riverside wine fest & movember bake sale!

The 8th Annual Riverside Wine Festival is next Saturday, November 20! Not only is it a GREAT event in itself ($30 donation for all-you-can-drink wine!), we'll have a Movember Bake Sale table set up with all sorts of delicious goodies from Sweet n Flour & The Sugar Tryst aka Marisa & Kelly Mac :) Check out these menus . . .

Sweet n Flour:
Chocolate Butter Shortbreads with Pomegranate or Blackberry Cream
Golden Chocolate Nuggets with Macadamias, Peanuts & Almonds
Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Salted Burnt Caramel Buttercream
Root Beer Bundt Mini Cakes

The Sugar Tryst:
Lemon Cupcakes with a Raspberry Buttercream
Chocolate Cupcakes with Pretzels and Caramel
Lemon Moustache Sugar Cookies
Meringue Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts/Pecans
Chocolate Dipped Pretzels with Candy Bar Pieces
Peanut Butter Cluster Brownies
Assorted Rice Crispy Treats

100% of the bake sale proceeds will benefit Movember Jax! Hope to see you there!

pecha kucha 11 is tonight!

November 9, 2010
5 Points Theatre in Riverside
Doors open at 6:00; Presentations begin at 7:00

Pecha Kucha is a presentation format featuring passionate presenters showcasing their talent or knowledge to you...the crowd. They only have 20 slides that last 20 seconds, which makes for good times, good laughs, and great fall line-up:

* Kelly MacDonald
* Kenny Harper
* Violet "The Awful Waffle" Skinner
* Sean Collins - talking about Movember!
* Special Improv Pecha Kucha Presentation

Pecha Kucha is a FREE event
$3.50 Beer $4.50 Wine

found kittens at work

a co-worker found these little guys in the parking lot of our baymeadows store. if you or anyone you know is interested in taking or fostering them, let me know!

MOvember Art Walk 11/3

Check out the Movember Art Show @ TACII at 229 Hogan Street: Enjoy great art, free beer courtesy of Intuition Ale Works and music by Dennis Eusebio; Visit our Movember Info Booth & Craft Table in Hemming Plaza to make your own mustache; Grab something sweet at our Movember Bake Sale outside of Snyder Church; Buy some mustache-themed art from the AIGA Jacksonville Atomic Sketch event in the Old Library & keep an eye out for the Jacksonville Rollergirls passing out Movember materials and mustaches.

ABOUT MOVEMBER
Mo, slang for moustache in Australia, and November come together each year to form Movember, a worldwide charity working to change the face of men’s health — literally. The rules are simple, Mo Bros start Movember 1st clean-shaven and grow a moustache for 30 days. The stache becomes the “pink ribbon” for men’s cancers and the way by which awareness and funds are raised. Mo Sistas can also collect donations online in support of their Mo Bros. Over $42 million was raised last year — US donations benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

ABOUT MOVEMBER JAX
Learn more about local Movember events by visiting the Movember Jax website or following us on facebook - better yet, register online as part of the Movember Jax Network & help us change the face of men's health by raising funds & awareness!

blasts from the past

sooo two old memories have come full circle today & i love it!

1. when i was in elementary school my friend alison loved this one book so i took it home, crossed out the "this book belongs to shenandoah elementary" stamp and gave it to her at her birthday party. when her mom realized, she told my mom and i had to bring it back to school and apologize. haha - what a klepto! but every time i tell this story i always say "it was some book about spaghetti, i can't remember the name" and then i see that jemibook has posted a video of the children's book called "strega nona" and its totally THE book my story is about!



2. in 2003 or 2004 karen, erin, gloria and i went to nyc for my birthday and had a blast. on our way home there was a super long layover so the four of us - along with another girl on her way from ny to jax - went in search of an aiport bar and we found one that was offering $2 shots w/ every beer! we drank A LOT & ended up daring each other to kiss some dude sitting at the bar - weird, i know. anyway - today sean tells me his co-worker amber was going through old photos and it turns out SHE WAS THE OTHER GIRL! now that i think about it she totally matches the memory in my head of the girl we met - small, cute, redhead, super nice and bubbly. what a small world! i have got to see these pictures asap!

james franco, what a drag

this is what happens when james hangs out with terry.

folio bite club @ karma

i was picked to attend the folio weekly bite club at karma in ponte vedra beach last night and it was delicious! great food, great chef, great friends - melissa, ken, magda, daniel, wc, erin, sarah, shannon, and our host caron! karma supports local businesses & farmers, makes everything from scratch in the kitchen and serves "global cuisine" - i will definitely go back!


japanese poppers


melissa w/ our tuscan fries


fried green tomatoes w/ applewood bacon onion jam - amazing!


i got the creole shrimp & grits, yum!


ken got the chicken vindaloo


melissa got the skirt steak and mashed potatoes w/ chimichurri


dessert was fresh berries w/ homemade whipped cream & apple crumb pie

weekend fun

friday: jenga @ bold city & beers @ kickbacks w/ the kurycki fam





saturday: bike ride to crazy egg, murray hill walk, greg's bday, dos gatos

movember jax: join or donate!

My boyfriend Sean Collins runs the Jacksonville Beardsmith Society and every November we participate in a worldwide fundraiser called "Movember" where guys start the month clean shaven and grow only mustaches to help raise awareness and funds for prostate & testicular cancer. Basically the mustache is a manly-version of the pink ribbon, make sense?

Can't grow a mustache? Don't worry! Movember is open to men and women all over the world who want to help by raising money, spreading the word and supporting their Mo Bros. Funds raised support the great work of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG.

Did you know?

- 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in his lifetime
- 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime

HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Join the Movember Jax Network & create a MoSpace of your own to raise money
Join the Movember Jax Facebook Page for event news & photos

HOW TO DONATE TO MY PAGE:
Click here http://us.movember.com/mospace/124627/

We have TONS of local events planned for Movember Jax, so keep your eyes open & participate when and where you can! Prizes will be given out for top fundraisers - team & individual and we'll name the 2010 Man of Movember & Mrs Movember at our end of the month wrap party!

Thank you in advance for helping me to support men’s health!

movember on UJW live

violet & amber at the movember registration table


orin, adam & sara at ujw supporting the sulzbacher center


caroline & friend showing off their movember swag


the hosts of ujw - jack, tony, johnathan & joey


sean & jason - proud owners of awesome facial hair


the crowd listening to ujw


movember team leaders - violet (roller girls) & sean (jax stache)

see a full recap of the night at jaxbeard.com & join the Movember Jax facebook page!

live urban jax weekly - 9/30

sean was invited to talk about movember during this month's LIVE taping of urban jacksonville weekly with joey marchy, tony allegretti, jack diablo & johnathan bennett. the sulzbacher center will also be there representing transformations 2010 a great fundraising event - plus, i took all the photos for the presentation!

weekend fun

friday night: wedding crashers, lynch's & a loooong ride home




saturday: downtown walk, aiga always summer show & the rogue






sunday: triple date church & chicken, double date cookout @ home

pecha kucha recap

kudos to all the presenters from last week's pecha kucha, it was a great turnout with great slideshows and lots of personality!


jim ward on "being average"


patrick carter on the "aiga always summer poster show"


katie kurycki on "it's game day bitches"


tony allegretti on "five points is on fire"


and a special "improv pecha kucha" by steph, pcarter, corey & a guest

raw food days

last week we had a raw food lecture at work & then our chef mentioned he'd been on a raw diet for 2 mos. and lost 20+lbs w/ no exercise. soooo i set out to eat only raw foods for an entire week - and while it was fun and refreshing - i slipped the evening of night 4 with dinner at carrabba's, but i'm still proud of myself for trying something new & renewing my appreciation for fresh, organic fruit and veggies! i'll definitely add more raw-esome dishes to my repertoire.

sam holcombe on bike jax

our buddy sam - once my coworker at native sun & celebrity amongst the jax beard crowd - was featured on the bike jax blog for commuting on two wheels.



Meet Sam Holcombe, third place winner in the English moustache division at the World Beard and Moustache championships. Some of you may have have already met Sam during his days working at Native Sun. He is originally from Oklahoma and has been working and going to school in Jacksonville for the last 4 years.

What do you use your bike for? I use my bike for transportation and fun.

How long have you been commuting by bicycle and what was that inspired you to start? I always felt guilty about driving: buying gas, spending so much money on every little thing. I would commute off and on for a few years and on new years I gave up driving completely.

How many days of the week do you commute by bike? Six or seven depending on the week.

What would you say to convince someone who is considering commuting by bicycle to give it try? It can be done. It is not always easy but it can be done.

What could the city do to make biking better? Bike lanes! And not ones that cut out for no apparent reason. It is safer to have a bike line and make the trip that much more enjoyable.

What reaction do you get from co-workers? A few people I work with don’t have cars and it is seen as normal to get to work by other means.

What’s the best thing about commuting by bicycle? Not driving. I feel better about not driving and I stay in shape.

Can you give a brief description of your route? I don’t ride on the safest roads. I take University to Phillips to get to school, Phillips to get to work and Atlantic to go back home. If I have school and work it’s about 19 miles.

Where are your favorite roads or paths to bike in Jacksonville? Least favorite? I like the Baldwin trail and going up the Acosta, one of the only hills in Jacksonville. I don’t like Atlantic Blvd. Drivers seem to be the worst on Atlantic.

What do you like about biking in Jacksonville? And dislike? Jacksonville is flat. If this town had bike lanes you could actually use to commute it wouldn’t be that bad of a town to bike in. Jacksonville is also huge but the more you bike the smaller the distances seem.

Have you ever combined transit and biking or used a bus bike rack? Yes, sometimes it’s a nice break to use but I find it easier just to bike than use the bus system here. I have also been kicked of the bus for having my folding bike.

Do you commute in cycling or street clothing? And if cycling clothing, how do you handle the change to street/work clothing? I commute in both. I change in a bathroom when wearing cycling clothes

Any bike gadget/gear cyclists should not go out without? All you need is a bike and a bag. I have a few gadgets like bike trailer when I need to carry more stuff but it is not necessary.

Are you a member of any cycling organizations/clubs? If so, which ones? No

Scary bike stories? I have been hit by two purple Dodge Caravans.