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St. Louis Blogs Friday – Week 3


Sharing a meal with new friends - brunch with friends
St. Louis is home to some interesting people, not the least of which also blog. Each week I’ll highlight a few of our metro area bloggers. You’ll find the serious, the fancy, and the fun, and hopefully you’ll find a connection with them.

First up is the American Red Cross St. Louis Chapter. This blog is not only a multi-author blog, but allows anyone to submit an article. A recent article covers the Red Cross Earthquake Preparedness and Response guidelines. The blog is updated frequently and is content heavy. Check them out.

Next up is a fairly new blog, Hello My Avocado. The blog description says this:

This is the blog of a 28 year old vegan while she lives, cooks, eats, and tries to lose 30 pounds in Saint Louis. Welcome.

Carol shows her smarts though. This isn’t a whiner’s blog. It’s a real person sharing her life. I’m interested to track her success via the blog as well as get to know her better. So why not drop by at the link above and cheer her on.

Third and final for this week is brought to us by Terry Blastenbrei, The Bosque. The Bosque is home to Terry’s manifestos as he calls them. A professional courier, Terry comes across a world of interesting. A recent adventure found him at an autopsy room. Cool stuff.

If you’ve got more cool, unique, or even regular joe blogs you’d like to see here, drop me a comment, send me a tweet, or shoot me an email, tojosan//gmail.com.

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Cupcakes and Camaraderie


Group picture of all attendees at The Cubicle Chicks 'A Sweet Affair' event at Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe

Danyelle of The Cubicle Chick hosted another great social networking event. Jilly’s Cupcake Bar & Cafe provided the perfect place for A Sweet Affair.

Beyond further cementing Danyelle’s The Cubicle Chick brand this event gave St. Louis chance to network at a local small business. Jilly’s was a great way to follow through on Danyelle’s promise to support locally owned businesses.

This social networking event succeeded as a tweetup, a foodie gathering, and more. I’ll be frank and say this is my first networking event with so many of our Black St. Louisans and Twitter peeps.

So often at events I’ve attended the mix is very Caucasian heavy. Oh there are a few people of different races mixed in but not near representative of the melting pot that St. Louis is. The metro area is not only home to a good mix of whites and blacks, but has a large mix of Asians, middle-easterners, and more.

St. Louis has one of the largest Bosnian enclaves in the US. The Korean community here has founded many churches and businesses. The list is endless of contributions by all races in our area.

It’s a blessing to see more diversity in local St. Louis events. I grew up here when forced segregation was still going on.  I think this is a sign that things are finally moving along in our culture.

Danyelle is building her brand; if she’s willing, she can be an ambassador of change as well. I’m throwing down the gauntlet for my fellow St. Louisans to step up, bring it big, and get all of our citizens in the game.

The Cubicle Chick’s A Sweet Affair

Jilly’s Cupcake Bar & Cafe

Glamazini #159: The Cubicle Chick’s St. Louis Tweet Up!

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St. Louis Blogs Friday – Week 2


Pig as Pet - rotund chef statue holding pig statue on a leash

St. Louis is home to some interesting people, not the least of which also blog. Each week I’ll highlight a few of our metro area bloggers. You’ll find the serious, the fancy, and the fun, and hopefully you’ll find a connection with them.

Zoe Feast, @stlwebdesign, founded the company Indigo Image in 2000, to ‘provide “Grade A” design solutions at affordable prices complemented with excellent customer service.’ Their blog, Indigo Thoughts, shares how Indigo Image brings positive impact to their customers. A recent post, A ROI Website Success Story, talks about a before and after story of Ruth Hasser, a St Louis wedding Officiant. Great story that takes place in St. Louis by St. Louisans.

Melody Meiners, @CosmosGirl, not only blogs but heads up the team of writers for Girls Guide to the Galaxy™. The team of St. Louis ladies blogs on every topic from fashion to fun. A recent article, The Good Buy Girl’s Guide to Surviving A Sick Day, covers the agony and the essentials of taking a sick day.

Steve Patterson, @urbanreviewstl, blogs at Urban Review STL. The site takes a close look at the City of St. Louis and the entire St. Louis region. Recent weather sparked this informative recent article, Lingering snow creates accessibility issues. Steve and other contributors to Urban Review STL don’t shy away from the issues.

These blogs were all spotlighted by recommendation of their fellow St. Louisans. Here’s a round up of those links again:

Indigo Thoughts

Girls Guide to the Galaxy

Urban Review STL

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The Gifted Wedding Jive and Wail Fundraiser


Dueling pianos, open bar, and tasty appetizers – now that’s  a party. In this case it was a fundraiser for The Gifted Wedding at the Jive and Wail.

The Gifted Wedding is an organization dedicated to giving couples with a terminal illness, disability, or a unique financial situation the wedding or vow renewal of their dreams.

The Gifted Wedding team provided the first dream wedding to Anna and Manuel Jimenez. Anna is struggling with ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The Jive and Wail event was both fundraiser and a celebration of the recent wedding.

Jive and Wail provided the right size venue. Their staff was eager and engaged. The bartenders were friendly and kept the drinks flowing.  Topping it off was the dueling piano team.

Dueling Pianos at Jive and Wail

Dueling Pianos at Jive and Wail by Tojosan, on Flickr

Sharon and I enjoyed our time there, meeting both old and new friends. Elisabeth Cutshall gets the real credit for that though. She publicized this event on Twitter, Facebook, and in person.

Know someone that could use this help? Apply at the Gifted Wedding.

Links for this article:

The Gifted Wedding

Jive and Wail

Elizabeth Cutshall

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St. Louis Blogs Friday – Week 1


Run for it! by Tojosan, on Flickr boys running in front of giant head sculpture in City Park in St. Louis, Missouri

Run for it! by Tojosan, on Flickr

St. Louis is home to some interesting people, not the least of which also blog. Each week I’ll highlight a few of our metro area bloggers. You’ll find the serious, the fancy, and the fun, and hopefully you’ll find a connection with them.

Chris Reimer, aka @RizzoTees, started a new blog, The Basement Entrepreneur. His latest post, Why are You Starting a Business, is another thoughtful piece. He’ll remind you of Gary Vaynerchuk.

Stef, aka @cupcakeproject, runs the sweetest blog in St. Louis, The Cupcake Project. Started as a blog chronicling her adventures as a wedding cupcake baker for friends. Her latest post, Mango Rum Cupcakes – Four Baking Lessons and One Life Lesson, touches on the sweet tooth as well as the craziness that is baking.

Milli, aka @milligfunk, is a small town girl that’s well traveled, sharing on A Small Town Girls Guide. Her viewpoint is fun and insightful. The latest article, Ste Genevieve Chocolate Walk Pt. IV: Tour de Missouri Art Bikes, continues a run on her Ste Genevieve tour with a focus on local art.

That’s it for this week. Here are the links again:

The Basement Entrepreneur

The Cupcake Project

A Small Town Girls Guide

Please click through and show some love. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

If you have a favorite St. Louis area blogger you’d like me to profile, leave a comment today.

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Daily Quote from threefourteen


They wondered for their fate as the gang circled closer by Tojosan, on Flickr

“the only thing dragging your feet gets you is worn shoes”

by threefourteen.

threefourteen is aka Jason Wagner. He hails from the St. Louis metro area and has this to say on his Twitter bio:

Tweeting about Architecture, St. Louis, BIM, Revit, Real Estate, Homebrewing. Amateur stock Market Follower and Social Media aficionado

We enjoy some laughs together about St. Louis and social media. He’s got a good sense of humor, he’s humble, and comes across as genuine. I recommend you follow threefourteen.

Castle Tojosan Tweetup


Spiderkid by Tojosan, on Flickr

It’s going to be a party. It’s going to be a Tweetup. It’s all about you and us and some food and some networking. It’s the first ever Castle Tojosan Tweetup.

You and you and you are invited. Oh wait, you’re not late though. The date is Friday, February 19th. The time? 6PM Central and beyond.

Warning – it’s mostly BYOB though I have a couple of bottles of wine in the house. I will take your keys if you’re toast.

This is intended to be a family and friend deals. Bring your kids, bring your wanna be tweeps, bring the garbage man if you like him.

I’ve got wifi, sodas, and video games and movies for the kids. As for food, the plan is to order some pizza, put out some chips, and make some finger sammies.  Whatever else turns up, I won’t mind.

We mostly stock Pepsi products but if ask ahead I can grab a few other sodas.  We’ll also have iced tea on hand.

Oh wait, you want to know where right? St. Peters, Mo. Um. Need more?

5 Westwood Estates Drive.

Google map?

Recap: Tweetup at Castle Jordan – it’s on Foursqure!

Bring yourself and your kids if you’d like. BYOB. Wireless. Big TV w/DVD player, Wii, XBox 360. Jigsaw puzzles. Cards. Yahtzee. Origami. Bring your camera/camcorder.

Food as it works out. If you have special food rules please contact me ahead of time.

Please RSVP here, vai Twitter, email, etc, and remember to tweet it up-  http://wp.me/pfLxC-uv

Note: we have a very friendly dog. He’s about 23 lbs. We don’t give him people food.

Tweetup Out Takes by @Nanna_J


Okay everyone.. tweet!
Sharing a laugh
4355022006 7f84fbcb3f Tweetup Out Takes by @Nanna J

Daily Quote by Dixie Dynamite


Tango - man and woman with art behind

Tango - man and woman with art behind

“I think people ARE an art form – like art we love them, not because we understand them, but because of how we feel in their presence.”

by Dixie Dynamite.

Dixie Gillaspie is a local St. Louis tweep. She’s all about helping you succeed. Beyond Twitter, she can be found at Energy Synergy Harmony.

Dixie is always encouraging online as well as off. Making connections, she attends and plans local St. Louis events as well as online events.

She’s got my recommendation as a must follow.

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Yet Another St. Louis Tweetup


Casa Gallardo Tweetup

Casa Gallardo Tweetup by Tojosan, on Flickr

Couldn’t pass up happy hour tweetup at Casa Gallardo. It’s one of my favorite chain Mexican restaurants.

MilliGFunk through this one. Cheers Milli.

No, I’m not an addict, but if I was there’s always Social Networking Rehab.