As you guys may know, I've teamed up with Diet Coke® as a blogger ambassador to spread the word about their various initiatives to help fund heart health research this month. It all culminates with The Red Dress Collection Fashion Show in New York City - and the big day is almost here!





Tomorrow I'll be trekking it into the city where I'll be providing backstage coverage and tweeting live from the show. It's going to be a star-studded show where celebrities will walk the runway in red dresses created by top designers, all for women's heart health awareness.

I just bought my outfit yesterday at J.Crew - totally copying Drew Barrymore's floral frock moment from her Tonight Show appearance (seen here) . Found her exact dress on sale, can't pass that up. Now that my outfit is planned out, all I have to do is pack my blogger gear - laptop, camera, iPhone, rechargeable iPhone case, and iPad. Phew!





The Heart Truth® is really an amazing cause and I'm excited to be a part of it, and to be able to share the experience with readers.

But there's more!

This year Diet Coke® is taking The Heart Truth® message online, asking its fans and followers to show their love for the effort.

Here's how YOU can get involved:

• Tomorrow, February 8, The Heart Truth® supporters can "donate a Tweet" to help fund heart health research programs.
  
  


• 
  Follow @DietCokeUS on Twitter - each person who re-Tweets the Diet Coke Tweet will trigger a $1 donation by Diet Coke to heart health research. Diet Coke will donate up to $100,000 to the cause.
  
  


• Fans can also show their support by visiting MyCokeRewards.com to donate their My Coke Rewards® points to the cause during the month of February.
  
  


• Go to www.DietCoke.com/HeartTruth for more information on how to help raise funds to support the cause.

How easy is that?! If you're on Twitter, I hope you will participate. And be sure to follow me on Twitter for real-time updates tomorrow during the fashion show.

If you weren't "wowed" by Jason Wu for Target, don't worry, there are plenty of other ways to allocate your fashion dollars, including the new Forever 21 Exclusive Design Collection. I'm told the exclusive designs are made "in-house," meaning you won't find these cute and trendy styles anywhere else, like this sequin striped tee ($19.80) or this satiny palette top ($22.80). No designer names or knock-offs, just fun, affordable fashion.

UPDATE: I've decided to remove the product photos that Forever 21 sent me to avoid confusion because I can't find all the items online. To see all available styles, please visit http://www.forever21.com/Product/Category.aspx?br=f21&category=Promo_ExclusiveDesigns.

Steve Madden's "Croquet" style "smoking loafers" are available in 9 cool colors for $69.95 at stevemadden.com. The look for less is $19.99. These are shaping up to be the "it" flat for spring and I'm already a fan. Can you spot the real from the steal below? Click either image to check your guess.

I took a break from preparing for our Super Bowl party yesterday morning around 11 a.m. to check out the Jason Wu for Target launch and was surprised to discover near-empty racks at the two stores I visited. I underestimated the demand for this launch, but I guess we've entered a post-Missoni era in which this has become the norm. As is The Budget Babe tradition, I tried on what few items remained on the racks and snapped some pics, though none of the items were my size (sorry for the dismal photos and my distracting leopard print pants, I had expected to try on some Jason Wu skirts but none were available). Then, as I was leaving the women's department, I noticed someone had returned one size small top - the navy floral tank - so I scooped it up. Yay!? I then headed to a second Target store in my area but that one had been cleaned out too. A store associate told me shoppers lined up before the doors opened. Target's Twitter folks told me Jason Wu will be restocked on-line later in the week but not in stores. Follow @TargetStyle for up to the minute updates on that in case you missed out and are hoping to purchase something.

What was your experience? Did you shop in store or on-line? What did you get? From your tweets, Facebook and Instagram messages I know many of you made out pretty well, and I applaud you! It is what it is, so I'm not stressin'.

Today is National Wear Red Day, an effort to raise awareness of women and heart disease, so I put on my red skinny jeans and a cozy sweater and set out to snap this photo to show my support. If you're heading out tonight, consider slipping on some red heels or grabbing your favorite red clutch to send your own stylish message.

What to wear: National Wear Red Day

More Revlon...

Next week I'll be attending The Heart Truth Red Dress Collection Fashion Show in New York City as a Diet Coke® Heartbeat Reporter, so stay tuned for coverage!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Views expressed within are my own. For more details, click here.