Purse fun!

A fairly new site, All Chick Stuff, is giving away a great giraffe print purse and matching wallet. Click HERE to go enter this contest ASAP!

Vote for me, puh-lease!

I'm up for reader of the month at "Beauty Secrets Revealed!!!" (the three exclamation points are included in the title).

Click here, don't get distracted by the recipes for hair masks and facial packs, then scroll down - there's a "vote for" box on the right at the end of that column - where you can very easily click my name (no registration or anything). Then go be distracted by how to take fruit and yogurt and make something fabulous.

XOXO - Sarah

Wowsers! I won something!

As you could probably guess from the content of my posts, I love contests - and especially love Prizeatron.com , which is a sister-site of Seven Dogs and a Baby (a site that does reviews and giveaways mostly). Anyhow, she had up for grabs a Body Shop prize pack of Vitamin E skin care products - as a promo for a larger Vick's giveaway (follow either link to see how to enter). And I won!

I remember first seeing contests on all these blogs - wondering if they were for real - if anyone ever won, ever got their prizes. The answer is yes! It's a brilliant marketing idea for the companies, and a win-win for the readers and for the blog owners. I completely tune out commercials and display ads - rarely even notice online advertising (unless it's annoying - that means you US Airways) - but I'll spend several minutes pondering a necklace at a site I would have never visited if there's a prize on a blog. Clever.

Nikon Camera Contest!

I'm a huge Nikon camera junkie, and lately have been wanting something smaller than my D70. Enter Emomsathome, which is having a contest for a Nikon CoolPix P5100, which I love.

Check it out.


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Okay, the more time on spend on this site, the more I am glad that I added it to my favorites! There are contests right now for an Evenflow (Fancy-Shmancy) car seat, and a Day Runner set (haven't used one of those since college), among other prizes. Head over now!

Double the pleasure! I mentioned in the last post that prizeatron is awesome, and here is proof: the same Vicks contest only for Kiehls products! Thinking about who cares is a great way to refocus on what matters so I highly recommend not only entering the contest but heading over to the Vicks contest to see whom others nominated.

Seven Dogs and a Baby (who also runs prizeatron.com - one of my daily visits) - has a giveaway that I almost don't want to share! But, in the spirit of this blog, I am: Vicks Caring Tributes promo contest for a fabulous skin care pack. You might have heard of this Vicks contest already - they're collecting video nominations about people who have comforted you. In my case, it's my mom, who has not only comforted me - but countless other people as a hospice nurse.

Seven Dogs and a Baby is having a contest for a book by Lisa Tawn Bergren, who wrote several children's books that you might recognize.

I highly recommend checking it out!

Cool contest

Seven Dogs and a Baby is having a great contest for a fun Boon product. I definitely recommend checking out both!

Gossip Girl $50 Grilled Cheese

This sounds doable - leaving out the truffles and cooking the sandwich in truffle oil:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22492553/

Make the 'Gossip Girl' $50 grilled cheese

A famous chef presents the classic as you've never tasted it

Video

A $50 grilled cheese Jan. 4: It became popular due to the hit TV show "Gossip Girl." Chef Christopher Lee shows how to make the pricey sandwich on TODAY.

Chef Christopher Lee appeared on the CW network's pilot of "Gossip Girl." In the episode, he is seen serving two of the main characters their usual $50 grilled cheese sandwich with very expensive black winter truffles, fontina cheese and wild arugula salad. Here's that recipe, along with a heavenly smoked tomato soup recipe to round out the meal.

"The Gossip Grill" grilled cheese

Chef Chris Lee

Yields: 4 portions; portion size: 1 sandwich

"The Gossip Grill" is tricked out with black winter truffles and fontina cheese, and is served with wild arugula salad.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 slices of fresh baked white bread; look for a local bakery

• 16 slices of fontina cheese

• 2 tablespoons sweet butter

• 2 oz. fresh shaved black winter truffles

• Salt and pepper

Wild arugula salad

• Wild arugula

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 shallot, sliced thin

DIRECTIONS

Layer 2 slices of fontina cheese between 2 slices of white bread and shave a couple of slices of truffles in the middle of each sandwich; do the same for all four sandwiches. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter melts, add the sandwiches and cook until the bread is nice and toasted. Remove and slice sandwiches in half and place onto four plates.

Wild arugula salad: Place arugula in a small bowl with the vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, sliced shallots, and season with salt and pepper. Toss the salad well and garnish the plates with it.

Apron Giveaway

Apronista is giving away a vintage apron and book on that subject.

A newly made "vintage" apron was one of my favorite gifts this Christmas. (Thanks mom-in-law!)

Another Diaper Bag Giveaway!

FlipFlop Mama is having another great giveaway: this time for a very practical Land's End diaper bag. It may not have the bling of the one a few posts below, but you can't beat it for durability and practicality.

She will draw a winner Jan. 9.

Another fun contest

Momsational also has a great contest for a booty-load full of fun prizes, including a super cute Wordsies t-shirt.

THIS is a diaper bag?

I can't believe this is a diaper bag. Hurry over and see what I mean (and enter to win).

Twisted Silver Contest

Qtpies is having a giveaway for Twisted Silver, which makes this stellar "Diva Necklace," which I love!

A Fun Contest...

A Cowboy’s Wife is having a contest on her food blog! You can win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and she’ll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible!

The Prize:

The winner will receive a brand new
Hamilton Beach 4.5-qt. Eclectrics Stand Mixer, Pineapple Yellow!!

About the mixer:

From Hamilton Beach’s “Eclectrics” line, this all-metal stand mixer comes with a host of accessories - a Flat Beater for cakes and cookies, a Dough Hook for bread and a Wire Whisk for whipped cream or pudding. The 4.5-qt. stainless steel bowl comes with a Pouring Shield that helps prevent splattering while in operation. The pouring shield has a built-in chute for adding ingredients. Powered by 400 watts, the stand mixer has a two-way mixing action to ensure all ingredients are incorporated into the mix. The quick-release, tilt-up head assists when removing the bowl. 9 x 14 x 14-in. When you’re ready for a kitchen re-do, don’t call in the carpenters! Instead, “counterscape” your kitchen with Hamilton Beach’s retro-designed, affordably priced electrics in happy, sun-saturated colors. Their “Eclectrics” line includes updates to those classic appliances from the 1950s. All of their “Eclectrics” are available in six colors: Apple Green, Moroccan Red, Pineapple Yellow, Intrigue Blue, Sugar White and Licorice Black.

Mmm...

Well, I'm supposed to be making beef stew and homemade bread right now (per the hubbie's req), but I so want this Pan-Seared Salmon pasta recipe. This is on the docket for next week.

A Prize I Could Use...

This contest for a new blog design is just what the doctor ordered for this plain blog.

Time for something new!

For about the past month, I have found myself thoroughly entrenched in all things beauty/fashion related through: blogs.

Over the past (Internet-deprived) weekend, standing in front of the glossiness of Allure and Vogue and Cosmo, I found myself thinking, "I'd rather read (insert name of blog)."

While in the past I have tried to write themed blogs (cooking or prizes or cheap shopping - which start during a bored weekend and drop off about a month later), I've decided that this blog will be whatever strikes my fancy: lip gloss one day; dieting another; a discount shopping score, etc. These topics seem lost upon my tech-heavy college friends who read my personal blog. (I don't expect my guy friends to care about lip stain, but I do read about their computers so shouldn't we be considered even?)

Hence, my manifesto:

1. I will only write about what I want to write about what I want to write (this is big: I've been paid to write before, and that money turned me around, got me only writing for money instead of for... well, me!);
2. I will share; and
3. I will not feel like a failure if I miss a week or two.

Welcome back - to me!