Eco-Fabulous Fashion Show Next Friday

Our next big Cincy Chic event is coming up next Friday at Lexus RiverCenter! We'll be featuring all five of the Lexus Hybrid models, shopping, photo booth, refreshments, and a fashion show showcasing designs by local DAAP students! I'm so excited! Hope you can come!

Eco-Fabulous Fashion Show
Friday March 16, 6-9pm

Lexus RiverCenter 633 W. 3rd St., Covington, KY 41011

Enjoy complimentary cocktails, shopping, and a fabulous fashion show with looks designed by DAAP students at 8pm showcasing eco-fabulous designs


Event is free to attend. Those who purchase a $10 ticket will receive a swag bag and 100% of the proceeds will go to the Civic Garden Center.

Presenting Sponsor: Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance

Fashion Show Sponsors: Mitchell's Salon & Day Spa, Glass Zipper Boutique
Supporting Sponsors: PNC, The Plastic Surgery Group, Krombholz Jewelers, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Lexus RiverCenter, Performance Lexus

Vendors Include: Bella Forza Fitness, Mary Kay by Britt Born, Votre Vu by Julena Bingaman, A Village Gift Shop at the Century House, Vogue Vert, Stella & Dot with Beth Harris and Summer Weidenbein, and Charmed by Galite.


RSVP to: http://ccgogreen2012.eventbrite.com

Hosted by: Cincy Chic, an online publication for women in Greater Cincinnati

Fab Fuel-Saving Tips

I love taking summer road trips! But there’s one thing I’m dreading this year (even more than I’m dreading bathing suit shopping): the price of fuel. It’s more than $4 a gallon now! Yikes! So I did a little digging to see how I can ease the pain at the pump – and on Mother Earth!

I found some good tips from the EPA. The first tip has to do with saving gas itself. The number one tip would be to only use your car when necessary. If you are in walking distance, go ahead and walk, even if you have to bring your work shoes with you to change once you get there. Do me a favor, though and wear some cute flats, instead of gym shoes and socks with your work outfit. Not chic! But getting in a little exercise instead of into your car is healthy for you and your budget - and that IS chic!

If "not driving" isn't an option, you might want to consider a hybrid. I recently reviewed the 250h and I was really impressed.

The next tip is to combine errands into one trip. I don’t know about you, but my daily to do list is full of places to go and people to see. So I try to communicate as much as possible via email, Skype or phone. When I do schedule meetings, I’m strategic about scheduling them when I will be in that area. If you need to move things around to make it convenient, people are actually more understanding about it than you'd think (because YOU are visiting THEM). Plus, scheduling your meetings like this saves so much money, time and stress.

When I need to run errands, I now list them out and plan the best route before I get in the car. A little pre-planning will save you time and money. Also, try to choose businesses that are conveniently located nearby one another. Starting up your car and only driving short distances, especially in city traffic just wastes fuel. 

I learned that one of the biggest things you can do to save on fuel is keeping up on the maintenance of your vehicle. Especially for us women, it can be easy to forget about changing our oil or getting new tires, but keeping up with your vehicle and taking care of problems as they happen, can not only save fuel, but also extend the life of your vehicle.

I also learned tips for saving fuel as you drive. Like when you’re in a traffic jam, and you want to speed around someone, only to soon thereafter come to a complete stop…over and over again. This can waste your fuel big time. The EPA recommends going easy on your car's breaks and gas pedal. Ease your car into a stop and make sure to go easy on the gas pedal, too. Running late makes your heart race and your tank tremble. So, next time, leave the house earlier to avoid damaging your car and guzzling gas. Easy for me to say, though…. I’m always running “fashionably late.”

If you get into a traffic jam, (which NEVER happens in Cincy, right? Ha!), then be sure not to keep your car in idle for too long. By turning off your car in a long wait, it can avoid an overheated engine. Also, if you are grabbing fast food on the way home from work or for lunch, go inside to eat instead of in your car in the parking lot.

For us women, this one is a big one: Avoid carrying unnecessary weight in car and trunk. Women are notorious for using their trunks as another large handbag (helloooo, did you read my first blog?). For you guys out there who carry your tools and sports equipment in the car, this one goes for you, too. As convenient as this “storage” can be, it can drain your tank (and wallet).  

If you are going to treat yourself or family to a long trip and have to carry luggage, avoid using the roof tracks. Place the luggage inside the car or trunk to avoid your vehicle from “dragging,” which can use more fuel than needed. In this case, “aerodynamic” is synonymous with “fuel economy.”

Now, for the last tip. Buying a nice sports car (I’m currently pining over the Lexus LFA) is an amazing luxury, but speeding isn’t a luxury when it comes to the amount of fuel you use. In fact, by going 55 mph instead of 65 mph, you can save up to 15% more fuel. Who knew that not speeding could save us more than a speeding ticket? 

With these tips in mind, we can pinch a few more pennies at the pump. And maybe that itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini won’t be so scary if I take my own advice and walk more, drive less! That sounds good to me!

Thanks to BreeAnna Smith, my intern, for helping put this blog post together. 

Review: Lexus HS 250

I recently took a roadtrip to Philadelphia, and my friends at Lexus RiverCenter let me try out a HS 250 for the ride. I was excited because "h" is for "hybrid" is for "more money to spend on FUN things on the trip versus gas!"

And man did it save on gas! I put it in eco mode and it really helped on the gas mileage. The gas gauge didn't even flinch until I hit Columbus (more than 100 miles!). Granted, in eco mode, I didn't have the power I'm used to with my IS 350. It did have a "power mode" button you could push if you needed a little extra umph, but I actually didn't end up using that! Probably a good thing, too, because 71N was a speed trap and you have to be really careful around that curvy Pennsylvania Turnpike.

I only ended up needing to refuel one time on my entire 9 hour trip, which I was really happy about. And, when we were driving it around in the city, the electric kicked in when we were just coasting from one red light to another. That saved on gas too.

It surprised me how much it looked and handled like my IS 350, but the fuel economy was SO much better. So, if power isn't a high priority, but saving at the pump is, I highly recommend this HS 250!

Check out the webcast below where I give you a tour of the car and my favorite features it had to offer!

The Darker Side of Green

We have a Go Green Fashion Show coming up at Lexus RiverCenter on March 25. So, I asked Lisa (GM at LRC) if they had any hybrids they wanted to feature at the event. Her eyes got super big and told me that Lexus has a brand new car that would be PERFECT to feature at our event: The 2011 Lexus CT 200h. I wanted to see it, but they don't even have one on the lot yet! But they will next week!

This is the newest hybrid – which starts at $29,120 – to join the Lexus lineup. And it's the fifth hybrid model Lexus offers. I love my little sports car for now, but when we start our family, this would be perfect (Pete and I made a pact that we'll never get a minivan).

Both the Lexus RiverCenter and Performance Lexus locations are having events to unveil the CT. Check them out!

Lexus River Center
633 W. 3rd Street
Covington, KY 41011
www.lexusrivercenter.com

Wednesday, February 2, 2011
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

RSVP by Monday, January 31, 2011
(859) 547-5300 Lbernstein@lexusrivercenter.com

(Click here to learn about a promotion we're doing on Cincy Chic to win a $100 Apple Store gift card for sharing this event)
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Performance Lexus
4328 Kings Water Drive
Cincinnati, OH, 45249
www.performancelexus.com

Thursday, February 3, 2011
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Please RSVP by Thursday, January, 27, 2011
(513) 677-0177 or email   nparsons@performancelexus.com