Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the PrintRunner postcard giveaway is.....

Meghan!

I know that she has entered these giveaways MANY times in hopes of winning some custom postcards for her beautiful daughter, Elsa, so I'm glad that this one finally paid off! =)

Another Awesome Giveaway!

One of these days I will get better about blogging... I'll try to get something up this weekend.  The last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy/hectic for me (yeah... excuses, excuses, I know!), but I do have something pretty awesome to compensate for my lack of attention...

A PrintRunner Postcard Giveaway!  

 (Here are the details!)

Postcard Size:  Postcards 5x7

Quantity:  100

Colors:  4/0 Front Only Printing

Paper:   14 PT. UV Coating on Front,

Rounded Corners:   Yes

Proof:  None

Ready to Ship In:  4 Business Days

*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. 

PrintRunner is a fantastic online printing company that I am very excited to be able to partner with for this giveaway.  If you received one of Emily's birth announcements, you've seen the excellent quality of their postcard printing services!

I am lucky enough to be receiving the same prize for hosting this giveaway.  I plan to help my brother and sister-in-law with some "well wish" cards for their upcoming wedding.

 

How would YOU use 100 postcards?  Leave your idea in a comment to enter this giveaway!  

Deadline to enter is Friday, June 22nd.  The winner will be announced the following day and has 24 hours to get me their e-mail address before I move on to another winner!

**P.S.  Don't forget to enter my other giveaway for a print canvas on my photo website!  Deadline for that one is TONIGHT!

 

 

Canvas Print Giveaway!

I'm hosting a giveaway for a free print canvas from U-Printing over on my photo blog.... check it out!

Winner, Winner!

Well, my first winner didn't respond... so time to pick a second winner...Aaaaand the winner of my 100 custom postcard giveaway from PrintRunner is.....

Sadie!

(Please get me your e-mail address by 8 PM tomorrow! Otherwise I'll have to pick another winner.)

Baby Shower, or.... LOTS of Onesies!

Last weekend my Mom, MIL and "sisters" (brothers' wife, fiance and gf) threw me a baby shower.  It was all very "hush, hush" and I had to leave the house for a couple of hours beforehand so that they could prepare (we were down at my mom's place last weekend for a maternity photo shoot, too... more on that to come!).

When I got back to the house, just a few minutes before the party was supposed to start, the place was all baby'd out!

The dessert table.... yum!

Belly cake!

Cupcakes

As you can see, there were a LOT of dessert options!  There were also chocolate truffles on a table in the living room.  I was in heaven! lol

As for activities, I told my mom that I'd much prefer some kind of crafty activities than silly party games (and I totally put the veto down on anything that had me eating chocolate bars out of diapers! lol).  So, my hosts set up a craft room with a bunch of fabric paints, onesies and bibs to decorate.

After painting was complete and food was eaten (sandwiches and a variety of fruits/salads.... more yummy goodness!).  We played a game... which I like to call "Guess how fat the pregnant lady is". =)  Each of the guests pulled a strand of yarn that they believed would most closely match how big around I am.  Then, I measured myself and compared to everyone else's guesses to find the "winner".

Some guests really underestimated (these people became my new best friends), and some don't have a very good spatial sense. lol  My MOTHER on the other hand, shoved in about a quarter of the skein as her "guess".  =P  It just kept coming, and coming, and coming out of the bucket (as you can see in the photo below).  She thought it was hilarious. =P

Then it was time for gifts.  Lots and lots of gift bags filled with pastel colored tissue paper... it was like a sea of girli-ness...

... with some really cute stuff inside!  (And a LOT of clothes!)

After the gifts were opened, there was one more surprise for me.  You know that bridal shower game where someone writes down everything that the bride-to-be says while opening gifts and then reads them back has what she may say on her wedding night?  Well, my hosts did the same thing for me... only this was what was "said" during conception.

It is VERY dangerous to make a pregnant lady laugh this hard!

Some examples of what was "said" include:

• "Feels so soft"
• "I don't want to tear the bag"
• "Ohhh!  This is all for momma"
• "I'm hoping to get good use out of this"
• "Oh wow!  This is a gift I need... but not one I want to show everyone!"
• "This is my favorite part!"
• "Finally, some wipes"
• "You did a good job"
• "Ok, getting up for the big guy"

Another ongoing activity that was set up was "Wishes for Baby" cards.  A bunch of fill-in-the blank sheets were left in the various "party areas" of the house for guests to fill out.  I didn't read them until I got home, but when I did, I bawled.  They were just so sweet.  I'm planning to turn them into a book for the little one.  I'll share that at a later date as well, but, for now, here's a couple samples of what my fabulous guests had to say.

Finally, my mom set up a 50/50 raffle for birth date guesses.  Again, she was mean and guessed that I'd be about a week late. =P  Many of the other guests also guessed late.  The ones that guessed right on time or a few days early, I hope, will win this one! lol  My personal guests are either April 13th or the 20th... we'll see how it plays out. =)

All in all, it was a very entertaining afternoon!  And we ended up carting home a car load of baby things.  A friend of mine is throwing me another shower in Portland next weekend for some of my Portland-based friends, and then it will be shopping time for Jacob and I to pick up the rest of the "necessities".  We are registered at Target and, if I remember correctly, the give us a discount within 6 weeks before the due date... which is coming up QUICKLY!  There's also a big consignment sale at the convention center here in Portland the last weekend of March, so I hope to get some good deals on the bigger things there.

Who would have thought that such a little person would need so much STUFF?

Who Wants Free Stuff??

I have recently partnered up with PrintRunner, an online printing company, and they have offered to let me host a giveaway!  I LOVE hosting these, especially for postcard printing services online.  That's right, this giveaway is for:

Postcards!!

I ALWAYS loved these giveaways when I was wedding planning.  And now that there's a baby coming, I'm thinking of all of the baby related things that I could do with the postcards that I get for hosting the giveaway (baby shower thank yous?  Birth announcements?)

Here's what you get if you win:

                       Giveaway prize:       Postcards
                       Postcard Size    :       Postcards 5x7
                       Quantity            :       100
                       Colors               :       4/0 Front Only Printing
                       Paper                 :       14 PT. UV Coating on Front,
                       Rounded Corners:       Yes
                       Proof                   :       None
                       Ready to Ship In :       4 Business Days

*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above.

So, how do you win?  Simple.  Post a comment on this post telling me that you want it! =)  

The winner will be randomly selected (via random.org) and announced on March 6th.  If you don't leave me your e-mail address in the entry comment, then you MUST respond to the winner announcement post within 24 hours to claim your prize... or I move on to someone else!

And the Winner Is....

By the powers of random.org, the winner of the 100 Uprinting postcards is....

MARIE!

Congrats!  Just make sure I get one of those lovely announcements! ;)

P.S.  You should be receiving directions on how to claim your postcards in the next 30 days... I suggest designing them now before the reason for the announcements is around to keep you busy! =)

*QUICK* Postcard Giveaway!!

Who wants some free postcards? 'Cause I have 100 of them to give away! =)

Long time readers may remember my love for the online printing company Uprinting and how they contributed so much awesomeness to my DIY wedding planning.  Well, it's been awhile, but I have been asked to host another of their fantastic giveaways!  Details are below.

To enter, please leave your name and e-mail address (unless I already have it) as a comment to this post telling me what cool thing you'll use them for (baby announcements?  Wedding thank yous?  Get a jump on this year's Christmas cards?  Check out Uprinting for some more postcard designs and ideas).  For additional entries, you can blog about it, tweet it, or FB it and leave me a link as a separate comment.

The timeline on this is quick, you have until 7 AM PST on June 30th! 

Details

100 Postcards for One (1) Winner

5" x 7"

14pt Cardstock Gloss

No Folding

Front and Back Printing

2 Business Days Print Turnaround Time

Restriction: Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only.  Additionally, if you have won the same giveaway within the last six months, you are not eligible to win it again.  Sorry!

 

 

 

 

** This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, an online printing company, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive postcards for hosting. See more information about postcards and available postcard designs on UPrinting.com.

Capture the Cruze!

I've mentioned before how much I love The Amazing Race.  I am mostly envious of all the traveling and experience in different countries, however I am also a huge fan of puzzles and adventure.  I blogged back in October about a Halloween scavenger hunt that Jacob and I did with a couple of our friends around Portland.  It was a was a blast.  We won "Best Costume" and had a great time.  So, when I heard on the radio about another scavenger hunt that local Chevy dealership were putting on, "Capture the Cruze" (with the grand prize of a new Chevy Cruze) I was IN! =)

Jacob and I arrived at Pioneer Square this morning at 10 am to check in (everyone was required to pre-register), and were surprised at the number of people that we found!  (Especially since everyone was required to "apply" for a spot in the challenge...we were all told that it wasn't guaranteed.... I find that hard to believe now! lol).

This is a view of the front of the line, from where Jacob and I started out.  The line went down an entire city block, around the corner, and then into the square.  I heard one of the guys behind me talking to his friend.  Apparently they had spoken to some contest official prior to the big day and were told that there would only be a hundred people in the race... there were probably closer to a thousand.  He said, "well, at least the odds are slightly better than the lottery". lol

Waiting in line... not sure what to expect

I want the red one!

Jacob and I never had any illusions that we would actually WIN the car.  Way too many people that were WAY more into it than we were.  Plus, since we don't have "smart" phones, we knew that we'd be at a disadvantage.  But, we both love a good adventure, and this was definite that. Plus, we got a free t-shirt out of the deal!

All suited up and ready to go!

Donations were taken for Doernbecher's Children's Hospital

The weather in Portland has been pretty hit or miss the last week.  There has been a LOT of rain... and rain was in the forecast for today.  Knowing my luck, I decided to guarantee that it would NOT rain by actually being prepared and wearing my rain boots! lol

It worked!  No rain! =)

For two hours Jacob and I walked around a (very small) section of the city trying to figure out clues sent to us via text message (the contest used a system called SCVNGR that delivered clues via text or app.  It was a pretty cool system, but, like all things electronic it definite was frustrating--especially in a race setting!-- and had it's downfalls). 

Hundreds of people in blue running around this small area of downtown definitely turned some heads!

The messages would give us an address or intersection, and then a clue/puzzle that we had to solve.  For instance, the one that threw us for the biggest loop had to do with finding a "storm" above a gift card store and figuring out what "group" created the storm.  We were standing outside this store for several minutes trying to find anything that remotely looked like a storm.  I felt like the biggest idiot after 5-10 minutes when I looked up across the street and saw this Verizon ad:

Lots of the clues had to do with math (add the number of vowels in the building sign to the year the namesake of the building moved to Oregon), but everything was clearly in view on historical monument/building signs etc. so, even though we had a "phone a friend" on standby, we never really needed to use him.

I think we hit about 30 different clues in the two hours that we had to play.  The winner was based on how many points could be obtained in two hours (each correct answer was two points).  We all reported back to the square at 1:00 for the winner announcement.

Two hours later... tired, but happy.  And the sun was shining!

As I mentioned before, the grand prize was a new car.  Second place was a cruise in the Caribbean.  I would have been over-the-moon-happy with either (in fact, I'll be happy if we just get in some of their facebook photos! lol).  But, alas, we didn't win.  Oh well.  Maybe next year. ;)

We had a great time, got a lot of exercise (I'll definitely be sore tomorrow!) and got to spend some time together doing something that we don't normal do (I kind of relish those opportunities).  Plus, we got to "refuel" afterward with some Buffalo Wild Wings. =)

$10 Wedding Dress, Anyone?

I've been struggling with trying to figure out what to do with my wedding dress.  I tried selling it on Craigslist, but I haven't had much luck.  I thought about donating it to some organization like Brides Against Breast Cancer, but I also don't like the idea of not having some idea of who my donation is helping/going to (I'm a people person... I like to hear/see the stories).  Finally, I'm not really feeling the idea of boxing up my dress and saving it for a daughter that 1) I may or may not even have, 2) may or may not get married, and 3) may or may not even WANT my dress.  I am actually pretty thankful that there wasn't a "family dress" set aside for me to wear on my wedding day.  Styles change so much over the years, but also I'm glad that I had the opportunity to shop around and find MY dress.  I don't want to take this away from a future daughter.

So, what is a girl with a wedding dress to do?

I was sitting around the house this morning, and suddenly had an epiphany.  Have any of you heard of a house giveaway like this one?  Well, if they can do it for a house, why can't I do one for wedding dresses??  So, that is what I'm going to do!  As I know that many of my readers are already married, I'm asking that you PLEASE pass this post along to your friends, family, blog readers, whatever.  I really want to be able to make this work but need everyone's help to do it!  I figure this is a good time to do this, as Valentine's Day is sure to be the maker of new bride-to-bes!

Here's how it's going to work:

1. Write a short essay (500 words or less) telling me 1) a little bit about yourself, your significant other, and the wedding that you are planning, and 2) Why we should pick you to win the dress.  Send the essay in the body of an e-mail to me, including your name, contact info (e-mail and/or phone number), state you reside in, and your wedding date. 
2. Send your $10 entry fee via Paypal to the same e-mail address listed above.  This entry fee will be returned to you if I do not get at least 20 entries by the submission deadline).  
3. Complete these steps by 11:59 PM on March 31st.
4. After the submission deadline I will read through the entries and pick my top five submissions.  These will then be posted on this blog with a poll for my readers to chose the ultimate winner.  I hope to have the winner chosen/announced by mid- to late April.
5. The winner will then be contacted for a shipping address.  Your entry fee will also cover $50 toward the cost of shipping.  The winner will be responsible for any charges over the $50 limit.  (FYI, the dress is coming from Portland, Oregon and weighs approximately 5 lbs... in case you want to guestimate what your shipping charge would be).

Now about the dress:

1. Ella Bridal, size 14, off-white/diamond white.
2. Has been taken in slightly at the waist, but has not been altered in any other way.
3. Has a lace-up back making it easily adjustable to various body shapes and sizes.
4. Lots of delicate floral bead work along the bodice... pretty gorgeous!
5. Pictures available here, here, here and here.  You can also see many more in my wedding blog archives.
6. If you have any questions, please ask them as a comment to this post (so that others can see the question and answer to it!).

That's it!  As I said before, PLEASE help me by passing this post along throughout cyberland.  I think it would be awesome if I was able to make this happen for a lucky bride out there!