Anytime Wear with PrAna for the Holidays

One thing I love about PrAna Fashion aside from it being sustainable clothing is that you can wear it anytime and not just specifically for outdoor or fitness activities. I had an opportunity to style a couple of pieces and I’m very satisfied with my picks. If you didn’t know I’m very particular when it comes to convenience and comfort. If I can be stylish and comfortable it’s a huge win in my book. PrAna has some great select styles for this season in addition to their holiday gift guide that you should check out.

My first pick was the Deedra Sweater Tunic in Coal. It’s an organic cotton blend mid weight sweater knit, long sleeved v- neck tunic with oversized side vents. There is mixed stitching throughout the sweater to provide pattern and texture. You get a relaxed fit and it’s 53% organic cotton, 26% acrylic, 13% polyester and 8% wool. One of my favorite features of this sweater is the dropped hem tail. I paired the Deedra Sweater Tunic with some black fashionable leggings and booties for this fall weather.

The Deedra Sweater Tunic is very comfortable. I have it in coal but, it’s also available in colors auburn, dark plum and winter. The size starts at small and goes up to extra-large. I could easily wear jeans with this too and have a great casual look. My next pick was the Caraway Tight in Black Birdeye. I’m going to keep it all the way real with you. If I’m NOT dressed up, I’m in Yoga Pants, Tights or Jeans! That’s my everyday wear and if I’m home, I’m in my jammies! I’m all about being comfortable.

The Caraway Tight in Black Birdeye is a performance tight with moisture wicking properties. It’s a high-rise compression pant and designed with flatlock construction and a triangle gusset for added durability. It also has a wide waistband, internal draw cord and hidden mesh pocket. I really like the reflective taping at the bottom of side seams and reflective mini diamond logo at the center back waistband. That will come in handy should I take a hike in the evening when it’s getting dark or just being out and about.

The tight is bluesign© certified fabric. It’s 92% Polyester/ 8% Spandex Brush Backed Performance Space Dye Fleece(Cargo Green, Indigo, and Grapevine). Also, 94% Recycled Polyester/6% Spandex Textured Jacquard Performance Knit (Black Birdseye). This is a great design. I paired it with a fleece hoodie to keep me warm in this cool weather. You can switch in between sneakers and boots with this look. Overall, it’s very comfortable and it looks good.

PrAna’s mission is to inspire healthy, active and free-spirited living. They have a variety of clothing for men and women along with accessories you can shop. This is the perfect time to shop for holiday gifts with select picks in the holiday gift guide. You have categories like warm gifts for her, warm gifts for him, easy gifts under $50 and thoughtful gifts under $100. You also get FREE shipping on all orders. Visit the PrAna website to see all the stylish and comfortable clothing available in the digital catalog. Happy Holidays!

I’m also sharing 15% off any order by using my personal code: CMJL17 and FREE Shipping until 12/20!

Shop the LG Appliance Sales Event at Best Buy

It’s that time of year… Time to purge, remodel & replace! I can’t speak for everyone else but, this is how my brain works. Every Spring I get into this mode where I feel the need to purge, organize and remodel certain rooms in my home. I may choose a different room each year to focus on with a remodel and a set budget that I can realistically stick to. Its times like these that you can take advantage of awesome appliance sales at Best Buy, especially if your kitchen is on your remodel list.

I appreciate the fact that Best Buy makes it easy for you to stretch your remodeling dollars by offering the best deals during the season on LG appliances. Here are two deals that you can take advantage of right now if it meets your needs. (1) Get up to 30% Major Appliance Top Deals. Minimum Savings is 5% (Valid 3/22-4/12). Plus get a free $100 gift card when you buy two major appliances totaling $1500 or more. (2) Receive up to $400 back from LG via mail on select Kitchen packages (valid through 5/3/17).

Take a look at the LG – InstaView™ Door-in-Door®, it’s 24 cu ft. with French Doors giving you lots of room to store your perishables with its ultra-capacity. The sleek glass panel allows you to see inside the easy access door without letting the cold air out. If you knock twice on the glass, it will illuminate the contents inside the refrigerator. It’s just that simple! Now, you don’t have to stand in front of the fridge with the door open being indecisive about what you want at that moment. Am I the only one who does that?

The LG Black Stainless Steel Series gives your kitchen a warm and sophisticated satin smooth finish unlike any other. It’s ENERGY STAR® Qualified saving you money and energy exceeding energy standards. I love a stylish product with modern technology to make life more convenient. If you’re in the kitchen baking as much as I am you’ll love this Self-Cleaning Slide-In Electric Convection Range. It’s Black Stainless Steel with front control/slide-in range featuring ProBake Technology. This would make hosting large family dinners a breeze!

Visit the Best Buy website for more information on these LG products. In addition to some great deals and your estimated savings on LG appliances, there are numerous benefits to take into consideration in addition to the chic stylish look that is sure to give your kitchen the upgrade you’re looking for. Disclosure: Thank you to Best Buy for sponsoring this post. I am being compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card. All opinions are 100% honest and completely my own.

What home improvement projects are you up to this season?

Mystery Shopping During the Holidays: Don’t Do It!

Christmas Lights Clipart

Mystery Shopping can be a bit hectic during the holidays and honestly I wouldn’t recommend it if you can help it and don’t have a hard deadline to meet. I’m such a stickler for good customer service whether I’m at a low end retailer or high end retail location. Customer service and product knowledge should be A-1 across the board. So, whether I’m going to spend $10 or $1000 I would expect the level of customer service to be the same. Most of the time when we go into stores we already know what we are looking for but, if you’re anything like me I always have questions and would like to know if I am purchasing the best product or is there a better recommendation from the salesperson assisting me. I will ask about price differences but, I’m usually quality over quantity so if it’s expensive but, will do the job that I need it to do and will last me a long time… I can justify my purchase! So, let me tell you what Mystery Shopping is… It’s pretty much market research. There are Market Research Companies that hire Mystery Shoppers as well as companies that hire internally to track the quality of their customer service, whether their employees are in compliance with the companies rules & regulations AND… what their product knowledge is on the products and services being sold.

I used to be on the other end of the “Mystery Shopper” a.k.a “Secret Shopper” spectrum. When I was a young adult one of my very first jobs was being a hostess at a popular restaurant. I eventually became a server and had to deal with “Mystery Shoppers & Food Critics”. I’m sure I was graded on how long I took to greet a table, put down beverage napkins, silverware and take a drink order. In addition to getting the drinks to the table, taking the appetizer order and even the entree order in a timely fashion. The restaurant was graded on how long it took the food to be prepared and get it to the table etc. I was also graded on my personality, knowledge of the menu items, food recommendations and the overall service to my guests. I NEVER knew when I was serving a “Mystery Shopper or Food Critic” so I was always on my P’s and Q’s. It’s always good to be your best at all times! I had regular guests that would wait to be seated in my area on a busy Friday & Saturday night and I knew I was guaranteed a $20.00 or better tip! Restaurants also get health inspections frequently and have to pass them in order to stay open. To this day I won’t eat at a location that doesn’t have a 90% or better sanitation score. I’m like that even at fast food restaurants and you can usually see it posted close to the drive-thru window. If it’s low, I have no problem cancelling my order and going somewhere else. Just a FYI…

So, what do you do as a “Mystery Shopper a.k.a Secret Shopper”? You look at your guidelines given by the market research company or brand. You must have the ability to memorize some things like the person’s name that assisted you, products that you were inquiring about, information you were given about the products and product knowledge and recommendations made by the sales person. It gets easier with time! Don’t ever pull out a pad and paper to look at notes or jot things down unless you are in a supermarket and can get away with it looking like your grocery shopping list. It’s all about being natural. The whole purpose of you being hired as a “Mystery Shopper a.k.a Secret Shopper” is so the manufacturer or retailer can evaluate the quality of customer service being given by their staff. So, sad to say that doing this task during the holidays may have it’s benefits and disadvantages. Benefits equal great SALE items and getting what you are required to at a fraction of the price and disadvantages may be not getting certain items due to them not being available at certain locations or they sold out and also not getting top notch customer service due to high holiday traffic and not being able to accommodate you or your expectations.

I actually went into a few retail locations on “Black Friday” and was disappointed. Two locations didn’t carry what I was looking for. One location did have it available online only. I wasn’t provided with product knowledge from any of the employees and that was a little disheartening. However, I took into consideration that they didn’t have the products available on hand. I also did my own research to find out that it was available online, the Sales Rep didn’t give me that information. I honestly don’t know if they knew! So, I have a few days left to shop a few more locations and we’ll see what happens. Seriously though… Don’t Mystery Shop on Black Friday & the day before or after Christmas! The Malls, Department Stores and most retail locations will be hectic! You’ve been warned! Oh, just in case you wanted to know… the pay varies by company and brand but you usually get to keep your purchases. If you come out of pocket, you will be reimbursed for purchasing the product(s) if you didn’t get the money in advance. Many stores also have customer surveys that you can take to give feedback about your shopping experience and offer cash, coupons or gift cards as an incentive. Have you ever been in a Mystery Shop Program? What are some of your Mystery Shopping experiences?

Reality Check: I’m a Salesperson!

My first job as a teenager was working in a retail clothing store as a sales associate, and I didn’t like it! I went on to have a few more retail jobs, then I switched to hospitality and then when I became a young adult I entered the newspaper industry like I’ve seen many of the men in my family do. My Grandfather, Father, Uncle & Cousin all worked for Gannett Suburban Newspapers in different departments and that’s all I saw growing up, so naturally I was intrigued and wanted to see where I would fit into that industry. My first job with Gannett was working in the Advertising Department as Classified Ad Input Typist. I did that for about a little while then ventured to a different newspaper as Outside Advertising Sales Executive. I made my goals, doubled revenue and created new sections but still I didn’t like it.

I ventured into Marketing within the newspaper industry and over the years I’ve drastically changed the way I connect and network with people and take time to build “REAL” relationships. I never liked cold calling or walking into businesses trying to sell them print advertising on the spot. I knew that I needed to become comfortable with selling especially because I’ve always been passionate about marketing and entrepreneurship and when you have a business you are a sales person. So I set out to take business courses and attend seminars that would train me to become the best sales person I can be. I now have strategies in place to help me achieve my overall goals. I’m continuously learning how to be a successful business woman. I was recently told by Steve Black of Successful Business Training that the best salesperson he’s ever met was a nine year old Girl Scout.

I was tickled because I was a Girl Scout growing up and I’m currently an active Adult Member. Take a look at this short video and hear Steve Black tell the story. It’s a really cute story! After you view the video tell me if anything stood out to you about the Girl Scouts sales strategy? Are you a natural sales person? What is a number one must do, in your sales pitch? Until Next Time… Ciao!

JC Penney Apologizes With Ad

I was surprised to see the new JC Penney ad that aired on television apologizing and asking for customers to come back. I’ll be the first to admit that when they started re-branding I didn’t like the new logo or “JCP” for that matter. I prefer JC Penney but, that’s just my personal opinion. I totally understand wanting to try something different and evolve with the times but, you can’t alienate your loyal customer base. I know in life it’s hard to keep everyone happy, but in business you have to do what’s best for the company. Make your clients happy, foster the relationship, communicate and it’s sure to result in sales and increasing the bottom line. (My personal logic) AND last but, not least… if it ain’t broke… Don’t fix it!

So, JC Penney made a few mistakes that they have acknowledged publicly and want everyone to know that they listened. “The ad states: It’s no secret, recently JCPenney changed. Some changes you liked and some you didn’t, but what matters from mistakes is what we learn. We learned a very simple thing, to listen to you. To hear what you need, to make your life more beautiful. Come back to JCPenney, we heard you. Now, we’d love to see you.” I think this was a bold move, so what do you think of the commercial? Do you think JC Penney will recuperate from it’s mistakes and regain the customer loyalty they once had? If you haven’t seen the video, have a look. I’d love to know your thoughts.

error: Ask And You Shall Receive!!