Friday, October 4, 2013

Someone had a birthday!

Hello 45

Hello 45! Ready or not, here I am!

Yep. The good ol' age machine flipped another digit on me earlier this week. (hahaha! Get it?) I'm taking it well, though, reminding myself that every day is a gift and it's so good to be alive! And I vow to embrace every age as best I can, striving to be healthier, happier and a better citizen of the world every day. Some days are better than others because let's face it, as fabulous as the 40s really are..sometimes it really sucks when I think about how I'm probably closer to the end than I am to the beginning. Oh I try not to think about it too much or let it get me down, but sometimes it sneaks in on me! Not good.

cupcakes for my birthday!
Anyway, I had a fabulous birthday on Tuesday. My husband gave me flowers and the new iphone 5S woot! which totally delights my youngest because she promptly inherited my 4S the lucky (spoiled) kid. My dear friend Claudia treated me to a fabulous lunch at nice Italian restaurant and the weather was so nice that we dined on the restaurant patio. It felt so decadent. I was flooded with birthday wishes from friends and family all over the world (thanks to Facebook and Instagram) throughout the day. Thank you so much for those of you who did this! Then around dinner time I got the sweetest surprise.. Maria came home from college for the evening just for my birthday! Wow! I was so surprised and so delighted. We all went out for sushi, came home for cupcakes and then Maria and I watched some cooking shows we had recorded while she was away. (We got into Cupcake Wars, Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen just before she left for college). What a special day!

It turns out this is the first time since I started my blog over five years ago that I didn't post on my birthday and do a birthday giveaway. I feel badly about that so I'm doing a belated birthday giveaway now.

My Birthday Present to one of you:

The 'Fabulous At Any Age' Gift Bag

Mini facial kit 
Package of Harvest Blend Herbal Tea*
Fancy chocolate bar.. your choice of dark or milk chocolate 
Book of your choice, up to $15 US value.

*Harvest Blend tea is caffeine free and contains cinnamon, ginger, hibiscus, natural cinnamon and apple flavors with other natural flavors, chamomile, roasted chicory and orange peel. Other tea may be substituted per winner's request or if it becomes unavailable.

Sounds nice, right? To enter this birthday giveaway, all you need to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below and then leave a comment in the comment section of this post telling me what you love best about October.

I love pumpkin desserts, cool evenings and warm sunny days and colorful leaves swirling to the ground in the breeze.

Giveaway terms and conditions:

  • Giveaway runs from today, October 4, 2013 through Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 12 am EST (midnight). All entries received after the close of the giveaway will be disqualified. 
  • You must be 18 years or older to enter. 
  • No purchase necessary to win and void where prohibited. 
  • Book may be sent anywhere in the world via TheBookDepository as long as they deliver to your mailing address. I will do my best to mail other gift items via international mail as allowed per shipping restrictions to your country. 
  • Prize value: $25 US plus shipping 
  • Odds of winning are dependent on the number of entries received. 
  • One winner will be drawn on October 11, 2013 and notified by email within 48 hours. Winner will have one week from the time I send my email to get back to me with their book choice and mailing address or their gift will be forfeited and a new winner will be chosen. 
  • Contact information [email and mailing address] will only be used for the purposes of contacting the winner and prize delivery. Information will not be saved, sold or used for any other purpose.


By entering your name in the Rafflecopter form below and in the comment section below, you agree to these terms and conditions.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

29 comments:

  1. Happy belated birthday! It sounds like it was lovely.
    My favorite thing about October is all the pumpkin related goodies like TJ's pumpkin ice cream. So good.

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  2. Happy happy birthday!! I'm so glad Maria was able to come home for it!

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  3. Wow, sounds like you had a great birthday, Christine. Happy Belated - and here's to many more dinners out, cupcakes, surprises and flowers :)

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  4. It sounds like you had a great day :) Mine is on the 9th :) the last year of being in the 40's ;) Have a wonderful year filled with lots of happiness :)

    Paula

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  5. Happy Birthday, again! It sounded wonderful! :) Mmmmm cupcakes. So sweet of Maria to visit just to celebrate. So sweet!

    My favorite part of October are pumpkins. I love pumpkins. The pies, the seeds, simply cooked pumpkins, love it! Always had a soft spot for Halloween too.

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  6. Happy birthday, my friend! I just want to send you good wishes. I won't enter your giveaway ad I won last year, but I sure wish I could share a lunch or cupcake with you!

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  7. Happy birthday a little late! It sounds like you had a good one. :) Thanks for the giveaway.

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    Replies
    1. And my favorite thing about October is the turning of the leaves and good R.I.P reading (I guess that's two things).

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  8. My rafflecopter question is what I love about October. I love Halloween!!! I love when the coffee houses add their holiday drink items to the menu, too. I love when the leaves change even though is such a small window for it where I am.

    Happy Belated Birthday! Hope it was great and thanks for the giveaway! So generous!

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  9. Happy Birthday!
    I love colorful leaves and all the veggies I can get at this time and make a lot of great recipes :)
    ~Karina V

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  10. Happy Birthday! it sounds like a wonderful day!! :D

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  11. Hello...I hope you've had a wonderful day!!!

    Thank you for the giveaway too :)

    What I like about October...I like how it starts to get cold and I love those days of smelling the earth after the first rainy days... :)
    Have fun!
    ****

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  12. Happy Birthday, Christine!!!

    XOXOXO

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  13. Happy Belated Birthday to you, mine was on Thursday. So wonderful your daughter came to surprise you and overall you had a great one.

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  14. I wished you Happy Birthday. Enforce, but sending belated wishes again. So glad you had such a great day. You are special and deserve special things. Oah, and you're not closer to the end, you're in the middle! xoxo

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  15. Sounds like you had an amazing day!

    Excited to see you this week, to catch up. Thank goodness for instagram... I'm hardly blogging these days but hope it will change soon (when company leaves and life settles a bit). :)

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    Replies
    1. I'm excited to see you this week, too! .. I'm already planning to indulge in my first pumpkin latte of the season. haha! See you soon! xo

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  16. Happy belated birthday Christine!

    so happy you had such a nice day :) It's awesome. It's nice of Maria that she came home for you, so sweet and clearly, it made your day :)

    My sister is curious :) What color of iPhone 5S did you get? Do you like it? What size (16G?)? LOL. She's looking to buy a new one :P

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    Replies
    1. Oups, forgot to answer your question. October? Hmmm, the colorful leaves :P

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  17. My beautiful, generous and intelligent friend. Happy Belated Birthday! Wishing you continued blessings, love, happiness, health and wealth.

    I haven't been much online, so didn't see this sooner.

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  18. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINE!!!! (btw its Emilie, using Nath's blog account :D)

    I love October because its yours and my birthday!!! and I love October because of the smell, its sunny and cold and the leaves changing colors!!!

    and btw I love your recipes :D

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    1. Aww Hi Emilie!!!! Thank you for the bday wishes and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU, too! October is a great birthday month. ;) So glad you love my recipes. I'm hoping to make the pumpkin ice cream in the Jeni's cookbook very soon. In fact, I'm dying to make it! I'll let you and nath know how it turns out when I do. xo

      As for the iphone, I got the gray/silver 5S 32G (I had 16G 4S and I was constantly running out of space and having to download photos every couple of months). I just didn't want the gold which is funny because it is the one everyone else in the world seems to want! My husband is waiting for it.. lol! I thought I was going to have a hard time getting used to the feel of the 5S after having a 4S for two years already (and before that a 3!), but I adapted quickly. It's super fast for one thing and I love the fingerprint security and the camera is definitely superior than the 4S.I'm still getting used to iOS7, but so far it's pretty great.

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  19. Thank you ALL so SO MUCH for the lovely birthday wishes! Getting older is a lot sweeter with friends like you in my corner! xoxoxo

    I wish ALL of you would enter the giveaway raffle, though.. you just have to fill out the form thingy! It's EASY! No pressure. ;)

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  20. Happy belated birthday! I love your attitude about getting older! Your birthday sounds like a great time with friends and family. It's good to let others spoil us every now and then, especially on our birthdays. :)

    My favorite thing about October are the cooler nights when I don't have to run the AC.

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  21. Sounds like you had a wonderful birthday! Fabulous giveaway too ~

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    1. Oops...I love the crisp cool days, the colors of the leaves, and all the decorations and festivities of the season...

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