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.  

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.

Holiday Gift Guide: Glowberry Bears {A Giveaway}

A few years ago when we visited Walt Disney World Audrey came home with one of those Minnie Mouse figures that when the button is pressed, her skirt spins around and she lights up.  At the time I thought it was a novelty, but it has turned into a “thing” – being that she can’t sleep without some light that she can control, in the bed with her.  As you can imagine, this means that each night I’m tiptoeing back into her room to remove glowsticks (we buy them in packs of 20), lanterns, and other lit objects that are hard and not meant to be in bed with her.

Then the folks at The Brainy Company contacted me about their Glowberry Bears and I just knew that Audrey Grace would love it.  They sent us the light blue Glowberry bear, and I’ve discovered that it works in 3 settings:

• Bear to Bear – There’s a chip located in the bear’s foot and when placed in close proximity of another Glowberry Bear, they communicate with each other.  We only have one bear so I cannot attest to the quality of this feature, but it sounds pretty cool!
• Nighttime – This setting transitions our bear into a night light – pressing the bear’s tummy makes it light softly from within and the glow will last for 3 minutes.
• Bear to Child – The bear talks to us, and even has a name! If you press its hand it will say things like, “Hi, I’m Twinkleton. What’s your name?” Pressing its other hand makes the nightlight light up, and tickling its tummy makes it giggle.

Holiday 2011: Fresh Wreaths From Lynch Creek Farm {Giveaway CLOSED}

I am in love with Christmas.  I’m the total opposite of a the Grinch.  The Grinch hates everything about Christmas, and I love everything about it.

So, considering that this is the first Christmas my fiance’, myself, and our two children will all be together as a family – I really, really wanted it to be special and feel completely magical.  My favorite thing by far about the Christmas Holiday, is the tree and the way that it smells.  Nothing quite says Christmas to me like the smell of a fresh Christmas tree.

Until I smelled my first live Christmas wreath from Lynch Creek Farm.

I immediately knew it would become a tradition for our new little family.

The wreath was shipped to us wrapped beautifully in a red box.  When the UPS man walked up carrying it, I squealed “ooh!  Is that our wreath?” and he said “It sure smells like it!”  He was so right.  Even the box smelled amazing.  He said he was sad to part with it – it had been making his truck smell good all day!

Audrey Grace and I excitedly started opening the box.  The first thing I noticed, besides the amazing smell, were the easy to follow care instructions for our wreath!

The wreath was carefully wrapped in plastic with a packet of information.  It was simple to lift it carefully from the box and slip the plastic off of it.

As if it wasn’t easy enough, I simply lifted it from here and hung it on the wreath hanger on the door.  Voila.  Morgan came home and stuck his face right in it to inhale the wonderful scent – he was giddy with excitement.  He has vivid childhood memories of having real Christmas wreaths so seeing this gorgeous wreath on the door made him a bit nostalgic.

You know it’s a big deal when he tweets about it.  And I thought I would be the one who was most excited!

We ordered the Country Christmas wreath, but there are so many options!  Kristin and Amanda both ordered the Snowbound Winter Wreath and that one looks amazing too!

So how about you?  Do you want your very own live wreath to convey your holiday cheer?  Awesome. I have one to giveaway, thanks to Lynch Creek Farm!

MANDATORY ENTRY METHOD:

• Visit Lynch Creek Wreaths and tell me what wreath (besides the Country Christmas and Snowbound Wreath) you’d choose if you won!

EXTRA ENTRY METHODS (LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH):

• Like Lynch Creek Wreaths on Facebook. (1 entry)
• BLOG ABOUT IT!!! 5 entries.
• Tweet this contest (button at the top of the page – make sure you add @ErikaB to your tweet so I can track it!).  (1 entry)
• Share this contest on Facebook!  Leave me a comment so I can verify!
• Like Chic Shopper Chick on Facebook. (1 entry)
• Follow me on Twitter. (1 entry)
• Like Design Public on Facebook. (1 entry)
• List this giveaway on any contest site for 3 entries.
• You can always leave a comment on any non-giveaway post. (1 extra entry per post commented on. just go to “home” posts are up front, please comment on all new posts and leave your extra entry comment)

No purchase necessary to win.  Contest only valid for residents of the US.  Winner to be chosen by random.org on or after December 6th. Winner has 48 hours to respond to notification email or another winner will be chosen.

Disclosure:  Lynch Creek Wreaths sent me a wreath to review.  They are providing another one for giveaway!

Holiday Gift Guide: Hello Kitty Nail Tin {Giveaway}

Thanks for checking out my 2011 Holiday Gift Guide!  Be sure to check out Our Ordinary Life and Mommy Mandy for more great gift ideas!

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I’m sure you’ve noticed from my site that I’m a bit of a beauty and fashion nut.  I have an obsession with all things girly, including nail polish.  Naturally, when a girly girl has a daughter, the odds of her also being a girly girl are pretty high.  I can officially say that Audrey Grace is about as girly as they come – which is totally fun for mom!

Even though I generally think Audrey Grace is a little young for even pretend makeup and nail polish, I saw the Hello Kitty Nail Tin by TownleyGirl and thought I would make an exception. (As in, she can only wear it and play with it at home, not out in public.) The nail tin comes with fun polish, nail art, and of course can be used as a lunch box or a place to store treasures long after the products are used!

If you the Hello Kitty Nail Tin set right now at Toys R Us you’ll get free 2 day shipping and also get a free Hello Kitty Bowler Bag with purchases of $30 or more.

Lucky for you, I have an awesome Hello Kitty Cosmetic Tin to giveaway to one of my lucky readers!

Mandatory Entry Method:

• Leave a comment here telling me why you’d love to win this – is there a special little girl in your life who just adores Hello Kitty? Maybe she is a makeup fanatic?

Extra Entry Methods (leave a separate comment for each):

• Visit Mommy Mandy and enter one of her Holiday Giveaways. Come back here and let me know you did it. (1 entry)
• Visit Our Ordinary Life and enter one of her Holiday Giveaways.  Come back here and let me know you did it. (1 entry)
• BLOG ABOUT IT!!! 5 entries.
• Tweet this contest.  (1 entry)
• Like Chic Shopper Chick on Facebook. (1 entry)
• Follow me on Twitter. (1 entry)
• Like Design Public on Facebook. (1 entry)
• List this giveaway on any contest site for 3 entries.
• You can always leave a comment on any non-giveaway post. (1 extra entry per post commented on. just go to “home” posts are up front, please comment on all new posts and leave your extra entry comment)

No purchase necessary to win.  Contest only valid for residents of the US.  Winner to be chosen by random.org on or after December 2nd. Winner has 48 hours to respond to notification email or another winner will be chosen.

Disclosure:  Townley Girl sent us a nail tin to review, however these opinions are 100% mine and I’m thrilled to share them with you.  

Holiday Gift Guide: Yankee Candle {Giveaway!}

Thanks for checking out my 2011 Holiday Gift Guide!  Be sure to check out Our Ordinary Life and Mommy Mandy for more great gift ideas!

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I have very strong emotional associations with my sense of smell.  As a child, I could tell you what pillow belonged to what family member just by taking my nose to it – everyone had a different distinct scent, and they were familiar and comforting.  When I was sick, I loved sleeping on one of my parent’s pillows – it was comforting to me, like being able to snuggle with them in my sleep.  As I’ve gotten older, this association has only grown.  I associate the scent of baby powder with the city of Paris – I was wearing a body lotion that was faintly scented with it when I was first visiting there, and now every time I smell powder, I think of Paris.

Sometimes it works the opposite way – I can’t even walk near anyone wearing Sarah Jessica Parker’s “Lovely” because I wore it during the first 3 months of my pregnancy with Audrey Grace – and I was so sick during those months that just smelling it in the slightest turns my stomach.

One of my all time favorite scents has got to be that of anything to do with winter.  I love the feel of the cold air, the smell of the fireplace, the scent of the freshly-cut Christmas tree.  When I was in college I discovered Yankee Candles and I fell in love.  Burning a highly-scented Yankee Candle was like walking right back into a winter memory.  My favorites revolved around Pine, or Cedar – anything that reminded me of the smell of our Christmas tree.  I started buying these candles once every 2 months – I would save up while I was in college and “treat” myself to one.  They have always been my ultimate favorite candle.

When I started blogging, there were a few products that I was already a die-hard ambassador for, without ever needing to have a relationship with that company.  Yankee Candle has always been one of those.  You can see I even included them back in my 2008 Holiday Gift Guide – I have had a long-standing obsession with the candles and it continues to this day.

This year Yankee Candle sent me a few of their holiday scents to try out for myself – and the day that box came I was flat out giddy.   I even tweeted this:

Inside of this gorgeous box I discovered a trio of Yankee Candle’s Newest Holiday Fragrances - Cherries on Snow, Mountain Berry and Christmas Rose.  I love all three of them, but Mountain Berry has to be my ultimate favorite.  Our kiddos loved playing “guess the scent” and wanted to smell them over and over again.  We also received a small tumbler of Warm Woolen Mittens, which has been burning all weekend and smells heavenly.  Lastly, we received a large jar of the Balsam & Cedar wrapped in an adorable gift package, which would be just perfect for gift-giving (ahem, if anyone needs to get me anything else…)!

Have you tried out Yankee Candle yet?  I am not a betting woman, but in this case I would bet money on the fact that you will love them.  I am so excited to announce that I have a set of 3 mini candles in the newest Holiday scents (as seen above) to giveaway to one of my lucky readers!

To enter:

• Visit Yankee Candle and come back here to tell me what your favorite candle scent is!

Extra Entry Methods (leave a separate comment for each):

• Visit Mommy Mandy and enter one of her Holiday Giveaways. Come back here and let me know you did it. (1 entry)
• Visit Our Ordinary Life and enter one of her Holiday Giveaways.  Come back here and let me know you did it. (1 entry)
• Like Yankee Candle on Facebook!  (1 extra entry)
• Follow Yankee Candle on Twitter! (1 extra entry)
• BLOG ABOUT IT!!! 5 entries.
• Tweet this contest.  (1 entry)
• Like Chic Shopper Chick on Facebook. (1 entry)
• List this giveaway on any contest site for 3 entries.
• You can always leave a comment on any non-giveaway post. (1 extra entry per post commented on. just go to “home” posts are up front, please comment on all new posts and leave your extra entry comment)

No purchase necessary to win.  Contest only valid for residents of the US.  Winner to be chosen by random.org on or after November 30th. Winner has 48 hours to respond to notification email or another winner will be chosen.

Disclosure:  Yankee Candle sent me these candles for review.  I already loved them, I knew I would, so I jumped at the opportunity.  These opinions are 100% mine and I’m thrilled to share them with you.  

 

 

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!

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.

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?

Gaggle Of Chicks {Giveaway CLOSED}

By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the plot by group-buying sites to take over the world, and Gaggle of Chicks has stepped up to throw their hat into the majorly-discounted ring.  This group-buying site, however, is targeting moms specifically.  I mean, let’s face it, we rule the roost and make the majority of purchasing decisions in the household.  So, in familiar fashion, a deal on Gaggle of Chicks “hatches” after several moms purchase the deal.

The products are not just for moms, however, but fit for everyone in the family.  From children’s clothes to skincare products to baked goods, there is a little something to suit all of your needs.  Originally Gaggle Of Chicks was only a NYC based site, but they have now expanded to include nationwide deals as well.  The deals expire after only 48 hours, so time is of the essence!  You can work on getting some of your deals free, too, if you invite friends to try the service.  For every friend you refer that makes a purchase, you get a $10 credit.  You friends also get a $10 credit to Gaggle Of Chicks as soon as they sign up!

The current New York deal has me drooling – half-off of a skin-care package (which still costs a whopping $249). I’ve noticed that several of the deals are a bit pricey, especially the local New York deals, while the nationwide deals tend to be more affordable.  However, I’m not necessarily saying that this is a bad thing – the discount on high-end items gives me the chance to purchase or afford something that I normally wouldn’t be able to.

The Gaggle Of Chicks website is adorable, and easy to navigate.  As we say in geek-speak, the user experience is a good one.  I was given a gift card to try out the service, but had a short time frame in which to publish my review, and feel I should tell you that while I haven’t purchased anything from Gaggle of Chicks yet, I’m totally planning to – it’s just that nothing on the site in the past week has been able to float my boat.

You can win a $100 credit to try out Gaggle of Chicks yourself!  To enter, just head over to Gaggle of Chicks and sign up to try out the service (it’s free!), then come back here and leave a comment letting me know that you did!  Bonus entries if you invite your friends to try the service too – let me know in a separate comment that you have invited 3 or more friends (the Gaggle of Chicks folks will verify this) and you will receive a bonus entry!

This contest ends on February 24th, 2011 at 11:59pm CST.  US residents only, please.  Good luck!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Gaggle of Chicks and received a Gaggle of Chicks credit for myself to facilitate this review, and a $100 Gaggle of Chicks gift certificate to giveaway.

CoolSculpting by ZELTIQ – A New Way To A Slimmer You {A Giveaway!}

This past month has been a total blur for me, and I’m still reeling/reveling in the idea that I’m now engaged!  I am so excited to marry the man of my dreams sometime in the near future, but while I’m hearing wedding bells, I’m imagining all of the things that I should be doing.  Working out.  Eating right.  Focusing on dropping the 15 pounds that I had committed to losing with the start of the New Year.  (only 12 to go, for the record!)

Christmas Cards: Personalized Photo Cards at Tiny Prints {A Giveaway}

It happens to me every year.

I’m bopping along, humming “Jingle Bells” to myself, feeling very self-satisfied with the amount of Christmas shopping that I’ve already accomplished, when I walk over to my mailbox and absentmindedly pull the mail out of it.

A red envelope tumbles to the ground.  A white envelope addressed in a gold pen in perfect cursive handwriting remains in my hand, when it hits me.

Christmas Cards.

I’m late!  I’m behind!  I haven’t ordered my Christmas cards yet!  The rush has started.  Not only have my perfect friends with their perfect families already taken pictures in their matching Christmas sweaters (during the 80-degree Louisiana October, mind you), but they’ve also beat me to the choosing, the ordering, the addressing, and the stamping of my Christmas Cards.

You know, the Christmas cards that exist right now, uh, only in my mind.

I try not to hyperventilate.  And yes, I am a bit of a drama queen.

Thankfully a few years ago I made friends with the folks over at Tiny Prints.  They take my less-than-perfect timing and my drama-queen tendencies and turn them into the most perfect Christmas cards that you’ve ever seen — and they’ve been doing this for 3 wonderful holiday seasons, now.  My parents still have the last two Christmas cards up on their refrigerator, and this year Audrey and I will be brightening their mailbox with the following tri-fold card:

Because we didn’t have time to take Christmas photos this year, I used some photos of Audrey and I from throughout the year, which I think turned out wonderfully.  Of course, I couldn’t resist adding one of my handsome boyfriend and I in the mix as well – it made the card even more representative of the wonderful year that we’ve had.

The printing and quality of the products that I get from Tiny Prints is always top notch – I’ve gotten Christmas cards, business cards, and birthday party invites from them in the past, and I’ve never been disappointed.  Each year our Christmas Cards get so many compliments that I can’t imagine going back to the 1-hour photo place for my cards ever again — or anywhere else for that matter!

If you are much like me, and have gotten so wrapped up in the Holiday Season that you’ve totally forgotten to order your Christmas Cards, Tiny Prints wants to help.  They want to offer one very lucky Chic Shopper Chick reader a chance to win 50 Christmas cards for this year!  Because Christmas will be upon us before we know it, this contest will move fast and involve some express shipping, but you can have a beautiful, personalized cards in your family’s mailboxes before the holiday itself!

Win It! Would you like to win 50 personalized Christmas cards to make your friends and family oooh and ahhh?  Of course you would!  Head on over to Tiny Prints and let me know which of the Christmas Cards you would choose if you were to win by leaving a comment!  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).

That’s it! Good luck!

This contest will run from December 8, 2010 to December 15th, 2010 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.

Disclosure:  Tiny Prints sponsored my Christmas Cards this year, which prompted this post. However, I am a long time fan of the brand and can’t imagine that ever changing – these cards are awesome. For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Holiday Gifts: Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend {A Giveaway!}

You know what they say – Diamonds are a girls best friend!  Ok, I don’t know who “they” are but I’d have to say – they’re totally right.  Every girl deserves to sparkle and shine (oh, and showoff) a little bit, don’t you agree?  Of course, any wise man knows that the best holiday gifts come in small packages, so for all of the gentleman out there searching for the perfect gift for the woman in your life – consider spoiling her with diamonds!

Helzberg Diamonds agrees that every woman deserves to be spoiled – and to prove it they sent me this GORGEOUS diamond knot pendant.  I saw a photo of the pendant before seeing it in person, and I have to say, the photo doesn’t at all do it justice.  I opened the box and literally “oohed” out loud.

This Everlon sterling silver and 14 karat yellow gold knot pendant with a 1/7 carat round brilliant cut diamond delicately hangs from a sterling silver box chain, and would be a stunning addition to every woman’s jewelry collection.  This piece is something I feel like I can pass on to my daughter once she is older, something that will hopefully make the round for generations.

Helzberg Diamonds also sent me a box set of 5 pairs of Honora Pearl Earrings which are just lovely for the holidays.  These would make great holiday gifts for a co-worker, favorite aunt, or close friend – something different than the typical coffee shop gift card/candle/bath set.

You can purchase the Everlon Diamond Knot Pendant at Helzberg Diamonds for $299.99 or the Honora Pearl Earrings set for $50.  Both are stunning and would make incredible holiday gifts – so consider clicking over and getting some of your holiday shopping done!

Win it! Helzberg Diamonds wants to give one very lucky Chic Shopper Chick reader the opportunity to win a diamond knot pendant and box set of 5 pairs of Honora Pearl earrings, just like the ones above!  To enter, head on over to Helzberg Diamonds then come back here and leave a comment letting me know your other favorite items is from their website, or what you would buy for your girlfriend/fiancee/wife if you could.  For bonus entries, you can head over and vote for Morgan by clicking the FB “like” button on his submission for the Last Original Idea in Marketing Contest (3 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 December 7, 2010 to December 15th, 2010 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.

Disclosure: I was sent the diamond pendant and pearl earrings for review by Helzberg Diamonds.  This in no way affected my opinion of the product and all thoughts expressed above are 100% mine.  Check out my disclosure policy for more information.

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