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Greetings to all. It's been a while, I know. My computer decided to comp[letely go on the fritz (with my help) and now I have no way to access the internet which has turned out to be almost like losing my left arm. It's weird. Unfortunately though, my last post was a giveaway - which was awesome, but I wasn't going to post it until I heard back from Philopolis. So I had listed that date for the (at the time) future, and then promptly forgot all about it. So now I'm left with the job of leaving an apology to you all, but with the promise that I will be back, when I can get a GEEK over, but for now - the giveaway iosn't legit or active. MY APOLOGIES!! It's completely tacky and professional, but that seems to be my murphys law of late. So until I can get back on and vent all about how I can't wait for school to start (taking care of the cabin fever, my-kids-are-bored-and-wanting-to-kill-each-other) then I'm stuck borrowing someone elses computer and leaving quick How's-your-father's.

But I'll be back. Count on it. :)

Philopolis

For all you military Moms/Wives/Sisters etc. out there, you will absolutely love this store I'm about to feature! The name is "Philopolis" & the brains behind this wonderful store is Tiffany, who is a military wife to a 2 time OIF combat veteran, with 2 little boys.
She's not only creative - she's looking for a way to provide hand made, beautiful dresses to those in the army who are ranked lower, aka - paid less. I think that's not only heroic in it's own way, but a lovely thought.

What Tiffany at Philopolis creates is alittle of everything! She has every taste covered. From retro - to classic, army (I loved the "Hooah" design!) to modern.
She has boys and girls sets, dresses, booties, clippies - a wide selection for every mom looking for that "different" edge to their childrens clothes. That's what attracted me to Philopolis in the beginning, I liked the fact that what she has created wasn't anything I had seen on any other kids, and it was cute!
Tiffany has alot of creative style, which she proves  in her work and it definitely comes through.

She has high quality workmanship & the "Heart Tank Dress" (which in this case, my 7 year old took one look and staked her claim, so it's a "tank" for her, and a "dress" for my 2 year old - which is so versatile that I was over the moon!) was adorable! I noticed everything about the dress was definitely well made.
Some hand-made clothing you can purchase, has almost a frayed, "worn" look to it? Well, in this case - I could have picked this up from a boutique at Red Cliffs (a shopping area in my city) The fabric is soft, the way Tiffany has made this tank is like she pored over every single aspect of it - and then some.

Quality is too weak a word, I was definitely impressed - and am DYING for summer so I can see my girls (depending on who wins the fight for that day on who can wear it) without having to put a thick long sleeved underneath to keep them warm!

I asked Tiffany some questions about herself, her craft & why she does what she does, & here's what she had to say ...

How did you begin Philopolis, & is there a meaning behind the name?
I chose the name Philopolis becuase I have always dreamed of haveing my own little utopia (Jungle fantasy like but, more on the jungle side not so much fantasy...LOL) and thought the "olis" would make it my own on top of my last name Phillips. It took me a while to get it right but being silly with the names Philopolis came to mind....it is unique, has my name, and only 1!! 

 When did you start designing?

 I have been designing since I was very young. I began with cards to scrapbooks to purses and was always afraid of sewing clothing but I loved to design it. So when I got my first sewing machine in 2007 I took a whack at sewing and was very natural at it!

When did you know you wanted to open a store & start a company?
I have ALWAYS had an interest in business since I was very young. I have been a little entreprenuer since I was about 10 years old!

Is it hard being a Mom with 2 boys and working on your store?
Sometimes, I do work around it though. My babies are ALWAYS #1 but, when they need me and I am almost done with a project that can get frustrating!

 

When & why did you add the 'ACU Military' look to your store?
That was actually the first items in my store. They sell little ACU uniforms for children at the PX but they start at size 4 and my son was just an infant at the time and he needed things that would fit him. My good friend had a little girl the same age and nothing was out there for little girls. I thought I would start something new! But, now I have grown so much I am adding regular non-military clothing!!

Has it had great success?
HUGE!! People love the little ACU outfits...they are mostly used for newborns who are Military brats and Homecomings!

Can you explain what E-1 to E-4 Military Officers are - & why they can use your help?
 E-1 thru E-4 are enlisted personal not quite up on there in the Military!!LOL
They are your privates and specialists. After that it is E-5 through E-8 and those are the enlisted Sergants. O-1 through O-? are the officers
What I want to do with this little program is give away a FREE dress to a family expecting a homecoming and are the rank of E-1 through E-4! When you are that low ranking, married, have kids, etc. money is SUPER tight and those people can only dream of having those items and I want to offer it to a special person each month. With my Husband just being an E-5, 1 rank higher then that bunch I just cannot afford to purchase the fabric to do that by myself I will have to rely on donations! My goal is to get 3-5 dresses or boy sets out a month!

I want to add here, is you are interested in helping Tiffany & donating money for fabric so she can continue in this noble endevor, then please contact her at Philopolis & do what you can, I can't think of a better way to help those who serve our country, yet can't afford a dress or cute outfit for Homecoming. Tiffany has really come across a fantastic idea, and I hope she can continue to help those families.

Philopolis has also generously offered to give one of her, much coveted dresses away today, to one lucky reader!

WIN IT!

Mandatory entry: To be eligible to win with Philopolis & "20 to Life" you need to go to Tiffany's extrodinary store & choose 2 items you think would make a great addition to your child's wardrobe!

Extra entries:
+1 Become an email subscriber to "20 to Life"
+1 Become a Facebook Fan of Philopolis!
+2 Take either one of my free buttons!
+2 Become a blog follower of Philoplis!
+1 Tell me what the special 'military' material Tiffany uses is called
+1 Follow Philopolis on MySpace!
+1 Tweet Daily, up to 2x a day

 WIN

+1 Facebook Fan "20 to Life"!

This giveaway will run from 2.21.10 until 3.02.10, please leave separate comments for each entry, winner will be selected via Random.Org & emailed. They will then 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be drawn.


**Please note, I received no form of monetary compensation for my opinion/review. I did receive a product from the company in order to give a fair & balanced review and any opinion, statement etc. expressed in said review in solely my own & was in no way influenced by a third party.

Good Luck!