come out of hiding... giveaway!

Winner announced: Congratulations to The Osbornes! You have won yourself a great new bag and wrap set! Sarah from LivingLady will be contacting your shortly. Enjoy!


Nothing too significant about it being blog post number 741 or the date of November 16th, so I'm going to spice it up and host my first-ever blog giveaway!

A few weeks ago I wrote about my friend Sarah's etsy business, Living Lady, how she makes reusable snack bags (& more) and how I thought about dusting off my sewing machine, now inspired to do a little sewing of my own. Well, alas, with the whole PUL plan crashing (it's not food safe), Sarah came to my rescue and gifted me several individual pieces from her store to try with my children and then review with you all.

Lynn was absolutely in love with the prints when she first saw them. The flowers coordinated quite well with her flower lunchbox. She was all into the idea of having a much prettier way to hold her goldfish, chips, cookies, etc than a plastic ziploc bag. She's had various teachers and students admiring them and asking her about them. She feels like a star :)

Zane had a blast with the tractor print, but at 24 mos, was still having a bit of a problem pulling open the velcro. After a week of use, he's got the technique down and can almost get it. He's a man with a one-track mind though, and prefers instant access to his snacks (even if that means half are spilled on the floor next to him because of his enthusiasm, sighhh).

I must admit, I didn't think I'd like the sandwich wrap as much as I do. I'm a wax paper gal. I grew up eating a sandwich on a piece of wax paper every day at school. It was easy to toss all the crumbs when I was done. I'd spread my chips on it and everything. Well... (duh) this sandwich wrap is all the same but without the tossing :)  It's just the right size and includes a good-sized amount of velcro for adjusting closure tightness.

I have found all to be very easy to clean. I've just wiped down the sandwich wrap each evening and handwashed the baggie in the kitchen sink with some dish detergent every few days or if I'm switching from crackers to cookies in it. They are machine washable if needed as well, although I have not tried it.

Now to the good part... Sarah has put together this set for one of my readers to enjoy for free! It consists of 2 reusable snack bags, one sandwich wrap, and one coordinating reusable napkin. Honestly, these prints are beautiful and look adult friendly enough for you to use as well.
I mean, If Lynn hadn't already taken over Zane's, I'd be using it for me (even if it is tractors!). They are very purse-friendly.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment. Use this as a way to de-lurk and say "hi"! I'd enjoy meeting more of you!

Contest is open for 2 days - I will close comments and pick a winner at naptime/lunchtime friday!
*I am extending this contest to run until Monday, Nov 21st. I will close comments and announce winner 12 noon EST.
Please make sure to leave your email if you don't have your address listed in your blog/profile.

Can't wait that long? Sarah has offered my readers 10% off with the promo code "Sarah" at checkout. Go check out her products. The quality is first-rate; you won't be disappointed.

Be sure to go visit and "like" her facebook page as well - you can find LivingLady here. 

disclaimer: I was given several products for free in exchange for my honest review.

the "i love you" sign

A certain (online & now brick-and-mortar) shop came to mind the other day...

I was dropping my (2nd grade) daughter off at school and treasure that she still gives me a kiss on the cheek when parting ways. We also use the "I love you" sign often, usually when her daddy takes her to school, as they're pulling out of the driveway, we sign to one another. I will never forget that when she was in kindergarten, during her Christmas show, during a pause between songs, she caught my eye in the audience, shyly hid her face behind her hand, and signed "i love you" to me. OH BE STILL MY MOMMY-HEART. I melted. It was just her and me at that moment.

Erin, at The Vintage Pearl, has a sign language "I love you" necklace... I admire all of Erin's work, but think this would be especially meaningful for the two of us. I don't ever want Lynn to lose that childlike sweetness!

After spending time together "rekindling" our mother/daughter relationship last weekend, a gift like this would truly be treasured by both her (and me).

If you like Erin's work, she's now giving away 5 $50 gift certificates on her blog!

dreaming... contest referral

I have a dream.
Ha. There, I said it.
I'd like to learn more about photography and get paid to take pictures one day. :) Ideally, I'd love to take landscapes, not just people.
A friend of mine came down to take family photos for us. She has recently broken into the world of professional photography. She's encouraged me to take the first steps into establishing myself as a photographer. I enjoy surfing others' blogs for photo inspiration and somehow found my way to this amazing giveaway, so I thought I'd share. Epiphanie is giving away a new Canon 5D MarkII camera, worth $2500! (Or, if you could care less about that, you can choose a $2500 gift certificate to SouthWest Air). Pretty spectacular.

Miracle Blanket

Anyone familiar with this product? The Miracle Blanket. Waiting for Happy is hosting her first giveaway and I'm interested in this product! My daughter loved being swaddled, but we never tried anything other than a regular blanket, which we tucked and folded just so to make her a "baby burrito" as my hubby lovingly called her. I would be totally excited to try out a product like this on my new little man.

Mother's Day giveaway

Ok, ladies, you know I can't resist a great (Coach) purse, especially when it's being given away through a contest! Check it out at 5 Minutes for Mom!

another tote? of course!

The clock counts down, but it's not too late. I wanted to squeeze in this post to earn another credit towards the contest going on at Musings of a Housewife for this great tote! So get over there and enter for yourself!

care for your camera

Another contest! Check out Vintage Pearl's latest giveaway. She's giving away a custom lens cozy and camera strap from Priddy Creations. Go here to enter. 

"mommified" jewelry

... for winning! Check out the contest at SimpleMom.net. She is giving away four (yes, 4!) pieces of jewelry made by various mommies themselves. I am a big fan of Vintage Pearl, who is one of the four being given away. However, enter the contest here - all pieces are beautiful and would be a wonderful treat for you or to give away for Christmas!

camera strap covers, gotta protect the neck

Check these out! Shey's Etsy store displays her sewing talent but The Vintage Pearl (another amazing crafter - in jewelry) is hosting a contest. Hurry and sign up. I'm getting five extra entries just for blogging about it, so you'd better get moving. :)

playing the Celebrate Fall game!

Following up on a commenters' Celebrate Fall's Extravaganza with this post.... (Hi, Tiffanie, nice to meet you!) Today she is looking for our fall craft projects. Crafty, crafty... let's see... aside from scrapbooking, lately I haven't been up to too much. So, since scrapbooking's "boring" to blog about, I thought I'd pull out a sewing project from earlier this year. I recovered my couch pillows! I've done this several times and originally got the instructions from HGTV. They are removable covers, perfect for pulling off and washing as needed. This is not a fall craft, per se, unless you're my friend Charity, who redecorates (curtains, pillows, decorations, etc) for the different seasons! So, check it out and may I say, it was definitely easy (for a beginning seamstress like me) and definitely fun to have a new look!

contests I recommend

Purses... who couldn't use another? Seriously! Check out MomDot's contest for a new purse from Elliott Lucca. Check out this cute clutch.

Anyone ever been to Build-A-Bear? All Because Two People Fell in Love's contest will allow you or your child to have a $25 building spree.

click pics in comfort

Wow! Look at this contest over at The Vintage Pearl. I have been needing and needing to get a camera strap for my camera. What better excuse to step up that purchase than to win one of these pretty covers to slide onto one!

please let me win!

Ok, I've gone back and forth between photos and after eenie, meenie, miny, moeing it, I've picked one to enter in Five Minutes for Mom's Summer Fun Photo Contest. Here's my entry:

Nothing says summer like lots of playground time! This shot was taken through the "tube." (And no, I did not have to shimmy all the way through to get the shot, shew)!

giveaway here, giveaway there

Check out all of the giveaways for the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival!
For example, here's one by Sonnybrook Farm Design. I am beginning to sew myself (curtains and pillows!) and love the cute tote that she's made and is giving away.

5M4M

Just entered a contest on Five Minutes for Mom tonight. They've got a bunch of contests coming up - stay tuned daily to their site.

contestc

Another pink giveaway at 5MFM!

The special-edition pink EX-Z75 will be available beginning October 2007 and can be purchased at Sears, La Curacao, Fred Meyer, BJ’s, Nexcom, AAFES, Staples, and Future Shop. The bundle package will have an MSRP of $179.99, and will proudly sponsor the National Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information, please visit www.casiousa.com.

contest

Don't have much time to blog, but wanted to pass along this giveaway:

"How would you like to win $50 to spend in a vintage children’s store? Kailani of An Island Life is holding a giveaway to Warm Biscuit Bedding Company. Stop by before September 28th for all the details."

wowee

5 Minutes for Mom... a pink Dyson... check it out...

Gap or Union Bay for me

Jeans, jeans, jeans. What a fun contest! Give Megan a suggestion, get selected, get a gift card. Hmm, just for bragging on your fave pair of jeans. Head on over and brag on your jeans!

shoes and shoes

giveaway - more shoes... this time for the kiddos! Check it out here.