Archive for October, 2011
Kicking Horse Coffee Giveaway
Over the years I have tried everything imaginable with the hope and end goal of liking coffee. After attempting to eat coffee flavored ice cream failed on multiple occasions I decided that it must be hopeless. Then grad school happened.
While it is still a stretch to say that I love coffee, I am far closer in that direction than ever before. Most of my mornings start off with a cup these days and I no longer make a distorted face after each sip. That’s huge progress for me. With my coffee journey underway, I am feeling more adventurous than ever when it comes to trying new brands.
Kicking Horse Coffee recently crossed my radar on my quest to find tasty, organic, and fair trade coffee. Their start-up story is pretty comical. The mother of one of the founders asked, “What are you two schmucks going to do with your lives? Sell coffee from your garage?” Their response:
And so in 1996 Leo Johnson and Elana Rosenfeld did precisely that. In the Rocky Mountain town of Invermere, B.C., Canada, they began roasting coffee in their skivvies when it was hot out, balancing babies and experimenting with different products.
Entrepreneurs always impress me. Add to this that they were one of the first ten companies to sign-on to TransFair Canada in 1998 and have been spreading the word about fair trade ever since. That’s extra impressive. In addition to being fair trade and organic, Kicking Horse coffee is made of shade grown Arabica beans that have been roasted in Canada.
Thanks to the folks at Kicking Horse, I was able to try Kicking Horse Kick Ass coffee. The packaging (pictured below) is instantly striking. The coffee beans arrived in a midnight black can with white and lime green features, which allowed it to look both sophisticated and spunky. Kick Ass is a dark coffee composed of the most gorgeous, oily looking coffee beans that I have ever seen. I actually felt a little guilty grinding them – I hated to destroy their beauty. The full-bodied flavor that they produced is in line with my description of its packaging. The flavor is rich and intense without any burnt flavor. It paired perfectly with my coconut creamer and kept me going all day long. With the help of Kicking horse, I may just learn to tolerate mornings.
Kicking Horse coffee also offers tea, fair trade chocolate, and accessories.
YOURS to WIN… a can of Kick Ass Kicking Horse Coffee and Kicking Horse Coffee gift bag!
Mandatory Entry: What Kicking Horse Coffee product would you love to wake up to?
Extra entries:
- Subscribe via email to this blog (+2)
- Follow me on twitter and leave your twitter name (+1)
- Like Kicking Horse Coffee on facebook (+1)
- Follow Kicking Horse Coffee on twitter (+1)
- Sign up for the Kicking Horse Coffee newsletter (+1)
- Share this giveaway on facebook or tweet this giveaway. You can use the Tweet button at the top of this post or: “Kicking Horse Coffee Giveaway @yourstowin @KckngHrseCoffee http://yourstowin.com/?p=1463″ (+1 per day)
- Mention this giveaway on your blog (+5)
This giveaway ends November 16th at 9pm EST. I will choose a winner via www.random.org and notify the winner through email.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product to facilitate this review. I did not receive any monetary compensation. All thoughts are my own.
Posted in 
Epicurean Cutting Board Giveaway
The other day while washing my cutting board I realized just how bad of shape it is in. We got it as a wedding present four years ago and it has gone through a ton of use and abuse since then. It was once black but has faded and it is riddled with deep knife marks. The worst part is that a massive hunk of it was melted off in an unfortunate stove accident. It’s probably not even safe to use.
How excited I was to discover Epicurean!
Made of many layers of FSC certified paper pressed together with a food safe resin, all Epicurean® products will last for years of daily kitchen use. All products are made in the USA and designed with a focus on function but also with a concern for the environmental stewardship.
Epicurean may have had the most unique story of origin of any company I’ve featured on this site to date. Epicurean was founded in 2003 by TrueRide, a custom skate park manufacturer. The goal of the company was originally to utilize excess skate park manufacturing materials. Stated simply, they found a way to turn these scraps into cutting boards. Considering the wear that skate parks are built to withstand, these cutting boards should be around for the long haul.
When my cutting board arrived it was slightly different than I expected, but in a great way. The cutting boards of my past have all been composed of some sort of plastic. The Kitchen Series Epicurean cutting board that I received, on the other hand, is made of wood composite. This of makes it feel a lot like an old-school clipboard, which is pretty interesting considering that it is dishwasher safe, knife friendly, heat resistant to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and only one quarter inch thick. In addition to those features, it has a convenient circular finger/utility hole – you can swing this board around the kitchen with ease. It is certified by Smartwood to the Forest Stewardship Council standards and is Rainforest Alliance Certified. It is made in the USA too – all of their cutting boards are!
The only temporary downside of this cutting board is that it smelled horrific when I first washed it with hot, soapy water. I ran it through the dishwasher and the stink was dramatically reduced. I checked into this and saw on the website that Epicurean recommends 3-4 washings for odor dissipation. Not a big deal at all – just something to be aware of.
Are your kitchen supplies in need of an upgrade? Check out Epicurean. In addition to a wide assortment of cutting boards, they offer utensils, pizza peels, magnetic knife holders, and kitchen islands.
YOURS to WIN… a Kitchen Series Epicurean cutting board, pictured above!
Mandatory Entry: What Epicurean item would you love to have?
Extra entries:
- Subscribe via email to this blog (+2)
- Follow me on twitter and leave your twitter name (+1)
- Like this blog on facebook (+1)
- Like Epicurean on facebook (+1)
- Share this giveaway on facebook (+1)
- Tweet this giveaway. You can use the Tweet button at the top of this post or: “Epicurean Cutting Board Giveaway @yourstowin http://yourstowin.com/?p=1442″ (+1 per day)
- Mention this giveaway on your blog (+5)
This giveaway ends November 9th at 9pm EST. I will choose a winner via www.random.org and notify the winner through email.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product to facilitate this review. I did not receive any monetary compensation. All thoughts are my own.
Pull-in Underwear Giveaway
Of all things to be particular about, my husband has settled on underwear. He insists that all of his boxers have a thick elastic band. According to him, the thick band is essential in preventing bunching and wedgies.
Since 2000, Pull-in has offered underwear for women (and children and men) with this same thick elastic band. At last I have the chance to see what all the fuss has been about, and in style! All Pull-in underwear are designed in France and made in Europe. Fabrics available include Lycra, lace, cotton, jacquard, and satin. Women’s underwear are offered in six different cuts (panty, moon, kirra, thong, brief, and g-string) and men’s are offered in four different cuts (boxer, shorty, slip, and technical). To top it off, bold new prints are released four times a year with each changing season.
Pull-in products have become unrivaled in their colourful and punchy all-over prints, the quality of the materials used and the distinctive elastic band.
My thoughts on these underwear? They’re absolutely spectacular. They’re ridiculously comfortable and the polyester-lycra blend that I tried is almost silky. The thick band is far softer than I anticipated and it serves to minimize tummy pudge. The underwear wick well and they didn’t shrink when I washed them. They are very well constructed, the different cuts fit equally well, and they feel like they’ll be very long-lasting. They’ll easily be my favorite underwear for a long time to come. Plus they’re awesome looking!
There are two downsides to these underwear that I must confess. The first is that thelargest size they carry for women is large, which equates to a women’s 30-32 inch waist, and for men the largest size (XL) only accommodates a 36 inch waist. The other downside is that the women’s underwear start at $29.99 and the majority of the men’s underwear are priced at $39.99… that’s too steep for my budget. As someone who works in retail and has come to realize that many people have a larger budget than I do, I wanted to share this company with you all. If you have the money, these undies are worth it!
In addition to the underwear I’ve described, Pull-in also sells bras, socks, swimsuits, flip flops, towels, shirts, denim, loungewear, hats, belts, bookbags, and technical snow wear (base layers, snow underwear pants, and beanies). This is a spunky, creative company to watch – their product range is continuing to expand and I imagine that they have many innovative designed products in the works.
YOURS to WIN… two pairs of underwear (men’s, women’s, or children’s) in your choice of cut and theme! Exact pairs to be selected by Pull-in based on availability.
Mandatory Entry: Which pair(s) of Pull-in underwear are your favorite?
Extra entries:
- Subscribe via email to this blog (+2)
- Follow me on twitter and leave your twitter name (+1)
- Like Pull-in on facebook (+1)
- Follow Pull-in on twitter (+1)
- Share this giveaway on facebook (+1)
- Tweet this giveaway. You can use the Tweet button at the top of this post or: “Pull-in Underwear Giveaway – win 2 pairs! @yourstowin @pullin_us http://yourstowin.com/?p=1468″ (+1 per day)
- Mention this giveaway on your blog (+5)
This giveaway ends November 7th at 9pm EST. I will choose a winner via www.random.org and notify the winner through email.
Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate this review. I did not receive any monetary compensation. All thoughts are my own.
Tropical Traditions Raw Honey Giveaway
For me honey has been an acquired taste. My two favorite methods of consumption are on a peanut butter and honey sandwich and in tea. I recently drove by a bee farm and found myself wondering about the process of harvesting honey and how organic honey is managed. A quick trip to the website of Tropical Traditions quenched my curiosity.
To ensure that their raw honey remains organic, Tropical Traditions harvests honey that is created in wild frontier areas of Canada. Bees have a four mile flying radius from their hives, and harvesting honey from secluded Canadian lands ensures that it is pesticide free.
“Raw honey” means that this product has not been processed. Specifically, it means that it has not endured temperatures higher than it would naturally be exposed to, which allows it to have a creamy texture. It also contains live yeast and enzymes, as well as pollen (it is screened but not filtered).
I also learned the following about honey:
Fine textured crystals are characteristic of totally pure, unheated, unprocessed, raw honey. Properly crystallized honey has a fine, smooth texture. Crystallized honey preserves natural goodness and doesn’t drip. The more rapidly honey crystallizes the finer the texture will be. It will also turn harder over time as it crystallizes. Truly raw honeys do not deteriorate with age, but like fine wines, continue to age and develop into more complex tastes.
This honey is delightful! Before trying this raw honey, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the sticky stuff. However, this product is far more subtle and I absolutely love the creamy texture. I spread it on a biscuit and my husband and I were fighting over it. This raw honey reminds me of a delicious honey butter rather than how I thought of honey before (pungent, sticky mess). I see a lot more raw honey in my life, no “acquired-taste” necessary!
YOURS to WIN… a 17.6 oz glass jar of Organic Canadian Raw Honey!
Mandatory Entry: What other Tropical Traditions product would you love to try?
Extra entries:
- Become an email subscriber of this blog (+2)
- Follow me on twitter and leave your twitter name (+1)
- Follow Tropical Traditions on twitter (+1)
- Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions Newsletter (+1)
- Tweet this giveaway. You can use the Tweet button at the top of this post or: “Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate Giveaway @yourstowin @troptraditions http://yourstowin.com/?p=1359″ (+1 per day)
- Mention this giveaway on your blog (+5)
This giveaway ends October 30th at 9pm EST. I will choose a winner via www.random.org and notify the winner through email.
Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. Photos courtesy of Tropical Traditions.
