Sweepstakes Gone Wild

Weeerrrrrreeee baaaccckk!  I know we've been gone for a while without so much as a good bye, adios or a see you later but we've been on an extended trip to "Summerpalooza."  

Boy, did we have a great time and we're kind of dragging our feet getting back to the real world.  Back in the real world, I plowed through my 800+ emails (I'm not kidding you) and found you some great sweepstakes to enter.  If I don't win, I hope one of our faithful readers win!  Hurry and enter cause I think one of these expires September 3rd.

Better Homes and Gardens $10,000 Taste of Italy Sweepstakes - who doesn't want a dream trip to Tuscany!

Midwest Living's $1000 Game Day Sweepstakes for the ultimate tailgate party!

Win $25,000 from Better Homes and Gardens for a home makeover:

Every Day with Rachel Ray $12,000 Italy Vacation Sweepstakes:

Recipe.com $2500 sweepstakes for groceries - who doesn't need a little help buying groceries?

Win a $3,500 trip to New York City from Better Homes and Gardens:

$10,000 Organize in Style Sweepstakes - I could organize everything including my shed for $10,000.

$1000 Get Organized for School from Better Homes and Gardens:

Ladies Home Journal Romantic Stay Sweepstakes for 6 days, 5 nights to the Fairmont Mayakoba in Mexico:

Recipe.com $10,000 Organize in Style Sweepstakes:

American Patchwork and Quilting's Ultimate $10,000 Crafting Giveaway.  The Glossy Flossy's would be crafting morning, noon, and evening if we won!

Win a Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain Getaway:

HGTV's $100,000 to build your perfect home - I don't know about in your area but that's not going to build my perfect home here - maybe a 1/2 or 1/3 of a home but . . . I'll take it!

Win DIY's Blog Cabin in Maine:

HGTV's Urban Oasis Giveaway is an apartment in Miami!  Then you could play that song, "I'm in Miami, B****"  when you're lounging around your luxury condo:

Enter for a Chance to WIN $10,000 Towards Your Dream Yard!

Enter to win $50,000 in GAC's Ultimate Living Country Sweepstakes:

Aston Hotels and Resorts 1,000,000 Hawaiian Miles Sweepstakes:

We've stayed at Aston's Kaanapali Shores Resort.  It's a beautiful place, the staff was great, and our room was wonderful and a reasonable price.  We would stay there again.

There you have it.  Start entering today!  

I feel like signing up for DISH network and buying cleaning supplies and cleaning my house ;)  You will too after you enter these sweepstakes.


~ Laurie

Manic Monday > All Over The Map

This weekend flew by like a IRS refund. Sorry, had to do it. Tax day is tomorrow in case you hadn't heard or you are skipping taxes this year - which may not the best idea, just ask Wesley Snipes.

Here in Glossy Flossy land we had a weekend filled with baseball, sunshine, and most importantly, kettle corn. Seriously is there anything better than baseball and popcorn? Well maybe popcorn and wine, but your fellow little league fans might frown on your glass of Pinot in your cup holder, so best leave that combo for home. Which led me to this recipe for home made kettle corn in the MICROWAVE from April over at Frugal Homemaking, with just a paper bag and just four ingredients. Easy Homemade Kettle Corn:

2 Tbsp. popcorn kernels

2 tsp. oil

1 Tbsp. sugar or sugar substitute

Dash salt

Directions:

• Pour the kernels, oil, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Mix until all kernels are well coated with sugar, salt, and oil.
• Pour the bowl's contents into the paper bag. Place the bag on a plate and fold the top of the bag over 1" twice. You can also use a microwave-safe bowl and a vented lid (like a microwave-safe colander or splatter shield),
• Place in the microwave on popcorn setting or for about 1 minute, 15 seconds. Either way, shut off microwave when popping slows to less than a pop every second to avoid burning.
• Open slowly and carefully, as steam will be hot.

Was anyone else foaming at the the mouth with this week's stay a home mom bashing? Lets face it, being a mom is not a job for wimps. It is a freaking hard job to be solely responsible for the complete development of a human being, who at times just wants to cry and break stuff. Why would we as women turn on each other, when we are all in the same boat whether we work or not? Lets face it, the children out number us, so we should stick together -there is safety in numbers!

Is everyone getting ready to plant their gardens? Laurie Glossy Flossy planted her garden this weekend, but I am still procrastinating...I have these two livestock troughs that will hopefully soon look like this:

In the mean time check out all these great gardening plans for vegetables from Better Homes and Gardens:



I'm also jonesing for new melamine plates for summer:



Marimekko Plates, Crate and Barrel

Melamine Summer 2012 Collection, Target (Online only)

Happy Manic Monday!

~Angela

Dear Me > Sweepstakes!

There is nothing I like better than free money and I'd like to share the wealth with you!  

Lately my email inbox has been flooded with sweepstakes offers from magazines and companies like Better Homes and Gardens, House Beautiful, and Hormel. I love getting inspired (i.e.-stealing their ideas) by these magazines, but I would love to win their prizes even more! This year they are throwing around some serious, feather-your-whole-nest, cash prizes and someone like you (our fabulous readers and moi), needs to win these!


Check out these sweepstakes that are currently running now (click on the picture to be taken to the linked page):


Do you need a new Garden Room or Summer Shack, as I like to call it - $4000 in plants and furniture.

Need $25,000 to pay off your bills - Parents magazine wants to help you out.

How about $5000 from Better Homes and Gardens to refresh a room.  I don't know about you but unless I'm redoing my Kitchen I could refresh more than one room with $5000.

How about $5000 to makeover your kitchen from Myrecipes.com.  I don't think you can makeover your kitchen for $5000 but you could certainly do a little facelift.

How about $5000 in free groceries.  With the price of groceries that ought to be about enough to cover the Glossy Flossy's bridal shower for the future bride, and a Easter & Memorial Day Barbecue.  I'm really doing you a favor here because I really want to win this one! I just noticed it's for a year of groceries - that's also okay.

More money to help with your groceries from Parents and Hormel.

How about $15,000 from Velveeta and Rotel?

House Beautiful has a $50,000 Kitchen Remodel - now that's what I call a remodel!

Do you need to get away for a little mini vacation?  Better Homes and Gardens is giving away a 4 day trip to Banf Springs!

Do you scrapbook?  Check out this sweepstakes from Scrapbooks, Etc.

And let's not forget these wonderful sweepstakes from Good Housekeeping:

$25,000 for Home Decor

$50,000 for a custom Kitchen

And last but not least - Enter to win $100,000 Goodbye Debt Sweepstakes from Good Housekeeping.

Get busy and good luck!  If I don't win these sweepstakes I want one of our faithful readers to win!

~Laurie

Manic Monday > Sick Day

It's a rainy Monday here at Chaos and Gloss, and I'm hanging on the couch with a sick kiddo. My youngest is home today since the sound of hacking up a lung might be a little distracting to his other classmates.

I always tell my kids ominous tales of what happens if you have to stay home sick, which usually involves lots of naps, yucky tasting medicine, and Pedialite smoothies. I stress to them that staying home with mom is; B-O-R-I-N-G. This usually works, and my children  have miraculously recovered from many mystery illnesses before heading off to school.

But here is a secret truth that I would never admit to my kids: that there is times that I secretly love having a sick kid stay home from school. No, I have not caught my son's fever and I'm not talking about the kind of sick kid days when I'm having to clean up things with a bucket of Lysol. But there is something about cuddling a warm kiddo on a couch while watching a Wizards of Waverly Place marathon and sipping throat soothing, hot cocoa. I think it must have something to do with that it's a little taste of those days of the first baby; where you had all day to snuggle that sweet little bundle and nap - and surf the Internet.

Just kidding on that last one (sorta), but today it's just me, a kid, and a laptop (and some sleeping dogs); so I'm sharing some things to bookmark for your next sick kid day!

I want need to drink this:

Check out this recipe at Going Home to Roost.

My fridge desperately needs these (I have something unidentifiable in the back of my fridge right this minute...):



They are absorbent and stylish refrigerator liners. Gotta love anything that can brings the words functional and pretty together, right? A cute husband and wife team make these and you can find them here.

I'm checking out this page right now:

Great sick day activities from the cute blog Come Together Kids via my lovely friend Brooke's Pinterest board.

I am also using this great arrange - a - room tool from the Better Homes and Gardens web site.

This has been so handy for the  Barn chic living room redo that I talked about here.

Well I'm off to watch the new Puss n' Boots DVD - in bed. Having a sick kid at home is ruff stuff I tell ya...

~Angela

Dress This Mess > Fall Decor

The quirkiness and fun of Halloween decorations is over. By now I'm sure you've packed up all your spooks and ghosts, and swept up all the black glitter like I have (*cough *cough...). Now it's on to Thanksgiving!

Truthfully for me, it's so hard to really get excited about fall decor like I do for Halloween or Christmas. The day is a WHOLE LOTTA WORK in one single, jam-packed day. Then, in a blur, it's over, with nothing left but a WHOLE LOTTA dirty dishes. The holiday is such a typical middle child (sorry Scott)! It's sandwiched in between the drama queen of Halloween and the "can do no wrong, over achiever" oldest child, Christmas. But middle child Thanksgiving needs some love and attention too! So here are some great decor ideas to celebrate overlooked Thanksgiving.

Simple leaf artwork in inexpensive frames

Leaf door monogram. BHG

Simple banner from twigs, grasses, and acorn tops. BHG

Mum flocked pumpkins. BHG

Wool felted Acorns from Etsy

Fall wreath from painted acorns, from Little Things Bring Big Smiles

Easy and inexpensive!

Painted glass bottles. Love the possibilities!

Maybe some of you reading this are thinking, "My Thanksgiving decor was up at exactly 9am, November 1st. I mean really! It's the 9th of November already, AND we were even given a whole extra hour on Sunday to decorate, and they are now just posting this?!" If this is you, then I'm surprised you are even here reading Chaos and Gloss and it's lazy ways - but we love you anyway! Maybe some of your fancy ways will rub off on us...

We have a special fall decor project we are working on so stay tuned!

~Angela