Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is either incredibly clever or a budding illusionist. Little else can explain his presentation of the Union Budget on Monday, February 28. In his 110-minute speech, the Congress Party's principal troubleshooter had his audience convinced he was ahead of target in reining in the government's fiscal deficit, or the gap between the Centre's expenses and income.
The applause at the end of the performance is a testimony to the finesse of Mukherjee's art: stock markets, measured by the Sensex, the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, jumped more than 500 points in intra-day trading before the reality tucked away in fine print dawned on investors.
The Sensex posted a stronger climb, 3.5 per cent, the highest in a single day in 21 months, on Tuesday, with bullish investors convinced they were on the cusp of, well, a bull run. A run they probably thought would be fuelled by dollar inflows with investors abroad being allowed to invest in Indian mutual funds.
Mukherjee kept the service, excise and custom tax rates unchanged at 10 per cent, which will probably be the level at which the Central Goods & Services Tax will be set when it is rolled out in April 2012. The exemption for income tax was marginally raised by Rs 20,000 - benefitting only men - while a minor uptick in minimum alternate tax on book profits to 18.5 per cent was counterbalanced by a lower surcharge on corporate tax on Indian companies.
These - and dozens of other small measures - all added up to what analysts and newspaper dailies called a "please-all" budget. Chief executives, heads of brokerages and bankers were near-ecstatic that the Finance Minister had seemingly achieved the impossible: balancing the government's budget delicately in a year of five assembly elections, high social spending and an economy that threatens to chug along at a slower speed. All this, without raising tax rates.
The Confederation of Indian Industry, or CII, the most powerful of the business lobbies, expressed happiness over most of the budget proposals, saying, "CII is particularly happy that the Finance Minister has retained the same rate for excise duty and service tax." Harsh Mariwala, Chairman of personal care products maker Marico, echoed the sense of relief. "Certain fears regarding increase of excise duty and service tax have been put to rest," he said after watching the budget speech at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry office in Delhi. He will be the next president of the industry body.
The biggest cheer for Mukherjee has come because the budget documents show he has reduced the fiscal deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product, or GDP, from 6.4 per cent in 2009-10 to 5.1 per cent in the current fiscal year, which is lower than the target of 5.5 per cent he had set himself in the last budget. But dig a little deeper and you see the fiscal deficit in 2010-11 is estimated to be nearly Rs 20,000 crore more than the target.
How come? Because the Central Statistical Organisation, or CSO, early in February, revised upwards growth in the GDP - the denominator in the fiscal deficit - GDP ratio. This means that the fiscal deficit target of Rs 381,408 crore as a percentage of the new GDP figure would be 4.8 per cent and not 5.5 per cent. In effect, with the fiscal deficit at 5.1 per cent of GDP, the Finance Minister actually missed his target by 30 basis points and did not beat it by 40 basis points.
In other words, the budget presents an impression of a better-than-targeted number. "The credit for the fall in fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP is not due to the finance minister but the CSO," says M. Govinda Rao, Director, National Institute of Public Finance & Policy and member of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Economic Advisory Council. Bharatiya Janata Party's Yashwant Sinha called Mukherjee's budget "pedestrian" and "timid". In the pre-budget issue (Buy Me, Buy Me Not , dated March 6), Sinha, who has presented six Union Budgets, had said finance ministers and prime ministers need courage while framing a budget. "If they can't face up to these challenges, then they should not be there," he said.
"Oil prices are beyond our control. If they go up, we will raise supplementary demands for grants"
Numbers can be made to look good or bad depending on how they are juxtaposed.This is the oldest trick in every finance minister's book. Even so, there are certain leaps of faith in Mukherjee's third budget in recent years that seem odd, if not deliberately misleading.
The fiscal deficit target for 2011-12 of 4.6 per cent is based on the projection that the government's spending in the coming financial year will rise less than 4 per cent over that in 2010-11. The fine print of the budget reveals that the lower spending projection is not due to some fierce belt-tightening planned by the government, but is based on the assumption that global petroleum product and fertiliser prices will not vary much over the next year from the level at the time of drafting the budget. So, at a time when crude oil prices are hardening on the back of a political crisis sweeping West Asia, Mukherjee has actually set the fuel subsidy bill 40 per cent lower.
Even assuming the crude price stays between $90 and $95 a barrel, Citigroup India's analysts expect a fuel subsidy burden of Rs 50,000 crore against the budgeted Rs 23,600 crore. If the price stays below $90, says D.K. Joshi, Chief Economist at ratings agency Crisil, the government could keep its subsidy bill down. "It appears that they are hoping that the political tensions in West Asia will ease," he says, adding a possibility could be that diesel prices are linked to market. "But that appears unlikely at the moment."
At the finance ministry, the outlook is unusually blase, a mood rarely seen in its North Block offices in New Delhi under previous ministers who have held the key portfolio. "Oil prices are beyond the finance ministry's control so if they do go up, we will raise supplementary demand for grants from Parliament," says Finance Secretary Sushma Nath, explaining the budget math to BT.
The other big hole in Mukherjee's calculations could come from the government's food security Bill. Though he reiterated the United Progressive Alliance, or UPA, government's commitment to a food security law, Mukherjee has not budgeted for it, keeping food subsidies at the same level as in 2010-11 at a time when food price inflation is stubbornly high. According to Citigroup India's analysts' projections, the additional burden once the law comes into force could range from Rs 23,230 crore to Rs 35,360 crore.
Minutes after Mukherjee's speech ended in Parliament, Prime Minister Singh hinted the numbers projected in the budget calculations were not watertight. "…We cannot be too certain that …the arithmetic will work the way we want it to work," Singh said in an interview telecast on Doordarshan. "We must have ample scope to contribute to fiscal consolidation."
In his speech, the Finance Minister sought blessings from God Indra and Goddess Lakshmi, but later in the year it is the Parliament's best wishes that the UPA government is likely to seek, for the budget has not even accounted for any rise in outlays for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme despite the likelihood of wages going up following the recent decision to index them to inflation.
In the budget for 2010-11 too, Mukherjee had projected the slowest growth in spending in five years - a target he failed to achieve in the absence of any trimming of public spending, which sent him back to Parliament with demands for supplementary grants more than twice the average sought by previous finance ministers, on more than one occasion. This was despite a neverbefore bounty - Rs 70,000 crore more than budgeted - raised by the government through auctions of third generation telephony and broadband wireless access licences and spectrum rights. It is very unlikely that the exchequer will have recourse to such a one-time source of revenue next year.
Mukherjee, who BT wrote about in October as being a "distracted finance minister" (click through http://bit.ly/staticonthefmchannel ), is relying on two factors to save himself from the embarrassment of missed targets. These, Finance Secretary Nath explained, are buoyancy in tax collections - assuming the economy continues barrelling along - and the capacity constraints at the state level in utilising disbursements from the Centre. "The fiscal deficit target and spending figures might not go too awry as we can always reallocate unspent funds from a department to a deficit one as we did in 2010-11," she says.
But the bet on the domestic levies could be hazardous with early signs of the economy decelerating (India Slowing , February 20), as analysts noted. "With this budget the government has projected a tidy house by underprovisioning for expenditures and leaving itself very little room for manoeuvre should revenue buoyancy not pan out as expected, or the rise in commodity prices breaches threshold expectations," Japanese securities house Nomura noted in a report after the budget.
On the push for growth - GDP is projected to grow at 9 per cent for the budget calculations against the estimate of 8.6 per cent in 2010-11 - Mukherjee didn't sweat. He fell back on the age-old Congress placebo of committees, announcing a total of 11 of them, from one to recommend how to auction mining rights and other natural resources along lines of the 3G auction to another on financial sector reforms. Though the budget speech's announcement on subsidy reform to be attempted through direct transfer of cash to farmers and consumers for fertilisers and fuel is a positive step, gains on the ground could be slow in coming. Another feel-good but hardto-realise goal is raising the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP in 10 years to 25 per cent from 16 per cent today.
Intermittently, in the speech, a major announcement seemed round the corner, for Mukherjee was candid about the controversies troubling the UPA government. He talked of black money, corruption, governance deficit and food price inflation. But, the fixes he proposed seemed too limited. For instance, he announced at least 11 different allocations under various heads of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and other similar schemes to fight food price inflation but each one was kept at a mere Rs 300 crore as if it were meant for a tiny Pacific Rim island nation rather than the second-most populous nation on earth. As the father of India's Green Revolution, M. S. Swaminathan says of structural agriculture reforms: "Most of the programmes from last year's budget are yet to be implemented properly or have an impact."
Not all of that implementation is the finance ministry's responsibility. The ministry's primary agenda is to raise revenues, especially from taxes, which the budget projects will grow 18 per cent to Rs 664,457 crore, and make allocations. Delivery of services and monitoring of outcomes is in any case the job of the state governments, Central ministries and the Planning Commission.
Then, if the GST and Direct Tax Code kick in from April 1, 2012 - a twice revised deadline - the ministry will be left with little leeway. In fact, Nath admits that in two years, finance ministers will have to do away with the 'Part B' on tax proposals in budget speeches. By abdicating blockbuster reforms, typically flagged in Part A (See 10 Budgets That Changed India, page 54), he poses a Darwinian threat to future budgets.
Yet, the 75-year-old was exuding confidence. "The Number 3 happens to be my lucky number," he joked mid-way into his budget speech. In the last two budgets, Mukherjee rode on luck rather than smart budget making to deliver results. Will he get third time lucky?


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text:
package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.ipc;

import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue;
import java.util.concurrent.LinkedBlockingDeque;
import java.util.concurrent.LinkedBlockingQueue;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
import java.util.concurrent.atomic.LongAdder;

import org.apache.yetus.audience.InterfaceAudience;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.util.EnvironmentEdgeManager;

/**
 * Adaptive LIFO blocking queue utilizing CoDel algorithm to prevent queue overloading.
 *
 * Implementing {@link BlockingQueue} interface to be compatible with {@link RpcExecutor}.
 *
 * Currently uses milliseconds internally, need to look into whether we should use
 * nanoseconds for timeInterval and minDelay.
 *
 * @see Fail at Scale paper
 *
 * @see
 *   CoDel version for generic job queues in Wangle library
 */
@InterfaceAudience.Private
public class AdaptiveLifoCoDelCallQueue implements BlockingQueue<CallRunner> {

  // backing queue
  private LinkedBlockingDeque<CallRunner> queue;

  // so we can calculate actual threshold to switch to LIFO under load
  private int maxCapacity;

  // metrics (shared across all queues)
  private LongAdder numGeneralCallsDropped;
  private LongAdder numLifoModeSwitches;

  // Both are in milliseconds
  private volatile int codelTargetDelay;
  private volatile int codelInterval;

  // if queue if full more than that percent, we switch to LIFO mode.
  // Values are in the range of 0.7, 0.8 etc (0-1.0).
  private volatile double lifoThreshold;

  // minimal delay observed during the interval
  private volatile long minDelay;

  // the moment when current interval ends
  private volatile long intervalTime = EnvironmentEdgeManager.currentTime();

  // switch to ensure only one threads does interval cutoffs
  private AtomicBoolean resetDelay = new AtomicBoolean(true);

  // if we're in this mode, "long" calls are getting dropped
  private AtomicBoolean isOverloaded = new AtomicBoolean(false);

  public AdaptiveLifoCoDelCallQueue(int capacity, int targetDelay, int interval,
      double lifoThreshold, LongAdder numGeneralCallsDropped, LongAdder numLifoModeSwitches) {
    this.maxCapacity = capacity;
    this.queue = new LinkedBlockingDeque<>(capacity);
    this.codelTargetDelay = targetDelay;
    this.codelInterval = interval;
    this.lifoThreshold = lifoThreshold;
    this.numGeneralCallsDropped = numGeneralCallsDropped;
    this.numLifoModeSwitches = numLifoModeSwitches;
  }

  /**
   * Update tunables.
   *
   * @param newCodelTargetDelay new CoDel target delay
   * @param newCodelInterval new CoDel interval
   * @param newLifoThreshold new Adaptive Lifo threshold
   */
  public void updateTunables(int newCodelTargetDelay, int newCodelInterval,
                             double newLifoThreshold) {
    this.codelTargetDelay = newCodelTargetDelay;
    this.codelInterval = newCodelInterval;
    this.lifoThreshold = newLifoThreshold;
  }

  /**
   * Behaves as {@link LinkedBlockingQueue#take()}, except it will silently
   * skip all calls which it thinks should be dropped.
   *
   * @return the head of this queue
   * @throws InterruptedException if interrupted while waiting
   */
  @Override
  public CallRunner take() throws InterruptedException {
    CallRunner cr;
    while(true) {
      if (((double) queue.size() / this.maxCapacity) > lifoThreshold) {
        numLifoModeSwitches.increment();
        cr = queue.takeLast();
      } else {
        cr = queue.takeFirst();
      }
      if (needToDrop(cr)) {
        numGeneralCallsDropped.increment();
        cr.drop();
      } else {
        return cr;
      }
    }
  }

  @Override
  public CallRunner poll() {
    CallRunner cr;
    boolean switched = false;
    while(true) {
      if (((double) queue.size() / this.maxCapacity) > lifoThreshold) {
        // Only count once per switch.
        if (!switched) {
          switched = true;
          numLifoModeSwitches.increment();
        }
        cr = queue.pollLast();
      } else {
        switched = false;
        cr = queue.pollFirst();
      }
      if (cr == null) {
        return cr;
      }
      if (needToDrop(cr)) {
        numGeneralCallsDropped.increment();
        cr.drop();
      } else {
        return cr;
      }
    }
  }

  /**
   * @param callRunner to validate
   * @return true if this call needs to be skipped based on call timestamp
   *   and internal queue state (deemed overloaded).
   */
  private boolean needToDrop(CallRunner callRunner) {
    long now = EnvironmentEdgeManager.currentTime();
    long callDelay = now - callRunner.getRpcCall().getReceiveTime();

    long localMinDelay = this.minDelay;

    // Try and determine if we should reset
    // the delay time and determine overload
    if (now > intervalTime &&
        !resetDelay.get() &&
        !resetDelay.getAndSet(true)) {
      intervalTime = now + codelInterval;

      isOverloaded.set(localMinDelay > codelTargetDelay);
    }

    // If it looks like we should reset the delay
    // time do it only once on one thread
    if (resetDelay.get() && resetDelay.getAndSet(false)) {
      minDelay = callDelay;
      // we just reset the delay dunno about how this will work
      return false;
    } else if (callDelay < localMinDelay) {
      minDelay = callDelay;
    }

    return isOverloaded.get() && callDelay > 2 * codelTargetDelay;
  }

  // Generic BlockingQueue methods we support
  @Override
  public boolean offer(CallRunner callRunner) {
    return queue.offer(callRunner);
  }

  @Override
  public int size() {
    return queue.size();
  }

  @Override
  public String toString() {
    return queue.toString();
  }

  // This class does NOT provide generic purpose BlockingQueue implementation,
  // so to prevent misuse all other methods throw UnsupportedOperationException.

  @Override
  public CallRunner poll(long timeout, TimeUnit unit) throws InterruptedException {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public CallRunner peek() {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean remove(Object o) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean contains(Object o) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public Object[] toArray() {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public <T> T[] toArray(T[] a) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public void clear() {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public int drainTo(Collection<? super CallRunner> c) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public int drainTo(Collection<? super CallRunner> c, int maxElements) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public Iterator<CallRunner> iterator() {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean add(CallRunner callRunner) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public CallRunner remove() {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public CallRunner element() {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean addAll(Collection<? extends CallRunner> c) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean isEmpty() {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean containsAll(Collection<?> c) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean removeAll(Collection<?> c) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean retainAll(Collection<?> c) {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public int remainingCapacity() {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public void put(CallRunner callRunner) throws InterruptedException {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }

  @Override
  public boolean offer(CallRunner callRunner, long timeout, TimeUnit unit)
      throws InterruptedException {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException("This class doesn't support anything,"
      + " but take() and offer() methods");
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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text:
Переріслянська сільська рада — орган місцевого самоврядування у Надвірнянському районі Івано-Франківської області з адміністративним центром у с. Перерісль.

Загальні відомості
Водоймища на території, підпорядкованій даній раді: річка Стримба.

Населені пункти
Сільській раді підпорядковані населені пункти:
 с. Перерісль — населення 2 430 ос.; площа 17,810 км²

Склад ради
Рада складається з 16 депутатів та голови.

Керівний склад ради

Примітка: таблиця складена за даними джерела

Примітки

Джерела
 Картка ради на сайті Верховної Ради України

Адміністративний устрій Надвірнянського району
Сільські ради Надвірнянського району

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Mentioned in the lead paragraph of that NYTimes article is the spreadsheet which Rochelle put together prior to our trip to France in 2002. Since publication we've actually had people inquire about getting access to it, so I thought I'd put it online. If you're impatient, you can find a download link toward the end of this story. But some background will help you make the most of it.
Rochelle created the spreadsheet in an attempt to duplicate the really amazing experience she had using Vindigo on her Palm handheld when visiting New York City in May 2002. She did a lot of pre-trip research, and entered addresses and venues of interest into Vindigo. Then, while in NYC, she was able to tell Vindigo where she was, and get a list of places within walking distance, along with step-by-step directions for getting there. It made her touring the city (while I was locked in business meetings) efficient and fun, while still allowing for serendipity to influence where she went.
However, there is no Vindigo for Paris, or for any city in France. So we set out to try to duplicate the most essential features, by tying every location of interest to the nearest Metro stop and its arrondissement. We thought that this would let us figure out where we were, and then find interesting places nearby. In the end, it was only partially successful for us.
We had the most fun when we used it at the beginning and middle of the day, during breakfast and lunch, to plan where we would spend the rest of the morning or afternoon. When we tried to use it to follow whim after whim, which Vindigo had done successfully, we ended up pretty frustrated.
The other thing that didn't work out the way we envisioned was the Palm version of the spreadsheet. We managed to download the data into Rochelle's Palm, and use a micro database called JFile to be able to search and sort it, etc. But without a lot of additional development, having just the table of data was simply too hard to use on a Palm screen, it's just not wide enough. With a search engine, hand-crafted results and detail pages, cross references, etc., the electronic version could have been pretty good…but even if I had put 20 hours into it, it would still have been nowhere near as good as Vindigo.
In the end, the printout of the spreadsheet was a tremendously valuable tool for us, and we'd never have seen as many cool places without it. And even if Vindigo had covered Paris, we'd still have wanted to pore through all the guidebooks and websites that Rochelle found. We would never have depended on Vindigo's content. But having Vindigo to organize our own content by precise location, instead of rough chunks, would have been pretty darn cool.
Anyway, the spreadsheet was put together prior to our trip to France in October 2002; some things are now surely out of date. We've made no attempt to clean up Rochelle's unique annotations and categorizations (Rochelle is an information organization specialist), which will likely be meaningless to you. And you don't get our copies of the guidebooks, where were marked up and bookmarked with color-coded flags, and cross-referenced in the spreadsheet; we used those constantly, too. But if you still think it might be useful to you, here's the spreadsheet.
Last note: this only covers half our trip, the time we spent in Paris. We also spent a lot of time in the Champagne region. We didn't make a spreadsheet for that part of the trip, which (except for our first hotel and one meal) was entirely unscripted. Instead some photos and some weblog entries may give you some useful information about that.


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I have two desks in my office — one's "analog" and one's "digital." The analog desk has nothing but markers, pens, pencils, paper, and newspaper. Nothing electronic is allowed on the desk — this is how I keep myself off Twitter, etc. This is where most of my work is born. The digital desk has my laptop, my monitor, my scanner, my Wacom tablet, and a MIDI keyboard controller for if I want to record any music. (Like a lot of writers, I'm a wannabe musician.) This is where I edit, publish, etc.
It's been a really big happy mess….People keep saying, "Oh, nice problem to have," and yes, it is a nice problem to have, but problems still require time, effort, and sometimes money to solve.
What's fun for me is taking this avant-garde technique and trying to make something fairly traditional out of it. Something you can send your grandma. Or your mom, maybe. Maybe not your grandma.
It's less of a vision, and more of a smell. The smell of marker fumes.
My mom always bought me tons of art supplies, and we had scheduled time for making stuff every day when I was really little. She also let me bang on pots and pans with her wooden spoons. I spent most of my afternoons in high school hiding in the art room, but I never considered being an artist a serious thing to do as a career — I thought I'd go off to college and become a professor. A professor of what, I didn't know, but I figured I'd teach and write books. Sometime in middle school I think I stumbled across the term "Renaissance man." That's what I wanted to be — somebody who does a lot of different things.
I love everything Kurt Vonnegut and Lynda Barry and Saul Steinberg ever put out. I love Joe Brainard's I Remember, which is a memoir made up of a bunch of sentences that begin with "I Remember…" I love Carl Jung's memoir, Memories, Dreams, Reflections. I love Frank O'Hara's Lunch Poems. I love William Maxwell's So Long, See You Tomorrow. I love David Hockney's book, Secret Knowledge. So many books! Since 2005, I've kept lists of the best things I read every year.


text:
Nacaduba ollyetti is een vlinder uit de familie van de Lycaenidae. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1947 door Corbet.

ollyetti


text:
Peresso Elena
Elena Peresso is a member of Cabinet of Karel De Gucht, EU Trade Commissioner, and is in charge of the relations with the European Parliament, the development and social angles to EU trade and commercial relations with African, Latin American, Caribbean and Pacific partners. She previously worked as a member of the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. Between 2005-2009, Elena Peresso was an official in the Council Secretariat in different functions relating to the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. Prior to that, she served as a World Bank official in Brussels, the West Bank and Gaza and spent her early years in Brussels working for a European electricity industry organisation. She has a Masters degree in political studies from the College of Europe in Bruges and is from Malta.
Dangerous liaisons or avenues to greater influence in the global arena? EU trade policies towards the east and the west of the world
Jul 8, 14

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Supernatural: Two Con Newbies, Two Continents, One Epic Weekend! Part II
Written by Bettina Bier
Category: Con Reports
Ruth Connell
Con Report
Supernatural Convention
Rob Benedict
Richard Speight Jr
Louden Swain
Rachel Miner
Adam Fergus
David Haydn-Jones
Editor's Note: Supernatural conventions are very special weekend events when fans can meet and mingle with each other and the cast of Supernatural. Chrisha and Kim attended their first Supernatural convention in June. They are very excited to share their experience with all of you. Start at Part 1 of the report, then continue here. -Bettina Bier
J2M Day...
Creation Entertainment's SPNDallas convention June 21-23, 2019 in Plano, Texas
~Chrisha~
Because neither Carin nor I were gold pass holders (and therefore not attending the gold J2 panel), Day 3 started a bit later for us. As women with young children who were on vacation, we attempted to sleep in, but it didn't work because the universe mocks us (THANKS, CHUCK). In addition, I woke up with a migraine, which was simply UNACCEPTABLE for J2M day, and so between the pain and the nerves, I was a bit of a mess. Carin was able to eat an actual meal for breakfast, but I wasn't so lucky. At least the leisurely morning allowed me to medicate, caffeinate, and get to the con with enough time to fully peruse the vendors and become a mostly functioning human being before panels began.
In the vendor room, I noticed Jared's sister, Megan, had a table and was selling her books. I wanted to buy something for my kids to show them I was thinking about them, so what better than two beautiful children's books, written and illustrated by Megan Padalecki? When I got up to buy the books from her, I realized that Mom and Dad Padalecki were also there, which was all kinds of adorable, as they were clearly so supportive of her (Dad gave her a quick shoulder rub at one point while she was signing for me!), and were also happy to chat with those of us visiting the table. Megan asked about my kids, their ages, and what they love to do and read, and we had a lovely chat about all kinds of random and fun things while she wrote beautiful inscriptions in each of their books and signed them. Funnily enough, as I was chatting about finishing school, and mentioned my research and how it reflected how many lives Jared had positively impacted (because whose parents don't want to hear about their kid doing that?), Mama Padalecki made a comment to me about my work that was exactly and uniquely what I needed to hear during this tough transitional time post-PhD. Those Padaleckis seriously are an amazing group of people. <3 Oh, and side note? My 2 year old is completelyobsessed with Big Mo now, and we read it multiple times a day... so if you haven't checked out Megan's books, you should!
Next up was panel time, with me making a concerted effort to not think about the fact that I would both be seeing my very first J2 panel and actually meeting Misha (and Castiel!!) this very day. The first panel of the day was Rob [Benedict], which was super fun, since we'd already spent so much time with him over the weekend. Getting to see him really talk (rather than sing) was like hanging out with an old friend by this point!
Credit: Kim Prior
After Rob came Alex [Calvert], who completely adorable. He shared terrifying vacation stories, his thoughts about Dean's parenting (don't lock your children in boxes!), and of course the obligatory stories of all the hijinks from set. Tons of fun, and lots of laughing! And then…
J2 time! As a newbie, I have to say that seeing J2 on stage in this format was a bit of cognitive distortion, as I'd been watching them like this in videos for so many years. Being able to take in the entire scene (rather than just whatever angle the incredibly generous person taking video gave us) was honestly pretty trippy. It was like suddenly being inside your favorite TV show. The boys got right to business, though, and it is so incredibly obvious that they have been doing these cons together (and acting together) forever, because their ability to play off each other was a marvel. They did take some questions, but so much of their time on stage was just joking and being silly, and it was so much fun to watch! As with the other actors, they seemed completely at ease, both with us and with each other, and it was just thrilling to be a part of it.
Credit:Kim Prior
I'm sure the entire panel is on YouTube somewhere, but there were some major highlights for me, for several reasons:
The boys shared that they've met with the writers and know how the show ends. Hearing this information directly from them in this kind of environment was… emotional. That emotion turned to laughter with a dash of panic as Jared kept trying to tell us all something about it, and the crowd (scared he might spoil it!) drowned him out so he couldn't talk!
Jensen talking about his parents (also there at the con!) giving him the gift of laughter, and how he wants to pass that on to his kids... I definitely lost a few minutes here, reflecting on my own parenting;
Jared telling us about when he met and fanboyed over Eddie Vedder, and made a heel of himself trying (and failing) to be cool. Really and truly, this is the kind of relatable content that can definitely help put a newbie con-goer at ease! He gets us!;
Jensen's timing. He knew when to help Jared "pull up" when he got a bit too tangential, and he knew exactly when to make a joke to ease the tension or lighten the mood. In my line of work, reading people, their moods, and the room as a whole is a critical skill. Boy, does Jensen have it;
The woman with the last question was nervous, and brought her phone up to read her question. Jared stole her phone, and read down past her question to yet another about their "sexiest moves." When he started reading her phone I had some serious secondary panic (can you IMAGINE your fav reading your phone? *faints*)! But the question really was perfect, and was a hilarious ending to a fantastically entertaining panel!
Honorable mention: Jensen's. Fluffy. Hair. *guh*
After the J2 panel was over, and the buzz of that high had worn off, it was time for another break and some food, which I was now actually able to eat thanks to the adrenaline and painkillers. Unfortunately, in my migraine haze, I didn't read the schedule correctly and we got back late for Rich's [Speight, Jr.] panel. By this point, the con was running so behind that the entire schedule was pushed back 20 minutes, which meant we only missed a bit of Rich's panel, but it was still a bummer. He had so many fun and positive stories about fellow actors on several projects, plus singing the praises of Supernatural fandom artists and authors. It was an amazing panel to end things with, and even knowing I had more con to look forward to, hearing the band play "It's the End of the Con as we Know It" was an emotional moment. I wanted to stay here with these people on stage forever. I hated that it was almost over.
As the stage portion of the show ended, the room became a hotbed of excited energy as everyone prepared for J2 to enter the panel room for autographs (plus all the other photo ops/autographs happening that evening). My schedule had my Castiel photo op first, and then Misha autograph directly afterward, but these were some of the very last things on the con schedule, and since they were running WAY behind, there was a lot of waiting (not the best thing when you're anxious!). A lot of people brought card games, or were just chatting or playing on their phones. I wasn't wildly nervous at this point, but I also have no real memory of how I passed the time (other than getting glimpses of J2, Alex, Matt, and others as they came into the room to sign). By the time my photo op for Castiel was called, I was a bit frazzled (they were running over an hour behind), a bit jittery, but mostly just excited.
The website said that for the Castiel photo ops, Misha would be wearing his Castiel costume, and would also stay in character the entire time (*swoon*). Being that I've met plenty of actors and still get nervous, I had no idea how I would react to meeting a fictional character that has meant so much to me. Would I cry? Be unable to talk? Be painfully awkward? Did I mention cry? Turns out, I would just be really stupidly happy. <3
The photo ops for a Supernatural con are very different than other cons I've been to. There was music playing, and the atmosphere was fun, not stressful (as I have so very often experienced). Everything moved fast, but it felt more like being part of a dance than being on a conveyor belt. I got a little bit of time to watch Misha/Cas do ops with some other folks (which involved standing with his back to the camera and pretending to flash them -- LOL), which actually helped my nerves instead of heightening them, like usual. I didn't have a big pose in mind (I knew I'd never get it out), but I did want to ask for a specific hug, which was big for me, as I've never done anything but a basic hug pose before in any photo op. Because things were moving so quickly, there was no talking with Cas, which I'll admit was a disappointment, just because I'd so much love to have the experience of truly interacting with a fictional character (and specifically that fictional character). But, I said hello, I asked him to hug me from behind (I wanted a guardian angel type pose), he did (SQUEE!), and then when I turned to say thank you, he winked at me, and that was it. Now, I am well aware that he winks at everyone, but you know what? I don't care. Because that one was all mine. <3 I left the room with a very, very big smile on my face!
Chrisha & Misha Collins
After my op was done, the real chaos began. Photo ops are not immediately spat out of printers the way I'm used to, because they are looked at by actual humans first to make sure they're okay. While that is absolutely amazing, it also means that, between the people waiting to take their ops and the people waiting to pick up their ops, the hallway was a congested mess. Because I wasn't sure how long the printing was supposed to take, I ended up waiting in the hallway while Carin went back to the panel room to call for me when my Misha autograph was called. They were already fitting me in Sunday instead of Saturday, so the very last thing I wanted to be was late. Ultimately, my op wasn't ready before my autograph, and I had to book it down the hall to get in line because they went from only gold/silver for Misha to EVERYONE really quickly. I made it, but only had about sixty seconds in line to compose myself before I was at the table with Misha.
I think it's important to note at this point that, while I may be a mental health professional, I still struggle with my own wicked anxiety with a hefty side of unhealthy perfectionism. Talking to my favs in the high-stress, move-quickly con environment is hell on my nerves. Talking about my work in public is also a harrowing experience. Talking to my fav about my work, in that environment? Oof. I was very much convinced I would get up there and either A. chicken out entirely, or B. forget to say a critical word, leaving him with no idea what the hell I was talking about. The weirdest thing happened when I got to the table, though: I wasn't nervous. Now, it's not like I recorded the conversation, so I suppose it's possible that I didn't explain myself the way I think I did, but.. I actually think it went okay. I told him that I was a mental health therapist and recently completed my PhD, and that my research was on fandom and mental health, and that Supernatural basically took over my results. I told him that I got to scientifically document how "all this" (gesturing to the con), along with his work with Random Acts and Jared's work with Always Keep Fighting positively impacted people in the fandom. It took a few seconds for the penny to drop (seriously, that environment is pure chaos), but once it did, his eyes got wide, and he said "WOW." I showed him the copy of it that I had with me (with the relevant SPN bits flagged) so that he could see it, but told him he certainly didn't need to take it (the thing is not small). But he immediately took the copy from my hands, read the front, and then started paging through it. And then asked me if I could part with it. Um, YEP! Anything for you, sir!
And that was it! I said thank you, he said thank you, he set my dissertation next to him on the table, and I left. Technically he signed my copper badge insert somewhere in there, but as I was mostly there for the conversation, that was just a bonus. As of that moment, the con was officially over for me. I went back to photo ops, picked up my picture, chatted with and hugged a few more fandom friends who were also waiting in the hallway gaggle of people, and then we were off to the hotel. There wasn't much sleeping for me that night, but the roadtrip home felt a whole lot like floating.
Thank goodness for David and Adam...
Starfury's Cross Roads convention June 21-23, 2019 in Birmingham, England, UK.
~Kimm~
Going into the third and final day, I felt more at ease. I knew how things were going to run at photo sessions; I understood my steward role much better. I could navigate my way through the anxiety and stress with my con buddy and deal with some of the weird feelings of insecurity, outsider syndrome and isolation I was having over the last two days. My con buddy kept saying that isolation is common in a convention and so is anxiety, as everyone's feelings are high and the air is filled with them all (good, bad, indifferent). It was reassuring that I was not alone in this and convention stress/emotional exhaustion was normal.
Photo sessions and stewarding for these were pretty much the same as the day before. This time I had Kim Rhodes, Ruth Connell, Erica Cera and Mark Sheppard on my side.
The room was packed with Kim and Ruth photos and it finally hit us just how popular these two were. Ruth was lovely and came out to talk to the fans in line and I got to chat with her a little, which was not as weird as I had expected. Again, the fans were great in the lines, having fun, joking, and generally enjoying themselves. I really enjoyed being a steward in these sessions as the best part was seeing all the fans and chatting briefly with them, seeing their cosplay and their excitement on seeing their favourite cast members.
Credit: Claire
The day was followed again by two panels, lunch, two panels then autographs. The first two panels were Leah Cairns, Teryl Rothery, and Magda Apanowicz/ Mark Sheppard and Erica then David Haydn-Jones and Adam Fergus/ Kim, Ruth, and Elizabeth Blackmore. Erica Cera was amazing in her pair up with Mark Sheppard and our favourite takeaway was: 'I am answering for Mark so please direct all your questions to me'. She was hilarious, charming and a real gem. Mark was again being supportive of fans with anxiety and advocating for kindness and understanding in the world, and I could not keep myself from tearing up….AGAIN.
Adam Fergus & David Haydn-Jones
Thank goodness for David and Adam who will make you laugh until you pee, forgetting all the crazy messed up emotions you've been having for days. The ladies, as usual, were great, and I really appreciated having so many women cast members here at the convention. Looking back, it is really difficult to express just how charismatic, down to earth and amazing all these women were and just how much it meant to us to see so many women as guests. It was truly something spectacular and we need this again at other conventions!
Waiting for autographs, we spoke to a couple of newbies at the convention who also conveyed their feelings of isolation, even though they had come with each other to the convention. I talked to them in the bar and they were extremely smart, clued-up young ladies who were really inspired by film and TV, not just Supernatural. We waited for nearly 2 hours for autographs today...it took ages to get to our numbers. For today I had Kim, Mark, Leah, Teryl, and Ruth. I had not thought to get an autograph of Leah from the start (as it cost extra) but by the time it came round, I really wanted one. My con buddy gifted me one. This small act of generosity got me really emotional. My con buddy and I have known each other for nearly 20 years, but in a different context (academic, Phd related) and this blew me away (and was gifted right before my Mark autograph, too). I had to pull myself together as my first autograph was Mark. I had contained myself with my other autograph sessions but somehow the last two days (and this gift from my pal) hit me like a brick and all the emotions hit me at once when I met Mark. I wanted to say thank you for his words about anxiety and how they struck a chord in me and I started to emotional cry…..HARD! He was so kind and understanding. I had not expected Mark to be so warm -- he is all about the snark (which we love!!) and was just floored by his interaction. I had to walk away, embarrassed, and go to another line where I knew I could compose myself. I was kicking myself for being so emotional and acting so weird - I felt that Mark must have thought I was a weirdo because I certainly felt like one. I moved on to Teryl, who had been a real highlight of my weekend and she complimented my hair (again) and I told her she made my day for a second time. Such a lovely lady and have a renewed fangirl love for her and Stargate- SG1.
Ruthie was next....gosh. Ruth. What can we say ...simply awestruck. I asked her to sign in red (for Rowena) and she did, and thanked her for interacting with our fan account as she is our fav Scottish lass. She was just as delightful and down to earth as we expected. I saw Leah next and I'm still floored by her sheer liveliness and openness about everything. She really was pumped the whole weekend and I left with another one of those renewed fangirl loves for her and Battlestar Galactica.
Credit: Kim Rhodes
I saved Kim for last. I was so determined not to get flubbed up and did not want to fall apart on her. I didn't flub it up and did not get emotional! Yay me! She was as kick ass in person as I had expected. I got to chat to her about being a newbie; the person next to her (handler?) asked how it was and if I was having a good time. I mentioned the gatekeeping - as this tainted our experience - and Kim was just awesome. She talked about fear and other fans' fear and this response to fandom was not about me. She made me feel so much better. I felt a wave of goodness and love radiating from her. I just loved seeing her and interacting with someone I see as inspirational (in the Autism community). Gosh. My heart was full.
On a side note: my con buddy was after me for Mark autographs. She was amazing and told him what happened with my experience with gatekeeping earlier, and that I was in charge of the fan account SPN_Alba. He actually told her to tell me that he sees my tweets, and thanked me and said that gatekeeping is a load of bollocks. It meant a lot for my con buddy to actually do this, seeing how emotional I was and how this affected my whole weekend. For Mark to respond in such a way...wow! So thank you, Mark.
For tonight's dinner we decided on the hotel bar as it was so close to the time of the closing ceremony. As I was getting items for dinner, it was nice to see the cast in having dinner and no one bothering them at their tables. Our fandom is something else! I mistakenly got up to get items for dinner and ran into Adam and David - not meaning to! They actually started talking to me and I was floored. This doesn't happen at other conventions that I have been to. I blundered my way through this but was honest and said I was having a great time, but had a meltdown in front of Mark, experienced gatekeeping and was just embarrassed by the whole meltdown. Adam just hugged me and I just blurted out - people are arseholes.
I felt like an idiot but the cast did not make me feel that way! What struck me about this whole interaction was that the cast was comfortable talking to fans, and myself as a fan, felt okay to chat to them. The whole cast/fan divide that I had experienced in other fandoms does not seem to be the same for Supernatural. The fans, from what I saw, respect the cast and these boundaries and vice versa. There is a shared comradery between everyone – cast can joke around with fans, enjoy this shared love of Supernatural - and be themselves. It was refreshing.
The closing ceremony was very short and thanks were given to every member of the staff and the stewards. Each guest came on stage to say goodbye to the audience but I have to say the most emotional moment was Kim Rhodes. She got a standing ovation and I literally could not stop the tears from flowing. She was really touched by it and all she said was: 'I see you. I love you. I thank you'. At this point, there was probably not a dry eye in the house. So many of us really connected with Kim and it was such a fitting and touching response to her kindness and badassery. After this emotional ending, my con buddy and I decided to go for one more drink and then head back to the hotel to relax, pack and get some sleep! Monday was our travel day back home. I was coming back north with my con buddy and once on the train, I thought I would have a lot of time to write and think about the convention but I was so exhausted. I didn't manage to do anything but nap, snack and check social media for the last remaining hours until home.
Keep a variety of basic over the counter medication with you for any illness or pain that may arise. Cons are hard on the body;
The pineapple on pizza debate is real and expect long discussions with the BMoL on this subject;
Triple check your schedule, and use whatever works for you (phone calendar, highlights, etc) to keep yourself on track;
Be prepared to fangirl and love another show all over again because of the actors;
Expect long delays, and a late Sunday night if you are meeting J2M;
Never, under any circumstance, allow your unlocked phone near Jared Padalecki.
Post Con Reflections
~Chrisha & Kimm~
Kim Rhodes said in a recent podcast 'Community comes from a sense of safety and sense of something shared'. We firmly believe this, and that the SPNFamily is a community. However, there was a speech about inclusiveness and how conventions are a place where everyone is welcome both at the beginning of SPNDallas and at the end of Cross Roads that both of us reflected on. It got us thinking about the wider fandom spaces we have both encountered and how this 'community' at conventions was not what we had expected.
Typically, Chrisha and Kimm have both felt that the actors and creators from shows they love would be the "intimidating" ones to interact with, while the other fans were the safe and happy place to connect. On two continents, at two simultaneous cons, the SPNFamily turned this notion on its ear. The actors were so incredibly easy to talk to and connect with, from Kimm's bar chat and hug with Adam and David, to her conversation with Kim, to Chrisha's nerve-less chat with Misha to soooo many of her social media interactions with the actors through the weekend (#GandyRises!), seeing these people in person that spend so much time in our living rooms on our television screens truly was like seeing old friends (though in a high-pressure, fast-moving environment).
Shocking to both of us, however, was that connecting with other fans was a lot trickier. We both got the feeling that, while people were friendly and incredibly kind at both conventions, most already had their established "crews" and so newbies were a bit on their own. There is the #SPNFamily that exists within online spaces that does not always equate to physical/"irl" spaces. Finding people online to connect with over fandom has been fairly easy for us to do. Finding people to connect with at a convention was decidedly less so. Whether that is because people at cons are truly disinterested in connecting with new folks, or because they have their own social anxieties or busy schedules or exhaustion is impossible to say. Regardless of why things were how they were, however, we felt isolated and a bit like outsiders within our own fandom, which was very much unexpected and -- if we're honest -- caused some sadness.
We think there may be an assumption that newbies can easily introduce ourselves, and make new friends… but this is just not always true. Many people attending conventions suffer from severe anxiety and just getting to the con can be a monumental task. Talking to folks can be really hard! For example, Kimm has chronic depression and severe anxiety and is recovering from a nervous breakdown 18 months ago, and for her, coming to Cross Roads was a HUGE deal. Interactions with other fans were much easier within the stewarding environment for her but after that, there was no continued interaction and most went their separate ways. Chrisha has her own flavor of social anxiety, but even being generally at ease in a fandom environment she had a challenging time finding and maintaining connections. Over the course of the weekend, Kimm and Chrisha each assumed the other would be having an easy time making friends, and each time we checked in we were shocked to hear the other was having the same difficulties. Knowing it was happening for both of us in the same fandom at the same time at different cons made us each feel a bit better, but also made it harder to see either of our experiences as just a fluke.
Ultimately, we didn't necessarily expect a huge welcome party (!) in such a huge group of people, but we do recognise the difference between what we had expected vs. reality. And if the Supernatural fandom truly is the inclusive, caring fandom we absolutely know that it is, maybe we should all put our heads together to find ways to make the con experience easier and more welcoming for its (probably overwhelmed) newbies. Because we all know that just because the show may not go on forever doesn't mean the fandom won't. I think we can all agree that the SPNFamily is here to stay. <3
Oh, and despite the ups and downs of the weekend, would Kimm and Chrisha go to another Supernatural con if given the chance?
Mark us both down for a resounding
Kimm has already booked her place for Jus in Bello 11 in May 2020, Rome, and Chrisha is headed to SPNNash in April, 2020, Nashville!
We hope we see some of you there!
Top Tips for convention organisers
Please - for the love of all that is holy- conventions need to be more accessible and understanding of neurodiverse folks. Especially loud venues and parties/lights, etc.
Have quiet spaces set aside for these folks who may not be at the convention hotel;
Have newbie meetups when everyone can attend - e.g. the Friday night before dinner and make them public and well-advertised!
Use all forms of social media - Facebook and Twitter, as well as the apps - to communicate with attendees;
Make schedules and scheduling apps easier to read and more user-friendly;
Find a more efficient system for picking up photo ops to ease congested areas and ensure accessibility for everyone.
Top tips for convention newbies
Wear comfortable shoes, you're going to be on your feet a lot!
Pack good snacks- nuts, protein bars, fruit;
Bring a refillable water bottle and coffee cup. (We have foldable ones so they don't take up much space in your bag);
Bring a con buddy if you are a newbie or plan in advance to meet with people you might know online;
Take some multivitamins each day, or pack some effervescent ones to put in your water to keep energy levels and immune levels up! You'll need them and neither one of us got con crud!
Hand sanitizer, deodorant wipes for those moments where you know you might need them;
Find a good convention schedule that is user friendly (app or social media). For StarFury this was invaluable;
Scope out the surrounding areas for quiet places, or a place to take a walk;
Be okay with finding spaces away from the crowd, being alone to gather thoughts;
Don't feel like you have to go to everything (parties) if these are not for you.
Inspiring people! How badass the SPN Family is…
The day after the convention, one of the young ladies that Kimm met started a twitter account called @YouAreYourOwnRoleModel.
This was inspired by her interaction with Kim Rhodes - which she witnessed - and is quoted here on YAYWRM Twitter account.
As a mom, Kimm felt immensely proud of this young lady (and her friend who also asked a question).
Seeing them both and talking with them has made her think more about the younger generation of fans of Supernatural
and this sense of responsibility to lift these ladies up, support them, find more space and time
for advocacy (even more than she does now) and spread kindness everywhere.
Please share your comments, questions and reactions below!
You can read other fans' experiences at Supernatural conventions all around the world at WFB Convention Reports! Compare reactions from other newbies and veterans, and get more tips about going to all the different activities offered at conventions!


Coffee Tables Marseille and Marseille Centre are low tables Nordic style.
They can be combined with the Marseille high table and Marseille Dining Table for a more Nordic style lounge.
Describe to us what you want! It is fully customizable.


My jazz just got way jazzier!!!!
That's right folks - I've finally got wheels! I can drive to gigs, and drive people to gigs. I've got a Full UK Automatic Licence along with an International Driving Permit and I've got my Canadian passport and valid 2 year UK Residence Leave to Remain Permit. All work is permitted, all systems GO!


Lifestyle expert, journalist and blogger Candie Anderson has the scoop on 20 of the best white slipcovered sofas in a variety of styles, sizes and trends. They are perfect for any home.
When shopping for new furniture and home decor, it typically doesn't take me long to make a decision. I know what I want and never give it a second thought. Shopping for a new sofa has been a different story! While I don't have children, I do have two dogs that love hopping on the sofa I currently own.
My Weimaraner, Fred is something else. A few days ago I was at the computer in the living room, when all of a sudden I heard him opening a bag very quietly on the sofa in the family room. It was my fault, I thought I had put the bag of ranch dressing away when I put the pizza back in the refrigerator, but he found it. He took the bag off the counter and started eating containers of ranch on the sofa! Fred knows when we're busy or in another room and will definitely take advantage of that.
After that incident I finally came to the conclusion that I need to buy a slipcovered sofa! I've done quite a bit of research on them as of late and the thing I love the most about white slipcovered sofas is that the slipcovers can be machine washed or you can have your upholstery cleaner clean them easily and effortlessly.
Slipcovered sofas are not only gorgeous, but they're very practical for pet owners, homes with small children or those of us who love drinking coffee and eating while relaxing on the sofa. 😉 White slipcovered sofas will complement any decor style! They will l look great with your farmhouse inspired decor, and rustic leather furniture. They are also a must for shabby chic lovers, contemporary fans and more!
Have you had a chance to shop for white slipcovered sofas online? There are so many styles to choose from, it's unbelievable. Today I'm excited to share 20 of the best white slipcovered sofas for your humble abode!
Are you searching for a gorgeous budget-friendly white slipcover sofa? If so, you're in luck. Today, I'm excited to share a few of the best white slipcover sofas that are not only stunning, but affordable too. Here are a few that under $1,000.
This beautiful down blend white slipcover Blakesley sofa comes with four loose back pillows, two loose arm pillows and seat cushions. It's beloved by many and has amazing five star reviews! According to the website, it was handcrafted in the USA. This slipcover sofa is currently on sale for $939. I'm not sure when the sale will end, but when it does it will be over $1,000. Make sure you take advantage of this amazing deal. I love this classic beach white color, it's perfect for any living room or family room, whether your style is coastal inspired or rustic. PS: It's available in over 125 different colors.
Today, I'm excited to share a few stunning white slipcover sofas in every price range! Here are a few beautiful sofas that are under $1500 and perfect for your humble abode.
If you have kids, pets, or just enjoy eating food on the sofa, you need this Coral Gables slipcovered sofa! According to the website, it's made of sunset performance fabrics. I attached an image from the website which describes just how fantastic this fabric is. It's "designed for heavy duty wear, is stain resistant, moisture repellent and has barrier protection to keep your fabric clean." It's currently 40% off at just $1359.99.
This stunning bleach white Madison slipcovered sofa is perfect for any home! It's budget friendly at $1055, and has stellar five star reviews. It comes in a wide variety of colors to complement any living room or family room. According to the website, the cushions "are reversible, removable and filled with a down blend." Like many of the other sofas I featured, it's handcrafted in the USA and the toss pillows are included.
Sleeper sofas are a must for people who entertain friends, family and out of town guests! My grandma and grandpa had one growing up, and it was perfect when the cousins would all get together and have a sleepover. With Easter right around the corner and the holiday season months away, now is a great time to invest in a classic white slipcover sleeper sofa as you can save a bundle on them. Here are a few favorites that you are sure to love!
The first white sleeper slipcovered sofa on my list is this beautiful Birch Lane Heritage Owen Sleeper Sofa. It's very cost effective at $1740.49. It's perfect for the family, or just for relaxing watching your favorite movie on the couch. This sleeper sofa will complement your farmhouse decor, coastal style, contemporary, traditional and more! I just love how they paired it with light pink, blue and lavender pillows, light blue walls and white French doors! This space is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.
Nothing says Nantucket quite like hydrangeas, coastal decor and this gorgeous Nantucket sleeper sofa! It's so popular, there is only one left. If this gorgeous piece of furniture is on your list, make sure you grab it ASAP before it sells out. The reviews are stellar and it's sure to withstand many years of use!
Nothing says shabby chic quite like Rachel Ashwell. According to Inc.com, the single mom opened her first store in 1989. Can you believe that was 30 years ago? Ms. Ashwell quickly became a household name and is beloved by many! Like many of you, I'm a fan of her designs, collaborations with brands and her wonderful books. Have you had a chance to check out her gorgeous line of shabby chic sofas? I just stumbled on them, and I'm in love. Here are a few favorites that you are sure to adore!
This PB Basic Slipcovered Sofa is a dream! I love everything about it, from the rolled arms to the variety of fabrics and colors we can choose from. The cushions are available in polyester or down blend. The sofa is 82.5″ and the loveseat is 60.5″. It'd be perfect in your living room, family room, or she shed. I can see pairing it with a tufted leather recliner or a classic leather armchair – the options are endless. PS: This weekend you can save up to 25% with coupon code "THANKYOU".
If you're looking for a classic sofa with a modern flair, look no further than this fabulous PB Comfort Square Arm Slipcovered Sofa! It's available in three sizes: sofa (77″), grand sofa (87″), and loveseat (61″). It's fully customizable! You can choose whether you would like a box edge or a scatter back back cushion. When it comes to cushions, you have the choice of memory foam or a down blend! There are quite a few different colors and fabrics to choose from to complement your furniture and home decor.
If you love the look of the square arm slipcovered sofa I featured above, but searching for one that is identical but with rolled arms, you're in luck! This stunning PB Comfort Roll Arm Slipcovered Sofa is also available in various colors, and in sizes love seat (64″), sofa (80″), and grand sofa (90″).
Pottery Barn's Townsend Collection is one of my absolute favorites! I love everything about it. If you adore leather furniture as much as I do, you will simply love the Townsend leather sofas! I recently fell head over heels in love with the Townsend Roll Arm Slipcovered Sofa and its eco-friendly design. The colors are absolutely stunning, and they have so many different fabrics to choose from like velvet, performance everydayvelvet, Sunbrella performance and more!
There's nothing more classic or chic than this Pearce Roll Arm Slipcovered Sofa! It is available in three different sizes and many fabrics.
I'm obsessing over this Willow white slipcovered sofa! It has amazing reviews, is under $2,000 and will look fabulous in the she shed aka garden cottage of my dreams.
It is my dream to travel to Charleston, South Carolina! Some of my favorite bloggers live in the Charleston area. The homes are gorgeous, the decor is fabulous and the lush gardens are stunning. While I don't think I'll be heading to Charleston anytime soon, one thing is for sure, I can't get enough of this beautiful Charleston Slipcovered Sofa! It is available in a loveseat, sofa and grand sofa. This eco friendly gorgeous piece of furniture is Greenguard certified and is perfect for any home.
This large four seat Spruce Street slipcovered sofa is perfect for entertaining friends or for movie watching with the family! Its contemporary design is classic, sophisticated, elegant and beyond gorgeous.
We tend to see slipcovered sofas on Pinterest, Instagram and other social media platforms in rustic or farmhouse inspired homes. I personally can't get enough of this "modern European" inspired York Slope Arm Deep Seat Slipcovered Sofa. It is perfection and will look perfect in your apartment or house.
I love how they paired this modern York square arm deep seat slipcovered sofa with a rustic coffee table, upholstered armchairs, a faux tree and multicolored pillows. This is the perfect space for singles and families!
This comfortable Sullivan deep seat slipcovered sofa has ample space for relaxing after work and on the weekend. I wish that they featured it on the website in white, but I must admit, I absolutely love it in this beige shade.
If you can't make it to the central coastal town of Big Sur, California, I highly recommend this stunning Big Sur Square Arm Slipcovered Sofa, which is just as beautiful and dreamy as Big Sur! I adore the square arms and that this contemporary sofa is Greenguard gold certified. It is available in six different sizes and in multiple colors and fabrics.
Don't you just love the arms on the Crate & Barrel Keely Slipcovered Sofa? I do, too! It's absolutely beautiful and the best part is the slipcover is machine washable.
I hope you love the 20 best white slipcovered sofas that I featured as much as I do! Please be sure to check the Boutique widget below. All you have to do is click on an image and it will take you directly to the retailer's website. I featured a few more slipcovered sofas that you are sure to adore as well.
Shop Frayed Shorts, Black And Gold Jewelry, Gold Lariat Necklaces, Present Ideas and more. Get this widget.


Amazon: Save on Select Computer and Tablet Accessories – Today Only!
You can pick up this SanDisk Cruzer USB 2.0 Flash Drive for just $11.99 (regularly $33.99) with FREE Super Saver Shipping! You can also grab this Razer Kraken USB Gaming Headset for only $119.97 with FREE shipping!
Go on over and pick up the items you need.
This Amazon deal of the day is valid December 26 only and while supplies last.


The individually controllable outputs of a Controller.
A module that defines an specific hardware device or set of devices. The controler setup contains channel configuration, communications protocol, and how it's connected to the show computer.
Intensity that changes over time. This is usually used to refer to a brightness value for an effect. The curve control shows brightness on the vertical Y axis and time on the horizontal X axis. Time is a percentage of the duration of the effect. It is not possible to define a curve in terms of absolute time, it is always relative to the effect duration.
An action on an element or group. Effects range from simple set level to more advanced like twinkle and chase. Effects can overlap in the sequencer. Some elements may only work with certain element types, and some effects may require a group of elements to be effective.
The controllable display elements. These are the strings of lights or the individual pixels that make up your display. Examples of an element are: A candy cane controlled as one unit, or a minitree(RGB) or a string of lights. Elements can be grouped together for convienent manipulation (see Group) The horizontal tracks in the Sequencer where you assign effects to a display element. In the Preview, it is the element you see that responds to effects in the timeline.
An object inserted into the path between an element, and a controller channel that modifies, splits, or combines the information in some way.
A gradient is a color that changes over time. It consists of one or more colors that are positioned horizontally along a timeline. Similar to a curve, the horizontal axis represents time, relative to the length of a given effect.
A logical grouping of elements. This helps to organize elements into groups that are likely to be worked with together. Within the sequencer, effects can be applied to either elements, or groups. A level effect applied to a group, will affect all elements in that group. Groups may contain other groups. There is no limit to how deep groups can be nested.
A line in the sequencer that helps visualize certain notable timing points. Marks might be used to show the beat of the music, or to show other transition points in the song.
A portion of the application that performs a specific task. Vixen 3 is built with a modular architecture to allow easy adding of new functionality by 3rd parties.
Deprecated – we don't talk about those anymore because it can mean too many things and just gets confusing!
A logical connection between Elements, Filters, and Controller Channels. A patch controls how information from an Element is routed through various filters and ultimately reaches the actual device being controlled.
The screen used as a virtual lighinting display. The preview allows you to play your sequence on virtualized hardware so you can see how it will look.
A list of sequences. Used in the scheduler.
Elements may be assigned properties to define additional information about the specific element. Certain effects may make use of these properties to perform special actions. Properties might be used to specify coordinates for image mapping or other future uses.
The tool used for setting up what to play, and when to play it. This tool allows you to define programs (aka playlists) and a schedule defining when the programs will play.
A sequence that follows a timeline. These are most often used with music. Effects are assigned to groups and elements that happen at a certain point in time.
A sequence that is programatically configured. These could be used for static light displays, or simple repeating patterns. They can also be very advanced, with conditional triggers and more.
This is the tool that you use to create your timed sequence.
The section of the sequencer located above the element effect workspace. It shows the position in time where you are working.
Several configuration windows use a heirarchical view to show the oranizational relationship of groups and their members.
The graphical representation of an audio file in the sequencer. By visually looking at the waveform, you can see the loud and soft points of the song, as well as identify the beat.


Terrific Decorating & Crafting Tools --You get 2 Sets of YIHONG Battery Operated Pink Fairy Lights,each string light is with 16.4 feet moldable copper wire and 50pcs glowing micro Leds;along with 2 remotes to control the lights wirelessly.You can use them to decorate your wedding ceremony, Celebration Party; DIY unique dinner party centerpiece;apply for your crafting project;making twinkling bonsai/plants arrangement.
8 Modes of Lighting and Flashing Available -- Which are: Combination;In wave;Sequential; Slo glo;Chasing/Flash; Slow fade; Twinkle/Flash; Steady On; You can wrap them around your bike wheels with cool and take a twinkling tour around the city with your friends.
A Remote Makes All the Difference! --With a remote in hand, you can easily turn on/off the lights;set them in timer to auto on and off each day;adjust the brightness;switch from flash to twinkle to slow fade to steady on etc.; ALL IS IN YOUR CONTROL!
Waterproof & Portable --The wire parts of the string lights are fully sealed, thus making it submersible, but the battery case is only IP 44 waterproof, so it can meet normal use outside but not enough to put under water directly, feel free to put the wire with lights into your water fountain to create amazing water scene.


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Sorry, Mario – Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker & Toad Amiibo for $32
By Jamie Wallace 18th August 2016 Facebook Twitter Reddit
As a part of Nintendo's new range of games that include a specific Amiibo figure, you can pre-order a copy of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker bundled with a Toad Amiibo for $39.99. This total goes down to just $32 if you're an Amazon Prime member, though, which makes the whole thing a lot more appealing. The Amiibo is good, the game is even better.
It might seem a little bizarre to be pre-ordering a game that was actually released back in December 2014, and it is. But this is also the cheapest way to get the combination of the game and an Amiibo, let alone the fancy box they come in.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker with Toad Amiibo from Amazon US
More amiibo Deals
The best amiibo deals and prices for all amiibo figures
The world of amiibo! What began as a limited range of figures based on Nintendo characters has grown into a massive array of collectables representing a wide range of Nintendo franchises. Everything from Animal Crossing to Smash Bros and with some indie gems like Shovel Knight in between. Here are the best amiibo deals on all available figures right now.
Pick up some selected amiibo figures for £5 this week
A handful of amiibo figures are discounted to £5 today, including these.
ROB – https://t.co/nG3oUB3F1q
Duck Hunt Duo – https://t.co/eAfBK8JOY0
Shulk – https://t.co/Jonu2aZ7Nf pic.twitter.com/C9TVkugBig
— Jelly Deals (@jelly_deals) January 11, 2018
The Ocarina of Time Link amiibo is back in stock at Nintendo's UK store
The much-sought-after and increasingly elusive Link amiibo from Ocarina of Time is finally back in stock over at Nintendo's official UK store, priced at an incredibly reasonable £10.99. Given that this figure sells out quickly and routinely goes for upwards of £90 on eBay, you may want to grab this one while you can. Be sure to check our guide to the best amiibo deals while you're there, too.
The Ocarina of Time Link amiibo is back in stock, if you're quick
Play-Asia has today come into some stock of the hugely elusive Ocarina of Time amiibo and better yet, the site isn't gouging the price too bad. You can pick up that particular amiibo for £20.91 / $26.99, or go ahead and check out the site's range of other Link amiibo on offer. These amiibo have been largely sold out since their release and prices on eBay have climbed as high as £100 / $120 recently.
More Games Deals
Best role playing games and creative storytelling games – light up your imagination
Ever wanted to be a super-villain complete with fawning minions, create fairy tales collaboratively, or play your part in a doomed heist? Take a look at these wildly imaginative storytelling games, where dramatic improvisation and creativity run rampant will get you ahead.
Congratulations on snagging yourself a Nintendo Switch, now it's time to accessorise your brand new hybrid console. As a Switch owner, you're going to want to keep everything working smoothly, snugly and get some fun gadgets on top, whether you're playing connected up to a television, or enjoying Nintendo Switch games on the go.
Game of Thrones Gifts Guide for Fans
As the old adage goes, Winter is Coming, although in the real-world the onslaught of holiday events and the manifold pressures of gift buying are far more threatening that any raging dragon or dead-eyed monstrosity. So whether you're looking for Valentines gifts or just want to treat yourself to something special, stick with us for the best Game of Thrones gifts from across the land. Also, by Jove, not long to go now for that finale!
The shopping extravaganza known as Black Friday 2018 is upon us once again. Right here is the place to find all the best Xbox One Black Friday deals in the run-up to the big day itself, as well as up to date information on the day and afterwards. Are you ready to save some money?


It features a spatula, fork, knife edge, serrated edge and bottle opener.
It comes with multiple features to minimize your BBQ tools.
The bend in the handles keeps the silicone tips off your counter.
It produces 80% less smoke than standard indoor electric grills.
It easily folds into a compact size in a matter of seconds.


I am a native to Traverse City. I was born and raised here, graduated from Traverse City Senior High in 1989 and was the starting center on the 1988 state champion football team. Upon graduation from high school, I studied two years at Northwestern Michigan College and then eight years at the University of Michigan. Of those years at Michigan, I did two years of undergraduate studies, four years of dental school, a residency in general dentistry and achieved a Master's degree in Public Health. The final two years of education were at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale where I did my residency in Orthodontics.
I am very happy to be back home in northern Michigan where I can enjoy the outdoors with my family. The most common social activity is spending time with my wife and two children on the RV touring northern Michigan. Along with the RV I enjoy golfing, playing disc golf, fishing, reading and doing gardening in the summer. In the winter I like to go out on a lake fishing with my kids or playing in the snow. As for community activity, I am very active in Kiwanis, serving as the president for the 2008-2009 club year and am an active member of my church. I am also on the board of Michigan Community Dental Clinics as the orthodontic adviser. I also serve on the Finnish Council of America and am a member of the Seattle Study club. The Seattle Study Club is an organization that represents a commitment to excellence in patient care and maintaining the highest level of knowledge in the field of dentistry.
Although very active with work and the community, my family is most important. With this in mind, I try to treat everyone that comes in for treatment as I would my own child. I take great honor when parents and patients put their faith in my work but understand the responsibility of making sure patients get the highest quality of work available to them.
I'm Patty and I have had the opportunity to work for Dr. Arne Sarya and now Dr. Dan Sarya in the front office since 1992. I love to work with the people in this friendly atmosphere. I have been married for 40 years and have 4 children and 9 grandchildren. I love to spend time camping and boating. I love a good movie and music, too. My goal has been to put God first then family and friends. I can't wait to meet and visit with you.
Hi, I'm June and I am a dental Hygienist. I worked in general dentistry since 1996 before joining Sarya Orthodontics. I am passionate about the work I do and take great pride in seeing the beautiful smiles we've helped to create. I enjoy spending time with my family, dancing with my husband, Vern, or riding our Harley's. We at Sarya Orthodontics want to make each visit an enjoyable one with a little fun thrown in and Dr. Dan and his staff will be sure to make you laugh.
I've worked in the lab since 2000. I've had the privilege to work with old Doc Sarya and now his son Dr. Dan. I was born and raised in Traverse City. I'm a graduate of Traverse City St. Francis. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends in my free time. I'm an avid hunter and also enjoy the outdoors. I spend time on my parent's beach property on West Bay in the summer. I love to cook, especially barbecuing on an open grill. I also enjoy hiking the waterfalls in the U.P. and riding ATVs.
Hi, my name is Treena and I am an "on call"/part-time dental assistant here at Sarya Orthodontics. I have worked for Dr. Dan since 2003 and enjoy meeting new faces and working with my co-workers. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family & friends, canning and freezing fruits & veggies, and making homemade pies. My husband, Jeremy and I have two energetic boys named Hayden and Wyatt. We have a small family farm with one dog, 4 cats and chickens. As a family, we enjoy fishing, hunting, camping and traveling to Drummond Island to enjoy the great outdoors.
Hi, I am Shannon and I have had the pleasure of working for Dr. Sarya since 2018. I live in Traverse City with my husband Joe, our children Lucas and Alison and our dogs Oscar and Ben. In my spare time I enjoy hanging out with my family and friends, reading, boating, and backyard bonfires. I look forward to meeting you!!
Hi, my name is Kelly and I am a registered dental assistant. I began my career working for Dr. Arnold Sarya before taking time off to raise my family. I have been married for 17 years to my husband, Jim. I have three children, Jonathon, Jordan and Kaylynn. We enjoy camping with family and friends in the summer time. Last spring I was given the wonderful opportunity to come back to work for Dr. Daniel Sarya. I have been working part time and enjoy getting to know his practice and staff but most of all I enjoy the patients.
I'm a Registered Dental Assistant as of August 2014. I am married to David and we have four children: Nate, Keegan, Owen and Aubrianna. We love to camp and participate in 4H.
My name is Mikala and I'm a registered dental assistant. I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Sarya since 2016. I was born and raised in Northern Michigan. I love dogs, especially my fur baby, Ruger. He is a black lab and keeps me very active. I enjoy camping in the U.P. and hiking all of Michigan.
Hello my name is Katie. I started working as Dr. Sarya's assistant in 2018. I went to school at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern Michigan College. I love trying new things, being adventurous and spending time with my family and friends.
My Name is Erin and I started working for Sarya Orthodontics as a lab assistant in 2018. I have three kids, two dogs and a cat. I grew up here in Traverse City, graduated from Traverse City West in 2003 and went on to attend NMC where I received my associate's degree in Math and Science. I am currently working on finishing my Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. I have a love for all animals, hiking, fishing, wheeling, working on vehicles and doing art projects in my spare time.
Hi, I'm Jada and I am very excited and thankful for the opportunity to join the team at Dr. Sarya's office. I have a son named Colton and I love spending time with him and also with my family and friends. I grew up in Northern Michigan and I enjoy anything that involves warm weather.


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Delivering sacks of essentials to the homeless this Christmas
Members of the PA Housing team were up bright and early on Monday morning (16 December) delivering rucksacks crammed full of essential items to homelessness services across Leicester.
Employees at the Bede Island Road-based housing association have donated enough gloves, scarves, socks and toiletries to fill more than 160 rucksacks, with McDonald's Leicester providing food vouchers for every recipient.
The day began at 6.30am, with the team visiting the Breakfast Club at The Bridge Homelessness to Hope on Melton Street. By 8am, the volunteers had reached Number 5 project at Humberstone Gate, and at 1pm, their busy morning ended at the YASC day centre on Conduit Street.
The three volunteers who organised the project were Vanita Chavda, Floating Sheltered Tenancy Officer at PA Housing, Kelly Morley, Sheltered Tenancy Officer, and Leigh Robinson, Independent Living Tenancy Officer.
In the run up to Christmas, we wanted to do something to help the people we see on the streets in Leicester every single day,"
Vanita Chavda
"We have great relationships with homelessness services across our city, so we reached out to them with our idea of a 'reverse advent calendar', which would involve our colleagues bringing donations into the office during the countdown to Christmas. The rucksacks will hopefully help those who are homeless to live a little more comfortably throughout the festive season and beyond."
Simon Hatchman, Executive Director of Resources at PA Housing, added: "Well done to everyone who contributed to this project.


I've always been the one to organise the birthday parties in my house, but this year my middle child asked to plan her own and it was the best ever.
Being as massive Harry Potter fan she wanted to celebrate her nine-and-three-quarter birthday with a party for herself and three of her fellow wizard-loving friends.
Seeing that I read the books over a decade ago I knew that she would be better placed than me to take on the task and she completely outdid herself.
At first I found it hard to relinquish control and spent too much time reminding her of her party planner responsibilities, but once I stepped back and handed her the reigns she shone.
She handmade her invitations, thought up things for her party guests to do, printed off schedules, with detailed times for each activity, and planned all the food. She made all the decorations and spent hours crafting customised wands for each guest.
The party was based on a day at Hogwarts School and broken into lessons.
First, they did a house sorting ceremony and were given their wands, followed by a potions class (making slime), a transfiguration photo booth, defence against the dark arts piñata fight, a feast featuring the birthday cake and butterbeer (homemade spiders) and then off to Bounce for flying lessons.
The night before the party she cleaned her room, which was a miracle in itself. She set the table, packed the party bags and hung the decorations. She put soft drinks in the fridge and placed the food in bowls, ready for us to open before the guests arrived. Then, she wrote out a detailed list of jobs for us to complete prior to the party.
We had to hang a sheet of fake bricks across the front entrance so her guests could walk through the wall just like Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station in the books, scatter her Hedwig decorated owl balloons and put a Harry Potter movie on the television.
It was all set. She hadn't missed a single detail.
The party was a huge success. The kids had a wonderful time. Everything ran like clockwork and, most importantly, she beamed the entire time.
I couldn't have done a better job and I was so proud of her.
It was the perfect lesson in giving over control.
You see this kid of ours has her own challenges as she doesn't speak at school and I am a fierce protector of her. I worry that people think of her as somehow not as capable as other kids, but I know that's far from the truth.
She is strong, smart, funny, sensitive and extremely creative. And because of it she is well liked by her peers, something that we got to see at her party.
Her mates were amazed when they discovered she'd made everything herself. They looked at her full of wonder and the four of them spent the entire time buzzing.
She was full of confidence and bursting with pride.
It reminded me that my kids are growing up and it's time I gave them more chances to shine. The way she stepped-up and took control of the entire event was awesome to watch.
The Harry Potter party was a huge success; in fact it was pure magic.


Grandma will be proud and that is all that matters! – Go ask Alisa – DIY capsule wardrobe one stitch at a time!
Grandma will be proud and that is all that matters!
More of a personal essay for this Wednesday write-in. Childhood memories.
We all have different perception of pride and achievements. At this very point of my life, right at this moment, while my mandarin orange marmalade is boiling down, I know that my grandma will be proud of me. I remember quite well those days when I was three or four years old, roaming through the yard of my grandmas summer-house, picking those beautifully red strawberries and having a tummy feast. Every single day. That's me by the way on the photo.
Time came and I was too busy running around, studying and working. My grandmas talks now seemed nothing more than just a memory frozen in time. I was too busy achieving and perceiving that I completely forgot that there are much simpler things that can make someone happy. I forgot that there is a very special bond between me and those precious highlights of my life. I forgot how much my grandma matters to me… And I don't care about those shadows of judgement, I don't care that it is a lot more convenient to go to the store and by a jar of jam. My orange marmalade sits on the stove and for this particular moment I am fulfilled. My Grandma will be proud and that is all that matters!
Lovely story. Great to have good memories and to relish them despite the hustle & bustle of today.
We made marmalade for the first time this year. Different recipe, but will take a good look at yours for next time.
I like the phrase 'shadows of judgement'. I wonder who is judging, though. You, yourself? I love the picture, and I also love the beautiful setting of the summerhouse. You bring it alive. Your gran would be very proud.
I just realized I hadn't commented on your marmalade story yesterday – it was a lovely nostalgic piece. The photo is very cute, where was it taken?
Previous Previous post: Sewing the night away. Twisted keyhole neckline.


I'm a huge fan of the bomber jacket. I was excited when they started reappearing last winter, and even happier that they are a fashion must-have this fall. The bomber adds a sporty, yet cool, vibe to any outfit, and I personally love how they can toughen up my feminine pieces. Although there are many options for bomber jackets, I prefer them in a silk material. Sometimes the bomber cut can look boxy, but in a silk they drape against the body, giving a slim silhouette. I also love how silk adds a dressier touch, so whenever I throw on my silk bomber, I feel put together. I've had this Equipment bomber jacket for a while now (which shows it's a classic), and think I've worn it more in the past couple of weeks than I have in the past two years. It's been the perfect light weight jacket to throw on during the cool mornings, and will make a great layering piece when the temperatures drop. I initially wanted to pair my bomber with a pretty cami, but when I went to put this look together, I realized that I don't own one single camisole! Instead, I paired it with an embellished tank top, which I tucked into my favorite high rise jeans. I finished my outfit with high heeled sandals, and a black choker for a feminine, yet sporty, look that will take me from day to night.
Are you into the bomber jacket trend? I've linked some of my favorite silk bomber jacket options below. I wish everyone a great weekend. I'll be spending mine shopping for camisoles!
The feature blogger of the week is Alyssa from She's Alyssa Renee. How gorgeous is her blue lace dress? Make sure to stop by Alyssa's blog and say hello!
I'm not super into bomber jackets but I LOVE this one! The navy silk looks amazing! I love the DIY wrap necklace too!
Gorgeous! Love this bomber jacket - the silk makes it a bit more feminine than classic bombers! Lovely color combo too! Hope you have a great weekend lady!
Love how you and Sheree have your bomber jackets on today! I agree, silk is def. the fabric I would pick and I really love the color of yours!
Your bomber jacket is fabulous! I'm also loving your choker! Perfect styling!
Love your bomber jacket and the trend in general. Of course you styled it to perfection with the choker.
Love this silk bomber! What a beautiful piece. Love how you styled it.
Amazing look! I love that jacket!
Rocking this look. I have become quite the fan of heels and denim, love!
Your bomber jacket is perfect! Many I have seen are boxy, but yours drapes so nicely. The silky material definitely makes all the difference. Fabulous color, too!
Such a chic bomber, love it!
Love your jacket!And your choker is pretty!
Super cute outfit! I love the simplicity of it paired with the silk tank!
obsessed with the silk bomber and how you styled it!
Amazing bomber jacket !!! Love your entire outfit !
Love the your bomber is in the color blue! I need to invest in a color one.
Obsessing over the bomber trend! This one is so amazing! Love it with the choker!
Oh no, get some camisoles, Rachael. Years ago I had a satin silk olive bomber. Now I want an olive and a navy one. You look so sporty chic.