Tag: sponsored

ShoeMint Giveaway

I’m working with ShoeMint today to bring you a fun giveaway. Five lucky readers will each win a pair of shoes of their choice!

ShoeMint is a members-only site, borne of the collaboration between Rachel Bilson and Steve Madden. They design stylish, high-quality leather and suede shoes (or in various fabrics, if that’s more your thing), and each style is $79.98. Below are the shoes I picked. I’m a flats kind of girl most days and I’ve been wearing those cute gray ones a whole lot, but they have some great heels and boots too.

They’re on top of trends, adding new styles each month, and you get free shipping and returns with each order. Which pair would you choose? Visit ShoeMint to register for free, then pick your favorite pair and leave a comment below with your choice for a chance to win!

p.s. You can save 20% right now with the promo code 20LUVUS.

One entry per person, open to US and Canada residents only. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST, January 17. Five winners will be chosen at random and notified va email, and they will be noted in this post once confirmed. Good luck!

This post was sponsored by ShoeMint.

* Congratulations to the winners: Mel, Cora, Barb, Sarah, and Teresa.

January 10, 2013
DIY Colorblock Christmas Trees
Here’s a cute DIY project to add a little sparkle and shine to your holiday! These colorblock Christmas trees took a few hours to create, but if you simplified the palette (and skipped the glitter paint), you could finish them in about an hour. Here’s what you’ll need.

Supplies
- Kraft Paper Cones
- ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape
- Paint Brush
- Martha Stewart Crafts Paint
  Light Pink Trees: Pink Carnation (Satin), Rose Chrome (Metallic), Sugar Cube (Glitter)
  
  Dark Pink Trees: Peppermint Bark (Satin), Rose Copper (Metallic), Florentine Gold (Glitter)
  
  Green Trees: Artichoke (Satin), Citrine Gold (Metallic), Peridot (Glitter)
The smaller cones were to be glittered on one side, so I first painted the entire cone in a solid color. The larger cones were each going to be painted one one side with metallic paint (which I knew to have good coverage), so I started by taping them off and painting just half in a solid color. It’s easier to tape a cone vertically, though I’m sure these would look fantastic done horizontally if you’re up for the challenge.

Acrylic paint dries quickly. I found that by the time I was done painting the last of my six cones, the first would be ready for another coat (I did three on each). After the last coat had dried, I removed the old tape from the larger cones and retaped them to paint the other sides. The metallic paints I used looked good after just one coat, but I still did three — because I am weird and like to keep things even.

Adding the glitter… there went the whole ‘keeping things even’ idea. I lost count of how many coats of glitter paint I used! I knew they would take a while to build coverage, and I think I may have put 10-12 coats of paint on each cone. Early on in the process, I considered ditching the paint and just using glitter, but it was my hope that by using the glitter paint, each Christmas tree would be less likely to flake and leave a sparkly trail wherever she may go.

So far, so good. The glitter is staying put, and I love the two-tone effect.

I’m not sure if I’ve found the perfect place for these yet though. I like the effect of the mirror, doubling them and showing off both sides, but there’s already a lot going on in the hutch above, and with the stockings below. What do you think?

This post is a collaboration with ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape. To join the creative community, visit www.facebook.com/ScotchBlue.
December 18, 2012
Fab Holiday Gift Guide
I’ve been a member of Fab for a long time. I’ve bought some awesome things through them, like my Eames bird and my giant botanical print; they’re good at featuring great design and quirky stuff from independent designers. Today, I’m working with them to share my favorites from the Holiday Shop. Usually Fab makes items available for only a short time, but everything in the holiday shop (and below) is available through the end of the year.
1. Forget Me Knot Ring in Neon Green
  Because we can all probably use a neon green reminder every now and then.
2. Luckies Video Notebook Lined
  Things are not always as they seem…
3. (of)matter Arrow Necklace
  Simple, but cool.
4. The Heads Of State Gatsby Print
  So fantastic! Imagined business cards from the guests at Jay Gatsby’s spring party.
5. Areaware Roller Stop Green
  Perfect for derby ladies.
6. Twig Terrarium Zombiarium
  Care instructions: water. And brains, probably.
7. Tattly Illustration Set
  I want to get the Tattly set for the kids, and steal a few for myself.
8. Farrah Sit Porcelain Containers
  I’ve been looking for hanging plant containers and having a hard time finding ones that I like. These, I like.
9. DPCTED Cuddle You Tee Green
  I actually bought one of these in red for Brandon a while back. it makes me giggle.
10. Native Union POP Phone in Orange
  Ahoy-hoy.
This post was sponsored by Fab.
December 12, 2012
Gifts for the Hard to Buy For
I presented a gift guide in partnership with American Express last week, featuring items that could be purchased through their Membership Rewards program. I also asked if you needed help finding gifts for anyone, and today I’m going to follow up and help out with some ideas for the hard to buy for people in your life.
- Brothers
  
  Emily said: “I always struggle with new gift ideas for my brothers in their mid-late twenties. I always go with t-shirts or something boring like undies or socks.” And Valerie said: “I’m trying to figure out what to get my brothers (18 and 19) that isn’t in the video game/dvd/gift card oeuvre. But I’m pretty broke this year, so I have a $40 limit for both of them. Everything I’ve looked at so far that I thought would be good goes way over that!”
  There were a lot of requests for brotherly gifts! This Cards Against Humanity game (4) looks awesome, and you can’t go wrong with a Jon Ronson book (Brandon and I both like him). Lost at Sea (5) is Ronson’s newest. You can pay for these with points through Amazon’s checkout.
- Sisters
- Parents (Yours or Hers/His)
  
  Marie said: “I could use gift ideas for my boyfriend’s parents!! We’ve been dating for 1.5 years and although I’m not very close with them (distance makes it tough), I’d like to give something thoughtful.”
  Give tickets to a show. I cashed in a bunch of my Amex points recently to get tickets to The Book of Mormon (1) (Brandon and I will be going on our anniversary in May). You can pay with points through TicketMaster, so there are tons of options for shows and concerts that they’ll like.
- For Those Who Don’t Need Another Thing
  
  Hillary said: “Would love advice about what to get my dad and stepmom. They are retired, don’t really need any “stuff” and are just plain hard to shop for. I usually default to restaurant gift cards but would like to give something more thoughtful. Help!”
  Give to charity. Donate your points to Hurricane Sandy Relief (6), or to another charity on behalf of your gift recipient.
- The Wild Card
  
  Sarah said: “I’m having a tough time coming up with something for a family gift exchange. It could go to anyone in my family from my 12 year old niece to my 50+ uncles. I seem to only be able to come up with girly or adult ideas.”
  My best bet for one-gift-fits-all is How Music Works by David Byrne (7) (pay with points on Amazon). It will appeal to book-lovers, music-lovers (young and old — doesn’t everyone agree that David Byrne is awesome?), and it has a technology/science bent.
I was selected by American Express to help educate consumers about how to use Membership Rewards points. As such I was paid for my services as an ambassador, but all gift choices selected and opinions about the gifts and American Express are my own.
December 10, 2012
Points for Presents
I’m working with American Express to share ideas for holiday gift giving. All of the gifts below can be purchased with points from their Membership Rewards program. Some of the items (numbers 1, 6, and 7) can be purchased directly with points, and the others can be had by redeeming points for gift cards.
1. KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer
2. Alphabet Needlepoint Pillow (via gift card)
3. Torpedo Sconce (via gift card)
4. Newgate Bubble Wall Clock (via gift card)
5. Squirrel Cookie Jar (via gift card)
6. Dooney and Bourke Florentine Domed Buckle Satchel
7. Michael Kors Acrylic Tortoiseshell Watch
I’ll be sharing more gift ideas next week too. Are you having trouble coming up with ideas for someone in your life? Let me know in the comments and I’ll help out with some ideas. Glorious ideas.

I was selected by American Express to help educate consumers about how to use Membership Rewards points. As such I was paid for my services as an ambassador, but all gift choices selected and opinions about the gifts and American Express are my own.
December 6, 2012
New Marais Chairs in the Dining Room

New chairs provided in part by Industry West.

I recently wrote elsewhere about the evolution of my dining room. Everything is always changing a little around here, and the latest big difference is that the dining room has new chairs. Woot! I switched out some of the pieces in my built-in hutch too. So long, all white; hello, pink and coral.

I still have the other chairs down in the basement because it feels wrong to break up the set. I love my vintage dining table, with its beautiful wood grain and modern trestle base, but the chairs weren’t working well for us. The kids were getting food all over the upholstery, and the wood was getting dinged up from too many run-ins with a toy stroller, a toy shopping cart, and too many toy cars. The cats were equally to blame for the chairs’ downfall too. The seats were constantly furry because they slept on them, and breaking out the vacuum every time you’d like to sit isn’t terribly practical.

I’d been considering new chairs for a long time, but hesitated because I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I like Eames chairs in a dining room, but I think my house has reached its Eames quota. I figured it was time for either plastic, bare wood (like these spindle/stick-back chairs), or metal.

I had contacted Industry West ages ago, with a proposal to work together on my basement studio. They provided four of their Marais A Side Chairs, which I’d intended to use as seating around my faux-Saarinen tulip table. I brought them up to the dining room on a whim one day though, and I really liked them around the wood dining table.

The chairs are narrower than the wooden ones we had, so I was able to add some additional seating around the dining table. I bought two more side chairs for the sides, and two arm chairs for the ends.

Yep, we like ’em. The chairs are good for crawling around between too, and for putting on puppet shows. You know, the important stuff.

November 28, 2012