Thrift Find :: Ohio

While I was in Ohio the thrift queen herself took me to one of the most amazing places on Earth. Kaylah and I went and met her mom at a mega huge, annual sale where you can find just about everything you could ever want to thrift.  We all got there really early so we had time to get in line, hang around, chat and people watch which is one of my favourite activities.  Kaylah's mom is really awesome by the way and it was so great to meet her! Ok, back to the thrift finds. There was so much amazing stuff!

I really love this daisy blanket but when Ivan saw it he told me that he thought it would look really good in the shed. The way he said it was too funny for me to get mad but sorry Ivan, this guy is staying inside.

On top of the blanket is some really awesome paper that I am going to use to brighten up our built in unit in the kitchen as well as the hutch in the living room. I have actually already papered the hutch and I will share photos soonish.

I am so excited about this find! I have been dying for one of these cute plastic mail holders for the kitchen and this one just happened to be the perfect colour. 

Ever since I inherited more cameras than anyone needs I have been following a strict "no more cameras" rule. But...Brownie cameras are my absolute favourite and the prices were just too good!

Kaylah also talked me into getting a Land Camera that takes AA batteries. Ok, it didn't take much convincing. When we got home Kaylah gave me a pack of black & white film to test it out and to make a long story short we figured out that this particular model only takes colour film. So...Kaylah sent me home with one of her extra land cameras that shoots black and white as well as colour.

I am already super duper in love with this camera. I ordered myself some film and I can't wait to shoot tons. The photos remind me of the ones from my grandparents albums.

One of my favourite finds was this bag that only cost me $0.50. Yep, 50 cents. It is in great shape, has the perfect back pocket for holding photobooth photos, is large enough for at least two cameras and even came with a used pair of pantyhose! Ok, so maybe that last part was not a bonus.

There is one last find, definitely the most amazing, but you will have to check out Kaylah's post to see what it is. Finding it and realizing what it was was kind of a joint effort and to save our friendship Kaylah and I decided to share it. You'll see why.

I'm sure I am forgetting to share an amazing find. I really need to make a list of my thrift finds, especially when I am travelling and everything gets packed up into different bags on the way home.

On a side note...something slightly embarrassing/funny happened during this thrift adventure. An extremely sweet girl saw Kaylah and I on the other side of an aisle and said "Hey, I read both of your blogs!". To which Kaylah & I replied (respectively)..."Ohhhhhh!" "Hiiii!" We are so eloquent. We were absolutely not expecting to run into anyone there and it was so intense and crowded that we were completely caught off guard by this awesomely nice gal. We were all laughing during this short interchange so hopefully she is still reading our blogs to see this and know that thanks to her we will always be prepared to see a blog reader and will always be ready to respond like proper human beings. 

Have you found anything awesome lately? Do you have an embarrassing story about meeting a blogger/blog reader?

♥elycia

Giveaway :: Le Bunny Bleu

Hello again!

I have been eyeing Le Bunny Bleu shoes for quite a long time now so I am very excited to have them here hosting a giveaway.

What's up for grabs?

The winner will receive a pair of shoes of their choice from Le Bunny Bleu.

How to enter: *please leave some way for me to contact you if you win*

1. Like Le Bunny Bleu on Facebook

2. Sign up for Le Bunny Bleu email (near the bottom right when you click the link)

Additional entries: *please leave a separate comment for each entry*

1.  Let me know which pair of Le Bunny Bleu shoes are your favourite 

2.  Spread the word about this giveaway on any of your social networks. If you use Twitter tweet this: Win a pair of shoes with @lebunnybleushop giveaway on @loveelycia! http://www.loveelycia.com/2012/07/giveaway-le-bunny-bleu.html

I will announce the winner on Tuesday August 7th. For all of you, who can't wait until the winner is announced, Le Bunny Bleu have a special coupon for 15% off with the code LOVEELYCIA15.

♥elycia

PS. I am a total scatterbrain sometimes and I forgot to announce the Shabby Apple giveaway winner! Anyways...it is Melanie! Congratulations, I will be in touch!

Organization :: Whiteboard paint to-do list

Back in December or January when I was shopping for paint for my office I came across some whiteboard paint. I had never heard of it before but I decided to try it out because I thought it would be fun to turn the closets and doors in my office into whiteboards. I bought mine at Home Depot but you can get it here as well if you are interested!

Hehe! Do you like the drawing on the left hand side? I drew the kitties and then when I was away a few months ago Ivan added himself and "Family Miss You".

During the last few weeks I have been using the right side to keep me focused on the things that I need to get done. Everyday I change the date and evaluate my list to see what needs to be added, subtracted and completed. Don't mind my messy writing, I think of things faster than I can write in most cases!

A few things about this paint in case you are interested in trying it out: 

1.You can't store it so you need to either use it all once you open it or be ok with throwing some in the trash. One can painted this double door closet as well as the back of my office door. 

2. My doors where a light wood colour so I primed them with white paint before finishing with the whiteboard paint.

3. I believe I did 2 coats and I found it a little difficult on the last coat because I think the paint had thickened a smidge. I have a few globs here and there but I think that I would be able to eliminate those if I painted something else now that I know what to expect.

4. I left some whiteboard marker on for quite a long time and some colours left stains when I tried erasing them. I haven't tried any of that white board cleaner so I still have hopes that I will be able to get them off. Black seems to erase really easily so that is what I have been using.

Ok, so I think my notes about this paint make it sound kind of awful but I really do love the result and the fact that I can write all over my doors and closets!

Have you tried whiteboard paint? What do you think of it?

♥elycia

5 Fave Friday

5. The collar on this dress is so fantastic!

ClassicRetro

4. This ring is amazing.

Write On Ring

How clever is this pencil ring? I love it.

3. This necklace.

lettersfromaubrey

The necklace sits to look like a peter pan collar. So adorable.

2. I am completely crazy about these shoes.

Stand out and Smile Flat via ModCloth

1. The best thing I saw last week. I watched a documentary on Monopoly called Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story and saw the most awesome thing ever.

Ok, do you see what makes that awesome? Now, get ready for it. When this guy is talking again later in the movie the shot gets even more amazing...

Seriously, not exaggerating, this is hands down the best thing I have seen in a long time. It makes me really happy and I love it. I kind of freak out in the best possible way everytime I see it.

I hope you are all having a fantastic Friday. Play a game of Monopoly for me today! Ivan and I have played two games since I watched the documentary and I am the undefeated champion. Watching the documentary totally improved my game. And, in case you are ever unsure, I am in fact a total dork.

♥elycia

What I Wore :: Fancy New Shoes

:: head to toe ::
glasses :: Coastal/Clearly Contacts
dress :: c/o ModCloth
ring :: c/o Indie Chic
shoes :: ModCloth with FunkKit stickers

Remember how I was telling you that Kaylah and I took so many amazing jumping photos during this outfit shoot? Well...I think I have temporarily run out of jumping luck because I tried to take some during this one and it was probably my biggest jumping disaster to date. Like, so bad I can't even show you. There was underwear, awful faces, strange looking legs, you name it...it was probably bad. It is really hard to take jumping photos of yourself when you are using a self timer and only have one photo to get it right but I can usually manage one good one! Ha! So for those of you who struggle with jumping photos...even the pros have a bad day here and there. 

On to something more successful...Kaylah gave me some tips on doing gradient nails and I totally nailed these ones. I don't know why I didn't get a closer photo but trust me, they looked amazing. I have the hang of it now and I can't wait to try more colour combos. 

Today I am in Toronto hanging out because I will be taking some photos at an event later tonight. I hope you are all having a fun day! 

♥elycia

Restyle :: FunkKit Shoe Makeover

The lovely people over at FunkKit asked me if I would be interested in trying some of their shoe stickers and after taking a look at their website I was really excited to fancy up a pair of my shoes.

There are a bunch of cool designs but my favourite by far was "Origami" and I knew just the pair of shoes that I would stick those stickers to. Here are my shoes before:

The process was really easy and the instructions that came with the stickers were very clear and simple so I didn't need to watch this video but just in case, there is an instructional video.

The only thing I had trouble with when I was placing my first sticker was getting it in the exact right spot. Luckily the stickers are very forgiving and you can peel them off and restick them if you make a little mistake. The sticking part got easier as I went along and pretty soon I had some newly stickered shoes.

Although the colours still look bright they turned out more muted than I was expecting. That is because the stickers are slightly transparent so that they pick up the colour of what is behind, especially on the lighter coloured triangles. I don't mind one bit though and I feel like it makes them look like they mesh better with the shoes. 

Overall I am pretty impressed with the stickers and I will be back later to show you how I styled up my shoes in an outfit post!

♥elycia

photo an hour :: hanging with my best friend

While I was visiting Kaylah we did a lot of fun things and of course we had to sneak a photo an hour day in there. This was from my first full day in Ohio and we kept really busy. 

:: 7 am :: 

These dorks were distracting me by being too cute while I was trying to exercise.

:: 8 am ::

Breakfast, coffee, chocolate milk & planning. Kaylah has the best mug selection, it was really fun to choose one to use every day.

:: 9 am ::

Quick stop for some drinks on our way to do some thrifting. That is my silly key chain.

:: 10 am ::

First thrift stop of the day...look out world, we found wigs!

:: 11 am ::

Second stop where we found our awesome matching outfits for the most ridiculous video ever made.

:: 12 pm ::

Quick stop at the craft store to pick up some supplies.

:: 1 pm ::
Recharging with Roma Pizza, salad and Boylan's.

:: 2 pm ::

We got into some silly makeup.

:: 3 pm ::

I love this little set up.

:: 4 pm ::

Beach bum time. Like I said, we kept really busy but we managed to squeeze in a ton of wave jumping at the beach. 

:: 5 pm ::

Kevin met us at the beach when he finished work. The waves were really huge and fun that day so it was hard to leave.

:: 6 pm ::

My overflowing suitcase making a mess of the living room and a cute lounging kitty.

:: 7 pm ::

Kevin made some delicious tacos for dinner. So yummy!

:: 8 pm ::

Some quick evening nail painting.

We finished the night with some sparklers and took some really cool photos that we will share another time. Photo an hour days are some of my favourites because they help me remember the little moments throughout the day that I may have forgotten otherwise. I think it would be so cool to do it for an entire week but I know I could never follow through with that. Or could I? No probably not. But maybe.

Make sure you stop in at The Dainty Squid to see Kaylah's photos from the day. 

♥elycia

Sponsor Feature :: July

Hey there!

I have another lovely group of sponsors to introduce you to this month. If you have a few minutes and someone grabs your attention pop by their blog and say hello! I'm sure they would love to have you.

blog :: shop

blog :: shop

blog :: shop :: twitter

blog :: shop :: twitter

blog :: twitter :: facebook

blog :: twitter :: facebook

blog :: twitter

blog :: twitter :: facebook

blog :: shop

blog :: twitter :: facebook

blog :: twitter

I hope you found some new blogs to enjoy! Thank you so much to all of my great July sponsors. As I mentioned, I have some sponsor spots available for August if anyone is interested! I really appreciate all of your support!

Today I am off to spend some time thrifting with Andrea! I hope you have a great day!

♥elycia