On Friday evening at precisely 5:00 p.m., I will begin my journey to Ocean Beach in Fire Island, New York with my brother, cousins and a few of our best friends. This is our second annual trip to Fire Island, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing getaway.

Unfortunately, I haven't prepared whatsoever. In the next few days, I've got to accomplish everything on this list:

1. Visit the mall for some new, summery embroidered apparel (vacation isn't vacation without new clothes)

2. Stock up on sunblock (I have the skin of an albino baby)

3. Pick up food and drinks (so I don't starve)

4. Create playlists for every mood and activity (because everything's better with music)

5. PACK

Did I leave anything out? Let me know!

So I've had my iPhone 4 for about two years now, and my battery seems to drain very fast. I can't even go a whole day without charging it, and I barely even do anything on it. I definitely want my next phone to have an external battery.

Although I'm a long-time iPhone user, I am thinking about joining the Android side. The Samsung S4 has everything I'm looking for in a phone. Bigger screen, faster processor, camera, and battery life.

In the meantime these custom car accessories, such as the USB car charger, keep my phone charged anytime I'm out and about. I won't ever need to worry about my phone running out of battery.

This past weekend, my husband and I decided to do some yard work. We had to mow the lawn, trim the trees, clean the leaves, fix up the gazebo, and clean out the garage. Luckily I had my neet garden tool set so I was well prepared. We actually ended up completely MOVING the gazebo to a different part of the back yard, which took a lot of strength and effort, especially on my end. We not only moved the gazebo (framing and base) but also the flooring we had underneath it to make the base more stable and level. And we managed to do all of this, just the two of us, in a matter of 3 hours.

 For me the most exciting part of all of this was while cleaning out the garage. I found the TWO printed umbrellas that I had been looking for. The past few weeks has been quiet rainy and stormy and I had been unable to find my umbrellas. I guess either my husband or I must have thrown it in the garage a while back and forgotten about it. I immediately took one of the umbrellas and threw it in my car so I have it handy when it starts storming. I guess next time I am looking for something, I need to look in the garage, since almost everything we cannot find turns up in there!

"The Smurfs 2" will hit theaters on July 31, 2013, and promos for the film are already well underway.

Yesterday, pop star Britney Spears released her new single, "Ooh La La," which is featured on the movie soundtrack. "I have always loved the Smurfs as a kid and now my boys are the biggest Smurfs fans ever," Spears said in an official statement back in April. "I wanted to surprise them with a song in the movie. I know they'll think it's Smurftastic!" The song played hourly on New York's biggest radio station, z100, all day yesterday. Listen to the track here.

McDonald's will also help promote the upcoming film. According to a press release, "The Smurfs 2 is McDonald's most anticipated promotion for 2013, with a focus on positive nutrition messages for children." The fast food chain will unveil a "Smurfs 2" Happy Meal worldwide, which will highlight fruits, veggies, dairy and, of course, Smurf toys. Can't wait to check it out!

Some very special promotional food items will help build hype for "The Smurfs 2," as well: Smurfberries! "In anticipation of the release of Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s The Smurfs 2, in theaters July 31, Gourmet Trading Co. is bringing back the iconic characters to the labels on its packages of California, Oregon and British Columbia blueberries," reports The Produce News. Yum!

Other promotional partners include Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Build-A-Bear Workshop and Discover the Forest.

Will you see "The Smurfs 2" when it premieres this July?

Small businesses have always played a vital role in the U.S. economy and communities. That's why each year Americans celebrate National Small Business Week.

The first National Small Business Week was put into action by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 -- 50 years ago. According to a statement by the U.S. Small Business Administration, "Small businesses have always been the backbone of our economy, and we know that the success of America’s small businesses is critical to growing our economy and increasing our nation’s global competitiveness."

Let's take a look at some facts and statistics that highlight just how important small businesses in America really are:

1. Two out of three new private sector jobs are created by small businesses

2. Half of all employed Americans either own a small business or work for one

3. A whopping 97 percent of all U.S. exporters of goods are small businesses

4. Between 60 and 80 percent of new jobs each year come from small businesses

5. Approximately 130 million U.S. workers are employed by a small business

As you can see, small businesses are extremely important to our economy. If you own or work for a small business and are looking for unique promotional ideas, give us a call at (800) 525-9600 or chat with us online. Our knowledgeable and friendly promotional consultants are ready to help your brand get noticed!

Every year Bill plays golf with his college friends and afterwards the wives and kids meet up for a BBQ. This year's BBQ was going to be at one of the other guys' houses, but unfortunately his son came down with coxsackie. So very last minute (Friday morning) we switched the location to our house. While I love hosting and getting everyone together, it is a lot of work to get a backyard and house in order.

For those of you who have not seen our yard, it is pretty large. It is considered an oversized property and the entire perimeter has plants and flowers. While it looks very nice, and is a great yard for kids, it is A LOT of work. Being that it has rained a lot, and we have two kids, the weeds had gotten a tad out of control. So early Saturday morning Nanny came over to watch the girls and I ventured outside into the jungle. I broke out my custom garden accessories and tore the yard apart. I weeded, I cut, I yanked out some things that I probably shouldn't have but they just got in the way. Two hours and 15 mosquito bites later...

Today I received an early Father's Day gift in the mail from my mom.

It was a branded book that she had gotten in her travels, but it was very fitting for this upcoming weekend.  It's called "101 Secrets a Good Dad Knows."

It has fun facts on everything from how to tie a bow tie to how to carve a whistle. This weekend is going to be a blast! Not sure I will get through all 101 secrets, but I will make sure for the next 101 days I do something special with my kids. 

Happy Father's Day! 

One of my favorite clients is holding a huge birthday party this weekend. It's going to be at a big, new club in the city. Besides the venue, drinks and tons of important people that have been planned for months, so were the promotional items.

We began in March with samples and pricing and overseas options. After the samples were sorted out, we narrowed the swag to about 20 items. We did the normal t-shirts and fancy lensed glasses, bracelets and caps.

But what will really bring out the theme of this event are the inflatable animals! Yes, there will be over 2,000 inflatable animals: giraffes, elephants, zebras, monkey and a ton of others! The theme, as you could probably guess, is a forest.

Now all this sounds great but the picture is truly worth a thousand words.  What an awesome event and a great way to think outside the box!

Microsoft is dying to be teacher's pet. The multinational software corporation is launching a new giveaway campaign aimed at educators who attend the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), which is scheduled for June 23 - 26, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas.

According to Geek Wire, teachers who register for the conference before June 18 will be eligible to receive a Microsoft Surface RT tablet, free of charge. Whoa! Microsoft has allotted 10,000 tablets for the campaign. That's one heck of a technology giveaway!

Interested? Go here to sign up and find out more about the "Windows in the Classroom Surface Experience Project."

We all know about the new car smell and it most closely resembles brand new leather. The smell reminds me of never before sat on seats, scratch-free dash boards and empty drink holders. It is a smell that I have not personally experienced in my own car for over 6 years. However, I am not asking you to break out the miniature violin because I love my car and we have been through everything together, but, the new car smell totally rocks!

With that being said, there is no better way to get that "new car smell" back then with a branded air freshener. I specifically love the Hot Rod Vent Stick Air Freshener because it is really small and not as distracting as the ones that hang from the mirror. These are cute and come in tons of different scents depending on what you like.

So, I would suggest thinking of one of these for your next promotion. They are affordable, convenient, and your customer will see them every single time they step into their car!