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.

The Clean Start Challenge and My New BFF Crystal

If you read my site or the Beauty and Style Section of Lifetime Moms on a regular basis, you might know a few things about me – like my unfailing love for the Tory Burch Reva and David Yurman jewelry.  You know these things because it’s what I usually write about here on this site, and because it’s my job.  So, it’s pretty cool that I’m able to be involved with something a little different, starting today, as a mentor and cheerleader for my new friend Crystal who is participating in the SC Johnson Clean Start Challenge.

Crystal is one of four finalists aiming to make a “clean start” in her life.  She is a striking young woman and a new mom who wants to learn how to cook and finally be able to get out of those mommy jeans!  It seems that Crystal was fortunate enough to marry a man who cooks for her – and all I can say is that if I ever meet her in person I will be giving her all sorts of high-fives!  She is also a former teacher and a Louisiana transplant – we have all sorts of things in common!  She will be posting weekly progress videos on MyLifetime.com so that you can follow along, but she’s also trying to win your votes! The winner of the SC Johnson Clean Start Challenge will receive $10,000!

We’ve talked about things that you know about me, but what you likely don’t know is that this challenge, and Crystal’s ideas about a clean start especially, are near and dear to my heart.  After I had my daughter, Audrey Grace, I really struggled to lose the baby weight.  The first bit came off fast, but I lost the last 25 pounds through a whole heck of a lot of determination and hard work.  This New Orleans native LOVES to eat!  So, Crystal’s desire to feel confident in her hot mom-ness (because she is already beautiful, but it’s all about confidence, right?) is one that I can truly relate to.  I’ll be chatting with Crystal throughout the next three months, sharing motivation, tips for cooking healthy meals, and tricks on how she can achieve her goal.  I hope that she can lean on me for ideas and support – and of course if you have any ideas or suggestions for her, you can always leave them here in the comments!

So you, my friends?  I’ve just signed you up for Team Crystal!  Welcome on board!  Don’t worry, to sweeten the pot, there will be 3 opportunities for you to vote for Crystal (or your favorite finalist, but c’mon, we already know who we’re voting for, right?) and be entered to win $1,000 and a SCJ gift basket that is filled with some very cool products.

So, as they say at the races: on your marks, get set…Go Crystal!

Project Runway Party Video Recap!

My head is still spinning from covering Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and basically feeling like I had a full-time, real person’s job for roughly a week.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved every.single.second.  I am already making plans to return in February, to attend the final week in the tents at Bryant Park.  Not only did I have an amazing week at the tents, but I was fortunate to wrap up my week by covering the Project Runway Reception and Screening for Lifetime Moms.  I made the awesome video below for you, so you can feel like you were right there with me.

We were able to attend a reception at the Hearst Tower (where I totally had a “Confessions of a Shopaholic” moment when I was going up the escalator!) for Project Runway’s current season, after which we all piled into a lush executive theater to watch the 5th episode of this season!  You’ll find three of my favorite pictures below, but you can see all of my photos from the Project Runway Party in my Flickr stream.

These two were really, really nice!  I was originally standing to the left of both of them, and they insisted that I jump in the middle.   If you watched last week’s Project Runway, you saw Louise puncture her finger with the sewing machine — I asked her how she was doing, and she showed me that her fingers healed nicely.  She did share with me that she was so upset at the camera men when that happened, because there was one guy on each side of her, and both of them kept filming, neither of them made a move to help out.  Ahhh, the woes of reality TV.

Irina was the winner of the challenge in the Episode that we watched (where they used newspaper and she made that awesome coat with it!) and I had a great time chatting with her afterwards.  She was really nice — you can see her waving to me and my ubiquitous Flip Cam at the end of the video.

Then, of course, there was Althea Harper, whom I absoultely adored.  I talked to her mom for quite a while when Althea was on the red carpet being interviewed, and she and Althea both invited me to Althea’s Fashion Show the next night.  Unfortunately I coudln’t make it, but they were both so, so sweet – and I was really impressed with Althea in general.  We chatted about Tory Burch (I had just attended her show/presentation the day before), how it is to work for/with her, and about the fact that she designed what she was wearing.  She was so down to earth, it was like talking to an old friend!

I was so impressed with the entire cast of Project Runway Season 6 – they were all cheering each other on, supporting each other, applauding and squealing when Heidi told each of them that they were “safe”.  Watching that episode with them spoiled me, really, and just made me want to have a Project Runway party with all of them each week so that I could continue to feel the camradarie.

Think my mom will clap with me this week everytime we discover someone is “safe”?  It’s worth a try.

I’m a Lifetime Mom!

I am both honored and excited to announce the launch of the brand new site Lifetime Moms, the newest digital venture in a long list of successful projects by Lifetime Television.  The cool thing is, I’m not just telling you about this new site because it rocks, but because I have been fortunate enough to have been quietly involved in this awesome project from it’s earliest stages.

Lifetime has brought together 14 influential mom bloggers to create their powerhouse site Lifetime Moms, which will cover almost every topic that you can imagine.  I am honored that I have been asked to come on board as the co-channel leader for the Beauty and Style section of Lifetime Moms.  Even better, I’m partnering with my close friend and fellow fashionista Audrey McClelland from Mom Generations to bring moms out there the very best in beauty, fashion, and style.  Be on the lookout for some awesome content – and keep your eyes peeled if you’re watching Lifetime – you may even catch a glimpse of your two favorite mom fashionistas!

I am incredibly excited to be working with a brand that truly understands women, and that is so well-respected.  I am honored to call myself a “Lifetime Mom” – a name that I think works on two levels.  First and foremost, I am, and always will be, a proud mom – and as all women who are mothers know – it is a role that you play for a lifetime.  Secondly, I am now an official “Lifetime Mom” – and I know that other moms will truly benefit from the honest, authentic, and just flat-out amazing content that will be available on the site.  We have worked alongside an amazing team at Lifetime for months now and I know I speak for all 14 of us when I say that we are all incredibly proud of the end result.

Plus, did I mention that I get to write about things like shoes, clothes, and makeup all of the time?  Oh yeah, I’m pretty excited about that part, too. 

While you’re clickin’ around, be sure to check out the other Lifetime Moms and their channels!

• FIT & HEALTHY — Arianne Segerman
• PREGNANCY — Kim Dobson
• FOOD — Lori Falcon
• HOME — Katja Presnal
• WORK — Stephanie Elie
• JUST FOR FUN — Lindsay Maines and Beth Feldman
• STEALS & DEALS — Alyssa Francis and Tara Kuczykowski
• PRODUCT REVIEWS — Colleen Padilla
• PARENTING — Christine Young and Nichole Smith