Shelf Reliance Giveaway Prizes and Details

As some of you already know, this week I'm hosting a party for Shelf Reliance.  The party doesn't officially start till Wednesday but I've got a lot of preliminary information to give out.  Please keep checking back throughout the week, as I'll have constantly be updating my site with new posts for the party.

And if you're not following me on Facebook and Twitter, please do so that you can see all the announcements!

Now let's talk prizes!  We have 5 giveaway prizes!  This week's giveaways will be different from my usual "leave a comment on this post" giveaways.  Please read carefully under each prize to find out what you need to do to win.

Prize - A pair of earrings from my shop. (Winner will choose color.) 

How to Win:  Simply comment on any of my Shelf Reliance posts this week. This includes any post published Monday, May 30 through Friday June 3.  I'll also give you an additional entry if you attend one of our chats.

Prize - A Custom Colored Memory Wire Bracelet from my shop.

How to Win:  You MUST attend one of the chat sessions this week to win a bracelet.  If you attend more than one of the 3 chats, I'll give you additional entries.

Prize - Fruit Sample Pouch

How to Win: To win this giveaway you must attend at least one chat event.  Misty will ask some simple questions about the products on her site. The first person to answer each question correctly during the chat will get a point. The person with the most points at the end of all three chats will get a fruit sample pouch shipped to them. (Misty's even going to tell you where to find the answers, so this will be super easy)

Prize - Fruit Sample Pouch #2

How to Win:  This is another chat giveaway. So you must attend a chat to win. During the chats, we will have an ABC game, where Misty will call out 10 letters.  The first person (during the chat) to name a product sold at Shelf Reliance that starts with that letter will get a point. The person with the most points at the end of all three chats will get a fruit sample pouch shipped to them.

Grand Prize: $100 in Shelf Reliance Products (winner's choice)

How to Win:  Leave a comment on this giveaway post.  Further entry instructions are on the post. Deadline to enter the $100 giveaway will be June 10.

If you have any questions about the giveaways, please feel free to email me.

Why The Need For Food Storage?

As many of you already know, I'm hosting a party for Shelf Reliance this week.  They are a company that sells emergency food storage and supplies.

I first became acquainted with and interested in the idea of food storage in 2009.  When it was first explained to me, it made perfect sense.  But to some, I realize that it seems kind of crazy and even apocalyptic.  To help you understand it better, I've decided to explain my own frame of reference to you.

First off, as the granddaughter of farmers, I realize that our grandparents used to grow and can their own food.  My grandparents didn't have Wal-Mart.  They had to be self-reliant.  Today we have things super easy! And sometimes I think that's to our detriment, because we aren't nearly as prepared for hard times as our grandparents and great grandparents were.

So what do I mean by hard times?

Well, for starters, there's inflation.  If you've been to the grocery store in the last year, you've got to notice the rise in prices.  It may not seem like a big deal to some to pay 10 cents more here and 50 cents more there, but when you add it all up, it can put a huge strain on your pocketbook.

Another thing that affects so many people right now is unemployment.  In 2008, my husband's business was hit hard, causing him to seek employment elsewhere.  He was lucky to find a good job, which he trained for for 3 months, only to be laid off, after about a month.  This layoff was the last thing we ever expected, and I wish we had food storage at that time.  It would have made things a lot less stressful just knowing that we didn't have to worry about what we're going to eat.

The Recent Disasters

And finally, another thing that seems more relevant to myself and many others than ever before, is the possiblity of weather disasters: floods, tornadoes, hurricane, tsunamis, even the snowstorms from earlier this year. 

I never thought we'd have a serious weather emergency here.  And yet we had a power outage all over the city 2 years ago due to storms.  Then this past winter we had a snow storm.  Our snow storm would be no big deal to those of you who are used to it, but we don't do snow down here.  It shut down our entire city...no, make that the entire county and surrounding counties for days!  Lucky for us, we had food, and we didn't lose power!

The same cannot be said for us during the tornadoes.  Just in our part of the state alone there were half a million people without power, and many were without power for over a week!  Very, very few stores were open.  And most of the ones who were only took cash (no checks, no debit or credit cards!).  The wait at our local Publix (once you're in line) was about 3 hours, and they were not allowed to sale refrigerated or frozen items due to the risk of food poisoning.  It was total chaos at the stores!

It was so crazy, we actually left town to visit my husband's family.  And we drove 70 miles before we came to an open gas station. (And yes, the gas station were chaotic too.)  While we were out of town my mother-in-law explained that they were without power for 2 weeks during one of hurricanes years ago. (Yikes!)  Now practically everyone in their area has a generator.

My Conclusion

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that you never know when something's going to happen.  We have fire drills in school, even though the chances of having an actual fire are very slim.  We buy health insurance, hoping (and often thinking) that we'll never use it, and so on.  A few years ago, I never thought I'd need extra food supplies, but I've already seen so many instances where it could have been useful to us.  And in the event of another disaster, I want to have the peace of mind, in knowing that we are prepared, that we'll be self-reliant, and I don't want to have to count on relatives and/or Publix to save us.

For more information on emergency preparedness, check out Ready.gov

You're Invited to a Shelf Reliance Party!

I'm very excited to announce a fun and informative event that I'll be hosting here in a couple of weeks!

June 1-3 -  I will be hosting a Virtual Party for Shelf Reliance, a company that specializes in long term food storage and emergency products.

Throughout the party I'll be "serving up" some foods from Shelf Reliance.

And you'll get special party pricing on all Shelf Reliance products! This is 5-50% off!

Misty Marsh is our Shelf Reliance consultant, and she will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about Shelf Reliance and their products.  I'll also posting an interview with Misty! 

And we will have prizes!


I'll be giving away some jewelry from my shop, and we'll also have a prize of $100 worth of Shelf Reliance products!

I'll be announcing all the rules for how you can qualify for the prizes a few days before the party starts.

And last but not least, we will have Free LIVE Chats.  Each chat is 30 minutes long.  Here are the dates and times:

Wednesday - June 1 - 4 PM Eastern
Thursday - June 2 - 10 PM Eastern
Friday - June 3- 11 AM Eastern

Just go to this Chat Room at the appropriate time and enter you name.  This will be a great chance to ask questions, and we will even have prizes for attendees!

How to Order: You can also use this price list.  If you have any questions or if you'd decided like to place an order at a discount (5%-50% below retail price), you can do so through my "party!"  All you need to do is contact me or my consultant Misty between now and June 3 at 10:00 pm PST.  You must contact one of us directly to get the discounted party pricing. 

Hope you'll join the fun! In the meantime, please grab a button for your blog and help me spread the word about this party!

<a href="http://www.simplysweethome.com/2011/05/youre-invited-to-shelf-reliance-party.html" target="_blank"><img alt="ShelfRelianceParty" border="0" src="http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/JHRivers/partybutton.jpg" /></a><br />

Friday Favorites - Week 65

Welcome to Friday Favorites!  Before I get to this week's featured posts, I have two announcements.  First off, I'm sponsoring a giveaway for Fancy this Friday at Truly Lovely.  Winner gets 3 pairs of earrings!  Hope you'll stop by and enter.

Secondly, I want to tell you all about the blog event I'm having.  Next week I'll be hosting a Virtual Party for Shelf Reliance!  This is an awesome company which specializes in food storage and emergency products.  The party officially runs from June 1-3, but I'll be kicking it off with some preliminary posts on Monday and Tuesday.

What can you expect?  LIVE Online Chats with Consultant Mistry Marsh, Product reviews and highlights, a blog interview with Misty, and prizes including $100 worth of Shelf Reliance Products and jewelry from my etsy shop!

Chats - I hope some of you will come by for the chats.  To participate, just go  to the Shelf Reliance Chat Room, and enter the name you wish to go by.  Right now we're planning to do three 30 minute sessions, one on each day, and to make it convenient for everyone to attend, we'll have a morning, afternoon, and evening session. At the chats you'll have a chance to ask Misty some questions, and we'll also have some games for the $100 prize.

I'll be posting chat times and more details on what you've got to do to qualify for the prizes in the next few days.  If you have any questions about the chat or the party, feel free to send me an email. 

I'd totally appreciate it if you would grab my party button, and also help me spread the word on Twitter and Facebook!  Thanks a bunch!

<a href="http://www.simplysweethome.com/2011/05/youre-invited-to-shelf-reliance-party.html" target="_blank"><img alt="ShelfRelianceParty" border="0" src="http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/JHRivers/partybutton.jpg" /></a><br />

Now let's check out this week's features!

Flower & Flutters Party Table from Confessions of a Dishaholic (Beautiful!!)

Minnie Cake from I Design

Bunting/Banner Wall Art from The 2010s Housewife

Coffee Pie from Cooking with Kay

Wall Garden from Blue Velvet Chair

Party time! Link up your posts below!

Custom Postcard Giveaway

I'm pleased to offer you guys a new print giveaway from Uprinting this week!  Uprinting offers a wide range of custom products from posters to event ticket printing.

Today you have a chance to win some custom postcards.  You can use these in a variety of ways: blog/business promotions, baby announcements, thinking of you cards, and more!

One Simply Sweet Home reader will win 100 custom postcards.  Here are the prize details:

100 Postcards 5” x 7”

14pt Cardstock Gloss

Front Only printing

2 Business Days Print Turnaround Time

Restriction: Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only.

Giveaway Closed!  Congrats to Amy!

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive postcards printing for hosting. Check out Uprinting and their event ticket printing services for more information.

Patriotic Dessert Ideas

Since Memorial Day is coming up next week (and 4th of July is just around the corner), I thought it would be fun to share some patriotic dessert ideas for this week's food post.  I found some many cute ideas as I looked on my Google Reader and on Pinterest.  Here's some of my favorites! Hope you enjoy!

Red, White, and Blue Cookie Bark from Your Home Based Mom

Patriotic Cupcake Kebobs from Zen Cupcake

Patriotic Fruit Tarts from Nothing But Country

Red, White, & Blue Chocolate Dipped Strawberries from Baking Bites

Flag Cake from Make It. Love It.

I'm linking up to these parties.

Great Deals at Save and Make Moola

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Save and Make Mooka, LLC for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Love great deals and saving money?  Save and Make Moola is a new online virtual mall.  Save and Make Moola, LLC has partnered with trusted retailers across the country to bring online shoppers the best discounts and savings available.

With more than 2,500 stores in its merchant network, SaveAndMakeMoola.com provides shoppers with more than 15,000 coupons and deals for their online purchases.  The site offers discounts on everything from clothing and accessories to vacations and event tickets.  Coupon codes and promotions are updated daily to ensure consumers are provided with the latest active and current deals for Save and Make Moola's merchant partners.

And unlike other coupon sites I've seen, this one features great stores and name brands that are popular and well known.  I found everything from clothing and apparel stores like Gap, Aeropostale, and Lane Bryant to electronic stores like Office Depot, CompUSA, and Microsoft.

I was also pleased to find one of my favorite stores, Books-a-Million, as well as Amazon.com and Sears. The site also features some amazing gift and specialty retailers like DaySpring, Current, and food companies like Mrs. Field's Cookies.

You can also check out The Moola Saver's Blog for more daily deals and freebies.

Connect and Get The Latest Coupons and Deals:

Save and Make Moola on Twitter

Save and Make Moola on Facebook

My New *Personalized* Apron

I know a lot of you mommy bloggers love aprons, so I could hardly wait to show you this adorable customized apron that I got from ApronsandSmocks.com.  Aprons are functional and fun, especially when you can get one that fits your own personal style, and they also make great gifts!

ApronsandSmocks.com has several fabrics to choose from, and when I saw this hound's tooth pattern, I knew immediately that I wanted to make a Roll Tide apron, in support of the great Crimson Tide.  Won't this be cute for football season? (Or all year round, for that matter?)

And not only did I get to pick out the fabric and personalized phrase, but I also got to choose my embroidery colors and the font for the embroidery.

Personally I was very impressed by the quality of this apron, and I think that it turned out super cute!  What do you think?

Visit Apronsandsmocks.com to order your own custom apron.  You could order one with your own name or perhaps you'd like to go the same route as me and order one featuring your favorite sports team. 

These would also make great gifts for birthdays or Father's Day.  You can create an apron with a special personalized message or image in embroidery or screenprint.

Disclaimer:  I received a free customized apron for review purposes.  I was not otherwise compensated.

Friday Favorites - Week 64

 

Hi everyone! Happy Friday! Thanks so much for the great turn out last week, despite the late posting!

 

Hope you enjoy this week's features!

 

 

Crayon Cake from I'm a Mom Not a Professional

Spa Day Favors from Wentzell's Creative Designs

Cinnamon Swirl Bread from For Such a Time as This

Water Bottle Wreath from Indie Inventions

Chewy Butterscotch Pecan Cookies Comfy Cook's Kosher Kitchen

 

Can't wait to see your posts! Link them up below!

Publix Great Deals on Great Meals Event w/ Giveaway

Bring the family together with a home cooked meal and a little help from the Great Deals on Great Meals event at your local Publix, where you can find simple meal solutions that will keep the faces around your dinner table, and your budget, smiling!

With great savings on some of your favorite brands and delicious meal ideas for any time of the day, creating a dish that pleases everyone is just a click away.

From May 12th through May 29th, visit greatdealsongreatmeals.com/ to download $10.80 in coupons valid exclusively at Publix.

Plus, from May 12th through May 29th, stop by your local Publix to start your savings with a recipe for an easy Pasta Night at home! Make your own Pillsbury® Ready to Bake! cookies for dessert, and stock up on some of the other featured products like Yoplait Yogurt, Honey Nut Cheerios and Progresso Soup!

Win it!  One Simply Sweet Home reader will win a $25 Publix Giftcard. 

Mandatory Entry:  To win, you must be a follower of my blog.  Then visit Great Deals on Great Meals and leave a comment on this post, telling us something you on the page that you look forward to getting a good deal on.  Deadline:  May 31

Additional Entries:

-1 if you follow @SimplySweetHome on Twitter.

-1 if  you subscribe to Simply Sweet Home via email.

-1 if you like Simply Sweet Home on facebook.

-1 if you subscribe to my RSS feeds through Feedburner.
-1 if you have my button displayed on your site.

-1 for sharing this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook. (Sample Tweet: I want to win a Publix Giftcard! http://bit.ly/kcWeFQ  @SimplySweetHome #myblogspark) (Limit one tweet entry per day.)

Disclosure:  I received a a $25 Publix card and information from General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

Hey everyone.  This week's recipe didn't really photograph well, but I promise you, it is tasty!  I originally got this recipe from another blogger.  I believe it was a Friday Favorites link up.  I had the link saved on my computer, but the lightning killed it a couple of weeks ago, so all my favorite links are gone! So if you posted a recipe similar to this, let me know, and I'll credit you!

Anyway, the original recipe actually had honey mustard in it, but I used ranch here because we had some on hand.  I also used Swiss AND American cheese.  And the reason the ham looks funny is because I used some leftover ham pieces that I had frozen from Christmas!  Talk about delicious!  But I'm sure deli slices would great with this as well!

(Psst....come back later this week for a Publix Giveaway!)

Recipe for Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 slices American Cheese

8 slices Swiss cheese

2-4 slices of ham per piece of chicken (depending on what kind of ham you're using and how much you want)

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups ranch dressing

cooking spray

Directions: Spray crockpot with cooking spray.  Add water and about half of the ranch dressing.  Add chicken.  Place about half of the cheese slices on top of the chicken.  Top with remaining dressing.  Cover and cook. (Cook times will vary. Mine will cook chicken breasts in about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, but if you have an older one, it may be longer.)  About 30 minutes before cooking is complete, add your ham, and top the chicken with remaining cheese slices. Serve and enjoy!

Here's the chicken before the ham was added:

Just before serving:

Linking up at these parties.