$500 & Two Twenty One

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Today's guest is Chelsea from Two Twenty One.

two twenty one 
Chelsea is a talented one.  Her photography skills impress me.  We have bonded over our love of sarcasm and blogging.  I'd say something about how sweet she is but let's leave it at talented....

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Hi, Decor and the Dog readers!  (I'm assuming someone is reading this because, let's face it, most readers skip out on their favorite blogs when they know there will be guest bloggers.  I speak the truth.)  I'm Chelsea from Two Twenty One, where I blog about my amazing Craigslist luck, DIY projects, and food, specifically of the dessert variety.
People don't often offer me $500.  Wait.  No one has ever offered me $500.  Legally.  Just Kidding.  Kinda.  Anyway, when Michelle said that she'd "give" me $500, and I could "spend" it on whatever I want, I decided to "spend" it all on myself.  I could say that I'd give it to charity or use it to plant 100 trees but that's not as much fun as fictitiously blowing it.  So here we go!
1. Uggs ($160)  Are they ugly?  Yes.  Are they the most comfortable shoes ever?  You betcha.  I have two pairs, and I love them.  They save my poor, ice cold feet during winter.  I wouldn't mind a new pair of chestnut Uggs since the sole on my 4 year old one's are starting to show their age.
2. Nook ($99)  I told my husband that I'd finally read The Hunger Games if he buys me a Nook.  I still don't have a clue what the hype is about...  And I don't need a fancy e-reader.  Why?  Because if I get a fancy one I'll get distracted with the web browser, and I won't get any reading done.
3. Indiana t-shirt ($20)  I like this shirt.  And I've lived in Indiana for all my 27 years.
4. Pottary Barn cable-knit throw ($79)  Love me a nice, warm, cable-knit throw.  They're so pretty, and soft, and pretty.
5. Kate Spade Mrs. Necklace ($78) I like this necklace.  And I'm married.
6. Glittery Toms ($54)  I need some fall shoes.  Everyone and their sister is all "I love my Toms!"  So I'd like to jump on the bandwagon, please.  That, and since a child will get a pair of shoes from my imaginary purchase, I'm technically giving to charity.
7. Anne Taintor magnet ($5) I love Anne Taintor.  I get her calendar every year, and I have a handful of her magnets-- except this one.  In case you can't read the text, the magnet reads "you're right! it does look like her Facebook picture!"

Those items total $495.  So my charitable self is "buying" the first 5 people to comment 99 cent Frosty's.  You're welcome.
What would you buy if Michelle gave you $500?  Don't tell me that you'd donate it to charity, liar.
What do you think of my choices?  Have a favorite?

You all know how much I love voting for things.  It's a sickness.  Be sure to vote for Chelsea's dresser turned console table daily during the month of September!  Vote here!
 
Chelsea blogs about classy things over at Two Twenty One.  

$500 & Paisley Print Shoes

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My guests today are the lovely sisters from Paisley Print Shoes.



I've been reading Jen and Katie's blog for over a year now.  They do a great job of explaining who they are below so I'll leave that to them.  I think I need to set Jen up with my brother...but I kind of like her so I may leave that one alone for awhile. These ladies never fail to entertain me with their differing views and today's guest post is no exception!

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Hi Everyone! We are Jen and Katie from Paisley Print Shoes and we are super excited to be guest posting at Decor and the Dog today. Michelle is a total sweetie; we wish we knew her in real life. And of course, Ike is probably the cutest dog ever. To quickly explain who we are, we are sisters who have completely opposite taste in just about everything (Katie is the comfy, conservative, and classic while Jen is eclectic, colorful, and fun) but blog about things we both like. Our theory is, if we both like it, then every woman must like it. Stop on by and let us know if our theory is holding true.



Michelle gave us the task of blogging about what we'd do with $500. Since we have COMPLETELY opposite tastes in pretty much EVERYTHING, we decided to split our imaginary $500 up. Jen will spend $150, Katie will spend $150, and we'll spend $200 together. Here's what we came up with:

Katie says: My wardrobe is in some need of some serious help, so I'd like to spend my $150 on clothes. The problem? I (we!) are thrift and sale shoppers, which makes it really hard to find items online to show you what I'd spend my money on. SOOO.....what to do? Here's an idea of what I'd do given a day of shopping/searching:

Source: polyvore.com via Katie on Pinterest


Obviously for $150 I couldn't buy ALL this - but I would find a pair of dark wash jeans for around $50 or less, a cardigan for the same price, and a cute button up for hopefully $40 or less, which would give me enough left over to buy a pair of earrings or a necklace. Jen is ROLLING HER EYES at me right now for posting a picture of a plaid shirt (I was the queen of flannel in high school), but I think this is a cute outfit and would provide me some pretty good versatility as a stay at home mom!

Jen says: Since I am moving in 6 months and I am on a "don't buy stuff for my house" kick I would be just like Katie and spend my money on some clothes. And since it is almost fall I figured I could get some fun new pieces to get me extra excited for fall.

Decor and the dog set

 Here is the low down of my choices. Granted, these were all found on Polyvore so who knows if they would be in stock but hey -this is all make believe, right Michelle? :) The sweater is $66 from Billabong. I guess I never realized that Billabong had such cute sweaters. I might need to start looking at this brand more! The boots are $30 from Wet Seal. They are probably going to be terrible in the snow and get my socks all wet (haha get it? Wet Seal - wet socks? k-bad joke) but whatever, they'll last me at least a few seasons. The scarf is $18 from Nordstrom. Random note....I found a scarf from Target for $50 and this one from Nordstrom for $18. What is going on these days? Target is more expensive than Nordstrom?? And the socks I'm pretending are Darn Tough which are around $30. Pretty perfecto huh? I wish Michelle was actually giving us $500 so I could get all of these things. :)

And for the rest of our $200 this is what we would do. If you read PPS you know that we both love love love organizations that Make a Difference. Make a difference in the world - in someone's life - however they can. One of our most favorite organizations is FashionABLE scarves. To give you a brief outline of what they do, FashionABLE creates sustainable business for women in Africa. You can read the full lowdown of them here.



So with our final $200, we would buy about 5 scarves (scarves range from $36-44) to giveaway to women who could use some encouragement or love. Not only could we help an organization that gives back in such a tangible and amazing way, but we could put a smile on someone's face and help them feel extra special, extra loved, and extra gorgeous in their new scarf!
  
 


So what do you think? Any of you resonate with Katie's choices? Jen's? Could benefit from a FashionABLE scarf right about now?

Thanks so much, Michelle, for letting us hang out on your blog and don't worry, you'd be one of our 5 who would receive a scarf - we know how well you work them!

Jen and Katie blog about their different perspectives on fashion, food, and other life related things over at Paisley Print Shoes

Dove Advanced Conditioner Review

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I'm not going to lie. One perk to blogging is the opportunity to try out new products for free.  I like product and I'm cheap.  This is a double win for me.

I am, however, honest in my reviews.  My blog is my happy place and selling my soul for a small amount of money would be sad.  Having said that...

I just tried out Dove's line of advanced conditioners.  The Intensive Repair conditioner to be exact.  I haven't tried a Dove product that I didn't like so I was excited to test out this conditioner. 



I naturally have thick and coarse hair. I thank my father for these qualities.  And my amazing sense of humor. Conditioner is a must for me.  My hair is super short but I still can't get a comb through it without using conditioner.  True story.

I color my hair. I blow dry my hair.  I flat iron my hair.  My poor, poor hair.  Not to mention that this summer has been particularly hard on my hair.  Sun exposure, heat, and humid have done a number on it.

Dove Intensive Repair conditioner is designed to reconstruct hair and prevent split-ends and breakage.  It is designed to leave hair strengthened and resilient to future damage without weighing it down. The pharmacist in me is always curious as to how these things are supposed to work.  The Dove website tells me that "Fiber Active technology penetrates deep inside the hair strand, helping rebind damaged proteins.  Patented Micromoisture Serum targets damage, repairing the surface of hair by sealing lifted cuticles."  Sounds fancy.

Now on to the important stuff. What did I think? It smells good.  Not too strong.  Not too floraly (That's a word. I swear).  The conditioner has a nice, thick formula.  My hair felt soft after using it.  It was seemed less frizzy and a little shinier.  Most importantly, I could get a comb through my hair without crying.  Bonus!  The conditioner didn't weigh my hair down or make it feel greasy.  Overall, I was definitely pleased with the conditioner.  Dove just doesn't let me down!

Are you a conditioner user?  Is summer wreckign havoc on anyone else's hair? Who's ready for fall?  In the mean time, be sure to enter the contest below!!  There is also a link to a coupon for you fellow money savers out there.




Enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE NOT SWEEPSTAKES ENTRIES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ENTRY METHODS FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Follow this link, and provide your email address and your response to the Promotion prompt

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that Tweet.

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that post.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.

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This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2012 - 9/30/2012

Be sure to visit Dove®Hair.com to get a coupon for $1.50 off Dove Hair Therapy products.