West Elm Excursion and a WINNER!

So that you guys don’t read the rest of my post with anxiety and anticipation…

Congratulations linda ge! I’ll be contacting you ASAP… Thanks to everyone that participated in the giveaway and for helping celebrate 1,000 views! I really loved all of your awesome finds on Etsy.

Don’t stop reading yet… I want to tell you guys about my first West Elm excursion. I’ve always loved the sale section of West Elm. I confessed my obsession here along with some of my finds. On August 23rd West Elm opened a store in Durham, NC, so just right around the corner from me. A week or so ago I finally adventured the 20 minutes to check out the real thing.

Obviously I would head straight to the sale section.

I picked up the lacquer yellow tray and the owl measuring cups!

Then I saw this amazing elephant lamp! I’d actually seen it before online but it is so much better in person (and bigger)! This lamp will be mine.. even if I have to wait like 5 years until someone is tired of it and they post it on craigslist. Elephant lamp, I vow to stock you!

Then I finally got around to looking for a rug.. which was the main reason I adventured.. They were having a rug sale!

You see that miniature orange and white striped sample there? That was the rug I went with. However they didn’t have a 3’x5′ in stock. Not sure if you remember my post about my home wish list, but I have an unsightly piece of floor that is covering up the old heater location. So, I can’t go any smaller than a 3’x5′ if I want to cover up everything! I ordered the rug in the store so that I could get the discount and free shipping.

So all I came home with was…

a new tray, some owl measuring cups, and a printed receipt for my new rug!

I got a good pic of the plant wall on my way out.

It is awesome! The employee at the desk told me that it is “self watering” too. What she really meant to say was that there is a plumbing contraption that runs through the wall that is connected to a water source so that employees don’t have to water the wall. She wasn’t saying that the wall produces its own water and is self-sustaining.

I starting styling as soon as I got home!

My coffee table is looking pretty good now!

It even fits perfectly on the table so that I can still open the bad boy up!

Yes, my table is that cool! (Found it at the local flea market.)

My owls came to rest on top of my microwave.

My rug came in a few days later. My hallway room looks completely different now.

  

  

  

Bauer snuck into a few pictures. He was jealous, wanted some blog love of his own.

I’m currently still loving all of my purchases! You guys buy anything lately for the house that you’re loving?

New Items in the Etsy Store!

B and I met last night and listed some more stuff in our Etsy store, The Union Jill. I’ll admit, our store was getting pretty bare. We listed 8 new items. We still have a plethora of items left to list, so keep checking back.

Before I show you all our cool new stuff, make sure to head back a few days in the blog world and enter into my Etsy Gift Card Giveaway. No pressure to buy from our store, just to share some Etsy love! 

New items include… (btw.. I didn’t include vintage in the title of each item, I thought it was kind of understood.)

A Brass Dogwood Flower Clip

Glass Cloche

NC State Wolfpack Buttons

Brass Swan Bowl

Brass Pheasants

Cameo Earrings

And, just in time for people to purchase and have at their homes for holiday decorating, 25 Indoor Christmas Lights by Pennant

15 Outdoor Christmas Lights by General Electric

See anything you like? Is there anything you’ve been looking for that you want B and I to watch out for?

New Layla Grayce Earrings!

I entered a giveaway a few weeks back that I found on a blog I follow, A Piece of Toast. It was a style standoff sponsored by Layla Grayce where everyone was invited to vote on which contestant they thought styled the Gorjana G Ring Gold Earrings the best. Obvi I voted for Sally from A Piece of Toast.

Long story short.. I won!

They came in the mail on Friday and I literally wore and loved them all weekend. They are the perfect size and weight. I’m going to wear them all fall! You can purchase them for only $36. I strongly advise it!

I follow the Layla Grayce blog as well. They just posted a Design You Dream Living Room Challenge for a prize, go check it out.

PS.. not sure if you guys have hopped on the ikat train or not.. but there is an awesome sale going on over at One Kings Lane. They are also having a Pinterest Challenge currently.

PSS.. If you love Etsy make sure to enter the Etsy Gift Card Giveaway posted yesterday! Deadline is Thursday at 8am!

Etsy Gift Card Giveaway

This giveaway has ended. Check out who won here.

Today we are celebrating 2 things…

1. Etsy just released their Etsy Gift Cards last week! I’m a huge Etsy fan. If you you haven’t been reading too long I have an Etsy store, The Union Jill. Currently the store is running a little low on inventory, which means we have a stock pile in the Etsy room that needs to be posted. I promise we’ll be adding more items this week!

2. I hit 1,000 views last week! I know for many long time bloggers this is no big deal but for me, one month under her belt blogger, it is a milestone and I want to celebrate! I happened to catch my stat charter right at 1,000!

Currently it is looking like this..

Giveaway Directions:

There will be 1 winner that will take home a $25 Etsy gift card. The gift card will be sent to you via e-mail. You can enter up to 5 times. For each entry leave a separate comment below. Make sure to either fill out the e-mail section of the comment field or leave a way for me to contact you. The winner will be chosen Thursday the 25th at 8am using random.org. The winner will be announced on the blog and I will contact the winner by close of business Thursday to deliver their gift card.

1. Leave a comment with a link to what you are currently obsessed with on Etsy. If you need some ideas you can check out my favorites.
2. Like my morning coffee on Facebook. If you’re already a fan, make sure to let me know via a comment as well.
3. Follow me on Pinterest.  Again, if you’re already on this band wagon let me know.
4. Follow my morning coffee on Bloglovin.
5. Favorite The Union Jill on Etsy.

This is not a sponsored giveaway.

PS.. As a reminder don’t forget that today is the last day to enter into the  West Elm + Benjamin Moore Giveaway I spilled the beans on here.

Things I Forgot To Mention

There are a lot of things that have gone down this week. Let me hit the high notes..

1. I adventured to Michael’s because I decided to return the picture frame I bought for the bathroom (shown here). It might have been beachy looking but it didn’t fit in the bathroom. It totally overshadowed my amazing mirror. When I went to return it I saw these awesome boxes outside for $1.66. (Pardon the iPhone pic.)

They didn’t look like much. But I’ve been searching for something cheap that would make my entertainment center look put together. So.. for roughly $14 I went from this….

to this..

I decided to go with the natural color because it was simple, I can decorate them later if I want, and it also doesn’t draw attention to the fact that my entertainment center isn’t white like the rest of the decor in the room. What do you think? Good solution?

2. I bought the whale I mentioned last week. So this little guy is on his way to my house and my shelves!

3. I painted the tops to the mason jars gold to match the mirror. My trusty friend Rust-oleum helped me out. I like how the “metallic finish” is a matte finish… They look great!

4. I bought this little temple jar in coral from One Kings Lane for $12. I think it will be a nice pop of color on the shelves. There are tons of these jars in different sizes and colors still for sale until 11am today. Go check them out.

5. I added Instagram and Pinterest tabs to my Facebook page. Go and check them out! (PS… If you like my page you are entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card from One Kings Lane. Details here. PSS… I know that 100 likes was reaching for the sky. I’ll get there soon. It was a lesson learned to take baby steps.)

6. I added a favicon to my website. Check out the little picture in your browser! No more generic page icon!

7. I checked out and loved the new Neiman Marcus & Target line. It won’t be available in stores until December 1st. But you can check out all the items here.

8. For those of you still reading, here is the most exciting update… Etsy released their very much anticipated giftcards! I’m super stoked! To share my excitement I’ll be having a giveaway next Monday, so make sure to check back. (Why not tomorrow? Because I can’t skip Friday Favorites!)

Any updates from you guys? Any great deals? Any cool purchases?

Facebook Page Giveaway

My facebook page is live! It isn’t 100% complete. Being the perfectionist that I am there will be many minor modifications and potentially a complete overhaul until I get it exactly like I want it. It is however ready for you to head over and ‘Like’ it! As an extra incentive I am giving away a $25 E-Gift card from One Kings Lane. Once the page hits 100 Likes the lucky winner will be chosen randomly from those who have already hit that ‘Like’ button! So head over before you’re too late or just click the ‘Like” button on the sidebar!

http://www.facebook.com/mymorningcoffeeblog

PS.. I haven’t talked about my obsession yet with One Kings Lane. Let it be a teaser about my first project I’m going to share with you guys this week.

One Kings Lane was in no way affiliated with this post.

One of My Favorite Sale Areas!

I personally always love a giveaway or a sweepstakes. Eventually I hope to be able to hook you guys up but today you’ll have to settle with a road map.

One of my favorite stores is West Elm. It is part of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. was founded in 1956 and has become a very successful retailer of all things home furnishings. For a company overview and time line check out this site.

They have 6 stores that have all successfully in one or the other infiltrated my house. Yes, that means I spend more on home decor than I’d like to admit! Launched in 2002, West Elm is one of those stores. West Elm is by far my favorite child out of the family. I love the character that all their items have. Something great is always hiding in their sale area! To see their foundation as a store check out here and here.

Some of my favorite items in my house that I purchased from West Elm Include:

Fish Butter Dish for $5.99

Shower Curtain in Citron for $39.

I know that is a little pricey but it looks amazing in my bathroom, check it out.

I know, not the best photo. Can you see the matching rug I also purchased for $24. That is also very expensive for me, but matching that ‘citron’ color was very frustrating so I gave in before the rugs sold out.

Not sure if you can see in the bathroom picture but I also bought some darling blue dishes to hold my jewelry while I shower for $2.99. Best part (after the price tag) is that they are an ‘M’ and a ‘B.’ I love little inexpensive things that look personalized!

Sorry to keep you waiting, to get to the sweepstakes part. Make sure you’re sitting down. Not only does the sweepstakes involve West Elm but Benjamin Moore is also in the mix. Paint for your area just completes the package! The sweepstakes is called “Pick Your Palette Sweepstakes.” The winner gets $10,000 in West Elm décor and $5,000 for a color consultation, paint contractor, paint and paint supplies from Benjaim Moore. The best part is that you can enter every day until October 22^nd! So go and check it out now, and the next 46 days!

As promised I added West Elm to my links page as a favorite store.

As a little extra I added a West Elm Must Haves Board on my Pinterest to show you all the things I’m current coveting from West Elm. Eventually I might actually start buying things that aren’t in the sale area. Anything you can’t wait to purchase from West Elm?

West Elm was in no way affiliated with this post.