I don't go to Ihop anymore, not after a few bad experiences like the one described in the letter I'm about to share. (Plus, I don't end carb-loaded foods any longer!) It's a shame, because I love that they give you a carafe of coffee... unfortunately, the servers tend to just disappear after that. I'm not saying, of course, that everyone who works at Ihop is terrible at their jobs; just that the Providence location seemed to have a higher-than-average number.
I wrote this letter a long time ago, probably about 3 or 4 years ago, right when I first started dating Nick. I wrote this during one of our much-missed writer's nights at Mel & Kat's place. I was going to mail it, but then I forgot all about it until I found it while cleaning last week. I figured I'd share it here instead of just tossing it in the recycle bin. Ahh, memories...
"Dear Ihop,
Thanks to you, I may never know the wonders of the marionberry. Nor will I experience the tantalizing sensation of lightly-lemoned pancakes. No Oregon berries will whet my palate. In fact, I may never eat pancakes again, and it's all your fault.
Yes, Ihop, I blame you, faceless corporate entity of flapjack fame for the false advertising that has left my mouth watering for weeks on end, craving sweet delicious bites of Oregon berry pancakes. 'Yes, I will celebrate the United States!' thought I. 'No, I've never tried a marionberry!"
Today, for the first [and last] time, I came to Ihop. We ordered the Oregon berry pancakes. After being asked to pay in advance, a truly abymssal business practice, I must confess - as why should I be expected to tip before receiving any service? - we were informed that the pancakes we'd ordered were not available. Instead, having already paid for the premium pancakes, we were offered a bland and boring selection of ordinary pancakes. What could we do?
I have but one question, Ihop: what the fuck is a marionberry?"
:)
30 June 2012
16 June 2012
Estate Sale Haul
Vintage Russian dude embroidery - $8
Giant bag of vintage doilies - $8
Pair of vintage frames - $5
Bunch of rusty skeleton keys - $10
Box of bizarre television tubes - $3
Gorgeous rhinestone necklaces - $4
Vintage rhinestone earrings - $5
Total spent - $43!
The rush of finding a sweet deal? Priceless.
21 May 2012
Giveaway Day: Zippers Like Wow!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
Congrats to our TWO winners!
Winner #1 will get a 100 pack of zippers.
Winner #2 gets a pack of 50 zippers.
I sent you both an email and will need to hear back from you with your addresses by Monday at noon.
Didn't win? Don't be sad -- you can save 10% on your on assortment of zippers from my etsy shop, Key Lime Supplies, with coupon code: ZippersLikeWow.
Hurray for Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Days!
The last time I participated, I met lots of great new people, gained some new fans to my blog, and had a blast! I ended up mailing about 10 packages of zippers for that giveaway!
This year, I am giving away a box of 100 zippers in all colors of the rainbow! (Here's my listing on etsy if you don't want to wait.) You'll get 100 plastic teeth zippers in all colors of the rainbow -- the zippers range from about 10 inches up to 36 inches -- you'll get mostly very long 18 inches or longer zippers! [This is open to anyone worldwide!] This will be enough zippers to keep you busy and outta trouble for a long, long time!
This giveaway will close on May 25 at 5 PM pacific standard time.
To enter, just leave me a comment telling me about the coolest project you have ever completed -- whether it's sewing, drawing, painting, or anything else!
You don't have to be a follower to win, but I will be super happy if you decide to become one! In fact, if you are a follower or become one, you can get an extra entry by leaving an extra comment telling me that you are!
Want another extra entry? Head on over to the Key Lime Supplies facebook page, like it, and leave a comment telling me the type of supplies you'd like to see in the store. Then come back here and leave another comment telling me that you visited.
Or visit my etsy shop, Key Lime Supplies, then come back here and leave another comment to tell me your favorite item in the shop!
(Yes, you can do all three -- which means you can get up to four entries for these zippers!)
Plus: if I get at least 200 entries, I choose a second winner for a package of 50 zippers!
For every 200 after that, I'll chose another winner for a small sampler package of zippers!
P.S. I have a free 100 year old vintage postcard that you can download.
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
15 May 2012
Free Download: 100 Year Old Postcard
Here is the full image:
And the reverse:
So how do you get the free digital download?
You'll get the a full resolution PDF of the 100 Year Old Postcard including a high-quality scan of the front and back of the card just by signing up for my new mailing list.
Why should you sign up?
- You'll learn about free downloads and new tutorials before anyone else.
- You'll get a coupon code to my new etsy shop, Key Lime Supplies, as soon as you sign up.
- You'll receive special offers and freebies from time to time.
- You'll be eligible for early-bird discounts on new art journal classes, a subscribers-only perk!
Plus you can easily opt out at any time with no hard feelings!
12 May 2012
Vintage Gold-Plated Cuff Link Blanks 13mm Glue Pad 1 pair - $1.50
Got a dapper fella? Spruce him up by making him a custom pair of cuff links -- these gold-plated links will get you started.Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!
04 May 2012
Special Offer - FREE Coupon Code
Use coupon code "KEYLIMESURPRISE" and receive a top secret surprise discount on your next order from my shop!Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!
24 April 2012
Etsy Scandal: Ecologica Malibu
I just pitched this story:
Dear This American Life --
I'm a big fan of your program -- absolutely love it! I have a story
idea that I would LOVE for your team to investigate: I'm sure you are
familiar with Etsy, the handmade marketplace, but perhaps you aren't
familiar with the bane of artists on etsy: the resellers. Basically,
resellers are people who are pretending to be selling hand-crafted
items, and I suppose they are, if you count items that were
hand-crafted in China. These resellers are in direct violation of
Etsy's TOS that all sellers must agree to before opening an shop on
the site. The problem is that the resellers are rampant -- it's likely
that a large portion of the money that Etsy brings in from seller fees
(a listing fee of 20 cents plus 3.5% of the final selling value) comes
from said resellers. Etsy claims to be against the resellers, but a
scandal happened this weekend when a featured Etsian was uncovered by
April Winchelle (aka Helen Killer) of Regretsy fame (or infamy?).
Regretsy.com is dedicated to exposing the ridiculous antics, bad
crafting, and general bad business practices that take place on
Etsy.com. (I'm not affliated with Regretsy; just a fan!). The featured
seller, Ecologica Malibu, sells items that are patently against Etsy's
TOS; with just a few minutes of research, April of Regretsy was able
to find proof of this fact:
http://www.regretsy.com/2012/
(Here is the featured seller page on etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/
People began leaving comments on the featured seller post at Etsy,
hundreds of them, questioning Etsy's choice of Ecologica Malibu as a
featured seller. Usually, such conversations are shut down within
hours on Etsy; they have a "No Call Outs" policy which ensures that
everything gets hushed up quickly. This time, however, the comments
ran all through the night. First thing Monday morning, this comment
was posted by an Etsy admin:
"Juliet Gorman says:
Hi everyone, thank you all for your comments. While it is our policy
not to publicly discuss individual Etsy members, it’s clear that we
missed critical information in our process here. This is our fault,
not the person behind this shop. I ask that you continue to treat one
another with respect and understanding. Our next featured seller is
now live on the site. I am closing comments on this article while we
take the opportunity to investigate this matter more fully. I
apologize for any turmoil this has caused, and thank you for vigilance
in this matter."
A few hours later, the statement was amended to read:
Juliet Gorman says:
Hi everyone, thank you all for your comments. It is our policy not to
publicly discuss individual Etsy members. But I want to note that *if*
we missed critical information in our review process, that will be our
fault, not the person behind this shop. I ask that you continue to
treat one another with respect and understanding. Our next featured
seller is now live on the site. I am closing comments on this article
while we take the opportunity to investigate this matter more fully. I
apologize for any turmoil this has caused, and thank you for vigilance
in this matter.
All of the comments were deleted. Which means that if you happened to
miss that 24 hours or so that the scandal was ongoing, you'd have no
idea what had just happened. I knew Etsy admins would delete the
comments, sooner or later, so I did screen shots of them all and
posted them on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
Although a new featured seller was immediately up on the home page,
Ecologica Malibu's interview was still up, albeit with the amended
comment at the bottom and comments closed on the post, and the shop is
still open and making sales.
What I, and many, many other people want to know: is how can Etsy
purport to be a handmade marketplace when they are obviously allowing
non-artisan goods to flood the marketplace? As an artist myself, I
find this horrifying and have closed my Etsy shop, at least until Etsy
responds in some way. I'm sure other will follow suit. So far, Etsy
has done nothing and even featured Ecologica Malibu on the front page
the next day.
I'd love to hear Mariana of Ecologica Malibu respond to the
accusations of her being a reseller in violation of Etsy's TOS,
especially after reading this blog post by her responding to the
comments (also now deleted, but available at the regretsy link about
the shop above) I'd love to hear from Etsy's Admin about why they
continue to allow resellers and still claim to be a place for handmade
goods. I'd love to hear from former Etsy sellers who have left, either
voluntarily or forcefully, and I'd especially like to her from April
about the reaction to her post. Hell, I'd love to hear about the
people who REALLY make the furniture being sold in her shop.
I know your readers would love it. And I know This American Life won't
let me down!
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