365 Days of Giving January 10th.

full confession: I buy things because they're cute whether or not I need it. Sound familiar to anyone? This is reason #1 why I own things like giant paper clip/clothespin/magnet/whatever. Cute, yes. Useful for me, not a chance. I plan on finding some cute kid in my school to pass this on to. Perhaps this will help inspire more homework-doing in some way :)

total donation count: 38
total days: 10

Have you entered my giveaway yet?

http://funretro.blogspot.com/2011/01/365-days-of-giving-giveaway.html

365 Days of Giving Giveaway!

A Giveaway!

As you may know, I have decided to embark on a 365 project in which I give away at least one item per day to a variety of different people, some known and some unknown. Some items are personal whereas others are work-related. Feel free to peruse my other postings to see what I have been freed of so far this year.

I thought I would go in a different direction this week and make Friday's giveaway go to someone online, which means it could be you!

The purse below was given to me for Christmas. It is brand new and was given to me by my aunt. It is in perfect condition and measures 9"H x 7"W. There is one main pocket and also a zippered compartment in there as well. When empty, the purse lies flat against you and is super easy to wear on your shoulder or over your head. If you love a very ethnic look, this purse is perfect for you. While I like it very much myself, I have one that is very similar and in keeping with my goal this year, I am sharing items that I do not need.

This Sunday, I will select one winner and will send it on its way to you on Monday, January 17th, 2011. Below are the rules for entering. You will receive one entry for every step you take below:

1- follow me on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/funretro
2- follow my blog: http://www.funretro.blogspot.com
3- send a tweet with a link to this giveaway and include @funretro in the tweet
4- friend me on facebook: user name: funretro
5- post a link on your facebook account



Once you have done any or all of the steps, leave a comment below and tell me which steps you took. Each step counts as one entry.

BONUS: for every day you send a tweet or post a link on facebook you will receive one ADDITIONAL entry.


This giveaway is open to anyone in the world!

Thanks and have a great day!

365 Days of Giving January 6th

Most of you don't know that my "day" job is teaching. I am in my tenth year and if you know any teachers you won't be surprised to learn that I am as much of a hoarder at work as I am at home. Ugh. As I raid my desk drawers.....well, let's just say it ain't pretty. And incredibly overwhelming. So although I am technically not "lightening the load" at home, I believe that giving these away from any aspect of your life has a cleansing effect.

The papers below....I bought these at least five years ago. Seriously. I don't have a clue what the project was supposed to be or if I just thought it was pretty, but I bought a pack of this rather expensive foil paper. And in my desk it has sat. Make that desks. In the past five years I have sat in at least three desks. Which means I have painstakingly packed these and taken the from school to school and even town to town. But never actually used it. Today, I picked a super nice kid to give this pack to. She is one of those kids who is soooo nice that she tends to get passed over. So Jessica, today, received this pack of paper and was super excited to receive it. She has laryngitis and has barely been able to speak for a few days, yet she kept forcing out several "thank yous". I was incredibly touched by her reaction. It was a good day.

total donation count: 28

total days: 6

365 Days of Giving January 5th

Continuing on my freecycle journey (although no one has emailed me about the other items I posted..I have hope!), today I am listing a large clear glass ribbed vase. This is the kind you get form the florist when flowers are delivered. I guess somewhere along the way I got flowers from someone and decided to hold on to this vase, even though I never get flowers or, when I do, they come in yet another vase.

I am sure if I dig deep enough I will find a week's worth of these vases. Ridiculous.

total donation count: 27

total days: 5

127 Sale

I can't remember when or where I first heard about the 127 Sale. Probably because I was instantly entranced and floated in a daydream just thinking about it....

For those who don't know, the 127 Sale is a mega garage sale spanning the states of Alabama, Georgie, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and new this year, Michigan. That's about 700 miles of more items than you can ever possibly imagine owning. I own and live in a two family house which means I don't have nearly as much room as I like to pretend I have. Yet the idea of doing this sale has been Top Five on my to-do list for years and I decided this was the year it was to be!

Now, if you know me, you won't be surprised to hear that there is no way I was only going to dabble in this sale. Not me. I decided I was going full throttle and hitting every state in the process from Alabama to Ohio (I hadn't known about Michigan when I first planned it, and, alas, work required my attention so it didn't make the cut.

I initially planned to do this alone, just me and my Cocker Spaniel Casey. Then my sister, Amanda, joined in. A few days before leaving my Casey ended up with a hurt paw and couldn't make it. Happily, my longtime friend Eileen jumped in. Let me just say this: I couldn't have asked for better roadtrippers because three girls sitting on ONE bench seat in a pickup for six days and covering 2000 miles...well, you better like each other. And thankfully I love these gals.

The first few days were filled with rainy days and seemingly never-ending dark skies. Not being the girliest of girls, the weather didn't do much to slow us down. We trekked on for days and didn't head back east until the last day of the sale. Our truck was laden with treasures, none of which were regretted later on, I am happy to say.

Some of my treasures have been grouped and shown throughout. Perhaps you'll find some in my etsy shop, but don't be surprised if some never become available for sale. I have willpower but not that much!