Butterfly map WINNER!

I'm uber-excited about the winner of my 2nd blogiversary giveaway. She's one of my dearest friends - aren't the folks over at random.org smart?

Drumroll please... the winner of a Bug Under Glass butterfly map is....

KATE!

Yay! Kate, I'll hook you up with Kevin for your map asap... enjoy!!!

Thank you, with butterflies

I forgot my blogiversary this year. It was July, and I was traveling like a madwoman and hosting visitors like a madwoman, and so it slipped through the cracks. But I love celebrating milestones, even if I'm a half-year late. The second year of my blog was very much about the concept of home - what it means to look for one, and what it takes to make one. And so a home-related blogiversary giveaway - however late - seemed a fitting end to a week of house renovation report-backs, where you humored my discussions of paint colors and construction projects.

For my oh-so-belated blogiversary, I'd like to give one Freckled Citizen reader a little something from the (figurative) walls of my dining room, which make me smile daily. I'm referring, of course, to our fantastic butterfly maps, which highlight our respective journeys toward the place we now call home together. 

Top row: North Carolina, New York City, Connecticut

Bottom row: Boston, New Mexico, Dallas

I had a great experience working with Bug Under Glass to develop this collection. Bug Under Glass is run by Kevin Clarke, and is one of the few green-certified insect display businesses in the country. Kevin really loves what he does, and it shows - his proud status as an insect nerd is firmly on display in this recent San Francisco Chronicle article about his business. Nerds doing what they love are among my favorite kinds of people (hellooo, Amtrak poster in the office and streetcar paintings in the dining room!).

From my little home on the web to your actual home, I'd love to give away one of Bug Under Glass' gorgeous U.S. state maps with a native butterfly. Maybe you have a little corner of your home calling out for something special... or maybe someone on your holiday wish list does. Here's how to win:

Freckled Citizen Belated Blogiversary Butterfly Map Giveaway

(how many times can you say that quickly?)

• Leave me a comment telling me which state map you'll have Bug Under Glass make for you, and why. (As always, make sure I have a way to contact you if you're the winner. I say this every time, and every time I get anonymous entries.)
• For a second entry, you can tweet about the giveaway and mention me, @magmaeA. If you do this, leave me another comment telling me that you did so.
• I'll accept entries through next Thursday at midnight and use random.org to select a winner, then announce the winner on Friday, November 19.

Good luck - I hope you're as excited about having a butterfly map on your wall as I am!


The fine print, FCC-style: This is not a sponsored post. I just really like Bug Under Glass. I'm providing this prize with my own money.

Oreck Steam-It Winner!

Drumroll, please...

The winner of the Oreck Steam-It is....

LINDSAY!

Lindsay's a NC-turned-DC gal that I actually met randomly at a mutual friend's cookout last spring... what a small world! She recognized me even though I was decked out in pearls and pastels due to the event's "genteel sporting attire" dress code. Linday's planning her wedding at the DAR (I can already hear my mom swooning) and does lots of cooking with her fiancé David. Congrats, Lindsay! I'll put you in touch with Oreck right away.

Thanks for participating, everyone!

Oreck Steam-It Review and Giveaway!

Update: Contest now closed - winner will be announced tomorrow!

Hi folks! I'm here today with a review and giveaway that would absolutely make my teenage self roll my eyes... but makes my adult home-owning self oh so happy! (See Mom, I do my chores!)

The huge prize up for grabs is... a steam mop from Oreck!

The Oreck Steam-It comes with six different attachments to help you clean a variety of surfaces... including floors, windows, floor or shower tile, carpets, upholstery, windows, glass showers, drapery, countertops, marble, and more.

The Steam-It retails for $179.99 and will be provided to the winner by Oreck. This review and giveaway is sponsored by The Freckled Citizen.



Why do I need a steam mop, you're asking yourself? Well, I asked myself the same question when the nice folks at Oreck contacted me about giving one away to a reader. Here's what I discovered as I tested the Steam-It in my own home: by utilizing the simple power of steam, I can deep-clean our home without the use of chemical cleaners that give me, for lack of a better term, the heebie-jeebies. In addition, the pads the Steam-It uses can be thrown in the washing machine and reused - the ultimate sustainable solution. Need more pads? Sure, you can order them online... but the universal clips on this tool will also hold any old washrag or handtowel you already own in place, and you can use those instead. No chemicals! No disposable pads to not-decompose in a landfill! I like it.

But how well does it work, you're asking yourself? I took the Steam-It on a spin in multiple areas of my house and took pictures for you.

 Ready to rumble... with the floor attachment in place:

You know that experience of using other mops that spray cleaning solution on the floor, and then when you're done you see streaks of cleaner everywhere? It always grosses me out. Or I think about Barbara Ehrenreich's 'Nickel and Dimed,' when she's working undercover as a maid and reveals that all they do is spread dirty water over the floor all day, every day, in every house. Double-gross out. This is how I appreciate the Steam-It the most - that it makes our 1906 floors look this good using only hot steam, without any chemicals whatsoever:

All types of flooring are a breeze to clean:

The Steam-It freshens up carpets, too. This is our entryway carpet, which tends to get the most traffic in the house, and it was freshened up nicely with the steam. I'm looking forward to trying it on our cats' favorite sleeping chairs, too. Alert to anyone who might be battling pet stains on carpets or upholstery: this little device just might change your world:

Next up I wanted to try the Steam-It's spot brush. We tend to get soap scum build-up around our kitchen faucet. Check out the results I got not from scrubbing it with a toothbrush and a harsh abrasive cleaner, but using only steam. Pretty impressive, right?:

The squeegee attachment on the Steam-It would have been a godsend in our last two apartments that had glass showers. I decided to try it on the upper windows of our walk-out dining room windows, which are too tall for me to reach without a big ladder. While I need to improve my technique to avoid streaks, I was again impressed with the power of steam alone (no chemicals! I'm a broken record!) to make these windows shine:

There you have it... now here's how you can win a Steam-It of your own:

Mandatory Entry: 

Visit Oreck.com and leave a comment that describes one thing you learned about the Steam-It. 

For Additional Entries:
(Make sure you leave me separate comments for each of your additional entries. There should be one separate comment for each of your additional entry options.)

• Follow @oreck on Twitter
• Like Oreck on Facebook 
• Sign up for Oreck’s email list by clicking on “Sign up for Email” in the top navigation bar and entering your email address. 
• Tweet about this giveaway and mention @oreck and @freckledcitizen. 

This giveaway will be open for one week, closing next Wednesday, November 2. I'll announce the winner on Thursday, November 3. Good luck! 

Important Details and Rules: The giveaway winner must be a resident of the U.S. 48 contiguous states. You must be 18 years and older to enter. No duplicate comments. Winner will be determined via drawing on random.org.  Odds of winning will be dependent upon total number of entries. Please leave a way for me to contact you if you win the Steam-It; otherwise, another winner will be chosen using random.org. This giveaway will run from October 26, 2011 until November 2, 2011.

Disclosure – I was given the Oreck DualMax Air Purifier to review and keep. All opinions stated in this post are entirely my own. Oreck Corporation provided the prize for the sweepstakes but is not the sponsor of the sweepstakes.

And our karmic winner is....

We are a rather karmic bunch, it turns out! A couple eschew the notion, and some of us worry about the literal implications of karma (never fear, I'm not sure I believe in anything literally... I'm very loosey-goosey, happy-go-lucky that way), but most of us generally try to put goodness out into the world and believe we'll get some of it back in return. Some of your lovely examples include:

• Over-tipping cab drivers on the way to an event warranting good luck
• Leaving coupons with their products in grocery store aisles
• Being nice in traffic
• Helping little old ladies with their groceries

So without further ado, the winner of the $45 CSN giveaway is...

SARAH, with a totally delightful karma story of her own!

Congrats, Sarah! I'll be in touch with the details from CSN.

Karma. And a giveaway.

I need some good luck tonight. I'll spill the beans tomorrow, but tonight... I could use your happy thoughts. Which brings me to this giveaway. See, CSN Stores (purveyor of wall art and decor, many lovely cooking items that I covet, and much more) contacted me about doing another giveaway or a review, and for the first time, I really thought about reviewing a product for selfish purposes. Had one picked out and everything - I was going to get a spice grinder, for jobs that my mortar and pestle make too cumbersome and my mini-chop makes simply impossible. But I kept delaying posting the announcement. When it came down to it, I felt weird about being selfish and keeping something for my own use. Bad karma, or something.

We are a karmic/superstitious household in lots of ways. T was a hockey goalie - a very superstitious crew, it turns out. I want to imagine elaborate glove adjustments with all the "no, it's not OCD... it's just hot"-ness of Nomar Garciaparra, but padding and a mask make any sort of movement infinitely less hot than a baseball uniform (sorry T). But his superstitions have followed him - many of which make me laugh. Me, I follow the "pay it forward" rule of life, and take that seriously. Putting good things out into the world is a nice way to receive goodness in return, I figure. I enjoy kindness. I like hosting giveaways, buying presents, doing nice things. I won a huge Minted giveaway last fall and promptly gave it away to my brother and almost-sister-in-law. I've won CSN giveaways from other blogs in the past, and always used them to buy gifts. I donate as generously and as frequently as I can to causes that I believe in. Giving is better than receiving, in my head, especially when I could use a little smile from the universe.

So tonight, send me your best energy. And please do enter my CSN giveaway: a gracious $45 gift certificate from our host, good at any of their online stores, to use for anything you please.

Here's how you enter the giveaway: continue this conversation with me. How do you feel about karma? I'd love to know.

I'll take all karmic answers through the week, and look forward to your thoughts.

CSN Giveaway Winner

And the winner of the $45 CSN gift certificate is....

Congratulations, Emily! I loved your answer, and I know you'll have fun with the guilt-free shopping!

Thanks for playing, everyone!

CSN Giveaway Time!

Time for another giveaway from CSN, folks - that one-stop shop for everything from children's luggage to baby bee outfits to kids' riding toys! Why do I have kids' stuff on the brain tonight? Because I've checked the first Christmas gift off my list, so early for this infamous procrastinator. My nephew Liam's present arrived today.... check! Here's your chance to get into the early bird holiday spirit yourself with a $45 gift certificate from CSN Stores, applicable toward any of their 200 online stores.

Here's how to enter:

1. Visit CSN's Ultimate Gift Finder and tell me this: who's the first person you'll be buying a gift for this year?

2. Make sure your e-mail address is included in either the text of your comment or your blogger profile, so I can get in touch with you if you're the winner.

3. Entries are closed at 11:59 on Thursday, November 11. I'll announce a winner on Friday morning.

Good luck!

(Adorable Early Bird letterpress found here.)

CSN Giveaway Winner

First, a big thank you to all who entered - I loved reading what everyone would scoop with their winnings! Here's a flower for your efforts - it's actually the first dahlia I've cut from the garden and brought inside to appreciate, which I can do while wearing a nightgown or, say, a lack of pants. (Please note, shirtless next door neighbor, that you are the only one who spends his days outside wearing nothing but gym shorts, and I do not want to see you half-naked every time I go outside to tend to the plants. Thank goodness it's finally getting chilly!)

Sorry, getting distracted.

The winner of the $45 CSN gift certificate is.....

TEAM LC!

I like your style, Team LC. I'll be in touch, and enjoy that Le Creuset!

CSN Giveaway for any room in your home!

When CSN Stores contacted me about hosting a giveaway, I was excited for you all - who wouldn't want cash to spend at any of CSN's 100 online stores? CSN Stores carry everything from a platform bed to lighting to "cat condos" - variety is not an issue.

Of course I can't host a giveaway without thinking about what I'd do as a giveaway winner myself. Because I'm a sucker for all things kitchen (and my wish list contains many pricey items), I'd take my winnings and go straight to CSN's cookware store, where I'd mull over three of my favorite brands: Le Creuset, All Clad, and Shun. My final selection would be a big-ticket item made a little less big-ticket by a CSN gift certificate: a Cuisinart Elite food processor.

CSN Stores is offering one reader a $45 gift certificate to any of their stores. To enter, tell me the following:

1. Are you a "pick out a $45 item" kind of person or an "apply $45 toward something big" kind of person?
2. What would you get?
3. Make sure your e-mail address is included in the body of your comment or in your blogger profile - if you win but I can't find your address, I'll pick someone else.

The contest is open until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, October 7, at which point I'll randomly select a winner using random.org. I'll announce the winner on Friday morning, before I jet off to Boston for the weekend. Good luck and happy shopping this week!

Birthday giveaway WINNER!

I loved reading about your favorite places, everyone! Reading those comments this week has been like a little mini-vacation with each one. I traveled to beaches, to mountains, to backyards, to lakes, to cities, to countryside, and to everywhere in between. Thanks for the travel inspiration and for sharing these pieces of yourself with me, and also for the kind words about what you've enjoyed about The Freckled Citizen in its first year. Truly, I loved hosting this giveaway!

But alas, there can only be one winner, and the math peeps at random.org told me the winner of The Freckled Citizen Birthday Bonanza was.....

Emily of The Culinary Couple!

(we actually had three Emilys enter... so it should be no surprise that one of you would win!)

I've gotten to know Emily through her personal blog and over at EADL, and I couldn't be more pleased that a fellow lover of cooking, local produce, and NPR would nab the prize. I loved learning about Emily's favorite place:

I have many favorite places, one of which is Lake Anna in Virginia. Nick took me there just one month after we met. (I later found out he told his buddies that weekend that I was the girl he would marry.) We go at least once every summer, and it's the quintessential place to unplug, grab a book and a beer, and enjoy nature. 

Congrats, Emily! (And happy birthday week yourself!) I'll be in touch about your prize!

Thanks so much for entering and playing along, everyone!

Freckled Citizen Birthday Giveaway!

One year ago this week, after years of blogging with friends or with a specific focus, I planted my flag at this address and started a little project of my own: The Freckled Citizen. I hoped it would become a catch-all for my weird and varied interests and be a little space that could grow in time, meandering all the while with my moods and inclinations. I've written about food and place and diversions and pretty things and big meaty life stuff and more... and you all have hung tight through all of it, so kudos to you! To celebrate turning one, I thought a big 'ol birthday present was in order... not for me, but for you!

Allow me to present The Freckled Citizen Birthday Bonanza, a selection of some of my favorite finds, hand-picked just for you!

The Freckled Citizen Birthday Bonanza

• For your correspondence: a folk art floral card set from Dutch Door Press, one of my go-to sources for letterpress that feels fresh and pretty every time. 
• For your kitchen: A "Buy Local, Eat Seasonal" tea towel calendar from Claudia Pearson, adorably illustrated and sure to inspire your seasonal cooking.
• For your plants: A set of vintage silverware plant markers just like mine, from Monkeys Always Look.
• For your mouth: Bertie County Sea Salt & Black Pepper Peanuts, my favorite down-home snack that I raved about here.
• For your nose: An Out of The Kiln gingerbread candle from my favorite hometown shop, because they're as rustically gorgeous as they are delicious-smelling.
• And for the room in your home just begging for the cutest pop of happy wool felt you've ever seen: A Love California State Pillow just like mine, only custom-designed by you. You pick the state, the color, and where the heart goes... you know, for the place that makes you the happiest.

How to Win: 

• Leave a comment that describes your favorite place and why it's so special to you.

• If you're feeling generous, also let me know your favorite thing about The Freckled Citizen so that I can be sure to keep it up this year. And make sure an e-mail address is associated with your Blogger profile or included in the text of your comment so that I can reach you if you're the big winner.

• I'll randomly select a winner this Friday, July 9 ... the actual birthday of the blog!

• Good luck! I can't wait to read about everyone's favorite places.