**GIVEAWAY WINNERS** - Have a Little Faith

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I received not one but five autographed Faith Hill Christmas CDs.... so the following five numbers were drawn by random.org

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

27 - Sandra
6 - Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane
61 - Ms. Mayhem
7 - Jennifer (Mom of Four)
12 - TCP
Timestamp: 2008-10-17 15:00:01 UTC

Please email me at JillianInc (at) yahoo (dot) com with your mailing address. I will drop them in the mail this weekend.

Thank you to everyone who visited and left a comment. I wish I had one for everybody.

Have a Little Faith **GIVEAWAY**

On a whim last week I emailed a famous singing friend in Nashville to ask her if she might have a new Christmas CD coming out.

She wrote back: No Christmas CD for me this year, but Faith has a new CD and it's fabulous (and so is the dress she's wearing on the cover). I'll send you a couple and maybe I can even get the girl to autograph them.

I thought it would be fun to give away one of those autographed CDs right here on my little blog.

All you have to do is leave a comment (one per person, please) and I'll draw a name using a random number generator on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Let the holiday fun begin.

Doubly Good Week Giveaway Winners

What a fun week! You all made my Blogiversary Celebration so much fun. Thanks for commenting and visiting me this week.

Without further ado, here are giveaway winners. Please email me at jillianinc at yahoo dot com with your mailing address and I will get them in the mail this week.

(Chalk one up for me - except for the books and Vera, I have everything here on my desk waiting to be mailed. A small miracle in advanced planning and organization.)

$10 Starbucks card
#22 - Pink Potpourri
#35 - Lauren @ Baseballs and Bows

$25 Target Card
#4 - Caffiene Court
#50 - Lisa@ Take 90 West

$25 Borders Card + book of your choice (make sure to let me know the book you want!)
#34 - Tammy
#40 - 5 Bickies

$50 JCrew card
#11 - Pink in a Sea of Blue
#25 - Buford Betty

Vera Hipster (let me know if you have a pattern preference or want me to choose!)
#7 - Just Mom
#12 - Maggi

2 Year Blogiversary - Doubly Good Week (Day #5)

Well, we've made it. Five days of giveaways and I've had so much fun!

Today's Doubly Good Giveaway is a Vera Bradley Hipster Bag. (Two people will each receive a hipster). Winner can specify a pattern or let me choose.



Thank you so much for celebrating with me this week!

Tune in Saturday to see who has been chosen.

2 Year Blogiversary - Doubly Good Week (Day #4)

I'm so excited about today's giveaway that I would love to win it.

It comes courtesy of my newly found old college friend who works at JCrew.

He placed another mirror order with me recently and I told him it would be $xxxx.xx plus pretty please with monogramming on top would he slip me some gift cards to give to my blogging friends.

So, he did.

Today's Doubly Good Giveaway is two $50 gift cards to JCrew (2 people will each receive one $50 card).

Just in time for fall y'all!

Good luck!

2 Year Blogiversary - Doubly Good Week (Day #3)

Here we are again - Day three of my 2nd Blogiversary Celebration.

I'm having so much fun reading your comments and meeting many new bloggers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for visiting and helping me celebrate.

See the posts below for the scoop on participating.

Today's Doubly Good Giveaway is two $25 Border's gift cards plus a book of your choice. (Two people will each receive the card + book).

Now's your chance to pick up a couple books you've been wanting.

Thanks again and good luck!

See you tomorrow for something very fashionable!

2 Year Blogiversary - Doubly Good Week (Day 2)

Thanks for joining me for my 2nd Blogiversary week!

If you missed yesterday's post... I'm celebrating two years of blogging by hosting giveaways this week.

Here's the scoop:

1. Each day this week, Monday through Friday, I'll post a new giveaway.

2. I will pick two people to get each day's goodie, using a random number generator.

3. You can enter each day, and possibly win more than once.

4. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. One comment per person per day please. To win a particular giveaway, you must comment on that specific day.

5. Tell your friends. Invite them over. The more the merrier.

6. I will pick all of the recipients for the entire week on Saturday morning, August 2, and post the names that day.

Today's Doubly Good Giveaway is two $25 Target gift cards. (Two people will each win a $25 card).

Personally, I can spend $25 at Target before I even get my cart facing the right direction. I'll bet a few of you can relate.

Thanks again for stopping by to help me celebrate.

See you tomorrow!

2 Year Blogiversary - Doubly Good Week (Day 1)

Time certainly does fly when you're having fun!

Tomorrow marks my two year blogiversary. It seems like just yesterday I wrote my very first post.

I really had no idea how much I'd grow to love blogging, how much I'd grow to love reading blogs and how blessed I'd be by each and every one of you.

So... I decided this week I'd have a little fun, show a little bloggy love, and give away a few things that are part of my everyday world.

Here's the scoop:

1. Each day this week, Monday through Friday, I'll post a new giveaway.

2. I will pick two people to get each day's goodie, using a random number generator.

3. You can enter each day, and possibly win more than once.

4. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. One comment per person per day please.

5. Tell your friends. Invite them over. The more the merrier.

6. I will pick all of the recipients for the entire week on Saturday morning, August 2, and post the names that day.

Without further delay, today's Doubly Good Give Away is two $10 Starbucks Gift Cards. (Two people will each get a $10 card.)

Personally I'd order a Venti Soy Sugar-free Hazelnut Latte with light foam.

Have any of you tried the new Vivannos?

What would you order?

Good luck!

And thanks for celebrating the week with me.

Welcome to My Blog Party - (Prize #100)

I am so excited to once again be taking part in the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. I participated last year and found wonderful new blogs and made some great blogging friends, too.

In fact, I've been richly blessed by the whole blogging experience, moreso than I ever imagined when I started my blog in July 2006.

A little about me:

I met my husband on e-Harmony on April 5, 2003 and we were married on New Year's Eve that same year. On that day I became a step-mom to two children. A year and a half later we had our son, Adam, and we became a family of five.... and the inspiration for my writing here.



I work full-time outside the home, running the business side of an art gallery, custom frame shop and design studio in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. I spend my days surrounded by color, fabrics, frames, oil paintings and a group of wonderful artisans and designers from all over the country. We also contract on large hospitality design projects which requires lots of drinking of caffiene and eating of peanut butter M&M's.


This year I'm also giving away a Blog Party prize. (I'm #100 on the 5 Minutes for Mom prize listing.) A regular feature of my blog is Jill's Book Bag, so I thought it would be fun to give one as a prize for the Party. The bag is a roomy green/navy/white striped tote. I'll fill it with two cookbooks, a book on entertaining, a $25 Target gift card (who can't use one of those??!!) and some other goodies geared toward the winner...maybe you love coffee, maybe you're an avid scrapbooker or tennis player.



Follow the simple steps on the prize page to list those prizes you'd most like to win. I hope I get to send this off to YOU!

Thanks for stopping by. Have fun visiting all the other parties. I'm off to do some partying myself.

Jill's Book Bag #6 - **WINNER**

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:35
Timestamp: 2007-12-02 20:33:52 UTC

I'm a day late with this, but happy to announce Nadine at Just Being Me (comment #35) as this month's Jill's Book Bag winner. Nadine, please email me your mailing information.

Thanks so much to all of you for visiting and leaving a comment and participating.

December will mark my final book bag giveaway.

Jill's Book Bag # 6 - November 2007

With the holidays just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to give two books with an entertaining theme this month.

One of my favorite things about the holidays is baking cookies. From a very young age, I was the family baker, not only at the holidays but year-round. My brother Jon was 3 years older than me and he could devour half a pan of brownies in one sitting. During the holidays I made peanut clusters, almond bark pretzels, and cut-out sugar cookies using my grandmother's recipe. I still have it in my recipe box, written in my mom's handwriting.

Another thing I love is making meals and entertaining. I've begun to collect holiday dishes and linens when I see something that's especially neat, evn if it's the middle of July.

So, this month my two books are 100 Best Holiday Cookies and Southern Lady Gracious Tables by Phyllis Hoffman.

The bag this month is the small but oh-so-charming i-pod sleeve from Modsack. I have one of these myself and I use it to hold my Blackberry. It's also the perfect size for a a cell phone or even a pair of glasses. There's a little pocket on the outside that I use to hold a pen and my business cards.

There you have it. A festive little bag plus two holiday-inspired books.

To enter, simply leave me a comment (one per person).

I will draw the winner next Saturday, December 1, right before I hit the road for the second offical meeting of the B-Club in Birmingham!

Jill's Book Bag #5 - **WINNER**

Wow! I can't believe the number of comments and visitors for this month's Book Bag! Thank you all so very much for stopping by and leaving comments. I haven't had a chance to thank each of you in person.... I've got a lot of new blogs to visit.

Without further ado, the winner this month is #26, Lori at Lori's Comfort Zone.

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
26
Timestamp: 2007-10-31 13:55:09 UTC

Lori, please email me with your mailing information. My email address is on my profile page.

Thanks again everyone!

Jill's Book Bag #5 - October 2007

I am feeling a little bit nostalgic and a little bit fun for October's book bag.

First the fun: October's bag is this adorable, colorful tote by Modsacks. I fell in love with their bags the minute I saw the website and would love to share one with you. This is a roomy tote with pockets inside for your cell phone, keys, etc.

Now for the nostalgia: In my Q&A posts I mentioned that The Grapes of Wrath is my very favorite book. And, since the reason I started Jill's Book Bag in the first place was to give away books I love, I thought October was the perfect time to pass on a copy of this wonderful classic.

To enter, just leave a comment (one per person). I'd love it if you'd link back here on your own blog, but it's not necessary.

I'll choose a winner using a random number generator on Wednesday, October 31.

Thanks!

Give-away winners

Thanks for your nice comments regarding the Southern Accents showhouse. I actually got my hands on some more copies, so I have six to give away instead of three. I used a random number generator to choose the following recipients:

#1 - Happy Working Mom

#3 - Annie@ My Life as Annie

#7 - Jeanetta @ Splendid Things

#10 - JMom @ Lots of Scotts

#15 - Laura @ Laura William's Musings

#29 - Leigh Ann @ Living to Learn and Learning to Live

Please send me your mailing address. You can find my email address on my profile page.

Thanks again everyone!

**A GIVE-AWAY**

Thought I'd end the week with a fun give-away.

If you've been reading very long, you know I've been talking about two very large projects at work. One of them was doing all of the artwork, frames and mirrors for the Southern Accents Showhouse, now open at Homestead Preserve in Hot Springs, Virginia.

By "doing" I mean purchasing and proposing art, working with the designer (dear friend Barry Dixon) to choose frames and mirrors, then making the frames and mirrors (right here in our 6,000 sq. ft. studio), and...transporting and installing everything.

This is a huge undertaking, but one we feel very lucky to have. The only thing we're paid for is the transport, so we invest a lot of money and time, in hopes we'll sell some of our art and frames in the end.

This is the third showhouse I've done, and each one requires loads of creativity, patience, hope, faith, and humor....oh, and shots of espresso from Starbucks.

The house is featured in the November-December issue of Southern Accents, and I have three copies to share.

Leave a comment and I'll use a random number generator to draw the three winners Monday morning.

Thanks!

Jill's Book Bag #4 - **WINNER**

Thank you all for stopping by the Book Bag this month and leaving a comment.

This month's winner is Susan at Learning for Lifetime.

Susan, email me at the address on my profile page and let me know

#1. The title and author of the biography/autobiography you would like.

#2. The pattern of the Vera Bradley bag you prefer.

See you here next month!

Jill's Book Bag #4 - September 2007

Though the majority of books I read are fiction, my favorite genre is biographies. My reading journal is chock full of them. Some of my favorites over the past year include:
Personal History by Katharine Graham, a meaty book by the owner of the Washington Post.
Get Happy by Gerald Clarke, the pill-popping, stage mom saga of Judy Garland.
Clarke also wrote Capote, the riveting story of Truman Capote and his obsession with the story behind his novel, In Cold Blood.
And I have this calling me now from my bookshelf: Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson.
So, I thought it would be fun to fill September's Book Bag with a biography/autobiography of the winner's choice. The possibilities are endless: Princess Diana, Warren Buffet, Audrey Hepburn, Dr. Seuss, or the Beatles. You choose!
Now, for the bag: This month's goody is a Vera Bradley Bucket Tote. Since we're in the "you choose" mode, the winner may choose the pattern. The pattern shown here is Kensington. Clicking on the Vera Bradley link above will take you to the page for this bag, and you can play around and try out different patterns.
The rules are simple. Just leave a comment (one per person). I'll leave comments open until I draw the winner Saturday morning, September 22. If you want to link back here on your own blog, it's much appreciated, but not necessary.
Thanks for entering...
Happy reading!

Jill's Book Bag #3 - **WINNER**

The winner of the "cooking" book bag is Judi at Mommy of Two.

Judi, please email me at the address on my profile page and let me know two types of cookbooks you're interested in (cuisine style or even specific titles)

Thanks again to everyone for participating.

Jill's Book Bag #3 - August 2007

**UPDATED: Due to some smarmy comments and other weird stuff, I will be closing comments first thing Sunday morning (August 12) and drawing a winner then. Thanks to all of you!

This month's book bag is a colorful quilted backpack. The flap on the front snaps and is also held in place by a decorative rope and bead. The inside is one large compartment, and there is a zipper pocket on the back. I thought this whimsical, carefree style was the perfect way to end the summer!
The books this month will be a collection of four cookbooks. I'll choose two on my own and let the winner give me ideas for the other two. Perhaps you love crockpot cooking, or grilling, or Italian. Maybe you'd love a regional cookbook, or one all about chocolate!

I've also simplified the rules. All you have to do is leave a comment (one comment per person). If you'd like to link back here, it's much appreciated, but not necessary.

Thanks!

Jills Book Bag #2 - **WINNER**

Thanks again to everyone who joined in this month. I'm really having a great time with this, and hope you'll throw your name in again next time.

This month's winner is Leah at South Breeze Farm.

Leah, email me and give me your first, middle and last intitals so I can get your bag monogrammed.

I'm already "cooking up" something great for next month's Bag... (hint, hint).