She Likes Purple

On Goals (+ A Hotel Room Winner)

My year to-do list is sad, guys, and I've known this to be true for some time. I don't know if I just had an unexpectedly busy year or if taking off the entire month of February to watch Sons of Anarchy put a bigger wrench in my productivity than I first thought it would, but I will have left a lot undone at the end of 2012.

I think I'm more-or-less okay with this. 

Life is sometimes one task completion after another and sometimes it's just...the absolute opposite of that. I think I'm okay that my 2012 to-do list is basically the latter.

I still plan to write a list for next year and maybe reasses my priorities while doing so and also try to be more realistic about my home improvement time allotment. I just had a lot of ambitions to paint and re-decorate and hang photos and, wow, self, do you know the couch is in the same room as the wall you want to hang photos on? COUCH ALWAYS WINS.

I'm still doing daily goals via Twitter and I like it a lot. I'm also embracing the hell out of my reminders app (Alarmed). Basically everything I ever need to remember goes into that app and my phone beeps nine million times a day. It works for me, though!

A few things I'm considering adding to my to-do list in 2013:

A 60-Day Yoga Challenge (yoga 5x/week for 60 days)
Read all of the books on PW's best of 2012 list
Re-boot my book club
Start a cookbook club
Start Couch 2 5K and Couch 2 10K, so I can get back into the running groove of things

What are you already thinking about doing in 2013?

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Oh, and we have a Radisson stay giveaway winner!

Congrats to #57, Leigh. I'll be in touch soon! 

Radisson Hotel: A Free Night Giveaway

Oh boy, is this a fun giveaway.

You know I love to travel, right? In fact, I love to travel so much, I packed my family in the car this summer to spend a night at a lakeside hotel in Oklahoma. In August. When it was 113 degrees outside. The lake's water level was so low, there was no water under the fishing dock so Kyle had to fish in the hotel bathtub. (This actually happened. That poor kid.)

So, when Radisson contacted me about giving away one night's stay at any North American Radisson in honor of the hotel's 50th anniversary, I jumped at the chance. I don't think I've ever responded to an email faster. I love travel, very much, but I equally enjoy spreading the travel love.

Let's talk about where you should go, with a free hotel stay in your back pocket:

1. Chicago. Mike and I went to Chicago in 2011 and loved it, but I'm antsy to go back when it's not 39 degrees outside. I could enjoy quite a few cocktails on this terrace if the weather was warmer, couldn't you?

2. Aruba. I almost want to force you to choose Aruba. First of all, it's Aruba. Second of all, look:

I know! We should all go there right away and never leave.

 3. Your own backyard. Not literally, of course, but your own town. How often do you want to just steal away for the night, away from the laundry or the dishes or the laundry AND the dishes but splurging on a hotel room feels too indulgent and irresponsible? Often, I'd bet, but not when you have that hotel room covered. Here's a list of all the places there's a Radisson. There's likely to be one near you.

So, how do you win this free night away? Details...

• How to enter: Comment with what city you'd like to visit. (Radisson won't hold you to your answer, although I might. Kidding!) 
• Who can enter?: Anyone 18+, who currently lives in the U.S. or Canada.
• Voucher details: Valid for one free night, standard room, double occupancy at any North American Radisson Blu or Radisson hotel of the winner’s choice. The voucher expires one year after issue date.
• Giveaway is open until: 11/9 at 11:59 EST. 
• Other details: One comment per person, winner will be chosen through random.org, and winner will be announced no later than 11/15. 
• Bonus!: Other blogs are participating in this awesome campaign, and you can enter to win through ALL of them. Check here each day for the newest participating blog, then comment like crazy.

Good luck and happy travels!

***

Radisson offered me a free stay at any North American hotel in exchange for hosting this giveaway. Thanks to Radisson for that! Obviously my thoughts on travel are all my own, though, as Mike can attest. It was really hot that day in Oklahoma, and he would never have gone up there if it hadn't been for me.

Naya Shoes Giveaway Winner!

Wow, you all are my people. You like shoes as much as I do, it would seem. Thanks for all your comments on the Naya Shoes giveaway. I wish I could give each of you a pair of your own. (And I wish I could get the blue in addition to the black.)

So, the winning commenter is...

Carla, I'll be in touch!

Giveaway: A Pair of Naya Shoes

A couple months ago, I got an email offering me a free pair of shoes. One, this doesn't happen nearly often enough, and two, YES PLEASE. The offer itself was very nice indeed but then I took a look at the shoes in question and they looked incredible. The company is Naya Shoes (they featured a short-and-sweet interview with me on their blog a couple months ago) and their line is filled with unique, lovely, perfect-for-summer shoes. They also have a great company philosophy and commitment that's worth a read.

I got to pick the pair of my choice (seriously, these people are vying to be my new best friends, right?) and I went with the Cerena in black, but the blue has called to me often since then.

When I received the shoes, Mike even commented on how nice they are. They took a couple days to break in (I don't wear heels as often as I used to, so I think my feet just needed a refresher) but after that, they have been comfortable and a delight to wear to the office or on a date night this summer. I can't tell you how often I'm complimented on them. (Fine, I can. A lot!)

The lovely (seriously lovely) people at Naya Shoes has offered one reader their own pair of the Cerena, in whatever color you'd like.

Simply leave a comment below and a new pair of shoes could be yours soon.

Details:

• To enter: leave a comment on what color you'll choose if you win (we won't hold you to it, if you change your mind!)
• Giveaway ends: 11:59 p.m. on Friday, July 27
  
• Who can enter: Anyone in the U.S.!
• Other notes: One comment per person, the winner will be selected by random.org and announced on the site by 7/30.

Thanks to Naya Shoes and to everyone who enters!

***

Naya Shoes gave me one free pair of shoes without requesting a review in return, and I wasn't otherwise compensated for this post.

Tea Collection Winner!

I have a winner from my recent Tea Collection giveaway!

The winner is Jess, who kind of hiliariously left this comment:

She wasn't the first comment, but the second. And she gets a fun gift certificate for her adorable baby boy, Callum.

Jess, I'll email you soon.

For everyone else, don't forget Tea Collection this holiday season (and keep track of sales and new lines on Facebook and Twitter).

Tea Collection Giveaway!

A while back, Tea Collection reached out and offered me a gift certificate to spend as I wanted on any of their products. A very nice offer, of course, and I said yes because I've liked their clothes and gifts for ages.

In fact, I usually head to their site among the first when I want to pick up a gift for a friend with a new baby or kid's birthday. I love their classicly sweet clothes for newborns and original-yet-adorable clothes for older kids.

Here are some of their current things I love:

{From top to bottom, left to right: Saltwater Sandals, Skinny Pointelle Leggings, Super Taco Truck Tee, Fiesta Plaid Shirt, Tin Ornament Henley, Dueling Tigers Pajamas, Skinny Cord Cargos, Simple Satire Sneaker}

Beyond their site and products, though, I want to give some quick kudos to their customer service. They were a dream company to work with. Their pitch was personal and thoughtful, they gave me plenty of time to select what I wanted and then receive the products to write about, and each email we exchanged was professional yet friendly. Maybe it's the marketer in me, but I know it can be a challenge to pitch effectively and personally, and I really appreciated all they did.

I finally settled on some fall-ish things for Kyle because he doesn't have a lot. It's either summer or winter in Texas, except for a few weeks that are chilly-in-the-morning-yet-warm-in-the-afternoon.

We got the Adios Bicicleta Tee, the DF All Stars Hoodie, and another t-shirt, too, that we layer with a white thermal tee.

The clothes are out of our usual clothes-for-Kyle budget (mainly because we keep that budget pretty pathetic), but they're fantastic. Well-made, really cute, and we've gotten big compliments on them, too.

If you would like a few pieces from Tea Collection (and you would, I swear), then it's quite possibly your lucky day. I have a $75 gift certificate for one reader to use as they'd like. Just comment below, and I'll randomly select and announce a winner by November 8th.

Good luck!