I LOVE Valentine's Day. I'm being totally honest when I say it's not only the affection I get from my babe that I love about the holiday--it's largely the symbolism surrounding the heart shape and the power of the color red that I love.

Oh, how I dig the candy hearts, heart-shaped doilies, heart-boxed chocolates, and tiny hearts stitched on hand towels and children's socks! (On a related note, don't even get me started on how fun those Target dollar bins are at the front of the store. They are Valentine's Day "party prop heaven" for anyone throwing a soiree.)



And what would the holiday be without the color RED? When Valentine's Day comes around, entire store aisles turn crimson, red velvet is the cupcake of choice, and head-to-toe garnet seems totally doable for a night out on the town. Yes, red is the color of fire, of passion!












However, this symbolism has changed a bit for me. This past year, I've been working with WomenHeart: The National Coalition of Women With Heart Disease, to design a special, Count Me Healthy "Helping Hearts" bracelet. It has heart-etched beads and is used to count things for heart health, such as fruit and vegetable servings or miles walked per week. Twenty-five percent of every sale of Helping Hearts goes toward WomenHeart's heart disease prevention programs.

I feel blessed to have worked with this amazing team because 1) they are a fabulous group of people and 2) I've learned so much about the dangers of heart disease and how it is critical to raise awareness. Heart disease can strike any woman, even the young and supposedly fit.

So this February, for me, the heart and color red has come to symbolize, not just cute aesthetics or a passion for my sweetie, but a passion for a healthy lifestyle. That's why Count Me Healthy is celebrating American Heart Month in a big way! We are proud to be part of some of the upcoming NYC events celebrating strong, accomplished women and their fight against heart disease---the number one killer of women in this country.

I'm going to focus on all things "heart-esque" on Counting with Chelsea all month long, including coverage on the "Getting Red Dress Ready" with Womenheart and Nutrisystem, the Woman's Day Magazine's coveted "Red Dress awards," and the "Red Dress Fashion Show" in Bryant Park. Count Me Healthy Helping Hearts will be on the wrists of many of the women as they "wow" the crowd in their red gowns. We'll also do a Q&A with Kathy Kastan, a recipient of this year's Women's Day Red Dress award, as well as feature fun recipes to help you get sexy and Red Dress Ready!

Labels: chelsea gossett, count me healthy, friendship, helping hearts, inspiration, red dress, women heart

I recently went to an Inspirational Friends' Brunch at one of my dear friend's houses and I have to share. What a fabulous concept--getting women together to discuss what (or who) inspires them daily. It was refreshing and I left the event ready to embrace the day (no mimosas necessary.)

If you should want to throw an Inspirational Friends' Brunch, here are a few steps to get the "Good Food and Gratitude" flowing:

1) Invite different circles of friends. Everyone is inspired so it makes for fabulous common ground (which is hard to come by these days.) Also, often inspiration is the birth of a challenge and/or hardship in one's life, so it's nice to hear other examples outside of your tight-knit group.

2) I'm speaking from personal experience, but if you are a Facebook fiend, like moi, then you will probably invite some of your friends via FB. Message their accounts (in a group email) and ask them each for a song that inspires them. My friend, Laura, did this and put an amazing CD together which was handed out at the end (I offered the song "Jesus and Gravity" by Dolly Parton). Unfortunately, "Ice Ice Baby" didn’t make the cut but there is always next year and another friend already offered her spectacular casa for the second annual gathering.

3) Get some speakers together. These women do not have to have the scaling of Mt. Everest or a Middle-East Peace Keeper on their resume to be a speaker (although I wouldn't doubt this for some). Since you are the host, you make the rules. And you can invite whomever inspires you to "come on up here and hold the mic" (or the zebra-printed broom, which is what was used in place of a mic).

4) Home Cooking! Now this was a very southern event complete with sweet mint tea and amazing desserts. I'm from Detroit, so I know that Northern Women can cook it up just as well as the Southern Belles. Anyway, the food was fantastic. Ask a couple of your friends for their culinary specialties. They will love to help and it will take some of the pressure off of you.

5) The last step is easy. Just be proud of the event you put together and enjoy yourself. Gratitude and inspiration should be a reason to celebrate in itself; therefore you offered the perfect reason to throw a party.












What inspires you? Is it reason to throw a soiree (I'm betting, heck yes)? Enjoy your week and as always, keep counting!

Labels: count me healthy jewelry, countessess, entertaining, food tips, friendship, inspiration

If you're like me, you revel in finding the perfect gift for someone. It doesn't have to be expensive; instead it should be thoughtful, individual, and original. And if it's really strong, bring about a possible "copy-cat give." (This is where the friend who received the gift from you creates her own "copy" to give as a gift because she wants the receiver to feel the same "wow" vibe she felt when opening.) Copy-cat giving should never be confused with re-gifting and I guarantee that a re-gift will not happen when you give a card box.

So, what is a card box? Well, it's a filing system for the cards you write to your loved ones throughout the year. I believe they have pre-made card boxes, but it's always more fun to create one. I am the antithesis of Martha Stewart and this project is tres simple. Plus, you will have a blast putting it together.

Go to Target and get a bright colored folio box with tabbed hanging folders. Add your flare (stickers, sparkles, marker, scrapbook appliques). Keep it cute, but tasteful. Label the tabs according to card types (Birthday, Congratulations, Sympathy, Thank You, etc). Then head to your nearest Hallmark and stock up. When I'm making one, I often buy two of each so I can add to my card box. You also don't have to go hog-wild on the amount of cards. It is the thought (and your creativity) that counts.

Reaching out to someone via snail-mail is one of the most thoughtful things you can do in our tech nation today. One of the uses for the Count Me Healthy Happy and Blessed bracelet is to count thank you notes or "thinking of you" cards written per week. It promotes good karma and well being. Aside from creating a card box, I want you to try to send, say, seven "hello"or "thank you" cards for a week. Just a test; see how it makes you feel. Do you have any gifts that result in a copy-cat give? Ooohh, I'd love to hear. And as always, keep counting.

Labels: count me healthy, friendship, gift ideas, healthy living