What I Loved About Chicago

Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

Riverwalk

View from the Ferris Wheel

Navy Pier

Downtown

I am a new fan of the Windy City! -- I had such an amazing time in Chicago. The only thing that could have made it better was to have Jon there! Here is a list of my most favorite things:

* Garret's Popcorn - Every time we passed by Garret's, there was a line out the door for their popcorn. The beautiful smell of fresh caramel filled the streets...I HAD to get some. I got two small bags of their Chicago mix. Caramel cheesy goodness in my mouth!

* Hyatt Regency Hotel Beds - I don't know what it is about hotel beds...but I slept like a baby. So comfy!

* Renegade Handmade - My new favorite store of ALL time. I bought myself a couple of early birthday gifts from iamhome & Scarlet Garnett -- I also found a new handmade shop, shelter, that I just love and I have my eye on a couple of her handmade backpacks!

* Sally Hogshead - The closing speaker of the HOW Design Conference. Besides the fact that she was an amazing speaker...she has developed a really neat tool about assessing what fascinates others about you. It's less about your perception of the world and more about how others perceive you and how you can translate that to your workplace. Oooo ahh!

* The "L" - Public transportation in Chicago is amazing compared to Atlanta. I loved it. 

* Books! - I purchased a couple books from the conference on design and I can't wait to dive into them! 

* Vintage - My favorite little vintage//handmade//new items shop, Una Mae's...so cute and the owner is precious! I bought a couple pieces of vintage clothing and a new pocket watch necklace.

There was a lot more that I really loved and there's a lot more I wish I could have done! Until we meet again Chicago... :) 

Giveaway Winners!

Before I announce the winners of the Sponsor Love giveaway and July Sponsor Spot giveaway, I wanted to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who entered! My sponsors were so kind to donate some amazing giveaway pieces for the Sponsor Love giveaway & I came across MANY new beautiful blogs and shops in my Sponsor Spot giveaway! -- I appreciate all your support and enthusiasm. :) And NOW, I'm excited to announce the winners!

The winner of the above SEVEN prizes goes to Cindy of Hellcat Vintage!! Congratulations! Please email me at MaieDae@gmail.com with your shipping information and I'll forward along your info to my contributing sponsors!

And now to announce the July sponsor spot winners...

Congratulations Janelle Haskin & Kelly McKernan! Each of you will receive a free medium ad space on my blog during the month of July...Please email me your 160x100 sized button, along with a link to where you would like it directed at MaieDae@gmail.com!

Again, thanks so much to everyone who participated. :) It's been a fantastic month and I can't wait for July!

Our Next Handmade Adventure!

Guess what?!? This morning, I woke up to a much anticipated email in my inbox. Last week, Jenny and I applied to our second craft show extravaganza, this time located in South Carolina! AND...WE GOT ACCEPTED!!

We are sooo so very excited!! The Indie Craft Parade is an amazing opportunity and we are so honored to have been selected to participate this year! If you live near the Greenville, SC, area be sure to come by! It will be September 9-11th at the Huguenot Mill, with free admission on Saturday & Sunday! You can get more info about the show here.

Can't wait!

Solo Feature: Freckled Italian

Megan is my solo feature for the month of June! I had the opportunity to interview her about the things she loves and got a little peek into her beautiful blog, Freckled Italian! Take a stroll on over to her networks: Blog & Twitter. 

I started blogging about two years ago after talking to a working writer in my hometown. I was visiting my parents for the weekend and she told me that if I wanted to be a writer, I needed to start a blog. So when I got back to my apartment at school school that Sunday night, I created an account and the rest is history.

I love posting different recipes and outfit posts, but I'm currently working on a master's degree in Children's Literature. I love gender and cultural studies, so really, my favorite posts to write are ones about music, books and gender. I'm kind of a bookworm and I just like writing things that make me think.

Grad school.  I just quit my job after a year and I'm about to go back to being a full-time student this summer, so that's definitely the main project in my life right now! After the summer, I'll be pretty much done with my coursework, and then I'll spend the next year or two (hopefully just one!) working on my thesis so I can finish this M.A. program and finally enter the real world!

I love to run and I love to eat. I spend a lot of time cooking and hanging around with my boyfriend at our apartment. I love spending as much time as I can with my family and my friends. I moved back to my hometown after graduating from college, so most of my close friends are scattered around Virginia and North Carolina, going to school or working. It's hard being away from them, so I try to take advantage of any time I can be with the people that I love.

My current-wish list is ever growing! I have a board on Pinterest that's just called "Want." There are so many things I wish for-- a nude pair of Jimmy Choos, a house with an office and a garden, for my hair to be just a few inches longer--but at the end of the day, I'm thankful for the important things I have in my life like a healthy family, great friends, a boyfriend who loves me and the roof over my head.

I read so many blogs, but my favorites lately are Gala Darling and Keiko Lynn. 

Thanks so much Megan!!

The Windy City

Chicago is amazing! Jenny and I spent some time today, before our conference, exploring the Wicker Park area. We went to the Renegade Handmade shop and LOVED it. We probably spent over an hour 1/2 just browsing and swooning over all of the beautiful handmade goodies. We saw stuff from some of our favorite artists: Paper Sparrow, Foundling, Bird Mafia...If you love the Renegade craft fairs, you would love their sweet little shop! I could just gush over it all day! I took a couple photos of the shop:

See the photo above?? They had all of their old craft fair posters for sale and I was able to snag the very last 2004 Wicker Park Craft Fair poster! (Second row from the bottom, far right.) After spending half the day trying to make up our mind on what we wanted to leave with, we finally picked out some great goodies! -- If you ever get the chance to go to Chicago, you should definitely stop by! 

Here are a couple other photographs from the day:

Shops we LOVED:

Buffalo Exchange - Gently used clothing & accessories

Una Mae's - New & vintage clothing as well as some local handmades

Renegade Handmade - Handmade

Free People - Clothing shop

Store B - Vintage

US #1 - Vintage

We had our first session of the conference tonight and learned about "being in the moment," so that we can be at our best frame of mind for creativity and being present. Afterward, we spent a couple hours at the expo collecting paper samples and resources for design! -- I can't wait for a busy day of sessions tomorrow!

Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

Chicago

Artwork Via Matte Stephens

Today, I am going to Chicago! -- I probably forgot to mention that...BUT I am seriously so, so excited. We leave for the airport in one hour! I'll be attending the HOW Design Conference in downtown Chicago with Jenny. We have been planning and dreaming about this conference for months and we can't wait!

We have a little time before and after the conference to explore the city. Anyone have any MUST SEE//EAT//DO suggestions?? I'm bringing along this city guide from Design*Sponge and I had a friend of mine who used to live there give me the brief Chicago 101...So I'll be riding the "L" and definitely getting some deep dish pizza! Mmmm...

I will still be posting while I'm gone and will most definitely plan to show you some pictures along the way! --- Geeky awesome design conference, here I come! Trends, technology, & fonts! Oh my!

PS - My huge Sponsor Love giveaway is still open for entries HERE & my Sponsor Ad Space giveaway is also still open for entries HERE -- Winners will be chosen and announced on the 29th! 

MaieDae Handmades: Navajo Necklace + I Carry Your Heart

I've been adding new goodies to the shop slowly but surely! Today, I was able to put up some of our necklaces. We have two different types of necklaces in the shop, both for only $21.00! The first is a personal favorite:the Navajo Necklace. This necklace was inspired by our Chicago earring and is a beautiful and delicate statement piece. There are four different combinations currently in the shop! AND our other necklace is more of our "romantic" piece. It's our older glass dome necklace but with a new quote, "I carry your heart with me" by E.E. Cummings. I love these sweet little glass necklaces because they are a good neutral and go great with so many outfits...and because they are sweet and romantic. I love a little romance. ;)

Navajo Feather Necklace No.701

Navajo Feather Necklace No. 704

I Carry Your Heart Necklace

Navajo Feather Necklace No.702

See all of the goodies currently in our shop by clicking here. Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday!

Sponsor in July + Sponsor Spot Giveaway!

Happy first day of summer to you!! -- July is ALMOST here, which makes me super excited, because July is my birthday month (7th!) AND it's vacation time, 4th of July, burgers & hot dogs, the smell of a freshly mown lawn, kids screaming at our apartment pool, ice cream...yum! It's my most favorite month aside from December. ;)

So, in preparation for the month, I'm now accepting medium and small sponsorship spots for the month of July! If you're interested in sponsoring MaieDae during the month of July, you can check out my sponsorship info here or email me at MaieDae@gmail.com!

Since last month's sponsorship spot giveaway went so well, and I meet so many amazing people, I decided to do another giveaway for July!! Here are the details:

Giveaway Time!!

Win a free medium sponsor spot for the month of July! -- Don't worry, if you reserve a spot now and find out you win later: I will send you a refund and (if needed) upgrade you from a small to a medium spot. On Wednesday, June 29th, I will select and announce TWO winners! 

Here's all you have to do:

Main Entry: Leave your name and a link to your blog//shop that you would like to advertise!

Bonus Entries (please leave one comment per entry) :

1. Be a follower of MaieDae via GFC on the left

2. Like MaieDae on Facebook!

3. Tweet about it! Just copy and paste this if you'd like: Win a free sponsor spot on @MaieDae for the month of July! http://tinyurl.com/3v46foe

That's all! Four ways to enter and TWO winners. :) --- Happy Summer!

Oh! And while you're busy entering for this giveaway, don't forget to enter my huge Sponsor Love Giveaway afterwards! Seven prizes, winner takes all! 

MaieDae Handmades: The Chicago Earring + Geology Studs!

I put another round of goodies up in the shop! -- Today is all about earrings. :) We have our cute and super sparkly Geology Studs for $10.00 & our bestseller, The Chicago Earring for $18.00. The Chicago Earring is one of my favorite pieces, because I love the way it is more of a hair accessory than an earring. It's easy-peasy to wear and so cute paired with a favorite sparkly stud:

Chicago Earring No.902

Geology Amethyst Studs

Chicago Earring No. 904

Geology Feldspar Studs

Chicago Earring No. 905

See more styles and colors in the shop! :)

PS - Seriously, have you seen this month's giveaway?! It's amazing! -- Enter here. 

June Sponsor Giveaway!!

I'm am SO excited about this month's sponsor giveaway. :) I wish I could enter myself! My sponsors have been super generous and are offering one lucky winner something special from their collections:

>>> Shop | Blog | Twitter <<<

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>>> Blog | Shop | Twitter <<<

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>>> Blog | Shop | Twitter <<<

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>>> Blog | Twitter <<<

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>>> Blog | Shop | Twitter <<<

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>>> Blog | Shop | Twitter <<<

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>>> Blog | Shop (opening summer 2011!) | Twitter <<<

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So, that's two amazing shop credits, a vintage wine carrier, handmade stationary, crochet embellishments for all kinds of goodies, some nerd specs, & a sweet bow to top it all off! Here's how to enter:

Main Entry:
* Visit each of these lovely ladies' blogs, feel free to leave a comment if you'd like! Afterward, comment on this post letting me know you did, along with your name and email.

Bonus Entries: (please leave one comment per bonus entry)
* Become a follower of MaieDae via GFC (left column) or Bloglovin
* Tweet about it! If you'd like, you can just copy and paste this: @MaieDae is having a summertime sponsor giveaway! One winner, seven prizes! http://tinyurl.com/3ka8ht7

So that's three ways to win SEVEN prizes!! -- One winner will be selected at random and announced within the week! Good luck!

Psst -- Check out my sponsorship info here if you'd like to Sponsor MaieDae in July!