Shopping Archives - 2 Cats and Chloe

What I’m Loving Wednesday: Stocking Stuffers

Like I said last week, I really enjoy when bloggers share products they love! I feel like we’re all friends in Blogland, so often times I 100% trust your recommendations when it comes to things I know nothing about. That being said, can you believe that Christmas is in 9 days? If you’re anything like me, you are basically done with your Christmas gifts, but you’re still scrambling for the stocking stuffers! So today, I am sharing a few small gift ideas that would be perfect for Christmas stockings!

*Hint Hint Santa - I would love to see any of the following items in my own stocking!*

For Clean Eaters: I was over the moon excited when I learned that Tessemae’s now offers their dressings in pouches! GUYS THIS IS HUGE! We can now partake in salads without carrying a flask full of our homemade dressings!

For Festive Gals: In an attempt at saving some of our dollar bills, I have cut mani’s and pedi’s out of my life temporarily. (Also, I’m still on the fence about whether or not nail salons are good for preggo mammas.) I love the quality and colors that Essie provides. If Santa left me these festive holiday Essie polishes, maybe along side of a nail file and some hand cream - I would be a happy girl.

For Anyone: Every year Santa brings us one thing that we all anxiously scratch at… Virginia Lottery Scratcher tickets. Is this a tradition for other families? Or is this just a Benji-Household Stocking Stuffer? Along with 5 scratcher tickets, Santa gives each of us a penny to do the scratching with. It’s so much fun, but we are all still waiting for the year when someone wins something more than a couple of dollars!

For the Furbabes: Cats, dogs or any other furbabes! Santa treats them well in our household too! Think about cute toys like these Felt Target Cat Toys (that could easily be a DIY project) or easy, paleo puppy treats! (My holiday puppy treats will be on the blog later this week so stay tuned!)

For Foodie Bloggers: Sure, an entire set of flatware would be great but why would anyone want one single serving of flatware?? Because she is a food blogger and snaps pictures of everything she cooks/eats/creates/throws together in the kitchen. These Rose Gold utensils are absolutely swoon-worthy. Please Santa, please! Too big to fit in the stocking while in their box? Take them out and tie them together with a pretty red or green bow. Again, please Santa, please!

For Mom: Get creative with a scented, beautiful diffuser. Different from normal diffusers, Chando diffusers are little works of art in themselves. Each diffuser features a porcelain flower that blossoms out of the bottle to emit the scent of your choice. I have found that these are perfect little decorations for around the house, or even in the car!

Back to the Basics For the Whole Fam: It’s time to stock up on the essentials… or at least the travel size of our essentials. Santa always leaves us Burt’s Bees, Toothpaste, Floss, a Nail Clipper (I have a trillion but always seem to lose them… Santa gets me!) and something sweet and usually unhealthy. All simple, but all very useful.

For Those Who Appreciate Classics: Lastly, stick with the classics. It may not be extremely exciting to the kiddos, but traditions have to start somewhere! Clementine Oranges are perfect for the boot of a stocking. Or pecans. Or heck, I guess a lump of coal.

What does Santa leave in your stocking every year? Is there one particular thing that you look forward to seeing in your stocking every Christmas morning?

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. By clicking on them you are helping to support my blog. Additionally, Chando gifted me a diffuser in return for sharing their product - but my review and thoughts were all my own. Merry Christmas y’all!

What I’m Loving Wednesday: Holiday Office Box + Sudio Review

by Susan

One of my favorite blog-friends-turned-real-life-friends, Heather, has a series she does called What I’m Loving Wednesday. To be quite frank, I adore these posts. I usually always learn about a new product, restaurant or idea that I must have or must do. (It also helps you get to know the blogger, and to realize that you have a trillion things in common with her…)

So I decided that for the month of December, I would give this “What I’m Loving Wednesday” concept a try! Because we are all looking for hot, shiny new ideas when it comes to making life easier and stuffing our stockings this time of year right?

As most of you know, my life is well beyond crazy these days. As a wedding planner, national marketing coordinator and blogger, I’m always on the go. Add to the situation that I’m six months pregnant and currently homeless. Basically - my life is consistently inconsistent. So to help with juggling my “work essentials” and my “holiday must-haves” I decided to revert back to my elementary school, pencil box days.

Yup, you read that right. A box. Whenever I sat down at a coffee shop, a client appointment, my grandmother’s couch or the picnic table at the river - I could never find my essentials in the bottom of my bag. Turns out a simple, yet pretty box, was just the solution I needed.

So what is currently in my box? Essentials that are helping me through the rest of this holiday season!

The randoms: gift tags, christmas ornaments and a shiny gold stapler. Because you never know when you are going to have to throw together a centerpiece, wrap a gift or staple together a 4 page wedding timeline…

Thank you notes and stamps are crucial this time of year as well. (I am seriously struggling to keep up with my thank you notes! So many friends have sent thoughtful holiday and baby gifts already! I swear I will be all caught up by the end of this week!)

The essentials: My planner, my iPhone, an iPhone charger and my Sudio Headphones. Yes, I am one of those old school-new school people who keeps everything written in my planner AND on my iPhone. Switching to “2016” on your iCal just isn’t quite as exciting as purchasing a new planner… #JustSayin.

Every time I relocate my workspace (whether it is for work or to wrap presents) you better believe that I am either talking to a client or jamming to my holiday tunes. The chic, white and rose gold Sudio Vasa Headphones are not only stylish but they have great sound quality. When I first got this new addition to my “office box” I called up my mom, my husband and my boss to make sure they could hear me and I could hear them. It was loud and clear on both ends!

I have been known to be a snob when it comes to headphones so there are a couple of things I definitely want to point out… The fact that my Sudio Vasa headphones have flat cords means that they don’t get knotted up when in my box (or in their provided leather case). There is a 3-button remote and mic, making these easy to use when working, driving and wrapping gifts. Additionally, the ear buds are legit. They stay in your ears without slipping.

Also included in the package is a gold clip to help keep the buds and mic in place (which I have found great, but not 100% necessary, as my clients have been able to hear me clearly without the mic clipped to the top of my shirt) and replacement ear bud covers. The replacement bud covers excited me because who really likes to share ear buds with other people?? Not this girl. If someone else needs to borrow my Sudio Vasa’s, I can switch out the ear buds and not worry about co-mingling ear wax!

Wearing my Sudio Vasa headphones not only allows me to multi-task like a champ, with both hands free, but they also help keep me organized while preventing Nana from listening in on my normal speaker phone calls. (No one said that living with your 91 year old grandmother would be easy…)

In addition to loving my new box, my shiny and random “must-have” items and my new Sudio Vasa Headphones, I am loving the fact that Sudio is offering my 2 cats & chloe readers 15% off with the Sudio Promo Code: 2catsandchloe If you’re in need of a last minute stocking stuff or Christmas gift - I highly recommend you jump on this deal immediately!

So what do you think? Have I gone off the deep end by going back to my “pencil box” days? Go ahead and judge me all you want, but if it helps me stay organized, I’m game! What am I missing in my box?

Many thanks to Sudio for gifting me my new Vasa Headphones! While these were given to me in return for this post, my review and thoughts are all my own!

10 Dorm Room Must Haves!

by Susan

I am still in shock that this is the last week of summer for everyone in my area. My boss has taken off to spend time with her kids. The teenagers across the street are spending every single free moment working on their tans and playing in the pool. My teacher friends all reported their dreaded return to school on Facebook yesterday. Where in the world did summer go? Seriously… hello September?! My brain is still stuck in spring, while my calendar is telling me we are entering fall and it’s Back-to-School Glory. I don’t care who you are… there is something exciting about “Back to School” time. Go ahead and call me a nerd, but personally, entering the stores and seeing the fresh notebooks, new pens, and colorful planners brings me joy. So when Kleenex and Walmart reached out to 2 cats & chloe, asking me to write a little piece on the Top 10 Dorm Must-Haves I was a little pumped. I mean, who doesn’t want to pretend that they are packing up and heading back to college! This post brought back a lot of fun JMU college memories! Memories of Freshman year, on the 8th floor of the tallest building in Harrisonburg, with no AC. Memories of hiliarous times with my roomies, who became friends for life. Memories of riding the bus to the old Walmart in Harrisonburg… and then waiting for that same bus to come back hours later while we lugged all of our purchases {and a few betta fish} back to the dorm.

Kleenex Expressions Oval Facial Tissue Chevron Designs //

Headphones // Coffee Maker // Travel Mug // Colorful Mini Fridge // Vacuum // Fun Curtains // A Bathroom Caddy // Disk Chair // Chevron Towel Set

I had no clue how colorful the Back-to-School gear has gotten. Seriously! They have colorful mini refrigerators now?! Personally, I think everything on the list above is great - but I want to give a couple of shout outs… First of all, the disk chair. This may seem like a silly looking chair, but when you have a ton of friends stopping in to your tiny dorm room, this chair will be perfect. OR, let’s say that you buy one, like I did, that has a slight squeak to it… it is exactly what you need to drive your roomie crazy! {Amanda - wink wink} Or maybe you will be blessed with a loud typing roommate. {It’s a condition, I swear!} You are going to thoroughly thank me for recommending headphones. Some of us just cannot help our typing volume.

The Kleenex Expressions Oval Facial Tissues in Chevron Designs… You are going to get sick. It’s college. It’s germy. And you may be just like me and have a roommate who forces you to wash your hands all the time, who sprays the television remote with cleaner, and who teaches you the proper way to cough. She will make you use tissues, so you may as well buy these. The design and pattern of the box makes them cute enough to leave on your desk all the time. Heck, I am well beyond a dorm room but these Kleenex tissues are sitting on my desk!

What memories do you have of your college dorm? Do you have any tips for must-have items? What are your favorite roommate memories? Thank you Walmart and Kleenex for sponsoring today’s post, and bring back some fun dorm room memories!

Look out Charlie! Versona’s in town!

by Susan

Look out Charming Charlie’s… there’s a new girl in town who has come to shake up your world! And she definitely knows the way to my heart. Her name is Versona!

A few weeks ago someone contacted me, as a Newport News blogger, to invite me to the grand opening of Versona. What tha what?! Yeah - that was my initial thought when I first saw the email. Me?! A blogger worth an invite to a grand opening of a store? Yeah, I know. Pin a rose on my nose!

The Versona Grand Opening was last Thursday, January 31st. However - it snowed. A lot. Like buckets and buckets of snow. So I didn’t make it out of the house.

And then I had a wedding in Northern Virginia this weekend. So even though I was so anxious and highly anticipating losing my “Versona Virginity” - it had to wait. Until today.

As a marketing guru let me first say that the placement of this store is beyond brilliant. Located next door to Trader Joes - I’m pretty positive my husband will be seeing as many jewelry receipts as he will grocery receipts. #sorryimnotsorry. But seriously. Awesome location.

Personally, I was shocked when I saw the price tags. From the outside, the store looks quite up scale and uber fancy. I was expecting Charming Charlie’s prices multiplied by at least two-ish. But I was wrong. The prices are terrific!

Not to mention, that there is a spectacular sale section. I overheard a sales lady telling someone that they do mark downs twice a week. Apparently their inventory is constantly changing and their sale section, and my wardrobe, will benefit from this. Seriously - I got some super classy earrings for $2.99. (Yes, that price included both earrings!)

And holy scarves, Batman! If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with scarves and pretty colors. My closet almost looks like this. Just a lot less organized. Ha!

Please excuse my super frumpy sweater. Yes, I bought that hat. For $6.99. Bam!

Did I mention they have more than just jewels? Their clothes AND shoes were super cute! And between us, I feel like the clothes were a bit better quality than Charming Charlie’s. And again, I was happily impressed when checking out the price tags.

And to my brides, I wish this store had been open when I was getting married. There are so many cute bridesmaid gifts in here!

So yes - they sent me a gift card and invited me to their store. But these are all my personal opinions. If you are in the Newport News area - get your butt to this store. And then go buy some veggies, beer and wine from Trader Joes so your husband doesn’t get mad.

A Susan-Sized-Ikea-Trip

by Susan

The day started like any other… An awkward job “meet and greet,” traffic in Northern Virginia, and ikea. And let me tell you, ikea was not ready for us. Or so we thought. We came prepared and on a mission. We showed ikea who the bosses were.

And then ikea kicked my credit card in the boo-tay.

Welcome to my kitchen! How many I assist you?!

Is anyone else overly impressed by the teeny tiny, yet totally awesome kitchens, bedrooms, closets, offices and overall sweet spaces that is somehow created in this magical square castle called ikea? Pretty positive I could use the kitchen below to start my own paleo cooking show!

Like I said, we went with a mission. A mission to make my kitchen at my new home nicer and user-friendly. Well, I guess not so much friendly. More so just useable.

The bottom line: I need more counter space. And this Swedish hunk of furniture is my solution. The cute bar chairs and all!

As we wrapped up the part of the store tour that a human could easily live in, my mom was a bit flabbergasted that we were almost done. I mean really Mother, we were only there for about 2.5 hours!

It took the two of us, a flatbed cart, some logistical planning and the weight of my entire body for us to pick this butcher block thing up. Heavy duty doesn’t even begin to describe it.

And then I had to reorganize my goods and begin pushing like a lady about to give birth to 123 pounds of ikea furniture. It took everything in me to get this flatbed to the checkout without:

A. Letting my super sweet lanterns (that Michael will also love - compromise decor is tough for us) fall off the cart and break
B. Run it into a giant rack of other ikea-loveliness or
C. Take out the snarky lady that yelled at my mom when my mom simply tried to help her.

Scratch that, I totally meant to hit Mrs. Snarky McSnarkerson.

When we left HRVA we were both slightly concerned about taking Pretty Prius. My mom swore up and down that there was no way I could fit a Susan-Size-Ikea-Trip into my tiny, but efficient Pretty Prius. She definitely had junk in her trunk, but Pretty Prius pulled through for me! We probably could’ve even fit the shoe cabinet I really wanted in there also!

I’m officially convinced that my Prius is the second cousin, twice removed, to Mary Poppins’ bag.

We made it home! Now it’s time to start building! And time to start making my next Ikea Road Trip Shopping List. Hint hint: This headboard is at the top of the list! (And no, it’s not $999! I swear! At that cost I’d be going to Pottery Barn and swooping up the bed frame I REALLY want.)

To those of you who live near an ikea… do you have problems with this store? Is there an ikea-obsessed-anonynmous group you can check yourself into?! Thankfully I live a solid two point five hours away from this glorious motherland of swedish bargain furniture. Otherwise we’d have serious issues. My obsession with Target wouldn’t even begin to compare to the problems we’d have if ikea were in my town.

They say God doesn’t put things in front of you that he knows you cannot handle… because Jesus knows I do not have the will power to handle an ikea that is any closer than 143 miles of my home.

(Yep, I google mapped it.)

What I’m Loving Wednesday: Stocking Stuffers

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. By clicking on them you are helping to support my blog. Additionally, Chando gifted me a diffuser in return for sharing their product - but my review and thoughts were all my own. Merry Christmas y’all!

What I’m Loving Wednesday: Holiday Office Box + Sudio Review

10 Dorm Room Must Haves!

Look out Charlie! Versona’s in town!

A Susan-Sized-Ikea-Trip

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