375 Person Photo Shoot by Daslu

So how awesome does this sound: your favorite store (if you have one), where you and your family have been shopping for years, surprises you with your very own personal, professional photo shoot. And not only that, but your photo gets published on the cover of your very own personal copy of that store's monthly publication?

Too good to be true? Well that dream (or, rather, the surprise of their lives) came true for 375 of the Brazilian department store Daslu's most loyal clients. And then all of the covers were shared in a large, greatly admired, exhibit.

Wow. Why don't stores in the U.S. treat its customers so well?
[if they did, Rue 21 would have my face plastered on their windows for sure.]

(get the full story on the JC Report)

Happy Black Friday!!!

Well, everyone, the time has come for one of the best shopping days of the year! That's right, Black Friday!

Unfortunately, I'm not taking part in the shopping festivities right now. I just got in a car accident on Sunday, so I'm wiped out until I get a new car. bleh. To be young and poor.

Anyways, my inbox this morning was filled with not only several Black Friday shopping offers, but also many Holiday shopping ideas. So, I decided that instead of cataloguing my Day-After-Thanksgiving shopping conquests, I'm going to share some great gift ideas with you! Stay tuned!

I am so loved.

Well, things in my life have not settled down one bit since I last posted, but after finally checking my 500+ unread emails, I stumbled upon so many nice and encouraging comments from you readers! Thanks so much! It's even really great to know that even though I haven't posted in months, my blog is still getting out to people.

And speaking of getting the word out, you'll never guess who found my blog: Katharine Sise! If you recall, I did a post about her a while back, and I caught the most unexpected break! She found me and offered to send me a piece in exchange for the support! (See kids, great moral - keep the dream alive and eventually you'll be rewarded.)

I actually received the necklace (all the way from NY,NY) last month, but once again, I've been having some trouble posting due to my hectic schedule. I've already recieved so many complements on it and the best part is it was FREE!

The style I got isn't on her website, but it is a silver key with a blue stone and a little coin charm on it, retailing for about $195.

And even better than the free necklace, we've been corresponding by email and she's going to let me know about her new projects in the works, which means you guys will know about them too! (and I promise that posts will start to become more frequent as i sort out that 500 unread email situation. ha.)

A quite lengthy Blog Roundup + a CONTEST!

After filtering through 80+ unread messages in my inbox due to my computer hiatus, I finally found my (almost) daily blogarithm emails, containing (almost) every post from (pretty much) every blog I subscribe to. (see list at right of page, I don't just link to those I actually read them all on a fairly regular basis.)

So, below is the product of that, plus another tidbit of information that also found its way into my inbox.

First, Capitol Hill Barbie shares a great product for the rainy months. (Don't you just love the titles of her posts?)

And even though Mother's Day has come and gone, these gift ideas provided by Bag Snob can translate to any occasion, and most, if not all, of them are tres chic!

Also, if you are like me and have been aching to catch up on all of those ANTM reruns, StyleBites provides links to all of the Cycle 8 episodes along with her own professional opinion on the models.

Since I've been slacking on "trend report" posts lately, check out Frugal Fashionista. She takes the words right out of my mouth when it comes to bold prints.

A more recent post by Capitol Hill Barbie -- as she delves into the world of blue mascara, with a mixed reaction.

Almost an extention of my post on colored denim, I stumbled upon this post by Denimology which is part celeb-style-log (Lindsay Lohan, who seems to be gracing the fashion blogs quite alot lately) and part shopping aid, as it spotlights a high-end denim brand that specializes in skinny jeans in a range of colors.

Sassybella has done it again -- gives me yet another great designer to check out, Australian label Tina Kalivas.


Now, drumroll please, that CONTEST that I was telling about earlier. No, I'm not sponsoring a "win-free-stuff-from-my-favorite-online-store" contest (it's a bit of a tired concept anyways, though don't we all just love free stuff, no matter where it comes from?). This contest actually jumped into my inbox via Steve Madden.

And this isn't just any run-of-the-mill giveaway. He's running a contest to see who will design his next shoe! Amazing, no? Check out the details here. Also, if you aren't that design-savvy, you can vote on the submitted designs and become eligible to win prizes as well!

Now, isn't that exciting?