$100 Shopbop gift card giveaway winner! :)

Hey, guys! :D

I just wanted to say thank you to all who entered my $100 Shopbop gift card giveaway!

There were a total of 149 entries = wow! :)

The lucky winner is number 95 = Bree from Viva La Breee! :D

Congratulations, Bree! :D

Thanks again to everyone who entered, and thanks to Jeffrey for this amazing opportunity! :D

Do you like 3.1 Phillip Lim? Join my $100 Shopbop gift card giveaway! :D

Happy Tuesday, everyone! :D

I am finally done with school – I had my last final this past Saturday, and spent the weekend and Monday keeping my school stuff and getting my room in order. Guess what else I did? I was able to scan some more magazine pages to share with you guys. I also looked through my blog photos, and organized them – I am hoping to get my blog posting schedule back in order. :D

To celebrate my being done with school and summer being just around the corner, why not have a fabulous $100 Shopbop gift card giveaway?! Yup, you read it right! Jeffrey over at Shopbop contacted me last week in order to give one of you, my amazing blog friends, $100 to spend on anything you want on www.shopbop.com!

As you all probably already know, Shopbop is a leading distributor of designer clothes, shoes, and bags. Not to mention, a favorite among us bloggers. I bought one of my favorite winter coats from them – it’s something I will probably wear for years to come. :)

I was just browsing their site, and saw some of the most amazing 3.1 Phillip Lim shoes.

Brancusi Wood Platform Booties

Espie Soft Top Espadrille Flats

… and 3.1 Phillip Lim sunglasses.

Doctora Aviator Sunglasses

Newman Sunglasses

Since I am turning 21 this coming July, I thought why not look at and invest on some designer brands like 3.1 Phillip Lim. I am still all for bargain hunting and buying stylish clothes for less, but it doesn’t hurt to “window shop”, right? ;) And when it comes to buying designer brands, Shopbop is one good place to turn to!

Gathered Halter One Piece with Keyhole

Sleeveless Illusion Jumpsuit

Short Sleeve Knit Top and Cuffed Shorts with Wrap Belt

So anyway, it’s a good thing that you guys have a chance to win $100 to spend on Shopbop. Okay, I won’t prolong it anymore… What do you have to do to enter?

Here are the rules:

1. If you haven’t been following What Mimi Writes, I hope you change your mind and do so now because if you are a follower, you get one entry. :) (1 entry)

2. Visit www.shopbop.com and tell me what you would get with the $100. (1 entry)

3. Follow Shopbop on Twitter. (1 entry)

4. Follow What Mimi Writes on Twitter. (1 entry)

5. Tweet about the giveaway, linking to both Shopbop and What Mimi Writes. (1 entry)

6. Mention this giveaway on your blog – it doesn’t have to be one whole post, just a one-line shout out would do. (1 entry)

Let me know which of these you did – leave me links to tweets and blog shout outs about this giveaway. I would really appreciate it if you entered one comment per entry because it would make it easier for me when the time comes to pick a winner. I will pick a winner using www.random.org. And don’t forget to include your e-mail address in your entries; I need a way to reach you if you win. :)

This giveaway is open internationally, however, I am sorry to say that it is not open to Pennsylvania residents. :/

This giveaway will end on Saturday, June 18th at 11:59 pm PST. I will try my hardest to announce the winner as soon as possible.

Good luck, everyone! And have a fantastic week! :D

Randomness ... and a winner

Easter weekend has been amazing here and mostly because of the weather.

Hardly a cloud in the sky and hot, hot, hot.

The garden is already out of control and I can almost see the veggies growing. The chard from last summer is going to seed but as it's shooting flowers up so quickly I am letting it do so as I am fascinated by its strength and speed.

We have nettles you could lose a giraffe in and my chives are suddenly flowering in a big and blousy way.

Love it!

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I managed to finish this little sundress made from a pillow case that I picked up in a charity shop a while ago.

If I use the word "vintage" it will seem very desirable indeed!

I am going to send it to my sister's little girl, Nancy, who has the great red hair to go so well with these colours!

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We had Andrew's older children, Sarah and Tom, over today, along with their lovely Mum, Sue. Frank and all the rest of us enjoyed an Easter egg and Lindt bunny hunt in the garden.

I was just clearing up outside and found a couple of tiny, foil wrapped dark chocolate eggs that had been left in the sun.

I tried to pick them up very gently but they kind of exploded in my hand!

I was a chocolatey mess for a while there.

Rather befitting of the great chocolate festival that Easter has become.

Interestingly (and I am aware that I am playing fast and loose with that word here for some of you!) Frank's BG numbers have been in the low teens but holding steady, which is amazing as I have tried to make no references to him NOT having nibbles of chocolate today.

I just wanted to let him be.

To let him eat chocolate if he wanted to or leave it if he wanted to.

He isn't so bothered but I fear telling him he shouldn't and then seeing him really WANTING it because it's forbidden.

We'll see how that pans out in the future, hey?

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We also have a winner of the "breathe" poster.

As I only had five people interested I threw a dice.

Twice number six came up (!) and then came number two : Annicles.

So big congratulations to Anna.

If you could let me know your address I will pop it in the post to you as soon as I can.

I really hope you'll love it as much a I love mine.

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Also Andrew was just telling me that T1D friend he has adores the rather talented Tim Booth and met him today.

I was reminded of how much I love "James" and how I used to play this song at top volume in my classroom at the end of a long day, and only, I assure you, once all the kids were gone!

My, how it cleared the energy and brought joy rushing back in.

And we all need that.

What songs do that for you, I wonder?

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And my final act of randomness in my most random post to date is this:

I'm now off to watch "Ghostbusters".

Why?

It's such a fun film and I just heard Bill Murray say,

"Back off buddy, I'm a scientist".

It's going to be a great evening!

Breathe :: A Giveaway

Well, hello there, lovely peeps!

This is my 200th post (and this must be the worst photo ever published on this 'ere blog!).

I have a poster of this print called "BREATHE" (click here for a better view) by the very talented Nikki McClure (click here only once you have hidden your credit card!) to offer to you as a giveaway today.

The one in the photo is framed and hangs on my dining room wall.

The giveaway poster will be sent in a cardboard tube for you to frame, or not, as you wish.

All you have to do is comment.

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I love her work and have a few of her posters framed and placed strategically around the house and in the summer house.

There is something spiritual in the single word, almost a mantra, and one can lose oneself in the details.

Taking a moment to breathe deeply, to connect with the moment, to be here right now, is something often lost to us, be we parents of diabetics or diabetics ourselves (or indeed just humans).

Maybe having this poster will help you do just that.

You have until Sunday evening when the random number generator, aka Frank, will leap into action.

And a final little note:

I am so very grateful for the online support you all offer me.

It keeps me the right side of sane (most days, ahem) and I am always so excited to read your blogs and hear about your gorgeous children.

Long may our support for each other continue.

Off to sniff into my hankie now, after that outpouring of emotion.

So very un-British of me ...

Giveaway thank you + Almay products. :)

Happy Saturday!

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend! Can you believe it's the last weekend of March?!

It's officially Spring, but somehow it still feels like Winter, actually it feels more like Winter than it did when it was actually Winter, haha!

Anyways, I've been gone for so long, but now that I am feeling better, I want to get back into my normal routine by going through my blog photos and going from there. :) I found, yet again, that I have a lot of photos to be used for blog posts, and quite a few beauty products I meant to review. Hmmmm... gotta make sure I put those to use. :)

But for today, a long-overdue thank you to Marie@PoutyPinkPrincess for this giveaway I won! :D

Thank you, Marie!!! :D

It's so exciting to get a package in the mail!

The hairties and a card from Marie. :)

Marie's note. :)

How cute are these hairties?! I shared them with my sisters, we all love them!

Thanks again, Marie! :D

I also want to thank Lauren for the $35 CSN code giveaway I won!

And I also recently won cute bra straps from Exposed Envy -- future blog post on that to give my proper thanks. :)

Today, I also wanted to share with you guys some new Almay products I use. So, here we go...

Almay Wake Up Hydrating Makeup

Almay Intense i-Color Smoky-i Kit

Almay Smart Shade Anti-Aging Concealer

Almay One Coat Get Up & Grow Mascara

Do you use any of these? So far, I'm loving them! Reviews to come soon! :D

Have a great Saturday night/ Sunday! :)

Time to visit all your blogs! :D

Movie Monday :D

Happy Monday, everyone!

We are now on the last week of the first month of 2011. Wow. :O

This post's title is Movie Monday because I just recently saw three much talked about movies:

127 Hours -

Haha, I know, I tend to see movies later than most. ;)

Anyways, James Franco was really really good! He actually reminded me a bit of Tom Hanks in Castaway. Aron Ralston's story is such an amazing one - after I got over the whole "Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?!" part. It really is "a triumphant true story". A triumph of my own? I was able to live through the arm cutting scene. Haha. ;P

Black Swan -

Okay, now this movie... it was good and intense, but also dark and kind of weird. I'm glad I saw it, but I don't know if I'm all for watching it again. That being said, I thought Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis were perfect for their respective roles.

The King's Speech -

It was a beautiful story. The actors were all amazing. Colin Firth was absolutely brilliant! I'm really hoping he wins an Academy Award - he deserves it. :D Geoffrey Rush was amazing too. And it was so good to see Helena Bonham Carter playing a good character - a nice rest from being Bellatrix Lestrange and the Red Queen.

Have you seen these movies? What did you think of them?

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A few months ago, fellow blogger Emy informed me that I won her L'Bri giveaway. I promised her a review, and after months of using the four products I got, I am now ready to make my reviews. Watch out for them in the coming days! :D

body wash, hand & body lotion, facial masque, and rejuvenating facial peel

Have a fantastic week!

Giveaway winner! :D

Hi, everyone! I hope you're all hanging in there and getting ready for Thanksgiving! :D

I have one more midterm left for tomorrow - hopefully that goes well. And I also want to thank everyone who wished me luck - I got a gooooood score on my Sociology midterm. :)

Anyways, enough about school... it's time to tell you guys who won the $55 CSN Stores giftcard!

After deleting some non-entries and putting all the entries on Excel, I ended up with 100 entries. Entry #22 won!

And, the winner is Toni Tralala!!! :D

Congratulations, Toni! :D

Thank you to everyone who entered! And I might have another giveaway coming up, so please watch out for that one.

:D

Perricone MD Cold Plasma Review

Happy Wednesday, my dear friends! :D

About two months ago, I was lucky enough to win a Perricone MD giveaway hosted by http://www.fashionistastyle1.blogspot.com/!

The skincare product I received was the

Perricone MD Cold Plasma.

Cold Plasma represents Dr. Perricone's most comprehensive and efficacious work to date.

Through Dr. Perricone's patented delivery system, Cold Plasma offers the skin all it needs for optimal health. Cold Plasma helps correct the ten most visible signs of aging: wrinkles, enlarged pores, dryness, redness, discoloration, uneven skin tone, impurities, loss of firmness, loss of smoothness, and loss of radiance.

Whatever your age or skin type, Cold Plasma delivers extraordinary results.

*from http://www.perriconemd.com/*

After reading that great description, of course I was soooo excited to use this moisturizer. It came at a perfect time because I was in need of a new face cream - and I've heard that once you enter your twenties, you should start really taking care of your skin and thinking about wrinkles... By the way, would you say that that is true?

Anyway, it sounded promising and I was really hoping it would make my skin better - fresh, beautiful, radiant... you get the idea.

And that is why I was sad that it made my face itch. :(

It made my skin really itchy - especially my jawline. I thought maybe it was really supposed to do that and maybe my skin was just adjusting to this new cream... but, I asked my sisters (who also used it) if they were having the same reaction, and they said they weren't.

My sister, Belle, said that it makes her skin tingle and itch just a little bit, but then it goes away. Ann, my other sister, said her skin didn't itch at all. So I guess, it was just me. The Cold Plasma cream just didn't work out for me. :(

I stopped using the cream after a week of applying it twice a day (a week of super itchy skin, I should say). And yeah, guess what, the itchiness went away... permanently.

To be really honest, I have no idea why it works for my sisters and not for me. I have combination skin, but so does Ann - so I don't think skin type has anything to do with it. I am at a loss...

I wouldn't tell you to just take a risk and see for yourself because this moisturizer costs $150. If it works well, I would say it's pretty much worth it because a little goes a long way - it would probably last you around 5 or 6 months. But if it doesn't, you just kissed $150 goodbye. And we don't want that.

I know a couple months back, Perricone MD offered free samples of this Cold Plasma cream. If you are interested in trying it, maybe they can work something out for you. :)



Pros:

- lightweight

- not greasy

- moisturizes and smoothens skin

- blends well

- will last long

- has a cute little spoon (seen in the photo above) so we don't have to dip our fingers in the cream

- The package came right on time - they give you a tracking number.

- I still use a little bit of the cream to put around my eye area - kind of like an eye cream. It works pretty well for me like that. I've noticed that my eyebags are now smaller and not as dark as before.

Cons:

- Many reviews I've read pointed out the smell. Some said it smelled like spoiled fish and that it made them puke. I didn't think so, though. It doesn't have the best scent, but it's tolerable.

- the price: $150 for 1 oz./ 30mL

For more reviews, click here.

Have you tried Perricone MD Cold Plasma? How did/ does it work for you? Are you thinking of trying this cream?

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In other news, http://www.freebeautyevents.com/ has a new contest for us! Visit their site and enter their contest for a chance to win a set of five mascaras. :D

Ten winners will win CoverGirl Lashblast Fusion, MaxFactor Limited Edition, MaxFactor Vivid Impact, Maybelline Lash Stiletto, and Maybelline XXL Pro. :D

You have until November 30th to enter. Winners will be chosen on December 5th.

For bloggers in Pennsylvania and Virginia - Prestige Cosmetics will be at college bookstores with free basket raffles and free makeovers.

For bloggers in Pennsylvania and New York, watch out for Coty as they promote their holiday fragrance gift sets at your local Rite Aid.

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Lastly, please don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY! Click the link if you haven't joined in. Enter for a chance to win a $55 CSN stores giftcard! There's still plenty of time to join - it ends on Sunday, November 21st at 11:59pm PST! :D

A Royal Engagement

Hey, fellow bloggers!

Just a quick post for today, before I go blog-hopping... I was on Yahoo!, and I saw that Prince William just recently proposed to his long-time girlfriend, Kate Middleton (soon-to-be Princess Kate... or Queen Catherine, as the article said)!

I was like, "Oh my gosh, this totally belongs to yesterday's post!"

The royal wedding will take place either in the Spring or Summer of 2011.

Prince William proposed while they were on a safari in Kenya. I think it's cute and funny that he carried the ring in his rucksack the whole time they were there - the Prince said that he continuously looked to check that the ring was still there.

He gave Kate the late Princess Diana's engagement ring.

A closer look:

According to Yahoo!, the ring is "an oval blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds from the jeweler Garrard".

I know we are all looking forward to what will probably be THE wedding of 2011 (or possibly, the century?).

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Coming posts:

Perricone MD Cold Plasma Review

Travel Destination post

Wedding post

Shopping post

:D

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I hope everyone is having a great week! :D

Oh, and don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY - win a $55 CSN stores gift card!

Celebrity Engagement Rings

Happy Monday!

There's another week ahead of us... and it's gonna be a busy week for a lot of students - teachers/professors are squeezing in midterms and exams before Thanksgiving (at least mine are...). So, I'm gonna have to do a lot of studying this week and next week, but I will most definitely take some time to do some blogging (I need it to keep me sane, haha!).

A lot of celebrities got engaged these past months. Let's have a look at their engagement rings, shall we? :D

1. Vanessa Minillo - Nick Lachey proposed with a $125,000, 4-carat Bader & Garrin ring.

I am not Vanessa Minillo's biggest fan, but I am happy they finally got engaged. I hope this one lasts. :)

2. Megan Fox - She actually lost the ring, now-husband, Brian Austin Green gave her. She replaced it with this $80,000, 3-carat radiant-cut diamond ring.

She looked beautiful on her wedding day. I'm thinking I'll do a separate post on that.

3. Maria Sharapova - She received this 9-carat cushion-cut stone from L.A. Laker Sasha Vujacic. The ring is said to be worth about $250,000.

4. Hilary Duff - I think her ring is the granddaddy of all engagement rings. Now-husband Mike Comrie gave Hilary this 14-carat radiant-cut diamond ring. Estimated worth? $1 million!

Her wedding was beautiful too. I really should do a wedding post. :)

5. Kristen Bell - Her ring is simple and beautiful - just like her! Dax Shepard proposed to Kristen with this 3-carat emerald-cut Neil Lane ring.


6. Calista Flockhart - Her long-time partner (now-husband) Harrison Ford gave her this 5-carat emerald-cut diamond ring. It is estimated to be worth about $125,000.

7. America Ferrera - Her fiance Ryan Piers Williams popped the question with this $70,000 4-carat round-cut diamond ring.

I think she is going to be a beautiful bride. :)

8. Katy Perry - Katy's now-husband, Russell Brand, gave her a 5-carat pink diamond Cartier ring... but she changed it into this $120,000 3-carat ring (still from Cartier).

*all images and details from http://www.usmagazine.com/*

Jessica Simpson also recently got engaged to boyfriend of 5 months, Eric Johnson.

He gave her this 3-stone Neil Lane ring. The center rock is a ruby, flanked by two diamonds.

*image and detail from http://www.people.com/*

Which ring(s) did you like the most?

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By the way, my GIVEAWAY is still going on. :D It will run until November 21st at 11:59pm PST. Don't forget to enter to win a $55 CSN gift card! To all who entered, thanks and good luck! :D

***Also, please don't forget to leave one comment per entry. There are others who have 2 or 3 entries, but left only one comment - I will still count them as separate ones, but it would be easier if I can just assign a number to each comment. Thanks! :D***

My recent purchase: Ross, H&M, and others

I hope everyone had a good Saturday! :D

I spent the day doing some chores around the house and doing my homework. Is it just me or does homework never end? I still have a lot of things to do, and I have to start studying for my Sociology midterm. Any studying tips?

How was your Saturday?

Anyway, I just want to do another recent purchase post... I bought these over a month ago. I have new purchases to share with everyone, so I'm really happy to finally get the chance to share these items with you. :)

We love going to Ross because they have tons of clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, home items - everything! - both brand name and not, all for low prices! :D

The day we went, they just got a new shipment of these beautiful, bright yellow ballet flats. Being that yellow is my favorite color, of course I got a pair!

Aaaaahhhh, isn't the color just gorgeous?!

Look at the detail:

Sooo cute! It is so me. :)

These are originally $40 - I got them for $12.99.

I also got a new pair of jeans.

Since I am only 5'2'', I find it difficult to find jeans that are the right length. I usually get my jeans from Forever21, that's why I was so happy to find this because it's a perfect fit.

I also like how it doesn't have a zipper. I can just wear it and do the button, and that's it! I hate having to deal with stubborn zippers - especially when I just painted my nails.

Originally priced $36, I got it for only $15.99.

I know I've told you guys about my headband obsession about a thousand times, and it struck again! I got headbands at Ross too. ;)

Originally $10 - got it for $2.99!

Three headbands for $2.99 - there was no way I was leaving the store without these. ;)

We also checked out H&M - I love H&M, but sometimes I think their clothes are a bit too expensive... that's why I am always happy to find bargains at H&M.

When we went though, I didn't buy any clothes, but I did buy this:

These sunglasses are originally $6.95 - but they were on sale for a dollar. Yes, a dollar! :D

I also got these two sunglasses at the 99 cents store for 99 cents each!

Aaaah, shopping really is amazing - especially when we find bargains! :D

Have you found some great bargains lately?

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I am also having a $55 CSN gift card giveaway! Have you entered it? If you haven't, please click here. It ends on November 21st. Good luck!