We have a winner! Congratulations to... #218 Arthi, who writes "I come from India and have lived in the States on the east coast for the last 15 years. I have a lovely collection of shawls from India that I use all the time during winters - best way to keep warm. The only color missing from my collection is green :)"

Special thanks to our winner, the generous folks at Pashmina International, and to all 231 people who entered! More great giveaways to come...



Please note: This contest has ended.

I recently did a post on Pashmina International, a great online source for genuine pashmina shawls at affordable prices, and now the company has generously offered to award this beautiful CASHMERE SHAWL (shown above) to one lucky Budget Babe reader! This 100% pure cashmere blend shawl was manufactured on the slopes of the Himalaya in Nepal, from the softest underhairs of the Capra Hircus goat. It's amazingly soft, warm, and can be worn for formal or casual occasions. To enter, check out PashminaInternational.com, then tell us how you stay warm and stylish during the cold winter months in the comment section below.

Can't wait? Shop now and save 25% off your order. Enter promocode BUDGETBABE at checkout. (Valid until Jan. 31, 2009)

Be sure to use a valid email address and include info(at)thebudgetbabe.com in your address book so we can contact you if you're the winner. Comments must be posted by 12 noon ET on Wednesday December 3 to be eligible to win. One lucky winner will be chosen at random, and will be announced on Thursday December 4.

Featured above is the Woodland Green cashmere shawl ($76.50). Special thanks to Leon for making this giveaway possible. Good luck everyone!

With the demise of Steve & Barry's as we know it, Sarah Jessica Parker is reportedly looking for a new retail partner to house Bitten, her bargain fashion line. (via The Cut) If I may offer a few suggestions to Mrs. Parker, ehem, I think someplace like Kohl's would be a good fit for Bitten. Kohl's could definitely use one more draw in addition to the Simply Vera by Vera Wang collection, which seems to be doing fairly well. Another potential candidate would have to be Wal-Mart, and I say that only after witnessing the swell job they've done for Norma Kamali. JCPenney's got Charlotte Ronson coming in the spring, so that's another good candidate, but then I'd have to drive out of my way to shop at the janky mall where my nearest Penney's is located. Sadly, I don't see Target or H&M as realistic options judging by the nature of their current designer collaborations.

Where do you think Bitten should make its new home?

Today is Cyber Monday, the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season! Lest you think we're snoozing on the job, here are some great deals to help you with your shopping (which you'll only do during your lunch hour, right?):

Save $25 on orders over $100 at Onlineshoes.com. Save on a huge selection. Hurry, offer valid December 1st & 2nd only. Shop Now!

Cyber Monday! Enjoy Free Shipping, Web Busters & Thousands of Sale Items- today only at macys.com! Offer Valid 1-Dec-2008 only.

11% off + FREE Shipping and Returns for NEW Boden customers only!

Today only! Get free shipping on any purchase at Gap, Old Navy, or Banana Republic. Enter code ONEDAY at checkout. Ends today, December 1. Plus, take 20% off any Old Navy purchase with promocode SAVENOW.

Target.com Biggest Deals of the Year sale and free shipping offers going on now. See what's hot!

Spend $100 and take an extra 15% off your entire order at Kohls.com. Just enter code CYBER15 at checkout.

Get 20% off purchases at ebags! Ends midnight MST. Free Shipping! with this link.

Will you be joining the virtual shopping frenzy?

It is my great honor and privilege to present to you the new and (hopefully) vastly improved Budget Babe blog design! Considering my limited technical skills, I'd say I did a pretty damn good job, LOL. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy. Many thanks to my amazing bf who handled the backend updates and kept me calm during the launch. Ok, and during the entire redesign process.

My goal was to present the content in a way that's easier to read, and to organize the layout so that the site is easier to navigate and find things at a glance. I also wanted to spice it up a bit, make it more visually interesting and just more fun overall! I hope I've accomplished these goals, and I'll be tweaking little things here and there in the coming weeks to make it even prettier.

Of course, your feedback is greatly appreciated! Let me know what you think, and feel free to ask questions. Thanks for your support!