SHIRTSHORTS

I know this blog is supposed to be about stripes, but once and awhile, I use it as a pulpit to talk about other stuff on my mind – SXSW, Locks of Love, PR, even Lice.  Today its about food.  And while I am biased because it is my hood, holy cow North Central has some good eats!

Last night was my first time at Drink.Well on North Loop.  Awesome cute little bar/bistro I will go back to again and again. It made me think of all the other great eats in my hood these days that I must share:

• Foreign & Domestic, just down the street, awesome upscale date night vibe (gotta try their bakery next)
• Gusto on Burnet is really good Italian, a nice spot for lunch, grown up dinner or family dinner.  Don’t miss their meatballs
• Next door, Blue Star Cafeteria kind of kicked off the North Central yum-fest, and I still adore their coconut chicken tenders and childhood-memory style chicken & rice soup.  Brunch there rocks too
• But of course, old style good breakfast is at the Omelettry across the street, an Austin classic.
• Pinthouse Pizza across the street is loud, but a great place to grab beer and pizza, with or without your kiddos.
• If you want a quiet place for a grown up drink, Apothecary on Burnet is perfect.
• Just down Hancock was Jorges, and something new is coming, with equally good margaritas, we hope
• The granddaddy of the hood is Fonda San Miquel on N. Loop.  Amazing experience, everyone ATXer needs to do dinner there, brunch, but also just a night of drinks and chips.
• And I haven’t yet tried épicerie Café & Grocery, right across the street, but must because I’ve heard great things.
• We, of course, have Central Market on N. Lamar, and our own P Terry’s just down the street, as well as our own Taco Deli (mmmm queso) and Uchiko which I didn’t want to like but holy cow those brussel sprouts are out of this world, and everything else there is absolutely amazing too.  And don’t underestimate Taco Shack, which has the best breakfast tacos in the city, IMHO
• We Allandalers don’t complain about the new Walmart because with it, came some great food.  Yes, Hopdoddy across Anderson (if the line out the door ever stops), but I really mean Tarka for awesome fast serve Indian.
• For pizza in the hood, we now have two East Side Pies, with its great NY style pizza (one on Anderson and one off Airport at 53rd
• I know everyone talks about their cinnamon rolls, but at Upper Crust, I adore their cheese soup.  Yes cheese soup.  Try it, you’ll love it
• There aren’t a lot of great hot dog places in town anymore, and I still miss Dog Almighty, but for a great hot dog, Man Bites Dog on Burnet is delish
• The Triangle is nearby where we can never decide between Mandolas and Galaxy Café, our two family favorites.  Galaxy also has an awesome brunch.
• And you can’t forget family favorites like Hey Cupcake and Amy and Phil’s, both also on Burnet. And across from Atomic so you can pick up a tattoo and some hydroponics.  God love Allandale!
• The absolute best the hood – and possibly the city – has to offer though is at retro cool Little Deli off Woodrow in Crestview.  I can never decide between pizza, the Italian Wedge, the club, the roast beef.  It is THE lunch place of choice if you are REAL Austin, and dinner rocks too (esp with BYOB).  Tony is a lot nicer than Lecretia was, but he’s kept up her food quality and then some.  Don’t miss Little Deli!

PHEW, I’m full just writing about all these, and I’m sure I missed a lot of goodies that my neighbors will point out.  My message to you in Austin is Get You to North Central for Great Eats!

This week, Business Insider put out its Top 50 Communicators in Tech list: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-pr-50-the-most-effective-communications-professionals-in-technology-2012-7

Impressive and very proud to know a few of em. But kind of ridiculous and irritating that of 50, more than HALF are either at Google, Facebook or Yahoo or came from one of them (to land at hotties like Twitter, Pinterest, Klout, AirBnB, Square). Toss in a couple each from MS, Apple and LinkedIn, a few from VCs, and a small set of agency peeps and there’s your list.

Oh, and just over 10% of the 50 are from anywhere other than the SF/SV area. Seriously.

I’m not doubting these are awesome companies and SF does have a lot of tech marketing talent. I’m not arguing that these 50 are KILLER communicators. But there are good PR folks across the US, in lots of different companies and agencies.

Other PR friends, does this also ruffle your feathers a bit?

Today is one month until Memorial Day, the official start of Summer. At stripedshirt, we are making it the Summer of Stripes! We have 15 great color combos now, awesome shirts for women, kids and babies, its time to get em out there, and into more hands.

The shirts are perfect for Summer: nothing more crisp, Preppy, nautical, sailing club, pool party, park and picnic. I’ve been loving navy and white stripes with Kelly green; yellow and white with indigo; royal and white with hot pink, purple and white with turquoise. Great, bold, color blocking fun for Summer.

And don’t forget all your USA moments, whether Memorial Day or 4th of July, that red and white stripe will suit you well (and be able to be used for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and perhaps Halloween (if you want to be Waldo, Olivia the Pig, a pirate or French sailor).

And when you have that family reunion, family photo, family vacation, day at Disney, an amusement park, a fair or festival, outfitting all the women, kids and babies in the same stripes is a sure-fire way to stick together and look a-freaking-dorable at the same time.

At less than $20 a shirt, why wouldn’t you get some stripes? Order up NOW, be ready to be part of the Summer of Stripes!

Recall, I had the idea of stripedshirt since about 1997 or so, back in my Boston days, when we could “dress down” on Fridays, and when I started whining about wanting just a cute maroon and gold shirt for BC football games, a red and blue striped number that didn’t have Garciaparra’s name on the back for Red Sox games.

I just happened to finally make stripedshirt a reality right when stripes are all the rage. Great timing and famous striped wearers out there like cute Louis Tomlinson of One Direction in his stripes. But stripes are really everywhere, and some of the very cutest, in my opinion, are ridiculously expensive. I’m so happy to be the affordable – and stylish – striped option.

At stripedshirt.com, every shirt, every size, is $19.99.

I had to speak up and write something about this, b/c I just saw J Crew carrying the awesome Edith Miller shirts, some cool stripes, but at a bank-busting $82 a piece. For a TSHIRT!

To give you some other shockers, of comparable short sleeved striped shirts from some of my favorite brands:
• Vineyard Vines, which I adore, has a sailor T at 49.50
• Splendid, $64
• Chance Co, $62
• The grand daddy of them all, Armor Lux, around since 1938, begun in Brittany France with the signature Breton stripe, barely has any women’s options in the US, but the closest I could find, runs 99.98.

So, striped lovers out there, remember, you don’t need to break the bank to get into some cute stripes for Spring and Summer, we have em, 14 color combo choices, for women from XS to XL, but also for babies and kiddos. All stylish, high quality and at a very wallet-friendly $19.99!

It is time I came clean. I Jazzercise. I am the child of a Jazzerciser. My Mom, now 67, has probably been Jazzercising since 1982, 30 years. And so, I’ve hit a class or two over the past few decades, mostly to indulge my Mom and some girl QT, or so I said.

Last year was pretty weak with my excuses of balancing 2 active kids, and working, and all those lame reasons we give to put ourselves last, not work out, be lazy. This year, I quietly made a resolution to do more, work out, take better care of myself. Perhaps it was 40 yelling at me: “your bone density will only degrade from here!” Whatever it was, I’m trying my darndest to be in class at least 2 times a week (hey, cut me some slack, this is a huge improvement over NOTHING)

But what I kept finding myself doing was whispering that I go to Jazzercise, being sheepish, or kind of making fun of myself when it came up in conversation. Well NO MORE.

I JAZZERCISE and I’m proud of it!

Yesterday, when I looked around that room, the class full of amazing women giving it their all, and the lot of us, in great harmony and rhythm, I decided it’s time to come clean, and be proud. Jazzercise is pretty darn amazing, and the women – all ages, all sizes, all skills – who Jazzercise are even more amazing. J’adore!

It’s a great, HARD work out. I sweat. A lot. I hurt the next day. Its fun, it’s hip and current. YOU HEARD ME. We are sweating to Usher, Gaga, LMFAO, PitBull, Enrique, JLo and others every class. I regularly hear a song FIRST at Jazzercise. I’m serious. It’s a great, sweet community, supportive and inclusive of everyone at every level and skill. And it’s very affordable.

Hip and current! Poor Jazzercise. It gets this terrible rep of being right there with Jane Fonda, Aerobics and the 80s. Wrong! Jazzercise was started right around when I was born. Judi Sheppard Missett stated Jazzercise in 1969. Do you know what else happened in 1969? Amazing things! First man on the moon with Neil Armstrong; Woodstock, the creation of ARPANET (which became the Internet) and the establishment of PBS. Oh, and Jennifer Aniston was born.

Jazzercise has gone the distance, for over 40 years. My mother looks amazing at 67 years old and did over 150 classes last year. Her lazy daughter is getting there, over 10 12! (as of publish, I underestimated myself!) classes already in 2012 and determined to keep it up. I’m also determined to no longer be sheepish or make fun, but be proud to say “I JAZZERCISE!”

2012 Update – I completed over 80 classes in the year!

May 15, 2013 update – today, marked 50 classes so far in 2013!!!!!
 

So, this week, I entered the world of Mommy bloggers. Not as a brand engaging with them, which I’ve been doing, but as one. Sort of. I felt a little shifty, to be honest.

First, a Vick’s Winter Warmup hosted by LiveMom, http://www.livemom.com/, which was awesome, and where I met some great folks. But again, when asked “what’s my blog,” I felt a little weird. Yes, I have one – its right here! And I do blog. But most all of what I write is pretty directly focused on stripedshirt (with an occassional Lice post tossed in).

Then I went to the amazing MomCom Austin event, http://momcomaustin.com/, where I was, really, to give away 10 stripedshirts. But yet, another amazing group of folks, people who inspired me, moved me, made me do a little cheer! Liz, I adore you, so balanced and smart, and seemingly VERY patient (www.LizGartonScanlon.com). Meredith, poor girl, I am going to follow up with you, there are so many places and people, just in Austin, who need to know you and hear about smartgirlsattheparty.com. Was brutal to have to leave early. And again, wonder, was I there as a “sponsor” or an attendee?

Because, heck, I am a Mom, and I do have a blog. I have loads of Facebook friends who hear from me likely far too often. I’m active on LinkedIn, Twitter with two handles. I’m an active and good promoter of things I like, and I think when I talk, people listen (except, it seems, my own children and husband). I’m figuring out SEO, and just folded and joined Google+ and GooglePlaces. I’m holding back from Pinterest b/c I think it will suck away the 12 minutes a day I do still have open for going to the bathroom and an occassional shower.

So, again, am I a mommy blogger, or am I just a wolf in sheep’s (STRIPED) clothing, interacting with these great folks in the hopes of them liking my shirts enough to say so?

Don’t know for sure, but right now, I’m hoping to be able to do both, b/c I’d like to do more things like LiveMom and MomCom. We’ll see. The wisdom – and voice – of the crowd will likely sort things out for me. Any community is pretty loud these days, and a fraud – a wolf – will be sniffed out and de-striped forever.

Minimally, I’ll stay transparent, and honest: that I have a striped agenda, but I’d like to engage as well. And along these transparent lines – YEAH to some nice coverage today! Much appreciated! http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/01-22-12-22-25-austin-entrepreneur-stitches-together-striped-shirt-business/

And, last transparent plug, GO PATRIOTS! (and if you need a cute red and blue stripedshirt T to cheer em on, I know where you can find one! )

Am I a mommy blogger?

A week ago, I was more proud of my oldest daugther than I’d been yet in her young life. Watching me – and my Mother – donate our hair to Locks of Love 3 times each prior, she wanted in on the action. That poor girl has always been a bit hair challenged, and what we had was nearly 7 years of growth, with but one hair cut in the middle. But she was determined, to give her hair to little girls who need it, and so, we both went in and gave up 8 inches to Pantene’s Beautiful Length Program (thankfully, that one only requires 8 inches, which is a lot for a little kid, and took her nearly 7 years go grow. Locks of Love, the better known program, requires 10 inches, and is what I’ve done in the past, and the only program my Mom can be part of, with her color treated hair). I was so proud of my little girl and sharing our before and after pictures here now! I encourage any women – and kids: the gift of your hair is completely free to you, and priceless to someone else. (and you all thought I’d be writing about the Patriots today, didn’t you?!?!)

A post on Lice? In a blog about shirts and stripes? Yup. I felt it was about time for this PSA, since many of my customers, readers, friends are parents with school age kids. In other words, will likely encounter the joys of LICE sometime in their future.

This is a brutally honest run down of our experience and what we learned, consider it something to book mark. This level of info just isn’t easily shared – or accessed – in Facebook.

Mid last January, my oldest daughter was scratching, a lot. My Mom even warned, asked, and I was convinced it was a new nervous habit and/or dry winter air. So likely 3 weeks went by with this “new nervous tick” until a day in Michael’s under their powerful flourescent lights when I literally saw things moving in my kids head.

I freaked out, and was immediately disgusted, horrified, and very itchy myself. I went immediately to CVS and bought their high strength lice shampoo and then went home, and attacked both daughters heads, and my own, and did about 17 loads of laundry. Sure enough, we were a Lice House.

After that experience, here’s what I’ve learned and some pretty effective tips:

• Do buy the drug store brand lice shampoo – you want to get that stuff on its way to dead asap.
• But order Happyheads online. It was a great – albeit – expensive package of shampoo, conditioner/combing solution, and deterrent oil. Love the stuff, it works.  But it takes a few days to arrive, thus all the other stuff
• Things like olive oil or mayo, didn’t seem to work for us.
• You will think you kicked it after a few treatments – they will come back. We battled lice from mid Jan to early March – one return visit, but this time, only to the oldest’s head
• They don’t love to hop around, move from their source, but if you hug your kids, cuddle close, sleep with them, YOU will have the crawlies in your head too. 
• I did.  There, I said it out loud. I had lice last Winter. It was disgusting.  Horrifying.  But it happens, to more people than you think.
• No need to wash every surface/blanket/pillow in your home. Tho I won’t blame you for doing so. Lice can’t live off a human source for more than 48 hours, so just move/remove the blankets, pillows, lovies, bag em to suffocate the little jerks faster, and you’ll be OK.
• But I do recommend washing – in HOT – your kid’s sheets, yours, etc.
• Tea tree oil seems to be a deterrent, get some. It is a pure oil, sold near vitamins and stuff in stores. Your kids will smell like they were just at a Grateful Dead concert – it reminds me of Patchuli oil – but do it. Behind the ears, nape of the neck, especially.
• That’s where lice bite, so watch those areas. If your kids have little red bites, or itch til they bleed behind the ears, nape of their neck, it is NOT rare January mosquitos.
• Denorex ROCKS. ROCKS! That’s our new go-to. It is adult dandruff shampoo, sold in any drug store, by Head and Shoulders. Gross teal bottle with red top, grosser brown shampoo. But it works. Love the stuff now.
• Lice themselves look like little grains of rye, they are sort of gray, big/adult ones better not be any bigger than a sesame seed or you’ve really let things go too long.
• The nits, the eggs, attached mostly to the scalp area, versus down the hair (so cutting the kids hair won’t help much, shaving, maybe). They look like dandruff flakes, or even more like a little tiny glob of hair gel that didn’t get worked into the hair.
  Sticky like glue, they are hard to get out.
• That’s where most of your work will come in. For about 3 weeks, we did nightly washing (with Denorex or Organix shampoo with Tea Tree oil), put in a little conditioner, also with Tea Tree extracts, that we left in the hair, and sat both girls down in the middle of the kitchen floor where the most light is, and combed and combed.
• I ended up buying PET COMBS. I’m serious. Really thin teeth. And I liked plastic better than metal. You comb this way, and that, against the hair, with it
• And wipe down the comb regularly with a plain white papertowl to watch for offenders coming out in the combing.
• Have a little plastic sandwich bag with a seal there to put in the little buggars, and the papertowel each night. I had a fear of them crawling out of my trash can and down the hall into my head
• (you will scratch and itch like crazy this entire process, and anyone you tell the tale to will start itching as well)
• After the combing, blow your kiddo’s hair dry with a blow dryer. They hate that too.
• And product. Any sort of hair spray, gel, etc, can help protect your kid. And again, keep applying a bit of tea tree oil behind their ears, etc.

Lice have a 7 day or something like that cycle – from when they hatch to when they can lay eggs and keep the family going. That’s where/how you can break the cycle. That’s the importance of the high test treatment shampoo.  But after a while – and it will take awhile – you can just comb em out with conditioner helping, and you almost get comfortable with the process.

Til you kick it entirely, get complacent and months latger, hear about a friend’s kid with lice.

THEN fear creeps back into your mind, and you start to build up your fortress again. That’s why I’m writing this. I got comfortable, lazy, and wasn’t taking measures frankly you should keep going fairly regularly when you have school age kids.
As my oldest’s teacher said when I “admitted” what we were going through: It happens to EVERYONE. They like clean heads best. And young kids like to groom each other, touch each other, be close. It’s going to happen.

It likely WILL happen to you. If it doesn’t, you are a rare blessed parent. If it does, perhaps my tips will help.  And remember, little bits of prevention often may help:

• Put Denorex into your kid’s (and your own) shampoo rotation
• Add product to your kiddo’s hair, a little hair spray or gel
• Use the blow dryer now and again
• Have Tea Tree oil hand to tour with Phish or put on your kid
• Keep a watchful eye on your kid’s scratching and part line
• And perhaps, once and awhile, go to Michaels, and stare your kid down under the bright lights.

For friends, I hope this helps. For strangers, “Lice to meet you!”  If this was helpful, remember me, and that I’d prefer to be the Striped Lady versus the Lice Lady, so support stripedshirt sometime, but I won’t fault you for bookmarking this too.  I wish I had it last winter.

Had to do it, say it, write it. 11-11-11.  Quite a cool date, only happens once, and it really is stripes – just going the wrong way, vertical versus horizontal.  Still.  Stripes!  Everywhere stripes!

Attn: Olivia Munn, January Jones, Amanda Seyfried, Emmy Rossum, and Zoe Saldana:

Ladies, Ladies, you don’t have to pay $50 and dress like twins! For less than $20, you can get a sassy striped shirt in whatever color combo – of 9 options – you like best! (including your much loved blue and red).

Oh, and us regular people, we can get all celeb striped up too! Come on by www.stripedshirt.com. (Thx for the heads up, Kristin Gibson and Courtney Coe!)