Friday, January 07, 2011

First Friday... and a Giveaway

It's here! It's here!

Friday. My favorite day of the week.

Let's eat cupcakes!

These are Maple Walnut cupcakes from my new cookbook.
See... I kept it close just so I could get my own batter stains in it.

These sweet babies are delicious. A very grown-up sort of cupcake if I do say so myself. The frosting is made from real maple syrup (and eggs and LOTS of butter) and it reminds me of the Maple Long-John donuts my parents used to buy when I was a kid.

I remember wondering why they would choose a boring brown donut when the rainbow sprinkled one was clearly so much better. Now I know.

I'm sure you're not here for the cupcakes...

You're here to see what I'm giving away today.

Well, here you go:
Actually, I'm gonna give you a choice (just in case you are not interested in birds and nests...)


I know this might be hard to see...it's a wonderful pastoral setting with a brook and a bridge and a wee little house in the woods,surrounded by flowers and Camellia in bloom.

Both necklaces come on an organza ribbon "chain" with clasp.

So here's what you do....

Leave a comment and tell me about something you love - now or when you were a kid. Then tell me what necklace you want if you win!

You don't have to have a blog, but you do have to have a valid email address. If your comment is a non-reply sort, then I cannot reach you to send you your prize!

If you do have a blog, I would love for you to tell your bloggy friends to join the fun.

I will pick a winner on Monday, January 10, 2011.

If you don't win I will have several necklaces in my etsy shop on Monday for $9.00 a piece (plus $1 shipping and handling).

Good luck!

16 comments:

Sandy M. said...

Something I've ALWAYS loved is anything maple!! So if I win, could I just have the cupcakes? LOL! I love maple iced donuts, maple candy, maple long-Johns, maple ANYTHING!
I would have trouble deciding between the necklaces; the bird reminds me of spring (which can't get here soon enough!); the other one has nice colors & would go with a lot; I like the ribbon on both of them!
IF by chance I win, I won't be able to respond to you until 1/18. And I would HAVE to pick it up IN PERSON... so I'd get a chance to see you!

Tanya (In the Dailies) said...

I actually came for the cupcakes. ;) Recipe, please? They look DELISH! And I love your little pedestal! Too cute.

I'm going to tweet about your giveaway.

Bevg said...

I love the colors brown, green, and purple, so I would pick the second one with the brown ribbon.

Growing up, we loved to play outside - climbing trees, marbles, jump rope, etc. We also played a variety of hide-n-seek games in the dark, with titles like "Ghost comes out at midnight" and "Bloody Murder". Too bad I can't remember all the rules.

Anonymous said...

Those cupcakes totally look amazing!! Can I live closer so we can get together for cupcakes?? oo I love both necklaces.. I love the green and the cute little bird.. but I think I have more things that would match the brown one and I love water.. so the little brook.. adorable! Something I love.. hmmm so many options As a kid I loved the homemade donuts we would make maybe once or twice a year. While my dad would cook the cinnamon sugar donuts Clare and I would eat the raw donut holes covered in cinnamon sugar!

Misty Walker said...

Something I loved as a kid was sitting in the yard as my dad mowed the grass. The smell of the freshly cut blades made me sure I knew Heaven's aroma. I would sit on one side of the lawn and when he finished where he was I would scoot over to the other side. Ahh...I can still remember the damp coolness of the thick St. Augustine grass. (I like them both, but if *forced* to choose, I'd probably go with the bird because the green would look best against my neck - ha!)

Tracey said...

I love bluebirds. I love it when they come back in the winter, just before it snows, to make sure their box is ready for roosting. I love it when they build a nest in March and lay beautiful blue eggs. I love waiting 14 days and watching my kid's excitement build right before the babies hatch. I love watching the mom and dad birds coax their babies out of the nest for their very first flight.

Guess how much I love the bluebird necklace??? :D

Deena said...

These necklaces are so cute! I even really love the bluebird - and birds creep me out a little.

The other one is my favorite - it would go with so many things.

Your cupcakes look delicious! I remember going to the donut shop with my mom when I was a little girl. She always ordered the maple donut and would almost always share a bite. I'd love to have a copy of your cupcake recipe.

Christian Marie said...

This will sound maybe a little strange. I loved my grandmother's vegetable peeler. I remember her singing as she peeled carrots from her garden while standing over her farm house sink. She would then shred the carrots and put them in our salad for dinner. I can still smell the carrots as well as the sweet, hard water smell only found in rural Connecticut.

Dana said...

Yum on the cupcakes and so cute on the necklaces!! Would love to win one!

Gretchen said...

You are such a clever girl. I was gonna type "stinkin' clever", but thought that might show just a hint of jealousy of the wonder of your skilz in EVERYTHING crafty. So I'll leave it at clever. Very.

Lurve the cupcakes, too. My favorite donut when I indulge is either a maple covered cinnamon roll or a salted caramel old fashioned. sigh...I'm just taking a moment...

When I was a kid, there was nothing like licking a batter bowl. I haven't changed, much, but now I have to share. :)

Bird necklace, should i win. I'll have to go shopping tho...Me likes your etsy shop.

Shannon Dingle said...

Ooh, I love them both!

As for something I loved as a child, it would be the woods near our house (a house where my parent still live, but sadly the woods were leveled for condos. grr. not that I'm bitter or anything...). My best friend and I climbed trees and found various creatures and played all sorts of pretend games and walked across the sandbar of the lake (once falling in and having to run around until we dried off so our parents didn't suspect anything, but considering that we weren't yet doing our own laundry at that age, I bet they suspected but never let on!).

Hmm, if I win, I would want the bird one. (Either way, though, I feel like it's a win because of the sweet walk down memory lane. Thanks for the great question!)

Deidre said...

The cupcakes look yummy (and beautiful!). Actually, I'm coveting your cakeplate too ;)

I love the mountains anytime of year. I especially going with my family whether it's hiking, having a picnic or just sitting, it's a very peaceful place.

Gretchen said...

This may sound weird, but I love to have the very first scoop of peanut butter from the jar. After that, I'm not big on the pb, but there's just something wonderful about that first, untainted scoop. :)
I also love winter. Love love love it!!!

If I win... I would totally choose the birdie!

Sandy Ang said...

I love my hobby of paper crafting. It gives me endless hours of joy and creative fun. I just love the birdie necklace !

Anonymous said...

I love the necklaces! I also love that every time we visit Cracker Barrel my daughter retells the story about the time she and my husband went out for breakfast and for some reason he felt the need to shake the tiny maple syrup bottle. It flew out of his hand and flew behind him half-way across the room! No one was injured that day.

shopestewart@gmail.com


Hope

Sara said...

I LOVE babies at 2 months old when they are first smiling and trying so hard to make the smallest little sound!! We just had friends over yesterday with a 9 week old baby and he was working so hard to move those huge cheeks! So amazing to see how God designed us to grow and learn together.
I also LOVE the necklace with the landscape. Hope you are doing well! ~Sara