Maggie Whitley {GUSSY} giveaway!

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Today I would like to intoduce you to someone very special--her name is Maggie Whitley, but she's also known as GUSSY! And she usually has a lot to say. =)

I discovered GUSSY's Etsy shop randomly through a giveaway I found, and fell in love instantly.

I mean, how could you not? So much fun all in one place.

She also has a blog, aptly named "GUSSY has a lot to say". And I will tell you that it is really a fun read. I think GUSSY is just plainly a fun person! Go pay her a visit and you'll see what I mean. =)

And she recently opened her own website! So you can shop from her website or from Esty. Aren't choices just great?!

Maggie (aka GUSSY) has very extremely graciously agreed to host a giveaway here on The Sweetest Petunia!

Oh yes, it's gorgeous. In fact, I kinda wish I weren't hosting this giveaway so I could try to win it myself! Oh well.

Gorgeous little bag, with an adorably fun ruffle and button accents ($28)! If you're the lucky winner, Maggie will ship it to you herself. =)

Anyway, I'm sure you're all dying to know how you can win.

{First MANDATORY Entry} Please go visit GUSSY on Etsy or on her new website and tell me what you would love to own for yourself.

{ONE Extra Entry} Follow my blog. But seriously, only if you think I'm that cool. =)

{THREE Extra Entries} Blog about this (include a link back to this post!). Help me spread the word about this amazing giveaway! Please leave 3 seperate comments so your entries will count, and be sure to leave the link; I will be checking!

This is VERY IMPORTANT: you must leave your email address in your comment for your entry to count! I want you to know if you won, but you've got to make it easy on me. =)

This giveaway will end on September 7th, so please go tell your friends!

We Have A Winner!

Okay, this giveaway is now officially closed! And thanks to RANDOM.ORG, we have a winner! The lucky number today was #7. Drumroll, please...

Kerri!

And this is what she had to say:

Girl, you've got talent! You have done a great job on all of these! Can I choose 3? Because I can't decide. I love the flower power card set, flavored blue notecards, and the creamy flowers note cards. Good job. I hope I win because Monday is my birthday!

Happy birthday, Kerri, and congrats on your win! And a very special thank you to each and every one of you who entered. If you didn't win, don't lose hope. You could be the next winner here at The Sweetest Petunia! =)

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, dearest. Thanks for being the bestest. =)

{lillyella} The Invites

This afternoon, we're taking a trip. Away from The Sweetest Petunia and into the world of {lillyella}!

I'm not sure how I really stumbled into the {lillyella} world, but I did, and fairly recently. But I knew when I saw this post on Tuesday, I had to share it with all of you.

Just take a look at this...

Sheer gorgeousness! Nicole was designing for herself this time, and I think these wedding invitations are absolutely fabulous. I mean, absolutely. Look at this lovely stitching...

And that's all I'm going to share. But trust me, you HAVE to go see for yourself. I'm literally drooling over the matching wrap-around labels. But you have to go see it for yourself. You'll be glad you did. =)

{Currently} Reading

Yesterday I went to the library. And I honestly had not been to the library for about 2 months. I missed it.

I'm the girl who's the extreme bookworm. When I got back from my trip, Hayden gave me a Border's giftcard inscribed with "To my favorite bookworm..." I might read too much, but I enjoy it immensly. =)

So I thought I'd share my library finds with y'all.

{The Spider Catcher} by Gilbert Morris

{The Man in the Iron Mask} by Alexandre Dumas

I looove Alexandre Dumas. He is seriously probably my favorite "classic" author. I haven't read all of his work, but I love {The Count of Monte Cristo} and {The Three Musketeers}.

{Doctor Zhivago} by Boris Pasternak

I actually read this when I was 12, but I don't think I really paid attentio because I don't remember it at all! So here we go again. =)

{Dear John} by Nicholas Sparks

{Nights in Rodanthe} by Nicholas Sparks

Oh my goodness, I love Nicholas Sparks. He's one of the few authors who makes me bawl my eyes out. But it's just sooo good! I finished both of these last night. {Dear John} wasn't my favorite, but still a good story, and {Nights in Rodanthe} was good, but too short! At least that's my humble opinion. =)

{Katheryn's Secret} by Linda Hall

I read {Steal Away} by this author recently, and I loved it, so I decided to check out more of her work. I also got {Maggie's Peace}, but they didn't have a picture for that one. =)

{Between Sundays} by Karen Kingsbury

I love Karen Kingsbury, too! =) I really want her newest series, but they didn't have it at the library, so I got this one. I'm sure it'll be good!

I also got {Bleak House} by Charles Dickens (they didn't have the a picture of that one either.) It was recommended to me by a good friend who has very similar tastes in literature, at least for the "classics". We're supposed to watch the BBC Mini Series for {Bleak House} sometime. I wanted to actually read the book first.

So now it's your turn; have you read anything good lately? Anything at all? I'd love to hear about it! I'm always looking for something new to read. =)

{No. 175} A Giveaway

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Creatively titled, no?

Nope, not really. After all, this is my 175th post. Should I celebrate? Maybe I should...

So, my original intent for today was to upload some pictures to share with you. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Such is life sometimes. And then I noticed that this is my 175th post.

Now, I see my number of followers is at 63. Hurray! I can't even tell you how exciting that is to me. When no one read my blog, it felt pointless to write. But here I am, at my 175th post, with (a possibility of) 63 readers!

This morning, I'm feeling generous. And spontaneous. That's right, I've decided to celebrate with a giveaway! One of you will be able to choose any one item from my shop (up to $10)! How does that sound?

The rules? All you have to do is visit The Art of Paper and leave me a comment telling me your favorite thing there. Or even something you would like to see me add. If you're a blog follower (or become one), leave another comment for another entry! Please leave your email in each comment so I can easily contact the winner.

If you would like 2 extra entries, please help me spread the word! Tweet the link to this post, or blog about it (with a link). Either one, leave 2 comments leaving me the link of where you shared, and you've got yourself 2 extra entries!

This will be a shorter giveaway; I'll be announcing the winner on Monday, 8/31, (It may go longer if not many people enter!) just in time for another special annoncement. =) So come on out from your hiding places and help me celebrate No. 175 and 63 wonderful followers!

Telephone-a-phobia

Confession time. I have a deep and mortal fear.

Of telephones.

Yep. That's what I said. Telephones.

Don't ask me why. Because I really couldn't tell you why. I wouldn't even answer the phone until I was 13. Maybe 14 or 15...

Of course, my mom said she used to be the same way. And now she makes phone calls if she needs to. Maybe there's hope for me after all.

On the rare occasion that I do need to make a phone call, this is what goes through my head:

Okay, I can do this.

*picks up phone, clears throat about 10 times*

Let's see, it's 555-4819. 555...

*dials in 555*

4819, 4819, 4819...

*dials in 4819*

Okay, is that right? 555-4819. 555-4819.

*Finally pushes the talk button to dial*

Oh, I really hope they don't pick up. I just want to leave a message.

Can you tell I'm paranoid about calling the wrong number?

So if I was supposed to call anyone who's reading this, I apologize in advance for my procrastination. I wouldn't even call Hayden's house before he got a cell phone. I didn't want to chance that I would have to talk to someone else in his family. (Of course, I love his family. It's just my weirdness showing through.)

What about you? Do you have any fears others might find a little silly?

I'm Back!

Yep, I'm back, actually a couple of days earlier than intended...yay! Coming home is always the best part, huh? But since I was gone for 5 days, my inbox is in severe need of a spring cleaning, and I have some emails to write. With that said, regularly scheduled blogging will return tomorrow! Or Monday. Whenever I have time...

Taking Leave

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, my mom and my sister and I are packing up for a drive. A 13 hour long drive. We're off to visit my grandparents, and (as bad as it may sound) I don't want to go. I really don't.

But I don't get a choice. Last time we headed up there, my mom said I had to go because "this might be the last time you go up there for a while." She said the same thing when I told her I didn't want to go this time.

Oh well. I'll try to be positive. That being said, the blog will be very quiet until I get back on the 22nd, because I don't think far enough ahead to have some auto posts...

But I will return! =)

Latest Project: Anything Etsy

As I'm sure you've probably figured out if you've read my blog before,
I love Etsy. I could spend days browsing around, drooling over all the
lovliness. And wishing I had a million dollars to support my fellow
Etsians with.

But since I don't have a million dollars, I've decided I'd like to
support my fellow Etsians in a different way. I know that I could use
some help getting my shop out there, and I'm sure I'm not the only
one!

So I would love the opportunity to feature your Etsy shop! Bags,
stationary, bath and body, anything at all! Not only can you be the
star of the blog for the day (insert big grin!), I get to see
everything y'all have to offer. And drool some more...

If you would like to offer a discount or a giveaway, that would be
amazing, but I'm not going to be upset if you don't want to. =)

I've decided to call this little feature "Anything Etsy" simply
because I love anything Etsy! So if you have an Etsy shop, and you
would like to be featured, please leave a comment or email me! I will
(hopefully) be contacting some if my favorite shops, but I need your
help, too.

The featured shop will be posted on a Monday, and they'll get a little sidebar advertisement for the week of their feature, too!

Even if you don't have your own shop, I'm sure you know of an Etsy
shop that is simply fabulous. Will you tell me about it? Please do!
All you have to do is leave a comment!

Really, it's not hard to leave comment. =) Tell me what you think
about my little idea. I want to know what you think.

Latest Project: Make it Personal

Hayden's older sister (who is also one of my good friends) is visiting from up north, and it just so happened to be her birthday today. I know she likes my cards, so I set out to make her a set of cards that were personalized just for her. I thought you might like to see what I came up with. =)

After several cards personalized with her initial, I decided to branch out to cards without her inititial. I didn't want it to be too overpowering with the personalization. =)

This is my favorite card in the whole set. I almost wanted to keep it for myself, but then the 6 card set would only be 5, and I decided not to break the set.

What do you think about the personalization? Too much? Just right?

Carly really liked them. I love when my cards make people happy. =)

Observations

5 hours of sleep is not enough.

It's a little disconcerting to drive behind a pick-up loaded too high
as you watch the back right wheel wobble dangerously...

When the girl at Starbucks is cheerful, it makes the morning a little
brighter. Free coffee would make it better, but I wasn't going to push
it.

Navy and white floral patterns and multicolored floral patterns should
NEVER be worn on the same person at the same time. Not even on 2
different people standing within 10 feet of each other. At least
that's my opinion.

Watching High School Musical 3 in 11 parts on YouTube was not worth
the time spent.

And you should not be awake at 1:57 in the morning. You should be
sleeping. Not playing with your new iPod Touch.

Just some observations from my day. Maybe they'll add a smile to yours.

An Introduction

I've been thinking for a while now about my blogging habbits. If I have any faithful readers (and if I do have some, y'all should become faithful commenters, too...), they may have noticed my penchant for giveaways. Sometimes I feel like I clutter my writing with giveaway announcements. But I so want those extra entries!

So I'm introducing you to my solution. =)

I have started a brand new blog, "Petunia Says". This will be my blog devoted only to letting the world know about cool giveaways. Especially the ones I am (desperate) to win. Every entry helps, huh?

Man, I sound super greedy. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any and all followers. I can't promise how often I'll update, but chances are if I do post, it'll be a good one. =)

Happy {almost} Birthday!

My birthday is on Christmas Day. Yep, you read right. December 25th. I will honestly say that I do not like having my birthday on a national holiday. I used to think it was pretty cool, but now I feel like my birthday is swallowed up by the Christmas rush.

Hayden decided that we should celebrate my birthday on July 25th.

Which I didn't even think about on July 25th of this year until Hayden said something about it. And when he handed me a package yesterday? I was a little confused.

But look what I found inside!

Mhmmm. That is an iPod Touch. And I am very excited about this birthday gift! Hayden always does a spectacular job buying me gifts, but this is a fancier gift then I usually get.

So "Happy Birthday" to me!!

What is your most memorable (good or bad) birthday gift?

The Danger of Flip-Flops?

When I was about 10 to 12, I thought flip-flops were so dumb. Like, seriously, you can't run when the piece of rubber you call a shoe is about to fall off your foot. Duh. I wore tennis shoes all the time. I'm not sure when my feelings changed, but somewhere along the way...my feelings changed. Quite drastically. Now, I almost never wear tennis shoes if I can help it.

Lately, I've been thinking of the damage I might possibly be doing to my feet. I might not be the sharpest pencil in the box, but even I can figure out that my beloved Old Navy flip-flops don't necessarily give my arch a lot of cushion.

And then one day last a couple of weeks ago, my feet hurt. I'm not giving a scientific reason, but I was on my feet all day long wearing my good old flip-flops.

So I decided to do a little research...

If you google "the dangers of flip flops", soooo many things pop up. Like, I don't quite know where to begin. But I'll give you a couple of things I've found that seem like feasible problems.

• Germs. Funny, but if you walk around all day with open shoes, your feet might actually come in contact with germs! Makes sense to me. But not too worrisome unless you have an open cut or some such problem. Then it could be a little icky.
• Dry Skin. Yep, it's a problem. I hate when my feet are rough and dry. Actually, Kerri had something to say about that. Here's her advice: "I don't know much about the effects of flip flops except that they totally dry your feet out and give you cracked heels. Here is the solution I have learned for that though. Soak your feet in water for about 20 minutes every night. Then use a loofah to scrub your feet. Apply lotion before going to bed. Then at least once a week use a foot file." I think this is great. The only problem is remembering to soak my feet, etc. =)
• A Real Achilles Heel. Since the toes need to grip the flip-flop for support, your muscles are working differently than they do with other types of footwear or when barefoot, says Dr. Reid. In fact, you can develop Achilles tendons and plantar fasciitis, inflammation or irritation around your heel bones and toes. If severe enough, you may need surgery. Most often, though, anti-inflammation medication and rest will suffice. [taken from here!]
• Sunburn? Actually, my friend and my sister have both worn sandals (or no shoes) to the beach and ended up with badly sunburned feet. It would have been somewhat comical if they hadn't been in so much pain. So if you're planning on being in the sun a lot, your feet might need some SPF, too.

I'm sure there is much more that could happen to your poor feet if you wear flip flops all the time. You can read the article I took this info from for yourself and see what you think. I think my biggest worry would be ruining my arch from lack of support. Probably the thing to rememeber is moderation. It's proabably not best to wear any kind of shoe all the time.

And since I've been thinking about other kinds of shoes I could wear, I think these Malindi Crocs are just lovely.

"Crocs’ Malindi give your feet ergonomic support because they are made from Crocs™ exclusive croslite™ material. Croslite™ resin conforms to your foot for a custom fit. The Crocs™ Malindi footbed features circulation nubs to stimulate blood flow."

Sounds pretty good to me! Now I just have to convince my dad that I really do need another pair of shoes...