{maurices giveaway winner!}

Thanks so much to everyone that entered the maurices giveaway! 150 comments...wow! And I reached 100 fans on my new Facebook page so the lucky winner will also receive two cute sets of handmade Valentine notecards.

I used random.org to pick the winner and the lucky gal is...

Jessica 8:21 PM  

I Follow you on Pinterest jessicarwarfield at gmail dot com 

Congratulations Jessica! Email me at *mandybeth01 at hotmail dot com* with your mailing address so I can send you your goodies!

{playing dress up}

Happy What I Wore Wednesday!

Before I get to my outfits from the past week, I have exciting news {if you aren't a regular This Girl's Life reader}. I'm hosting my second maurices giveaway, which means you have another chance to win a $50 maurices giftcard. Head over to the giveaway post to enter!

And now for my outfits...

Thursday was my favorite from this past week. I was inspired by this outfit I pinned...

Source: diylouisville.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

And here is what I came up with...

 

Dress: Target
Cream tee: Target
Cardigan: JC Penney
Tights: Target
Boots: Kohl's
Flower pin: SarieJune

Friday...

 Long sleeve tee: JC Penney
Blouse: Kohl's
Skirt: LL Bean via Ebay
Tights and boots: Kohl's
Necklace: Kohl's
Earrings and cuff: Etsy

Monday...

Ruffle tee: maurices
Cardigan: Kohl's
Pants: Gap
Necklace: Target
Shoes: maurices

Yesterday I was inspired by this outfit...

Source: polyvore.com via Mandy on Pinterest

And here is my version...

Brown tee: Elder Beerman
Cardigan: Dillards
Skirt: Sears
Tights and boots: Kohl's
Scarf: Ebay {oooold}

And today...

Ruffle tee: maurices
Cardigan: Target
Skirt: Gap
Tights and boots: Target
Necklace: Kohl's
Ring: Kate's Kreations on Etsy

So that's my week! Don't forget to enter the maurices giveaway!

Linking up with...

{maurices giveaway 2.0}

Yep...you read that right friends.

Are you ready for another maurices giveaway??!!

The lovely and generous folks at maurices asked me if I would share some exciting news with you, and in return they have given me another $50 giftcard to give to one lucky This Girl's Life reader!

So what is maurices up to?

They are smack dab in the middle of their next Main Street Model Search!

They are looking for real girls in all sizes who embody what maurices is all about: fashion, fun and giving back. If that's you, you can enter the contest to be one of 12 women chosen to be a maurices Main Street Model. You could win fabulous prizes, including a fashion shoot in an iconic destination in the U.S., a $1,500 maurices giftcard, and $7.500 for a charitable makeover to be awarded directly to a community or charitable organization in your hometown. <---- this is my favorite part!

Here is a video featuring some of last year's beautiful and inspiring winners and how they have given back to their communities...



So do you think you have what it takes to be one of the next maurices Main Street Models? Be sure to enter soon...the deadline is noon (MST) on February 13th. You can enter here!

And now for the giveaway! 

One lucky reader will win a $50 maurices giftcard, AND if I reach 100 Facebook fans, I'm going to throw in two really cute sets of handmade Valentine cards created by yours truly! Here is a little peek at one of the cards...

To enter to win, you can do one or all of the following, but be sure to leave a comment for each one:

1. Tell me what you would do with $7,500 if you could give it to a local non profit organization
2. Follow This Girl's Life {already a follower? Be sure to leave a comment letting me know!}
3. Like This Girl's Life on Facebook 
4. Follow me on Pinterest
5. Like maurices on Facebook 
6. Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog {leave a separate comment for each}

Giveaway will be open until midnight EST Sunday, January 29th. Winner will be chosen randomly. Open only to US residents. 

Good luck friends!

*maurices also provided me with a $50 giftcard for sharing their Main Street Model Search on This Girl's Life. Thanks maurices!
 

{DIY Earring Stand}

For the past few months, I've been on the hunt for a stand/organizer for my stud earrings. Last year I shared my DIY jewelry organizer that holds my hanging earrings, as well as my rings and favorite necklaces. But that project didn't solve the storage solution for my stud earrings that I wear fairly often.

Then I came across this idea on Pinterest...

Source: alittleofthis---alittleofthat.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

And a crafty lightbulb went off!

The last time we went to IKEA, I purchased this $1 picture frame...

because it was 1. cute and 2. only $1. But since then I hadn't found a spot for it.

Until that little crafty lightbulb went off in my head. So I gathered my supplies which included the frame, my cropodile, and a pen...

This is where I have to apologize for the low quality pics...all I had on hand when this crafty genius moment hit me was my cell phone. :)

The frame came with two pieces of plastic inside, both of which were covered in a thin plastic film. The film made it very easy to mark off the plastic without leaving permanent marks. While the plastic was still in the frame, I traced around the inside of the frame onto the plastic. I then marked off one inch increments onto one side...

I then drew lines across...

And then used my cropodile to punch my holes {I eyeballed them because I'm lazy like that...I know they aren't totally even and I'm OK with that}

The only bummer is that my cropodile wouldn't reach into the center of the frame, but if I want to later on, I could use a small drill bit to make more holes.

And then for the fun part! I put the plastic back into the frame, added my earrings, and voila!

I can't tell you how much I am in love with this little piece of earring holding goodness. And I even have one more set of holes for some yet to be purchased earrings...

So with some Pinterest inspiration, $1 frame, and about 10 minutes, I created the perfect and simple solution to store my earrings. 

Low cost + big impact = my kind of DIY project. :)

Linking up with...

{mail storage solutions}

We are in desperate need of a storage solution for our mail and paperwork at our house. Please tell me we aren't the only ones that have this problem. Mail on the kitchen counter...the island...the desk...in my purse. It is out.of.control.

One of the problems with our house is that it is a split level, so you come in on the bottom floor but the bulk of our living space is upstairs. So I'm not sure where to keep our mail. Now that our office area is going to be in the rec room on the first level I think it will make more sense to hang something in the entryway, so it is convenient to drop things off when I come home, but I would also have our bills and paperwork close by to remember to file and pay things when needed.

Here are a few ideas I've pinned to cure our mail conundrum. This first is my favorite but I can't seem to find where to buy it...

Source: bhg.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: noodle-head.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: containerstore.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: amazon.com via Mandy on Pinterest

How do you organize your mail and paperwork? I would loooove some help here!

{not so DIY starburst mirror}

With all of the great DIY starburst mirrors floating around the blog world and Pinterest these days, I had to poke a little fun at myself with the title of this post. I mentioned here how I was debating over  DIY or buy in order to get my very own starburst mirror.

If you follow me on Facebook, you saw that I finally decided to splurge and buy the one I had been stalking at Hobby Lobby. It was half off, but still $40, which is a huge splurge for me on one home decor item.

But it is now hanging in our dining room...

And it was worth every single penny.

It makes me smile every time I see it. {picture this wall with white trim and beige walls for the full effect}

And yes...I did have to change up my little vignette to make it work...

I removed the chalkboard and hung the canvas on the wall to fill in the gap. Sadly our oddly placed heating control is now showing, but I'm OK with that.

I think the chalk board will go in our entryway...which will be a nice pop of color after the walls get painted. And now I'm really tempted to paint our entryway table top with chalkboard paint thanks to Emily at 52 Mantles...

Source: 52mantels.com via Mandy on Pinterest

What do you think? This is the table...

Chalkboard top and white legs? The walls will hopefully be gray soon. I loooove gray + turquoise right now so I think the chalkboard would be the perfect accent.

OK...so I went from my not so DIY mirror to redecorating my entryway. I'm all over the place. :) And you love me for it, right?

Linking up with...

{playing dress up}

Happy What I Wore Wednesday!

I'm a little light on outfits this week because of a busy holiday weekend and a still sick kiddo (boo). But I was able to manage to sneak in some Pinterest inspiration today so that is a first for me! So here we go...

Thursday is definitely my favorite this week. I am loving this new Target cardigan!

Ruffle tee: c/o maurices gift card
Cardigan: Target
Skirt: Gap
Tights and boots: Target
Necklace: Kohl's
Ring: Kate's Kreations on Etsy

Friday it was COLD so I made sure to wear a warm scarf and a thick sweater. This Indiana winter has been crazy...20 degrees one day, 50 the next!

Sweater: Kohl's
Skirt: Dillards
Tights and boots: Target
Infinity scarf: Kohl's
Earrings: ummm...your guess is as good as mine! :)

Today I used this pin as my inspiration...

Source: polyvore.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Since I can't wear jeans to work I swapped those out with my curdoroy skirt and gray tights. The pashmina is a budget find from ebay at $6. Not sure why today's pics are a bit blurry but you get the idea. :)

Cream tee: JC Penney
Cardigan: Forever 21
Skirt: Gap
Tights: Target
Boots: Kohl's
Pashmina: Ebay
Earrings: The Purple Attic

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Linking up with...