January 10, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

NOW CLOSED: 22nd Blog Giveaway: $25 Sephora e-Gift Card

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

Wow! This month is flying by! I didn’t even realize we were coming up on the tenth! It feels like it was just Christmas. In fact, I still have a pile of Christmas stuff in my living room that needs to be packed away. You know, you think you picked up everything and then there is a wreath here or an ornament there and suddenly you have fifteen items cluttering up your house that you don’t want to deal with.

This week has been hard. My kids started school again and in the overheard words of a child I know, “I’m not ready to start the grind again.”

This month I decided to give away a $25 e-Gift Card to Sephora. I have really been loving experimenting with makeup lately. I recently did a post about my favorite new lipstick set. I wore the orange color to get my hair done this week and after three hours, my sweet hairdresser said, “I can’t believe your lipstick has stayed on this whole time!” I also finally have made a decision on what mascara I think wins the top spot after trying about twenty different ones over the last year. That post will run in the next two weeks. Needless to say that makeup has been on my mind.

To enter for a chance to win this month’s gift card please leave a comment on this post stating a person whose inner beauty you admire. I have two right now: My dear friend Bridgette recently won a television on The Ellen Show and then selflessly donated it to a veteran. My amazing friend Kerri, who I admire so greatly, recently started a new career and she is soaring. Both women are physically beautiful but their inner beauty is what myself and others are most attracted to. I am so inspired by my friends. I am inspired by all of you. If that is too personal, any old comment is fine as long as it is pleasant. You may enter a second time by being a subscribed reader of this blog. There are many ways to do so on the right hand side of this page (which I really need to update all ready). Please leave a second comment if you are a subscribed reader. I count the comments at the end and then I enter everyone’s name into random.org to pick a winner. So, to be fair, it has to be a separate comment.

Limit two entries per person in the forms specified. Must be eighteen years old to enter.

The giveaway runs from January 10, 2015 12:00 a.m. PST to January 16, 2015 9:00 p.m. PST. I will be choosing one winner from the comments entered on this post for the gift card using random.org. I will contact the winner on January 17, 2015 and display the winner’s name on this blog on January 18, 2015.

Thank you so much for entering! And for reading! I know I have been behind on comments and blogs. This year came so much faster than I was expecting. I am a bit overwhelmed with my house right now. I have a giant carnival wheel from the flea market that I do not know what to do with and so much to rearrange. Thank you for sticking with me. I know there have been more outfit posts than usual and that is simply because those are the easiest. When I have to choose between posting nothing or posting an outfit post, I have been choosing the outfits. I hope to write some different posts this weekend! However, I have fourteen outfit posts backed up. So please bear with me.

Now for the not so fun details —Wait! What! You weren’t having fun reading my whining?:

By commenting on this post, you are entering this giveaway for a chance to win one $25 e-gift card to Sephora and agreeing to the rules outlined in this giveaway.

I will attempt to contact the winner three times with the email address provided. If I have not heard from the winner within fourteen days from the first attempt at contact, the prize will be forfeit and a new winner will be drawn.

Past winners are welcome to enter.

* Negative comments (chosen at the discretion of the owner of this blog) will be deleted and that entry will be forfeit.

*this giveaway and post is not sponsored by or affiliated with Sephora.

July 20, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Ginette Callaway: Landscapes

I love art. I like my walls to be crammed full of pretty things to look at. It is important to me. I think a home should be filled with the essence of the people who reside there. It should shout or whisper whatever emotion you are trying to convey. I hope our house screams, “FUN!”

Besides my children’s paintings, I have more paintings by Ginette Callaway than anyone else in my home. I love her impressionistic style and the bright colors that she uses. I have been collecting her art for well over ten years. Last time I shared my bird paintings by her on this blog, including the peacock painting often seen in my outfit posts.

This time I wanted to share some of my landscapes by Ginette.

First there is this beautiful fishing village painting. I love the size of it. I am currently rearranging the art in my house. This is how the art is arranged above our bookcases in our living room right now. She also painted the butterfly on the left.

There is my incredibly fun painting by Ginette of an underwater fish scene.

Miniature paintings are my favorite. This little guy is small and pretty. It depicts a small home in the Bahamas. Man, I would love to go there right now!

And this painting is even smaller. I told you, I love small paintings. This is a lovely quaint city scene.

You can find Ginette Callaway on her website. And she sells her art on her Etsy store.

Do you have art in your home? What is your favorite item on your walls? What would you want your home to say about you?

July 3, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

It’s The Little Things: Head Sculptures

My family and I went to the San Diego Del Mar Fair on Monday and we had a wonderful time. I will have a post coming up soon about the day and the $10 H&M dress that I wore. But while the fair is still going on, I wanted to highlight an amazing find that we discovered while we were there.

They are these wonderful portrait sculptures by Hu Tian. He can be contacted at Hootian at yahoo dot com. I know he can do sculptures based on photos, too, if you are not in Southern California. He is incredibly talented. We are fortunate to have stumbled upon his booth. If you are there this year, it is in the shopping building across from the carousel. I cannot believe what he can create in such a small amount of time.

Each one took about twenty five minutes to make. It was relaxing to sit and watch them coming to life, so to speak, through the clay.

I plan on hanging my sculptures in my living room, surrounding the square arch. They are still drying. It takes four days to cure from the time the clay was created before I can hang them.

The price for these was $52 each, including frame. It was a fantastic price for a really cool piece of a period of time captured forever.

Had you seen something like this before? I had not and it was my favorite thing to discover at the fair.

*this is off topic but I wanted to note it: If you plan on attending the San Diego Fair this year, Costco has the best package. It was $60 and came with parking, four entry tickets, 50 ride tickets, the Passport To Savings book and four free drink vouchers. It was a great deal! We purchased ours at the San Diego Costco on the way to the fair. Maybe a Costco near you also has fair packages for your local fair, if you are not near San Diego.

I shared this on Cozy Little House.

And Savvy Southern Style.

May 21, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Would You Rather? And A Silly Little Spontaneous Giveaway: NOW CLOSED!

First: I apologize for not posting on Monday and Tuesday. I plan to be on schedule, posting daily from here on out unless another emergency pops up.

I blame the gnomes. I think they are letting in some nonsense.

I am sorry. I imagine dangling them by their wee little toes over Ollie might be a fair punishment.

Now, I could use some fun. How ’bout you?:

If there ever was a game to describe America, it wouldn’t be football. It wouldn’t be Scrabble. It wouldn’t be Blackjack.

No.

It would be “would you rather?”.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED. YOU TRULY MADE MY DAY!

The winner is Sally Steele Corbett! Congratulations! Please contact me so I can mail you your prize! : )

My family and I play this game far too often. And even though I have many other posts that could go up today, I thought it would be more fun to play a game. I could really, really use a laugh and a smile. Winner gets their very own Predict-A-Pen and a $10 gift card to Target. ‘Cause I love me some silly fun.

You only need to answer three out of the eight questions to enter for a chance to win!

Ready?

Get set.

Go!:

Would you rather sleep in the rain with no covers while Pee Wee Herman sang to you all night long or take a drink from a rain puddle on a New York City street after the rain has fallen?

Would you rather have the super power of flying or invisibility?

Would you rather live one hundred years of a boring life or forty years of a fun one?

Would you rather chew a piece of used gum you found on the ground from Ryan Gosling’s mouth or drink a glass of two week old milk in Ryan Gosling’s bed?

Would you rather be in the real life scenario of the movie “Jaws” (on the water) or be in the movie “Jurassic Park” (on the island)?

Would you rather live in a world with magic, dragons and fairies or own Apple?

Would you rather win one million dollars or have one completely perfect day once a year for the rest of your life (and, no, you cannot win one million dollars on your perfect day)?

Would you rather be a prince/princess or a merman/mermaid?

I’ll update with my own answers after the giveaway ends in my comments here. I’ll respond as Gnome Lover. I can’t wait to see your replies! Please feel free to elaborate why you chose your answer. That’s what makes it fun. I will be picking one winner at random. This contest is open for today only (5/21/2014) from 12:00 a.m. PST to 11:59 p.m. PST for you sweet folks who happened to click over to visit on this very random Wednesday. I will announce the winner tomorrow around noon PST on this post.

Good luck! Have fun!

*Negative comments will be deleted at the discretion of the owner of this blog and the entry will be forfeit.