Nicole DiGiose

Liebster Blog Award!

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

I received the Liebster Blog Award from Jane Fritz. She always has something meaningful to read on her blog, which focuses on her lifetime experiences and thoughts. I’m honored that she chose me and I’m more than happy to know that there are people who enjoy my work.

The Liebster Award is for bloggers with fewer than 200 followers and is meant to encourage them to keep writing.

The rules of this award are as follows:

1. Thank and link back to the giver.

2. Answer the giver’s questions.

3. Nominate five other blogs with fewer than 200 followers.

4. Ask five questions for one’s nominees to answer.

5. Post it on your blog.

Jane’s questions:

(1) What is it that you like about blogging?

I’m able to express my thoughts and showcase my work. That’s meaningful to me because these feelings and words are mine and they come from deep within. I can write, share it with others who have similar interests, and receive feedback. It’s something I’ll always appreciate.

(2) What is your favorite time of year and why?

When summer fades into fall. The air is crisp and refreshing, it’s warm but not hot, and there’s a soft breeze. It’s the perfect weather to admire the scenery or to go out and have fun in.

(3) If the Internet didn’t exist, and hence the possibility of blogging, would you still write?  If not, what would you do instead to get the same satisfaction?

Of course! I still write with a pen in my diary at least once a week. I can’t escape putting my imagination and experiences on paper to preserve, and I don’t want to.

(4) What’s your biggest weakness/indulgence?

I see others my age who are successful and on their own and I’m nowhere near that. My weakness is being too hopeful about my future in writing. It’s what I want to do and I have to push myself to get that dream out of my head. I think I’m better off working in another field so I can fund my life. But there’s a big part of me that says to never give up.

(5) If you won the lottery next week, would you make any major changes in your life? What?

Definitely. I’d be somewhere warm, in a city where I have a better shot at my career. My college loans would be paid off and so would my brothers’ and my boyfriend’s. I’d get my parents to where they want to be, I’d adopt a bunch of dogs, and I’d certainly go traveling all over the place.

I nominate these blogs for the Liebster Award:

MsTizzle

Kirsten Lopresti

Summerization

Lesley Carter

The Secret Burrow

My five questions:

What inspired you to start blogging?

Out of all your posts, which is your favorite and why?

What stimulates your imagination?

Is where you are in life where you saw yourself five years ago?

Out of the twelve months each year, which month best represents you and why?

Green Bride Guide

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Chilled Magazine.

Green mixologist, Kate Harrison, provides eco-friendly drinks for brides.  She planned her own green wedding in 2007 and founded greenbrideguide.com two years later. Her goal is to help couples use their weddings to promote social and environmental change, as well as support the local organic economy.

The inspiration for the guide sparked from Kate’s engagement. She and her husband Barry got engaged in 2007 when they were both in graduate school at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

“We were trying to plan a beautiful budget-friendly event that was in line with our values and beliefs and I thought it was much harder to find the resources we needed than it should have been,” said Kate. “I wrote The Green Bride Guide: How to Plan an Earth-friendly Wedding on Any Budget to help other brides navigate the process.”  Kate launched greenbrideguide.com after her book became a best-seller in the wedding planning category. Read More

When I Was A Kid In The Summer

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

Buzz of the pool, barbeque’s glossy air

Swaying beneath painted skies

Drops of chlorine slipping from the ends of my hair

Splattering around prune-like toes, mixing with the popsicle raining down my sticky wrists

Family and neighbors laughing with food in their mouths

Dog’s eyes scurrying up the table

Chicken lathered in sauce, bread stuffed with meat, butter melting into corn on styrofoam plates, sheltered under umbrella

Brothers and cousins chasing me up the slide as I snatch the first firefly, only to release it to the first twinkling star

Tips To Make A Bad Day Good

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

Exercise. This always works for me. Go for a run, ride your bike, do yoga, walk your dog. Endorphins can reverse a bad mood in no time!

Go to sleep early. It’s true that things usually get better in the morning. It’s a fresh start for a new day.

Talk to somebody you’re close with. Vent to someone who understands you for some comfort and good advice. Getting negative thoughts off your chest will help clear your mind.

Do something for someone else just because you can. This will automatically make you feel better about yourself. It’s magical.

Make a happy list. Remind yourself of everything that makes you smile. There’s nothing like triggering positive memories or goals you know you can reach.

Get fresh air. Sometimes all you need is a step outside to breathe and collect your thoughts.

Change up your look. Buy some new clothes or style your hair differently. When you look good, you feel good.

Snuggle with your significant other. Being reminded that you are loved and cared for will brighten up any lousy mood.

Snacks That Will Make You Miss The ’90s

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

DunkAroos – More cookies than frosting, every time. Tasty, but as a kid, I was disappointed when I had to scrape up what was left of the frosting tucked into the corners of the little square to get my fix.

Handi-Snacks – I don’t know about that “real” cheese, but I’d day dream of these things as I waited in the classroom for lunch time.

Gushers – No question about it, these explosive treats were in every kid’s lunch box.

Fruit By The Foot – You always had the longest one, even if you really didn’t. Looks of envy swung your way if you whipped out this edible, artificially flavored rope of plastic.

Fruit Roll Ups – Who didn’t enjoy unraveling these masterpieces to pop out Nickelodeon characters, Sonic the Hedgehog, or some random made-up shape? Unfortunately, there were those who just stuffed them in their mouths without appreciating the designs sketched into them.

Welch’s Fruit Snacks – Bursting with flavor, there were always handfuls to share with the pairs of hungry eyes around you. Always something to marvel at when some of them were stuck together.

Lunchables – Made you feel like you could cook. Lunchables seemed more like real food compared to what the other brown-baggers discovered. There was a moment of pride when you slapped that glossy piece of turkey on that giant cracker and topped it with that overly bright slab of cheese. The half-filled packet of special sauce gave it that extra kick. Read More

Lisa

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

A feature article I wrote in September 2010 on a journalist I attended SUNY Purchase College with.

Junior journalism major Lisa Eadicicco always had an interest in writing. Her adoration for making stories from the written word stems from her childhood.

“In third grade I’d love when we had to write stories with our vocabulary words for the week,” she said as she flipped her long hair behind her shoulder. “I took a creative writing class in my senior year of high school and I absolutely loved it. It was so much fun,” she said. “We wrote fiction, screen writing, bits of everything.”

She said her interest in music has also been a big inspiration for her writing.

“I played the drums in a band in junior high and I played the guitar as a freshman in high school,” she said with a smile, eyes squinted beneath brown bangs. “I was into magazines like Spin, Rolling Stone, Alternative Press.  I’d love to write for them,” she said. “Now that I’m really into journalism, I’d write for any publication.”

Eadicicco said when she first got into journalism, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but decided to major in it because she liked to write. “In journalism, it’s all about the hard facts and to me that’s interesting,” she said.

Read More

Mikey

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

A feature article I wrote in September 2010 on a musician I attended SUNY Purchase College with.

Singer-songwriter, Mikey Ballou, a junior composition major from Westchester, looks up in thought. His bleached blonde hair dangles over his eyebrows.

“Flexibility is important,” he says. “The music conservatory here offers more flexibility than most programs in other colleges. I don’t want to be limited to playing one instrument. I want to be in the studio and I want to record every instrument.”

He shakes his head and the hair over his eyes moves to one side. “I can network here. It’s nice to be in an environment where there aren’t 800 other musicians. Competition isn’t magnified as much.”

Ballou says he was exposed to music since he was a baby. He gives credit to his father, a professional musician, who he says he got his ears from. He considers himself independent from his father but it wasn’t always that way.

“My dad forced music on me ever since I was a kid and it sucked for the first few years. I wasn’t interested.” Read More

The History of Pimm’s No.1 Cup

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

 An article I wrote for Chilled Magazine. I just finished and submitted it today. If anyone has any feedback or information, please leave a comment!

Pimm’s No. 1 Cup was invented by James Pimm, the owner of a London oyster bar, in the early 1840s. The thirst-quenching drink is based on gin with a mixture of herbs and fruit extracts. The original recipe included quinine because of its medicinal qualities. Pimm originally served his brew as a digestive aid in a small tankard called the No.1 cup, hence the name, “Pimm’s No. 1 Cup.” The drink was a big hit, so Pimm expanded his business to sell it by the bottle to other taverns.

Pimm built a chain of restaurants in many locations, including The Old Bailey and other places that businessmen would likely come across. By 1859, Pimm’s No. 1 Cup was on sale outside of his restaurants. Years later, Pimm sold his tonic drink business because the rights to it ended up with the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Horatio David Davies. It was Davies who made the drink fashionable, particularly amongst the military, because of his connection with London Society.

It was after the Second World War that Pimm’s expanded their range. They began using a number of different spirits as bases for cups. Pimm’s No. 2 Cup was scotch-based while No. 3 used brandy, No. 4 rum, No. 5 rye and No. 6 vodka. The vodka cup and brandy cup are the only ones still in production out of the sequels. The original No. 1 Cup is still very popular. It is often thought of as the number two English drink (tea being the first). The gin-based beverage is downed by the gallon in England during the summer months, especially during sporting events like the tennis tournament, Wimbledon Fortnight and the rowing event, Henley Royal Regatta. The first Pimm’s bar opened at the 1971 Wimbledon tournament, where over 80,000 pints of Pimm’s and lemonade continue to be sold each year. Read More

35 Things I’m Inspired By

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

I can go on and on, but below are some things that come to mind when thinking about who and what I’m inspired by. I wrote this list in no particular order. I’ve read some other lists and it really says a lot about who you are. Definitely give it a try.

1. Travel writers/journalists

2. Listening to the memories of elderly people

3. People who love animals

4. Documentaries about animals, nature, science, or history

5. Runners

6. Paintings

7. Knitting

8. Open mic poetry readings

9. Musicians who write and perform their music

10. The sun rising or setting over the ocean

11. Finding shapes in the clouds

12. People who find the light in tough situations

13. Cleverness

14. Those who give just because they want to Read More