All Things Kate: She Deserves It

First of all, yes we are still here! We've been very active over here, so if you're not a fan of us yet go ahead and click that little 'like' button and join in on the fun!

Mother's Day is right around the corner. Whether you are a mom, have a mom or have a special person in your life you consider to be a mom, this is a special day to celebrate. Some spend theirs out to lunch, planting flowers, shopping - whatever special activity Mom wants to do that day! And it's always fun to surprise her with a special gift.

Card Cubby: This will make her life much easier - she will thank you every day for it! Alphabetically organize discount cards, gift cards, credit cards and more.

Vera Bradley Jewelry Box - Pick one out in her favorite pattern, pair it with a piece of jewelry and you have the perfect gift!

For the expectant Mother: "Due In" Necklace is the perfect gift! This necklace let's everyone know when your little one will be here in a fun and fashionable way!

Whatever it is that you do or who you celebrate, just remember - She deserves it.

These are words I like to live by.

All Things Kate: On The Hunt

With the change of seasons, of course comes a slew of new trends to check out and try out! I love it when trends are also functional which is why I am on the hunt for the perfect cross body bag!

I love this style because it allows you to keep your hands free, but still keep a pulled together look. Below are some of my favorites that have come through the store. But I'm still waiting for my perfect bag to show up!

This is the "Nirvana" from the Matt by Matt & Nat collection. I love the two different options of wearing it on your shoulder, or as a cross body bag. Photo from mattandnat.com.

This is "Daisy" from Big Buddha. This bag packs a few trends into one, but it's not overwhelming at all. The ruffles give it a fun girly feel and the chain strap adds a little bit of edge. I love this bag. Two of the girls on the staff even carry it! Photo from bigbuddha.com.

The "Sintra" from Matt by Matt & Nat is super cute! It is a little small for me to use as an every day bag, but it would be great to take out at night or for a day when I don't need every last thing in my handbag. Plus I love this beige color and think it would look great with everything!

Photo from mattandnat.com.

What trends are you loving this season? Do you have your eye on a perfect handbag or other accessory that you just can't live without?

All Things Kate: Still alive...

And we are definitely still kickin'!

The last 2 months seem to have gotten away from us quickly, but we are here and totally ready for the Fall season! We are saying goodbye to flip flops, tank tops, shorts & bright colors and Hello to boots, sweaters, jeans and the gorgeous colors for Fall!

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year with so many things to look forward to. Cool weather, football Saturdays, hot coffee, anything pumpkin and of course a new Fall handbag!

Things are also exciting here around Material Girl! Next Thursday, the 23rd, is the Material Girl Fall Premiere Event! It is the first day of Fall and we are unveiling tons of new handbags and accessories for the Fall! Vera Bradley's Winter 2010 Collection is making its first appearance as well as Matt by Matt & Nat, Harvey's Original Seatbelt Bags, Jessica Simpson Collection, The Sak, Hobo International and more! Stay tuned...we will be writing more about those soon!

Also coming up soon will be Fall trends, holiday gift buying, new product lines, special events and more! Thanks for sticking with us....I promise it won't be 2 months before you hear from us again!

I can't wait until the leaves look like this! (photo from google)

All Things Kate: Simple Compliments

I love it when a day starts just like any other and then someone gives you a compliment and your day goes from good to great in an instant!

That happened to me this morning and I would just like to thank the wonderful Target employee who gave me a compliment about my outfit....from across the store. You totally made my day and I definitely appreciated the shout out as other customers were walking by...I'm sure they totally agreed with you, but just didn't say anything. :)

After stopping into the Starbucks, I felt even better because the baristas were so friendly. I don't know if they really love their jobs or if it's the caffiene, but they were so freakin' happy! It's safe to say I walked out of Target with a smile on my face.

I try to compliment people on their outfits, accessories, hair, whatever, as much as I can...even complete strangers. Sometimes I feel a little silly, but I hope that deep down I made them smile.

So what about you? How do you feel about receiving compliments? Do you feel silly giving complete strangers compliments? Don't! You could be making someone's day that much brighter!

Do you follow the recipe or not?

So...as I mentioned before, I will write about anything on this thing.

Well, I was cooking for my wife's birthday the other day and I realized there are two kinds of people in this world - those that follow the recipe and those that will stray from it. The latter could be considered a "whisktaker"...yeah, bad I know, but you know who you are.

"This Jello recipe calls for 7-up so I really can't put Sprite in it".

Or

"This Chili recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of Chili Powder, but I'm going to put in 1 Cup of Chili Powder and 4 Tablespoons of cayenne pepper".

I'm a guy so I don't want to create the guise that I cook all the time. I don't. I enjoy it, but my wife definitely gets the credit in the kitchen. 100% of it. Now, when I do cook/grill/pick up take out, it usually turns out to be a braggable offense, where those who are dining with me go back for 2nds. By the way, 2nds is the true indicator of good food. 1sts are simply a guests way of saying, 'thanks for cooking this crap, I'm just eating it because you served it". 2nds mean, 'Mikey really likes it!".

Now back to my wife's birthday dinner and whether or not I follow the recipe. Those of you who know me would absolutely guess that I don't follow the recipe or that I'm not afraid to stray. It's actually a pretty good parallel to life. If you follow the recipe, you lick your envelopes up and down not one scooby doo lick from side to side. Simple, I'll follow the recipe until I read the word 'measure'.

I have to step back and give you the menu for the night: crab stuffed chicken with grilled asparagus and mushroom risotto and an appetizer of coconut shrimp with teriyaki scallops - all grilled. Do you think Chef Gordon Ramsey would be impressed? I'd love for that guy to yell at me with a profanity laden tirade.

Now buying the ingredients. I'll skip past the part of the obvious and get to the coconut shrimp. The intention was to get Malibu Rum, marinate the shrimp in it, grill it, enjoy as that is what the suggested recipe called for. But then as I was shopping at 2 am, I realized grilling rum would be the equivalent of drinking an O'douls for the "beer" flavor. The alcohol would be cooked away and I'd be left with the coconut flavor, still the clear goal here. BUT could I obtain it by straying from the recipe. Malibu Rum = $17 for a 750ml bottle = grill = waste of alcohol. Then I spotted my answer and heard the Harlem Boys Choir singing in the background (I was at Wal-mart, so it could possibly have been Martha and Joan in Aisle 4)....Pina Colada Mix. Pina Colada Mix = $2 = no alcohol waste = the fun of straying from the recipe. Long story into a long story with a one word closing - HOMERUN!

If you love shrimp and love pina coladas...marinate your large shrimp in this stuff for a couple of hours. Grill it directly on the grill and the pina colada mix in its coconutty creaminess, keeps the shrimp moist and absolutely mouth watering and it's thick enough to coat evenly. There is no breading, so healthier for you (I have no proof of this). AND you can use the leftover Pina Colada Mix to make yourself (and your guests) a little frozen totty. Butterfly the shrimp though and you may just be a culinary hero/heroess.

And if you haven't strayed from the recipe, do me a favor and try it sometime. If it works, you take the credit. If it doesn't, blame it on some guy who runs a purse business. But I can tell you, once you stray from a 1/4 cup of this to 1/5 flask of that, you'll never need the 3 x 5 card again.

Scott "Flay"

Moving to a big boy bed! All Abooooard!

So...is Braden no longer a baby if he moves into a big boy bed? Does he move to toddler status? Or did my 2 1/2 year old lose his baby status once he was able to put his hand in my face and say "top talking daddy" which in my head he got my hand right back saying, "oh no you di'int"...i really just turned away and started laughing.

Yes, we just made the change from the espresso crib with bite marks, a.k.a. the bed he can't get out of and roam freely at night, to the bed he can now get out of and roam freely at night. Although the latter hasn't happened yet, we are only on night two. Fortunately, he has slept very well and made the smooth transition maintaining the hero status I labeled him with the other night when my house alarm went off and he didn't wake up.

He asked for choo choos and he got choo choos - choo choo pillow, sheets, curtains, night light, and maybe even a temporary choo choo tattoo for posterity. I think originally he asked for a princess room which is why I say I think because I needed that to just be my imagination working not my son actually asking for a princess room. Mix in some days where he wanted monkeys, dinosaurs, suckers, Dora, Diego, Curious George, yet he still came back to the choo choos.

So answer me this all ye who have had kids before me, what was the first big boy or big girl bed your kids moved to or better yet, what was your big kid bed all about...wait, we all come from the generations of moving to a hand me down bed with tan sheets and a clumpy comforter....we didn't get the fancy schmancy rooms.

And what exactly is the status of my son now? Is he a baby with benefits or a full fledged toddler?

All aboooooooooooooooooooard!!!
Scott

The social networking dilemna

So...there is all this pressure for a business or a person to join the social networking craze. Become part of the Twitterverse they say! Please like me on Facebook!

I wouldn't say I bucked the pressure. I just wanted to make sure when we did it, it wouldn't be a flash in the pan. Our material girl customers really seem to be a special group of ladies AND many men who really love their ladies. You congratulate each other when someone else wins, you congratulate me when Braden reaches a milestone, and you make it easy for our staff to work harder to make you even happier.

I run our businesss the same way I run my life...I do the right things for the right people for the right reasons (no, I didn't coin that). But in a world of instant gratification where you can get a lot of the same products from different people, there is one thing that can set you apart...It's the relationship by a country mile. But it has to be established the right way, just like I expect my daughter's (if I have one) boyfriend to shake my hand when he meets me, keep his hat on straight, and not spend more than 10 seconds in my driveway after he drops her off on their and her first date (when she is 34). I make myself accessible for a reason and that is because I truly want to know you AND I want you to feel comfortable asking us for anything. Your business helps my family, pays my employees and supports the economy. I want you to feel good about that and knowing me, my family, my staff, and my business can make you feel even better about your shopping experience and truly show you how valued you are.....you aren't just an open ended credit card or a $20 bill. We love to hear from you and thus the Social Networking has fed my appetite for an even greater relationship with our customers.

Everyone is different, so we know Facebook might not be for you, Twitter may be a 140 character waste of time, and email may be used "for business purposes only". So here is what Material Girl is all about, use any and/or all of it to your advantage and regardless of what you participate in, know that we absolutely appreciate you!

Blog: materialgirlinc.blogspot.com - This is our blog. We use this to talk about whatever we want and whatever you want. Start from the beginning of our blogs if you have a few minutes and you'll get a feel for it. You'll hear from me, Erica, and our employees. The blog is for those who want to be a part of Material Girl for more than just a place to get a great handbag or accessory.

Facebook: Our Material Girl Fan Page is for everthing, communication with each other, giveaways, instant information, fun, get you through the day, chatting, liking, and all that is Facebook.

Website: www.materialgirlinc.com - Our international website for shopping our major lines. It's full of pure yumminess!

www.materialgirlomaha.com - Our local website for customers who are able to come in to our physical boutiques in Omaha, NE. Currently under construction, we encourage everyone to visit here as well to truly be in the know about Material Girl.

Twitter: @materialgirlNE - 140 characters about what's up, maybe the UPS lady just dropped off a shipment of Harvey's or rain just started to leak through the ceiling.

Lastly, since this is our blog, please follow us. Let us know what's on your mind and we'll tell you our thoughts, opinions, give you heads up to cool products, and even share our recipe for amazing grilled coconut shrimp. Most importantly, we can guarantee that if you decide to give up a couple minutes here and there to read our blog, we'll make sure you don't regret it.

Most very sincerely appreciatively fashionably yours,
Scott