As part of my Lifestylist® Goals for 2012, I finally started letting go of things that should have been tossed or recycled ages ago. One of the items I have a lot of is the soaps and bath products you get in hotels when you travel. With my schedule I’m in all different sizes and shapes of hotels with a vast range of complimentary items included.

Never one to waste something if I don’t have to, I always bring my own products when I travel but bring back the ones from the hotels and give them to some of my favorite charities. There are lots of shelters that desperately need these types of items for their short term residents – I know they are always going to be put to good use and worth the trouble of bringing them home and sharing them.

So today was a great day – I gained a few new empty drawers and helped my community in the process!

Being a Lifestylist® isn’t as easy as it looks. Especially with all of the regulations they make when you fly now, it’s become harder to look pulled together and actually look like a Lifestylist® when you can only have two carry-ons and they are charging you for checked luggage. Because of what I do, I have to travel with my laptop, ipad, iphone, jewelry, cameras, flashes, etc. with me on-board, so I’m always looking for ways to cut back on what I need to bring with me on the road. Daryn DeZengotia is the brains and beauty behind Scatter-Brain – a resource that is devoted to the struggle AGAINST work/life balance. She really knows her stuff, and is funny as well! Be sure to check out her Facebook page and “like” it so you can get her great tips directly. Daryn was one of the top selling consultants at Avon, and she knows how tough it is to keep yourself pulled together 24 hrs. a day. She’s been helping me find some great information to share here, and just told me about a great article on Oprah.com about 13 of The Best Beauty Multitaskers. These look like great solutions that will let me cut down on what I carry, and many are well priced as well. I’m going to try some of them – let us know if you do as well and which are your favorites.

Once upon a time a company could have a website up - good or bad- and customers were happy. Not any more - with consumers using the internet as their main resource to find information on any and everything, it's critical that you take advantage of the other social media outlets that are available. For the next week we are going to highlight some of our favorites, and today we are going to start with the fastest growing site out there - Pinterest.

Pinterest.com This is the fastest growing web trend - ever.  They hit the 10 million U.S. monthly unique visitors faster than any independent site in history. With a growth of over 40 times in the last 6 months, if you aren't on Pinterest you need to be. I've seen statistics state that 58% of the traffic to this site are women between the ages of 25 and 44, and 97% of Pinterests' Facebook fans are women.

What is Pinterest? The official definition is "Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste. People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things — wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it. We know you have great taste in something. Our mission is to make Pinterest the best place for you to share your taste with the world.”

People are flocking to Pinterest because it is a great resource of high quality lifestyle focused images, and it's fast and easy. You design your own "boards" that you can add your images to or "pin" images that were posted by someone else or that you found online. I've discovered some of my favorite new recipes on Pinterest, and I'm also amazed by how many new viewers have discovered the Lifestylist® brand thanks to our page.We are definitely getting more subscribers on Pinterest than we are on our Facebook page which is a huge shift in how people are searching for us.

Something else that is unique about Pinterest is that it's by invitation only right now, and you can join by asking for an invitation on the site or by receiving one from someone that is already active there. If you would like to receive an invitation so you can check out our Lifestylist boards just send us an email at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we'll send one your way!

We are liking what we are seeing in the Google+ page arena. It seems like they are really listening to what consumers are looking for, and it is definitely getting attention.

Check out our new Lifestylist® Google+ page and let us know what you think. It's a great place to start a conversation and share how you you are using Life Celebrating Style.

Have you noticed that lately everyone considers themselves writers and love to share their writings on Facebook, Blogs, and in other social media forums? Good or bad, truly anyone can be published these days.

I have never considered myself a writer, but when I wanted to start sharing the Lifestylist story I found that the best person to write and share it was me. Just like I don't consider myself a chef (more of a cook who loves to play in the kitchen) I have never considered myself a serious author, but more of a storyteller. I like to use words to share the stories that come across. Visual person that I am, many times it's easier for me to share images than words, but I love the fact now I have the opportunity to share both. Before I share, I try to do the research and ask questions so I'm comfortable that what I'm sharing is the truth.

It amazes me that when you Google or Bing something, the results can be completely different and bring up completely different stories. That's one of the hazards of todays media - even though someone wrote it doesn't make it true. I was recently attacked by a group on Facebook that didn't have any facts and what they were stating was totally false. That was a wake-up call for me, and made me even more determined not to ever do that to someone else.

We all have been given a wonderful gift, but we need to realize the responsibilities that come with it. If it seems to good to be true? There is probably a reason. I wish just one of these emails I get about being a Nigerian princess that my 2nd uncle twice removed left millions of dollars to would be true, but instead of waiting for that day I think I'll just continue to do what I love - being a Lifestylist and sharing my stories on living your life with style.

As a Lifestylist®, I spend a lot of time researching trends and learning what consumers want – then sharing that information with my clients. There are lots of places I do my research and new sites are popping up every day. I want to share with you one of my new favorites.

Have you discovered Pinterest yet? The site describes itself as “an online pinboard where you can organize and share things you love” but it is truly so much more than that. Words don’t do justice to this site – it’s definitely a visual experience.

Pinterest lets you do your own digital wish books where you can browse through thousands of images, recipes and inspirations that others have shared and “pin” them onto your own boards. You can also follow people who have a style that you like and share your favorite finds using Facebook or Twitter.

This is a great tool to see what consumers are liking and sharing. I have a huge appreciation for the laws governing intellectual property and don’t publish other people’s photos or articles on my sites without permission. Pinterest gives you the opportunity to share other people’s images without violating copyright rules, and it’s also a great way to share what you like and don’t like with others.

Our boards can be found at: pinterest.com/lifestylist take a look and let us know what you think. We’d love to see what your boards look like as well. Email us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your Pinterest name and we’ll take a look.