giveaway: $50 to spend on vintage jewelry

To ring in the New Year, I'm hosting a giveaway courtesy of www.rackandsack.com - an alluring and delicate online shop that specializes in one of a kind vintage jewelry.  Rack and Sack is filled with graceful and eye pleasing pieces. Here are just a few of my favorites.

To enter to win $50 to spend:
For Bonus Entries:

Good luck lovelies!
GIVEAWAY CLOSED

& another circle around the sun,

Each hour, a clock twists, and hands are in the habit of making circles.  One day, you're awoken by  flower bunches, and the next day, snow pebbles are glistening your boots.  The seasons quickly do change. The Dark earth spins, and suddenly, the clock howls the new hour.  Moons take on different shapes, sun beams take on different discos.  All of our mornings bring buds, blossoms, breezes, or drifting leaves. I remember the arrival of 2011. I remember dancing beside my Father - whistling to a tune.  The night had been spent on the dance floor, drinking champagne, and counting my blessings. I remember going to sleep, and drifting into a New Year.
Eventually, I awoke, and here I am now.

2011 has been a year of newborn friends, newborn hobbies, and unfolding of the inner Amy. This was the year of transformation -  I started the year as a baby, only eighteen, with a passport and nowhere to go, but the taverns, the musical halls, the bar rooms, and the wine cellars. 2011 was a year to experience the natural progression of youth.  I once was only a child, and the world was a window. I wanted to sleep on sailboats, and watch the world turn, without ever changing myself.  I was terrified of growing up, of becoming an adult with no thirst for imagination- as if my year on earth as an eighteen year old would be the death of my childhood. I knew I'd grow wiser, and less tolerant of the fickle.  But I thought I'd grow meaner with no sense of fun. This year, I learned that wisdom is not youth's foe.  One can be wise, without losing their childish wishes.





2011 was also a musical spin around the sun - every month, there were music-maker gatherings, banjo tunings, and concerts of my favorite artists. 2011 was the year I found my voice.
 






Favorite concerts I went to
The Tallest Man On Earth
The Felice Brothers
The Deep Dark Woods
Justin Townes Earle
Morgan O'Kane 
Blind Pilot
Jack Marks
Timber Timbre
 

To throw a bouquet into the New year -  I strung together outfit images of every season. It's been a wide-eyed wonder- kind of year.  Thank you for all being a part of it.  May all of our 2012's be built by happy dwellings, and honey pails.











Favorite Songs of 2011
Clay Pigeons by Blaze Foley
Sweetheart I Aint Your Christ by Josh T Pearson
Got What I Need by The Felice Brothers
The Stranger Song by Leonard Cohen
Two Time Loser by The Deep Dark Woods
Falling Down Blues by Ramblin Jack Elliot
Pretty Fair Maid Down In The Garden by Mandolin Orange
Love Is All by The Tallest Man On Earth
Hold Your Fire by Morgan O'kane


 
Poetry to carry me through 2012
And our problems will crumble apart, the soul / blow through like a wind, and here where we live
will all be clean again, with fresh bread on the table.
  (—— Pablo Neruda)
 
❝In my heart was a desire to live more dangerously. I was not unprepared for jagged rocks and treacherous shoals if i could only have change- change and the excitement of the unforeseen.❞
(—— W. Somerset Maugham)
 
They have worries, they're counting the miles, they're thinking about where to sleep tonight, how much money for gas, the weather, how they'll get there - and all the time they'll get there anyway, you see.
(― Jack Kerouac)






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a birthday suit and snow,


 
 The month of December has traveled the cloud's tail, and in ten days, we'll be ringing in the New Year, with snow on our porches, and champagne on our lips.  As of late, I've been feeling the  drunkenness of Christmas lights, and the bittersweet consciousness of my birthday. 

Another year has rambled, and rolled, faster than fools fall in love.  As each birthday passes, I feel more, and more, gratified. Some people tell you - be scared! lose your dreams! you'll be hanging out with adulthood! credit cards! wisdom! good sense! goodbye lazy dreamer! fear the wrinkles! 

But I won't tell you that.  On my 19th birthday, and every other birthday, the only thing tempted to grow old is the lashes of my eyes, the curves of my body, and the fluency of my tongue.


To celebrate my 19th birthday - My mom and I spent the light of day, attached to the hip, celebrating the truest meaning of Birthdays - to be awake with the one who made you alive.  My mother, who,  along with my father, gave me my eyes to see, my hands to clap, and clean air to breath. For me, a December 13th will never be spent with anybody else. 

We started the day with gift bringing - which really is just an unexpected extra to the already wondrous company. I sometimes feel as if gifts on your birthday are a special compensation for having survived another circle around the sun.  After unwrapping the curling iron, the socks, the fragrance, the nightmare before Christmas poster, the glitter, and the gift card,  me and my mom went for breakfast. We ate vegetable sandwiches, then wandered through my favorite neighborhood, Inglewood. Afterwards, we spent my $100 gift card at Forever 21.

I finished the day with rum and coke, and a childish wish for the day to repeat.




Things I learned in my 18th year:
  • There are not many things as beautiful as a red berry on a naked bough.
  • The Banjo is as comfortable as a blanket.
  • Spending money on instruments - always worth it.
  • Time goes by far too swiftly to worry about what dawn brings.
  • Do not give fuel to the trouble maker's fire(a.k.a those who want to hurt you) - just let it be.
  • Every moon is as bewildering - as the one before.
  • Singing is good for your cheeks, and your general well being.
  • Singing loud is even better.
  • Give smiles to those who give frowns to you.
  • Apologize, even if you have to stretch for it, saying sorry gives repose to negative feelings.
  • Know where you are, but dream while your there.
  • Rye and water's are better when they're with the company of a fireplace.
  • Gin and soda's are better when they're in doubles.
  • There will always be men in bars buying drinks for pretty women.
  • Bars are better when there's live music.
  • Food is better when you chew it, slowly.
  • The feeling of songs - is as great as that of writing stories, and penning poems.
  • Do not give rise to sorrow,  the feeling is fleeting.
  • Frowns are fodder for growth.
If the world were to stop twirling, and all animals were to be blanketed in a dusk, all I would have to say is : I've lived a good life, and I'm thankful for all of those who've surrounded me, 
the bullies, the babes (and you!)

If you don't hear from me sooner, Merry Christmas sweet people.

 



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what i wore
blue dress- value village $8
floral blouse underneath dress- value village $5
glitter wedges- aldo birthday gift

december // amy & ashley ramble and roam,

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Good morning if it's morning, Good evening if it's dark,
The snowy world is bright like a moon beam. All of our grass has turned into cotton, and every hill has turned into frozen water.  One of these nights - I want to lay in the yard, belly bundled in blankets, and I want to think about the stars.   When I am surrounded by the skies at night, I can't help but give rise to happiness.
There is something so soft,  and something so strange,  about the golden specks of light. It's as if the stars are tiny worlds, and each gleam carries it's own story.

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I am in love with the sounds of December. The quiet drum of snow petals falling. The howling wind that sounds like breath in the moonlight. The utter silence frisking through the air.   If you want to free yourself, from every inch of melancholy, from desire, from dust, from the drag, then I advise wandering through the Winter at night. When I catch the soft clouds of my own exhalation - I am detached from any illusion.  Life is beautiful, even if we sometimes fail to see it.

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A few weeks ago, I went for local wandering & shopping with my friend Ashley. Ashley, the girl who's heart is as soft as a petal. We found ourselves giving voice to friendliness, personal tales, and lots of grinning. We wandered the mall, bought presents for our own companions, sipped fruit smoothies, and took photographs. Ashley is a blogger too, that's how we found each other. You can see her blog here   We're hoping to create a monthly blog post; documenting our adventures together.

After wandering past the mall's carousel, we searched for food court treats. 
 A slice of pizza, and all was said.

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                                                                     what i wore*
pink dress- value village $5
boys boots- goodwill $10
black floppy hat- jessica simpson $20

what ashley wore*
jeans- Forever 21
sweater- Wilfred 
denim button up- Joe Fresh
shoes- Aldo
toque- RW & Co.

ce'st chic with jacob,

With cheerful spirits in the air, and surprises lurking beneath Pine trees,  we're all very excited for the days of shortbread, hot chocolate, snow, and of course, presents.  With all of us spilling wallets for our companions, in people filled malls, it's nice to be treated to our own fun.  When Jacob contacted me regarding their latest promotion, I knew I had to share with my readers. Not only are they donating some of their profits(hurrah!) but there is more than $290,000 in instant prizes to be won.

Here are the details of the online and in-store promotion:
  • $290,000 in instant prizes to be won at check-out, with your Christmas stocking (to be printed on the website)
  • · $1 for each Christmas stocking brought in store will be donated to Goodwill and Renaissance
  • · A chance to win a $10,000 wardrobe for all those who share the contest online
Go here for more details

    P.S .... Have a peak at their current look book - it's so fresh, and feminine. :))




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    boyfriend jeans and blow dryers.

    To feel that my heart is a muscle, to know that my teeth are a tool, to see that my hands are a blanket, it is the simplest of pleasures that make me feel alive.  And I mean,  truly, consciously,  alive. I want to always be awake and fully aware, not only of my breath, but of my luck.

    I see myself, and I think often, I am on this planet - and I am strange, there is no other me, no other girl who belongs to the same family. There may be others who walk with brown hair, and others who dream of landscapes and oceans, but ultimately, I am the only me.   I wish for everyone - the beggars, the bullied, and the blessed - to be conscious, even for a moment, of their preciousness.  

    Sometimes, I sit with my head in the bucket of lonesome, and blue. Sometimes, I feel too small to be a dreamer, and then I remind myself - I am a breathing, munching, living, machine.


    With all of life's charms, and chagrins,   It's a miracle to just be alive at all.


    As December moves along,  and the pine grows more chilled,  I grow more eager for comfort.  I want to wrap my skin in feathers, and warm fabrics. I want to fill my air with cozy-  and I especially don't want to move around the house with cold hair from my baths.   

    Well, to my mane's delight - I was gifted with a package designed for a hair queen.  The kind people of Misikko.com asked me to review their HANA blow dryer -  When the postman arrived,  I was charmed by a surprising package. I expected the blow dryer, but I didn't expect the eyelash curler, shampoos, brushes, artificial flowers, and even a cuddly teddy bear.

    When I used the dryer at first,  I realized two things,  It's quiet and quick - which means I can play music while using it, and I don't have to spend the cold of morning with wetness on my head.  In my life, I've had four blow dryers,  and each of them were passable - until this one.   Simply,  this is the best blow dryer I've ever used at home.  It's very similar to the ones in salons - and with my hair growing long,  a salon visit never happens, so I felt extra special using it.   My hair feels embraceable, and sweetly smooth.




    So, it's my birthday on Tuesday, and I still haven't made any plans.
    All I know is that I want to be surrounded by cheerful spirits, and good people.

    see you when I'm 19 :))))))))

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       what i wore*
    fur vest- blue notes $15
    floral tapestry wedges- www.asos.com
    boyfriend jeans - H&M