9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 9!

I can't believe we've reached the last day of our FUN giveaway to kick off 2013!

Thank you so much to all who participated and spread the word! 

There's still time left to enter the following days' giveaways, so don't miss out if you haven't entered yet! 

Day 5 - 1 Year's Subscription to Women's Health from Covered in Grace

Day 6 - Redmond Clay, Daily Detox Capsules & First Aid Cream from Big Apple Mami

Day 7 - 1 Dessert Mix from Pamela's Heavenly Treats

Day 8 - Upgraded Coffee from Baxtron{Life}

Today's Giveaway is one that will help anyone looking for a more Real Foods, probiotic rich diet, get started! 

The winner of this giveaway will have the option of choosing one Starter Culture from Cultures for Health!

Cultures for Health has over 300 products to support a more real foods lifestyle including kefir (both dairy and water), kombucha, sourdough (including a gluten-free option), buttermilk, yogurt and soy.

While I didn't use Cultures for Health when I first started my sourdough and kefir fermenting, they were definitely going to be my backup plan if I couldn't get my own cultures going on my own. It's an easy way to incorporate that extra nutrition and health into your diet!

Have you ever fermented anything? If so, what?

Happy Entering and Good luck!

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9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 8!

Welcome back! This giveaway is wrapping up tomorrow, but there's still plenty of time to enter most of the day's giveaways still! 

You don't want to miss out, so go HERE to enter Day 4-7! And thanks so much for helping spread the word! :)

Today's giveaway is something near and dear to my heart....

COFFEE!!!

(yes, I'm slightly addicted and have no problem admitting it!) :)

Courtney, from Baxtron{Life} is here today giving away a really fun coffee product I'd never even heard of! 

Upgraded Coffee is actually good for you! 

Here are a few reasons why (from their website):

1. It is carefully produced and tested with our proprietary process to target the lowest toxin content vs. normal coffee, so you get all the benefits of coffee without the negative health effects.
2. The beans are harvested from a family-owned estate in Guatemala at high altitude, where the best coffee grows.
3. The estate is Passive Organic and the family that owns it does not allow chemicals (herbicides, pesticides, etc.) It is not economical for Central American boutique coffee estates to become certified organic.
4. They are hand picked by experienced coffee harvesters – skilled people who know how to pick only perfectly ripe berries.
5. Most coffee beans are processed by either leaving them in the sun and elements to wither and spoil as they dry, or by pressing them and letting them ferment (spoil) to remove the outer layer of the bean.  Both of these techniques are known to produce significant levels of mycotoxins as they enhance flavor. Upgraded Coffee beans are processed right after picking using a process that avoids any chance of fermentation.  This more expensive process is safer because it dramatically reduces harmful molds or bacteria from impacting your health.
6. The beans are roasted in small batches by the #1 ranked roaster in United States under the strictest conditions.  Roasting the beans enhances their antioxidant capacity and flavor to provide you with a healthier, tastier cup of coffee.

Sounds good, right? 1 lucky ready will get to try these coffee beans and I'll admit, I'm a wee bit jealous! :) 

Courtney is also kick-starting a Coffee House Tour next month that you don't want to miss 

"Courtney is a Seattle native on a mission to find the best Coffee in NYC!

Learn everything you ever wanted to know about coffee plus things you may not have known.  Rediscover an unadulterated love of coffee purified by the critique of a true Seattle coffee snob.  Interviews, Giveaways, Coffee of the Month club & More!!" 

I'll definitely be tuning in to hear of all her finds next month! :)

Good luck today and don't forget to enter the other giveaways too!! 

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9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 7!

Welcome! It's Day 7 of this very fun giveaway series! Hope you've enjoyed the giveaways so far! 

Today we have the lovely Pamela, from Pamela's Heavenly Treats giving away a mix of your choice from her Esty Shop!

Some of her options include

And those are just a few! Don't they look amazing? 

Pamela is passionate about switching out ingredients to make her treats more healthy without losing the amazing flavor. When I visit her blog, I am almost always drooling when I'm done reading about her newest recipe! 

Good luck on winning one of these mixes! 

And don't forget you can still enter Day 3-9 of the Healthy Giveaway Series HERE

Happy Entering! 

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9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 6!

Welcome to DAY 6!! Hope you've had a chance to enter the previous 5 days of giveaways! Days 2-5 are still live and you can enter HERE, if you haven't already! Good luck! :) Today we have another giveaway from Redmond Real Salt Company!

Not only does this company have Salt...they also have Redmond Clay Their clay is natural bentonite clay extracted from the earth in its pure, natural state and has many healing qualities to it! They offer it in clay form, pre-hydrated gel or easy-to-swallow capsules. It works great at detoxing and healing open wounds!  The clay can be used both externally and internally and internally can help with such things as constipation, heartburn, stomachache, acid reflux and more. As you can see, it's pretty versatile and completely natural!  I love having the first aid clay on hand for cuts, scrape, burns and bites. It's amazing how helpful it is in the healing process without all those extra harmful ingredients other products have.

The Daily Detox Capsules help keep your digestive track on track and gathers toxins and other harmful waste as it goes through your digestive system. Also a great thing to have on hand without those other scary ingredients no one is sure how to pronounce or what they mean without a dictionary.

Hear what other people are saying about the Clay and to learn more about how to use the clay, there is a free download of the book "We Eat Clay (and wear it too)" 3, yes THREE lucky readers will win a clay, capusule and first aid combo set  through today's giveaway!! Yay!! :)  And if you can't wait to win, get the clay directly here today  Good luck and Happy Entering!!  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 5!

Welcome to DAY 5 of our fun giveaway series! 

In case you missed the first 4 days, here's the rundown:

Day 1 - Real Salt Wooden Gift Set (just a few hours left to enter, so hurry hurry!!)

Day 2 - Dish Scrubbies & Swiffer Covers from Singledou[b]t

 Day 3 - Lemon Peppermint Cleaning Scrub from A Modern Hippie

Day 4 - 4 Pack of Pouches from Little Green Pouch

And now....today's giveaway, that comes from the wonderful Brooke, over at Covered in Grace

Brooke explains why she's so excited to give this prize away:

"I've always been a fan of quick reads, lots of photos, and helpful tips, so magazines have been a long-time favorite of mine. I've definitely gone through my fair share of them. But when it comes to health mags, I always find myself picking up Women's Health...over and over. They seem to focus on full-body health and feature stories about women who are living fit and striving for strength. Yah, they have those fun little articles... flat abs fast, better sex tonight, and beauty tips... but overall, I feel like the magazine lives up to its name. I'd love to share this with you all! I hope you enjoy! Xo"

Thanks so much Brooke! What a great giveaway! 

Happy Entering!

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9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 4!

Welcome to DAY 4! We have a really fun giveaway for you today! One that is toddler and mami approved! :)  As you might know, if you're a regular at Big Apple Mami, our youngest, Lucas struggles with many food allergies. His allergies include soy, wheat, dairy, eggs and the lethal one - peanuts. So, as you can imagine,finding food for him to eat when we're on the go is hard and we have to pack almost everything he eats just to be on the safe side. When I discovered the fruit/veggie pouches that many of the major baby food companies have, I was thrilled. They are organic, he loves them and they are super easy and quick (not to mention a lifesaver in Target when he's grumpy and ready to go home!!) But, the price not so great. The cheapest we've found them is for $1.50 per pouch which if you buy several, adds up quickly, and while they are organic, I still always prefer to make my own food (for everyone in the home) if I can. I began looking online to see if I could find a company that made reusable pouches but the ones I did find were super expensive and usually just had 1 or 2 in the package. Not convenient or worth the price. Then, I stumbled upon the Little Green Pouch company. It was exactly what I was looking for, reasonably priced and they sent you 4 to a packet. Hooray!

When I reached out to them to see about reviewing some, they were more than happy to send me a packet for us to try out and generously offered to provide a packet to a lucky reader of the blog as well!  They are really easy to use with little mess and quick cleanup! And on their site, they provide many yummy recipes if you need inspiration, or you could just pop in some homemade applesauce and you're good to go! 

I love that they are reusable, freezer and dishwasher safe and just as easy as the regular pouches to use!  And what's even better? Toddler approved! :)

Great, right?  So happy we have these and so glad I can share this giveaway with you as well!  And don't forget, giveaways for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 are still live! Don't forget to enter to win those amazing prizes as well!  Good luck!  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 3!

I hope you're having fun entering these daily giveaways! I know we're having fun sharing them with you! 

What have you been inspired to do this year that will lead to a greener, cleaner and healthier you?

Today we have another awesome gift up for grabs! Andrea over at A Modern Hippie is here today giving away some really nice Lemon Peppermint Cleaning Scrub! I think this stuff looks amazing and am kind of jealous of the person who will win it! :) 

As you can see, this cleaning scrub can be used on almost anything from your sink, to the tub to counters and more...I'm sure the sky is the limit! And how great will your home smell? 

If you haven't "met" Andrea yet, you must get over to her blog and get to know her. She has a very similar view on all things crunchy that I do and I really enjoy her perspective! Please stop by and say hello and thank her for this great giveaway! 

And if you haven't entered the first two days of this fun fun giveaway, here's your chance! And don't forget to spread the word! :)

  

Happy Entering!

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9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 2!

Welcome to Day 2 of 9 Days of Healthy Giveaways to kick off the New Year!

Today Kim from Singledou[b]t is giving away some household items from her shop, City Girl Creations. 

Have you been wanting to cut down on unneeded waste? Tired of those germy sponges that sit in sink?  City Girl Creations has two great products that will help get rid of unwanted waste and cut down on the germs in the process.

Her dish scrubbies and swiffer covers are great additions to any kitchen.

Her dish scrubbies are knit with a combo of 100% cotton yarn and tule to make a perfect cleaning cloth to fight any tough stain.  They are easy to wash! Just throw them into your laundry and bam you are ready to use again!

She is also giving away a custom made swifter cover.  Knit with a textured pattern, this cover is great at getting at those tough floor stains but gentle enough not to scratch or harm your floors.  You can use these covers wet or dry and can be easily thrown in the laundry for easy and quick cleaning.  

The winner of this prize will win their choice of 3 dish scrubbies or 1 dish scrubby and 1 swiffer cover.  

Thank you so much Kim, for your generous giveaway! Love it when I can keep my home clean and be green at the same time! 

Have you entered to win the wooden gift set from Real Salt from yesterday?
If you haven't, make sure you do!

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9 Days of Healthy Giveaways Day 1!

Welcome to Day 1 of 9 Days of Healthy Giveaways to kick off the New Year! We are so excited that you're here and cannot wait to share all these fun giveaways with you!!    Up first is a gift set of wonderful salts! You may remember last Fall, we had a giveaway  on Big Apple Mami for Redmond Real Salt. Well this giveaway includes the real salt (which I love love love) plus some amazing season salt, onion salt, and garlic salt. I've tried each of these and have loved them all. They have the great flavor of Real Salt + onion, garlic or season salt added, without the junk and it's all organic!  Did you know that your regular table salt or even sea salt can have additives and chemicals? Did you know that salt shouldn't be white? These are a few of the things I learned when I first discovered Real Salt and they are the things that have continued to keep me coming back to it...I haven't purchased another salt since discovering Real Salt and I'm pretty sure I never will. I'm a believer in this stuff and love that it has so many trace minerals that our body needs. Can you tell I love this stuff? :) So, today, for day 1, two...that's right TWO lucky readers will win a wooden gift set of this wonderful salt! 

Happy Entering! Don't forget to check back tomorrow for another great giveaway!  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Spreading the Merry... plus Holiday Gift Ideas for the Family

It all kicked off this week, after an amazing community Thanksgiving dinner with my church family on Saturday evening, the Holidays are here - and our hearts are filled with gladness.  Never in the almost 5 years my husband and I have been married has he ever been the first one to put on Christmas music, but Sunday morning I woke to the smell of hot coffee brewing, and classic Christmas music (plus he was doing the dishes...huge indicator that he was in a great mood).

There is something beautiful about collective thankfulness.  When you hear the stories of what God has done and is doing in people's lives all around you - you catch a greater glimpse of His wonder and beauty and faithfulness.  And then, no matter what struggles or challenges you are currently facing, you recognize that He is good, and He is working for good in all of our lives.  We've been pretty much enjoying elevated moods and hearts full of joy as we look forward to our holiday season.

Tomorrow we take a road trip to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws, it will be the first time in 2 years that Zion has been there to see the whole family.  She is so excited to go on a road trip and to visit Grandma & Grandpa at their house.  Jerry and I are equally thrilled.  We anticipate bellies full of the Mom & Dad's good cooking, lots of movie watching, tons of laughter and cheer and warm reunions with family we don't see as much as we'd like.  Saturday will be spent cheering on the Ohio State Buckeyes as they demolish their rival that shall not be named or given mention on my blog.  Finally, Monday we will depart early to return to our home.

But the holiday cheer will just continue to build as I host my first Ladies Christmas Social over the weekend.  I've invited my favorite ladies to come spend a couple hours enjoying warm drinks and sweet and savory treats while socializing one last time before I leave NYC to head home.  And that brings me to my big travel adventure - Zion and I will be heading to Seattle to stay with my family the first week of December, through New Year's!  I can't even begin to tell you the excitement and anticipation there.  Over three weeks of time spent enjoying my family and visiting with my sisters who I miss like crazy.  Of course Jerry will join us a couple weeks later, for Christmas and the rest of the fun.  Yep, my heart has so much to look forward to in the coming weeks, and yet so much I'm already incredibly grateful for in the present moment.  I love this time of year!!

Now onto this year's gift wish lists as well as a fun chance to win some Amazon giftcodes to help you in your holiday shopping!

1.  Parka 2. WurkinStiffs Power Stays 3. New Shoes 4. Gaming System

1. Gloves 2. Puffy Coat 3. Boots 4. Makeup 5. Polish 6. Small Purse

1. Wood Educational Toys 2. Play Kitchen 3. Basketball Hoop 4. Music Instruments 5. Doctor Set

And now for your chance to win some Amazon giftcodes for your holiday purchases via BabyHuddle!

To win some extra holiday cash to use via Amazon - simply do the following:

1. Create a profile on Babyhuddle US and make sure you include a profile picture.
2. Create at least one list with a list description and 7 products in the list with product annotations (note on what you like about the product).  You can see my examples here and here!
3. Share your lists with your friends & networks to get "helpful" votes.

Participants will have the chance to win one of three Amazon vouchers for creating the best list. A list must include a description and at least 7 products with product annotations. The list with the most helpful votes will win the prizes:

1. List with the most helpful votes wins $50
2. List with the 2nd most helpful votes wins $30
3. LIst with the 3rd most helpful votes wins $10

Also there is the added bonus that the user who creates the first list automatically wins a $10 Amazon voucher.

ENTER HERE!

Good Luck & Happy Entering!! Share your list with me in the comments below and I'll visit and give you a helpful vote!!

Terms and Conditions:

• Contest will last for 2 weeks only and end on December 4, 2012.
• Winners will be chosen in order of participants with most helpful votes. In a tie situation the winner will be determined by Babyhuddle.
• All participants must create a profile on Babyhuddle US using this unique link (http://us.babyhuddle.com/account/signup/?cid=Baxtron) and include a profile picture. They must create at least one list with a list description and 7 products in the list with product annotations.
• Participants must be based in the United States of America.
• First participant to create an account on Babyhuddle US with a profile picture and create a list with a list description and inclusive of at least 7 products with product annotations will automatically win a $10 Amazon voucher.
• All Amazon vouchers cannot be traded for cash.

Winners & Ad Space Claimers

Hey lovelies!! Woohooo! I'm finally back with the winner of the Lauren Nicole Gifts $75 Shop Credit, and all of the official ad space claimers from the Birthday/Blog Anniversary Giveaway in early September!

Winner of the Lauren Nicole Gifts Giveaway:

Congrats Lesley R! 

Can't wait to find out what you choose from this great shop! 

 Thank you to all who entered!!

And now the ad space claimers from my 1st Blog Anniversary:'

Warning - totally unnecessary to watch this video!

December Ads:
Loveliest -
Ashley M.

Lovelier - 
Brittney L.
Ashley K.
Erin B.
Jessica S.

Lovely - 
Emily R.
Diana Z.
Sarah F.

Most Lovely - 
Jessica B.
Jennifer N.

January Ads:
Loveliest -
Courtney D.
Ang P.

Lovelier -
Brighton H.
DeAnn P.

Lovely -
Sarah-Louise B.
Amber M.
Brittany H.
Kassie R.
Sara V.

Most Lovely -
Krystal B.
Melissa P.

February Ads:
Loveliest -
Kimberly
Chelsea O.

Most Lovely -
Kelly H.


All of you will be emailed this evening - and totally your responsibility to claim your ad space via the instructions I send! Thank you to all who entered and participated! XO

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Loveliest Featurette + Giveaway Taylor from Goings on in Texas

I have the best treat for you guys today.  I'm so excited I am literally giddy as I'm typing this!  Not only is this the first time I've EVER done something like this, I think its been one of the funnest posts I've ever worked on...ever!

I had the awesome privilege of live interviewing Taylor from Goings on in Texas, and let me just tell you - it was a blast, and I can't wait to do more of these kinds of interviews in the future.  Not only is Taylor a total sweetheart - but she has one of the coolest job titles I've ever heard, Petroleum Landman!

Watch her awesome interview, I know you will love meeting her as much as I did, and then check out the details on how you can win the awesome giveaway she has for you today!

Links from the video:

Celebrate! // The Truth // Color in Motion 5k // DFW Bloggers // FabulessWardrobe

One winner takes all of these awesome prizes!!!  Enter via the Rafflecopter below!  Good luck!!

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Taylor is one of my Loveliest sponsors in October & November.  Would you like to be a part of a feature interview on BaxtronLife?  Save 15% on a Loveliest Ad using code: LOVELY15 !!