Chic and Bubbly

Have you ever babysat before? Well, I haven’t until… ♥ ♥ ♥ Last Friday night, I was struggling between the ideas of “I am going to paint tonight”, “I am going to clean my house”, “I am going to write that article for my blog”, and “I am going to cook.” Not getting anything done, it came to a point where I couldn’t take this indecisiveness of mine anymore so I decided to call Meghann (Meg, you’ve been on almost all my posts recently! You are my Superstar! ♥) to see what she’s up to and if she could save me from my misery. She was driving home from work and the traffic was not cooperating with her. She said: -Meg: “Did you wanna go to the beach with me this weekend to help babysit my friends’ kids?” -Z: “Did you say beach? Count me in!” What I didn’t hear in that conversation, unconsciously or consciously, was the word “kid” in a plural form: Kids! And when she said kids, she meant five boys, ages ranging from 3 to 9, and one 1.5 year-old baby girl. Destination: Stone Harbo...

Ever heard the sentiment “All the good guys are either married or gay (…or just plain old uninterested)”? Ok, well, I added the uninterested part, but just because that’s been my experience doesn’t mean it’s true. Believe it or not, good guys do exist, and they’re out there somewhere. They might already (and will always) have a place in your heart. Story time! I was rocking out to my iPod this weekend and in true let-your-hair-down-cause-you’re-home-alone fashion was singing this one song at the top of my lungs. Since it’s all hip to like country music now, I can tell you this. It’s a rousing little number sung by Danielle Peck called Here’s To Findin’ A Good Man . Girls, I gotta tell you, it’s badass… and I’m willing to bet that most of you would laugh listening to it, because you can most certainly relate to some part of it. So, as I sang along with Danielle and girls’ lists (see Relationships 101 for more details on The List ) Julie, I know you want perfection/Angie, you want ...

A good pair of Louboutins or Prada pumps might just change your life. Dorothy’s story can teach us a lot about life; on her journey to truly discover the power of her shoes, she empowers others to see themselves as having courage, brains and heart. Midwestern girl or Wonder Woman? Dorothy was wise beyond her years. Yes, shoes can change your life, but can they also change the lives of others? Absolutely. Thanks to hipsters and trendsetters across the nation, TOMS  has risen to fame in the fashion world. You know the mantra, “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a new pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One”. What a great concept….guilt free shoes! What an even better concept…helping those in need. Shoes with heart. Inspired to clean out your closet to make room for some TOMS? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Shoe Revolt is a company that accepts donations of gently used shoes (clean out those closets!) and resells them to generate proceeds for victims of hu...

A few weeks ago, I received the cutest card in the mail (shown in the picture) from one of my very good friends, Meghann. It was a handwritten note from her, saying “Thank You” for organizing her surprise birthday dinner party. When I was putting together her party, I had no expectations to receive anything back from her, other than seeing her happy with all of her close friends. She is a very dear friend to me and I wanted to do something special for her. When I received her thank you note, she made me feel so special and put a huge smile on my face! :) For many of us, saying “Thank You” after receiving a gift, or getting help from someone who has gone out of his/her way for us, might seem enough to show our appreciation. However, I guess we all just underestimate the power of the tiniest personal touch such as a thank you note until we receive one. I believe that no matter how busy we are, composing a few lines on a card and dropping it in the mail is a very magical and pe...

Happy belated 4th to all of my U.S.A. readers, and (to my absolute astonishment that you’re out there…) Happy Tuesday to my international readers. It occurred to me (after rereading my last contribution to Chic & Bubbly,) that it may be a wise decision to introduce myself and give a little insight to where these astounding words of wisdom come from. First, I am not a professional. I have no formal training in psychobabble or mediation. I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV. What I DO have is experience. Of course, in the wise words of Crowded House frontman Neil Finn, “Experience is cheap.” Take that however you want to, but I’ve run the gamut of relationships: good, bad, ugly, committed, non-committed, real, fake, laughable… you name it. I can’t provide you with invaluable advice, or maybe I can, but what I definitely, 100%, without a shadow of a doubt CAN give is… a whole lot of hilariously funny depictions of actual events that might make you smile and say, “Wow. It ...

Meet Megan V. for The Girls' Corner! “Louboutin, Dior and Manolo, Oh my! I'm searching for more than ruby slippers!” Megan V. Ah June, what a wonderful month...for shoppers! It's shoe-diet season! That's right people, that special time of year when you forfeit your ability to purchase food in exchange for an array of beautiful shoes. Who needs money for food and bills when you have shoes that look like this: The half-yearly sale, designers sale, take your pick! Just about every major retailer is clearing their inventory to make room for the new fall lines. Not only does this mean amazing prices for amazing shoes, it also means we get to see what the designers have been cooking up during the past year! Pop culture tells us to “stop and smell the roses.” I propose a revision of that statement, “stop --by your favorite boutique/online retailer-- and feel inspired by the new fall lines.” Although I am searching for more than ruby slippers, I have a sneaking suspicion ...

Before you even consider getting yourself into a relationship there are two things that are absolutely critical: 1) be sure of what you want, and 2) be even more sure of what you don’t want. Let’s be honest. Most women, men, too, for that matter, have no idea what they want, but if you ask any one of them what they don’t want they’ll read you off a list that’s a mile long. “I don’t want a man that’s unemployed,” “I don’t want a man who is clingy,” and “I don’t want a man that lives with his parents!” It’s very easy to determine what you don’t want to deal with, but when you’re talking about a relationship… and if you’re one of those girls looking for the relationship to be all and end all, then, maybe it’s more important to look at what you actually DO want. If you want to know about my list, and I’m sure you do if you’re still reading this, I’ll tell you a little bit about it. It’s broken out into two categories: Must Haves and Nice-To-Haves. My musts? Must have ambition, must h...

The Girls’ Corner is dedicated to all the smart, hard-working, strong, classy, fashionable, single, married, heart-broken, beautiful, and amazing ladies out there as a resource and guide to hot and fun topics in girls lives with brilliant twists from our colorful writers. Meet our first writer: “I will give you my honest opinion whether you like it or not.” Jen B. Pretty strong statement, eh? Wait till you read her very first post, "Relationships 101." "Relationships 101" will go live tonight at 8:00 p.m. Stay tuned!