ChaCha DIY Holiday Projects!

If you find yourself cursing under your breath as you string lights – you aren’t alone!

Decorating for the holidays should be fun, and not stressful. Yet, many ChaCha women strive to find something new and creative to do with their old decorations. Recently, I was told about the website Pinterist, which shows amazing decorating ideas as well as day-to-day things like recipes, clothes, and do- it-yourself projects. Check it out and enjoy some of their ChaCha creative ideas!http://pinterest.com/

We all eventually love our end result, but getting there (with a few trips to Michaels Arts and Crafts in-between) seems to be the ChaCha trouble. So, I recommend this DIY project…drink white wine (or Perrier mineral water) and save the bottles! Remove the labels. Wrap the mid-section of the bottle with a silver or gold wrapping paper and then add a thin bow or ribbon around the paper. Add a taper candle to the top and you have created a lovely ambiance. If you have a glass cutter, you can also cut the length of the bottles to have varying heights. How fun, classy, and easy to do – that’s my idea of a ChaCha DIY project!

Another easy decorating idea is using candy as a filler for vases. Stick with a ChaCha color theme, for example white pretzels, white gumballs, white rock candy sticks, etc. You can fill in with marshmallows, sugar cubes, Epson salt, white/silver ornaments, and the fake snow also. A single color unifies and has a powerful effect. Of course, red is the season’s color with the cranberries, candy-candies, and poinsettias, would work great too. A hot ChaCha chocolate or smores station is always cute too in vases, Hershey Chocolate Bars, Graham Crackers, and Marshmallows, and loose Chocolate mix. Add some holiday mugs, and your guests will want to stay!

Please let me know about your latest holiday DIY project and you will be entered to win a handmade ChaCha Bella ring! Contact Suzanne at S@chachabella.com

If you aren’t sure what to ChaCha say on Thanksgiving Day, I found this great prayer written by Scott Wesemann. During these difficult economic times, I find people more appreciative of everything. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and can find many things that make you thankful.

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Lord, so often times, as any other day
When we sit down to our meal and pray

We hurry along and make fast the blessing
Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing

We're slaves to the olfactory overload
We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold

But Lord, I'd like to take a few minutes more
To really give thanks to what I'm thankful for

For my family, my health, a nice soft bed
My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head

I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those
Whose lives touch me more than they'll ever possibly know

Thankful Lord, that You've blessed me beyond measure
Thankful that in my heart lives life's greatest treasure

That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place
And I'm ever so grateful for Your unending grace

So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You've provided
And bless each and every person invited

Amen!

ChaCha Girls love Pink, but is it OK for Turkey meat on Thanksgiving?

According to the USDA, The color of cooked poultry is not always a sure sign of its safety. Only by using a food thermometer can one accurately determine that poultry has reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout the product. Turkey can remain pink even after cooking to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. And, the meat of smoked turkey is always PINK.

For more detailed information with all the ChaCha technical information, please visit
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/is_pink_turkey_meat_safe/index.asp

As you will read, there are many reasons turkey may be pink, so, please be safe, use the meat thermometer to ensure the temperature is 165 °F. More tips on ChaCha holidays. Coming Soon!

Don't let Halloween pass you by without creating something ChaCha fun with food!

Mom’s always say, “Don’t play with your food," but this is the perfect time to play, create, and of course eat with our fingers! I am not Martha Stewart in the kitchen and I don’t take on any challenging cooking task, but arranging carrots in the shape of a pumpkin - that is right up my alley!

My girlfiend told me about the Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies dipped in white icing to make ghost figures and I found these cute ones on a site by former art directors for Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings, Angie and Kristin at Blonde Designs.

I also love the idea of the Milano cookies used as tombstones with RIP written in black icing on them. Use them to be ChaCha clever in decorating your cake.

If you are into scarier shaped foods, then check out this gross website for ChaCha creative ideas using jello, brain molds, and a kitty litter them

e to highlight a few of their ideas: http://www.divinedinnerparty.com/halloween-party-food.html.

Who doesn’t want to devour crescent rolls made to look like mummies? I have also seen them twisted with an almond sliver at the end to look likefingers. Really, kids and adults will howl at the moon over these fun snacks.

If you have a unique Halloween treat you like to make, please share it with us and be entered to win a black ring of your choice. Contact Suzanne at s@chachabella.com

At a recent football game, the players were all wearing hot pink socks with their uniform and cleats.

Gone are the days of whispering “breast cancer" - it is now front and center in society. Men wear "Save the Ta-Ta shirts," boys wear hot pink socks, and ChaCha women of all ages run/walk marathons to raise money. As you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and it is a reminder to get your mammogram.

Last spring, I had a scare with breast cancer and had to have a small lumpectomy to remove some cells. My results came back good, but now I have to be monitored every six months.


Some of my friends have not been so lucky, and have had mastectomies, radiation, and/or chemo treatments. More than likely you know someone who has been affected and can understand the reality of the situation.

The Granny of the owners of ChaChaBella had breast cancer and they now have a ring in her honor. In addition, they have a specific breast cancer charity ring called ChaCha for the Cure, where profits are donated to help find a cure.




More than 230,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 40,000 will die of the disease, according to estimates by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Department Secretary Kathleen Sebeluis said in a statement that regular mammography screening "can help lower breast cancer mortality by finding breast cancer early, when the chance of successful treatment is best."



So grab a ChaCha friend and schedule the mammogram. You can laugh afterwards about the awkward position and pressing strength. Be ChaCha strong and smile!

Send me your mamogram story and you will be entered to win a pink ring. I can be reached at s@chachabella.com

Have you ever left a speech or a program and been Cha Cha motivated to change the world?

Recently, I attended a presentation about Rachel’s challenge at my son’s middle school. Rachel Scott was the first person killed at the horrible Columbine school shootings in April 1999. In addition to Rachael, 11 other students and 1 teacher made this horrific event the deadliest High School massacre. The two killers were students who felt bullied, hated life, and were depressed. They ended up committing suicide that day. If this information is new to you, I know it is Cha Cha disturbing, so imagine my surprise that something so wonderful could come from such a tragedy.

There is no doubt that Rachel had those Cha Cha amazing qualities that were larger than life. She based her life on doing the right thing and making a difference. Her family has her legacy living on with Rachel’s challenge of starting a chain reaction.

I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction of the same.
- Rachel Scott

Upon Rachel’s death, the family found tons of notebooks and a paper she wrote about her ethics and code of life. You must ChaCha read this and embrace her compassion and passion for kindness.
http://www.rachelschallenge.org/LearnMore/RachelsEssay.php

I can’t put her life into words, but her actions are still speaking today. Anti-Bullying laws, kindness acts, paying it forward all stem from her challenge.

Please visit the entire website for more information and how to get involved at http://www.rachelschallenge.org/LearnMore/MeetRachel.php

As we approach the anniversary of 9/11, I can think of nothing better than showing kindness and Cha Cha compassion throughout our day, our lives, and to our family and friends.

If you have done a recent act of kindness, please share it with me to be entered for a ChaCha ring of your choice. Contact Suzanne at S@chachabella.com

Happy first anniversary to Lindsey Atkas and Henry Ambroseo!

The couple ChaCha celebrated the big day on August 7, 2011. As I approach the ChaCha milestone of fifteen years with my husband on September 7 (lucky #7!); I asked Lindsey what advice she had for new brides and she said, communication, communication, communication. In addition, I would also throw in that you can’t sweat the small stuff, in life and marriage!

Their wedding was at the Waterview, in Monroe, CT in front of 160 guests. Black ChaCha rings were made to match the bridesmaids dresses. Lindsey also has a brown and pink ring (or in ChaCha wording, yummy chocolate and pretty princess pink) named after her for ordering the first bridesmaid rings of 2010.

One of the best gifts that the couple received was a frame personalized with their names and wedding date from the Sandals St. Lucia resort, where they stayed for ten days over their honeymoon. They wake up and go to bed looking at the picture from one of their romantic evenings, and relive those great memories.

Henry and Lindsey met through one of her best friends, who ended up marrying Henry’s cousin. That’s another thing we have in common, as I married my cousin’s best friend.

The engagement was all Henry’s planning. He invited Lindsey for a day of shopping in NYC, and then they had plans for a ChaCha fun evening including a hotel in NYC, which was unusual, since they live close to the city.

The restaurant was where they had their first date, yet Henry didn’t eat much. He claimed he wasn’t feeling well. So, they headed back to their room and Lindsey was disappointed that their evening plans had fizzled, so she changed into her PJs since they weren’t going out now. Of course, Henry came out of the bathroom and said, I hope this ring makes you feel better. Needless to say, it did and they are doing ChaCha great!


Contact Suzanne at S@chachabella.com to tell me your favorite wedding gift or first year marriage advice, and be entered to win a Lindsey ring!

What’s a ChaCha?

Recently, I was looking through my ULTA beauty magazine and saw an ad for Benefit’s ChaCha tint, a mango-tinted lip and cheek stain which is sheer and sexy for a tropical flush.
It retails for $29 at ULTA. This product started me thinking, what else uses the ChaCha name and what does it all mean? (See, my ChaCha blog inspirations come from anywhere!)

Did you know there is a search engine called ChaCha? It began in 2006 in Carmel, Indiana. The name ChaCha comes from the Mandarin Chinese which means "to search." One of their sources they use are ChaCha guides and this was the requirement: "ChaCha Guides are curious, professional, Internet-savvy people, just like you, who enjoy learning new things, sharing their knowledge with others, and being part of a fun, diverse community. Sharp minds are important, but you do not actually have to be a ‘know-it-all’ to be a Guide."

If I replace Internet-savvy in that description with fashion-savvy, girlfriend-savvy, and just plan super-savvy and you have a ChaCha girl!

OPI nail enamel has a color called Cha-Ching Cherry. This makes me think of a casino slot machine where you want three cherries in a row! That would be ChaCha lucky.

Now, who hasn’t heard of the famous ChaCha slide song and dance by Dj Casper:

To the left, take it back now ya’ll
One hop this time, right foot let’s stomp
Left foot let’s stomp, Cha Cha real smooth...


Heather aptly named her company ChaChaBella after her two sons, Chase and Chandler. The Cha from the beginning of each of their names and since she had two twin boys, she needed and wanted a little (ok, a lot) of femininity in her business. Hence, she added bella, which stands for friendships, beauty, and of course sparkle! And actually, in many Spanish speaking countries, ChaChaBella means Beautiful Girl – PERFECT!

If you have a product in your house that uses Cha or ChaCha in it, let us know and be entered to win a ring. Contact Suzanne at s@chachabella.com