The Coolest Kids in Town: a blog about Baltimore, DC, and the misadventures of two-city life.

As you've undoubtedly gathered by this time, 2012 is an election year. And not even one of those total nonentity midterm election years.* It's a biggie. The Oval Office is up for grabs. In two days. So I've put together an extensive, if not comprehensive, post to help you navigate (and enjoy) the 2012 general elections. Be you decided in your choice or not . *Totally kidding. All elections are important. But...you know...if you have to choose...don't be apathetic now. Now Tex and I are admittedly a bit biased , but since we accept that not everyone has the same opinions we do, I'd like to direct your attention to I Side With . I Side With  lets you take a detailed political quiz and compares your stated views to those of the candidates running for President. Your results might end up surprising you ( though mine didn't ). And they might help you  undecided voters know your own minds. I Side With also allows you to compare candidates to one another and

I don't know if you've heard, but football is back! Or, as my brother so eloquently put it: our long national nightmare is over. Which means things here in Charm City are about to get doubly exciting. Not only are the O's fighting for first place in the AL East  but the Ravens come back tomorrow to kick off another season of awesome . How best to celebrate this most wonderful time of the year? Online. Obviously. Start by refreshing your memory of all 32 NFL teams. Even if you don't need the refresher, you're sure to enjoy this rundown of Every NFL Fan in 90 Seconds . It's brilliant, funny, and spot on. I mean, I'm totally  the Ray Lewis of my lacrosse team. Then take a look at what NFL team logos would look like if they were honest . Thinking of taking in a game at a rival stadium? Don't buy your tickets blind, check out the view from almost any section in just about every stadium ever built on A View From My Seat. All photos are user

Well kids, the Olympics are over. And the US delegation totally kicked ass . But it's not the glory that Tex and I will miss most as our attention returns Stateside, it's the Olympians themselves. You know who I'm talking about. Our hometown hero , that beautiful fool with the terrible taste , my own coup de foudre , and Cullen Jones . One more time, now:  Cullen Jones . So in the name of international friendship, world peace , and our new hero Gabby Douglas  I'd like to present you with an Olympic-themed post just for you. But also for us. Look, this is a safe space so I think we can all just be honest with one another about something: Ryan Lochte would be a lot hotter if he weren't on Twitter . Unfortunately for his public image, he is. Fortunately for us,  The Cut has found a silver lining. Deep Thoughts from Ryan Lochte pairs admittedly hot photos of the Olympian with some of his choicest Tweets. Expect to finish the slideshow disappointed in yoursel

Well, kids, Tex is back from her long travels , wild adventures, and mysterious rendezvous (rendevi? rendevouseses?) in the distant East. And she's brought something to share with you. You know, until recently, I wasn't big into 'furniture stores.' Why buy furniture, I asked, when fruit crates fall off the back of trucks all the time , and you hardly ever run into trouble collecting cardboard boxes ? Well, times is changed and Tex has seen the light. That light is Su Casa . As those of you who read last week already know, Coda and I entered Su Casa's Test It/Blog It/Win It contest on a tipsy   loaded   drunken completely s***faced  fun whim - never thinking we'd actually be selected to perform our jobs (blogging is a job, right ?) in exchange for goods and services, and certainly never thinking we'd actually like doing so. In fact, we showed up at the Su Casa store championship-style: a week late, a little bit drunk, and 15 minutes before clo

Kids, gather round. Kids. Kids. KIDS.  I said   'gather round.' Jameson, Cooley, Tulla, Whinnie, Deanston, Cutty - get in here. Mummy wants you to look at something. Now then . A few weeks ago, Tex was engaging in her usual Friday night routine - slamming whiskey with state officials, cursing incompetent aurifabers , and sexually harassing off-duty astronauts - when she stumbled upon the Test It. Blog It. Win It. contest being held by furniture moguls Su Casa .  Now, drunk Tex loves contests like drunk Coda loves starting fights with Steelers fans. So naturally we entered, and will be blogging our merry little lives away for the next few weeks. (Settle down , Cooley, love - this won't affect our summer plans at all. We're still going to see your little friends play in their soccer game or whatever.) And in the interest of full disclosure (and in an effort to teach you some  semblance of good taste in home decor), we're going to share our adventures

I don't wanna brag or anything, and I certainly don't want to jinx our current streak, but it looks like Tex and I are on our way to becoming reliable updaters. So with that in mind, I'm posting 2012's first Awesome Blog of the Week :  Mean Girls of Panem . And kids, I promise you will not be disappointed by what happens  when the   Burn Book   meets the Girl on Fire . A tumblr that combines my two favorite things so seamlessly? One that's replete with Tina Fey's sense of humor and Katniss's attitude ? It could only be the work of fate (or maybe just one awesome girl ). And even if it's not destiny, well, it's definitely my new favorite way to lighten up a heavy hour or two. (And yes, you read that right,  Mean Girls  and  The Hunger Games  are my two favorite things.) So hurry up and add the tumblr to your RSS reader, follow Mean Girls of Panem on Pinterest , and admit to yourself that Mr Katniss Everdeen is never  got going to be fun

Over the past five years Tex and I would like to think you've gotten to know us pretty well. You know we hate hipsters , love Ramshackles , and that we have a preppy streak a mile wide. And that preppy mile of ours? It's paved in grosgrain. Ever since the tragic shredding of my favorite ribbon belt from high school (faulty D-rings, it's still hard to talk about) I've been on the hunt for something new to love. And I'm happy to report that I've found it. About a week or two ago we received a package from our giveaway partner in crime and, kids, its contents have brought us nothing but joy. We've gone on record before about our affinity for Chesapeake Ribbons , but now we're walking the walk, as well. I've worn my new favorite belt every single day since receiving it, and not one of those days has passed without getting at least one compliment on it. I'm telling you, this stuff is cute. So what did we get? Glad you asked. We'll star

It's come to our attention that our awesome-as-hell 100th post is a little on the long side, so Tex and I have decided to cut you kids a break and re-post the contest information on its own. Entries will be accepted in the comments of both this post and all prep everything . Because we love you, Tex and I want to help you on your journey to being well-kempt and adorable, so we're excited to announce that in honor of our 100th post   we're having our very first giveaway . The prize: a $20 gift certificate to Chesapeake Ribbon Co.   Purveyor of all things cute and grosgrain (belts, key fobs, dog collars, headbands, and more), Chesapeake Ribbon Co  reminds us of ribbon shopping after school, lacrosse tryouts, and also the belt  whose arrival I'm anxiously awaiting (because as any proper Baltimore girl can tell you: Pink Flamingos are clutch). To win: leave us a story in the comments that you think best exemplifies 'all prep everything.'  Entries mus

It's finally come. The day you've been anticipating for 5 long years. The day Tex & Coda publish their  100th post ! And yes, you did that math right - we're averaging 20 posts a year . Bask in the glow of our tireless work ethic. We're celebrating with the post below and  - scroll down to see this - a giveaway! Now I'm afraid we're going to have to take a break from the celebrating for a few minutes because Tex and I have agreed that there's something we really need to talk to you about. So I'll just let her take the reins here for a bit while I have a mini-panic attack over  these shirts  selling out. -- Hello, muffin. So you're all about that age, and Coda and I have been wanting to sit you all down and have a very frank conversation. I know this might be a sensitive topic, but it's a necessary one and we're having this talk because you're all growing up, and Coda and I want to make sure that you're going to be making