remember that brownie giveaway?

betty crocker through blogspark 

generously offered one of my readers the same package i received

and i decided to draw names in an old fashioned way

i wrote out names on slips of paper

and placed them in a pile

i had an adorable small helper who helped pick the winner

sorry, you won't see much of her face.

that whole "she's not mine and i'm respecting their privacy bit"

she took her job quite seriously...but finally picked up a slip of paper and handed it to me

amber is the winner!  congratulations...enjoy the chocolate goodness!

thursday's ten (on black friday): the giveaway

i mentioned earlier that I had a giveaway for today.
sorry i've been black friday shopping and am just now posting!

here are ten things about this giveaway.

1.  back in september...ish i signed up with myblogspark to do this

2.  i heard back fairly quickly and received my package...about a week before the wedding

3.  needless to say, the package sat opened but otherwise untouched for quite awhile

4.  the package contained one fun red apron with the betty crocker logo on it, one wilton 9x9 square pan with a lid, one red spatula/stirrer thing, and of course the milk chocolate brownie mix.

5.  on friday, anthony had a guys night with a good friend to play a new video game

6.  brownies were requested.  out came the kit.

7.  it was rather late at night, which should somewhat explain the photos you're seeing. (i reaaaalllly liked the spatula stir thingy)

8.  the verdict on the brownies was that they were your average brownie...except much more moist than your average brownie.  so while the flavor was great it wasn't knock-your-socks-off...but the moisture was amazing.

9.  i kind of can't wait to grab another box of these and attempt making my baileys brownies with them...

10.  YOU can get an identical package to the one i received.  simply post a comment to this post.  if you want to tweet about it, just tag me in the tweet (@itslorab) and i'll make sure you get an extra entry!

make sure you are contactable, either by email attached to your blog or put your email in your comment.  winner will be drawn december 1.

now, if you'll excuse me...i'm going to go eat a couple of brownies.  :-)

*product, information, and giveaway were provided by Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark

hey, it's ok (tuesday) 11.22

hey, it's ok


...to lick the spatula when making brownies
...to be ready to black friday shop.  i don't do it like anyone else i know...much more relaxed approach, and i still get good deals.  without killing anyone or getting up ridiculously early. (amazon's online deals help a lot, but i actually DO get out and go!)
...to skip meal planning this week, as far as the blog goes.  we have a "plan" but i'm not going to get stressed if we don't stick to it.  hello holiday week!
...to, however, be planning out our open house menu.  i'm including some gluten free, dairy free, and vegan options this year as well as the normal fare, so i want it to be balanced. (if you have favorite holiday finger foods i'd love to hear about it!)
...to love rachael ray, but to be really tired of the "smellavision" comment she makes all.the.time.
...to spend the entirety of baby g's naptime catching up on shows on demand so that i can delete them off the dvr when i get home :-)
...to have way too many photos stored on my computer.  currently in the process of backing them ALL up to disk.
...to be ridiculously geeking out and excited that there's now a container store in my city.  i'm planning on hitting it up on friday, actually!
...to be quite excited to put up our Christmas decor here in a few days.  this will be our first year decorating together, and we have 3 trees planned as well as other fun stuff :-)  we do need stockings though.  nice ones.  any suggestions?
...to be nearly ready to post the giveaway that' i've had for a little over a month and am just now prepared for.  in fairness, it came RIGHT before the wedding.  i've been a little busy.
...to have placed a clue about the giveaway in this list of things that are ok.  extra entry if you correctly guess the right one BEFORE i post about the giveaway :-) (seriously)


visit amber's blog. mostly because she's awesome, but also because she hosts this weekly fun!  join us!

dear.8

dear blog readers,

remember that awesome blog project i told you about a couple of weeks ago?

well, we're doing a book club of sorts, and there's a giveaway involved for one of our readers!
so comment on this post to enter!

signed,
excited about this one!

dear weather,

could you just stay like this until spring? i'm kind of loving it.

signed,
really not looking forward to winter

dear makers of children's shows,

thank you for making some of them bearable. could we chat about the others?

signed,
a desperate nanny

dear eyes,

i'm not really sure what your deal is, but swelling up every few days and making it impossible for me to put my contacts in is not really all that wonderful. i'm just sayin'. and i appreciate you taking turns and all, but come ON.

signed,
squinting in the sun

I need a makeover!

A bloggy makeover, that is.
I don't really need a "design" persay...because I like changing up the backgrounds and all.
What I would LOVE is a button.
and a header.
and possibly a signature.

I have my sick attempt at header and signature visible.

If someone could recommend a site for me to make uber-cool items in all of the above categories, I would be forever grateful.

I don't have monies to pay someone to do all this for me...but I would be more than willing to barter something--jewelry from my store, whatever. If you're interested in that please comment or email me!

And if you recommend a place to go that has the best do it yourself designs for buttons and headers...I'll give you an extra entry in the giveaway that I'll be doing soon!

Help a girl out?

Thursday's Ten -- Whatcha drinkin?

Thank goodness for San Pelligrino water. If it weren't for that fabulous green bottle (which YES I recycle!) I'd probably never get enough water in my system. Yes, I drink tap water most of the time, out of my fabulous Sigg water bottle...but San Pell makes me feel so...I don't know. Grown-up? Classy?

However, it has come to my attention lately that several other beverages often tempt me more than plain 'ol water. Anyone else noticing that? I am trying to lose a few pounds (especially now that my 10 year class reunion has been set for June--aaaaahhhhh!) and I have a feeling that I need to make sure that these drinks don't compose most of my liquid diet :0) But they're SO GOOD!

(I should put a disclaimer here that I really don't drink all of these--or even most of these--every day. But when given the choice of one of them over water...I often yield to the fantastic tastes offered here!)

1. Sweet Tea (with a lime...yum)
2. Coffee (hey, I've got to have something in the mornings!)
3. Diet Coke
4. Bloody Mary
5. Jones Soda (cream soda flavor, to be exact)
6. Stoli Vanil
7. Bubbly Irish Nut (Baileys, Frangelica, club soda...sounds odd but omgosh)
8. White Russian
9. Ocean Spray White Cran-Strawberry Juice
10. V-8 spicy (I know most people think it's disgusting...but it's the closest to a bloody mary I can have before 10 am and not feel guilty. haha)

So...what's holding you back lately from your healthier eating and drinking goals?

Oh and one little bit of housekeeping--if you're one of the winners of my giveaways I FINALLY found the cute little boxes that I always use for my jewelry, so your earrings should be on the way to you very, very soon! I actually was buying just enough for the giveaway winners and a couple of customer orders and Anthony pointed out that perhaps I should get twice that many...and he was right! I had another order yesterday from a lady at my church :0)

In the next 24 hours I'll be posting a couple more awards...

And sometime early next week, get ready for another giveaway! I was a lucky recipient of a giveaway at Lindsey's fabulous blog a few weeks back, received my stuff early last week, and have finally figured out what I'm going to give as my prize! I want to make sure my other packages get mailed out first though :0)

Finally, I hope to be back more regularly soon...this week's been a little crazy with guests, birthday remnants, and being "out" more with the lady I'm acting as a caregiver for. So not as much time to sit on my butt with the computer :0)

Not Me Monday

**upon actually visiting MckMama's blog, it appears as if her baby needs prayers. Please take a moment to think of this family**

It's time again to confess what we (have not) done over the past few days...head to MckMama's blog--click on the button--for more information and to hopefully join us!


I (have not) been a jewelry making fiend over the last week or so and (have not) sold several pieces which (are not) sitting on my dining room table with envelopes addressed ready to go out. I (did not) go to buy jewelry boxes for the giveaway winners the other day only to find out that the store (was not) sold out of the proper color, so I (did not) decide to go on a rampage across middle Tennessee today to find the right boxes, because I (am not) obsessive about that!

I (did not) have a wonderful friend spend the weekend with me. We (did not) sit around and chat, take our recycling off, and just shop around random stores all weekend. I also (did not) just give her directions to meet me at church yesterday instead of making the drive back between obligations. I (would never) be an awful hostess like that. Oh, and in the directions I (absolutely did not) accidentally type "40E" instead of "40W" and that (did not) send her in the complete opposite way of where she should have been. I'd (never) type up directions late at night and make a silly mistake like that.

I (did not) go play cards--Hand and Foot--on Saturday night while my friend went downtown to see her sister in dance competition that just happened to be held here while she was already in the area! I (did not) absolutely LOVE being invited to this party. We (did not) have 3 games going on at the same table, it (was not) a freaking blast, and my partner and I--we drew for them, so it wasn't A--(did not) win. I (was not) sad to see the game end and (do not) look forward to doing that again! {They (do not) hold these tournaments monthly and it (was not) the first time we had been invited as a couple and not just as subs}

At church yesterday I (did not) have friends of mine ask if their 4 year old could sit with me while they did a reading. She (did not) climb up on the seat, hand me a book and proceed to eat cheerios the entire time she was there. She (did not) have the most solemn face the entire time. And last night at dinner, my friends (did not) tell me that she was sooo excited to sit with me, and had actually chosen to sit with me over another person she absolutely adores. I (did not) laugh at the irony.
{by the way, Anthony (did not) come in while said 4 year old was sitting in "his" seat, and he (did not) sit with some friends 2 rows back...and absolutely (did not) sneak into the seat as soon as he had a chance. Cracked me up}

I (did not) take my friend to Trader Joe's yesterday at her request {and I (do not) have the hugest crush ON Joe}. I (did not) nearly hyperventilate when we walked through the doors. I (do not) do that every time I go. It (is not) a good thing that TJ's is across town from my house because I (would not) make an excuse to go there more regularly if it were closer.

And I (did not) buy daffodils at TJ's. Why would I do that when they're everywhere around?

Oh, and in my garden that (is not) almost completely brown...I (did not) notice yesterday that my tulips are blooming! Finally it's (not) spring!

WINNERS!!!

Thank you for all the fabulous entries! Here are the winners of the earrings from my giveaway last week...thank goodness for random.org, because I would have had a VERY hard time drawing a name out of a hat for this one :) I was pretty meticulous at getting everyone's "extra" entries put in...

Cathy
SnarkyA

I'll be contacting both of you within the next few minutes!

Also, since there was SUCH an overwhelming response to this giveaway, I've selected 2 other winners. These people will be able to choose from the Allegra earrings, or choose another pair of earrings from my etsy shop.

All-American Preppy
Shanda

Thanks everyone! I'll be listing another giveaway soon...this was fun!

OH...but it's not over. If you buy something from my etsy shop and mention THIS POST in your seller notes, you will receive 25% off your order. Just wait for an adjusted bill from me...don't pay right away.
:0)

SITS Spring Fling Day!

All righty. So I'm new to this whole giveaway thing, but I think I have the general idea down. Here's the deal...

1 entry = 1 comment
extra entry = ask me a question for my 100th post on this post
extra entry = become a follower (or already be a follower!)

If you would like to just get something free without worrying about entering, just go to my etsy store anytime between now and March 17 (St Patrick's Day!) and make a purchase. I have recently reopened, so the store looks a bit bare at the moment, but should be much more full by the weekend! Mention in seller comments that you saw this offer on my blog, and tell me which pair of earrings from this blog OR item ($10 or less) in my store you would like...it's yours!
(Guess the link would help: http://www.lorastudio.etsy.com)

There will be 2 winners drawn--one for the red square earrings, one for the allegra earrings. If you have a clear preference (ie, don't want one, but like the others) please specify that in your comment and I will only put your name in that specific drawing.

Without further ado...

Red Square

Allegra

Oh yeah--you don't have to be a member of SITS to win. Enter away!
Giveaway ends this Sunday, winner will be announced by Tuesday (March 17th). Good luck!