Monthly Archives: April 2012

Friday Finds: 27 April

TGIF! Happy Friday readers! It’s been a busy week but I’ve still had time to find some great content, with the help of my roommate and a former colleague.

First, for all you foodies [and poor college students] out there, here are a few recipes I’ve found worth sharing. My roommate Emma, a new Bobcat alumna, has been hanging out in Athens, living it up as a socialite, before her job with Teach For America begins in June. In between reading piles of novels and attending yoga, she’s enjoyed finding new recipes on the web. Popcorn, a favorite snack in our household [and in America], now better tastes than ever! In addition tasting fresher and more delicious than microwave bag popcorn, this old-school method of cooking is free from any potentially harmful chemicals and additives.

 

How to make healthier popcorn [abridged]:

  • Heat approximately 3 Tbsp. of canola oil in a saucepan.
  • Place 3-4 kernels of popcorn into the pan.
  • When those kernels successfully pop, add 1/3 cup of kernels.
  • Cover saucepan and remove from heat for 30 seconds.
  • Return the pan to the heated stovetop.
  • Move the pan back over the stovetop—at this point all of the kernels should be popping, when the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove from heat.
  • Dump fresh and delicious popcorn into a bowl and enjoy [best served with friends, including wonderful roommates].

For full instructions visit Simply Recipes, here.

Fashion Finds

This spring I am all about coral and teal. Also, lace is a preferred fabric for me this season. Here are samples of some of my favorite fashions I hope to acquire:

Lily Lace Dress from Oasis. The back of this dress has a nice cut out detail. If you’re going to order this, be sure you order it much larger than you are probably used to, as the model shown on the website is wearing a size 10.

This collection is the epitome of how fabulous corals and teals are this spring! I love it all, from the Sinousa Suede Pumps, to the stretch twill shorts from J.Crew.

I love the teal blazer over the white lace! I recently acquired a beautiful white lacy dress that I’m crazy about from The Other Place, a shop in uptown Athens, Ohio. Now I just need to find a fun blazer to pair it with, any suggestions on where to buy?

As for the dress/blazer combo shown above, I couldn’t find this photos origin as I found the image on Pinterest.

Fun Find: Moss Graffiti//Grassfiti

Featured on RealLOL, this project to “grow graffiti” looks like it would be a lot of fun and could really add some nice greenery to an apartment balcony wall [if your landlord permits it].

Photo Find: A History of NYC

This find, “Never-before-seen photos from 100 years ago tell vivid story of gritty New York City,” from The UK Daily Mail and the Associated Press, I have to credit to a former colleague of mine, Tom Lew, multimedia producer at the Miss Universe Organization. Enjoy three of my favorite picks from the collection [and be sure to check out the rest of the photos as well]:

Painters hang out on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1914.

Grand Central Station, 1937.

The Great Bambino, 1936.

It’s That Time of Year Again: Athens Beautification Day

If you have ever traveled to the city of Athens, located in the Appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio, home to Ohio University, you would have to agree it is nothing short of picturesque. I am proud to call this charming town home, at least until June.

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Ohio University College Green.

As an ambassador to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism I get the chance to meet with prospective students and their parents. The one thing I hear from these high school students and their parents time and time again is just how beautiful and alluring our campus is. I can’t help but beam with pride every time I hear that. I love Ohio University for many reasons, one being the pleasant, scenic campus. College green is always abuzz in the fall and spring, occupied with students, some reading on the lawns, some lying on blankets listening to their iPods, while others juggle balls, walk tight ropes, and joggle knives. It’s an eclectic campus.

Keeping Athens, and Ohio University, Beautiful

Organized and facilitated by the Off-Campus Life Commission of Ohio University Student Senate, lead by Thomas Raabe, as well as The Athens NEWS, and Power 105, Athens Beautification Day presents an opportunity for students and other volunteers to take part in maintaining our lovely city and campus.

This year, Athens Beautification Day, falls on the Sunday following the infamous Palmer Fest taking place on Saturday, and the lesser-known Palmer Place Fest, happening on Friday. That being said, I anticipate the event will need a good number of volunteers to help clean up campus. According to the EventBrite page, volunteers will be working on a number of projects, ranging from “planting flowers and mulching trees, to clearing brush and picking up trash.” A team of about 40 students will be assigned to spruce up and beautify Palmer Street, as well as Kern Street, Oak Street, Hocking Street, Elliot Street and the surrounding area. In addition to the clean up happening on campus, students will get to work on projects at places such as The Dairy Barn, The Ridges, Stroud’s Run State Park, Passion Works, Athens Historical Society, and the Wildlife Center.

ImageMe and my learning community students, hiking at The Ridges.

 

ImageMy friends and I enjoying a sunny day at Stroud’s Run, a favorite hangout in the spring.

 

ImageStudents volunteer at the 2011 Athens Beautification Day. Photo by Katharine Egli.

 

ImageOhio University College of Arts & Sciences ambassadors at Athens Beautification Day in 2009.

Get Your Hands Dirty, Register for ABD! 

Visit
http://athensbday.eventbrite.com/
 to register today! The last day recommended for registration is Friday, April 27. In addition to getting that warm-fuzzy feeling the comes from knowing your helping maintain Athens, volunteers will also receive a free t-shirt, coffee from Donkey, and Kiser’s BBQ!

If you’re part of an organization, or even if you just want to volunteer with your friends or roommates, you can all register together, up to 15 participants, ensuring you’ll be assigned to the same project. This is such a great opportunity to bond with team members in your organization, or experience an awesome event with friends and roommates, all while helping the Athens community. I am excited to take part in the 8th annual Athens Beautification Day, which I will be volunteering at with my friends in PRSSA! I hope you’ll join in, too, helping to keep Athens radiant as ever!

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Friday Finds: 20 April

Happy Friday, readers! Every Friday I will be posting my favorite finds of the week: fun and fascinating blog posts, photography, food recipes, fashion, art, technology, world//national//local news and anything else I find intriguing and worth sharing.

This week, with Earth Day coming up on Sunday, I’ve decided to feature web content featuring green products, ideas for upcycling, and amazing photography of our fabulous Mother Earth and its inhabitants! Enjoy.

Green Living//Green Products

In Milan, Italy soon inhabitants will be able to live in a forest in the sky. The towers, known as Bosco Verticale, are currently under construction. The photo below is the artist’s current vision for the 27-floor apartment buildings, which will also be home to 730 trees and 16,000 other shrubs and plants.

If you’re into ecofriendly fashion, check out these finds:

Chloe + Isabel created this bangle set, made from organic metals.

 

I found this bracelet on Etsy. According to the artist, “Each bangle is hand formed from 100% ecofriendly recycled sterling silver wire and then hand-hammered and tumbled for shine and strength.”

This watch, from WeWood, is made from 100% natural wood and is free from toxic chemicals. Bonus? How about the fact that for every time piece WeWood sells, they plant a tree! And don’t worry about where the wood for these fun watches comes from, according to their website [and philosophy statement] they are made from “mostly scrap-wood and uses state-of-the-art Miyota movements for the guts, resulting in a unique watch that’s handsome, earth-friendly, and splash-proof.” Fun!

The products from Chikumbuso have a special place in my heart, as I spent three and a half weeks in Zambia with the Institute for International Journalism, and was fortunate enough to meet some of the amazing women who make these products, and the children they benefit.

Above is a photo I took at Chikumbuso, featuring one of the widows knitting a bag together. Below is a photo from their website of the finished product. I highly endorse all of their products, ranging from stunning jewelry to the fun, fashionable [and ecofriendly] bags! And yes, I personally own one of these and I love it! :)

 

Great Ideas for Upcycling: The process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

Love these two ideas for upcycling wine corks. The first, from Two Twenty One, uses corks as decór around candles, beautiful! The second, from greenUPGRADER, recommends carving designs on one end of the cork and using it as a stamp.

Another fun item to use in upcycling projects are buttons. Here is an idea from Etsy, using buttons as custom artwork:

 

Fabulous Photos of Our Mother Earth

I am a huge fan of National Geographic. All of the photos from NatGeo are nothing short of stunning. Below is a collection of some of personal favorites.

Tigers in India

 

A new species of purple crabs found in the Philippines.

 

West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone

 

A manatee swimming in a freshwater spring in Crystal River, Florida.

 

This red squirrel in Poland simply makes my heart melt! Dawh!

Creating Change in the Athens Community, One Click at a Time

My roommate, Annette Drapac, co-founded Project C: Clicking Creates Change last year with an equally talented partner in crime, Tony Guglielmi. Let me begin by saying that in the four years I have known Annette she has never ceased to amaze and inspire me. She is certainly a forced to be reckoned with and I am so happy to be a part of the project this year as they launch into the second year of production. I want to share my enthusiasm surrounding Project C, as well as feature the tremendous amount of work students like Annette and Tony put into projects of passion, with all of you!

 Myself [left] and Annette [right] enjoying spring in Athens!

What is Project C?

Project C is a student-run multimedia project that ultimately donates funds to local nonprofit organizations. Students work together to create documentaries chronicling the activities of four local nonprofit organizations. Video documentaries, along with still photos, infographics, and feature articles are then presented on Project C’s website: www.clickingcreateschange.com.

The 2011 edition received the bronze award in the Large Group Multimedia category of the CPOY competition, as well as achieving placement as one of three finalist in the Adobe Design Achievement Awards, in the Browser Based Design category.

My Role in the Project

Primarily, I am working on the public relations team, promoting awareness of the project and community involvement, as well as fundraising efforts. I get to work with a talented team of marketing specialists, public relations students, and designers. Last year I was unable to work for Project C because I was in NYC interning at the Miss Universe Organization. This year I am ready to jump in, working to give back to the Athens community through Project C’s efforts! It has only been a couple of weeks and already I have worked to increase Project C’s Twitter following 13.5 percent, and their Facebook fan base 5.9 percent, as well as secure media placement in five community or student publications in southeast Ohio. And we’re just getting started!

In addition to working in public relations, fundraising, and marketing, I am participating as a content producer. I will write the story to accompany a video documentary and infographic created by a talented team of VisCom and Media Arts students at Ohio University. Our team is featuring the unsung heroes at The Gathering Place, a home that “supports the recovery of persons with mental illness by enhancing personal development and well-being, while fostering community involvement.”

Everyone Can Make a Difference. Learn What You Can Do!

The teams of volunteers at Project C work hard to bring you amazing, meaningful content. They hope to engage and inspire audiences, but everyone can do something to help out the Project!

With the click of a mouse, community members, as well as any other visitors to their site, can vote for their favorite organization. When users vote for an organization they are helping decide how to allocate funds to the featured nonprofits. This year, voting will take place from the time the site launches on Monday, May 28 until Friday, June 1.

Stay Connected with Project C

Join Project C in the social media spheres to keep up with all the latest happenings!

Follow them on Twitter: @ProjectC_

Like Project C on Facebook!

Get Involved 

Just by telling your family and friends about Project C you’re making a difference in the Athens community! Project C strives to inform and inspire, and that couldn’t happen without the help of Project C supporters, and the ability each person has to spread the word about Project C’s work, mission, and the nonprofits in Athens, Ohio they are featuring, and hope to raise funds to support.

Donate

Whether you can afford $1 or $1000, Project C and the organizations featured this year will be forever grateful!

In 2011, Project C raised $1075 to assist the local nonprofits. This year the fundraising team aims to raise more than $2000. Project C is reaching out to charitable individuals like you for financial support. Online donations can be submitted via IndieGoGo, a digital crowdfunding platform at www.IndieGoGo.com/clickingcreateschange. Online donations must be submitted by Monday, May 14, 2012 at 11:59 PM PT.

Help us give back to the wonderful and unique community that is Athens, Ohio!