Celebrate with Thou Swell | Win iPad Mini

It's always an exciting feeling when you discover a new blog which really captures your interest immediately. One blog that did just that was Thou Swell, written by Atlanta-based design student Kevin O'Gara. Kevin's has a creative eye and his blog is packed with interior design + colour inspiration, food, lifestyle and some really neat gardening tutorials. The good news is, Thou Swell has just turned one!

To celebrate Thou Swell's first birthday we're joined up with a bunch of wonderful bloggers from all over the globe, to offer our readers a pretty sweet giveaway. One lucky reader will win the new Apple iPad Mini (worth $299) + a 3-month subscription to NextIssue, which currently holds over 140 magazines - including Elle Decor, Esquire, Food Network, GQ and Rolling Stone! A big thank you to Corina of Cocorina for designing our lovely graphic.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Show some love for the bloggers that have made this happen! 

Buckets & Spades | Helarious | Of Trees & Hues | Cocorrina | Ex Vitae | Safaris & Sunsets | Lucky Number Seven | Pen & Peplum | Zoso Lights | Tara Victoria | Clear the Way | Nuance & Bubbles | Eavan Elizabeth | Oh I Design | Catalina Creative | Hello Lidy

This giveaway will be running until November 11th 2014 and is opened to international readers!

GIVEAWAY - Win iPad Mini

                 

I'm very pleased to share with you guys that I've joined forces with 37 lovely bloggers from around the world to bring you a cracking Christmas Giveaway, with the prize being an iPad mini!  A special mention goes to Corina of Cocorrina for organising everything, creating a wonderful photoshoot and designing all the graphics! Happy 2nd Anniversary to her blog.

Here's all the bloggers who have joined up to bring you this giveaway -

My Life Box | Tara Victoria | Always with Yoo | Fashion Fab | Noor AlQahtani | Owl and Anchor Studios | Clear the Way | Cloistered Away | Pink and Lola | Pen and Peplum | Live Colorful | Rolala Loves | Team Wiking | Of Trees and Hues | My Paradissi | Sincerely Sara | Creative Index | Pink Ronnie | Oh So Pretty | A Pair of Pears | Jazz Lips and Tulips | Coco and Mingo | ExVitae | Java Aficionado | Buckets and Spades | Holly Marie Designs | Yours Truly | Yeobo | Studio 404 | Cambria Grace | Lucky Number Seven | Milk and Crown | Yellow Beard Yellow Bird | Squirrelly Minds | Fox and Mint | Earth to Jade | Style of Sam

How to Enter

To be in with a chance of wining an iPad Mini, in the colour of your choice, all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Click and follow the instructions. As this is a joint effort, the more blogs you "follow" and "like" increases the amount of chances you have of winning. So get following and share the Christmas cheer!

This giveaway is open worldwide to all! If you have any questions or would like to know further rules of the contest please email or tweet me.

Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Twitter / Facebook /  Bloglovin' / Instagram / Pinterest

J.Crew Backup Charger

This bright blue Backup iPhone Charger by J.Crew has been one of the handiest gifts I've received in a long time. Hollie picked this up for me in the sales on one of her almost daily trips into J-Crew, while we were in Orlando in July. She had got fed up of trying to reach on me, but then finding out my battery had ran completely dry. I currently have an old iPhone 3GS and they ain't so reliable after a few years of heavy usage, the battery life in particular.

The J-Crew Backup Charger is not going to get your battery up from 0% to 100% but it will give you at least a 50% boost. It's pretty handy little gadget and small enough to chuck into any bag or pocket. I'm really not sure why I didn't get one earlier!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Osmium Giveaway, the winner is Adrian Dale!

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

Buckets & Spades x Balibaris Selection

From left to right - Steven Spieldberg t shirt/Nouveau Droit indigo selvage slim jeans/La Cie du Kraft A5 notepad/Madras navy gingham shirt/Pijama fluo Ipad case/New Balance 420 "Road to London" sneaks/dark green socks

I was recently asked by Parisian retailer Balibaris to to pick out some of my favourite products from their store, and here's the result. Balibaris started out in late 2009 selling ties and other small accessories, a couple of years on and the chaps have branched out into their own range of clothing which is all produced in France and a few other countries around Europe (apart from the Japanese denim). They also stock brands like Han Kjobenhavn, Opening Ceremony and Sanders as well as having some pretty cool, low-key collaborations going on. The online store has been a big hit, so much so that they will be opening their first boutique in Rue de Marseille, Paris this coming September.

The fluo Ipad case sticks out like a sore thumb I know. Every time I go shopping these days I end up looking at the same old stuff so I'm making an extra effort to challenge my normal tastes at the moment. I reckon this would make a pretty cool additional to my daily carry-arounds. Which is your favourite item from the selection?

Thanks to Balibaris for this opportunity and their photography.

Apple iPad

So it was revealed a bit ago now, everyone has had time to digest the details. So who is going for one? Obviously I'm not as I can't afford and not something I need, even a little.

I'll leave you with this: