Happy Bonfire Night! In the UK (and also New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and parts of the British Caribbean), November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Also known as Guy Fawkes Day, this annual celebration commemorates when Catholic co-conspirators, in protest over Parliament’s treatment, failed in their attempt to blow up the House of Parliament (with King James I and the royal family inside). The plot went awry when their legendary leader, Guy Fawkes, was captured and tortured. Before he could be executed, he leapt from the gallows and broke his neck.

Today, Fawkes stands as a symbol of anarchist resistance, and his violent quest for accountability is simultaneously mocked and championed. Whatever your political stance, it’s hard not to love the festivities that take place on this night, which include fantastic fireworks displays and bonfires in which, traditionally, effigies of Guy Fawkes (appropriately called “guys”) are burnt. Since no celebration is complete without food, traditional tasty treats like bonfire toffee or treacle toffee (a hard, brittle molasses confection), parkin (a soft cake traditionally made with oatmeal and molasses), toffee apples (a.k.a. candy apples), and jacket potatoes (baked potatoes) are consumed. Yum!

Even if you won’t be able to join in any public festivities this year, never fear! You can still celebrate by cooking up some delicious Bonfire Night goodies, or even send out an e-card! You can also learn more about the event’s history and tradition here.

What about you, ModReaders? Do you celebrate Bonfire Night? If so, how?

From all of your friendly virtual neighbors at ModCloth, we hope you had a lovely Sweater Day and First Day of Spring this Friday!

(And a special thank you to those of you who sent pictures!  Feel free to post pictures of you or your friends in your best ‘Mr. Rogers sweaters’ here as well!)

For everybody who grew up watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, tomorrow is a very special day! It’s “Wont You Be My Neighbor Day” in honor of Fred Rogers’ birthday, who would have been 81 years old tomorrow.

Put on your sweater and keep reading to find out how you can be the best neighbor you can be tomorrow!

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[Alison shows off her Prim and Proper Gloves!]

Each time we hold a contest (especially the Name-It-And-Wins), we are reminded that we have the most talented and witty customers in the world. This week, we decided to get to know one of our customers a little bit better: gifted writer and teacher, Alison Stine.

Alison Stine was born in Indiana in a blizzard, and has lived in 15 cities, including San Francisco and Washington D.C..  Her first book, Ohio Violence, winner of the Vassar Miller Prize, was published in February 2009.  She is also the author of the chapbook Lot of My Sister.  Her poems, stories, and essays have appeared in “The Paris Review,” “The Kenyon Review,” “Tin House,” and others.  A former child actress, her plays and musicals have been produced at such theaters as The Cleveland Playhouse, La Habra Depot Theatre, and Off-Broadway for Stephen Sondheim’s Young Playwrights Inc.  She lives in New York City and Ohio, where she teaches high school writers at the Denison University Reynolds Young Writers’ Workshop.

To read our interview with Alison Stine, writer and ModCloth fan, keep reading!

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Inspired by our newest music-themed “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” Lookbook, us ModCloth Bloggers decided to make a mix of songs that drive us wild (the songs we just want to play over and over; the ones that make us want to get out of our seat and dance!) Keep an eye out for next weeks installment and our Mixtape Contest!

(Image above: Writing is Awesome! taken from Blog.ModernMechanix.com)

Last week, I attended the AWP writer’s conference in Chicago. Not only did I get to see some amazing lecture and readings, but I also went to fantastic restaurants and saw some Chicago sights! Thanks to you all for suggesting cool places to visit…I wish I had more time to try them all!

Read all about my trip here… Read the rest of this entry »

[Image above: Chicago Skyline from Umich.edu]

Tonight, thousands of writers will descend on Chicago for the annual Association for Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference. Held in a different cities all over North America, the AWP Conference is massive collection of the world’s best writers, editors, writing teachers, small presses, and independent book sellers. For three days each year, these folks get together for countless panels, lectures, readings, book signings, and networking (ie. cocktail parties with free appetizers!). The whole city gets involved, and coffee shops, music clubs, and local bars offer writing-themed events to entice the influx of literati. For writers, this is basically our version of the Super Bowl. A nerdy Super Bowl with tote bags instead of helmets, and book fairs instead of Bruce Springsteen, but nonetheless, a very impressive gig.

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Our Post-Holiday Party and Benefit was this Friday and we want to thank everyone who came out to spend the night mingling and dancing with us. From your attendance and support, we raised over $650 for the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh!

Keep reading to see more party pictures!

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Winston will always remain ModCloth’s beloved mascot and the other puppies of the office are close behind in our hearts, but over the holidays, we got a new “pet.” It’s a baby dinosaur robot!

Made by UGOBE Life Forms this Pleo Dino (as named by UGOBE) is capable of adaptive learning and can be taught to sit, sing, and even become a watchdog. To be honest, it kind of gives us the heebie jeebies how attached to it we’ve become; every time it roars or wags its tail, we rush to pick it up and comfort it, and then we remember IT’S A ROBOT! Despite confusing our understanding of appropriate emotional attachments to inanimate toys, it does some pretty cool stuff.  UGOBE  offers a variety of downloads to turn it into everything from a Godzilla-like monster to a festive holiday dinosaur that sings holiday carols.

The problem? We have no idea what to name him (or her)!

Help us name our new baby dinosaur and you could win a ModCloth gift certificate worth $25 AND a Dino Prize Pack, including the Allosaurus Earrings  and Fold-Up Dinosaur Bag. Leave your name suggestions right here on the blog before this Wednesday at midnight and we’ll announce the lucky winner this Friday.

Hey Hey! I’m Danielle, the photographer here at ModCloth (that’s me with my Popple of choice, Party Popple).  I take care of all the photography for the site, from the cute products and clothes to the lookbooks and homepage images, and anything else that pops up ( i.e. Winston in a Santa hat, Winston in a bee costume, Winston in a scarf) – all with my trusty Jack Russell, Rad, by my side.My early days of photography began with me chasing the family cat and dog around the house and terrorizing them with the camera, which, I admit, I still do on occasion.  I’m excited to be introducing two new weekly blog posts: “Photo of the Week”  and “Dani’s Photo School.”  So get your cameras ready, because there will be assignments.  If you have anything specific you want me to write about, send me a note or leave a comment. Outside of photography, I am a karaoke fiend, love to travel, and I’m obsessed with Sharks.  Seriously, I wanted to be a shark trainer when I was 4.