And the Winner Is ...

Good morning fellow readers! Let's start the week with some good news for one lucky follower.

The winner of the giveaway is ... JulieStyles (Julie, I guess)! Random.org picked the number 57, and of the 60 valid entries hers was the 57th. Congratulations to Julie who wins the JCrew canvas tote (Julie, please contact me at crazyaboutjcrew@gmail.com with your details).

To the other who participated and didn't win, first thank you for your comments and let me tell you that you know how you fell: I never won a giveaway. Second, there will be more because I found out that it's pretty fun, so stay tuned!

And because there are new followers I would like to take the opportunity to say a few things about me and the blog:

1) There seems to be a myth about me being tall. I'm 5'2", so I'm pretty petite. I probably look taller because I'm proportioned and I generally look good in mini, but I'm no model.

2) My favorite brands are JCrew, Theory and Tory Burch. I also have to mention the Gap because even if I wouldn't say that the Gap is my favorite clothing brand I must admit that during the year I certainly spend more money at the Gap than at Theory or Tory Burch.

3) I appreciate that many of you asked for more posts. I will try to post more but I generally use my daughter's nap time to blog and there is only much that I can do in two hours. My long-time readers know that I generally don't blog over the weekend and in the evening because my husband doesn't approve of me blogging during "family time". However he travels quite a lot and that's when I post more.

4) Please be assured that I read and enjoy all the comments that you leave even if sometimes (in fact, most of the times) I don't comment back and I prefer to use my time to write a new post instead (unless someone asked a specific question that clearly needs to be answered). I personally never subscribe to posts and I don't necessarily expect the blogger to comment back and I assume that that's what most people do. I just wanted to apologize here if this is cause of frustration for some of you. But please keep commenting, comments are bread for bloggers!

4) I have been working for more than ten years as a project manager before becoming a stay at home mom two years and a half ago when my daughter was born. I could stop working because my husband can support us and I feel privileged for that, but also my work didn't pay enough to pay a full-time nanny in the city. It didn't make sense to work just to pay a nanny, so I'm the nanny now and when my daughter is older I will reconsider going back to work.

5) Sometimes I make up words or I use expressions that probably don't sound quite right to your ears. That's because I write in English which is my third language after Italian and French. I could stick to the clothes but because my dream has always been to be a writer, I can't help myself. And yes, I meant "fit like a glove" and not "fit like a glow" but I'm happy of this involuntary effect.

Once again, thank you all for participating and follow the blog. I really find amazing that you take the time for reading what I write and that you seem to like it!

Time for A Giveaway (and yes, it's JCrew) !

Dear readers, you don't talk much these days and I love to hear from you. So I thought that a giveaway would shake you up a little bit and make you talk, especially those of you who haven't talked in a while (if you are still there). I don't have anything special to celebrate (the blog first anniversary will be next month and I couldn't wait that long) but I feel like a giveaway is overdue in sign of appreciation from me to you for being a follower and reading my blog.

I know that I had announced a giveaway before and dropped it but at that particular time there were so many bloggers giving away fabulous jewelry that it was getting a little bit competitive out there. And because I didn't receive any gift from Mickey that I could offer to you in my turn, I waited to find the perfect prize (something that wouldn't cost much but that you would possibly love).

And I think that I have finally found it! I will give you some clues:

1. It's Jcrew
2. It's inexpensive
3. It's reusable
4. It's coveted

No, it isn't one of the new recyclable shopping bags, like the one pictured under the title (even if they are cute, aren't they). I put that pic up there because I didn't want you to find out immediately. But your prize WAS in that bag.

Are you ready? It's TADATA .... Yes! One of the super-cute and much talked about canvas totes that are in-store only (at least for now). These come in 3 patterns and I picked up the one that I like the best, with three chic ladies going shopping with their doggies:



And of course you have the name of your favorite (or ex-favorite) retailer on it as a bonus.
If you don't know what you could use it for, let me tell you that these make the perfect bags for returns because they are big enough to stuff a lot of Jcrew items inside and unlike the most reusable bags out there they are landscape-shaped (wider than taller) and not portrait-shaped (thanks to HeidiG for the terminology).

Here are the rules:
1. You have to be a follower (new followers are welcome)
2. You have to leave a comment and tell me what you like best of the blog and what you don't like that much (please be kind)
3. You have to promise that you won't resell it on Ebay for $35 bucks (if you don't like it, do not participate, even if it's free stuff)
4. You have until Thursday the 25th at midnight ET to enter the giveaway. The winner will be chosen by random.org (whatever that means, but I have a week to find out) and will be announced on Friday the 26th.

If you want post a link to this post on your blog, you're more than welcome but you will still have an entry, to not penalize the non-bloggers.

And now, good luck!