Not to be Left out...

In my haste to introduce you all to my yearbooked friends, I left out Ally, who appears to be channelling every 80's television mother there ever was. Creating the perfect storm of 80's and early 90's mothers, a delightful combination of 90210's Mrs. Walsh, Mrs. Cosby, and Family Ties' Mrs. Keaton, Ally's a true 1980's gem.

Uncle Jesse called, he was wondering if you were free for dinner and dancing at the Smashbox on Friday... you're lookin' good my friend.

Always wanted Kelly Kapowski's Bangs? How about a Farrah Flip??

Is that you Jessie Spano?

Yesterday here at the Merch was a rough day. We're pretty sure something was amiss in the moon and stars. No seriously, I even tried looking it up yesterday. Well today has already gotten off to a MUCH better start thanks to an email from one of my dear college friends who has way too much time on her hands (which appears to be a pattern for those of us with entry level jobs right out of college). Jenn must have spent HOURS yearbooking all of us at http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ and I suggest you stop whatever you are doing and devote at least the next hour to yearbooking yourself and your loved ones (it's good for a serious laugh).

Doesn't Jess look lovely up at the top? Clearly she was meant for the 80's, unfortunately we were only 2 years old when mall rat bangs were in style, but I'm thinking Jess is going to start backcombing her hair and buying Aqua Net in bulk any day now. Speaking of hairspray, is that Tracy Turnblad on the right? Oh wait that's just Courtney being her stylish self. I mean, Good Morning Baltimore! that is one fine looking hairdo.

The best thing about yearbookyourself.com is that there is a hairdo from every year for the past 40 years or so, which gives you tons of options to embarrass your friends. For instance Jenn over here on the left, holy hairdo on that one. I'm still not sure if that's Jenn or Tootie from The Facts of Life. Jury is still out on that one, but I think those bangs would be, to throw out a pun, bangin' when it comes time for our group to make it back for a Clemson football game. Just a thought Jenn, you could start a hair revolution.

I'm sure both Kate and Jessie think they've dodged a bullet by not making it on the http://www.themonogrammerchant.com/ blog yet. Au contraire my dear friends, your turn is a comin'. Both Kate and Jessie have amazing 90's hairdos that are not to be missed.

You may be thinking, "Hold the phone, how did you get a picture of my 1st grade gym teacher?!" While she does hold a striking resemblance to many a 1990's jungle gym maven, no worries, it's just Kate really working an early 90's feathered number. I mean really, I don't think Kate has ever looked better.

Remember your best friend's older sister you were always super jealous of, you know the girl in the late 90's who you thought was so fashionable and cool? Yup, there she is on the left, worried about your judgment yet? It's ok, I promise Jessie is very fashionable and cool these days, although I doubt even she would have the patience and talent to recreate those bangs. I'm 99% sure those took at least 3 heat styling tools and 4 hair products.

It wouldn't be fair to subject all my friends to the blog without putting up my own picture as well. I've always said I was meant to be in high school in the late 80's or early 90's, I mean I have the natural curl and frizz any smart girl at Bayside High School would be jealous of. However, yearbook yourself, has proven me wrong, as clearly the 70's were more my speed. Anyhoodle, while yearbookyourself.com has nothing to do with monogramming (although I guess you could call this yearbook personalization if you want to get all technical), it's certainly worth the break from work or school for a solid hour of entertainment.

Here's hoping I still have friends after this is posted.

The Crittendens Make a Splash in the Swamp!

Tailgating, sporting your team colors, cheering on your school... nothing says Fall like a good college football game! Now some of us are fans and others of us are FANS. Personally, when bad weather hits, I'm out of the stadium in a flash and watching the game from a dry corner of a sports bar. I clearly fall into the lowercase fan category. However, the Crittendens have proven to be the ultimate in uppercase FANS during a recent trip to a Gator game. The opening game of the season in Gainesville was against Hawaii, and honestly, Hawaii didn't bring along the best weather they had to offer.

Before the start of the game the Crittendens were recognized on the field and were such troopers for standing there in the driving rain! They were literally swamped in the Swamp! The only thing that could have made the perfectly Gator color coordinated Crittendens cuter (and much more comfortable) would be a monogrammed umbrella of course!! This umbrella is the perfect accessory for game day, it'll slip over your wrist leaving you two free hands for tailgating or cheering and personalized with your monogram, it'll never get lost! Every well prepared and dedicated fan needs one.

The football season is just beginning, and unfortunately, so is hurricane season; so don't get caught out in the rain without one! You can get one in a variety of colors (although the Leopard is my personal favorite) here: http://www.themonogrammerchant.com/category.php?category_id=238.

If you want to see the Crittenden's heroic fanship in it's entirety, check out this youtube video taken from a much drier location: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0-fsSnLfxc.

Mommy Cards

Need a great gift for a new mother? Order her some Mommy Cards....calling cards she can use when she meets other parents in the park, on play dates, Starbucks, at church or wherever people with young children meet and mingle.

Usually Mommy Cards have the usual contact information for the mother...name, cell phone, home phone and email address in addition to having the child or children's information. So a card might read

'Amy McChain'

407-555-1232 (Home)

407-555-1212 (Mobile)

amy@mcchain.com

Mother of Annabelle

You can use any calling or flat enclosure card for this purpose. As long as there is room for at least 4 lines of text, you are in business! To see our options, http://www.themonogrammerchant.com/category.php?category_id=95

Black Tie Home Run!

Carrying this monogram Swavorski crystal evening bag will make you feel fabulous everywhere you go!





If you have some special events coming up this fall and holiday season, you need to treat yourself to this very special accessory. From Palm Beach to Manhattan, our customers have been thrilled with their evening bags.

• Both styles come with a chain to carry the bag over the shoulder. As you can see, there are two monogram styles to choose from and believe it or not, over 30 colors.


• Shown at the top, the CBF is the block style monogram, clear crystals with a jet monogram. We like this combination because it looks great with everything and can be carried all year round.


• The GHL is a script style monogram in black jet crystals with aurora borealis crystal monogram. This beauty has a stunning sparkle.


• Don't forget...the initial impression lasts forever!
  

These bags are created just for you. Please allow approximately 6 weeks for production. Wouldn't this make a great wedding gift for a bride from her bridal party? She would never forget it! $725. Learn more here. http://www.themonogrammerchant.com/item.php?item_id=1022&category_id=154

Gifts for Summer Travels

Do your summer plans call for visiting family and friends? If so, you are in need of a gift for your hosts! We all know its customary to show up with something special for our gracious beach or mountain house owning loved ones, yet finding the right gift can prove to be a challenge. Here are a few ideas intended to inspire:



Hand-painted and personalized key fobs $21.95. These adorable wood ball key fobs come in a wide variety of styles for the beach, the mountains and everywhere in between. An especially great choice for the preppy-at-heart, these key rings make it almost impossible to lose your keys. Find one for everyone on your list here http://www.themonogrammerchant.com/category.php?category_id=115

Personalized pottery with a family name and their favorite destination makes a wonderful gift. These pieces are available in beach, lake and mountain house themes in a variety of sizes. The oval platter shown here is $120. You can order this one or find other styles here http://www.themonogrammerchant.com/item.php?item_id=1273&category_id=140

Last but certainly not least! For your more traditional hostess, a guest book would be unique yet practical. These lovely artisan quality books are made in Dallas. This particular style comes in a lake house or beach house version, but you can personalize it to your hearts desire. Find out more here. http://www.themonogrammerchant.com/category.php?category_id=129

Toast the Happy Couple with a Classic Keg Party: Hostessing an engagement party in red-letter style!

THE KEG!

When the groom-to-be requested a keg for this summer party, it set the tone for the entire evening! How do two traditional-type hostesses honor a Manhattan bride and her fun-loving fiance?

We started with a pony which needed a little fixing up. The Bud Lite was perfectly chilled thanks to our keg king, Chris, who fought the summer heat and iced it for over 6 hours by the time the party started. The keg, however, left much to be desired in the looks department. Our solution? Add a monogram bar towel! As you can see from the before and after photos, the towel was the perfect accent and a useful one too!

With the keg as inspiration, I think I've come up with a great engagement gift idea for this couple....personalized, collegiate Tervis Tumblers...perfect for keeping beer cold in the summer heat. By sharing this with you, I'm blowing the surprise ... L & D, I hope you don't already have these!

The set of 4 Ohio State 16 oz tumblers personalized with the bride & groom's initials or last name can be found here http://www.themonogrammerchant.com/item.php?item_id=784

For those of you who are wondering where the party went after the monogrammed keg, here are a few highlights....the theme of the evening was 'Toledo meets Manhattan' to include the hometowns of the bride and groom as well as honoring the city where they met. We had sort of fancy hors d'oeuvres, a comfort food Midwestern dinner, and a dessert to cover both...buckeyes and cheesecake. We decorated with Ohio State and I Love NY and used black, white and red to tie it all together. Some of the recipes were requested by the party guests so they are included here as well.

Barefoot Contessa Virginia Ham http://www.barefootcontessa.com/recipes/1.html (We used 2 cloves of garlic instead of 6; after all, this party was celebrating romance!)

Buckeye Candy http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,197,159178-224192,00.html ( We did not use nuts but we cheated and used the chocolate dipping shell)

A good time was had by all and the party went well into the a.m. Some highlights I will share that made our evening extra special.... an iPod loaded with great tunes brought by a thoughtful groomsman; a volunteer bartender; and a happy couple we all were thrilled to celebrate!

A few suggestions for all those late-night hostesses out there...if someone happens to bring you a bottle of your favorite wine, there is no reason you need to share it -- its perfectly polite to drink it all yourself! For entertainment, make sure you have some fun DVDs or something which appeals to a crowd on your DVR (thankfully I still had the Concert for Diana from Summer 2007 which led to an Elton John sing along at 2:45 a.m.). My usual program line-up of Oprah, General Hospital and the like drew ridicule from my late night cohorts! For your perhaps unexpected but most welcome overnight guests, clean sheets in the guest room, water glasses and a few new toothbrushes.

With several of us sleep deprived on Sunday, we came up with a new motto "We sure aren't as young as we used to be, but we are just as fun!" I think I will order some cocktail napkins printed with that saying for hostess and holiday gifts!