A thrifty Mother's Day gift: Treat Mom to personal style makeover

Every year, I struggle with finding the perfect Mother's Day gift. What material object could be worthy of showing appreciation to my heroine? (That's her on the right of the photo.)

After I began pondering my sappy dilemma, I got to thinking about the way personal style can reflect the inner strength and confidence so many pass onto their college-aged daughters and sons. But maybe your mom is still sporting some mom jeans with a look that overlooks her fabulous self.

A former personal shopper at Nordstrom, my mom, Gina Dalessandro, is a style icon of mine. Now she's an owner of a small business, and while she still looks fierce, she has little time for indulging her style and beauty desires.

So here's a few tips on how you can force your mom to take some time for herself and if needed, punch up her personal style this Mother's Day on a reasonable budget.