My 200th Post!! And a GIVEAWAY!!!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered!

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(If the looks of this blog post title is any indication, I've apparently challenged myself to attempt to use 200 exclamation points within the context of a single post!

I haven't. Because that would be annoying. But this is a Very! Exciting! Time! for me! Thus, the overuse of the dramatic punctuation.)

Back at Christmastime, Jason, his siblings, and his cousins all received a very special gift. Months before, while cleaning out the attic of Jason's grandparents' old house, his mom and aunt discovered hundreds- HUNDREDS- of letters written back when J's grandparents first became pen pals, fell in love, got engaged, and planned their wedding. The written correspondence turned into FOUR BOUND VOLUMES of letters that chronicle a precious piece of their family history. It's a beautiful thing to imagine the sheer joy of going to the mailbox daily and finding love letter upon love letter upon love letter.

Unfortunately, no one writes real pen-to-the-paper letters anymore and usually the best piece of mail I get is a glossy magazine Today, we email and text.

And BLOG.

While I don't anticipate my blog turning into any sort of bound volume set, I do have something that will have one lucky person running to their mailbox in the very near future!

The best part of my 200th post, the thing that makes it SUPER exciting and all exclamation point-worthy, is that I have a fun giveaway courtesy of CSN stores! When I was first contacted by CSN about hosting a giveaway, I didn't realize that CSN is an entire FAMILY of stores. If you can't find it at CSN, it probably doesn't exist.

Because there are over 200 CSN stores (just like I have 200 posts!), I dedicated my own blood, sweat and tears by browsing around their virtual storefronts, narrowing the wares down to a handful of my favorites. It was a tough job, but I took one for the team. And ONE of the items below can be yours!!


Here are a few things that I absolutely LOVED (the pics are a little small, so I included links to the items as well so you can see them a bit easier):

When this wall hook set and I met across the crowded virtual store, it was love at first sight. I love everything about it- the colors, the distressed look, the function. We're meant to be together forever. I just know it.

I need this red lantern. NEED. That is all.

How adorable are these butterfly bottles?! Their little butterfly wings have a little bit of sparkly bling for a feminine touch.

(After I typed that, I realized it sounds kind of like I think butterflies aren't feminine enough on their own. Because what man wouldn't LOVE an office/study decorated with a yellow/black monarch butterfly theme?)

These concrete doves would add the perfect touch of interest to my home decor. If they were mine, I'd use them on my mantel or antique sideboard.

I love these retro-looking set of soap dishes. They would look so fab on the wall in my kitchen.

If you're interested in entering my giveaway and having one of the above pretties (your choice of one item listed in this post) delivered directly to your door, you will have a few opportunities.

(Sidenote: I had a huge debate with myself over whether or not to REQUIRE readers to follow me in order to enter this giveaway. I even posted about my dilemma on Twitter. Some said it was acceptable, others said it was annoying. I've seen it done before and since I find it a teensy weensy bit off-putting, I'm just leaving it as an option for extra entries. I would love love LOVE to have more followers. But I also want them to be readers who really enjoy hanging out here, not those forced to follow for the giveaway alone. Now that I've devoted WAY to much effort to overthinking that, which of the world's ills should I solve next?)

To Enter:

1) Leave me a comment telling me which of the above items you'd absolutely love to have: 1 entry.

2) Tweet about the giveaway including a link back to this blog. Please leave separate comment including the link to your tweet: 2 entries.

3) Blog about the giveaway including a link back to this blog. Please leave a separate comment including the link to your post: 3 entries.

4) Become a follower of my blog. Please leave a separate comment letting me know that you are following (subscribing in a reader is acceptable): 4 entries.

The Logistics:

*No duplicate comments, please

*I will select a winner at random and notify the winner by email.

*If you win, please get back to me regarding your prize within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!!