TOMS shoes: The Gift of Giving

During this holiday season, give a gift that will change the life of another. TOMS shoes is a meaningful gift to give for anyone on your list. With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need, which is their “One for One” movement.

I had met the founder of TOMS shoes, Blake Mycoskie, last year and have supported him and his wonderful cause ever since. In 2006, during a visit to Argentina he discovered that the children in the village had no shoes to protect their feet. He wanted to help and was inspired to create shoes with conscience and created TOMS shoes, short for “Shoes for Tomorrow”. The shoes were inspired by slip-ons called alpargatas he saw local farmers and polo players wearing in Argentina. Now these comfy shoes come in variety of colors, designs and fabrics, or you can even get them in white and customize them yourself as a fun project!

As of last September, TOMS has given over one million pairs of shoes to children in need. They have men’s, women’s, and children’s sizes as well as Vegan options for the shoes. This gift will not only change lives but spread joy and brighten holidays for others. Do good this holiday season!

Second Time Around

I always walked by this store but never went in. This past weekend, I was doing some retail therapy with my close friend and we decided to check it out.

Located at 1728 Chestnut St, Second Time Around promises to be a treasure trove of fashion goodies every time you walk through the door. Second Time Around is an upscale consignment company that carries new and almost new designer clothing and accessories. With 2,700 square feet of merchandise, they feature high end brand name designers, better brand names, and a room full of clothing and accessories priced at $20.00 or less. Not only that, but they also carry mens apparel and accessories, so your boyfriend can browse and shop for himself while you do the rounds.

They really do have great merchandise, and everything was very organized and easy to find. The store is divided up by sizes and categories, which makes it relatively simple for customers to browse.

Not only is it a great place to find a bargain, but it is also a fantastic way to make some money for clearing out your closet! They make it really easy to consign. Customers can either call a location to schedule an in-store appointment, schedule an in-store appointment online, or they can fill out an online consignment form and mail them the items. Some other important information on consigning with Second Time Around: the items are placed on the sales floor for 90 days, customers will receive 40% of the final selling price, and items are priced at 25%-30% of their original retail value.

I am going to recycle my unwanted clothes and accessories, and I hope to earn some money for them! Scheduling a consignment visit with Second Time Around shortly…!

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Nostalgia Vs. Guilt

Every year on Thanksgiving, being the nostalgic, tradition junkie that I am, I sit down with my family in the morning to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Stemming from traditions seen in Europe, the first parade was put on by Macy’s employees who were first-generation immigrants wanting to have festivals similar to the ones their families experienced growing up in Europe. The parade runs for a whopping three hours, stuffed with overly cheesy holiday music, gigantic floats, marching bands, dancers, celebrities, large cartoon helium balloons and Broadway Show performers. While I admit that I may be getting a little old for this tradition, there are certain things that will always be comforting and take me back to a time when things were a bit simpler and a lot less stressful. I am definitely a sucker for this time of the year and all of the bells and whistles that come along with it. With that said, as I get older, and as a design student, I start to get agitated by certain parade elements that never would have bothered me at a young age. For example, the lip-synching can get pretty terrible and leaves you wondering what would be so wrong with live performances. When you’re young, the performers lip movements being somewhat inconsistent with their singing doesn’t really register in your mind. It’s all magical and flawless and nothing can change that. Nowadays, as I become more and more educated and aware, there is a new emotion that creeps up when watching such an indulgent form of entertainment: GUILT. When you become aware of just how much energy has to be wasted to put on a production of this size, especially at a time when the environment needs as much as help as it can get, your mind starts to wander to these issues as the cast of Sesame Street waves intensely on the screen. Recently a new issue brings this guilt to a higher level; the world is running out of helium. Helium is the world’s second lightest element and is a non-renewable resource. While helium is notorious for making the fun cartoon balloons float high in the sky for the duration of the Macy’s parade, it had also been used to make our voices sound funny (don’t try this at home kiddies), and to help deep sea divers breathe under water. However, putting these entertaining uses aside, Helium is a very important gas that is used for airships, rockets, telescopes and most importantly MRI Scanners. As the Helium runs out, scientists predict that it may run out completely within the next 20 years, leaving the world without a very important resource and possibly leaving hospitals void of the ability to use MRI Scanners. In 2006, the parade production team learned of this issue and limited the amount of balloons they used, but couldn’t rid of them completely due to popular demand. As a society, we seem to care more about entertainment than the well being of the universe, which is probably what causes environmental deterioration in the first place. I can’t help but feel guilty as I giggle watching a gigantic Smurf balloon float down 34^th street. So what ultimately wins out? Do I boycott the parade in favor of the Helium or do I stick to my annual familial traditions and hope that the parade team will eventually make changes? …Until next year, Happy Holidays!

Nancy Dubuc Comes to Drexel...

When Project Runway went to Lifetime Television in 2009 I was incredibly pessimistic. Lifetime Television has always been a channel associated with the victimization of women portrayed in overly dramatic series and movies. Of course this is a stereotype of the channel’s content but it is a general understanding among audience members. When I watched the premier of the 6^th season my worries were confirmed, as the focus seemed to shift from the innovative designs to the dramatic personalities on the show. Since then I have stopped watching the show all together, I was never one for much television anyway.

Last March Nancy Dubuc took on Lifetime Television with plans to revamp its image. I attended a lecture hosted by Dubuc last week at Drexel University’s College of Media Arts and Design. Beyond being extremely accomplished and hardworking, Dubuc seemed very down-to-earth and personable. She discussed her work as the president of the History Channel where she has successfully managed to broaden the audience without sacrificing the interest of her original viewers. Shows like Ice Road Truckers and Pawn Stars have appealed to younger viewers and made them excited about history, which was her main goal all along. During the lecture Dubuc explained how her focus for the History Channel was to make it entertaining, because after all, television is about entertainment.

As for Lifetime Television, Dubuc wants to create a channel that empowers women. She hopes to create a channel where female protagonists act based on their own motivations rather than the dictations of men. Her solution is so obvious and yet not previously addressed. Of all channels, Lifetime which serves as the “women’s channel”, should of course promote female power and self-worth. Why would women want to watch them selves constantly behave as victims? To sum up her plans Dubuc showed the new promotion for Project Runway, which exudes sex appeal. Her ambitious plans mean exciting changes for women in television, and perhaps a revival of my addiction to Project Runway.

“I Love My Hair!”

We all know about the children’s television show Sesame Street and its unique way of teaching kids different lessons. From ABCs to 123s, Sesame Street is the program many children learn from on a daily basis. Recently one of the writers for the show decided to write a song that would teach young African American girls about self-acceptance. The song is titled: “I Love My Hair,” and its sung by a little brown muppet with an afro meant to represent a little African American girl.

Joey Mazzarino, head writer for Sesame Street, wrote the song for his 5-year-old daughter Segi. He and his wife adopted Segi from Ethopia when she was a baby. As she got older and started playing with Barbie dolls, Mazzarino noticed a change it in his daughter. She would frequently complain about her hair, saying that it was “too poofy” and that she wanted it to be long, straight, and blonde like her dolls. Mazzarino became worried, and initially thought it was just a problem that white parents of African American children have. However he soon realized that this was an issue for most children in the black community.

Mazzarino wanted to tell his daughter, as well as all young girls that their hair is beautiful just the way that it is and that they should love it. And so, “I Love My Hair” was born! It premiered on the October 4^th episode of Sesame Street and since then it has become a viral sensation. With over a quarter of a million views on Youtube, this little muppet girl has been the topic of many conversations. She starts off by singing, “Don’t need a trip to the beauty shop, cuz I love what I got on top. It’s pretty and its brown, and it’s right up there”. Throughout the song she talks about the many different ways she can style her hair and why she loves it so much. This message has caused an outpouring of responses from women all over. Many women in the black community have struggled to teach their daughters acceptance and even shared the same feelings as Segi did when they were young.

You can watch the video on line at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enpFde5rgmw.

Mazzarino says he’s happy to report that Segi loves the song -

And her hair.

As if watching the game wasn't stressful enough...

Watching the your favorite team play on Sunday has come a long way from beers and finger food. These days, Sunday looks more like a study hall with men, and women, on their computers checking their stats, switching players on/off the bench, and a bit of trash talking all around. The focus is no longer on your favorite team, it's on the individual players you've drafted. In a way these leagues force viewers to not only watch their team but every other team as well, opening viewers' eyes to the talent of other teams/players.

However, has the football spirit been broken? True football lovers stick to their team and their favorite players like glue. The problem comes when fans are cheering for both teams and even worse, certain players. For those of you yelling for Farve to throw the ball to Moss, then getting angry when someone else gets the catch, have you lost all faith in the TEAM? This is the problem with the fantasy world. The focus is on who's receiving, how many yards passed, and who scores the touchdown, not the fact that your team is getting points and winning the game.

Bring back the days when football revolved around the team, and their die-hard fans!

Salem Witches Still Exist

Walking through Salem, Mass. this time of year feels like you’ve been sucked into the movie Hocus Pocus, circa 1993. Cobblestone sidewalks filled with characters dressed as witches, pirates, and vampires is nothing out of the ordinary come October 1^st. For most people Halloween is merely a celebration on the last day of October, but in Salem the festivities are seemingly endless. Tourists and Halloween junkies from across the country take vacation throughout October to get a taste of the original witch city. Graveyard tours from the 1600’s, museum spectaculars, and haunted houses galore alongside food stands and psychic tables are small part of the festivities that occur daily in the downtown area. The best spooktacular souvenirs can be found in year-round shops that line the streets filled with magic artists and self-proclaimed witches. If you’re a television fanatic or history buff, the Bewitched monument resides in the main courtyard as well as various authentic witch trial monuments. Salem, Mass. continues to be the capital of all things haunted and one of the biggest Halloween attractions across the nation.

Here are some haunted happenings going on in the Philadelphia area throughout October.

Eastern State Penitentiary: Haunter Halloween Tours

For information: http://halloween.easternstate.org/halloween

Spirits of 76 Ghost Tours:

When: Throughout September, October and November


Where: Old City

Creamy Acres Farm Corn Maze


This six-acre NJ corn maze offers approximately three miles of trails. Open during the daytime on Saturdays in September and October, and Thursday through Saturday evenings in October.

Where: 448 Lincoln Mill Road
Mullica Hill, NJ 08062
856-223-1669