Like this I love you,Also, check out my sister's new blog M.A.D ♥ ♥
as you dress
and how your hair lifts up
and how your mouth smiles,
light as the water
of the spring upon the pure stones,
Like this I love you, beloved.
- Pablo Neruda 'And because Love battles'
"Finding cute tops and trendy clothes has become our passion and obsession. We love giving girls confidence by making them feel comfortable, because after all "Self confidence is the most attractive quality a girl can posses" and when you love how you feel you always look great. We are doing the hard work for you and constantly on the lookout for the most trendy clothes and cute clothes to inspire our beautiful collections. Life is basic and searching for the perfect cute clothes should be too... Our selection of basic cute clothes is put together to help you always feel sexy, comfortable, and confident. Go ahead and wear our basic, cute, trendy clothes and let your confidence shine!""Life is Basic... Love Yourself" - Americas Basics
This is a real score. Americas Basics want to send you back to school in style. How? With a bundle of their gorgeous clothes to see you through Autumn and beyond; keeping you warm, keeping you stylish, keeping you basic!
US entry only. This is your last chance to win this week via comment entry, so why not give it a shot? Leave your comment, plus email address if you'd like me to contact you as soon as you've won, or check back tomorrow to see if this big prize is all yours! Enter just once, I'll pick the lucky winner at random.The winner of the Suzy Smith 'Rhianna' clutch was comment number fourteen... Alice! Congrats! Drop me a line with your postage details, Alice, and I'll pass them along to Fashion In Store: mycharade@hotmail.com
An online boutique stocking my current handbag obsession: Suzy Smith, a 'Designer collection oozing catwalk style and quality'. Currently with a massive sale on (can you say 40% off many of their styles?!) If you thought designer and affordable wouldn't be seen dead together, think again. Visit the site now.
This is good, this is really good. Seriously, I almost kept it for myself people. The 'Rhianna' clutch is an 'adorable oversize clutch with large retro bow and cool piped detailing' measuring 14 by 26 cm and worth £21! This bag will make any ordinary outfit exceptional.
UK entry only. Leave a comment, email address too if you'd like me to contact you, or else check back tomorrow to see if you're the winner! Enter just once, winner will be chosen at random.
Run by the lovely Sophia (based in Montreal but originally from Mexico) Jesophi is one of the sweetest little etsy stores I've come across in a long time. Sophia started making dolls whilst studying graphic design and now sells beautiful jewellery, her own photography and illustrations, plus her curious, costumed 'potato kids'. Everything is handmade using both new and vintage materials. See her etsy shop here, or check out her blog.
Today you could win this whimsical necklace, helping you hold your dreams close to your heart. This pretty necklace measures 10 1/2" including the charm. The word 'dream' and the chain are in a gunmetal finish, with a little pearl and a small gold bow.
You know the deal by now! Leave a comment and an email if you want me to contact you, otherwise you can skip on back same time tomorrow to see if you won! Enter just once please, winner chosen at random.
What's the prize?
"Launched in October 2006 by designer Jacqueline Currie, This Charming Girl is a range of vintage and contemporary jewellery offering a refreshing alternative to what's available on the high street. The diverse collection includes necklaces, brooches, earrings and rings created by recycling vintage pieces and combining them with new parts. Full of adorable treasures and knick-knacks, each limited edition design is inspired by something different and the collection ranges from romantic charms, beautiful cameos and vintage lockets to an eclectic mix of pendants sure to be talking points when worn. This Charming Girl is based in Glasgow, Scotland and has been featured in several magazines and blogs - see the press page for more information."
Oh boy, oh boy, this is one enchanting treasure. Large Russian goldplated "Amour" charm with gold plated cut-out heart and tiny gold rose with faux pearl suspended on an 18" gold plated chain. Charm measures approx. 25mm x 25mm. Worth ten whole English pounds!
The winner of yesterday's Virginia Kraljevic's 'A Room with a View' print is comment number nine: JennTRC. Well done girl!
Rules for the week, dolls: Leave a comment, email address optional, otherwise check back tomorrow to see if you've won. Enter just once. The lucky winner will be chosen at random. Hope you're enjoying all this freebie madness!
*** Competition Now Closed ***"At age six, my heart told me I wanted to be an artist and, over the years, an actress, writer, photo journalist, window dresser, Audrey Hepburn, interior decorator, entrepreneur, baker, librarian, crafter, stylist, and even Jessica Fletcher (as played by the lovely Angela Lansbury). Because of my heart, I am happy to report that by the age of 26, I had already partaken of each aforementioned profession in one way or another (except librarian, but managing your own company leads to lots of filing, reading, and telling your dog “shh”). Okay, okay, enough about my heart (but I love you, heart. I heart heart forever). Essentially, I grew up in a New York suburb of Westchester County, sampled 47.3 million+ learning experiences along the way, had a few key epiphanies, and now find myself appreciating life, nature, and art more than ever."
How delightful is she?! In short, Virginia is a wonderful artist selling her beautiful and original prints in her etsy store. You can also check out her main website here.
Today you can win the enchanting print pictured above titled 'A Room With A View', an 8" x 10" professional digital print of an original ink drawing. The centered image measures approximately 6.75" x 2.75". The beautiful paper used is acid free, bright white, and 100% cotton rag. The print will be signed and packaged in a protective plastic sleeve and crush-proof envelope.
Same deal as yesterday, ladies! Leave a comment saying what you gotta say, email address optional, otherwise check back tomorrow to see if you've won. Enter just once. The lucky winner will be chosen at random. Get to it!
*** Competition Now Closed ***"Put simply - You don't have to pay for clothes!Find out more about how it works.
We are constantly buying new clothes with our hard earned cash when we really shouldn't have to. Why? Because the clothes we want are lying in other people's wardrobes not being worn, and the clothes we no longer wear may be exactly what someone else is looking for.
CovertCandy does something about this situation by providing a trading platform so you can swap clothes you don't want - earning yourself credits. These credits can then be used to buy clothes from other users. Meaning you get clothes for free!"
Just sign-up for an account, email me your details, and I will alert CovertCandy to grant you £20 of credits absolutely free; that means you can start getting gorgeous second-hand and vintage clothes before you've even loaded up any of your own!
This week is all about me showing my gratitude for you lot being so darn fabulous! For that reason, entry is easy as pie - just leave a comment. Anything from 'Give me those credits!' to 'I ♥ Covert Candy!' to 'P.S. Charade is the best!' Whatever you've got to say (all nice of course!) you'll be entered.
Leave your email address if you'd like me to alert you if you win, otherwise, I will be announcing the winner same time tomorrow and you can check back to see if it's you (and enter the next comp!)
Please enter just once. The winner will be chosen at random.
I say, has it really been a whole year? By gum, it has! Yes, last August 14th I took the plunge with my first ever article on A Levels: How'd You Do? 288 posts later and here we are, the site and I have grown and evolved in a big way.♥ On Saturday (tomorrow) the first giveaway is a very special one. Covert Candy, the revolutionary clothes swapping site are offering you £20 worth of free credits to get you started trading in their growing community. The competition will begin at 12.00 GMT 15.08.09 and run for 24 hours. Entry will be via comments.
♥ On Sunday win this whimsical print titled 'A Room With a View' from the outrageously talented Virginia Kraljevic. The competition will begin at 12.00 GMT 16.08.09 and run for 24 hours. Entry will be via comments.♥ On Monday you've got every chance of grabbing this stunning 'Mon Amour' necklace from This Charming Girl worth £10. The competition will begin at 12.00 GMT 17.08.09 and run for 24 hours. Entry will be via comments.
♥ On Tuesday there's another cute accessory that's prime for the picking! This time it's your 'Dream' necklace from the darling Jesophi. The competition will begin at 12.00 GMT 18.08.09 and run for 24 hours. Entry will be via comments.
♥ On Wednesday Fashion In Store have done us proud again and are offering youyour own little slice of Suzy Smith in the form of the simply fabulous 'Rhianna' Clutch worth £21! (Only open to readers in the UK.) The competition will begin at 12.00 GMT 19.08.09 and run for 24 hours. Entry will be via comments.
♥ On Thursday we've got a big prize from Americas Basics who want to send you back to school in style with a bundle of their great quality essentials! (Only open to readers in the US.) The competition will begin at 12.00 GMT 20.08.09 and run for 24 hours. Entry will be via comments.
♥ On Friday there'll be a very special giveaway from me to you; a surprise goody bag that I'm currently conjuring including an array of hand-picked delights roughly to the value of £30. This competition will run all week starting now and entry is a little different:
Link to Charade from anywhere on the web, letting all your friends in on this fabulous freebie-week, so that I can check it out via a link left in the comments section of this post. A straight-forward text-link from your blog or twitter will score you one entry, but to triple your chances of winning you can post the birthday banner to your blog or website for three entries!(for true size see above)
Code for Charade First Birthday Banner:
Paste this into the body of a post on your blog or page on your website for three chances to win my surprise goody bag! You're free to alter the size if you'd like to paste it to your sidebar - just as long as it's readable.
Something exciting happened today. My adored Suzy Smith handbag from Fashion In Store arrived! (Remember I mentioned it here?) So, naturally, I dragged my man out into the garden for photos.
If you squint (or click) on the above you might be able to see the little froggy that hot-footed it onto my right ankle and whom I discovered (and subsequently squealed in panic at) seconds after this shot! Hello Mr Frog:
(Yes, that's one big lollipop.)*
Fashion In Store stock the whole line of Suzy Smith, plus other sweet brands, and are currently offering you, my lucky lot, your own personal 20% off discount code! Just enter 'Charade1' at the checkout point until the end of August. Honestly, don't pass this offer up, ladies, these bags have personality. Need proof? I'm still lusting after these beauts:
Ok, I've been looking for a layered bag like this for, oh, let's see now, my whole life? So on trend it hurts, perfect for the everyday, yet glam enough to dress up; a winner in versatility! Your budget will be proud of you for this multi-tasker.
This sweet little swing bag wants to be mine, it does. Just the right size for those days when your arms just aren't up to carrying a big handbag and in my colour too! (Yes, coral is now officially my colour.)
No LBD/Cocktails scenario shall ever be the same until I have this little style-bomb by my side. Cutely compact and just screaming femme fatale glamour.
