Indulge your inner gourmet with the new Samsung Chef Collection

Sponsored post basic disclosureSamsung LivingWhen we bought all of our home appliances back in 2006, we thought we knew what we were looking for. We had researched options, talked to people about their major appliances and what they liked and didn’t, and we agreed on the basics of what we didn’t want. But, we hadn’t moved into our home yet and we didn’t know some very important things about the house that would have been great to know when shopping for those big appliances.

I wish we had considered how hard it would be to get by the fridge if the doors were open, ovens that were better suited to baking, and how loud the dishwasher would be in our open concept and wood floor living space.

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Chicago event introduces new expanded Bitty Baby line from American Girl

AG Bitty Baby
At American Girl, the message is about celebrating oneself and all the things that make us unique and special.  In fact, they have a whole line of customizable 18” My American Girl dolls that are a perfect example of this.  For the past few years they have been offering the award-winning My American Girl customizable doll experience where you can choose from different skin, eye, and hair colors and styles to best match your child’s unique features.

My American Girl doll
But, until this August, the Bitty Baby line was far less customizable.  With only 7 options available to choose from up until now, the line was not all-encompassing by any means.  There were many children, my daughter included, that didn’t have a Bitty Baby option for them.

Which Bitty Baby Will You Choose
My daughter has light hair, light skin and brown eyes, which I have realized doesn’t really exist in the doll world.  Dolls with brown eyes have dark hair and oftentimes darker skin as well, and blonde haired dolls almost always have blue eyes.   

Or, at least they did.  On August 27th, the new Bitty Baby dolls will come in 11 options with all sorts of combinations of light and dark skin and eyes, which makes it far more likely that you will find that perfect doll as unique as your child.  Like their My American Girl line, now you can pick skin tone, eye color, and hair color to customize your child’s Bitty Baby experience. 

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Lee Jeans rocked at BlogHer ‘13 Chicago

If anyone out there has never been to BlogHer before, you’d probably think it was ridiculous how much people obsess about clothing beforehand. I am along the lines of “if it fits” and I’m definitely in the minority at a big blogging conference like BlogHer. It’s not that I think those that plan way ahead are silly {I mean, there are literally thousands of socially connected women with cameras at the ready}, but high fashion has never really been my forte.

Really, I’m just a jeans a t-shirt kind of gal… unless it’s scorching hot, and then I’m a skirt and tank top kind of gal. And, this year there was so much talk of how hot Chicago is in the summer that jeans seemed a little silly. In fact, I almost turned down the chance to try out a pair of new Lee Jeans thinking that they would just be taking up space in my bag and I would never get a chance to wear them.

Thank goodness I didn’t turn down a brand spanking new pair of Lee Jeans, because Chicago turned out to be freezing in comparison to our Seattle summer this year. I wore a dress exactly one day of my 7 day trip, and was freezing that entire day. As for the rest of the time? I was rocking my Lee jeans and loving it. Lee Jeans in ChicagoI wore my Lees with flip flops, wore them with sneakers, and wore them with my favorite new accessory – my Tieks by Gavrieli foldable ballet flats with the bright blue soles. I wore Lee jeans to a wine tasting, a dinner with one of my favorite brands, a boat cruise, a BlogHer session, and a whole bunch of private parties. 9NU2X5

This is me with Xenia from Thanks Mail Carrier {left} and Liz from A Nut In A Nutshell {right} at the Sheraton Social Hour that kicked off BlogHer. The strangers thing was a joke, I'm pretty sure we've been friends forever.

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Summer vacation shopping tips {BlogHer shopping at Northgate Mall}

It is summer vacation time, and everyone knows what that means: shopping. Whether you are ditching the rain and heading somewhere tropical or you are beating the heat and heading for cooler weather, chances are you need some new clothing and gear for whatever climate you’re headed to.

I like to view this as an invitation to splurge a little bit on myself to make vacation packing easier. Since I love vacation shopping more than any other kind of mall trip, I tend to plan one a few weeks before any big trips to refresh my wardrobe before fully deciding on what I will be packing. So, amed with a complimentary gift card, my daughter and I headed to Northgate Mall in Seattle to prepare for my upcoming Chicago trip for BlogHer.


Girl time at Northgate Mall
Packing for BlogHer is a bit different than any other vacation for me, because I need to be professional and put together in addition to staying cool and comfortable, so it’s not like I can pack a few shirts, a pair of jeans and some shorts and skirts and call it good. I need fancy dresses for at night, put-together outfits for day, and coordinating pieces that can do double-duty so I don’t end up with three suitcases.

Naturally, I was really excited to get my shopping started at Northgate Mall, but before I started shopping, I did a little pre-vacation prep. Having become a pro at shopping for trips in the past, this time I knew exactly what I was doing and I followed these guidelines:


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The Children’s Place holiday 2012 preview NYC event

We love The Children’s Place and are very lucky to be surrounded by numerous store locations so we can pop in frequently to see what’s new for the season.  But, this year I got a bit of a sneak peak of the holiday line while in BlogHer and it was adorable. 

The Children’s Place holiday preview was one of the many NYC events hosted by the amazing Nicole Feliciano of Momtrends.  The event took place in the heart of midtown at the historic Bryant Park Hotel and just a short walk from the BlogHer convention. 

Children's Place Bloggers
Liz from A Nut in a Nutshell, Xenia from Thanks, Mail Carrier, and me. We were THERE! TOGETHER!

Coming in from a hot and humid day on the streets of New York, when we arrived on the Momtrends suite level, it made it immediately feel a few dozen degrees cooler.  With “snow” drifts and winter clothing meeting us at the door, it was as if we stepped right inside a large snowglobe full of cute – with an amazing view of the city.

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CountryOutfitter Vintage Corral Boots in the City

When I first found CountryOutfitter through my friend Farrah over at The Three Under, the first thing I did was look for cowboy boots for the kiddos.  Even though they both already have cowboy boots, I was mostly looking for the next size up and loving all the various styles for kids that you just … Read more

Back to school with Lands’ End and Momtrends NYC event

Night
Recently, I went back to school with 200+ bloggers while at BlogHer.  While we did load buses, take class pictures, and get report cards, this was a very different kind of school than you’re used to.  For one, this school was co-run by two of our favorite brands, Lands' End and Momtrends, and passing grades meant you got an adorable backpack to take home.

Liz, Xenia, Leanne
As usual, I got straight As.  But this time I can give some credit to the instructors who all did a wonderful job of teaching their “course” and for their very, very lax grading system that seemed to be mostly based off of attendance.

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Note to self: No one wears hoodies to BlogHer

You’re not going to believe this, but in my past life I was *almost* fashionable.  While I wasn’t someone who tried all the fads and fashions, I at least kept my look somewhat updated and people actually came to me for fashion advice.  Now, not so much.  It turns out the sweatshirt and jeans thing … Read more

Friday – BlogHer’11 in San Diego recap day 2

Since Thursday night was a little bit crazy {*ahem, Clever Girls Collective*} I started off the day with some friends by the pool and then I was off to the newly opened BlogHer expo hall.  After that, I met some new and old friends for a beautiful lunch at the Marriott.  We talked about gardening, … Read more

Thursday – BlogHer’11 San Diego recap day 1

Having gotten into San Diego at 11pm on Wednesday instead of the 1pm we should have arrived, I was happy my Thursday BlogHer events started out slowly.  We started off the day at the P&G Life Well Lived event that included some really amazing speakers, a nice brunch, and a really good opportunity to chat … Read more