My heart is broken. I’m 46. I’m no youngster. I’m a 1980’s girl. The decade was the soundtrack of my life. It was the decade I went from being age 10 to age 20, and music was my everything. I discovered New Wave early on, probably because I had a very cool sister who introduced me to Blondie and Joan Jett and took me to see them at Six Flags Over Georgia when I was 12. Then U2 at the Atlanta Civic Center. To be followed by streams of concerts from R.E.M. to the Alarm to Squeeze to Flock of Seagulls to Fixx to Big Country to Adam Ant to Suzanne Vega and need I say, Duran Duran? I saw them over and over. And Bowie. Even Cher. All under the age of 16. That sums up the start of my obsession with music in a nutshell.

My sister went to see Prince in concert at the Omni. I’m not sure why I didn’t go. How naive and incredibly blind sided? One of the best artists of our lifetime, and I didn’t go.

Bowie died recently, and now Prince is dead. I’ll never be able to see him perform now. Like Amy Winehouse, he was on my list of beloved musicians. All the brilliance of my era gone. Just like that.

The strange thing now is that Prince was just 57 years old. His death is sudden, shocking, and for so many of us, devastating. He was huge in my time. After all, I was a product of MTV and used to sit in front of the television for hours on end watching videos. I literally can feel watching “When Doves Cry” for the first time, and last night I re-watched “Purple Rain” on the network and it kind of felt like seeing it for the first time all over again. In high school, at school dances, and later in college in clubs, I have vivid memories of dancing to “1999” – particularly in the year 1999 when I was living in Israel. We used to sing in on the bus, it was the anthem of our year abroad.

When Bowie died, I became more determined than ever to see my heroes perform live before I lost the chance. I wouldn’t let another concert coming to town pass me by, so I’ve been scouring the internet for upcoming tours. I saw Duran Duran last week at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. My husband bought me tickets to see Sting and Peter Gabriel in July, the Cure in June and we will see Cyndi Lauper and Boy George in a few weeks. I will see everyone I can this year, and the next year and the one after that.

When people like Bowie and Prince die, I get depressed. I freeze. I can’t work. I’m glued to the Internet for updates on their death, their careers, their music. I connect with the people talking about them. I yearn for details about their lives, their endings, and I Google videos from my youth and have one flashback after another.

When I find out these legends from my youth die, I quickly connect to the people from my youth who loved them along with me. When Prince died, I called my sister. I was actually in the middle of a class I’m taking full of young (and old) people when I got the alert about his death and I was shocked. I needed to leave to connect with her. When Bowie died, I texted my high school bestie who saw him in concert with me. The moment somehow brought us back together. For that, I am grateful, but I sure do wish both singers were still alive.

And I can’t stop scrolling through Facebook and Twitter. Mourning is more public than ever in the day of social media, and it’s kind of nice not to be alone.

I read a post on Vox this morning that put it all in perspective – why I feel so lost, why I can’t work, why I feel like I lost yet another friend. The writer said:

Even if multiple people posted about the same song, their reason for doing so varied wildly. My friends and celebrities alike talked about how Bowie and Prince expanded their horizons and made them feel less alone. They talked about how they created thrilling, limitless universes they could visit on demand, within the comfort of their headphones. They talked about how much they meant to them — how much they helped them get to know themselves.

Grieving en masse might intensify the initial reaction, but every single response to a public figure’s death is an individual one. We all experience art from our own singular place. That’s true whether you’re hearing the joyful, soaring chorus of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” or the fierce zip of Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” for the first time. It’s true whether you’re feeling an ecstatic jolt at Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” clutching your face to keep from smiling too hard at Robin Williams’s performance in The Birdcage, giving in to the chills inspired by Heath Ledger’s smile in 10 Things I Hate About You, or closing your eyes and letting the smoke of Amy Winehouse’s voice curl around you and squeeze, just a little too hard.

And that just about sums it up. I’m stuck in the 1980’s but it’s not a bad place to be.

Follow

The post Stuck in the 1980’s – On Being a 1980’s Girl appeared first on The Culture Mom.

I’ve been blogging for five years now and every year I’ve quietly hoped to be invited to a blogging conference called Disney Social Media Moms. It’s a very big deal in the social media community, or seems to be. Besides getting an opportunity to delve into the world of social media with other women for a weekend, you get to bring your family along to experience Walt Disney World in a very magical way with Disney as host.

When I didn’t make the cut the first year, I thought I’d make it eventually. But when I didn’t make the cut the next year, I began to think I wasn’t the right pedigree as many of my peers were selected and went the next three years in a row. I told people that the rejection didn’t hurt me, but it did. I felt like the awkward girl in high school again, the one who didn’t get invited to the prom.

Side bar: I actually really didn’t go to the prom, so I know what it feels like NOT to be invited.

But guess what? After five years, when I didn’t ever expect the invitation to ever hit my in box, it did. I was on a press trip with my son last weekend and hardly had time to focus on the fact that I got invited or that the invite said that I had to book quickly. All I do know is that the invite felt very validating. The world of blogging has taken to me to places and helped me to explore parts of myself that I didn’t know existed, and I’m grateful, and now it would take my kids back to Disney. After telling my tween aged daughter about it for several years, I would finally fulfill a dream of mine to take her to Disney in a way I would never be able to otherwise. Sure, we’ve been, but this conference would be a different experience.

But unfortunately, we can’t go. The weekend the conference is scheduled is the same weekend as the daughter of an old friend’s Bat Mitzvah. When I noticed the date, I told myself that I would talk to my friend, that of course we wouldn’t miss Disney. But I knew deep down that would be the wrong thing to do. This friend told us to save the date for her Bat Mitzvah six months ago. Our presence at the event would mean the world to her, and when we got the invite in the mail, I quickly sent our confirmed RSVP back, not just for my husband and I but also for the entire family.

So, I scheduled lunch with her in the city to have a conversation about my dilemma, but in the process, the conference filled up and registration closed. I got an email that I might be put on the waiting list and that they were trying to open more spaces after filling up in 72 hours.

Lunch with this friend also got called off and I was glad that we never had a chance to discuss the situation. I would have hurt her feelings and our friendship might not have recovered.

I took it all as a sign. I have a lifetime of opportunities to go to Disney, but I don’t have a lifetime to fix destroyed relationships.

It wasn’t easy for my daughter to understand but ultimately, I believe in her ability to know how to do the right thing and I am the only one who can teach her how to.

So, in the end, the conference taught me about priorities. It taught me to put others before myself. I hope I get invited next year, but if I don’t, I’ll have to be happy with this year’s decision, and that is one thing I know for sure.

Follow

The post On Saying “No”: Disney Social Media Moms Conference appeared first on The Culture Mom.

If you’re into live theater and don’t live in NYC, here is an opportunity to experience a new production….from your living room!

Heretick Theater Lab’s live production of “The Noir Series”, a series of four thematically linked, interactive plays written by Stephen McFeely, Ed Brubaker, Nancy Keystone, John Hindman, and The Burglars of Hamm, will see four performances in Los Angeles which will be live streamed to the world via the internet. Studio audience tickets can be purchased for $20 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/.  Online purchases and viewing can be accessed for $7.99 through http://www.dacast.com/. For a full schedule of performance dates and times please visit: http://www.hereticklab.com/

 It’s taking place on November 7 & 8 at 4pm and 8pm. There will be a Q.&A. with the cast and creators of the Noir Series immediately following the performance in the theatre lobby on the 7th. It will take place at Schkapf at 6567 Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles…and online!

The cast includes Stephen McFeely – writer, Malfeasance, Ed Brubaker – writer, Air Conditioned Rooms, Nancy Keystone –writer and director, A Door to the Dark, Hugo Armstrong– actor, Malfeasance, Tessa Ferrer – actor, Air Conditioned Rooms, Jennifer Cotteleer – creator, The Noir Series, Burglars of Hamm- Jon Beauregard, Carolyn Almos, Albert Dayan, Sofiya Alexandra – Emcee, Rob Buscemi- Emcee.

Studio audience tickets can be purchased for $20 at http://noirseries.brownpapertickets.com/. Online tickets and viewing can be accessed for $7.99 for a single viewing, and $20 for a weekend viewing package through http://static.viewer.dacast.com/b/43652/p/48152.

Viewing and tickets are also accessible through the Heretick Theatre Lab homepage www.hereticklab.com.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post nor a review! I have not seen the production.

Follow

The post Announcing The Noir Series, a Play (live and online) appeared first on The Culture Mom.

It’s probably not news to you when you hear that women’s equality is suffering across the country. Women are making, on average, 77 cents on the dollar and continue to face discrimination in the workplace. A man is 32 times more likely to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company than a woman. Every woman deserves the opportunity to become a powerhouse in her field. 25% of women experience domestic violence in her lifetime. These women need a break.

And if you live in New York state, listen up. There’s a better chance this could happen in just three words: Women’s Equality Party. 

In my lifetime, I’ve been waiting for this day where a party is dedicated to women’s rights. To tell my 11 year-old daughter that this is happening in 2014 is completely fabulous.

For the first time, voters in New York state have the chance to create a political party dedicated to establishing equality. The Women’s Equality Party is focused on electing candidates that stand up for women’s rights and support the Women’s Equality Act, a 10-point plan to establish full equality in the state of New York. This includes enacting laws that would require equal pay for equal work, ending sexual harassment in the workplace, and ending hiring and salary discrimination against parents.

What does the Women’s Equality Party stand for?

Candidates who run as part of the Women’s Equality Party are committed to passing the full Women’s Equality 10 point plan:

1. Establish Pay Equity for Women
2. Stop Sexual Harassment in Every Workplace
3. Stop Businesses from Discriminating against Pregnant Women
4. Strengthen Human Trafficking Laws
5. End Hiring and Salary Discrimination Against Parents
6. Stop Landlord Discrimination Against Women Who Depend on Housing Assistance
7. Stop Housing Discrimination for Victims of Domestic Violence
8. Allow for the Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees in Employment and Credit and Lending Cases
9. Protect Victims of Domestic Violence by Strengthening Order-of-Protection Laws
10. Apply the full standards of Roe v. Wade in New York

In addition, these candidates also pledge to support passing new legislation that will subject colleges and universities in New York to new oversight and reform how they handle sexual assaults, including incidents involving rape, that are reported on their campuses

Here are 3 simple things you can do to help grow this new, burgeoning movement:

1. Follow WEP on Facebook and Twitter.
2. Ask your friends to pledge to vote the WEP line on November 4. We must get to 50,000 votes to make this party a reality for future elections!
3. Mark November 4^th on your calendar to vote on the Women’s Equality Party line.

For even more information, go to the Women’s Equality Party web site.

Follow

The post Why New Yorkers Need a Women’s Equality Party #voteWEP appeared first on The Culture Mom.

Last week my daughter and I got treated to a very special “health” day by the wonderful women at Cool Mom Picks. She was treated to a cooking class; I was treated to an afternoon sipping mimosas and learning about a new app, LiveHealth Online, that can, quite simply, create healthier, safer lives. With the click of a button, you can have access to a physician who can advise, prescribe medication and help you save time and worry.

The event was held at Havens Kitchen in New York City, a beautiful space dedicated to the preparation and enjoyment of yummy, sustainable, seasonal food. Chef David taught two groups of children to make healthy dishes like granola and yogurt, chocolate ricotta and homemade spring rolls. It was satisfying to know that my daughter was learning about and using wholesome, organic ingredients. The menu really combined personal wellness and well-being and was a great tie in to the day’s mission – to learn about Live Health Online.

Have you ever needed medical advice urgently but had a hard time getting the doctor on the phone? I can think of that happening to me literally millions of times. There was that time she had a dreadful blister under her nose, which turned out to be inpetigo. It literally sat on her face for a week before I knew it was not just a spot but a virus. There was that time she had a croup cough and we ended up in the hospital, only to find out that we could have spent 10 minutes in steam to make her feel better. If only I could have connected with a doctor when I needed to. Sometimes it’s a matter of time – I simply can’t miss work or get away to get an opinion. 

Now if only I could have gotten advice, and medication, from a doctor on the Internet! (are you reminded of Lisa Kudrow’s Web Therapy, the show about the online therapist, too?) That’s why I find LiveHealth Online very interesting. I have had countless chronic sinus infections, for which doctors never prescribe medication for me over the phone. This app could have saved me so much time and energy. Let me explain how.

LiveHealth Online is a new (free) app that enables parents to easily and privately connect with a doctor of their choice from among 44 states when their own can’t be reached. The service can be accessed at any time and allows app users to establish a two-way, face-to-face video chat with a doctor who can both diagnose and treat them, along with their family members for non-emergency conditions such as the flu, cold, strep throat and ear infections. LiveHealth Online doctors in most states can also send prescriptions directly to the pharmacy used by the app user.

How to Enroll

Once you download the app, you need to enroll, which is really quick and easy. Then, each time you log in, you’ll see doctors that are available in your state. Bookmarking a doctor’s profile is easy. LiveHealth Online has a preferred provider section where you can store your doctor’s information.

Once you find a doctor, click Connect to talk with him or her right away. During your appointment, the doctor will review your health history, answer questions and prescribe medicines, if needed. After each session, you can even send a record to your regular doctor.

Before you see a doctor, you can view their star rating on their doctor profile. Simply click on a doctor’s photo to see this information. After your doctor’s visit, we’ll ask you to rate your experience.

Using Insurance

If you have a health plan, your visit may be covered – so you pay less. Check with your plan’s benefits to find out exactly how much you would pay. If you don’t have a health plan, visits start at $49.

Keep in mind, LiveHealth Online is not for emergencies. If you experience an emergency, you should always call 911.

Pretty brilliant, eh? Thanks for the ladies of Cool Mom Picks for introducing me to this helpful app and having my daughter and I for a day of learning, fun and inspiration (cause those ladies always inspire me).

The LiveHealth Online app is available for download from iTunes, the App Store or Google Play store.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post but I did attend a complimentary cooking class with my daughter, hosted by Cool Mom Picks and LiveHealth Online.

Follow

The post LiveHealth Online: A New App that Helps Simplify Parents’ Lives appeared first on The Culture Mom.

A few months ago, my dear friend, Charlene DeLoach of Charlene Chronicles invited me to a unique event called Blogger Bash. Billed as “10 themed parties that will serve as networking opportunities between bloggers and big-name brands from baby to travel,” my immediate thought was ‘how would this appeal to me?’  After all, I’m not going to many blogging conferences anymore. After blogging for more than a few years, I feel that I’ve typically aged out of a lot of the information that is presented at these events. I’m also not much of a product reviewer.

However, as a consultant, blogging is much of my working world (I’m Engagement Strategist over at SheSpeaks and have my own business, Pivoting Media), and I felt there could be potential opportunity for me at this conference and I’m not one to miss the what was billed as THE blogging event of the season. When the day come, and it was time to put on clothes other than my daily jeans worn while working at home, I was really pleased to make the trek into the city.

I was even more pleased when I realized that just about every blogger I have met working in this space and have grown to love would be joining me at BloggerBash. Charlene joined forces with Laurie Schacht of Toy Insider, The Big Toy Book and Joey Fortman of Real Mom Media and their combined outreach certainly brought in the masses. Friends like Jill Smokler of Scary Mommy, Ellen Seidman of Love That Max, Jennifer Wagner of Connect with Your Teens, Fadra Nally of All Things Fadra, Esti Berkowitz of Primetime Parenting, Ciaran Blumenfeld of Momfluential, Estelle Erasmus of Musings on Motherhood & Midlife and many more (several of my faces in the pic above) were in attendance, and more importantly, we had time to talk. The conference had only a few planned panels – most of it was saved for networking with the brands. After a few months of trying to find myself in this crazy world, the event brought me back to earth and helped me appreciate the voice I’ve carved out in this community. I loved sharing stories of successes, failures, life, business and more with these wonderful, amazing women.

Meeting with Brands

As for the event, imagine over 100 toy brands in one space in 24 hours! I am so impressed with what my friends pulled off. We were able to have one on ones with the brands, something that is really hard to do at the usual blogging conferences. Some of the brands I especially enjoyed meeting at one of their events were Rooibee Red Tea, Fashion Angels, Fat Brain Toys, Bananagrams and so many others. Better yet, a week later, a package arrived at my door filled with products too heavy to bring home. It was Christmas in July.

Source: Life Without Pink on Instragram

Kudos to Charlene and company for putting on a new kind of event for the blogging community. Long may it last.

Disclosure: I received a pass to Blogger Bash but all opinions shared are my own. 

/

Follow

The post Blogger Bash Post Mortem appeared first on The Culture Mom.

(Note: I am dreadfully late on this post. I always post on an event that I attend, so I regret my tardiness.)

I am not known for being very beauty or fashion centric, so when I receive invitations to event that revolve around either of the two, I am usually stunned and have to think about my RSVP very carefully. However, some of these invitations are easier to consider.

Like this one: Getting Gorgeous.

Its organizers, Audrey McClelland and Vera Sweeney, are two of the most amazing, giving and savvy people I’ve met in this space. I love that they met through social media and came up with a business idea that they’ve watched grow and become more successful every year, and I love that they’ve continued to invite me and added it to my own journey. It’s an annual event in NYC that brings bloggers and fashion/beauty brands together. I look forward to it every year as it’s a time to see some of my favorite blogging turned IRL friends and spend an afternoon getting pampered.

And this year was NO exception. Audrey and Vera have truly mastered event-planning. The room looked inviting, celebratory and non-threatening as we we were told to mosey around on our own. There is no pressure, no expectations (i.e. you do for me, I do for you), only a feeling of support and camaraderie for what they do…..and for what we do and how we can do it better.

Vera and Audrey brought together an excellent selection of brands, many of whom I had never met before and had something to teach me about my own beauty and fashion regime. Bali Intimates allowed us to try on some of their new products. At first I was intimidated as I’m not a huge fan of bra shopping, but it was eye-opening to find out I had been wearing the wrong cup size and that I would be getting a new bra in the mail. The folks at Vitabath took time to educate me about taking care of my skin and I’ve really enjoyed using their products in the shower since I got home. I learned about a new resistance training below from ReXist 360. which I look forward to incorporating into my exercise regime at home. While walking around, I sipped on my Voli Vodka Raspberry Goddess and Volito drinks and look forward to making cocktails for my guests at my next party. I got a Astrology reading from Calgon and learned about their new scent. I spoke to the folks at VO5 about their new hair products – I’m a curly hair and it takes a lot to pull me out of my hair routine, but I’m definitely having my daughter try out their new products.

Vera and Audrey are so savvy and organized. There was a slew of other sponsors at the event worth mentioning: Summer, Whosevent, Born Free, Red Carpet Kids, Johnson’s Baby, Aveeno Baby, Designer Imposters, PassionRoses.com and Romio. PassionRoses gave us all a bouquet of roses to take home with us which added a whole extra layer of pampering. Fellow bloggers had their hair done, manicures and more.

It was truly a special afternoon of Getting Gorgeous.

Disclosure: I received items from each of the sponsors mentioned for review but no opinion was asked of me.

Follow

The post On Getting Gorgeous (Literally and Figuratively!) appeared first on The Culture Mom.

Well, if you’ve been paying attention to my streams as of late, you might have noticed some serious changes taking place. In the course of six months, I changed the name of this blog to The Culture Tripper, changed it back to The Culture Mom, started a new site The Holly Chronicles which I’ve since shelved and done some irreversible damage to my social media channels.

What was my reason for my midlife blog crisis?

The reason? Couldn’t really tell you other than the fact that I must have had a mid-life crisis and taken it out on the Internet!

In all honesty, I thought I wanted to get away from mom blogging, but the truth is that I carved a space for myself as The Culture Mom, and once the rug came out from under me, I missed the brand I’d built. I must also admit that The Culture Tripper wasn’t that creative. There are blogs out there called Culture Tripper, The Culture Trip, Trip Culture…I could go on and on. The epiphany I had in the car when I thought of the name must have been because I’d seen the name before? Who knows. At the time, I thought it was brilliant. And yes, I could have kept the name regardless and not spent a small fortune on having this blog revamped (I’m not technical at all), but I decided to go back to where I started. And it somehow feels right…..after months of trying to shed the mom part of me here, I kind of missed it. I am The Culture Mom, that’s all there is to say about it.

Unfortunately, I lost the Twitter handle and Facebook page. Some guy in Russia is using my old Twitter handle – I’m not sure why – perhaps it’s to capitalize on my existing audience (warning: do not follow him!). He may have scooped up my Facebook page, as well, and it’s literally been a short span of three months since I gave it up so he’s fast! However, I will resolve these issues and march on.

Savvy social media friends advised me against changing up my brand for months before I made the change, but I was determined to change. Believe me, I went through dozens of names, had a designer do a mock-up of one (The Cultured Nomad, it was called – also not a good fit). But none of them worked like The Culture Mom. I knew as soon as my blog changed that it was not meant to be and I regretted the change immediately. To all of those friends who knew the change would not work, yes, you were right – I was wrong.

But here I am again – back as The Culture Mom and I’m psyched. I will no longer mind the “mommy blogging” insults and I will no longer mind the cracks made about the community I’ve embraced and felt so comfortable in for over four years. I did it well then and I’ll do it well again. I will remain true to my niche, blogging about what I am passionate about. You won’t find product reviews here, but you will find info about travel, culture and advocacy. I’ll bring back my fun giveaways and more.

I’m not running away from The Culture Mom anymore – I’m embracing it. I hope you’ll stick around. I hope you never left. I hope you”ll let me know how you’ve been while I was having this mid-life blog crisis. I’m glad it’s over and I’m looking forward to chatting here again.

Follow

The post Welcome to My Mid-Life Blog Crisis appeared first on The Culture Mom.

As you can tell, I’ve been sitting quietly here waiting for my site to be fully redesigned. I hope you’re sticking around! But I have been writing. In case you can’t find my work, I wanted to point out some of my recent work:

Yahoo Travel

Best of Broadway Bound Kid Friendly Theater

Ciao Bambino

Cruising on the MSC Divina, The Family Perspective

She Speaks

Bring Back the Nigerian School Girls

Bloggers Standing Beside Each Other in Support of Amanda Henson

Wheelin’ Weightloss: A Facebook Page with a Mission

Hillary Clinton: Grandmother and Presidential Candidate: How do the Two Add Up

George Clooney Officially Off the Market

We Asked, You Answered: How do Women Really Feel About the Word “Bossy”?

MiniTime

Money-Saving Tips for Your Family Cruise

Family Vacation Critic

MSC Offers Kid Friendly Cruises and Kids Travel Free

A Day Out in Philly with the Kids

BlogHer

Two Fiery Shows About Friendship Women Should Be Watching Now

This Girl Travels

A Weekend at Four Seasons Philadelphia

A Night at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester, England

Meanwhile, this blog will be up and running and further changes will be made to recapture this week! Come back and see the results.

Follow

The post Where You Can Find Me appeared first on The Culture Mom.

Sorry for the change of name and silence this week. Let me explain what happened.

I’ve been talking about rebranding for quite a while. I started another new blog in the process (TheHollyChronicles) but have since realized that this site is more important. Eager to change the name, I finally came up with a good fit: THE CULTURE TRIPPER. After months of hemming and hawing, I told my designer to make the change while I was recently out of town…on a cruise ship! When I saw the changeover while sailing the seas, I freaked out.

It’s no one’s fault but mine, but the site is clearly not where I wanted it to be, so it will be worked on in the next few days. I am not posting during this time but you can find my work elsewhere on Family Vacation Critic, This Girl Travels, Ciao Bambino, MiniTime and other sites I contribute to. I hope you come back to see the outcome. I am really excited to start the next chapter of this blog, which will always have The Culture Mom’s heart and soul.

As I stated in a post a few months ago, my new name “needs to encompass my passion for culture (theater, film, books, television), travel, advocacy and the world around us. It also needs to define who I am and keep me close to the world I’ve come a part of over the past four years. This blog (The Culture Mom)  has been responsible for SO MUCH and I don’t want to ever discredit that.”

Moving forward, I will be more focused on my true passions: Travel and Culture. I hope you will come along for the ride.

Follow

The post Ch…Ch….Changes are Coming! appeared first on The Culture Mom.