Mega Ad Space Giveaway

I have teamed up with Simply Clarke and 24 other bloggers to bring you a MEGA Ad Space Giveaway. One winner will win 25 ad spaces on 25 different blogs for the month! That means a ton of exposure for your blog, FREE. On top of that, we tried to make it super easy to enter, so all of the links are Facebook pages. Enter below to win and make sure to thank all the lovely co-hosts - Good Luck!Also, use promo code SIMPLY20 to get 20% off ANY SIZE ad space on Simply Clarke.

Simply Clarke | Social Ad Space

A Little Too Jolley | Social Media Love

The Everyday Joys | Daily Ad 600x100

Elle & Elle | 250x250 Ultimate Feature

Life:Oceanside | First Mate In-Post

Living Lavender | Grande Ad Spot

Jade and Oak | Rhinestone Small Ad

Wearable.  | 200 x 200

The Southern Thing | Large 250x250

Denim & Daydreams | Large ad space

Enjoy Essential | Midsized Ad

The Samantha Show | Large Top Knot

Heart & Arrow Design | Venti

Dancin' With A Dolly | VIP

Happily Ever After | 125x125

Hudson and Emily | Small

Danielle Faith | Medium

LIVE with Crystal | Standard Ad

RYOKOGURL | 250x250

Boston Sweet Tea Party | 150x150

Erica Jacquline | ShineBright

Everyday Thoughts | 250x350

hell0ashleyy | 250x250

Southern Beauty Guide | Featured AD Space(300X200)

Getting' Fit Fab | TheMost Fittest! 250X250

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By The Numbers (Hint 25 Might Have Something To Do With Money)

Right now I feel like my life is a little bit crazy.  The end of the school year is not a fun time and this year I know it is going to be wretched. I am not being pessimistic, just realistic.  I decided to get through the rest of the year I needed to make a countdown of days, maybe even have a paper chain. I really miss paper chains! Elementary school, and last year were the best!

So here is my life according to the numbers

26 - The number of school days left this year

27 - The number of days until I treat myself with a massage

17 - The number of students in my one class. I actually think I will miss those crazies!

0 - The number of days until my half birthday!  Woop happy half birthday to me

30 - The age I will be in 6 months

1 - The number of times I was almost arrested for a crime I did not commit. (another post for another day).

8 - The number of months Penny has graced the earth with her presence

3 - The number of days since my peanut butter cookie binge

2 - The number of tickets I want so I can see the Ducks destroy the Kings in the second round of playoffs.

25 - The number of dollars you can win to Starbucks from today's wonderful sponsor!

I am so excited to introduce you to the lovely Noelle from Sunshine and Pearls.

Let me have Noelle tell you a little about her self and her blog!

Life gets crazy so I write. This whole blog experience has been a wonderful way to meet new women that inspire me on a daily basis. I write about all the craziness of a typical 25-year-old trying to make it. My quarter life crisis, wedding drama and the crazy addiction to online shop are my normal posts. Come on over to Sunshine and Pearls and have a laugh with me!!

Some of my favorite posts from Noelle are the time she relived her terrible date with a man who talked to her with a crab puppet. I also love this super sweet post that her fiancé wrote about proposing to her at a beautiful winery.  I think my favorite is this post is this one where she writes about the beauty of being yourself and not stressing about everything else that goes into it.

Because Noelle is such a gem she is giving away $25 to Starbucks. So make sure you follow her and enter for your chance to get your coffee on!

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Listed TUESDAYS and A Giveaway, Yay!

Happy Sunday friends!  I hope you are having a great weekend.  I just wanted to pop in for two extremely quick announcements.

1.  Listed Fridays is now Listed Tuesdays.  I am not a competitive girl and I realized there are so many Friday LInk ups I needed to mix it up.  So come back here Tuesday to link up your Listed post! Here is a reminder of the rules and the mission.

Please join me for Listed Tuesday and make sure to check off each item on the list below:

- Follow Erica Jacquline  on Bloglovin (It is only polite)
- Write a post about anything you want that includes a list of sorts
- Add the Listed Button to your post
- Come by Erica Jacquline on Tuesdays and add your link
- Read other posts, comment, and make new friends
- Shower, rinse, repeat each week

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.somuchsunshine.com" title="Erica Jacquline"><img src="http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q738/ericajt/Listed_zps4ebfb2ef.png" alt="Erica Jacquline" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

2.  I said there were two announcement!  I am one of Melyssa's sponsors at The Nectar Collective this month and we are giving away fabulous prizes.  You will want to enter to win below!

The Fairy Princess Diaries | Kayli Wanders | Adventures with Esther & Jacob | Club Narwhal

Near and Far Montana | 27th + Luxe | Megan Joy Jaunts | Hi and Lo

Erica Jacquline | Alix Hamilton | Ink + Adventure | The Nectar Collective

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Listed Fridays + Some Dollar Bills

Hey hey hey, Party People!  I never say that!  Just kidding I probably say it too much, but never in a party context.  I just say it to start class or a meeting or when I call my mom.

Moving along, I am going to keep today's post short and sweet.  It is true I only have two points to cover today.

Point #1

This weekend I was at Target and the most brilliant of blog posts came to my head.  I knew what I wanted to write about and I knew how I wanted to write it.  I then sat down to plan my posts for the week and decided to do it on Friday because it involves a list and I had a list post on Friday last week, and it seemed like a noble tradition to uphold.

I then started to think that every Friday I would do a post that involved a list of some sort and call it Listed Fridays.  But why stop there?  I decided to make the post a link up, because if there is one thing bloggers love more than their Whitney English Day Designers, DSLR cameras, and puppies it is a list and a link up.  The two combined might cause a black hole where our computers once sat.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.ericajacquline.com" title="Erica Jacquline"><img src="http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q738/ericajt/Listed_zpscd62b314.png" alt="Erica Jacquline" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

In order to participate in Listed you will need to:

- Follow Erica Jacquline  on Bloglovin (It is only polite)
- Write a post about anything you want that includes a list of sorts
- Add the Listed Button to your post
- Come by Erica Jacquline on Fridays and add your link
- Read other posts, comment, and make new friends
- Shower, rinse, repeat each week

Point #2 

My incredible sponsors and I pulled our resources and have united to bring you a great giveaway!  The winner gets a $90 gift card to Target or $90 paypal cash, it is up to you, the winner!

Enter below for your chance to win!

All enteries will be verified, open to international winners as long as you have a paypal account, and the giveaway ends April 23rd at 12am. Good luck!

  Miranda - Mermade Moments // Raewyn - Be A Warrior Queen  //  Jenn - hello, rigby!

Sarah - Seriously Sarah?  //  Kelly - Sew Crafty Cat  //  Taylor - TMInspired Photography

Nina - The Grand Adventures of Me // Erica - Erica Jacquline

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Dog Behind The Blog Starts Next Week

Because I announced Dog Behind the Blog on Wednesday there was not enough time to contact our first sponsor and have it ready for you all today.  I know it is very sad, mostly because we need to get some great dogs and some great blogs up here stat!

In case you are interested in sponsoring Erica Jacquline for April  please check out my sponsor page.  For this week only I am offering 50% off all ad spots, use code AprilShowers for your half price ad spot!

One last thing, I am currently sponsoring Because of Jackie and she has a giveaway going for $120 paypal cash!  You can enter to win below!  Hope you have a lovely weekend!

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Dog Behind The Blog and $40 Giveaway!

I have two very exciting announcements for you all today!

Announcement #1

I have a new sponsorship option for all you dog lovers out there.  I am calling it Dog Behind The Blog.  Essentially it is a Saturday Takeover type of post where you will get to write about anything you want, as long as it is about your dog and your blog.

I decided to do this option because of Penny.  I had no idea how much I would love that little girl and how much joy she would bring into my life.  My mom has said many times that blogging and Penny are two of the best things that have ever happened to me, and she is right!

Really there are only two types of people in the world dog lovers and people who do not know they are dog lovers yet.  or Bloggers and people who should be bloggers.  Either way I think we need to do something to encourage more dog and blog love.

I know that many of you feel exactly the same way and I want share the dog and blog love with others.

The spot is only $5 right now and it includes the following:

Interview with you and your dog
Three photos 
Four Social Media Links
3 Social Media Shout outs from me
Sidebar ad that runs all month 250 x 300 wide (Right under the Spotlight ad)

I have a special offer too!

The first 2 people to sign up for the spot get it for free! Use code ILOVEPENNY for your free spot.

The next two people who sign up get their spot for 50% off use code ILOVEPENNY50.

Once those spots are gone you can still buy a spot for $5 which is a really great price if you ask me!  Go to my sponsor page to check out through Passionfruit!

Announcement #2

I have some cash money to drop on ya!

Last month I introduced the idea of a Choose Your Own Adventure Giveaway where you get to determine where you will spend your winnings.

So follow the lovely ladies below for your chance at a new Target bikini, 10 cups of Starbucks lattes, or a mani/pedi for spring!

Macy - To Travel and Beyond // Lisa - Ameliorer la Vie   // Erica - Erica Jacquline

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

J Crew Giveaway with Jade and Oak!

Who doesn't love free stuff, right? Today I'm excited to be part of a giveaway with some other lovely bloggers for $150 to J. Crew and ad space to Simply Clarke (social ad space). Visit these awesome bloggers and enter via the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!

Morg Harp Nich / Ladies in Navy / Erica Jacquline

The Fairy Princess Diaries / Happy or Else / Simply Clarke

ChemGradBoom / Blush and Barbells / Jade and Oak

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Choose Your Own Adventure Giveaway!

It's Giveaway Day!

Please imagine I said this in my best Oprah voice.

One of the things I struggle with most as someone who participates in giveaways and hosts them is knowing what prizes to offer.  I do not want my sponsors to not get as many entries because the prize was not really that great according to the public.

The best way I could think of to resolve this issues is to let YOU choose where you will be spending your prize money.

I am calling it Choose Your Own Adventure Giveaways.  Do you remember in elementary school when you could read the books and choose your own adventure and whichever way you chose that is the way the rest of the story went.  Well lets apply that to giveaways now and you can remember elementary school, get some cash to a place you actually want, and leave here feeling good about yourself.

So go forth and follow the lovely ladies below and brainstorm where you might be spending your winnings.

Erica - Erica Jacquline // Madi - And So I Did // Taylor - TMInspired // Kelly - Sew Crafty Cat // Rawyen - Be A Warrior Queen  // Madison - The Wetherills Say I Do

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Kendra Scott Giveaway!

Hey y'all!  I am super happy to give you the chance to win some pretty jewels!  I am one of the ladies on this giveaway that Simply Clarke is hosting and I wanted to give you the chance to win some jewelry.  I looked through the website and I want to buy a ton of things, but know i would have to wait until I had a gift card because I already treated myself this Valentine's day.

I hope you enter for your chance to win!  Here is all the info from Simply Clarke!

_______________

I may have subtly mentioned how in love I am with Kendra Scott in my Valentines Gift Guide. So, since I am obsessing over all things Kendra, I figured it would be perfect for this month's giveaway. I have teamed up with 11 other fabulous bloggers to bring you a $200 Kendra Scott Giveaway.

If you haven't checked out her website yet, make sure to go see all the fabulous combinations you can make at the color bar, and my personal favorite, the Danielle earrings. Enter away below and good luck!

simply clarke / erica jacquline / denim and daydreams / living lavender / being mrs.beer / jillian lorraine

amber nicole blog / the whimsy one / two miracles / two places at once / hi + lo / they call her meghan

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The True Love Expert of The Entire World Is…...

The votes are in!  I can now announce on this epic Valentine's Day who the winner of the first annual True Love Is Valentine's Day Contest is:

Rachel from The Random Writings!

Her winning entry was:"True love is cooking a meal you don't even like that much just because its the other person's favorite, and washing the dishes afterwards."

As a picky eater I have to tell you that I agree.

Congratulations Rachel on your win, you can slap this picture on your blog with pride and buy yourself something fancy!

To all the other contestants good job.  I had no idea that true love involved so many bodily functions!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all and know that you are loved!

True Love is - Time To Vote

It is officially time to vote for the winner of True Love is… A Valentine's Day Contest.

Your task is to read the entries below and vote for your top two favorites.

Voting lasts until Thursday night at 8 pm PST.

If you are nominated feel free to tell your friends to come and vote for you.

Just a reminder of what the winner will receive:

$25 Victoria's Secret gift card

And the title True Love Expert of the Whole World

True Love Is... A Valentine's Day Contest

Wow it is already February 6th!  Where have the first five weeks of the year gone?  In case you couldn't tell by all the blogs dedicated to buying the perfect gift for your spouse, significant other, pet or yourself, Valentine's Day is just a short 8 days away.

I went shopping at the Brea Mall last weekend when I had the most genius thought for a Valentine's Day contest on my blog.

The thought struck me as I was walking through the food court yearning for a Cinnabon, which I resisted thank you very much!  There is a Mongolian BBQ stand and I thought to myself:

I really love Mongolian BBQ

Why don't I eat Mongolian BBQ more often?

Whoever takes me to Mongolian BBQ really will have to love me because my noodle to meat ratio is not normal. Erica loves her carbs and veggies!

True love is when a strapping young man when he takes me to Mongolian BBQ and does not judge my noodle to meat ratio.

And so was born the True Love is.... contest.  The truth is love is different to every person and we all experience love differently. Shout out to the love languages book!

I thought it would be fun to hear what you think True Love is and then make you compete for a prize to determine the best completion of the phrase True Love is...

How it works. 

- For the next three days (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) complete the sentence True Love is...  in the comment section of the post.

- You can write something sassy, something sweet, something quirky, something that will make us cry.  Whatever you think is true love or is true love according to you.

- It can be about romantic love, love for a child, a pet, a friend, a country, a movie the sky's the limit.

- Keep your entry to 1-2 sentences in length.

- One entry per person/blog

- You can tweet your answer to @ericajacquline or leave it in the comments of my instagram post @ericajacquline

- I will compile the whole list and a link to the blog of the person who entered it and you can vote for your favorite on Monday - Thursday next week.

- I will count the votes (actually a Google form will count the votes) and I will announce the winner on Valentine's Day!

What you could win:

- A $25 gift card to Victoria's Secret because true love is buying five pairs of new panties, a new pair of PINK Sweatpants, or I guess the other things they sell there too.

- A button to put on your blog so everyone can know you are the True Love Expert of the world.

And now Pink will sing us off, really I could have just listened to this song and had the same idea.



Comment below for your chance to be entered in the contest to win the $25 Gift Card to Victoria's Secret.

Paypal Cash Sponsor Giveaway!

Today we are keeping it short and sweet.  A couple of my lovely sponsors and I pulled our resources and decided to get together and give you a little money to help pay our holiday bills or buy yourself something you didn't get for Christmas.

If you are interested in sponsoring So Much Sunshine next month be sure to check out my Sponsorship options.

Now go forth and follow these ladies!

Michelle - Hey Love Designs // Lindsay -  The Craft Practitioner // Erica -  So Much Sunshine

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

What Do You Want

Hey all,

This is just a quick little post to ask a question and to give you a chance to win a giveaway that Simply Clarke has running on her blog this week, which I happen to be apart of.

The giveaway below is for an iPad mini, how cool is that!  I think it is one of the best giveaways I have been a part of this year.

It got me thinking about blog giveaways and I wanted to hear from you as to what you would love to see given away on a blog.  I started to have sponsors this year and I want to help them get as much exposure as possible, and I think having a great giveaway is a wonderful way to grow your blog. (By the way you can totally sponsor So Much Sunshine! Just click the link at the top of the page called Sponsor or the word sponsor to the left.)

Clearly, cash and gift cards are amazing, but are there stores that you would love to win some money to that we just haven't thought to offer yet.

So here are my requests: 1. Follow the blogs below and enter to win an iPad mini. 2. Tell me what you want!

I hope you are having a great day and that you win a giveaway already, I mean all those twitter accounts you created for this purpose  have to pay off eventually right?

 

Today, I am really excited about being able to giveaway an iPad mini to one lucky reader! I am so in love with mine and have been wanting to give one away for a while. What better time than the beginning of the year!? I have teamed up with these amazing ladies to make this possible, so make sure to show them some love!

Simply Clarke / So Much Sunshine

Whitney Blake / Boughtin Baby / Jade and Oak / Boone + Owl

Life Could Be A Dream / A Sorta Fairytale / Living Lavender / Beauty Brawler

Two Places At Once / The Artsy Cajun / All That Glitters / A Pinch of Jasmine

Treasure Tromp / To The Sea / Beauty Style Growth / Simplicity Interrupted

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Homeless Chic In The Sports Book

You guys!  I just got back from three days in Reno, Nevada and I have to tell you I have never been so grateful to be back in California.  If you are from Reno, I truly hope you are not going to stop reading my blog.  Maybe you can tell me what I missed, because that place was cray!

I went to the "Alex Dunfee of cities" this week to check it out to see if I could potentially live there and go to the University of Nevada for my PhD.  The answer is no!  I call Reno Alex Dunfee because it reminds me of the geeky littler sister that just can never be as pretty and fun as the big sister, Las Vegas.

On Thursday my mom, Penny, and pal Justina, loaded up my mom's Honda and set out for the glory of Reno.  9 hours alter we arrived at our hotel and fell asleep (we are wild women).

We then hit the town and did what you can do in Reno, visit the university and go to casinos.

 The look you see below is called Homeless Chic.  It really is simple.  All you need are cute boots, skinny jeans, and a flannel from the men's department.  This one comes from Macy's.  I recommend you wear a fitted T-shirt with some feminine touches to help bring out the chic and turn down the lumberjack. It also helps if you have a cute dog.

After I decided there was no earthly reason I could go to school there, we headed downtown for some drugs, I mean for some gambling action.

I actually am not a gambler by nature.  I can not sit at a slot machine and feed it my hard-earned money. I also am extremely intimidated by the poker tables so I head over the sports book to place my money on professional sports.

Ladies, I urge you to find a sport you like, learn about it, and then go to a casino and bet on that team. It makes the game more fun when you watch it and I am pretty sure it is super sexy.  Each time I have gone to place bets on sports my friends and I are the only ladies there.  You get a lot of attention from men. Granted some of them are gross bookies or whatever, but this is where you will find the most normal guys.

Justina and I joined forces and made a parley with three teams. A parley is when you bet on more than one team by the way. I am happy to tell you that we know our hockey and we left Reno with $70!

We then decided that there was not much left to do so we came home a day early.  We stopped at the Emigrant Trail museum and learned more about the Donner Party freezing to death and turning to cannibalism in the Sierra Nevadas.  It was gross and I wanted to eat a hamburger right when we left.  I know this is a weird place to go, but I really like to learn at least one thing when I am on vacation and that was the most famous thing that happened around there.

All in all I am glad I went to Reno.  I made some money, found a new fashion, and was grateful that I did not have to travel across the mountains in a covered wagon to get to California.

Oh and Penny got to play in the snow for the first time.  She actually had a hard trip, but she is tough and bounced back yesterday.

So take a lesson from me: if you find yourself in Reno, wear a flannel, bet on the Ducks, and stay away from the south end of town.  There were way too many people walking around at night making bad choices.

I am also participating in Kym's What I'm Loving Lately Giveaway this month.  Be sure to visit her blog Travel Babbles and enter blow for your chance to win this super awesome planner!

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Its Getting A LIttle Christmas Crazy Up In Here

I really and truly love Christmas time.  It is such a beautiful season and hopefully one that is full of joy and love.  

One of the things i love most about Christmas is that I can enthusiastically buy silly things and use them in my life and no one can say a darn thing cause it is Christmas! 

Below are some of the things I have gone a little Christmas crazy about this year. 

Dog Sweaters

Yes I bought my dog a little reindeer sweater.  No I never thought I would be that person.  Yes she is too dang cute. 

Ninja Gingerbread Men

I had my official teaching review this week.  I told my class if they were their charming selves and I got a great review I would bring them a treat.  While looking at Target for what to make I found the best thing ever.  Gingerbread men in the shape of ninjas.  I have never been more happy!

PicMonkey Christmas Themes 

I made this super cute invite for my Psychology Class's Christmas Part with PicMonkey's Christmas goodness.  I am pretty much addicted and only want to make photos Christmassy. 

Cash Money

Ok so this one is not so much about Christmas greatness as much as it is about your chance to win some money for this holiday season.  Enter away for your chance to win $100 Paypal Cash! The winner must be a US resident.

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We All Have Skills

This has become one of my favorite sayings in the world.  Probably because of my favorite families has totally adopted it as their family motto since I went on vacation with them in Palm Springs this summer, which I wrote about here, in case you care.

Although, I use this saying in a playful way when someone usually fails or epically fails at something I am good at.  For example I am bomb at basketball played in a pool, I could dunk all day.  When my friend sucked at it, to point it out/make her feel better I told her we all have skills.   I think it is a better way of looking at life.  For example, that friend is a much better speller than I am.  Whenever she finds a typo in my blog, facebook, lesson plan, she is quick to point it out.  I remind her we all have skills and I feel better about myself.

Today I had a ton of fun getting my school picture ready to send out to the 18 25 people who asked for it on facebook, instagram, or twitter when I posted the following "Pretty Much Oprah Giveaway":

Today I sat down and went through to see if I actually even had 18 likes across the social media networks.  I had over 20 and I was so surprised.  I am pretty sure no one expected me to actually send out my school picture, but Today after work I sat down and wrote cards and put my cute little face in those letters.

 


I really love doing silly little things that do not take a ton of time but let others have a little laugh (maybe at my expense), and also makes them feel a little special. I would say that those are some of my skills.  I will say that I ma way less skilled at actually sending out Christmas cards.  In fact I don't think I will do it at all this year.  Gretchen Rubin in her book The Happiness Project gave me a great idea to send out Valentine's day cards instead.  I will have time to do it and it is sweeter anyway. 

What are some skills you have that you like to share with the world?  What are you totally not skilled at, but it is cool cause we all have skills and someone else can do it anyway?

_________________________________________________________

Also don't forget about Breanna's Birthday giveaway all week long she has different items up for grabs in honor of her birthday.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

- Only open to U.S. residents.

- Must reply to e-mail within 48 hours to claim prize or it will be given to someone else.

- If you are not honest with your entries, all of your entries will be deleted. Honesty's the best policy!

- Each giveaway will be open for 3 days, so get your entries in! 

KISS + A Giveaway

Happy Sunday!  I am just sitting down to in my novel for the evening and I decided to write my "Monday" post tonight.

I had the loveliest birthday on Friday.  It was so simple and fun.  I like to use the motto of KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid Silly!  I had some family members and a couple close friends go to dinner with me and then come back to my place to open gifts and eat some cake.

I really have the prettiest friends!

My Beautiful Mom and me!

Penny was so helpful when it came to blowing out candles.

Then May and two of her friends came to stay the night.  I made them watch Zoolander and I am happy that a new generation of Chinese children will be passing this gem of a movie on to others.

Overall it was a simple day but one where i felt loved and not bad about being older, which is just a win win if you ask me.

In honor of my birthday I wanted to host a little birthday giveaway.  Enter below to have a chance to win a $29 gift card to Amazon.  I tend to by everything from Amazon and I turned 29 last week so you can buy $29 worth of stuff in honor of me!

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Bouquets of Newly Sharpened Pencils (It's A Giveaway!)

Labor Day is over and it is now time for fall.  Living in Southern California, fall doesn't really happen until December and then lasts until March and then summer starts again.  At least that is how it feels.  
Around these parts we pretend that it is fall though as soon as the temp dips down to about 80.  Cute boots come out, scarfs are worn as we chug Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and drive north an hour to go apple picking.   Seriously people we do what we can! 
One of my favorite things about fall is that school started again.  As a kid I loved going back to school! One of my favorite parts of going back to school was the back to school shopping.  My mom always bought me a back to school outfit and fresh school supplies, I had a special affenity for Lisa Frank folders and trapper keepers.  
One of the best lines about fall and back to school comes from one of my favorite movies You've Got Mail.  Tom Hanks writes to Meg Ryan that he just loves New York in the fall and he would send her bouquets of newly sharpened pencils if he knew who she was. 

Ever since I heard this line I wanted someone to give me a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.  It is so quirky and sweet.  I also wanted to live in New York where there are noticeable seasons. 
In honor of fall, back to school, and bouquets of newly sharpened pencils I have a little giveaway for you, $25 gift card to Target for your back to school needs.  Go crazy, buy your new school dress, buy that Lisa Frank folder, or buy me a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.  
Happy fall and good luck!



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When Did I Become A Middle Aged Man?

Hi friends!  This weekend was totally a relaxing one.  I needed a few days to not think about work, reflect on life, and not look at a computer for three days.  It was a great little vacay from all the screens in my life.  If you need a little breaky poo from the craziness that can be life I say take it!

Anyway, as I was thinking about what to write about today I realized that I have quite successfully become a middle aged man.  Granted I am still a smokin' hot 20 something lady, but my interests have been bordering on dad level.  My new main interest is golf.  I go to the driving range once or twice a week, I am taking classes through the community center, and I am looking through thrift stores for clubs.  Dad territory right there. 

I realized this weekend that the lessons that are learned in golf could really be applied to life.  So I present to you: 

Erica's Life Lessons from the Driving Range

1. It is OK to suck sometimes

I am not a naturally gifted golfer.  I try and I get better, but I am not going to be Tiger Woods anytime soon ever, and I am more than OK with this.  One of my main sayings is that some people just aren't gifted in certain areas.  That is OK because they are gifted at other things.  It is true about golf.  I am not super gifted, but I have fun and that is all that counts sometimes.  

2. Overthinking will mess with your golf swing

I am at the point where I have to think about Every. Little. Thing. and make sure that my form is right.  Well all this thinking and I am barely able to hit the ball.  True confession, I usually miss!   My thoughts are consumed with posture, not bending my left arm, looking at the ball, following through, looking cute...  When I get the steps down right I don't have to think and the ball will fly 50 yards and I will feel like I just won the PGA. 

I realized when I over think my life I am less happy.  I am going through all the right steps and very aware of my missteps.  I am happy when I have learned the steps thought through them and then can effortlessly walk through life. 

3. Learn the right way first and practice that

So before my golf lessons this month I just went out and swung the club all willy nilly.  It was fun.  Unfortunately, I have some things to re-learn and that is no bowl of cherries.  If you learn the right way first you will not have to go through the arduous task of un-learning and re-learning. 

I just used the word arduous and I better have a picture to keep you interested.

4. Focus

I am usually pretty bad at focusing.  I am not ADD or anything, but I like to see what is going on around me and be apart of it.  When I look around the driving range I will get distracted and miss the ball.  It would be embarrassing, but everyone around me is much better at focus than I am so it works out that they didn't notice. 

5. Overthin a little then stop thinking.

Part of golf is doing the steps and thinking a ton to get the form right.  Eventually, you get the steps and you stop thinking and just do it right.  I long for this day. 

6.  Get the right accessories

As with life looking the part is essential.  I wear my little pink golf glove to the range and the fine folks there know I am serious. 

7. Find the Range that fits you

There are so many driving ranges around my house.  I have found that the one with the islands and boats is perfect for my "non focused self."  I can get loud, laugh at my mistakes, make new golf friends, borrow other people's clubs and love life.  The ones where the business men go to are not for me.  They usually hate me and that is OK.  I found what works and I will stick with it. 

Well there you have it, my go to rules for life and golf.  I am not gonna lie this old man way of life is pretty sweet.  Now i just need to find my trophy husband and sweet convertible and I am set.

Speaking of being set, I think it is extremely important you go over to The Life of Bon and enter the giveaway that is there.  Follow my bloggy and you get another entry.  Just do it already!