YouTube Debut - Be there for the first upload

The Gown Rack has a YouTube channel now, just created today. There aren't any uploads yet, but I think it'll be a great way to share some of the lovely things seen over here on this side of the globe. Sometimes, photos just aren't enough and our blog caps videos at 100mb (thumbs down sign).


Uploads will come soon, but why not subscribe now? 


Stay in the know, and be there for TGR's YouTube debut! 


Subscribe to the CHANNEL from THIS LINK.


Thank you friends & subscribers!

Power Plaid for the winter months, $10 Hoop Earrings from TGR, and a man's answer so full of BS, it actually makes sense.

If you'd like a splash of plaid for you and/or your home, check out the plaid gear I have listed on pages 2-4 of my catalog, including a plaid cookie jar in the shape of a handbag. Didn't think something like that existed, did you?

This clever question/answer is so full of BS, it makes perfect sense.

Q: How can men sit on their asses all day without moving?

A: Men have very powerful sets of sitting muscles developed by
evolution that enable us to sit for extended periods of time without getting tired. In prehistoric times, it was often necessary to sit in one spot for extended periods of time while hunting for prey. The more successful hunters were able to sit very still for very extended periods of time thereby passing on this ability to their progeny. The fidgety types were all gobbled up by saber- toothed tigers, etc. The end result is that almost all modern men are born with this innate ability.

Diamond Cut Platinum Hoop Earrings for €6 !

I mean, get the look of diamond cut platinum hoop earrings and pay just €6. ($8.75) Fashion Jewelry. Free shipping in Germany and surrounding EU countries, except Italy because they don't care for junk from other countries. For shipping to the U.S., add $1.25 to the unit price. (That's 10 bucks in case you have trouble with numbers). Limited quantities available from my lovely Cologne distributor, better email me first if you plan on ordering 20 million pairs. Purchase using the Pay Now button on the left side of our home page. Item Description: Fashion Hoop Earrrings

These earrings were made for candlelight/dim light because they are cut with that in mind. Inside, outside, front & back. Ladies, if your man gives you a cheap & cool gift from the heart, don't hate, appreciate! See video.

                                                   

Tunes from/for Tuners

I frequently get emailed new music thanks to the wonderful musical network that is MySpace. I check out everything that is sent to me, even if it takes me days to get around to it. I mean weeks. Out of, say, 80 songs, there are sometimes one or two that don't irritate me within the first 4 seconds. Sometimes I wait 15 seconds or so before the shutting the noise down. I think that's fair enough. I've decided to share those with you that, this month, I was able to listen to in their entirety. 


'Look at Me'- Mirrors
Listen on MySpace

'Deadbeat Summer' - Neon Indian
Listen on MySpace

'Felix Da Houscat/ Radio S' - Shinichi Osawa

Sorry, changed my mind about that last one.

For a moment, I was digging La Roux, with one album out now in the States. Although 'Quicksand' is quite catchy, I left my player on repeat and it played 'In for the Kill' and 'Quicksand' three times each, and now I cannot stand the singer's voice.  Therefore, no link. 

FYI - Neon Indian plays:

Nov 21 2009 8:00P

Club congress

Tuscon, Arizona

If one of my peeps can get to this show, please let me know how the live performance is! I have also added 'Deadbeat Summer' to my MySpace page music player  if you want to check it out there.

Saddle bags are cool, we knew that.

Korean saddle and bag maker aiming for Brooks and Carradice

By Gary Boulanger, US editor

The US $159 Zimbale leather saddle. (Zimbale)

• 
• 

British saddle maker Brooks has owned the leather saddle category for decades, and now a Korean company called Zimbale is branching out into the lucrative US market via Hyde Park Cyclesports in Boise, Idaho.

"My own interest in Zimbale came about partly out of frustration with the unpredictable availability of similar products from existing suppliers and manufacturers," Hyde Park Cyclesports owner Jim Powers told BikeRadar. "I received an email from Zimbale and asked for some samples. I was impressed enough with the samples to begin a conversation about becoming the US distributor.
"We were able to come to an agreement, and now I'm working towards meeting their projections for sales in this country. Interbike is the first step."
According to Powers, the Zimbale brand was created by a small group of individuals with backgrounds in textiles, manufacturing and cycling who also saw the need for a more reliable source of fine leather saddles and leather and textile saddlebags. The group is in Korea, and the bags are made in Korea.

The US $79 Zimbale leather saddle bag

The US $159 Zimbale leather saddle is shaped like the Brooks Swallow model, made of Australian cowhide with saddlebag tabs. The US $79 Zimbale leather saddle bag comes in honey, brown or black Australian cowhide.
Powers is also distributing Zimbale's Carradice-inspired cotton saddlebags, starting at US $54 for the 2.3-litre seat pouch.

For more information, visit www.hydeparkcyclesports.com.

Introducing PHOTOBOOTH a fully portable, 11MP (that's eleven million pixels) digital photo booth that does more than just take pretty pictures

Indulge a bit of old-skool photography with this clever, partly inflatable, architect-designed photo booth. Actually, the old-skool bit isn't entirely true - this photo booth is fully digital and portable, so it's probably more accurate to describe it as high-tech. Created by two Melbourne based photographers, who believe it to be the world's first portable design, the photo booth is perfect for events where party goers are prone to a spot of exhibitionism after a drink or two. The booth can also be branded to transform it into useful marketing tool. Smile! - Lisa Evans

Lisa (at The Cool Hunter) forgot to mention the high resolution part. Also, password protected galleries of your event can be published online, ALLOWING EVERYONE  A CHANCE TO SEE WHAT WENT ON BEHIND THE CURTAIN (assuming you were at the event, and have the password). Perfect for the 'look at me crowd' and for bringing that shy executive out of his shell. The Gown Rack wants this at her next party! Read more here.

Don't forget to live while you're at it

At The Gown Rack, we do believe in living life to the fullest. The good, the bad & the ugly. Our recommendation for this month:  Don't be afraid to join a hip-hop class full of teenagers, even if you happen to be in your mid-40's. You are never too old to dance and lose yourself in the music.

Live well, and make friends. You never know when you'll need one.

Just for fun, see how many of these questions you can answer YES to:

Been arrested? --- YES

Been in the back of a cop car?--- YES

Kissed someone you didn't like? --- YES

Slept in until 5 PM? --- YES

Ran a red light? --- YES

Been suspended from school? --- YES

Experienced love at first sight? --- YES

Totaled your car in an accident? --- YES

Been fired from a job? --- YES

Fired somebody? --- YES

Sang karaoke? --- YES

Pointed a gun at someone? --- YES

Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? --- YES

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? --- YES

Kissed in the rain? --- YES

Had a close brush with death (your own)? --- YES

Seen someone dead? --- YES

Played spin-the-bottle? --- YES

Had a one night stand?--- YES

Smoked a cigar? --- YES

Sat on a rooftop? --- YES

Smuggled something into another country? --- YES

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? --- YES

Broken a bone? --- YES

Skipped school? --- YES

Eaten a bug? --- YES

Sleepwalked? --- YES

Walked a moonlit beach? --- YES

Ridden a motorcycle? --- YES

Dumped someone? --- YES

Lied to avoid a ticket? --- YES

Ridden in a helicopter? --- YES

Shaved your head? --- YES

Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? --- YES

Eaten snake? --- YES

Marched/Protested? --- YES

Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? --- YES

Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? --- YES

Been in a band? --- YES

Been on TV? --- YES

Shot a gun? --- YES

Skinny-dipped? --- YES

Gave someone stitches? --- YES

Ridden a surfboard? --- YES

Drank straight from a liquor bottle? --- YES

Had surgery? --- YES

Streaked? --- YES

Taken by ambulance to hospital? --- YES

Passed out when not drinking? --- YES

Peed on a bush? ---YES

Donated Blood? --- YES

Grabbed electric fence? --- YES

Eaten alligator meat? --- YES

Killed an animal when not hunting? --- YES

Peed your pants in public? --- YES

Written graffiti? --- YES

Still love someone you shouldn't? --- YES

Been in handcuffs? --- YES

Believe in love? --- YES

Sleep on a certain side of the bed?-- YES

Classic Lines

A popular Tiffany design, earrings in solid sterling silver. Available upon request, $56 plus shipping.

Aqua Earrings

Summer is almost at an end, but while there are still a few gorgeous sunny swimsuit days left, aqua is my accent color of choice.

Aqua looks beautiful with silver and amethyst jewelry, and black and white clothing. Here are a pair of earrings, handmade by a friend of mine, a designer in Amsterdam, who also runs his own small jewelry shop on the Leilegracht. These earrings are fashioned from solid silver and adorned with a bevel cut teardrop aqua blue gem. Available also in silver and pink quartz!

€69 ($98) - Global Shipping/Gift Wrapping included. Shopping with us is a breeze. Not only is our motto: "Return it if you don't LOVE it.", we also have a variety of payment options to choose from, including credit/debit cards, bank transfers and PayPal. Cash with local pick-up or delivery is also encouraged if you'd like to receive a substantial discount. The Gown Rack delivers free of charge to the Köln metro area.

To order, click on the "Pay now" button found on the left-hand side of our home page, and enter the item description (Aqua earrings) and the price in U.S. dollar format. (98.00)

Lunch

Behold, the homemade bacon and cream cheese sandwich on sliced ciabatta bread. When there is no motivation to do anything else, whip up something deliciously fattening and enjoy every bite.

Getting things done

Quick and (Almost) Painless Ways to Kill Distractions

Are you spending more time dealing with emails, IMs, phone calls, and random stray files than actually working? Here are ten actions you can do right now to kill distractions and get back to work:

Put headphones on

Wearing headphones is the universal sign for “do not disturb.” To make it obvious, choose big clunky ones instead of those tiny invisible earbuds. Even if you’re not listening to music, blocking out ambient noise will help you focus and stay on task.

Check email twice a day

If your email program checks for new email automatically and periodically, make it stop. Instead, manually check your email twice a day.

Tell everyone

To cut down the deluge of office emails, tell everyone in the office via email that you’re only checking email twice a day. This will train your coworkers to reconsider before sending you trivial messages.

Turn spam filtering on

Even with legislation, spam is never going away. You can eliminate this major distraction by turning on spam filtering.

Banish Growl

System-wide notification systems such as Growl are tiny distractions forcing you to log and consider each alert in your mind. You don’t need random reminders to plague your mind while you’re trying to concentrate.

Create IM office hours

Instant messenger programs are a distraction, but it has useful benefits for collaboration and keeping in touch with faraway loved ones. Create IM office hours -- short blocks of time where you’re available for chats.

Silence your phone

Your phone is an electronic dog leash. Release yourself from phone slavery and turn off the sound AND vibrate when you’re working. Your phone is only convenient if you’re in control of it.

Eat lunch out of the office

Eating lunch in the office makes you wide open to interruptions. Let yourself enjoy lunch away from work.

Become an early bird

No one likes to come in to work extra early in the morning. Use this trend to your advantage, and arrive at work before everyone else. Since no one is around, you’ll have fewer disruptions like phone calls and morning chatter.

Clear your desktop

Having tons of icons and files littering your desktop is like having a million squawking baby birds begging for your attention all the time. Clear your desktop now. While you’re at it, tidy up your real desk too.

A big thanks to Joe Mercola's website for this motivating article.

Green Gummy Boots

I know, this is the 4th blog I've done on rain boots, but I obviously love them. They provide a certain freedom. I can work in the garden, stomp through mud, walk through thorny rosebush patches, run out to the car in the sleet and snow, or go out in public for some shopping. The great thing is, the more scratched up and dirty they are, the more authentic and cool I find it. I just got a new pair, green.

Rolling Up My Pants

Today, a Sunday, I was doing some spring cleaning, and while doing windows (using recycled newspapers) I was thinking a lot about 2 old friends, Mary Beth and Sue. Before I knew it, I was tight-rolling my pants with jumbo paperclips. I spent the rest of the afternoon that way, and added some Bronze patent leather pumps. Thanks for the memories, girls!

Click here to watch a funny video.

Image credits go to: J. Crew, Stella McCartney & Google Images

How to fold a shirt, awesome.

Ok, this takes a few attempts to get the hang of it, but it is totally awesome and fun to do. It also takes up less space in the closet than any other folding style I've used before. TGR loves saving space! Let me know if you've tried this, and what you think.

ORIGINAL BLOG POST

Absolutely Amazing Glacier Footage

Perito Moreno Glacier in southern Argentina .

This is an every-four-year event that has gone on for centuries.
This clip is of the spectacular South American glacier, The
Perito Moreno Glacier, which breaks up every four years like clockwork, give or
take a week.

There are photographers from all corners of the earth that come to
southern Argentina and literally camp out at the glacier site in order to
get the actual breakup on film.

Never underestimate an old gal

If you are unable to see the video, please make sure you are viewing the ORIGINAL BLOG POST on our official page.

Coolest Hotel Rooms

This book, now available in our catalog for as low as $15 secondhand, $23 new.

Looking for something to read?

We LOVE architecture and design, and dome houses are fantastic in many ways. More info found at the Monolithic Dome Institute website.