2011 Holiday Gift Guide

I’ve scoured the stores, the shelves, and the internet for the hottest gifts for the 2011 Holiday Season.  Together with Kristin of Our Ordinary Life and Amanda of Mommy Mandy, I’m set to bring you the best gifts for everyone on your list for 2011.  So, what are you waiting for — dive in!

Happy 5th Birthday Audrey Grace!

 

Dear Audrey Grace,

This last year has gone so fast.  It seems like just yesterday that we were bouncing and sliding around in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse bouncer for your 4th Birthday and now here we are, with another year under our belt.  Five.  FIVE.  Wow.  You are growing so fast and while I have a blast watching you grow, part of me desperately wants you to slow down so that I can savor one more snuggle, one more hug, one more pout, one more smile.  Sometimes I ask you to turn around and come back to me, to give me another hug or some more love and you oblige me, but now that you’re older you have a distinctive “my mom has lost her mind” look on your face.

I can only imagine what your teenage years will bring.

Yesterday you chose your Mickey Mouse dress from your 4th birthday party to wear to school, since it was your “last day of being four”.  As soon as we got out of the car you started telling everyone who would listen – “it’s my last day of being four!” with the kind of glee that is usually reserved for a trip to the beach or a visit with Mickey Mouse.  Moments like this make me giggle, because you are far from what most people would consider a shy child.  As a matter of fact when, a month into the school year, you teacher told me that you were one of the quietest girls in the class I worried that something was terribly wrong.  You’ve since made up for it, and they are now trying to figure out how to make you pipe down during circle time.  Your Italian heritage has served you well – you are a child who talks frequently and uses her hands for emphasis.  I have no idea where you get that from.

This year has brought so many changes for the two of us.  For starters, we uprooted our lives from the only place either of us had ever known — Louisiana — and moved out to sunny southern California.  You haven’t missed a beat – you dove headfirst into your new school, made new friends, and oftentimes I think you know the way home even better than I do.  You love living close to the beach and to Disneyland – and we find ourselves at both of those places pretty often.  Sometimes it makes me sad that you will probably not remember a time when you were a full-time resident of Louisiana, but I’m thankful that the frequent trips home means that you’ll always be a Louisiana girl at heart.

You love our little family out in California even more than I ever expected.  You have embraced “Misser Morgan” and “Beezie Boy” with a big, open heart as if they have always been a part of your family.  You have called Banks your brother from the near start, and a few months ago I sat you down to explain that he wasn’t your brother just yet, but that he would be in September when Mommy and Mister Morgan get married.  You looked at me with those clear blue eyes and simply said “but I can call him my brother anyway, can’t I?”  Your love for him melts my heart – you are so happy to have him in your life.  Every morning you wake up and ask “is it a Banks day?” and my answer either excites you or disappoints you – but you ask again the next morning just the same.  It is my wish for both of you that you will always be close – it is not blood but love that binds us all.  You will always have each other.

For the first time this year, you had to deal with heartbreak.  Our sweet dog Lilly passed away a month after we moved to California.  It took me two whole weeks to compose myself enough to be able to tell you what happened.  When I told you that Lilly had gone to heaven you seemed sad, but fine.  And then you turned to me and asked how long it would be until she came back from heaven.  Fighting back tears, I told you that she would never come back.  And then you cried.  You cried hard, taking big gulping breaths in between sobs.  I couldn’t help it – I cried too.  And so for almost 2 hours we sat together and I stroked your hair and we cried.  Seeing you so heartbroken just about killed me.  I would do anything to protect you from such pain, but there was no way to do that.  I’m sure it will be the first of several times in your life where I feel totally helpless, and I hate it.

This year you have been full of questions.  Why do we put conditioner on my hair, mommy?  How does it work to make my hair soft?   What sound does Mickey Mouse start with?  Are there rules in heaven?  When I get older mommy, can I still follow you?  Why doesn’t my hair glow like Rapunzel’s?  When I get older, can I be a Princess?  Is chocolate healthy for you?  Who am I going to marry one day?  Some of your questions make me giggle and some of them really make me think, but I love that all of them give me a glimpse into your mind and your heart.  You have always been so curious, so analytical.  Even though you can be a little incredibly hard-headed, I think that your persistence and inquisitive nature will serve you well, and so I do my best to encourage it.

Remember how last year you had gradually started moving toward loving all things girly?  Well this year marked the full-on girlfication of Audrey Grace – Princesses, Hello Kitty, Barbie, and anything else pink are all at the top of your list.  Speaking of last year – I also promised that this would be the year that I would cut your hair for the first time.  Well, I was wrong.  You still have every bit of hair that you were born with.  It’s super long and a bit wild, but I just can’t bear the idea of parting with your curls.  It works out because you aren’t any more interested in having it cut than I am in cutting it – so we can both just pretend that you are a real-life Rapunzel for a bit longer.

Audrey Grace, you are the most thoughtful little girl that I have ever known.  You bring me flowers, draw pictures for me almost every day, and write letters to all of your friends.  You worry about kids that you see who aren’t wearing jackets, remember to call and check on family members when they are sick (even when I forget), and point out things that you know your friends and family would like when we are in the store.  One of your favorite parts of Christmas this year was buying toys for the other kids – you still ask once a week at least when we can buy some more toys for the kids who don’t have any.  You are so full of love for everyone and I couldn’t be more proud of that.

I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that being your mommy is the most difficult job that I’ve ever had.  That’s not to say that it is hard to love you because it’s not – on the contrary, loving you is probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done.  But the day to day responsibility of making you into the best possible human being that you can be is one that I don’t take lightly.  I have so many hopes and dreams for you, and I also realize that you will (and already do) have so many of your own. All that I want is to be able to raise you in a way that equips you with all that you need to realize those dreams on your own.  Of course, I’ll be there every step of the way to cheer you on – I’m your biggest fan.

Audrey Grace, I love you more than I think I will ever be able to put into words.  You bring so much joy into each and every single one of my days.  I cannot believe that it has been five whole years since Dr. Striplin first placed you into my arms.  You didn’t know it, but on that day you taught me how to love unconditionally.  I am so proud to be your mommy.  Out of everything I’ve accomplished in my life, you are what I’m most proud of.

I love you my angel.

Love always,

Mommy

 

Beauty and the Beast 3D Hits Theaters Tomorrow

I always say that you can tell how old someone is by asking them what their favorite Disney Movies were as a child.  If they say Snow White, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty – you know you’re dealing with someone a bit older.  But if they say Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, or, my personal favorite Beauty and the Beast, then I know I’m dealing with someone who is close in age.

It’s funny how experiences that I treasured as a child have come back around full circle so that I can share them with our two kids.  I can very vividly remember sitting in the theater watching Beauty and the Beast at age 9 – falling in love with the music, the story, and of course – that yellow dress.  Naturally, at 29 I was totally geeked out to share that same experience with my family – to see the twinkle in my kids eyes as they watched the story unfold.

I’m so thankful to the folks at Disney, who were kind enough to invite the four of us to do just that last Saturday at the El Capitan Theater (the same place that I attended the premiere of Cars 2) in Hollywood.  We didn’t tell them where we were going until we were almost there – and then they kept shouting “We’re going to HOLLYWOOD!”.

I’ll take awesome parents for 500, Alex.

We felt like royalty ourselves when we got to the check-in table and discovered that we were special guests and were allowed to skip the line.  One day, when our kids no longer think I’m cool, I’m going to show them this post as proof that I am, indeed, cool.

Did I mention that Beauty and the Beast has been remastered and is being released in 3D?  We rocked our 3D glasses didn’t we?

What the kids didn’t know was that two very special people were making a surprise appearance at this sneak peek – so imagine how my heart melted when Belle and the Beast waltzed out on stage and I see both of my kids sitting on their knees, stretching out their arms waving and yelling at them with the world’s biggest smiles on their faces.   Belle and the Beast thanked us for coming to see their movie, and then there was a confetti explosion and I thought my kids might explode with excitement themselves.  They were literally bouncing in their seats.  Pure magic.

Before the movie itself started, we got a preview of something that we had been waiting a long time for – Tangled Ever After!  My daughter is the world’s biggest Tangled fan so this was a real treat for her.  She literally giggled throughout the entire short – she loves Pascal especially, and she even told her grandparents about how funny it was on the phone later that day.  My son’s favorite line from Tangled is “They just can’t get my nose right!” and without spoiling anything from you I can tell you that there is a little tribute to that line in the short as well!

We loved every second of Beauty and the Beast in 3D – and it was an amazing experience.  The movie still moves me to tears – I was sniffling at the end of the movie.  Just wait until you see the ballroom scene in 3D – you will be blown away!

Beauty and the Beast 3D hits theaters TOMORROW, January 13th – so be sure and check it out with your kids this weekend!  What a great way to introduce them to the movie that captured our hearts 20 years ago!  By the way, you can like Beauty and the Beast on Facebook for up-to-the moment updates!

Thank you so much Disney for this very special day with my family – we are still talking about it!

PS – Do you watch Modern Family?  We watched Beauty and the Beast in 3D all while sitting a few rows away from “Manny” who is played by Rico Rodriguez.  Kinda awesome!  We also got to see Zachary Levi who is the voice of Flynn  in Tangled.  :)

I Need More CoolSculpting! (A Review/Giveaway)

If you’re a frequent reader of my blog you know that last year I tried the CoolSculpting® treatment for the first time.  Even though the procedure is totally safe and non-invasive, I was terrified (I’m a big baby).  I was in a room, with not too much on in the way of clothing (do paper bras and panties count?) and this giant machine with what looked like an elephant’s snout was in the room with me.  And it was cold.

Thankfully though, the procedure itself was easy and I saw incredible results with CoolSculpting® after just one visit.  After a consultation with the doctor to choose my problem areas, I scheduled my appointment and went back to have the “procedure” done.  They lay a cool gel pad over the area to be sculpted, line up the machine, and then they turn it on.  It sort of pulls your skin tight and sucks in all of the…ahem…loose areas of your body.

CoolSculpting literally traps the fat between two freezing plates for a certain amount of time, freezing the fat cells and allowing them to die off and eventually leave your body.  What I’ve noticed is that after the procedure you don’t feel anything (except a little numb in that area – almost like you had Novocain in your stomach – you don’t feel anything!) except a little tingling.  A few days later I was in some pain, but nothing that kept me from doing my everyday activities.  I told myself that the pain that I was feeling were the fat cells shriveling up and dying, so that pretty much made me feel better.

The machine looks like the photo below.  I was set up on a comfy table with lots of pillows, and they even covered me with a warm blanket during the procedure.  For a busy mom, it was actually kind of peaceful!

 

 

I had the procedure on my bra rolls, my tummy, and my thighs.  I saw the greatest change in my tummy and I wish I had the opportunity to go back for a few more treatments before my honeymoon.  The areas on my back and my thighs did not hurt during the procedure at all, though I did feel some (bearable) pain a few days later.  However, when they put the machine on my tummy for the first time I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me.  I’m so thankful to the amazing nurse in the room with me, Ashley, who kept telling me that after 5 minutes it would stop.  She literally stayed in the room with me and helped to distract me during those rather uncomfortable 5 minutes and at 4 minutes and 45 seconds the pain completely disappeared.  I sat through the rest of the treatment sipping on a diet coke and watching the Bachelor on Hulu.

Not bad, right?

Check out this video below:

 

If you want to find out more about CoolSculpting you can check out their Facebook page – where I’m sure other patients who are very happy with their results are posting as well.

Want a chance to win a CoolSculpting treatment for yourself?  (The answer is YES, I promise!)  Fill out the form below to enter – and the folks at CoolSculpting will choose one lucky gal (or guy, I suppose!) from across the 14 blogs on this blog tour to win a treatment!  I’ll cross my fingers that it’s you!

 

 

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post on behalf of CoolSculpting. However, all opinions are my own.  Trust me, after having this procedure done personally I would not still be endorsing it if I wasn’t completely impressed with the results.  

Thank You Reese Witherspoon

I just came across these photos of Reese Witherspoon in Hawaii last week vacationing with her family, and I was inspired to write this simple post just to say thank you, Reese!

Thank you for being a normal size yet being successful.

Thank you for being confident in your own skin.

Thank you for setting a good example for women and little girls everywhere – including your own daughter.

 

Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

As I work on my New Years Resolution to get healthy for my wedding it’s inspiring to see a celebrity whom I know is active and fit, yet is not as skinny as a rail.

By the way, this is not to say she is not skinny.  She is obviously petite and in shape.  I’m just thankful that she looks like she actually eats real food and not just a piece of grilled chicken breast with 4 asparagus spears for every meal.  You know the folks I’m talking about.

I needed to see this today.  Maybe you did, too.

Picplum: The Perfect Gift For The Holidays {A Giveaway}

 

I remember the day that I discovered picplum very clearly.  It was August 19th, and I was flying back to Louisiana for my 29th birthday after having spent 3 weeks in Southern California with my fiance’ and his son.  It was actually the last time I would ever fly “home” to Louisiana and I knew that it would be – because 11 days later my daughter and I would officially become residents of California.

I had spent nearly 30 years as a Louisiana resident.  My entire life.  My 4 year old’s entire life.  I was excited for a new adventure.  My family was excited for me too, for sure.  Even so, there were a lot of tears.  Like, a lot.  A ton.

I think it was mostly over the fact that my daughter was going with me.  Not that they don’t love me or anything, but if you are a parent, or a grandparent you understand the joy that a grandchild brings to a family.  You also understand that if said grandchild lived with you for a good year of her life and also came over for dinner at least once a week then that loss hurts even more.

But back to my story.  I was sitting in the Dallas airport, waiting on yet another delayed flight, when I saw a tweet from my fiance’ – suggesting that I check out picplum.  The idea behind it was that you can upload photos throughout the month – from your phone, your computer, and via email  - and on a certain day each month picplum will print and ship that “batch” of photos to addresses that you had previously specified.

I literally read the tweet, went to the picplum website, and pulled out my credit card to sign up.  I was totally sold – I could think of no better gift and surprise for my family back home.  The idea is simple, 50 cents per print, and starting at $2.50 shipping per recipient.  So for under 10 bucks a month, I can print and ship photos to my parents of my daughter, my soon-to-be-son, and occasionally myself and my fiance’.  They get everything from photos of the first day of school, to sleepy morning photos, to photos of us all at the pumpkin patch.

Here is what one of my upload pages looks like:

You can see in the top left hand corner that I sent 3 different recipients 19 photos each.  I love me some picplum.

As I sat in the airport uploading my photos, I found myself with a few questions.  I sent a tweet to @picplum and had a response almost immediately.  At other times I’ve been on the site and the live chat has popped out and one of the founders has said “Hey Erika – let me know if you have any questions!”.  The customer service is amazing – and the team really cares about building a great product with a clean customer experience.  I love to feel special – and the folks at picplum have a way of doing that for me without even trying.

My family loves getting the photos each month – they really look forward to it and I always get elated text messages and phone calls when a new batch arrives.  My fiance’ has signed up with his own account and sends photos to family back in Connecticut, Maine, and Florida – and just this month he wised up and added me to his account!  I got my first batch in the mail a few weeks ago and I was so impressed!  Check it out!

They come in a pretty purple envelope (excuse the iPhone photo – but awesome packaging ftw!):

And the photos are just gorgeous!

Can you tell I just think picplum is the coolest thing since sliced bread?  Cause I do.  I have nothing to gain from shouting from the rooftops that I love this company – I just think they’re awesome!  I am a happy paying customer, and I know that will continue for the foreseeable future!

Because the guys over at picplum know that I’m a happy customer, they offered to giveaway some photo credits here on Chic Shopper Chick – which I thought was a super idea!  So, if you want to try out picplum for yourself, enter to win $50 in credit – which should get you several batches of photos printed and shipped!

Don’t want to wait to get started?  You can sign up for your picplum account now (and the first 5 people who sign up for picplum through Chic Shopper Chick and print and ship a batch of photos will get $10 in credit towards their next order) and if you win the giveaway, then they will just apply the credit to your account!

One last thing.  I want to do a little reverse disclosure here.  I am not benefiting through this write up whatsoever.  I am not getting any free product, and I am not being paid by picplum.  The link that you click above is not an affiliate link – it’s simply a tracking link so that we can keep track of the first 5 orders (and know who to credit the $10 to).  The guys at picplum simply offered this to do this though my site because I am a crazy fan and have been vocal about my support of the company from day one.

Ok, so now the good stuff.  To enter:

• Go over and click like on the picplum Facebook page. Leave a comment letting me know that you did so.

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