I officially became a ‘Head of Household’ and found my very own studio apartment just a few blocks away from the old place. So far, living alone has proven to be a new adventure–adventure is not typically a term used to describe single living, but for me it has been exactly that.

Aside from the obvious increase in rent, I am also the sole provider of cleaning supplies, toilet paper, laundry detergent, paper towels, etc…you get the idea. With each necessity that I must now pay for, my disposable income becomes smaller and smaller–and then I have to furnish the place!

For starters, there is nothing affordable about contemporary, stylish furniture of a moderate quality. I am a bold patterns and bright colors kind-of-girl and want my new abode to reflect my tastes and personality. Shopping around NYC and online, most trendy furniture and home décor pieces are super pricey. Affordable furniture is only available in a few standard colors: Black, White, Espresso, Maple and every so often someone will jump out on a limb and offer Walnut.

My Apartment Before

Two weeks ago, the solution came to me….Geranium! The beautiful orange-ish red color from the Hanky Panky Summer 2012 palette would look great in my living room. I decided to paint my desk Geranium and it made HUGE difference. It completely brightened up my apartment.

I took a swatch of Geranium lace to Home Depot where they are capable of matching most colors. The paint is not the exact Hanky Panky Geranium, but from the photo you can see  it is close enough to serve my purpose.

Geranium swatch and paint

Desk Before

Desk After

Since I was painting a white surface, the sales associate advised me to use a paint with primer combo, stirring every so often so the color pigment wouldn’t settle at the bottom of the can. Two coats of paint later, my desk looks like an expensive piece of designer furniture and dramatically improved my living space.

- Michele

Apartment After

Apartment After

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The Hanky Panky team was out customizing panties at two lucky Nordstrom stores during their recent “Frill Seekers” events. We took our crystal letters to the Short Hills, NJ and Bellevue, WA stores and let customers get creative on April 21^st.

Customers enjoyed watching as we put together their creations, helped each other come up with the perfect words, and giggled at some of the more risqué ideas. Several brides came through and purchased custom thongs for their bridesmaids, a generous friend bought five different styles to commemorate a 50^th birthday, and a few early birds even got a head-start on their holiday shopping! Get your own customized Hanky Panky panties today at HankyPanky.com.

-Lindsay

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Last week, Gale and I attended the Celebration Gala fundraiser at the exquisite ballroom of the Plaza Hotel. It was a beautiful event, attended by beautiful people, emceed by Wanda Sykes and Chris Tucker, with entertainment provided by Dave Matthews and Bebe Winans. Robin Roberts, Whoopi Goldberg, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Kate Clinton and Harry Belafonte also delivered remarks.

Hanky Panky was a proud Silver Sponsor in recognition of the extraordinary contributions that Julian Bond has made to society.

Scroll down for some photographs from the event.

–Lida

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And now, I have just discovered something fantastic. I have the pleasure of being pregnant and I promise you that there is no better alternative for pregnant woman than the low rise thong from Hanky Panky. They are elegant, sexy and so comfy you don’t even notice you’re wearing them.

I just wanted to thank you for making my day!

best wishes,

Nathalie, Sweden.

Do you have a Hanky Panky story you’d like to share? Submit it to thongdiary@hankypanky.com. If it is featured in the diary, we will send you a complimentary gift!

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By then, her adorable empire had expanded beyond stationery and toys to include clothing, jewelry, and my personal weakness, kitchen appliances. By my senior year of college, I had acquired the waffle iron, toaster, sandwich iron, and the jewel of my kitchen, the pink Hello Kitty microwave. Lest you think the Hello Kitty kitchen appliances are mere toys, all of mine are still functioning perfectly a decade later. (And my charming husband is amazingly tolerant of them.)

My 30th birthday party had a Hello Kitty theme. I baked pink cupcakes and wore a pink metallic Hello Kitty tiara, while my ever indulgent friends all donned Hello Kitty party hats. (And my fabulous friend Liz got me a sparkly pink Hello Kitty telephone!)

Hello Kitty Cupcake Tree

My bridal shower featured a Hello Kitty cake. At my wedding, I carried a silver metallic Hello Kitty clutch with a Hello Kitty mirror and blotting papers inside, from Sephora.

So, as you can see, my love of all things Hello Kitty runs deep. Imagine my excitement when Hanky Panky and Sanrio decided to collaborate on a collection of undies! You could probably hear my squeal of joy within a 5 mile radius of Hanky Panky’s office.

A delicious (and adorable) Hello Kitty blueberry pie that my dear friend Anne made for me.

Naturally, there was no dispute about which designer would be working on this project. I probably would have cried if Hanky Panky gave this job to one of my colleagues.

I got hooked up with Sanrio’s amazing design team, and started designing my dream undies! Like all collaborations, there was a bit of back and forth. We needed to make sure that the finished line would be true to both of our brands. The designers at Sanrio were great to work with. Luckily, both our brands have similar chic yet girly outlooks, so the collaboration worked out beautifully.

I am so beyond proud of Hanky Panky for Hello Kitty’s debut collection. The positive response from press and the blogosphere has been thrilling! Here’s a peek at the collection, which will be available at HankyPanky.com on May 25th, and Sanrio.com a month later. I can’t wait to get my own set!

–Larissa

Hanky Panky for Hello Kitty(R) Babydoll, $98.

Hanky Panky for Hello Kitty(R) Camisole, $63 and Boyshort, $43.

Hanky Panky for Hello Kitty(R) Bralette, $56 and Low Rise Thong, $27.

Hanky Panky for Hello Kitty(R) Camisole, $63 and Low Rise Thong, $27.

Hanky Panky for Hello Kitty(R) Camisole, $66 and Boyshort, $43.

Hanky Panky for Hello Kitty(R) Chemise, $82

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Lida with a Mountain Gorilla Snacking on Bamboo in Volcano National Forest, Rwanda

There are about 700 mountain gorillas in the world, all of whom live in the forests of Rwanda and Burundi. If you wish to have the privilege of visiting them you must pay $500 for a permit plus the cost of 4 wheel drive transport. But that steep price comes with a veritable guarantee of a sighting since the daytime trackers follow each family’s movements and communicate their coordinates to the guides of the 8 person groups.  (These trackers also perform the function of deterring poachers, something they have been doing successfully for the past 10 years).

There are 8 gorilla families (out of 30)that have become sufficiently habituated that humans can safely approach them.  We spent an hour with family 13.

Agashya, the silverback patriarch of  the family has 9 wives and 15 children. We saw about half of the family: the children swung from vines, climbed trees, played in water, beat their chests and everyone spent a lot of time eating bark and bamboo.  A baby nursed and the grand silverback seemed to pose for our cameras.  We were often no more than 10 feet away.  It was thrilling!

Our tracker. (The gun is to deter illegal poachers)

Agashya, the silverback patriarch of family 13, "posing" for a photo.

Agashya Eating Bamboo.

One of Agashya's 9 wives nursing her baby.

A young mountain gorilla climbs a tree.

Mama gorilla snacking on some bamboo.

–Lida

Hanky Panky CEO, Lida Orzeck is currently in Kigali, Rwanda with the International Organization for Women and Development, a medical humanitarian organization that brings volunteer surgeons and nurses to operate and care for women who suffer from obstetric fistula, and at the same time, train local surgeons in these surgical skills.

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Poster of President Paul Kagame in a fabric shop

The drive from Kigali to Ruhengeri, the location of National Volcano Forest, the home of the mountain gorillas, exposed the green beauty of the Reandan countryside. Every inch of the Rwandan mountains is cultivated into fields of potatoes, beans, banana trees. It’s a gorgeous sight.

Every inch of the Rwandan mountains is cultivated into fields of potatoes , beans, banana trees.

There is no labor-saving farm equipment, so tilling is done by pitchfork and hoe by men and women alike. All of them have walked up and down the hills to reach the fields of their labor, carrying their implements.

Everyone travels by foot or bicycle in Rwanda. There are virtually no private cars outside of the city. Anything that is transported is done so on one’s head or bike including 40 lb sacks of potatoes or charcoal, building equipment or bricks. I have not seen any fat people!

–Lida

Hanky Panky CEO, Lida Orzeck is currently in Kigali, Rwanda with the International Organization for Women and Development, a medical humanitarian organization that brings volunteer surgeons and nurses to operate and care for women who suffer from obstetric fistula, and at the same time, train local surgeons in these surgical skills.

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King Faisal Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda

Rwanda has tremendous disparity between the rich and the poor. The hills of Rwanda are covered with shack type houses on the lower areas and huge mansions at top. When it rains it is the poor sections that are flooded with red earth runoff.   These are the same people who visit Kibagabaga. The hospital must upgrade, or the embodiment of poverty will continue to be reflected in its inferior delivery of health care.

Hills of Rwanda

–Lida

Hanky Panky CEO, Lida Orzeck is currently in Kigali, Rwanda with the International Organization for Women and Development, a medical humanitarian organization that brings volunteer surgeons and nurses to operate and care for women who suffer from obstetric fistula, and at the same time, train local surgeons in these surgical skills.

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Hot Fuchsia Hanky Panky Thong

Since becoming engaged, the one wedding detail I’ve known for sure was that I wanted my bridesmaids to wear a vibrant shade of fuchsia. I searched high and low for just the right hue and came up with nothing, until last year. That’s when Hanky Panky introduced Hot Fuchsia. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the color I had been looking for.

Once I had my color, the next step was to find a company that makes bridesmaid dresses in that exact shade (and in a style that wasn’t your typical horrid bridesmaid dress), and I did! Impression Bridal carries an array of chiffon dresses in what they call “Violet”.

I compared a swatch of their fabric to a swatch of Hanky Panky’s Signature Lace in Hot Fuchsia. It was an exact match. The best part? I can give my bridesmaids matching lace undies!

I suggest that the next time you are stumped on a color, open up your panty drawer. You never know what you may find!

–Nadine

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Mass grave of 250,000 people at the Genocide Memorial Museum in Kigali

Internecine strife in 1994 between Tutsis and Hutus led to a horrific episode in the unrest-pocked history of Rwanda. The genocide is explained in the exhibit at the Genocide Memorial Museum in Kigali and powerfully depicted in the Nyamata Church 30 kilometers outside the capital.

Nyamata Church. "Commemorating the genocide against the Tutsi: Let's learn from our history to shape a bright future"

There, rows of benches are piled with clothing and endless rows of skulls and other bones are displayed in dark underground graves which are accessible by steep stairs. About 850,000 people were murdered during just a few months in 1994 and the shocking magnitude of the calamity is captured with startling power by this exhibit. What is especially revolting about the circumstances involving this church is that hundreds of men, women and children who took refuge here were murdered en masse. (No photography is allowed. )

Tonia Locatelli, an important figure in genocide resistance buried outside Nyamata Church.

–Lida

Hanky Panky CEO, Lida Orzeck is currently in Kigali, Rwanda with the International Organization for Women and Development, a medical humanitarian organization that brings volunteer surgeons and nurses to operate and care for women who suffer from obstetric fistula, and at the same time, train local surgeons in these surgical skills.

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