Shopping Around ... Slummin' It

In addition to QVC, McDonald’s and Mattel are some of the other new … ahem … lowbrow sponsors of Fashion Week. Why? Money talks. All these high-falutin brands don’t have the roughly $100,000 in cash it takes to put on a show.

And just like they did with the inauguration, Extra and QVC are giving away a trip to Fashion Week. I would never find anything appropriate to wear! Southern housewife trailer park chic, perhaps? Who am I kidding! With Fashion Week slummin' it with Micky D's, I will fit in perfectly!

In her latest blog entry, Kim Parrish says that the nautical and safari looks are in for Spring. Ships Ahoy!

QVC is trying to buy more land in Suffolk, VA for future expansion. Looks like they really are closing or shrinking their Northern facilities for good.

Shares of ValueVison (ShopNBC) stock have gone down 95% in the past year to only 20 cents a share. 20 cents! Part of me thinks I need to snatch those shares up and make a bundle and the other part of me remembers that I know nothing about the stock market.

"Extra" co-host Dayna Devon—spokesperson of Sensa—is married to plastic surgeon Dr. Brent Moelleken, who did a well-publicised tummy tuck on her in 2007. Does this matter? We buy cosmetics and skin care from people who have clearly had facial plastic surgery so should it matter if you buy a weight loss product from someone who had a tummy tuck? Check out video of Dayna Devon's tummy tuck and decide for yourself.



Sarah Morgan, the handbag designer behind the new eenamaria handbag line debuting on QVC this month, will be interviewed on the MomAdvice Simplified Podcast next week to discuss simplifying accessories, what to look for in a good handbag, how to care for handbags, and how to spot a fake purses. Right now, these bright and bold purses that look like modern art can only be purchased at eBags.com. You can also check out a review of the Workin’ Weekend Baby Tote on 1800blogger.com.

Apparently Flipo is looking for a someone to be a vendor rep for them. Why must this rep be a 25 to 30-year-old female? Honestly! But if your interested, you do pocket $250-$400 per show. Not too bad.

Is QVC backing out of free $10 promotion deal? Sounds shady.

Funny mock interview with a real colonial blacksmith trying to sell goods on QVC. I guess Williamsburg wasn’t selling enough the old fashioned way.

Interesting interview with Linda Dano. I had no idea that she’s been with the Q so long!

Another product effected by the huge peanut better recall. This only applies to products purchased after August 11, 2008. So if you've got an old cake stashed away in the back of the freezer, you're good. "Annie B's Confections announces a precautionary voluntary nationwide withdrawal of the following Annie B's ® branded wholesale dessert products and Annie B's ® Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and Annie B's ® Classic Collection Miniature Pastry Assortment sold on QVC and on the internet site, QVC.com because they may be contaminated by Salmonella, an organism, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems."

Kenneth Brown will be debuting a new bedding collection on the Q. He also designed High School musical darling Zac Efron's house, so I suppose that makes him a hot designer.

I know we all need to be safe, but has lead testing gone too far now?

Patricia Field doesn’t like to be too hands on with her collections. In an interview with OregonLive.com promoting the new Shopoholic movie she worked on, Patricia said, “I don't want to be manufacturing and production. For HSN (Home Shopping Network) and Marks & Spencers, I didn't produce it. I designed it and PR-ed it, but I didn't produce it. I'm not an administrator of a big business.” How does that explain away these metallic leggings though?

QVC vendor, Donna Salyers, tells the story of how she went from using real to faux fur—it involves a rather traumatic cat fur scare.

QVC had record sales in tanzanite recently. Looks like after four decades of being on the market, it’s finally starting to catch on.

Forget plant stem cells, jellyfish will be the next new fountain of youth. Just you wait SSC will be on it like white on rice!

Shopping Around ... Angels Among Us

Sometimes I wonder about Miss Tina ... what am I supposed to do with hot pick studded leather fingerless gloves? Wear them to the office? My son's soccer game? Perhaps I can flip people off on the interstate in style. And what kind of manicure is appropriate to wear with this type of glove anyway?

I just finished watching Suzanne Somers on Oprah discussing her recent book, Breakthrough, about bioidentical hormones and menopause. Although the conversation was very interesting, I kept getting distracted by that gold necklace she was wearing. Wow! It was slamming! HSN needs to make that in Technibond so I can actually afford it. I heard that HSN kept bleeping Suzanne whenever she tried to promote her Oprah appearance. I'm sensing some bad blood going on between Somers and HSN right now.

Clark Elliott opened up his own clothing store recently. Who is he and why should you care, right? Well, he produced clothes for eight years for Suzanne Somer's HSN clothing line and recently left to open his own store. Does this have anything to do with the line being dropped?

Word on the street is that QVC model Angel recently lost 25 pounds and is featured in an article in First magazine. I haven’t seen it yet, but congrats to Angel on the weight loss and the article. She's making Queen Bea proud!

It's Bleepin' Golden Gold! Following in the footsteps of McCain’s Fine Gold, the Chicago Tribune has this little parody of Rod Blagojavich on QVC: “… you click on QVC and Rod and Patti are hawking his incriminating quotes from the federal wire taps in "authentic" yellow metal plated script. Don your Balkan Warlord outfit and wear the whole golden quote around your neck, like "I'm not giving it up for bleeping nothing!" Be the envy of every playah on the corner. Act now and receive an authentic State Sen. Rickey Hendon silver-plated "pro-Rod race card" for only $19.95.”

Washington Post makes a visit to QVC’s Studio Park. They just don’t get it.

Home shopping addiction and your tax dollars—a different kind of stimulus, perhaps?

Does this mean that Joy Mangano and HSN are being sued?

There’s nothing like free labor in this economy and HSN is looking for some interns. Do they at least get the employee discount?

Check out the video of the QVC and Extra inaugural Ball winners. If it weren't for the high security, crowds, and traffic, I think Washington D.C. would have been fun!

If you bought Nutrisystem from the Q, check to make sure that you don't have any peanut butter granola bars. They have been recalled in the big salmonella peanut butter scare.

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but it's been a crazy week.

Do you wanna free purse??? If you haven't already, be sure to enter the IMAN-A-FREE-PURSE contest to get your free Iman purse from LabelShopper.com. Just email your name to Queen Bea at homeshoppingqueen@gmail.com with IMAN-A-FREE-PURSE in the subject.

LabelShopper.com will be adding some more inventory in the next few days so if you want to buy something, don't forget to use the 15% off coupon code, "thankuhsq" at checkout.

Shopping Around

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  Don't steal me Lucky Charms!!! According to WWD Business, Van Cleef reaches settlement with Mouawad's Heidi Klum collection for QVC over all those clover designs in her jewelry. What's next? Hearts? Stars? Horseshoes? Ugh!

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  Barry Diller, CEO of IAC, former parent company of HSN, talks with the Wall Street Journal about the economy, the future, and the big break off of HSN. He also talks about a feud with Jim Malone of Liberty Media (parent company of QVC, which also owns part of IAC--confused yet???) that landed them in court.

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  Burnin' Down the House ... The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled fryers, which were sold on QVC's Cook Essentials 3 Liter Stainless Steel Deep Fryers with three baskets. The model number is F1053Q. Contact the Q if you bought one of these.

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  According to the AP, You Tube is trying to cash in on the whole home shopping concept. Those free videos don't pay for themselves, you know!I'm not exactly clear on this, but it sounds like there will be a button below the video to purchase the product in the video (or related to the video? I'm not sure).

Hulk Hogan Grill Up in Smoke!

Nasty divorce ... son in prison ... affair with his daughter's BFF ... ex-wife dating a teenager ... what else could go wrong or Hulk??? Apparently, the Hulk Hogan Grills sold on QVC will catch on fire and burn your house down if you use any cooking oil or spray and are being recalled.

You know, chickadees, where there's smoke, there's usually fire ...

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Topsy-Turvy Recall Alert

Per the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:

Hazard: The legs on the bottom of the planter can detach when the planter is moved or becomes unbalanced. This could cause the planter to fall and injure bystanders.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 347 reports of the planters collapsing; 155 consumers have reported injuries including lacerations, broken toes and bruises. QVC has also received reports of property damage caused when the planter collapsed onto nearby items.

Remedy: Consumers who have already set up the planter should immediately take it down by having two adults carefully tip it over on its side. Consumers who purchased the planter through a QVC television program or QVC.com were mailed instructions on obtaining a refund. Consumers who have not received instructions should contact QVC. Consumers who purchased the planter at a QVC store should return the planter to any QVC store to receive a full refund.

I know lots of QVC customers have been having a difficult time trying to get this fixed with the Q. Maybe now that it's officially a recall, things will get resolved faster.

There's nothing like a fresh, homegrown tomato (sliced with a little salt and fresh-ground pepper on it! Yum!), but not when they are knocking you in the head!