Tag Archives: contest

Puzzled and Polished Earrings Giveaway

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Hello, Double Chinners! I’m going to start off with a fact that may surprise some of you (it will at least surprise the people who don’t follow me on instagram). Here it comes…

I am slightly obsessed with nail polish.

The obsession started in junior high, when I wasn’t quite bold enough to put colorful streaks in my hair, but felt that blood red nail polish was edgy enough to freak out my mom. When that didn’t work, I moved onto sparkly greens and teals, chunky glitters shaped like hearts and stars. My nails became a 10-fingered salute to my growing creativity and self expression, often chipped and showing the hard life of a suburban teenaged girl. (Catch that sarcasm?).

I gave up on nails in college, because the maintenance got to be too much and I preferred my nails short and unpolished, maybe sometimes with a clear coat for shine. Somehow, over the past two years, my love for nail polish has been reignited. There are several people to blame, the first being KJ Pugs, a dear friend and lover of all things glossy. The second is my friend Jenny, who brought me to my first pedicure, where I fell in love with the 5 minute foot massage and delicate, white flowers painted on my big toes.

earringtowin

Today, for the love of nail polish, I’m offering you this beautiful, hand-made pair of earrings from Puzzled and Polished, an awesome new business venture from my blogger friend Manda. I believe these earrings were made with Zoya Zuza, a lovely mermaid-esque teal. Manda’s son has autism, and she decided to combine her love of nail polish with her mission to raise awareness and funds for Cristian’s Cruisers, a Walk Now for Autism team. Here I am, wearing my pair. Mandy hand paints each piece with her choice of a special nail polish, and then fastens them to durable and high-quality jewelry findings. Combining nail polish with a super awesome mission? My cup of tea!

Don't let the giant wreath distract you (I know, I need to take it down!) from the beautiful Puzzled and Polished earrings I'm wearing!

Don’t let the giant wreath distract you (I know, I need to take it down!) from the beautiful Puzzled and Polished earrings I’m wearing!

If you’d like to enter to win this pair of earrings, all you have to do is “like” the Puzzled & Polished Facebook page and leave me a comment on this blog entry. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, so get likin’, before my nails dry! ;)

Why do you like Chike? Giveaway!

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Hellloooo Double Chinners! I’ve missed you! I’m back from my trip to Thailand and while I have TONS to tell you about, I wanted to kick off the new year with a great giveaway! Chike, tasty high protein shakes, is offering one of my readers a BPA Free Shaker and Ball and a set of their best flavors. Read my review and then enter by following the instructions at the bottom of this post.

20130106-183108.jpgI had initially heard of Chike through some of my favorite bloggers who focus on bariatric surgery. When you have weight loss surgery, you can’t eat as much, so quality high protein drinks like Chike are desirable to fill you up but also give you vitamins, protein and calcium. Since I’m a fan of anything quick and tasty, I definitely wanted to try these out as they’re not just for people who’ve had bariatric surgery.

The first one I was going to try was the protein packed iced coffee…but my husband got to it first. This is a big deal, Chike, because most of the “blog stuff” that comes to our house he won’t touch as it’s more often than not something weird like mushroom noodles. Matt’s review? “Very good! I was skeptical of a high protein coffee but with ice and water this had the caffeine I wanted and it filled me up.” Matt didn’t realize it was a meal replacement until I told him later that day when he didn’t want dinner! Haha!

photo 1I decided to try the chocolate flavor, and went all fancy by using cold milk in the shaker instead of water. I added some calories and fat this way but I prefer a creamier tasting drink and love that cold milk foam you get on top! After a couple hearty shakes, my drink was ready to go. I was also very pleasantly surprised, because most weight loss powdered drinks taste like chocolate flavored chalk. Not this one. It also didn’t have little bubbles of powder in it still, which is a plus if you’re a huge freak about texture like I am. Nice!

I haven’t tried them all, but my next favorite is strawberry. It doesn’t taste exactly like a sun ripened strawberry, maybe more like strawberry ice cream. I’d love to maybe one day see this shake from Chike with some small dried strawberry pieces. Then it would totally be like a milkshake! Chike also sent me vanilla, creamsicle and banana, but those are chillin in my pantry waiting to be eaten for breakfast! :)

I think you’ll really like these if you give them a try, so please enter the giveaway. Once again, just like Chike’s Facebook page here and write on their wall why you would like to try Chike. You can just copy and paste something like this – “I’m Jane and was sent over by the Double Chin Diary. I would like to try Chike because I want one of those snazzy shaker ball cups!”

photo 2Then just come back here, tell me you commented, and you’re good to go! If you want an extra entry, send a tweet about the giveaway and tag @lyssacurran or @doublechindiary and @chikenutrition with this link: http://wp.me/p2kXVY-ym .

Once again, leave a comment letting me know you did. You guys rock!This contest will end on Monday, January 14th at 12:01 AM PST. I will randomly pick a winner. GOOD LUCK!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to read about how one of my new year’s resolutions is already off to a strong, itchy and quite-a-story type of start! (It involves: severe weather, mosquitoes, jungle treks and getting lost. Whee!)

Homemade Harvey Review and Giveaway!

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Homemade Harvey Crushed Fruit

Hi Bloggies,
You can tell we’re getting close to the Holidays because it’s giveaway central over here lately! Today, the folks at Homemade Harvey are offering you a chance to win a $50 whole foods giftcard, and a bunch of their super yummy crushed fruit. Read on for why you’re going to want to get your hands on this sweet fruity snack!

Happy Girl likes Homemade Harvey’s

When I saw Homemade Harvey in my Facebook news feed, I was intrigued. I always like trying healthy, low cal snacks and sharing them with you. The company sent me some free samples – and holy moly, I was blown away! Here’s the beauty of Homemade Harvey – it’s nothing fancy. It’s simple. It reminds me of a yummy smoothie or some fresh apple sauce – because all it really is is crushed fruit. There’s no chemicals, no preservatives and no weird added flavors – just fruit all crushed up and smashed in a handy little pouch for you to slurp up.

When I first got them I had a fear of the texture. I like smooth things, but would sucking something from a pouch make me feel like a toothless toddler? Thankfully, the answer is no, and I kept thinking what a great snack this would be for kids or for anyone on the run in need of something fast. My only complaint is I ate the packet too fast and would find myself squeezing for one more last drop. But uh, that’s a problem with my appetite – not the product.

Homemade Harvey comes in four different flavors -
Mango Pineapple Passionfruit
Blueberry Strawberry Apple (My favorite)
Apple Pear Oats Ginger
Banana Strawberry Kiwi (My second favorite)

Check out the ingredients list on my fav flavor – Organic strawberry, banana, apple, kiwi and lemon peel. That’s it. Love that.

The texture of Homemade Harvey’s is smooth and soft – no yucky gunk here!

Because I’m a weirdo, I was curious what the paste looked like. I expected brown gunk like day old guacamole, but instead this delightful and cheery smooth orange puree came out of the package. Looks like baby food. Totally edible, and not yucky looking like I was fearing. Even better, calorie-wise, each one comes in under 100 calories – the lowest is the blueberry with 80 calories. Considering this is at least two servings of fruit crammed into each pouch, this is a snack I feel good about slurping up. You can find it at Whole Foods and at some Ralph’s stores – you can check the website for a store locator.

So – now you definitely want to win some Harveys and a $50 Whole Foods gift card, right?! It’s easy to enter – first thing you have to do is leave a blog comment saying which flavor you’d like to try most – and second thing is just mark “I did it” on rafflecopter. You can score extra entries by tweeting, “liking” on FB, etc. Just make sure you check the box “I did it!” each time on Rafflecopter. This giveaway will last for one week, which means it will end at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, November 14th. US only, please. GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review and Giveaway: Plus Size Lace Custom-Fit Bra by Comfort Choice

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Men:
This is another post you might just wanna skip – unless you have any loveable curvy ladies in your life (38 – 48 B-DDD) who would like a free bra!
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A couple weeks ago, I told you about how the kind folks at Full Beauty sent me a new bra after reading one of my complaints about never being able to find a comfortable bra. Well – they really put the cherry on top for me, because they recently sent me the Custom Fit Bra by Comfort Choice – and here’s the thing – it’s SO COOL, as in, wow, great idea – that there is a patent pending! What’s so cool about it? Well, not only can you adjust the shoulder straps, but you can adjust the band size by two inches – larger or smaller – for the perfect fit. As someone who fluctuates a lot in weight, this bra is going to be so important to my journey towards losing 50 pounds. Here’s a great picture that shows you how it works – all you have to do is adjust the straps to get a little extra room or make it a little extra snug.

Comfort Choice Bra from FullBeauty.com


When I first put on the bra, I was pleasantly surprised that for as “high tech” as it is, it doesn’t have underwire! When I worked at a bra store when I was 16, I was told that women over a size B cup should not go wire-free. Thankfully, the bra designers have proved that old-school rationale wrong, and now ladies of all sizes can enjoy having their breasts cradled by fabric and not pokey, cold wires. A couple of other perks I noticed – there are nice wide, padded shoulder straps, but they’re not big enough to stick out under clothing. The bra itself has a pretty lace overlay, which may not work for a very thin t-shirt or fabric, but is not visible under regular blouses. I’m also thrilled by the color – it’s hard to find plus bras in pretty patterns and shades, and I was sent the dark magenta, which is a gorgeous purple plum. One more thing that matters to me – I never “need” big cleavage or want maximum lift, but this bra does a great job hoisting the girls up into a nice, pretty and feminine position – nothing too Playboy bunny but nothing too demure, either. It’s the perfect medium for showing off your assets without showing too much.

Be wise with your size with the Comfort Choice Bra – the only bra that adjusts in size to fit your changing shape.

I like knowing that with this bra, I’ll get continued use after it even during and after my weight loss. Even the twelve or so pounds I’m down have affected the way my bras fit, so it’s good to know this one is going to stick it out with me for the long haul. Right now, I have it extended to the max so It’s a little more snug than I would like (Definitely still wearable) but it’s great to know in a couple more pounds, I can cinch it in to be the perfect size. Here’s another thing that’s pretty cool – even if it’s not on sale, it’s super affordable at $44.99. However, right now it’s being shown at $29.99 – $34.99. Score!
Now that you’ve read my review, I’m pretty sure you’d like to try it out yourself, right? Full Beauty is generously giving away one comfort choice bra to one of my readers. The bra is sized from 38 B – 48 DDD. If you’re not in that range of sizes, enter for a friend or family member! It’s easy to enter to win – I’m using Rafflecopter and all you have to do for one entry is to visit the website and tell me which color you would choose. For additional entries, “like” FullBeauty on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and send out a tweet about this giveaway. This giveaway will end on Monday, November 12 at 11:59 PM – GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PopChips Tortilla Chips Giveaway!

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Enter for your chance to win a case of Popchips tortilla chips!

When I was in college, my fabulous dietitian had samples of PopChips in her office. I very clearly remember taking a sample, because hey, who doesn’t love free stuff, but thinking “Oh boy, another low fat fakey.” Well, I was wrong – because the crunchy, salty potato-y goodness of PopChips kept me coming back. I’ve been a fan of them for several years and usually replenish my stash at Costco, and my favorite flavor is definitely the BBQ. My husband even likes them, and that’s saying a lot as he is definitely a fan of good old fashioned fatty boom boom BBQ potato chips. (Who’s not, right?!)

A happy girl with a happy PopChips snack at FitBloggin’ 12!

This year at FitBloggin’, I was psyched to get to try out the new PopChips Tortilla Chips! There are four flavors – Nacho Cheese, Ranch, Salsa and Chili Limon. My favorites are definitely ranch and chili limon – they’re slightly spicy, salty and tangy and are perfect on their own. With half the fat of fried or flavored tortilla chips and 0 grams of saturated fat, these are a chip you can feel good about eating. I also love that they’re all natural – they’re Non-GMO and have no preservatives or fake flavors and colors. I think this goes a long way in snacking, because I don’t feel as “heavy” when I eat natural snacks. My only request to PopChips is that they make a plain tortilla version – I’d love to have a lower calorie tortilla chip for guacamole or salsa or light nachos.(Nerdy industry sidenote: They have the cutest writing on the bags. Props to their copywriter and marketing comms team! I’m so much more inclined to buy a lighter food product if the attitude is fun! (I know, I’m weird.))

Nacho Cheese PopChips – a lighter version of Doritos that I think taste better! These would be great crunched up in a lightened up Taco Salad. Yum, I might make that tonight!

Today, you get to enter for a chance to try tortilla PopChips for yourself – because PopChips has generously offered to give away a case of PopChips Tortilla Chips to one lucky Double Chin Diary reader! To enter, leave a comment below telling me which flavor you’d most like to try (Salsa, Ranch, Nacho or Chili Limon), and if you’re feeling lucky, score additional entries by “liking” popchips on Facebook, following PopChips on Twitter and sharing this giveaway with your friends on Twitter. (Please use RaffleCopter to tell me you did it – embedded below.) The contest will end at midnight on Friday, October 12, and one lucky US reader will win by random drawing – so get to it!

Let’s get poppin’! Good luck!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to win a free smart balance product? Pledge for a healthier heart!

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Hi Friends! Smart Balance sent me a coupon for a free Smart Balance product, and I wanted to share it with you. This month is the Cholesterol Education Month. I’m lucky that I’ve never had problems with my cholesterol, but I know that this is a problem that’s widespread and common.

To keep my cholesterol down, I always try to eat 7-8 servings of veggies per day. Today I reached my quote with a yummy snack of carrots, celery and cauliflower with some fat free ranch. It was tasty! There’s a lot of things you can eat to keep your cholesterol down – like oatmeal, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. These things will help keep your ticker tap-dancin’ away :)

Through the end of this month, if you “share” the Smart Balance Facebook “Heart Healthy” life pledge, you’re helping them reach their 5,000 share goal. Once they reach their goal they will donate $5,000 to Mended Heart, Inc., to support heart disease patients and their families. Because I have a cousin who’s recently had a lot of heart problems and surgeries, this cause is important to me! Please share if you’re able to, and then leave a comment letting me know the best thing you’ve done for your ticker today :) On Friday at 12 pm I’ll randomly pick one comment number to receive the coupon for a free smart balance product.