I am sure the other Finger Lakes as well.
Once I've gathered enough glass, I hit up the recycle bins from a number of winery tasting rooms along Seneca Lake. I know enough owners and industry folk that it has never been harder than a polite ask for a handful or more used empty bottles. I always get more than I think I will need because the next step can be quite finicky.
Once I have the wine bottles, I score them with a bottle cutter, run boiling water over the score then quickly run it under cold water. There is a tutorial here. This method has worked well for me, I have gotten quite good at it, but there are many different methods out there. I grind the bottle edges down; it might not be necessary as they aren't meant to be handled once hung, but I don't need anyone cutting themselves.
Finally, I string the lake glass in the bottle and attach a cork paddle with a design burnt into it using a wood burning tool.
Each glass shape and size makes a different sound, and each one is unique with different color, shape, and size lake glass strung inside.
Winechimes at J.R. Dill Winery
You can find these novel "Winechimes" at J.R. Dill Winery on the East side of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail or on my Etsy Page.
Latest Venture: Finger Lakes Photo Booths
I started Finger Lakes Photo Booths as a side venture for fun and my love of photography. As you will see in other posts am a big fan of classic photo booths, photography, and polaroids. In the past, I have made kiteboarding videos and shot photos at the Triple-S Invitational, but my personal stuff has always been polaroids. I like the ability to have and hold an image right after it's taken. With a photo booth, you get that immediate gratification, a fun experience, and something to remember an event, person, or place. I feel pretty lucky to be doing something combining nostalgia with modern equipment, and that generates so much fun for so many people. Our photo booths really are top notch and extremely portable, I can set them up anywhere as long as I have a power source.
Test Prints for Finger Lakes Photo Booths
I am thrilled to be a part of many fun events and weddings in the Finger Lakes Region. If you have any questions or want to book me for your event, you can find out more and follow all the actions at fingerlakesphotobooths.com or on Facebook.com/fingerlakesphotobooths.
Thanks guys, and see you out there!
Polaroid Film
My first Polaroid camera.
I'll admit I jumped into Polaroids late in the game; I got my first Polaroid Spirit 600 in April 2009. You could still get the film in stores, but it was on it's way out as you find out in the documentary 'TIME ZERO' (available on Netflix), Polaroid announced that it was ceasing production of instant film in February 2008. I missed this announcement otherwise I would have stocked up.
The documentary is an excellent story of the magic of Polaroid film from its creation through discontinuation and back through efforts to keep it alive with The Impossible Project. If you have any nostalgia for Polaroids, it's a much watch movie.
Currently, I have two Polaroid 600 cameras and am in the market for an SX-70. Word of caution I bought some expired film on eBay, and although the seller had guaranteed it would work or a refund I still got screwed over.
So now I am left getting film solely from The Impossible Project, which is expensive and in my experience can be a bit touchy as they had to complete redesign the formula. That said, I still intend to continue an experiment with Polaroid for the foreseeable future, and that's thanks to the fine folks at The Impossible Project. I'm especially excited to be able to keep a favorite feature in my home alive, my Polaroid wall. It's full of memories, always evolving, and looks visually stunning laid out in a grid, you can get an idea of some of the photos below.
Successful Black Friday Marketing Gone Mad
Cards Against Humanity's 2015 Black Friday Email.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Brown Tuesday, there isn't a bigger time in Marketing than the end of November. With consumerism at its all-time high, it is the playing card company Cards Against Humanity and their anti-Black Friday "Sales" that unsurprisingly shake things up come Thanksgiving.
A fan of the world most inappropriate card game for a few years now, I am impressed by what they can pull off each Black Friday. Last year's Black Friday (2014), Cards Against Humanity offered fans to purchase a literal box of poop for $6. They sold out 30,000 units in 2 hours. The year before that, their popular game was sold for $5 above the regular price during Black Friday (2013).
For this year's Black Friday "sale", Cards Against Humanity substituted poop with absolutely nothing. They took down their online store and replaced it with one button that would allow customers to give Cards Against Humanity $5 for nothing.
And Cards Against Humanity fans bought plenty of nothing this Black Friday, sending the company a total of $71,145. Check out the Black Friday Update to find out how the Cards Against Humanity staff spent their Black Friday Bonuses.
My Most Recent Nature Box
The Joys of a Nature Box Subscription
I have been enjoying the fruits (literally) of a Nature Box Subscription for a few years now. And as I dive into the blogging world I thought I would start by telling the internet why I love getting these snacks delivered to my door each month. For this most recent box I couldn't resist (aka I eat them all before my next box arrives) adding an extra snack (for $3). I also payed extra for a "premium add on" the Teriyaki Beef Jerky ($6) to review, I love beef jerky and perhaps in another article I talk about making my own, but for now I have accepted the challenge with their claim of taking beef jerky to new heights.
They have lots of varied snacks, Nature Box does a good job of asking you about dietary preferences and likes/dislikes when you sign up to help send you snacks you will enjoy. You may also personally chose the snacks you want in your box, which I have done this time around so I am not going to review every snack in this box. I highly suggest reviewing your snacks to weed out them sending you something you didn't enjoy. I have reviewed all my previous boxes within my Nature Box account to help them better serve me snacks I like and disallow snacks I didn't.
Sorry for the stock image I ate the whole bag before I could snap a picture. Credit: Naturebox.com
Teriyaki Beef Jerky - $6 Add On
Delicious Jerky, hands down better than what you get at the gas station or grocery store. A perfect combination of flavor, texture and very moist. A bit on the pricey side when compared to other brands, but I'd say worth it.
Pairs perfectly with the Asiago & Cheddar Cheese Crisps
NEW Roasted Red Pepper & Artichoke Brusetta Dip-it (4)
This stuff is awesome! Random to be getting a Dip in my Nature Box, but I love it. Perfect for a mid day snack at home, work or on the road. I recommend paring them with the Asiago & Cheddar Cheese Crisps (one of my favorites).
I recommend Nature Box to all my friends, family, and co-workers! If you haven't given Nature Box a shot yet... JUST DO IT! Get 50% Off your first Nature Box & I'll get 50% off my next box too. If you need more convincing here are...
5 Reasons I Love My Nature Box Subscription
Featured
EDC - My Everyday Carry
There is a cult community on the internet surrounding the term EDC or everyday carry. At some level, everybody already has an everyday carry, your wallet, phone, keys, etc. This can vary by profession, persona, or pocket size. A great EDC should be reliable and functional, but most importantly, personal!
If you are curious about what people carry around with them everyday or you're interested in knives, tools, electronics, gadgets, everydaycarry.com has a great selection of user generated EDC for you to check out. If you see anything you want to add to your daily essentials most of the products link out to Amazon or other websites to purchase them. Looking for more EDC? Find even more inspiration from my friends over at Uncrate and Huckberry.
Check out my first everyday carry and follow me on everydaycarry.com
What’s your EDC? Please share in the comments, post pictures or hit me up on everydaycarry.com
The snacks are healthy and use top of the line ingredients, but if you eat a whole bag of Asiago Cheddar Cheese Crisps in one sitting you can throw healthy out the window.