Sudz N Bubbles = Soap Adorableness.

Part of being a girl is wanting to smell nice, all the time.

(Hubs, apparently, does not have the same worries, which I guess is practical for him since he comes home from work everyday looking like PigPen from Peanuts.)

(Seriously, I think dirt just FINDS him. I asked him one time if all the guys look like that after the workday and he thought for a minute and said "No, just me." I don't get it.)

No one wants to be less than fresh. When you work in a job where you have close contact with people on the daily, you think about these things.

Also, when you are the business of beauty and you get a discount on many different types of lotions and potions, you tend to have a large collection of good-smelling things in your bathroom. I know I do.

However, I'm always on the lookout for something fabulous (as we all should be) and so when I stumbled upon Sudz N Bubbles, a glycerine soap company specializing in edible-looking fancy soaps, I immediately had visions of my bathroom done up like the ones on HGTV.

(You know, the ones that have the special "company" soaps and hand towels laid out like, ALL THE TIME? That would never fly in my house. But a girl can dream.)

Margarita, No Salt! and Lavender Dreams

Not only are these soaps ridiculously cute and cleverly named, but they smell and feel wonderful. The little limes on top of Margarita, No Salt! are adorable. I like the Lavender Dreams best, it has a great soothing feeling, and it's actually much more purple than pictured above.

Think Pink Soapcake and Key Lime Pie Soap

These soaps are designed to look JUST LIKE desserts, and they totally do. The Key Lime Pie Soap smells divine, and comes in it's own individual slice box.

(Seriously, I could probably put it on a plate and fool someone. Hey Hubs, want some pie?)

(Just kidding. It's probably not wise to mess with the hand that feeds you, right? We all know Tia doesn't know her way around the kitchen.)

But the Think Pink Soapcake is probably my favorite by far. It looks just like a little cupcake that someone would serve at a Barbie-themed birthday party. I really want to put it in the soapdish in my bathroom but I almost feel like it's too cute to use.

(I'll get over it eventually, I'm sure. But for now I just want to look at it.)

The wonderful Cindy, owner of Sudz N Bubbles, is offering everyone from Clever Girl Goes Blog a 10% discount on orders of $10 or more, so enter the code "tiaclever" (without the quotes, obvi) at checkout to redeem your discount!

Thanks Cindy! I'm off to go smell my hands.

(Haha that should get me some great Google search results.)

Jupiter Freedom Giveaway.

Ask anyone: I am a girl who loves her accessories.

(Seriously. Ask Hubs. He laments on the daily about where to store my shoe and purse collection.)

Anyhoodle.

I have an assortment of "occasion purses" to use when I go to specific locations, but I find that the gym/dog-walking/amusement-park section of my bags is largely lacking.

There are times when a clutch is too fancy and a simple crocheted sack is too bulky.

(My four guy readers just fell asleep. Sorry guys.)

(But really. Wouldn't you just save the day if you offered your girl a solution to this age-old problem?)

Jupiter Freedom makes the cutest hands-free armbags I've ever seen. They're like fashionable fannypacks for your arm.

(Yes, I said "fashionable" and "fannypack" in the same sentence. I was a non-believer before too, trust me.)

Jupiter Freedom Hands-Free Bag in Midnight Shadow

The armbags have the perfect amount of room to store your driver's license, credit cards, cash, lipgloss, car key, cell phone, or whatever else you need to carry. Also, they're made in fair trade and are free of animal products. They can be worn on your arm or wrist or even your thigh.


(Although, I'm not sure how I feel about the thigh thing. I'll stick with my arm, thanks.)


Even if you don't want to use the straps, you can tuck the bag into a pocket or even another larger purse, or you can wrap the velcro strap around your belt. There's a lot of possibilities and they all leave your hands free for the optimum in multi-tasking.


The nice folks at Jupiter Freedom sent me one armbag to try out, valued at $45 and pictured above, and because I love all of you very very much, I'm giving it away this week.


(Don't worry, I didn't, like, sweat in it or anything. Promise.)


(Even though, seriously? I'd be much more likely to go to the gym if I were properly accessorized.)


(Maybe.)

To enter this giveaway, you have a few options. You can do any of these, or ALL of them for extra entries!

1. Leave a comment below telling me your favorite pattern from the Jupiter Freedom site.
2. Twitter about this giveaway and leave a separate comment linking to your tweet.
3. Post about this giveaway on your own blog and leave a separate comment linking to your post.

Be sure to get your entries in by Friday, July 17th at 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by email. You don't have to have a blog to enter, just a valid email address.

Good luck!

Bloggers write books.

One of the best things, for me, about starting this blog was finding such an amazing group of new friends.

(And not in a scary internet chat-room sort of way.)

(Usually.)

Peter DeWolf was one of the first blogs I ever read, and once I began stalking him reading, I couldn't stop. That was back in the day when two people read my blog with any regularity (HI MOM!), and so the first day that Peter read a post of mine and left a comment was a monumental day indeed.

(I don't remember when it was or what the comment said, but it was MONUMENTAL, I tell you.)

Since I occasionally get asked for book recommendations, I'd like to take this time to tell you all that Peter DeWolf has published a novella.

(Hold for applause.)

This is not your typical romance novel. Peter bills it as "a romantic comedy... about cancer. It's that old 'Boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. Girl gets life-threatening disease. Boy tries to make it better. Boy screws up A LOT' story."

A few of MY favorite bits? The pop culture references, including Luke Perry's hair, People Magazine, and Christian Louboutin. Not to mention, Peter really excels in the writing of dialogue, and the first person narrative makes the entire novella come to life.

Also, I think that there is something incredibly vulnerable and endearing about a man writing a romance story. Women can write things from men's point of view but they are still always clouded by our ideals. Reading a love story from a guys point of view, even if that guy is perhaps more in tune with his feelings than the average boy because he's a writer, well, it's just different.

If you're looking for a smart, funny, entertaining read, buy Peter's novella.

(It's even available for download for only 5 bucks!)

(I mean, seriously, I blew that on coffee and gum this morning with nothing to show for it but shaking hands and minty latte breath.)

So go. Support blog authors.