F That! It's the First FREEBIE FRIDAY!

F-R-E-E

I love free stuff. I love a free sample while in Starbucks, or iTunes single of the week (thank you iTunes for helping me discover MGMT before they became trendy), or a free download on my Kindle (Pride & Prejudice, whoot whoot!). Free is good. And while we're working our way out of this economic turmoil, free is on a lot of people's minds. Definitely yours truly :)

So I wanted to do something for YOU, my readers. As you know I'm obsessed with Starbucks. I also spend a disgusting amount on iTunes and then curse myself when I see the money come out of my online checking (No cursing about Florence & The Machine...absolutely ZERO cursing) and then there's the whole 1-click power of Amazon and ordering books right away to the Kindle. I am a huge reader so when I finish a good book I want to dive immediately into the next one. And with the power of WiFi and the Kindle, my wishes come true.

So now it's Friday and Fridays are awesome, but you know what would make Friday even better? Something FREE! So bloggers, it's my first Freebie Friday! I'll try to do at least one of these a month and mix it up with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Up for giveaway this Friday is a $10 gift certificate to your choice of either STARBUCKS, iTUNES, or AMAZON.COM wooooohoooo! I will snail mail you the gift cards from Starbucks or iTunes and the Amazon one will be delivered via email. If you win, just let me know what your little heart desires

Interested? Dreaming of a grande, sugar free, cinnamon dolce soy latte? Then here's the deal:
Leave a comment telling me your fave of these 3 places. If you don't like any of them, lemme know something better!
AND
Follow my blog (if you already do, then you're good to go!)

For additional entries you can:
5 extra entries: Blog about the giveaway and then let me know by commenting again (or email) & include the link to your blog
3 extra entries: 'Like' my page on Facebook (comment here/email so I know it was your blog...lots of different blog names/facebook names!)
1 extra entry per tweet, per day: Tweet me @PursuitofLLT

Contest will run from NOW until MONDAY @ 11:59PM CST (UPDATED! wanted to make sure there was enough time for people to enjoy their weekend & enter in the giveaway!)

Winner will be chosen by random.org

Get excited, it's Friday and you might be days away from a Freebie Friday gift card!

Image via images.businessweek.com

Image via ibay24.es

Image via thedealdetector.com

Tuesday's Thoughts

It's Tuesday, which for most of us means we've made it through the nasty excuse of a day called Monday. Why are Mondays so brutal?? ANYWAY...

I've been up in my ears lately preparing for the biggest test of my life: THE bar exam. Eek. I dilly-dallied the first month of the summer (like most people) and now it seems like there's not enough time in the day. The exam is 1 week from today and I'm freaking out. So in an attempt to not pass out from sleep deprivation, cry from stress, or blink repeatedly while looking at my outlines, I decided to take a much needed BREAK!

So I sat here and thought about what to write. I've had so many ideas for blog posts and now BOOM! nothing. How depressing. But then I thought, hey, I'll just write about things I'm currently obsessed with.

HERE WE GO...

1. Starbuck's Rewards: Seriously blogger-friends, get in the know with Sbux rewards. Not only are they amazing, but they are necessary! So you go to Starbuck's a lot, huh? Well they've started a program where you pay with a gift card you register online (protects your balance!) and everytime you use this card you get stars. After 5 you get free syrups and soy!! (which is huge for us soy drinkers) After 30 you get your own personalized gold card. Here's a link for the details...everyone seriously CHECK IT OUT. and More importantly...here is my GOLD CARD (your name is on it, but I blurred mine out...) Receiving it was the highlight of my week

https://www.starbucks.com/card/rewards




2. Inception: My oh my. Did anyone else see it? Was hooked from Hans Zimmer's score and the first five seconds of the movie. Dream or reality? Guilt running your life? Affecting your work? It's the small subtle clues here and there that make you second guess everything. The ending, thank you Christopher Nolan, for keeping it as ambiguous as the other 2 hours of the movie. I love movies where YOU, the viewer, get to decide what happens. Yes, maybe the truth is in there, but until I see it again, I'm blissfully happy with my interpretation.






3. Florence + the Machine: Thank You, USA for running a F+M song in your Covert Affairs show. I knew I heard it before and immediately bought the cd on iTunes. Best purchase in months. I love music like this...great beats, amazing lyrics and a chorus that gets stuck in your head forever. I highly recommend heading over to youtube and checking out the full versions of the songs. The 30 second iTunes previews won't do it justice. In fact, here is their song for the song Dog Days are Over


Florence & The Machine: Dog Days are Over

4. Fedoras: I'm Norwegian/Irish so therefore incredibly pale. While I'm not saying I'm basking in the Caribbean sun, I find that Chicago can have some intense rays! Now, I like a good baseball cap...but not when I'm wearing a sundress and wedges. I save baseball hats for White Sox games, jogs along the lake, and dirty hair days! So when fedoras made their way back into the stores, you betcha I was one of the first to grab one. Do you have a cute, chic way to keep the sun out of your eyes and the rays from damaging your skin?

Image via http://www.strawfashion.com/straw-fedoras.php

5. Lululemon: Ms. Lulu, I am forever in your debt. I could live in your relaxed fit pant and your scoop neck tanks are AH-mazing. Thank you for making tanks that actually support those of us who need the extra support! Nothing more uncomfortable then running a couple miles or posing in down dog and feeling like you're flying all over the place.

Images via lululemon

So, sorry for the lame post tonight...But tell me, what are your thoughts for this Tuesday? Any favorites?

Jeweled Inspiration

Yesterday as I sat in Starbuck's drinking my iced latte I noticed two girls animatedly chatting next to me and plotting their day through the city. Then one girl's wrist caught my eye. There it was. The coolest & cutest piece of jewelry I've seen lately.

Ever see a piece of jewelry and instantly wish you had it? I could feel myself turning green with envy. Notorious for my mobile uploads (sneak attack pics of random things/people) I attempted to get a shot of the bracelet. Do you know how hard it is to get a pic of a bracelet when the wrist is flailing about?! Let's just say Plan A= Failed.

I finally thought to myself, screw it...and stood up. I walked over, told her I was sorry if I was being creepy (is this creepy, I don't know?) but I wanted to know where she got her adorable bracelet and if I could take a picture of it. She bought it in Toronto. Of course she did since I'm currently in Chicago! So I snapped a picture and have been thinking about it since.

I used to dabble in jewelry making back in high school. I loved the creativity of it and of course, the benefits. I had so many fun necklaces/bracelets. So it got me thinking...I need to try to make this bracelet!

I'm attaching some pics. Let me know if you've seen something like this or own one similar to it yourself. It feels very etsy to me...and I LOVE LOVE LOVE etsy!

If you're in the know about these stones/materials...let me know!