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Quick! It’s now or never!
The Shabby Apple giveaway closes tonight at 10 pm so make sure that you’ve entered before you miss out on the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to use on their adorable vintage-inspired pieces! I’ll be announcing the winner sometime next week so make sure you’re subscribed to my blog, otherwise you may not know that you’ve won. Enter here!
Good luck!
xx.
Posted in Free Giveaways, Style, Vintage + Thrift | Tagged enter, free, gift certificate, giveaway, how to, shabby apple | Leave a Comment »
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Our week in snapshots:
| highlights |
For the first time in my adult life I was actually able to go to a yard sale – for me that is a personal victory. I love searching for treasures in piles of castoffs, but I’ve worked weekends for the past five or so years, and although I’m still putting in regular hours on weekends, they’re not as many and they’re more spread out so it’s yard sales, here I come! Don’t worry, thrift stores, I’m still in love with you, too.
We went out for our first ice cream cone of the season – this is a big thing in my culture. To grow up in a tourist destination means that the whole region is asleep from October to May and when it is finally breathed to life again at the beginning of the summer there is a great feeling of celebration. Thus, my days have been filled with daisies and dreaming and doing things I’ve longed to do for months now. A much needed day on the beach with a book is the next thing I’m planning to do with my free time. Then, summer will really be here.
Happy summer!
xx.
Posted in New Hampshire, Photobooth Friday, Vintage + Thrift | Tagged vintage, instagram, photo booth, filter, feel, photographs, snapshots | Leave a Comment »
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If I could enter my own contest, I would.
This is my first big giveaway and I couldn’t be more excited about the prize! Shabby Apple has the most amazing vintage inspired pieces with which I would love to fill my closet. They also donate a portion of their sales to assist women in need worldwide so it’s a great company to support! I’ve picked out some of my favourites here, but please visit the site to see what else they have! From dresses, to swimwear, to accessories + home decor, there is so much to choose from!
I love how nearly everything for sale on Shabby Apple is work appropriate! With longer hem lines and higher necklines they’ll work for so many occasions without sacrificing style. These are basically my dream clothes! And check out this peter pan collar/beehive combination. Perfect.
To enter, you’ll need to “like” Shabby Apple on facebook, and leave a comment here on this blog post saying what your favourite item is on their website. Then make sure you’re subscribed to my blog so you’ll know if you won! I’ll be accepting entries until Saturday night at 10 pm, and announcing the winner at some point next week. You must have a U.S. shipping address to win, but if you live out of the country and there’s someone here who wouldn’t mind receiving your package, feel free to enter!
Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t lucky, though, because Shabby Apple is so generous that they didn’t want to leave anyone out! Even if you don’t win, you can enter “jeezejulia10off” as a coupon code at the checkout to receive 10% off of your purchases for a month! Quick – the clock is ticking!
Good luck!
xx.
UPDATE: I’m no longer accepting entries for this giveaway. Any comments left on this entry after 10 pm Saturday, June 2nd will not be counted. Sorry!
{Images courtesy of Shabby Apple!}
Posted in Style, Free Giveaways | Tagged vintage, free, giveaway, shabby apple, gift card, coupon code, gift certificate, win | 35 Comments »
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Who doesn’t love a good yard sale?
Yesterday Ryan + I had planned on going to my hometown’s Memorial Day parade, but it’s a half hour drive from where we live and we left a bit later than we had hoped. It’s incredibly hard for me not to sleep in on a weekend day – I accept full responsibility for our missing the festivities. However, we did stumble upon two fantastic yard sales side by side on our way back to my parents’ land to tend to our garden and that was well worth the trip for me.
If it’s not too weird for me to say, this little clipboard is a dream come true. On Saturday I was doing some planning for the future of my blog + shop and decided to find three clipboards to keep my goals posted where I can see them. One for weekly goals, one for monthly, and one with my broader goals for the year. Perfectly enough, this little beauty turned up in the free bin at one of the yard sales we attended! It’s one of my blog colours, and even has a little calendar in it – perfect for my monthly goals! My thrifting karma must be good.
Also in the free bin were these beautiful big bulb Christmas lights! Ryan has always preferred the smaller twinkle lights, but I grew up with these babies on my Christmas tree! Every holiday season we “fight” over which bulbs are better, but I’m sure he doesn’t actually mind the bigger bulbs since he was the one who spotted these and insisted that we take them home – what a guy!
And our kitchen got a whole lot cuter this week, too! The stove top percolator has never been used! The woman selling it accepted just a dollar for it, and told us that her Mother-in-law had purchased it long ago, but never even opened the box! We gave it a try this morning and are so pleased with the taste – warm and almost a little bit nutty! Even smoother than our french press coffee. The little chopper was another item that came to us compliments of the free bin and will be a lovely accessory for our *coming soon* food blog!
I’m always looking for new ways to organize, so this vintage tin was a must. I haven’t found a specific use for it just yet, but I’m thinking it may become a new home for thumb tacks, safety pins, or my business cards – we’ll see! When pretty vintage things are free, I just can’t turn them down. We walked away from those two yard sales having spent only $3. We also got to chat with an older couple about the quality of vintage items over “new plastic junk” {to quote the old man} and they said that we reminded them of their own children. There were some really beautiful antiques for sale in their garage – roller skates, life jackets, gasoline tins, furniture, and a Swedish toilet {ha!}, but we only had our $3 to spend so we couldn’t take home any more than we already had. It was still a wonderful time in beautiful weather.
I hope your Memorial Day was just as lovely!
xx.
Posted in Vintage + Thrift | Tagged brother, christmas lights, finds, memorial day, percolator, thrift, tin, vintage, yard sale | 2 Comments »
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10% off from now until Monday!
Plus! Remember those ModCloth and Swap.com goodies that I said I’d give away to the first five sales? Be my next buyer and they’ll be yours! With Father’s Day coming up, wouldn’t a good bow tie or hankie {or a bow tie/hankie set} be a good investment? Just sayin’! Enter MEMORIAL10 at the check out for your discount.
Enjoy your Saturday!
xx.
Posted in My portfolio, Shop Talk, The Holidays | Tagged discount, etsy, father's day, handmade, memorial day, sale, shop | Leave a Comment »
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Our week in snapshots:
| highlights |
We can finally smell the first sweet breezes of summer! Although today is a bit dreary, the last week or so has for the most part been gorgeous. Ryan + I have started running again, and are really excited to explore some of the woodland trails that snake between a quiet stream and some rusty old railroad tracks just outside of town. I love running under bright green leaves, and it’s even better when there’s clean, clear water running next to us.
Our radishes have sprouted up so quickly! And our peas are not far behind. It feels like we’ll be eating from our garden sooner than we had thought. All of this rain sure has been great for one thing – waking the Earth up from its long winter slumber. With our ingredients sorting themselves out as I type, Ryan + I are getting more excited for the debut of our cooking blog in June! It’ll be a seasonal-ish vegetarian recipe blog using as much of our own garden as is possible. We’ve done locavore summers twice {2010, 2011} and will still be eating mostly within New England, but our focus is going to be sharing some of our favourite foods with you! I’ll keep you updated as things progress.
Oh, yes! I’ve also made my first shop sales! The very first came in the week I reopened, but since then I’ve had three more – two of which were orders including multiple listings! I’ve got high hopes for this shop of mine. I’m also really excited this week because I’ll be hosting a giveaway for Shabby Apple right here on the blog! Incredible, no? You may want to head to their website now to find your favourite things, then make sure you’re here on Tuesday to officially enter the contest! I’d hate for you to miss out on this – they have such cute stuff {and, they donate a portion of their profit to help women worldwide}!
Good day, my dears!
xx.
Posted in Environmental Consciousness, Free Giveaways, Good Eats, New Hampshire, Photobooth Friday, Style | Tagged giveaway, locavore, shabby apple, summer | Leave a Comment »
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We all fall into ruts.
We all wonder where we are going. We all have inspired thoughts, but sometimes we shove them into the backs of our minds because they are unreasonable, unrealistic, and seemingly unattainable, and during the day we have “more important” things to do. I have a teaching degree for high school English. I picked that major before I went to college because they asked me to pick a major when I was 16 and 17 years old and that was what sounded reasonable to me. I liked to read and I knew I could handle school – but it was never my dream.
When I lay in bed at night waiting for sleep to come {the time when I have always allowed myself to entertain those fanciful ideas I’ve shut out during the day}, my head has never once filled up with images of my life as a high school English teacher. No, these wonderful moments before sleep takes me have always been dedicated to the things that make me feel the happiest, the most inspired. I have always snuggled into my pillow, closed my eyes, and let a smile spread across my face as the thought of something truly perfect came to mind. There, in the comfort of my own imagination, it didn’t matter if my thoughts were unreasonable, unrealistic, or seemingly unattainable – this was the time for dreaming, not for doing.
Now 10 years have passed since they asked me to decide my future, and for the first time in my life I feel like I know myself enough to start making those kinds of major decisions. Those ten years, and thousands of dollars later, I have finally learned the lesson that my imagination and my heart have been trying to tell me all along – follow your dreams. Pursue the fanciful ideas that you are inspired by. Because, if you can make these brilliant things happen in your life {and you can}, you will feel a thousand times more fulfilled than if you simply pass your days doing what you were trained to do.
Oh, and a good place to start is here.
xx.
{click images for sources!}
Posted in Our personal history, Shop Talk | Tagged career path, do what you love, dream big, dream bigger, follow your dreams, imagination, inspiration, pep talk | 8 Comments »
