New Business Cards

I think it's time to get new business cards for my website and I received 2 mini business cards over the past few months that were really cute! I guess this is a new trend and I did a little research on a few companies that had mini business cards available. The one that caught my eye was Moo. They advertise them as "half the size of Business Cards but some say 'twice as nice'! Upload your own images or personalise our designs. Use up to 100 different designs in each pack, and show off your portfolio, your products, your business or yourself" which is very fun! Check them out:

Moo MiniCards

Sample Sale Alert!

Just in...David Yurman Friends & Family tomorrow!

Hearts hearts hearts

Valentines Day is coming up and it's time for some love! Here is a collection of adorable heart-inspired items from Mizhattan:

1. Hearts Aflutter cuff bracelet at C. Wonder, $58 2. Scattered stripe heart T-shirt at Tibi, $90 3. Heart coin pouch at Tiffany & Co., $85 4. Heart printed striped boatneck top at C. Wonder, $58 5. Pavé heart ring at J.Crew, $45 6. Pavé heart hoops at Juicy Couture, $58 7. Heart to Heart knee highs at Kate Spade, $15 8. Clinique Happy Heart perfume spray at Bloomingdale's, $63 9. Bristols 6 heart nippies at Shopbop, $12 10. Heart "T" jacquard Brigitte cosmetic case at Tory Burch, $68 Enjoy!

Cell phones on the table? Yay or nay?

Recently I came across a short article in ad week talking about business etiquette. I found this pictures funny but this is actually a question I constantly ask myself: should I keep my cell phone/blackberry on the table during business lunch or leave it in my bag. I think my gut reaction is leave it where it can't be seen BUT sometimes I need a time check and I rarely wear a wristwatch so I think it's less rude to have it out then to constantly go into my bag to check it.

Shopkick what is it and how does it work?

Today while shopping at Target, my receipt printed out this interesting little ad for shopkick. It was encouraging me to sign up for shopkick which is basically like "foursquare for shopping" (mainly connected to retailers such as Best Buy, Macy's, Target or other large chains).

You download the app and then as soon as you enter the store, you are greeted with some type of reward and are further rewarded for doing certain activities such as scanning items or going into a dressing room etc. Eventually as you gain more and more kicks you can then redeem them for rewards. This smartphone enabled technology is not that new. It was actually launched back in 2010 but I think as more and more people start shopping more consistently with their smartphones in their hands this will gain popularity. I have not used it but as silly as it sounds, a $2 gift card to Target is actually enough to lure me in and keep me interested. Being that I work in a marketing function and I understand the importance of omnichannel shopping I've come to the conclusion that this is the future and you've got to be on board whether you are ready or not! This is a great summary article form Business Insider:
Here's how Shopkick Works -That New "Foursquare For Shopping iPhone App

Sample Sale Alert!

Just in time for the holidays -

Tory Burch fans get ready for the highly anticipated Tory Burch sample sale! December 12th-17th 2012. Check out Clothingline for the details

ClothingLine

Sample Sale Alert!

Noticed in the morning AM paper today, Tibi is back with a quick sample sale this week:

DIY Rolodex

Today at work I was frustrated to discover that there are no cute rolodex options. Staples and Officemax had a few choices but they were too large and looked like they are from the 1970's. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Being extremely inspired by Pinterest, I took five minutes out of my day for a little DIY project. I took a three-ring-binder whole puncher and punched holes in all the business cards I have in my desk. Then, I found a book ring binder and connected them all. This is wonderful because I must have everything in alphabetical order and the other business card books don't allow you to easily change them out without removing all of them and putting them all back. Enjoy!

My DIY Rolodex

Sample Sale Alert!

Check out Soiffer Haskin for the YSL sample sale! 10/23 – 10/25; Tue-W (9-6:30), Th (9-3)

Soiffer Haskin 317 West 33rd Street, NYC

Soiffer Haskin

Pledge to save for the holidays

Dailyworth wants you to get ahead of the holidays and pledge to save $500 before the holidays. Two lucky winners will win an additional $500! It's always a good idea to set small goals for saving money. This is especially helpful after you get a bonus at work or are trying to save for something specific.

Click here to find out more:
Pledge to save

Sample Sale Alert!

Clothingline has re-launched their website, for all you Milly lovers, check it out on Oct. 16th-18th October 16 - October 18 + add to calendar Tuesday 11:00 am - 7:00 pm Wednesday 11:00 am - 7:00 pm Thursday 11:00 am - 7:00 pm for women & men fall merchandise


ClothingLine

Using fonts to spice up something boring

Today was my first day of class for my masters program. We had a 3 hour training on how to use our MAC laptops and learned some pretty neat tricks. I am a very creative person so my favorite part of the learning was when we learned about this great website called


Da Font they have various different categories of free fronts and it only takes 2 clicks to install them onto your computer. They have tons of choices from "fancy" to "gothic" to "script". Check it out but don't get too carried away, it's easy to spend hours browsing the fonts! They are really interesting and can certainly add some spice to a blog, presentation or just to have on file!

Lilly Pulitzer Endless Summer Sale

Check out the great sale Lilly is having online, now until August 25th!

Endless Summer Sale

Coverage of the NY International Gift Fair

I stumbled upon this blog from Pinterest and noticed there were some cute pictures from the NY International Gift Fair. I am so disappointed I cannot make it but I have work to do for my masters program which is starting next week. Check out the pictures, really great stuff:


MadeByGirl

Skimlinks

Lots of people don't understand how to actually turn a blog into a money-making machine. While I would assume most blogs are not made with the intent of wanting to quit your day job and become a full-time blogger, there are basically 2 ways to generate money from a blog and make that dream a reality: 1) Get lots of traffic, utilize ads 2) Post links and have the sites pay you if someone buys or clicks on what you post I learned this after attending a very informative discussion hosted by powerful women in the blogging industry. However, today I discovered a new website called skimlinks which is a genius idea. Basically makes #2 more tangible. As described from CEO Alicia Navarro in a recent interview: "Skimlinks is a simplified affiliate marketing service for publishers. It automates the process of creating and maintaining affiliate links on your site. It aggregates 19 affiliate networks and 11,000 merchant programs into one account, giving publishers instant access to every affiliate program. Publishers just need to add one line of code into their site footer once, and their whole site, including all archival content is immediately enabled. Publishers do what they normally do: write posts and link to retailer products, eg. a review on a pair of shoes and then linking to the shoes on Macys.com. Then when a user clicks on this link to Macy’s, Skimlinks checks to see if the link can be turned into an affiliate link, and if it can, it automatically turns the link into its equivalent affiliate link on-the-fly. Its seamless to the user, and means all your archival content is monetised and kept up to date always, without any effort on behalf of the publisher." Check it out and see if it can help your blog!


Skimlinks

Moving in and setting the grounds rules

My boyfriend and I recently moved into a new apartment together. Most of the furniture and decorations came from his apartment since he had been living on his own for the past few years and I have changed roommates on a yearly basis. We both made a few joint decisions on new purchases such as a couch, leaning desk and a sofa in our home office. However, he has a taxidermy collection which whether I like it or not has been incorporated into our design and style. Granted I have a side business and have tons of my supplies always scattered around, they are temporary and don't take up entire wall spaces which his collection most certainly does! Recently, we got into an argument since he surprisingly made a new purchase without my full consent and understanding and he expected everything to be fine. When I confronted him about this it didn't go as planned and it was quite upsetting. Moving in together has definitely highlighted certain pet peeves or habits that we both probably hadn't noticed earlier or had a problem with but I think it's always best to communicate as much as possible to ensure that both parties are on the same page with everything. Moving forward we are going to make much more of an effort to talk through our decisions to avoid any future blow ups. SheKnows published a great article which shed light on a few important issues:

10 Unbreakable Rules for Moving in Together

It's wedding season and I'm on a budget

Today I read this great article that talks about how expensive weddings can be. This is the first year I've been invited to my close friend's wedding and I'm super excited to be a bridesmaid. However, I've come to realize that you need to give presents, not once, not twice but often three times! First, there's the engagement party, then there's the bridal shower and last but not least the actual wedding. Now, this doesn't even include the costs of bachelor or bachelorette parties, your outfit, your transportation or lodging costs etc. How much should you give? Well, I guess there can be a wide range of appropriate monetary gifts. The article polled people and here are some results: "I asked 20 20-somethings to give me itemized lists of how much they’d spent in recent years as wedding guests and wedding party members. This is by no means a scientific study, but I polled a cross-section of people across the country, many of whom had attended multiple weddings. The median totals I heard per person, per wedding were" Wedding guest: $540 Groomsman: $815 Bridesmaid: $900 Also, I can't believe how extravagant some people's registry's are. Between my boyfriend and I, we have so many things in our home, I cannot imagine needing more! More glasses, more pots, more pans, more vacuums, more towels etc. In today's day and age, I actually find it hard to believe that people would actually want more stuff. Well I better start saving because it's wedding season.

Weddings are super expensive

Facial Yoga

Today while watching RYONY, one of the jewelry designers at a party mentioned she does facial yoga. She actually squeezed her cheeks and made a fish face and opened her eyes stating that that was one of the poses. I actually have heard that stretching certain parts of your face and doing exercises can help tighten muscles and thus prevent sagging and wrinkles. There are precautions you can take to prevent early signs of aging but what do you think about practicing some of the moves below? It can't hurt to incorporate these stretches into your daily routine!


Facial Yoga

Your alumni network - the gift that never stops giving

Today I had coffee with an intern who is spending the summer at my company as an MBA intern. She was a few years older than me in college but I had recognized her at a welcome lunch and decided it would be nice to catch up with her to hear about her experience and share my background with her. As I was chatting with her, I realized how I had subconsciously name dropped several other alumni who work at our company. It's funny how I automatically had started networking as soon as I began working at both my previous employer and my current employer. I basically just searched all the alumni who work at my company and reached out to them individually to schedule informal meet and greets. In today's economy, when the competition is fierce, it's so important to be able to build relationships and create connections. I constantly give that advice to new graduates because it can be a huge help when you are trying to find a job. It's also great to be able to meet people in other divisions within your workplace. This allows you to broaden your internal network and although it's always best to do it first hand by joining group activities or volunteering etc. it is wonderful to be able to tap your alumni network. So don't forget to attend those basketball games and networking receptions your school holds, because it truly is the gift that keeps giving.

Words of wisdom from Kelly Cutrone

I love this quote from Kelly Cutrone because I think that women often can get competitive whether it be the workplace or between friends. Working in an industry that is so heavily female dominated it can be a double edged sword: while women can be more understanding of female issues or work life balance they can also be a bit more catty. It doesn't matter who gets a promotion first or who gets married first etc. Life's not a competition. It's not about winning the race. It would be so helpful if we could take all that competitive energy and re-focus on our own lives. Never settle. Always try to out do yourself and raise the bar.