Purple Monkey Giveaway! {Flourish Leather}

Friends, I am so excited to announce a new giveaway!

I've been reading Danielle's blog since I first started blogging.  She's funny and so sweet! 

Anyway, last week I stumbled upon Flourish Leather on etsy, and immediately fell in love with the bracelets the shop offered.

They're simple enough to not overwhelm an outfit, but stylish enough to wear with anything!

Seeing as I usually have a stack of bracelets on my arm, these are perfect!

The funny part is, it wasn't until I started talking to the owner of Flourish Leather that I realized it was Danielle!  Don't you love when you find a shop you love that was created by someone you already "know"?

Danielle is giving one lucky Purple Monkey reader their choice of a Flourish Leather bracelet.

There's so many gorgeous colors to choose from it's so hard to choose!

To enter, simply:

1) Become a follower (or tell me if you already are one)

2) Visit the shop and tell me which color you would get if you won and why

{The why part is interesting to me.  I would choose either natural because it reminds me of the woods behind my childhood home, or blue because of my love of the ocean}

Want extra chances to win?

Of course you do!

3) Tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment

4) Blog about the giveaway and leave a comment

That's it!  It's that easy.

I'll keep the giveaway open until next Tuesday, June 21st

xo

Spring Giveaway! {Sacred Suds}

I'm so excited to announce another giveaway on the blog!

Since we've been talking a lot about yoga lately, I wanted to do something in the yoga theme and this is the perfect one.

I love bath products, especially soaps, so when I stumbled upon these Yoga soaps I fell in love!

Sacred Suds is a company specializing in unique, earth friendly soaps scented with essential oils.

Sacred Suds is offering one lucky winner the Om and Ganesha citrus essential oil gift set!  This includes a wooden soap dish.  Awesome, right?

As described in her shop,

"Help your favorite Yoga-lover achieve joy, connection, and asana success with this Yoga gift set of all natural, handcrafted, essential oil soaps. Inspired by Ganesha, the Hindu Lord of success and remover of obstacles, and by Om, the sacred Hindu syllable that connects our deepest self to the All, these soaps are perfect accompaniments to any Yoga practice (see soap descriptions below). Gift set includes Ganesha and Om soaps, wooden soap dish (handcrafted in the USA by fellow Etsian crochetgal), and comes gift-wrapped in beautiful cotton fabric."

It's easy {and fun} to enter:

1) Become a follower {or just let me know if you are one}

2) Check out the Sacred Suds shop

3) Tell me what your favorite thing is about Spring!

For extra entries:

1) Blog about this giveaway, and let me know

2) Tweet this giveaway, and let me know

Cool?  Cool.

I'll leave this open for a week!

Have a great Tuesday! xo

February Giveaway!

I'm here with an awesome giveaway to start off the month right!

Pokeadot makes the cutest necklaces that would look gorgeous with any outfit.

Just take a look for yourself.... don't you just want everything?

Well, to get you started on your collection of everything, they're offering one lucky Purple Monkey reader a $15 gift certificate to pick out whatever they want! 

Anything.

Here are some of my favorites:

Perfect, right?

To enter:

1) If you're not a follower, become one!

2)  Go over to Pokeadot and leave a comment telling me what you would get with your gift certificate!

For extra entries:

3) tweet this!

4) blog this!

good luck:)

i'll pick a lucky winner on Monday!

Purple Monkey Giveaway! {CLOSED}

I have another AMAZING giveaway lined up for this week.

And, instead of one winner there with be TWO!

Space Pearls is this super awesome shop that sells this gorgeous vial necklaces.

They are vials filled with a variety of potions to give it a magical feel.

How unique is that?

Space Pearls is giving away two of their vials to a Purple Monkey reader!

The first winner will receive the Moon Dust Vial

and the second winner will receive the Dreams Vial

I think they're absolutely stunning!

To enter:

1) If you're not a follower, become one!

2)  Leave a comment telling me your guilty pleasure :)

For example,

Mine is watching Teen Mom 2 and having dance parties in my room.  By myself.  

No judging ;)

For extra entries:

3) Tweet it!

4) Blog it!

xo good luck!

I'll pick a winner on Sunday! 

Purple Monkey Giveaway!

I'm really excited about this next giveaway.

It's one of my favorites, and I can't wait to order one for myself.

Anyone who sees me on a daily basis knows that I wear 4 special bracelets at all times.  

They are the two leather bracelets I got while in Greece, and the two yoga bracelets to help count off OMs.

I'm always looking for one of a kind bracelets to add to my collection, but I don't want to wear just anything.

And this is not just anything.

ByMargaret is a shop that creates the cutest bracelets that are perfect for layering and stacking up.

I think one of them would be perfect to add to the growing number of bracelets on my wrist.

Margaret is graciously giving away one Kidada-inspired bracelet to a lucky {and I mean really lucky} Purple Monkey reader.

isn't it gorgeous?  it remind me of summer so much, and would be perfect to wear anytime of the year when you need a little reminder of the sun!

To enter:

1)  You must be a follower!  {help me get to my goal of 100 :)}

2)  Leave a comment telling me one thing people may not know about you!  It can be anything.

For instance:

"I have to sleep with a fan on.  It doesn't matter if it's 20 degrees out, my fan is always on."

For extra entries:

3)  blog about it!

4) tweet about it!

and let me know :)

i'll keep this giveaway open until Monday!

good luck! xo

Cute Notebooks {and a giveaway winner}

The winner of the Zephyr Woods giveaway is:

Nicole!

Congrats :) email me at

purplemonkey732 {@} aol {.} com

and i'll put you in touch with the seller!

For those of you that didn't win or forgot to enter, don't worry, I have quite a few amazing giveaways lined up over the next few months!

In the meantime, Cutiepie Company makes and sells the world's cutest notebooks and stationary.

so awesome, right?

The notebooks are perfect for keeping track of New Year's Resolutions, and the notecards are an awesome way to remember to write all those thank you notes!

and right now, Cutiepie Company is offering all Purple Monkey readers 15% off their order!

The code is PMONKEY15 and is available until January 31st!

enjoy!! xo

New Year, New You! Purple Monkey Giveaway! {Closed}

As you know, I love unique jewelry that will make a statement.

Zephyr Woods is an online store specializing in the most adorable wooden pendants!

They're so cute and would be perfect with a sweater or plain white t-shirt.

Zephyr Woods is offering one Purple Monkey reader the Tweetheart pendant.
It'll be so lovely to wear for Valentine's Day which is only a month away!

To enter to win:

1)  You must be a follower on the blog.  Just click follow on the right column!  Super easy, right? :)
Leave me a comment letting me know you have!
2) In the same comment, tell me what your new year's goal/resolution is!

For extra entries:
3)  Tweet this giveaway!
4)  Blog about the giveaway!

Good Luck!  This giveaway will be open until this Sunday, the 9th!
xo

Purple Monkey Fall Giveaway!

hey guys!

i'm super excited to announce another awesome giveaway!

thanks to the super cool etsy shop

Shaped By Hand!

Shaped by Hand makes gorgeous earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings!

Marilyn, the lovely owner, is offering one Purple Monkey reader these gorgeous earrings

how pretty!

to enter

1) you must be a follower of the blog!

2) tell me what your favorite thing about fall is!

leave one comment with the above

for extra entries

3) tweet the giveaway and leave another comment

4) blog the giveaway and leave another comment

the giveaway ends on Monday, September 27th!

good luck! xo

Purple Monkey Summer Giveaway!

i'm so excited to announce this giveaway by Mo Funk Designs!

Mo Funk Designs has gorgeous handmade jewelry that i'm in love with!
Plus, the owner is super sweet and has worked so hard with me to make sure this is perfect for all of my readers!

Mo Funk Designs is giving away this gorgeous necklace perfect for summer!

 

the gold and turquoise together makes for one necklace i would love to own!

to enter simply 

1) be a follower!

2) check out Mo Funk Designs

3) tell me what your favorite indie band is!

leave a comment letting me know you did!

for extra entries

1) blog about the giveaway and leave a comment!

2) tweet the giveaway and leave a comment!

good luck!

the giveaway will end next tuesday, july 6th!

Purple Monkey Giveaway

Long-time Purple Monkey readers know that my favorite jewelry is anything quirky and unique.

Chella's Collection is just that.

Owner Julie Coash creates pendants out of vintage maps.  

Whether it's your hometown, your current residence, or that special place you fell in love with on vacation, she can create a pendant that will remind you of memories wherever you are in the world!

how special?

Julie is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. 

She's offering one lucky Purple Monkey reader any pendant and chain of their choice!

it can either be one featured in the shop, or if you don't see one from the city you want, she'll custom make one for you!

to enter into this awesome giveaway

1)  you must be a Purple Monkey follower!

2) Visit Chella's Collection

3)  Let me know what city you'd like on a map pendant!

(leave a comment letting me know you did the above 3)

for extra entries

4) blog about the giveaway! (and comment)

5)  tweet the giveaway! (and comment)

good luck!

this giveaway will be open until next Wednesday, June 9th!

Blogiversary! {and a Giveaway!}

Happy 1st Blogiversary 

Purple Monkey!!

i really really can not believe that it's already been one year since I started this blog.

what started out as a focus for art and music on the jersey shore has turned into an inspirational art, music, cooking, personal blog!  

so so much has happened in the last year, it's unbelievable.

before this, i had a few personal blogs that no one read

but they never lasted.

so i am truly surprised that we've made it to a year!

but honestly, this blog wouldn't be here without...

YOU!

reading all of your sweet comments completely makes my day.  

i have made some amazing friends here on this blog.

not even kidding, i fully expect a lot of you guys to continue being my friends for a very long time.

i can only hope that one day we can all have a huge blog meet up! 

{i'll bake the cake}

in honor of making it to a year,

i have TWO very special giveaways lined up for this week.

the first one is so awesome!  you're all gonna love it!

Raw Art Letter Press

is an etsy shop specializing in gorgeous prints.

she can even personalize them for you.

the winner of this giveaway will win a print of one of my favorite quotes

"may my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living" - ee cummings

how gorgeous?

to enter

1) You must be a follower!

2) Visit the shop 

3) tell me your favorite quote!

---- leave one comment letting me know----

for extra entries:

4) blog about it!  and leave a link!

5)  tweet about it!  and leave a link!  

good luck!

the giveaway will close on Friday!  

And the winner is!

and the winner is.......

{out of 14, not 100.  random always fails me when trying to show the correct max when i copy this on here}

     True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: 

Result:

9

chelsea!!  

congrats girl!!!

send me an email at 

purplemonkey732@aol.com

and i'll put you in contact with the seller for your necklace!

thanks for playing along everyone!  i can't wait to host another giveaway :)

xoxo

Giveaways This Week!

giveaways, oh giveaways!

The Swede Record's Art Print Giveaway

Dolce Vita's "I Adore You" Giveaway

It's Simple Love's Argentine Shoe Giveaway

ADDED:  Chelsea's Awesome Art Print Giveaway!

The Purple Monkey Wishbone Necklace Giveaway!

*spread the word!  it ends Friday!  

Coconut Cream Cheese Cupcakes.

today i made cupcakes.

coconut cream cheese cupcakes.

i'm a huge fan of coconut.

i'm not, however, a huge fan of cream cheese icing.

which is weird because i eat bagels and cream cheese like they're going out of style.

so the reason i don't have a picture is because i didn't eat one.

well, really i made these for my mom's dinner party.

and everyone else LOVED them.

so i figured i'd share with you.

the recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa

Coconut Cream Cheese Cupcakes

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For the frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

enjoy!

tomorrow is my Semi-formal.

you know, that one i talked about back in February before it got snowed out.

and the one i talked about in march before it got snowed out a second time.

luckily, there is no snow in the forecast for tomorrow!

the bestie is picking me up early for a manicure/lunch date before i go to get my hair done.

it's funny.

even though we spent two weeks together in Paris, and saw each other every single day, i miss her so much after not seeing her for the last 4 days.

and we have so much to talk about.

i'm gonna hate having her in Delaware next year.

here are two blog posts you might have missed this week!

it's my second giveaway!

you could win this:

enter now :)

and

my photo journal of my Paris trip!

have a great night xo

Fun Giveaways to Check Out!

here's another installment of some of the best giveaways going around in blog world this week!

Stacey's 28th Street Photo and Gift Earring Giveaway!

Ashley's Photography giveaway!

Naomi's Art Giveaway!

Alli's OPI Photography Giveaway!

check them out!

i'll be back later with some fun spring things

xoxo

My Blog Friends Need Help

hey everyone!

Just a couple of things....

-- One of my blog friends, Stacey from Love and Photographs, has a gorgeous townhouse in Utah up for rent!  her and her husband are currently paying too mortgages (they just moved to California), and are looking for some new renters!

if i wasn't a high school student who lived across the country, i'd totally rent this!  

but since i am, i can't :(

this house is absolutely gorgeous!

i love the design.

go check it out on her blog!  and if you could all help her out and post it on your blogs', that would be great :)

-- some of my other blog friends are having some awesome giveaways this week!

*Morgan's plates and bowls from Cyprus giveaway

*Rachael's Peruvian Feather earring Giveaway

 

*Nicole's That Vintage Giveaway

*Naomi's rockstar print giveaway

*emily's favorite things giveaway

just thought i'd share- cause everyone's tuesday could use a little something something :)

oh!  and the new she and him album came out today

i had it all pre-ordered and ready for me when i hopped out of bed this morning

{okay, it was more of a roll out of bed, trip over books on the floor, and stumble to laptop morning}

i love it :)

happy music, any day of the week!

Making it Through Tuesday

it's tuesday.

which is always my monday.

but this week it's totally my thursday.

but that's because tomorrow's my friday. 

got that?

ha!

here are somethings making me smile tonight!

the she&him in the sun music video

just because my giveaway is over doesn't mean there aren't some other awesome ones out there!

nicole's pretty necklace giveaway!

mucho mucho bueno bueno giveaway!

wearing my pretty new skirt tomorrow

{totally for st. patty's day}

{source}

and always remembering this

{source}

night all!  

xoxo

Pretty Pretty

i found these pretty pretty pictures on flickr today

{okay, i found them via my new blog crush the drifter and the gypsy}

so many more gorgeous photos by wild goose chase

in other exciting news.... NPR is streaming my favorite band's new album right now

i CAN NOT WAIT for the new she and him album to come out

march 23rd... come now please :)

i guess ill be listening to them from NPR for now.

seriously, the album's incredible.  better then volume one.  and i didn't think it could happen.

today was raining and cold,

sun come out!  please please please.

one of my lovely blog friends is having her first giveaway this week!

head over to chelsea's blog to enter to win some AWESOME stuff!

meanwhile...

tonight's the last night to enter the kitty roger's photography giveaway!

my first ever!

the giveaway will be open until midnight

i'll be drawing a name tomorrow :)

have a good night!

xoxo