April 17, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

The Winner Of The Giveaway, Cravings and Blog News

First, I want to apologize that my website has been wonky the past few days. It is the server and I am being told they are working on it. Fingers crossed it gets resolved soon! Again, I apologize!

The winner of the moon necklace is Jessica Wilhite! Congratulations! I really, really like this necklace. I hope you do, too! Enjoy! I am so happy for you!

My husband told me I should change the format of my giveaways to those easy ones. Those number-generated-generic-sterile ones. But I refused. I said, “But then I won’t get to read their cool stories!” Insert big pouty lower lip here. And I am so glad I didn’t, because you guys shared the coolest things this month! I love reading about your lives. Your beliefs. Your travels. Your loves. It honestly enriches my life so much, and I cannot thank you enough for that. But I will try.

Thank you! : )

There are a few new things going on on this blog that I wanted to share. I think there is always room for growth. And I always want to be my own blog. And not like others. So, I recently added in Past Cards and will be doing those once a month. The above picture is a peek at the next post coming up soon. : )

I am also going to be introducing my sister onto this blog. She lives seven miles from me and I love her to pieces. Plus, I am tired of just pictures of only me. Since I will not post pictures of my children and my husband does not want to be on the blog (which is smart of him because I have an underwear post of his coming up soon. I cannot imagine why he doesn’t want his picture on this blog). I figured I would ~~pimp out~~ put up my nearest relative. I think this will be a fun feature we can do together once in awhile. She has a completely different style than I do, so it will be nice to share a different look on this blog. However. And this is a biggie. She is younger, taller and prettier, so I am not going to allow her on here too often, though. Just kidding!…But seriously.

In other revelations:

I am shy.

Painfully shy if I don’t know you.

Shocking, right?

And it takes me awhile to come out of my shell. I feel like this last year, I have slowly been sharing myself. But I finally feel safe enough to share all of me. Or as much as the majority of the public can handle. I have made so many friends here, I feeI like I can just be myself. If you look at my old outfit photos, I look terrified. I was even scared to smile. But all of that is changing.

Kind of.

I am sick of pictures of me always in the same spot in my outfit posts. I went through my blog looking for ways to improve it and that is one of them. And I was ashamed of how bad some of my pictures are. Bad me! So from now on, I vow to try to take better pictures. This truly, truly hurts my lazy heart. But I am excited about a change. I still might resort to the fireplace if we are really in a hurry. However, the majority of the pictures will be different this month. Please let me know which ones work and which ones don’t (nicely. Please don’t make me cry. I hate spending money on tissues). This is going to be a series of experimenting. I pretty much have no idea how to pose.

But you can’t fly if you never jump. Off an imaginary building. Built from words. And pictures. Into a cloud. That I still do not understand.

All right. I think that is it on updates. Let’s move on to the stuff I am craving this month. Oh. The cravings. They hurt:

I want/need/can’t-afford-at-full-price the Vine Beaded Maxi Dress by one of my favorite designers, Vaneet Bahl. It is from Anthropologie. I am just hoping to get it on sale. So, save one in a small for me, would ya?

These whale-tale measuring cups.

Oh.

Just oh.

Um. Um. Um. Do I dare share these Concha Garden Planters? These will be at the top of my budget list for May. Again try to save me one… Or two… Or ten.

Seriously, how close to Otomi could these be?

Must.

Have.

Them.

All.

Nowhere. To. Put. Them.

Sigh.

Why? Why is the Plevna Top only available in petite sizing? My shirt is wet from the tears in my heart. And also, does anyone know what pants the model is wearing? They look great!

And last, but not least, the Needlework it Out Dress from Modcloth. This dress is so awesome. The price is perfect. The color is perfect. Again, my budget is gone for thirteen more days. And the dress sold out. However, I have clicked their “I NEED IT” button in my size. They will notify me if it gets reordered. I have never seen them not reorder if an item is popular and they can.

What are your cravings this month? Do you think I should do a monthly video on this blog ? Yes. I am also thinking of doing a video blog monthly or posting a video here or some sort of recording device/contraption… Whatever those youngsters are calling the talking pictures these days. Whatcha think?

March 22, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

I Will. I Do. I Do. I Will.

I don’t know why, but I am addicted to those bridal shows on t.v. I don’t care what show it is. “Say yes to the dress” in any city, “Four Weddings,” and even sometimes, “Something Borrowed, Something New” (although I hate this show with a fierce passion. Fierce. Passion).

If it is on, my brain becomes fixated on the white flowy gowns.

Here is something funny I heard a mom say to her daughter on one of those shows when there were not enough sequins on her dress: “It needs more embezzlements.”

Yes, it does.

I bet a dress like that would ~~take~~ go for a lot of money.

My husband and I got married in a whirlwind of quick planning in Las Vegas. We loved every second of our wedding. First, that my mom planned it. We would never have done it otherwise. The cake was delicious (the most important part). It was quick. It was easy. I loved my dress. It was supposed to have a bow removed, because the original wedding was planned and all ready had a deposit at a different venue for July. Plenty of time to order a bowless dress.

Well, a little something unplanned happened. And my dress was not going to fit when July came. So, we quickly planned a wedding for March.

My dress arrived. With the bow. This is where the good part happens. I had gained a little weight (see unplanned occurrence above) and the zipper broke an hour before the ceremony. But the bow hid it! Providence.

I would only change one thing about my wedding. Okay two. My dad got so nervous about walking me down the aisle that we practically ran. Seriously, he still laughs about it.

Second, what my husband said during our vows. Growing up, every little girl dreams of the “I dos.” Some of them may even practice saying them in preparation for the day those two words actually get to come out of their mouths (definitely not dressed in white and definitely not involving a dog if any kind).

Here is a bit of trivia I was not privy to until my wedding day. Little boys. Well, little boys don’t think of that moment at all. I am pretty sure that until their actual wedding day, those two words never even enter their minds.

Sometimes they never do enter their minds.

Even on their wedding day.

I wish I had known that.

It was finally my our moment.

I listened to the officiant rattle off the long list of things my husband was to agree to. And then we waited for his answer.

“I will.”

I did a double take. Wait. Wha?! What happened to “I do”? This was not what was supposed to happen! My OCD flared up. Now, my answer would not match his! The officiant turned to me and began to recite the terms I was to agree to. I didn’t hear any of it. All I could think of is, what the heck am I going to say?!

Silence.

I realized it was my turn to answer. My moment.

So, I pulled a Jenni. I just repeated both things. And I added an extra one in to make up for my husband’s edited version of the words. It had to be even. You know, OCD and all of that.

This is what I said, ” I do. I will. I do.”

I think my husband realized at that moment what had happened. He had married a crazy lady. The rest of the ceremony was a blur.

A beautiful blur.

But now whenever I watch any wedding show on t.v., I wait for those two words to be spoken. Inevitably, about a third of the time, “I will,” is said.

I looked it up and the consensus is divided on which saying is correct. I guess it just depends on what sounds best to you. What your venue might prefer. What you ~~and your dog~~ practiced when you were little.

This just shows you that you really cannot know what is going to happen in life. Planning has never been my forte. I never thought I would be married in Las Vegas. Or that my wedding would be moved up by many months. I couldn’t predict that my husband would not choose to say the words I had rehearsed in my head for decades. But do I cherish the impulsive memories? Will I look back in fondness at the unexpected surprises?

I will.

Do you remember which words were spoken at your wedding ceremony or the last one you attended?

I do.

P.S. Yesterday was my fifteenth wedding anniversary. I wrote this in honor of it. We are at this very moment in Las Vegas celebrating where it all began. I have posts scheduled every day while we are away. If I do not get to your comments today, please know I will respond A.S.A.P.! But it might not be today. : )

Thank you! : )

March 10, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Gnome Lover Turns 1 Giveaway! NOW CLOSED!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for entering. Any entries received after the time of this writing (9:02 p.m. PST) will be deleted.

This little blog has turned one year old! I don’t even know that I changed one single diaper. In fact, I am not sure my husband did either. That is something to ponder and worry over at another date.

Gnome Lover is still just barely pulling itself up. In fact, I would say it might be in the crawling stage. It has a long way to go before it walks.

It has a lot to say. Most of it is gibberish. I am glad a few of you can understand it. Hopefully, it will become more coherent the older it gets.

I am so excited to watch it grow.

Diapers aside.

Today is a happy day! A goal accomplished! A birthday celebration!

Thank you to all of you readers who stop by everyday. Who encourage this little blog. Who take time to comment.

Thank you!

This blog would still be unable to lift its little head if it were not for you.

I am so excited about today’s giveaway!

I have been collecting stuff for this giveaway for months.

We’ll just call them birthday presents.

Are you ready to see what they are?

I am giving away a group of items: one $25 e-gift card to Anthropologie, one West Elm Favorite Throw in grey stripes, one Clinique Chubby Stick in Richer Raisin, one Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara, one Anthropologie Heirloom necklace, one Anthropologie candle in Pumpkin Spice, and one copy of “The Magician’s Elephant.” All of these items will go to one lucky winner! These are all some of the items that I have shared on this blog over the last year. And I am so thrilled to be able to do such a big giveaway for my blog anniversary!

For such a big giveaway, you will get up to four chances to enter the drawing for the items.

First way to enter is to simply leave a comment stating your favorite birthday memory.* This is a birthday celebration, after all. If you do not celebrate birthdays, feel free to just leave a comment stating a fond childhood memory. My favorite birthday memory is when I turned eight and had my first slumber party. My dad was moving bees out of the state so my mother was all alone with about twelve of us girls in our house. And a mouse ran underneath our feet. And a rattlesnake had curled up in the dog food outside. I can still hear the screaming!…

Second way to enter is to be a follower of this blog. There are many ways to do so on the right hand side of the page. Just be sure to leave a second comment stating you are following on this post!

Third way to enter is to share this post via social media. This could be Facebook, Twitter, via your blog. Any old way will do. Just come back and leave an additional comment stating how you shared it.

Finally, you can pick any of my posts and Pin one to Pinterest. After you have pinned a post, just come back here to let me know which of my post’s you have pinned.

You can choose one of these methods or all of these methods. Just be sure to leave a comment here for each method. If you choose to do all four, then you should have four total comments here. Limit four entries per person. One entry per method per person.

Good luck!

I will be using random.org to pick one winner based on the comments posted here. This giveaway begins on March 10, 2014 at 12:00 a.m. PST and ends March 17, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. PST. I will contact the winner via email provided in the comments here on March 18, 2014. I will post the winner’s name on this blog on March 19, 2014.

Please enter this giveaway with a valid email address. I will attempt to contact the winner three times. If within fourteen days from the first time I have attempted contact, I still have not heard from the winner, the prize will be forfeit and a new winner will be drawn.

Thank you so much for all of your help raising this blog. I could not do it without you. You are the best. Just one more quick thing that has been bugging me since I started this post.

Um, have any of you been changing diapers? This one is gonna haunt me.

P.S. This giveaway is sponsored by me and is in no way affiliated with Anthropologie, West Elm, Benefit, Clinique or Candlewick Publishing.

* edited on March 10, 2014: if you forget to leave a birthday comment and just respond with a comment as your original entry, I am still counting it. As long as the comment left is nice. : )

January 10, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

NOW CLOSED: Tenth Blog Giveaway: $25 Anthropologie e-Gift Card

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered!

No, this is not dejavu. Or I guess it kind of is. With me being sick, the thought of putting together a giveaway and then mailing the giveaway prize was daunting. So, this month I am doing a repeat of last month’s giveaway. Yup. I am doing a $25 Anthropologie e-gift card giveaway again.

Cause I love that store.

And you guys love that store.

And I am being lazy.

As some of you know, doing the giveaway each month is my favorite part of my blog. I appreciate all of the warm fuzzies you guys give me throughout the month. This is my little way of giving back. Because you guys are so incredibly awesome!

The winner of this giveaway will win a $25 e-gift card to Anthropologie. As soon as I hear back from the winner, I will email them their gift card so they can get shopping. Easy peasy.

I saw something fantastic on The Pleated Poppy’s Blog this week. She speaks of having a word of the year that you strive for instead of creating individual resolutions. I would love my year to be “peaceful.” I do not want any conflict or big ups (okay, I will admit that would be nice) or downs. A nice mellow year would be wonderful.

To enter to win the $25 e-gift card to Anthropologie, simply leave a comment stating what you would like your word for 2014 to be. You can leave an explanation or simply leave the word if you want to remain mysterious.

You can also earn a second entry by following this blog. You can do so any old way on the right hand side of the page. Just make sure to leave a second comment stating you are following.

Limit two entries per person.

This giveaway runs from Friday, January 10, 2014 12:00 a.m. PST to Tuesday January 14, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. PST.

I will be using random.org to pick one winner from the comments received. I will contact the winner on January 15th using the email address provided by the winner in their comment/comments. I will post the winner’s name on this blog on January 16th.

Okay. I think that is it for technicalities.

* This giveaway is not sponsored or affiliated with Anthropologie.

* I will attempt to contact the winner three times. If I receive no response within two weeks, the winner will have forfeit the prize. A new winner will be drawn.

* Past winners are welcome to enter. : )

Thank you to everyone who enters! I appreciate you all so very much!