I wanted to wait as long as possible before putting ads on my blog(s), but I can no longer put any of my own income towards the running costs of this blog or my shop due to the price of living in Vancouver... In order to keep going with my dreams, I am opening up sponsorship! 100% of the money generated by sponsorships will go right back into Pirate+Lilac's cost of running and expanding. We're starting out small with only 9 spots up for grab every month so sign up quick!! More spots will open in upcoming months as our readership grows. To learn how to sponsor Pirate+Lilac visit our brand new sponsorship page! To kick off our new layout + new sponsorships, we're offering 50% off all sponsorship spots if ordered by July 31st, 2012 @ 11PM PST with the code August50 at checkout.

If you are an up-and-coming blog with similar interests to Pirate+Lilac (fashion, style, DIY, thrifting, adventures, etc) you can consider "swapping" badges with us. Please visit the sponsorship page above for more information.

current giveaways recap

We've decided to call these trio of giveaways our End Of Summer Giveaway Special! All deadlines have been extended until September 21st, with the winners being drawn on September 22nd (first day before fall!!) and notified by e-mail on that day. We will be adjusting all dates over the next few days, so disreguard anything that has an earlier date.

Giveaway 1: Essie Polish Prize Pack
{Open to Canada and USA residents only}

We're giving away one Essie polish prize pack featuring 1 full size bottle of All-In-One base, 1 full size bottle of their new shade "Lilacism", and 2 full surprise shades of my choosing! Visit this page to enter.

Giveaway 2: BYV Class Card
{Open to Vancouver, BC and surrounding areas only}

New to Bikram hot yoga? Already a student? Who couldn't use a few more classes to further their practice? If you live in the Vancouver, BC area you can enter to win a 5 Class Card c/o Bikram Yoga Vancouver. Visit this page to enter, or scan one of the posters with your iphone at the Kitsilano and West End BYV locations!

Giveaway 3: Large Sponsor Spot on Pirate+Lilac
{open Internationally}

To celebrate our new sponsorship spots available on our blog, we're giving away one large spot for free! Who couldn't use some free publicity? Visit this page to enter!

The toughest thing about being a "grown up" is budgeting... especially when you live in an expensive city like Vancouver. Cam + I discussed moving, but we both love it here + want to try to make it work better than we have been. Living paycheck to paycheck is such a drag, and we never end up with savings for our future. Not anymore! I've put together a pretty awesome budget plan for Cam + I and we've decided to go off debit cards all the time and try a more cash based approach. So far so good. I'll keep you updated, and even post a photo of my super awesome budget book I've got going on. Thrifty girls always survive!!

Until tomorrow...

{Photo by Ahmed Zahid}

Last Wednesday + today we ended up skipping the weigh in. I was honestly waaaaay too scared to see if I had gained any weight, as Cam + I both took a week off from the hot room for sun burns + enjoying the weather. I'm so glad we did (honestly) because I tend to hermit when I have a project + not enjoy the weather except what I see out my window (sad but true). I'm planning to get into the hot room tomorrow, as I want to get healthy before my 25th birthday!!

Pranayama Blogging

I've decided to make a second blog to focus on our yoga practice + paleo eating. Pirate + Lilac is more of a fashion/style oriented blog, and I've always battled with trying to fit our fitness + paleo aspects in (plus not being able to post cute photos of treats just because I don't personally eat sugar or gluten is just not fun for me or you!). Honestly I'd rather just seperate the two so I don't alienate fashionistas who may not practice yoga, or yogis who may not care about fashion. Either way, I respect your opinions, and going forward "Wednesday Weigh In" will focus on stats and my learning experience, but not on the yoga practice itself. I will still post recipes here and there, but for more in depth paleo menu choices and all things yoga make sure to head over to Pranayama Blogging. (not up as of today, but will be in the next few days!!) I'll try not to do too much cross-posting so you can subscribe to both!! ♥ Cam will be posting on Pranayama Blogging as well!!

Until tomorrow...

Vancouver weather has yet again plunged into cold and rainy days. During the summer season, our rain is intermittent and sometimes hits by surprise. Sometimes it's still warm, other times there's a cold chill in the air that requires a cover-up of somekind. Here are my favourite picks for those not-so-summery-summer days/nights:

What do you like to have on hand when the weather suddenly turns chilly? Do you prefer cardigans to jackets? Both? Or do you just grin and bare it no matter your outfit choice of the day? Leave us a comment below!

As soon as we can we'll be thrifting our own light jackets and cardigans, so make sure to check back!

Until tomorrow...

I freaked out this morning about installing my new layout hahaha. I am so excited! I hope you also enjoy the colours and simplicity of this layout, roomier space for better quality photos, as well as the new sidebar! Much easier than having to scroll all the way to the bottom like in our previous layout! I'm still tweaking it a bit so if you see anything off, rest assured it will be fixed by tomorrow!