The Dyson DC35: Digital, Slim, Powerful

4 years ago I wanted one thing for my birthday – a new vacuum cleaner.  After purchasing one that cost me quite a bit of money I used it for about 4 months before it bit the dust. Luckily, later that year Dyson came to my rescue with a truly drool-worthy vacuum (yes, I just used the phrase “drool-worthy vacuum” and TOTALLY meant it) – the Dyson DC25 Ball vacuum – which rocked (or swiveled!) my world!

Not long after they came to me yet again with the Dyson DC28 Animal – which has become my go-to vacuum cleaner to this day.  The problem is that as much as I love it for it’s power, it’s a whole lot of machine to drag out of the closet for the little jobs – the baseboards, the kitchen floor, etc.

Enter the Dyson DC35 digital slim vacuum – a powerful vacuum that doesn’t lose suction and is both cordless and portable – but yet does so much more than a run-of-the-mill handheld vacuum.

I’m going to be reviewing the DC35 more in-depth as a part of my role in the Walmart Moms, but in the meantime check out this video made just for the Walmart Moms by an engineer at Dyson – this is one sweet little machine!  Bonus: the engineer in the video, Jo, has the cutest accent in the world, so it makes it even more fun to watch!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Walmart as a part of my role in the Walmart Moms. All opinions are, and always have been, my own.

Sexy Swimwear for Summer

This post brought to you by Express. All opinions are 100% mine.

I spent half of today lounging by the pool.  Although I have a million things to do, I also have a 4 year old and she just needed to get out of the house – so pool time was most definitely in order for this 90 degree day! See, I know some parts of the country have a bonafide spring, but not us here in Louisiana. We go from cold to hot, with not much in between.  Of course, this makes for fantastic pool weather, and by the time June rolls around I’m already so tanned (terrible, I know) that I am desperately trying NOT to get a tan.

Of course, summer means one thing, mostly – and that is bathing suit season!  If you’re looking for great women’s swimwear consider checking out the options at Express.  I snatched up two really adorable suits just the other day (there was a sale going on!) and I’m super excited to flaunt them this summer.  Ooh, or maybe I’ll just save them for my November honeymoon as a surprise for my fiance’.  We spend lots of time at the pool in the warmer months, so I know both of these suits will go to good use.  

Here are photos of the two suits that I bought.  No, not a photo of me wearing them because I’m not crazy, but photos of them nevertheless.  

Ok, so obviously I have a “thing” for purple this season but let’s be honest, it’s a good color and both of those   bikinis are HOT! Express had all sorts of options – halter top, bandeau top, boyshort bottoms and more traditional bottoms too.  The coverage on the bottom is moderate so if you have a little extra junk in your trunk you may want to take the boyshort route, like I did (or, you know, just move to Brazil).  

My favorite suit was actually a gold metallic ruffle suit, but they didn’t have it in my size (because everyone else snatched them up!) – but trust me, there were loads of options to choose from, all very on-trend, lots of metallics, bold colors and fun patterns.  I’m also a big fan of metal hardware on suits and beaded embellishments, all of which ran a plenty in this fun swimwear line!  

Want a chance to walk away with some awesome swimwear from Express?  Sign up to get Express e-mail and you could win one of 10 $200 gift cards now through April 21st, 2011 at 11:59pm! That’s enough to buy 4 swimsuits, y’all!  Of course, there are some rules and restrictions, so you can check out the sweepstakes rules for yourself.  

Happy sunning!

Kate Middleton: Too Thin?

WIth only 8 days left as a single woman, and non-royalty, Kate Middleton was spotted shopping yesterday picking out nearly $400 worth of what is speculated to be honeymoon attire on Kings Road in London.  The future Queen of England was shopping at Banana Republic and British retailer Warehouse, but while some of the whispers were about William and Kate’s potential honeymoon locale, most of it was about the soon-to-be Princess’ drastic weight loss. Kate’s was wearing a black wrap dress by one of her favorite designers, Issa, that only accentuated her painfully thin frame.

Kate has always been very thin and is well-known to be athletic, but some feel that she no longer looks to be at a healthy weight.  For their part, Clarence House insists that Kate is not trying to lose weight, but just “be healthy” with her regular workouts at a very posh gym – one that costs over $3,500 to join.

So what do you think?  Does Kate look too thin?  Is it just wedding jitters?

Tutu Tuesday: Tutu Pour Mon Deux {A Giveaway!}

When I was a little girl, I used to evaluate the quality of dresses by how far out they would twirl when I would spin. Those which did not spin to my satisfaction were shunned, and rarely worn.  I was the consummate girly-girl. Pink, frills, princesses, tiaras – I suppose this comes as no surprise to you, my sweet readers.

The other day little AG and I had a mini fashion show in her bedroom. It was not planned, nor was it necessarily enjoyable.  She was unknowingly borrowing from her mommy’s bag of tricks – trying on every skirt in her closet until she found one that “twirled” enough.  Telle mère, telle fille…

When Erika from Tutu Pour Mon Deux contacted me and offered Audrey Grace one of their fully-customizable tutu tanks to try out, I believe I responded with a “Yes! My 4 year old daughter would fah-reak out over these!”.

Fah-reak, obviously, is a technical term.

Anyway, as expected, she totally did.  Check out my little ham:

For Audrey Grace I chose a brown tank with dark pink tutu material, a fun pink polka dot ribbon, and a crown on the front.  The design process was insanely easy, and so much fun!  The only hard part was choosing the perfect combination for my sweet girl’s personality!  You can see a snapshot of the customization screen below:

This screen is exactly what it looked like before I hit “add to cart” and you can see the gorgeous end result that arrived about a week later in the mail (complete with wand, may I add!).

You simply choose your shirt style, color, tutu color, ribbon color, and patch on the front.  I was thrilled at the high quality of the shirt and tutu, and the patch on the front is soft and fuzzy, definitely a well-made product.

Here is the best part about these adorable tutu shirts – they come with a story.  This story is one of gratitude, for a doctor and hospital staff that saved a little girl’s life.  Her name is Maeley, and she one of the daughters of the owner of Tutu Pour Mon Deux (which means Tutu For My Two – I assume referring to her two daughters!).  Because of Maeley’s journey, and that of her family, one-third of proceeds from all of these Tutu shirts goes to Children’s Hospital Boston.

Win It! Tutu Pour Mon Deux wants to give one very lucky Chic Shopper Chick reader the opportunity to win a customized tutu shirt of her very own!  To enter, head on over to Tutu Pour Mon Deux and design your perfect tutu shirt - then come back here and leave a comment letting me know what it would look like!  For bonus entries, you can tweet this contest out to your followers, share it on Facebook (see the buttons at the top of this post for help sharing), subscribe to my site via email (box at the top right), subscribe to my YouTube Channel, or write a blog post about this contest (worth 3 extra entries).  For any of these that you choose to do, please come back here leaving a comment to let me know that you did so.

That’s it! Good luck!

This contest will run from April 19, 2011 to April 27th, 2011 and will end at 11:59 pm CST. No purchase necessary to win, and a winner will be chosen at random.  If the winner does not respond to emails within 72 hours of notification, then another winner will be chosen.  US entries only.

Hanes’ Hilarious New Ads For Women

Hanes has long been known for it’s iconic ads, but for the past 3 years there haven’t been any ads geared at women.  However, all that is changing as Hanes has launched it’s new ads for Hanes ComfortFlex Fit Bras that shape to fit and Hanes No Ride Up Panties that know their place and stay in place (and it’s true – they totally work.  Sorry for the TMI!).

When I saw the ads I cracked up laughing – they are hilarious.  My 4 year old daughter wanted to watch the “marshmallow one” over and over again.  Be on the lookout for these during national morning, daytime, and primetime programming! Check them both out below for a giggle!

While the ads are great for a giggle, they are also spot on about Hanes’ continued commitment to comfort – and it’s true – everything from Hanes that I own and that my family owns is the ultimate in comfort! Have you checked out Hanes recently?

Disclosure: I am a member of the Hanes Comfort Crew, but I was in no way compensated for this post. I spent 3 days learning about the tremendous things that Hanes is accomplishing over a year ago and I am just a true believer in this awesome brand.

Review: Easter Egg Dying Kits

Easter is right around the corner which means that we get to participate in one of my favorite holiday traditions!   And no, I don’t mean eating lots of candy (although I will admit, I do that that one a lot!) – I mean dying Easter Eggs!

This is a big deal in our house each year – and my little munchkin has been dying eggs with her mommy since before she can remember (heck, her first Easter she just sat in her Bumbo and watched and I pretended like I was coloring eggs for her.  I wasn’t. It was totally for me.) so this year – at age 4 – was set to be the most exciting year, yet.

This year we tried the Spin an Egg Easter Egg Decorating Kit from Dudley’s and the Bright and Shiny Egg Decorating kit!   We got two kits because I really wanted to dye the eggs the traditional way (and by that I mean dropping an egg in vinegar/water with dissolving tablets) which the Shiny Egg kit enabled us to do, and the Spin an Egg Kit was a homerun for the little one because she had more control over the color and process of each egg.  When you color eggs the traditional way, it requires way more help from mommy.  We got both kits at Walmart for under $10 – which was a steal. I couldn’t believe the egg-spinner thingie was only five smackers. Awesomesauce.

The verdict?  Both kits were amazing.  The Shiny Egg kit was MESSY – especially the making-it-shiny part at the end, but produced beautiful results.  The Spin an Egg kit was a big hit with the little one, and the eggs came out in all sorts of fun patterns and color combos.  Overall, it was an egg-cellent experience!

Because we love you oh-so-much we also made you a video wherein my child says and does some adorable things.  Naturally she is my kiddo so I think everything she says and does is adorable, but I feel that you will agree with me after watching this video!

See? I told you she is totally precious.

If you want to check out all of the great offerings that Walmart has available this Easter, check out the exclusive Walmart Easter site!

Disclosure:  I am a Walmart Mom and this post is sponsored as a part of my voluntary participation in that program. All thoughts, opinions, and adorable children are mine.

Trend to Try: Colorblocking

citrus striped top, cobalt pants, neutral wedges. image via

Have you dared to try colorblocking yet? It’s one of Spring’s boldest and most adventurous trends…I myself have dabbled in a very small way. Baby steps! One way to make it easier to try this look is to do it on the cheap-shop places like Forever21 and H&M for moderately priced items in bold colors. The key here is to pick two bold colors that “pop” against each other-think complementary colors (indigo and neon yellow) or colors that are fairly adjacent to each other on the color wheel (fuschia and red). If you’re feeling a bit timid about this trend, keep the silhouettes simple and easy. Anchor your look with a neutral shoe or belt- black or camel work best. Pull your outfit together, gather your confidence and get ready to start turning heads!

Transition Your Wardrobe: Winter To Spring

jeans: 7 for all mankind, shoes: sam edelman, blazer: theory

blouse: madewell, pendant: ylang23

It’s that time! Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, our Fall’s dark-hued clothes are putting a damper our moods….it’s time to spring-ify! Lightweight tops, flowy skirts and bright colors are probably calling to you. You’ve got the urge to wear shorts. You break out some of your favorite springtime threads and head out the door-only to return in approximately 4.53 seconds after a cool breeze sends chills up those (in most cases) pasty legs! Brrrr….this spring-ifying is a gradual process.

We have to integrate simple Spring must-haves into the last cool weather items we still have laying around. Lighten up your look with a blouse in a great color, a lightweight scarf with a simple design, a bright silk tank, or some new wedges. These items all work seamlessly back to your jeans, blazers, leathers, and even long sleeve tees that have been your besties the last 6 months. Don’t worry, you will have plenty of time to wear those Spring duds, and before you know it you’ll be wishing for football weather again!

Spring Cleaning Your Closet with Tide and Tim Gunn {Giveaway CLOSED}

A few weeks ago, Tide approached me with what I thought was a very cool idea – share my spring cleaning resolution for my closet and my wardrobe with my readers – and have the potential to win a trip to NYC with one of my readers for a Spring Wardrobe makeover.

Oh, and did I mention that the wardrobe makeover would be with Tim Gunn?

You see, Tide understands the importance of every woman’s individual style, and wants to help you to not only set but achieve those style resolutions during this hectic “spring cleaning” season.

So, sweet readers, I made you a (decently funny) video to share my personal resolution for my spring wardrobe, and exactly why I needed (desperately) to clean out my closet.  Think awful dresses with ruffles, a plaid shirt that should have never been in my closet in the first place, and too much athletic gear – so much that I may end up tempted to wear it outside of the gym – which is my number one no-no!

My resolution this Spring is to Fight the Frump – I want to get rid of everything in my closet that doesn’t make me feel fabulous when I put it on.  This way, if I stock my closet with a bunch of very streamlined choices, then I never have to worry about being the frumpy girl in the room because I’ll always look pulled together.

Thanks, Tide, for the motivation to set a spring resolution to clean out my wardrobe, and make it a much more cohesive place!

So, what is YOUR spring wardrobe resolution?  If you share your resolution with me in the comments, you will be entered to win a trip to NYC for your very own spring wardrobe makeover with Tim Gunn, courtesy of Tide!

Yes. You read that right.

So leave your resolution in the comments, and you could be schmoozing and discussing cuts, lines, and color with Tim Gunn in NYC before you know it!  Good luck!

Disclosure:  This post is sponsored by Tide.  All opinions are, always have been, and always will be my own – but you knew that already, didn’t you?

Don’t Miss: Glamour Belles On Lifetime

Every now and then Lifetime offers to send me a screener for a new show as a part of my role as a Lifetime Mom. Just reading the title for their newest unscripted show (that means “reality show”, y’all) Glamour Belles made me giddy.  The title pretty much told me I all needed to know – I’d love it.  For those of you not as convinced – here’s the recipe for Glamour Belles.

1 hearty dose of a hilarious Southern woman named Paige, who owns Joann’s, a dress shop

Add a dash of her mother, Joann, the store’s original owner, who has a penchant for leopard print

Mix in Jared, the store manager and the man that Paige calls her “gay work husband”

Top with a sprinkle of colorful customers, from brides and beauty queens aged 7-70

And BAM! Glamour Belles.

Trust me.  It will give your current favorite show a run for it’s money.  Warning: don’t watch this show if you don’t like to laugh.

I’ll admit that the night that I sat down to watch the screener I was grumpy.  It was late, my daughter had gone to bed later than expected, and I could feel the weight of several deadlines pressing down upon my shoulders.  By the time it was over, I had tears streaming down my face from laughter and was desperately pushing the menu button on the DVD player remote, hoping to God that there was an extra episode.

There wasn’t.  I have to wait 2 more weeks to see the 2nd episode!  Ack!

Check out the 30 second trailer below if you don’t believe me. It will definitely leave you giggling!

Check out Glamour Belles this Wednesday, April 6th, at 10 pm/ 9 pm CT on Lifetime. Guaranteed to cure all grumpiness.

Things We Love: Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess (that’s me – hey, it’s my fairytale) who doted over her long auburn locks with every shampoo, conditioner, and styling product that was available to her in the kingdom.  She washed her hair at least every other day, sometimes every day, until her stylist-in-waiting scolded the princess for washing her hair too often.

“Try to go at least 3 days without washing” the stylist-in-waiting said. She added “it’s better for your hair”.

The princess had a dilemma.  Her scalp was a bit oily, and sometimes on the third day it looked a bit, well, yucky.

The stylist-in-waiting introduced the princess to a new product that she found in a far off kingdom called “dry shampoo”.  It cost the princess a small fortune to have it imported to her kingdom, but it was worth it – it helped her to avoid that 3rd day ponytail, and allowed her to leave her locks long and flowing.  It weighed down her hair a bit, and by the 4th day her hair felt more like a helmut than hair, but she was happy to make that trade – it was better than oily hair.

Then one day, a new product appeared in the princess’ kingdom, a new dry shampoo by Suave Professionals. Because it was local, it was less expensive for the princess.  She was eager to try the new, more affordable dry shampoo, but she had her doubts.  Could anything possibly replace her over-priced, exotic imported-from-another-land dry shampoo?

It turns out, it could.

Even better, the new Suave Professionals dry shampoo didn’t turn the beautiful princess’ hair into a helmut – it was lightweight and still looked like the day she washed it, even on the third day.  If the princess wasn’t so vain, she may have even admitted to using it to make it to a record-setting FIVE days (and even then only washed her hair out of a feeling of obligation, not because of the way that her hair looked).  But don’t worry, the princess is too vain to admit to such things, even if they were true.

In the end, the princess rejoiced because frankly, her hair took a lot of work, and the new Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo took a major bite out of her daily prep time.  She was happy, and able to spend more time with her subjects in the kingdom, and less time in front of a mirror.

Thanks to Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo, the princess and her amazing head of hair were able to live happily ever after.

The end.

Oh, and seriously, check this stuff out.  It’s amazing.  Even Emily Rossum is crazy for it!

Disclosure: Suave Professionals sent me the new dry shampoo, hairspray, and mousse to try out.  I received no other compensation for this post – this stuff is just simply amazing. Everyone should have a bottle under the sink, ready to go.

Get The Look: Megan Fox

The first time I saw Megan Fox, I sat in the darkened theater in awe of how beautiful she was.  I have always loved her makeup, as makeup artist Kandee Johnson so aptly described her as having the “pinup girl” look.  If you’re looking to play around with your look, and do something fun a la Katy Perry or Megan Fox, try watching this great tutorial from the awesome Kandee Johnson.  She posted this a while back but it’s one of my favorite looks (and looks sexy on any woman) so I thought I would share!

Interestingly enough, it seems like you have to put on a lot of makeup to pull off this “not-a-lot-of-makeup” look, but that is often the case.  As one makeup artist once told me on a commercial shoot – sometimes we put makeup on before we can take it back off to get the look we desire. So true!

Enjoy!

Disney Store Addict

I’m not sure if you know it, but the reason I started this blog is because I once feared that I had a bonafide problem with, ahem, too much shopping.  I figured that if I could share with the world all of the adorable things that I found, then perhaps it would stop me from actually going through with the purchase of said item.  And you know what? It did.

My thrill became hunting down things that I liked and thought maybe others would like too – but never going through with the purchase.  That was 3 years ago.  Since then, the urge to shop has subsided, and I’ve focused more on the business side of this whole bloggy/vloggy/ catty mommy /writing world.

Tonight however? I need your help.

I will not buy these dresses (ok, two dresses, plus an adorable coverup with Little AG’s name embroidered on it and one over-the-top adorable nightgown that she would fah-LIP out over) from the Disney Store.  I will not buy these dresses from the Disney Store.  I will not buy these dresses from the Disney Store.

But, I will share them with you.  You know, in case you want to buy them.  Or just so you can tell me that they are SO stinkin’ cute that you wish you could buy them too.

Prepare yourself for cute overload.

Whew.  I feel much better.

I should get back to my roots more often.