Kim Welling, owner of Kim’s Little Monsters on Etsy has created these little matchbox sized delights to brighten our days and calm our uneasy, worrisome minds. She has a few variations to choose from, inspiring beauty (“You look wonderful today!”), perseverance (“Wishes will come true!”), confidence (You’re a star!), and a little bit of assurance (“Everything will be okay!”).

For just about $10, they are perfect add-ons for care packages and long distance friends in need or a personal favor to yourself. Check them out here and share the love!

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We gather here today to mourn the loss of our seven year soul sister, 30 Rock.

What’s the past tense for scam? Is it scrumped? Tina Fey, I think it’s appropriate to guesstimate that you just got scrumped. The scam of course being that 30 Rock just got the final boot.

We tried to save you, 30 Rock, but some things just cannot be saved. Polaroid was oddly not one of those things. Had only we been so successful. This impossible project proved truly impossible. When I heard even Alec Baldwin had offered to give up 20% of his paycheck in exchange for a full seventh and eighth season my eyes welled up in tears–I couldn’t believe 20% of his paycheck would pay for TWO seasons of a TV show. He must have an absurd paycheck. Later I also got pretty misty over the fact that had become strikingly clear: NBC’s refusal was a nonnegotiable. TGS was OVER. No more awkward Liz. No more awkward Kenneth. No more awkward Tracy. No more awkward Jenna. No more awkward all the characters besides Jack. No more awkward anything, I guess. I might have to watch This Old House on PBS now. As someone we know would say, “Nerds.”

Back to reality. Oops, here comes gravity.

As with most casts of characters that have inhabited televisions and lives for years on end, seeing them leave is hard. Who will we talk about like they’re our friends? Our real friends? The cast of F.R.I.E.N.D.S? Ok, yeah, the cast of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. For so many of us, this caravan of weirdos was our second family (or third or fourth, depending on how many real families you have to start). Nonetheless, those twenty-two minutes of laughter answered our questions about life for seven years.

How should we live every week? Like it’s Shark Week. 

What’s the adult dating-world like? Your haircut. Sometimes, awkward triangles occur.

What if we don’t know all the answers? There’s a lot about this world that we don’t understand, like the afterlife or how bread becomes toast.

No life rock was left unturned.

Whether in moments of ultimate gut-wrenching giggles or truly horrific Lutz blunders, you did what you came to do: deter applicants from applying to the NBC Page Program. And for that, we thank you.

30 Rock, how much do we love thee? More than Kenneth Parcell loves television, you say? More than we all love television?! Let me count the ways. No, wait. Let this compilation of best quotes count the ways (there are many). Or this montage of Dr. Spaceman medical moments (there are many). Or this collection of 50 Greatest guest stars (there are 50). Or the number of pints of 30 Rock inspired Ben & Jerry’s Liz Lemon will be eaten out of love and/or sadness (there will be at least 200).

If I can leave you with two life lessons today they are that a life spent laughing is a life spent living, and that there ain’t no party like a Liz Lemon party ’cause a Liz Lemon party is mandatory. So here’s to you, 30 Rock. It’s been fun. We’ll be here, thinking about you, workin’ on our night cheese every Thursday night. High-five a million television angels for us.

Rest in syndication, amen.

Image via RollingStone

The post Life Without “30 Rock”: A Eulogy appeared first on HelloGiggles.

(Plus, check out this great She’s The First Cupcake Campaign Video for inspiration for next years bake-off!)

For the past two years, I’ve watched my sister passionately bake and raise awareness for the amazing cause: supporting girls through providing education in developing nations. She’s the First “became part of the movement that believes the best way to fight poverty and extremism is to educate and empower women and girls…Launched in November 2009, on the belief that money could affordably be raised for girls’ education through the creativity of young people,” STF now lives on through fundraising on college campuses across the United States. With the inspiring mission statement professing the commitment to helping girls graduate and raise “global awareness in young Americans, by inspiring them to lead creative fundraisers and correspond with sponsored students,” the efforts of many have already led to a successful year so far, bringing in just about $25,000 from cupcakes this November!

Take the time to check out this important and amazing lady love. Transform a generation of gender education inequality and be a part of something great. ‘Tis the season of giving, after all.

Voting on Facebook ends on December 4th and the winners will be revealed on December 8th on NBC. So get clickin’!

To vote for She’s The First to be a recipient of an American Giving Award, click here!

To support a girl directly via She’s The First, click here!

The post Cause for Celebration: Supporting ‘She’s The First’ appeared first on HelloGiggles.

As females do, we Carrie Bradshawed (I made that a verb) and she told me of her current relationships and past loves over tapas and wine, an order which she translated. Living in Los Angeles, I know billboard Spanish and solely billboard Spanish. I can recognize the words for sale (la venta), accidents (accidentes) and “i’m lovin’ it” (me encanta), but that’s about it. After I met her, I asked for a French Rosetta Stone from my parents to enhance my terrible high school fluency, but I guess life got a bit busy or I got a bit lazy and it’s been in the box for a few years, leaving me merely pretty great at English. It’s impossible to detect time advancing and life changing until you bring up all the things that have happened between the ages of 20 and 25, in which case the entire world immediately feels almost over and entirely lost to hangovers and heartbreak and blissful, stressful happiness. I told her about the end of college and she told me about her world travels. I told her about a boy from Pittsburgh and she questioned why any place would be named “Pittsburgh”—a fair question when you grow up in romanticized Lyon. The only thing we don’t see eye to eye on is the name for eggplant—she prefers “aubergine.” Her most recent love is one with a Colombian boy living and more notably, a Colombian boy who only speaks Spanish. She had concerns about being in a relationship where she couldn’t speak to her boyfriend in the language in which she spoke to her own mother. Most disconcerting of all, he had no idea what a bagel was.

“I was talking about breakfast and I mentioned a bagel and he looked at me. I had to describe a bagel. I had to translate what a bagel was. How can you love someone who doesn’t know about bagels?”

There I was, sitting in Madrid talking about bagels with a girl who five years earlier thought I celebrated Heineken. It was a moment of clarity and confusion because it was just about a bagel and possibly a champagne problem of being trilingual, but it wasn’t just about a bagel. It was about a lifestyle and a relationship and a future that could be lost in translation without the excuse of not knowing the language. Except that the bagel was a language all itself.

I thought about my history and relationship with bagels and my history and relationships because of bagels. My favorite part of fasting was breaking fast with lox and bagels—creating towers of tomatoes and salmon, perfecting my deli Jenga one ingredient at a time. My childhood Sunday mornings would start with an inconspicuous brown paper bag left on the kitchen island filled with an assorted dozen by my father who had left to play golf. Hangovers in college were cured with egg sandwiches on sub-par bagels smushed in a sub-par bagel guillotine but they were bagels and memories nonetheless. My LA office serves and entire table of bagels and spreads everyday for breakfast and even though everyone has gained a significant amount of weight, no one seems to be complaining because it is impossible to hate a bagel and even more impossible to hate a free one. All of my carbless diets have ended with the sight of a bagel accompanied usually by my family whom I love and cherish sitting around the table gorging themselves as well. I remember my grandparents telling me the story of how my grandfather preferred the hard outside of a bagel and would scoop out the inside just for my grandmother who preferred the soft inside. It’s how I defined and knew they were in love. Love was finding someone to eat a bagel with.

Each bready circle of life was a milestone or at least merely a memory of something enjoyable. I’ve never cried while having a bagel although I don’t put it past myself since a lot of outdoor movies let you bring your own food now. LIke the rings of a tree determining its age, I’m sure that my bisection would reveal my happiness was directly proportional to the amount of bagels I had consumed. All of a sudden this “You say ‘potato,’ I say ‘bagel, schmear, lox, and tomatoes,” moment evolved from “Just tell him what a bagel is,” to “You should join Match.com and make your only pre-requisite ‘Bagel Lover.’” I couldn’t imagine settling for a life without bagels, physical or metaphorical, even though when I did I was much thinner and less bloated. They signified comfort and family just like English meant speaking to your mother and telling her you love her.

After a weekend of realizations and sunshine we drove to the airport. Both with jealousy in our eyes, mine for wanting her life of gallivanting around Europe without boundaries, hers for my life between New York and Los Angeles surrounded by people who know about bagels, we said goodbye… in English. She would see her boyfriend after she got back home and whether she educated him about bagels or not, I do not know.

Sometimes a bagel is just a bagel. And sometimes a bagel is everything.

Happy break fast, fasters!

The post Love and Bagels: The Circle of Life appeared first on HelloGiggles.

10. ODD-FACE BUTTONS

When I think about buttons, which is pretty much all the time, I think “There is nothing better than putting a statement onto a small laminated circle, pinning it to your hopefully canvas-thick top and passively announcing ‘Look at my button!’” Maybe it’s the thought of wearing a button of someone who doesn’t look happy that weirds me out. Or perhaps that it’s possible these pictures were taken in their backyard with an iPhone 3 that throws me for a loop. To be honest though, if these were of my own parents, I might not buy them. But I also think I could take more inspiring pictures of my parents. Maybe throw the next batch through an InstaGram effect for a vintage old-but-new touch. Or just use words. These are a little weird.

9. A BAGILLION BUTTON BAGS

Why do the work of finding 44 buttons and a tote bag to put them on and the time to open alllll those clasps and then close allllll those clasps and bandage your pierced fingertips when you could just buy a bag that makes it look like you’ve spent the last four years enrolled in Barack Buttons 101?! Take it to your local farmers market or to school or even better, just leave it empty and carry it around since it probably weighs 10lbs. with all that metal already. Weird.

8. “COOL” T-SHIRTS

Democrats and Republicans alike can join forces over the agreement of one thing: We’re all support the Tee Party. T-Shirts have become personalities all their own. It might just be time to swap out your YOLO tee for a YOPO (You’re Only President Once) or maybe a YOPT (You’re Only President Twice). The Obama Store…and probably your local Urban Outfitters…offers this little gem for $30. I think Michael Scott was among the first to introduce “BFD” aka “Big Frickin’ Deal” to the world. And maybe it should’ve stayed that way. I guess The Situation can finally get his GTL on a little BFD from BHO. Weird. But sort of not  weird.

7. YOGA PANTS FOR AMERICA

Stretching the truth: Bad. Stretching your hammies: Good. Stretching your hammies while keeping politically informed: Great! While I’m totally for sending out a big ol’ namaste to the world, I’m not sure Mitt would be too happy about it when he finds out about my post-class sweat patterns. Innovative, but weird.

6. PHOTOTASTIC iPHONE COVERS

What’s the only thing more fragile than the American economy, breaking at any second upon impact? Your iPhone. A case seems like a legitamate idea here. Protection, style, a message to boot. Except this ones got a picture of Mitt Romney’s backside…actually, that may sell pretty well! You can imagine him talking right into your ear since it’d look like he’s facing, well, your face. Plus, if you ever find that women in the front row of the photo, she can autograph the case! That’d be weird.

5. BEVERAGE SETS (THAT COME WITH BUTTONS?)

I get it. His name is Joe. So is coffee. It’s a mug. They go together like…mugs and coffee. I think I missed the part of the last four years where Joe Biden always said “Cheers Champ” or called me a “Champ” in general and then we’d drink together. Although it would be fun to tailgate Election Day and have Joe Biden call me a champ. But that’s weird. And not going to happen.

4. CAT COLLARS?

What? Michelle isn’t even running for President! Weird, guys.

3. THE “FIRING UP THE GRILL” COLLECTION

“Here’s an idea, let’s combine the most American things we can: Voting and grilling. Then let’s make it so apparent that the patty you’re about to eat from the freezer is old by embossing it with a big 2012 logo on it! Let’s make sure these people are so fired up they are literally firing up their grills and inviting us over for dinner! Who wants dinner! I’m so hungry.” -Someone on the Merchandise team, circa 2011. Why meet the President when you can cook meat with the President? Weird choice. Awesome regift.

2. BABIES??!!

Oh wait no. Just baby clothes. That’s less weird than I thought. Except that babies can’t vote guys. OR CAN THEY? They can’t.

1. BO KNOWS BEST

If you buy a sweatshirt announcing your love for someone else’s dog any other time of the year, everyone but the President of Animal Planet would think you’ve gone a little cuckoo crazy. If you actually bark for Barack Obama, that’s weird. If you’ve been convinced that a black labradoodle is actually the one running for president, well Lucy, you have some ‘splainin’ to do and probably a few newspapers to read. DNC doesn’t stand for Dog National Convention. Unless it does and I am totally wrong, in which case, VOTE FOR BO!

I applaud the Obama campaign for putting such weird gifts and apparel on the internet to turn this race into a rager. Romney had an equally appealing amount of oddities, but somehow just didn’t match up in the “Useless Pet Purchases” department which accidentally dominated this list. There’s still time. While garb is awesome, don’t let a T-shirt or a button sway you too easily. Just like shopping for the best deal, do your research on the candidates! What are you looking for in an ideal candidate, and more importantly, ideal candidate schwag?

all images via the official romney & obama online stores.

The post Gearing Up for November: The 10 Weirdest Buys in the Candidates’ Official Stores appeared first on HelloGiggles.

QUARTERBACK

1. Ronnie “Sunshine” Bass (Remember The Titans)

2. Shane Falco (The Replacements)

3. Uncle Rico (Napoleon Dynamite)

The Gameplan: The position of Quarterback is one of the most treasured, venerated positions in all of sports, like a knight leading men into battle. The man with the plan, if you will. And what leads every day into battle? The Sun. That’s why Ronnie “Sunshine” Bass is the top of the line-up. His golden follicles will bring in the ladies and the touchdowns. The head honcho with a chill demeanor is a golden opportunity for a commissioner. Shane Falco is an outsider who made his name in the NFL as, get this, a replacement QB. He has tons of cheerleader connections and lives on a boat, so that means we’d have great tailgate parties. He’s in! My third round QB option is none other than Uncle Rico. He can throw a football over mountains and that’s a huge plus as well as his only viable skill. Boom goes the dynamite.

RUNNING BACK

1. Rod Tidwell (Jerry Maguire)

2. Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)

3. Jake “Intimidation” Berman (Little Giants)

The Gameplan: Show me the money! And the running way down the field. Rod Tidwell is my numero uno for the position of running back if not purely for the entertainment factor. He’s a valuable commodity! He goes across the middle! He sees a dude coming at him, trying to kill him, he tells himself  ”Get killed. Catch the ball!’ BOO YA! Touchdown! He makes miracles happen! He’s also a bit into himself as that’s all according to Rod. On the other end of the spectrum is Forrest Gump who, as we know, can run forever. What better attributes do you need in a running back? He also loves chocolate so we’d be friends. Minus the running. Last but definitely not least is the most influential man in all of sports, Jake “Intimidation” Berman, the scrawny nothing put the ‘little’ in Little Giants. One time his whole family went fishing, and he was the only one that didn’t throw up! Intimidation is his middle name. That’s good enough for me.

WIDE RECEIVER

1. Charlie Tweeter (Varsity Blues)

2. Petey Jones (Remember the Titans)

3. Air Bud (Air Bud: Golden Receiver)

TIGHT END

1. Tim Riggins (Friday Night Lights)

2. Charles Jefferson (Fast Times at Ridgemont High)

3. Channing Tatum (Just existing in general)

KICKER

1. Barney Gorman (The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon)

2. Kurt Hummel (Glee)

3. Gus (Gus)

The Gameplan: This research has proven one thing to me: Kicker is a weak position in the land of fiction unless we’re talking Bend It Like Beckham. As a NY Giants fan, I am reluctant to draft any Eagle (real or Philadelphian) but in this case, there is no better pick than the garbage picking, field goal kicking Philadephia Phenomenon Barney Gorman, which conveniently is the title of his bio feature. It’s a garbage man, it’s a kicker, wait, it’s superman! No, just a kicker, but still. Second kicker option is Kurt from Glee based solely on the fact that he included Beyonce in his “routine” and it works. Also, his Dad would be so happy and that would make me happy. Finally, Gus from the movie “Gus” which basically no one has seen. He’s a soccer playing pony that gets drafted as a kicker. That’s a real plot of a real movie. Thankfully, it works with my team draft since I get to finally fall back on my #1 rule: If theres a horse that can do it, sign them up!

DEFENSIVE LINE

1. The Titans (Remember the Titans)

2. The East Dillon Lions (Friday Night Lights)

3. The Entire Cast of Friends

The Gameplan: A good defense has their teams back; playing to prevent the opponents from scoring by breaking down their plays and confidence. A team that dances together while breaking down social and racial barriers wins together, isn’t that the saying? The Titans do just that and to be honest, I would assume most teams just want them to win anyway. Sign ‘em up! Second option for me here is (SPOILER ALERT) the East Dillion Lions. Coach Taylor has the devotion of a bunch of players from the Dillon hood, ready to prove themselves. That’s motivation and motivation converts to a pick-six. My third choice for my Defensive Line is the entire regular cast of the television show FRIENDS. The One with the Football where we see the true colors of Monica pulverizing HER OWN FRIENDS to win a Thanksgiving Day game really hits home. Plus, if your team is your family, and your friends are your family, then your team is your friends. That’s simple math. I would want them defending my goals everyday, football or not.

The post ON THE FIELD, OUTSIDE THE BOX: FICTIONAL FANTASY FOOTBALL appeared first on HelloGiggles.

There is no one on this planet who hasn’t taken the opportunity to turn their swimming pool splashing a step further and organize a synchronized swimming performance for the entire swim club. “Watch my handstand twirl!” has turned into a life dream of winning Olympic gold and frankly I’m not sure how these girls do it. Magic? Maybe they’re born with it? Maybe it’s Maybelline? The sport may not be one favored by still photos but that’s an even better reason to watch it live! Silly or seriously awesome, these underwater beauties should be enough to convince you to check out the Synchronized Swimming Events on August 9th, and 10th!

Can’t get enough of the water ballet or London 2012? Check out the documentary on the USA Team here and follow the HelloGiggles Olympic Fever with the twitter hashtag #HelloOlympics until Closing Ceremonies on August 12th!

 Featured Image via NBC Olympics

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I wouldn’t normally claim two primary colors as my two primary colors (I’m more of a fall palette, myself) London is a’calling! I have the distinct honor of cheering on my friend Sarah Trowbridge and her rowing partner as they seek out gold medals for the US Rowing Team in the Women’s Double Skull. The scene here is absolutely crazy, vibrant with the colors of hundreds of nations, millions of faces, and even those weird mascots that I assume are from Despicable Me 3: London Olympics.

The Olympics have a unique way of bringing the world together in a time of ultimate competition for glory. It’s a perfect time to meet people from different places and sing the “It’s a Small World” song while holding hands. It’s also an opportune moment to convince people who don’t think Americans are #1 to jump on the bandwagon.

WE’RE LOUD AND PROUD…

There’s no doubt we’re a proud bunch. I’d venture to say that half the t-shirts sold in the US have some sort of representation or a college we went to or a race we were in or a place that we went. At least that’s what was packed in the suitcases headed to London. Only a nation this great could consume a billion tons of guacamole on a single Sunday and high five about it. If my jean shorts didn’t prove it to you already, I love America. I have been to many countries and cities around the world, and the USA is a melting pot that cannot be matched. If our country is a crock pot, we Americans are the ingredients to the red, white, and blue stew. Gather 10,000+ ingredients into a single arena and you have one large, loud, super exited crowd that is ready to win.

…AND A DAMN GOOD CROWD.

I sat alone at the Eton Dorney grandstand watching Sarah’s first heat, surrounded by a crowd of Union Jack-waving Team GB misleadingly wearing my very own color scheme. I’ve never heard a British person yell until this weekend and still it was mostly like light shouting. With loudish Brits to my right and loud-orange-velvet-cowboy-hat wearing Dutch fans to my left, I was nervous to bring out my little flag and wave it with honor in solitude. And then Americans began racing. And then Americans began winning. And all the Americans in the crowd surfaced and screamed and cheered and blocked the views of everyone around just to make sure athletes in boats that couldn’t hear us could hear us. I’m sure the victorious fist-pumping is somewhat expected out of us now, which only makes it better.

WE MAKE GREAT TELEVISION.

For 14 days every 4 years, people watch Badminton and Judo on TV. When the nightly Olympic programming stops here in the UK, I happily watch New Girl. And then NCIS and then CSI and then Revenge and then Guy’s Big Bite and then realize that I’m supposed to be enjoying the sights and sounds of London and I go to sleep. There is no bigger form of flattery than imitation and I’m honored. Make television, not war.

OUR SWEET, ANGELIC ACCENTS.

A sweet faced Olympic volunteer approached me and asked if I was lost. When I said, “no this is how I look when I wait without a smartphone to play with,” she freaked out and told me she loved my accent. For the most part, I don’t have a particularly cool American accent so needless to say it made my day and it can be safely assumed that people love to hear us talk even if it’s consistently about Ryan Lochte’s abs.

OUR PREDICTABILITY.

Whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, evening tv? Do you miss your old familiar friends waiting just across the pond? The US is a full house of people blowing up their spot when they leave their homes. It’s the beauty of living in a big place with distinct micro-cultures. The United States is to Epcot as the World is to Disneyworld. Americans are stereotypically talkative and inquisitive and boisterous and mostly in foreign restaurants or places of business. It’s only because we care. Which makes it comforting to know that I don’t even have to ask where the man is from who is taking up all the space in the London 2012 Official Store yelling “I THINK EIGHT SHOT GLASSES ARE ENOUGH FOR THE KIDS, RIGHT? WHAT ABOUT THIS MONSTER THING? OR THESE PINS WITH THE THINGS? WHAT ABOUT THIS THING?!” to his wife in the tube station ordering a venti mocha frappachino. All I can hope is that it’s my town. We give you what you want.

WE FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHT TO PARTY.

In the words of P.Diddy and Mase “Ain’t nobody hold [us] down.” We’re a new crop of adventurers compared to the rest of the world. I’ve been sitting on well kept benches in the UK that are older than the oldest manmade thing in the United States. Americans have gypsy blood, all descending from relatives who escaped their lives on any of the other continent and sought out a better one. We all come from risk takers and goal setters. Our ancestors never settled for what they had as good enough and neither do we. I’m pretty sure it’s a fact that the main reason the Founding Fathers ventured across the pond is because they wanted to have the biggest tea party ever and the Queen was like “No” and they were like “Uh yeah. Bye.”

WE WANT TO BE THE BEST.

How can you hate people who strive for success? Every goal starts with an intention and we’re intending on living at the top. It could be worse.

WHY NOT?

Americans are an easy bunch to hate. Our politics, celebrities, fast food habits…the list can go on if you let it. If there were ever a better 2 weeks to win a gold medal for tolerance, it’s now. We can all be friends, right? Yes, yes we can. Jorts and all.

The post Reasons Everyone Should Love Americans (Even If We’re Easy To Hate) appeared first on HelloGiggles.