Giveaway: 5 Prizes // 1 Winner

I'm really excited to be teaming up with Whitney of Keeping Up with the Cypert's and four other bloggers.  She's doing a giveaway to mark the unveiling of her brand new blog design.  Go check it out.  Her and her husband designed it together and it's really cute.  I'm thrilled that she asked me to join in for what will be my first group giveaway.  When I did mine last month I realized how much fun it it is!  I'm not a big fan of overly complicated giveaways by fifty million bloggers that don't explain the rules.  Do I really have to follow all 50 blogs? There are only 5 of us, we kept it simple and the rules are clearly stated. The only mandatory entry is to follow the host blogs via GFC and any extra to get more entries is up to you.  Yes, we know there is that chance you might drop us all like a hot potatoes after the winner is announced but if you think you might be interested in our blogs at least this gives us a chance to woo you and hopefully you'll decide to stick around.  If you haven't entered yet please do!  These are great prizes and you don't wanna miss out.  Use rafflecopter below to complete your entry.

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$20 Starbucks Gift Card from me

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2 Pairs of Lauren Conrad Earrings from 
Whitney @Keeping Up with the Cyperts

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$25 i Tunes Gift Card from
Meighan @Heavens to Meighan


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Free Add Space from
Katie @My Darling Days

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 $25 Gift Card from 
Faith @ Life, Love & Marriage


Prize:

$20 Starbucks Gift Card 

$25 i Tunes Gift Card
$25 Target Gift Card
2 pairs of Lauren Conrad earrings
Blog Add Space
   
Entry Period:

Last day to enter is Sunday, January 27th 

How to Enter-Mandatory:

Follow all host blogs via GFC
Additional entries to increase your chance of winning are optional

a Rafflecopter giveaway



 

The Weekend

I love Saturday mornings that I don't have to clean.  After waking up and NOT cleaning I spent a leisurely morning bumming around the house.  At around 3pm we went to a wine tasting at The Wine Bank downtown.  Another Groupon date of many over the last month.  Some people complain about not getting out enough with their spouse.  We don't have that problem!  I went Groupon crazy for a while buying them right and left but then not using them right away so that a bunch of them were expiring in December and January.  I had to actually put them on my calendar to keep track of what expired and when to be sure that we made time to use them all.  At the tasting we got five pours plus an extra of our favorite.  We brought some smoked mozzarella cheese and crackers to go along with it and ate the whole block! Yeah, we both really love cheese.  We bought a bottle of white Argentinean wine to take home. After that we went out to dinner at a seafood restaurant.  I don't eat seafood plus I was so full that I just got a side salad.  Mj didn't like the seafood entree that he ordered so he sent it back and ended up with a Chicken and Rice bowl so neither of us actually ate any seafood at the seafood restaurant. 

Sunday my mom, sister and nephew came down.   We watched football most of the day.  Mj left to watch the 1st game at a friend's house then later that night we all watched a movie together.  It's so much fun when they spend the night. Mj didn't get Monday off so I felt bad for him when he had to get up.  Instead of going to work I went to Reformer Pilates.  I finally got to take the barre class that's only offered when I'm at work.  The weather was 75-80 all weekend long and it felt really good to be wearing flip flops in January.  I got accused of bragging about it on Facebook.  Sorry, can't help it!  We went out to lunch and sat outside.  I closed my eyes and turned my face up to the sun.  It was so relaxing.  

I don't know where the time went.  Next thing I knew it was 7 o'clock and time for my family to hit the road for home.  Boo!!  At least it's a short work week.

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I'm part of an awesome group giveaway with great prizes that you do not want to miss.  Trust me.  check it out here at Keeping Up with the Cyperts.

Confessional Friday

I confess that I was really excited when I went to our free company EAP health screening and found that my body age is 19!  This is calculated by using height, weight, body fat, blood pressure and a bunch of other things.  I don't want to actually be 19 anymore but my body can stay that age for as long as it wants to.  My diet may not always be perfect but I must be doing SOMETHING right.

A shot I got in Amsterdam @this adorable Pancake House

I confess that our Rebel Canon camera makes me feel like a professional photographer even though I am absolutely not. There is something so satisfying about the sound and feel of that powerful shutter clicking in fast succession. I start adjusting the zoom lens and trying for different angles and the next thing you know I feel like I'm doing a photo shoot. I still haven't read the manual so I suppose I have no idea what I'm doing but it sure is fun. 

I confess that I'm a fruity gum chain chewer.  Those fruity flavors like Trident Layers Wild Strawberry and Extra Dessert Delights Lemon square sure are bursting with flavor when you first pop them in your mouth but in less then 45 minutes they have fallen flat and tasteless.  I spit it right out and pop in another.  I buy them in multi-packs whenever possible because I go through them so quickly.

Link up with Leslie @A Blonde Ambition

I confess that we watched four seasons of Son's of Anarchy in about 3 weeks on Netflix.  It takes a lot of dedication to do this.  We typically watched no less then 2 per night and our last episode was often viewed in bed on the i pad.

I confess that I'm so excited that House Hunters is back with new episodes.  I've been loving having a new episode in my queue every day.  Mj got sick of this show a long time ago but I still love it.

I confess that I love shopping but I literally shopped 'till I dropped.  I actually got tired of hunting for items I'd decided that I had to have in stores and online and trying to decide what to buy.  I'm done for now anyways and my bank account thanks me.  I've gotta start saving up for our next vacation and car maintenance stuff that is on the horizon.

I confess that I've had a sandwich for dinner every day this week.  Monday, PBJ.  Tuesday, Roast Beef sub from Capriotti's with a Groupon.  Wednesday, the other half of the Roast Beef sub.  Thursday, PBJ.  And today??  I got my way and Mj agreed to either Subway or Capriotti's for dinner tonight.  If we go with Subway it'll be low fat and if it's Cap's then it will be a major sandwich splurge; The Italian.  What can I say?  I love bread and I love sandwiches!!

I'm really looking forward to a sunny 70 something degree three day weekend.  Happy Friday!!

Luxury Cinema Date Night

The cost of movie tickets has gone up so much over the years.  By the time you pay $12 per person to get in and spend over $20 on popcorn, drinks and candy it's turned into a very expensive night out.  When we go we usually buy snacks and drinks at Target before we go and smuggle it in.  So if you think that's bad imagine paying $19.50 for movie tickets.  On Saturday night we did just that.   There's a luxury movie theater called Cinepolis where you pay a lot more then the average movie ticket price but you also get a lot more.  We've been meaning to try it out for about 2 years and just finally got around to it.

You have to make advance reservations on line for an assigned seat.  The movie selection is also a little limited just because they only have 8 theater's.  When you walk in it looks more like a trendy restaurant than a movie theater.  There is a bar on the left and a room full of tables so you can enjoy a drink or snack before your movie.  We met a couple there for a quick drink before ours.  Instead of your average movie seat you get a giant leather recliner and they are set up in pairs.   There are about 7 pairs per row.  We walked to our seat, kicked off our shoes and pushed the button that reclines our seat.   Then the waiter came around and took our order.  Most of the food is fairly low maintenance which makes sense because you are essentially eating in the dark.  They have things like wraps, onion rings, paninis and Sushi.  There was Chocolate Molten Lava cake for dessert among other things.  They also have gourmet popcorn and typical movie candy.  The food prices were surprisingly reasonable.  We ordered mini corn dogs as an appetizer.  I splurged and got the Caesar salad.  Yes,  this is a splurge because I normally won't touch full fat dressing.  Mj got the Burger and fries.  There is a little table that slides over for you to eat your food.  We saw Django and it was really good.  Classic Quentin Tarantino touches but in a totally different setting then you would ever expect.  We both really liked it.

So was it worth $19.50?  Call me crazy and I know it's totally excessive but I actually say yes.  It's a novelty and you're paying for that along with the extra amenities.  The price is steep but it was absolutely the best movie watching experience ever!  Django is a long movie and my butt never got tired once.  It was so cozy being able to cuddle up comfortably with Mj.  You feel like you're at home but you're not.  Why not stay home then for free right?  Well, it was a fun and different date night for us to go out and do together.  It's not something we'll do every time or even every other time we go to the movies.  That would be ridiculous.  We're not rich.  It would just be an every so often kind of thing but we definitely plan on going back.