I don’t think I’ve mentioned it on the blog, twitter, or Facebook yet, but I really loved checking out all of the selections you guys made for your entries for The Limited gift card giveaway. I have some stylish readers! I was also impressed by all the non-bloggers who came out of lurking to enter. Hola!

Anywho, here are the two lucky winners of the gift cards…

From the blog, comment #49 was the lucky one:

And from Facebook, here’s the randomly selected comment:

Congrats to the winners and a HUGE thank you to The Limited and Michelle for hooking us up with these fantastic prizes! If you missed it, you can check out my photos of The Limited’s new boutique-style here and read my interview with The Limited CEO, Linda Heasley here.

***

Here are some recent posts from The Chic Life, in case you missed them:

• My family’s twist on Thanksgiving – a Filipino fusion!
• Wherein my age group starts the next wave of a dim sum tradition
• I made a new dough ball flavor – it’s sweet, chocolaty, and (wait for it) spicy! Click here for my Mexican Hot Chocolate Dough Ball recipe
• And click here for the easiest tutorial for a cute & affordable holiday gift decoration idea using mason jars

***

And TCL recipes are hitting the web! Check out who’s baking/cooking TCL-style:

• My Little Celebration bakes up my individual Cake Minis black and white style
• Itzy’s Kitchen whips up my Mexican Hot Chocolate Dough Balls in search of the perfect cookie exchange recipe
• Spinach and Spice did a variation on my egg-licious breakfast cups
• And this one has been out awhile, but my little Green Monster Muffin recipe inspired the Happy Herbivore’s Green Goddess Muffins after her assistant made my recipe and posted the photos on Facebook where HH saw them!. Nice! And thank you to HH’s assistant for checking out my recipe and sharing your photos on FB!

Have you made a TCL recipe recently? I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to leave a comment, send a message via my Contact page (click), or email me at thechiclife at gmail dot com.

***

Thank you so much for reading and for your support! Happy holidays everyone!

The Limited’s New Look

I was recently honored to be invited to the grand opening of a local The Limited store. Not only did I get to attend the store opening, I saw the ribbon cutting, got a tour of the new shop look, and interviewed the CEO. The CEO guys!

(FYI – I was not paid or compensated for this post. I was invited to attend the store opening and interview the CEO, and this post contains my thoughts from those experiences. I was given 2 gift cards to give away to TCL readers, but I was not required to blog about the opening in exchange. Ok, enough boring-talk…on to the fun!)

Not sure if you’ve ever heard of The Limited, but I’ve been shopping there since I could fit into the clothes. Me and The Limited go waaaay back.

Anywho, we got things kicked off with a ribbon cutting (btw – can you tell which one is the CEO?).

With a real ribbon…

…and real (really big) scissors!

i was scheduled to do an interview with the CEO, Linda Heasley, around lunch, but since I was early, the store general manager, Michael, took me around the store to check out The Limited’s new look.

The brand has made over its showroom with a more boutique-style feel.

Our tour started at the front of the store where Michael explained they put the most fashion-forward and latest styles on display, along with accessory options and mannequins in full ensembles to give you outfit/styling ideas.

This area will be most frequently updated to stay on-trend and keep fresh options available to shoppers.

Besides the actual clothes, accessories, and mannequins, there was a lot of awesome PR material – photos with outfits and signs with fashion tips.

Most of the suit options were in the middle of the store. Michael explained that they want to provide lots of options for the busy working girl/woman so she can easily go from work to play. The Limited customer is busy with a full life and the brand wants to make that life easier on her so she can focus on her life instead of worrying about her clothes. And the clothes are trendy while still being work-appropriate.

Here’s an example of a dress that goes from day to night. The blazer next to it ups the ante for the daytime, business look, while the the dress alone would work for after-dinner drinks. Remove the blazer, do a quick change of accessories, and you’re ready to go!

And check out this travel suit – anti-wrinkle, ya’ll! It’s been awhile since I’ve had to fly for work, but there was a time where I needed to go straight from the plane to the office…this type of suit could come in handy.

They had tons of bottom options – various sizes with different lengths.

And the clothes in the back are (if I remember correctly) inspired by trips The Limited team has recently taken. The colors and fabrics are the key take-aways.

***

Overall, I was really impressed with not only The Limited but the friendly and helpful team behind the product. They seem to genuinely want their customer to be happy and have a great experience shopping with The Limited. And I love how The Limited clothes and accessories are geared towards the young working woman like me! The have a lot of options for the young, fashion-forward working girl, and they love to create simple solutions for us working women. For example, they have several sets of bottoms and blazers made from the same material. Why? So you can mix and match your pieces, even if you purchase items across different years. I can’t wait for you guys to read the interview I did with the CEO – I think that will help tell the store a bit more.

Of course, I had to try on some of the new clothes at The Limited while I was there.

I really liked this top, but it reminded me a bit of something I already have, and I’m trying to be more selective about what makes it into my closet.

They did have a 40% off sale going on in honor of the new store opening, so I picked up a thing or two.

I had fun chatting with these ladies – Marci Milito (The Limited’s director of PR – you may be chatting with her if you’re contacting the Limited via Facebook or Twitter) and Michelle Hubacher (with a local PR company who helped organize this event). Did I mention Michelle is a blog reader? Too cool! Hi Michelle!

Win a $50 gift card to The Limited

Michelle and The Limited hooked me up with two $50 gift cards, and while it was tempting to spend them at the opening day of the new The Limited shop, I saved them to give away to you guys!

There are 2 easy ways to enter (tell me what you’d buy and share the URL to that item):

• Blog entry: Leave a comment on *this post* with the URL to The Limited item you’d like to buy if you win the $50 gift card (psst – click here to go to The Limited’s web site)
• Facebook entry: Leave a comment on my Facebook wall (click) post where I ask you, “What would you buy with a $50 gift card to The Limited?” with a URL to the item you’d like to purchase.

The rules:

• You can enter until 10pm ET next Wednesday 11/23/11
• US only
• Up to 2 entries per person: 1 entry on this blog post and 1 entry on my Facebook wall
• Winner will be randomly selected (1 from this blog post and 1 from my Facebook wall)
• If winner doesn’t respond within 1 week of posting winner information, I will select a new winner

Ready? Steady? Go!

And be sure to come back soon for my interview with The Limited CEO!

Guess I need to start packing for HLS, no? Feeling pretty lazy today. lol

Stayed up till midnight working on emails and a new bloggie project (the one I’ve been procrastinating on for like a year now).

Coffee was a necessity today.

Check out Mr. Cuddle-pants (that’s Bailey, not hubby). Bailey thinks he’s a lap dog, but he’s really not. lol

Since I was feeling so lazy, a no-cook breakfast was in order. I just put some Galaxy Granola in Not Sweet Vanilla in a bowl with some organic milk, sliced almonds and cacao nibs.

Mate Vana is helping me wake up today, too.

***

Coffee Giveaway

Anywho, you’re probably wondering about the title of this post. It’s true, Cafe Don Pablo has offered to give away a 2lb bag of coffee to one lucky reader!

You may remember I met the people behind Cafe Don Pablo when they were sampling their coffee at Costco this past weekend. Hubby and I picked up a bag of the coffee (we bought it FTC) and have been enjoying it with breakfast this week. Anywho, while I was at Costco, Darron, founder of Burke Brands LLC offered to do a giveaway for The Chic Life readers. Score!

Here’s some info on the coffee:

Sweetly intense, balanced aroma, with milk chocolate, cedar and ripe tomato notes. In the cup the acidity is sweet and well-integrated, the body full and mouthfeel supple, and the flavor quite sweet, with chastened but still rich complication: semi-sweet chocolate, ripe tomato, and a round, low-acid fruit that suggested banana. The finish is cocoa-toned and slightly though warmly astringent.

And here’s some more info from the coffee bag that I thought you’d like to know:

We have relationships at the oint of origin that give us a dedicated source of supply of the finest Arabica beans available. We grow, pick, and process our own coffee beans in Colombia. We never blend our coffees with Robusta, past crop, or defective beans.

We roast to order in regional small batch roasting facilities in the U.S. We never roast overseas, on a production schedule, or allow distributors to warehouse our coffee. We also do not require large minimum orders from our customers, guaranteeing that you get the freshest coffee possible. You can smell the difference!

I also like that they are Sharing Certified (click to learn more).

Ready to win some yummy coffee?

There are 5 ways to enter (1 mandatory and 4 optional if you want extra chances to win):

1. *mandatory* Leave a comment on this post and say which of the 4 Sharing Certified areas resonates with you most (hint: here’s where they are located online: http://www.cafedonpablo.com/sharing_certified.html ).
2. Tweet @thechiclife how you take your coffee (with cream, black, etc) with a link to this post (http://bit.ly/cBFQzR), for example: “@thechiclife I love my coffee with milk and sugar http://bit.ly/cBFQzR ” (remember to include the URL!) Leave a separate comment on this post to let me know that you tweeted an entry.
3. Subscribe to The Chic Life blog feed (http://thechiclife.com/wp-rss2.php). Leave a separate comment telling me you did.
4. Add The Chic Life to your blogroll. Leave a separate comment telling me you did.
5. Link to this contest from your blog. Leave a separate comment telling me you did.

Easy Rules:

• Each entry must be left as a separate comment on this post to count individually.
• All entries must be received by 8pm ET next Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 (you have one week to enter!).
• Winner will be randomly selected.
• Shipping is for US only.
• Winner will be notified via email and so must have a valid email address.
• If winner doesn’t reply within 48 hours of email notification, a new winner will be selected.

Let the giveaway begin!

And special thanks to Cafe Don Pablo for having this giveaway!

And PS If you don’t win, you can find Cafe Don Pablo’s signature blend at Costco!

Thursday Eats

I have been a blog posting machine this week!! That’s what happens when you stay somewhere without wifi and your hubby’s laptop doesn’t run on batteries. I didn’t get on a computer for like 3 straight days while I was in Key West!

Since I stayed up so late last night working on all those fabulous Key West photos, I was extra tired today. I made breakfast quick by enjoying my short-on-time go-to breakfast – Power Toast!

I had a slice of Great Harvest honey whole wheat toasted and topped with Barney Butter, pepitas, sesame seeds and hemp seeds, plus Larry’s Beans coffee to drink.

For lunch I packed a large salad with a slice of fresh honey WW bread.

I used to hate eating salads for meals. They seemed so unfilling and boring. However, now I see salads as an easy way to consume veggies and gain extra nutrition for the day. Plus, some salads are definitely more interesting than others. My salads tend to be a bit boring, but I’m currently researching ways to make them more exciting.

I ate the bread straight up. It was just baked yesterday and still lovely and tender today. I didn’t need any toppings to enjoy it.

I had a banana for a snack later.

And, after my 3pm phone conference was cancelled, I lucked out and took a quick 30 minute break to meet up with my friend Megan for some QT.

Since the weather was so perfect – sunny and right above 70 degrees F – we snacked outside on homemade energy bars. I had the banana walnut.

After work, the weather was still just as pretty, so I talked hubby into eating out even though I had some good ideas for meals in. It probably helped that I stopped by the grocery store to get shrimp for the meal I had in mind and the store didn’t have shrimp. Unfortunately, by the time hubby was done working out and stuff, the sun was setting and the temperature was getting cooler and cooler.

We decided to eat in but try a new restaurant we’ve been wanting to try for awhile – Fran’s Filling Station.

I started with a glass of pinot grigio.

We decided to try a couple different things since it was our first visit. We started with an appetizer – the Grilled country bread with slow-roasted tomatoes and olive oil.

The app was a lot like a de-constructed bruschetta but with a sweeter taste thanks to those roasted tomatoes. Hubby and I really enjoyed the dish and agreed with the waitress that it was a great starter size – not too big so you fill up before the meal. Hubby had 2 slices and I had one – it was just enough for me.

I was really craving comfort food, so we got the Thanksgiving on a Plate (roasted turkey, veggie of the day – snap peas, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Wow, this was fantastic! I loved the tender roasted turkey and how it was sliced thin – paired with that slightly sweet gravy. The potatoes were nice and creamy. Hubby really liked the bacon-studded stuffing.

We shared the turkey dish and…

Mac and cheese! This side dish was served in the dish it was baked in, which was great because the hot plate really kept hte mac and cheese warm for us. The dish was ooey-gooey and totally hit the spot. Hubby said it reminded him a bit of my Dad’s mac and cheese (which reminds me that I really need to get that recipe to you guys)

Though we were pretty full after our fabulous dinner, we decided to go ahead and see what Fran had to offer by way of desserts. Our waitress suggested the Tuxedo Cake, which normally would have been my top choice, but I was craving something following our comfort food theme of the night.

The tart was served warm and was a lovely rustic apple tart with a puff-pastry-style shell. The dessert was served with fresh berries and whipped cream. What I really liked about it was that it wasn’t too sweet! So many desserts are over-the-top sugary, but this one was just right.

Hubby and I had a wonderful dining experience at Fran’s. I already can’t wait to go back and try some of their other dishes. They had a fabulous looking veggie burger, I hear their fries are amazing, and I MUST have that Tuxedo cake…sooner than later. If every experience can be this great, then Fran’s may inch their way to my fave Charlotte restaurant list.

New Samples!!

I’ve gotten some new samples to try recently…hoorah!! I adore samples!

First up, Chef of the Future Not Your Average Cajun Seasoning. I can’t wait to taste-test this stuff! There are plenty of ways to use this seasoning, but I’m mostly excited about using it to grill food this summer. Hubby’s new grill can’t get here fast enough! Not that he ordered one yet, but he needs to!

I’m also very excited to have some fabulous Vega samples in my possession! I found Brendan Brazier’s presentation (click for lessons learned) a few weeks ago very inspirational and I loved the message of his books and products.

I received some fabulous things to try out…

Vega Vibrancy Bars.

Vega Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer packets.

Vega Sport Natural Plant-Based Performance Optimizer packets.

Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion packet.

Plus, I got a recipe booklet. I really want to try this chocolate energy pudding…it sounds delish!

I can’t wait to test out my samples…yum!

Nasoya Tofu Press Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the Nasoya Tofu Press Giveaway! I wish I had dozens of these to give away but Nasoya and I just have one. And, the winner is…

#2 – Amanda of The Hungry Wanderers!!! Hey, I know her!! lol

Congrats Amanda! I hope you enjoy your tofu press! But before you can, please email me your new address so we know where to send your tofu press.

As for the entries, I’m going to go back and read through all your fave tofu uses (click to view) for some meal inspiration. You guys are so creative! I loved reading through your comments and I can’t wait to go over them again.

Big thanks again to Nasoya for this giveaway…Thank you!!

HEADS UP! If you didn’t win…I have a few more giveaways queued up so stayed tuned to win some more awesome freebies!!

Traveling Hydration – Weigh In

Lastly, this past weekend in Key West reminded me how terrible I am at hydrating when I’m traveling. If it’s not the lack of access to non-germy water (no water fountains for this germiphobe…sorry!) then it’s the fact that I hate using airplane bathrooms or having to pull over when I’m driving. It seems 10 times more difficult to stay hydrated when I’m traveling.

How do you stay hydrated when you’re traveling? What are you tips?

Great news The Chic Life readers! Nasoya has kindly offered to give away one fabulous tofu press to a lucky TCL reader!

No more using an awkward group of tools (pots, pans, plates, paper towels, canned foods) to press your tofu prior to cooking.

With this tofu press, you can press your tofu in style with simplicity and without all the mess. And since you don’t have to use paper towels over and over again, this is a more eco-friendly solution, too! Just in time for Earth Day!

Here’s an example post where I used this tofu press (click). It’s so easy and efficient!

There are 4 ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post with your favorite way to use tofu.
2. Tweet @nasoya and @thechiclife your favorite way to use tofu with a link (http://bit.ly/anzT9u) to this post, for example: “@nasoya @thechiclife I love to roast my tofu in tamari! pick me! http://bit.ly/anzT9u ” Leave a separate comment on this post to let me know that you tweeted an entry.
3. Subscribe to The Chic Life blog feed (http://thechiclife.com/wp-rss2.php). Leave a separate comment telling me you did.
4. Add The Chic Life to your blogroll. Leave a separate comment telling me you did.

Easy Rules:

• Each entry must be left as a separate comment to count individually.
• All entries must be received by 8pm ET next Thursday, April 29th (you have one week to enter!).
• Shipping is for US only.
• Winner will be notified via email.
• If winner doesn’t reply within 48 hours of email notification, a new winner will be selected.

Who wants to win this awesome tofu press?!

The Chic Life has a new look! What do you think of my bloggie makeover? Not too shabby, eh? I would hope not considering how many hours (and hours and hours) I poured into it over the weekend.

I’ll go into the nitty gritty of how I moved my blog another day…maybe this weekend?

For now, I want to C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E!!!!!!!!!!

What better way to celebrate than with a giveaway?

Since I’m feeling generous, I’m offering three different prizes for three different winners! More chances to win is always a plus, no?

Most of you guys know I make jewelry (under my biz name D Celestine).

I put a little something together just for you my dear readers.

On the to the swag!

Option #1 – A Handmade Sterling Silver and Onyx Gemstone Necklace

This necklace has a modern touch with a hammered oval as part of the pendant. This classic style necklace with a modern twist would look great with any outfit!

The jewelry may be shipped to either the US or Canada.

Option #2 – A Pair of Handmade Sterling Silver and Rainbow Crystal Earrings

These little dazzlers would add a punch of fun to any outfit. The rainbow crystal color makes these earrings go with almost any color!

The jewelry may be shipped to either the US or Canada.

Option #3 – A Batch of Dreena’s Homestyle Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

You don’t have to be vegan to fall in love with these cookies! Trust me, I’m a meat eater and I’m a big fan of them!

These can only be shipped to the US.

Giveaway Details

• Entries accepted for one week – till next Thursday, February 4th, 2010.
• Each entry must be entered as a separate comment to count.
• Winners will be selected randomly.
• First winner selected will have choice of the 3 options.
• Second winner selected will have choice of the remaining two.
• Third winner selected will receive the remaining prize (if the remaining prize is the cookies and you live in Canada, I will work out a different jewelry gift – I can’t afford to ship the cookies to Canada…sorry!).
• The jewelry may be shipped to either the US or Canada.
• The cookies can only be shipped to the US.
• Winner will be notified via email.
• If winner doesn’t respond within 48 hours of when the email notification went out, another winner will be selected.

Five Fabulous Ways to Enter

• Leave a comment on this post saying which item you’d like to win and where you think I should eat out once my Eat in Month challenge is over.
• Blog about and link to this contest.
• Tweet about and link to this contest.
• Add The Chic Life (the new URL) to your blogroll/link list (or update the link to my new URL).
• Subscribe to my NEW blog feed. (or update your current subscription to the new site).

IMPORTANT – for each entry, leave a separate comment. Your entries must be in separate comments for them to count.

That’s it! Simple, no? Now, who wants to win some free stuff?!

Not that it's all that complicated, but my secret fabric project was…

DLSR Camera Strap Covers!

Christmas gifts and matching/coordinated for my local food friends: Kath + Matt, Michelle + Ben, Kate + Nate, and Amanda + Justin.

Mostly this project was secret because the gift recipients also read my blog and that would be a total spoiler if they read about their gift before receiving it.

As this post is being shared with RSS feeds, I am giving the last two of these DSLR Camera Strap Covers away. And there's one for some lucky winner out there, too!

I'll be doing a tutorial at some point, but basically, this project involved lots of:

Fabric selection and shopping

Cutting

Ironing

Sewing

Turning

and then more ironing.

Since all my foodie friends roll in couples and within the last year they've all gotten Canon Rebels, too, I thought semi-matching camera strap covers would be a fun gift.

There is a matching fabric side that is guy-friendly (ok, it's sort of girly, but at least it's not floral!)

The other side is a coordinating pattern – this is the girl-friendly side.

By having two types of sides, I'm hoping each person per couple can take turns carrying the camera comfortably. The girls can wear the strap pretty-side up and the guys can turn the strap to the green side if they don't want the pink/floral/girly one showing.

I made one for myself, too. Mine was the prototype. I figured I'd the first production since the first version of something usually the worst (the one where you learn mistakes and figure out how to improve).

But the best part for you dear readers…

I made an extra one!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

If you would like to win this floral and mod patterned, handmade DSLR Camera Strap cover reinforced with fusible lining and made with beautiful Heather Bailey fabric, you have a few ways to enter:

1. Leave me a comment telling me the neatest thing you've seen at a party (esp b-day but maybe wedding or otherwise).
2. Blog about my contest linking to this post and leave me a separate comment telling me you did.
3. Tweet about my contest with the URL to this post and leave me a separate comment telling me you did.
4. Subscribe to my blog feed and leave me a separate comment telling me you did.
5. Add me to your link list and leave me a separate comment telling me you did.

Each entry must be in a separate comment to count. Winner will be selected a week from today – Wednesday, Jan. 21th, 2010. The winner will randomly be selected.

PS This strap is approximately 2 1/2 " wide and 25" long. You could possibly use it for other straps, not just DSLR straps.

Good luck!