Giveaway Day!

***This giveaway is now closed***

It's my first official giveaway, and a sweet one it is!

My friend Kim Sprague is a Dove Chocolate Discoveries Chocolatier. She offers Chocolate Tasting parties where she teaches fun entertaining ideas and you get to sample all her yummy treats! She has a team of consultants around the US, so if you are interested in hosting a party, you can contact Kim.  Also, check out her blog for some creative chocolate ideas... www.thechocolateladyblog.blogspot.com.  

Today Kim is offering a very special Truffle Collection that will be shipped the week of Mother's Day. 

The truffles are going to be handmade by Jin Caldwell, recognized as one of the Top 10 Pastry Chefs in North America. They will be made with fresh creams and butter, and are best enjoyed within 3 weeks of delivery (as if they would have a chance of lasting longer.) 

These are not stale chocolates that you find on a shelf in a store!  

The retail value of this prize is $39.

Here are the rules.....

1. Become a follower of my blog.

2. Leave me a comment letting me know about the special lady that will receive these yummy truffles (even if that special lady is you!).

3. One post per person, per household 

4. Dove chocolatiers or Dove/Mars, Inc. employees are not allowed to play 

5. Winner must live in the continental USA

6. Posts must be submitted by 11:59pm, PST, Thursday, April 22, 2010.

7. Winner will be randomly selected and posted on Friday, April 23, 2011.

8. Winner must send me the mailing address that they would like the truffles shipped to (no PO Boxes) by Saturday, April 24, 2011, 5pm PST, or a new winner will be selected. 

A Few of my Favorite Things

Ever heard of etsy?  For those of you that haven't, it is an online marketplace for handcrafted items.  

I sell my calendars there.  

They have this thing on etsy called the Treasury, which is a place where etsy users can display a grouping of items, usually with some sort of common theme.  Each Treasury list expires after 48 hours, and they only allow 333 lists at a time.  (Although the number often goes far over 333 because as soon as the 333rd list expires, taking it down to 332 lists, people jump on it and try to create a list.  If several hundred people do that at one time, they allow all those people to get a listing.  I know... ridiculously confusing, right?) 

In other words... it's really hard to get a Treasury on etsy.  

So, I'm making my own.

I call it "I heart etsy" (Nathan just told me that it should be called "Random Crap").

What are some of your favorite etsy items? 

Special Delivery

We all have those opportunities in life to bring someone a meal… a new mommy, a recovering friend, a neighbor who burned their kitchen down because they are such terrible cook. 

Whatever the situation, I think it is a nice gesture to make it not just a meal, but an entire eating experience.

Package it up… make it cute… include everything… and most importantly… MAKE IT ALL DISPOSABLE!

There’s nothing worse than opening your kitchen cabinet and feeling that pang of guilt because you know you didn’t buy that Pyrex® dish, but you have had it for more than a year now and you don’t even know how to get a hold of the girl that made you those delicious enchiladas (don’t worry… my sister eventually got it back to her for me).

Note to my "green" friends (Jen this one is for you): I apologize to you and to the planet, but if you have ever had a baby you will know that in those first few weeks easy is way more important that any carbon footprint mumbo jumbo.

When your friends have finished their meal they can throw the entire thing away… have nothing to clean… and most importantly, have nothing to return!

Today I made meals for two friends with new babies.  

Here’s what the completed package looked like:

In the adult “to-go” bag (the white bag) I included:

Curry Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Champagne Salad

Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

Rootbeer

Beer

(If the package is for a new mom, I like to include beer. That sounds strange, I know… but when I was first nursing my milk supply was low and my doctor told me to drink beer. I figure either the new mommy can work on her milk supply, or the new daddy will really like me. It’s a win-win.)

And of course I included plates, napkins and utensils.

The kids “to-go” bag for the big brother and big sister included:

  A more kid-friendly sandwich, a PB & J (just be sure there is a not a nut allergy when preparing your meal)

A bag of veggies & dip

A bottle of water 

Two cookies (without the chocolate frosting... we don't need to be hyping up those older siblings) 

and a napkin... all tucked neatly into their own special bag.

Next week I will give you the recipes for my Curry Chicken Salad and my favorite Champagne Salad.

Answers

Congratulations to Katie (or should I say Katie, Beth and Carol).  I am actually very impressed that you all got as many as you did.  Except Megan... c'mon, not even one???

As promised, here are the answers:

1.  Of course, The Jerk.  Steve Martin's most classic!
2.  Troop Beverly Hills  Tori Spelling's most riveting performance!
3.  Airplane
4.  When Harry Met Sally  My favorite Romantic Comedy and Meg Ryan flick!
5.  Clue  I had a feeling no one would get this one.  I know every line from this movie.
6.  The Wedding Singer
7.  It's a Wonderful Life  Jen... impressive!  This was kind of an obscure line from the movie which is my all time favorite. 
8.  Zoolander
9.  Newsies  My favorite musical.  Wait, I forgot about High School Musical 1, 2, and 3... hmmm.
10.  Sabrina 
11.  Notting Hill  My second favorite Romantic Comedy
12.  Sixteen Candles 
13.  Pirates of the Caribbean  Strangely, one of my all time favorite movies.
14.  French Kiss 
15.  You've Got Mail  Can you tell that I love Meg Ryan???

And finally... the bonus quote.  Yes Katie... it was Billy Madison.  By the way, I wish I could have been there to see Beth's reenactment.  I am laughing just picturing it!!!  Now, do they have Regal Cinemas in Hawaii, or should I look for an alternate prize?

Obsession: Movie Quotes

Here are some of my all-time favorite movie quotes… can you name the movies? 

 

Post your answers in the comments. Whoever gets the most correct answers by tonight at midnight PST is going to win a Regal Cinemas movie ticket.  DON'T CHEAT by looking at the other comments before you answer!

1. “Take a chance and win some crap.”

2. “I’m coming girls and I’ve got the fondue!”

3. “Surely you can’t be serious.

I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.”

4. “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

5. “Well, it’s a matter of life after death. Now that he’s dead, I have a life.”

6. “Once again, things that could've been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!”

7. “I been savin' this money for a divorce, if ever I got a husband.”

8. “Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?”

9. “When you got a million voices singing, who can hear a lousy whistle blow?”

10. “They say you're the world's only living heart donor.”

11. “Just going to the kitchen to get some food, then I'm going to tell you a story that will make your balls shrink to the size of raisins.”

12. “Can you remember to turn off the stove in twenty minutes?

I can remember lots of things.”

13. “You didn’t beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I’d kill you.

That’s not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?”

14. “I hate Paris in the springtime

I hate Paris in the fall

I hate Paris in the summer when it sizzles

I hate Paris in the winter when it drizzles

I hate Paris, oh why oh why do I hate Paris?

Because my love is there... with his SLUT girlfriend.”

15. “The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.”

and one bonus quote in honor of one of my husband's favorite movies:

"At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

ANSWERS TOMORROW

Confession: I Live at the Foot of Laundry Mountain

When Beau was born and I began my career as a Stay-at-Home Mom, I decided that rather than spend my week battling laundry, I was going to have a Laundry Day. So that’s what I did. Every Monday I would spend the day sorting, moving, bleaching, stain-treating, folding, and hanging. And that was that. By the end of Monday… laundry was done and I had six laundry free days to enjoy until the next Laundry Day.

I was a stickler about Laundry Day. Sometimes Nathan would run out of work out clothes or we would visit the pool too often and be out of towels… but that was too bad! If it wasn’t Monday, I wasn’t doing laundry.

Then reality set in. I started my own business. Beau got bigger… so did the laundry piles.

What I used to be able to get done in 4 or 5 loads now takes 8 or 9. Laundry Day has turned into Laundry Days… okay, Laundry Week.

Enter Laundry Mountain

I still start Laundry Day on Monday (usually), but I am usually still finishing my loads on Tuesday and Wednesday. I don’t fold as I go… I pile… I build Laundry Mountain.

The other day Nathan told me he is getting a complex that I am trying to take him out. I build Laundry Mountain next to his side of the bed. 

On more than one occasion he has tumbled down the mountain in the middle of the night. 

This is what my room typically looks like.  

Giant pile of clothes next to (Nathan's side of) the bed.

Stack of unmatched socks on (Nathan's) nightstand.

Pile of clothes on the window seat that need to be hung up.

Oh... and on this day, note the suitcases in the right corner that need to be unpacked... more laundry!

In the mornings we all excavate… looking for a clean pair of underwear or a pair of matching socks. If it is a week that my cleaning lady is coming then I spend Thursday night folding and hanging. If not… well then, what’s the point… I’m just going to have more to add to the pile in a few days, right?

So now you know the truth. I hope it makes you feel better about the state of affairs in your home.

Spring Wreath

I must admit that, other than for Christmas, I am not a holiday decorating kind of gal.  I am not one of those women that has a tub for each holiday neatly labeled and stacked on shelves in the garage.  It's not because I don't like holiday decorations... it is because I am far too lazy to have to do all that packing and unpacking. 

I hate packing and unpacking!

Needless to say, when Christmas is over my door wreath gets thrown out and for the next eleven months, my door is naked.

Yesterday, I made a new outfit for my door:

Here's how:

Start with a Styrofaom wreath of any size.

Cut strips of fabric, about 1 1/2" thick and wrap them around the wreath.  I used a Styrofoam glue, but I'm sure that any old glue would be fine.  

 

 

Next you will need flowers for your wreath.  I used an assortment... some were store bought, some I cut out of patterned paper, and some I made.

 

 

For these flowers, start with a circle, then cut in a spiral to the center.  Don't cut it in a totally straight line, make the edge a little jagged.

Then, start from the outer edge and roll the paper into the center.  

When you get to the middle, apply some hot glue and stick your spiral down onto the glue.  

 

It doesn't have to be perfect!

I also cut some flowers out of felt.  To make these ones, just fold a square of felt into half, and in half again, then cut a half circle around the non folded corner.

 

 

Then stack two layers together. 

For the green ones, I gathered the centers with a little stitching.  

Finally, attach all your flowers to the wreath.  

I used my glue gun, floral pins, rhinestone brads, and ribbon to put mine together. 

I tied a long piece of tulle to hang mine up.