Mother’s Day is almost here, so to celebrate, Contest Corner & NOVICA are giving away a $50 gift code for mom to treat herself! The winner will be emailed the code on Sunday morning, just in time for Mother’s Day! Read on for your chance to enter!

I’ve featured NOVICA here on Contest Corner several times – you’ll recall that my favorite serving tray came from them several years back! Mother’s Day is one of the biggest holidays for NOVICA – they have a whole section of gifts just for mom, with everything from jewelry to sculptures. But what really caught my eye was the hand-blown glassware:

I received a $50 gift code to pick out an item with, and I chose this set of 6 martini glasses in Sapphire Blue. I really love the bold color and the fact that you get enough to use at a medium-sized dinner party. These would be an ideal gift for the mom who is a hostess & foodie – or for a housewarming gift or wedding present (Which is what I got it for)! I ordered it 11 days ago and it’s still in transit as it’s coming from Mexico – it should be here very soon and I’m looking forward to receiving it!

Since Mother’s Day is on Sunday, I decided to host this as a special flash giveaway just in time for gifting! The winner of this giveaway will receive their code on Sunday morning, just in time to print out and tuck into a card or email over to mom if she lives far away. Give your mom a shopping spree at NOVICA to pick out whatever she wants!

One lucky Contest Corner reader will receive a $50 gift code to NOVICA, delivered via email. Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the continental United States, 18+, and ends on May 11th 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. NOVICA cannot ship to APO/FPO/DPO addresses. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.

Last week, you read my review of the complimentary rodent trap I received from Victor, the Tri-Kill Mouse Trap. If you, too, are seeking ways to mouse-proof your home, then this giveaway is for you. TWO lucky Contest Corner readers will each win a Tri-Kill Mouse Trap, ARV $14.99! Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the continental United States, 18+, and ends on May 15th, 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.

Ready to stock your pantry with some quick food items for workouts, brown bag lunches, or just to have handy for meals on the go? We’ve got you covered! One lucky Contest Corner reader will win 1 PROBAR product box of their choice, so read on!

As you know, we are both transitioning off our diet plan and preparing to remodel our kitchen. Although cooking will be more of a challenge over the coming month, I want to make sure that we can easily maintain the progress and positive lifestyle changes we’ve made. I’ve been focusing on picking up things like granola bars to keep on hand for breakfasts and lunches, and it’s working out awesome so far. So when a shipment arrived from PROBAR containing a variety of new products, I knew it would be a great thing to have around right about now!

One of the boxes we received included CORE Protein Bars. These are heavy bars with 20g of protein, with flavors like Mint Chocolate, Cookie Dough, Brownie Crisp and Peanut Butter Chocolate. These are very dense bars with around 290 calories each (Dependent on flavor). The meal items we ate on our diet plan were a little lower on calories, so I’ve either eaten portions of the bar or eaten the whole thing in lieu of one of my extras. These were pretty popular with both Jai and I and the family I fed them to – I just packed my last bar into a lunch bag today, so they were all put to use!

We also received a box of PROBAR Meal Bars, and oh my gosh, these were so good! Everyone who tried them really, really liked them. There were some delectable flavors like Chocolate Coconut and Double Chocolate, with really tasty blends of nuts, oats, chocolate and more. These are well and truly a meal at 370 calories each, so if you need a meal-on-the-go, this is great. My box of Meal Bars disappeared quickly!

Last but not least, I received an assortment of BOLT Energy Chews to try out. These are a unique gummy chew that were designed with athletic pursuits in mind – the kind of snack that you’d chew on while recovering from a big workout. I must admit, these were so darn tasty (Like gummy bears!) that I had a hard time staying out of them – I kept snacking on them because they were so good! I didn’t notice any energy boost from them, but I was also sitting motionless in front of my computer while I ate them, rather than running a 10k.

We loved all of the new PROBAR products we tried out – things like this have been a real help to us as we establish the next phase of our eating habits!

Click here to visit the PROBAR shop and enter code “BLOGGER” at checkout to receive 40% off your first order.

One lucky Contest Corner reader will win 1 PROBAR product box of their choice! Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the continental United States, 18+, and ends on May 7th, 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.

Are you looking for some helpful items you can include in a lunch when you’re “Brown bagging” it? THREE lucky Contest Corner reader will win a prize pack from Funny Face Dried Cranberries, so read on!

As we transition off our diet plan and maintain the habits which we have developed over the last year, one of the strategies I’ve incorporated is to cut myself some slack and think about what’s realistic at any given moment. As we move into the next phase of our healthy journey, I had big plans of doing a huge batch of once-a-month-cooking and making my own granola bars, freezer quiches, hummus…you name it. However, since we are about to start a massive remodel of our kitchen, are STILL finishing a massive remodel of the living room, and have been pulling very long hours at work, I quickly realized that I needed to scale back my plans. Instead, I bought some boxes of pre-packaged granola bars that met my caloric needs and have been focusing on easy-to-grab food items like bananas, hard boiled eggs, and so on. And you know what? It’s working out great! The transition has been going really smoothly. Once my kitchen is remodeled, I will enjoy getting a chance to put my pretty new space to use in whipping up tasty freezer meals – but for now, my living room couch is in the middle of the kitchen right near the stove, so I wisely realized that I shouldn’t try to do any huge cooking projects at the moment.

And that is where our friends at Funny Face Dried Cranberries come in. You may recall them from our previous review a few months ago; I recently received another fun variety pack with goodies like a tote bag, tshirt, and of course, dried cranberries. These cranberries are quite tasty and make a great afternoon snack – I love how they have both larger 5oz bags as well as small 1oz bags, which are the perfect size to tuck into a lunchbox for school or work, or even throw into your purse or car while you’re running errands. An important lesson that’s been hammered home to me over the last 11 months is the importance of planning ahead so you don’t end up starving hungry all the time, so having non-perishable items like Funny Face around is a great way to be prepared without buying a lot of fresh food that could spoil – trust me, when things get chaotic, I know how hard it can be to keep track of what’s in the fridge!

Wanna snag some variety boxes of Funny Face Cranberries to add to your pantry? Click here to visit their online store!

THREE lucky Contest Corner readers will each win a prize pack from Funny Face containing the following:

Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the continental United States, 18+, and ends on May 5th 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.

Ready to get your Spring cleaning underway? One lucky Contest Corner reader will win a variety of products from Affresh to help get your house squeaky clean, so read on!

I have to say, I love reviewing cleaning products. Anything that adds a touch of novelty to a necessary chore is OK by me, and having something new to use makes it feel like a little less of a chore. I received a package of products from Affresh and, in one of those serendipitous moments, it showed up right when I was hosting a party. I had made cake pops for the first time ever, and to say that my kitchen was trashed was kind of an understatement. Exhibit A:

I know a lot of bloggers watermark their photos so that people can find their site if the photo is shared, but you know what? If someone repins this, I don’t want anyone knowing this is my kitchen. Here you will see a counter stacked full of the serving dishes from Jeff’s birthday party, along with the remnants of hardened candy coating from my cake pops. When you see photos of beautiful food online, this is the part that gets cropped out. Haha!

Fortunately, I had a new suite of cleaning goodies to help me clean up my crumby kitchen.

This is an interesting little product that has a little scrubber pad built into the top to deep-clean your stovetop. This is very much a deep cleaner rather than a day-to-day surface agent, so fortunately I haven’t needed to use it too often, but you better believe I busted this out to scrub off the cake pop pieces!

My kitchen sink is stainless steel, so I was glad to receive a cleaner specifically for this type of surface. When I clean up the kitchen, I usually like to start with scrubbing out the sink – Flylady would be so proud! This is a nice product to have around for getting my sink all scrubbed out.

This is a multi-purpose spray that can be used on a variety of kitchen appliances. I’ve used it a number of times on one of the #1 dirty appliances in any kitchen, the microwave, with good results.

Now, I don’t have a dishwasher yet – hence the pile of dishes you see on the counter! – so I turned this product for cleaning out your dishwashing machine over to grandma for her expert opinion. Her dishwasher had actually been acting up and in need of repair, and she said that this soap worked better than she had expected, noting that it got out all of the soap scum and really cleaned the whole thing out. Two thumbs up from grandma tells me that this was more than acceptable, as no one I know keeps a cleaner house than her!

I also received a package of these tablets for cleaning out the inside of your washing machine. This was the first time I’d ever used anything like this – my washing machine is new-to-me and was already sparkling clean when I got it a few months back, so I didn’t really see any visible difference because it didn’t “Look” grungy to begin with, but I like the idea of having something like this around to sanitize the inside of the machine with.

So in summary? Affresh has certainly been helpful to me during my Spring cleaning thus far!

One lucky Contest Corner reader will win the same products I reviewed:

Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the continental United States, 18+, and ends on May 5th 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.

For the last 11 months, you’ve followed our Nutrisystem journey and shared your support and encouragement. After 316 days, Jai and I have dropped a combined 86 pounds, 13.9 BMI points and 55.7 inches. It’s been an amazing journey that far exceeded both of our expectations! So I am thrilled that in celebration of our achievements on the program, we get to host a giveaway where one lucky Contest Corner reader will win a 7-day sampler of some of Nutrisystem’s most popular breakfast items. So many of my readers have expressed interest in the program and asked us what the food was like, so I’m very excited that one of you will have a chance to taste-test some of the menu items! Jai and I ate all of these items very frequently over the last 316 days – it’s hard to pick a single favorite, but the ooey gooey cinnamon roll was right up there for both of us! YUM!

One lucky Contest Corner reader will win a “Breakfast of Champions” 7-day sampler containing the following items:

Please review the contest rules below for important eligibility details. Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form!

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the continental United States, 18+, and ends on May 6th 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Nutrisystem employees and their family members are ineligible. Must meet eligibility requirements to be on Nutrisystem; Prizes are provided by Nutrisystem based on program eligibility. No cash value. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies.

Last week, I shared my Gorton’s Fish Fillet Salad recipe with you. And today, I’m giving you a chance to win a prize pack so you can pick up some fish fillets of your own, plus some swanky kitchen gear like I showed off in my pics! Here’s the details:

One lucky Contest Corner will win a prize pack of Gorton’s goodies:

Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the United States, 18+, and ends on April 11th 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.

Looking for an alternative to sugar for adding some sweetness to your meals and drinks? One lucky Contest Corner reader will win a sampler pack of SweetLeaf Sweet Drops, so read on!

Since Jai and I have been working on losing weight since last year, one of the things we do on our plan is to try and avoid adding sugar to things. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have a Peep (Or two…) at Easter or add a lump to our tea; but overall we just stick to our specific plan and try to avoid adding anything extra. I’ve been purchasing zero-calorie sweeteners recently, so that we’d have something to add to plain oatmeal and yogurt. So when I had a chance to review SweetLeaf SweetDrops Liquid Stevia, I thought this would be a handy thing to have around. SweetDrops have 0 calories as well as 0 glycemic index and 0 carbohydrates, so according to their website, it is safe for those with diabetes as well. I received a sampler of different flavors – there are 17 flavors in the line – and my favorites so far have been Chocolate, Vanilla Creme and Valencia Orange. You just add a drop (Or many, if you’re me!) to whatever you like – I really like it in plain yogurt, myself. At first I added quite a bit since the flavor seemed subtle, but it seems to depend what you’re eating and maybe what mood you’re in, haha! I’ve even added drops to a banana – weird, I know, but it’s kind of like a very stripped-down banana split. I think these are tasty and handy for a lot of applications!

One lucky Contest Corner reader will win a sample pack of 5 SweetLeaf 6ml bottles! Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the United States & Canada, 18+, and ends on April 11th 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. Canadian entrants, please note that sometimes Canadians have to pay a small customs tariff on packages received – this is out of the control of the sponsor. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.

Are you ready to jazz up your water? One lucky Contest Corner reader will win two bottles of Vitamin Squeeze, so read on!

During our fitness journey over the last year, Jai and I have both made an effort to drink more water. Anything that can help encourage us to drink more is always a good thing, so when I had a chance to review Vitamin Squeeze, I was happy to take them up on it. Vitamin Squeeze is a powder that you add to water for a splash of flavor; it has zero calories, and the flavor which I reviewed (Black Cherry Energy) contains caffeine, electrolytes and vitamins. To use, you just add one squeeze of powder to your water bottle and stir. Easy squeezy! (Groan) The Black Cherry doesn’t taste sweet, but it adds enough flavor to keep things interesting; and I’m always happy to get a caffeine boost whenever I can. For further information on the nutritional facts and vitamins which this contains, click here.

One lucky Contest Corner reader will win two bottles of Vitamin Squeeze! Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the United States & Canada, 18+, and ends on April 11th 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. Canadian entrants, please note that sometimes Canadians have to pay a small customs tariff on packages received – this is out of the control of the sponsor. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.

We have a very fun giveaway for the child (Or inner child) in your life: One lucky Contest Corner reader will win the toy/book set LEGO Friends: Brickmaster as well as the Ultimate Sticker Collection, so read on!

I just loved LEGOs when I was a kid. I had a giant box full of them, like most children, and I had so much fun making my own buildings and other creations out of the plastic blocks. I also loved the little LEGO figurine sets – any type of miniature toy was just the coolest thing to me, and I would spend hours playing with all the little pieces. So it was with interest that I received some items from the LEGO Friends series. You may be familiar with this as the “Girly” LEGOS, sets which are constructed to appeal to little girls. Being a lover of all things frou-frou, I think the pastel blocks and flowery presentation is just too cute – I know I would have been super excited about this as a kid! The figurines in LEGO Friends are articulated more like dolls, so they don’t have that traditional blocky look of standard LEGO sets. LEGO Friends: Brickmaster is a cool box set that mixes a LEGO building set and two figures with a picturebook that accompanies the pieces and building of the various props. It helps bring the story to life and give the reader ideas of what to do with the pieces – a very fun presentation!

The LEGO Friends: Ultimate Sticker Collection is a really fun book full of stickers featuring the LEGO girls and props, with a variety of blank scenes in the book where the stickers can be placed. The stickers are meant to be reusable, so you can peel them off and use them again – similar to the “Stick ‘n Lift” Colorforms that I played with as a child. I spent hours playing with those things so this brought back some great memories!

There have been many valid concerns raised about the gendered nature of this series – and when it comes down to it, most toys on the market unfortunately conform to traditional gender stereotypes in one way or another. I get that people feel uncomfortable at the idea of making a “Girl’s version” of everything, as I feel that too, and the way society’s expectations frame how children play and think about the world is a very critical issue to address. My overall opinion is that toys like these can be OK if children are free to simply choose what they are interested in. When I was growing up, I played with Barbie, GI Joe, Hot Wheels, Littlest Pet Shop, Batman, My Little Pony – my parents never told me that I “Should” play with one thing or another because I was a girl. When my inner child saw LEGO Friends for the first time, she immediately said “OMG PINK LEGOS THAT’S SO COOL!!”, so I think LEGO friends can be OK for any little girl or boy who expresses interest so long as they are not pushed into being one way or another. Or, if you’re me, LEGO Friends are also good as an anniversary present for adults. I performed a wedding in my living room last year, and I baked a wedding cake for the couple that included LEGO bride and groom toppers, so this seems like a fitting gift for their first anniversary.

One lucky Contest Corner reader will win the Ultimate Sticker Collection: LEGO Friends (ARV $12.99) and LEGO Friends: Brickmaster (ARV $29.99)! Entry is easy via the Rafflecopter form below:

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada, 18+, and ends on March 31st 2013 at 11:00 PM PST. Canadian entrants, please note that sometimes Canadians have to pay a small customs tariff on packages received – this is out of the control of the sponsor. We are sorry, but P.O. boxes and APO/FPO addresses are not eligible to win. Winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter the following day and notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond to our notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Pinterest. We hereby release Facebook and Pinterest of any liability. By entering this giveaway, you are releasing Facebook and Pinterest and understand that you are providing information to Contest Corner and the giveaway sponsor, not Facebook or Pinterest. Contest Corner is not responsible for late entries or entries lost due to technical malfunctions. Please see our Privacy Policy and Disclosure for further details on our site’s policies. A sample was received to facilitate this review.