Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary :: tracks in the melting snow

 

A little melt away spot I saw during one of our walks.  We were helping the kids find tracks in the snow and thinking about who/what created those tracks.

What kind of tracks do you leave behind?  ;)

View all photos in my Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary series.

Winner of Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to KATIE!!!

Thank you to everyone who entered!

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway! (plus a couple extras)

Happy Valentine's Day!  I'm so glad you checked in today because you're in for a treat, my friends!  And what a perfect way to treat yourself on Valentine's Day -- with a beautiful, flirty dress from Shabby Apple!  If you aren't familiar with Shabby Apple, their philosophy is to provide "great dresses that make dressing simple...a return to what dresses were always meant to be -- a one piece outfit".  Their various collections reflect so many styles ranging from classic, to sophisticated, to flirty, to edgy.  I dare you to not find something you'd like to add to your closet!  Chances are, you'll spot several pieces you never knew you were missing until now.  ;)  On top of providing adorable dresses, Shabby Apple is committed to helping women worldwide by donating 5% of their net sales to support the fight against global poverty.  By partnering with Unitus, they aim to accelerate access to life-changing financial services for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.  Every $100 donation from Shabby Apple Dresses provides at least 20 women with access to financial services - and the chance to live a life without poverty. Incredible mission, incredible company, incredible dresses.  What's not to love?

Shabby Apple is generously offering one lucky winner her choice of one of the dresses pictured below!  Just click on each image to visit their site for dress details.

*TO ENTER*

(1) Visit Shabby Apple and browse around, then come back and leave a comment on this post (it can be about anything.. your favorite dress or collection, etc)

(2) "Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook.

You must complete both criteria to be entered into the giveaway.  One entry per person please.  Open to US residents only.  The winner will be announced here on the blog in one week (Monday Feb. 21, 2011) selected via random.org.  Good luck!  Oh, and can I mention how jealous I am that you get to enter this giveaway and I can't?  Yep, I'm jealous.  Supremely.  Ok, carry on.

So which dress would you choose if you were to win???  Decisions, decisions!  Happy decisions.   :)

Cortez

Cider

Mariposa Grove

L'Amour

Marseilles

Moon River

And if you're not already in love with Shabby Apple, this might help.  They're offering eNVe Designs readers 10% OFF purchases!  Just use the code "envedesigns10off" during checkout. 


Win an eNVe Designs necklace!
And while you're in the giveaway mood, hop over to the Buggie and Jellybean blog to enter my eNVe Designs giveaway!  The prize: an Open Heart Sterling Silver Necklace!  (your choice of shiny sterling, oxidized sterling, or 14kt gold fill).  It'd be a wonderful complement to a Shabby Apple dress I think.  ;)  And if you happen to win both giveaways, you are one lucky ducky!

Again, good luck and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, lovelies!!!

Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary :: Blueberry Memories

Blueberries make me happy.  And it wasn't until adulthood that I discovered this, because it wasn't until adulthood that I had ever even tried this delicious little fruit.  About 5 years ago while my husband (then boyfriend) and I were spending the day on Long Beach Island (along the Jersey coastline) with some friends, we discovered some blueberry bushes lining the road leading up to the beach where we had parked.  I don't know who started picking them off the trees, but I decided to try some.  And OH my HEAVENS, they were so amazing!  Perfectly sweet and tart and fresh off the tree.  They were so tasty that I had one of those where-have-you-been-all-my-life moments, very much like how I felt when I met my husband (maybe I'll tell you that story some day).  Before we knew it, all four of us were on a blueberry picking mission, going from tree to tree and stuffing our cheeks like chipmunks.  Or maybe it was just me stuffing my face.  I guess I was trying to make up for all those blueberry-less years of my life.  Needless to say, we left with a big bushel of blueberries.  I don't know how much a bushel really is, but it seems like a fitting amount.  We were snacking on them the whole ride back to Philly.  So now, every time I have blueberries, I think of that incredible summer day at the beach, discovering something unexpected in something so simple.  Gotta love when that happens.  :)

Here's to you finding your "blueberries", whatever they may be.  ;)

View all photos in Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary series.

PS. Tune in on Monday for a super fabulous giveaway you don't want to miss!

Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary :: Dragons and Igloos and Dresses, OH MY!

I've been having a lot of fun with my "Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary" project and have been snapping pictures left and right.  But finding the time to upload them and blog is another task in itself.  And that is why I am sitting here at 3 AM, reliving my college days of burning the midnight oil.  So I hope you will stick with me on this photo project, despite it not being the daily post that I had originally hoped for.   :)

Last weekend, we celebrated the Lunar New Year in my hometown.  One of our traditions is watching the dragon dance, which is one of my favorite highlights of the celebration.  I tried to get a good shot, but they moved so much and the lighting wasn't great so these were the best of the bunch.  Photography is so challenging!

It's considered good luck to feed the dragons "lucky money" so they were dancing through the audience and people were feeding them the lucky red envelopes.  We tried to get Jax and Kaili to feed the dragons...

...but they were terrified!  Just look at the grip Kaili has on daddy's arm.  I guess they do look a little menacing, with those crazy hypno-eyes.

Then my brother-in-law tried to offer the dragon his first born child, which I'm pretty sure is not considered good luck.  :)

We also got to spend some time during the weekend playing in the snow.  With all the crazy snow we've been getting, we had to put it to good use.  And by we, I mean my cousins and my husband.  And by good use, I mean they built an igloo.. or a "snow fortress" as my husband called it.

Almost big enough for the four of us!

And yes, I did mention dresses earlier.  (who needs segues anyway? not me.. not at 4:30 in the AM..holy cow, it's 4:30??)  I'm definitely cutting this post short.  I was going to tell you about an AH-MAZING giveaway I have lined up for you, but this is the short version.  Keep your eyes peeled for my next giveaway!  You won't want to miss it!  Hint: you could win a fabulous dress!

Until then.  Happy dreams!  I'm off to la la land.

Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary :: Snow Topography

With all the "snowpocalypse" hoopla earlier this week, there's no avoiding some pictures of more snow. I actually thought the big blizzard was going to skip right over us because nothing was happening... but then there was the sudden onset. The wind was so intense and the snow was so powdery that it was snowing sideways!  The snow wasn't really settling in some parts, while in other parts, it was piled over a foot deep. That combination of wind and snow created some really beautiful effects around our house! So of course I'm wading up to my knees to try to capture these shots.

These are not black and white pictures, by the way. I only played with the levels in photoshop to really bring out the tiniest undulations in the shadows.

Now that I've taken my pictures, it's time to get the sled out and go zooming down the hill!  I hope you're all keeping warm, staying safe, and having fun in all the snow!

View all photos in Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary series.