As my faithful readers know, I have become a total sweeps and contest junkie- entering sweeps and contests having proved itself to be not only far more lucrative than playing Solitaire or Candy Crush in the wee hours, but interesting and fun (I have learned a great deal about marketing and new products), and as calming as good therapy- a double bonus, as there are no decent therapists out here in the boonies! LOL This year I had a some truly extraordinary wins, and I want to take this opportunity to thank the companies and people who made these lovely things happen- things we NEVER would have been able to enjoy otherwise!
Number One on the Thank You List goes to Wind & Weather, the wonderful home decor store I love! Thanks to their “Share The Love” contest, Dan and I had THE most delightful, fun, and romantic Virginia getaway this summer, complete with a magical hot air balloon ride, an all-day wine tasting, fabulous gourmet food, shopping, horseback riding, and a stay at THE most romantic Inn with the best service we’ve had in the USA- the Inn at Willow Grove! I did a blog post on it when we returned: http://www.southernwestvirginia.blogspot.com/2014/08/ultimate-virginia-getaway-thank-you.html so if you’re thinking about a trip to Virginia Wine Country, please check it out! Thank you again Wind & Weather!!!
A HUGE thank you to Wantable.com, for the totally fabulous Prada Saffiano Mini Handbag, filled with an assortment of fabulous makeup! When I won this I literally started screaming!!!
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| I won excellent Celestron SkyMaster 15×70 Binoculars from Oh, Ranger! (for birdwatching at the Inn!) |
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| My beautiful Heather Moore pendant… |
One of this year’s loveliest prizes was a gift certificate to Heather Moore Jewelry, and they made me the most beautiful and personal pendant, with the dates Dan and I met and married, and our names…
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| Me, with my beautiful Heather Moore pendant! |
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| From DailyBreak.com I won Cat’s Pride Kitty Litter and a Litter Box– and with two kitties we ALWAYS need that! 🙂 |
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| From the donnahup.com blog I won a delicious assortment of Autumn petit fours from The Swiss Colony |
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| And I won a YUM-O assortment of Perky Jerky!!
Sometimes it’s The Year of Shoes- a few years ago I won 4 pairs of fabulous shoes- but this year was definitely The Year of Anti-Aging Skin Care! I won some really great beauty gifts, and got to try some great products!
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| I also won a delightful Bioelements Kerafole Mask, a deep purging, exfoliating facial mask that reveals fresh, radiant skin. |
I LOVE Ahava Dead Sea mineral skin care from Israel, and I won their excellent Extreme Radiance Lifting Mask,
to lift and smooth skin to restore
its youthful, radiant appearance and tone!
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| I won a Cocoa 24K Gold Vitamin Clay Mask from LaRocca Skincare |
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| Makeup from Beautystat.com! YAY! |
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| Miami Beach sun care products from #SOBE #MiamiBeach100 on Twitter! |
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| I got to test and review a great HSN Collection of beauty products from TotalBeauty.com |
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| I also won the 1-4-ALL Peel from The Skin Regime |
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| And last, but not least, I won this adorable stewardess tchochke from ANA Japanese Airlines… I was SUPPOSED to win the trip to Japan! LOL |
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| Dan, The Kittehs,& our great, new Litter Genie! |
This year we also got to try a number of great products through #Crowdtap, including the excellent Litter Genie, Riccola cough drops, Campbell’s, Prego, V-8, and Swanson products, Zep Commercial Cleaners, and Folgers Flavors! Thank you all!
And then, 2 weeks ago I won THE most amazing prize- a trip for two back to Vietnam, from Central Coastal Vietnam Tourism! Dan and I were literally dreaming about how to somehow return to Vietnam, and joked that they only way we could do it was if I won us a trip! And I did! And hopefully we’ll be going this spring!