The Cheap Diva

Bright Ideas in Office Supplies

Just because work may sometimes be a drudgery doesn't mean office supplies have to be.  Take these Pottery Barn Reversible office accessories for $14.99-29.00 for example.  Secured only by a few magnetic snaps, the solid red fabric can be flipped for the bright striped fabric.  This has the potential to provide hours of entertainment from observing the reaction of  confused coworkers.

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When you're not around to dazzle your coworkers with your brilliance, you can dazzle them with this Bling Computer Mouse for $19.99 from Linens N Things.  After all, nothing says "I am a cubicle queen" like bling encrusted office supplies.

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Bring a pet to work no matter what the policy book says with these adorable Cat and Dog Staple Free Staplers for $10.00 a piece.  The staplers work without using any actual staples.  They punch through the paper to form a tiny tab that holds paper together so you can use the money you save on staples to buy a security camera for your desk, because office supplies this cute are bound to disappear.

Restaurant Style Entertaining

Dining out is such a relaxing experience.  Between the great food and pleasant conversation with my dining companions, I will often end up asking myself "Gee, why don't I do this more often?" at some point during the meal.  Then the bill comes and I suddenly remember why I don't dine out more often.  Between the tips and the basic drinks like soda or iced tea that cost several times what it would cost to buy in a supermarket, even a basic meal without a lot of extras really adds up.

Thanks to the internet you and your guests can enjoy restaurant style dining without the restaurant style prices.  Popular recipes from well known restaurant are available online for free.  When I say popular restaurants I am not talking about the latest over hyped trendy eatery, I am talking about the Olive Garden with their recipe page and the carb lovers perennial favorite, Panera Bread also has their own recipes page.  If your favorite restaurant isn't generous enough to list their recipes on thier web site, check out copycat recipes frem web sites such as All Restaurant Recipes or CopyKat for listings of popular recipes.  For home cooks who love great food but lack the five star cooking talent, CopyKat thoughtfully rates recipes by degree of difficulty.

Now that you have cleverly selected time tested crowd pleasing recipes, it's time to start cooking for an appreciative crowd.  Invite a handful of friends over for a meal or schedule a gathering between mealtimes and serve smaller budget friendly dishes such as appetizers or desserts.  To set the mood, give your home style restaurant a name like "The Copycat Cafe".  On a portable chalk board like this Pottery Barn Kids Parisian Chalkboard for $24.00, near the eating area list the menu items under "Todays Specials".  Approach guests with the phrase "Hello, my name is Mary and I will be your hostess tonight".  For added effect you can write down drink orders for the guest on a small pad of paper.  A small simple floral centerpiece, like one found in nice restaurants, topping an elegant tablecloth is really all you need, besides pleasant background music, to set the mood.  After the empty meal dishes are taken away and before dessert is served, pass around a tip jar with a pen and small slips of paper.  Instruct each guest to write a short cooking or entertaining tip and puts it in the jar.  After everyone has added a tip to the jar, serve dessert.  While everyone is enjoying dessert, take a tip out of the jar one by one to read out loud.  Just for fun see if guests can match the tip to the person who wrote it down.   

Beach Style is in the Bag

While there are many beach bags will make you look more like a beach bum than the stylish babe your are, I did manage to find a few stylish beach bags that were not sloppy, not plastic and definitely not typical of you average beach bag.

If you have any, and I do mean any, bright clothes in your summer wardrobe, they will easily coordinate with this Cynthia Rowley for Target Market Tote with Binoculars -Madras for $16.99.  The unique plaid pattern combined with white trim and ties on the side gives this a kind of designer beach bag look to it.

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While the design of this bag is giving off such a serious surfer girl vibe I can practically hear the ocean, the black background and bold graphics of this OP Canvas Beach Tote for $10.00 packs a stylish punch that can accessorize casual summer outfits outside of the beach scene..

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For a more polished poolside accessory, try this American Living Iconic Tote for $34.99 available in a variety of styles and color combinations.  The classic clean lines of the bag subtley suggests your next destination is some fabulous private beach, not the local kiddie pool.

Painless Hair Removal

I don't believe in suffering for the sake of beauty.  Grooming and beauty treatments should be a pampering experience or at the very least a painless experience.  The Hair Off Mitten now on sale for $3.96 for a set of three at Ulta.com lives up to its promise of removing hair with no pain, no chemicals and no nicks and cuts.  Using the product is almost idiot proof.  Just put your hand in the paper sleeve and gently rub the area you want to remove hair from in a circular motion for less than a minute.  The sandpaper like texture of the mitten buffs off unwanted hair.  It's a good idea to look at each area you treat, sometimes it takes more than one going over to get all the hair off.  Each mitten is supposed to remove hair from both legs one to two times depending on hair thicknesss, so the mittens will have to be replaced if you use them regularly.  That is a pretty small price to pay for no nicks and no pain!

Hang on to Your Handbag!

One of the benefits of having worked in retail is that witnessing various scams, thefts and generally unethical behavior by customers day in and day out made me a lot more aware of how to avoid being a victim.  First rule of not being a victim, use common sense!  If you value something, like your wallet or your handbag, keep it close to you at all times.  Do not leave your purse under a pile of clothes in the dressing room while you go out into the store to grab another item.  This does not fool or deter a thief in any way.  If the store is busy the thief can steal your bag and get away unnoticed quite easily.  If you need to leave the dressing room for better lighting or a three way mirror in the public part of the store, keep your handbag in your hand.  If your bag is heavy and cumbersome you can put it between you and the mirror.  The mirror shows you who is around you and a thief would have to walk directly in front of you to steal your bag. 

The best handbag is one with a long strap that you wear diagonally across your chest.  This leaves your hands free for snapping up bargains and reduces the risk that you will absentmindedly set your handbag down somewhere.  If you carry one of those overstuffed pack mule purses so common among moms who feel the need to be prepared for anything, use a smaller purse or a Ziplok freezer bag to store your wallet, keys and cell phone.  When it's inconvenient to have your heavy purse in hand, like when you are modeling an outfit for shopping companions or taking short walks to try out new shoes, grab the smaller bag that contains your more important items. 

Do not leave your bag unzipped.  During one of my retail shifts there was one intstance where a female thief walked up to a woman with an open handbag, engaged in some girl chat and stole the womans wallet from out of her bag right in front of her!  For the record I have never had my handbag stolen and given how much effort a thief would have to go through to separate me from my handbag, I believe it's highly unlikely I will ever be a victim of theft.

Party on with These Perfect Outdoor Pieces

Summertime is the perfect time to breath some fresh air into your entertaining style with versatile outdoor accents that are worth inviting to the party.  While heavy furniture is fine for indoors, outside it's a good idea to have pieces that can be moved around to suite the traffic flow of the party and moved indoors when the weather turns cooler.

This Char-Buster Drink Butler for $48.88 has a removable tray on top for serving drinks and a removable ice bucket at the bottom which has a lid that covers it if you want to store party supplies there.  It's like the perfect host, adaptable an always ready with refreshments.

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This Home Outdoor Storage Stool for $29.99does double duty as a seat or an end table.  Plop a cushion on it and it provides extra seating for guests.  Or you can plop a tray on it and use it as an end table.  The upright lines of the stool provides a good amount of storage without conspicuously announcing to the world that you have more stuff than you know what to to with.

 

Win a Free Kitchen

Want to heat things up in the kitchen without burning through your savings?  If you truly have the world's ugliest kitchen then feel free to enter the myhomeideas.com $10,000 kitchen makeover.  Ten grand can turn even the worst kitchen into a showpiece.  If you don't happen to win there are still plenty of decorating tools on the web site including a paint calculator to figure out how much paint you need for a room.  Myhomeideas.com has contests every month, so if at first you don't succeed, submit pictures of another ugly room and try, try again.

Not to be outdone, ivillage.comis having a $20,000.00 Electrolux Dream Kitchen contest.  The money goes towards a kitchen remodel.  For 20 grand I might actually have to learn how to cook!  Check out their other contests going on as well for chances to win prizes that don't involve demolition.

We are Experiencing Technical Difficulty

For anyone wondering why there was no fashion post on May 21 it's because a glitch with my blog provider made the post completely disappear.  That along with a few other issues need to be worked out.  The point of this post is to offer you one piece of invaluable advice.  Copy anything you can't afford to lose!  There are several timeless articles that I would hate to lose so I have copied those articles into my documents on my home computer.  Technology is a fickle thing.  Be prepared for anything.

Save a Few Bucks with the Right Beauty Brushes

The right cosmetic brush is not only a great tool for making you look fabulous, it's a great tool for saving money too!  Take lip brushes for example.  Using a lip brush allows for a more precise application of lipstick than just swiping the lipstick tube across your lips.  It also allows you access to the lipstick at the bottom of the tube that would be difficult to get at with your fingers.  With a lip brush not a drop of of you favorite colored lipstick goes to waste.

Sephora Brand Professional Platinum Square Retractable Lip Brush #60 for $12.00

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A foundation brush used for applying liquid or cream foundation is more precise than using your fingers and ultimately cheaper than using sponges.  Disposable cosmetic sponges absorb foundation resulting in product running out faster.  Since sponges are rarely washed and reused like a cosmetic brush they have to be replaced regularly.  A quality foundation brush has synthetic bristles do not absorb product and it does not have to be replaced regularly.

Kashuk Tools Foundation Brush $14.99

Money Management 101

Most money web sites fall into one of two categories.  The frugal squeeze a penny till it begs for mercy kind and the sites aimed at big money readers that offer complicated investment advice on what to do with that outrageously huge pile of cash you are presumed to have laying around.  Luckily there are a few sites that offer easy to understand tools on financial management that are useful no matter what you income level happens to be.  At CNNMoney.com there is a section called Money 101(  http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/) that gives basic advice in plain english on understanding how to best handle your money.  Topics covered included everything from setting priorities to making a budget, to investing, controlling debt and insurance issues.   I found the articles to be informative without making my head spin with more information than I need.  Another site offering a free financial education is  Kiplingers.com.  Their Tools and Calculators (http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/ ) section provides information on budgeting, credit and other common financial concerns in a bit more detail than the CNN Money 101 section.  Sure it takes some time to  gather this financial information and put it into action, but this investment of your time and attention may be the smartest investment you will ever make.

Save Money with aBeauty Mitt

Various beauty articles have emphasized the importance of gently exfoliate the skin at least twice a week.  Shedding dead skin cell make the application of self tanner, sun screen or moisturizer more effective.   While I get the logic behind exfoliating, I don't like watching my money literally go down the drain with traditional wash off lotion based exfoliants.  Microfiber face and body mitts, like the one by Aquis pictured here,  use a terrycloth like texture to exfoliate with no other product needed.  The cloths can be washed repeatedly so they don't have to be replaced regularly like an empty bottles of lotion.  So now I can save money while prepping my skin for self tanning products that I hope will make me resemble a bronzed goddess, not a pumpkin.

How Not to Look Fat Book Review

With the fashion book How Not to Look Fat by Danica Lo, the author offers fashion advice that works for just about any budget.  She doesn't insist women mush invest in cashmere sweaters to be stylish the way some other unrealistic fashion books do.   I found the often irreverent tone of the book How not to Look Fat as refreshing as the fact that this book is written by a former plus size model, not a size 4 fashion editor.  Her advice on dressing slim is covers a pretty broad range of topics for such a small book, including which necklines are the most flattering along with how to use scarves for stylish camouflage, to the most flattering haircuts for full figured women, and makeup tricks to slim the face.  Looking slimmer is not just about clothes and makeup.  She also talks about the slimming effects of good posture (good news for those of us who would rather stand up straight than try to squeeze into a girdle), how to pose for a picture and how to avoid waking up bloated.  In other words, she offers real world advice on not looking like a frump.

Free Up Your Weekends

Weekends are supposed to be a break from work.  For a lot of women the arrival of the weekend just means an endless to do list of unpaid work, not leisurely relaxation.  Here are a few tips to reclaim some of your weekend time.

Incorporate the kinds of chores you are saving for the weekend into your daily routine.  Instead of tackling cleaning the entire house at once, wipe down counters after mealtime, spray nontoxic shower cleaner, like the Scour Off Heavy Duty Paste from Shaklee , in the shower 20 minutes before taking a shower.  When putting away laundry or other things, pick up a few unwanted items from your closet or rooms to put in a trash bag by the garage door to be donated to a thrift store after at least one sack is full.

Make the most of your TV time.    Gather the materials needed to complete a fairly simple task, like writing out bills or doing light housework, in the TV room.  During the introduction and commercial breaks, turn down the TV and work on that task during the commercial break.  That's about 15 minutes of task work completed for every hour of television.  If you are watching a reality show where entertainment comes from seeing the outcome, just watch the last half o the show and spend the rest of your time doing something more productive.

Hire someone else for tasks that don't cost a lot.  Is hiring the neighborhood kid to mow your lawn really that more expensive than buying and maintaining a lawnmower?  Spend a little to free up hours of  precious weekend time.

Try to get more errands done after work or during your lunch break so when the weekend come you can finally give yourself a break!

Seaside Scents

Summertime is the perfect time to lighten up not only the scent you wear, but also the scents in your home.  Scents that bring to mind the ocean lend a more relaxed vacation like vibe to a room.  Since it's too hot to burn scented candles, try reed diffusers to add scent to a room.

This San Miguel Ocean Mist Mother of Pearl Reed Diffuser for $19.99  is covered in a mosaic of light colored pieces that work with the lighter feel of the scent.

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The one drawback to the Sunrise Global Ocean Breeze Reed Fragrance Diffuser for $19.99 is that the distinctive color combination of the bottle limits the types of decor it would complement.  If you love the scent but not the bottle, remove the top from an empty glass perfume bottle put the scented oil and reed diffusers in the perfume bottle.

Save Money with a Beauty Mitt

Various beauty articles have emphasized the importance of gently exfoliate the skin at least twice a week.  Shedding dead skin cell make the application of self tanner, sun screen or moisturizer more effective.   While I get the logic behind exfoliating, I don't like watching my money literally go down the drain with traditional wash off lotion based exfoliants.  Microfiber face and body mitts, like the one by Aquis pictured here,  use a terrycloth like texture to exfoliate with no other product needed.  The cloths can be washed repeatedly so they don't have to be replaced regularly like an empty bottles of lotion.  So now I can save money while prepping my skin for self tanning products that I hope will make me resemble a bronzed goddess, not a pumpkin.

How Not tot Look Fat Book Review

With the fashion book How Not to Look Fat by Danica Lo, the author offers fashion advice that works for just about any budget.  She doesn't insist women mush invest in cashmere sweaters to be stylish the way some other unrealistic fashion books do.   I found the often irreverent tone of the book How not to Look Fat as refreshing as the fact that this book is written by a former plus size model, not a size 4 fashion editor.  Her advice on dressing slim is covers a pretty broad range of topics for such a small book, including which necklines are the most flattering along with how to use scarves for stylish camouflage, to the most flattering haircuts for full figured women, and makeup tricks to slim the face.  Looking slimmer is not just about clothes and makeup.  She also talks about the slimming effects of good posture (good news for those of us who would rather stand up straight than try to squeeze into a girdle), how to pose for a picture and how to avoid waking up bloated.  In other words, she offers real world advice on not looking like a frump.

You've Got Mail!

Sometimes junk mail makes me laugh.  Like the time I received a check in the mail from a company for about $5.00.  The catch was that if I cashed the check I would automatically be signed up for fees and services costing about $89.00!  I did not cash the check.  What I did was start thinking about the real costs of junk mail.  It costs valuable time to go through it all, it opens you up to identity theft, credit card offers especially, and a lot of trees are wasted just so cynical consumers like me can roll their eyes at the latest junk mail come on before feeding anything with our name and address on it to the shredder.

To save time and a few trees you can register free online at dmachoice.org to be removed from junk mail lists.  To stop pre approved credit card or insurance offers and reduce your chances of identity theft go to optoutprescreen.com or call 888-567-8688.  If catalogs are a shopping weakness or just a nuisance, contact catalogchoice.org to stop the flow of unwanted catalogs. 

One of the most annoying junk mail promotions I have seen is the fake friend promotion.  Someone send what appears to be a copy of a newspaper article about a product  with a hand written note addressing the recipient by their first name with a personal note about how the sender thought of you when they found out about this product.  What appears to be a photocopied article sent by a caring friend (a friend with a questionable or nonexistant return address) is actually a mass produced brochure sent out by a complete stranger plugging the product in the article.  If you want to keep your money and lose a "friend" contact dmachoice.org today!

You've Got Mail!

Sometimes junk mail makes me laugh.  Like the time I received a check in the mail from a company for about $5.00.  The catch was that if I cashed the check I would automatically be signed up for fees and services costing about $89.00!  I did not cash the check.  What I did was start thinking about the real costs of junk mail.  It costs valuable time to go through it all, it opens you up to identity theft, credit card offers especially, and a lot of trees are wasted just so cynical consumers like me can roll their eyes at the latest junk mail come on before feeding anything with our name and address on it to the shredder.

To save time and a few trees you can register free online at dmachoice.org to be removed from junk mail lists.  To stop pre approved credit card or insurance offers and reduce your chances of identity theft go to optoutprescreen.com or call 888-567-8688.  If catalogs are a shopping weakness or just a nuisance, contact catalogchoice.org to stop the flow of unwanted catalogs. 

One of the most annoying junk mail promotions I have seen is the fake friend promotion.  Someone send what appears to be a copy of a newspaper article about a product  with a hand written note addressing the recipient by their first name with a personal note about how the sender thought of you when they found out about this product.  What appears to be a photocopied article sent by a caring friend (a friend with a questionable or nonexistant return address) is actually a mass produced brochure sent out by a complete stranger plugging the product in the article.  If you want to keep your money and lose a "friend" contact dmachoice.org today!

Picnic Perfect Pics

For me the only thing more exciting that finding stylish stuff is finding stylish stuff that works in real life.   Take this Picnic Living Leesport 2 in 1 Insulated Cooler Tote for $19.98 for example.  If the pretty colors aren't enough to give you a sunny disposition, the practical design is divided it into two sections, an insulated section for food and a water resistant section for wet bathing suits, towels or anything else you want to throw in there and they threw in the dishes you see here at no extra cost.

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The perfect traveling companion for outdoor picnics, concerts or the beach is this Picnic Cushion and Blanket Set for $20.28.  The polyester fabric covering the four cushions is mildew and water repellant.  The blanket has straps sewn into it so it can be folded into a sort of tote for carrying the cusions.

Unless you are Martha Stewart, outdoor gatherings are not an excuse to break out the fine china.  This Cynthia Rowley Salad Set with Cutleries for $4.99 (available at Target stores, not online) keeps things fun and practical with bright colored utensils that fit into the lid of the container.  It's the perfect container any kind of salad.

Picnic Perfect Pics

For me the only thing more exciting that finding stylish stuff is finding stylish stuff that works in real life.   Take this Picnic Living Leesport 2 in 1 Insulated Cooler Tote for $19.98 for example.  If the pretty colors aren't enough to give you a sunny disposition, the practical design is divided it into two sections, an insulated section for food and a water resistant section for wet bathing suits, towels or anything else you want to throw in there and they threw in the dishes you see here at no extra cost.

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The perfect traveling companion for outdoor picnics, concerts or the beach is this Picnic Cushion and Blanket Set for $20.28.  The polyester fabric covering the four cushions is mildew and water repellant.  The blanket has straps sewn into it so it can be folded into a sort of tote for carrying the cusions.

Unless you are Martha Stewart, outdoor gatherings are not an excuse to break out the fine china.  This Cynthia Rowley Salad Set with Cutleries for $4.99 (available at Target stores, not online) keeps things fun and practical with bright colored utensils that fit into the lid of the container.  It's the perfect container any kind of salad.

The Cheap Diva Cleans Up Her Act, Doing Housework with Style

Housework is often though of as ugly business but it doesn‘t have to be. You are after all trying to make you home more attractive, why not make yourself more attractive at the same time?

The first step to tackling housework with style is to dress the part. Unless you are working with harsh chemicals or bleaching agents, you don’t have to dress in garage sale rejects. A outfit consisting of a properly fitting T-shirt, stretch Capri pants and ballet flats is comfortable enough to work in and cute enough to answer the door in. The deliveryman does not need to know what you look like at your frumpiest.

While cleaning the kitchen rub some olive oil mixed with a few drops of essential oil on hands before putting on rubber gloves. The heat helps absorb oil. Incorporating exercise moves, like squats and lunges while reaching down or vacuuming, stretching when dusting helps you keep in shape while keeping your home in tip top shape. While cleaning the bathroom, apply a conditioning treatment to you hair and wrap hair in a towel. Clean the bathtub and bathroom for the amount of time the hair treatment is supposed to be in and then take a shower, rinsing away bathtub cleaner and treatment out of hair.  Read the rest of this article.

The Cheap Diva Cleans up Her Act, Doing Housework with Style

Housework is often though of as ugly business but it doesn‘t have to be. You are after all trying to make you home more attractive, why not make yourself more attractive at the same time?

The first step to tackling housework with style is to dress the part. Unless you are working with harsh chemicals or bleaching agents, you don’t have to dress in garage sale rejects. A outfit consisting of a properly fitting T-shirt, stretch Capri pants and ballet flats is comfortable enough to work in and cute enough to answer the door in. The deliveryman does not need to know what you look like at your frumpiest.

While cleaning the kitchen rub some olive oil mixed with a few drops of essential oil on hands before putting on rubber gloves. The heat helps absorb oil. Incorporating exercise moves, like squats and lunges while reaching down or vacuuming, stretching when dusting helps you keep in shape while keeping your home in tip top shape. While cleaning the bathroom, apply a conditioning treatment to you hair and wrap hair in a towel. Clean the bathtub and bathroom for the amount of time the hair treatment is supposed to be in and then take a shower, rinsing away bathtub cleaner and treatment out of hair.

If the housework at hand is not strenuous and it offers little opportunity for exercising you body, you can still exercise your mind. No time to read a 300 page book? Not a problem. Many books are available on CD’s that can be played in your regular CD player or even the DVD player attached to the TV. If the book on CD is something really engrossing, like a suspense novel or mystery, save the CD for a time when you will be involved in a very time consuming task, like folding piles of laundry. For less time consuming chores pop a language CD into your music player and open your mind to learning a new language while your hands are busy with less interesting tasks. Most language CD’s break down the learning process into small manageable parts so the CD can be stopped and started to suit your cleaning schedule. There are also tons of podcasts out there. Download podcasts of different lengths for tasks that take up different amounts of time.

Sometimes the best way to approach a home in serious need of cleaning is to not take yourself too seriously. Use your imagination. Imagine that you are a spy (on the run from the fashion police, you should have known better than to wear light shoes with dark hose) posing as house sitter. Everything needs to be cleaned and organized so when the “real” owners return they are not aware of your deception. If you find you imagination getting carried away and with your intricate plots, keep a journal of your “adventures” to reread later for your own amusement. Sure it’s silly, but isn’t it better to feel a little silly than a lot stressed out about all the work you have to do?

The Right Bras for Summer Tops

When I was a sales associate many years and many dead end jobs ago, I advised women on what to wear.  The most common question I heard was "What kind of bra do I wear with this?"   It's still a good question.  Considering the variety of necklines that don't work with a regular bra,  I decided to address the issue. 

One option is a convertible bra, like the Victoria's Secret 100-way Strapless convertible bra starting at $50.00 that has 44 tiny slits to attach the straps in ways that would work with any neckline.

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For the stylish woman who understand that visible bra straps are eternally tacky no matter what fashion editors are saying, the smooth lines of this Defining Moments Strapless bra for $31.00 by Lilyette provides the  discreet support of a T-shirt bra without the straps.  This is perfect for and top or dress that has skinny straps to skinny for even the thinnest bra straps or no straps at all.

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Sometimes all you need to change are your straps, not the whole bra.  Clear bra straps can be found in plenty of lingerie departments.  These straps work under semi sheer fabrics or fabrics with holes in the design, like eyelet,  that would reveal regular straps.  For the woman who wants a slightly wider strap than the typical clear strap, Fashion Forms has come out with Full Figure Invisible Bra Straps for $8.50

The Right Bras for Summer Tops

When I was a sales associate many years and many dead end jobs ago, I advised women on what to wear.  The most common question I heard was "What kind of bra do I wear with this?"   It's still a good question.  Considering the variety of necklines that don't work with a regular bra,  I decided to address the issue. 

One option is a convertible bra, like the Victoria's Secret 100-way Strapless convertible bra starting at $50.00 that has 44 tiny slits to attach the straps in ways that would work with any neckline.

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For the stylish woman who understand that visible bra straps are eternally tacky no matter what fashion editors are saying, the smooth lines of this Defining Moments Strapless bra for $31.00 by Lilyette provides the  discreet support of a T-shirt bra without the straps.  This is perfect for and top or dress that has skinny straps to skinny for even the thinnest bra straps or no straps at all.

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Sometimes all you need to change are your straps, not the whole bra.  Clear bra straps can be found in plenty of lingerie departments.  These straps work under semi sheer fabrics or fabrics with holes in the design, like eyelet,  that would reveal regular straps.  For the woman who wants a slightly wider strap than the typical clear strap, Fashion Forms has come out with Full Figure Invisible Bra Straps for $8.50

Facing the Sun

While there are sunscreens for the face that can fake a tan and make up products that contain SPF's of 15 or more, sometimes all I want from a sunscreen is that it protects me from the sun!   Coppertone Oil Free Sunsceen Lotion for faces offers UVA and UVB protection with a SPF of 30.  It's not greasy, it won't clog pores and it can be found at mass ratailers.  When I go outside I can face the sun without feeling like I have anything at all on my face, except a smug smile that comes from knowing I won't look like a shriveled old prune before my time.

Facing the Sun

While there are sunscreens for the face that can fake a tan and make up products that contain SPF's of 15 or more, sometimes all I want from a sunscreen is that it protects me from the sun!   Coppertone Oil Free Sunsceen Lotion for faces offers UVA and UVB protection with a SPF of 30.  It's not greasy, it won't clog pores and it can be found at mass ratailers.  When I go outside I can face the sun without feeling like I have anything at all on my face, except a smug smile that comes from knowing I won't look like a shriveled old prune before my time.

Free Ways to Promote Your Blog

Whether you are blogging for money or just for fun,  there is one thing every blogger wants, more readers!  There are plenty of ways to increase traffic to you blog without spending money.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Write an article for a web site or blog that that has a large readership.  Find a web site or blog that focuses on the type of topics that you write about on your own blog.  When you find a good match, look for the advertising page for this web site or blog.  The advertising page should tell you two things, the average number of readers per month, and that they have enough traffic to their web site or blog to make advertisers want to spend their money there.  In other words, this is not a blog read only by the author's mother and a few close friends.  Web sites or blogs that accept articles should have their criteria outlined for the kinds of articles they accept.  Submit articles only after reading their criteria and making sure they provide links to their author's blogs and that you are not giving up all rights to your content.  I had an article published on one web site and the traffic to my blog increased about 800% the day the article came out!  Read the rest of this article.

Free Ways to Promote Your Blog

Whether you are blogging for money or just for fun,  there is one thing every blogger wants, more readers!  There are plenty of ways to increase traffic to you blog without spending money.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Write an article for a web site or blog that that has a large readership.  Find a web site or blog that focuses on the type of topics that you write about on your own blog.  When you find a good match, look for the advertising page for this web site or blog.  The advertising page should tell you two things, the average number of readers per month, and that they have enough traffic to their web site or blog to make advertisers want to spend their money there.  In other words, this is not a blog read only by the author's mother and a few close friends.  Web sites or blogs that accept articles should have their criteria outlined for the kinds of articles they accept.  Submit articles only after reading their criteria and making sure they provide links to their author's blogs and that you are not giving up all rights to your content.  I had an article published on one web site and the traffic to my blog increased about 800% the day the article came out!

Blog carnivals are a wonderful marketing tool because they exist for the sole purpose of promoting blogs.  This is how it works.  A web site or blog acts as a host for a blog carnival for a specific date.  Bloggers submit articles on a specific topic or theme dictated by whoever is hosting the carnival.  If the host likes your article they will either feature the whole article on their blog or discuss it briefly,  saying something along the lines of  "Stephanie Ann at thecheapdiva.com has an interesting article on selling stolen office property on ebay".  Either way they will include a link to your blog or the specific article mentioned.  Web sites like blogcarnival.com have a enormous listing of current blog carnivals going on covering just about every topic you can think of. 

Some high traffic blogs post comments from readers for all the world to see.  This can be great free publicity if it is done right.  Another  fashion blog posted an article on creating a successful blog.  I posted a comment to this article identifying and summing up my blog in the first sentence then briefly talking about blog carnivals, which was not mentioned in the article.  There are a few things to remember when taking this approach.  Briefly describe your blog in the first sentence and limit your description to only one sentence.  There must be a legitimate reason to mention your blog in relation to commenting on someone else's post.  In this case I had experience with blog carnivals that was relevant to the topic of the post.  If your comment includes something useful to the reader it's more likely to be published by the blog author because it doesn't sound like an annoying sales pitch for yourself.

In my experience published articles, blog carnivals and commenting on posts by other bloggers creates a quick but temporary spike in traffic to my blog.  Most blogs and a lot of web sites have a list of their favorite blogs.  For small but more consistent traffic try to get added to the favorites list of a high traffic blog or web site.  Be picky about where you ask to be added to since whoever adds your blog to their favorites list probably expects you to return the favor by adding a link to them on your blog.  If it's not a blog you can honestly recommend, then don't ask to be added to their favorites list.

Normally every week I feature a few web sites or blogs that I think my readers would enjoy.  Whenever I mention a blog I always email the author of that blog giving them a brief description of my blog (in one sentence of course), the date that it was mentioned and what it is I loved about their blog that made me want to mention it on mine.  This kind of sincere flattery has gotten me added to the favorites list of other bloggers or at least mentioned on their blog.   

Many blogs have some sort of weekly round up where they mention articles they found on the web with links to those articles.  To get featured in another blogger's weekly round up, take a look at the types of articles they mention then email the blogger, bringing their attention to the fact that you have written an article perfect for their audience then briefly describe the specific article you have written with a link to that article.  Feel free to submit the same articles to mutiple bloggers to increase your chances of getting mentioned.

Tell every man woman & child you know about your blog.  This is not the most efficient marketing technique, but eventually you are bound to come across a catalyst, someone who loves your blog so much they tell others about through their own blog or by word of mouth.  After all, when you are building traffic to your blog every reader counts.

Because readers on the internet generally have the attension span of a two year old on a sugar high, you will need to repeat any marketing techniques that work for you on a regular basis. Repeatedly getting the word out about your blog to reminds exisiting readers to come back and introduces new readers to your blog.

Save Money on Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, give mom what she really wants, a break!  Skip the knick knacks and other gifts that clutter up her home and instead save some cash by volunteering certain services, like helping her organize the basement,  clean up or cook a meal for her that she can freeze and eat later at her convenience.

A budget friendly gift would be a blank scrapbook or photo album.  You could turn it into a mother daughter project by taking that pile of photographs she hasn't touched and helping her create a scrapbook so you can enjoy the pictures and the creative process of creating a scrapbook together.

A smart way to save money is to partner up with mom.  Some business give discounts when you refer someone else to them or bring another person along when you use those services.  Take and eat businesses,  where you prepare a meal at the business location and freeze it for a later time, sometimes have special meal offers like buy one meal and get a discount on the second.  Think about the services you use or want to use and see what kind of deal they can give you.  If this isn't feasible,  you can get her a gift certificate to a beauty school, where she will get more for her money than a fancy salon.  Do mothers mind that you take such a penny pinching approach to gift giving?  Of course not, if you think I know how to stretch a buck, you should meet my mother!