Everyone Loves a Boston Girl

The past week has been a whirlwind. I’m finally calming down, but really wishing for a week to just sit and get work done. But since that obviously isn’t going to happen, I’ll have to be happy with the fact that I don’t have anything too too crazy going on this week.

So, the Martha Stewart Show was fabulous. You probably read about it at We are not Martha, and we just put out our wrap-up post today. Anyway, I heart Martha, in case you couldn’t tell. Also, I hope you watched today because she did a hotdog tasting with Kevin Sharkey and we were in the studio audience for it. She tasted something like 27 hotdogs (in the meantime, it was 11:30 and all I had eaten was a granola bar at 7:00 a.m.). Oh right, you were probably at work today. Not everyone is so lucky to get to watch Martha on the daily. Woot.

Quite obviously the first in line. D-e-d-i-c-a-t-i-o-n

Obsessed with Paw-Paw

Oh, hi. And love you.

Wedding weekend was also tons of fun. My first childhood friend got married, which is both incredibly scary and completely awesome. About 14 of us high school buddies got a super nice house on the Cape and spent the weekend catching up, reminiscing, eating cupcakes, sipping wine, and just laughing a lot. I am so lucky to have such a strong group of people who have known me for so long. I think it’s rare to have so many childhood/high school friends and to stay so close to them. And I love excuses to spend whole weekends with them. We need to make more of them ASAP.

I always knew I was a sensitive person, but the wedding proved to me that I’m basically a mess when it comes to my emotions. The second I saw my friend walking down the aisle with her dad (who was my soccer coach for 4+ years), the tears started flowing. I. Could. Not. Help. It. I was basically bawling and I had to really work to hold back my tears several more times throughout the night. I have not a clue how I’m going to be a normal held together person at my sister’s wedding. I’m going to be crying all the way down the aisle and giving a speech? Yeah, not sure how that will work. It’s going to be very, very bad. And I’ll most likely end up ruining the wedding. Also, I’ll need a makeup person with me the entire night.

Chels and I did not plan to coordinate our dresses, I swear. In the one time we didn’t talk about our outifts ahead of time, they were basically the same color. Obviously. Number of people who asked if we planned it? Far too many.

Just the girls before the wedding ceremony. Perfect weather weekend!

Oh, hello beautiful cake. And beautiful bride.

Um yeah. This will be explained tomorrow at We are not Martha. But really, what else did you expect?

I have a couple more fun/exciting things to talk about, but I must catch up on my Google Reader before I expect anyone to read my babbling! Soon

You probably already know I’m pretty obsessed with Guidespot. I have a blast writing guides and coming up with new ideas (Um, I just wrote one all about Ryan Adams…how fun is that?!). So I’m super excited that Guidespot recently launched a new type of guide called community guides, which are guides anyone can contribute to. I absolutely LOVE these because, as much of a Boston snob as I am, there’s lots I don’t know about Boston (shocking, right?). So, with community guides, I can put up guides asking for other people to help. So we can all learn about what our glorious city has to offer!

If you want to contribute on Guidespot, you just have to create a log-in name (easy!) and you can add anything to my, or anybody’s, community guides. You can also make your own guides. It’s a really awesome community with lots of fun people!

Here are my Boston community guides:

Happy to Be at Happy Hour in Boston. For some reason, I’m happy hour inept in Boston. Maybe because I don’t have a traditional job, I just don’t know where all the hot spots for after work are. BUT I do hear that happy hour is where all the men are, so I need to stop going out at 10:00 p.m. and get my butt moving at 5:00 p.m. Help?

It May Not Be Asia, But Boston Has Some Pretty Fabulous Chinese Food. I know it does. But it’s seriously hard to find. But since I love Chinese food so much, I want to know where to get more of it!!

I’m Not in College, But I’m Still Young: Boston’s Guide to Bars for the “In-Betweens.” Uhh this is something I’m clueless on, so I need some help. I hate going to bars and being hit on by 21-year-olds who are completely shocked I’m 25 (26 in two weeks EEK!). But I have no idea where to go to hang out with an older crowd who isn’t “old.” I hate this age.

Your Favorite Bostonians. Tons of famous people hail from Boston and I want to hear who everyone’s favorite is. I chose Jay Leno and Sam Adams, duh.

Not all my community guides are Boston-based though; some are just for fun:

I Love Bad Television. So I wanted to see what other bad television everyone else loves. Maybe it would make me feel not so bad about loving bad television.

Your Best (or Worst) Halloween Costume Ever. I’ve had some pretty fab and some pretty bad costumes through the years. If only I had a scanner, I would scan in the picture of me as a magician. Umm actually I probably wouldn’t because it’s kind of really awful. I had a moustache!!

On that note, I’m off to do some work because….I’m off to NYC tomorrow for the Martha Stewart Show on Wed!!! I’m obviously uncontrollably excited, but slightly overwhelmed since it’s only Monday but it feels like the weekend already. I’ll be in NYC until Wed. night and then am off to the Cape for my friend’s wedding on Friday morning. Yes, the first of my childhood friends is getting married!! Slightly scary, but about 14 of us are getting a house for 2 nights and I have a feeling it’s going to be a pretty fabulous time! Obviously more on that soon. And a Martha wrap-up, of course!

In probably the most exciting thing to happen to me ever (sad or not? You decide), Chels and I have been invited to the Martha Stewart Show! We are going to sit in the audience of the special bloggers show and “live blog.” I think most of you know me well enough to know what a huge Martha fan I am and have been much of my young life. I only have a whole blog named for her (We are not Martha, duh), but I also talk about her probably way too much (like here and here and here). Yes, remember the time when Martha Stewart wrote on my Facebook wall?? Because SHE READ MY BLOG. That may very well have been the second most exciting thing to ever happen to me. I was also in her top friends on Facebook…and she had A LOT of friends. However, I think Facebook deleted her account, probably because she was advertising her new Macy’s line or something (big deal. If you’re Martha’s friend, you should want to see these advertisements). Anyway, my point is, I am Martha Stewart obsessed (in case I have failed to make that clear).

And so now Chelsee and I will venture into the Big Apple and arrive at Martha’s studio, laptops in hand, ready to stare in awe and attempt to type a few things while I’m basically dying on the inside. And also dying for the chance to talk to her. All of this will be occurring next Wednesday (Sept. 17…the birthday of my mom, whom is the main reason I love Martha so). So set your DVR or watch it live! And be sure to let us know if you’re going to be there too!

The line-up of bloggers for the show we’re attending sounds amazing. Though Chels and I were close to being on it ourselves, we’re more than happy to watch the pros at work. And of course we will live blog every bit of it for you…most likely over on We are not Martha…and I’ll be Twittering of course (@SusieA) and oh, probably Tumbl-ing too. All while trying to process every word coming out of Martha’s mouth. Life is absolutely lovely.

Because I’m pretty sure most of you all love shopping as much as I do, I wanted to tell you about a new service that will make shopping forever easier for you. Because let’s face it, shopping can be tough, right? But really, how many times have you been in a store contemplating whether or not you should buy something or whether you should wait to see if you can get a better price? Pongr, a new soon-to-launch company I’m working with, will make sure you never encounter this problem again. I’m really excited about Pongr and I think you guys will love it too!

So, all you need is a cell phone, which clearly all of you have (though I suppose there could be some lurkers reading my blog with no phone. Hmm) and you can get the best price on literally thousands and thousands of products. Woot! A shopper’s dream!!

The next time you’re at a store and contemplating a purchase, try Pongr out. If you want to check the price on a book, DVD, CD, or video game, you can take a camera phone photo of the item and either e-mail the photo to ping@pongr.com or text it to SHOPP. Pongr’s software will recognize the item (don’t ask me how; there are smart software guys for that) and you’ll immediately receive a list of stores and websites where you can find the item at the best price. Then you can either purchase the item right from your phone, wait and get the item online when you’re at your home computer, or get directions right to the store.

But you can also price check items that aren’t books, DVDs or video games. Like clothes, purses, and shoes! Seriously, this excites me because I’m the queen of online bargain hunting and the fact that I can do it right from the store is going to make my life so much easier (and my wallet heavier I hope). Instead of taking a photo of the item, you’ll enter either the UPC barcode or the product description and once again, Pongr will immediately send you the best prices. Oh, and the Pongr service is totally free besides the cost of a text message.

So try Pongr out before it officially launches. Remember, they’re is still adding tons of products to the databse, so if there’s anything you’re looking for and can’t find, let us know so it can be added for the future. Also tell us if anything isn’t working for you or if you find any amazing deals! And for all you iPhone users, there’s going to be a special Pongr app that will make Pongr-ing even easier.

And don’t forget to check out the Pongr Blog, which was awesomely designed by everyone’s favorite designer, Jess, of Delicious Design Studios. We’re psyched about how cute she made it!

Also, you should probably participate in the Pongr contest as well. If you make a video showing how you use Pongr, you could win a MacBook Air, an iPod Touch, or an Amazon gift certificate. I know you guys are super creative, so I kind of feel like if you enter, you just might win. Which will make me crazy jealous because I wish I could win.

Pongr was also recently featured on NECN. Yay!

I think this will become a weekly or bi-weekly post. Mainly because I love lots of things and I love talking about the things I love. So without further ado, here are the things I love right now.

Secret Deodorant

I’m really picky about a lot of the products I use, and this is especially true of my deodorant. I was obsessed with the Secret Platinum of the Glacier Mist variety. Best deodorant I’ve ever had. People used to walk by my desk at work and ask me why I smelled so good. I converted many of my friends into becoming Secret Glacial Mist deodorant wearers. Then Secret had to go and discontinue it, which obviously happens with all my favorite products. Sadness! However, I finally found a new deodorant that makes me almost as happy as my glacial mist. It is Secret Flawless in Completely Clean scent. Oh, and these all must be in invisible solid form. I hate gel anything. Which brings me to the question, why can’t I find woman’s shaving cream anywhere?? I hate the gel. Hate it.

Target

I mean, this one seems obvious. I know it’s cheaper than CVS and Walgreens, but until yesterday, I didn’t realize how much cheaper. Especially compared to all my favorite pharmacies in the city. I got 2 of my above mentioned favorite deodorants for $5.63, whereas, in Boston’s CVS one costs at least $5.89. I got a couple nice toothbrushes (also very picky about these) for $2 each, when they would have been $4-something in Boston. Luna Bars are only 89 cents; even at Trader Joe’s they’re 99 cents. Basically, I’m very impressed with Target of Watertown’s prices.

Steel-Cut Oats

Sara got me into eating these and they’re amazing. Really large serving of super creamy oatmeal with a little brown sugar and maple syrup flavor. I like to add some cinnamon on top. For only 150 calories, these make a delicious breakfast, especially if you involve some banana.

GinGa Sushi

Finally tried the new sushi place right by my apartment (there are about 12 sushi places within a 7 minute walk of me) and I LOVED it! Because there was a gross little Mexican restaurant here prior to GinGa opening, I was a little skeptical and took my time trying this place out. Glad I finally did though. The waitress was adorable and after Sara and I ordered lunch she immediately brought over a complimentary appetizer for us to try (pictured above). The sushi was perfect and the prices not too bad. I live so close, this could be dangerous.

Sweet Potatoes

Everyone already knew I was obsessed with orange vegetables (yay for pumpkin season!!), but I have a newfound love for sweet potatoes. They make the perfect snack, and are allegedly the healthiest vegetable ever. They calm all sorts of cravings and they are just delicious. When I was little, I hated sweet potatoes and claimed my vegetables should not taste like dessert. Now, bring them on!

TKTC’s Quick Boston Visit

On her way back to Chicago from the Cape, TKTC stopped in Boston and we met up for a delicious dinner at La Famiglia Giorgio in the North End. The food was amazing, but the company better. And I got to meet Jamieson, who was absolutely awesome. It was so great to see them together and to see TKTC so happy. And I’ll hopefully get to see her again in a couple months when I visit Chicago. Not positive of the dates yet, but probably sometime in October.