Winner!

Drumroll, please...

image via AnnaWithLove Photography

 

Bethany, you lucky lady!

Please shoot me an email with your contact info so we can get this beauty to you!

(tobe@becauseitsawesomeblog.com)

Happy weekend, all! ox

Annawithlove Giveaway Winner

Virginia, please contact me (tobe@becauseitsawesomeblog.com) to arrange for your winnings!

As for the rest of you hopefuls, thanks so much for your interest. Sweet Anna has very generously offered 25% off for BIA readers with code BECAUSEITSAWESOME through March 6th.

ADDITIONALLY, she is offering everyone who signs up for the Annawithlove mailing list one free print with purchase. Score!

Annawithlove on Etsy

Etsy Crush + A Giveaway!

* This giveaway has ended *

Happy Heart Day!

It's been said before, but I say this day doesn't have to be about romance. I've had many a Valentine's Day that was about the girls, and even a few that were just all about moi. In fact, the first VDay that Eric and I were dating, I opted to hang with my ladies instead! It was so early in the relationship, I didn't want to be disappointed and I knew a night with the girls would never disappoint. Luckily, he was around long enough that we've been able to share a few since :)

So whether this day is about a significant other, celebrating friendship, the kids, or even a night of spoiling yourself (ummm....bottle of red and a bubble bath much??), I hope you're feeling loved.

And to show you how much I love you, my dearest readers, I've teamed up with the very brilliant Anna of Annawithlove Photography for a giveaway! Anna has generously offered one BIA reader their choice of any of the gorgeous photos in her Etsy shop, and at any of her standard sizes (8x8, 8x12 or 8x10). Let's just take a gander, shall we?

images via annawithlove photography

Yeah, dudes. I know.

And everyone is eligible.

So what you need to do is hop over, choose your fave (remember set pairs are fair game), and then leave a comment telling me as such. Then, a week from today, we name a winner and BAM! your walls get to lookin gooo-od.

p.s. You can always keep up with Anna's new crop on her Facebook page. That's how I do.

the fine print: Winners will be chosen via random.org, and will be announced within 24 hours of being chosen. After  announced, winner is responsible for claiming prize within 7 days, at which time they will forfeit their prize. Limit one entry per person. No purchase or payment necessary. Void where prohibited. Giveaway sponsored by Annawithlove Photography.

happy friday + izola giveaway winners

happy friday, all! is it just me or are the weeks flying by lately? i can't believe may is already upon us!

without further ado:

congrats to kecia, abbie and korin! please shoot me an email at tobe(at)becauseitsawesomeblog(dot)com with your shipping address so we can get these babies to you! for everyone else, izola is offering 20% off your next purchase through their website, so go snag the items on your wishlist! who knows how long that deal will last? big thanks to them again for sponsoring this giveaway, and for generally being awesome.

i also have to give a shoutout to the sweet louise of table tonic for mentioning me in this round of (always fabulous) 14 bookmark-worthy sites! i'm hoping for some time this weekend to check all of her recommendations out.

enjoy your weekend! ox

new sponsor + a giveaway

good morning, all! hope this monday morning finds you well-rested and ready to tackle a new week. i know i sure overindulged in some down time after last week's deadlines. if you're dragging today, i might have a little something to perk you up. nothing like kicking off the week with some good news, right? and, man, do i have a serious treat for you guys today -- a sweet giveaway!

some of you might remember a post on some very fine candle packaging back in february? well, it turns out, candles aren't the only thing the fine gentlemen behind that brand have going on. the company, better known as izola, has a vast array of well-designed products worth checking out. in fact, being that i came across their site right before eric's birthday, i was eyeballing a few items that seemed up his alley. honestly --- you guys know i'm a sucker for nice packaging --- i had a hard time sticking to gifts for him. i wanted a few for myself! case in point:

images via izola

when izola and i started talking (god bless twitter), they very generously offered to send me a few items (birthday gift? check!). i was nothing short of ecstatic both to give eric something he was bound to love as well as get to see these fine products in person! they definitely didn't disappoint. we've had a few items in constant use since their arrival, and the packages they came in went straight to my office for inspiration. double bonus!

the candle we eric received is their most popular scent, and i have to say, it's amazing. and even though we didn't really need a soap dish, i knew ours his would make a perfect ring catcher for us. but the gift that i'm really excited about is the set of natural cotton handkerchiefs that will eventually be framed and displayed in all of their glorious splendor! well-designed with clever phrases, they'll make a very fine wall statement. i'm thinking of balancing the graphic, masculine nature of them with ornate gilded frames, perhaps in the powder room.

but i'm not the only lucky one here. i'm thrilled to tell you that the fine gentlemen at izola have offered to give not one, but three lucky BIA readers a set of these newly-released handkerchief sets! simply enter by leaving a comment letting us know if you would like to receive the stars, pioneer, or forest collection (be sure to check out the phrases. they're unique to each set!)

"it's written in the stars"  //  "lost time is never found"  //  "peace and prosperity"

"pioneers! o, pioneers!"  //  "courage"  //  "sticks and stones"

"the forest for the trees"  //  "wild beasts"  //  "weather the storm"

they're such unique, classy pieces for the menfolk. of course, i highly recommend checking out the rest of their line while you're at it. i'm telling you, those flasks and martini shakers are begging to be gifted to the man in your life! had i known about izola when we got married, i think a few items would definitely have made the wedding party gift list. but i have a second chance . . . my brother's 30th is coming up, and I have a few of their items in mind :)

you have until thursday, april 26, 2012 at 5pm CST to enter. sorry, US residents only. good luck!

the fine print: winners will be chosen via random.org, and will be announced within 24 hours of being chosen. after being announced, winners are responsible for claiming prize within 7 days, at which time they will forfeit their prize. limit one entry per person. no purchase or payment necessary. in exchange for running this giveaway, i was gifted the products stated above. void where prohibited. giveaway sponsored by izola.

*though this is a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.

The I Am Project :: an announcement!

happy monday, party people! i have exciting news to share this morning . . . we have been totally thrilled and overwhelmed with the support of our I Am Project's weekly(ish) posts. the fact that this project has resonated with so many incredible women is beyond any of our wildest dreams! so much so that we have decided to make our pieces available for purchase.

enter our shiny new I Am Shop!

 

a thousand thank you's to each and every one of you that has embraced this project. it means so very much to us.

aaaaaand we are more than excited to have some very special ladies helping us kick off this virtual opening! throughout the week, i will be tweeting and facebooking (are those real words?) links to several friends of The Project that are hosting giveaways to score a free I Am print of your choice! these ladies have been kind enough to mention our little mission on their own blogs and, for that, we are humbled and most grateful. this morning, i will send you off to see these lovely ladies below . . .

Ready.

Set.

Go.

and if you're tempted to stay awhile in any of these beautiful corners of the web, you're welcome.

Geronimo!

how much fun does a room full of this look??

images via geronimo balloons

drumroll......giveaway winners are.....

Shawna, Meghan and Kristin!

i'll be contacting you ladies soon to get your info.

wishing everyone a fabulous weekend!

what's that? a giveaway?

soooo....despite the fact that i've been busy and monstrously a bit overwhelmed with things lately, i feel like celebrating. for one, i've surpassed 1300 followers on pinterest. no, not here, where i have an actual personality, but on a website where i collect random images. turns out, i'm popular when i don't talk. go figure. i also went shopping over the weekend and bought my first pair of (non-athletic) shorts in - oh - 10 years. sound extreme? i hate wearing shorts. that is, until this weekend. thanks, megan, for your post that encouraged me to give them another shot. third, i really just feel like giving one of our I Am designs away. many people have been so supportive of this series, and the girls and i couldn't be happier! after all, it's not for us, but in support of you beautiful ladies all over the world!

so, yes, we're giving one away! well, we're giving THREE away actually!
* to be clear, you can choose from ANY of our I Am prints; i'm just featuring a few in this post *

most of you probably know the drill....

follow because it's awesome with google friend connect

and leave a comment letting me know which I Am you would like to receive and who it will go to

(it's okay to say yourselfish)

if you tweet or blog about the giveaway or the i am project, leave additional comments for extra entries

(please include @tobe_reed so i can track your tweet)

* japan/joplin prints are fair game, too *

details: art will ship unframed as a 5"x7"

(or, in the case of the few that aren't a perfect 5"x7," they will fit into an 8"x10" frame)

* click the i am project button in the sidebar to view the complete series *

three separate winners will be randomly chosen and announced this friday, july 1st

good luck! and thank you for your support!!