Classy Not Pricey

If you're wondering what the "buzz" is about with the Clean-Crafted™ wine movement, you've come to the right place. The wine is delivered to your door and has a variety of benefits, so there's plenty to gain from learning more about it. Feel free to read top to bottom or skip around to your specific questions. I'll get straight to the Frequently Asked Questions : "What is clean-crafted wine?" "Clean-Crafted™" wine is a trademarked term created by the Scout & Cellar winery. Their Clean-Crafted Commitment® requires that grapes are farmed without toxic pesticides, and that wine is produced without synthetic processing aides and is low in sulfites. The requirements are verified by internal review of documented viticulture and winemaking practices, and validated by independent lab testing.  Founded by an attorney (Sarah Shadonix) turned Advanced Sommelier, Scout & Cellar was born out of deep dive on the ingredients in the majorit...

Let me preface this post by saying that I've never been what you would call a "feminist". For a long time it was even a stretch to call me "girlie". I was the only girl born to either side of my family among all my cousins. I hated dolls. My best friends in high school were guys. Even when I made global news  about breast milk pumping in airports, I was speaking up out of frustration over the lack of basic facilities for handling a bodily fluid need, not to declare a women's rights war over the sexualization of women's breasts (to clarify: I don't have a position one way or the other here, just that whatever works for a mom and her hungry baby is what matters). I  say this just to set the stage for where I've come from in my perspective on this topic.  There's an unrest among many women in my position. We are career women who have embarked on parenthood. We have heard and embraced the ideas of, "if you can dream it, you can do it...

Well before Halloween brings trick-or-treaters to our doors, holiday shopping is already mainstream in the advertising world. Some companies want to capture their holiday sales before Black Friday even begins while others heavily rely on the Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales to make their numbers. There are families that look forward to their tradition of heading out to the shops as soon as their turkey coma has lifted. Others are thrilled to see companies like REI boycotting Black Friday and spearheading campaigns like #optoutside to get people out of the stores and into nature and time with friends and family. Whatever camp you fall into, saving money on items you already plan to buy for the (very expensive) holiday season can be welcome. I recently found a fantastic Wall Street Journal article that goes into research-tested details on the specific days to shop where you will save the most money without risking the item being sold out. Read the details here , but for a summary of ...

Salary negotiation; one thing we all go through and never like to talk about. Why? Because it's personal, tedious, and sometimes downright uncomfortable!  When you're on the market for a new job and interviewing, how do you make sure you're positioning yourself for what you deserve? Number one rule of thumb: You could set yourself back by thousands of dollars from the start if you disclose your current salary or salary history. Let me explain. A common misconception about the interview process is that money doesn't enter the picture until you get to the offer stage. On the contrary, you have valuable skills that a business knows are worth money to them, so "price" is at the forefront of their candidate search. They are looking for the best candidate that will bring them the greatest value for their investment. Recruiters have a range of salary and bonus options they can use to cater an offer for their candidate of choice. If the role you are interviewing ...

Ladies and Gents, if you haven't noticed yet it is engagement and wedding season!  Whether your Facebook feed constantly reminds you with status updates and photos, or your bank account is looking wimpy from all the travel and gifts, there's no question this season of love is in full swing. I've had a couple of conversations and questions lately that inspired me to write about wedding etiquette.  It seems, for some reason, many etiquette rules weren't clearly passed along through the generations, and that many of us will never know our offenses until we are the ones getting married!  I myself was guilty of several of these items, and reached into my past after my own wedding to make sure my wrongs were made right. To spare many a bride and guest from a variety of awkward situations, here are some of the most common wedding faux pas and how to handle them.  I will be blunt and to the point so as to be as clear as possible - no hurt feelings intended. ...

Grandpa Ferd enjoying his 90th birthday in Colorado - forever the traveling man! It seems fitting after all this time that I share the inspiration for Classy Not Pricey.  Two words:  My Grandpa. I am the proud granddaughter of a 100% Italian man, the son of an immigrant to New York City from Piacenza, Italy.   Ferdinand, lovingly called Ferdie, was the ultimate survivor.  At 91, he outlived his parents, all four younger brothers, his wife, and two of his three daughters.   He was a child of the Great Depression, although he never realized the state of his family's needs at that time.  Regardless of his financial status, he worked for almost his entire life...