It wasn’t me!

(Alas.)

Apparently, someone stole $26,000 worth of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon.

Yes, I WAS in Kentucky last weekend. And yes, of course, I visited Buffalo Trace Distillery – the makers of Pappy Van Winkle. But I’m sad to report that I am not the proud owner of nearly 200 bottles of the bourbon. :(

What is Pappy Van Winkle, you ask? It’s a most excellent aged bourbon! Pat and I first came across it a few years ago in Pittsburgh when we went to the local Whiskey Fest. We were lucky enough to snag a bottle soon after from the local state store – at the time, we didn’t realize HOW lucky we were! It’s nearly impossible to get from stores – you have to sign up on waiting lists ages in advance to even have a hope of getting a bottle – and can cost over $1,000 from some resellers. Eep!

Any employee or others found in warehouse tampering with barrels will be subject to dismissal.

The dire warning on the “secret” library entrance to one of Buffalo Trace’s warehouses (see above) was obviously ineffective in preventing the theft. Le sigh.

An experimental cask at Buffalo Trace.

So now, my chances of getting a new bottle of Pappy Van Winkle are ever so slightly smaller than the slim chance I had before.

Which means now I’ve got to go drown my sorrows in a glass of Eagle Rare. Neat.

[All photos by me.]

Summer’s Last Hurrah!

Hi again! I’m coming out of my summer hibernation to announce that ModCloth’s “Summer’s Last Hurrah” sale (read: a whopping 70% off hundreds of fabulous clothes, shoes, accessories, and decor items) just started! (But I’m also working on a REAL post, I swear. *^_^* )

Here are a few of my favorite pieces on sale now. Things go insanely fast during these sales, so I suggest going on over to ModCloth ASAP. :)

Some deets about the sale: all items that are 70% off or more are final sale. A LOT of stuff sells out in the first couple of days (and those products are taken down from the sale page), but the sale should last for several days. And shipping is free in the U.S. for orders over $50. :) Of course, because of the huge number of orders, expect shipping to be delayed by a couple of days. If you have any questions, the customer care peeps @ ModCloth are great!

If you’re new to ModCloth, you can use this link for $10 off your first order. Or if you have a friend who has shopped at ModCloth, ask for their link so that they get a $10 coupon after you order too! (As an employee, I don’t get those coupons – but I can’t complain, since I get a discount. ^_^)

Hello again!

Eek! Sorry I’ve been MIA. At first I was prepping for a talk at a Social Media Analytics conference. But then my hard drive died the other day (gasp!) and I lost photos I had planned to use in posts! :( I’m still hoping I can recover my data, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share some stuff from my social networks. Let me know if you’re on these too!

1. Instagram I just got it when it came out on Android. Not thrilled that it was bought by Facebook, but I’m enjoying it for now. :) My username is katealamode.

2. Pinterest Definitely a fave. Lots of fashion, crafts, and recipes here. And I try to be super good about finding the original source for my pins. :)

3. Facebook I recently set up a blog page. Would love to connect!

4. Twitter just for some chitchat. :)

Those are the major ones for me! How about you?

Pinterest Hacked! How to Delete the Spam

If you’re a regular to Pinterest you might have come across this: spammy Best Buy, Starbucks, or Walmart gift card pins – or perhaps pins advertising diet pills. Some of them are labeled as Pinterest giveaways, but they’re definitely not legitimate. Do NOT click the links!

Maybe one ended up in your own stream. It seems that the pin is not deletable, but there is a way to remove it. Open the pin, type “edit” after the end of the pin URL (e.g. http://pinterest.com/pin/5555555/edit), and it will take you to the pin edit page. You can delete it from there.

Also, it may appear under your “Likes”. Just be sure to unlike the pin.

Again, do NOT click the link in the pin! I don’t know where it goes, but I suspect it can bring nothing but trouble.

Where did these things come from? I’m not sure, but it looks like the spammers were using a script to propagate the pins automatically throughout Pinterest. Interestingly, you don’t need to actually click on the pins for them to show up in your stream.

To be on the safe side, after you delete the pin, clear your browser cache, cookies, etc. completely and reset your Pinterest password. It’s always a good idea to run a virus scan, too!

Amy Morby’s Self-Love Declaration of Independence

Amy Morby of A is for Ampersand is celebrating a month of self love. I love the idea, just pledged myself to the cause, and wanted to share!

The pledge:

• Love myself completely and fully
• Refrain from negative body talk and speak kindly to myself at all times
• Actively pursue a positive body image
• Stop holding myself up to unrealistic expectations
• Embrace my genes and accept who I truly am
• Do nice things for myself because I am worth it
• Spread the word of self-love

Self-Love Declaration of Independence | Amy Morby :: Designer :: Writer.

Stop SOPA & PIPA

Image from sopastrike.com

Cabin Fever!

Alright, I’ll make this short, but since I work at ModCloth I just had to share: ModCloth’s fabulous Cabin Fever Sale *just* started! It’s 70% tons of awesome dresses, separates, outerwear, accessories, shoes, and apartment stuff.