News from BelleRinger PR

TICK TOCK . . . I know there are worse things than insomnia. But it sure is hard to think of any while tossing and turning, chasing that elusive state - sleep. I found this photo while sleepily looking for a picture of another suffering soul. Thank you, Sleep-Aid-Tips - it's perfect. Experts recommend things to do when searching for sleep - drink warm milk, read a book, etc. But I have my own list of activities to pursue when insomnia visits - all things that make me want to crawl back into bed to escape them. These are some of things I recommend: Wrap gifts (this can be seasonal), organize a kitchen cupboard, write a blog post, start the laundry, or - my favorite - tweeze and shave all unwanted body hair. These are enough to make me hide under my pillow and really work on sleeping.

THE BLACK KEYS HITS THE BIG TIME! Exciting news from the music world! One of my favorite bands, The Black Keys , a duo whose popularity has been cult status at best, has just burst onto the commercial music scene. This morning, during one of my spacing out, simultaneously reading, listening to iTunes on my computer and watching television, I heard the background music on a commercial, looked up, and realized that I was listening to The Black Keys while Adrianna Lima and Giselle Bunchen walked down a runway with wings! I was listening to one of my favorite bands in a Victoria's Secret ad! This has got to be one of the coolest ways to shoot to stardom, especially for these two guys, from Akron, Ohio nonetheless! Two landscaping, basement living, musically inclined white guys who have delta-blue in their souls are now selling out of vinyl and their songs are being chosen for million dollar ad campaigns and major motion pictures! (their song, "When the Lights Go Out," is be...

FALLING GRACEFULLY, WOMBAT STYLE I just finished reading about John Edwards' decision to continue his presidential campaign despite the recurrence of Elizabeth Edwards' cancer. For those of you who can't keep track of all of the Democratic candidates out there, John Edwards is the young cutie who is earnestly vowing to wipe out poverty in the US. My first reaction was to shriek 'You loser!' at the charming photo of him. Admittedly, it was the knee-jerk reaction of a married woman. The old, "I would kill my husband if . . ." But then I took a breath and thought about it. It's doubtful the majority of voters will listen to anything John says that doesn't pertain to his wife's illness and his reaction to it. If he stays in the race he's a dog, if he drops out he's a quitter, if he spends too much time thinking about it he's ambivalent . . . And what about Elizabeth? Shoulder on and shake hands with voters? Stay home and cherish every m...

A WHOLE LOT OF WHINING GOING ON There's been a lot of talk about the recent time change - none of it very positive. It irritated me for some very specific reasons. First, I lost an hour of reading time. I resent anything that cuts into my precious reading time. Right now I'm devouring some of J.D. Robb's brain candy; I missed an hour that should have been spent with Lieutenant Eve Dallas. My Sunday afternoon nap was another casualty. It's a tradition for me to have a snooze late Sunday afternoons and people who know me don't interfere with it. Another casualty was the hour I could have spent at the gym working off the Ben and Jerry's I ate Saturday. (I just learned that they'll deliver ice cream directly to your home. Check out this page for more information.) For those of you who persevered and read this entry - thank you. It feels good to get this off my chest.

FOR THE DIY DIVA Haven't we all seen the tiny little hammer/screwdriver with the pretty floral handles? Or the miniature tool kits in plastic pink cases? Here's a elegant twist - a full tool set in a floral brocade carpetbag . The handy kit contains a coordinating hammer, tape measure, box cutter, pliers, scissors and screwdriver. This chic bag may ensure that any man in your life doesn't find practical tools to 'borrow'. Tell me - would this qualify as an acceptable Valentines' Day gift?

A NEW TAKE ON THE TRADITIONAL BOOK BAG Bookworms like myself - rejoice! Caitlin (one of the coolest Indie designers around) at Rebound Designs has crafted a nifty purse for those of us who must take a book with us wherever we go. Similar in concept to cigar box purses, these are made with hardback books. Caitlin's purses range from Freud tomes to the nostalgic Alice in Wonderland pictured here. She's also more than happy to make a custom purse - send her your favorite book and she'll whip up a novel (bad pun) one for you!

WHAT'S A CHANCHITO? This, my lovelies, is a Chanchito , a cute little three-legged pig. These clay treasures are from Pomaire, Chile, where natives give them as tokens of love and goodwill. Do any of you remember the pig decor craze of the early '90s? Followed by Cow Parade? We're currently loving birds but could Chanchitos take us back to pigs? Let me know what you think. (Another great find by Orange Lola.)

A MODERN TAKE ON AN OLD ART I stumbled across some gorgeous cards recently. Petite Prints allows you to customize their products by sending in a sideshot picture of a person, animal, etc. Owner/artist Susie makes a silhouette of the photo which can be printed on cards, stationery, notecards, gift tags, paperweights - even t-shirts and needlepoint kits. Silhouettes have always been popular - look at those cool iPod commercials - and Susie makes it affordable to put them on items you'll use and share with others. These would also make great gifts - take a friend's photo and put it on gift tags for her to use. But the needlepoint kits are my personal favorites - Susie has scads of color combinations that she handpaints on the canvas when she receives a photo and order. I just ordered an espresso-colored silhouette on a mustard background (there goes my craft budget for the month!).

PEOPLE-WATCHING I can spend hours sifting through photos of old family friends and relatives, looking at the scrawled messages on the back and wondering how I'm connected to these people. I don't know who these dancers but neither does the person who posted the photo. It's part of the Look At Me project, which started with a few photos found by Frederic Bonn and Zoe Deleu in a Paris street in 1998. The site allows us to peek at strangers through photos taken from the 1900s to the 1970s. The collection contains approximately 616 photos of nameless individuals and groups; photos found in the streets, at flea markets, or in attics. I can't decide if I prefer the photos from the early 1900s or the laughing groups from later in the century. Take a look when you have a little bit of time; it's a relatively private way of people-watching.

YES, THEY'RE EDIBLE! Some of the prettiest - and most realistic looking - cake decorations and goodies that I've seen are at Wendy Kromer Specialty Confections . These cherry blossoms are absolutely lovely on wedding cakes and look great on all kinds of desserts. Many of the beautiful cakes on her site have been featured in Martha Stewart Living and are available to order over the Internet. The company also sells cake 'kits' that contain all of the decorations needed to bake your own dessert - imagine your favorite aunt's reaction to your homebaked cake! Wendy's cookies make great gifts and favors - snowflakes, hearts, monograms and more - you'll find find them on her site. And the best part - everything's edible (with the exception of those skinny little bird legs). My suggestion for a great gift for a business associate or secret santa is the lovely box of handcrafted and painted marzipan fruit . And you can't go wrong for the price - $12 for a box...

ANOTHER WAY TO WEAR YOUR BABY I've seen a rash of fashionable and functionable baby slings and carriers lately. But my favorite is the EllaRoo Mei Hip carrier. Instead of wearing your baby you plant her on your hip - the strap that crosses your body actually cups your opposite shoulder. This distributes the weight evenly for you and eliminates pressure points for both of you. Clever! Take a look at doulashop.com.

Yesterday a good friend dragged me to an exhibit of glass pumpkins. Yes, glass pumpkins. Now, I'm a big fan of hand-blown glass. Its delicacy and colors are hard to resist. And it seems like such a sophisticated hobby. But I simply couldn't wrap my mind around an exhibit solely devoted to glass pumpkins . We arrived at the exhibit shortly after it opened at Noon. I was blown away when we entered the outdoor exhibit, where I was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of pieces of art. The hay bales and grass where the pumpkins were displayed was obviously meant to give the appearance of a pumpkin patch. What a clever idea! My skepticism about art devoted to glass gourds disappeared at my first glance of the display. Cobalt blue, delicate pink, irridescent white, Art Deco-ish designs - there was truly a pumpkin for every taste. And with prices ranging from $25 - $2,500 there was also art for every pocketbook.