Did You Say Free?

I saw a deal on an event called Pamper Me Fabulous – a beauty, yoga, fitness and health event in Chicago. There were lectures, yoga classes, product demos and give aways. It called to me, but not enough to invest the $20 and a Sunday summer afternoon. Then my friends at Klutch Club sent a free ticket offer (and the give away was another Klutch club box). Um, did you say FREE? Ok. Why not? Since the $20 ticket was still available, I combined my Sunday afternoon movie date with Meryl into a “check out this event” and movie date.

We started off with a lecture from Nutritionist Dawn Blatner. The subject was “the Power of Food”. We were expecting a discussion on the emotional ties that women have with food. Something I can definitely relate to. Dawn has a ton of energy and is very personable. She talked about her “GPS” method G= growl, P= plate and S= stress. I thought OK growl = stomach growling. Not exactly. Growl was more about emotional eating and having healthy and “fun” food balance. Hmmm. P was a good one — always eat food on a plate and sitting down and not while you are watching TV or working. Be mindful. Yup, I like that one. S=stress. Try to find joy in non-food things. Totally agree. (M & I had to laugh at her suggesting of “coloring” – like with markers at our desks… um, ok.) – Still a good point and something to think about. One other very good point she made was that “snacks” should be healthy – produce and protein – and that just because you call it a snack, it does not have to be bad for you. Great point. She did indicate that her perspective was that eating sweets, treats and drinking alcohol should be done only with others and never alone. Um, ok. (She thinks a woman eating a 100 calorie skinny cow ice cream sandwich is lonely and sad. Of course, M & I by the end of the day were saying “desperate and depraved”. That may be taking things a bit far – for her and us. Just saying!) Certainly some good points to think about. (I am still sticking with Lauren for my nutrition plan!) That said here are some other tips from Dawn on 5 Foods You Cannot Overdo.

We then got our free Klutch Club (June) box with $30 off for OG Sack (use code KLUTCH). (These are sweet bags and totes for yoga and farmer’s market and whatever else you may need. Multi-use coupon if you want to check it out! For every OG Sack purchased, one tree is planted in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil), $25 off at Body Language, a sample of Saavy-Boheme African Black Hand Soap (facial and body soap, made in Ghana, has “extraordinary skin benefits and will help make your complexion clearer and softer”), a sample of Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream (The #1 selling medicated, vitamin-enriched skin care cream in Japan), a Journey Bar – A savory snack inspired by flavors from all around the world, naturally lower in sugar than leading nutrition bars, a Free Month of Workout Downloads from mybarre3 and a sample of Crum Creek Soy Nut Mix.

Did you say samples? Yes, please! We also snagged samples of Think Thin bars and popchips, a facial cleanser and lip gloss and a chapstick from yelp. I got a bra fitting and some surprising sizing news (which is not fit to print!) but I did buy a bra in the new size. Will let you know how that goes!

All in all – worth it for the price of FREE or 2 of us for $20! A quick but fun visit – we could have gotten make overs, too, but we opted for the movies! (As for the movie… Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love – just ok! We did have some fro yo together – so not depraved but not by the rules as we did not have plates… oh boy this is complicated!)

Hope you had a great weekend, too!