Do not miss this perfume giveaway!

Recently, one of my friends said to me, “What is this about your blog and some Louboutin giveaway?”  Umm, that was weeks ago.  She continued in a genuine and animated manner, “How come I didn’t know about it?”  Umm, I guess you are not reading it?  What can I say?  But it’s all good because the ideas and giveaways keep rolling in and the audience keeps growing.  The rock is getting easier to push.  Or is the hill less steep?  I am not sure.  Anyway, I want to tell you about a giveaway that combines books and perfume and when it rolled into the blog pipeline, I had to think, ‘Could it get any better than this?’  I love books.  I love perfume.  Who doesn’t love at least one of them, right?  And now someone is designing perfume based on imaginary books and characters?  So it is quirky, too.  Love that!

The perfume designer is Josh Meyer and he blends a variety of ingredients and creates an imaginary author and storyline around the scent.  I have not had the pleasure of smelling the fragrances yet  (I am always available for such a task, though, hint, hint), but the lucky and talented ladies over at the blog www.littleyellowcouch.com have and they are hosting the giveaway.  The scents have cool names like Cape Heartache and Falling into the Sea.  Oh, these are dramatic, huh?  The packaging is magnificent; so artsy and cool.  They would be like objets d’art on your cosmetic table.  I am not kidding.  The packaging makes me wish I had tried harder in my French classes.  I don’t know why but ooh la la.

The giveaway is for 3 sample sets so each lucky winner will get to try several of Josh’s fragrances.  How wonderful is that?  But you have to act quickly because the contest ends Monday, March 24 at 12 am EST and is open to US residents only.  Don’t miss out!  Here is the link to enter this fabulous contest:  http://littleyellowcouch.com/living-a-connected-life/2014/3/19/imaginary-au…  Happy spritzing!

 

 

Calling all ladies….

Some friends of the blog from down South reached out to me for help and I think some of my readers may be interested.  Let’s give a hand to the fine folks at the University of Georgia for all the studying and hard work they are doing!  There are several issues that are near and dear to my heart and naturally, women’s issues are one of them.  And I think women getting educated is very important.  I also think a woman (like myself) should always try to help a younger woman starting out in her career.  Be a mentor.  Provide advice.  And so on.  So when I heard from a young female graduate student about a research project she was working on, I couldn’t say no.  What can I say?

The Psychology and Women’s Studies department at the University of Georgia is doing a research project entitled ‘Understanding Career Breaks’ and they need participants.  That is where you come in, dear readers.  They need you to participate.  Here are the details: They are looking for women who voluntarily left their jobs for one year or more to complete an online questionnaire about their experiences. Participants who are eligible may fall into one or more of the following categories:

– stay at home moms or caregivers
– women looking to re-enter the workforce
– those who have taken a substantial break from their jobs and returned

So please click on the link if you are interested in participating in this study
https://ugeorgia.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_bJX2mhOTobg5snH.  The lab conducts research on work-family conflict and women’s issues at work, so click here if you want to learn more: http://psychology.uga.edu/clarkm/pages/index.html.

This won’t take much time and I think it is for a good cause.  Support an educational project.  Keep women’s issues a priority. Keep on keeping on.  In the words of the author Isabel Allende,  “I can promise you that women working together – linked, informed and educated – can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.”  That is a pretty lofty goal, but it sure sounds good to me!

 

Some friendships never fade

I think I have mentioned here that the blog keeps changing and bringing new experiences and products into my life.  And that is why I am doing it.  That and I love to write.  Sometimes it is a product that I have never heard of and other times, it is quite familiar.  I am also interested in the people behind the products or projects.  I have heard from artists, musicians, inventors and entrepreneurs and I love that.  I cannot write about everything at once but truthfully, I am fascinated by the talented people I am hearing from.  Recently I reconnected with a good friend who I had not seen in, well, let’s just say, a couple of years.  We could say decades.  But it didn’t feel that way!  She and I were high school friends.  We started the first 10 minutes of every day of high school in homeroom together.  We couldn’t recall any of the detail of what we talked about but we carried a fondness and friendship throughout our life.  That is very cool.

Our intention of getting together was to talk about her connection with the company Arbonne www.jeanmajenski.myarbonne.com and the blog gave us that excuse, if you will.  And please don’t misunderstand me because the products are fabulous and there is something for everyone but the person behind the products is what will sell them.  And if you read the stories of their sales consultants in the catalogue or online, I think you will agree with me.

Jean and I met at a coffee shop in our hometown and we couldn’t stop talking.  We laughed. We reminisced.  We tried all kinds of Arbonne products.  Jean was brought to Arbonne after an illness and she realized she needed to be more conscious of what she was putting on and in her body.   Personally, I love the protein shakes.  They come in chocolate and vanilla.  The energy fizz drinks really get you going and for me, it helped flavor my water. Pomegranate was my favorite flavor.  I was going to say fav flav.  Did I get eye roll or two?   Oh, I hope so.  I love those.  8 glasses a day….is that really possible?   Then there is make up, fragrances, lotions.  I tried the hand crème and later that evening I could still smell the delicate fragrance.  My all time favorite though was the bronzer…..gorgeous glow.  I looked like I had just returned from Miami Beach. Or Nantasket Beach.  Oh, well.  Go check out the link.  A few days after we got together I saw a sign that said ‘Coffee with friends is a really long way of saying  ‘therapy’.  I totally agree.  Thanks Jean.  And thanks Arbonne.  I only wish we were off to Algebra and could do it all again tomorrow!

Side by side in our high school yearbook; lifetime connection

Side by side in our high school yearbook; lifetime connection