October 1, 7:01 pacific time: This contest is now over. THANK YOU to everybody who entered! I love reading all the comments—-you are all the best people, ever. Kathleen K. was our big randomly-selected winner. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and while I won’t be posting giveaways-a-day for a while (I’m kind of pooped)—I do hope to have a nice variety here and there to help with your Holiday Shopping.

Happy Crocktober!

Day 30 of 30 Days of Give Aways!

Happy Friday, and happy September 30th—- thank you for having fun with me this month! Since Crocktober ( ) begins tomorrow, I figure you’re in the need for a new slow cooker.

This is the brand-new Crock-Pot Countdown, part of Crock-Pot’s designer series. It’s so new, it’s not in stores yet (or on Amazon), and I haven’t had the chance to play with it yet.

But it has everything I look for in a slow cooker: good-fitting lid, programmable in 30-minute increments, cord storage, and large safe-to-the-touch handles on the side. I really like how the Designer Series pots (I have a smart pot, only 4 settings) have a deep well for the lid to sit— it retains all moisture without needing to lock in place.

it’s  a good pot.

And I have one for you today!

Since this is our grand finale, I’ll throw in copies of my three books, too. (shhh. don’t tell adam.)

To enter this contest, simply leave a comment  below and I’ll randomly select a winner tomorrow, (Crock)tober 1st at 7am. The winner will receive a 6-quart Crock-Pot countdown, and all three of my books.

good luck!! thanks for playing along this month!

This is Day 30 of 30 Days of Give Aways. This month of give aways is designed to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping as outlined in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life and to spread good cheer. If you have a book or product you’d like to give away, please email me at contact AT stephanieodea DOT com with the subject line: GIVE AWAY PRODUCT

Posted in Giveaways | 1,197 Comments »

Sept 30, 7am: This contest is now over. Thank you to all who entered, and congratulations to Sandy D., who was our winner! This has been a fun month for me, thank you for playing! One more finale giveaway on the way!

Day 29 of 30 Days of Give Aways!

We’ve only got today and tomorrow to go— thank you for playing along at home with me! I started these giveaways really to help jump-start the Winter Holiday season gift-giving season. I know, I know. It’s only September. I don’t want to see Christmas trees in stores yet or hear Jingle Bells right now any more than you do.

But the reason we don’t want to see those things (as adults. Kids LOVE to see it all!) is because the Holidays (for many, not all) remind us of all we *have* to do: Cook. Clean. Buy presents. Wrap them. Spend money we don’t have, or don’t want to spend.

and the Have Tos start to get in the way of the Want Tos: sing, play, frolick (it’s okay to frolick, right?), give with a thankful heart, love openly, make cookies, decorate for fun.

and I don’t like that.

I want to enjoy my December, and look at the magic and the twinkling lights the way my kids do—or at least try. So, I start collecting gifts in the back of the master bedroom closet as early as I can. Also? EVERYTHING is on sale right now, thanks to the end of back-to-school shopping.

My favorite way to shop is at home, in my fuzzy slippers. Today’s gift card reflects that.

I’ve got a pretty detailed Holiday Time Line in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life, but if I had to select one piece of advice, it would be to follow your children’s lead and begin thinking about the end of the year, now. Make a budget, make a list, and start crossing things off.

and have a wonderful day.

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment below. This contest is open to all, and will end tomorrow, 9/30 at 7am pacific. Happy shopping!

This is Day 29 of 30 Days of Give Aways. This month of give aways is designed to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping as outlined in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life and to spread good cheer. If you have a book or product you’d like to give away, please email me at contact AT stephanieodea DOT com with the subject line: GIVE AWAY PRODUCT

Posted in Giveaways | 178 Comments »

Sept 29: This contest is now over. Thank you to all who entered, and congratulations to Heather for winning! have a wonderful day—- more fun stuff for the next two days.

Day 28 of 30 days of Give Aways!

It’s Wednesday! I’m wearing a Shabby Apple dress in this picture, and I have one for you, too! I was given the opportunity over the summer to review a Shabby Apple dress, and I picked this one, called Toe The Line. I liked it because it was a shirtdress, and that I (you!) can easily dress it up or down— you can wear flip flops, or boots (I wore wedge sandals), switch around belts, add funky jewelry, etc.

It’s pretty much a blank canvas. The belt I’m wearing didn’t come with the dress. I bought it for $18 at Target, and I’d definitely recommend a wide belt with this dress. I am wearing an XS. When I first opened the package, I thought the fabric felt starched and kind of funky. After hanging for a while, the creases disappeared and the starchiness went away.

I wore it over the weekend and received many compliments. It’s fun, feminine, and modest. I like that I can pick the kids up without worrying about an (ahem.) wardrobe malfunction.

Would you like your very own Toe The Line dress? You can win one by leaving a comment below, and I’ll randomly select a winner tomorrow morning (Thurs, 7am pacific). You can earn additional entries by tweeting about this giveaway, and by “liking” Shabby Apple’s facebook page.

and? Even if you don’t win, they are having a sale through September 30, and the entire site is 15% off with the code: IVY and there is FREE shipping on all domestic orders. score!

yay! have a wonderful day.

This is Day 28 of 30 Days of Give Aways. This month of give aways is designed to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping as outlined in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life and to spread good cheer. If you have a book or product you’d like to give away, please email me at contact AT stephanieodea DOT com with the subject line: GIVE AWAY PRODUCT

Posted in Giveaways | 101 Comments »

Sept 28, 7am pacific: This contest is now over. Thank you to all who entered, and a big congratulations to Tina K., for being our (randomly selected) big winner! Thank you for playing, and have a great day.

Day 27 of 30 days of Give Aways!

Good morning! We’re the proud owners of a new kitchen floor this week. Last week we ripped out the black and white peel-and-stick linoleum floor and subfloor our house came with and installed porcelain tile.

AND I LOVE IT. Our old floor was super hard for me to clean— I’d have to scrub it with a Magic Eraser, then mop with hot water and disinfectant, then use wax (Mop and Shine) for it to even look clean. And since that’s a COMPLETE pain, I’d really only do that once a month, which is kind of disgusting.

When we ripped the base floor out I smelled something. A smell I recognized from working in a vet hospital in college. A not-very-good smell.

I think the former home owner locked the dogs in the kitchen during the day while she was at work.

ew.

Anyway— today’s give away came to mind after the 42nd (slight exaggeration, but not really…) time we went to Lowes this weekend. The Saturday before we went (no exaggeration, here!) FOUR times. FOUR!

and I figured we can’t be the only people who spend a good proportion of the weekend playing Marco Polo at Lowes.

I’ve got a $50 gift card to give away today–no strings attached. To enter to win, please leave a comment below, and I’ll randomly select a winner on Wednesday morning, 7am (which is the hour our friendly-neighborhood Lowes opens!).

best of luck, and happy hardware store browsing!

This is Day 27 of 30 Days of Give Aways. This month of give aways is designed to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping as outlined in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life and to spread good cheer. If you have a book or product you’d like to give away, please email me at contact AT stephanieodea DOT com with the subject line: GIVE AWAY PRODUCT

Posted in Giveaways | 158 Comments »

Sept 27, 7am pacific: This contest is now over. Congratulations to Tracy, who was our big (randomly selected) winner! Yay!

more fun stuff on the way—- thank you for playing!

Day 26 of 30 days of give aways— it’s the last week!

Good morning! I would like to give away one of the most-used kitchen appliances in our house, outside of the slow cookers: the hand held immersion blender.

I use this thing A LOT.  I really like that I can thicken soups or bean dishes by blending the potatoes, vegetables, or beans instead of adding extra starch to thicken. It feels and tastes more natural, and I like not adding additional bulk.

The hand blender in the picture up above was given to us as a wedding present 12 years ago, and it’s a Braun. According to Amazon, the Braun’s are no longer good, and the best reviewed and recommended hand blender is now made by Cuisinart. So that’s what someone (randomly selected) will get!

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment below expressing interest, and I’ll use the random commenter selector thingy to pick a winner on Tuesday, September 27th at 7am pacific.

good luck! Happy blending!

This is Day 26 of 30 Days of Give Aways. This month of give aways is designed to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping as outlined in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life and to spread good cheer. If you have a book or product you’d like to give away, please email me at contact AT stephanieodea DOT com with the subject line: GIVE AWAY PRODUCT

Posted in Giveaways | 154 Comments »

This contest is now over. Congratulations to DeLurking Di for being our (randomly-chosen) winner! Thank you to all for playing. More fun stuff on the way! Have a great week.

Day 25 of 30 Days of Give Aways for the month of September!

Hello there! I have a pedometer for you today. I know, it sounds kind of boring—- but it’s for your own good. Everyone thinks they get enough exercise throughout the day by parking a bit farther away at the grocery store, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work.  But unless you make a concerted effort to actually work out– either at a gym, or to go for a run, or walk the dog for longer than around the block, (etc. etc.) chances are you aren’t actually moving enough throughout the day.

We’ve (royal we, here)  turned into a pretty sedentary group, it seems. I thought I moved enough on a normal day. I walk the kids to school and walk again in the afternoon  to pick them up. I spend a lot of time walking the aisles of the grocery store, and I chase the baby around at the park or in the backyard. Because of this, I was astonished to see that my normal routine only added up to about 4300 steps a day—– well below the recommended 10,000 steps.

I’ve had this exact same pedometer for about 4 months, and I love it. You can either clip it to your waist band or pocket, or put it in your pocket. You can even put it in your purse or in a backpack and it will somehow keep track of your steps. It’s pretty durable, too. I’ve accidentally washed it at least twice, and then it went for  a ride in the dryer. I was pretty sure I killed it the last time, but after a few days the water evaporated from the screen and it went back to working perfectly.

I like that it “remembers” the last 7 days of accumulated steps, and I like that there is a clock. It’s easier to glance at it to check the time then it is to wake up the phone to check the time (I don’t seem to wear a watch very often anymore).

I’d like to share this same pedometer with a lucky winner. To enter, please leave a comment below and I’ll randomly select a winner on Monday morning (sept 26) at 7am.

best of luck to all! and remember to MOVE!

This is Day 25 of 30 Days of Give Aways. This month of give aways is designed to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping as outlined in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life and to spread good cheer. If you have a book or product you’d like to give away, please email me at contact AT stephanieodea DOT com with the subject line: GIVE AWAY PRODUCT

Posted in Giveaways | 72 Comments »

Sept 25, 7am pacific: This contest is now over. Thank you to all who entered! Our randomly selected winner was Heather— congratulations, Heather! Stay tuned, more fun stuff is on the way. Have a fantastic day.

Day 24 of 30 Days of Give Aways.

We made it to another weekend— wooo hoooo!

We try to play a lot of board games in our house, and I was just realizing last night that the last time we sat down to play a game was back in July.

eeps. Life sure takes on a life of it’s own…

This is one of our favorite family board games. It was recommended to us by Kelly, from The Spunky Coconut. There are over a hundred 5-star reviews on Amazon— it’s a good one.

I’d recommend it for Kindergarten children and up, and for 3 or more people. Adam and I really like it and my big girls do as well. It’s a beginning strategy game, and once you get the hang of it you can purchase add-in packs (we haven’t done this yet) to create more of a challenge.

The pieces are well made and the box isn’t flimsy–a plus in our house!

Would you like to win a copy to keep or give as a gift this holiday season? To win a copy of your own, leave a comment below and I’ll choose a winner (randomly) on Sunday sept 25 at 7am pacific.

good luck, and Happy Gaming!

This is Day 25 of 30 Days of Give Aways. This month of give aways is designed to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping as outlined in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life and to spread good cheer. If you have a book or product you’d like to give away, please email me at contact AT stephanieodea DOT com with the subject line: GIVE AWAY PRODUCT

Posted in Giveaways | 69 Comments »

This contest is now over. Thank you to all who entered. Christina was our winner, and she’ll be receiving a baby toy of her choosing. Thank you for playing— more fun stuff on the way!

Day 23 of 30 Days of Give Aways!

Happy Friday! Little Alouette is a mom-and-pop business run by a friend of mine and her husband. These all-natural wooden baby toys are handmade and sanded beautifully— the wood feels like butter.

mmm. butter.

and I’d like to share these toys with you. I do have one to give away— anything you’d like from the site, up to a $30 value— but I’d also like you to keep this company in mind the next time you have a baby  or toddler birthday gift to purchase.

This contest is open to all. To enter, please leave a comment below and I’ll randomly select a winner Saturday, Sept 24th at 7am pacific. If you’d like to stack the deck with additional entries, you may do so by following @littlealouette on twitter and tweeting about this contest or “liking” Little Alouette’s facebook page. Make sure to leave additional comments here so I know.

Posted in Giveaways | 43 Comments »

This contest is now over. Congratulations to Jennifer J.! Thank you for playing along at home. More fun stuff is on the way! Have a happy Friday.

Day 22 of 30 Days of Give Aways.

Good morning! wow. I was blown away with how many entries the last giveaway received. Thank you so much for your interest, and support. It really means a lot to know that I’m not alone in my crockpot craziness!

Today I have a give away geared towards ANYONE with ANY type of allergy or food restriction—whether it be you are cutting back on dairy, are severely allergic to nuts, limiting your cholesterol— you name it, this app does it.

My friend Kim started GoAllergyFree.com and then created this app that combs through recipes and finds substitutions based upon your dietary needs/restrictions.

Her app info is as follows:

As Featured in the App Store’s New and Noteworthy Section:

This is the essential tool for anyone dealing with food allergies. If you are allergic to Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, or Nuts, you no longer have to search for a recipe that does not contain your allergens. Cook IT Allergy Free will take any of these great gluten free recipes and make them safe for you.
Custom Tailor Any of the Recipes

Customize Any of the Gluten Free Recipes to meet your allergy needs

• 200+ Recipes, with MORE recipes being added all of the time. Beautiful images of all recipes.
• With a simple tap, trade out your Allergen(s) in any of the recipes with safe substitutions. Now no recipe is off limits!
• Any ingredients that appear in red within a recipe can be traded out with a correctly-calculated allergen safe substitution option that will work with the recipe.
• Find substitutions within the recipes for: eggs, butter, milk, yogurt, buttermilk, cream, sour cream, cream cheese, cheeses, nuts, nut butters, corn syrup, and soy.
• Customize your recipes and then share them through Email, Facebook, and Twitter.
• Also find the best tips and tricks for gluten free and allergy free cooking that will help to give you delicious results in the recipes.

This contest is open to all. To enter, please leave a comment and state whether or not the iphone or ipad version would be better for your use. If you’d like additional entries, you may do so by following @cookitallergyfree on twitter (leave me an additional comment here) and tweeting about this contest, and/or by “liking” Cook It Allergy Free on facebook.

I like this product a lot, and I really like helping small businesses like Kim’s. Best of luck to all!

This is Day 22 of 30 Days of Give Aways. This month of give aways is designed to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping as outlined in Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life and to spread good cheer. If you have a book or product you’d like to give away, please email me at contact AT stephanieodea DOT com with the subject line: GIVE AWAY PRODUCT

Posted in Giveaways | 17 Comments »