Now that Christmas is behind you, I am sure you are trying to catch your breath from all the shopping, wrapping, and traveling. You really only have a short period of time to rest and relax because Valentine's Day is only 6 weeks away!
Whether you are a man who is looking for a fun, but romantic gift or a woman who's looking for something flirty to wear while serving a romantic dinner,
Flirty Aprons just might have exactly what you are looking for. There are some aprons that are too sexy. The aprons offered on the Flirty Aprons website are fun and girly, but not over-the-top, so they can be worn in the presence of anyone.
1) First I'd like to point out the attractive packaging. There is even an attached card for your to write a short message. Just throw it in a gift bag with a little tissue paper and your gift is ready to give.
2) Since carrying twins, my waistline had become disproportionate to the rest of my body. It is extremely difficult to find a full bib apron that is comfortable, but also looks somewhat tailored for my body type. I think this particular style, the Original Women's Apron, does a good job camouflaging my shape. If I were better endowed in the chest region, this apron would fit perfectly.
3) Aside from a few tails of thread that needed to be trimmed, this apron is extremely well-crafted. There is not one crooked seam and the entire apron is lined.
4) I'm pretty pleased that my husband asked if I could model it for him again later tonight. I guess that means that the flirtiness aspect of the apron was working.
The selection of aprons at FlirtyAprons.com is not limited to women's aprons. They also offer aprons for men and children. If you decide to stop by to browse, make sure you remember to visit the
Flirty Aprons Sale page.
Thank you to Flirty Aprons for sending me an apron to base this review upon and for providing an apron for our contest prize.
What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive one in-stock apron of their choice from Flirty Aprons.
Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.
How to Gain Entries:
Browse the vast selection of women's, men's, and children's aprons available from Flirty Aprons. Then leave a comment telling me which apron you would choose if you won this contest. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.
Extra Entries:
1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.
2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.
3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND FlirtyAprons.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.
4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.
5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your Facebook profile.
6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.
7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.
8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.
9) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.
(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)
Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.
Good luck in the drawing!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
I have made the decision to no longer accept anonymous comments on this site. I know this is an inconvenience to some of my visitors who do leave valid comments and like to enter my contests anonymously. What prompted this decision is the noticeable increase in spam comments I have been receiving the past few months. I have been trying to avoid making this change, but the spam is getting out of control.
Hopefully this will only be a temporary change and I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause my readers. It was either choosing to disable anonymous comments or choosing to add a word verification to 100% of the comments. I think we can all agree that the first option will inconvenience fewer people.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Lands' End clothing, accessories, and home furnishings has always been about a relaxed lifestyle. In their new line Lands' End Canvas, they have taken their clothing and accessories beyond relaxed into the realm of effortless.
If you are someone who is looking forward to springtime and is ready to trade in your wool and fleece for some cooler cotton canvas, you should pay a visit to
LandsEndCanvas.com . The timeless fashions for men and women include clothing as well as outerwear, shoes, bags, hats, and other accessories. To celebrate the launch of this new site, the first 1,963 customers who spend $100 or more will receive a
Free Limited Edition Messenger Bag.
Thank you to Lands' End for providing information for this article and also for sending me a canvas messenger bag as a thank you for helping to spread the word about Lands' End Canvas.
Beginning January 2010, Levis Strauss & Co will be supporting Goodwill Industries in a very effective way. The "Care Tag For Our Planet" campaign entails brand new care tags within Levis clothing that encourage consumers to be more responsible with the care and use of their clothing.
The key concepts are:
- Wash clothes in cold water
- Line dry when possible
- Donated unwanted clothing to Goodwill
If you would like to spread awareness about this campaign, you can support Levis and Goodwill by grabbing the "care tag" pictured above to display on your blog or use as your avatar on other sites. You can download this tag at
Levis.com/care .
Thank you to Goodwill Industries for providing the information shared in this article.
You may or may have not heard recent talk about cyber bullying and cyber stalking. This is something real that is happening to adult bloggers. If it is scary for an adult, then you can imagine how it must feel for a tween or a teen to be a victim of such a thing.
Here are ten tips offered by Ellen Ohlenbusch, a mom who also happens to be President of
McGruff Safeguard, on how to protect your child from being a victim of cyber bullying . . .
1. Keep computers in an open area – not in a child’s bedroom
2. Tell kids to keep passwords safe, private and difficult to guess – no pet names as passwords!
3. Don’t allow your child to maintain multiple accounts with alias names
4. Teach children to respect others online, as they would in person
5. Discuss bullying and the emotional impact it creates
6. Discuss what content is and is not appropriate to share online
7. Tell kids that what they post online is “out there” forever – they can’t control how other people will use their photos or information
8. Discuss how ‘piling’ on is not appropriate. That while they may not start something, if they see cyber bullying happening, they should not contribute.
9. Set a clear standard/example for your children to follow
10. Install a parental monitoring software that sends email alerts if cyber bullying is detected.
Thank you to McGruff Safeguard and Middleberg Communications for providing the information shared in this article.
The Human Spark is a 3-part series, which will make its debut on PBS on January 6th, 13th, and 20th in 2010. Hosted by Alan Alda, this series explores the question about what makes human beings different from other animals. It also asks why the Neanderthal became extinct, while another similar group caught "the human spark" and evolved into modern human beings?
If you have a child who is grade school-aged or older and enjoys discovery-type shows, then this would be an interesting series to watch together.
The Human Spark does not present any concepts that are too advanced, but it also is not geared towards young children. You may need to explain the significance of some of the findings being discussed in parts of each segment.
If you have your own ideas about what makes humans human, then you can share your thoughts with
The Human Spark.
Share Your Spark by submitting your photos & artwork, videos, or original writing
here. Your submission could be selected to be included on the Human Spark website. Make sure you read the
Share Your Spark rules before making your submission.
Thank you to DKC News and PBS for providing a screener DVD to facilitate this article.
We have two mouthwatering contests to determine the winners for today. Who doesn't like food prizes, right?
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Wow! What a strange coincidence!! Luck is certainly on Dree's side today. I hope this is fortuitous of what's to come in the new year.
I will be sending out an email notification right away. The winner will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prizes. I will respond with a confirmation that I've received your information.
Happy New Year everybody!!!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Opening gifts on Christmas morning with three children took quite awhile. As the morning progressed, it became clear that we needed to speed things along if we were to make it to my sister's for lunch.
While Makenzie was opening her gift from Luke, my husband and I were encouraging her to just tear away the paper. Since she did not listen and preferred to continue being her dainty self, carefully opening her gift, Luke felt like he needed to step in.
He gently tapped Makenzie on the arm repeatedly until she would stop what she was doing to look at him.
Then he said to her, "Kenzie, juss wip it!" He even illustrated his point by putting his hands together and then pull them apart rapidly.
It worked though, because Makenzie took her twin brother's advice and got that gift opened quickly.
If you have a Silly Monkey Story to share, sign Mr. Linky below with the link to your blog post (not the link to your main blog page). Please do not forget to visit the other participants and leave them comments to let them know you stopped by!
During Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I must have taken over 250 photos and about 75% of them contained red. I chose this photo because I like the red against the neutral tones of the kitchen.
My son, who is normally pretty shy, will not hesitate to turn on the charm when food is involved. Here he is trying to find out what his aunt is preparing for the guests. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to hit her up for a sample or two.
If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at
Work of the Poet!
Monday, December 28, 2009
For the first time in 15+ years, our household is without a canine companion. Although we did have two elderly dogs during my children's lifetime, they never really knew either dog during their playful and active stages. That is why this Puppy Party DVD, which introduces over 25 different breeds of dogs, was so fascinating for my three children.
1) I found this DVD to be very engaging for both children and adults. The action was lively and all the puppies, both the big and the small ones, were very endearing.
2) I like the vast variety of breeds covered on this DVD. They even included the Puggle, which is a newer breed of dog.
3) This DVD would be a great tool to help children not to be afraid of dogs. All the puppies shown in the footage were very adorable and social.
4) For the same reason, I do not think this DVD should be used to decide which breed of dog would be a good fit for a household. All the breeds are shown to be friendly and playful, but not all the breeds are ideal for households with children.
5) One of the extra features of this DVD is a section of facts about each breed of dog. This does include a very basic description of temperament and general size, so it is a good place to start, but I would still recommend doing more research before choosing a breed to include in your household.
Be warned . . . the puppies shown on this DVD are so lovable that there is a good chance your children will be asking for a puppy after watching it.
You can currently find this DVD on
NCircleEntertainment.com for just $5.99 .
Thank you to NCircle Entertainment for sending us a copy of this DVD to review.
It's been a tradition for many years that our relatives would all gather at my cousin's house for Christmas dinner. Since some of the families and individuals have moved away, they still manage to come back to Massachusetts every few years to visit, which is always a treat.
It is always a very relaxed atmosphere with great food and company. This year, Jake was old enough to hang out with the older children. As a result, the twins enjoyed all the extra attention.
This is my cousin who worked on one of our favorite films Disney Pixar's UP . . .
They may be twins, but their taste in music are polar opposites . . .
Every year before dessert, the children get to open their gifts. Even though there were only six children there, it seemed like there were twenty. My cousin had a great idea for next year, which is for all the families to draw names. That way, each family would only buy for two children rather than six.
That's it for Christmas 2009 posts! If you've missed any, you can find more photos here . . .
Our first stop on Christmas Day was my sister's and brother-in-law's house. My parents also live in an in-law apartment there, so it was the perfect place to have a little lunch and to exchange gifts.
We had lots of kid-friendly finger foods. Throw in some colorfully wrapped toys and books and we have ourselves a fun afternoon. Everyone was too generous this year. My parents bought us a 17" laptop and my sister and BIL surprised us with a 4-piece luggage set. Now my husband and I are all set for Blogher 2010!
I think the biggest hit was the toy vacuum for Luke. All three children have been fighting over it since it was opened on Christmas Day.
I wanted to steal the cuddly New England Patriots blanket my father received. I don't really watch football, but I might start if I could snuggle up in that!
Now that Christmas is behind you, I am sure you are trying to catch your breath from all the shopping, wrapping, and traveling. You really only have a short period of time to rest and relax because Valentine's Day is only 6 weeks away!
