Yours To Win

Archive for November, 2011

Last March I reviewed Gourmet Gift Baskets here.  As I said before, the company is top notch. Each item inside their baskets is thoughtfully selected and the presentation is just as noteworthy.  They also have excellent customer service and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  Based on my experiences, I have no qualms about recommending this company!

With the winter holidays in the air, I thought I’d direct you towards Gourmet Gift Baskets for the loved ones in your life.  I especially like the themed baskets for the hard-to-buy-for people on my list.  A small sampling of the baskets they carry cater to the following interests:  pets, cupcakes, spas, skiers, babies, soup and salad… you can also browse according to most popular, holidays, occasions, types of gourmet food, etc.  The possibilities are seemingly endless.

Attention all blog writers:  Gourmet Gift Baskets has offered to donate two care packages to the military per every blog post written about their Christmas gift selection.  In order to participate, all you have to do is visit their Christmas gift selection and discuss how it would be a great gift for someone by December 9th.  Be sure to leave the link to your review in a comment by December 12th so that I can send it to Gourmet Gift Baskets and they can get the packages out to the marines and soldiers before the holiday.  That’s easy enough!  Plus you’ll get an extra 5 entries into the giveaway contest below.

And now for the delectable contest!  Gourmet Gift Baskets has generously offered to give away one Christmas Gift Basket Classic to one lucky reader.  The ingredients include:

• Almond Pecan-dy Crunch by Morley Candy Makers
• Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies by J&M Foods
• Dipping Pretzels by East Shore Specialty Foods
• Robert Rothschild Farm Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip
• Salted Peanuts in Box by Feridie’s
• Signature Dark Chocolate Bar by Lake Champlain
• Buttered Peanut Crunch by Old Dominion Peanut Company
• Metropolitan Trail Mix by GourmetGiftBaskets.com
• Parmesan Artichoke & Garlic Cheese Biscuits by Salem Baking Company
• Chocolate Covered Cherries by Marich

YOURS to WIN… the Christmas Gift Basket Classic, pictured above.

Mandatory Entry: Like GourmetGiftBaskets.com on facebook and/or follow them on twitter (1 entry for each)

Extra entries:

• Post a comment on GourmetGiftBasket.com’s Facebook wall about one of the products you like on their website (+1)
• Become an email subscriber of this blog (+2)
• Follow me on twitter and leave your twitter name (+1)
• Like Yours to Win on facebook (+1)
• Tweet this giveaway. You can use the Tweet button at the top of this post or: “GourmetGiftBaskets.com Christmas Gift Basket Classic giveaway @yourstowin @gmtgiftbaskets http://www.yourstowin.com/?p=1388″ (+1 per day)
• Review Gourmet Gift Baskets Christmas selection on your blog (see directions above – 2 care packages will be sent to soldiers overseas!) and/or mention this giveaway on your blog (+5)

This giveaway ends December 12th at 9pm EST. I will choose a winner via www.random.org and notify the winner through email.

Disclosure: I did not receive any product or monetary compensation for completion of this review.  All thoughts are my own.

I love the fall.  I’ll always live somewhere that has a leaf-changing season – my year would feel incomplete without it.  There’s something about those magical hues of burnt orange, mustard yellow, and crimson that seem to make the world a better place, at least for those brief weeks.  There’s one accessory that pairs perfectly with those crispy leaves:  a scarf.

For scarf lovers, Affordable Scarves is pure bliss.  Starting at $9.95, their scarves are very budget friendly.  Their collection is enormous too.  When browsing the gigantic collection, the scarves can be sorted according to price (under $15, $20, or $30), season, specials (bestsellers, new arrivals, etc.), shape, color, trend, material, and size.

I was able to review the Meredith Plaid Pashmina scarf, pictured on the left.  Based on the picture I was expecting the scarf to be somewhat flannel-like.  My ignorance of Pashmina made the arrival of this scarf especially exciting.  Pashmina is a type of cashmere wool and it feels like pure luxury.  The scarf is wonderfully soft and the colors are rich.  This scarf looks like a designer piece – I am still shocked that the price tag was $14.95.  It immediately became the top choice scarf in my collection and I am looking forward to spending the season finding ways to dress it up and down.  I found a link on the Affordable Scarves site to a video collection entitled 37 Ways to Tie a Scarf.  I’m going to be busy (and stylish!) for a while.     

With the holidays rapidly approaching, gift giving is on my brain.  I can admit this because I feel like it’s true for most people… when gift giving, I definitely want to get the most bang for my buck.  I’d much rather give something cheaper that looks like it cost more than it did than vice versa.  With that philosophy in mind, I wanted to recommend Affordable Scarves as a great option for those on your list.  With their selection, you’ll easily be able to find an item for the fashion-forward, simple-taste inspired, or otherwise cold-natured person(s) in your life without breaking the bank (though they may think you did).  Plus Affordable Scarves offers free priority shipping on orders of $40, a 30-day return window, and 100% money-back guarantee.  My wish list just got a few scarves longer.

YOURS to WIN… a $20 gift certificate to Affordable Scarves!

This giveaway ends December 11th 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.

If I had my way, my house would be clutter free (at least visibly).  My husband and I even had to compromise on the amount of appliances on our counters – less is more if you ask me.  With this philosophy, my ideal products are always compact or easily stored out of sight.  For quite some time I drooled over the thought of a collapsible colander.  It sounds incredibly silly but it’s true.  Chances are, the less space something takes up when in storage, the more I’m going to like it.

When Dexas told me about their up and coming Popware for Pets line it all sounded too good to be true.  Collabsible pet products?   No more lugging around dog bowls when traveling?  The end of carrying around a tupperware bowl when hiking with my dogs?  Music to my ears!

I received an aluminum colander as a wedding gift so I never did get that collapsible colander I was once so eager to have.  My dogs get to live the dream though, since  Popware for Pets sent a Single Elevated Pet Bowl, Collapsible Travel Cup with Bottle Holder and Carabiner, and a Kennel Cup their way.

The elevated dog bowl is perfect for my 11 year old dog.  She’s aging gracefully but I like that she doesn’t have to bend all the way over for sip of water or food.  The benefits of this bowl will only increase as she gets older.  Inaddition to the fact that it is elevated, the legs of the bowl collapse, as does the bowl itself.  When in “storage mode” the bowl is a mere inch and a half wide.  For those of you with aging dogs, Popware for Pets also offers an adjustable height Pet Feeder that stands 8 to 13 inches in height.

The Collapsible Travel Cup with bottle holder and carabiner  is an equally handy product.  My household loves to hike and lugging a special container around for the dog to drink out of is always inconvenient.  With the travel cup we are able to just clip it on the pack and go.  It can also clip onto a belt or leash.  For  those that don’t like suspending items from their bag or person, it slides into the pack just as easily – when not popped open it is only a half inch thick.  I love being able to just grab this product, pop it open, and pour in some water for my thirsty dogs.  I really appreciate that it can then be hung to air dry, rather than placing a dripping container back into my bag.  An additional ingenious feature of this product is that it has a loop sized for a standard size water bottle.  You can either hang the cup and the bottle from your pack, or carry the bottle in your hand with the cup attached.

I was also given a Kennel Cup, but I was not able to thoroughly evaluate it because I do not own a kennel.  Just from appearances, it looks as spectacular as the other two items.

Check out Popware for Pets!  Their entire lineup of products includes:  adjustable height pet feeder, double elevated pet feeder, single elevated pet feeder, collapsible kennel cup, collapsible travel cup, travel cup with bottle holder and carabiner, flexible suction lid, pet bowl gripmat, and pooch pouch.  All of the items are BPA free and dishwasher safe.

YOURS to WIN…Your choice of a single elevated pet bowl, a collapsible travel cup with bottle holder, or a collapsible kennel cup!

Mandatory Entry: What Popware for Pets item would you make your pet happy?

Extra entries:

• Subscribe via email to this blog (+2)
• Follow me on twitter and leave your twitter name (+1)
• Like Popware for Pets 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:   “Popware for Pets Giveaway! @yourstowin http://yourstowin.com/?p=1459″ (+1 per day)
• Mention this giveaway on your blog (+5)

This giveaway ends December 5th 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.

The key to my heart is definitely through my stomach, and soup has a special place in my heart (and stomach).  For many of my birthday meals I’ve requested that loved ones make me soup, and my birthday is in the scorching hot month of August  - that’s love! One excellent thing about the recent cold weather is that it has given me an excuse to eat more soup.  Yum!

My appreciation for soups of all sorts led me to discover Kettle Cuisine.  Kettle Cuisine offers ten varieties of single serving frozen soup, all of which are all natural and gluten free, and some of which are low fat, dairy-free, and/or vegetarian.  Their website intro blurb sums up their philosophy perfectly:

Eat Soup.  Feel Good.  At Kettle Cuisine, we make soup the right way, every step of the way, with no shortcuts and nothing artificial. One taste and we are sure you will become as passionate about eating our soups as we are about making them.

The first spoonful of each soup instantly reveals that they are chef-inspired.  I was given the opportunity to test five of their soups:  Tomato Soup with Garden Vegetables, Thai Curry Chicken Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Chicken Chili with White Beans, and Three Bean Chili.  The soups were spectacular.  In addition to the ten frozen soups, Kettle Cuisine offers over 50 varieties of soup to over 5,000 restaurants.  These frozen soups tasted just like restaurant quality soups!  They were so fresh and had the package been out of sight, I could have been easily convinced that they were homemade.  The all-natural, gluten-free ingredients improved my day on five separate occasions.

Of the five soups, the Thai Curry Chicken Soup was my favorite.  It was so indescribably unique – it was rich and light at the same time.  A close second was the New England Clam Chowder.  I have a love-hate relationship with clam chowder.  I typically love it in restaurants but have never found a decent clam chowder otherwise.  Any canned chowder that I’ve ever had has tasted like the can to me – completely gross.  This chowder solved that dilemma.  The consistency was just right too.  I also really enjoyed the white chili.  I’ve never had a white bean chili before and as it turns out, I strongly prefer it to regular chili.  Mmmm!

The soups that I sampled were all so delightful that I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them in a restaurant setting.  I love that I (we) can buy them in the natural foods area of the frozen foods section in the grocery store instead.  Check out Kettle Cuisine – your taste buds will thank you!

YOURS to WIN… A cooler bag, 3 free product coupons, and cents off coupons for friends and family!

Mandatory Entry:  Like Kettle Cuisine on Facebook and/or follow them on Twitter (1 entry for each).  Leave a comment below letting me know that you are a facebook fan and/or twitter follower.

This giveaway ends December 3rd 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.

I have a confession:  coffee makes my world a better place.  For 26 years I thought it was a putrid substance, but as I said recently, grad school has brought us lovingly together.  I actually miss coffee when I don’t manage to grab a cup on my way out the door each morning. As the temperature has dropped I’ve especially come to appreciate the warmth that it offers.  I may never come to understand coffee after dinner, but sign-me up for a cup or two with breakfast.

My developing relationship with coffee led me to Marley Coffee, a gourmet coffee company that is worth sharing for multiple reasons.  Let’s get the most obvious out of the way:  it was started by Bob Marley’s son and friend Shane Whittle.  Pretty cool, huh?

Bob Marley always said he would return to farming one day. With Marley Coffee, Bob’s son Rohan fulfills the dream. Rohan remembers his grandmother drying their wild coffee berries in the sun, then hulling and roasting them for her own cup of coffee each morning. Marley Coffee is determined to deliver that same intoxicating aroma and rich smooth flavor into every cup.

The near celebrity status of this company has not hindered it from making decisions that are both environmentally and socially responsible.  Their coffee beans are harvested from around the world from farms that produce organic beans in an ethical and sustainable way.  Marley Coffee has made it their mission to give back to these coffee-producing communities through Kicks for Cause (which they started).  Kicks for Cause is a foundation that builds soccer fields and soccer camps as a way to enrich the lives of children.  Marley Coffee’s firm belief in keeping children out of the workforce has also led them to make a commitment to pay the workers on their Jamaican farm twice the average coffee farmer salary.  Marley Coffee is also a partner of 1Love.org,  which encourages giving back to worthy causes through either donations or actions.  Everyone can offer at least one or the other, and I encourage you to check out 1 Love.  Only good things can come out of a mission that revolves around youth, the planet, and peace, while also cherishing the ideals of hope and unity.  Their current featured mission is to build a school in Uganda.  I encourage you to pitch in if you can.

Back to the coffee!  Marley Coffee sent me an incredibly generous box of coffee and tea samples.  I don’t have a pod machine so I was unable to try the tea (steeping it in a cup didn’t quite work out), but the coffee was excellent.  None were bitter and each was noticeably unique.  All of my samples arrived as ground beans- I typically drink whole bean coffee but I was unable to discern any difference in flavor and found the ground beans to be very convenient.  My top two favorites were the Kingston City Roast and One Love.  My husband, who I might consider a coffee connoisseur, raved and raved about the Lion’s Blend.  Without prompting he insisted that it was the best coffee he has ever had.  That’s a noteworthy endorsement.  Based on the reviews on the Marley Coffee site (which are cleverly measured in coffee beans rather than stars), it doesn’t seem as if you could go wrong with any flavor.  Every coffee product has scored over 4/5 beans.

One other feature that is handy is that Marley Coffee offers a monthly subscription service.  You chose the product(s) and the frequency and they make it happen.  Right now they’re also offering a Bodum Press with any initial coffee subscription over $30.  In addition to coffee and tea, Marley Coffee also offers equipment, drinkware, apparel, DVDs, and CDs.

YOURS to WIN… 2 bags of organic coffee:  12oz of One Love and 12oz of Mystic Morning!

This giveaway ends December 1st 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.

I think most people would agree that it’s never too early to begin taking care of your skin.  When people have beautiful skin I can’t help but notice.  Some people just glow.  I (sadly)  have never been one of those people.  Since a very young age I’ve been plagued with acne and oily skin.  The other day it came to my attention that I’m developing crows feet.  Apparently there won’t be any glory days for me in the epidermis department.

Add to my skin issues that I like beauty routines that are no frills and low maintenance.  I make time for sunscreen and a moisturizer when necessary, but I may never manage to fit one of those three step regiments into my lifestyle.  With simplicity in mind, I aim to use only products that are both gentle and effective.  Andalou Naturals offers such products.

I especially like the eloquently stated philosophy of Andalou Naturals.  The following is from their statement regarding their “reason for being”:

We value knowing where our ingredients come from, the farmers who grow them, and connecting the human chain of hands that make every step possible from farm to bottle, soil to skin, and botany to beauty.

Our skin care, hair care and body care products are made thoughtfully and beautifully, blending advanced Fruit Stem Cell Science with natural and fair-trade ingredients, with a minimum 70% certified organic content, for visible and healthy results.

Andalou Naturals utilizes advanced fruit stem cells (Solar Vitis fruit stem cells from a particular grape and Malus Domestica stem cells from a particular apple).  These cells work together to strengthen UV tolerance and protect against UV damage, prolong cell life, and produce anti-aging results.  Andalou Naturals products renew, repair, and regenerate.  You can read more about that here.  Aside from the fascinating fruit stem cell research, I love that Andalou Naturals lists all ingredients online in an incredibly user-friendly way.  After clicking on a product, you can view the active and inactive ingredients and explanations of their benefits.

I was given the opportunity to review the Fruit Stem Cell Night Repair Cream.  It arrived in a vibrant green container that instantly conjured images of rich green tropical leaves for me.  The cream has a subtle pleasing aroma that isn’t overpowering at all.  When applied to my face, the Fruit Stem Cell Night Repair Cream leaves it feeling silky smooth and not greasy in any way.  I’ve been so happy with it that I’ve even used it in the mornings on multiple occasions, without  fear of it leaving me with a shiny face for the remainder of the day.  Often when I try new face creams they cause me to break out – that was not the case with this product.  A little goes a long way, and after weeks of using this cream there does not appear to be any missing from the container.  As for the age-defying effects, I do not feel as if I can yet speak to those.  I haven’t noticed any changes on my own face, but I did read several reviews that said they weren’t apparent until several months of use.  I imagine that response times are very individualized.

In addition to age-defying skin care products, Andalou Naturals also offers skin care collections that are brightening or clarifying.  They have cleansers, masks, scrub, toner,  creams, and specialty items.  They also carry body care and hair care items.  Their philanthropic contributions are also worth sharing:  ”For every Andalou.com sale and newsletter subscription, the company donates $1 to one of our four charitable organizations.  Also, 100 percent of Andalou’s special-edition A Force of Nature Hand Cream’s net sales – both in-store and online – goes to charity.”

YOURS to WIN… Age-defying Fruit Stem Cell Night Repair Cream!

This giveaway ends November 18th 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.