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!

Free Writing for Free Stuff

I'm at a loss for good content today.

How about a little free-writing.

You, not me.

Here is your question (borrowed from BraveWriter April 2010-Archives):

Tell me in 15 words or less....

What was the longest time you waited for someone or something? Why did you wait?

Come on, I know you wanna play. Maybe I'll even throw in a giveaway prize.

How about a cupcake crochet pin cushion?

Or...an applique hand towel?

You can double you chances and enter twice if you link this post on your blog or send a link on Twitter.

Be sure to let me know your prize preference in your comment.
Comments will be open until tomorrow (June 22) @ noon.
(Must be within the US and Canada, and have a valid email address to win!)

And The Winner Is...

Last week was fun for me! 

I know you are just dying to know who won but I thought I might give you the links to the posts I had pulled my questions from. 

My favorite flavor m&m: Yellow

My favorite NASCAR car: Tampax

My favorite heating blanket: Cookie (having trouble finding this one myself, but that's the answer!)

The tradition I tried to do on my own: Tamale Making. And here was was the fruit of that endeavor. They were terrible, way too salty.

Last but not least the elusive "Action Hero" link. I think I may have led some of you astray! The Mister informed me that Mami, Dora the Explorers mother, is in fact, NOT an action hero. He said action figures are more like people who save others in the face of danger.

I agree. What is more dangerous than parenting a preschooler? Especially if said preschooler is a bilingual traveler who talks to monkeys and backpacks. I'm just sayin'. 

Anywho, the person who answered all the answers correctly was Lauren H.! 

Congrats Lauren! You have won an apron and a pound of my favorite coffee! Email me and let me know your address....I am pretty sure I know who you are, but email me anyway!  ;)

The consolation prize goes to Adrienne for guessing that I was Mrs. Incredible...cuz really that would be fun.

We sort of have the same haircut!

So Adrienne, send me your addy and I'll get some surprise sent to you speedy-quick!

Thanks y'all for playing! It was fun!

(Raising my new blue coffee mug with my initials on it)

Here's to the next four years!

They Say Its My (Blog) Birthday...

....(So around here) It's Your Blog Birthday Too!!

It's going to be a great weekend! 

I was unable to get on the computer yesterday for your fifth and final question. So today I am going to give you a hint, but the question is a two-parter.

Here's the question: Growing up we had a family tradition. Over the years this tradition has NEVER happened without a certain story being told: What is that tradition? Why did I decided to try that tradition on my own?

And the other questions this week were:

What is my favorite flavor m&m?

What is the name of my fave winter heating blanket?

What is my favorite NASCAR car?

Who is my look alike action figure?

Now, if you have had trouble finding the answers to these questions, that's OK! There will still be a consolation prize for those who can make up answers that will make us all laugh.

(But for those of you who found this blog under the R-rated Google search words, you are automatically disqualified. I will not post comments that are inappropriate. Just bein' clear.)

For those of you who know the answer to all six questions (and those who will try to guess), give me your answers in the comments below. I will keep the comments open until 3pm (EST) Monday, July 13. I will then randomly choose a winner for the prize.

Wanna know what you're going to win? Well, you are going to win a La Vida Dulce original apron of your choice, and a pound of the coffee that the H-E-B People say is "close" to the original coffee called La Vida Dulce, the coffee this blog was named after. 

Consolation Prize? Well, that will be a surprise....I'll have to see what I've got around here, but it would be worth commenting because I like to give nice gifts, I'm just sayin'.

Also, you may see that things around here are looking a little different. Jo-Lynne of Musings of a Housewife and DCRDesign, did the green and burgundy design a little over a year ago. She had just started her business and I was one of her first clients. I've loved the work Jo-Lynne did!

This year, Jackie from Our Moments Our Memories opened her blog design business, Memories by Design. I have read Jackie's blog for over a year now and I really wanted to support her new endeavor, as I had Jo-Lynne's when she was a new designer. 

So that's what I did. 

By the time this posts, my new "look" may be visible. I am so pleased with the new design, and Jackie is just great to work with! If you have the desire to get some bloggy style, go check out her design site. (If the new design isn't up yet, please come back soon to check it out!)

I have got to get to swimming Championships this morning, and i'll be there all day. can't wait to get home and see who's dropped by the party!

Disclaimer: Since the choice of apron will be of your choosing, it will not be ready until the first week of September (I am about to be on vacation for a month). You do not have to a blog to win. But you do have to have a valid email address. 

Party Like Its 1999

Y'all, really. Sometimes life is just neat.

This week has been one fun event after the other. 

On Tuesday my cousin Emily and her sweet family came to stay for one night, and it was just fun to have them over. 

It was surreal to see The Girl playing with the baby and realizing that when Emily was born, I was exactly The Girls age. 

Now, here we are... old enough to travel alone, and own homes, and have babies...and what's more, getting the opportunity to share our lives with each other.  Its precious.

Then, last night while I sat in the cool summer breeze with The CarpoolQueen and Whimzie, sipping latte's and receiving sweet Tweets from our Blogger Gals around the country, I just felt happy.

This meeting marked the third time I have had the opportunity to meet someone I have "known" through this blog.

At one moment I was listening to Whimzie's soft southern drawl, and I was overwhelmed with how sweet life can be. 

I am about to say something that may sound like a back-handed compliment: Whimzie is exactly how she sounds on the blog, only better. 

Meeting her in person was a privilege because it completed an already beautifully painted picture. She's wonderful on the blog, but it cannot hold a candle to meeting her "for real". 

I loved hearing about her life, some past and some present. But what was really fun was watching CPQ and Whimz interact with each other, tell stories on each other, and laugh at each other. They've lived some life together and its made them strong women, and abiding friends. 

I was sad that the evening went so quickly. I hope we get to hang out again soon.

However, the party goes on and on here at the La Vida house!  I didn't have the opportunity to post yesterday, so I will give you two question today. An easy question, and a more challenging question:

Easy: What is my favorite NASCAR car?

Hard: Who is my look-alike action figure? (you'll have to go way back in the archives for this one)

Remember, don't answer the question today! Wait until Saturday (July 12th) to give me all five answers to be entered into the Giveaway!

La Vida Dulce!

The Party Is Just Starting

My day is completely crazy today, what with the memorial service and all....

Just kidding. I refuse to play a part in that debacle.

I have enough craziness in life.

Anyway, I am going to be away from the computer today, but I know you are just DYING to know what the La Vida Dulce Birthday Giveaway question is for today. So here you go:

What is the name of my favorite winter (heating) blanket?

Have a great day!

Happy Monday!

Oh the loveliness of holiday weekends! I just hated to see it end.

But here I am on this Monday-ist of Monday mornings.

The good news is that this week is chock full of fun things to come! There will be out of town guests, and dinner with bloggy friends, and a production of the Wizard of Oz (we'll find out which part The Girl gets to play this afternoon). There will be doctors appointments and swim championships, and all the little things in between.

But the Best News of All?

I'm celebrating my Bloggy Birthday this week! 

Next Saturday I will be celebrating 4 years of bloggy success. 

Each day I will be asking a La Vida Dulce trivia question. 

On Saturday, July 12, I will give you a chance to give me the answers to those five questions. You can post the answers to my comments on Saturday and those with five correct answers will be put in a drawing for an original La Vida Dulce Giveaway!

Mondays Question: What is the CoffeeGals favorite flavor m&m? 

(Hint: If you are relatively new to La Vida Dulce you may need to do a search. The search box is up there at the left hand corner...the answer is in one of my Random Polls.)

Remember, don't answer the question today! Wait until Saturday to give me all five answers to be entered into the Giveaway!

However, I don't want you to walk away with having the opportunity to comment...I started this blog to keep up with friends I had moved away from. If you blog, why did you start?

Happy Monday!

Giveaway Winner!

Wow! I loved this giveaway.

The last time I gave something away I had over 800 comments and that was fun. But, this time I really enjoyed reading all 168 comments, because you took the time to really tell me what you love!  That was a treat for me.

So, I drew a random number, I think it was like 96, or something, and it turned out that my Mom was the winner.  So I called her and let her know that I couldn't give her the apron because that might look a little suspicious. She said she understood, but as a consolation gift she got to choose the winner by giving me a random number. 

That random number was 35.

So Four is Crazy, you are the winner of the La Vida Dulce Apron!

Please email me me your snail mail address and I will get that mailed to you soon!

Thanks again for participating!

La Vida Dulce!

Bloggy Giveaway Time! *comments closed*

I love the Bloggy Giveaway. And I love aprons. 

I would love to give away this apron.

If you want a chance to win, leave a comment telling me what you love. Just remember, this is a family friendly blog.

Once you have a left a comment then go check out what others are giving away and sign up there too! I will choose a winner on the morning of Saturday, November 1st.

The Good News? You don't have to be a blogger to participate! But you do have to have a valid email address.

The Bad News? I'm sorry, but I can only mail to addresses in the US and Canada.

La Vida Dulce!

Bloggy Giveaway Time! *comments closed*

Hooray! It's here! The Bloggy giveaway hosted by Bloggy Giveaway.

I am giving this handmade pink and white apron:

It's made from bar towels but has the look of chenille.

Leave a comment and then go check out what others are giving away and sign up there too! I will use a random number generator on the morning of Saturday, March 25th to pick the winner.

The Good News? You don't have to be a blogger to participate! But you do have to have a valid email address.

The Bad News? I'm sorry, but I can only mail to addresses in the US and Canada.

La Vida Dulce!