And the winner is.....

Ali from 33 Shades of Green

Congrats Ali! And thank you everyone for entering and following me! 

More recipes to come....

100th Post and Giveaway...

I can not believe this is my 100th post! 

What better way to "celebrate" then to have a blog giveaway. I have won my share of giveaways over the last few months and feel it is time to pay it forward. 

Just because she is my favorite author and any chance to increase awareness of her books....I am giving away her latest book! 

Enter to win Emily Giffin's new book - Heart of the Matter.

Lately, I have been addicted to Bravo and all the Real Housewife shows. I am not sure what took me so long to start watching, but now I can't stop. I love Bethenny Frankel's character. She just cracks me up! 

So, if you already bought Emily's book..... I will give the winner Bethenny's book The Skinnygirl Dish. 

Giveaway is open to United States residents only. 

I will select a random winner sometime on Tuesday, July 20th. 

3 chances to enter the giveaway: 

1 - Leave a comment on this blog post. Include your email address if it is not included in your profile. 

2 - Become a follower; then leave a comment and let me know. If you are already a follower; leave another comment.

3 - Post a link to this giveaway on your blog and leave me another comment to let me know. 

Good luck and happy blogging!

Emily Giffin

For those that don't know, I won a contest from Emily Giffin! Details here.

Emily is a New York Times Bestselling Author of 5 of my favorite books (all of her books!) Her latest book, "Heart of the Matter" was released on May 11th. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced, authographed copy from Emily before the trip. I LOVED this book and it is possibly my favorite Giffin book to date. Although, I may be biased since I have been all hyped up from excitement! If you have not bought this book yet, RUN out and buy it. I do suggest reading Emily's books in order though. So start with "Something Borrowed"; which is being made into a movie starring Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin and John Krasinski right now!

The contest included airfare, 2 night stay at - the brand new - Loews Hotel in Atlanta, gift card for $150 at Bistro Niko and VIP access to Emily's Launch party. My lucky +1 (Erica) and I had an amazing trip and no surprise the best part was meeting Emily! 

Erica and I walked into the VIP party and probably looked out of place. I say this, because we just were not sure what to do with ourselves and at this point there were only a handful of people in the room. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot Emily. She had her camera out snapping pictures and laughing with friends. I couldn't get over how normal she was and I didn't even met her yet! For some reason, I was expecting bodyguards to usher her into the room. As I was being entranced by all of this, Stacie Hanna - Emily's promotion planner - came up to us and Erica said "This is Amy, she won the contest!" Thanks to Erica, because I couldn't talk at the moment. Stacie was sweet and kept saying she was so glad that we came - who would turn down this invitation?!?! Stacie walked us over to Emily and then it all became real. Emily was all excited and gave me a big hug. She asked us what we were up to so far in Atlanta, talked a little bit about the contest, introduced us to people and complimented our dresses/shoes. Which by the way, Emily looked amazing! After we talked for a few, we started taking pictures. With my camera, another photographers' and even Emily's. She knows her way around a camera! 

After pictures, she signed books for the few lucky people that we bought books for. While she signed, we talked about "Something Borrowed" hitting the big screen. She dished about the cast and her time on set. Emily even gets to make a cameo in the movie! 

The crowd started to grow and we decided to share Emily with everyone else. :-) Erica and I mingled around the party meeting new friends. Towards the end of the night, we decided to get in line so we could again thank Emily and say goodbye. We took more pictures and chatted for a bit telling Emily that we already bought tickets to see her when she comes to Grand Rapids in June. Emily said "we will be like best friends by then." 

Emily is the one of the sweetest people I have ever met.  She is grounded, friendly, funny and so very personable. Which makes me an even BIGGER fan. I will never forget this trip!

Me with Emily and her new cover!

Yummy Cake!

Me, Emily and Erica

More pictures are on my facebook page and a few "PR Photos" here.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

I have the night off from cooking as Chad and I are heading to a local Mexican restaurant for some Cinco De Mayo fun!

Take a look at my Mexican Inspired dishes here.
One of my favorites was this Mexican Inspired Chicken.
The picture was back when I first started the blog and was using my cell phone as my camera. Sorry for the poor quality, but this dish is awesome!

Also, hop on over to my friend Ali's blog for a giveaway. $60.00 gift certificate to CSN Stores!

Great Giveaway from Emily Giffin....

When I first started this blog, I decided that I was just going to stick to recipes. Well, sometimes things change, right? Don't get me wrong.... I will mostly focus on cooking and new recipes, but from time to time I might throw another post in the mix.
Which leads me to today's post: Emily Giffin is having another giveaway! The difference with this one is that everyone wins!
All you have to do is buy the above book today (and today ONLY), then send your receipt to Emily and she will send you an autographed copy of any of her first 4 books.
All the details are here.

Book cover picture from irenezuttel.com

I interrupt my scheduled recipe post to share a personal note...

I won a giveaway from Emily Giffin!!!!!!


The prize package includes: an advanced, autographed copy of her new book HEART OF THE MATTER (which comes out May 11th), an invitation for 2 to her launch party on May 11th in Atlanta, 2 night stay at the Loewes Atlanta Hotel, dinner for 2 at Bistro Niko and a $200 gift card to cover traveling expenses.
This is all surreal and I am still in shock. Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is relatable, heart-warming and addicting. I have read every single one of her books and urge you to do the same. You will not be disappointed!! Her first book, SOMETHING BORROWED, is going to be a movie next year. With an all star cast including Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, John Krasinski, Colin Egglesfield and Steve Howey. I heard that Emily is even making a cameo appearance.

I can't believe I get to meet her! I hope I don't forget to move my lips and talk. :)
I am looking forward to reading HEART OF THE MATTER next week!

Picture from Emily Giffin's website.