This year has brought so many changes and adventures. From fun times like taking our first (long overdue) winery tour in Walla Walla for my fiance's birthday, to exhausting times like starting my own skincare line, Plein de Vie, to proud times like watching my son accept the leadership award during his first year of football, to scary times when I thought I had cancer this past summer.

What it has made me realize is that all of those experiences (the good or the bad) make us the people we are today. Even more than that . . . there's truly no place like home.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Dorothy (a.k.a. Shelly)

After months and months of long hours and hard work, the first product from my new luxury organic skin care line (Plein de Vie) has launched! Plein de Vie will release 13 new products in 2008-2009 designed to combine all of the wonderful benefits that pure organic ingredients can provide, without all of the chemicals most of us are trying to avoid. Our flagship product, the On-the-Go Remedy Stick is incredibly universal and has already enjoyed some local press in the Eastside Business Newspaper:


http://eastsidebusinessjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2258&Itemid=58

I am so proud to have created a product that helps with:

bumps, bruises, scrapes, cuts, sunburn, windburn, rashes, chapped lips, bug bites, mild eczema, skin irritations, chapped lips, diaper rash, itchy skin, dry skin, baby massage (any massage!), and ragged cuticles in a super convenient mess-free stick.

We have even had testers enjoy relief from burgeoning pimples, razor burn, and blisters! All of Plein de Vie's products are:

Made with organically sourced ingredients
Nut and nut oil free
Phthalate, Paraben, and Formaldehyde-free
Proud to be Cruelty-free, toxin-free, and Vegan

I am not saying it's a 'cure-all' but it is certainly a 'must-have' in my opinion!

Check it out on the Plein de Vie website (http://www.pleindevie.com) or purchase it on the Spoiled Rotten Baby website (http://www.myspoiledrottenbaby.com)


Oh, and if you do try it, please let me know what you think.

Enjoy!


Shelly

So, before anyone judges me for my lack of blogging. Hmm . . . or working . . . or socializing . . . or anything for the last month or so, I have a very good excuse. In a nutshell, I had a very big cancer scare. When I went in for my biopsy, they discovered that I did not have cancer, but a pretty serious Staph infection instead. Scary! After a TON of time laid up in bed, and weeks of antibiotics, I am slowly making it out again into the real world.

Why am I telling you this? Well, because this scare reminded me how lucky I am to be healthy and how close I came to cancer. It is important to remember all of the millions of men, women, and children who have been affected by this disease and if there is a way to support them, we should do it.

Next weekend, my dear friend Anna (in Seattle) is walking in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day which is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and National Philanthropic Trust, funding important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment.

I am asking you to all help her reach her goal of raising $5000.00 in support of this great cause by following this link and donating.

http://08.the3day.org/goto/AnnaStarikov

Some Shocking Breast Cancer Facts (As borrowed off of the site):

* Breast cancer is the leading cancer among American women and is second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths

* One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the United States

* More than 200,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and an estimated 40,460 women will die from the disease this year

* Approximately 1,500 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 450 men will die from the disease this year

* Only 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are due to heredity. The majority of women with breast cancer have no known significant family history or other known risk factors

* The older a woman is, the more likely she is to develop breast cancer, but women under 40 are still at risk too (SCHEDULE A MAMMOGRAM TODAY!)

* While breast cancer occurs more often in white women, African Americans have the highest death rate from the disease of any racial / ethnic group in the United States

Thank you! Every little bit can help change the life of another.

Shelly

Lately I have been making it a point to attend more networking events. Honestly, unless they are done just right, they can be either 1. A waste of time or 2. Insanely boring. In a previous blog (about the CRAVE party) I mentioned a couple of sassy chicks who started Girl Power Hour. GPH is a once a month networking event in the Seattle area focused on 'breaking the mold' of traditional networking. We are talking about a girls-only, business-minded cocktail party. (a.k.a. Shelly's idea of a good time!)

At the last event, I noticed this pretty young gal running around snapping photos of the party. A few days later, I received an e-mail from GPH with a link to Barbie Hull Photography (http://www.barbiehull.com)including a user name and password. Low and behold, there were pages of fantastic pictures from the party I attended. The pictures were great! They really captured the vibe of the party. Check out the picture of me talking to another attendee. I have no idea what I found so funny at that moment, but darn it - after seeing Barbie's picture I am dying to remember!

Barbie is obviously a very talented photographer and seems to enjoy what she does. Thanks for the great photo, Barbie!

Shelly

Although I would love to think that the only place to get a fabulous gift is from Spoiled Rotten Baby, I realize that not everyone specifically needs a baby gift every single time. (Side thought: Wouldn't it be great for me if they did though?)

Anyway, knowing that I cannot possibly meet every gift giving need in the world, I thought I might share with you a company that pretty much can - Urbanabox.
Urbanabox provides very cool, unique corporate gifts that are customized for each client. They even have the rare ability to ship wine and champagne which most companies are not allowed to do. (Always a bonus in my book!) In addition to the typical employee and client gift, Urbanabox can also design and provide:

Product Launches & Press Kits
Promotional Products and Packaging
Thank You & Referral Gifts
Meeting & Convention Gifts

As an added bonus, one of the owners, Denise Marinnaci (pictured above with yours truly)is a great gal to work with and honestly believes that customer service is a top priority in her company. In fact, we had a very interesting conversation about that very topic at the last event we attended. Denise shared with me several examples of what she has done for her customers and left me thinking that we could all learn a lot from her above Nordstrom quality service.

Check them out at urbanabox.com and if you talk to Denise, tell her I said hi!


Shelly

So, occasionally at one of my fun events (the Megumi Japanese Preschool Bazaar this time around) I come across an exceptional product or person. At this particular event, I was lucky enough to come across a combination of the two with Maiden America. Tristan Benz is not only the mastermind behind the patent pending non-slip barrette, but a dedicated philanthropist and mother. I have to admit it was very entertaining watching her take the tiniest piece of her own hair (really, really tiny!), place one of her very pretty barrettes on it and ask people to try to pull the barrette out of her hair. People who pulled, tugged, and twisted to no avail were completely amazed, and then bought half a dozen sets. Not only was I impressed at the dedication that this mother/entrepreneur had, but I was impressed at how happy and excited her customers were to have finally found a barrette that would actually stay in their daughters/nieces/granddaughters/neighbors hair.

Admittedly, I have a boy so whenever his hair bugs me I shave it all off (!) but darn it - if I had a girl, I would have every cute as a button variation of the Maiden America barrettes.

Mostly, I just love knowing that every single time someone supports Maiden America they are doing something for the 'greater good.' Check out Tristan's 'About Us' page if you think I am full of it!

Happy accessorizing!

Shelly

What do you CRAVE?? I finally attended my first Crave party today. I had been meaning to, and truthfully, it was really just their Spring Sample Sale (a bit smaller than normal) but it was fun nonetheless. My little (newly prego!) sister, Heather was my faithful sidekick and we worked every booth like the 'professionals' we are. Although I was a little disappointed today at the size of the venue, it won't deter me from attending another Crave event in the future. Everything was around 50% off and the luxury of a discount afforded me a few bars of Yummy Sweet Petula Soap and a super-hot vegan handbag from Persnickity Design. Yea! In addition to the shopping, Heather and I met Darnell Sue and Samantha Lawton from Girl Power Hour while they were hosting the 'Connection Cafe' section of the event. Girl Power Hour is (also) something I have been meaning to attend and I will definitely make it a priority now for sure. The next event is June 19th at the Canal and is sure to be an extremely fun event. I promise to tell you all about the fun and hope that if you make it, you'll introduce yourself and later share your comments with me on the blog. After Crave, Heatho (as I call her) and I made our way to the Issaquah Brew House for a yummy round of Bullfrog Ale and water with lemon (did I mention she's prego???) All in all, a great day - shopping, networking, sisters and brew.

Anyway, I hope this weekend you found something you CRAVE and had a great weekend to boot.

Shelly