I've been doing a bit of catch up... as you saw, last week's vacationing really became a bit busy again ~ hardest part of this "job" is its still so much fun, its hard to actually stop and take a breather, the business and pleasure sides are so inter-mingled! But i did basically take a break from the crazy amount of emails during that time! Anyhow, trying to roadtrip down to Arizona tomorrow, any suggestions of things that we must stop to see on the way back, or wander around to are always appreciated, we'll probably be in tuscon most of the weekend, and see what happens next week ~ and as long as i have internet, you know i'll be posting (actually, if you don't hear from me for too long, get worried!).

Anyhow, its been a really fun week on .org ~ so here are some of the most popular the last few days! Also check out the NotCouture and Liqurious roundups on the next page too! You know the drill ~ click to find out more!

TO PAGE 2 of "NOTCOT Roundup Madness"! ----->

Tags: roundup

Up in SF ~ wedding this weekend, tried to take a little break, now presentation thing today, conference next two days ~ agh! Basically running around a little too crazed at the moment, so wanted to give you a roundup of the best of the last week and a half over at NOTCOT.org! You know the drill, click whatever interests you to find out more up there!

Tags: roundup

Hi! So, here's the deal, i've been slightly overworking lately, and have been getting ready for gift guide ideas, holiday season, new features, playing with new projects, and keeping up with the high speed stream of goodies at NOTCOT.org, NotCouture, and Liqurious... also off to a wedding next week up in Sonoma... and the Federated Media Conversational Marketing Summit (i was asked whether i wanted to do ticket giveaways, any of you interested in meeting me at the summit and chatting conversational marketing?) on the 15th-16th.

While running around someone has been poking me about how i haven't taken a "real" break in about 3 years - but that's what doing what you love and having it turn into your job means right? Apparently, wrong. So i'm going to try and take a breather for the next week, and have a quick favor to ask you... Help me out with a few questions? 1) When i take a break, and in general, would you rather have me hire writers to just run around the net showing you things here on NOTCOT.com? Versus having this be more of my personal blog? (I'm slightly biased, as it's pained me to watch some of my favorites hire a ton of people and the content gets old and not nearly as fun, but there's probably a way to find a balance?) 2) What stores for designer and fashion goodies can you not live without that we should take a look at while researching for gift guide? Which includes everything from scouring their stores for products, seeing if they'd be interested in discounts for readers, etc etc (ideas?)...

OH, and you know me, "break" can sometimes = more posts. I get excited, i post. But since i've been slowing down the pace the last few days here anyhow, thought i'd make it official. So i may still be posting, but consider this the heads up for the next week and a bit if i miss a day or two... but just check into NOTCOT.org to get your creative juices flowing! Here's a quick roundup of some of my current faves over there...

Click the images to see more, as usual ~ and would you believe there's something new going up there practically every few minutes?!?!?!

Tags: roundup

Wow, can you believe it's friday already? So here's this week's Liqurious Happy Hour to kick off your weekend! As you know, click the pics to find out more about each post!

Tags: drinks - roundup

Liqurious Happy Hour time! You know the drill ~ click the pics to find out more about what people were loving this week.... In a bit of a haze right now, jetlag has been having me mentally all over the place!

Tags: drinks - roundup

Crazy weekend here ~ been shopping quite a bit, and prepping for Paris (leave monday!) ~ so figured this was a good time to see what was popular on NotCouture this week! Looks like lots of bags and boots made the list. Click the pics to find out more!

Tags: accessories - bag - fashion - roundup

Can you believe its Friday already? Well, here's to Friday afternoon (of a long weekend for the americans) ~ and to kick it off, here's your digital dose of happy hour, rounded up from what was sipped at Liqurious this week! Click those images to find out more info! Chin chin!

Tags: drinks - roundup

Jewelry seemed to be the main theme this week on NotCouture. There's a crazy Jaeger-LeCoultre watch that doubles as a keyless entry for the Aston Martin DBS (how James Bond!). And the other mini-theme seemed to be coats and jackets as we're about to transition into Autumn (how is summer almost over??). If jewelry and coats aren't your thing, there's plenty of other stuff to check out at NotCouture, and of course keep sharing your cool finds with us!

Tags: accessories - fashion - roundup

Click the images to find out more! Sorry running a bit late on my Liqurious Happy Hour this week ~ let's just say i finally feel like i'm taking a slight vacation for the next few days, popped up to SF for Outside Lands, but the madness has been a bit much to take, and its freeeeeeeezing, so been doing some catching up with linhchi, shopping/decorating for dan for burning man, and running around the city buying silly toys and making things again (yay!) ~ so the next few days may be a bit more silly posts than usual! BUT, here are some of the things people have been drinking in the last week ~ how gorgeous are they? Click to see more!

Also, you can peek at my Outside Lands pics here!

Tags: drinks - roundup

Happy weekend! Here's a Liqurious happy hour roundup to help kick it off with some libatious inspirations - click the pics to find out more!

Tags: drinks - roundup

There were a good amount of shoes popping up on NotCouture this week.. Or maybe it just seemed that way because I'm currently on a quest for shoes. And of course, we need bags to go with our shoes, so here are some interesting ones that were posted. I especially liked the accordion-like bag from Samsonite Black Label!

Tags: fashion - roundup

Happy Friday everyone! So to help kick off your happy hour this week, here's what we've been drinking with our eyes over at Liqurious. One of these days we will definitely have to start holding some real in person happy hours to meet up! As usual, click the images to find out more!

Tags: drinks - roundup

It feels like the weekend has begun already ~ things have gotten so quiet (or it feels so in my world anyhow?)... and i feel like a drink... so here's a friday afternoon Liqurious Happy Hour roundup to get your drink inspiration going... you know the drill, click the squares to find out more!

Tags: drinks - roundup

Click the images to find out more! Here's a fun mid week roundup of some of the most popular posts on NOTCOT.org in the last week...

Tags: roundup

As with all our roundups, click the images to find out more! As you can see, this week these aren't your usual drinks!

So for those of you asking "What is Molecular Mixology?" - Well, lets begin with Molecular Gastronomy, which Peter Barham says is "The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation." and Harold McGee says is "The scientific study of deliciousness."... Molecular Mixology = Art + Science +Drinks = unexpected multisensory experiences and experiments! Liquids take the forms of liquid filled spheres (as tiny as caviar, as large as tablespoons), cotton candy, gels, dusts, sorbets, foams, infusions and more. Your traditional martini can transform into a Martini Infused Cucumber or Martini Sorbet with Olive Caviar ~ as you can imagine, the forms and experiences drinks can take are now nearly endless!

This weekend on Liqurious i've been rounding up all that i can find, which ended up being articles, recipes, videos, etc ~ and the definite leader in the Molecular Mixology space (particularly online), Jamie Boudreau, , who blogs at Spirits & Cocktails, and is even moderating the seminar on the subject at this weeks' Tales of the Cocktail.

So, see all Liqurious posts on Molecular Mixology here! And feel free to share others you find or write about! You can be certain that i'll be experimenting with Molecular Mixology soon!

P.S.
One of the best resources i found for all of your Molecular Gastronomy questions, an incredible supplier list, and the most comprehensive book on ingredients/techniques/recipes... see Khymos.

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Tags: drinks - roundup

So as some of you know, i've been quietly playing with Liqurious for the last 2-3 weeks. And i'm terrible at keeping my new projects under wraps when i get excited, so although i'm still not considering unofficially launched ~ i couldn't resist posting a roundup of it, and share the header we had so much fun designing! When we were playing with the whole TasteSpotting thing, i realized how beautiful mixology and the art of cocktails are, and seeing as i can never resist posting about great advertising and packaging from the drinks industry on NOTCOT anyhow, it seemed natural to move in that direction. Liqurious is basically the new NOTCOT space for beautiful drinks, drink related products, drink experiences, new product launches, packaging/drink reviews, and i don't even know what else yet... so here's your sneak peek to come help me decide what direction to take it. What would you like to see? What's missing? What sites should i be reading? And most of all, if you come across a great article, product, post, etc, please feel free to help out by submitting it here or just click the dripping green "add next image" drop. (Oh, and FYI, your logins from any of our sites will work on Liqurious as well!)

Love to hear your thoughts ~ take a peek on the next page at the roundup of 25 to give you a quick overview of some of the great content over there...

TO PAGE 2 of "Liqurious - thoughts?"! ----->

Tags: drinks - roundup

It's that time again... NotCouture roundup! Click the pics to find out more!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July! And now the work week approaches which is reason enough to give anyone the summertime blues. Here are some items to help you express your inner blueness, and one crazy silver crab bracelet that's just too awesome not to share!

Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - roundup - shopping

You know the drill ~ click the images to find out more! I'm kind of kicking into SUPERearly long weekend mode ~ yay for 4th of July coming up on Friday (seriously, is it just me, or doesn't today just feel like a Friday?)... and as a result, i'm consuming info and images like no other, yet i can't seem to focus enough to sit down, photoshop, make proper posts, or respond to emails well... SO, that naturally leads to much .org-ing ~ so here is a selection of my personal post obsessions the last few days!

Tags: roundup

NotCouture Roundup! You know the drill, click the images to find out more!

4th of July weekend is coming up, so we thought we'd pick some stuff that you can wear to all those upcoming backyard pool parties and BBQs. From cute poolside attire to lightweight shirts and jackets, we've got you covered!

Tags: accessories - fashion - roundup - shopping

Hey everyone, sorry i got quiet ~ legal messes aren't quite my specialty. And how odd that doing a roundup of the popular stuff from the last week is filled with Crying Men portraits, girls getting things "dumped" on them, crazy futuristic architecture, ikea's pop up apt in a box, and i LOVE those spacey looking images of bubbles and real images of space! It's been an odd week, but almost through it ~ so apologies for slowing down here... but i have lots of fun stuff to post coming up, just a few more things to take care of! So please feel free to click through any of these pics to find out more, and check out .org and NotCouture for more inspiration... also feel free to take a sneak peek at my unlaunched new project where i'm drowning my sorrows at the moment.

Tags: roundup

With all this traveling the last month, it's been far too long since i've done a roundup, so here's an intense little brick of 100 of the top NOTCOT.org posts in the last 2 weeks! Also 100 of the tops of TasteSpotting and NotCouture on the next page as well! So check them out to see what's new, what you might have missed, and as always - you can always submit your own finds to share by clicking the "add next pic" icons in the top left corners! Click the tiny pics to find out more!

TO PAGE 2 of "Super Roundups!"! ----->

Tags: art - drinks - fashion - food - roundup

Click the images to find out more! HAPPY MOTHER's DAY to all the moms out there! And for all the kids- don't forget to call mom.

Tonight i went themed on our roundup for the week ~ top row, unusual frozen goods were trendy on TasteSpotting, from margarita popsicles and frozen eggs to Raw Banana Mango Malted Ice Cream with Agave Caramel... in the middle row, from NOTCOT.org had quite a nice selection of Architecture showing up this week... and finally, from NotCouture here is an assortment of bags, trunks, and 'waterproof backpack reviews'!

Top 25 from each site last week on the next page...

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Tags: architecture - fashion - food - roundup

Click the images to find out more! Wow, busy week/weekend across the NOTCOT sites... and the Daring Bakers have struck again, this month they have taken on the adorable "cheesecake pops" and over 25 posts have come up so far... some quite creative even! Inspiring and delicious? See the popular posts across the sites on the next page!

TO PAGE 2 of "Best Of The Week..."! ----->

Tags: roundup

Click the images to find out more! Hey everyone, sorry i got quiet this weekend. To be completely honest with you, i'm just having a bit of a hard time with things right now, and its been a rough last few weeks particularly, and overall the last few months have really been catching up with me it seems... trying to officially take a vacation this week... but unlike most sites that go on vacation, shopping/hunting/browsing/sharing/posting inspiring things IS what makes me happy, so posts will probably pick up after i get some brunch today, whereas emails (especially the bitchy ones) will probably have even slower responses than normal, meetings/conference calls probably won't be happening (other than the really fun pre-planned ones)... essentially anything that "feels" like "work" i'm not available for this week! Check back May 1st if you're looking for that stuff, where hopefully i'll get myself relaxed and ready to do the whole "business" thing again. And for those who clearly can't seem to understand this - i just need a break, so feel free to resume the painful/not fun stuff May 1st.

OK - personal rant done. Just wanted to get that out there for the people who don't seem to understand the current situation, but seem to see public posting as making something "real". Moving along... roundup time! The popular postings of the last week across NOTCOT.org, TasteSpotting, and NotCouture...

Oh, and yes the sites went down for a bit this weekend ~ they were physically moving our servers and unfortunately there were a few problems, but all should be back up and ok now. Not stressful at all, right?

TO PAGE 2 of "Life Update Rounded Up"! ----->

Tags: roundup

What more could we need to kick off a Monday in the making besides waldo hidden in the real world waiting for google maps, designer foosball, books transformed into sculpture, dragon bras, fun dresses and coats, martinis, cupcakes, carbonara, and more? Well here's a selection of things that grabbed me from the last week, and after the jump take a look at the 25 most popular posts from across the NOTCOT Network. Happy Monday! (and as always, click the images to find out more!)

TO PAGE 2 of "Popular this week..."! ----->

Tags: fashion - food - roundup