Woo hoo! We have 2 lucky winners in the Denim Day Lee Jeans giveaway!  I love it when there is more than 1 winner!!

I loved hearing everyone’s stories about what would happen if they lost their favorite pair of jeans or if they were stolen.  It sounds like we are all pretty attached to them.

Just a little bit.

For Ilana over at MommyShorts her schlubby pair and her sexy pair are pretty much one and the same. She just switches up the shoes. Brilliant! Why don’t I do that??

These fun pink shoes can go from Day  to Night. Day shoes from dv dolce for $79 and Night shoes are Fergie’s Women’s Awareness shoes at $79.99. Both are available at Shoes.com with FREE SHIPPING.

One thing that was clear from this contest…. People are VERY attached to their blue jeans! For example, Nicolle turned her favorite pair into a mini when they became unwearable and Shelli even drove 900 miles to her mom to get hers repaired!

Those gals are committed.

Shawn, Diane, and Natalie all agreed that it would be “devastating” and “horrible” if their pairs went missing and Diane even hinted at a little violence if she was to be around when the perp tried to nab her favorite pair of blues.

Be warned people! Do not come between someone and their favorite pair of jeans.

source: Inmagine

Lisa who posts over at Frugal Family Fun and Julie who recently lost 20 pounds  (Awesome job Julie!) both entered the contest in hopes of winning a new pair of skinny jeans. I’m not sure ladies, but they might be calling them “jeggings” now?

Teri made me giggle when she told me that if you had to wear clothes at all then you might as well wear your sexy jeans. Good advice Teri.  I’m fairly modest so I think I will wear my sexy jeans over going naked around town

Although when I think about it, I am almost always in search of the perfect pair, like my good pal Rachael from Happy Rachael who like me is forever looking for that magic pair. I do have to say that I’ve enjoyed the pairs I got from Lee to try out for myself. They arrived in the knick of time and I’ve been happily wearing them around town. That’s really true because they didn’t ask me to say any of that!

So first of all THANK YOU to all of you that entered and helped get the word out about Lee Denim Day.  I don’t know how much they raised to benefit  Women’s Cancer Programs of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) but I’m hoping it was A LOT!

I do know that a lot of my readers went and made a donation for a couple extra entries into this contest and I’m totally gratefull and again humbled that we raised $475.00 towards this awesome cause.

Thank you guys SO MUCH!

So without further ado… and as decided by Random.Org out of the 132 entries our 2 lucky winners are….

Natalie and Lisa!

Please email me at periwinklepapillon at gmail dot com to claim your prize!

Also, another quick shout out to Mike Rowe and his mom, Peggy. The official celebrity Ambassadors for Lee Denim Day. I can’t think of a better, cuter, funnier team than this mother-son duo for such a great cause.

Here’s a couple of pics from the official Mike Rowe Works blog entry from Lee Denim Day on October 7th:

Could they be ANY cuter?

Finally, I love love love that no one challenged my new word: Schlubby which I totally made up for my original post of this contest! HA!

Thanks again everyone for helping to raise awareness and the funds to help get rid of breast cancer once and for all!

-Sara

The post Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner! I mean JEANS!!! appeared first on Periwinkle Papillon.

Why You Should Love Mike Rowe (if you don’t already):

Mike Rowe Takes His Pants Off

5. Dirty Jobs – coolest show ever on Discovery Channel and he even spoofed it to Sesame Street! Which we all know is the ultimate stamp of celebrity status: when the Muppets come calling.

Mike’s so cool that he is probably the ONLY celebrity that has been invited to use “the back door” to Oscar’s trash can. Confused? Watch this clip.

He also  narrates one of the most addictive shows on television, Deadliest Catch. How on earth I find myself watching grizzly crab fisherman haul traps at 2AM I will never know. But I’m pretty sure the sound of Mike Rowe’s voice had something to do with it. I’ve come pretty close to running out and buying a Ford too after he pops on my TV screen.

The guy is that good.

Some other more random reasons why you should love him:

4.  He may be über manly but he can sing opera. Or at least he used to, in high school. True fact. I learned this from listening to his interview with Adam Carolla on this podcast.

3. In high school, he rode a horse to school, in Baltimore. That’s 100% true.  How friggin’ cool is that?? Again inside knowledge gained from this podcast -but I really wish he went on the Parent Experiment and talked about his work with kids and the boy scouts and stuff. Now THAT would be a GREAT show!

2. Mike Rowe is 100% American and he cares about American jobs and people. He’s established a cool site called MikeRoweWorks.com because he’s concerned about the decline in the blue collar jobs and skill set in our country. He’s passionate about that one – and it’s an interesting topic as it flies in the face of everything should be computer, technology driven. His point: you still need electricians and tradesmen and we need to value their professions. Good point Mike.

And the number 1 reason why you should love Mike Rowe like I do?

1. He’s passionate about fighting breast cancer. He has signed on to be the Lee Jeans Celebrity Ambassador for Oct. 7th Denim Day. His mother, Peggy is a breast cancer survivor and he, like me, is passionate about fighting the disease. He even takes his pants off for the campaign!

Watch this adorable video and you will fall in love with him all over again.

And when you’ve finished watching that, be sure to click here and enter my giveaway, two lucky winners will win a free pair of Lee Jeans.

And if you do what Mike says in the video, donate what you would pay for a pair of jeans to the Periwinkle Papillon Denim Day Team, you’ll get extra entries into the contest and more importantly, you’ll help fight breast cancer.

The post Top 5 Reasons Why You Should All Love Mike Rowe appeared first on Periwinkle Papillon.

We all have ‘em.  That pair you reach for when you just want to throw something on to drive the kiddos to car pool or to grab a pint of milk.  The pair that you are wearing when you can grab five minutes in the garden or take the pooch around the block.

Your “schlubby” pair. 

Then there’s the pair you covet for date night. They’re tight, sexy and fit your butt perfectly.

You tried on 20 pairs before this pair and these are special.

When these slide up over your thighs you feel like Cinderella slipping back on that glass slipper. A perfect fit.  Your “sexy” pair.

Your shlubby pair and your sexy pair…

Of jeans.

Schlubby Pair

Somehow they don’t need to be washed everytime you wear them. They are excused from that rotation. And it’s not gross. Not at all.

You wear them religiously. You break them in. They soften. They fade.

You develop a relationship with this pair until you practically live in them.

They may even have one or two rips in them – if that’s your style.

You are your best self in these jeans.  No matter what the rest of you looks like.

Mischa Barton sports Lee Jeans in a more "schlubby" style. Nice Airport, France, July 2010. Source: Denimology

Mischa is still ridiculously cute in her schlubby pair and her canary yellow flats, plus she JUST got off an airplane. Good for you Mischa, nicely done!

Skinny Pair

The skinny pair stays in the closet, maybe even hanging up, on a real hanger. A grown-up hanger.

They sit, patiently, waiting for that special night when you spring for a babysitter and actually shave your legs.

They aren’t just “jeans” they are part of your “ensemble.”

The perfect shade of blue, the perfect fit that makes you feel like a W-o-m-a-n.

In them, you own it. You’re on.

It’s all good. Like Elle here:

Elle MacPherson wears her Lee Jeans to drop off her sons to school. Because she's Elle MacPherson her skinny jeans ARE her schlubby jeans. For me, these would be my "special" jeans and I'd take her legs too! Nicely done Elle. Nicely done. source: Denimology

When Disaster Strikes

This special exempt piece of clothing in your wardrobe that some may call “jeans” is more like your uniform.  Your jeans are the foundation of your style pyramid, your base, your second skin.

So… what would happen if say, your favorite pair of jeans was accidentally lost, stolen or *gasp* permanently stained?

If you are anything like me – you’d probably get really really frustrated and then set out on the excruciating mission of replacing them immediately.

Or…

Maybe if you’re a lot like me and they were only “mildly” splattered with paint you’d probably try to see if you could get away with wearing them for just a little bit longer, until someone called you out on it.

That’s what I might do. Maybe.

So tell me…

On a scale of 1-10, how big of a deal would it be if your favorite pair of jeans, schlubby or sexy, were gone?   

Because I’ve teamed up with Lee Jeans and their Denim Day campaign to help fight breast cancer, 2 lucky commenters will be chosen at random and will each win a free pair of Lee Jeans of their choosing.   These can replace your current favorite pair of jeans if they really have gone missing or do need to be retired once and for all.

Rules:

• Giveaway ends Thursday, October 6th – 11:30 PM PST.
• You MUST leave at least 1 comment telling me how big of a deal it would be to lose your favorite pair of jeans (for any reason).
• Extra entries can be obtained by doing any and all of the following – just come back and tell me that you did:

1. Tweet about the giveaway, be sure to mention #DenimDay and @PeriwinklePapi in your tweet! (=1 extra entry per tweet)
2. Copy a link to this giveaway onto your Facebook page
3. Like Periwinkle Papillon on Facebook (=1 extra entry)

SUPER DUPER BONUS ENTRIES

FOR EVERY $5 YOU DONATE to the Periwinkle Papillon Lee Jeans National Denim Day Team* you get GET 1 BONUS ENTRY!
(I will track these in a spreadsheet and then add them to the final drawing.)

WOO HOO! GOOD LUCK!

About Lee National Denim Day®

Lee Jeans is proud to have helped raise more than $83 million for the fight against breast cancer since 1996. All donations go to the Women’s Cancer Programs of EIF whose funding strategy is results-driven and brings together some of the very best scientists and institutions in the country to collaborate in groundbreaking research projects which fast track better prevention methods and improved therapies for treatment of breast cancer.

The post Schlubby or Sexy, We All Have A Favorite Pair. appeared first on Periwinkle Papillon.

The San Francisco 3-Day, September 9th-11th, 2011

Over the weekend I participated in my second Susan G. Komen 3-Day event and I walked 60 miles over 3 days to help raise awareness and money for breast cancer.

It was hard.

Physically it was challenging.

Me on Day 3 about to walk over the Golden Gate Bridge

Emotionally it was both heart wrenching and inspiring.

Walking 60 miles may not sound difficult – especially when you are doing it with friends and the mood alternates from moving and inspirational to a total party.  But when you hit mile 12 and still have 8 more to go and the bottoms of your feet hurt, like really, really, hurt, it’s hard.

But you have to keep going because you can, and there are others around you that can’t… because they are having surgery, or are in the middle of chemo or… because they are no longer with us.

Because of breast cancer.

So you put one foot in front of another and you walk.

Maybe slower than you did when you set out at 6AM but you keep walking with the goal in mind: not to walk 60 miles but to put an end to breast cancer.

So that’s what I did.

Tears: It’s Alright to Cry

My brother and the family came out to support us.

I cried a lot this past weekend.

A lot.

There were silent tears streaming down my face in the taxi on the way to Opening Ceremony as I thanked my incredible mother-in-law and sister-in-law for agreeing to do this for me.

There was the surprise cry that came when I saw my little brother waiting on the docks to cheer me on.

On Sunday I cried as we walked in silence to remember the anniversary of September 11th and I remembered Gary Koecheler and his family and all those the heroes that lost their lives that day.

And the weepy cry at Closing Ceremonies when all I could think of was how sad I was that my own mother was not standing in the Survivors Circle.

In between, there were also tears of laughter as I walked with my new amazing friend Rachael and my amazing family. The conversation went from types of lube to best parenting practices.  Yep, we covered it all.

It felt good to cry. To laugh. To lean on others and to keep walking.

Team Maidens for Mammograms and Margaritas

Maidens for Mammograms and Margaritas

Susan

My mother-in-law and my mom share the same name: Susan. They also share a special place in my heart as two women that I proudly call “Mom.” They were great friends and I know Susan misses her very much. She has always been the sole grandmother and has always respected the responsibility that role comes with. She’s always trying to find ways to talk about my mom and keep her memory alive with my kids. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.

Without hesitation Susan signed up to walk again with me this year after she walked in 2009 with our cousin Audrey.  Once again, she was the energizer bunny, walking along, never complaining and always looking ahead.  I’m so honored that she agreed to do this again with me and so proud that we can say we’ve done 2 together. Ready for the next one Mom?

Victoria

My sister-in-law is an athlete. I used to be an athlete and in my head I still think I am.

Victoria & Sara: Breast Friends

But I’m not.  Alex pointed this out to me the other day. I’m not in high school soccer any more.

Anyway, when I asked my sister-in-law if she would do the 3-Day with me she immediately said yes. Then she realized she would need to seriously plan around her 2 small children to make this work. And she did. Without complaining or fussing she made it work. She trained for this and for her half-marathon and she raised the money.

There’s something about sisters that I truly appreciate now that Victoria and I are just that, sisters.

They always have your back.

And when I would be silently crying at something over the 3-Day, instinctively she knew, and she would put an arm around me from behind and give me a squeeze. I’m so grateful that she did this with me and hopefully will do others going forward.

Oh and I mentioned that athlete thing because even Victoria said this walk was hard! She admitted that at first she thought walking was going to be easy but she had a new found respect for the event by the end of Day 1. But she’s the athlete because she’s going to run a half-marathon in a few weeks. You go girl!

Rachael

So, I’m not even sure how this happened but thanks to blogging, twitter and facebook I connected with Rachael from Happy MommyBlog. She posted somewhere that she was going to do the 3-Day in SF solo and I pounced. She just HAD to join our team: Maidens for Mammograms and Margaritas!

Personally, I needed a tentmate for camping at night and she seemed awesome. It was weird to send a message that basically said: “So… hi,… um… you don’t know me but do you want to live with me for 3-Days?” 

Thank goodness she agreed because we were destined to meet.

Rachael fits in my life like a perfect pair of jeans. I don’t know what that means, but it’s true. She’s true blue, comfy to be around and we all loved her. You know like that awesome pair of jeans you own? Plus she let me cry without making me feel weird.

She’s one in a million that girl. You all need to be her friend, immediately. I’m still adjusting to life without her 24/7. I don’t think I like it very much and am going to suggest that we all move down the street from one another!

Happy Rachael from HappyMommyBlog

Our Goals

To sum up, we made it our goal to walk 60 miles and to raise awareness for breast cancer.

We did that.

In order to do the 3-Day you are supposed to raise a minimum of $2,300 per walker. Maidens for Mammograms and Margaritas set a goal of $10,000 and we BLEW IT OUT OF THE WATER!

I’m extremely proud to say our team has raised over $17,000!!!

I have to give a very special thank you to Janice our team member that flew all the way in from Michigan to walk with our team and then promptly came down with one of the worst flus I’ve ever heard of. She wasn’t able to walk with us those three days but she trained hard and raised a terrific amount of money for the cause. I am so looking forward to doing this with her next time.

Giving Thanks

The Amazing Men

They took care of little mouths and butts.  They drove some of us to starting points and picked us back up. They took kids to soccer games, sometimes to the wrong fields, but they got them there anyway.

They are amazing and awesome.

Thank you to my awesome brother Geoff who came and gave me that special bear hug where we remembered our mom together. It meant the world to me to share that with him.

To my own amazing Alex, who not only took care of the kiddos but sent me inspirational videos of them and brought them to the cheering stations. I love you.

Donors and Supporters

A special thank you to all of you who gave so generously so that our team could do this walk. The +$17K raised will go towards ending the fight against breast cancer.

Thank you to all of you who wrote messages of encouragement leading up to and all through the 3-Day.

A special thank you to Wendy at Wendy Will Blog who generously shared her personal story with breast cancer so that I could share with you one of the many heroes I was proud to walk in honor of.

Thank you to all the people that added their names to our team shirts. We were so honored to walk 60 miles in their name and we look forward to doing it again next year!

What’s Next?

So I’ve been taking names and am keeping a list.  Many of you have said you’re in for next year.

San Francisco? Michigan?

Let’s do this folks! I can’t wait.

In the meantime, you can expect to hear a lot more from me about breast cancer awareness as we head into Breast Cancer Awareness month in October.

Support Periwinkle Papillon and
Lee National Denim Day in their campaign to fight breast cancer.

For example, I’m going to be teaming up with Lee Jeans for their Denim Day drive.  Lee Jeans has asked me to compete in a little friendly competition against some other bloggers all for a good cause. We are going to try to see who can get the most teammates to a) commit to wear denim and 2) pledge the cost of their jeans (any jeans) on October 7th.   Leading up to this, I’m going to be hosting a couple of great giveaways so be sure to join the Periwinkle Papillon team to show your support!

More about that later…

So What Now????

Get those Mammies Grammed!

Go Touch Yourself!

Lots of love,

Sara

Here are all my pictures – click on them to view larger.

The post My 2011 Susan G. Komen San Francisco 3-Day appeared first on Periwinkle Papillon.