WE HAVE OUR WINNER!

CONGRATULATIONS Cheryl H.!
You have won two fabulous One Thread Fair Trade Pillow Covers, gracieuseté of Cambria Cove.

The winner was selected at random using the Random Integer Generator. This giveaway CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED but do subscribe via RSS or email to get updates on new giveaways as they get posted. Thank you all for playing!

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Thank you Cambria Cove for offering this fabulous giveaway of TWO beautiful One Thread Fair Trade™ pillow covers. I am particularly proud to be bringing you this giveaway as it features two of my favorite businesses. First, Cambria Cove, the delightful gift catalog and website (our article here) which only features carefully hand-picked, beautiful objects each perfect for meaningful gift giving.  And, now featured in the Cambria Cove catalog, One Thread Fair Trade™ (our article here) , the design firm that provides work to abused and impoverished women in India and improves their lives and that of their families.

You can find these magnificent decorative pillow covers on Cambria Cove’s website here or on page 41 of their catalog.

All you need to do register your entry for this giveaway is to let us know, by posting a comment below, which two pillows ($95 each) you would pick if you were to win this giveaway. It’s ok for you to get lost while you visit Cambria Cove (this will undoubtedly happen as you discover all their beautiful wares). We’ll be here waiting.

This giveaway is open until Sept 30 @ 11:59am PST. Usual giveaway rules are: One entry per person. The winner will be chosen at random using a random integer generator. Your information is confidential and used for this giveaway only. Multiple entries will be deleted. Valid in US or Canada.

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor

I went to Italy with a girlfriend of mine last spring.  Lori was there to do research for her book and I gladly tagged along as her, ahem, “research assistant”. Lori has traveled to Italy on many occasions and is quite familiar with the Italian fare. She introduced me to the Italians’ answer to sparkling wine: Prosecco is dry, lemony and frizzante! I was hooked on my first sip. It was a perfect drink after a full day of walking around Rome. Italians consider it the ideal apperitivo. It is also, of course, used to make their famous cocktail, the Bellini.

Prosecco is created predominately with Prosecco grapes that grow in the foothills of the Alps, in the Northern Veneto region of Italy. It’s is light, fun and very affordable. It is now becoming widely available in stores and restaurants here in the United States and Canada. I can find a good bottle starting at $5.99, like Zonin sold at Trader Joe’s. Most brands are very good and under $20. I have never had a bad tasting Prosecco yet, since the grapes used are consistent and the production techniques vastly improved over previous years, all of which certainly accounts for the new popularity of this wine. Unlike, champagne, however, Prosecco does not age well and should be enjoyed within 2 years of being bottled. Compared to other sparkling wines, Prosecco is lower in alcohol, about 11 to 12 percent.

So, go out and get a bottle. Enjoy it with a friend.  Have a toast to the kids being back in school (not a minute too soon) and/or imagine yourself in Rome sipping Prosecco in one of the famous piazzas.

By Natalie Greggain, Contributing Raw Food Editor

If you read my last article on Raw Foodism (here), you are well aware that I am a firm believer of balance in your life. In my opinion, you will only ever be able to truly enjoy the succulent things in life once you have your health figured out. You need to get to a place where you can feel good about yourself every single day and develop a lifestyle that does that for you; that would be one where you’re not constantly counting calories or constantly feeling hungry.

Getting there can take a lot of hard work. You need to find a form of exercise that you can do regularly and you know you will stick with. For me, that’s yoga. For others, it’s running, swimming, walking, kick boxing, etc. But whatever it is, it has to be something. Next, you need to figure out your eating practice. What we put in our bodies has such a drastic effect on how we look and feel. It’s very easy to eat unhealthy foods – they’re thrown in our faces EVERYWHERE. But personally, I feel extremely unhappy when I am eating crappy or fatty foods. At the same time, I think it’s very easy to eat healthy foods. However, the hard part is figuring out what types of healthy foods or healthy “diets” work best with your body and your lifestyle. It often requires that you gain a lot of knowledge on a lot of different theories and do some testing on your own body to see how it reacts to those dietary changes. I’ve tested out a few theories and I am happy to say that I feel as though I have figured out what types of foods my body needs to maintain healthy operation. By the way, the best sign of a healthy body is regular, healthy bowel movements. I’m talking once or twice a day, very easy to pass, on the large size. If your digestion isn’t healthy and regular, then something inside is not happy and you have some serious figuring out to do! So get to work!

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I am deeply embarrassed to be sharing this but I can’t help myself. If you haven’t heard of it already, you might want to visit the website that pretty much everyone will be talking about real soon: PeopleofWalmart.com.

It’s just not not right to make fun of people like this. I know. But, when I came across this site last night I was, at the same time, completely appalled and folded over laughing. Yes, this is happening in our very own country.

The really admirable part of this website (as if that was of any relevance) is that it was launched less than a month ago and has already attained gigantic viral status. I can’t help but admire the genius that comes up with this seemingly simple concept that strikes a chord in everyone.

From the People of Walmart About Us page: ” This is purely for entertainment purposes and strictly limited to the outrageously bad / ugly / creepy / crazy shoppers….We are trying to have some fun here and there is a difference between someone who is mentally challenged and a person who has a fu Manchu and is still rocking MC Hammer pants.“  BTW, they are in no way affiliated with Wal-Mart who’s PR department must be having a field day.

I’ve always disliked shopping at Walmart and avoid it at all cost. I could never quite verbalize the “why”. I guess that this little photo album fully illustrates the energy of the place.

Congrats to the three young men who launched the site. I’m sure that they won’t be running out of material any time soon.

By Shari Bonnin, Contributing Editor

Maybe you’re like me and haven’t quite got the whole layers, cropping, lassoing and all other Photoshop intricacies and just want to find easy ways to achieve certain effects with photos or maybe you are great at Photoshop but want some shortcuts.

Recently I’ve become very nostalgic because of Facebook; re-connecting with many old friends, digging into my old photo boxes, pulling out my Polaroids and thinking how cool that would be to be able to have that look again. Well, I’ve done some research, and here are some *FREE* photo effect websites that can help you give those photos those old effects and they are really addictive. You’ve been warned. So set aside half of a morning, or more, and go play.

Poladroid.net is a free downloaded application for Mac and Windows. This is the only website I’m posting here that you actually have to download to your computer.
There is only one option once you drag and drop your original photo into the “Poladroid camera” but I’m sure you’ll be pleased with it, thumbprints, scratches, and all. The photo “develops” slowly before your eyes like an original Polaroid. That’s what makes it fun. Oh also, you can only “develop” 10 pictures per session, just like in the original Polaroid camera cartridge. There is a free demo on their site if you want to watch it in action.

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So, my husband and my kids, and certain friends are quite certain that I have a “thing”, that I am obsessed, fixated on… vacuum cleaners. The stick, cordless, kind of vacuum. I know. So NOT succulent. “But if they made one that worked…” is my defense.

And, I know that I’m not the only one. While at the vet’s office the other day, I spotted one the assistant’s emerging from a consultation room with her little stick vac. I had to ask about it. The whole front office crew got in on the conversation or, shall I say, the lament. We had tried them all – among them, the Dirt Devil Vacuum Broom, the Swivel Sweeper, even an Oreck commercial cordless vacuum. All with equal disappointment and wasted investment. I asked the crew about one that I had fawned over while at Lowe’s the other day: The Electrolux ErgoRapido. “Ah yes, we’ve heard about that one but haven’t tried it. Why don’t you let us know”. Passing the buck is an understandable reaction after such a series of letdowns.

I broke down and got it over the weekend. I think that I may have well cured my obsession. The Electrolux ErgoRapido, seems to be the answer to all my vacuum prayers:

• It’s a two in one, with a stick/handheld combo. Only one thing to plug in. Cool.
• The handheld has crevice and dusting tools (you know, for when I need to delegate such tasks).
• It has a swivel head, so I can dance behind it though I don’t always wear heels when doing so.
• It’s cute and looks like it was designed this century. Mine is lime green, but I’ve seen them in black, pink and orange.

I’ve read in one negative review that the battery charge doesn’t hold after a while. I don’t know about that yet. The rest of the reviews are practically glowing. So far my little Ergo is almost self-propelled and I’m in love. I prefer to use it on bare floors as it drags a bit on carpets but still does the job.

Seems like my obsession has turned to infatuation. I’m sure that my family will learn to deal with it. Oh, and I’ll need to tell the ladies at the vet’s office.

Sells for anywhere from $89.99 to $99.99 in a variety of retail locations, including Costco and Amazon.

When I moved to the US from Canada about 15 years ago, I was delighted to see how every holiday became an opportunity to decorate everything in sight for the specific occasion… House, office, personal attire (The fact that I quickly grew tired of this custom is a whole other affair). But still, I always wondered why, aside from the occasional holiday wreath on the truck grill or the wedding froufrou ornamentation, cars were not decorated.

But here comes along Tonya of TonyaBug who takes her vehicle adornments very seriously – in a totally fun and colorful way. And thank goodness that her designs are totally girly. No spewing flames or stenciled stripes here. Nary a kitschy Santa or Valentine cupid in sight either. Just blooms all year long, something that is particularly appreciated in the grey winter months. Always in season, I’d say.

You can view her designs here in her Etsy shop.