**THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED! THANK YOU TO ALL FOR ENTERING!**
Hello and Happy Friday vintage lovers!!!
It’s thanks to the power of this digital ‘net we live [and arguably live BY] today that we can connect and collaborate with those who even just a few years ago were out of our reach and therefore out of our personal touch.
I LOVE hosting Gratefulness Friday Giveaways with vintage sellers because I [selfishly!] have the opportunity to meet those who have the same interests are me … but who live in areas of the country far, far away from my apartment in East Harlem, NYC!
Such is the case with Wild Honey Pie Vintage, who lives in the awesome town of Austin, Texas and who was introduced to me thanks to former Gratefulness Friday Giveaway sponsor Victory Vintage.
I loved chatting up Miss Honey Pie herself over the phone this past weekend. I learned how she was first inspired to start her Etsy shop and her goals/hopes/dreams for its future growth. I learned that she’s a producer and star in an off-Broadway musical in Austin [she has an acting degree!!] and that her love of vintage stems from a love of costume for the stage.
We all have our “story of style” behind our love for vintage. That’s why this site and is adjoining community on Twitter, YouTube & Facebook ROCK — because you never cease to amaze me with your stories of style inspiration!
Keep reading after the jump to learn how you can get some fall fashion inspiration thanks to Wild Honey Pie Vintage and her oh-so-boho-base vintage prize pack, and of course to learn how I was inspired to spread gratefulness to YOU thanks to my own personal experiences!
Thank you to all vintage lovers old & new reading today’s Gratefulness Friday post. I prioritize these giveaways as a way to say THANKS!!! to you for hanging out here and to shine light on some of the web’s best vintage sellers.
We all inspire one another, which I believe is our mission in this life and on this planet: To be a shining light to all whose paths we cross. And I hope that today’s post radiates sunshine and inspired gratefulness into your own perfect, beautiful life!
xx, SD
P.S. Thanks to ContestGirl for promoting this week’s Gratefulness Friday post!
I AM GRATEFUL FOR … MY NEW KNOWLEDGE!
E=MC Squared … or so determined Albert Einstein, shown above writing away on a chalkboard I imagine was in a classroom of knowledge-thirsty students.
Part of why I maintain such a positive, upbeat attitude — even in the face of personal struggles — is that I strive to see every obstacle as an opportunity. Most importantly, the “opportunity” in the “obstacle” is one in which we can gain further knowledge about ourselves and the many great things we have yet to learn in this world.
If you’re anything like me, you think “you know it all.” Whether you’re 5, 15, 25 [my age], 35 all the way up to 100+ … the reality is that no matter your age, you do not know EVERYTHING. And you never, ever will.
But this is the opportunity I see in every obstacle: It’s another set of circumstances to add to my life’s pool of ever-flowing knowledge.
Some of you may know that I am as much a passionate runner as I am a passionate vintage lover. I’ve blogged about my experience running my first marathon in Pittsburgh and most recently shared with you the struggles I was experiencing related to a running injury realized just this last July.
The obstacle I am now facing with this running injury is this week’s “knowledge” that an MRI presented me with. Due to overuse of my hamstrings, I am just a few steps away from a stress fracture in my right set of hamstrings.
Stress fractures are BAD. B-A-D BAD! If you officially have one, you are told not to exercise AT ALL for 3 to 6 months, with the exception of low-impact activities like swimming and yoga.
Many elite athletes push themselves to a stress fracture in order to reach their goals, only to be “out of the game” for nearly half a year in order to recover from their sacrifice.
My injury was brought on by not having the knowledge to recognize when “enough running was enough running.” I used to pound out 10 miles on a Wednesday and the next day — despite having plans to only run 5-6 miles — decide “I’d just run 12 miles since I feel so good.”
I’d run from my apartment in East Harlem to the top of the Bronx and back home, roughly a half marathon length of a run I’d tackle at 8PM and finish around 10. Without stretching, or icing or even really eating the right recovery foods … I’d go to bed. And then wake up the next morning to try my luck at a hill sprint workout.
You see where I’m going with this: I tackled “too much of a good thing.” Sure, running 60-70 mile weeks felt awesome. I bragged about it on Facebook, to my runner friends and my family. Many of them commented on whether I was “doing too much.” My retort? I was training for a marathon! Too much is NEVER enough!
Humph. Looks like I learned my lesson … and gained some serious knowledge.
Looking back, my “runnerexia” as I call it was not healthy but rather, self-sabotaging. Because here I am not running, and not able to run most likely until the New Year.
But I’ve whined, and I’ve pouted, and I’ve moved on. And most important, I’ve GAINED. Knowledge about the opportunities to perform cross training alongside running, knowledge that my core strength is just as important as my leg strength, knowledge that everything in life is best achieved in balance … and that like running itself, pace is KEY.
I wanted to share this story with all of you today because like me you have problem strived and fought for something SO HARD only to realize that you weren’t doing it with the right knowledge. That it was the experience of those actions which were supposed to shine light on new knowledge for you to bring to the table of life in a future set of circumstances.
Because sometimes we have to fall flat on our faces before we can rise to the top. Sometimes we have to know absolutely nothing before we can know exactly what we need to know in order to conquer our goals and to do them with joy, freedom and without force.
I’m confident that I will win a marathon someday. No, I’m not talking NYC … although that’d be nice ;-) I see myself running and winning a marathon in a smaller city with a less competitive pool. I don’t want to be the next Kara Goucher but I do want to use my athletisim and its positive affects on me as a person to inspire all of you and more.
So here’s the knowledge: In order to win that marathon someday, I’ve experienced this fall-flat-on-my-face experience in order to gain the know-how I need to take the right steps forward toward that goal. I’m armed but I’m not anxious to achieve. I know that smart training is better than in-SANE training … lol!
I’d love to hear what you’ve learned recently from an activity/experience in your life that has given you NEW knowledge that you didn’t have before. What did you learn, and how are you using it moving forward? It can be related to a breakup, losing a job or even just hoping to accomplish something and falling flat on your face!
Thanks everyone for reading today’s gratefulness Friday story … and for seeing how knowledge presents itself in moments of failure!
xx, SD
WIN THIS “BOHO CHIC” VINTAGE LOOK FOR FALL!
(1) Sheer silk long-sleeved flowy tent-top with a Van Gough style print and matching scarf
(1) Gorgeous grey/taupe leather Eitienne Angier clutch with removeable strap
(1) Awesomely bold ’80s bright pink leather belt with gold bubble studs and buckle
(1) precious little wool Breton hat to top it all off!
HOW TO ENTER GRATEFULNESS GIVEAWAY #15
For a chance to win the entire vintage fashion prize packed listed above valued at $50, you must enter between today Friday, September 30th and by midnight on Monday, October 3rd.
You can only enter once, and all winners will be drawn at random using the site random.org. Winners will be announced by Wednesday, October 5th.
Enter by answering the following question in the comment fields or Facebook comment fields below this contest post:
**Describe something you recently learned that has inspired new action in your life — and what that inspired action is! **
OTHER IMPORTANT RULES
**Entrants/Winners must be legal U.S. residents of the lower 48 states (not including Alaska and Hawaii) and at least 18 years old as of September 30th, 2011.
**For full contest rules and regulations can be found here
**All information submitted by contestants is subject to Sammy Davis Vintage’s privacy policy found here
SUPPORT VINTAGE SELLERS!
WILD HONEY PIE VINTAGE SELLS ON ETSY
Sammy Davis Vintage Gratefulness Friday Giveaways are made possible thanks to the generous donations of online vintage sellers.
To spread vintage love, I host these giveaways to not only introduce one lucky winner to the world of vintage, but to introduce all of you to an online seller with other vintage finds that you may want to give a happy home.
This week’s sponsor is WILD HONEY PIE VINTAGE! Please give her Etsy shop a look, and let her know that Sammy Davis Vintage sent you! And PS: She’s having a HUGE SALE RIGHT NOW!! in honor of today’s giveaway!
Also, feel free to fan the Wild Honey Pie Vintage fanpage on Facebook! Oh … and she tweets, too! Give her some tweet tweet love @_wildhoneypie and more inspiring vintage on her blog!
Please support the Gratefulness Giveaway sponsors by visiting their online shops and saying hello!
Thank you for supporting vintage sellers to spread vintage love!
HAPPY ENTERING & GOOD LUCK!!!!
Another great post, Sammy! I recently learned that it is okay to have my own life and put me first sometimes. I was dating a guy up until the beginning of this year who my life pretty much revolved around. Not in bad way, I just really enjoyed putting him first and making him happy. I was happy to know that he was happy. At least I thought I was and I was devistated when he broke up with me. He was the one I wanted to grow old with, my best friend.
I couldn’t understand why he broke up with me and what was wrong until I took steps back and saw that I wasn’t the independent girl he had fallen in love with anymore. I had let pieces of me slip for him and his hobbies and joys. Since we broke up I have started working out twice a week, I’ve gone back to school, grown in my job and my relationships with my friends. I have found myself again and it feels so good.
I now understand why we broke up and how much both of us have grown and learned from the experience. I know that we will get back together and continue to grow in our relationship. Because we are both in a place now where we have focused on ourselves and put that first. I now know that you have to do that when you want to make things better between you and someone else.
It was a hard lesson to learn but I wouldn’t change a bit of how it happened.
I’ve learned that I have an identity outside of being Mommy and that I like who I am. It’s so easy to forget, or set aside, who YOU really are when you’re raising kids. Now that mine are flying the nest, I’m finding painful holes in my heart but I’ve figured out that after I grieve that, I can fill those holes with things for me, things that I enjoyed pre-kids (writing! that’s a big one) and new things as well.
Great topic, Miss Sammy; and what an amazing gift package :D Honey Pie has outdone herself!
I recently learned, yet again, that I shouldn’t and WON’T put my life on hold because I’m waiting for that right guy to come along. I’ve taken the BOLD step of becoming a first time homeowner. I WILL decorate it all girly glam because I can and theres no one else to tell me how it “should” be. I’m so excited! Can’t wait to thrift store and flea market shop to love it up.
Something I’ve learned about myself is that I tend to get really discouraged about doing stuff if I feel like I’m not going anywhere with it. It makes me want to give up, and float by rather than doing my best. Since I’ve graduated with my Master’s degree in Literature, I haven’t been able to find a single job where I live that’s applicable to my degree. And as my student loans are about to come due, I’ve been really freaking out about them. I finally found a job in retail, and even that job was hard to come by. I was upset that for all my hard work, the best I could do was retail. It made me feel useless, and therefore I didn’t want to work very hard at my new job. I hardly talked to anyone, I did the basics, I floated by. I realized recently that I was miserable, but part of that was due to my attitude. It inspired me to reevaluate what I was doing with my life, and realizing that even if I have a job that isn’t my favorite, I should at least try my best. When I don’t, I don’t feel like myself. So my new inspired action is to (simply enough) do my best even if it’s not my dream job. Also, since I’ve been doing that, I’ve felt a renewed passion to find the next step in my life. I’ve started looking for new jobs again as well as new programs to get my teaching certificate. In addition, my retail job has given me more responsibility, which could lead to a promotion. Always keep trying!
injury or not, you are still an inspiration! you will get better, you are born to run!! oh and btw, i’ve been stalking wild honey pie vintage (umm awesomest beatles song) and i think I want her haircut!!
xxoo
i learned to harness my reality and make it happen… i made 3 things happen this month, just by believing. Its mind power!!
I learned I need to have a better work/life balance. I started by attending some events that I normally would have thought I didn’t have time for. It turns out you can have fun and still be successful at work.
First of all I would like to say that your passion is such an inspiration! I check your youtube channel every day just for an extra dose of smiles. So, thank you. :)
Recently I have learned to not be so hard on myself. My biggest disappointments always seem to come from disappointing other people. The thing is, what may seem like a huge deal to me is often not even an ounce of worry for the other parties involved. I value my relationships so dearly, that I often think of them as more fragile than they actually are. I have learned to remember that my friends and family will love me no matter what, and I am only human. I have been trying to just live life without regret, and focus on that love instead.