Got Apps?

I always love getting a good App recommendation so I wanted to share mine with you.

Reading:

Kindle: I’m sure all your book lovers already know about this one but this is one of my most used apps! You have the ability to read books, newspapers, magazines, textbooks and PDF’s and it will automatically sync to the last page you read and you’re like me and pick up reading on a different device. FREE

Audiobooks: I have to drive a lot for work trips and I love listening to books while I’m on the road.  You can listen to 5,000+ classic books for free!  They also have a wide variety of books for you to buy from as well.  If your eyes and hands have to be somewhere else but your ears are opening for listening try the Audiobooks app .FREE

Cooking:

Epicurious: You have access to over 30,000 recipes and can put items in your “recipe box.” You can shop on the go by saving your recipes to your shopping list and then you check the items off as you buy them on the store.  Another really nice feature is you can share recipes very easily with friends via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and more! FREE

Whole Foods Market Recipes: If you have deity preferences for yourself or family such as gluten-free, low gat and vegetarian/vegan this app is for you! This has a variety of recipes that includes nutria information and cooking instructions. An added bonus is that you can also enter items you have on hand to find recipes using those ingredients. I love that!  FREE

Games:

Tetris: This is an oldie but a goodie that I can’t get enough of! If you need some mindless activity this is the game for you! $2.99

Words Free with Friends: This is basically a digital game of scrabble that you can play with friends all over the world.  You can play up to 20 games at the same time and are even able to chat with your opponents as well. It’s a great way to stay connected with old friends. FREE

Health & Fitness:

WebMD: The Symptom Checker is awesome! Select the parts of the body that you are having trouble, select your symptoms and it will give you a list of potential conditions.  There are also first aids tips on what to use for different circumstances.  There’s even a pill identification tool if you get your medicine mixed up it can help identify your prescription drugs by shape, color and imprint.

MyFitnessPal HD: This is an easy way to count calories by just scanning or entering in your food intake and then plugging in how much activity you have done for the day. I love that it connects you with friends for motivation and accountability.

~Suzy Hicks

Co-Director, Columbus Chapter

Blue Eye Shadow, Denim Mini Skirts and Other Mysteries of the Universe...

After turning 35 last year I soon realized that there were lots of things that I could no longer do. Mainly because I had lost interest, but also because, at some point during the last couple of years, I realized I had become a “grown up.”

On a Saturday night 15 years ago, you would have found me downtown, wearing blue eyeshadow and a denim mini skirt, effortlessly sliding off a barstool to sing Bon Jovi karaoke while trying not to slosh my beer on the guy next to me. True Story.

Yes, that would be me.

Nowadays, not so much. Last Saturday night I had a plate of cake and some Red Stag whiskey for dinner. I was in my stretchy pants by 6 p.m., and it was a struggle to pull myself off the couch at 9 o’clock and walk the 12 steps it took me to get to my bed. Also a true story. 

While the days of line dancing with strangers 'til 2 a.m. and the confidence of wearing short skirts are long gone, and these days I'm more likely to be found spending Saturday nights on the couch with my dog, there is a happy medium.

Fortunately my medium came in the form of the LBDC. Finding a group of girlfriends who still love to have a great time, whose husbands want them home at a decent hour, whose children need to have a good example set for them, or who are single and just want to enjoy a girls night out without being obligated to the bar scene has allowed me to experience some of the most fun and adventurous times of my life. I have made new friends, gone to new places and tried things I never thought I would be interested in.

Because I am the Type-A personality, which my friends and family love me for, I decided to make a list. I’m sharing some of these wonderful adventures in the hopes that there are other 30- and 40-somethings out there in their stretchy pants watching LMN, thinking about the 90s and wishing they could have a bit more fun, without the denim mini skirt and the late nights at the bar.

Set yourself a monthly goal. Once a month, decide that you will call up a girlfriend and randomly select from this list. Put on your sneakers, get a sitter for the kids, and go learn how to can some veggies, give manicures at your local nursing home or attend a fashion show. The possibilities are endless. If you find yourself wishing you had a partner in adventure or a group of girlfriends to meet for margaritas and bean dip, visit our siteand join the LBDC. Because as we say, finding friends is as easy as throwing on a little black dress, blue eye shadow optional.

~Shay Ashcraft
National Director, LBDC

Top 100 Things To Do That Don't Involve Going To A Club:

1. Cooking Classes
2. Pottery Classes
3. Painting Classes
4. Groupon, Big Deals, Living Social, Deal Chicken
5. Volunteer in your community
6. Glamping
7. Create a team of girlfriends to run in a marathon
8. Attend a happy hour
9. Snow tubing
10. Wine tasting
11. Attend a musical
12. Cooking demonstration
13. Visit a chocolate expo and market
14. Join a group of girlfriends at your local brewery pub
15. Learn to sail by taking a lesson at your local sailing club or showing up for a free social sail.  For example the Sailing Club of Washington offers Thursday evening Social Sails http://www.scow.org/faqs and Percy Priest Yacht Club in Nashville offers a Learning at the Helm program http://www.ppyc.org/membership/calendar.htm#LATH
16. Learn to ski- Water ski in the south and snow ski if you are up north
17. Pretzel yourself: lulu lemon stores hold free yoga classes both in store and in local studios. http://www.lululemon.com/community/giftofyoga?mnid=mn;community;gift-of-yoga
18. Bourbon Trail
19. Sushi night
20. Rock climbing

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Follow, Like, Pin or Stalk!

Seems like this generation has become one of social media, and the Little Black Dress Club is no exception!

We have recently created several new social media outlets for the LBDC. We have several chapters on facebook, as well as a national page. We are also on twitter and pinterest. We will be updating our blog on a regular basis and we are currently working on a youtube channel! Here are a few links to some of our national pages.

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Yelp

Check out our "Find Us On The Web" page above to find links to our other chapters on the web!

Make sure you subscribe to our blog for information on how to find the chapter in your area on the social media network of your choice. In addition-don't forget to check us out on Sundays for a new blog section titled "Member Spotlight!" Each week on our blog we will feature one of our outstanding members. Tune in to get to know these ladies and find out why they love the LBDC!

See you on the web!

 ~Shay Ashcraft

Social Media Director, LBDC

LBDC Names New Social Media Director!

Exciting news this month at LBDC! The leadership team has decided to add one more talented woman to the fold.

Nashville Chapter Co Director, Shay Ashcraft, has agreed to come on board as the new Social Media Director. Upon assuming this role, Shay will spend the next few weeks working on a business plan for a social media strategy for the Little Black Dress Club. She has already gotten started on creating both Pinterest and Twitter pages for the Nashville and Birmingham Chapters and a Pinterest page for our Tracy Chapter.

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