Last week I just noticed that some fashion blog has a post on early January about their 10 best outfit in 2009, it's like an official post for every fashion blog. So I have a little discussion with a couple of my lovely readers via email and they think I should do that post too because I'm a fashion blog anyway. So I know it's a little bit late but hey January isn't over yet so here's my version .. ^o^

Wow, so many of you entered my last giveaway, I'm really surprised! And happy! And so I will bring you more giveaways :D Here's another one for ya!

Vintage Blue is a vintage-inspired sportswear for women with the exclusive license to The All American Girls Professional Baseball League featured in the film A League of Their Own with Madonna and Tom Hanks. You remember that famous movie, right? If you haven't seen it then please go to your local movie rental because that's a good movie to watch.

Anyway, Vintage Blue website is quite awesome. Vintage Blue is also an eco friendly clothing line. Not only they produce chemical-free garments, they also use eco-frienldy material when creating items like line sheets, catalogues, hang tags, and more. They sell t-shirts and totes with various designs that screams fun with a bit of sporty and vintagey feeling. They also sell the notorious "There's No Crying in Baseball!" tee.



Do Good While You Shop:
As always, I love featuring companies that gives back. Vintage Blue is donating 5% of profits to various organizations, implementing an internship programs which fosters self-esteem to motivate young women and creating campaigns that encourages people to make a positive change.

Check out their website for some fun tees and totes, they got some tees for the guys too.

• Subscribe to Vintage Blue newsletter and leave your email address so I can check. (2 entries, pls write a separate comment box for each entry).

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• Subscribe to my email subscriptions so you won't miss out on future posts and giveaways! (find link in bottom right side bar). (2 entries)

• Blog about this giveaway with a link back here, leave the URL of your post in a NEW separate comment box. (2 entries)

• Follow Two Thousand Things via these options: RSS / BlogLovin / Twitter then in a NEW separate comment write your id. If you're already a follower then just tell me your id/name and which subscription are you using. Don't forget to write in separate comment box for each of your subscriptions. You can find all subscription links at the right side bar. (1 entry for each subscription)

• Tweet about this giveaway and give me the link to your tweet. (1 entry)

• Participate in the LuShae Jewelry Sweepstakes. (Please leave the link to your blog/website where you put the LuShae jewelry badge). (3 entries)

• Buy any of Vintage Blue products and tell me what your name and what you bought (I will verified it). (7 entries)

• Grab my badge and post it in your blog's side bar (find my badge at the bottom of the right side bar, just copy the html provided and paste it in your blog), don't forget to give me the link. (3 entries)

I love featuring "green company". I also love sharing info on natural and organic products especially if it's beauty product :) Brittanie's Thyme is one of them.

Brittanie’s Thyme is a women-owned company dedicated to manufacturing natural and organic products that aid in producing a feeling of well-being, without the expense usually associated with high quality skin and personal care. Their products contains recipes and remedies that have been used successfully for generations with the latest scientific findings regarding herbal and natural ingredients. Their belief is that natural and organic is a life choice, not a fashion or a trend. I think that is a brilliant idea, instead of doing organic because of the trend we are supposed to make it our daily routine chores. I agree with that.

When I receive a package from Brittanie's Thyme to review, I was thrilled. The package consist of Organic Almond Oatmeal Facial Scrub, French Green Clay with White Tea, Organic Acne Treatment , and Cold Comfort Crystals. I couldn't wait to try them all!
 
That afternoon I literally sing when it comes the time for my bath :) I first tried the Organic Almond Oatmeal Facial Scrub -- YUMM! This is my most favorite product from the whole package! I love the texture of the scrub which is not coarse at all, I routinely scrub my face but I kinda hated my old scrub because like other common scrubs it has a coarse texture and it feels like it's hurting my skin if I scrub hard. Now this scrub from Brittanie's Thyme is superb, this doesn't feel coarse at all, instead it feels soft on my skin so I can scrub it harder without feeling afraid that it's gonna burn my face. My fave part is that the scrub smells like real oatmeal! Caution: you could feel hungry and wanna eat it ;p
The best part is: it does works! My skin feels soft and smooth after using it. This scrub made of finely ground natural oatmeal and raw almonds that helps exfoliate dry skin and smooth rough spots on your face. The website says that it's also excellent for use on rough elbows and knees, yet gentle enough for the sensitive facial skin.


After scrubbing down my face I continue with the French Green Clay with White Tea facial mask. The name of the product itself intrigues me to try it. I mean, come on, anything with "French" and "White Tea" means 'good quality expensive things' to me, but this one only cost you $7 and just like it's name this facial mask is excellent product.
French Green Clay is highly efficient at drawing oils and toxins from the skin. The high mineral content of clay rejuvenates the skin while the clay exfoliates and stimulates blood circulation to the skin. While White Tea is rich in flavonoids, antioxidants that fight free radicals, so it's effective in treating acne. White tea is also rich in alpha hydroxy acid and zinc, which are the key to smooth and blemish-free skin. I love using this facial mask, the result is tightened pores and firm skin. My face looks bright and clear afterward, love it. I love the unique shape of the bottle too. And just like the oatmeal almond scrub, you only use about 1/2 teaspoon every time you use it so a little goes a long way!

The third product I tried is the Organic Acne Treatment. This product came in the right time. I was on my period when the package came and I always have this problem of 1 or 2 big annoying acne every time my cycle starts. I have tried a couple of acne brands from the pharmacy but haven't got any good results so I was so happy to be able to try the organic acne treatment from Brittanie's Thyme. The deep blue bottle is an effective acne treatment without all the harsh chemicals. It uses tea tree oil to heal broken and irritated skin. It also contain witch hazel and lavender, I guess that what makes it capable to rejuvenates naturally and gently while quickly reducing inflammation. There's a slight scent every time I use it on my face but I'm okay with it, as long as it gives me good and fast result, which it is! :D Now I have finally found my acne treatment!

The last product I tried that night was the Cold Comfort Crystal. My hubby has sinus and I have had a lung problem a couple of years back so I thought the Cold Comfort Crystal would do good for us. And you know what? it kinda does! We use it every night just before bed time by opening the lid and just put it on our bed side for 15 minutes or so as an aromatherapy. It really help ease my breathing. My hubby's sinus always act up during sleep time and since using this cold comfort crystal he said that it relief his congestion and stuffiness that result in a good night sleep! My hubby loves it and never forget to bring it if we're sleeping in his parent's house, he even tell his family about it excitedly ;p The cold comfort crystal is sea salt crystals that are treated with a mixture of essential oils to create an aromatherapy that can ease congestion. When the product container is open, the herbal aroma evaporates off the top crystals providing soothing relief for coughs and colds.
The bottom line is: we Love Love Love all these products. Not one of the products that we didn't like. Here are some reasons why Brittanie's Thyme is a must-have:

• They are USDA certified organic.
• They are proud signer of "The Compact For Safe Cosmetics".
• They do not test any products on animals.
• No fillers, artificial preservatives, artificial fragrances or dyes are used.
• They produce small batches of each product to ensure freshness.
• Their price is really affordable (and a little goes a long way!).

Question: "Me and 2 of my lady friends got invited to an afternoon party. What should we wear? One of us likes romantic shades, the other one is bold while I'm more of a casual girl with a hint of fun."


Answers:
For the romantic lady, this Coast tiered tassle grey dress would satisfy her romantic craving with all the ruffles, sheer fabric and the muted color. Paired with cage platform sandal from Karen Millen this dress is a stunner!



For the bold woman, this Diane Von Furstenberg Josun strapless mini dress would look awesome. This multicolored silk strapless mini dress has fan pleated tiers in three-colored shades, green, blue and black. Brilliant! Paired with a simple Christian Louboutin multi booty this outfit would look killer!




And as for the casual girl who wish to look pretty yet fun, this William Tempest geometric strapless dress with boned bodice would look great paired with Judith Leiber peacock clutch with crystal-embellishments and silver-tone hardware all over.



How bout you? Any ideas for the ladies?


Source: Polyvore.
^_~

I haven't featured a giveaway from etsy for some times now, so here's one for you :) This one is courtesy of Ellembee, a fab etsy store who offers great selection of screen-printed tees with awesome designs that's hard to find somewhere else. The store is owned by Lisa from michigan who was recently laid off from her job as a bedding designer in California, and so she finally took the plunge and start her own clothing company (which i say is a good choice because her designs are fabtastic - that's "fabulous and fantastic" to you ;p).

Her shop is filled with tee-shirts, jackets, hoodies, tanks, scarves, dress, skirt and even onesies for the precious little ones. I even found a matching womens tee and onesie that could be really cute if worn together by a stylish mom and her daughter:


The chandelier is one of my favorite design on her shop, i love chandelier! :) She also has many other designs in sizes you want. Her awesome design inspirations came from nature.
She said "My mom is amazing with plants, and her house looks like a jungle! A lot of my designs came straight from the plants in her living room. I also love 'old world' looks. I think I developed a taste for the vintage look when I was designing bedding previously at a luxury bedding manufacturer".

And as for the screen printing that she uses to create her clothing she learned the basic skill at art school. She graduated from the Art Institute of California - San Francisco in 2002 with a BFA in fashion design.
"What I didn't learn in school I figured out through reading old library books and watching a lot of YouTube clips!".
Yep, youtube does bring you education, i agree with that ^o^

NOTE: Her price is affordable. And Ellembee tees are now available at 12 Oaks mall in Novi, Michigan. So if you live in the area you could go there to get your hands on ellembee directly. Lisa is also currently participating in an artists co-op called "State of Mind", it's on the upper level, in the Macy's court, from Oct 1st- Jan 31st.

Wow, there's been a long time since the last "Bag of News" post.
Anyway, I have three things to share today.


First,
Remember my Shabby Apple giveaway? The winner of the giveaway is the lovely Esti from Loopy Rocket. She won the 90wpm dress from Shabby Apple who offers a great selection of cute and pretty dresses.
Esti is more than happy to be the winner and to receive the fabulous prize, you can read about her excitement on her blog post here. Thanks so much Esti ! :D
For those of you who has been my previous winners and wants to share about your winning experience too, either by sending me photos or links to your post then please email me at 2thousandthings AT gmail DOT com


Second,
SALE at LABEL LUSH!
Label Lush offers designer clothing with discount prices. Their New Year = New Mark Down sale is almost over so this is a last shout out for you who'd like to indulge yourself in some designer clothing with less price. Their brands include DVF, Juicy Couture, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Seven For All Man Kind, Tory Burch, Miu Miu among others. They are now offering Clearance Sale with markdowns up to 85% off! PLUS extra 20% off any order if you use the promo code: "NEWYEAR2010".
So this is what being a fashion blogger/writer gets, we get special discount code first hand that we can share with our readers!! Fantastic! :D
Oh, the offer is only valid until January 15 so better hurry up!! Last call, everybody!


Third,
I love to browse ModCloth (who doesn't?) and today when I visited their website again I took a peek on their Sale section and this is what I found there:

Maybe you've noticed that there's a link on top of my blog about the LuShae Jewelry giveaway? Well I put it there because I don't want any of you to miss your chance of winning this great sweepstakes.

First, I need to tell you about LuShae Jewelry. LuShae Jewelry is a privately owned company which offers a unique range of authentic sterling silver jewelry with a wide range of precious and semi precious gemstones. LuShae Jewelry follow celebrity and fashion jewelry trends sourcing the most contemporary high grade pieces available ensuring unmatched quality and value.

Their website is very user-friendly and they offer jewelry guide as well which i think is a helpful tool for customers. I've browsed their website and they do have such an extensive jewelries in pretty designs which makes me drool.
Anyway, what I've been dying to tell you is LuShae Jewelry is now offering a monthly giveaway with the prize of $200 which will be credited to your paypal. Who doesn't want to win a prize like that? :p
And that's not all folks, other than the monthly $200 sweepstakes they also have a yearly $5000 sweepstakes in cash! You better believe it. The next annual draw will occur October 1st 2010. Keep on reading to know how to enter.



And there's more! Every entrant will also automatically receive a 15% discount off the entire LuShae Jewelry range!


I told you this is an awesome sweepstakes :D And this is open for worldwide too! I could already imagine what I would do with that cash -lol-
^_~

Question:
What is a heel-wedgie?

Answer:


How many of you ladies experienced above problem with open-back heels and long wide pants? You know, when your pants get bunched up between your foot and shoe? Well, I do. And it's annoying. No, make it REALLY annoying. Sometimes it just turn my self esteem into below zero, I would be reluctant if I have to walk further in front of the public eyes. And it happened a lot during my "work in the office" days (i'm now working from home).

Oh how I wish I have Kix by Katie back then, because Kix by Katie is the answer to all those annoying heel-wedgies. Just put it on under your pants like this:


And tadaaa..:

Keep on walking with confidence. Heel wedgies no more!


For you who doesn't know about this brilliant handy little "device" invented by Katie Johnson then I would tell you a bit about it. This revolutionary new invention eliminates what Katie has affectionately dubbed the Heel Wedgie—this is when your pants get bunched up between your foot and shoe, a frequent wardrobe malfunction that occurs when women wear long pant with open back shoes. This handy little device, acting much like a collar stay for men’s shirts, temporarily adheres at the inside back hemline of your pants, giving them just a little extra weight and rigidity to keep them hanging nicely.

Kix by Katie believe that allowing women to fix fashion issues quickly lets them feel more confident so they can focus their attention on more important things. SO TRUE! (at least for me ;p).

I was very lucky to receive Kix by Katie for review and thank GOD for it I now never have to deal with heel-wedgies anymore. It's such a brilliant simple thing that could really make a difference.