Living the Dream | Making a Beer Store a Reality

Beer lovers daydream of quitting their day jobs, changing their careers and getting started in the brewing world. Become a brewer or a bar owner or a distributor — anything where you taste, sip and enjoy beer all day long.

Beth Helle and Julie Drews are doing it.

Yes, be jealous. Well, sort of (no surprise, it’s a lot of work).

Beth chatted with PorchDrinking.com about the new beer, wine and homebrew store she and Julie are opening in Alrington, Va. After hours of consideration, months of saving and piles of research, The Brew Shop will open this fall with a heavy focus on all things locally sourced. Read More

Awesomesauce | App Happy

How do you manage the apps on your smartphone?

When I first approached this question, it seemed benign. Upon further conversation with others, I’ve learned that the question is anything but innocuous; in fact, it’s downright divisive. I’m talking “Hello, I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC” levels of loyalty here. While I’ve come to realize that there is no middle ground between the two camps (and that I’m, of course, some weird hybrid of the two; folders AND mutiple home screens for the win!) in my quest to discover which method is best, I’ve come across two of my new favorite time-wasters…I mean…apps.

Read More

Awesomesauce | Dachshunds!

Confession time: I had a different article planned for Awesomesauce this week, but after falling down the rabbit-hole that is the internet due to the above video this week, I have a new obsession: DACHSHUNDS!

Spurred in part by this, the other viral doggie video of the week, I clicked on YouTube for (what I thought was) a hot second, and proceeded to waste about three hours of my life watching the cute suckers. I’ve always had a thing for Corgis, and I do love me a Basset Hound, so we’re going to chalk it up to my love of short-legged dogs (and not my obsession with all things canine itself)…really, I swear that’s it!

Read More

Awesomesauce- Instagram Obsessions

One of the MANY reasons that I love Instagram as a medium is that the app allows you to tell a story with an image. Yeah, yeah, “a picture is worth 1,000 words” is inevitably running through your head right now, but let me explain.

Read More

Awesomesauce | Spring Has Sprung

We’ve finally reached that simultaneously magical and depressing time of year: lent. Mardi Gras is over, every fast food joint in town has advertisements for fish sandwiches on TV, and the awesome/dreadful daylight saving time adjustment is upon us (am I the only one who gets thrown off for a solid week or so when this happens?!)

So much for the awful; I always get excited this time of year, since I know that spring is just around the corner. Triggered by the first glimpse of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg advertisement on TV, sometime around mid-March (regardless of weather) I get a little excited for the pending season change, and here’s why: Read More

Awesomesauce | Retro Modern Tunes

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but according to every BuzzFeed Quiz I’ve ever taken, I’m something of an old soul. Seriously, I’m a fan of Blues Brother Ray Bans (no New Wayfarers for me….what is that anyway?  They look tiny on your face!) pompadours, and Frankie Valli.  I credit all of these loves to my awesome parents, who introduced me to Motown before I could talk, and if the popularity of Duffy, Amy Winehouse, and Adele in recent years is any indication, the rest of the world is finally jumping on the retro bandwagon too.  Read More

Awesomesauce | Flight Search

I think one of the absolute best things about being a person with a “grownup job” is that suddenly, when I take vacation time, I get paid not to work- it’s honestly one of my favorite things about being an adult (that, and the fact that I’m legally allowed to drink, and that no one tells me when to go to bed anymore…we’ve got a rebel over here folks!)

Read More

Awesomesauce | Winter Edition

So, I know I’m down quite a bit on winter in the Midwest, but there are SOME upsides to the cold weather and short days. While I mentioned my all-time favorite around this time last year, there are still a few reasons why this season isn’t as bad as some (ahem, I) make it appear: Read More

Awesomesauce | Foot Cardigan

Ugh. It’s getting to be that time of year when I get depressed by the weather. For those of you who live in LA, or Florida, or somewhere else annoyingly sunny and perfect all the time, I know you have no idea what I mean. But, for those of us living in the Heart of it All in the midwest, January is “God, is winter EVER going to be over?” season. Read More

Awesomesauce | A Cappella Christmas

As we discussed in last week’s roundtable, Christmas music has a definitive place on the calendar.  That being said, once we’re into “Christmas Music Season”, all bets are off.  You … Read More

Awesomesauce | Funny Folks

Ah, the holidays. That magical time of year when turkey, tree-trimming, and (if you’re a member of my family) inter-generational viewings of “The Hangover” abound! While many of us rejoice that we’ll have one and a half whole days in a row of Christmas Vacation where no one truly expects you to answer a work email (it’s sad that that makes me happy, but such is adult life) others (ahem, also me) are thrilled to have two whole days in a row to troll YouTube for funny videos and not feel guilty about it. Read More

Awesomesauce | Etsy

I still remember the first time someone introduced me to Etsy- it was in a group meeting in college, when we were trying to do anything but work on the … Read More

Awesomesauce | Guilty Pleasures (Music Edition)

I was recently caught in a very embarrassing position; I was that girl in the next car over belting out a song that no one admits listening to (much less shouting at the top of one’s lungs on the freeway). To be fair, I’ve been that girl for a while now, but it’s only just recently occurred to me that I really shouldn’t care whether or not I get caught.  Everyone has that playlist that they hope no one ever finds.  Here’s mine: Read More

Awesomesauce | Subscription Boxes

We all have those moments when we realize that we’ve turned into a full-fledged adult.  For most of us, it’s the first time we decide that we’d rather not drink Natty Light, or the time when we say “it was a really long week, can we just stay in tonight?” on a Friday at 6pm.  Read More

Awesomesauce | Magic for Grownups

Last week, I took a train ride that I’ve wanted to take for over 16 years… I rode the Hogwarts Express!  On a family vacation to West Palm Beach, I … Read More

Awesomesauce | Relay App

By now, our mass hysteria regarding Apple’s worst kept secret (an iWatch…duh!) is over, and we can focus on more important things; like your new favorite app!

Of course, everybody loves a good GIF (what’s funnier than watching a 10 second loop of a dog licking a glass door, or some lady falling flat on her face over and over? Answer: nothing), so I knew right after downloading it that Relay was going to be a lot of fun.  At its most basic, Relay is a GIF messenger, but the real delight of the app is in the details. Read More

Awesomesauce- John Mayer

I’ve always been a lover of pop music, but for the longest time I was ashamed to admit it. I’ll be honest- I was afraid of judgment in the “oh, … Read More

Awesomesauce | British Food

As evidenced by my love of Doctor Who, William Shakespeare, and the entire range of BBC America programming, I’m a bit of an Anglophile (ok, beyond that…as previously mentioned, I own a Queen Elizabeth diamond jubilee mug, and I most definitely woke up early to watch the Royal Wedding a few years back.)  As just such an Anglophile, one of my least favorite things to hear is “all British food is disgusting.”  Most people think of British food as black pudding (don’t ask) or spotted dick (actually, quite delicious- it’s  basically cake, people!) and of course there are some real losers out there in the spectrum of British gastronomy. (I’m looking at you Haggis.)  However, there are also some real gems that you should seek out if you’re ever given the opportunity: these dishes may just change your mind. Read More

Awesomesauce | Reddit

Until recently, Reddit was, to me, a lot like professional soccer in the United States;  people around me didn’t seem very interested most of the time, but those that were fans, were FANS.  About 6 months ago, I decided to jump down the rabbit hole myself and see what all the Reddit fuss was about.   Read More

Awesomesauce- Mashup Tumblrs

We all know Arrested Development was:

a) ahead of its time,

b) cancelled too soon, and

c) one of the funniest shows on television.

Read More