Free Nail Polish? Sign me up!

I have a bit of a nail polish obsession. Seriously. It's bad. I'm always painting my nails. I change colors at least 2 times a week. Or reapply just as much. I hate little chips in my polish and end up picking away the second I see a chip, before I know it the floor is covered with picked off chips of nail polish and I need to reapply. My husband accuses me of being addicted to the fumes. I think it's just I look at nail color as an accessory. Always changing to match moods, outfits, seasons.

Last June, I went for a manicure to kick off a weekend of "me" time. I had essentially been stressed out and just in desperate need of a weekend of no schedules, no chores, no responsibility, no nothing. Friday evening commutes can be hell, and I didn't want to start the weekend off frustrated, sitting in traffic so I scheduled an appointment at MiniLuxe on Newbury Street. I got to walk around, enjoy the warm weather, and just decompress knowing that I had not a single thing in need of my attention. The point of this story? It was when I was introduced to Zoya nail polish.

The color I picked was LC. Which was part of their "Gossip" line. It was the perfect red and orange shade for June. I loved the color, but what I loved more, was what I learned about Zoya. It is formaldehyde free, toulene free, and vegan friendly! I don't know what it means, but it sounds good! Anything that's vegan friendly is probably good for you.

I'm sure now you're wondering "What about the free polish!? My nails aren't going to paint themselves!". Fret not. All you need to do is head over to Facebook, and "like" Zoya. (And while you're "liking" things there, be sure to "like" petal & pink!). You will get access to a coupon code, and then just clickety-click-click your way around the Zoya site, put the 3 colors of your choice into your cart, enter the code and voila! Just pay for shipping! ($6.95 for regular delivery. I can't even find 1 nail polish for less than that, let alone 3!).

These were my selections:

Stacy. Anything described as "Vintage Vamp" is a sure win in my book!



Kelly. Perfect grey-purple.




LC. Where it all began.

 A word to the wise though...I had a hell of a time trying to checkout. They kept on sending me back to my shipping info page. Turns out, although there's no little asterisk telling me a phone number is required on the billing page, it won't let you do anything without it. Duh, Erin.

MMXI

Happy New Year!!!

I've seen lots of posts about resolutions and the like, and while I feel like I laid out what I'd like to accomplish in my bucket list to my 20's, I figured I might as well lay out some foundation, and some goals for petal & pink.

First and foremost: BLOG MORE. This blog will continue to be a hybrid of DIY, Fashion, Etsy, Creativity, raves, and probably a few rants. I already have a few posts in mind, and I know I sound like a broken record, but putting pen to paper (or in this case, finger to keyboard) is really therapeutic.

Other goals:

• Hit 150 sales in my Etsy shop
• Mini blog/shop makeover
• More features/giveaways, both here and on other blogs
• Do 2-3 shows this year, more if possible
• Track my expenses and start paying myself, and not by buying myself stuff!
• Launch new line
• Customer service
• More Bridal/Custom orders
• Look into and potentially start offering Gift Cards for Holiday 2011.

These are ambitious, but they are attainable. 150 sales means I need to more than double what I've done since I started selling on Etsy in 2007. (Wow, has it really been that long?!) Granted, I know so much more than I did back then, and have seen a steady uptick, I tend to lose momentum, and then essentially undo everything I've worked so hard to accomplish. I had been featured on the Etsy Finds email back in 2008, had been on several front pages between 2008-09 and had pieces featured in the Etsy blog. I had a good momentum going, and then stopped...which then caused it all to come crashing down. No more.

Doing more shows/giveaways will only help me gain exposure, even if it does take a slight hit to my budget at first. I'm working on launching a new line, and will look into hosting a giveaway somewhere for that when it's ready. (If you follow me on twitter, I've been giving sneak peeks into what I've been working on...well that was, until I ran out of supplies.)

Additional goal: STAY ON TOP OF SUPPLY ORDERS!

Customer service is always a strong point of mine, and while it doesn't need improvement per se, it should always be in focus. I think after Thanksgiving I had a sale, and ended up forgetting to send a Thank you email, but there was (and is always) one included in the package, but my biggest pet peeve is buying something and having the sale go unacknowledged. None of that any more. If I have time to email my friends, tweet, facebook, anything, then I have time to type a quick thank you email.

Bridal orders and custom orders are always so fun, adding more of these will only add more creativity into my life. And I love being a part of someones special day.

I've got much bigger goals further down the line, but on my immediate, these will be done this year radar are those big ones.

I hope you all have a happy, healthy and fashionable 2011!

~erin~

Pink. It's not even a question.

I am SO overly excited, about this years Pantone color of the year for 2011. Ridiculously excited.



Pantone Color of 2011, Honeysuckle

For anyone who knows me, you know I'm a HUGE fan of pink. Bright, cheery pinks; subdued, pastel powdery pinks, and sometimes even bright, almost neon pinks. I live for pink. If I can get something in pink, you better believe I'm doing it. (Even my favorite band ever, sings a song about my favorite color ever)
Pantone today, released it's color of the year, Honeysuckle, and I am beyond thrilled. From the Pantone site, they describe the color as: Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world.

And today, it just goes with our fashion. (Yes, I am listening to that song while I type this..."inspiration" is what I'm calling it, but really, it's just an opportunity to play a less played CD by my boyfriend, Steven.)

 I have a huge collection of pink beads in shades similar to this. I have more pink beads than I've been able to use in this shade. You better believe I'm taking advantage.

You see, it's not quite so new to me. I have been using this color for some time now, and I would like to show you the petal & pink contributions (from 2009 and 2010 mind you) supporting this "brave new color":

L-R clockwise: Pink Flourish, Bauble in pink, Berry mini baubles, Preppy bracelet

As you can see, I'm prepared, and you can expect to see plenty more of this shade in my shop for the time being. I love working with bright cheery pinks, and even when Pantone announces its next new color of the year, this color will still be with me. I may no longer be a little girl in pigtails with pink everything, but that girl has grown up, and continued with the color and made it mature with her.

Pink. It's like red but not quite.

29...and 30!!

DONE!!!! FIN!!!! FINITO!!!! END!!!!!!

First the nitty gritty:

Day 29: Anthro top, Gap Modern Boot pants, Nine West pumps, petal & pink Icicle earrings

Where: Work. Plan and Simple

Day 30: Anthro top, J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Express Editor pants, Target heels, petal & pink Icicle earrings.

Where: Work and errands.

Thoughts: Honestly, I am so so so so so happy to be done with this challenge. I've taken a lot from it, sure. But really, honestly and truthfully I've missed the diversity of my overflowing closet. Primarily with shoes, secondly with layering pieces. About a week or so into the challenge, I read a blog post from Amber, who said that she couldn't (wouldn't) do a challenge like this limiting her wardrobe because she's a layer-er. Any of my friends who know me, also know that I too, am a layer fiend. Summer, Winter, it doesn't matter, I layer it on. It's primarily why I chose 6 cardigan pieces. To layer. However, even picking 4 "fancy" tank/camis, I just couldn't get into it, and my dressing took a turn towards the simple. Sure, I've got PLENTY of jewelry to pick from, and a fair share of scarves and belts, but looking at my outfits, I really just wasn't feeling it. I stuck to it though, I'm not a quitter, but in the end, I don't think I got what others take away from it. I've really enjoyed this challenge, and I've found a few new twitter friends and blogs to read, but I'm just happy to get back into my closet, my precious shoes, and dress like me again...dripping in layers.

Now if you'll need me, I'll be rolling around in my closet, petting my shoes I've been longing for.

And, if you need something to do, be sure to check out the giveaway over at Amber's Notebook. It's a good one! (including a coupon code!).

Days 25-28. Almost done!

Alright, lets just get straight to it, shall we? I've got a tree to decorate and soup in the crock pot!

Day 25: Gap cardigan, Gap skinny jeans, Mod Cloth scarf, Naughty Monkey Detective boots.

Where: Work.

Day 26: Express lace trim cami, J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Gap skinny jeans, Steve Madden flats, petal & pink necklace (coming in January to my shop!)

Where: Work.

Day 27: Gap black tee, Gap Skinny jeans (have I mentioned I live in these and own multiple pairs? Can't say enough great things about them!), Naughty Monkey Detective boots (also love love love these), petal & pink necklace and earrings.

Where: Christmas tree shopping, Shopping for holiday decor, dinner out with husband. Overall a nice Saturday!

Day 28: Express lace trim cami, Gap Cardigan, J.Crew Vintage Matchstick Cords, Nine West flats

Where: Laundry and grocery shopping. (I won't lie, I needed to do laundry so I can wear my skinny jeans again.)

Thoughts: Okay, this challenge has been eye opening. Especially when it comes to my warm weather wardrobe, but I'll get into that on day 30. I can say that I am missing the rest of my clothes and getting really tired of these pieces. I also didn't account for the fact that while it was still 60 degrees when the challenge started, it is now only going to be in the 30's this week, and I don't have much that accounts for chilly temperatures.

Just 2 more days, I will make it!

1,000 follower giveaway winner!!!!

Congrats to Amanda! (@primandpropah on twitter) You won the giveaway!

What I know is that she will be getting the Icicle earrings sent to her, what you should do is check out her blog. Any blog that has crafty meets, badass tanks, meets martini, meets cupcake and includes pink banner is right up my alley! She's got crafty-ness and fashion and a picture with the wall street bull in NYC that is hysterical.

Amanda, please email me at petalandpink {at} gmail {dot} com. (Take that email grabber software thing, I learned that trick from the knot, suckahs.)

For those who didn't win, thank you for entering and I'm sure I'll find another reason later on for another giveaway. I'm sure I'll hit another milestone that I'll want to celebrate. (like 100 etsy sales, only 36 to go!) Although at this rate, I might get 2k twitter followers first!

Days 21-24. What I wore.

This isn't original, but this is clever. I wore TWO outfits yesterday! Which means I'm all caught up from my lazy pajama day after Thanksgiving! This is a big deal to me not because I want to shop (although, boy do I!) but because now my challenge will end on Tuesday, and I am free to wear whatever I want the day of my work Holiday party. Which just seems really refreshing.

How did I wear two outfits you may ask? Well, I went to work like I do most other days, and while at work, my husband emailed me asking me out on a date. A date?! Sure thing! Of course, going out in work clothes is not really my thing, so I came home and changed. I figured it was the perfect chance to put on a new outfit for the challenge and catch up. (I'm missing the rest of my closet at this moment, and this is a big deal to be one more outfit closer to reuniting with certain items). So now, I'm on track to finish on time. Huzzah!

So here are my outfits:

Day 21: Target dress and tights, Nordstrom scarf, Nine West flats

Where: Work.

Thoughts: I really wasn't feeling styling my hair that morning. Hence the poodle on my head.

Day 22a: J.Crew Jackie cardigan, Banana Flower embellished top, Express Editor pants, Target shoes, petal and pink necklace (an old favorite)

Where: Work again my friends. I walked to the PO and the shoes were comfy, they always impress me for Target shoes.

Thoughts: I need to cut back on soup at lunch, the sodium is making me puffy.

Day 22b: Same BR top, Gap Cardigan, Gap Skinnies, Naughty Monkey Detective boots, petal and pink necklace

Where: A super sexy date to Office Depot, Starbucks and Barnes and Noble. Starbucks and BN was supposed to be the date, but I was out of mailing envelopes and Office Depot is across the street.

Thoughts: I was so much more comfortable in this outfit than what I wore all day at work. I also drank my weight in water, so that may have helped.

Day 24: Anthro top, Grey Gap Modern Boot pants, Nine West pumps.

Where: work

Thoughts: Why yes, those are my Steve Madden flats in the picture. You see, while I still wear the "death shoes" I have taken to switching in and out of flats to get to/from my office. I left work and realized. Yup. Shoes are still at my desk. I got to my car and realized "ugh. I forgot the asparagus and buttermilk in the fridge, now I have to go back." (What doesn't everyone buy random groceries at lunch?) On the walk back to my office thought "Well, at least I can pick up my shoes..." and then drove home with my asparagus and buttermilk and cursed at my shoes...still sitting next to my desk. It was one of those days.

My other impressions? Well, I'm thinking now I should have gone by outfit numbers instead of calling them days...Also, at this point, I just want to be done. I feel like I have worn every single article of clothing this week alone, and even though I know it's not true, I just want something different. A plain sweater (it's getting cold!) or my pinstripe pants...just something not these clothes. Although, I do have some fun (to me) outfits planned for the next few days. Here's hoping they turn out!

Don't forget, just a little longer until my giveaway closes, don't forget to enter!