Flora is four-a (ok, sorry, we couldn’t really help that)… and downtown Portland’s most luscious botanical boutique will celebrate its fourth anniversary with a party and sale from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. this Wednesday, Nov. 17.

Stop by to save 20 percent storewide on modern, nature inspired designs for you and your home. Everything in the cheery shop is hand-picked or hand-made with a botanical bent, including colorful art, jewelry, cards, tea, scents and lotions, personal accessories and more.

Enjoy tea and cupcakes while you shop for new treats, including Theo and Cleopatra fragrances; local leather wallets and handbags from Nicole Cipriano; candles and soaps from Lucia; jewelry from Paper Wings and more. Plus, to celebrate the event — and give you a nice way to relax post-shopping — Flora is offering a special giveaway for The Neat Sheet readers:

Win a post-shopping relaxation spa gift set! As part of Flora’s four-year anniversary sale event, the boutique will gift one lucky Neat Sheet reader a set of natural modern spa goods. The set includes Rose Aqua Vitae floral water fragrance; three French Broyee soaps; an Ayate exfoliation cloth; a Lucia Tea Leaf and Wild Honey organic soy candle (shown top); and Le Palais de Thés Fleur de Geisha muslin tea bags. To win this set (worth $68), just leave a comment on this post or send an email with the subject title “FLORA” to neatsheet@karenvitt.com. We’ll pick a random lucky winner on Wednesday, Dec. 15 — just in time for relaxation before the holidays kick into full gear, or to gift to a friend.

Now do you see why we got all excited and started rhyming?

Flora
917 S.W. Washington St.; 503-227-056
www.florapdx.com

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By Karen Vitt, NEAT editor in chief

Popina Swimwear is all set to make a splash with its second location, opening in downtown Portland’s Pearl District tomorrow night. As we reported last month, Popina will celebrate the second addition to local swimwear designer Pamela Levenson’s retro-inspired swimwear empire with a Popina Swimwear Pearl District Grand Opening Party from 6 p.m to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4 (First Thursday!).

Stop by the grand opening party for a swimwear fashion show produced by Back Fence PDX, drinks and treats, manicures and hand massages, plus you can enter to win two round-trip Alaska Airlines tickets to Hawaii (drawing will be December 31) if you sign up for Popina’s mailing list, Club Maillot.

The 1,800 square-foot space will be the largest women’s swimwear store in the Northwest, and in addition to the Popina Swimwear collection (top and right) you can shop for brands including Vitamin A, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Aerin Rose. And as if all that isn’t enticing enough….

Win a free Popina Swimming Suit! As part of the grand opening celebration, Popina Swimwear will gift one lucky Neat Sheet reader a Popina swimming suit of your choice! You’ll be able to choose any suit you like from Levenson’s new collection, and the Popina Swimwear experts will help ensure you find a flattering fit. To enter, just leave a comment on this post or send an email with the subject title “POPINA” to neatsheet@karenvitt.com. We’ll pick a random lucky winner on Wednesday, Dec. 1.

Popina Swimwear Grand Opening Party in the Pearl
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4
318 N.W. 11th Ave.; 503-282-5159
www.popinaswimwear.com

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By Karen Vitt, NEAT editor in chief

Just to be clear, we’re not suggesting you run around in a bikini this Halloween. You’re probably better off masquerading as Malibu Barbie if you actually live in Malibu, unless you want to freeze off all your pink plastic parts. But if you’re into fleshtone bodysuits and gold lamé hot pants, American Apparel has just the thing for your hipster Halloween.

Always quick to jump on the Halloween haywagon, American Apparel is holding its annual Halloween Costume Contest, offering $500 gift certificates as prizes for dreaming up something creative from the store’s on-trend offerings. The retailer’s web site offers tons of inspirational ideas, ranging from practical to practically obscene.

Find witches wearing sheer, sexy black lace; belly dancers flashing bare midriffs; ballerinas, both dead and alive; and a zillion more things you can do with nothing more than a leotard and lipstick. We like some of the more sophisticated ideas, like the Dia De Los Muertos costume (above right), or the sweeeeeet ’70s Roller Girl costume (below right). You can also save 15 percent when you purchase an entire costume from the site.

To enter the contest now through Wednesday, Nov. 3, visit the American Apparel Halloween Costume Contest page and submit a photo of your best Halloween costume. They’ll upload your pics to the pool, and other shoppers will weigh in on their favorites. Each costume needs to include at least one piece of American Apparel. The costume with the highest score in each category will receive a $500 Online Gift Certificate for the American Apparel Online Store, and two runners up in each category will win $100 gift certificates. See all the entries and contest rules here.

By the way, we Portland gals have some rules of our own. Rule No. 1? Don’t wear a bikini on Halloween.

American Apparel Halloween Contest
1234 S.W. Stark St.; 503- 721-0700
3412 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.; 503-231-0043
7325 S.W. Bridgeport Rd.; 503-620-7042
www.americanapparel.net

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By Karen Vitt, NEAT editor in chief

Portland is home to a host of brilliant jewelry designers, and now you can count yourself among them. Meet GemKitty, a local online retailer of custom gemstone jewelry you can design online yourself and then have crafted by expert jewelry designers and shipped to your doorstep.

GemKitty’s creative concept was masterminded by jewelry designer and owner Arwa Jumkawala, who was born and raised in Hong Kong by two parents in the gemstone and jewelry trade. She launched GemKitty to give novice jewelry designers the ability to create their own pieces from a choice of materials and have fun playing with thousands of combinations of stones and shapes, then have the actual pieces built by expert jewelry makers.

This means you get to exercise your creative genius and play around online with everything from agates to amethysts, but you don’t need to do the labor-intensive work of building the earrings and necklaces yourself. The end result is a quality handmade wearable work of art worthy of the best local jewelry designer… YOU!

Win a FREE pair of GemKitty earrings! Generous GemKitty is offering up a pair of your very own custom GemKitty earrings to one lucky Neat Sheet reader.  You can win a $50 gift certificate to create your own design, including styles like the Emma earrings (shown top) or the Sophia style (right). You can use your $50 smackers to create any style you like from any materials you want. To enter, just leave a comment on this post or send an email with the subject title “GEMKITTY” to neatsheet@karenvitt.com. We’ll pick a random lucky winner on Friday, Nov. 12.

GemKitty
www.gemkitty.com

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Brooklyn-based but Portland-born-and-bred jewelry designer Jené DeSpain is not only talented and impossibly stylish, but she’s generous, too! The designer has gifted The Neat Sheet this fanciful Prettybird Necklace from the Jené DeSpain Jewelry Ornithology Collection to gift to one lucky reader.

The self-taught artist makes every piece by hand in her Brooklyn studio, and her tough, sexy Fall 2010 Black Honey Collection will debut nationwide in late August. Black Honey features lots of raw brass and black leather mixed with 14k gold and pops of gunmetal, but we’re gonna ask you to stay tuned for more about that…

In in the meantime let’s talk about this particular one-of-a-kind piece and how it could be YOURS! We adore this gold swallow soaring on a chain adorned with briolettes of tourmaline, sourced from a women’s collective in Thailand. It’s one of DeSpain’s most popular styles, and she said it’s been a huge hit with gals of all ages.

Win this Prettybird Necklace from Jené DeSpain! If you’d like to flutter around for fall in this winged beauty (retail value $75), just enter to win by sending an e-mail with the subject title “PRETTYBIRD” to neatsheet@karenvitt.com or leave a comment on this post. We’ll pick a lucky random winner on Sunday, September 12.

But what if you can’t wait to win? No worries, this ambitious designer stocks her wares in numerous sweet boutiques across the country, including Portland’s Pin-Me Apparel on Mississippi Avenue and Seaplane on Northwest 23rd Avenue. We’ll be sure to keep you updated when the Black Honey line arrives — we’re good like that.

Jené DeSpain Jewelry
www.jenedespain.com

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By Keely Edmonson, NEAT contributor

Although the arrival of summer sun can do wonders for an Oregonian’s psyche, sometimes we still need a little help to work out the kinks in our lives and in our tired, wintered bodies. So why not try a little neat yoga to do just that? The Neat Sheet recently met up with Portland yoga instructor Laura Kallen to attend one of her classes, which was recommended to us by some seasoned yogis.

Kallen has been a busy gal over the past year: She released her first yoga DVD, “Balanced Yoga with Laura Kallen,” and at the same time she started up a new one-hour lunchtime class at Soma Space in Northeast Portland. She’s done all this while keeping up with her other classes at local fitness clubs, and providing private and corporate/workplace yoga instruction. As a New York City native, Kallen’s teaching style delivers a perfect meld of sassy-yet-soothing, and her Hatha classes provide a fluid practice that is a good fit for Beginner and Intermediate levels.

Her website, www.laurakallen.com, offers free guided meditation, poses of the month descriptions, and ‘Healthy Habits’ tips, such as starting each day with a tall glass of room-temperature water before having any coffee or tea to help stay hydrated and balanced. For those interested in exploring her DVD, Balanced Yoga with Laura Kallen offers students the option to select either a 40-minute “Morning Awakening” or “Evening Quieting” Practice, or the one-hour “Balancing Practice.”

If you are one of those who may not be able to move through a DVD lesson as easily at home without an instructor in the room with you (guilty as charged!), then give yourself the gift of scheduling one or more lunchtime yoga sessions at Soma Space before the end of July. Drop-ins are just $12, or you can purchase a 10-class card for $100. Your psyche will thank you!

Win a free yoga DVD + lunch-hour class! Whether you’re a yoga newbie or a seasoned yogini, Kallen has graciously offered one lucky Neat Sheet reader a FREE DVD and one-hour lunchtime yoga class to try in July. To enter, just send an e-mail with the subject title “YOGA DVD” to neatsheet(at)karenvitt.com or leave a comment on this post. One lucky winner will receive a free one-hour lunchtime yoga class to be redeemed by Sunday, July 31, plus a FREE DVD copy of “Balanced Yoga with Laura Kallen,” which you can pick up at the class. We’ll draw our random lucky winner on Tuesday, July 6.

Laura Kallen Yoga + Soma Space
4050 N.E. Broadway; 503-804-7660
www.somaspace.us
www.laurakallen.com

Visit Keely Edmonson’s asleep to dream blog for more of this NEAT contributor’s tips on life, style, travel and home. If you like what you see on The Neat Sheet, please consider becoming our Facebook Fan, following us on Twitter and/or linking to us from your website or blog. We need your help to spread the word so we can keep it up!

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By Karen Vitt, NEAT editor in chief

We all know Sears as a go-to source for functional things like washing machines and home appliances, but lately the department store has stepped up the fashion finds, too. Come see for yourself at the Lands’ End Canvas and Lucky Magazine Summer Style Event at the Lands’ End Canvas Shop at Sears at Washington Square, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12.

Attendees are invited to come nibble on cupcakes and talk summer style with Lucky Magazine editor Elise Loehnen (an old friend of The Neat Sheet, dontchaknow), as well as receive complimentary summer style beauty advice and mini-manicures from Phagans’ Tigard Beauty School. The first 100 guests will also receive a complimentary Lands’ End Canvas tote bag and other neat giveaways, and textile designer Lily Raskind will be on-site customizing totes for attendees with one-of-a-kind painted stencil designs.

Win a $50 Lands’ End Canvas Gift Certificate! The Lands’ End Canvas folks have also generously donated a $50 gift card to one lucky Neat Sheet reader. To win, just send an email with the subject title “LANDS’ END” to neatsheet(at)karenvitt.com, or leave a comment on this post. We’ll picky a lucky random winner on Monday, July 12.

You can use your winning gift card to shop for cute, summery Lands’ End styles online or at Sears. We love the new Lands’ End swimwear line, with its huge range of styles in solids and prints that offer coverage ranging from skimpy string bikinis to modest tankinis; feminine tops and blouses, like the pink smocked ruffled cami (shown top); and tons of colorful shoes and accessories, including bright leather thong sandals and chunky horn link necklaces and natural cuff bracelets.

Gotta say that beats the heck out of a new air conditioner.

Lands’ End Canvas Event with Lucky magazine
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12
Lands’ End Shop at Sears at Washington Square Mall
9585 S.W. Washington Square Rd.; 503-620-1510
www.landsendcanvas.com

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Even the most affordable jewelry can attract more attention than precious gemstones when it’s as pretty as the pieces crafted in Portland by Rachel Robichaud of Plume Jewelry.

The designer’s line of cheerful floral rings, earrings and hairpins can be found in boutiques all over town, bright pops of colorful dahlia and rose cabochons attached to silvery bands and studs. ”I love using all flowers in my jewelry,” said Robichaud. “When I’m having a hard time getting through our cold rainy winters I can just put on a bright pair of dahlia earrings or a large ring and it brightens my day.”

We’re having a little trouble getting through this wet, rainy spring ourselves, but the sun’s out today and the roses are in bloom, so we’d like to gift one lucky Neat Sheet reader a pretty adjustable red rose ring from Plume!

Win this red rose Amanda ring from Plume Jewelry! If you’re feeling rosy this spring, you can enter to win this red rose Amanda ring from Plume jewelry (retail value $16). To enter, just send an e-mail with the subject title “ROSE RING” to neatsheet (at) karenvitt.com or leave a comment on this post. We’ll pick a lucky random winner on Monday, July 5.

If you can’t wait to win, you can shop right now for Plume Jewelry online at the Plume etsy shop, or in Portland-area boutiques including Presents Of Mind, Shop Adorn, Frock, Fuchsia, Lemon Tree, Oxalis, Say Say Boutique, Union Rose, Tender Loving Empire and Sweet Jayne.

Plume Jewelry
www.etsy.com/shop/plumepdx

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By Karen Vitt, NEAT editor in chief

Wood-n’t you like to win a pair of gorgeous, one-of-a-kind Zebrawood sunglasses handmade right here in Portland? You Shwood! Alrighty then, we’ll stop with the overdone puns (our apologies) and get down to business.

Allow us to introduce you to Shwood Eyewear, a local company that handcrafts stunning shades from beautiful natural woods, turning out classic styles from a Portland-based woodshop where they do it all themselves – from the ply-cutting to the lens shaping and packaging.

“We place a huge emphasis on our product being made by hand in Portland,” said Taylor Murray, Shwood’s brand manager. “We manipulate the wood as little as possible to allow for a raw, organic look. And the inside of the arm on each pair of glasses is engraved with the outline of the state of Oregon, with the words ‘Handmade in Oregon.’ Oregon pride!”

Shwood’s been in business since September of 2009, but the concept was born about three years ago when founder Eric Singer began making eyewear from one solid piece of wood. “He would cut down tree branches in his backyard and whittle them by hand into crazy abstract eyewear,” Murray said. “These days we manufacturer through a much more precise method, although a bulk of the production is still conducted by hand.”

Not only does the D.I.Y. manufacturing method appeal to fashionable Portlanders, but Shwood’s sense of style also makes our most-wanted summer shopping list. Shwood designs are based on classic eyewear shapes, such as the Wayfarer or aviator, which gives a nice little nod to the past. Add to that a creative use of Zebrawood, Maple or East Indian Rosewood and you’ve got a natural, modern take on simple, classic eyewear design.

Win a pair of Shwood Zebrawood Govy style sunglasses! If you’d like to show a little Oregon pride of your own this summer, you can enter to win a pair of Shwood’s popular Govy style sunglasses in Zebrawood (retail value $95). To enter, just send an e-mail with the subject title “SHWOOD” to neatsheet (at) karenvitt.com or leave a comment on this post. We’ll pick a lucky random winner on Thursday, July 1 so you’ll be able to enjoy your new shades over Fourth of July weekend. They’ll even let the winner pick grey or brown lenses of their choice.

If you can’t wait to win, you can shop right now for Shwood shades at Portland-area boutiques Compound, Local 35 and Lizard Lounge, or purchase a pair directly through the website at shwoodshop.com.

Shwood
shwoodshop.com

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We’re pretty sure Charlotte, Carrie, Samantha and Miranda have spent a fair amount of time shopping at Macy’s, so its only fitting the department store gets in on the “Sex and the City 2″ movie action with some sweepstakes fun leading up to the movie’s release date on Thursday, May 27.

First up, you have two days left to enter to win the “Sex and the City 2″ Red Carpet Premiere Sweepstakes, which will award you and three friends a girls’ weekend for four to New York City, including airfare, a posh hotel for two nights and four tickets to the movie premiere. You have until 8:59 p.m. (PST) on Tuesday, May 11 to enter (that’s tomorrow, girls), so get scootin’ and read more about the contest here.

Next, you can also enter to win the “Sex and the City 2″ Ultimate Getaway Sweepstakes for a girls’ weekend to Marrakech, Morocco, where you’ll lounge around with your three besties while wearing colorful silk Middle Eastern inspired gowns and being hand-fed plump grapes by handsome Moroccan men. Ok, but really the trip includes airfare for four to Marrakech on Royal Air Maroc, five nights at Hotel Es Saadi Resort and Gardens and four sets of fashionable Samsonite xSpace Luggage so you can travel in the style to which you are about to become accustomed. You have until 8:59 p.m. (PST) on Sunday, May 23 to enter, so you can read more about the contest here at your lovely leisure.

Finally, if you’re as eager to see “Sex and the City 2″ as you are to find your very own Mr. Big, make a plan to shop early at Macy’s Washington Square on Thursday, May 20. The first 50 customers to make a purchase of $100 or more that day will receive advance movie screening passes. Plus, the day kicks off Macy’s Girls Weekend, which will continue with storewide SATC2 inspired events and specials through Sunday, May 23.

Macy’s at Washington Square Mall
9300 S.W. Washington Square Rd.; 503-620-3311
www.macys.com

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