PA Meetup: The Uncorked Artist

Hey PA!! Jacquelyn from justjacq back (haha that rhymes) planning another get together for you!

Have you heard of The Uncorked Artist? It's pretty cool so allow me to explain. Basically you and some girlfriends get together, drink wine, and paint a painting that a local artist is teaching you how to paint. You aren't limited to the exact colors of the paininting so everything comes out custom. Let's say you're doing a flower and their flower is yellow with a pink vase. Yours can be a white flower in a black vase. Whatever you want! Get it?

Anyway, they have this calendar where they display the painting they'll be doing at that time and you can sign up for that time. Space is limited which is why you have to sign up. Or, even better, you can book a private party, pick your own painting and have the space to yourself!

So here's the deal. I'm putting this event idea out there to see how much interest there is because you have to have a minimum of 10 painters to book a party. The price for an evening party is $35, $30 for an afternoon, and $25 for the morning which are the same prices as a public party. Because we need a minimum of 10 people I thought we'd open this event up to friends as well. So grab your best gal pal and come paint a painting! If you're interested, please fill out the form below so I can start to plan this event.

P.S. because we are still responsible for the full price of the party (as in, we'd still be responsible for $350 if we did an evening party even if less than 10 people attended) I will probably request payment up front. This will also cover the deposit required for the party. If we get less than 10 RSVP's I will refund everyone's payment.

The Uncorked Artist
1414 Old York Rd
Warminster, PA 18974

(if you can't see the form below, use this link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SGtyDg8DEMnvLsUKwmJvFPCBtINHMn644-v7W2Kng_s/viewform)

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Friday Five: 5 Facts About Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

TGIF in the house! Another fall weekend is here, and for me, that means a weekend of Eagles football, Flyers hockey, and all things pumpkin spice. I L-O-V-E this time of year.

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm MarlaJan, and I blog at my little space on the interwebs, Luck Fupus. I'm also the NJ state rep for the Northeast Bloggers Network, and I'm hoping that allows me to get to know many more of you!

Now that fall is upon us, it's also that time of year (at least in my area) where every weekend is a walk to support some type of cause. If you know me, you know I love a good cause.

I'm here to tell you about lupus and the 2013 Philadelphia Lupus Loop. You may have heard about lupus on the show House. In Dr. House's world, it's never lupus. In my world, after 6+ months of playing Mystery Diagnosis, it was.

I was diagnosed with lupus and other autoimmune diseases in August of 2008. It's been a long road, and what started as fairly mild disease activity, eventually led to major organ involvement and my having to go out on long-term disability from a job I truly adored.

Unfortunately, lupus doesn't get the "publicity" nor the funding it deserves, so, I'm going to educate you, Friday 5 style, on a few things about the disease.

Put on your thinking caps, because there will be a test at the end.

Just kidding.

5 Facts About Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

1.

Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body. In lupus, your immune system can't tell the difference between foreign invaders and your body's healthy tissues and creates autoantibodies that attack healthy tissue, causing inflammation, pain and damage to various parts of the body, including the lungs, heart, blood, joints, kidneys, brain and skin.

2.

Research estimates that 1.5million Americans have lupus, and it is more prevalent than AIDS, sickle cell anemia, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis combined.

3.

Ninety percent of the people who develop lupus are women. Men can also develop lupus, and their disease can be more severe in some organs.

4.

Common symptoms of lupus are hair loss, extreme fatigue, butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and nose, abnormal blood clotting, ulcers in the nose or mouth, painful/swollen joints, headaches and fever.

5.

Factors that may trigger a lupus flare include ultra-violet light, infections and stress.

More information can be found at the Lupus Foundation of America.

The 22nd annual Philadelphia Lupus Loop Walk To End Lupus Now is on October 27th, 2013. This is my sixth year as team captain for Team Lupalicious. 

If you would like to donate to a great cause, please do so by clicking on the official donation page for

Team Lupalicious

Thanks for you support!!!!

My BFF and big sister Brie from A Breezy Life and me at the 2012 Lupus Loop!

Love you all
MarlaJan

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*I'm very close to 100 GFC followers, and once I get there, I'll be doing a groovy giveaway!

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Friday 5s: Five Reasons to Love Living in NEPA

For this week's Friday 5s we are traveling up to North East Pennsylvania (aka NEPA) and checking out 5 reasons why blogger Leslie loves living there!

 

Me at Ricketts Glen

For those who don’t know, I live in Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania, which is a part of Northeastern Pennsylvania, or NEPA. We call it NEPA… don’t ask us why. I compiled 5 good reasons why I am blessed to live here!

1. Abundant Nature! I live near beautiful state parks, forests, waterfalls, and hiking trails. I am in the middle of so much nature. My friend owns a pumpkin patch for crying out loud! Mark and I hike trails at Rickett’s Glen State Park and go camping (Well, LARPing…) at Hickory Run State Park. I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful nature filled area. Part of me thinks I’m a city girl, but my heart loves being close to the forest.

2. The Farmer’s Market on Thursday. I love going out to the Public Square and seeing a showcase of local farmers peddling their produce. I tend to buy squash, corn, green beans, tomatoes and onions every week. My sister and I like to go out together on our break from work. They sell big yellow sunflowers, shoo fly pie, apple doughnuts, and loads more. It’s a fantastic way to get your weekly groceries without having to pay to have them flown in from California and Florida, while supporting the local economy.

3. The PA Renaissance Faire. I mean it is where Mark and I got engaged after all! It’s theme park meets history. You can walk amongst the nobility and the peasants of 16th century England and even rub elbows with the Royal Court. There are dastardly pirates, a delicious winery, and even a joust to end the day.

4. Roba’s Corn Maze! Every fall, my family and I go to a big corn maze and run around in the brisk autumn air trying to make our way to the end. We bring a delicious picnic consisting of apple cider and other autumn essentials as well. It’s the perfect way to kick off the autumn season, get excited for Halloween, and spend time with the family. Plus this year, my niece gets to try it for the very first time!

5. NEPA BlogCon! I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my blogging conference project. NEPA BlogCon is a day long conference where me and my cohorts (Karla, Mandy and Michelle) gather the best and brightest in social media and blogging for the educational event of the year. It’s Northeast PA’s only blogging conference and loads of fun to plan and attend. Check out the website, why don’t you! NEPABlogCon.com

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Today's Friday 5s post comes from North East Blogger Leslie, who writes over at Leslie IRL.  Leslie resides in NEPA and blogs about geek girl culture, cats and food, just to name a few.

Bloggers Meet Up in Philly!

I am so excited to announce the very first ever North East Bloggers meet and mingle!

The meet and mingle will take place on August 17th at 3:30 at the Field House in Philadelphia.  This is a very central location and easy to get to as it is right by the Center City train station!  Field House is a sports bar type of atmosphere and very relaxed.  This location is very welcoming and children are welcome as well!

We will have some fun and games, including some prizes and goody bags!  So far we have a couple of sponsors with some fun prizes we are giving away!  There is no cost for this event, except any food or drink you want to order!

Although this is in Philly, it is open to all North East Bloggers!  Come one come all!

Think you might be interested?  Please RSVP so I can give an estimated count to the place and let our sponsors know an estimation as well!  Please RSVP by August 12th.

Click here to RSVP!

P.S.- I would love to do more meet ups in the future in NYC and Boston but I need help!  If you are interested in helping plan a meet & greet in either of those cities this fall please email me!

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Friday Five: 5 Philly Area Spots Worth the Money

On this week's Friday Five we are showcasing five great spots in the Philly area that are worth the money!

1. Longwood Gardens: although it cost money to enter the gardens, it is definitely worth it!  There is an expansive amount of land here to walk around and enjoy the day.  They also have a very large green house with plants from all over the world including jungle and dessert rooms!  There are rotating events as well, such as the Christmas lights events and various flower events, too!

2. Linvilla Orchards:  It doesn't cost money to get in here, but you will probably end up spending money while you are there!  Linvilla is a great place to bring your family- they have carnival type of food booths, a petting zoo, playground, tractor rides and of course fruit picking.  In the fall they have apple picking and a pumpkin fest.  In the spring/summer you can go pick other various fruits or pick something up from their huge farmer's market store!

3. Philadelphia Zoo:  Did you know the zoo in Philly is America's first zoo?  Not only that but it is a really nice zoo, easy to navigate and has a great variety of animals, including a cute baby giraffe!

4. Bushkill Falls: Okay, this one isn't technically in the Philly area but its a pretty close drive (2 hours or so) and SO worth it!  It does cost money to get it, but there are hiking trails all around and over the various falls.  The trails are very well maintained wooden trails.  If you are afraid of heights you might want to stick to the foot path trails!

(and yes, that's me!)

5. Philadelphia Museum of Art:  this museum is huge and has a lot of art work to see from various eras as well as rotating special exhibits!  Not to mention you can take your picture with the Rocky statue out front and run the "Rocky Stairs!"

Do you have a great idea for a post?  Interested in submitting a Friday Fives Post or Guest Post with us?  Click here to submit!

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This week's Friday Five post was written by Rachel of Can't Google Everything.  Rachel is a lifestyle blogger living in the Philadelphia suburbs.  She is a wife, mom, teacher and lover of exclamation points!