JillFlorio

Like to shop? Wish you could do it for a living? Don’t let your talents go to waste - learn to earn by shopping for others. How to Become a Personal Shopper, an e-book by Fabjob.com, makes it seem easy to fine-tune your shopping savvy into making the grade as a professional.

Interesting chapters discuss how to spot fashion trends, how to present yourself, how to find clients and help them define their needs.

Clientèle can vary, depending on your local demographic and personal inclinations. Grocery shopping for the elderly, picking up school supplies for harried mothers, and buying holiday gifts for busy CEOs are all options you can consider, according to author Laura Harrison McBride.

Some tips from the book:

• If you go into business for yourself, the name you choose helps determine the client demographic you can attract.
• A catchy, professional phone message, on a dedicated phone line, will help your home business show a classy image.
• As a personal shopper, you need to present the image you want your clients to admire. This means wearing fashionable outfits are part of your job description
• There are endless niches in this business. You could specialize in helping professionals aquire a power wardrobe, shop for people planning vacations (and other concierge-type services), buying corporate gifts or selecting a week’s worth of gourmet foods.
• Window shopping is crucial to success in this career. You need to know what’s available, what’s on sale, and where to find what potential clients might need on a moment’s notice.

One thing I like about the Fabjob books are the depth of information they provide to making a change to new careers. They provide actual samples you can use as templates, including -

• Sample resume
• Sample of what to say when talking to a prospective client
• Sample list of questions to ask vendors
• Sample list of questions to ask new clients
• Sample client information
• Sample invoice
• Sample contract

Their website also offers tons of free content about job changing in our current economy. This article outlines questions to ask yourself if you are considering a career change.

The e-book costs $29.95. You pay online and the book arrives at your email address a just few minutes later. Not a bad deal in this world of instant gratification.

FabJob.com publishes e-books (and a number of books in print) that can help you break into a “fab” job. Visit Fabjob.com for information or to purchase a copy of the aforementioned book.

Jennifer Lopez’ 2003 movie The Wedding Planner introduced audiences to the concept of planning other people’s weddings for a living. Having planned and executed my own marital hoopla, I believe such a service would’ve saved me countless hours of stress. I’d even say a wedding planner, to any harried young bride, would be worth her weight in gold.

My own event was gorgeous - at the expense of many newly-grayed hairs. Too many important decisions get blown out of proportion when you’re planning what conventional wisdom calls the ‘most important day of your life.’ But now that I know the ropes of handling vendors and scheduling and running a ceremony, I wouldn’t mind doing it all for someone else.

That’s where Fabjob’s new e-guide to Become a Wedding Planner comes in. If I was going to switch careers, I’d follow this user-friendly, 226-page book’s advice on to do it.

Specific instructions on how to study weddings, plan events, get hired on by a company or start your own make this text an invaluable source of insider information.

According to authors Catherine Goulet and Jan Riddell, weddings are a booming American industry. They say the average traditional wedding costs $19,100 for 186 invitees. It’s a $45 billion a year industry, and planners can earn between $50-100,000 a year for their efforts.

Wedding Planners can either perform full or partial wedding planning serices. A full-service wedding could include everything from planning the engagement party, shower, rehearsal, and of course, the big day from start to finish. Partial contracts might include only an initial consultation, finding the right vendors (ie - caterer, photographer, band, florist, etc), or coordinating the wedding ceremony itself.

Specific lists of questions to ask vendors are provided: key queries to ask about venues, changing rooms, parking, interfaith restrictions, food choices, beverage service, wedding insurance(!), extra fees for each supplier, and so on.

While lots of the planning process sounds like fun, for example, finding musicians, tasting cakes, planning decorations and helping couples explore meaningful marriage vows, it’s not all just about throwing a really good party. Sections of the Fabjob guide remind you you’re involved in a business, as well. The sections on getting hired, and of becoming self-employed, point out the realities and lend a bit of solid advice for getting your fledgling career off the ground. They even help you decide how to set up fee structures, which is rare to find in any career reference.

Here are ten steps to become a wedding planner, recommended by the Fabjob advice website:

1. Develop your skills

Successful wedding planners have a number of traits in common. They are usually creative people with excellent interpersonal skills who love to plan events. While most of these traits come naturally to many wedding planners, an important skill that some need to develop is organizational ability. To help you stay organized, you can create timeline schedules and checklists, and use organizational tools such as a day planner or binder to keep track of all the wedding details and paperwork.

2. Learn about weddings

There are numerous details involved in planning a wedding — from selecting the wedding date to choosing the menu for the reception. You can learn how to plan weddings by taking continuing education classes or through self-study. To teach yourself, attend and help out with as many weddings as possible, visit bridal shows, read wedding magazines, and conduct informational interviews with clergy of various faiths, recently married brides and anyone else connected to the wedding business such as florists and caterers.

3. Create a portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of photographs that show people your skill at planning weddings. To develop a portfolio, offer your services to friends and family who are getting married in exchange for pictures for your portfolio. (You can ask them to write reference letters for you as well.) You can also include photographs of table settings or room decorations you have created in your home, or pictures from your own wedding to show your creative side.

4. Find a job in the wedding industry

Even if you plan to start your own business, consider getting a job in the industry first. Besides employment benefits, these positions can be used as a stepping-stone to gain valuable experience and contacts. Wedding coordinators are hired by hotels, country clubs, and churches across the country. Some of the more exciting options include working as a wedding coordinator at an attraction such as Disney World or at a resort in a location such as Hawaii, Las Vegas, Europe or the Caribbean. Many other job opportunities for “bridal consultants” are available with companies that supply products and services for weddings including bridal shops, department stores with gift registries, florists, and caterers.

5. Set up your own business

Setting up a wedding planning business is not much different than starting any other business, with a few exceptions. You should be able to work from home as long as you set aside an office space free from interruptions from children or pets. This is especially important if you plan on holding meetings with clients there. Set up costs will be minimal but you will need a computer, fax, business phone line, cell phone, business cards, and marketing materials such as a website. Before setting up your business, take advantage of the free advice offered by agencies such as the U.S. Small Business Administration.

6. Choose a specialty

Wedding planners offer a variety of services and packages based on their specific skills and interests. For example, you might offer complete wedding planning services, wedding day co-ordination only, or consult with brides and grooms who want to plan their own weddings. Some wedding planners specialize in arranging “destination weddings” at resorts or on cruise ships. Decide which services you would like to offer.

7. Develop relationships with vendors

Vendors are suppliers of any product or service related to weddings, such as limousine companies, musicians, photographers, party supply companies, invitation printers, etc. Vendors can be a valued partner in planning a successful wedding and a great networking ally. Conduct informational meetings to learn about their services, and what discounts they can offer you as a wedding planner. Before recommending a site for a wedding ceremony or reception, visit and inspect the premises. Take notes on the condition, size, cleanliness and capacity of each venue so you can guide your clients in making suitable choices. Always follow up with vendors after the wedding with a thank you note or to discuss any changes you want for future.

8. Get clients

One of the best ways to get clients is through your relationships with vendors. Supply business cards and brochures to the bridal shops, caterers, florists, photographers and other vendors you work with, and ask them to recommend your services to their customers who are getting married. Other ways to market your services include advertising, networking, participating in bridal shows, or even organizing your own bridal show.

9. Consult with clients

Once you start getting calls from brides and grooms, arrange a client consultation meeting. The purpose of this initial consultation is to learn as much as possible about the couple and what they want, so you can show them how hiring you will help them achieve the wedding of their dreams. Be prepared to ask questions to find out what type of wedding they want, their budget, number of guests, etc. At this meeting you will discuss your fees, which might be an hourly rate such as $50 per hour or a flat fee. Explain how you can help them have the worry-free wedding of their dreams.

10. Be recognized as a professional

Successful wedding planners are always interested in learning new ideas they can use with their clients. Consider joining a professional association for wedding planners to keep up with new developments in the industry. Clients will be impressed with your affiliation to a professional organization, especially if it certifies you as a professional wedding planner.

A nice bonus to this guide are the ready-made checksheets crucial for wedding planner consultations, sample invoices, and contract templates. I wish I’d had this information when planning my own event - or knew how to hire someone to do it for me.

FabJob.com publishes e-books (and a number of books in print) that can help you break into a “fab” job. Visit Fabjob.com for information or to purchase a copy of the aforementioned book.

I got my hands on a copy of a most unusual title while browsing my favorite used bookstore. The title was arresting enough, reading, in large print, BAKING SODA. Hmmm. It was lengthly subtitled, Over 500 fabulous, fun and frugal uses you’ve probably never thought of.

It sounded like a challenge. And if you are anything like me, you’d happily spend hours reading the thing, highlighter in hand to memorize new uses for an old household staple. How could I pass this up?

Vicki Lansky’s one-woman tribute to sodium bicarbonate boggles the mind. In her own mother’s words, “Who would believe she could have come up with all these uses?”

Everyone knows you can cook with baking soda: it makes bread rise. It’s a natural antacid. Dentists say you can brush your teeth with it. And it’s quite common for to see an open box in the fridge for food odor absorption.

But did you know that fridge box is only good for 3 months? After that, its freshening properties are used up. Get another box. What to do with the used-up, old box? Well, Lansky’s got ideas for that, such as sprinkling the powder around the soil of tomato plants to lower their acidity and discourage pests. I haven’t tried this one, yet.

So, okay, I’m game. I tried a few of these ‘uses’ and hard a darned good time doing it. My fiance thinks I’m nuts for getting so excited over baking soda, but likes that the product is undeniably cheap.

Here are the ideas from the book that I tried, and how it all went.

* Laundry Booster – On the book’s recommendation, I added a ½ cup to my washer load, along with my detergent. Not only did my colors and whites come out brighter, but even my workout clothes smelled nice when I took them out. Lanksy notes this boosting effect only works with liquid laundry detergents, however. I suspect the deodorizing effect works with either kind.

* Garbage Disposal Maintenance – When I noticed a stink arising from the disposal afer a weekend away, I immediately poured a ½ cup down the drain, followed by vinegar. It bubbled and frothed and took the nasty scent away. I didn’t even need to run water after it.

* Garbage Can Odors – This one’s easy – sprinkle over wet, nasty garbage to remove the odor. My take is that you need too much soda to really get the odor out. It’s better to just take out the garbage. But I did find that sprinkling a little soda in the garbage can bottom, between changing the bags, was helpful.

* Carpet Cleaner – Sprinkle over the carpet and let sit overnight. Use a cheese shaker or flour sifter to spread it evenly - otherwise it either clumps, or all comes out at once. Vacuum in the morning. This old technique still works great. As the proud owner of two dogs, I can verify how well baking soda works to dissolve canine odor.

* Tarnished Silver – I tried two baking soda techniques for cleaning silver and was pleasantly surprised with both.

In the past, I used harsh-smelling chemical products, the kind that’s impregnated in a wad of wool, to scrub, scrub, scrub my silver. The process was always messy and stinky. On really old, dirty, heirloom silver, it didn’t even work at all, besides stripping away my silver plate to reveal the copper beneath.

Blech. These methods are MUCH better:

1. Baking soda and water, mixed into a paste, cleans the tarnish right away. Spread the goop all over your silver item, let it sit for ten minutes, then rub with your fingers (or an old toothbrush) until dirty baking soda paste falls away. Rinse, buff – and if necessary – repeat. This method cleaning and safely bids the grime begone from my stemware and plates.

2. The other method is great for utensils. Fill a plastic bucket, or your sink with hot water. Add a square of aluminum foil. Sprinkle your silver with baking soda, drop into hot water, and let sit 15 minutes. Take out the silver and buff with a soft cloth. My silver turned clean and shiny with very little effort!

Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of (Lansky, Vicki)

This bright and snazzy decorating book offers tons of original paint ideas for walls, room dividers, furniture and even curtains.

All kinds of paint techniques are discussed with plenty of pictures to help visualize differences between frottage, combing, dragging, ragging, gilding, flogging, washing, masking and splattering. Plus, if you enjoy frottage design (just for example), there are instructions for using abstract, pictoral and rolled styles.

[Don't know what frottage is? Basically, it's layering thickly with paint, then placing plain paper over the design, pressing down and peeling off. This really makes a unique look on whatever surface you choose to decorate. To me, the resultant design has a very contemporary textured look.]

Frankly, I think stenciling, decoupaging and antiquing/crackling are old hat, but this book does offer novel ways to use these often overplayed techniques.

What I like best about this book are the ideas I’ve never seen anywhere before. There is an entire section devoted to using metallic paints - like painting an aspen leaf in gold and using those as classy transfer stamps. They show a carmine red wall over a bar area, with silver aspen leaf transfers stamped in a casual pattern. The effect says “glamour” in an Art Deco-style. Using gilded gold or silver for splatters is another expensive-looking idea - a nice living room accent wall option I fantasize about trying.

The gilded glass technique looks very, very rich - in a good way. It has a artsy penthouse appearance. This is just one of the impressive-looking techniques that is actually easy to do, once you have the proper tools and directions.

One two-way drag pattern looks just like blue jeans! Think of how cool that would look as an accent wall in a rec room or boy’s room. They have it placed in a kitchen backsplash and it looks quite modern.

The last section of the book is all about using these designs in actual roooms. Most of the designs - even the historically countrified ones - look very modern. I noticed Retro Space Age (the are calling it Urban Chic), Botanical Bohemian, Natural Living and Eclectic Country.

Finally, two pages of cut-out stamp and stencil designs are offered.

New Ways With Paint: Over 100 Techniques and Decorating Ideas for Walls, Floors, Fabrics, Furniture, and More

Drinking tea is an age-old way to pamper yourself. Simple Pleasures of Tea is a delightful book about one of life’s most cozy and comforting activities. The book’s introduction sets up the lovely premise of using teas to enjoy a simpler lifestyle.

Many wonderful ideas for infusions, types of honey and recipes for cooking wonderful baked goods that go well with tea follow. I love the quietly festive recipes, like Red Velvet Cake, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Lemon Tea Bread, Buttermilk Biscuits, Rhubard-Strawberry Crisp, Pumpkin Bread and Raisin Scones. Yum - comfort foods for chilly afternoons with tea. There also are recipes for homemade teas, sun teas and steaming tea facials.

The Simple Pleasures of Tea book also FEELS good. The pages have a nice clay coating and really gorgeous pictures. Great quotes from Emily Post, the Wind in the Willows and Thoreau spice up the content. It’s a pretty lovely little kitchen, breakfast nook, or tea shelf book.

Simple Pleasures Of Tea (Simple Pleasures)

This is an outstanding sunscreen and may even be what I have been waiting for my whole life. That might sound extreme, but I might actually be in love with this product.

Doctors and skin care professionals tell us we need to wear sunscreen every day - rain, snow or shine - to prevent skin wrinkles, skin cancer and hyper-pigmentation. Sunscreen is an essential skin care element, and actually, the most important cosmetic you wear.

I have been searching for a sunscreen that doesn’t feel gloppy on, won’t make me break out, is easy to reapply and pleasant to use. This sunscreen wins on all counts!

First off, Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Body Mist Sunblock comes in a spray container. You press the nozzle and a very fine mist comes out. The mist dries instantly, leaving no sticky residue. No need to rub anything in: you totally forget you have this on.

You can stick this can of sunscreen by the door to spray on your arms, neck and face on your way out each morning. There is no longer any excuse to *not* wear sunscreen every day.

My husband, who has a skin condition and needs to wear sunscreen daily, will actually wear this product without making a face. That’s worth a lot to us right there.

Secondly, this spray is very pleasant to use. There is a clean subtle scent, and you feel a lovely cooling sensation as the mist touches your skin. On hot days it feels great!

Thirdly, with this sunscreen you can actually get sun protection into the cracks and crevices normally missed, like around the ears, the back of the neck, the bald spot on top of someone’s head.

The directions do NOT encourage spraying this product on your face. This is probably because the manufacturers don’t want anyone breathing in the sunscreen or getting it into their eyes. They instead suggest spraying it on your hands and then rubbing it on your face.

I have found it works just fine if you close your eyes, hold your breath, and lean into a burst of mist you spray into the air in front of your face. This feels nice with the cooling effect, and makes a nice even layer of sunscreen over my entire face.

Putting the sunscreen on in this manner is a GREAT way to make sure you have sunscreen on every day, even if you are already wearing makeup. You can do your daily morning “face” with a moisturizing facial sunscreen, then makeup, then a spritz of this sunscreen to “set” and protect your face. You can even reapply the sunscreen throughout the day, without needing to remove and re-apply makeup!

While I have nothing but raves about this sunscreen, I wonder about the cooling sensation *after* summertime. In the dead of winter, I am not sure I’ll want a cooling mist.

But this is really a minor quibble in a dream-come-true cosmetic. I believe I will actually be able to wear sunscreen *every day* for once!

Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Body Mist Sunblock with Patented HelioplexTM Technology , SPF 45, 5 Oz

Plug your Business: Marketing on MySpace, YouTube, blogs and podcasts and other Web 2.0 social networks

This is a helpful book for navigating the waves of social networking. It’s a quick read, with useful links and helpful tactics for the non-geek to leverage the web in marketing their business.

Unfortunately, any book of this sort quickly becomes outdated - social technologies ebb and flow that quickly. A *huge* portion of the book is dedicated to MySpace, for example. One tiny paragraph is devoted to Facebook. As I am a FB user and don’t bother with MySpace, that means several of this book’s chapters are useless for me.

LinkedIn, Flickr, uTube and all other big networking sites also rate a tiny blurb, no more. Twitter isn’t even mentioned! This is a 2007 book and already out of date.

Useful chapters include setting up your website, starting to blog, and hooking your brand into the blogosphere. A few pages cover developing your blog content over the long haul. Using Technorati, Digg and Del.icio.us is touched upon.

I found the passage on building a guest column interesting. The viral video/podcasting chapter has decent, albeit bare bones, basics. I also appreciated the nuggets on using Amazon, analyzing traffic stats and monitizing your site.

Overall, anyone already familiar with the basics of MySpace, tagging, developing a blog, using Amazon’s review system, setting up RSS and so on won’t learn much from this slim volume. On the other hand, this book offers an easy introduction to web 2.0 marketing that social network newbies won’t find intimidating.

Plug Your Business! Marketing on MySpace, YouTube, blogs and podcasts and other Web 2.0 social networks

I am one of those people who HAS to wear an antiperspirant every day, or I’ll end up smelling myself. So I have to be picky about my underarm protection.

I *love* this new glide antiperspirant by Suave. The scent is fresh and gentle, not overbearingly floral or like a huge waft of powder. I like violet scents in any case. The sweat pea top scent is more obvious to me than the violet base, but I can still detect it. As I wear a lot of perfume with notes of violet, it’s neat that my underarm scent won’t fight my cologne.

The sensation is nice - it’s dry and clean-feeling, not sticky or gloppy. The product goes on clear. I don’t have to worry about paste-like deodorant clumps in the folds of my armpit, or white marks on my clothing.

The container promotes its 24 hour protection, and for me, it lasts as long as it claims (ie - I can go until mid-morning of the next day on a camping trip without starting to smell/feel funky).

The newest container has a swivel base, which is a nice upgrade from the original screw disk at the bottom. This kind of improvement will be helpful for people with arthritis or dexterity problems: it’s a lot easier to manipulate. The base swivels smoothly and you can also un-swivel it backwards to make the product retreat into the container as needed.

The price point is about the same or slightly better than comparable products (I can usually find it on sale at Rite Aid, for example), and one container lasts around six months for daily use. A little goes a long way.

I work out on the treadmill and also do yoga every day, and I still feel well protected.

Well recommended!

Suave Invisible Solid Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant, Sweet Pea & Violet - 2.6 OZ

I am not clear who the audience for this book is intended to be. This is not an instructional book on asanas, not a memoir, nor a how-to for enlightenment.

My sense is this text is intended to gently introduce deeper yogic philosophies - the Eight Limbs, the idea of mindfulness, the establishment of your own practice. In this sense, the book succeeds.

Starting off each chapter with Charlotte Bell’s personal experiences provides an accessible access point for jumping into, say, the Fourth Limb of Pranayama. Sutras are quoted, which Bell supports with her own insights. She breaks down complex concepts in a supportive, understandable manner.

Each chapter then closes with a small series of reflective questions for the reader’s personal growth.

The book strikes me, most usefully, as a philosophy course textbook for beginning yoga students.

It’s not a relaxing bedside read or a gripping story. It’s the kind of book you want to read one chapter from after each yoga class, with a notebook to journal your reflective responses to questions asked.

I could readily see highlighting nuggets of wisdom to help better learn/understand the Eightfold Path, using the text as a reference book. I might pull out a chapter later, and then meditate on that theme in Savasana.

One could also possibly use this as focus for a book club, where readers discuss their own insights and anecdotes, relating them to Bell’s experience.

Basically, although I at first thought this was to be a sit-down story, memoir-type book, I quickly realized this a workbook in disguise. Not that there is anything wrong with that! It’s just not what I was expecting from reading the Amazon.com blurb.

Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice

This is a screwball comedy about a family (mom, dad, son, grandma and grandpa) all busy “seeking” something - the thing is, none of them are quite sure what it is.

Nina, the protagonist, owns a posh yoga studio in New Jersey. She’s the perfect enlightened yoga instructor (at least to all appearances) until a feng shui consultant wanders in to tell Nina her studio has bad energy - setting off a ripple effect of comedi-tragic events.

As Nina becomes increasingly freaked out by her feng shui worries, her husband loses his job, her normally good son acts out in school and her blustering parents decide to visit. All of this is framed by the ominous arrival of Hurricane Ida, an ideal metaphor for this family’s internal chaos and desperation.

You can taste the sense of squeaky-clean New Jersey suburbia - and understand the price people pay to maintain such outward “perfection.” Like many families, Nina’s picture perfect projection isn’t built on solid ground.

If you grew up in a family of strong women on the East Coast, there are a lot of recognizable elements here: Nina’s own controlling thoughtlessness; Nina’s old school, matriarchal overbearing mother; a mellow, slightly cowed, slightly incompetent set of “good provider” husbands; and the quiet son who decides to rebel against the Stepford-perfect ways of his politically-correct, New Age mom by secretly becoming an orthodox Jew.

Each character is cunningly drawn and entirely realistic, even if the series of events is not. There are no heroes, or even villains here (well, except the actually very scary Homeland Security officer).

The resolution offers no nicely packaged answers. Everyone is still a bit messed up. Perhaps they’ve have drawn back from the edge of desperation and grown slightly in self-knowledge.

Or maybe not. At the very end, Nina reveals she’s latched onto her next big thing…

It’s a short book and a quick read. While the plot isn’t particularly compelling, I found it hard to put the novel down. If anything, this story could have been an episode of Desperate Housewives…

Fear and Yoga in New Jersey