And the Winner Is...

I was so discombobulated when I posted this morning I forgot to pick a winner of the $50 Target gift card. Silly me!

Thanks to my pal random.org....
The winner is Brown-Eyed Girl!

Love her blog and love that we both have brown eyes! Yaay Target gift cards!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Classy & Fabulous!!

I can't believe it's true, but it IS! This here old blog is three years old today. I would link back to my first post but then I would die. Ok, fine. It's here.

I had been reading blogs for well over a year at this point and stalking and obsessing about how cool these people were who bared their souls for the internet. And then I wanted to do it too.

Three years later I could NOT be more thrilled with all the fun and wonderful people I've met around here. With the exception of the pub*c hair troll (see the comments) on my post a year ago... everyone is super nice and fun and I just love all the people I've 'met.' (Side note: why did I not keep that red bikini?! It was cute!) (Side note: there were 52 comments on that post. My most recent "big" post had 22 comments. The smartphone has killed comments? Or I've just gotten more boring.)

So, because I have undoubtedly changed in 3 years, I am going to update the '100 Things' post I wrote on my blog's first birthday.

And if you make it to the bottom of this post... I like giving away presents. Just sayin. Updates to any items on the list are in red.

Sarah, Happy 100th Post!!
Well, Happy 100th post to you too!!

In honor of this momentous occasion, I will share 100 things about me.
Just so you know.

1. My name is Sarah Marie "Fabulousness."
   
2. I have been dating my boyfriend, C, for over 5 years. I love him so much he makes me crazy. I'm on a man vacation. Hopefully not permanent.
   
3. My birthday is October 14th - the same day as Dwight D. Eisenhower and e.e. Cummings.
   
4. I have one sibling - a younger brother, Andrew.
   
5. As a child, I had naturally bright blonde hair. Today, I have naturally lovely dirty dishwater blonde blonde highlighted hair. Truth!
   
6. I have brown eyes, but if you ask many of my friends and family, they would answer that I have blue eyes. Must be the blonde hair thing. Tricky, tricky.
   
7. I have always lived in Indiana. Yes, I know I'm a hick. Hoosiers are cool, I don't know why I gotta be so negative.
   
8. I wear a size 7.5 shoe. In flip-flops I like to wear a 7 because I like them to be tight. I actually wear an 8 now. Retail has spread my feet.
   
9. I have a hard time picking a favorite color - I love pink, deep red, and many shades of blue. Still don't have a favorite!
   
10. My current favorite colors for clothing are: heather gray, cobalt blue, and that really cool purple color. Yep, still true!
    
11. My favorite flip flops ever were a pair of gold beaded foam flip flops from Target. These were the best sandals. I miss them!
    
12. My favorite brand of makeup is Clinique - they make the best concealers and foundations. Eh, I still like Clinique but my skin has gotten worse so I'm not in love anymore. It's a bit too natural.
    
13. My favorite kind of blush is Nars Orgasm - it looks exactly like a natural flush on my cheeks. Still using it daily!
    
14. I tend to over-apply blush because I have a somewhat-pasty face.
    
15. My favorite pair of shoes ever was a pair of leopard-print pointy-toed heels I got in high school. They died during my freshman year in college and I cried about it. I will never forget those shoes, may they RIP. Still sad.
    
16. I have always wanted to have a sister.
    
17. I have always wanted to have a dog, but I am a bit allergic to them.
    
18. I am really allergic to cats - they make me feel like I'm asthmatic and can't breathe. And they make my eyes turn all kinds of red.
    
19. I am entering my senior year at Saint Mary's College - an all women's Catholic private college. I'm a big girl in the real world, kinda.
    
20. I am an extremely fast test taker. If I had $5 for every time a teacher or professor told me to take my time on a test or exam, I'd be wealthy. No more tests in the real world!
    
21. I am much more intelligent than I (or other people, for that matter) realize. I just pick things up and they stick - for whatever reason. If only I could remember people's names.
    
22. I am bad at remembering people's names. Horrible. So if you walk up to me and I stare and smile at you... just remember - I'm trying to think of your name. Better yet, feel free to re-introduce yourself. I'll love you forever if you do...
    
23. I have never had really short hair. I have, however, had a perm. It wasn't a good time for me - I didn't understand how to style it.
    
24. I love to bake things - cookies, cakes, YUM! MMMM BAKED GOODS!
    
25. I have my ears pierced twice - but I only wear earrings in the first hole. The second hole works though!!
    
26. I love shopping. I could happily shop for hours most days. I think the reason I love shopping so much is because I like to get a good deal on things - so I shop around and compare prices.
    
27. I clip coupons from the Sunday newspaper. Then I use them. I know it's old-ladyish, but you can save a lot of money using coupons.
    
28. I love purses but I almost always use the same one. Boring.
    
29. I have gone through at least 4 digital cameras in the past 8 years. It's not that they break or stop working - I just want to upgrade to a newer camera with more features. Yay for moving onto a big girl camera this past year!
    
30. I love weddings. Love the ugly bridesmaids dresses, love the dumb favors, love the same old reception songs... LOVE LOVE LOVE.
    
31. I already have my dream wedding all planned out. We'll see if it happens (or when)... yeah, it's gonna be awhile, kid.
    
32. We moved into my family's current home on my 8th birthday. Best birthday present ever. I've moved twice since that house. I still miss it!
    
33. My brother and I are really really bendy and flexible (ie we can bend our joints very far)- the doctors thing it is some creepy combination of my parents' genes. I have "double jointed" knees.
    
34. I loved the fifth grade. It was the best one, in my opinion.
    
35. I am, in general, a very photogenic person and enjoy having my picture taken. CHEESE!
    
36. My only pet was a goldfish named Goldie. She committed suicide one night by jumping out of her bowl on the dining room table and drying up on the floor. Ew.
    
37. My mom's side of the family is Czechoslovakian, and my dad's is German.
    
38. I love ice cream and eat it almost every single day. I've cut back on ice cream. I miss it.
    
39. I have always thought that I have rather ugly and chunky hands. Very mannish.
    
40. I enjoy grocery shopping - probably because of the coupons. I hate it now! Too exhausting.
    
41. I dislike talking on the phone - I just can't understand what people are saying. Very annoying.
    
42. I have always wanted to be a dolphin trainer and work at Sea World.
    
43. My favorite style/type of underwear are Body by Victoria hiphuggers. I might have to write a Friday Favorite about them. Still my favorite, although I'm really loving Gap hiphuggers right now.
    
44. I have never learned to play a musical instrument because my parents didn't believe in forcing me, and I sure as heck wasn't gonna make myself. I do know how to play a couple of songs on the piano - with my right hand only. I can play Jingle Bells with both hands though!!
    
45. I have no athletic talent and no coordination.
    
46. I have always wanted to be a cross between Kelly Ripa and Oprah.
    
47. I like to eat leftovers for breakfast. I will heat up pasta from the night before and smother it in butter. Yum, breakfast!
    
48. I also enjoy all manner of waffles and pancakes.
    
49. I have a big scar on my left knee where I fell on a rock when I was little.
    
50. I have had stitches one time - in my chin. I fell during daycare and busted my chin on the metal edging in the gym while playing on these scooter boards.
    
51. I tend to get a lot of bumps and bruises because I never pay attention to what I'm doing.
    
52. I was baptized as a Catholic and went to church every Sunday until I went to college. I still go when I’m with family, but I also like to take a ‘vacation’ from church when I can.
    
53. I don't like wearing tennis shoes (or sneakers or whatever you call them) because they make my feet feel claustrophobic.
    
54. I have a love/hate relationship with procrastination. Sometimes I wait until the very end, other times I'm obsessively organized.
    
55. I like to wear makeup. In fact, I really don't like to leave home without it - especially if I know I'm going to run into people I know. Uh oh, my old age must be showing because I don't really obsess about having a full face of makeup on anymore. I went out in public yesterday with nothing on and a face full of zits. Nice gift in my 24th year!
    
56. For some reason I enjoy throwing things on the floor instead of putting them away. This drives me crazy. Ahhh you should see my bedroom right now. Will I ever learn?
    
57. I love having painted nails - fingers and toes.
    
58. I've never really fallen in love with coffee - we shall see if I ever do. No coffee still!
    
59. I can't wait to be a mother.
    
60. I love to take pictures. Being a photographer is one of my dream jobs.
    
61. I like to spend money. Period. This is also why I started babysitting at age 10.
    
62. I am a girly-girl and I enjoy it.
    
63. I love to talk (seriously - anytime, anywhere) but I am actually shy.
    
64. Once I finish college, I will have attended 11 years of Catholic school - YIKES!! You finished! Way to NOT drop out, kid!
    
65. I have never been to a "real" concert.
    
66. I have a mild obsession with Glamour magazine. For the past 5 years or so, I have ripped out at least one article per month and "save" them in a folder. Hopefully I'll have some use for them someday. I stopped reading magazines. Weird, but true. I'd rather tweet. Eep, that's the truth.
    
67. I like to go commando when possible. Who are you, girl?! Put on some underwear. Actually, I think maybe I was saying that when I lounge at the end of the day I often strip off all my clothes, including undies, and put on sweats. Which is still true. So no commando in public, though... geesh
    
68. My favorite TV show is Grey's Anatomy, followed by Desperate Housewives and Lipstick Jungle. Oh how I miss Lipstick Jungle. Current favorites are Grey's Anatomy, Into the Wild, and Real Housewives of Anywhere...
    
69. I sleep naked when I can. Heh, still true.
    
70. I can do a cartwheel and a round-off, but I never mastered the back-handspring. It's been probably over a year since I've tried.
    
71. I like to be helpful and often feel guilty if I can't help people out.
    
72. I love chick-flicks.
    
73. I had braces on my teeth when I was younger, but my teeth still aren't perfectly straight.
    
74. I am good at starting things but bad at finishing them. STORY OF MY LIFE!
    
75. In elementary school my teachers were constantly telling me to stop talking. It didn't matter if I was sitting by my friends or not, I was just always chatting to someone.
    
76. I like putting laundry in the washing machine, but I hate drying it and folding it. (Wait, this isn't even unique or interesting, is it? Everybody hates folding/drying? Ok then.) Oh, Sarah, you NEVER CHANGE!
    
77. Most of my clothing (bras, underwear, shirts, pants) are line-dried on drying racks. I love a good drying rack. I need a new one, actually... I still have the same ones from when I wrote this post...
    
78. I have seen most episodes of the TLC's A Baby Story. I have forgotten/stopped watching this show. Sad.
    
79. My ears are slightly crooked - sunglasses never sit straight on my head.
    
80. Pretty Woman is one of my favorite movies.
    
81. I prefer nail polish formulations that are creamy vs. sparkly ones. I have come to hate glittery and shimmery polishes - they're too hard to remove. Still true!
    
82. Daisies are one of my favorite flowers.
    
83. I have a hard time finding bras that fit. I need a 32 band size, which is really hard to find. I always spend a small fortune on bras, and then they don't even fit. All my friends tell me that I should become a bra designer and make ones that fit PERFECTLY. I still want to become a bra designer, but I've found Calvin Klein. Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.
    
84. I heart Heidi Klum. I think she's amazingly beautiful and so much fun. I love Project Runway because she's the host! Is that show still on? Maybe in the fall?? See also this photo from a couple weeks ago.
85. I have never smoked a cigarette (or anything else for that matter).
86. I love wearing sunglasses on my head - like a headband.
    
87. I love sour neon worms and could easily eat a bag of them per day. Mmmmmm.
    
88. I love to wake up in the morning and bake biscuits (and then eat them smothererd in butter). Ha I still do that!
    
89. I love almost any movie with Julia Roberts in it.
    
90. I am afraid (in a big way) of birds. Hate them. You can read about my most recent (and history of) bird escapades here.
    
91. I frequently unbutton my pants when I'm driving or whenever I have to sit uncomfortably. My stomach just wants to escape! Sarah, lay off the carbs/neon worms and exercise. It's only going to get worse.
    
92. I enjoy quiz shows, like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Mostly, I just want to tell people how smart I am. Oh hey, you're obnoxious.
    
93. Also, I have a hard time admitting I'm wrong. Mostly because I think I'm always right. Moving On. Heh, hence your now ex-boyfriend.
    
94. I love jewelry, but I rarely wear it. I mostly wear a ring on my right hand and a pair of earrings. Done. Ohh I love to buy sparkly things now and have quite a collection... not sure if I wear all that much of it, though.
    
95. I have a naturally very pale face - it's much whiter than the rest of my body.
    
96. My favorite book is Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend by Lynda Curnyn. I haven't read it in a couple of years, but it's one book that I just can't bear to part with. Ohh, I've found so many awesome books since then. I still love that book though.
    
97. My favorite TV show is Grey's Anatomy, followed by Desperate Housewives and Lipstick Jungle. Hah, I repeated a fact. I can't even proofread well!
    
98. I consider People.com a valid form of news. It's the only website I check every single day without fail. Yep.
    
99. I like to drive. Designated driver, backseat driver, whatever. I like my control. Sue me.
    
100. I am a very light sleeper. Don't try to break into my house at night or I will be forced to bust a move on your behind.
     
101. When I started this list, I got to about #29 and thought - "This is it. Everything about me. I don't have anything left to say." Then I thought about it a bit more and the rest came waay too easily.

Considering I wrote that 2 years ago today (AHH!), I think most of it is news to a lot of you. I hope I didn't bore you too much!

As a THANK YOU to all of you for hanging around for my daily-ish thoughts, I'm giving somebody a $50 gift card to Target!


All you gotta do is leave a comment. Ask a question, tell me how alike (or different) we are and why... I just wanna hear from YOU!

Please leave your e-mail address if you don't have it set up so I can reply to your comments.

Giveaway closes next Monday. Good luck!

Somtimes You Hafta B*tch It Out

(Ahem, make sure you get all the way to the end of this post. I'm just sayin.)

Ladies, I had grand plans to tell you about this, that, and the other thing this morning. Big, grand plans.

But you know what? Instead, it's been one thing after another for the past 24 hours and I am just up to here in BLAH!

I was going to show you a bunch of new clothes I've been acquiring... but I lost the piece of my tripod that allows me to pretend I'm a supermodel. take pictures of myself. I took it off my camera the day before I left for Chicago... and it's gone. Guess there's a new tripod on my future. Damn.

And then I was going to whine about how it's 30 degrees outside right now and if I wear the coat I want to wear to keep my warm this morning... I will boil to death on the way home or crash trying to take off my coat. I know, hard life. Plus nobody wants to read about the weather.

So, I have this thing where I declare myself too old for Halloween. And then I just realized that I can dress up (within limits) for work on Saturday cause we are handing out Halloween candy. Unfortunately I have no costume and neither do the stores. Crap.

And apparently my new neighborhood is a Halloween Hot Zone and we are getting like five times as many trick-or-treaters as I was expecting. Which means I need to go buy 10 more bags of candy and eat half. Ugh.

Ladies, what's pissing you off this Friday??

Best bitchy rant-comment wins a $10 Starbucks (or Target. Or TJ Maxx) card. Because I care.
(Contest ends Sunday at midnight.)

Ready set bitch it out.

Drumroll, Please....

After I somehow managed to delete my giveaway post (seriously, I didn't do it. And I have no idea where the damn post went.), I had the screen up of the now-deleted post with all the comments numbered.

And then I shut my computer off overnight... you see where this is going?

So without further ado (because seriously... there has been far too much ado about how much I want to throttle my blog today)....
And the winner is.... (and you're just gonna have to trust me on this one because if I spend one more minute trying to figure out how to prove I'm not cheating... let's not go there.)

Champagne Mom!!

Congrats!!

As for the rest of you... better luck next time!

And I think next time should be TJ Maxx-y, don't you think?

Stay tuned for answers, answers, and more answers.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!!

First off... today's the last day to enter my contest. Go forth and enter, ok?

Edited to add: soo... I deleted my giveaway post. Actually, I didn't delete but it no longer exists. wtf? The last comment I saw was from A Yankee Belle at 2:47 pm. Soo. Yeah. If you didn't get to enter... ask me a question (about anything!) on this post here, by midnight tonight. And I'll add you to my list of people who are awesome. (And to my list of people who could win a $30 Target gift card and a Fekkai glossing kit.)

Tomorrow I announce the winner and start answering questions.

Also, I wrote about nail polish over on Chic Critique today and need your input. I'm in a nail polish rut and I can't hide it anymore.

---------------------
That's all for today kids. Too many late night at work this past week have totally zapped my energy and my will to blog.

Happy Monday!

Giveaway Saturday!

Well look at that - it's Giveaway Saturday! Is it me or does time just FLY?

This might be my last Giveaway Saturday as I get settled into my new job. Working and commuting during all my "free time" that I liked to devote to blogging... well, we'll see how it goes, shall we?

• Fashion for the Economically Challenged is giving away a dress from Shabby Apple. If you haven't ever seen some of the stunning offerings from Shabby Apple - you should check them out. (This giveaway ends tomorrow!)
• Kristen's Palace is saying "I'm Back" to the Blogosphere by giving away a "Hello, Cupcake!" book. It is too cute!! (Ends Monday)
• Stuttering Shell is giving away an adorable poster that says "Keep Calm and Blog On." To say that I'm obsessed with winning it is kind of an understatement. (Ends February 18th)

I want to post about the Olympics sometime soon but that might have to wait for Monday. Too much to do this weekend!

Giveaway Saturday

Ladies,

There are some fab giveaways happening around the bloggy world today!

• First off, Becky is giving away a Celebutante Make-up Kit. This kit is gorgeous and ohh I wanna win this one! Ends February 5th (or if Becky goes into labor with baby Connor. Hang in there momma!)
• Next up, MRM is giving away a fabulous Valentine gift to her single readers only. Roses and jewelry! (And lucky for me, I’m single this year! Haha!) Ends February 5th.
• Sonja at For the Love of Stilettos is having a Sprinkles Cupcake giveaway in honor of her birthday. Happy Birthday Sonja! This giveaway ends February 7th.
• And last but certainly not least, the fabulous Jenny Mac is giving away a Jimmy Choo bag to celebrate her Bloggy Birthday. This amazing giveaway ends February 10th.

And way back here I promised to give away a Starbucks gift card to anyone who asked a question on that post.

And the winner is Becky!

And hilariously enough, Becky won my giveaway last March for a Starbucks and TJ Maxx gift cards!

Becky, are you rigging random.org?

I hope everyone has a fabulous Saturday!!

P.S. Does anyone have gift ideas for a dad who doesn't ever want anything? He's the worst to shop for and his birthday is Monday. And I forgot. Oops!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

As it turns out, tomorrow will be my 400th post. I feel like I should have seen this coming but time really does fly!

So for my 400th post I wanted to recap.... well, my life thus far - since I know I have a lot of new friends around these parts lately.

So. If there's something you are wondering about or something I've been vague about... ask away.

There's a $10 Starbucks card (that I bought with my own money) up for grabs. All you gotta do is ask.

What's your burning question?

One Fab Giveaway

I have been a huge fan of Classy in Philadelphia's blog for.... basically forever.

She's giving away a fab piece of jewelry from LuShae jewelry.

Giveaway ends this Saturday... so go forth and enter!!

I'm a Winner! And You Can Be Too!

I haven't decided if anyone likes reading about the awesome giveaways going on all over the internet or if it's just me... but hello - FREE STUFF! Being a winner! YESS!!

So I'm going to stick with it until the giveaways run out.

There are a couple of awesome new giveaways this week.

• Mindy is giving away the (Un)Game which looks awesome and hilarious and like a fun drinking game. What? I speak the truth!
• Your Mama Reviews is giving away a Hana Professional ceramic flat iron worth $120! And if you follow me on twitter you know I've been lusting after a fancy new flat iron, so I am super excited about this one.
• Fashion Hippo is giving away a Marc by Marc Jacobs New Q Groovee Satchel. It's gorgeous and beautiful and I want!
• Yvonne is giving away a whole bunch of awesome beauty buys!! This one is a must-see!!
  

Go on and enter them all... you know you want to.

Now, you know how I said I was a winner? Well I have been - four times!! Isn't that amazing?

First up, I won a $30 Macy's gift card from Sarah at In the Trenches of Mommyhood. I've had it for a month and haven't spent it yet. I know, don't pass out from the shock. Obviously, when I spend it I will give you all a full report.

After that, I won a $50 Calvin Klein gift card in a Twitter giveaway from CyberMonday.com. All I did was tweet a message and I won. Easiest thing I've ever won, for sure!

Just a week or ago ago I won the Silver Spoon cookbook from A Suburban Housewife-in-Training. I got it in the mail yesterday and my post office worker asked me if I had been ordering bricks online. I was confused until I opened the box and realized that this cookbook? Is massive.
Stay tuned for some of my favorites from this book... but it might take me a while. This thing might be bigger than some of my college textbooks. But it's one of my favorite aunt's Food Bibles so I'm looking forward to putting this bad boy to use!

And last but not least I won a Stella & Dot earring giveaway from Fashion for the Economically Challenged.
These earrings are the Garden Party Dot earrings. I got so many compliments when I wore them yesterday! Love love! And let me just state for the record... it's weird to take pictures of your own ear. Ears are kind of gross, hence why I didn't get too close up. FYI.

So go forth and enter and win.

2010 Giveaways

Ok guys, I am feeling particularly lazy-tastic this freezing cold Sunday but I can't rest until I tell you about these fab giveaways.

Fashion for the Economically Challenged is giving away a pair of We Love Color tights. I won her giveaway in December and I can't wait to show you the beauties that just showed up in my mailbox - they're gorgeous!

Fetching Fashions is giving away a gorgeous F21 bow necklace and a super-cute clutch!

And last but not least Running Just as Fast as I Can is giving away a $100 Shopping Spree to CSN stores (which, if you don't know, is a huge company with a million different ways to spend that gift card).

I hope you all enjoyed a nice lazy Sunday before you have to head back to work or school tomorrow....

Giveaways Galore. Seriously.

About midweek I decided that I should keep track of all the giveaways going around and post about them - cause there are a LOT of them. But then I realized I seriously can't keep up with them all... so anyways: there are a BUNCH of awesome giveaways happening right now.

Go forth and enter.

• First, Becky at The Branches is giving away Murad Oil-Control Mattifier. This stuff is AWESOME and I used it in high school... so go!

• Kell at Unnecessary Drama is hosting a "Pretty Claus" giveaway just in time for Christmas!

• Lindsay at Suburban Turmoil Reviews is giving away an Intel Viliv X70EX mobile internet device. I have never even heard about this things before and now I want one. Fabulous.

• Slynnro at What's In My... is giving away a $200 Loft Gift Card. Cause who doesn't need $200 to spend on fun new clothes?! Me! Or you!

• And Jamie from Oh! How Lovely! is also giving away a $200 Loft Card!! Awesome!

• Allison from petit elefant is giving away FABULOUS outfit from Shade Clothing. Enter here.
  

• Last but not least, A Blog to Brag About's Jessica is giving away a TON of blog design goodies. Seriously, go.
  

My next few days will be filled with cleaning and baking as my mom's sister and my cousin are coming into town... and this house is filthy and in need of some serious work.

Hope your weekend is much more fun!

I Shop, I Drop

*If you read nothing else in this post, make sure you scroll on down so you don't miss the fab giveaways happening around the blogosphere. I just found out I won a giveaway at Fashion for the Economically Challenged so you can be a winner too!!*

So, yesterday I shopped. And I think I did pretty well.

For my almost-21-year-old cousin, I got this cute little short-sleeved sweater. It looks black in the picture, but it's charcoal in person.

She wanted something a little different... so I dunno if she's going to like it or not. I'll e-mail her this pic later today and see if she likes it - we cousins are all about shopping and sticking together... if she doesn't like it, I'll keep it and find something else for her. That's fair, right?

For my 20-year-old girl cousin I got the cutest pearl studs at Macy's - but my picture turned out blurry so you're just going to have to imagine it.

My dad asked me to Christmas shop for myself so I picked up this sweater at TJ Maxx, not sure if I really liked it or not.. but since it's from TJ's I can always return it if I decide I don't want it.

So yeah, horrible picture. the lines down the front of the sweater are actually sequins, and the little belt/sash is satin on one side and velvet on the other. I'm not a huge fan overall, but this sweater is so nicely made you can tell it won't pill or fade - it's just nice. But in this picture it's kinda - blah.

Also, can we talk about how much I like Sephora's exchange policy? So do you remember how I tried TheBalm Hot Mama because I thought it could replace my beloved Nars Orgasm? And not only did I not like it... but eventually I started getting a wee little rash from the stuff? So I took my reciept and the blush back yesterday... and they let me exchange it for a brand new Orgasm. I'd heard you could exchanged opened product before but I would usually feel too guilty to do that... but I did, and I'm thrillled - I just had to pay the difference. And maybe I picked up another item or two.

Also, I just wanted to point out that I walked right past the Cheesecake Factory's Red Velvet Cheesecake. And didn't buy any!! Where's my award? (Oh yeah, it's in my fridge and it's called homemade red velvet cupcakes. Oops.)

Ok, and now: GIVEAWAYS! Go forth and enter. And hopefully win!!

• The Bon Bon Rose Girls are giving away a gorgeous forever scarf.
• xoxo Trina is giving away a gorgeous ruffled scarf... she is SO glamorous and I can only imagine that scarf will make you feel like a million bucks!
  

• The Pink chick is giving away a scarf too. Geesh, it's scarf-giveaway-mania around the blogworld!
  
• Becky from The Branches is giving away a Starbucks gift card... and a peppermint hot chocolate sounds really yummy right about now!!
• And I blogged about this on Saturday, but A Blog to Brag About is giving away TONS of blog design goodies... and I know that Mindy won a full makeover and I won an item - so your chances of winning something awesome are GOOD!
  

Gifts Galore

Yeah yeah, I promised my New Moon review today... but not so much. My brain is much.

But instead how about I tell you about all the awesome giveaways other people are having? Awesome, right?

Ok.

The lovely Aly at It Ain't Always Pretty But It's Real is hosting a giveaway over at her blog. She's only sharing 1 of the little things she's giving away, but it's super cute and you should check it out!

And Fashion for the Economically Challenged is giving away an AMAZING set of Stella & Dot Earrings. They're gorgeous. Go and enter.

A Blonde Ambition is a girl after my own heart - she's hosting a Sparkle and Shine Christmas Giveaway! She's giving away a stunning ornament of your choice from Pottery Barn. Go on now.

And last but certainly not least A Blog to Brag About is giving away a TON, I meant a ton of fabulous blog designs and other bloggy stuff - so DEFINITELY go and enter that one! It's is a cannot miss giveaway! Go!

And then I have to give a big THANK YOU to Tiffany and Southern Belle for the fab awards!

I accepted these on an earlier post but I can't find that post anymore - so THANK YOU!

Now go on and enter these giveaways - ok? Seriously.... these are some fab prizes!

Giveaways

Hello, lovelys.

I don't normally post on Sundays but there are 2 fabulous giveaways happening around the blogosphere and I just felt compelled to make sure you knew about them.

Pink Julep is giving away a $30 Macy's Gift Card to celebrate her 300th post. You can enter that giveaway here.

Cole at All the Small Stuff is giving away a HUGE batch of stuff in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

So you should enter those fab giveaways... and have a very fabulous Sunday!

We Have a Winner

And we have a winner of my birthday giveaway!!

With entry number 121, the winner is Megan from Tales of the Trees!

Congrats Megan!! And again thank you to all of you for your sweet comments on all of my birthday week festivities... I'll be back on Monday and I'll get to answering some of your questions from Thursday's post.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Seriously, It's All About the Cake

Growing up, birthday cakes were a big deal in my house.

While many of my friends dreamed of Dairy Queen cakes and fancy grocery store sheet cakes... I did not.

Growing up in my family, we always joked that if you were really "loved," you got a homemade cake. To this day, I hate overly-sugared grocery store cakes and ice cream cakes just don't hold a candle to a fabulous homemade cake.

This year, my dad wasn't too excited to make a big cake for the two of us to eat... but we convinced my brother to come home from college to eat cake with us.

So our typical cake is a boxed cake mix - any flavor. This year I used traditional white cake (feel free to freak out - but I don't really like chocolate cake).

So I mixed up the batter and then decided to get a little crazy with food coloring.

And so I ended up with these. I split the batter into 3 rounds instead of 2, so I reduced the cooking time a bit.

After baking them, I frosted it up. The frosting is actually the thing that makes this cake special to our family - it is SOO tasty.

And the final product?

Delicious!

First off, I have to say that I was a bit inspired by this post when I decided to create colorful layers. I am not that creative on my own.

Second, the frosting recipe. It's the most important part of the cake!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz Cool Whip
• 1 Box Instant Pudding (I use White Chocolate).
• 1 Cup Cold Milk
• 1/4 C Powdered Sugar

To make the frosting, just mix up all the ingredients except Cool Whip in a mixer for a minute or two. Gently stir in the cool whip and voila - delicious frosting. It's a bit runny when you first mix it up, but it firms up as it refrigerates.

So there you have it... MY special birthday tradition - the good cake. Cakes from the store just aren't the same.

And I guess it's only fair to say that I took a 4-ish year hiatus from this type of cake for cheesecake. And since I'm the only one in my family who likes cheesecake.... I would end up eating a 12 inch cheesecake by myself. In about a week. Seriously, it was a sickness. Which is why we had to go back to regular cake.

So I want to know... what kind of cake do you have for your birthday? Do you have any other special birthday traditions?

And most importantly... want to share a piece of it with me?

P.S. Remember that every comment you leave this week enters you to win a copy of The Middle Place. Comment away!

P.P.S. Go wish Sarah (not me Sarah, a different Sarah) a Happy Birthday!

And last but not least.... I just wanted to let you know that Whiter Image is running a 15% off promotion through the month of October with the code Image1. Also, if you use that code they will donate 10% of all sales to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Ok, now I'm really done! Happy Tuesday!

Birthday Week 2009

Hello everybody and welcome to Birthday Week 2009!!

Why is it birthday week? (Other than the fact that I am so fabulous my life should be celebrated for any entire week....)

Because I share my birthday week with 4 other fabulous ladies.

• Monday, toady, is the birthday of Sole Matters. Go tell her Happy Birthday!!
  
• Tuesday is the birthday of another fabulous Sarah!
• Wednesday is my birthday, get excited!
• Thursday belongs to one of my newest blogging friends Chatham. She and I have a lot in common and I'm so glad she spoke up - she completes birthday week!!
  
• And last but not least, Friday is Natalie's Birthday. She is having a fabulous giveaway that ends on her birthday so be sure to check her out.
  

Did I miss anybody? Is it your birthday this week and I missed you?? If so let me know!

So this year on my friend's birthdays I had been trying to come up with a fabulous gift that meant something to me. I mean, I love random gift cards and pimped out champagne glasses as much as the next girl... but in the end it's all just stuff.

Well, I just spend 15 minutes combing my archives because I was SURE that I had thoroughly loved on one of my favorite books of this year. But apparently I didn't.

So.

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan has got to be one of my favorite books of all time. The book is a memoir of Kelly's childhood and also of her struggle to beat breast cancer. It also touches on the importance of friendships and how women learn to lean on each other. (If you want to see the video that made me order the book, go here. What did we ever do before youtube? Man, that video makes me cry - every. single. time.)

Beautiful, right?

Ok, so if you want to win that book... just leave a comment, ok?? On any post this week, 1 comment will enter you to win.

So for today, tell me this: what's the best birthday gift you've ever recieved? And if that question doesn't work.... tell me your favorite book of all time. Mine's a toss up between The Middle Place and Tuesdays with Morrie.

So Happy Birthday Week 2009!!

Let the fun begin!!

And the Winner Is...

Ladies and... ladies, we have a winner!

Using a very scientific method of a spreadsheet with all the entries and the Random Number Generator....

I "drew" the number 42.

And entry number 42 is...

Carly of Loving Life in the Lowcountry!! Her twitter entry was the big winner!

Congrats Carly and thank you to all of you for entering...

Please stay tuned next week... I will be having a giveaway for my birthday!

Tuesday Randomness...

I felt like I had a coherent post rattling around in my brain when I woke up today.... but somehow I've already lost it.

I've discovered a new color to feed my OPI obsession.

OPI Malaga Wine. I tried to take a picture of it on my fingers (or toes) but... wow my hands are clearly not hand model worthy.

For the past 2 days, my period key on my laptop has been broken off. The key itself is fine... but somehow the little plastic thing underneath it broke. This keyboard is less than 2 months old... I replaced it during the Great Chocolate Milk Fiasco of 2009.

In other news, I plan on spending a good quantity of my time today shopping and cheering up my friends... so maybe I'll have something new and fun to share tomorrow.

But then again, maybe not.

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If you haven't entered my Chic-Flic giveaway... well, why haven't you entered?

And if you're interested, you can get 15% off the price of any product plus Free Shipping with the code Image2 at Whiter Image.

Happy Tuesday!