July 2013 ~ Diane's Vintage Zest!

Weekly Wrap-Up: My first estate sale :), family tree session :D, and aquarium leak :(

Please excuse the lateness of this post, but I didn't hit the Publish/Schedule button. Oops! Probably due to lack of sleep from a busy week, yet again!

If you follow my Instagram (username: vintagezest), you would have seen some of these pictures already. In fact, I was considering dropping the weekly wrap-ups altogether, but I have some followers that aren't on Instagram yet. This is for you!

Precap:

Eats: Buffalo Wild Wings, Elbows Mac & Cheese, Great Maple, Mesa, Corner Bakery, Michael's Pizzeria
Activities: Soccer fun, Estate Sale, Family tree, Homes, Aquarium, Super King

Thursday

Once again, I was a soccer cheerleader, but this time the field was inundated with tons of geese. There were waaay more than this, when I first arrived. Aren't they funny!

Afterwards, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings, where I was challenged to eat 5 of the spiciest wings. Challenge accepted and accomplished! I didn't take a picture because it's quite messy and buffalo wings in a paper basket aren't super impressive-looking. :)

Friday

I was lucky to have time to spend with a friend, so we decided to do what we do best. Eat and shop! I had an online deal, so we headed to Elbows Mac & Cheese where we shared a Cheeseburger Mac & Cheese and a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich for a really late lunch. Both were ridiculously good as you can imagine. By the way, there was a salad before this, but it somehow forgot to be photographed. :)

Next, we went shopping for a bit where I got just a couple of items and a ton of inspiration for future sewing projects! I was on a mission to buy a cute chambray shirt from Forever 21 like mimi g had on during Day 2 of her conference. I found it! Yay!

For dinner, I met up with some friends at Great Maple where we shared some food. It's a good thing because I was still stuffed from my late lunch. :) However, I couldn't pass up an amazing fish taco and tasting the halibut with mushroom risotto.

Later that night, we went to Mesa and had fun people-watching and schmoozing. :)

Golden Goddess Draped Top

I finally have another sewing project to share with you! Truth be told, I finished it a few weeks ago, which I mentioned in my weekly post here. It was so comfy and cute, that I ended up wearing it out to dinner the next night at La Tavolata!

Also, I wore it to the mimi g. conference on Day 1 with some leggings since I knew that I would have to be comfy and cool for all of that fabric shopping! Side note: I wore my Peplum Pencil Skirt on Day 2. :)

Without further ado, my Golden Goddess Draped Top!

The only problem with Lily is that she doesn't have any arms! She doesn't completely show how the top drapes, but you get the gist. :)

The "pattern" is actually traced from a cute open-weave maroon sweater that I got from Express about a year ago that ALWAYS gets cute compliments whenever I wear it. The first top I made attempted was actually a bit snug in the midsection because the gold fabric wasn't stretchy enough to mimic the open knit of the original top.

This one fits perfectly! I plan on wearing it off the shoulder with a camisole underneath, just like this.

Vietnamese-Style Fresh Spring Rolls

I know that these are called spring rolls, but maybe they should be called summer rolls! They are an absolutely perfect main dish for the hot weather that we've been having. Fresh, light, and colorful: three definite musts for a summer party dish! :) On July 4th, my mom and sister made these, and I loved them so much that I couldn't wait to photograph them and share with you all.

One last note, there are three different ways that we prepared these to accommodate dietary needs. All three types (shrimp, tofu, and plain) were delicious! Just decide which one you want to make, and you won't be disappointed. Bon appetit!

Vietnamese-Style Fresh Spring Rolls
Adapted from Chow

Saturday Synopsis!

I can't believe that it's almost August already! My how the time flies when the summertime rolls around. It's a good thing that the daylight lasts so long, or else I would be a zombie in the morning trying to get up in the dark!

Speaking of, I totally want to recreate this one day! I have it pinned for future reference. :)

Here are last week's posts in case you missed any. :)

Saturday Synopsis!

Monday: "Pantry Fresh" Pesto Salad, perfect for the summer!

Tuesday: The details on my sewing group Stitch Once, Rip Twice and how to join!

Wednesday: Weekly wrap-up, including my time at the mimi g. sewing conference!

Thursday: Announcing the Summer 2013 Challenge. What will you sew?

Friday: Interested in contributing a guest post? Click here to find out how to submit one!

Calling for Guest Posts!

With summer plans with friends and tons of time being taken up by career obligations, I have been a busy little bee lately! For the past couple of weeks, I have had a few guest posters by non-bloggers who contacted me out of the blue. It has been a great way to get some inspiration for myself and to my readers!

However, I thought it would be even better for me to ask all you guys (my readers) who have blogs/shops/projects of their own to share some of their favorite posts! It will definitely be a great way to share creative inspiration and get some exposure from the peeps who spy on my little piece of blogland. :)

Interested? Here are more details:

Any post topic is welcomed! Recipes, sewing, fashion, organization, home decor, and travel tips are some favorite areas of interest. Topics that I haven't covered like photography tips or sewing tutorials would be great too! Of course, I will have to approve whether or not the topic will suit what my readers would like to see, but I'm pretty lenient!
Blog posts can be old or new! I will link back to your blog and your original post (if it has been previously published).
If you would like to sign up, email me here. There will be a limited number of slots, so they will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

What do you need to send to me?

Summer 2013: Choose Your Challenge: Refashioning or 1960's!

It's time for another Stitch Once, Rip Twice Challenge! I'm excited to announce it, so here we go! This one is going to be a funny one for a couple of reasons:

We have two topics that tied twice in our poll! It was between refashioning an existing garment and the Summer trend of 1960s. In previous challenges, it's been pretty one-sided, so this was new! I want everyone to be happy, so this time it's a choose your own challenge. :) In a twist, I mentioned that we should do both at the same time as a joke, and I think some of the members might just try that! It's possible since they're not completely different, such as "Pastels" and "Black & White."
We've had a pretty big influx of new people to the group, and I want everyone to have a chance to join in. With two challenges to choose from, it's more likely that we'll have more participation!

The Rules

Choose between one of the topics: (1) Refashioning a Garment, (2) The 1960's, (3) Do both (in the same garment) for extra brownie points! Your garment can be for yourself or someone else, and there's no restriction to what type (i.e. dress, blouse, trousers, etc.).
Share anything you would like on the Facebook page along the way. That includes patterns, techniques, inspiration, project ideas, problems, and in-progress pictures.
Have your finished project done by September 30th. If you have a blog, feel free to post your finished garment! If not, share on our Facebook page. The week after the deadline, I'll put together a wrap-up post with everyone's finished garments so we can all see!
If you have a blog, post the button so your readers can join along too!

The Inspiration

For the Refashioning challenge, there isn't really a true inspiration, but check out Tiffany's pencil skirt for an example of how to refashion. There are plenty of examples on Nay's blog as well! For even more, just search on Google or Pinterest.

The 1960's trend certainly has tons of inspiration on the runways nowadays. Check these out below!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Mimi G's Conference & 90's Concert!

I am really, really tired from this weekend. Let's all see why!

Precap (jump to):

Eats: Sapporo Sushi, The Farm
Activities: Mimi G's Sewing, Fashion & Style Conference, Goo Goo Dolls & Matchbox 20 concert

Friday

For dinner, we went to have a quick dinner at Sapporo Sushi because I was working on a dress to wear to the sewing convention the next day. Spoiler alert, but I totally looked pregnant! Anyways, for dinner I had a sushi combo with a Zen Roll, which apparently was the waitress' favorite roll. Yum!

Saturday

It was Day 1 of the conference, so we had lots to do! I met up with Mo, fellow Stitch Once, Rip Twice member who let me be her plus one! We received lots of goodies in the cute tote bag, including Fabric swatch notebook, 3 patterns, fabric scissors, a tape measure, 3 spools of thread, and a coupon for a free pattern from mimi g. I think I'm going to get infamous royal maxi skirt with sash because I love the short version!

Then, we headed to Michael Levine for breakfast, yet another goodie bag, and fabric shopping! The goodie bag had a reusable beverage cup, bobbins, elastic, and a needle sharpener.

Stitch Once, Rip Twice: General Information, Past Challenges & Current Members

Hello!

We have had so many new members joining and people interested in our challenges asking for details. Very exciting! However, the posts were all over the place, and I thought it would make much more sense to have a single page where we have all of the important information.

If you are interesting in joining, please e-mail me or visit our Facebook page to request an invitation. For more about us, read below!

Jump to:

Group Description

We all subscribe to tons of sewing blogs, but most of the bloggers are people who have years of experience. It's totally fun to read for the inspiration, but they don't have problems with the nitty gritty details. Thus, I thought it would be fun to start a group for beginning sewers!

The idea is to pick a project (same pattern, similar trend) and share our individual results (and problems along the way). Also, sometimes we all need motivation, and having a virtual group will help to make sure projects don't sit for too long.

If you join, you are not required to sew every project along with us. Some of us have blogs, while others don't, but you can always share on the Facebook page!

For the post announcing the group and more details, click here!

Past Challenges

Spring 2013: The "Black & White" Challenge

Description: We decided to make garments incorporating the spring trend of black and white. Read more here.
Final Project Round-up: All in all, the members of Stitch Once, Rip Twice made four tops, a pair of shorts, and a tunic! Click here for the pictures.

Summer 2013: Pencil Skirt Challenge

Description: The members made all kinds of pretty pencil skirts! Read more about the challenge rules here.
Final Project Round-up: We had eight members submit finished skirts with different fun details, colors, and patterns. It was really fun to see everyone's take on the simple pencil skirt! Click here for the pictures.

Late Summer 2013: Choose Your Challenge: Refashioning or 1960's!

"Pantry Fresh" Pesto Pasta Salad

A few weeks ago, I had a pool party and needed to make a quick side dish to go with my taco bar. I perused a few recipes for a pasta salad and found this recipe which looked pretty good. However, I didn't want to make too much from scratch, and keep it simple and quick to make. All of these ingredients can be found in your pantry, freezer, and/or garden, but the final dish seems incredibly fresh and homemade without having to shop for groceries and spend a lot of time cooking!

The best part is that it was a hit with the guests! I'm so glad that it was a crowd pleaser with very little effort on my part. Mission accomplished!

Pantry Fresh Pesto Pasta Salad
A Vintage Zest original

Ingredients

1 pound pasta *(see note below)
1 cup pesto, storebought or homemade
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
4 cups cherry or pear tomatoes, halved
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Fresh basil, sliced thinly (optional)

Directions

Saturday Synopsis!

Right now I'm at Mimi G's conference. Yaaaaaay! I can't wait to share the details on Wednesday.

Maybe I'm wearing my peplum pencil skirt or my orange maxi dress... So many options to choose from when you visit a sewing event. We'll see!

Here are last week's posts in case you missed any. :)

Saturday Synopsis!

Monday: Tips for making your own vegetable broth. Tons of fun! ;)

Tuesday: The "Accidental Bridesmaid" dress. I can barely contain my excitement...

Wednesday: Adventures around Southern California, including lots of food, of course!

Thursday: Help me answer a couple of gardening questions! Also, a mini tour of my mom's veggie and herb garden.

Friday: Guest post on cooking seasonal summer fruit. Looks like I have more ideas for all of those tomatoes!

Guest Post - Summer Cooking: What’s in Season Now!

Here is a great guest post from Meredith K. who is going to share some great seasonal cooking tips for the summer as well as an amazing recipe for Pan-Grilled Veggie Pasta Primavera. How apropos, considering yesterday's post on my mom's productive veggie garden! Read on for the details!

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Summer is all about sunshine and being outside, and with gorgeous weather comes something just as exciting: gorgeous seasonal produce. So many fruits and vegetables come into season during the summer that it only makes sense to take advantage and go crazy in the kitchen with them.

If you’re overwhelmed by your summer cooking options, try getting started with this list of seasonal summer fruits—you’ll have plenty of options to choose from!

Peppers

If you’re looking for a healthy snack this summer, slicing up a pepper and dipping it in hummus or ranch is a great option. Red, orange, yellow and green peppers are a fantastic way to brighten up any dish and can add a spicy kick to everything from sandwiches and burgers to casseroles and dips.

Garden Tour & A Pepper Question For You!

Yesterday, I mentioned that I was going to give a mini tour of my mom's garden and I need to ask all of you gardeners out there a question or two. Here we go!

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First up, let's check out what my mom has growing in her garden! Here's a sample of the tomatoes from one of her many plants. Thanks to the southern California weather, her plants produce nearly year round, and I get a ton of her bumper crop!

Here is a snippet of her plant life. Of course, I was a little dumb and took these pictures after she harvested the ripe tomatoes, etc. so it looks a little bare.

Jalapeño
Macho Nacho pepper
Unknown pepper plant
Mini red tomatoes
Rosemary & Thyme
Basil
Serrano peppers & Yellow pear tomatoes
Large tomato plant (1 of 3!)

She also is starting to grow radishes and there is a picture of her bell pepper plant below.

Now, back to the pepper tasting and my questions for you. As you know, I like my taste tests, and I was totally game for the challenge! It was a bit surprising for a couple of reasons. For years, I was under the impression that thin peppers with lots of seeds were spicier than large peppers. This was totally proven wrong, and I was definitely surprised when I tried these out.

Here are my spicy rankings from least to most spicy:

Weekly Wrap-Up: Paella, Peppers, Presents, and Pappardelle!

Yet another busy, busy weekend! We are constantly having to picking between lots of plans, but I couldn't be happier, since it means that we have lots of family and friends around. :)

Also, I'm not sure what you guys have planned for this weekend, but I put nearly everything on hold to do something suuuper exciting. I'm going to Mimi G's 2nd Annual Sewing, Fashion + Styling Conference 2013. This is all thanks to Monique, who won the ticket giveaway last week and let me be her "plus one." I can't wait!

Precap:

Eats: Taberna Arros y Vi, King's Fish House, Titi's Ice Cream and Treats, Picarelli's
Activities: Pepper tasting, Birthday present etching, Birthday party, Co-worker fun :)

Friday

I should have realized what a busy weekend this would be when I couldn't get out of work until 6:30, dinner reservations were at 7, and the GPS quoted an hour due to traffic. Really?

Somehow, we got to Taberna Arros y Vi less than 10 minutes late! My dad was dying to go to the Lazy Ox for the paella for what seems like forever. When I found out that this place opened up from the same restauranteur, specializing in paella and other tapas, I suggested it for our next family dinner outing.

Since it is a tapas style restaurant, we shared a little of everything (clockwise from top right): Fried Green Tomato, Shrimp Gambas, Tiny Smelt, Boquadillo Hamberguesa with Spicy Potato Skins, and Mussels.

My favorites were easily the Fried Green Tomato and the Shrimp Gambas. On a side note, gambas means shrimp in Spanish, so the dish name is a bit repetitive...

For our entrees, we ordered and shared the Paella de Verduras (vegetable), Rib Chop, Seafood Paella, and Rack of Lamb. My favorite had to be the Paella de Verduras, but we were all divided because they were all pretty amazing. :)

By the way, the lighting is just so awful on these due to the lack of lighting for ambiance. Anyways, this is the best adjusting in Photoshop that I could do. Sorry guys!

Dessert was possibly the best part. We ordered the Chocolate/Caramel Bread Pudding (10/10), Boquadillo con Dulce (7/10), and the Flan with macerated cherries (7/10). I'm probably grading the other ones so hard because the bread pudding was INCREDIBLE! Our family is a huge on bread pudding, and I daresay that this is in the top 3 that I've ever had.

The "Accidental Bridesmaid" Dress

There's a story behind the name of this dress, but I'll get to that in a minute.

You may remember that I was sooo in love with the orange maxi dress I made last year that I decided to make it again in a shorter length. Since it didn't need any adjustments the first time, I figured that it would be a quick project!

As you know, I've been a bit slow to sew up a few UFO's (including my blue lace dress), which I cut waaay back in January (the last picture is the fabric for this dress)!

I had a bit of time a few weekends ago, so I was finally able to sew up this dress. I was a little unsure of what length to go with, especially since I wanted at least one modest dress, length-wise, in my wardrobe this summer. I put it on for some advice, and my guy said, "It kind of looks like a bridesmaid dress." NOT what I wanted to hear, even if he didn't mean it as an insult.

I hemmed it a bit shorter, and although it's better, I don't think I'll see this quite the same. It probably won't be too bad once it is styled and in a cute outfit. However, we'll see if this ever makes it out of my closet!

First off, I used Simplicity 3503 for my pattern. The fabric I used was from the swap meet for initially $1/yard, but I remember bargaining for a bit less. Same for the black stretch lining fabric. All in all, this dress is probably in the range of $3 to $5!

There are a few flaws that I don't mind sharing. For whatever reason, the top part of the bodice did not call for a lining, and although I cut it anyways, I didn't include it in the final dress. Slight mistake, but I suppose I could always add it in later.

Homemade Vegetable Broth Tips

I promise, this is the last in my mini-series of soup-related recipes! It started off with an easy chicken noodle soup recipe and then continued with how to make a wonderful chicken stock. Basically, I've been in rewind for the last two posts and now I'm finally getting to the first recipe of the bunch!

Making your own vegetable stock is easy and budget-friendly, while making your dishes tasting even more delicious and homemade. It's great for people who need to control what is in their diet, especially for those with sodium intake concerns. As for me, now that I've started making my own, I won't buy storebought again. :)

Since there is no exact recipe for the vegetable broth that I make, I'm going to show you my method and share some tips. Ready everybody? Let's go!

Equipment

Stockpot
Strainer
Large bowl or pot to transfer broth
Ingredients (discussed below)
*A few hours to spare*

Gather up that equipment, and you're ready to make some broth!

Ingredients

Saturday Synopsis!

This week was hard to get back into the swing of things, after a long weekend. Luckily, there's always a new weekend and fun projects to look forward to! Hopefully I can get around to photographing a few of the finished ones to share with you soon!

Here are last week's posts in case you missed any. :)

Saturday Synopsis!

Monday: Homemade chicken stock so good that you'll never buy homemade again!

Tuesday: The Pencil Skirt Challenge roundup. Check out the girls' finished projects!

Wednesday: July 4th fun and a lot of fun activities with friends and family!

Thursday: The blog's first guest post on how to pick the best decor for your home.

Friday: Want to see the chair that I'm going to makeover? I'd love some advice on what I should do!

Swivel Chair Makeover Plans!

I have been dying to makeover a piece of furniture for the longest time. However, I can't rationalize spending any money on something new, especially when I'm not really in need of it. However, I recently had the good fortune to find a chair sitting next to the recycling area near my gym. Yes! Free furniture!

That being said, it is definitely in need of some love. Since it has such a good structure, I am willing to put some time into making over the chair and learning a few new processes along the way. Say hello to my new project!

She doesn't look like much now, but for $0, she's amazing! I'll go over the details and all of the steps that I think I'll need to take to uncover this gem's full potential, but I wanted to share my main inspiration with you. This Swivel Desk Chair from Pottery Barn is $399 for the chair and $29 for the cushion.

Obviously, the lines are much more clean in the inspiration photo, but it will hopefully be a good match. Right now, I'm not sure if I prefer white or black, but I'm leaning towards the white right now. I'll have to see it in person again, but for right now my lovely friend is keeping it at her house.

Guest Post: Decor Hints and Tips for a Stunning Home

Today, I have a guest post from Lisa, who asked if she could share some decor tips with my readers. I love anything that has to do with decorating and she has some superb suggestions that will definitely have your place (and mine) looking amazing. Read on!

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Hello Everyone! This is Lisa Jolan and I am glad to be here at Vintage Zest. Today I am going to share some interesting décor hints and tips for a stunning home. Hope you will find this post helpful. You can reach me on Twitter and Pinterest.

If you’re inner goddess cries out for a beautiful, yet inviting, home this is the right place for you! Interior designers have a number of little tricks and secrets that make a house look perfectly in tune, without being showroom neat and tidy, and yet not falling into disarray after a few minutes use.

Be lavish with pillows:

Make a sofa more inviting by adding at least two sets of pillows, preferably covered with vibrant patterns and colours that contrast with each other and the sofa. Similarly coloured cushions will blend into the sofa and get lost in the depths, leaving a lumpy and unsightly effect, while just one pair of cushions looks sparse and skimpy.

Image Source

Be different!

If you have a very small living room and find it difficult to find a good sofa that fits the room – simply do without one! Add a comfortable bean-bag to sprawl out on informally, and several armchairs instead, and you will find, before too long, that you do not miss the sofa at all.

Image Source

Buy large for small:

Weekly Wrap-Up: Summer Fun!

Am I the only one who feels like long weekends completely throw off everything? I'm not really complaining, but I can never get my sleeping, eating, and working habits back to normal until about a week after... Oh well!

Precap (jump to):

Sights: July 4th fun, Asian market shopping, Game night, comedy show, serger testing (!), 99 Cent Store Only
Eats: The Boiling Crab, La Tavolata

Thursday

It was time for our annual July 4th family BBQ! I was so excited about the sun coming out that I didn't bother take pictures of our awesome spread, but it was definitely yummy!

Friday

The next day, we went to eat at The Boiling Crab since we were feeling a bit lazy from the day before. It's one of those places where you order your food, and then they throw everything on your table. You shuck/peel/break everything by hand and eat it up! I was going to show you an after picture with all of our trash, but it was a little unappetizing looking. :)

Afterwards, we went to the nearby Vietnamese supermarket Hoa Binh to pick up a few treats! The first thing was a jackfruit, a GIANT spiky fruit with an orange fleshy center. Of course, I couldn't resist a few sweets: strawberry Yan Yan (with cute cookie sticks), White Rabbit, and Lychee Mochi!

We decided to make it a quiet night in and played some Clue, The Simpsons edition...

Pencil Skirt Challenge Roundup!

Hello all!

Two weeks ago, I shared the Peplum Pencil Skirt that I made for the Pencil Skirt challenge. If you're not familiar with our Facebook sewing group, "Stitch Once, Rip Twice," you can read up on it here and click here to join in on the fun!

Today, I'm sharing the pencil skirts that our members contributed to our challenge. If I'm counting correctly, we had 6 members from California, Oklahoma, New York, Canada, England, and Italy share their lovely projects! We had skirts made with neutrals, prints, bold colors, summery fabrics, winter wools, classic shapes, modern details, new patterns, old patterns, and no pattern at all!

Really, I love seeing everybody's take on the same challenge, so before I bore everyone too much, here's our Pencil Skirt Challenge Roundup!

Easy Homemade Chicken Stock

Last week, I shared a recipe for Easy & Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup, which is super simple and a favorite here at my house. One of the reasons why it is so wonderful is the homemade chicken stock that I make!

For years, I was buying both vegetable and chicken broths/stocks. As a side note, apparently some people use the words "broth" and "stock" interchangeably. However, while I was doing research on this topic, I found out that a broth is made by using meat, while a stock uses bones (or a combination of meat and bones). Because of the gelatin released from the bones during the cooking process, it is naturally thicker and more flavorful. Yum!

Without further ado, here is my super easy recipe for delicious homemade chicken stock!

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients

2 - 3 chickens, or chicken parts (equalling about 10 lbs. total)

Homemade Vegetable Broth (recipe here)
OR
Storebought Vegetable Broth
OR
Any combination of onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and herbs (such as parsley, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, etc.)

Kosher salt, to taste
Whole black peppercorns, 1 - 2 tsp.

Saturday Synopsis!

Oh my. June has been absolutely filled to the brim with every kind of celebration possible! I would say that July might be a bit quieter, but according to my planner, absolutely not!

P.S. - Remember to enter the giveaway that I posted about on Friday!

Here are last week's posts in case you missed any. :)

Saturday Synopsis!

Monday: The tastiest and easiest chicken noodle soup I've ever made!

Tuesday: See what Miss Crayola Creepy made for me in the International Craft Swap!

Wednesday: How exciting have my summer plans been? Click to find out!

Thursday: Happy 4th of July!

Friday: Enter to win awesome prizes, including ad space right here on Vintage Zest!

A Curiously Gorgeous Giveaway for July

Hello!

Sarah from A Cat-Like Curiosity is graciously having me as one of her sponsors for the month of July. There is a great giveaway with lots of prizes, including ad space right here on Vintage Zest! In fact if you follow via Bloglovin', you already qualify for 5 entries!

I encourage all of you to enter, especially because I was lucky enough to win a prize of my own last month! I think it would be fitting if one of my readers won a prize or two. :)

Good luck and here's the giveaway post from Sarah!

Hey there people! I hope you're having a great day, wherever in the world you may be.

Today is the day for my Curiously Gorgeous Giveaway for July! SO exciting. I have lots of lovely prizes up for grabs and there will be a winner for each prize! My lovely sponsors have been very generous in their giveaway items and I have joined in too. There will be seven winners altogether - just because I love to spread the giveaway love as far and as wide as I can :) So just enter via the rafflecopter for a chance to win one of our prizes :)

So, let's get our party on people - here are my lovely sponsors giveaway prizes for you (just click on the pics to visit their stores/blogs):