SpaFinder Gift Card Giveaway for Loving Thy Pits

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Nora

So remember how yesterday I talked about the new Mitchum Advanced Control Deodorant and the Love Thy Pits manifesto? Well today I’m here to talk about one of those things that girls don’t really talk about: sweaty pits. We all have those moments where our nerves get the best of us and next thing we know, we’re sticky and sweaty and nervous and maybe we don’t want to raise our arms so as to not offend the people near us. The fact is it happens, we get in these situations where we wind up a hot, sticky, sweaty mess, so why shouldn’t we acknolwedge it and talk about it from time to time, especially if it means that you can a $100 giftcard to use via spafinder.com at a spa of your choice?

Here’s the deal:

1. I’m going to share one of my top awkward/embarrassing moments at which point my pits pointed out to me that I was really, um, uncomfortable with the situation at hand.

2. You, dear reader are going to share, in the comments section, one of your most embarrassing/awkward moments in which your pits let you know you were distressed in 150 words or less which automatically enters you to win one of two $100 giftcards to use on spafinder.com at a spa of your choice courtesy of the Love Thy Pits folks and Mitchum.

3. You are going to start loving your pits more because they are giving you a chance to win a spa gift card, and let’s face it, they haven’t ever done anything to you.

The Rules:

* Entries must be received by Monday August 29th, midnight CST.
* Only one entry per person please.
* Open to everyone; no restrictions on who can enter (yes, that even means you my lovely readers from Canada!)
* Please make sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you win.
* Winners will be selected randomly by random.org and will be notified by August 30th via email.

Ok, so now that I’ve gotten all that out of the way, are you ready for one of my most awkward and embarrassing moments (it was hard to pick just one)?

During my undergrad years, I had to go from the “Red Campus” to the “White Campus,” in a matter of ten minutes. On a good day you could get from Red campus to White campus in about 20 minutes, assuming no car traffic that didn’t stop for pedestrians, no other students in your way and that your class got out on time. On this particular day, none of that happened and of course I had a test in the class I was trying to get to on White Campus. It was spring time, so the flip-flops were out and on my feet, and I was hustling as quickly as I could, some books in hand, messenger bag over my shoulder. I decided to take a shortcut through one of the campus mall areas featuring cobblestone brick. This place was close to a lot of frat houses which meant cute guys everywhere. This also meant that on today of all days, I’d go flying through the air after my flop got stuck on one of the bricks that wasn’t totally in-line with the rest, sending my books flying, my flops in the other direction, and there is yours truly, lying face down and spread-eagle in the middle of a group of (very attractive) guys. Cue sweaty palms, pits, flush face. In the meantime the cute boys that were standing nearby immediately started gathering my books, my bag, my flops and pulling me up to make sure I was ok. I couldn’t even look them in the eye because I was so incredibly uncomfortable. I grabbed my stuff and ran the rest of the way to class. I don’t think my pits recovered from that one for awhile.

Your turn! If you want a stab at one of those two $100 giftcards, share your top or favorite awkward or embarrassing moment in the comments, in 150 words or less.

(* I was not compensated in anyway to post and share this giveaway with my readers. Mitchum and the Love Thy Pits folks via M80, Inc. are providing this giveaway for my readers.)

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway!

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Nora

(First, thanks to everyone for their sincere and heartfelt comments on yesterday’s post! I’m incredibly ecstatic about the upcoming move and I’m sure there will be more posts about it in the future!)

When Shabby Apple, an online boutique featuring a fabulous variety of women’s dresses approached me about doing a dress giveaway for my readers, the logical answer was of course yes! Who doesn’t like free dresses, and especially awesome ones at that? I had a variety of dresses to pick from but had to go with one from their latest dress line “Roman Holiday,” because I’m a huge Audrey Hepburn fan and couldn’t stop crying when I watched “Roman Holiday,” the movie (or Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and yes, even My Fair Lady. Anyway, I digress.) So today you have a chance to win the new Spanish Steps Dress which is flirty, fun, and perfect for the upcoming summer months:

This dress makes me want to hop on a Red Eye to Europe and makes me dream of wineries, picnics in the country, biking around Italy, and ice cold gelato and frankly, I can’t resist it!

Some baseline rules:

* Shabby Apple does not ship internationally, but Nora does! So international readers, enter away! If you win, I’ll get the dress shipped to me and then I’ll send it along to you
* The entries must be received by midnight next Thursday, March 24th.
* You must leave a valid email address at the time of commenting; winner will be contacted by email within 24 hours of the giveaway closing.
* Winner will be chosen at random by random.org.

How to Enter (you can leave all of this in one comment and you’ll get three entries, I promise!)

1. For one entry, hop on over to Facebook and “Like” Shappy Apple on Facebook; you’ll get special offers and discounts for being fans of their page!

2. Visit the Shabby Apple website, look at the women’s dresses and share your favorite!

3. Blog OR Tweet about this giveaway and leave the link to your blog/tweet here. (Easy Twitter/blog verbiage for you to use if you like: Check out the Spanish Steps Giveaway from @ShabbyApple on @WalkingwithNora’s blog http://bit.ly/gcrgqp)

It’s that simple! Good luck!

A Greening Giveaway

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Nora

Last year the family and I participated in Earth Hour (which we extended to Earth Several Hours because we enjoyed it so much) and we started thinking about just how much energy we were saving and if everyone on our cul-de-sac turned off all the lights and etc in their house for one hour, how much that would be. Obviously it was pure speculation as we had no idea, but if we had a Kill A Watt EZ monitor, then we would know how much each appliance costs us to run. Simply plug it in and it tells you how much it costs to run that appliance! Perfect to help save on energy costs and of course, the environment. I have to admit, the green geek in me thinks this is cool.

Thanks to Geothermal Genius , one lucky winner will receive a Kill A Watt EZ Monitor ($60 MSRP)! Here’s how the Kill A Watt EZ Monitor works:

Simply connect these appliances to the Kill A WattEZ™, and it will assess how efficient they really are. Large LCD display will count consumption by the Killowatt-hour, same as your local utility.

	Shows the operating costs of your household appliances

	Accurate to within 0.2%

	Large LCD Display

	Calculates cost and forecasts by week, month and year

	Built-in battery backup

	Displays eight critical units of measure

For more information on Geothermal heating and cooling and how it works take a look at the Geothermal Genius website and blog!

To enter this giveaway:

* Earn one entry by leaving a comment letting me know how you are trying to green your living space this year.
* Earn an additional entry by either tweeting OR blogging about this giveaway; leave the link to your tweet/blog in the comment field.

Rules:
* Entries must be received by Sunday, January 16th at midnight Central Time.
* Open to anyone; no geographical restrictions on this one!

FTC Disclosure: I have not been compensated in anyway by Geothermal Genius or their affiliates to do this giveaway. Any mention of Kill A Watt EZ and Geothermal Genius is by my own accord, all opinions and statements are my own.

Review + Giveaway: Ghirardelli Luxe Milk Chocolate

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Nora

My Sunday night ended on a good night: with four different kinds of chocolate to taste. The chocolate? 100% All Natural Luxe Milk from Ghirardelli, in four different flavors: Milk, Almond, Hazelnut and Toffee. In an effort to spread the joy, I shared the chocolate with my parents who are all big fans of dessert and sweets in general so I knew they ‘d be helpful in reviewing these products.* Here’s what we had to say…

LUXE Milk:
Nora: The chocolate is creamy, good blend of milk + chocolate, doesn’t melt in your hand when you’re holding a piece like other kinds of chocolate out there.
My dad: Solid chocolate, but not a hard break-your-teeth off kind of a chocolate.
Darling: For a chocolate lover, it’s so good you can’t talk while you’re eating it.

LUXE Almond:
Dad: Deliciousy smooth and sweet, a nice nutty flavor with good-sized chunks of almonds, yet still subtle. Not a harsh chocolate. Darling: Great for a sweet-aholic and slightly European, no hint of waxy-ness.
(I skipped out on this one since I’m allergic to tree nuts but the chocolate + almond combination smelled delightful.)

LUXE Hazelnut:
Dad: Another creamy chocolate, nice sized hazelnut pieces but without being overbearing; not flaky bits like in other chocolates. An overall smooth aftertaste.
Darling: Tastes a bit better than the almond bar because it has more nuts to chocolate ratio, which is important to this person who loves chunky chocolate bars.
(And yup, you guessed it, I had to skip out on this one too. Stupid allergies.)

LUXE Toffee:
Dad: Wonderful blend of crunchy & smooth. The toffee is clearly of a good quality and blends well into the chocolate.
Nora: I loved that I could taste the difference betwee the toffee and the chocolate in each bite, it wasn’t merely just texture in the bar.
Darling: I don’t normally like Toffee bars but this one is not half-bad.

I also loved the packaging on each bar: gold foil which reminds me instantly of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory Golden Tickets. Bonus: the packaging doesn’t rip so it’s easy to fold it up and save any leftovers you may have, you know, if you have the willpower not to eat all the chocolate in one sitting.

You can buy these flavors in either a 3 oz bar or in bags with individually-wrapped squares but apparently the bags are super popular as they were out of them at Target, Walgreesn and my local grocery stores.

Now for the good part! You, my dear readers, can win two free bags of Ghirardelli LUXE Chocolate as well as receive 2 $1 off coupons towards future purchases. To enter:

* Simply leave a comment and answer this question: What’s your favorite dessert?
* For an additional entry you can tweet OR blog about the giveaway; just be sure to link me back to the tweet/blog in an additional comment.

Rules:
Contest ends Friday October 15th at midnight CDT.

**The FTC Compliance Piece:I was given coupons for four free bars or bags of Ghirardelli LUXE Chocolate in order to participate in this review, as well as well as several $1 off coupons for my participation as well. I was not, however, paid for my review of the candy bars, nor were my parents. We simply like sweets. All opinions expressed in this blog are my own. Photos courtesy of M80 & Ghirardelli.

Giveaway: All Natural Bug Spray

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Nora

** This Giveaway is now closed. **

Remember my review of ECOSmart’s all natural insect repellent and how much I love the all natural bug spray? Well it’s time to finally do the giveaway for these all natural products (like the all natural wasp killer) which are safe to use around children and pets.

One reader will win their choice of one of the following:

Safe Home Value Bundle ($31 value): Ant and Roach Killer (14 oz can), Home Pest Control (24 oz spray bottle), Flying Insect Killer (14 oz can), Insect Repellent (6 oz bottle)
Safe Plant & Garden Value Bundle ($33 value): Weed and Grass Killer (24 oz spray bottle), Garden Fungicide (24 oz spray bottle), Garden Insect Killer (24 oz spray bottle), Insect Repellent (6 oz bottle)
Safe Picnic Value Bundle ($33 value): Home Pest Control (24 oz spray bottle), Flying Insect Killer (14 oz can), Insect Repellent (Two 6 oz bottles)
Safe Patio Value Bundle ($31 value): Ant and Roach Killer (14 oz can), Flying Insect Killer (14 oz can), Two (2) bottles of Insect Repellent (6 oz each)

The Rules:

* Open to all residents of the US except Alaska and Hawaii
* Contest ends on Wednedsay August 11th at midnight

To Enter:

* Leave a comment letting me know which bundle you would choose if you won and why.
* Earn a second entry if you blog OR tweet about this giveaway; be sure to come back and leave the link to your blog or tweet on this post.

Blushing Nora

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Nora

I’m still in DC and loving it, well, aside from all the work stuff that I have to do on a daily basis and the fact that I can’t go exploring whenver I want. On the flip side, I’m making some professional strides, learning quite a bit and a super bonus, people watching the conference attendees, many of whom are from all over the world. Which brings me to the time my totally awesome dad embarrassed me big in front of people from my favorite country: Italy.

The men from Italy are some of the finest dressers I’ve ever seen: whether they are in jeans or a suit, they look amazing. I love their food, their wine, their culture, their country, their accents, language and voices. Imagine my delight when by chance, a few Italians attending the conference sat with my dad (aka my boss) and me at lunch earlier this week. (Lunch is served at the conference center in one giant room, about 900 tables seating 10-12 cover run nearly wall to wall.) I don’t speak a lick of Italian but I could listen to the language for hours and hours.

My dad, proud of our Italian heritage, struck up a conversation in his (very) broken Italian in a matter of seconds, explaining where our family is from, what we do at this conference, and other light chatter. Suddenly I hear him tell the gentlemen that I’m his figlia, (translation: daughter) and isn’t she bellissimo, a bella donna? (translation: lovely pretty woman).Within seconds I could feel my face turning a deep shade of scarlett. The table erupted into laughter and “si, si” at which point the Italian to my left commented on the fact that I was blushing (said first in Italian, then in English), complete with hand gestures complete with rolling laughter from the rest of the table.

This situation reminded me a lot of the time my dad shouted after a (different) Italian guy who was flirting with me to “stay in touch with my daughter!” as said guy walked away. Needless to say I never heard from him.

Anyone else have similar embarrassing parental unit stories?

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a $50 gift card from CSN stores! Enter by tomorrow at midnight!)

Tidbit Thursday: Condos, a Giveaway, DC, & More

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Nora

Time for another installment of Tidbit Thursday, but first, I have another special giveaway for my readers:

* Since I’ve started looking at condos, I’ve been perusing a lot of home & decor websites, dreaming of how I’d adorn each room. One of my favorite home decor sites so far? CSN Stores: they have over 200 websites and amazing products including everything from platform beds to wall clocks, to children’s bedding, to kitchen gadgets and other housing necessities. CSN Stores was kind enough to offer one lucky reader a $50 gift card valid for use on any of their sites. See below for the entry details. ***

* You give me (condo) fever. Browsing available condos and townhomes in the area is totally addictive. I’ve promised myself that once this finance class is done (four weeks! FOUR WEEKS!) I’d start looking on a more regular, more focused basis. I’m fortunate to have a great realtor who is a friend of the family so she’ll be helping me out while I figure exactly what I want/need/can afford going forward. There are still some big decisions to be made regarding home ownership but I think I’m honing in on the answers.

* This time tomorrow I’ll be on a plane to Washington DC. The sole purpose of the trip is for work: a very long week of conferences, meetings, key notes, networking. The secondary purpose: take my photo in front of as many monuments as possible while meeting all the fabulous DC bloggers and the other ladies who will be in town for various reasons. I am literally jumping out of my skin with excitement as I finally get to meet Mandy, LiLu, Suburban Sweetheart, Becky and Ashley TIA (and so many more that if I linked to all of them you’d be bored with this sentence). I’ve not been to DC since I was five; I can’t wait to explore the city and geek out on a daily basis. I am, after all, a dork for all things political science.

* Running! I’m officially running again, and so far, 100% pain free. I’m taking it slow and steady, ignoring my pace and mileage and just enjoying the fact that once again it’s me, my running shoes, some tunes and my thoughts. Even after almost three months, running still feels like “home.”

* Wedding (and baby) Season! It’s that time again. This year it’s different: I have more baby showers than weddings. The next few months are a whirlwind of baby showers, bachelorette parties, bridal showers, weddings and other friend-focused festivities. I have eight friends who are pregnant currently and I have to say, I’m enjoying attending the baby showers. Maybe it’s because I’ve been to over 20 bridal showers so baby showers are new to me, or perhaps it’s because I learn something new at each shower. I’m looking forward to this season of weddings too as one of them will be a mini college reunion and the other one is for one of my favorite people. (Plus between the baby showers and weddings, I’m sure to get eat some really good cake!)

Any tidbits you’d like to share today?

***There are two ways to enter the giveaway:
*For one entry, leave a comment here with how you’d use this gift card if you win.
* For a second entry, blog about this giveaway; come back and leave a comment with a link to your blog.

Who can enter? Anyone from the US and Canada!
Enter by Thursday, July 15th at midnight.

A Video, A Winner & Nora's Mish-Mash

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Nora

First of all, thanks to everyone who entered the Nintendo Points Card Giveaway! There were a total of 33 valid entries and thanks to random.org, number 16 was the winner which happens to be the lovely Erin. While we are on the Nintendo subject, a big shoutout and thanks to Rebekah for putting together this little video from the party in which you will see me and KH furiously boxing, Liz bowling, the famed Heracles Chariot Racing, as well as the other party goers and witness some of Rebekah’s awesome video-editing skills.

If you’re jonesing for another giveaway, be sure to check out last Friday’s post for the chance to win “Swimming,” a novel I recently read for one of my book clubs.

And now, for Nora’s Mish Mash:

* I do not have a green thumb. I was recently gifted some beautiful parade roses and I think I killed them. Or at least it looks I tried to kill them. Fortunately Darling is better at gardening than I, so she’s helping me nurse them back to health. I hope it works because they are beautiful!

* From Barnes & Noble to the Library. It’s no secret I’m a book addict but now it’s even worse since I can check books out of the library for FREE at any time, renew them online at any time and etc. I wrote about my library obsession last week so I won’t bore you with it again, but you would think I’d take out one, maybe two books out at a time but it’s not the case. I went Saturday afternoon and walked out with four books, once of which is a 1,000 page book. No way I’ll be able to finish it in the two week allotted period.

* Billionaire & Sookie Stackhouse love. I’m probably late to both of these things, but I’m kind of decided that Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” is going to be my summer song (sorry, Katie Perry, I hear you’re up for best summer song with California Gurls but I don’t dig it).

And Snopp Dogg’s tribute to Sookie Stackhouse? I was dying from laughter and even made my parents watch/listen to it:

* Fireworks! I have a three-day weekend, possibly four-day weekend coming up and I literally can’t wait. Ignoring the fact that part of the weekend will be spent working on a finance midterm, my brother is coming into town which means the nose piercing just might finally happen (he’s my courage for these kinds of things), I’ll be poolside, reading, getting ready for my trip to DC and just mellowing out as much as possible.

So, tell me, am I the only one who kills plants and is in love with poptrashy music?

Swimming: A Review & A Giveaway

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Nora

I recently finished “Swimming,” by Nicola Keegan for one of the book clubs I’m a part of. At first, I admit, I had no idea where this book was going. It seemed depressing, random and a bit scatterbrained but after about 75 pages, I started rooting for the main character, Mena or Pip as her teammates call her. I guess what they say is true: give a book 100 pages before you judge it.

This story is about a young woman who finds solace through swimming, pushing herself day in and day out, searching for a way out of her family situation which was incredibly difficult. Through her tenacity she becomes an Olympic swimmer. This entire book is her story as she struggles with loss, addiction to sugar, lack of friends and awkwardness around men, daily workouts and training regimes for swimmers, pride and glory and much more. I can’t relate to Mena very well but the author did a good job of making me feel the way Mena must have felt throughout most of this book, which to me is indicative of a good story teller (whether or not you like the story).

If you’re looking for a new book to read, a change of pace, a different style of writing, then you’re in luck because I’m giving away my copy of this book!

Rules for Entering:

* You must love books and reading.
* You can live anywhere; (this means you my fabulous friends in foreign countries! I’ll figure out a way to get it to you!)
* Entries must be received by Thursday, July 1st at midnight.

How to Enter:

* For one entry, leave a comment telling me about the best book you’ve ever read over the summer.
* For a second entry, blog about this giveaway. Be sure to come back and leave the link to your blog in a separate entry.

Delis, Chariot Racing, Popcorn, Friends and a Giveaway!

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Nora

This past Saturday I was fortunate enough to host a Netflix/Nintendo Wii Party thanks to Justine and Brand About Town.

Eight of my closest friends came over for the afternoon to nosh on some amazing wraps, cheese and pink lemonade from Jason’s Deli while we watched Monsters Inc. (I’m on a bit of a Disney kick lately), gabbed about our weeks, and took a look at the other movies available via the Netflix Streaming capability on the Wii.

After we substantially stuffed ourselves, I brought snacks into the room (some of the best popcorn we’ve ever had, M&Ms, Twizzlers, Junior Mints and other fun candy) so that we could settle in for a good old-fashioned game session. I got so into watching people play and playing myself that I forgot to take a lot of pictures and video, so you’ll have to make do with the few that were snapped.

Thanks to my Nintendo Points Card, I downloaded a few party games via the Wii Channel before my guests arrived. We played TV Show King 2 for several rounds and then Chariots of Heracles which is a classic racing game except you’re in chariots and can be fun characters like Medusa, Hearcles, Beesy and other period-characters. Whether it’s a battle or a championship race, this game is hilarious and so much fun. After we’d all had a turn and laughed ourselves to sore stomachs, we went with the Wii Classic: Wii Sports since a few of my guests had yet to experience Wii Bowling and Wii Boxing. More hilarity ensued as we tried different spins on the bowling ball, managed to knock each other out at the *same time* on boxing, and getting into tennis with full arm swings.

Each of my guests received, thanks to Brand About Town, a 2,000 Nintendo Points Card which is good for both the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DSi so that they can download games of their own to their systems when they get home.

Pictured from Left to Right: Rebekah, Christy, me, KH, Liz, Jen.
Not Pictured: Darling (who took this picture), RW (who had to leave early) and two of my other friends who work retail and got called into work.

Thanks to all my friends, Netflix, Nintendo and Brand About Town for making this party a success!

And now, for the giveaway…

I have one Nintendo Points Card worth 2,000 points for one lucky reader allowing you to download anywhere from two to three games (maybe even four if you’re a point miser!) for your Nintendo Wii or DSi through the Wii/DSi Shop Channel. Don’t have a Nintendo system? Makes a great present for friends and kids who have one.

How To enter (earn up to three entries!)

First Entry: leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite video game of all time is.

Second Entry: blog about this giveaway (remember to leave a comment on this post with the link to your blog).

Third Entry: Mention this giveaway on Twitter (remember to leave a comment with the link to your tweet. Please reference #nintendoenthused when tweeting!)

Contest open until June 25th at midnight CDT. Contest open only to residents of USA and Canada; winner will be posted on Monday June 28th and notified via email.

FTC Disclosure:
With the exception of the Netflix subscription, all food, drink, Nintendo Points Cards and a Flip Video Camera were supplied to me by Brand About Town. The opinions in this blog, however, are my own; I was not paid or otherwise compensated to provide a reveiw of the products or party.