Tipsy

Stylist shout out!

Sometimes you’re stuck in a pinch with a stain, a spill, a dropped hem or need to make something look refreshed. As a style expert, it’s my duty to find quick fixes to life’s little annoyances that may impede on you looking great head to toe.

Keep a cool head and try these simple solutions:

*Have a pesky price sticker stuck on the bottom of your shoes and headed to a job interview? Use a hairdryer on high heat and blast that sticker for 30 seconds or more, then peel off.

*Static cling making your skirt bunch up? Banish it by lightly spraying hairspray under your skirt towards those bunched up areas.

*Get the sparkle back in your diamonds by soaking them in a glass of vodka.

* To get out scuffs on your patent leather wipe the area with milk then buff. It’s gentle and will leave a great shine.

*Pulled on a shirt and suddenly you notice a deodorant mark? Grab a baby wipe and wipe the mark away. If don’t have a wipe, then fold over the spot and rub the spot against your shirt or sweater. Don’t use a paper towel or tissue, this will only rub apart and leave bits of paper on your clothes.

*Ruining too many white shirts? Sprinkle a little baby powder on the shirt’s underarms and collar, then iron to help prevent sweat stains. The powder forms a barrier that keeps oil and grime from seeping into the threads so your whites stay white longer.

*If your zipper is stuck, rub a pencil on the teeth, the graphite from the pencil acts as a lubricant on metal. Lightly rubbing a candle will also help release a stubborn zipper.

*Need to hem jeans in a hurry? Use double stick tape or roll duct tape so it’s sticky on all sides and tape the insides of the  jeans.

*Got a little lipstick on your collar? Saturate the spot with hairspray, let it sit for 10 minutes then wipe it with damp sponge or washcloth. Then launder it as usual to wash out any remaining stain.

*Skip pulling out the bulky ironing board and iron to press collars or hems on your cotton shorts or pants. Use a flat hair iron instead.  So simple.

*Stop a run in your hose or tights, a loose thread on a sweater or a button by dabbing clear nail polish on the spot.

*And for fixes on the go, keep a stain-removing pen, safety pins and double stick tape in the same little bag that carries your lipstick and powder.

I’m sharing a few of my best secrets on Playtex’s new web series, “A Secret Worth Sharing”.  Click on the pic below to check out some of my favorite tips and tricks to look your very best!!

My favorite flowers, Peonies, are abundant at Trader Joe’s. For $21 bucks I was able to create gorgeous, simple arrangements. Just snip, snip and voila! Don’t hesitate to add flowers to your home. They may only last a week, but you’ll notice them everyday they’re with you. And they signify wealth, luck and happiness. I should be so lucky to get them every week.

So cute, but soooo hairy! Penny and Lucy are adorable, sassy, and always loving. BUT, while Lucy (on right) is only 14 pounds she is a shedder. She sheds as if she were the size of a giraffe. Only hours after our cleaning ladies leave, our wood floors and the tops of our couch cushions show a fresh collage of stray fine hair.  So I’m always on the search for the ideal picker upper.

I’ve tried out a multitude of products and I’ve gone through countless rolls of the sticky adhesive rollers. And finally, I’ve found a few products that help battle the shedding. Hey, it may not sound exciting, but sometimes it’s the little things that make a gals day.

From Dyson, the company known for vacuums has created the the dyson groom tool for $70 that you can use with most Dyson vacuums. I used it on the Dyson cordless model for quick clean-ups.

Lucy getting groomed.                                        All that hair from one little dog.

Groom. Suck. Gone. That’s the motto of his handy tool that removes loose hair effortlessly and with the release of a button the bristles release and all that hair just brushed from the dog can be sucked into the vacuum. It also works well on its own and you can slide the hair right off the gadget into the garbage.

And as for our couches, Pledge, the company known for cleaning dust, has a handy, as in you hold it in your hand and with a few rolls back and forth you can pick up stray hair. You can pick it up in your supermarket cleaning products aisle for about $5.

Love when you can see the hair that gets rolled up inside the gadget. That proves to me it’s working. And my third favorite item for dog hair removal is the Swiffer. In truth, I dig the Swiffer for zipping around my house and cleaning in a jiffy.

Remember that style is very different from fashion. Find what works for you whether it be classic, eclectic, edgy, romantic and go full throttle.

Tired of stringing popcorn or hanging lights? Create a fruit garland by using a long, heavy duty needle and colored twine and pushing it through kumquats, kiwi or other small fruit and dangle from a chandelier or mantle.

Find a good tailor in your community. A tailor can change your wardrobe and the fit of your clothes for the better. Hem pants, add a cuff, reshape shoulders, shorten sleeves or cut a dress or jacket to fit your body like a second skin.

Can’t decide on what color jeans to buy, or should I say “how dark the dye?” Then buy the dark pair, you’ll end up wearing them more often and they easily become a stylish evening look when paired with heels.

Always stick to flat front pants whether you are a man or a woman. Ladies, tell your men! Pleats are extra fabric that either make you look bigger or you end up filling with extra body weight. At least a flat front will try to work as a minimizer.

It’s an homage to the movies for Halloween this season and families are dressing in the themes together.

Unsure of where to still find that fun costume or where to get the best price? I found all these fab costumes through a simple search on TheFind.com

Our family friends were featured on KTLA in Los Angeles today, www.ktla.com

The Loughran Family as Alice in Wonderland (simply cute, cute, cute and in perfect poses)

Red Queen , $79.50
Mad Hatter, $39.50
Alice, $39.50
Found these character costumes from Disneystore.com.

The Basco Family as characters from Aladdin (swashbuckling and adorable)

Princess Jasmine, $66
Aladdin, $94
Our adorable monkey, playing Abu, $35
I did an advance search on TheFind.com to find the best price comparisons of the same costume and shop easily without driving to multiple stores. I scooped up these costumes from Target.com, Disney.com and Kohls.com.

And a simple sew costume for our magic carpet. I took two dish towels and four tassels that I purchased at Target and did a quick hand sew leaving room for arms and head. It’s soft, comfy and such a simple costume to keep a baby warm and snuggly while carrying or in a stroller.

The Alvarez Family is ready to save Gotham City (they’re so sassy as a crime fighting family)

Dark Knight, $55
Bat girl, $35
Baby as Robin, $20
And Curtis, the dog with a perpetual smile as The Joker, $15
All available at CostumeExpress.com and Walmart.com

Friends, Lauren and Natalie (best friends ready for the party)

Hocus Pocus Witch, $40
Sassy Sailor, $35
Both costumes available from Kohl’s and Kohls.com.

A few more tips for the festive day:
1. Halloween Costumes:
“Costume shopping can sometimes seem endless, crowded and messy when your kids either don’t know what they want to be, or they have a definitive idea and the shops you visited don’t have the costume. The best way to save time and money is to shop online. I personally use TheFind.com because it allows you access to all retailers at once, while being able to narrow down your search to a specific costume, gender and size range. After finding the perfect costume, you can view all available coupons, sales and shipping offers at a glance to make sure you’re selecting the store with the best possible price.”

2. Decorating Indoors:
“I like to make pumpkin bats to add a little DIY Halloween-themed home décor. All you need are mini pumpkins, black and white paint, and black craft foam. First, paint the mini pumpkins black, adding in eyes with the white paint and black dots. Next, cut the craft foam into the shapes of wings and ears and insert into small slits that you cut into the sides and top of the pumpkins.”

3. Decorating Outdoors:
“For outdoor decorating, I like to stick to one streamlined theme – such as spiders. I start by staging small and medium plastic spiders around the front door, along the outdoor stair railings and around columns or beams. For an added touch, have the path of creepy crawlers lead to one large inflatable spider and stretch gauzy ‘spiderwebs’ from a craft store over bushes.”

4. Keeping Kids Engaged:
“To keep the excited little ones happily occupied while counting down the minutes to trick-or-treat time, keep them engaged with a craft project. Set up a table where they can bejewel and decorate their own masks – all you need are simple black masks with an elastic strap, glue, glitter, feathers, stickers, and fake crystals. If you have photo print paper at home, take a group picture of all the kids in the masks then send everyone home with a printed photo from the party.”