First up is a giveaway that starts today and goes till next Friday, being brought to you by a little hometown coffee company you may have heard of, Starbucks.

They recently did a complete redesign of their online store (see above), StarbucksStore.com, and to celebrate, they want to give one of my lucky readers $100 gift card (WHAT?!) to go splurge on the site!  I know, I’m very excited. It does kind of suck that I can’t win it for myself, but then again, I love sharing with my fellow coffee lovers, so I’m happy to give this away!

Want to win? Click through to get the dirt on entering…..

To enter this fabulous giveaway, follow these EASY steps:

1. Head over to StarbucksStore.com and check out all the fun new swag.
2. Find something you’d like to call your very own, and leave me a comment in this blog post with a link, and tell me what it is!
3. One lucky winner will be drawn from all entries (one per person) that are submitted between 8.12.11 and 8.19.11.

GOOD LUCK!

Curious about the new online store? I was too, so I had them send over a few blurbs about what’s new:

·         Coffee and Tea Tours– Purchase a Coffee Tour or Tea Tour and explore different Starbucks coffees and teas.  Seven available tours allow customers to compare and contrast flavors to discover the nuances within a cup, making them the perfect gift – delivered right to their door!

·         Starbucks Reserve Coffees – StarbucksStore.com offers customers across the U.S. access to Starbucks Reserve™ coffee, otherwise only available in select U.S company-operated Starbucks stores. These exotic, rare, and exquisite coffees are hand-selected for their unique flavors and are available in limited quantities.

·         Coffee and Tea Subscriptions – Looking for convenience?  Customers can enjoy the luxury of setting up scheduled deliveries of coffee, tea and Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew right to their door as often as they like.  Experiment and get recommendations from our knowledgeable coffee masters.

SO, on your mark, get set, WIN!

Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me and I can’t wait to see what you guys come back with!

-Siiri

This time around we’re celebrating the recent launch of Fonte’s “The Vault”.  You may have seen my recent post about my 27 coffee cupping I did recently.

What you see is what you get! So for the list of goodies being given away to one lucky winner, plus instructions on how to enter, click through!

Here’s the deal: we’re getting the word out about a great chance to get access to small lots of special roasts.  Here’s more info on what exactly this means:

“The Coffee Vault”
Registered members can source limited quantity, high quality single origin beans.

Beginning July 18, Fonté Coffee will launch a new program called “The Coffee Vault”.  These hand-selected, extremely limited small lot coffees vary in price from $20 a pound and up depending on the bean origin. Fonté will source and purchase a specified amount of single origin beans which will be sent to the roasting plant and placed in a zero oxygen environment to preserve freshness. These rare, unroasted beans will be stored separately so each registered client can call or email Fonté Coffee with their weekly order.  Steve will roast-to-order a one pound minimum of the reserved micro-lot coffee, shipping the following day.

If you want more information on this, you can contact Lara Jones at ljones@fontecoffee.com.

WHAT’S IN THE GOODIE BAG:

• A pound of Fonte F2 Blend
• Two sleek, black logo mugs for you and that special breakfast partner
• A gift card you can use online or in their Seattle store!

TO ENTER:

• Leave a comment on this post with either a question for Steve, Mr. CoffeeKnowItAll from the image above and my cupping, or visit www.fontecoffee.com and leave a comment here with an item you’d spend your gift card on with the link!
• Do this between Thursday, August 4th 4:00pm Pacific and Thursday, August 11th at 5:00pm Pacific to have a valid entry.
• Only one entry per person.  Winner will be chosen at random on 8/12/2011 and notified.

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY CAFFINATION!

So, what’s the loot? It’s a SIGNED copy of the fabulously composed “Sips & Apps” book that’s just busting at the seams with great ideas for the summer!

Copyright Kathy Casey 2009

Kathy is just wonderful, warm and fun to be around, and of course it doesn’t hurt that she’s a killer cook that never fails to impress me with the great treats (liquid or otherwise) she offers up.

Want to enter to win? Click through to the full post for details!

Copyright Kathy Casey

To enter:

1. simply go check out Kathy’s website,
   http://www.KathyCasey.com
   , go to her recipes page, blog and look up a cocktail or appetizer you want to make for all your lucky BBQ and cocktail party guests this summer! (of course the book has WAY more and newer ones as well)
2. Then, come on back and leave me a comment on this post with the Sip or App name and link of the recipe!
3. Do this before Friday, June 10th at 11:59pm Pacific time and you’ll be entered to win the signed book that will make you the official fabulous bartender and cook among your friends.

GOOD LUCK!

Congratulations, Jennifer! And I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to post the winner!

Jennifer, email me (siirisampson@gmail.com) to collect your fabulous prize!  And don’t worry everyone else, I have a TON of stuff to give away still, and am realizing I need to clean out that closet, so I hope to pick up the pace here on more giveaways!

Happy Rainy Seattle Wednesay everyone!

Click through to see how to enter!!! (You’re gonna want this one, it’s SO nice, I almost kept it for myself!!!!)

Thanks to the fab food fiend friends over at Amazon.com and Circulon, we’ve got this totally A.mazing covered saute pan that is non-stick, hard anodized, safe for all cooktops AND the DISHWASHER!!!!! (WHAT?! THE DISHWASHER? YES. YOUR DISHWASHER)  Love it.

Want it? Duh, of COURSE you do, you’re smart enough to see a piece of awesome when it smacks you in the face like a frying pan, right?!

Here’s how to enter:

1. In honor of Spring Cleaning, leave a comment on this post with your Spring Cleaning goal between Sunday, April 24, 2011 at 12:00pm pacific – Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 12:00pm pacific.
2. Come back to see if your name was randomly chosen by the crazy computer number generator doo-hicky!
3. One entry per person.

That’s it! And if you don’t win this time, sit tight! I’m doing my OWN Spring Cleaning which includes LIQUIDATING all the giveaway vaulted kitchen goodies I’ve got! YAY!

Happy Spring people!

One of the winners was Lauren, a friend of mine with her own neat little blog about her family.  She went to cash in her winnings the other day and decided to share it with us.  from The Jansson Family Blog, here’s Lauren:

Cashing in my Winnings…

Well, we’re one week into the new year and I’ve already completed part of one of my 2011 goals: Do 1 giveaway every month!

Post-win mayhem at Autzen Stadium in '09. Wish I was there to hear the band today! Go Ducks!

Today is a GREAT day, not only because we have three winners (who I’ll post below) but also because my favorite team, the OREGON DUCKS are playing in the National Championship football game tonight. QUAAAAAACK!

So, it’s a great day to have a few people over and make a “do-it-your-own-self” taco bar!!!! (yes, that’s what we called it when I was a kid, funny, I know)

The Sampson Clan on Game Day. We Love our Ducks!

I’m going to make turkey tacos from scratch and let everyone make their own as they see fit. We’ve got people bringing beer and chips, and I’ll provide the toppings!

Now, on to our big WINNERS of our first 2011 giveaway!  I picked 3 winners at random, using random.org number generator, and our lucky winners of a $25 gift card toStarbucks are:

Elly Blue

Lauren Jansson

Marissa Niranjan

Congratulations ladies!!!! You have 48 hours to email me, SiiriSampson@gmail.com, to collect your prize! If you don’t then I’ll pick an alternate to enjoy the gift card.

I hope you’re all well on your way to getting your 2011 goals started. Stay tuned each month for a new, different and fun giveaway. Thanks to everyone who entered and if you didn’t win, don’t sweat it! You have at least 11 more giveaways to enter!

Jenny is the proud new owner of the Lasagna Lover Stoneware dish from Rachael Ray!

If you didn’t win this giveaway, DON’T FRET!  I have a TON of others coming up, with another one starting next week!

Keep reading the blog to find out what’s being given away next and for your viewing pleasure (even though it’s a week late) next I’m posting my first article!

Also, you’ll want to check the link at the top of that post for my most recent article that came out today for The Eatside.

(Jenny, I’ll email you to get you your prize!!!!)

Yours truly has started a fun side gig with a local newspaper, The Seattle Weekly.  Starting today, and coming out every Tuesday, I am writing a blog column, The Eatside, for Seattle Weekly’s food blog, Voracious.  I cover all things on the Eastside of greater Seattle (so that’s East of Lake Washington).

Today’s article is on a fun little joint called Lil’ Jon.  Go check out the article when you have time:

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2010/10/working_title_lil_jon_review.php

Meanwhile, we’ll start a giveaway today to celebrate my new adventure!  Sooooo, what’s up for grabs today?

It’s a Lasagna Lover Stoneware dish from Rachael Ray:

That’s right! It’s blue, shiny and just BEGGING you to splatter tomato sauce and noodles into it’s softly curved corners.  It’s dishwasher, microwave, freezer and oven safe to 500 degrees. AND, it has a glazed interior that’s nonporous so your food won’t stick!  It’s 9″ x 13″ with extra wide handle holes.

What are you making, and what time should I be there? Ha ha, just kidding. But seriously, send me your address, I’ll bring the wine.

So, if you’re interested in winning todays giveaway, here’s how**:

1. Go read my article (which will take you about 3 minutes), and share it with a friend (you’ll see at the bottom there’s a button to email it to a friend, or you can use the buttons at the top to share via a social media outlet like Facebook or Twitter).

2. Come back to the blog and post a comment letting me know who you shared it with (you can just give me a first name), and any feedback you have for my column.  This could be a critique, a place you think I should review, or just plain advice you think would benefit my column!

3. We’re using the honor system here, kids, so don’t let me down. I’ll have no way of knowing if you really shared the article, so do me proud!

The giveaway runs from October 19th at 9am Pacific Time to October 25th at 11:59pm Pacific Time.  Good luck and thanks for all the support! I’m excited to take you on this wild ride with me!

**By entering the giveaway, you agree that if you win, you will use the product and leave your honest feedback/review on the Amazon.com page for the product within 30 days of receiving it from A Half Cup.  One entry per person.  All valid entries will be entered into a random drawing, one winner will be chosen and given 14 days to claim their prize. An alternate will be chosen in the event the winner does not claim their prize.  You may only win 1 prize in a 30 day period from A Half Cup.

As you may remember from a few recent posts, I have a TON of stuff to giveaway on the blog, thanks to the fantastic folks at The Meyer Corporation and Amazon.com.

The first giveaway is coming up on Monday to celebrate the Munch’s 2nd birthday. (I basically can find any reason to give something away…) He is very aware that he’s going to be two. It’s pretty awesome.

Making sure the belly button is still there...

I haven’t decided what to giveaway first, but it’s going to be good, trust.

Come back on Monday for the details of how to enter. You’ll have  a week to put your name in the hat, and then of course there will be many more giveaways this summer, so if you don’t win, just keep trying!!!!

What are you doing this weekend?  I have a date with Curious George, the Munch and some cupcakes.  Stay tuned  for pictures next week. It’s gonna be fantastic!