Should Girls Have “Girl Legos”?

Posted by random olio

I am torn. I just purchased a “Lego Friends – Adventure Camper” which is basically the girl version of a camping Lego set. At the time I thought it was the perfect gift for a girl – that for once there was a Lego for a girl who did not always have to do with helicopters, action heroes, and cars. Softer colors, yet could also be used by a boy. It felt like something I would have wanted as a young girl.

Then I saw this petition on Change.org. It is a petition against Lego to “stop selling out girls.” The SPARK Movement and Powered By Girl are behind the petition that debunks the idea that: “girls want pink, already-assembled toys that don’t do anything.” I love this quote from the petition:

“I can speak from personal experience and assure you, LEGO, that girls do like minifigs. They also like Star Wars and Harry Potter, and they like being creative and making up stories that involve adventures and good and evil and things blowing up. But if you keep on excluding them from your marketing vision, soon they will start to believe that they would rather have hot tubs and little plastic boobs.”

So I am torn with my purchase. I think all kids like playing with Legos. Do girls notice the difference? Do they know that Legos have always been designed for boys? Do they care? Do they like having the people who go along with the Legos be girls rather than usually only boys?

I would love to hear what you think. I am trying to decide if I should unwrap and return my gift.

The Thank You Note Is Not Dead

Posted by random olio

I am old school about writing a thank you note. So when I heard about what Sprint is doing as part of their customer service, I was in awe. I have no reason to advertise Sprint. I am an iPhone user and have been on AT&T for years, but I commend Sprint for what they are doing. Take a second to read this article further. Here is an excerpt:

“Sprint’s commitment to personal outreach was introduced by the company’s CEO Dan Hesse, upon an employee’s suggestion. The campaign has been embraced by the entire Sprint team from the top down—not only has Hesse has been sending out notes himself, but the company has also implemented “Thank You Thursdays” on which all employees are asked to write at least five notes.”

I absolutely love it. I remember from a very young age my mom somehow ingrained in me the art of the thank you note. It is an extra gesture of gratitude for a gift of any size. It takes it a step farther than an email. It has a longer life than a phone call. It is something the recipient can go back and read again and again. Maybe they will just throw it away, but maybe the time you took to write the note will mean something to them, they keep it, or post on the frig, or above their desk. You never know how much your words will mean to them. You never know how much you will touch them. The fact that you took extra moments to write out your thoughts, put it in an envelope, address it, spent 45 cents, and put it in the mail. Does that mean more to someone than a quick text or email? Maybe. Maybe not. But, I believe it is worth a try.

If a company believes it is worth the time to send a thank you note, I think it says something about how much that company cares about the personal touch. It means that the individual customer is more than a number and that they believe that the personal touch matters to their customers. More companies need to see this and take action. I can think of a few times when I purchased an item and on my shipping receipt I had a personal note. I have not forgotten. The one that I remember most was from Shop Horne. I purchased a mug, and not only was the packaging amazing, they wrote me a personal, handwritten note on a beautiful, embossed, textured card stock. I was so impressed I still have it. It was something I wanted as a reminder for my next business venture.

A personal touch goes a long way.

Shop Horne thank you note

Two Favorite Apps + Two New Tips

Posted by random olio

I am someone who likes to share a good thing. When I find an amazing local bakery, I cannot help but share and tell others. If a great company gives stellar customer service, I tell others. I will also warn others about bad customer service. I apologize in advance that the rest of this post is going to be app/iPhone-centric. I do not know if these apps are available for non iOS devices, but they might be.

incredibooth photo

My newest favorite app is called: IncrediBooth. It is a 99 cent app, that lets you take four different pictures and puts it together in a photo booth style photo. There is something about the nostalgia of photo booths. There used to be a toy store in Portland that had an old-fashioned photo booth that gave you a black and white photo. I love the fun and spontaneity of these booths. Now I can do it right from my phone!

Wunderlist. A free app. It creates lists that you can update online or from your iPhone or iPad. Chris and I keep our lists of weekend To-Do’s, movies or TV shows we want to watch, restaurants we want to check out, etc. I could add an item to a grocery list from home and Chris could sync the list when he gets to the store to find my additions without having to call or text me.

Ready for some tips now? I have had my iPhone for a few years now, and I just learned two things last week. Someone at work told me how to close out of your apps (I always thought I had been when I got out of them). Only to find out that they are still open in the background taking up battery life. To close them, double-click the home button and all open apps will show in the bottom bar. Hold down on one of the apps to get them into close mode and they will all show up with a red X. Then close the apps you no longer want open.

My second thing I learned last week is that you can set up a more complex password on your iPhone than just the traditional four numbers. I had no idea! If you want to make it more complex, go to Settings, General, then Passcode Lock. You will have to enter your current Passcode, then turn “Simple Passcode” to Off and your iPhone will prompt you for a longer, more complex Passcode.

What other random iPhone or iPad tips do you know? What apps have been your recent favorites?

A Recipe For Longevity

Posted by random olio

I just finished reading: “How Georgia Became O’Keeffe: Lessons on the Art of Living” by Karen Karbo. It was an interesting book, and I learned an amazing amount about Georgia O’Keeffe. She was more of a badass than I ever knew. It was inspiring to learn that she did her own thing in life, she did not follow mainstream thought and went about things in her own way. One of the quotes I appreciated near the end of the book talks about Chanel, Hepburn, and O’Keeffe and how they each lived long lives:

“O’Keeffe never lost her spunk, or her conviction that what she was up to at any given moment was somehow less important because she was older. This was also true of her fellow extreme seniors Katharine Hepburn and Coco Chanel. Hepburn lived to be ninety-six; Chanel, who smoked, died young at eight-eight. Like O’Keeffe, they were skinny, busy, and irritated until they declined a bit, then died. They were active, didn’t eat a lot, and followed their interests. They never let anyone tell them what to do. They were always a bit pissed-off. I can only assume that this is the real recipe for longevity.” page 214

My favorite line: “They were active, didn’t eat a lot, and followed their interests. They never let anyone tell them what to do. They were always a bit pissed-off. I can only assume that this is the real recipe for longevity.” That inspires me. I do not like to be told what to do, and I can be easily pissed off. Does that mean I will live a long, full life?

Georgia is an inspiration for pushing the envelope in regards to the art she made. Whether she meant to or not, she definitely was one of the first modern woman painters, well before her time. I have added visiting the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe to the life list. If you have any interest in women, modern art, and badasses, then read Karen’s book.

The Art of Spray Paint

Posted by random olio

I am a fan of interesting graffiti. I know it is bad. Deep down I hate that individuals are tagging public or private property, but there is also an art to it that I truly love. I find that whenever we travel, my eye is led to the urban art and graffiti of the area. I usually snap a photo. But before I show you those, I must put the talented artist first. This spray painted face is amazing. I found it on David Kanigan’s blog. My favorite is the first one, which I have included here:

The detail and shading are incredible. Who knew what was possible with spray paint. If you want to view more of the artist’s work, you can go to David Walker’s website. This is the type of art I would like to see on a side of a building rather than it just being tagged.

I thought I would also share a few other photos I took in various cities. Scroll down and enjoy!