Category Archives: Giveaways

The REAL SIMPLE Method to Organizing Every Room

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THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED-congrats to Marge K on winning the giveaway copy! I’m reviewing this new book on home organizing from the Editors of REAL SIMPLE, and I also am doing a giveaway for one copy of it! Continue reading below for details on how to enter the giveaway!

I think I was meant to have this book! From the beginning of this year (actually, even before that), organizing and simplifying have been on my mind a lot. It’s this year, though, that I’ve really become serious about it. So this new book, The Real Simple Method to Organizing Every Room and How to Keep it that Way is just what I needed! I Continue reading →

Gifts that Change a Life from World Vision and a Giveaway!

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The Christmas shopping season has begun once again and gift-giving is on everyone’s mind…the perfect time to tell you about some gifts that help improve the quality of life for struggling children and families living in extreme poverty in the U.S. and around the world. The 2016 World Vision Gift Catalog invites you to Share Big Dreams this Christmas by not only giving a gift, but changing a life. And, World Vision is sponsoring a very special giveaway of beautiful handcrafted items made by artisans from around the world, which I’ll tell you about in a minute!

worldvisioncatalog But first, in case you’re not familiar with World Vision, here’s some information about World Vision and their gift catalog:

The 2016 World Vision catalog is the 21st annual edition, and offers more than 100 meaningful gifts. Plus, there are more than 250 items available for giving online at www.worldvisiongift.org.
Popular items being given from the catalog to those in need include a goat and two chickens, clothing for children, ducks, and medicine.
Over 30 gifts in the catalog are $35 or less, including gifts like chickens, job training, or school supplies.
84% of World Vision’s operating expenses are used for programs that benefit children, families, and communities in need, and they provide assistance to people in almost 100 countries.

Here are some ways you can support World Vision:

Choose a gift to donate…give a gift to help a child or family, from farm animals to farming tools, by going to www.worldvisiongifts.org or call 1-855-WV-GIFTS. Hard copies of the catalog are also available upon request.
Gifts can be given in honor of a loved one. Cards can also be printed or emailed from the website at any time to let an honoree know that something special has been given in their name this Christmas.
You can give a general donation to be used Where Most Needed…a one-time gift that will go towards needs that might otherwise go unmet.
You can donate and receive a handcrafted gift for yourself or for someone else–this donation will go to Where Most Needed. Choose from a variety of items like the beautiful Vietnamese Silk Scarf, Upcycled Artisanal Bowl, Thai Patchwork Tote, Drops of Turquoise Earrings, and much more. There are so many beautiful, unique handcrafted gifts online at the World Vision site!

I hope you’ll take some time to visit the WorldVison.org and learn more about how they are helping people worldwide and how you can be a part of that! You can also follow World Vision on social media: Facebook: /wordvision; Twitter and Instagram: @WorldVisionUSA

Now for the giveaway! The Giveaway is now Closed! The winning comment was #1, made by Pam!

worldvisiongiveaway This giveaway, compliments of World Vision, includes 6 items worth $530. They’re pictured in the top photo and in the photo to the left: an Upcycled Artisanal Bowl, a package of Organic Coffee with a coffee scoop, a beautiful Vietnamese Silk Scarf, a Tree of Life Votive Holder, a Turquoise Medallion Necklace, and a Mango Wood Beaded Bracelet.

If you’d like to enter to win this giveaway from World Vision, leave a comment on this blog post telling me what your favorite gift item is from the World Vision site. Leave your comment on this blog post between now and Thursday evening, December 1, at 8 p.m. (CST). The random drawing will be made from comments on this post only! The winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org and the winner will be notified via email later Thursday evening or Friday. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, I will do another drawing. This Giveaway is limited to readers in the Continental U.S.

First entry: Leave a comment on this blog post telling me what your favorite gift item is from the World Vision site.

Bonus entry (one per person): Follow my blog by email or on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram–If you are a new or existing follower or subscriber, you can leave one extra comment telling me the way (or ways) you are following.

Note: If your comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry–it just means I haven’t had the chance to click on it to approve it before it becomes visible!

Linked to Inspire Me Monday.

Gourmet Gift Baskets for Mother’s Day and a Giveaway!

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The giveaway is now closed.

I received a nice surprise on my doorstep the other day–a beautiful gift basket from GourmetGiftBaskets.com. It was carefully packaged in a box and arrived in perfect condition with a festive bow wrapped around the basket. You have a chance to win this gourmet basket of goodies, too (a $99.00 value)–see the end of the post for details! If you’re not familiar with GourmetGiftBaskets.com, it’s a family-owned business that is one of the fastest-growing online gift companies in the U.S. They’ve been featured on Food Network and in many magazines like Bon Appétite, Gourmet, and Food & Wine. Continue reading →

Deviled Egg Potato Salad

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Two of my favorite summer foods are deviled eggs and potato salad. So why not put them together? I decided to try that out, and found that this Deviled Egg Potato Salad is soooo good! The deviled egg mixture is so yummy with a sprinkling of paprika on top and the potato salad is a creamy mustard-style salad that goes perfectly with the taste of the deviled eggs on top. And there are some eggs mixed into the potato salad too, giving you lots of delicious deviled egg flavor.

I tried a new mayonnaise in this recipe which was really good–JUST MAYO from Hampton Creek, a company on a mission to make healthier food affordable. This mayonnaise is made with healthy ingredients like non-GMO expeller pressed canola oil, filtered water, lemon juice, white vinegar, and a touch of organic sugar, pea protein, and spices. So it’s great for people with soy and egg allergies, since it’s egg-free. But you’d never know–it has such a rich taste and creamy texture. And of course it is cholesterol-free too. This mayo also comes in several savory flavors: Chipotle, Sriracha, and Garlic. You can visit the Hampton Creek site to find where it’s available at stores near you.

I’m having a giveaway which includes samples of Hampton Creek Just Mayo, Just Mayo Sriracha, and Just Mayo Garlic, plus a handy little hat with the Hampton Creek logo on it. See the end of the post for details on the giveaway!

Going back to the Deviled Egg Potato Salad, this would be a great dish to make over Labor Day weekend, especially if you are planning on having a potluck or picnic! This dish is definitely not cholesterol-free like the Just Mayo is, but at least this mayo doesn’t add any additional cholesterol, for those of you who have to watch that. And if you just want to make a basic egg-free potato salad, follow the directions for the POTATO SALAD part of this recipe, leaving the hard-boiled eggs out.

DEVILED EGG POTATO SALAD by NancyC, adapted from CDKitchen

Makes about 10 servings

EGGS:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled (you will need a total of 9 hard-boiled eggs; see the rest of the recipe below)

1 teaspoon minced dill pickle (or you can substitute sweet pickles)

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

1 dash salt

POTATO SALAD:

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1/3 cup yellow mustard

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shredded or finely chopped dill pickles (or you can substitute sweet pickles)

1/2 Tablespoon dill pickle juice

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

6 cups boiled potatoes (peeled or unpeeled) and cubed

3 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped

1/2 to 1 teaspoon paprika

Cut 6 of the 9 boiled eggs in half; remove yolk (save the other 3 eggs for the potato salad mixture). Place yolks in medium bowl and mix with pickles, mustards, mayonnaise, and salt; stuff the 6 eggs with the yolk mixture and set aside.

In large bowl, blend the onion, mustards, salt, pickles, pickle juice, and mayonnaise. Then stir in the cubed boiled potatoes, and add in the remaining 3 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped, last.

Spoon mixture into large serving bowl (or keep in your large mixing bowl if you want to serve the salad from that). Top with paprika, sprinkling evenly over the salad, and arrange deviled eggs around the top of the salad in a circle for garnish (you can top the deviled eggs with a little paprika too, if you want).

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED–Congratulations to Cheri, who made comment #8, which was chosen randomly as the winner!

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY: If you’d like to win three (8-ounce) containers of JUST MAYO (one each of Regular, Garlic, and Sriracha flavors) plus a black cap with the Hampton Creek logo, leave a comment on this blog post between now and Wednesday evening, August 27, at 8 p.m. (CST). The random drawing will be made from the comments on this post only! The winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org and announced later on Wednesday evening, August 27 on this post. Winner will be notified via email (if winner does not respond in 3 days, I’ll do another drawing). Giveaway is limited to readers in the Continental U.S. and Canada.

First Entry: Leave a comment on this post–it would be great to hear if you are a deviled egg or potato salad fan!

One Bonus Entry: If you are a new or existing follower or subscriber, you may leave one extra comment telling me the way (or ways) you follow.

Note: if your comment doesn’t show up right away, it just means I haven’t had a chance to approve your comment yet–I approve all comments because of spam comments that sometimes come through!