Game Time! Game On!

My daughter turns 3 on Tuesday.  Oh, how it pains me to say that.  When we were deciding on a date for her birthday party, we decided on Sunday January 31st.  Why?  Well, because February 7th, the week after her birthday, had a slight conflict.  We didn’t dare place it during that weekend – just in case.

Our little football team – the boys in Black in Gold – are going to be taking on Peyton Manning and the Colts on February 7th.  Maybe you’ve heard?

It took 21 years before the New Orleans Saints had a winning season.  Both of my grandparents attended the very first Saints game on September 17th, 1967.  My family raised me to be a longtime, die-hard Saints fan.  There have been moments over the years where the relationship went more in the direction of hate than love – but as it always is with things you are loyal to – I can talk bad about my own football team, though no one else is allowed to.

This year, we made it.  Finally.  Who cares if we win or not, the Saints are GOING TO MIAMI.

I’m throwing a party.  Duh.

WalMart came to me, as one of the Eleven Moms, with the opportunity to share about their Game Time deals – you can join me and throw an awesome Game Day party of your own.  For $44 you can get:

One package of Oscar Mayer Meat Hot Dogs (8 ct.)
One package of Johnsonville® Bratwursts (6 ct.)
Two packages of Great Value™ Hot Dog Buns
Two bags of T.G.I. Friday’s™ Frozen Appetizers
One Hormel™ Supreme Party Tray
12” Chocolate Chunk Cookie
Two boxes of Nabisco Wheat Thins or Triscuit Crackers (8 to 10 oz. box)

For more information, check out WalMart’s Game Time site.  Oh, and WHO DAT?!?!?!?!?!

* Disclosure: Walmart provided me with two $50 Walmart gift cards for my participation in this program.

Girlfriend Getaway with Holiday Inn

Have you ever stayed at a Holiday Inn?  As a frequent traveler, I have had the opportunity to stay at quite a few of them.  They are typically reasonably priced and they are really in almost every location you could ever want to stay at.  Of course, when I’m booking my own hotel, my qualifiers are typically clean, safe, and comfy.  If it’s pretty, well, then, it’s an added bonus, but generally it’s not my priority.

Holiday Inn has stayed well within my clean, safe, and comfy realm for some time now.  I’ve stayed at at least 15 different Holiday Inns in my lifetime, so it’s a name and brand that I trust.  In the past year, Holiday Inn has been doing a major brand relaunch, and they reached out to me to see if I was interested in doing a girlfriend getaway “state-cation”.  Of course I did!  Some time with my girlfriends in my hometown of New Orleans that would qualify as “work”?  That, my friends, is what we call a no brainer!

I arrived at the Holiday Inn and immediately noticed that the logo looked completely different.  As part of the relaunch, I learned that hotels sporting this spiffy new logo had successfully completed the re-branding process.  When I walked into the lobby I was greeted by soft music and a friendly staff member. He walked behind the desk after introducing himself as the manager and I told him I was there to check in.  When I mentioned my name, he immediately pulled out an envelope with my name on it and said “Yes, Ms. Lehmann – we’ve been waiting for you!”  (Really?  Lil’ ole me?)

We were given a room on the  17th floor and when we walked in I turned around and looked at my friend in disbelief.  I mean, I know I was there to check out the “rebranding” but um, this was INCREDIBLY nice.  Very modern, great colors, upholstered headboard with tons of pillows (heck, I could pick the “type” of pillow I wanted – soft, firm, etc.) and even the artwork on the wall was nice – black and white photographs – not your typical “hotel room” artwork, you know? Très, très cool, et très, très chic!

The first thing I did, because I’m a big kid, was throw my body onto the bed.  My friend T just rolled her eyes at me because well, she was not surprised.  Then I hopped up and threw open the curtains of the room and, well, hello New Orleans!  We had a spectacular view of the city.  We were staying on the westbank at the Holiday Inn in Gretna, so we had a view of the Crescent City Connection and the Mississippi River – with the city of New Orleans behind it. 

Not too shabby, right?

Naturally, because Murphy’s Law pretty much exists for me, the power went out shortly after we arrived, leaving us in the dark for about an hour.  Granted, we live in Southern Louisiana.  We have wind, rain, and power that is mostly above ground.  Power goes out on a fairly regular  basis ’round these parts, so we just giggled about our luck and relaxed in the room until it came back on.

The manager called the room and apologized for the inconvenience, which I thought was really sweet, but naturally no one can help the power going out!  The weather started to get rainy and yucky, so after a quick dinner, we curled up in the bed and watched a movie – my favorite – Love Actually.  Ok, we fell asleep halfway through it.  We are both workin’ mamas!  What can I say?!

Don’t laugh, but the best part about a girlfriend getaway?  SLEEPING IN!

The next day we did a little work on our computers (yay for WiFi!), and grabbed lunch in the hotel’s restaurant, the Round House Bar & Grill.  After I was stuffed with sweet potato fries and a yummy wrap, we decided to make the uber-short 10 minute trip across the bridge into the city to have a little fun.  We walked, shopped, checked out the river and had beignets.  (Yes, even locals love beignets and chicory coffee!) We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Lüke, and then walked over to have drinks at my favorite cocktail spot – loa.

Overall Holiday Inn provided us with an awesome chance to have a fun girlfriend getaway in my home state.  So often I forget to be a tourist in my own city, so this was a great opportunity for me to do a little something different (and to SLEEP IN!).

Disclosure:  Holiday Inn provided us with a 2-night stay, as well as meal vouchers for the hotel restaurant and gift cards to cover our gas.  However, the opinions I expressed are all mine.  You know, because that’s how I roll.  Feel free to hold me to it.

Mystic Tan. To Spray or Not To Spray.

Ok, I know I’m supposed to be the expert here, but I need a little help.  I have this Mardi Gras Ball coming up very soon, and well, my skin is so pale that you can practically see through it.  I plan to wear a strapless dress.  It’s a grey dress which won’t do much against my vampire-like skin.

I’m a big fan of how I look with a little glow, nothing overdone, just a little color.  My mom always said that tan fat was better than pale fat (oh yeah, welcome to my world) – and well, I don’t consider myself fat in the least, but people, c’mon – I’ve had a baby.  Wait, better yet, I should say I’ve had a baby and my name is not Camila Alves or Heidi Klum.  There are parts of me that will just look better with a tan.

Don’t worry, I’m fanatical about doing everything in my power to prevent wrinkles and sun damage, so I know better than to lay in a tanning bed for a few weeks.  Instead, I think it will be best to spray a bunch of chemicals on my skin.  That’s gotta be better, right?

But, um.  I’m skeered.  What if it turns me orange?!  The oompa-loompa look is not good on me.  How do I know what level to choose?  What if I go from looking very French to looking very Italian in about 20 minutes flat?  That’s gonna be awkward, right?

Have you done this?  Tips/tricks/suggestions for me?

The Post Where I Discuss Lingerie. (Sorry, Dad.)

If you’ve read anything that I’ve written, especially over the past year, you know that I love fashion and style.  I love getting dressed up, feeling confident in what I’m wearing and how I’m wearing it, and helping other women to feel the same way.  My mantra is that “no one can take their eyes off of a confident woman.”

Think I’m wrong?  Try thinking back to a woman in the past that you’ve known or were acquainted with whom everyone just thought was AMAZING.  Breathtaking.  Incredibly beautiful/fabulous/fantastic, etc.  People fawned all over this woman.  Maybe you did too.  But then, one day you stepped back and thought:  um, she’s really not that pretty.  Or maybe even that fabulous or fantastic.  I was drinking the Kool-Aid! What’s up with that?

Oh c’mon, it’s just me, don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Do you know what her secret is?  That woman that we’re talking about?  I do.

Confidence.

Of course, confidence comes from a number of sources, but why not take all of the help that you can get?  Here’s my little piece of advice  — I think that physical confidence starts with what you have on underneath.  (A quick aside to my family members:  I’m about to start talking about my personal lingerie philosophy.  I won’t be offended if you click over to something a little less personal, now.  Oooh, look – here’s my “About” page!)

So let’s set this up, shall we?

In two weeks I will be emceeing a Mardi Gras Ball here in New Orleans.  I plan on wearing this drop dead gorgeous strapless BCBG ball gown that has been in my closet for a while, but has yet to see the light of day (or the glow of night).  I will be on stage in front of the entire Krewe as well as about a thousand of their guests.  I will be the one who reveals the identity of the King and Queen, as well as the rest of the court (for those not familiar with Mardi Gras season, this is a highly anticipated moment).  I will be, quite literally, in the spotlight on stage for a solid hour.

Raise your hand if you think I could probably use a little extra confidence during that hour?

Right.

No doubt the dress will help.  The dramatic makeup will help.  Telling myself that I’m not going to trip on my way up the steps will help (please, oh please cross your fingers for me on the night of January 23rd).  But um, wearing a dingy old pair of cotton panties and any ol’ bra is totally not going to help.  I’ll spare you the details, but it’s safe to say that what’s going to be underneath is a matching set.  And it’s not old and dingy.  It’s sexy, and I feel good in it.

There’s the key – I FEEL GOOD IN IT.

Lingerie is not about sex.  I don’t wear it because I anticipate someone seeing it later.  I wear it because it makes me feel good, because it’s like I have my own little secret underneath my clothes and I like the way that makes me feel.  I stand up a little straighter, and hold my head a little higher.

Now, I’m not saying that dropping a fortune at La Perla or Victoria’s Secret is going to be an instant confidence builder and it’s certainly not going to turn you into one of those supermodels in the ads.  I’m also not saying that awesome lingerie is the only way to feel good about yourself, physically.  But, you know what?  It’s a start.  A great start.

We’ve all got to start somewhere.

More Bubbles and Bubbly Fun

So remember how, back in October, Wisk HE brought me to my second home, New York City, for a little bubbles and bubbly shindig?  I had a blast with some amazing people and learned all about bubbles- when you need them, when you don’t.

So, today I’m on Google, searching for pictures of myself and my friend Katja for this way cool NYC Tweetup that we’re hosting on January 13th at the Roger Smith Hotel, and I come across this photo!

And I’m all … awwww … what a CUTE photo!

But then…then I came across this video.  And I’m giggling like a madwoman because here I am, looking like a total goober throughout the entire thing, and I didn’t even know it existed.

And, because I love you, my readers, I thought I would share my gooberness with you.  I’m especially fond of the 14 second mark, where I make a quick appearance just to drawl “bubbles”.  Tee hee!

By the way – my dress is from one of my favorite online stores – ModCloth, and the shoes are Steve Madden.  The crazy mad scientist lab coat was courtesy of Wisk HE.  I especially love that Nichelle from StyleMom immediately cinched hers up with a belt.  Only someone that fashionable could make a lab coat look good.  I’m just sayin’.

Update Your Winter Wardrobe (AKA – Look Christy, You’re Internet Famous!)

I have awesome friends.  I’m not sure why, but they keep coming back for more.  They put up with my fickle phone skills and know-it-all personality for reasons I have yet to determine.  Of course, this makes them all the more awesome.  When my longtime friend Christy told me at brunch the other day that she was going shopping to update her wardrobe for the cool winter season, my ears perked up.  Ok, it was more like OMG CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE PICTURES FOR ME SO THAT I CAN WRITE ABOUT THAT?!  Because honestly, who doesn’t want to update their wardrobe for each season?  I know I do.  Also on the honest front?  Who is really prepared to drop thousands of dollars to do it each time?  Right.

Christy (who is a Junior Mass Comm major at Louisiana State University) updated her current look with just a few additional pieces that she found at Forever 21 and Target.  She did the entire thing for under $300.  Check out her new looks.

Black long sleeve shirt with ruffles–Forever 21–$19.80
Red skirt with Black belt–Forever 21–$10.50

Tights–Target–$5.00
I think Christy hit it out of the park with this look.  She paired the shirt, skirt, and tights with a pair of Chinese Laundry Black Boots that she already owned.  The boots cost her $110 when they were new, but she has now worn them two winter seasons in a row.  That, my friends, is called an investment.

My friend the little lumberjack.  Isn’t she adorable?  In all seriousness, plaid is back.  I’m not sure how I feel about it, but it’s back, it’s a fact, so Christy is keeping it real and fashionable with this look.

Flannel shirt–Forever 21–$19.80
Blue Skinny Jeans–Urban Outfitters–$35 on sale
Tan Boots–Charlotte Russe–$41

Rawr! Again, Christy is rocking the skirt with tights and her Chinese Laundry boots, but this is a totally different look (great for nights when she has a lot of partying studying to do!).

Plain black long sleeve shirt–Target–$9.00
Zebra skirt–Target–$16.99
Tights–Target–$5.00
Headband–Target–$9.99
Bangles–Forever 21–$4.99 for a 3-pk

This is one of my favorite looks on Christy – love the green sweater with her complexion, and I love that she went with brown boots instead of black.

Green and Grey sweater–Forever 21–$13.50
Grey Cami underneath–Target–$8.99
Blue Skinny Jeans–same as above from Urban Outfitters
Tan Boots–same as above from Charlotte Russe

Her last look is all about the coat, which I think is great since so many people will see your coat long before they see anything underneath it.  She let her coat do the talking, and paired it with all-black underneath.  My only suggestion for this outfit would be to consider cinching the waistline with a skinny belt to pull it all together.  Since the coat isn’t uber-fitted, it would help to give her more shape.  She paired this coat with the same black long sleeve shirt from Target, and Chinese Laundry Boots.

A-line Black and White Coat–Forever 21–$44.50

Black skinny jeans/feel like tights–Forever 21–$24.80

* * *

There ya have it – some really inexpensive ways to put together a few new looks, with a huge thank you to my friend Christy, who never ceases to provide me with entertainment (and friendship, I might add).

Want to be featured on Chic Shopper Chick?  Send me some pictures of your favorite looks and I will do my best to post them!

Spring 2010 Trends: Go Red

Red.  It conjures up all sorts of images, doesn’t it?  Power.  Anger.  Rage.  Love.  Red is sexy, alluring, bold – it pulls people in and announces, in no uncertain terms, that you are unafraid of confrontation.  Or of power, anger, rage, or even love, for that matter.

I know the new year has only just begun, but I thought I’d give you a quick tip for ways to start building your spring wardrobe – so here you have it:  Go Red.  Buy a pair of sexy red heels (they work wonders, trust me), cinch up your little black dress with a red belt, don a red blazer, warm your hands with some red leather gloves, pair a sexy red skirt with a black tank, black boyfriend blazer, black tights and sexy boots…you get the picture.

I know, red seems an unlikely candidate for Spring, but not according to the runways.  Red harmoniously made it’s appearance alongside of the subdued neutrals and soft earthy palettes – almost every single designer added in a dash of red, cerise, pomegranate, or pimento to their collections. (If you want a more in-depth Spring preview, you can read my latest article on Lifetime Moms.)

Remember, wearing red is much like wearing a chunky necklace – don’t overdo it.  Tone down the rest of your ensemble, or better yet, use your red item as the basis for your outfit, and build up and out from there.  Oh, and then send me PICTURES!  Who knows, you could be internet famous.

That’s way cooler than regular famous, anyway.

Haikus Are Easy

Oh man.  I tweeted about this shirt earlier today because I love it so much, but I felt it deserved it’s own post.

Haikus are easy

But sometimes they don’t make sense

Refrigerator

* * *

I’m not a big fan of t-shirts in general (I think they look sloppy) but this Haiku shirt makes me laugh so hard that I might consider it.  Ok, I probably wouldn’t – but I still like it.  Guys can definitely pull it off – why not pick it up as a gift for the man in your life?  Then, you’ll giggle every time they wear it.