FREE Book Giveaway for Public Libraries & some Vintage Fashion

That’s right! To honor my many librarian friends, and all the wonderful public libraries that fed my desire read as I grew up, I’m giving away 10 copies of my book,War of the Seasons, book one: The Human to the first 10 public libraries to contact me.

Couple of rules (just to make it fair):

1- The library must be located in the United States.
2- You, the librarian, must contact me from your work email address, and include the address of the library for me to ship the book to. I will not ship to a personal address – only a library.

Email me at janinekspendlove at gmail.com if you’re interested – remember, these go to the first 10 libraries to contact me, so please be sure to spread the word!

Thanks!

~~~~~

Now a couple of things before I get into my fashion post. First off, you know I like to run right? No? Well, I do. If you want a full report on the races I run you can read my awesome husband’s running blog.

And I went to MidSouthCon and it was AWESOME.

Also I started a Pinterest account, so feel free to add me there.

And if you’re on 365project.org, I’ve got a project there too (yes I know I’m behind – I’ll be catching up shortly).

As for War of the Seasons, book 2: The Half-Blood, it’s off with my editor, as is Songs of the Seasons, song 2: White Flag. So look for them respectively in June and May.

Now, how about a Thrifty fashion post? Now for a bit of Vintage, and use of my costume accessories! 🙂

You might be asking yourself (because I know I’m certainly asking myself), why the heck is this author/Marine/mother/wife writing a fashion blog? Aren’t there like a bajillion fashion blogs out there? Why do we need another?

We probably don’t, and I don’t think I’m a fashionista at all, but apparently some of my friends and family do, and they asked me to do one, soooo… I figured this would be kind of fun to do. So there.

You can see my first post HERE, where I go into the basics of my style & kind of what my shopping “motto” is (never pay full price for anything), and that patience is a virtue (wait 3 years to find a specific pair of $250 Fluevog shoes for $40? Why yes I did…)

~~~~~

Costume Vintage
Special Agenda? Nope! Just another work day.

Grey 1940s vintage blazer, $30 (eBay!)
Banana Republic purple silk v-neck blouse, $25 (in store sale)
Anthropologie Mermaid wool skirt, $20 (in store clearance)
J-Crew riding boots, $30 (eBay!)
Purple glass beaded earrings, gift
Purple stone necklace, gift
Lapis and silver bracelet, gift
Total: $105. At full price would have been: approx $500. (bling not calculated in total)

Notes: I love to combine eras – contemporary and vintage. I also love the little details you find in vintage clothes and a lot of Anthropologie’s clothes (I don’t like Anthropologie’s prices – but when they have clearance sales it’s affordable). On the 40’s jacket it’s got that great non-collar, and then the low, mermaid tail back. The Anthro skirt is fabulously detailed with “scales.”

Of note, both the boots & the jacket in this outfit started out life as parts of costumes for me. But I loved them so much they made it into my regular Wardrobe. The Boots are still my go-to boots anytime I need knee-high black boots for a costume, and the jacket was part of my “golden age” Lois Lane Costume:

My jewelry was all gifts – yes I do realize I’m very fortunate in the jewelry gifts that I’ve been given. The earrings were made for me by my mother. The necklace chain/heart were a gift from my daughter, and the pendant was a gift from my husband that he purchased in Doha, Qatar. The Lapis and Silver bracelet was also a gift from my husband – he purchased it on his deployment to Afghanistan.

Most of these picture were taken by my lovely friend Jessy.

~~~~~
And now for my guest blogger, my dear friend Jen, who I mentioned in my first post as one of my fashion inspirations. If I have any sense of style I can point my finger squarely at her!

Everyday Vintage, by Jen

Fri Feb 24
-4C (25F) to -9C (16F)
Light Snow

Special Agenda? Yes! Visiting my favorite vintage store downtown, other downtown business, dinner out with my husband, then social gathering in evening (we actually have a ‘Debate Club’. Dorky, yes, but surprisingly fun. I argued that Robots would make better Overlords than Apes.)

Grey with Petal Details Jacket, late 1940s/early ’50s, Lilli Ann, ~$50.
Black & White Silk Blouse, contemporary, Winners, ~$15.
Black Trousers, contemporary, Tommy Bahama outlet, $10.
Teal Blue Earrings, 1950s/60s, $4.
($79 with bling.)

Notes: ‘Lilli Ann’ is a rather special vintage label of beautifully made suits and jackets (especially pre-1960s), Lilli Ann collectors might be a little envious of the price I paid on this one, but with patience I’ve been able to find quite a few pieces for under $50 or so.
‘Winners’ is the Canadian version of the US store TJ Maxx.

~~~~~

Lastly, need a copy of my books? As it happens you can buy them here.

Also, there are two new reviews about War of the Seasons, book one: The Human (one from a guy!) here and here.