Help & A Winner

I don't claim to be a computer guru. In fact, I'm probably the least capable computer person I know. Seriously. No exaggeration. My brother recently raved about a photo editing app, Aperture, so I downloaded it. It is pretty awesome. However, I can not figure out how to download/upload (whatever) photos from my Aperture library to my blog. I have good photos too- crafting failures-epic failures and a success. And, snakes! All sorts of exciting things. Does anybody know how to load photos from Aperture to Blogger? Kind and patient Megan tried to help me to no avail. Maybe I just have bad computer mojo. Anyhow, I'd be eternally grateful. Thanks!

While I'm working on my computer issues, the winner of the Novica contest is...Emily! Yay, Emily is my early morning Define partner, so the girl ought to get something special for that! Her win was entirely random; I'd show you pictures of the drawing but I have no way to load them!! Thank you all for your support. Even if you didn't win, Novica has great prices, go and find something pretty today!

Friday Favorite- Novica Giveaway!

You may recall that my husband and I love to travel to Mexico. Our last travel to Mexico was spent at the wonderful Capella Ixtapa, which served their drinks in local artisan glass. We loved their colored rimmed glasses. Upon our return to the States, I found some similar glasses, but they weren't dishwasher safe. Do you know what that is? A real PAIN. I found other options, but I worried about the possibility that they had lead or would crack or chip....

All photos- Novica

Then, I found these. Cue the angels singing. Handmade from Mexico. Dishwasher safe. Can I get an "Amen"?! I found them at Novica, with about a million other items I wanted. In fact, the hardest part of my Novica order was deciding what to get. When Novica approached me to participate in a blogger marketing outreach, I jumped at the chance. I respect the bloggers they have worked with in the past and know that they sell quality products that support artisans around the world. Plus, I really wanted some machine washable glasses!

I found Hammocks, I know the girls would love taking a weekend nap in this one. Heck, I want to take a nap in that hammock!

I also perused Novica's Corporate gifts, including the glasses for entertaining and this great leather portfolio (which would also make an awesome gift for a college grad going on interviews!)

It's been a few weeks since I received the glasses. I waited to make sure I was happy with everything, and that you would be too. I am. I really like the mission of Novica and have been very pleased with my order. The ordering process is easy, my glasses arrived in a lovely package with background note. Most importantly, the glasses have held up beautifully. No chips, breaks, staining, etc. Exactly what I wanted.

Now the great news, Novica wants to share their goodies with one of you. I have a Fifty Dollar ($50) gift certificate to Novica for one of you. The contest is open to anyone in the world (as long as Novica ships to your neighborhood!). I'll leave comments open until June 10th at 10pm CT. So, how do you enter?

1) Pick your favorite item from Novica (you don't have to buy it if you win) and leave it in a comment. I also need you to leave an email address so I can notify you if you win!

2) If you are a follower of the blog, leave me another comment for an extra entry.

Good luck!
Novica (and their awesome Mexican glasses) are my Friday Favorites.

*I was provided with a $50 gift certificate at Novica for my participation. However, all words, and thoughts contained in this post are mine.*

Comments are now closed, thanks again Novica!

Final Great Giveaway!

The Beauty of Different Giveaway

This will be my last giveaway this month and it's the one I'm most excited about. I started the giveaways as a celebration and thank you for the past year of blogging. It seems fitting that I give away the book written by my friend Karen, without whom I would have never known about blogging & all of you.

Karen has written the most wonderful book, called The Beauty of Different: Observations of a Confident Misfit. It is substantial (both in subject matter and heft). It is beautiful, it is thoughtful, it is inspiring, it is something you need. I'm not just saying this because I'm in the book...although, that is pretty much one of the coolest things ever. I'm saying it because the book is truly worth it. I bought several copies and want to give one to you. I will also get Karen to sign it for you. There you have it, a GORGEOUS book, autographed just for you.

If this Beautiful book isn't enough, I'm also giving away several of my Favorite items from the past year. Plan on a few accessories, beauty products, maybe a snack or two. Just to thank you for being here and being part of my story.

Rules:

The contest will remain open for one week, ending December 7 at approximately 11pm CT. Winner will be selected through a random drawing. I'll email the winner and post here once the winner has been notified. You will get an entry for the following:

1) Leave a comment on what you think is most beautiful, where you go to find beauty, how you see beauty, or what makes you different. You must leave your email address if it is not linked through your profile.

2) If you leave a comment AND commented on the Scotch Tape giveaway (now closed), you will get an extra entry.

3) You do NOT need to be a follower. If you are a follower (or become one), you will get an extra entry if you comment.

Thanks again for being here & Good Luck!

*The giveaway is now closed. Sarah is the winner and I couldn't be happier, she's been a great supporter and friend. Thanks again for your beautiful comments.*

Anthropologie Giveaway

*Giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering*

Friday Favorite Time!

To celebrate my first year of blogging, it's time for another giveaway...

It's Friday and time for me to once again share one of my favorites with you. If you know me, or remember my posts, you know that I LOVE Anthropologie. It's one of the few stores that I prefer to shop in rather than just order online. In fact, the picture above is from a display outside an Anthropologie store in Houston. When I thought about having blog giveaways, I knew I had to give away a gift card to Anthropologie. So, that's what I'm doing. Up for grabs is a $25 gift card to Anthropologie!

Rules:

The contest will remain open for one week, ending December 3 at approximately 11 CT. Winner will be selected through a random drawing. I'll email the winner and post here once the winner has been notified. You will get an entry for the following:

1) Leave a comment. Any comment. You must leave your email address if it is not linked through your profile.

2) If you leave a comment AND commented on the Scotch Tape giveaway (when it was active), you will get an extra entry.

3) You do NOT need to be a follower. If you are a follower (or become one), you will get an extra entry if you comment.

Thanks. Have fun & good luck.

*Comments are now closed. The winner is Jen, who was commenter #1. I guess it pays to be first in my contests! I can promise you that the drawings have been entirely random. *

Friday Favorite- Target Giveaway!

Image Target

It's no secret that I love Target. To celebrate my first year blogging, I'm holding a giveaway a week this month. This week's giveaway is a $25 gift card to one of my favorite stores, Target. You can get anything and everything at Target, why not get it for free?! It should be helpful for getting a jump start on holiday shopping, or just stocking up on toilet paper.

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your contact information (if not linked to your profile)
2) If you entered last week's Scotch Tape giveaway, you have an automatic entry in this contest

3) Being a follower is NOT required, but if you comment and are a follower, I'll give you another entry.

The contest will stay open until Thursday November 25th (Thanksgiving), winner will be announced Friday.

That's it. I wanted to share a gift card to one of my Friday (EVERYDAY!) Favorites. Happy weekend everyone!

Comments are now closed. The winner is Shel-who was the first commenter! Congratulations, Shel. Thanks!

Scotch Tape Prepare and Create Giveaway

Thanks to Scotch(R) Double Sided Tape for sponsoring my writing about crafts. Add your comment below to be entered for a chance to win free sample rolls to help with your upcoming holiday needs.

We all know Scotch tape is useful around the house, especially with a 4 and 6 year old who think a craft project involves an entire roll of tape, markers, and sheet of paper. Rather than share my girls' "art projects," we decided to make something together with a Fall theme.

We used several different kinds of cardstock, Scotch double sided tape, and a very basic tree trunk. I gotz mad drawing skillz, yo!
We've all made hand print turkeys and leaves in school. There's a reason why we keep going to the classic hand print, because it's cute and your kids will only voluntarily participate in the cute for so long. While my kids still think it's fun, we were using their hand prints! Once the hand prints were cut, I used double sided tape to secure to the cardstock, popped it in a frame. And, voila! Instant decor. The final product is pictured above. You can go the extra mile and use paint to add thumbprint leaves on the trees or add things you are thankful for on the branches. We had a busy weekend, so we were lucky to get this done. I really liked using the Scotch double sided tape for a project like this because scrapbook tape is really too lightweight and glue always bunches up the paper. *Scotch should really start marketing to scrapbookers because the Scotch double sided tape is WAY stronger than scrapbook tape. Much better.* We also used the double sided tape to decorate the girls' art center and make a ton of cards.

Here's your chance to win a little tape and be prepared for holiday wrapping, or 6 year old art projects involving an entire roll of tape...whatever you need in your house. The contest will run through Saturday, November 13. I will select 2 winners to receive 5 rolls of tape each. To enter just leave a comment on this blog post. Easy peasy-free tape squeezy. Oh, and every entry in this contest gains an extra entry in the other November giveaways I'm running from some of my favorite places like Anthropologie and Target!

Please learn more about Scotch(R) Double Sided Tape and other Scotch(R) Products and join the conversation on the Scotch(R) Brand Facebook Page and via Twitter.

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

*Comments are now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered. Pam and Alana won the rolls of tape and will now be ready for the holidays! Check back this month for more giveaways. Thanks Scotch Tape.*