coco rocha x senhoa

i am blown away by coco rocha's new jewelry collection for senhoa. all the pieces are absolutely gorgeous... totally glamorous with just the right amount of punky edge.

if the pieces themselves aren't enough to make you fall in love, check this out... senhoa uses 100% of its profits to help victims of human trafficking by creating income-generating opportunities, social reintegration, and self-empowerment programs for women and children. read senhoa's mission statement here.

treat yourself to a beautiful new piece of jewelry and support a worthy cause... truly a win-win.

habitat for humanity + haiti + me = one amazing opportunity.

so, dear readers... my life just got a little bit crazier, and i need your help!

i have been chosen as a volunteer for habitat for humanity's 2011 jimmy & rosalynn carter work project in léogâne, haiti. over the course of a week in november, 400 volunteers will work alongside president and mrs. carter to build 100 earthquake-resistant homes and help families in need.

there's just one catch... i need to raise $5,000 by november 30th in order to participate. yikes! the funding will cover chartered transportation, lodging, food, building materials, and ongoing support for habitat in haiti. most of the other volunteers have had since june to raise the money, but because i was chosen from a waitlist, i am in a bit of a time crunch!

if you can donate anything at all, even just a few dollars, it would mean the world to me... and to the people of haiti, who have had nowhere to live for the past year and eight months.

here is the link to my personal fundraising page:

http://www.habitat.org/cd/cwp/participant/participant.aspx?pid=93531879

if you can't afford to make a donation, i would really appreciate it if you could spread the word by posting my story and fundraising link on your blog, facebook, or twitter.

thank you so very much, from the bottom of my heart!

p.s. you can find out more about the 2011 jimmy & rosalynn carter work project here.

fashion finds . . . think pink!

i chose this week's fashion finds in honor of national breast cancer awareness month. click here to see my picks, all of which donate a portion of their proceeds to breast cancer research! together we can help find a cure.

p.s. sadly, this will be my last fashion finds post at papernstitch. brittni - thanks so much for hosting me on your blog for the past year and a half! it's been a blast :) to see an archive of all my fashion finds posts, click here.

fashion finds . . . clothes for a cause

{loving & giving print from aldari}

this week's fashion finds are all about doing good while looking cute... check them out here.

xoxo,

lesley

i got mail!

pretty little theives, originally uploaded by 315 thomas.

i was so excited to receive my latest purchase from pretty little theives, aka nancy mungcal... an original drawing (part of nancy's drawing for a cure project... proceeds benefit the leukemia and lymphoma society), a free print, and a sweet handwritten note from nancy. love!

xoxo,
lesley

pretty little theives... drawing for a cure

i found this today via pikaland, and i just had to repost it over here.  nancy mungcal, the amazingly talented artist behind pretty little theives, is offering original drawings in her etsy shop for $15.  as if that wasn't good enough, she is donating $10 from each sale to the leukemia and lymphoma society.  

the father of one of nancy's good friends recently passed away from acute monocytic leukemia, and nancy has pledged to do whatever she can to help find a cure.  i was already a huge fan of nancy's work, and this just makes me love her that much more.  what an amazing cause, and a truly amazing friendship!

click here to see nancy's drawing for a cure pieces on etsy.  i just picked up the piece shown above this morning... i can't wait to see it in person.  great art for a great cause... what are you waiting for?

xoxo,

lesley

help a struggling entrepreneur...

i wanted to share this amazing website i found through kate's blog today. it is called kiva. basically, they find entrepreneurs all over the world struggling to make a living and list them on their website. all you have to do is choose the person you would like to help out, and make a $25 donation - which is actually a loan. once the person of your choosing makes enough to pay the loan back, you can either withdraw your funds or re-invest them in another entrepreneur. how cool is that? read more about kiva here.

some other fun ways to help people:

free rice
help the UN donate rice to hungry people all over the world by playing a fun vocabulary game

pangea market
shop online for handmade goods from artisans in developing nations

toms shoes
buy a pair of toms shoes, and a pair will be donated to a child in need

xoxo,
lesley