We've got a WINNER!!!!

So, just as promised, at 8 o'clock I got around to finding out who the lucky lady was to win my surprise giveaway.

And no, it was not me...I did not win my own giveaway.  I'm just showing you that I like gifts as much as the next girl.

I went about the whole thing in an uber "skillful" way.

Some names,

some wads, 

and voila...

A WINNER!

Let's congratulate Hannah over at An Old Story on her lucky win.

Hope she likes this surprise once I send it out!

Maybe she'll even be kind enough to tell us what it is once she receives it.  

Thank you to all that entered, I really do appreciate your comments and the fact that you take time to read my blog once in a while.

Until next time!

xx

Now this is just crazy...

Let's face it, when I tell you the next bit of news, you're going to think (like I did)-

THIS IS UNHEARD OF...YOU LUCKY DUCK!

Yes it's true, I'm lucky. Never been this lucky at anything EVER!

(knock on wood...let's hope it lasts)

Needless to say, I won another giveaway! (that makes 3 in less than one month)

And not just any giveaway, but by some oddball chance, out of the 60+ entries, my name was drawn out of a top hat

(this is true, really, it was drawn out of a top hat)

and I won Hipstercrite's giveaway!

(see, after she won my giveaway, she decided it was only right to have her own. And I promptly entered because she's A.) one of my favorite bloggers, B.) it's not usually fashion-related so its nice to have a bit of a rest from that crazy world, and C.) the girl is just hilarious--seriously, like rolling on the floor about to pee in my pants hilarious.

And anyway, I don't know how it happened, and neither does she, but I was the lucky winner.

I'm sure everyone else that entered completely thought it was rigged, I assure you it was not)

So here we go folks!

I received a package on Friday-rather large actually.

And inside she had put together quite the treasure trove of random goodies.

All soooooo perfect for me

(I forgot to mention, the giveaway was a bit of a surprise. At the time, Hipstercrite didn't even know what she'd be giving away. Hey, who doesn't love a surprise??

-unless of course its a mouse in your house, oh sorry-completely different story)

American Apparel Rit Dye

col: Scarlet

-currently taking suggestions on what I should use this for?

A New Book

Birds of America, by: Lorrie Moore

-ok, so I'm not really reading it just yet.

I've got a motherload of magazine subscriptions to make my way through before I start a book. But I promise, this one's got "sunny day in Prospect Park" written all over it. I'll save it for a Saturday afternoon.

AND THE MEGA-EXCITING, WAY TOO COOL-OF-HER, ITEM IN THE PACKAGE:

the DIANA Camera

-oh man....off to the camera shop I go. I gotta get some film for this thingamajig!

I simply cannot wait to use it...

(Blogger brunch ladies: Look-out, I'm bringing this with me this weekend)

And then, the icing on the cake,

(such a perfect thing to give a girl like me--cause I love this stuff!)

O.P.I nailpolish

-4 bottles at that!!!!

And there you have it.

Living proof that Hipstercrite is way too hip to be square.

It's up to you, whether or not you hop on over to her blog, but seriously, the girl rocks!!

(Now excuse me while I'm off to seek out some more giveaways...anyone know of any??)

Another big Win!!!

The same week I won Little Ocean Annie's giveaway...

well I went and won another giveaway too!

Sophie from Diary of a Young Designer was giving away this knit cap.

Heck yeah you better believe I'm going to enter that.

I'm all over it.

And low and behold on February 19th, my name was drawn!

Sophie had paired up with Natalya from Natalya's Studio for this great giveaway.

Natalya makes really nice custom knitted, crocheted, and felted designs--

all up for grabs in her Etsy Store

If you haven't come across Natalya's handiwork,

really what are you waiting for?

I just saw tonight, she has the cutest little egg cozy's just in time for Easter!

-they look like little knit sockhats for your hardboiled eggs

-Or there's even some rabbit ears for the eggs too

-Seriously CUTE!

Back to the cap though...I just want to say a great big thank you to both Sophie and Natalya.

You girls are both awesome, I love reading your blogs, and thanks so much!

A Winner?? What-What!!

Not too long ago Annie from Little Ocean Annie left me a comment on this very here blog.

Being the good lil' blogger that I strive to be, I clicked on her name and went to check up on her blog and leave a comment right back at her.

(now I know I'm way behind on doing this with most of my readers who take the time to comment-I do apologize, but life is a bit crazy busy for me right now. I do wish I had more time to go and click on everyone's blogs and comment away like mad. Unfortunately there are only 24 hours in a day and I've got about 2 hours of that day as "blogging/free time". But ladies and gents, I do really appreciate your comments and I will try moreso to get back to

you with comments of my own. Just stick with me and practice a little Patience-cue the Guns N Roses now ).

Oh but yes, so I went to Little Ocean Annie, found this adorable girl with great fun style, and as if that wasn't nice enough, she was having a giveaway that particular day!

Now I'd like to chalk up the next little tidbit of info to pure karma--

After reading/finding she was giving away some lovely vintage goodies, I immediately entered.

and......

I actually freakin' WON the GIVEAWAY!!!!

Having just received all the loot yesterday, I took it upon myself to put it all on at one time, the moment I got home.

(Would've worn it all the moment I opened the package, but let's face it...my outfit was not all that great, especially for trinkets and treasures at this level of cuteness!)

So here's what I got:

-The googly eyed owl barely larger than my squinty eye

(pretty certain I have a thing for vintage owls so I couldn't be happier)

-Floral print scarf, so perfect as a kerchief around the neck

-A vintage Beige reptilian textured purse

(supreme perfection for Spring and the neutral trend I swear I'll give a try one of these days)

It's got a cute little pink leather strap, however I think I'll use it as a clutch.

And as if I needed anything else to make my day even better...

well Annie took it upon herself to throw in a "BONUS".

I think I might've told her how much I love owls--um, maybe one too many times.

And when I opened her package, I found this lil' guy!

Seriously, could she get any nicer???

I LOVE IT! Thanks Annie!!!

So when I'm not wearing my new owl(s), the necklace will lie safely amongst his own kind in my drawer solely dedicated to nothing but this avian species of jewelry.

-Let's not forget I just had a whole POST on my obsession with owls not too long ago.

So thank you-thank you for feeding my NEED for more more and more.

Yep, it's official--I heart Annie.

She's a sweetheart for sure.

Weekend Rewind: February 12-14th, 2010--PT. 2

Part Two of the Weekend Rewind:

The Outfits!

Friday: February 12, 2010

Rough Night out...came home too late after a long day of work.

And this photo, everything about it, it explains the state I was in-

fuzzy, poorly focused, messy, too much clutter in the background

If only I had managed to have one of the blogger ladies to take an outfit shot at Three of Cups I could've refrained from what I've posted here. Too much fun meeting them to stop and ask if someone would take my pic though. I'd feel too silly at such a request, even if that's what we're all into, no way could I have posed in front of semi-strangers and gotten much better results.

The outfit:

*Purple blouse w/black fringe-BCBGeneration

*Black turtleneck-thrift store

*Black pencil skirt-H&M

*Black opaque tights-Hue

*Black boots-Jessica Simpson

*Silver vintage owl necklace-Thrift Store

Saturday (morning/day): February 13, 2010

Off to breakfast with some of the blog girls (see previous post)

Then onward to the Chictopia 10 Conference.

The Outfit:

*Black 3/4 sleeve jacket-H&M

*Black dress-Nicole Miller

*Printed fringe scarf-H&M

*Black/Gold skinny belt-Forever 21

*Black leggings-Flexees

*Black boots-Jessica Simpson

*Gold bangle bracelets-Forever 21

*Gold vintage earrings-a past bday gift (thanks Laurie!)

Saturday (night): February 13, 2010

Chictopia 10 afterparty @ the Tribeca Grand Hotel.

Making good use of my Fashism contest winnings, courtesy of Rent-The-Runway!

(Don't forget if you want to join Rent-the-Runway, it's invite only...so go here)

Too bad my dress was a size too big in the waist and hips--darn ill proportioned body of mine!

It bothered me all evening that in reality a dress like this should've been altered to fit skin tight. It's a pity that I had to return it, therefore being unable to snip and sew, pin it, fix it.

Subtleties like this make me fidget all evening-it really bothered me, I hope no one noticed.

The Outfit:

*Black vintage velvet jacket-Vintage Store in Kalamazoo, MI

*Gray optical illusion dress-Robert Rodriguez Collection

*Black opaque tights-Hue

*Black patent-leather maryjanes w/crazy heel-Jessica Simpson

*Silver chain necklaces-H&M

*Silver vintage necklace-Thrift Store

*Silver sequin cuff-Wet Seal

Hey Jess--clearly I'm a fan of your shoes;

as silly as it may be to admit to liking something Jessica Simpson related.

But your shoes--they're fun, comfortable for all their height, and never a blister!

More please!

Sunday: February 14, 2010

(Valentine's Day = Laundry Day)

As I already mentioned, BF let me down...so I saw no reason to get all spiffy in hopes of a dinner or movie, or flowers, or chocolates.

Instead, it was me and the laundromat.

Curious, as I've always been about this subject, but what do you all wear for laundry day?

(or do you wear your pjs cause you're lucky enough to have a washer/dryer in your place?)

The Valentine's Day Outfit

("hopelessly romantic" I know-psshhha!):

*Gray chunky sweater-who knows

*Beige t-shirt-H&M

*Skinny jeans-Uniqlo

*Brown cowboy booties-Steve Madden

-AND NO BANGS--YIKES!

(Large Forehead Alert: could be as bad as my Friday nite outfit pic...sorry)

Rent The Runway/Fashism Contest

A few weeks back I entered this outfit into Fashism's "Rent the Runway" contest.

The rules were quite simple, just submit any outfit shot with a question, and you were entered.

(yeah, I can handle that)

and believe it or not, I won!

And a big winner I am indeed...I got a $50 credit to RentTheRunway.com

Rent the Runway is similar to Netflix, only for designer clothing off the runways!

You can rent a garment for 4-8 days, it arrives dry-cleaned and ready to go

(they even give you a 2nd size, or a backup choice just in case the first one doesn't work out)

then just put it in the prepaid package and return it in the mail.

SOOOOO EASY!

(as I hear, the average rental cost is around 90%less than the designer's asking price, so my credit will get me started on what might become a quick obsession for those festive occasions that are far and few between--but at least I have this outlet to make sure I'm dressed to the nines anytime those events pop up)

So, wish me luck--I've got throughout the month of January to use my store credit

(as well as come up with someplace to wear such an item).

First I've got to take a peek at hundreds upon hundreds of items before I even begin to narrow down my choices.

But if I were to have to immediately pick just one thing, from one designer,

I'd probably satisfy my inner wannabe rocker girl and opt for a Balmain mini dress

(particularly from the Fall '09 collection, I'm still in love with them).

Ooooooh, do you think they have one?

I got the most splendid email today....probably one of the best I've ever gotten.

Topshop emailed me to let me know that I was one of the lucky winners of the Bicycle Club Contest!

The contest was put together by Topshop and Chictopia.  Every week for 4 weeks they are picking 5 lucky people to receive new bikes!  And I was one of those peeps.

So, if any of you happened to be one of the fellow chictopians that voted for my pic, I thank you a million times over!  Honestly, I never thought I'd be a winner of anything on those sites.  There are so many fabulous, stylish girls and guys on there that it's easy to get lost in the sea of others.  

And, in addition to chictopians, I want to thank Mel for taking the picture.  I swear her camera is a magic photo box! And she's got good photography skills!  So thank you Mel.  

(Note to Mel: Get your bike fixed so we can

RULE THE STREETS OF BROOKLYN!)

Get ready readers, mark my words, a fabulous-well styled gaggle of girls is about to take to their bikes and take over BK!  And yes, I plan to do it in heels.

Now, just what to name my bike gang, help me choose:

A.) Heels on Wheels

B.) The Heel's Angels

C.)Wonder  wHEELs

D.)B.K. (bicycle kit'n)