Lululemon Made Me Feel Like a Million Bucks

Last week in a fit of frustration with a pair of floppy leggings, I published an article titled “Lululemon Makes Me Feel Fat.” What happened next completely changed my opinion of the Lululemon brand and was a shining example of what has become a rarity these days- stellar customer service.

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One very happy customer at Lululemon Jacksonville

Within hours of publishing the article, there was a message on my phone from the manager of our local Lululemon store, saying she read the article and wanted to speak with me because that is the LAST way they want anyone to feel. While I was trying to work through a bit of anxiety and muster up the courage to call back, my phone rang again and I did the one thing I hardly ever do- I answered it.

The store manager Vee immediately put me at ease and invited me to come back to the store to get properly fitted with a new pair of leggings. She said when I had visited in November, there were a lot of seasonal workers, and she’d like to set me up with Liza, who had been with them for a long time and was basically a leggings expert.

I will be the first to admit I am the worst at asking for help, so this is really where I went wrong on my first visit. I briefly conferred with the salesperson and then chose the leggings I thought had the cutest pattern. When buying anything high-end, even leggings, you need to be ready to ask for help so you make the right choice.

To say I am impressed with Lululemon is an understatement. Mind. Blown. If I still had my boutique, I’d be taking notes from them on how to handle customer service and a customer complaint. Not only have they won me over as a customer, but I’ve only told 9 billion people how amazing they are since yesterday.

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When I arrived, they had a dressing room waiting with a bunch of different styles set up in my size, and Liza took the time to go over what activity each one was designed for, how it was supposed to fit, special features and types of fabric. Not only that, but I was greeted with a personalized sign on the fitting room, flowers, balloons and a handwritten card.

Like I said, Mind. Blown.

My welcome sign!
Liza knows everything about Lululemon leggings!
In the dressing room

They were completely right about my size – I was a six in most styles. Some of the styles with a thicker material I was actually a four! So not only was I NOT feeling fat on this visit, but I was feeling pretty darn good about my gym progress.

With each try-on, I did sit-ups, jumped around the dressing room, touched my toes and basically bent every which way trying to see if they were going to roll or flop or do something weird. This is also something I should have done this first time! Put on those leggings and then see how they perform doing the thing you are going to use them for.

I narrowed down my choices based on performance and finally went with the Fast and Free Crop II. I was swayed by the side pockets and the super lightweight feel of the fabric. And the fact that no matter which way I bent and twisted, they stayed in place!

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Winner! Winner! Grilled chicken breast and salad dinner!

I finally get the whole Lululemon thing. I wore these to the gym and felt great. I totally understand what they mean by “naked sensation” now. That actually took some getting used too! lol. But I’m a total believer. My only problem now is that I want more!

I don’t usually write negative articles, but I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome after publishing my previous experience. And after posting about it on Facebook, I found this level of customer service is not an isolated incident. My friend Lindsey responded saying she wasn’t surprised with their actions, seeing how they made her first Mother’s Day special with a gift and flowers while her boyfriend Christian was thousands of miles away running across America to raise money for Help for Children, a charity focused on preventing and treating child abuse. Lululemon is one of the sponsors for his RUN2HEAL event, where he will run 3,000 miles from coast-to-coast with a goal of raising 1 million dollars for the charity. If you are interested in donating, learning more, or even joining Christian for part of his run, check out RUN2HEAL and click “Help me fight.”

So this concludes the saga of the leggings, a tale with a very happy ending! I’d be interested to hear about other companies stepping up like this. Leave me a comment and give a shout-out to a company who has done you right and is a good example of excellent customer service.

 

 

 

 

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Geeking Out on Tea – Adagio Teas Have All the Awesome Fandoms

I’m a fan of tea. I was born in Alabama and was basically raised on sweet tea. When I was little, if I had a choice between milk, juice or tea, I’d go tea every time. I got into hot teas and different varieties when I got older. I also have a pretty impressive collection of Japanese tea sets.

So, if I wasn’t clear, I really like tea.

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Which brings us to Adagio.com and their amazing collection of teas of all kinds. And it’s not just the tea, but the fandom connection that got me so excited I actually ordered twice the amount of the gift certificate they sent me so I could to review the tea and do an article. So this isn’t even a totally sponsored review – I actually bought this stuff too! I just love the little tins they tea comes in. I know I’ll be using them for other things once the tea is gone.

I just worked my way through the Harry Potter Magic Potions collection, and still have Game of Thrones and the Hero Recovery pack to do. I also picked up a little Flutter Shy and a random bag of Black Dragon Pearls because how cool does that sound?

This tea is no joke. It’s a loose tea and very vibrant in color and very fragrant. The overall tone of the Harry Potter sampler seems to be dark and smokey. Most of the tea reminded me of the scent of pipe tobacco. I discovered making tea with a toddler around is a little difficult because I’d get everything set up, start brewing the tea, then get distracted and come back 30 minutes later to a very strong and bitter tea. So pay attention to your brewing time! I’m still tinkering with how to make a nice cup so my first impressions may not be the most accurate. I tried everything plain at first, then with a little sugar. I prefer teas I can drink without adding anything extra, so my favorite was the Beerbutter because it tasted great as-is. I thought Pumpkin Potion would be high on my list, but I couldn’t really detect enough of a pumpkin flavor. I liked the light scent and flavor of the Draught of Peace, and wasn’t really a fan of the Felix Felicis or Polyjuice. I’m going to give everything another try though and experiment with proper brewing times and adding in sugar or honey.

I tried making it three different ways – a french press, a tea ball and tea bags. I like the tea bag way the best because it’s really easy and there’s no mess. You just fill up a little baggie, sit it in your cup, then toss it when you are done. I got mine at the grocery store, but the ones on Amazon are way better in price: bags for loose tea  There’s also a large selection of teaware on the Adagio website if you are looking for something unique or prettier than a tea bag.

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I’m still on my tea testing journey and looking forward to starting the Game of Thrones blends next! If you have a friend who likes tea, a unique blend from their favorite fandom would make a really great gift. They have a HUGE selection, plus seasonal teas, tea of the month, and every kind of tea imaginable it seems. Because I currently have such a plethora of teas, I shared my Magic Potions collection with a friend. You can read her tea experience here: Adagio Puts the Geek in Tea

You can also check out Adagio on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

 

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Celebrating MY Independence – A Daycare Story

I’m interrupting my regularly scheduled funny little stories to confess I totally broke down and cried several times last week and I’ve just had it. This stay-at-home-mom is waving the white flag. I had tears streaming down my face and ear-piercing screams in the background as I typed “childcare” into the search engine over the weekend.

I have a husband who travels way too often and no family nearby, and I just can’t take the strictly SAHM gig anymore. I need more. I enjoy working and having my own income. Being completely dependent on my husband is just eating away at my soul. I feel better and am a happier person when I am productive, so I am doing something about it. I found a “drop-in” kind of place that doesn’t require a schedule and is actually affordable. My son is there right now as I’m typing this, giving it a try for the first time. If all goes well, I’ll officially be a new WAHM (work-at-home-mom).

I’ve finally gotten to where I need to admit my blog is now a business. I’ve started to make an income off of it, and I absolutely love writing again. It’s taken me a long time to get back into it after college squelched my desire to write. My mom experience is what inspired me to write again, and my time with my son is a never-ending source of material. However, I crave time to myself. I don’t think being able to hear my own self think should be a rare privilege, but that’s how it’s been for THREE years. I kept telling myself it would change, and it certainly did, just not in some magical way that gives me my time back. So I’m taking it back.

So right now I’m going to take a break, go shower without jumping out to make sure Paw Patrol is still on, schedule my blogs for the rest of the week, clear out my e-mail inbox, maybe pick some toys up off the floor and not have them end up back there in five seconds and just take a moment to be ME.

Happy Independence Day everyone! It’s a good day to celebrate 🙂

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Adventures in Miscommunication – or How I Ended up with a Bib and a Box of Tweezers

I usually try and make sure I understand exactly what a company wants when I agree to try out a product or promote anything. I also only agree to promote products I’d actually use, and post honestly about my experience. But sometimes, something goes wrong somewhere and I end up with something completely different than discussed and then have no idea what to do with it. This is a story about two of those things.

#1 This embroidered bib

When the marketing company for a certain Italian website (who asked not to be named after seeing this post) contacted me about doing an article on their website and their collection of lovely handcrafted embroidered linen products, I expressed interest in the table runners or any kind of table setting type thing. I’ve been throwing little get togethers and dinner parties so I’d love to bump up my food display with a pretty setting. I figured I could easily create a nice post around that.

So….they sent me a bib:

It’s a very nice bib. Possibly the fanciest bib we have ever owned. Unfortunately we rarely use baby bibs anymore and when we do, we prefer the easy (though not as Instagram-worthy) plastic wipe-off style with the little pocket at the bottom that catches food. This is a going out bib. Like, maybe you take the baby to a fancy restaurant and he wants to make sure the bib doesn’t blow his outfit kind of bib.

I tried to explain I can’t do an entire article on a bib, but the person I originally dealt with no longer works there and it seems somewhere along the way, things got misconstrued into me reviewing a bib. This post is as good as it gets in that department. Luckily I have several friends with new babies that might need a fancy bid so I plan to pass it on so someone can enjoy it.

#2 Eyelash Tweezers from Zole

When a rep from Zole Industries asked if I would take a look at their eyelash tweezers and share on social media, I heard two things: eyelashes and tweezers. I use both of those things so figured I could easily snap a pic and share. This time the communication issue was totally my fault. They meant exactly what they typed, and sent me a whole box of Eyelash Tweezers. As in, tweezers for your eyelashes:

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I have never tweezed an eyelash before, but apparently they are used when people do individual lashes and extensions. I usually just glue on a strip for my lashes, so I didn’t know what to do with these things. Since I didn’t have a use for them, I made one up!

I made a sensory box type thing for my son and filled all the compartments with little knickknacks and then handed him the tweezers and told him to try and pick the stuff out of the compartments. I realize it is not the best idea to arm a toddler with a sharp pointy object, but he lost interest in about two minutes so I didn’t have to worry about any wayward stabbings for long.

If you happen to be a beauty professional and are in the market for eyelash tweezers, they can be reached through their Instagram Page: Zole Beauty Care

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So that’s my two biggest oops experiences lately. I wanted to be able to still go ahead and mention the companies on the blog, even if it’s not exactly what they were going for. It’s still exposure, right? lol

*Morning update: I was wrong, lol. the Italian company did NOT want to be named after seeing this post so I removed their links. If you are in the market for a fancy bib, just contact me for their name.

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My Week in Review – Park Hops, Lululemon Comes Calling, Doorknobs, and All the Tomatoes

This past week the garden has been blowing up with goodies from tomatoes to beans, and I’m trying to incorporate as much as possible in our meals. We made a visit to our old neighborhood for a Jax Moms Blog Park Hop and will definitely be adding the next one to our calendar. I learned where we keep the bedroom door key a little too late and removed the whole doorknob to rescue a panicking toddler. And finally, I complained about my Lululemon leggings and got a surprise phone call.

My Week in Review 6/25- 7/1

So many tomatoes! First the first time, I’ve had some success growing tomatoes. I don’t think my old garden got enough sunlight. But this year I’ve grown beefsteak, cherry and roma tomatoes. I pick tomatoes every day! And then my neighbor gave me some neat colorful ones from his garden, so I’ve been cooking up a storm with all these fresh ingredients. I also learned to make fried green tomatoes and will now be making that one of my go-to dishes. Really easy and delicious!

Spicy sauce recipe: plain yogurt, squirt of ranch dressing, dash of sriracha sauce, tbsp. lemon juice, and a little garlic salt

My son accidentally locked himself in his bedroom and was having a complete meltdown on the other side of the door while I tried to figure out what to do. The old “bobby pin in the door handle” didn’t work, so I decided to remove the doorknob.

When I managed to get the pieces off and he could see me through the hole, he calmed down a bit. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t get it open because it was locked in place. I finally got in touch with my husband who let me know there WAS A KEY the whole time! Arrrgh! It was down the hall, on top of the bathroom door. A little thing that looked like a flathead screwdriver. Two seconds and the lock was popped, door opened and mom saved the day, woohoo!

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My most popular post from the past week was “Lululemon Makes Me Feel Fat,” which lead to a phone call from the manager of our local Lululemon store about five hours after I posted it. Wow, they work fast! They had my number because they take all your info when you make a purchase.

My first thought was, “Oh crap, people are actually reading this stuff.”

Quickly followed by “Oh yay! People are reading this stuff!” lol

The manager was really nice and invited me to the store for a better fitting and to find the right pair of leggings for me. She said in no way were they supposed to be flipping down and fitting the way I described in my article. I was totally impressed with the way the situation was handled and am looking forward to my visit on Monday!

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And finally, we made it to our first Jax Moms Blog Park Hop and enjoyed the free orange sherbert, bug spray sample, kids games and a visit from Tinkerbell. This was the first time we’d been back to the park in our old neighborhood and I have been trying to find the pic of Keelan that I took there when he was a baby. It was his first picture on a slide! I wanted to do a side-by-side, but no luck finding the original so far.

That’s it for this past week! Not much on the calendar for next week, but will probably involve lots of prepping for an upcoming trip to Ireland and then a big cosplay event two days after we return. 

So how was your week?

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