Please forgive me, dear blog friends, but I’ve not been much in a blogging mood lately. It isn’t that I’ve not had things to share - I HAVE! - but I just haven’t been inclined to sit and compose those things into a captivating post. I’m sure we all feel this way from time to time, no?

But today I have a wonderful reason for posting. I hope you will all be excited about it too.

Remember the book giveaway that I recently did here on my blog? Donnell was the lucky winner of one brand spanking new copy of the amazing book The Fresh Start Promise by Edwige Gilbert. (Donnell… I hope you are enjoying it!)

For the rest of you, those of you who didn’t get a copy of the book, take heart! I have just gotten SIX more copies of this book straight from Miss Gilbert herself. In addition to the six books, Miss Gilbert sent SIX Fresh Start Meditation CDs.

Cool?

Très.

All of these items are, of course, to giveaway to my lovely blog readers! Lucky you ones!

So, this is how this will work:

• Leave a comment on this post between now and July 26 (my BIRTHDAY!) if you would like to be entered in the giveaway.  The winners will be chosen after 3:oo p.m. on July 26 using the random number generator. The first number chosen will get a book, the second person chosen will get a CD, and so on and so forth.

If you mention this giveaway on your own blog, you will be entered to win twice.  Just be sure and send me the link so I will know to enter your name an extra time.  Anyone is eligible though; you don’t have to blog it to be entered (once).

In order to make posting about it on your blogs easier (and prettier), Monica has graciously created a cute button for me. (THANK YOU, MONICA!) Feel free to post the button on your blogs, in the sidebar, etc.

So, are we excited? I know I am.

I will be doing book giveaways all summer long so check back often! I have a lot of great titles on my giveaway-roster!

Au revoir!

For more about the original giveaway, see here.

For more about The Fresh Start Promise, see here.

* Twelve winners total. You will be contacted by email if you are chosen so please be sure to comment with your current email address. Signup ends on July 26 at 3:00 p.m. Entries will only be taken from comments left on this post. Winners will be drawn at random. I will pay for shipping via Media Mail; will also ship Internationally. Any questions? Use the contact link to contact me!

Have fun!

For those of you participating in the Thrift Shop * Thrift Swap, swap partners have been assigned and sent out.   I did it old school.  I put all of your names onto little slips of paper and into this pretty jar and drew them out and paired you all up randomly.

If you thought you signed up and didn’t receive a partner, let me know.  If you have any questions about the particulars of the swap, just send me a message through the contact link above.

Since putting this swap together, all things thrift have been on my mind.  Okay, I should clarify that statement… all things thrift are on my mind MOST of the time, period.

So, I thought I would FINALLY do what I’ve long meant to do here on my blog… list some of my neato thrift finds.  I hope you all enjoy my finds as much as I have.

Amazing vintage French canning jar… complete with wire clasp top and French writing all over it.  It is GI-normous too!  A steal at $1.

Retro-fun floral pillowcases - a pristine pair for $1.98!  My favorite color is chartreuse so these were perfect.  The front red-ish pillow is very old and quilted on the front with all sorts of pretty ruffles.  Amazing condition and for… wait for it… only 45-cents!

Looks like someone tromped through a field in these but they are still stunning.  Custom-made Palizzio peeptoe platform slingbacks.  LOVE.  THEM.  Love that I only paid $2 for them too!

Sometime back I got this pretty green glass dish (45-cents) with the express intent of putting a wee cacti garden in it.  Well, I finally got around to fulfilling its purpose over the weekend.  I’m so happy with how it looks.  THIS is how my garden grows!

Other of my amazing recent finds can be found in my Etsy store.   Tons of neato stuff there!  Also, I started a fun new blog featuring cool things I discover on Etsy.  It is called EtsyFinds.  Check it out and feel free to comment!

Do tell… what cool thrift / vintage things have you found lately?

1. Karen village, Thailand, 2. Flickr Loves Sushi. Mmm., 3. Kossuth’s tombHDR, 4. concerto in chartreuse, 5. Colin Firth revisited, 6. soy latte I made., 7. Village of Gorbio, Maritime Alps, Provence, 8. szechwan peppercorn creme brulee, 9. I Love New York, 10. I love my mom, 11. The chase, 12. what Carrie Bradshaw wants,

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Leonie recently did this fun meme and I thought I’d play along. I don’t do many memes anymore but a Flickr mosaic? I’m in. What a neat idea!

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name

My Answers (the words I searched in Flickr):

1. Karen
2. Sushi
3. Kossuth
4. Chartreuse
5. Mr. Darcy
6. Soy Latte
7. Provence
8. Creme Brulee
9. Happy
10. Mom
11. Lost
12. Zazazu

Leave me a comment if you decide to play along! This one was FUN!

]]> http://zazazu.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/flickr-fun/feed/ zazazu http://zazazu.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/thrift-shop-thrift-swap-button/ http://zazazu.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/thrift-shop-thrift-swap-button/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:03:02 +0000 zazazu http://zazazu.wordpress.com/?p=839

In all the swaps I’ve hosted, I’ve NEVER had a cool logo button for one… until NOW!  The super-talented and super-sweet Monica took it upon herself to create one for us.  I, for one, think that is uber-cool!

As I was telling Monica, I am technologically illiterate so I don’t know how to make this neat button “link” back to the post.  However, if you know how to do it and want to link it back to the original post, please feel free to do that.

Here is the button (THANK YOU, MONICA!!!)

[If you are interested in participating, please leave a comment on the original post as that is where I will be taking sign-ups from.  Thank you!]

I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to announce that I’m running a sale at my Etsy store.  I’ve just put a TON of things from my store into my SALE section… Craft supplies, destash stuff, vintage fabric, vintage linens, vintage jewelry, books, something for EVERYONE!

Also, I’m running BOGO in my $6 Vintage Jewelry Section! Buy one $6 piece and get the second for half-price! That’s $9 (pre-shipping) for two pieces of great vintage jewelry!

This will run through the weekend at least… Don’t miss out!

Happy weekend!

I’m feeling rather sparky today so I thought I would do a couple of fun things here on my blog.

Firstly, the lovely Miss StilettoHeights has inspired me to write up a list of things that provide inspiration to me lately. What a fun exercise, no?

What inspires you lately? For me, it includes…

• Vintage shoes - I have found so many wonderful ones lately! I get the extra-fab ones to list in my store as I love to have a good vintage shoe selection there. So many fabulous and unique vintage shoes out there… great quality too.

• Colored tights / leggings - Crazy, yes, but they go with so many things and really give an added flair! Besides, they fashionably cover my stark white legs.
• Lame - A fabulous gold lame tank literally jumped off the rack at me the other day and I’ve been smitten since. Everyone needs to sparkle.
• Belts, belts, BELTS! Need I say more?
• My new store banner… so pretty and so wonderfully done! Thanks, PixelCafe!

• Vintage artwork, especially crewel-work.
• Homemade iced coffee.
• Ruffles and Scarlett O’Hara.

• Sex and the City re-runs… until I get finally get out to see the new movie!
• Russian architecture

• Anything at all to do with Paris… specifically living there someday.
• Tomatoes… fresh with a bit of pepper. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
• Vintage bedding… LOTS of it!
• A gorgeous white gauze babydoll top that I bought when I was sixteen. I found it again the other day and have been wearing it with skinnies and my flats. Scavenging in my own closet is very fun!
• Yard sales… ’tis the season. It makes Saturday mornings SUCH fun! I look forward to them all week!

Speaking of yard sales…

How about a swap? As all of you know and can tell from my list above, I’m terribly inspired by things that I find at thrift stores and yard sales. I love things that others cast-off that I can make good use of. It is the ultimate recycling and such fun too!

I also know that many of my readers here are thrift store / yard sale mavens, also loving the hunt for what they can re-use and give another life to.

So, since it is the prime thrifting / yard sale season… how about a “Thrift Shop Thrift Swap“? Here is how I propose for it to work:

1. Leave a comment on this post that you want to participate. Right after you leave your comment, please contact me at msred5@yahoo.com with your contact information, i.e. name, address, blog and email address. Sign-up will close on June 15.
2. On June 16, I will pair those who have signed up with a partner and send each of you their information. In order to get to know new people better - as that, I believe, is part of the fun of a swap - this will be a one-on-one swap.
3. After being in touch with your swap partner, compile a package of things you think they would like. Here is the catch… ALL items that you send MUST be from a thrift store / garage sale / yard sale / porch sale / estate sale / tag sale / etc… you get the idea. Of course, make sure they are nice items and not junk but I think we all know how to do this… how to find the treasures out there! Bonus points if your packaging comes from thrifting too. (Not that there will be a winner or anything but.. that would be cool, huh?) Spend between $10 - 15 on your package, not including shipping.
4. Send your packages out by July 1. If you can’t make it by then, let me AND your partner know of the delay.

(International participants welcome. Please be willing to ship Internationally if you decide to participate. If you leave comment on this post, I will assume that you wish to participate. Please realize when signing up that sometimes there are bum swappers.  I can’t control this.)

Sound fun?

Join us!

Tell your friends!

Any questions?  Feel free to contact me!

::::::::::::::::::::::: Happy scavenging! ::::::::::::::::::::::

Psst… Want to join my Etsy store mailing list? Email me at msred5@yahoo.com to join. Repeat customers who are on my mailing list get 10% off every purchase (the subtotal).

Today’s list - Ten Favorite Time Wasters

1. Reading random fashion or design blogs… SO many pretty ones out there!
2. Searching through the vintage category on Etsy.
3. Watching re-runs of Law & Order or CSI… Yes, I thought I had broken myself of that habit but alas…
4. Napping.
5. Organizing my favorites on Etsy.
6. Walking around outside, looking at the flowers and such.
7. Thinking up blog posts that never actually get written.
8. Looking around Craigslist.
9. Searching for my child (aka. my cat) who won’t come when she is called.
10. Shopping… of any kind, really.

These were harder to think of than I thought they’d be!  Shocking, really.

Thanks to all who entered for the giveaway I just hosted - a free copy of The Fresh Start Promise.  It is WONDERFUL to see so many people interested in this amazing book.

Using the Random Number Generator, I picked our winner… {{{ Drumroll please… }}}

Donnell of Wicked Pete!

Congrats, Donnell!  I hope you LOVE this book as much as I have!

To the rest of you, don’t despair!  I strongly encourage you to get a copy of this book very soon and reap the wonderful benefits it can afford.

I’m also still interested in doing this program as a group - small group or large group - through my blog here.  So, if you get the book or plan to get the book soon and want to participate, leave me a comment and let me know!  Maybe those interested could plan to start mid-June?

Think about it!  It just might change your life!

I didn’t realize that I was ending this giveaway on Memorial Day.  I rarely think about holidays or plan things like that so it was pure coincidence.  But… since I’m here…

Have a wonderful and SAFE holiday today, readers!

I had to include a picture of my baby.  I’m such a proud Mommy.  Here she is driving my Dad’s John Deere tractor.  She LOVES that tractor seat for some reason!  Doesn’t she look adorable?

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Check out my great new vintage listings…  recy.etsy.com

20% sale there for Memorial Day - don’t miss it!

]]> http://zazazu.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/we-have-a-winner/feed/ zazazu http://zazazu.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/fresh-start-promise/ http://zazazu.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/fresh-start-promise/#comments Mon, 19 May 2008 00:51:45 +0000 zazazu http://zazazu.wordpress.com/?p=772

JOIE DE VIVRE!!

Vivre la joie (Live the joy)
La joie de vivre (The joy of life)
Ivre de joie (Drunk from joy)
Ivre de vie (Drunk from life)
Joyeux de vivre de joy (How joyful to live with joy)
Viva la vie (Long life to life)

I don’t know how to change a tire. I probably should but I don’t. I know what I want the end result to be - a nice new tire that runs well - but I don’t know what to do to come to that new tire on my car.

This is exactly how I feel with most self-improvement books that I pick up. I know what I want the end result to be - clarity, motivation, greater focus on my goals, etc. - but, for the life of me, I rarely know how to get there. That is what self-improvement books are for, right? Yes but… most self-improvement books that I read tell me that my thinking needs to change but that is a lot easier said than done. If I have approximately 70,000 thoughts each day, how am I to know how to change or control them so that I can come to the clarity, focus, motivation, or whatever it is that I want to accomplish?

Honestly, I have no idea.

Enter The Fresh Start Promise. I’ve recently had the pleasure of reading this book and was so refreshed to see that it doesn’t expect me to ‘just know’. This book, written by Edwige Gilbert, a brilliant Frenchwoman with a personable writing style and uncanny insights, actually tells you how to bring about the change you desire. This book leads the reader through a 28-day program to bring about change in one’s mind and life. It doesn’t just say “change your thinking”; this book describes, in detail, countless different actions to take - morning and night - so that your mind will change, so that your thinking will change, so that your outlook will change. Among these practices:

• Different meditations
• Energizing and cleansing rituals
• Breathing practices
• Chi massage
• Walking meditation
• Music and touch therapy
• Journaling
• Hypnotherapy
• Mindfulness
• Visualization
• Nutrition
• … and more!

This is actually a program that the reader can touch, feel, put into practice. You aren’t left wondering how to change your thinking; you know what to do! How refreshing!

The Fresh Start Promise is the only self-improvement book you will need. This book beautifully and effectively combines so many of the best tenants from other self-improvement books out there including The Secret, The Power of Intention, The Art of Happiness and more. These concepts - combined with countless others that Gilbert herself has developed over the years as her work as a wellness and energy coach - are woven in a fun, ambitious, motivational way to create a very defined series of actions to take, life changes to make.

As always, it is incredibly hard to adequately explain all the wonderful things about this wonderful book without giving away too much of it! You really just need to read it and enjoy it as much as I have.

You’d like to, you say? Well, you are in luck. Leave a comment on this post between now and next Sunday night and I will draw for someone to send this amazing book to. This giveaway* is open to anyone, not just regular readers of my blog. Feel free to tell others, post it on your blog, send the word around. I’d love for as many people as possible to be exposed to this program.

Others interested in a copy of The Fresh Start Promise? Visit this link to buy a copy.

Anyone interested in spending 28-days to make significant changes in your life? I’d love to host a group to go through this book together. It is a short but profound program; it really shows you how to live your life! If you want to join in this journey, let me know!

Allow me now to give you a taste of a delicious little French dish: it’s called joie de vivre, and it’s the most wonderful recipe for finding and fully experiencing life’s most simple joys simply by paying appreciative attention to the ordinary events and moments of the day. Joie de vivre is really just about fostering and encouraging in you a sense of wonder, playfulness, and curiosity about life’s little things. Your experience of joie de vivre today will be quite straightforward, actually, but I can assure you that it will lead to some quite fantastic new experiences!

Intrigued? Curious? Convinced? Join me and put a bit of joie de vivre into your life. Make a fresh start!

* One book - a brand new copy - to one winner. Signup ends on May 25 at midnight. Anyone eligible. Entries will only be taken from comments left on this post. One entry per person. Winner will be drawn at random. I will pay for shipping via Media Mail; will also ship Internationally. Any questions? Use the contact link to contact me! Have fun!

Just a quickie post to show off the LOVELY crewel-art I found at an estate sale this past weekend. I got a whole heap of stuff for $5.00 total and this was part of it. So, I estimate that it cost about a quarter. It came with a pine frame but I took it out of that; they are better used separately, I think. For a quarter… wow! This is in wonderful condition and the crewel stitching is just amazingly clean and tight. LOVE it!

P.S. I’m crazy for crewel anyway and have several crewel kits that I’m going to do… someday.

::: Some uber-cool new things in the shop too… more coming all week! :::

From Ten on Tuesday…

Ten things I’m really good at:

1. Memorizing phone numbers - most of the time, if I hear it once, I’ll remember it always.
2. Remembering useless bits of information - like, which celebrity has an auctioneer for a wife.
3. Picking out the best bits of junk in a thrift store - evidenced here.
4. Googling.
5. Arguing a point or making valid points in support or contradiction of an issue - I would make a very good lawyer if I was tilted in such a direction.
6. Writing - as in creative writing.
7. Being dramatic.
8. Making things aesthetically pleasing - rooms, people, outfits, Christmas trees, whatever.
9. Spelling.
10. Seeing the beauty and possibility in really old and worn-out things - I can see an old, rundown, boarded up house and see what it could be with a bit of renovation.  Same with clothes, knick-knacks, etc.

{ The book giveaway is coming VERY SOON!  I promise!  I’ve been behind with blog posting and away from home a bit these past couple of days… excuses, excuses.  Book giveaway coming SOOOOOOOOOON! }

Holgaroid by Futurowoman

Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you die a little. The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.

~ Agnes de Mille, choreographer