Alert:

I am going to South Beach in…two weeks! I hope I can get my butt into my new bikini by then…

PS: My trip is part of a Volkswagen blowout birthday bash…I suppose I should tell them I hardly remember how to drive…

A few months ago, I invited my BFF over to enjoy her first Chanukah celebration. (The event was chronicled in a fine film now available on YouTube.)

Today, we completed our culture transfer by me visiting Allie’s home to experience my very first Easter. It was complete with Easter egg painting, cake, and ukuleles!

A photo diary:

No traditional celebration is complete without musical accompaniment! Here, Allie and our friend Bob jam to some jaunty tunes on the ukulele.

Next was the egg-dying portion of the party! (Technically the reason for our joining together.) During my egg tutorial, I learned there is a link between the festivities and my previous vault of knowledge!

Yes, that is a hair dryer you see there! Apparently, one can use this as a source of heat in applying a stencil to an egg! It works fabulously, and is a great multi-tasking idea if you wish to touch up your hair while creating. (In fact, I am encouraging all henceforth to keep a hair dryer in the kitchen at all times for such combined duties.)

The results were quite fabulous!

Finally, we enjoyed the best part of *any* party: cake! In tribute to the spring-nature of the festivities, the cake was (of course!) pink. Check out the awesome castle motif.

Thanks so much to Allie for making my first Easter a smashing success. Next installment: Allie’s first Passover!

As this week is the first anniversary of my blog, I wanted to revisit some of the most fun finds of the time we’ve been together. And if you look back in the annals of Alytude history, once upon a time, we gave away the cutest bunny slippers *ever*.

Well, in the week of hopping bunny cuteness, how can we not bring them back?

These slippers are an adorable find from Barefoot Parties. Check out the URL at left for all sorts of special deals and adorable holiday gifts. My friend Laura read about Barefoot Parties last year on here, and now is a popular consultant for them! In fact, this month, she’s offering a chance to enter to win a beautiful “You are the Gift” bracelet when you shop through her web site.  No matter what ails you on these ides of March, a bunny and whiskers on your feet can’t help but make it better!

These slippers are hotter than ever. In fact, check them out at Oscar awards ceremony!

It’s the little details we pamper ourselves with to make even the nastiest days more fun. These slippers are an awesome start - and Barefoot Parties is giving away five pairs of these adorable floppy-eared soles to our readers! To have your chance, message me with your own tips for cheering yourself up on those gloomy days + and your favorite Alytude memory! Deadline to enter is March 21st.

As my friends and family will attest…birthdays are of manic importance to me. So much that I drive them crazy, planning my special day months in advance.

No, it’s not my birthday. Not even close. (Thank God.) However, it IS my blog’s birthday this week!

To celebrate a year of Alytude - of fun content, groundbreaking news (i.e. new hair styles, good and bad), and truckloads of contests to add clutter to all our lives, we’re going to have a month of fun. For the next month, expect more contests and giveaways than ever before…all in honor of the month of Alytude!

(Or, spring cleaning, whatever. You get lots of loot, I feel loved.)

OK, I’m very happy for all you couples who are basking in your mutual Valentine’s love.

But, as I sit in the coffee shop trying not to choke on my soy latte, can you please refrain from sucking face?

Thanks.

Ashley, one of my colleagues and new buds here at SheKnows, just passed along an image to me that I think describes this whole gruesome holiday in a nutshell.

Valentine’s Day is just a few days away (I am proud to say I bought my heart-bedecked stockings just this weekend!).

Are you in the heat of preparation mode? Check out the brand-new SheKnows Valentines Guide - with everything from what to cook to what to wear to the best plots of seduction!

Adam & Eve Toys, the official sponsor of the SheKnows Valentines Day site, has been kind enough to give away one of their most fun toys in the spirit of the season.

Want to show yourself some love, whether you are coupled or single this year? Dare to put a little more tease in your Valentines Day with this glass dildo from Adam & Eve. Glass allows an enticing warming sensation, for a uniquely hot experience - and the raised ridges and pleasure swirls will make sure the action goes to the right spot. (Yes, that one!) Enter to win an Adam & Eve Crystal Teaser Glass Dildo! Hurry, give-away ends February 15^th!

We have five to give away - to win, scroll back and check out the latest news (good and bad) in my blog in the past week, and list three of those items below. Then, tell me about your absolute worst Valentines Day ever - and why you need to make THIS one count!

Points and Prizes Keyword: ACTION worth 25 points good through 02/17/08

My BFF Allie alerted me she had never celebrated before Chanukah, but was interested in the experience. Always up for conquering new ground (and exploiting it for the land of YouTube), I invited her to my own family’s festivities. We then recorded some key moments for prosperity. Note, this video was taken a few days after Lily and Frankie had their puppies, so the atmosphere is decidedly unique!

Thus, I present the greatest video of our time - Allison’s First Chanukah (featuring me).

PS: Join us again this spring, when we continue our series with my first Easter Egg painting experience, and Allie’s first seder. Good times!

There’s nothing like shoveling in candy and egg nog to make you feel anything but sexy no matter how festive the season.

Then again, a little help can go a long way.

Founded by legendary adult film actress, Tera Patrick, Mistress Couture is a high fashion lingerie collection combining fine fabrics and creative detail. The designer combined her love of burlesque influenced lingerie as well as rockabilly dresses to create her first collection that transcends into the fashion world.

The lingerie line was pretty much invented for gals like me: itconsists of a lot of pink (Tera’s favorite color), black and perfectly complimented by silk bows. Tera’s love for fashion and understanding of sexy is conspicuously revealed throughout the line.

Check out the piece above, which I’ve recently added to my own wardrobe. Dubbed “Sexxx Machine”, it’s comfy-meets-come-hither and I love it.

I love it so much that one of you will win one too! To win, tell me your secrets to feeling sexy. Deadline December 26.

Are you looking for quality holiday tuneage to accompany your hot-buttered-rum conconcting?

Visit my friends Spiraling: http://www.myspace.com/spiraling - I can’t stop listening to their rendition of Do You Hear What I Hear? - and if you stop by their MySpace now, you can also see them performing Feliz Navidad this weekend with Debbie Harry and their performance of Nutrocker by ELP.

Oh, and send them a friend request while you are there! I promise you will be listening as obsessively as I am.