Category Archives: announcements

sos: reader questions needed!

{Update: Wow, you guys are giving me so many fantastic ideas! Keep it up, will you? I promise to get to each of your questions just as quick as I can.}

{Photo from hbp_pix}

Friends, I am smack in the middle of my January blogger blahs. I’m sick of talking coats and boots, and the whole fashion world is ablaze with spring, but my weatherman tells me it’ll be months before we can pull out those spring dresses. I need some fun reader questions to get me through. What do you want to hear about? Send over your pressing style/beauty/home/travel/life queries, and I’ll do my darnedest to answer each and every one of them for you. Pinkie swear.

You know where to find me, right? Facebook, Twitter or old-school email (my personal favorite): editor{at}shoppingsmycardio{dot}com. Let’s chat!

Share 'sos: reader questions needed!' on Facebook Share 'sos: reader questions needed!' on Google+ Share 'sos: reader questions needed!' on Pinterest Share 'sos: reader questions needed!' on Twitter Share 'sos: reader questions needed!' on Email

happy happy, merry merry!

As you might expect, I’m off to spend a wonderful week with my nearest and dearest. But I will have a little New Year’s surprise from of my very favorite guest writers who will be popping in next week, so check back in for that. Something tells me you’ll absolutely love it!

Truly, my friends, I hope you have an unforgettable holiday season. Whether you’re celebrating with roast turkey and pumpkin pie or bad Chinese food and a movie, I hope your week is filled with family, friends, joy, laughter and plenty of hot cocoa.

{My dog, Daisy, who wanted to help with the holiday decorating}

I’ll see you back here in the new year!

Share 'happy happy, merry merry!' on Facebook Share 'happy happy, merry merry!' on Google+ Share 'happy happy, merry merry!' on Pinterest Share 'happy happy, merry merry!' on Twitter Share 'happy happy, merry merry!' on Email

welcome, sponsor! gemkitty

Hi, friends! It feels like forever since we’ve talked…all that gift guide madness sort of took over the place (it sure was a fun takeover, though, wasn’t it?).

Now that we’re back to business as usual, the first thing on my list is to introduce you to our newest sponsor (the owner of which also happens to be a dear friend and an outstanding human being): Gemkitty. The site is pretty phenomenal, in fact – it’s like DIY jewelry-making that you get to delegate. Talk about the best of both worlds! No wonder Martha Stewart and Glamour magazine are such huge fans.

Gemkitty has come up with dozens of different styles, all of which are totally customizable with your choice of gems, color combos, metal preference – absolutely anything you can dream up. Your design is then made by hand, with love, and sent right to your door – all without your having to step foot into a bead store or learning to use those teeny tiny pliers.

For me, it’s a perfect solution, since I often have big dreams of creating something myself, but I lack any actual creativity (hence my recurrent jewelry plagiarism). This way, some genius artistic person (my friend Arrs, actually) has come up with the design, and all I have to do is pick the details I love.

I can’t help thinking it’s a perfect solution for that holiday dress you need to accessorize. It would also be a great way to wrap up your holiday shopping for a group of girlfriends – make them each their own pair of custom earrings!

Or just, you know, when you’re sitting around watching Martha Stewart and have a sudden itch to be a crafty girl – you’ll get your DIY fix with a bare minimum of effort. Genius!

Take a peek at Gemkitty’s site – trust me, you’ll get sucked into all the fun.

Share 'welcome, sponsor! gemkitty' on Facebook Share 'welcome, sponsor! gemkitty' on Google+ Share 'welcome, sponsor! gemkitty' on Pinterest Share 'welcome, sponsor! gemkitty' on Twitter Share 'welcome, sponsor! gemkitty' on Email

holiday hostess giveaway: and the winner is…

Our lucky winner of the Perfect Holiday Hostess giveaway with hi, friend is comment #37, Christelle! She won with her bonus entry for tweeting about the contest to her friends…just sayin’.

Congrats, Christelle – I’ll email you! Thanks, everyone, for playing along…and of course, a huge thanks to hi, friend for sponsoring. Their giveaways always make me jealous that I can’t win them myself!

Share 'holiday hostess giveaway: and the winner is…' on Facebook Share 'holiday hostess giveaway: and the winner is…' on Google+ Share 'holiday hostess giveaway: and the winner is…' on Pinterest Share 'holiday hostess giveaway: and the winner is…' on Twitter Share 'holiday hostess giveaway: and the winner is…' on Email

holiday giveaway: hi friend!

{CONTEST CLOSED…Sorry you missed it! But check back next month for more giveaway fun!}

Welcome back, friends! I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful – and now, of course, it’s time to really get into the holiday swing. (Have you taken advantage of our amazing Black Friday deal from Kara Ackerman yet? Last day…!)

We’re starting our annual Holiday Gift Guide Spectacular Spectacular tomorrow – I know how you all love a good gift guide! – and I’ll have zillions of great gifting ideas for you. But to officially kick off the season of giving, I teamed up with some dear friends, the lovely ladies at hi friend, to come up with a pitch-perfect present just for you. That’s right, it’s giveaway time!

I can’t think of a better, more stylish way to get started on the holidays, can you? As always, I love each and every one of hi friend’s holiday offerings – I have no idea how you’ll choose a favorite. Fortunately, you don’t have to! You’ll win a set of holiday cards PLUS a set of custom stationery PLUS one of those beautiful candles (to hold onto or save as an emergency hostess gift). Best of all, they’ll all get to you in plenty of time to send out those holiday cards on time for a change!

To win all three goodies, just comment below and let us know what you’d pick if you win! You have until Thursday night to enter, and we’ll pick a winner at random on Friday, 12/2!

As always, you get a bonus entry for following both of us on Twitter (@shoppingscardio and @hifrienddesign) and mentioning the contest, or for being our friends on Facebook here and here (you know you want to), and sharing with your friends. Just be sure you come back and leave a second (or third) comment telling me you shared elsewhere.

Good luck!

Share 'holiday giveaway: hi friend!' on Facebook Share 'holiday giveaway: hi friend!' on Google+ Share 'holiday giveaway: hi friend!' on Pinterest Share 'holiday giveaway: hi friend!' on Twitter Share 'holiday giveaway: hi friend!' on Email

ivillage bonus tip #3: bargain roundup

Today’s tip? Well, Black Friday/Cyber Monday fun, of course! I was actually planning to skip this little tidbit this year, but there are some goodies – many of which are starting today! And you know I can’t resist sharing a good bargain. Here’s what I know so far, and I’ll update periodically through the next day or two – we’ll put the newest deals at the top:

  • Kara Ackerman: come back HERE to find out which gorgeous piece you’ll get 50% off on, beginning at 12:01 am on Friday, 11/25!
  • Grayling Jewelry: 40% off sitewide on Cyber Monday, 11/28 + free shipping & gift wrap! Use code MONDAYMONDAY.
  • Madewell: 20% off $150+ purchases, 25% off $250+ and 30% off $350+ (and free shipping) now through 11/27.
  • Anthropologie: 25% off all sale items now through Sunday; goes up to 50% off all sale on Friday only.
  • J.Crew: 25% off + free shipping on orders of $150+ now through 11/27 with code YOURGIFT.
  • Botkier: special Black Friday sample sale starts now, take an additional 10% off for “liking” them on Facebook.
  • Shopbop: Spend Some, Get Some with code BIGEVENT ($50 off $250, $100 off $500, etc.)
  • Elie Tahari: 20% off $400+ with code GIVETHANKS, beginning 12:01 am on Thursday.

Happy hunting!

Share 'ivillage bonus tip #3: bargain roundup' on Facebook Share 'ivillage bonus tip #3: bargain roundup' on Google+ Share 'ivillage bonus tip #3: bargain roundup' on Pinterest Share 'ivillage bonus tip #3: bargain roundup' on Twitter Share 'ivillage bonus tip #3: bargain roundup' on Email

ivillage bonus holiday tip #2

Welcome back, iVillage peeps! I hope you have your holiday gifting list all set now, and are ready to move on to the fun part – shopping! Today’s challenge tips are my secret formula for surviving Black Friday, but my best advice is to avoid it altogether.

BONUS TIP #2: Think Outside the (Big) Box

Black Friday has a siren song not many of us can resist. But there are better ways to spend your holiday weekend than duking it out over the last Tickle Me Elmo at your local Target. Instead of heading straight for the big box retailers on the day after Thanksgiving, head to your favorite local, independent stores and see what’s on offer. Often, they’ll have deals to rival the big chains, and you’ll have warm fuzzies from supporting local business (not to mention avoiding those mall parking lots!). Here in Portland, local shops have teamed up to create their own event for Black Friday – shoppers will get prizes, discounts, and all sorts of goodies. I’m guessing we’re not alone – check around for similar events in your area.

Need an extra incentive? American Express is sponsoring its second annual Small Business Saturday event this year. Pre-register your AmEx card, and get a $25 statement credit if you shop at a small business on Saturday, 11/26.

Also, don’t forget to check your favorite blogs for deals from brands and shops way outside the box. Here at SMC, we’ll be offering an exclusive Black Friday deal from one of our favorite designers – you won’t want to miss it!

Share 'ivillage bonus holiday tip #2' on Facebook Share 'ivillage bonus holiday tip #2' on Google+ Share 'ivillage bonus holiday tip #2' on Pinterest Share 'ivillage bonus holiday tip #2' on Twitter Share 'ivillage bonus holiday tip #2' on Email