Swoozie’s Blogger’s Event!

May 2, 2014July 28, 20157 Comments

On Wednesday, I attended my very first ‘blogger’s only’ event! Those of you following along as I walk along two parallel paths in life – 1) the scientist/PhD/researcher path and the 2) fashion/lifestyle blogger path – know that this is the very first event I have attended as a ‘real blogger’!! Wait, actually, I have a third path…motherhood/wifehood (wait, those are two paths, haha!)! 😛

Anyway, it was super cool to get the ‘blogger’s only’ for ‘Birmingham’s best bloggers’ invite! Eeeep!! I’m among the best! Yay!! This, of course, coming off the heels of my attendance at Birmingham Fashion Week as a blogger/press/media! More on that to follow in an upcoming post! Curious? Check out this guest blog post I wrote for Lotus Boutique!

Anyhow, so this event. In Birmingham, we have this store…Swoozie’s. Cute name, right?! So, Swoozie’s is a gift and social paper retailer in the Birmingham area. There are 7 other locations, in Georgia, the Carolinas, Florida, Colorado and Texas! They also have an online site. So…this event. Sorry, haha, I get easily distracted, apparently!! Squirrel!! Hahaha, okay, ENOUGH!

AN-Y-way…Swoozie’s!! I arrived at the event having only had 15 minutes to get ready, so I went with basics. Black harem pants, a red pleated top, animal print heels (because, really, WHO can tell the difference between cheetah and leopard prints?!!), a gold fringe necklace, Stella and Dot hoop earrings, and lots of bracelets! You’re not a real fashion blogger if you don’t wear every bracelet you own, haha! Just kidding. No but really, I was wearing like 6 altogether. I also wore my usual top knot. Anyone studying biostatistics could easily use me as an example for explaining what Bayesian statistics is all about, haha! You know…because I wear my hair in a bun almost everyday!! So, this is what I ended up wearing to the event!

I arrived at the event, and was greated with my very first SWAG bag!! Eeeeeep!! I was so excited!! Check out the goodies I got!!

Um, okay, so I may have added a napkin from the food table that I thought was cute, as well as new notebooks that I picked up at the event with my exclusive, ‘blogger’s only’ discount (both were not originally included in the swag bag, but they make the picture look cuter, right?!). 😀

NEXT, I made a beeline for the food table. Check out the food table!! If you know me well, you know that I do NOT pass up an opportunity to eat, so just know that I may or may not have eaten the crab cakes that are missing from this platter…oops!! In my defense, it WAS dinner time. Okay, maybe it wasn’t, but I hadn’t eaten dinner!!! JUDGE ME! Hee hee!

The event was lots of fun!! I met a variety of bloggers there! Fashion, food, lifestyle, etc…a fun and diverse group!

Krista Colin and Alicia Rohan from KC Projects, LLC, as well as other new blogger friends!

Pictured here are the founders of Birmingham Bloggers, See Jane Write Birmingham, To Hell in a Handbag, All About Bham, The Hill Hangout, and Same Chic Different Day bloggers!

The event focused on giving us tips for becoming the ‘Hostess with the Mostest’, both socially as well as digitally. I didn’t really capture too much of the digital hostess goods (e.g. business cards, personalized stationary and other items), but here are the social hostess items I thought were cute!

ChewBeads!! Have you heard of these?? You wear them as jewelry, your baby chews on them while toting him/her on your arm, and then you throw them in the dishwasher and voila! You have a clean necklace to wear again!

Cute decorative pieces like this one! SO relevant in our household, since our little one has YET to sleep through the night consistently! Oh woe is me!! :((

Kate Spade…’nuff said.

Voluspa Candles…my FAVORITE!!

TONS of baby things, including this super cute baby announcement for your front door or mailbox!

Omgosh, and SOOOOO many other goodies!! For those living in the Birmingham area, Swoozies is having an event for YOU this coming Saturday, May 3rd, from 11am-2pm!! They are also offering an exclusive 20% discount to all attending this fun event!! I told you what’s on my wish list, so feel free to use your discount to get me something cute! 😉

I have to tell you, this blogging ‘thing’ has been such an amazing experience thus far! I never thought I would have a hobby I loved, but I can honestly say that this is one of the most fun-filled experiences/hobbies, I have ever had! I *may* now understand how my hubby feels about golf. Maybe… 😉

Keep an eye out for my upcoming post on Birmingham Fashion Week (yes, I know, SOOOO overdue!!), as well as my post on staying ‘Chic in Academia’ while pregnant or nursing (ALSO WAY OVERDUE!!)!!! I’ve got about a 1-week window before my grant writing takes over my life again, so look for these posts in the upcoming week! In the meantime, follow along on Instagram and Twitter for daily workplace outfit inspirations, as well as my SALE ALERTS peppered throughout!

Thanks so much for reading and…Stay Chic!!

A Cinderella Moment with Lotus Boutique!!

April 30, 2014July 28, 20156 Comments

This past week, I attended Birmingham Fashion Week for the first time…as a blogger!!! Last year I attended simply as a guest, and the experience was much different than it was this time. I had so much fun this year; it was super exciting and so amazing!! In preparation for Fashion Week, I wanted to make sure I planned fun outfits for each night. Cue: Lotus Boutique!!

Lotus Boutique was amazingly gracious! I was able to wear three looks from their current in-store collection! It started out with a visit to the Lotus Boutique at the Summit to pick out some outfits. For those of you who haven’t been to the Lotus store at the Summit in a while, be aware that they are no longer located over by Sephora and Gus Mayer, but rather next to Gap, and in the same suite as the Halcyon Day Salon & Spa!

0417141025a So, I got started! Selecting only three outfits was by no means an easy task! There was so much to choose from! Check out some of the cute things I saw:

I made my choices based on uniqueness if you will. I wanted pieces that people wouldn’t think to pair with a metallic jacket, or with a peplum top. I also wanted pieces that spoke to my style, which is fun and feminine. In the end, I selected a few things:

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All of the outfits were so fun to wear and fit so well!! I am SOOOOO grateful to Lotus Boutique for making this experience such a memorable one!! I had so much fun styling all three different looks! Here are the three looks I put together with pieces from the Lotus collection:

BFW – Night 2 (This outfit was also featured on al.com!!)

BFW – Night 1 (LOVED this outfit…this dress is one of my all-time favorites. I’m planning to wear it ALL summer!!)

BFW – Night 4 (Loved, loved, loved this skirt!! Loved that it was a stretchy pencil skirt, so very flattering for curvy-figures!

What do you think?? I could fill my closet with Lotus clothing and accessories!! Couldn’t you??

Follow me on Instagram to see more outtakes from Birmingham Fashion Week, and my blog, Chic in Academia, for work-appropriate outfit inspirations, as well as tips on how to mix high and low fashion!

Stay Chic! 💋

Healthy Essentials, La Familia de Hoy Update!!

April 28, 2014July 28, 2015Leave a comment

Disclaimer: This post is being sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and Latina Bloggers Connect. However, opinions expressed in this post are my own and have not been modified by the sponsors or any other third parties.

Remember my post about the Johnson & Johnson Healthy Essentials, ‘La Familia de Hoy’ campaign?! You can read it here if you need a reminder! 🙂

Well…it turns out that the family I selected as my favorite (and that you may voted for by way of my post), won the contest!! Yay!! The Jimenez family was chosen to represent Johnson & Johnson this year in their Healthy Essentials, La Familia de Hoy campaign!! Juan, Biviana and their three children: Elisa, Diego and Benicio are a modern, active, multicultural family – representative of all the values that Latinos relate to and care about. Congrats, Jimenez family!!!

Because I was one of the bloggers that wrote about the Jimenez family, I was selected to not only announce the winning family on my blog, but also received a number of complimentary Johnson&Johnson products!! Thank you, Johnson & Johnson!!!

Anyone who has been a postdoc in academia, (‘specially a postdoc with kids and who’s paying for daycare), knows that money is not plentiful, haha, so freebies are ALWAYS welcome!! 😛

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box and saw that we use all but one of the products they sent!! Well…maybe the hubs uses that one product, but…hmm, let’s just say he doesn’t, haha!! TOTALLY joking!!! The product is still in the box…happy to gift it to anyone who does use it! 😀 Anyway, take a look at what they sent:

I hadn’t actually used Lubriderm lotion before, or the Johnson’s baby shampoo and leave-in conditioner, but I have become a fan of all three! My husband doesn’t like Lubriderm lotion because he thinks it’s too greasy, but I didn’t find that at all. I’ve used it every day since it arrived!

I also tried the shampoo on both kids (even on my own hair) and was pleasantly surprised as well! I like the smell (very important, though I do favor the lavender scented version instead) and it works well for both boys! My mane did require a heavy duty conditioner after using this shampoo, but that is not unusual…it usually takes a pretty strong conditioner to tame this mane!

Here, I’m using the Johnson’s baby shampoo and conditioner on my youngest.

By the way, I TRIED to get a picture of him that was not blurry, but was hugely unsuccessful, so a blurry pic is what you get! You get the picture…literally, haha!! 😛

I was excited to have been selected as one of the bloggers to join this campaign back in November, and even more so to announce that the family I chose, won! Congratulations again, Jimenez family and many thanks for Johnson & Johnson for the wonderful products you sent for me and my family!!

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