The Vintage Pearl – a winner!
	January 18, 2010 | Filed Under Giveaways | 4 Comments

The winner of the $50 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl is Julia!  Congrats, Julia, an email has been sent to you!

Thanks to The Vintage Pearl for this wonderful giveaway!

and in other news…I do plan to write a real post like tomorrow morning.  I promise.  I even have a gigantic belly shot JUST FOR YOU.

	The Vintage Pearl
	January 16, 2010 | Filed Under Giveaways | 376 Comments

I have a necklace, many of you have probably seen it – there are two charms, both with a J on them, each one signifies James and Jake.  I love this necklace.  I wear it every single day and have for almost 2 years now.

Recently, The Vintage Pearl approached me about doing a review and giveaway, they have some of the best looking jewelry I have ever seen, many with wonderful sentiments that would mean something to somebody.

I found a necklace where I can honor ALL of my kids, including the baby in my belly and it makes me so happy.

This is the one I received:

I love it, it’s beautiful.  It’s called The Mother Bird.  *sigh.*

I’m excited to be giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky reader!  What do you need to do to win?

Just head over to The Vintage Pearl and come back and tell me what your FAVORITE piece is!  (this does not mean you have to pick that piece if you win, it just means I’m really nosey.)  Also, tweeting about this giveaway gives you a SECOND entry, just leave your tweet link in a separate comment.    And thirdly, if you have a blog, blogging about this giveaway gives you a THIRD entry.  THREE WAYS TO WIN!

The winner will be chosen AT RANDOM on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 9:00 pm CST.  The Vintage Pearl ships anywhere – so anyone can join in on the fun.

(please do not say PICK ME in the comments because that is annoying and again, IT’S RANDOM.)

FTC regulations require me to tell you that this product was given to me for free, for review purposes, which is pretty obvious, don’t you think?

Good luck, friends!

	Holiday Baking {a giveaway!}
	December 10, 2009 | Filed Under Giveaways, Holidays | 187 Comments

I’m so glad November is over.

The entire month someone in our house was sick, mostly my daughter who caught the flu on November 2nd and was treated for flu and sinus infection on December 1st.  We all had the sickies at some point or another which made things difficult for me because not only was I sick or caring for someone who was sick but I also wanted to bake.

ALL OF THE TIME.

My dilemma wasn’t so much that I didn’t have energy to bake even though I wanted to, it was baking without spreading these nasty germs to other family members and friends that I was preparing these sweet treats for them to enjoy.

So, what did I do?  For one, I washed my hands endlessly, and two, I used paper towels to dry my hands every single time I washed them.  Which was a lot.

I could not stand the thought of using the same towel over and over again, I just imagined the germs manifesting inside of it and knew that using paper towels would be safer for all of us.

And to combat stubborn chocolate or maple glaze stuck to my countertops?  I used paper laid out on my work area.  It worked out perfectly.

I call this my “mess catcher.”

So now the holidays are in full swing, I seem to be baking something nearly everyday and we are finally, once again, all healthy.  Which makes me want to celebrate…with some Christmas cookies.

(and with all of the germs gone from the kitchen, I feel much better about licking every last bit of chocolate off of my fingers!)

mmmmm…..

Get the recipe for these chocolate beauties by clicking here!

Win! Our friends at Viva are giving one of you a $50 Visa Gift card to spend however you wish!  To win, leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite holiday tradition, your favorite holiday dish or what you do to ensure your holiday travels go smoothly!

Receive a second, third or fourth entry by tweeting, facebooking or blogging about this giveaway! (please leave the links to each entry separately in the comments!) Who’s going to be the lucky winner?

Winner will be chosen at random on Sunday, December 13th at 9:00 pm. CST.

This post was sponsored by Viva Towels. For fun, fork-free recipes – including videos – and snappy entertaining ideas, get over to the VIVA® Diva Café.

	Joy.
	December 3, 2009 | Filed Under Giveaways, NWIP | 3 Comments

I love the word “joy.”  It’s one of my favorite words.  But if you say it too much, it starts to sound foreign and wrong.  Try it.  You’ll see.

I have winners!

The individuals who each won a $50 gift certificate to Tiny Prints are:

Katie (no blog), who said “I love the Inspirational Square!”

And Saj at Saj Advice.  Both winners have been notified!

Thanks for participating and special thanks to Tiny Prints for the great giveaway.  I received my Christmas cards today and they are BEAUTIFUL.   And stunning!  And perfect!

Seriously, they are.

_____________

If you’re looking for a real post from me, you can find one of those here!

I’m so good to you.  If you had been here just five minutes earlier, I would have shared my ice cream with you.

	Tiny Prints {a giveaway}
	November 30, 2009 | Filed Under Giveaways, Holidays | 203 Comments

(Comments are closed…winners will be announced soon!)

Do you love sending and receiving Christmas cards as much as I do?  If you do, then I have a treat for you!

This morning I finally placed my order for my Christmas cards from Tiny Prints today, I’m so excited because their selection is amazing and the quality of their product is BEAUTIFUL so the process of choosing and ordering a card of our very own makes me very, very happy.

Just this year, I received a birth announcement from both Erin and Crooked Eyebrow that were printed by Tiny Prints and I can’t even bear to take them off of my refrigerator, they are so beautiful.  (doesn’t help the cause that their babies ARE SO CUTE.)  Anyway, it’s all good stuff.  All of it.

This is why I am so excited to be able to give away a $50 gift certificate to TWO lucky readers just in time to order your Christmas cards.

And if you’ve already ordered your Christmas cards from Tiny Prints this year, that’s okay, you can enter, too, and get $50 back from your purchase!

Winning is simple:

First, visit the Tiny Prints Holiday card section and pick out your favorite card, come back and share the link with me in the comments section.  (don’t worry, you’re not obligated to get that card if you win…)  That’s the first way to win…

Second, write about this giveaway on your blog and come back here and leave the link to your post in the comments.

Third, Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway (OR BOTH!) and leave a comment with those links!

That’s FOUR ways you to win.  So, get busy…AND GOOD LUCK!  (please leave separate comments for each entry…)

Winners will be chosen at random on Thursday, December 5th at 8:00 pm CST.

Good luck & Happy Holidays!