Friday, May 2, 2014

Couturgatory turns one! Anniversary giveaway

Yay! May 2nd, 2013 was my first post here. It was selfies with a bad camera phone taken in a wavy chunk of mirror.
Fittingly, it was during a heat wave in San Francisco, where the high was an unbelievable 91 degrees F/33 C and here I am, in the middle of another West Coast heat wave. I don't know why the people around me are complaining; I moved from 55-and-overcast All-day-every-day-all-year Town and I am fine. :D

Even with the chaos and sparse posting this year, I have done a total of 148 posts in a year, or roughly 1 every 2.5 days. That's a lot of blabbing! And I have you, dear readers, to thank for slogging through it.
In this year, I got a wonderful blogger introduction by one of the first bloggers I read, Ally of Shybiker, who I'm now honored to call my friend. I won a Bloggy, and had the honor of being linked to by Already Pretty, the style blog that introduced me to personal style blogs and started me on this road.
And of course, I've gotten to know awesome people around the world. The personal style blog community (both bloggers and readers) I stumbled into is supportive, intelligent, perceptive, and so very creative. I think my perspective on style blogging, and blogging in general, has widened. So has my wardrobe. Tee hee.

Yes yes, enough with the self-congratulatory (couturgalatory?) back patting, on to The Giveaway!

I am giving away one Cara New York fascinator, seen here:

Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Aya, you crazy wench, you love that ridiculous thing. Should you really be giving away your hat?'

And the answer is, I'm not giving away my hat. I am in fact giving away an identical hat I randomly found on eBay for not very much that I cackled over and squirreled away last year for this very occasion. That is right: if you win, not only do you get this sweet hat, but you and I will be Fascinator Twins.

Here's how you can enter: just leave your e-mail address (mebbe in a format like mail [at] domain [dot] com because bots) in the comments or contact me at notactuallyaya at gmail dot com. Giveaway open to all countries, and I'll be accepting entries for a week! (and obnoxiously posting links back to my own giveaway in all of my posts between now and then)

It's been a long and crazy week, but maybe I can post a photo of myself soon wearing both of them like Princess Leia.

I heart you all. I cannot imagine the last year without you, I really can't. 2013 was the most stressful year of my life, and all of my experiences blogging helped me make it through. Thank you.

11 comments:

  1. Congratulations! I will defer to someone else for the giveaway, but wanted to be sure to also reiterate that I enjoy your original voice.

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  2. Happy Anniversary! You've accomplished so much in just one year. Your frequency and quality of posting is exemplary and you've made lots of new friends (including me!). The fascinator is a fun way to celebrate. Even the word fascinator is fun. :-)

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  3. Happy blog anniversary! I've really enjoyed getting to know you better these last months! I love the fascinator, I've never worn one, but I'd love to try! beth (at) kondrick (dot) com

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  4. Happy first birthday to your lovely blog! That you have managed to keep posting throughout challenging times is amazing, well done. I like your way with words and your intelligence - and your wardrobe isn't half bad either!
    It's good to see a little retrospective; my favourite is the sultry bedroom shot. You could be a film noir heroine, emerging from a steamy rendezvous in that rumpled bed, about to head for the mean streets with a gun strapped to her thigh.
    Err, too much? Sorry, got carried away. Anyway, I love the photo!
    And the fascinator is a beauty; please include me (curtise.monk@btinternet.com). Sorry if I win cos the postage is expensive!
    Here's to another year. xxxx

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    1. I see that too, though she doesn't need a gun because she is a ninja! Her bare hands and her brain are weapons.

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  5. Happy anniversary! You are so gorgeous, truly! I enjoy your sense of style, your intelligence and little peeks into your world. I know you have sure had a lot to deal with this past year and it seems you have handled everything with grace. I really want to be your twin, but I also think that fascinator would look better on other people than it would on me. It looks amazing on you! It needs big hair.

    Yes please do put them both on and be Princess Leia!
    xo

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  6. Happy Anniversary! Based on that first photo compared to the second and third, you've come a long way. But you look gorgeous in all of the pictures. I especially love the squatting one with the hat.

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  7. Happy Blog Birthday :) You have been doing awesome job all the way and may your blog have a long happy life ahead :) !!
    I would love to win the headpiece.. My email addy is takahashilara [at] gmail dot c o m . :) I should mail you about one other topic anyways.. :)

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  8. Happy anniversary, Aya! Actually I have this feeling that I've known you for much longer. Would be great to win that fascinator and to become your Fascinator Twin :) rani_olga at yahoo dot com

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  9. Congratulations on your 'blogiversary! I have enjoyed your blog this year and I love your sense of fashion style. I look forward to another year of great posts with great pictures.

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  10. Ack, I've probably missed this, but nepenthes at shaw dot ca. I can't believe it's been a year - congratulations, Aya, on so many awesome landmarks.

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