Five Friday Freebies

Two weeks ago I posted about my Five Friday Favorites. I love sharing things with others when I find something great, so I wanted to share some freebies (yes with an "s" unlike the image above) with you today.

1. Since we are just a couple days away from July I wanted to share this free printable calendar with you.

This first freebie is from Jesse of Good Girl Gone Glad. Love her! I plan to put my printed calendar in a little square silver frame on my desk, I just need to get some more color ink for my printer first. How pretty would this look on your desk. You can find her post {here} to download your very own and share with a friend. :) She also has an Etsy shop with some super cute prints. 

2. Next up is some nail polish and pedicure cream from Julep which I found via Kelly at Fabulous K. When you click over to the website you'll be asked some questions about your personal style and they'll send you 2 free nail polishes as well as a pedicure cream for joining their Maven program. If you love beauty products, especially summer's fun nail colors, this is for you. Please note that while the first box of goodies is free you are becoming a 'Maven' which means there is a monthly fee for ongoing shipments. They offer the ability to get free months so you're rewarded for sharing with friends. I do not get credit for recommending them as I don't have an account with them.

3. If you love great type fonts to use for craft projects, business cards, to update your blog, etc. Melanie of Nicole's Classes shares 10 great free Script Typefaces. There is a link to each one where you can download it and although some have commented that the fonts require a fee, you can simply use zero in the payment box and you'll be able to download for free, unless you are feeling generous and want to donate.

4. Do you want your kitchen cupboards to look like this? If you enjoy an organized space, you'll appreciate these gorgeous labels which would add elegance to any kitchen. Jen from I Heart Organizing featured one of her readers' kitchens and also provided a free download to get these awesome goodies! Click {here} to download them. The creator of these labels is Jen of The Social Home and is where you can find her original post titled 'Pantry Pretty: Dollar Store Pantry Makeover'. It's swoon-worthy!

5. Last but not least, I have not one but TWO Starbucks freebies for you!! They expire very soon so if you want to take advantage, you'll have to jump on it this weekend. According to both the Starbucks Facebook page and the Target Facebook page, if you buy one Frappuccino at any Target location that has a Starbucks shop inside, you'll get the second Frappuccino for free. Now you can treat your hubby, BFF or your kiddo (they have non-caffeinated options such as strawberries & cream as well as vanilla bean and a couple others). It's pretty toasty here in FL, supposed to reach 95 tomorrow so you can bet I'll be snagging a couple of these! :) You have until July.2, 2012 to take advantage of this deal.

If you miss out on that offer, Starbucks is giving away a free tall cup of fresh brewed coffee to anyone who pops into one of their stores on July.4, 2012. Consider it their Fourth of July gift to you! You can read more about the details of this freebie {here}

If you don't have a Target store with a Starbucks inside, if you go to any regular Starbucks store and buy two frappuccinos you'll still get a deal. From now until July.1st you'll save $1 for each frappuccino you buy as long as you are grabbing 2 or more. You can see the details on Starbucks' website.

*Please not that I'm not compensated for sharing these companies or deals with you in any way.


What is your favorite freebie listed here? If you have any awesome links to freebies, I'd love to know about them, please leave them in the comments section or e-mail me. :)


Have a lovely weekend everyone!

XOXO




*header image credit  All other images belong to the mentioned websites and blogs.

Shabby Apple Dress Winner!

Good Morning Ladies! I'm so looking forward to the weekend, but before it officially begins I'm sharing the winner of the Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway which will hopefully make the lucky lady's day. :)

Thank you to all who participated in this giveaway, we had 93 entries!! Because of your tweets, Twitter & Facebook follows I have got to interact with several of you already and it's been a lot of fun-thanks for being so awesome!

To keep things fair, I like to use Random.org to draw all winning entry numbers and this time it selected:

 No.72-Congratulations to Tara of Dandy Giveaways! 

Tara, I have the e-mail address you provided in your entry so I'll be in contact with you later today to get your size and shipping info for my friends at Shabby Apple so they can get that gorgeous dress to your door!

For those of you who did not win this one, I have more exciting giveaways planned for you this summer!! Once again, a big thank you to my giveaway sponsor, Shabby Apple for being so generous!

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!

XO

The Definition of Good Manners

We talk about manners here a lot on this blog and while many of us know what good manners are in terms of behavior and the basics such as saying please and thank you or holding the door open for others, I think this quote above by Emily Post sums up what good manners consist of. Being well mannered stems from one's ability to be aware, kind and considerate of another's feelings before speaking or acting. In essence, a classy woman's good manners put others at ease, making them feel drawn to her and comfortable in her presence. Isn't that how we all want to feel and make others feel also?

Today's post is super short, you all know I can write encyclopedia-length posts at times so I'm trying to deliver more bite-sized messages for you. I hope you're having a great week so far! I'll be announcing the winner tomorrow for the Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway, if you haven't entered to win yet you have until 11pm tonight! Good Luck! {Here} is a link to the gorgeous red dress up for grabs! :)

 One last thing, I haven't made a formal announcement here yet (only tweeted about it and shared on Facebook) but I wanted to let you all know that I have some ad spaces available and if you buy our regular size ad space now it'll be a very affordable $8 for 30 days-a 60% discount to kick off the summer! :) Rates go back up on July.1st so click {here} if you are interested, just 2 more days left! I'd love to show your page off to my readers- it's a great way to advertise your blog, Etsy shop, website, business, Facebook page, etc., to get new readers & customers!

Thanks for stopping by!

XO

Let Yourself Dream Again

A gentle reminder today that your adversaries do not have the final say on your success or what happens to you during your lifetime. Often times you'll notice that just as you're finally on the road to achieving your dreams, someone will try to distract or discourage you. Try to remember who the comments are coming from, the negative ones will never come from the mouths of those who are achieving wild success and experiencing joy in their own life.

I hope this inspires someone today. Nothing pains me more than seeing someone muster up the courage to achieve something great in their life and having that dream squashed by someone who hasn't even achieved the kind of success they'd like in their own life. 

Remember that others like to keep those close to them at their level. If you are moving on up, don't be surprised if you feel a struggle to not get dragged down by unmotivated daydreamers who refuse to put feet to their faith and take action. Sometimes it's uncomfortable but we must leave others behind if we truly want to move to bigger and better things. Like rocks in a backpack; discouraging friends, colleagues, strangers and even family members can weigh us down but only if we let them!

Classy women often walk alone. Read this quote from a post I wrote last fall. It's a good reminder that if you feel alone at times on your journey to achieving your dreams or fulfilling your calling, you're on the right track. After all, going out on a limb is where all the best fruit is!

Have you ever had others try to squash your dreams? Were you able to push through and silence your nay-sayers?

P.S. Reminder that the Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway is ending soon! Don't forget to enter, there's a gorgeous red dress up for grabs worth $78! Enter {here}.

XO

Living Well: How to Make Clothing Last

Are you all ready for the weekend? We're in rainy season so I'll be enjoying the great indoors for most of the weekend. Don't feel bad for me though, I get more than my fair share of sunshine here in Florida!

Today I wanted to post about something that we can all benefit from-making our favorite clothes last as long as they possibly can. After all, a classy woman takes pride in how she looks and is a good steward of the resources afforded to her.

A few weeks ago I was wearing a pair of black dress pants that I've received many compliments on over the years because they fit me perfectly. As I got them ready to take in for cleaning, I was thinking about where I was working when I purchased them and realized I bought them ten years ago from Club Monaco while still living in Toronto. They were a bit more than I wanted to spend at the time however I always value an invest in quality key basics. Apparently my investment is paying off. After a whole decade, these lightweight wool pants fit still like a dream and haven't lost their shape thanks to spot treating early and only using dry cleaning to clean them.

I wanted to share some tips with you to make your clothing go the distance. Whether it be an expensive blouse or an inexpensive skirt, these tips will help you get the most mileage from the wardrobe you have.

How to Make Your Clothes Last Longer

1. Keep Darks Their Darkest- One of the biggest problems with black is it can fade, especially if it is cotton. Likewise, dark denim tends to lose its color over time also. The best way to keep dark washable fabrics their darkest is to always wash them in cold water. Washing clothing inside out and if you are washing a black top or dark jeans for the first time, use about 1/4 cup of white vinegar directly in the wash. You can also sprinkle salt in the wash water as well. These both keep the dye from leeching out of your clothing, and especially helps a new item not bleed out to other dark item such as dark pink or red where staining from dye could ruin it. Fabric softeners can leave a residue which is more obvious on dark clothing. Instead use a 1/4 cup of white vinegar in your fabric softener compartment and it will remove all build up of soap and softeners on clothes and leave them smelling fresh and soft. They won't smell like pickles-I promise!

2. Hang Dry- By hanging your best pieces out to dry, you are eliminating the excessive heat and friction they undergo while in the dryer. There are all kinds of dryers on the market now such as steam dryers, but this advice is for all of you like myself who still have a regular style dryer. I try to hang dark items like black clothing inside out to prevent fading if I'm hanging it outdoors. With a gentle breeze, clothing always smells amazing and is usually fairly wrinkle-free. Most times though, I just hang my items on an extended hanger in our laundry room or pull back the shower curtain and let my laundry dry overnight. It works like a charm. This also saves you money too on  your utility bill as dryers use up a lot of energy.

3. Delicate Cycle vs. Regular Wash - While you probably run most of your laundry as a regular type of load, delicates such as lingerie either need to be hand washed or use your delicate cycle which involves less friction. The same holds true for other washables that you want to keep looking their best. Bras should always be washed with all fastening hooks closed in a lingerie bag or if you don't have one, a pillowcase with an elastic tied around it and then let these items air dry. Over time the friction of overloaded machines and vigorous washing cycles can causes holes, snags and pilling.

4. Repair Before You Wash & Wear- If you see a small snag, missing button, hole, etc., in any item of clothing it's always best to repair the item yourself or have it fixed before washing. A very small flaw could turn into a completely ruined article of clothing after even one round in the washer and dryer. Something I like to do is keep a small bin with any clothing that needs to be repaired along with a ziploc bag filled with needles and many shades of thread and mini scissors. This way I can pull out the bin when I'm watching TV. If it's beyond my ability to fix, I take it to someone who can. On all clothing, always close fastening hooks and zippers first before washing as this will keep them from becoming damaged.

5. Whites, Darks & Towels- Never wash towels with any article of clothing. I caught hubby doing it one time (thankfully it was his own clothing) and he wasn't happy with how pilled his shirts looked after. Always wash towels only with towels, sheets and clothing need to be washed separately. Likewise, darks and whites should never party together in the washing machine. This just makes everything look muddy and gray. I remember growing up and some of my class mates would have grayish-looking white shirts and was thankful my mother had taught me well. Many use bleach, we do not in our home for environmental and health reasons, I have however found hydrogen peroxide in the wash to be a good solution for whites. I always wash stains with water and salt if I can immediately which usually takes it all out, if not, I use a little bit of soap or I pre-treat with oxy clean which usually does the job.

We all do laundry regularly and have the basics down, some of these points may not be new to you unless you've just moved out on your own but I hope you learned a new tip or two today. :)

I'd love to hear from you. What other tips do YOU have for making your clothes last as long as they can?


Happy Friday!


P.S. If you haven't entered our Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway yet, you still have time. There is a gorgeous dress up for grabs. Get all the details {here}.



*photo credits: (1) , (2)