GIVEAWAY! 6 MONTHS OF ROCKSBOX!

I normally am someone who likes to give a tangible, in person gift...but sometimes a gift can actually be more thoughtful when it's not something you give in person. I'm talking anything from magazine subscriptions (bridal mags for a friend who gets engaged near the holidays!) to those healthy-snack subscriptions for my paleo-no-gluten-whatever friends who still like to pretend like they are eating snacks like the rest of us.

All of this babble is to assure you that sometimes giving a gift that will continue to surprise someone month after month down the road can be seriously awesome...I mean...who doesn't love getting real mail?

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My subscription suggestion this Holiday season shouldn't be a shock to anyone.

Yup, you guessed it, a Rocksbox subscription. 

Gifts start as low as $29, which basically gives them a month of Rocksbox + $20 to spend on jewelry!

Rocksbox is a one-size-fits-all gift that is sure to please anyone with any taste, since they have jewelry options that are over-the-top sparkly as well as simple, clean, and minimalistic. I mean, aren't you sick of your go-to gift for your friends being candles and mugs? Give one of these subscriptions and you don't have to wrap anything, or worry whether or not they'll like it. If your friend/mom/aunt/sister/girlfriend wears jewelry....she'll like this!

 (To learn more about Rocksbox, check out the information posts I've written here, here, and here.)

So now, about the giveaway..the sweet ladies at Rocksbox are offering up 6 months of Rocksbox for FREE.

Yup.

SIX. MONTHS. FOR. FREE. 

Like, actually free. No sneaky lame fine print. 6 months to either give as a gift or KEEP for yourself!! That means 6 months of designer jewelry to wear as much as you want, for $0. 

Want to win?

Click  the link HERE to enter!

Giveaway details are within the link above- good luck!

If you want to try Rocksbox now because you're impatient like I am, just use code "beautyandbeardxoxo" at checkout through November 30th for your first month FREE!

xo, lp

SHOPPING FOR SHOES FOR NYC + A SHOPBOP GIVEAWAY!

UPDATE: Be SURE to leave a comment on THIS blog post to be entered to win. It's the only thing that is mandatory in order to throw your hat in the ring for $50 to Shopbop. If you enter  without commenting, the entry will be invalid. xoxo, lp 

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You guys.

I leave for NYC in LESS THAN A WEEK.

I am beyond ready. I have some fun stuff planned, and because I am crazy Type A, I pretty much know everything I'm packing...except for the shoes. I'm super efficient when it comes to bringing the right amount of clothes for any trip, but shoes are where I fail. Will it rain? Do I need boots? Will there be a dressy even that needs heels? Do I need brown and black flats? 

Packing for this trip is no different. Each time I think I have it down I look at one of my favorite NYC fashion bloggers and suddenly I think I need some black and silver shoes [like these ones!] or those Michael Kors flats [which one of these do I choose?!] that I've been eyeing. 

I think I've narrowed it down to 3 pairs- but I'm looking for your input below. 

(Oh, and if you could care less about my shoe choices, there's $50 to Shopbop in it for you!)

ny images:  one / two  / three

outfit images: atlantic pacific one / two / three

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Black Ankle Boots: I feel like these are a must have because they can be dressed up or down...and are a liiiittle more practical than a pair of heels.

Sneakers: Thank god sneakers are trendy to wear right now. I have a super cute new pair of New Balance kicks that I will probably look like a huge dork in, but I can't wait to try out in the city.

Black Ballet Flats: Like I mentioned above, there are some Michael Kors Flats [aren't these so cute?] I love and think they'll go with juuuust about everything I'm bringing.

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Shopbop is such a fabulous sponsor of this blog they're offering up $50 to ANYTHING at Shopbop, just cuz they're think you're just as cute as I do.
Unlike those stupid giveaways nowadays that force you to follow 90 instagram accounts before you're entered to win anything, all this requires is for you to write a simple comment on this blog.
Yup.
Do that, and you are entered to WIN. Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win- if you're anonymous, it makes it pretty hard to get ya your $$.

There are options for extra entries to help your odds, but they are not at ALL mandatory.

Good luck m'loves!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo, lp

PSSSST: Want to travel along with me to NYC? Follow me on Instagram for some snaps of the Big Apple! (@lpodlich)

SNAIL MAIL GIVEAWAY!

Here's the deal with giveaways on this blog:

When companies ask to do giveaways with me I put them through some criteria-

1. Would I buy the product myself?

2. Is this something readers would find cute/exciting/fun?

I know, I'm super tough, right? 

But really, I don't like doing giveaways just for the sake of doing them, so I tend to turn away a fair amount that come this way. Sorry friends- it's not that I don't love y'all dearly, but I want to make sure this blog isn't just a mess of giveaways for sub-par products!

I digress. The reason I set it up like that is because I want to make it clear how JAZZED I am for this giveaway!

Jaclyn of Ready Maker Design  designs and hand draws ALL her own amazing paper goods. Stationery, Wedding Invites, Bridesmaid cards, Thank Yous-you name it, she's got it. Her shop is full of incredibly sweet, whimsical, and completely original cards (some of which would be preeeetty perfect for mother's day, may i add) that anyone would be lucky to receive!

When she emailed me to do a giveaway I was THRILLED- because you all know how I feel about Snail Mail- it's the best!

So let's get to the giveaway, shall we?

Jaclyn is giving away over $50 worth of greeting cards, plus a discount card to one lucky person- all wrapped up in some fab gold polka dot paper :)

Details on how to enter are below!

HOW TO ENTER:

Step 1: Go to my Instagram account & find the above image!  Follow the directions that will be shown with the picture to enter!

(Instructions are easy once you get to Instagram- no need to repost the image! Just-->Follow @lpodlich and @jaclynhudak, and tag a friend in the picture! For each friend you tag you get another entry!)

Step 2: If you DO NOT have Instagram, simple leave a comment on this post telling me which of Jaclyn's prints are your favorite from her Shop, and leave an email address in the comment!

***For a bonus entry for Non-Instagram users- simply "favorite" Jaclyn's Shop on Etsy and leave another comment saying you've done so! 

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Giveaway Ends Friday, April 25th

Winner will be announced shortly after

No purchase necessary.

So tell me, my snail-mail loving friends- which of these cards do you love the most?

The one with all the oranges is my favorite!!

xo, lp

A LOVELY GIVEAWAY with THE FIRST SNOW!

You guys. YOU GUYS! This giveaway- ugh. I can't even. It's so good. It's good enough that I want to come up with a second persona and enter this thing myself. Le Sigh. 

The last time I did a giveaway with the amazing Darah of the First Snow was about 6 months ago- and it got such an overwhelming response that I just had to ask her to do another one. If you've never seen her shop you must- it includes not only the most stunning art prints out there, but also every gorgeous paper goods you could possibly need for your wedding/engagement. I won't go on and on- but you MUST go check it out.

Her stuff is so good that Lauren Conrad featured one of her card sets the other day. Yeah. Believe me now?

Before we get into the giveaway, here are a few of my current favorites from her shop:

This: love the imperfect chalkboard looking background and the hand painted florals....

This: I love this one so much I put it on my birthday wishlist. Yup.

This: could there be a sweeter quote? oh, Aubrey.

So you want to get to the giveaway, right? I don't blame you!

Just in time for Valentine's- you can win this STUNNING print from The First Snow:

I know, it's stunning! Like I said, if I could enter to win one, I'd do it myself!

So how do you enter? Just follow the instructions of the Rafflecopter giveaway below- make sure to do the 2 mandatory entries or else you will not be eligible to win!

Giveaway runs 1/30-2/6

Available for USA Only.

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo, lp

** Can't wait to see if you'll be lucky enough to win? Purchase from The First Snow now! 

GIVEAWAY WINNERS & BRIGHT BLUE SKIES

Hi friends!

I'm back in the Midwest, and thus, back on the blog. For the last 5 days we've been visiting my parents in sunny Florida, and are kind of in denial about being back in the snow. When we left Wisconsin it was 5 degrees and snowing. When we got to Florida it was about 75 degrees and sunny.

Nothing like a 70 degree climate change to make you happy, let me tell you. 

Our time in Florida was well spent exploring the beach, visiting historical sites in St.Augustine, shell searching, beach bar hopping, and taking an obscene amount of photos:

Clearly I took a ton more, but I didn't want to overload you lovlies in case you already follow me on Instagram- or hate me for getting to see the sun for 5 days. Our place was right on the ocean, 5th floor looking over the sand. Not too shabby, right? One of my favorite parts of the trip (other than just walking along the beach) was beach bar hopping with Michael one night. There were tons of restaurants/bars within walking distance of our place, so we just went to one-had a drink-and walked to another! Rough life, I tell you.

One of the strangest things about being in Florida in December is that all the Christmas parades and celebrations go on...but it feels NOTHING like the holiday season. Christmas lights on palm trees...snowmen made out of sand...trees tied to the tops of open air Jeeps...so strange!

On another note: I LOVE announcing giveaway winners!!!

The winner of the $50 UncommonGoods giveaway is Fran Hasselhof! I was giddy when I saw Fran won, as she is a former Wisconsin girl herself! She lives in PA now- and you should follow her lovely fashion blog- Franish.  Congrats, Fran!

WAIT! You're sad you didn't win and want some presents for yourself? There's still time to enter the Favorite Things giveaway! A handful of awesome prizes (plus a few surprises not included in the image) could be all yours! Enter now!

Tomorrow I'll be sharing a drink that doesn't SEEM like it's appropriate for the season since it's a sangria- but I promise once you see the ingredients I'll be able to convince you otherwise!

This week I'll be a busy bee making Christmas candies like my caramels, peppermint bark, and more! 

What are you doing to get ready for Christmas?

Sand snowmen, anyone?

xo, lp

**let's be Instagram friends, shall we? find me here:@lpodlich

FAVORITE THINGS GIVEAWAY!

I know, I know. We already have one giveaway going on around here- and yet, another! 

Why not?

This time, the lucky winner will win a package with the items show- plus a few extra goodies. These items are some of my favorite things!!

Included:

- 7 rainbow mini "do small things with great love" by Pen & Paint

- 6 flavors of Kernel Season's popcorn seasonings

-Kate Spade Saturday "day of the week" pencils

- Page a Day Journal from Thyme is Honey

-Blue Raspberry Dum Dums (yup.)

- Rifle Paper Co. Notebook

- Pantone postcards

- 5 rolls washi tape

- Julep nail polish

+ a few other goodies!

So- how do we make this happen?

Well simple- just follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter, and you'll be good to go! Just make sure to complete the mandatory entries- and you're golden:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, lovlies!

xo, lp

* special thanks to pen & paint, kernel season's, and thyme is honey for donating the mini cards, seasoning, and notepad for the good of the giveaway. you guys are the bomb.com. xo

* winner will be announced 12.19.13.

$50 UNCOMMON GOODS GIVEAWAY (you don't want to miss this!)

My dear, dear friends.

Are you done with your Christmas shopping? I bet you're not. Not that I don't have faith in you or anything... but come on, we're all too busy to be that prepared these days-right?

Insert UncommonGoods. If you already know about UncommonGoods, ignore these next sentences:

So this company based in New York (working out of the Brooklyn Army Terminal-so cool!) has the widest array of unique gifts you didn't even know you needed to give. Over half the items for sale are handmade- most of which being made in the USA, and a third being made of recycled or up-cycled materials. Doesn't that just make you feel good buying it then? I bet it does.

Now if you are interested in just looking on your own and not entering the giveaway- run on over to see cool Christmas gifts for men (here), women (here), or anything/pet in between (here).

Wait- you're continuing on and want to see what gifts I love? Aw, Shucks. They're all under $50- did I mention that? You'll surprise your loved ones with a cool gift, and you won't cry when you see your wallet afterwards. Fab.

1. Have a mom that's hard to shop for? Instead of just a bouquet of flowers, give her this little Caterpillar Bud Vase! (for more gifts for the ladies, click here)

2. Is there a science nerd who loved to drink in your midst? Give them this Mojito Molecular Mixology kit!

3. We all have that health nut friend. Give them a water infuser so they can sip on their ginger lemon water all day long- and in style!

4. For the party planning bud- this slate cheese plate with chalk is sure to please.

5. I know you have a wine-o friend (hint: me), so give them these sweet tea towels that have wine and food pairings on them (hint: send them to me).

6. Not sure what to get your dude? This wood beer caddy comes with a metal bottle opener- manly AND useful. (For more guy gifts, click here).

7. These oil & vinegar holders do double duty for the animal and the food lover. You can't go wrong!

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Now comes the fun, enter to win $50 to ANYTHING at UncommonGoods- just use the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck & happy gifting!

xo, lp

*pssst: who doesn't love a little fine print? as a thanks for writing this post, uncommongoods sent me a little stocking stuffer-but all opinions in this post are 100% my own. i think you'll see this once you go to their site and see that it rocks. i don't endorse companies i don't love!

** winner will be announced 12/16/13

YOUR CHOICE GIVEAWAY (back by popular demand!)

So back in November I held a Monogram Necklace giveaway with Sincerely, Me PJD... and MAN - the feedback on it... looks like I'm not the only one who likes personalized jewelry!!

If you weren't around the blog in November, allow me to introduce you to Emma's shop! She has a great grouping of personalized jewelry that is probably the most fairly priced out there. PLUS she always offers free shipping! Impressive, right?

Well, Emma likes y'all so much that she's back again to give you the choice between two necklaces. In case you're so freaking excited you can't read, I'll just show you the necklaces you can choose from:

I mean, who doesn't love a classic Carrie necklace? Not only is it perfectly feminine and delicate- but it goes with just about everything. Now, if having your name front and center in a big way isn't you're thing- you can snag the simple silver bar necklace with your name or just a little monogram. I've been wearing it almost daily since Emma sent it to me!

So here's the deal. Enter below in the Rafflecopter system below- and remember you can tweet daily for more entries! Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
OH WAIT! There's more my friends. Emma has made a permanent coupon code for you guys. Just use BEAUTYBEARD10 for 10% off  anything in the shop (plus always free shipping)! So if you don't need anything right now- bookmark this post and come back to it when you need a gift for a birthday, bridal shower, or just yourself!!


xo, lp

I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE CLEARANCE CANDY

Before we go any further, let me just say:

To my friends observing Passover- I hope you all haven't turned into a giant piece of matzah.

To my friends celebrating Easter- I hope you enjoyed your egg hunts and pastel treats.

To my friends not partaking in either- I hope you enjoy the 50% off candy at Target.

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A few things:

1. I like all of you A LOT! That's why I'm doing an awesome giveaway with The First Snow. You can win a gorgeous print or set of cards (worth up to $50)- and all you have to do is tell me your favorite thing in her shop. Easy right? No hoops to jump through! Click HERE to enter! Ends in less than 2 days! 

prints all via the first snow

2. I've finally ditched the sweaters! HURRAY for being 40 degrees!!!

3. We went back to Michael's hometown this weekend since his family has a big Easter celebration. We were lucky enough to see Michael's best friend's play a show in town! (If you live in MN, check out Rochester Revival!)

4. I did traditional Easter egg dyeing for the first time...turns out I'm not to great at it (I thought it was foolproof?). Please note my hideous rabbit that looks more like a voodoo doll. Aaaand Michael's jack-o-lantern. #holidayconfused

5. Tomorrow I'm sharing one of my favorite sweet recipes in a while. It is totally baking for lazy people- so if you love making baked things for family/coworkers but don't like the effort- this will be the recipe for you!

What did you do this weekend?

Brownie points if you entered the giveaway!

xo, lp

pssssssssssssssssssst: find me on instagram! @lpodlich

HIBISCUS DAYS JEWELRY

You all know I love Etsy.

If you're new to the blog: Hi, I love Etsy.

A looooong while back I had won a giveaway to a lovely Etsy shop called Hibiscus Days, and ended up becoming friends with the shop owner, Jodie. We've kept in touch, and she is here today offering $25 to her shop for one of you lucky, lucky flannel loving followers. 

Jodie lives in Hawaii, and makes jewelry that is simple, pure, and beautiful. On top of that, everything is completely affordable while still being great quality. Although you all know I'm a fan of big, flashy jewelry for fun occasions, my usual day-to-day is a good layering of some simple gold or silver pendants (including the tiny gold locket I won back then).

Here's a few of my favorite Hibiscus Days pieces, just to get your mind going for what you can get if you win!

gold chick post earrings // pink peruvian opal bracelet // silver initial necklace //  14k gold ring bracelet // triple ring necklace (kind of olympics-esque, right?!) //  aqua glass drop earrings

Now, all you pretty people need to do is enter below using Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! Winner will be announced next week!

xo, lp

Pen and Paints GIVEAWAY!!

Okay folks, it's giveaway time. 

Remember a while back when I told you all about some of my favorite Etsy shops? Well, the lady behind one of those shops graciously offered to do a giveaway for you lovelies. At first I was stoked...but then bummed when I realized that meant I couldn't win... Dang. 

The ever creative Lindsay behind Pen and Paints is offering up an 8 x 10 print of your choice fo' free. Yeah. anything in her shop is fair game. Now can you see why I'm cranky about not being able to win? 

If you haven't seen Lindsay's shop, you must check it out. I've purchased 4 of her prints for our new apartment and cannot wait to put them on display! Here are some of my favorites:

Love the messy, love the beautiful:

Stunning, right?

State & Country Art: 

(totally need MN, WI, & VA...)

"Do small things with great love"

(yep. i've got that awesome blue one)

The Kitchen Series (all colors can be customized- 13 options!)

(i totally own 1, 2, & 3. how awesome is the KitchenAid mixer!!?)

Like I said, her stuff is awesome, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Enter using the Rafflecopter box below.
Good luck to all of you, winner will be announced next week!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo, lp

(yup, all photos from Pen and Paint's Etsy Shop. you guessed it.)

And the Winner is...

It's time to announce the winners of the Fornash earrings!!!

First of all, thank you to everyone who entered, it's so lovely to see some new faces around the blog/Twitter/Instagram/Facebook. 

I hope you three lucky ladies love your new earrings.

The winners are.....

Rafflecopter is cool because it shows which entry won them the giveaway.....

Lauren: Coral/Red  (Who won by her entry of following me on GFC)

Shanna: Bubble Gum Pink (Who won by her entry of  following FornashInc on Twitter)

Terri: Minty Turquoise (Who won by her entry of tweeting about the giveaway)

(Two ladies had named coral as their favorites, so I tried to be fair and the first random winner Rafflecopter named got their first choice!)

Finally, a shoutout to Fornash for being so great and offering the discount to everyone last week. How wonderful are they??

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Can't wait to send these earrings off:

Ladies, email me at beautyandbeard@gmail.com with your shipping information!

xo, lp

GIVEAWAY!! (Fornash Jewelry) [CLOSED]

I'm doing a giveaway today.

WHY?

Well, I don't really have a super good reason beyond the fact I really like you readers, and I really like Fornash.

  Fornash is an Washington DC based accessory shop that also does wholesale- which means you can find them in boutiques all around (If you live in DC or NOVA you can visit their shop in Arlington, VA!). I originally found Fornash at a local shop in Richmond when I was searching for a birthday gift for Carly. I ended up getting her a pair of their Rainbow Earrings...aaaand bought 5 more pairs beyond that. They're just the perfect bold pop of color that completely makes an outfit.

 The catch? They aren't sold online! You have to go into the Fornash shop (or another boutique that carries Fornash) to get them.

Not today my friends. Oh no. 3 of you will walk away with a pair of these Rainbow Earrings. 

You can then look oh-so-cool like Carly and I do below showing them off on Instagram!

Okay, So what will you win? Well, there are 3 pairs up for grabs: minty turquoise, bubble gum pink, and coral red. 

 If you also follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you know I have a love for jewelry, and I'm hoping this will be the first of plenty jewelry giveaways. Now, before I go- just have to share a few of my favorites from the Fornash online boutique! I mean, whale and zebra earrings? YES.

To make things better, Fornash is offering 10% off* to EVERYONE this week because they rock.

Just got to their site and use this code at checkout:  ' beauty ' 
*excludes custom & sale items         

Good luck to everyone, the winner will be announced June 7th! (Use Rafflecopter below to enter & make sure to leave contact info if you don't have a blog!)
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 *no, i'm not being paid or anything fancy like that for this giveaway. i just legitimately love these earrings that i'm giving away- and i love seeing a business like this grow and grow. Fornash just happens to be kick butt enough to offer the 10% off when i have them a heads up about the giveaway. awesome, no?